Gamers’ perceptions of using competitive digital games, especially concerning anxiety and socialization, have raised doubts about the benefits of playing such games. Since different studies highlight different results, this research aims to explore these differences by analyzing the perceptions of adults involved in playing a competitive digital game, in this case, FIFA, considering data that were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The main question is ‘How do adults perceive anxiety, stress, and socialization when playing the FIFA digital game?’. The research comprises two studies involving volunteer participants: In the first part, which adopts a qualitative approach, the participants’ perceptions of what they think and feel when playing FIFA were analyzed and interpreted using text mining analysis. In the second, a quantitative study, FIFA users’ perceptions of the gaming experience were statistically analyzed. The results show that adult users tend to refer to positive perceived stress and socialization. The fact that participants identified manipulations and interference in the game and no longer allowed its use to influence their mood reveals that perceptions of attacks of rage were considered possible reactions to the use of the game, interpreted from the interface, and leading to the creation of knowledge.

While the digitalization of products and services in the entertainment industry has gained momentum in the last decades, online theater streaming is a relatively new phenomenon boosted by the COVID-19 restrictions, which created new market opportunities—and demand—for theaters’ online presence. This study investigates a new online platform providing theater streaming services in Hungary from a customer-centric, technology acceptance point of view. The survey-based study is designed to examine which factors of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) model are—and were—relevant in the under-researched live performance art sector of the digital entertainment industry under the unprecedented, coercive conditions of pandemic lockdowns. The results of the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) show that habit is the most influential factor of theater webcasting adoption (before hedonic motivations and price value), suggesting that the new habits formed during the COVID-19 lockdowns might serve as a basis of a sustainable digital business model for theatres in the post-pandemic era as well. The analysis also tested for potential generational differences between cohorts of users, finding no significant ones, which suggests that, under this specific set of social, technology and market conditions, all generations react similarly and are equally relevant for widening the customer base. Keeping in mind some limitations (self-reported and cross-sectional data), these empirical results can not only enrich the scientific body of knowledge but can also serve as the basis of future marketing and communication strategies developed by partitioners.

Objectives. The problem of constructing a new structure of paths of physically unclonable function of the arbiter type (APUF) on the FPGA is being solved, based on the full use of internal resources of LUT-blocks, which are functionally repeaters. The relevance of the study is associated with the rapid development of physical cryptography tools. Another goal is the developing a methodology for eliminating the asymmetry of the APUF paths associated with the peculiarity of the synthesis of such circuits on the FPGA.Methods. The methods of synthesis of digital devices, their parametric modeling and implementation on rapid prototyping boards are used. A ring oscillator circuit is used to measure the internal propagation delays of signals through the APUF paths.Results. A new structure of the basic element of APUF paths with the use of two functional repeaters is proposed. The necessity of balancing the delays of APUF paths is demonstrated. A technique has been developed to eliminate the asymmetry of signal propagation through APUF paths based on controlled delay lines. The disadvantages of classical approaches as an APUF arbitrator and the need for their modification are shown.Conclusion. The proposed approach to build APUF paths has shown its viability and promise. An improvement in the characteristics of APUF constructed according to the proposed method, as well as a reduction in hardware costs during their implementation compared to classical APUF schemes, is experimentally confirmed. It seems promising to develop the described methodology for constructing the APUF to improve the structure of the arbiter.

Objectives: The digital transformation of the healthcare sector involves the procurement and implementation of new health technologies, which will likely be a challenge to healthcare providers who are not part of large organizations. In response to the needs of small and middle-sized health and care organizations, we have developed a process navigator to guide providers of healthcare through the processes of innovation, the procurement of mature products, and their implementation in telehealth and telecare projects. Methods: A narrative overview identified health-technology-assessment-inspired models. Conversations with national and international colleagues identified project and implementation models. The origin of the included models was identified, and relevant articles were referred to to describe the essential principles, including the nature of stakeholder involvement and the evaluation processes when appropriate. Based on the inputs, we proposed the process navigator GoTO. Results: Six health-technology-assessment-inspired models, six project models, one implementation model, and one innovation model were identified and informed the creation of the GoTO process navigator. The navigator consists of four parts: inception (eight steps); materialization (three tracks, depending on the maturity of the planned solution); implementation (five steps); and the final assessment and evaluation. Conclusion: The GoTO process navigator is an intuitive guide for innovation, procurement, and implementation in telehealth and -care. The GoTo navigator can assist providers of digital health and care services throughout the process from the initial identification of goals to the final evaluation of outcomes.

