Analyzing Administrative Process Sequences Using PM4Py: A Case Study in an Albanian Municipality (Published)
Inefficiency, delays, and procedural redundancies are often the hindering elements in administrative processes in local government institutions, especially in municipalities in Albania. When citizens make a specific request to the municipality for a specific process, there are many cases when they never receive a response and do not know what happens to their request, at what step it is, what is missing, when it will be approved, etc. For this reason, this paper presents a focused approach to analyze the sequences of work processes that occur on the Albania administrative side with the aim of identifying inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement through Process Mining. Initially, it was necessary to construct a real dataset of events capturing the execution of municipal services. We developed a SQL Server database structured in five main tables to generate event logs, comprising approximately 366,000 cases, 620,205 events, and 33 unique activities across multiple municipal workflows. Through Pm4Py we analyze and visualize all work process sequences. The goal was to identify inefficiencies and understand how we can optimize the workflow sequences. Through Heuristic and Alpha miner algorithms we analyse and model the processes to build a structured model in the form of a graph such as Petri Net and Heuristic, providing a clear and consistent visualization. Petri facilitates the identification of delays, interruptions and sequences of repeated actions. Pm4py plays a crucial role in accelerating and increasing the efficiency of model building at this stage of the process. Future work, the study will focus on clustering the SNA(social network analysis) to identify relevant anomalies for each process. This clustering analysis aims to identify and classify potential anomalies in the structure
Keywords: Public Administration, heuristic miner, petri net, pm4py, process mining, transparency, workflow optimization
Ethical Imperatives in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Published)
This article explores the ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence development and proposes a comprehensive framework for ensuring AI systems align with societal values and expectations. As AI technologies rapidly transform society across domains, the imperative for responsible development frameworks has never been more critical. The concept of “Responsible AI” represents a paradigm that maximizes benefits while systematically mitigating potential risks. The article examines four cornerstones of AI ethics: accountability, privacy, robustness, and non-maleficence, which form the ethical foundation upon which responsible AI systems must be built. Transparency and explainability are identified as fundamental requirements for building trustworthy AI systems, with methods that make decision-making processes intelligible to humans addressing the “black box” problem. The article also addresses the problem of algorithmic bias and proposes structured strategies for identifying and mitigating unfair outcomes across demographic groups. Finally, practical mechanisms to embedding ethics within organizational structures and decision-making processes are outlined, emphasizing that mature governance paradigms integrate ethical considerations throughout the entire AI lifecycle—from initial concept through deployment and ongoing monitoring.
Keywords: Responsible AI, algorithmic bias, artificial intelligence ethics, governance frameworks, inclusive design, transparency
Building Digital Trust in Healthcare: Empowering Users to Define their Tracking Boundaries (Published)
In the increasingly digital world, trust serves as a cornerstone for consumer interaction, particularly in assuring users that they are engaging with legitimate and reliable applications or platforms. This is particularly crucial within the healthcare sector, where transparency is vital throughout the consumer journey—from plan selection and purchase to the delivery of healthcare services. This article delves into the critical role of digital trust and transparency, addressing prevalent concerns and examining the benefits of building trust and maintaining transparency. Furthermore, it explores technical solutions designed to address these challenges, aiming to enhance patient engagement and improve health outcomes effectively. Data privacy is acknowledged as an important aspect but remains out of the scope of this discussion.
Keywords: digital tracking, digital trust, privacy concerns, transparency