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Artificial Intelligence Utilized by a Growing Number of Industries

Using Gmail? Chances are your emails are being read every day. Don’t panic yet; it’s only a robot.
Have you wondered how Gmail’s automated responses can suggest phrases that are almost identical to what you plan to reply? Or what about the warning that you forgot to attach a document to the email you were about to send? These phenomena are all the result of artificial intelligence (AI) networks combing through yours and other users' emails to “learn” message patterns and make predictions about what you are going to say next.
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Google isn’t the only company investing in AI. Microsoft is reportedly upgrading every one of its software applications to include AI, and Amazon uses AI to suggest products to its customers and
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increasingly intelligent responses through the voice of the personal assistant we know as “Alexa.”
It’s easy to see how AI can improve our daily lives, and now almost everyone is finding a way to benefit, from large corporations to small businesses. According to a report from Narrative Science and the National Business Research Institute, AI adoption has grown by 60% in the last year. Additionally, AI augmentation is estimated to generate $1.9 trillion in business value by 2021.
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AI can assist many different industries in improving efficiency. For example, AI technology helps manufacturing companies pinpoint machine components that need to be serviced before they actually fail. This can save companies tremendous amounts of time and money on crisis management, troubleshooting, and delays. AI can also be used in just about every company’s IT department, regardless of the industry. From detecting computer security breaches to solving internal tech support problems, AI has found a job to do in 32% to 44% of global companies’ IT departments.
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As a result of the increasing demand, IT companies like HPE have embraced AI with the goal of making it easier for everyone to use. In 2017, they began offering 'Rapid Software Development for AI. It is aimed at simplifying the AI implementation process, which is usually expensive and heavily reliant on resources and infrastructure that handle high levels of data. The Rapid Software Development for AI solution integrates hardware and software that is designed for high-performance computing and deep learning applications. Since 2017, HPE has continued to develop its AI platform, and now offers advising, operational support, and workshops, among other services for AI users.
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Many people worry that AI will eventually replace workers. If you’ve ever called Apple customer service and found yourself trapped in a guided automated system rather than speaking to an actual representative, this may seem like a valid concern. However, very few companies are using AI for jobs that could be done by humans, i.e. production line activities (7%) or monitoring bribes and kickbacks (3%). In most cases, AI is being used to enhance jobs already done by humans, help them manage the rising need for IT expertise (think about the onslaught of hacking attempts and ever-growing mounds of data), and even provide job opportunities for more workers in IT departments. In fact, it has been estimated that 20% of enterprises will have positions devoted to “monitoring and guiding” machine learning by 2020.
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If AI’s increasing popularity is any indication of its current capabilities, the future could have infinite possibilities. As more and more companies use AI, its capabilities will become smarter, faster, and more useful to our needs. Future advances might allow us to predict diseases before they occur, speed to work on roads packed with autonomous cars, and perhaps one day be saved from the tedium of an overflowing inbox by fully composed email replies, individualized to your style and complete with documents attached.
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Sources:
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Markman, Jon. 2018. “Artificial Intelligence Is the Future of Computing.” Markman’s Pivotal Point. April 25, 2018. https://www.markmanspivotalpoint.com/artificial-intelligence/artificial-intelligence-future-computing/.
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Narrative Science. 2019. “Outlook on Artificial Intelligence in the Enterprise.” Narrative Science and the National Business Research Institute. https://narrativescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Research-Report_Outlook-on-AI-for-the-Enterprise.pdf.
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“HPE AI Enterprise Solutions & Technologies for a Data-Driven World.” n.d. Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Accessed July 24, 2019. https://www.hpe.com/us/en/solutions/artificial-intelligence.html.
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Satya Ramaswamy. 2017. “How Companies Are Already Using AI.” Harvard Business Review. April 14, 2017. https://hbr.org/2017/04/how-companies-are-already-using-ai
About Transaction Innovation Corporation (TIC) Software:
Founded in 1983, TIC Software was created to address the challenges of keeping Tandem/HP NonStop legacy systems current with ever-evolving “modernization” technology – providing consulting expertise and software solutions designed to keep mission-critical applications up-and-running. Today, we continue to meet these modernization challenges – as well as offer migration solutions to organizations looking to explore other technological options.
Millennials and the Modern Worker: What are Companies Doing to Adapt?

This year, like all years before it, the workforce shifted a little more towards modernity in practice and expectation. Another generation of baby boomers and GenX-ers retired, taking with them dusty desk objects and antiquated work schedules, while eager Millennials and Generation Zs arrived to fill their place, smartphones in tow.
