How are AI assistants changing higher education? Schön, Eva-Maria; Neumann, Michael; Hofmann-Stölting, Christina ...
Frontiers in computer science (Lausanne),
07/2023, Volume:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Context Higher education is changing at an accelerating pace due to the widespread use of digital teaching and emerging technologies. In particular, AI assistants such as ChatGPT pose significant ...challenges for higher education institutions because they bring change to several areas, such as learning assessments or learning experiences. Objective Our objective is to discuss the impact of AI assistants in the context of higher education, outline possible changes to the context, and present recommendations for adapting to change. Method We review related work and develop a conceptual structure that visualizes the role of AI assistants in higher education. Results The conceptual structure distinguishes between humans, learning, organization, and disruptor, which guides our discussion regarding the implications of AI assistant usage in higher education. The discussion is based on evidence from related literature. Conclusion AI assistants will change the context of higher education in a disruptive manner, and the tipping point for this transformation has already been reached. It is in our hands to shape this transformation.
•Analytics development can be done in agile-plan balanced or agile-heavy mode.•Agile values are essential for both agile-plan balanced and agile-heavy modes.•Plan-driven aspects are essential only ...for the balanced mode.•Top management is a crucial antecedent for the agile-plan balanced mode.•Shared understanding is a crucial antecedent for the agile-heavy mode.
Practically all organizations are developing data warehousing, business intelligence, and analytics (DW/BIA) projects for achieving customer value. A DW/BIA development project may be characterized by both agile and plan-driven aspects. The reported study investigated two research questions: (1) Which factor, agile values or plan-driven aspects, contributes more toward the success of DW/BIA? (2) What are the significant antecedents of agile values and plan-driven aspects? 124 respondents engaged in DW/BIA development filled a 30-item questionnaire on seven constructs. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to determine the strength of the relationships among the following factors: technological capability, shared understanding, top management commitment, and complexity as antecedents; agile values and plan-driven aspects as mediating; and project success as the dependent construct. Based on a prediction-oriented segmentation (PLS-POS) analysis, the findings indicate that there are two groups, agile-plan balanced and agile-heavy, which represent different approaches to DW/BIA development. Top management commitment and shared understanding emerge as strong antecedents to agile values and plan-driven aspects. Overall, the factor agile values contributes more toward the success of DW/BIA development.
In times of crises, such as the refugee crisis or the corona pandemic, the workload in public administrations increases because of the demands of citizens or short-term legal changes. In addition, ...there is an increasing need for digitalization or to be able to react flexibly to changes. Agile process models and agile practices are appropriate to overcome these challenges. The objective of this paper is to investigate how public administrations can measure their degree of agility to identify potential for improving it. The authors conducted a descriptive single-case study which included multiple units of analysis in a public administration in Germany. The case study was supported by their questionnaire for measuring the degree of agility. One outcome of this study is a conceptual framework that can be used to drive agile transformation in public administrations by continuously measuring agility. Therefore, a questionnaire for measuring agility at team level in public administrations has been developed. The application of the questionnaire in three teams provide insights into dysfunctionality in the interdisciplinary teams as well as optimization potential in terms of affinity to change. The adoption of agility in public administration is a challenge, given that resistance to change is still prevalent. A transformational change is a constant journey, and therefore, the measurement of progress plays an important role in the continuous improvement of an organization. The applied approach delivers high potential for improvement in terms of agility and provides interesting insights for both practitioners and academics.
Breast cancer treatment has been described as a dynamic and patient-centered approach that emphasizes adaptability and flexibility throughout the treatment process. Breast cancer is complex, with ...varying subtypes and stages, making it important to tailor treatment plans to each patient's unique circumstances. Breast cancer treatment delivery relies on a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals who collaborate to provide personalized care and quick adaptation to changing conditions to optimize outcomes while minimizing side effects and maintaining the patient's quality of life. However, agility in breast cancer treatment has not been defined according to common agile values and described in language comprehensible to breast cancer professionals. In the rapidly evolving landscape of breast cancer treatment, the incorporation of agile values from software engineering promises to enhance patient care.
Our objective is to propose agile values for breast cancer treatment adopted and adapted from software engineering. We also aim to validate how these values conform to the concept of agility in the breast cancer context through referencing past work.