Present standards guiding the corporate governance of information technology (IT) provide useful frameworks for organizations’ governing bodies to direct the effective use of information technology (IT) within their organizations. However, existing standards still fail to resolve the dilemma regarding the actual allocation of IT roles and responsibilities between governing bodies and IT management, while such an allocation represents a major challenge in many contemporary organizations. To advance on this issue, we explore IT managers’ interpretation of the allocation of IT roles and responsibilities to either the governing body or managerial levels in nine Ibero-American Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). We used the ISO/IEC 38500 and COBIT standards to define a unique set of 212 management and governance activities and responsibilities. We surveyed 30 IT managers in Higher Education Institutions from nine Ibero-American countries and identified the divergence in the allocation of IT Governance and Management tasks between respondents and expert judgments. Using regression analysis, we show that the degree of such divergence depends on organizational contingency factors such as the formalization of IT procedures, centralization, the complexity of the organization, and the size of IT departments. This is the first study in the literature conducting a thorough analysis of IT task allocation between the governing level and the management level. This study is also the first to identify four organizational factors influencing the divergence between respondents and expert opinion regarding this allocation. The findings and propositions presented in this paper have the potential to extend our understanding of the IT governance dilemma in other professional organizations similar to HEIs.

With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, education and learning have been compelled to go entirely online rather than using conventional offline media. As a result, remote learning adoption has exploded, neither planned nor anticipated. The challenges and benefits of such widespread adoption have gradually unfolded in front of our own eyes. Unlike other courses, science and technology (S&T) courses are more technical, involve practical lessons, and require careful planning for effective delivery via remote learning platforms. Thus, existing remote learning frameworks are too general and are not designed for S&T courses. In addition, the evolving requirements of learners’ demand revision of prior frameworks to be relevant today. In this paper, we propose a remote learning reference framework called C19MOOC for S&T courses offered at higher learning institutions. The framework will provide the essential components to be considered in the development of remote learning systems for these courses. A focus group discussion was conducted to elicit learners’ requirements and preferences for remote learning systems that offer S&T courses. The existing Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) framework was adapted to match learners’ current needs and expectations. The MOOC framework’s existing dimensions and components were redefined, and three new dimensions (Engagement, Governance, and Self-determination) and components were added. An expert review was administered to validate the C19MOOC framework. Based on our findings, it was determined that remote learning has excellent potential as an effective platform for education at higher learning institutions. Shortcomings that emerged during its immense use in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic can be addressed by leveraging the proposed framework. The C19MOOC framework will be useful for S&T education stakeholders, institutions, and system developers to identify suitable dimensions, components, and features to consider when designing remote learning systems for S&T education.

Currently in hospitals, there are several separate information systems that manage, very often autonomously, the patient’s personal, clinical and diagnostic data. An electronic health record system has been specifically developed for a cardiology ward and it has been designed “ab initio” to be fully integrated into the hospital information system and to exchange data with the regional health information infrastructure. All documents have been given as Health Level 7 (HL7) clinical document architecture and messages are sent as HL7-Version 2 (V2) and/or HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). Specific decision support sections for specific aspects have also been included. The system has been used for more than three years with a good level of satisfaction by the users. In the future, the system can be the basis for secondary use for clinical studies, further decision support systems and clinical trials.

Healthcare facilities require flexible layouts that can adapt quickly in the face of various disruptions. COVID-19 confirmed this need for both healthcare and manufacturing systems. Starting with the transfer of decision support systems from manufacturing, this paper generalizes layout re-design activities for complex systems by presenting a simulation framework. Through a real case study concerning the proliferation of nosocomial cross-infection in an intensive care unit (ICU), the model developed in systems dynamics, based on a zero order immediate logic, allows reproducing the evolution of the different agencies (e.g., physicians, nurses, ancillary workers, patients), as well as of the cyber-technical side of the ICU, in its general but also local aspects. The entire global workflow is theoretically founded on lean principles, with the goal of balancing the need for minimal patient throughput time and maximum efficiency by optimizing the resources used during the process. The proposed framework might be transferred to other wards with minimal adjustments; hence, it has the potential to represent the initial step for a modular depiction of an entire healthcare facility.

Software development methodology based on the model of distributed object-based stochastic hybrid systems is proposed. Such mathematical model is planned to be created for the system being designed along with the system specification at all stages of the software development.The following stages of the development are considered as building of preliminary mathematical model by designing its specification, choosing and specification of system metrics, statistical analysis of the model, approbation of the mathematical model in conditions close to real, analysis by analytical methods and the implementation. The formalism is proposed for describing the system under consideration and an approach to its analysis. At the steps of the methodology, we adjust the model specification and its corresponding mathematical model in accordance with the results of the analysis. This approach allows to develop not only the software, but also a mathematical model with its properties, which implementation is the resulting software.

The growing dissemination of digital technologies has had an incomparable impact on many dimensions of today’s civilisation. Digital transformation (DT) redefined the industrial structures and reinvented business models. Hence, in the face of Industry 4.0, financial and accounting services face new threats, challenges, and opportunities. How do the business players in the accounting sector perceive this phenomenon? This paper aims to answer this question by following a qualitative and exploratory approach, applied to three case studies, using semi-structured interviews. The study shows that although digital transformation in Portuguese small and medium-sized accounting service enterprises is just starting, Industry 4.0 technologies, optical character recognition (OCR), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and enterprise resource planning (ERP) in the cloud were the technologies singled out by respondents. Resistance to change, organisational culture and price seem to be the main barriers to DT in accounting. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the role of accounting and accountants in organisations and society in the context of the digital era. Moreover, it provides practical insights into the potential relationship between technological (specifically digital) development and labour market dynamics for accounting professionals.