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Millennials now make up the largest generation of workers in the labor force, and are expected to make up over 50% of the U.S. workforce by next year. This group of young people has access to more resources and career options than
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any group before, giving them more flexibility with how they spend their working hours and with whom they choose to work. Also, like the technology they grew up around, this new workface is fast moving and always looking for ways to improve. This can make it challenging for companies to pin down young talent before they move on to new and sometimes better opportunities. The modern workforce is rapidly morphing into a highly efficient and versatile technological powerhouse, now allowing employers to expect more from their worker – but only so long as they meet the employees’ discerning work standards.
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Technology
One of the most important ways for companies to adapt to the modern workforce is to digitalize. Digitalization is proving to be necessary to keep up with worker trends - in 2011, a study in France found that the internet eliminated 500,000 jobs in the past 15 years, but created 1.2 million more. That’s 2.4 additional jobs for every one position lost. Digitalizing on the highest level is also one of the biggest favors companies can do for themselves. It has been shown that organizations with the most advanced and efficient technology in their fields also have some of the highest productivity margins and revenue growth compared to other, less digitized competitors.
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A company’s technological literacy is no joke to millennials. The success earned by companies with the best technology eventually trickles down to their workers, who see double the wage growth as other workers at more outdated organizations. Companies who upgrade their infrastructure are also able to tap the full potential of millennials, who have an abundance of technological skills to offer, having learned to type before they became acquainted with cursive writing (if at all).
Opportunities and Perks
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One of the best uses of a digitalized workplace is to invest in employees. Educational opportunities are vital to a company if they want to keep the top talent in their company directory. As mentioned in our previous blog, workers now have more control than ever over their own skill advancement through online learning platforms. Chances are, if their employers aren’t offering professional growth or advancement opportunities, employees are taking matters into their own hands by completing courses that qualify them for higher paying positions at more tech-savvy companies.
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Millennials are also notorious for always wanting what’s bigger, better, and new. While some may grumble over the lost tradition of a company relationship that lasts as long as a career, young professionals are too busy looking out for themselves to care. Whether it’s from earning a constant stream of participation ribbons, or witnessing their parents laid off after decades of company loyalty, it’s important for modern workers to feel appreciated and secure in their workplace. In a survey of more than 3,000 companies representing over 200,000 employees, the top driver for millennial workers was to “feel valued at their organization and invested in their communities.” In response to this need and moral obligations, many companies now have partnerships with organizations in their home communities that connect workers with volunteer opportunities.
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Other perks like unlimited vacation days, lenient leave compensation, and onsite amenities like gyms, recreation rooms, and cafeterias, are slowly becoming the norm at large and small companies alike. Integrated work and play office concepts were originally designed to help employees with intense responsibilities blow off steam. Now, however, all employees expect their offices to accommodate their creative processes and non-linear workflows. Most importantly, they expect their employers to trust their staff to produce up-to-snuff deliverables without the rigid structure of a 9:00am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday work schedule. Mutual trust goes a long way: millennials are more than 22 times as likely to want to stay with an organization long-term if they think their company has a “high-trust culture,” compared to Gen Xerss and Baby Boomers who were 16 and 13 times more likely, respectively.
While it’s true that every year a new wave of bright-eyed young professionals joins the workforce and keeps their aging employers on their toes, these past few years have seen an onslaught of young people with more technological skills and higher standards than ever before. The workforce is changing to become more digital and ambitious, making it now more imperative than ever for employers to step up to the (virtual) plate and adapt with it.
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Sources
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Mark Emmons. n.d. “Key Statistics about Millennials in the Workplace.” Dynamic Signal. Accessed October 8, 2019. https://dynamicsignal.com/2018/10/09/key-statistics-millennials-in-the-workplace/
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James Manyika. 2017. “Technology, Jobs, and the Future of Work | McKinsey.” McKinsey Global Institute. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employment-and-growth/technology-jobs-and-the-future-of-work
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Kara Driscoll. 2016. “Local Companies Adapt to Millennials in Workforce.” Daytondailynews. October 28, 2016. https://www.daytondailynews.com/business/local-companies-adapt-millennials-workforce/FfSbbx83KVVzg90qF3OoaJ/
About Transaction Innovation Corporation (TIC) Software:
Founded in 1983, TIC Software was created to address the challenges of keeping Tandem/HP NonStop legacy systems current with ever-evolving “modernization” technology – providing consulting expertise and software solutions designed to keep mission-critical applications up-and-running. Today, we continue to meet these modernization challenges – as well as offer migration solutions to organizations looking to explore other technological options.
