scholarly journals Decentralized Open Platform for Vaccination—A German Example: COVID-19-Vacc

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 186
Author(s):  
Mirjana Radonjic-Simic ◽  
Christian Mahrt ◽  
Sven Niemand ◽  
Andreas Speck ◽  
Melanie Windrich
Keyword(s):  
Data Protection ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Reference Model ◽  
Vaccination Strategy ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Security Requirements ◽  
German Population ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Federal Organization

The COVID-19 pandemic has massively impacted the health of many people worldwide and poses significant challenges for our social, economic, and political life. Global vaccination should help the world overcome the pandemic and return to a “normal” life. In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Health presented its “National Vaccination Strategy COVID-19”, which describes the primary actors, elements, and activities required for the immunization of the German population. However, the implementation is challenging due to the federal organization of the German state in sixteen federal states. While essential processes such as vaccination rate monitoring and surveillance are planned centrally, the sixteen federal states are responsible for implementing the vaccination strategy in a decentralized manner. Furthermore, the European General Data Protection Regulation (EU-GDPR) imposes strict rules for processing and exchanging personal data. However, Germany is only a case in point. Governmental decisions always need to be implemented by regional and/or local actors, the number of which varies greatly depending on the country. This work addresses these challenges by proposing the COVID-19-Vacc Platform—an open and decentralized digital platform focused on vaccinations as a matter of example. The proposed platform model connects various actors and enables them to involve, conduct, and track the vaccination process while meeting all necessary data protection and security requirements defined by EU-GDPR. Using the DMS Reference Model as the theoretical framework, the blueprint of the COVID-19-Vacc Platform is developed, outlining the platform’s ecosystem structure, its interactions process model, and the service stack, defining how the proposed platform works on the operational level. Our COVID-19-Vacc Platform may help facilitate a fast and EU-GDPR compliant implementation of COVID-19 vaccination strategies. Beyond that, the proposed open and decentralized platform model might facilitate international interconnectivity and therefore the management of emerging global pandemics or other global health-related crisis.

Constitutional Developments in Foreign Countries During 1908 and 1909

1910 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. Dood
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South African ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Life ◽  
State Governments ◽  
African Union ◽  
The South ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Federal Organization ◽  
The Individual

Perhaps the two most important constitutional events during recent years are the establishment of the South African Union and the struggle in Great Britain over the budget and with reference to the powers of the House of Lords. Both of these events are excluded from treatment here—the South African Union is discussed somewhat fully in another part of this Review; the British constitutional struggle is still in progress, and cannot be satisfactorily treated at the present time.However, with reference to the South African Union it may be well to call attention to the movement away from loosely-constructed federal states. In the United States the state governments have steadily tended to become of less importance as compared with the national government, but this change has necessarily been produced not so much by textual changes in the constitution as by judicial interpretation. By the German imperial constitution of 1871 a fairly centralized federal organization was established, and since 1873 when the federal legislative power was extended over the whole field of civil law there have been no important extensions of federal power by textual changes in the constitution; but here as in the United States the federal power has increased at the expense of the states in a manner not shown by changes in the written instrument of government. “The most important and most weighty interests of the nation are common to all and must be cared for in a uniform manner, and all branches of public law and political life stand in a close and indissoluble relation the one to the other, so that by the logic of facts particularism must give place to unity, the common will must to an ever increasing extent displace the separate wills of the individual states.”

scholarly journals The Architecture Design of Electrical Vehicle Infrastructure Using Viable System Model Approach

Systems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Mahdi Boucetta ◽  
Niamat Ullah Ibne Hossain ◽  
Raed Jaradat ◽  
Charles Keating ◽  
Siham Tazzit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Reference Model ◽  
System Model ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Viable System Model ◽  
Charging Station ◽  
Viable System ◽  
Station Location ◽  
Ev Charging

Exponential technological-based growth in industrialization and urbanization, and the ease of mobility that modern motorization offers have significantly transformed social structures and living standards. As a result, electric vehicles (EVs) have gained widespread popularity as a mode of sustainable transport. The increasing demand for of electric vehicles (EVs) has reduced the some of the environmental issues and urban space requirements for parking and road usage. The current body of EV literature is replete with different optimization and empirical approaches pertaining to the design and analysis of the EV ecosystem; however, probing the EV ecosystem from a management perspective has not been analyzed. To address this gap, this paper develops a systems-based framework to offer rigorous design and analysis of the EV ecosystem, with a focus on charging station location problems. The study framework includes: (1) examination of the EV charging station location problem through the lens of a systems perspective; (2) a systems view of EV ecosystem structure; and (3) development of a reference model for EV charging stations by adopting the viable system model. The paper concludes with the methodological implications and utility of the reference model to offer managerial insights for practitioners and stakeholders.