We applied a structured research methodology to identify and validate 4 agile values for breast cancer treatment. In the elicitation phase, through 2 interviews, we identified 4 agile values and described them in language that resonates with breast cancer treatment professionals. The values were then validated by a domain expert and discussed in the context of supporting work from the literature. Final validation entailed a domain expert conducting a walkthrough of the 4 identified agile values to adjust them as per the reported literature.
Four agile values were identified for breast cancer treatment, and among them, we validated 3 that conformed to the concept of agility. The fourth value, documentation and the quality of documentation, is vital for breast cancer treatment planning and management. This does not conform to agility. However, its nonagility is vital for the agility of the other values. None of the identified agile values were validated as partially conforming to the concept of agility.
This work makes a novel contribution to knowledge in identifying the first set of agile values in breast cancer treatment through multidisciplinary research. Three of these values were evaluated as conforming to the concept of agility, and although 1 value did not meet the concept of agility, it enhanced the agility of the other values. It is anticipated that these 4 agile values can drive oncology practice, strategies, policies, protocols, and procedures to enhance delivery of care. Moreover, the identified values contribute to identifying quality assurance and control practices to assess the concept of agility in oncology practice and breast cancer treatment and adjust corresponding actions. We conclude that breast cancer treatment agile values are not limited to 4.
RR1-10.2196/53124.
This study aimed to analyse the impact of digitalisation on good governance with respect to selected local public administrations during the COVID-19 lockdown in the spring of 2020. The overriding ...assumption made is that agile values mediate the relationship between digitalisation and good governance on this level of public administration. Data were obtained through a web-based survey conducted between June and August 2020. The empirical analysis was facilitated by applying partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) on a sample of 761 public managers from five Central European countries (Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovenia). The results show that digitalisation acted as an essential driver of good governance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three out of four agile values—“employees and internal relationships”, “working public services”, and “change management”—were also shown to help make digitalisation more effective and thereby facilitate good governance. Despite some limitations (e.g., respondents’ subjective evaluations, the study only being performed during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the observed countries with different situations and consequent measures in response, and differences in the broader environment and local administration systems in the studied countries), the findings of the study are important given the lack of similar empirical studies. Public administrations should be digitalised and reformed in a way that ensures that they effectively and efficiently design, implement, measure, and continuously improve their strategies, tactics, and services, which can all be accomplished by being agile. The paper offers insights into: (1) the lessons learnt about the nature of digitalised public services/processes and agile management approaches in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on good governance; and (2) proposals for policymakers and managers in public administrations with regard to operating in extreme VUCA circumstances in any next wave of COVID-19 pandemic or in a new pandemic/public health disaster.
Given that universities have significant choices to make about what is retained from our emergency measures, the authors set out to use the record of our biweekly meetings to examine the choices that ...we have made during the pandemic and how we have made them. In this collaborative reflective article from authors from five different institutions in the UK and Australia, we demonstrate that student-centred decision making emerged unanimously as the core value driving our decision making during the pandemic. In our reflections, supported by our diary notes, we explore and document our decision-making processes relating to educational technology through the lens of agile values and principles in the context of crisis leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss four prominent drivers for student-centred decision making: a) collecting and rapidly sharing student voice data, b) offering more choice in anticipation of diverse needs, c) giving a high priority to equalising access to technology and d) taking responsibility for students in difficult circumstances. In addition, we discuss five emerging data-driven themes - leadership, operational continuity, student welfare, pedagogy and technology infrastructure - and offer insights into student-driven decision making with examples from our respective institutions. The ultimate aim for our reflection is to establish approaches that we value in higher education leadership that we should sustain and to formulate principles for student-centred agile leadership for university education which can serve us during the pandemic and beyond. Keywords: educational leadership, educational technology, student-centred leadership, COVID-19 pandemic, agile values and principles, higher education
The digital transformation, driven by the third industrial revolution, forces companies to adapt continuously to their surroundings, which requires people not only with technical capabilities but ...also with soft skills that encourage continuous improvement. The challenge is to identify the competencies. For that, we are using the following methodology: (1) Mapping agile values to competences, (2) Identify the critical competencies and then prioritize them and (3) Mention different instruments to measure and to train the competences. Thanks to that, we are a goal of making an instrument that allows visualizing the critical competencies, that are measurable and trainable, to make a successful organizational transformation.
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