The Evolution of Online Learning, and How it Could Evolve Corporate Culture

Do you remember sitting through training videos or CD-ROM courses at work? Or maybe your memory extends before the PC era – to the 1970s, when employee trainings were conducted in classrooms with slide projectors and “foils.” Even today’s recent college grads might remember their early elementary school years accompanied by the warm hum of an overhead projector and the smell of expo markers on its transparent slides. Whatever decade you are envisioning as your “back then” learning experience, one thing is certain: a lot has changed to bring us to the “now.”
In 2017, Forbes reported that “the corporate training market, which is over $130 billion in size, is about to be disrupted.” The training Forbes was referencing to is through Learning Management Systems (LMS). LMSs are known as “online universities” or “online course catalogs” and became popular in the 1990s, when web browsers hit the market. Instructional designers built the courses housed in LMSs. They were often long with multiple chapters, and covered many different concepts industry workers (from a variety of professions) might need to succeed.
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At the time, LMS was a revolutionary concept. People were no longer confined to a physical space; eLearning birthed the “online classroom,” and trade secrets and skills were available to employees at the click of a mouse. Then, between 2005 and 2007, YouTube, Twitter, and iPhone launched the world in a new direction. People began interacting with more content than they had been exposed to ever before (including trade secrets and skills) and this information was distributed and absorbed more efficiently than what eLearning courses offered previously.
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From this culture of education and technological disruption emerged a new generation of workers. Colleges are now graduating class after class of young people which were not only raised by, but also contributed to, an ecosystem of instant information and limitless connectivity. Behind the perception of screen-addicted and attention-deficit millennials, is a generation of multi-disciplined, tech-savvy, and incredibly efficient young professionals. By 2025, it has been estimated that 75% of the workforce will be made up of millennials, fueling a demand for consistent and immediate access to intellectual resources.
“Micro-learning” is society’s response to this growing demand. Through micro-learning, trainees can quickly digest small units of information or skills that are easy to implement. This facilitates a “just-in-time” training model rather than long courses that cover topics “just-in-case” the employee will ever need them. Due to our fast-paced technological and professional scenes, many skills that were imperative to a company two years ago are suddenly antiquated. Micro-learning allows employees to keep up on their own terms, and doesn’t bog them down with information they may never use. The knowledge required to succeed today or tomorrow was released only this morning – and unencumbered access to this knowledge is key to gaining a competitive edge, much less staying afloat.
Corporations are now shifting their focus towards platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn’s Lynda.com, which offer online courses that can take five minutes or five weeks to complete, depending on the user’s schedule. And that’s the vital part: employees now have autonomy over their own training, and can plan it on their own time. Micro-learning not only compliments a fast-moving work environment, but also meets the demands of the average multi-tasking employee, who only has 24 minutes a week to learn new skills.
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Many corporations now list access to these sites as part of their primary benefits, alongside healthcare and retirement plans. Not only is it an incentive for workers who want to be life-long learners, micro-learning also empowers employees with resources that can yield increases in productivity, career advancement, and a stronger sense of job satisfaction. Online learning platforms also give more power to the individual, who no longer needs to rely on a job to build her portfolio. She can learn the skills necessary to switch companies or break into an entirely new industry if desired. In short, online learning is proving that if there’s a will, there is most certainly a way – and the way is getting a lot more convenient and accessible for everyone.
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Sources
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Bersin, Josh. 2017. “Watch Out, Corporate Learning: Here Comes Disruption.” Forbes. March 28, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2017/03/28/watch-out-corporate-learning-here-comes-disruption/.
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Josh Bersin. 2018. “A New Paradigm For Corporate Training: Learning In The Flow of Work.” (blog). June 3, 2018. https://joshbersin.com/2018/06/a-new-paradigm-for-corporate-training-learning-in-the-flow-of-work/.
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Admin. 2019. “Training Millennials: 7 Things You Should Do Right Now.” (blog). March 28, 2019. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/training-millennials-elearning
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Admin. 2018. “7 Trends Changing the Corporate Training Landscape.” (blog). April 5, 2018. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/corporate-training-landscapre
About Transaction Innovation Corporation (TIC) Software:
Founded in 1983, TIC Software was created to address the challenges of keeping Tandem/HP NonStop legacy systems current with ever-evolving “modernization” technology – providing consulting expertise and software solutions designed to keep mission-critical applications up-and-running. Today, we continue to meet these modernization challenges – as well as offer migration solutions to organizations looking to explore other technological options.