scholarly journals Googling for Ticks and Borreliosis in Germany: Nationwide Google Search Analysis From 2015 to 2018 (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cora Scheerer ◽  
Melvin Rüth ◽  
Linda Tizek ◽  
Martin Köberle ◽  
Tilo Biedermann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Tick Bite ◽  
German Population ◽  
Internet Search ◽  
Tick Bites ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Health Studies ◽  
Very High

BACKGROUND Borreliosis is the most frequently transmitted tick-borne disease in Europe. It is difficult to estimate the incidence of tick bites and associated diseases in the German population due to the lack of an obligation to register across all 16 federal states of Germany. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to show that Google data can be used to generate general trends of infectious diseases on the basis of borreliosis and tick bites. In addition, the possibility of using Google AdWord data to estimate incidences of infectious diseases, where there is inconsistency in the obligation to notify authorities, is investigated with the perspective to facilitate public health studies. METHODS Google AdWords Keyword Planner was used to identify search terms related to ticks and borreliosis in Germany from January 2015 to December 2018. The search volume data from the identified search terms was assessed using Excel version 15.23. In addition, SPSS version 24.0 was used to calculate the correlation between search volumes, registered cases, and temperature. RESULTS A total of 1999 tick-related and 542 borreliosis-related search terms were identified, with a total of 209,679,640 Google searches in all 16 German federal states in the period under review. The analysis showed a high correlation between temperature and borreliosis (<i>r</i>=0.88), and temperature and tick bite (<i>r</i>=0.83), and a very high correlation between borreliosis and tick bite (<i>r</i>=0.94). Furthermore, a high to very high correlation between Google searches and registered cases in each federal state was observed (Brandenburg <i>r</i>=0.80, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania <i>r</i>= 0.77, Saxony <i>r</i>= 0.74, and Saxony-Anhalt <i>r</i>=0.90; all <i>P</i>&lt;.001). CONCLUSIONS Our study provides insight into annual trends concerning interest in ticks and borreliosis that are relevant to the German population exemplary in the data of a large internet search engine. Public health studies collecting incidence data may benefit from the results indicating a significant correlation between internet search data and incidences of infectious diseases.

scholarly journals COPE.er Method: Combating Digital Addiction via Online Peer Support Groups

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 1162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amen Alrobai ◽  
Abdullah Algashami ◽  
Huseyin Dogan ◽  
Tessa Corner ◽  
Keith Phalp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Support Groups ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Reference Model ◽  
Peer Groups ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Clinical Criteria ◽  
Digital Addiction ◽  
New Research

Digital addiction (hereafter DA) denotes a problematic relationship with technology described by being compulsive, obsessive, impulsive and hasty. New research has identified cases where users’ digital behaviour shows symptoms meeting the clinical criteria of behavioural addiction. The online peer groups approach is one of the strategies to combat addictive behaviours. Unlike other behaviours, intervention and addictive usage can be on the same medium; the online space. This shared medium empowers influence techniques found in peer groups, such as self-monitoring, social surveillance, and personalised feedback, with a higher degree of interactivity, continuity and real-time communication. Social media platforms in general and online peer groups, in particular, have received little guidance as to how software design should take it into account. Careful theoretical understanding of the unique attributes and dynamics of such platforms and their intersection with gamification and persuasive techniques is needed as the ad-hoc design may cause unexpected harm. In this paper, we investigate how to facilitate the design process to ensure a systematic development of this technology. We conducted several qualitative studies including user studies and observational investigations. The primary contribution of this research is twofold: (i) a reference model for designing interactive online platforms to host peer groups and combat DA, (ii) a process model, COPE.er, inspired by the participatory design approach to building Customisable Online Persuasive Ecology by Engineering Rehabilitation strategies for different groups.

Database Support for Workflow Management Systems

2009 ◽  
pp. 208-213
Author(s):  
Francisco A.C. Pinheiro
Keyword(s):  
Process Model ◽  
Reference Model ◽  
Workflow Management ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
Work Processes ◽  
Software Applications ◽  
Process Enactment ◽  
Workflow Management Coalition ◽  
Process Structure

A workflow is a series of work processes performed under rules that reflect the formal structure of the organization in which they are carried out and the relationships between their various parts. Workflow applications are software applications used to automate part of workflow processes. They run under the control of a workflow management system (WfMS). The WfMS usually comprises an organizational model, describing the process structure, and a process model, describing the process logic. The Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC, 2008) publishes a set of workflow definitions and related material, including a reference model. Databases are commonly used as a WfMS supporting technology. Not only workflow data are maintained in databases but also the rules governing processes can be stored in database schemas. Database functionality can be used both for defining and managing process models as well as for environment notification and process enactment. This article shows how particular database-related technologies can be used to support WfMS.