Is the traditional office dead? What companies are doing to adapt to the new age of remote workers
The invention of the internet produced many new career paths – of course within IT, but also in the shape of social media “influencers,” professional gamers, and online entrepreneurs. The digital age has also disrupted corporate culture, detaching many business professionals from traditional office environments. Millions of journalists, programmers, and consultants now bounce around from gig-to-gig as freelancers, temps, and independent contractors.

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This group has been predicted to make up half of the workforce by next year. And even you, the occasional work-from-homer, contributes to 70% of the global population that worked from home at least once a week last year.
There’s no denying that the modern 9-5 job has evolved dramatically in the past few decades, which is leaving company offices empty and inefficiently used. What’s the point of paying for real estate that the average worker is only inhabiting 30% of the time? Many organizations are choosing to adapt in one of two ways: changing their office design or changing their worker’s location.
Option 1: Floor plans that keep employees engaged
Many people believe that remote work will render offices, as we know them, useless. This is partly true – traditional office layouts no longer cut it for employees who don’t rely on office supplies, face-to-face meetings, or corporate utilities. Now, staff have access to everything they need on their computers (and even their cell phones!) The modern employee doesn’t want to sit in a cubicle all day if she could be doing the same work in her own space.
Despite all of this, an office space can still be of great use to employees. Some companies are re-focusing their interiors on the worker experience rather than the work experience. Open-layouts, spacious meeting rooms, large collaborative areas, buzzing cafes, and cushy lounges are all being incorporated into the modern office building as part of an effort to accommodate the variety of projects and working styles any one employee might have.
Option 2: Locations that keep employees happy
The other increasingly popular option for companies looking to adapt is to embrace the concept of mobility. In 2011, the electronics firm Plantronics eliminated a third of its employees’ desks in a redesign of its headquarters. Instead of coming into work, employees were allowed to also work from home or join a local co-working space.
Plantronics’ office downsizing demonstrates that coworking spaces are no longer just for freelancers or the unemployed. Remote workers from all different industries, backgrounds, and schools of thought are populating co-working areas. Many coworking spaces allow startups and small organizations to rent out desks in their buildings, and some corporations even invite outside workers into specially designated co-working areas in their own company buildings. According to Deskmag, the number of coworking spaces has grown 200% annually for seven years.
Companies are embracing off-site co-working spaces for reasons beyond hoping to support their employees’ work preferences. These spaces can also be financially efficient in reducing company overhead. As long as organizations have the technical infrastructure in place to aid virtual communication, they can save on rent, utilities, and maintenance that come from larger office spaces. Remote workers can also help companies become more sustainable. American Express recently lowered its carbon footprint by 27.5 percent as a result of a new focus on virtual meeting centers and decreased business travel.
Some worry that remote work reduces the opportunity for collaboration and work-community development. In fact, a recent study found “the best, most-widely cited research came from coauthors sitting less than 10 meters apart.” Perhaps coauthors are no longer sharing the same space, but with co-working spaces, they are sitting next to hundreds of other employees with a variety of skill sets and perspectives. One of the goals of co-working spaces is to facilitate the spread of other professionals’ unique ideas and talents. This goal is potentially easier to achieve in a diverse coworking space than in a traditional office, where like-minded staff can stifle creative problem solving and innovative approaches.
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Sources:
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Zubair Alexander. 2017. “By 2020, 50% of the Americans Are Expected to Be Working as Independent Contractors.” LinkedIn. August 22, 2017. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/2020-50-americans-expected-working-independent-zubair-alexander/.
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Ryan Browne. 2018. “70% of People Globally Work Remotely at Least Once a Week, Study Says.” , May 31, 2018, sec. Make it. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/70-percent-of-people-globally-work-remotely-at-least-once-a-week-iwg-study.html
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Marissa Feinberg. 2013. “Why Your Office Will Disappear.” Forbes. February 28, 2013. https://www.forbes.com/sites/marissafeinberg/2013/02/28/why-your-office-will-disappear/#1a86c23a56d3.
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Morgan, Jacob. 2015. “The Office Space Isn’t Dead, It’s Making A Comeback.” Forbes. November 24, 2015. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2015/11/24/the-office-space-isnt-dead-its-making-a-comeback/.
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Lindsay, Greg. 2013. “Coworking Spaces From Grind to GRid70 Help Employees Work Beyond the Cube” Fast Company. February 11, 2013. https://www.fastcompany.com/3004915/coworking-nextspace
About Transaction Innovation Corporation (TIC) Software:
Founded in 1983, TIC Software was created to address the challenges of keeping Tandem/HP NonStop legacy systems current with ever-evolving “modernization” technology – providing consulting expertise and software solutions designed to keep mission-critical applications up-and-running. Today, we continue to meet these modernization challenges – as well as offer migration solutions to organizations looking to explore other technological options.
IT in the Developing World - the Good, the Bad, and the Unknown

Information technology is incredibly important for the modernized world of high-speed communication, instant information, and big data. Not only does IT help businesses and individuals complete everyday tasks with remarkable efficiency, it also has a profound effect on the economy by reducing prices of goods and services, and creating new products that stimulate growth.
As beneficial as technology is to parts of the world with advanced governmental and economic infrastructures, what role does it play in regions that are still developing?
​​IT can create opportunities for economic, social, and governmental growth.
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In the past, technological advances were difficult for developing countries to adopt without the necessary resources to invest in equipment, labor, and training. Now, technology is leapfrogging previous obstacles. For example, cell phones are giving people around the world access to long-distance communication and internet services such as mobile banking, without the need for landlines, desktop computers, or local banks.
These capabilities are providing new tools for workers to improve their businesses. Food production is one field that has shown incredible improvement and potential through the application of technology. Drones, GPS, and advanced communication have optimized irrigation, pesticide and fertilizer use, natural disaster response, and supply-chain management. Advancements such as these can allow farmers to grow their business and enter global markets. A study found that fishermen in Kerala, India have increased their profits by 8% by using mobile phones to learn of price differences in nearby markets. Access to loan systems via mobile technology have even allowed subsistence farmers to move out of the agriculture industry entirely and into more lucrative businesses.
Improved communication systems also lead to better political systems, according to a study by Suffolk University. The result of the study found that as the use of information and communication technology increased, government corruption decreased. Advanced communication also has the ability to expose social injustices and to encourage socio-political progress.
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IT can also emphasize educational obstacles that keep developing countries from the global stage.
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While advancements in technology have the potential to yield better business opportunities in developing nations, they could also stunt economic growth if the focus on IT is simply consumption-based. In today’s global economy, innovative production as well as consumption is crucial to gain a competitive edge. Unfortunately, IT has a bias towards skill, education, and modernized capabilities. Reaching these criteria is costly, especially in low-income areas that do not already have systems in place to provide workers with these necessary tools.
Developing countries traditionally have economies driven by manufacturing and agriculture. Compared to these two industries, skills required for IT development are not easily transferable, instead taking years of education to develop. For a country like Bangladesh, with just 19% of the population over 25 years old having completed primary school, it can be extremely difficult to gain the skills necessary to compete in the global economy. One strong point for developing countries is that their low labor costs could offset their technological disadvantages. However, data shows that high-level production costs still outweigh any labor advantages.
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IT may be too new to tell.
Overall, it is safe to say that IT can help make life for people in developing countries more efficient, productive, and progressive. However, given the barriers to entry in such a fast-paced, high-skilled industry, technology has the potentially equally to prevent developing countries from competing in the global economy. With the adoption of modern technology around the world still relatively new, it may be too early to fully understand IT’s net impact in developing countries.
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Sources:
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Dani Rodrik. 2018. “Will New Technology in Developing Countries Be a Help or a Hindrance?” World Economic Forum. October 9, 2018. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/will-new-technologies-help-or-harm-developing-countries/.
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Jensen, Robert. 2007. “The Digital Provide: Information (Technology), Market Performance, and Welfare in the South Indian Fisheries Sector.” 122 (3): 879–924. https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.122.3.879.
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“Bangladesh Uis Mean Years Of Schooling Of The Population Age 25 Total.” n.d. Accessed June 25, 2019. https://tradingeconomics.com/bangladesh/uis-mean-years-of-schooling-of-the-population-age-25-total-wb-data.html.
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Jamshed J. Mistry, and Abu Jalal. 2012. “An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between E-Government and Corruption.” 12 (May): 145–76. https://doi.org/10.4192/1577-8517-v12_6.
About Transaction Innovation Corporation (TIC) Software:
Founded in 1983, TIC Software was created to address the challenges of keeping Tandem/HP NonStop legacy systems current with ever-evolving “modernization” technology – providing consulting expertise and software solutions designed to keep mission-critical applications up-and-running. Today, we continue to meet these modernization challenges – as well as offer migration solutions to organizations looking to explore other technological options.