Evaluation of Reference Models

2011 ◽  
pp. 118-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich Frank
Keyword(s):  
Process Model ◽  
Conceptual Models ◽  
Reference Model ◽  
Reference Models ◽  
Epistemological Perspective ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Evaluation Project ◽  
Specific Evaluation

Evaluating a reference model is a demanding task. Not only that reference models inherit the problems well known from the evaluation of conceptual models in general. Furthermore, their claim for general (re-) usability implies to take into account the possible variety of requirements and specific constraints within the set of potential applications. This chapter presents a method that is aimed at fostering a differentiated and balanced judgement of reference models. For this purpose, it takes into account various perspectives - among others an economic, an engineering and an epistemological perspective. It also includes a process model that demonstrates how to organize a specific evaluation project.

Process Model for an Empiracally Grounded Reference Model Construction

2011 ◽  
pp. 77-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederik Ahlemann ◽  
Heike Gastl
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Epistemological Beliefs ◽  
Reference Model ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Reference Models ◽  
Proposed Model

This chapter stresses the importance of integrating empirical evidence in the construction process of reference models. With reference to the authors’ underly-ing epistemological beliefs, requirements for an empirically grounded process model are derived. Based on a literature review of existing process models and experience gained from three research projects, an advanced process model is proposed in order to provide concrete instructions that show how these require-ments can be met. Real-life examples from completed and ongoing research pro-jects are continuously integrated so as to contribute to the practicability of the proposed model for the reader.

Demand-driven Evolution of IT Systems in Healthcare

2005 ◽  
Vol 44 (01) ◽  
pp. 4-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Buessecker ◽  
H. Herlofsen ◽  
F. Hinrichs ◽  
T. Zeiler ◽  
K. A. Kuhn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Change Management ◽  
Formal Methods ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Reference Model ◽  
Process Analysis ◽  
Application Development ◽  
System Evolution ◽  
It Systems ◽  
Driven System ◽  
It Application

Summary Objectives: To analyze and to optimize interdisciplinary clinical processes, to introduce an IT-supported model for demand-driven system evolution in healthcare, and to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach for a clinical example and to present an evaluation. Methods: System evolution and change management are viewed as two sides of the same coin, thus formal methods for process analysis and IT system evolution were embedded into a goal-oriented change management model. Based on a process model, a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and a computer simulation were performed. A tool for rapid application development (RAD) was used to incrementally improve the healthcare information system according to newly arising needs. Results: Each of the formal methods used contributed to the successful reorganization of the interdisciplinary clinical process. An evaluation demonstrated significant improvements. An integrated IT application was implemented to support the optimized process. Conclusions: Process improvement is feasible and effective when formal methods for process analysis and requirements specification are used in a reasonable and goal-oriented way. It might be necessary to trade off costs and benefits or simplify a given method in the context of a particular project. As the same information is utilized in different tools, it is supposed that the efforts for process analysis, documentation and implementation of adapted applications could be reduced if different tools were integrated and based on a single coherent reference model for description of clinical processes.

Data Protection in Collaborative Business Applications

2010 ◽  
pp. 81-110
Author(s):  
Florian Kerschbaum
Keyword(s):  
Data Protection ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Privacy Protection ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Security Requirements ◽  
Sensitive Data ◽  
Business Applications ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Identifiable Data ◽  
Collaborative Business Applications

Collaborative business applications are an active field of research and an emerging practice in industry. This chapter will focus on data protection in b2b applications which offer a wide range of business models and architecture, since often equal partners are involved in the transactions. It will present three distinct applications, their business models, security requirements and the newest solutions for solving these problems. The three applications are collaborative benchmarking, fraud detection and supply chain management. Many of these applications will not be realized if no appropriate measure for protecting the collaborating parties’ data are taken. This chapter focuses on the strongest form of data protection. The business secrets are kept entirely secret from other parties (or at least to the degree possible). This also corresponds to the strongest form of privacy protection in many instances. The private information does not leave the producing system, (i.e., data protection), such that the information producer remains its sole owner. In case of B2B application, the sensitive data are usually business secrets, and not personally identifiable data as in privacy protection.

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