Search results for: private information retrieval (PIR)

Authors: Meng-Cong Zheng, Yu-Sheng Chen

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The meeting behavior is a pervasive kind of interaction, which often occurs between the passenger and the shuttle. However, the meeting point set up at the Taoyuan International Airport is too far from the entry-exit, often causing passengers to stop searching near the entry-exit. When the number of people waiting for the rush hour increases, it often results in chaos in the waiting area. This study tried to find out what is the key factor to promote the rapid finding of each other between the passengers and the pick-ups. Then we implemented several design proposals to improve the meeting behavior of passengers and pick-ups based on behavior mapping and post-occupancy evaluation to enhance their meeting efficiency in unfamiliar environments. The research base is the reception hall of the second terminal of Taoyuan International Airport. Behavioral observation and mapping are implemented on the entry of inbound passengers into the welcome space, including the crowd distribution of the people who rely on the separation wall in the waiting area, the behavior of meeting and the interaction between the inbound passengers and the pick-ups. Then we redesign the space planning and signage design based on post-occupancy evaluation to verify the effectiveness of space plan and signage design. This study found that passengers ignore existing meeting-point designs which are placed on distant pillars at both ends. The position of the screen affects the area where the receiver is stranded, causing the pick-ups to block the passenger's moving line. The pick-ups prefer to wait where it is easy to watch incoming passengers and where it is closest to the mode of transport they take when leaving. Large visitors tend to gather next to landmarks, and smaller groups have a wide waiting area in the lobby. The location of the meeting point chosen by the pick-ups is related to the view of the incoming passenger. Finally, this study proposes an improved design of the meeting point, setting the traffic information in it, so that most passengers can see the traffic information when they enter the country. At the same time, we also redesigned the pick-ups desk to improve the efficiency of passenger meeting.

Keywords: meeting point design, post-occupancy evaluation, behavioral mapping, international airport

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Sisira Edirippulige

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Background: Digital health education and training (DHET) is imperative for preparing current and future clinicians to work competently in digitally enabled environments. Despite rapid integration of digital health in modern health services, systematic education and training opportunities for health workers is still lacking. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate healthcare professionals’ perspectives and expectations regarding the knowledge, skills and competency needs in digital health for current and future healthcare workforce. Methods: A qualitative study design with semi-structured individual interviews was employed. A purposive sample method was adopted to collect relevant information from the health workers. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) was followed when we reported this study. Results: Two themes emerged while analysing the data: (1) what to teach in DHET and (2) how to teach DHET. Overall, healthcare professionals agreed that DHET is important for preparing current and future clinicians for working competently in digitally enabled environments. Knowledge relating to what is digital health, types of digital health, use of technology and human factors in digital health were considered as important to be taught in DHET. Skills relating to digital health consultations, clinical information system management and remote monitoring were considered important to be taught. Blended learning which combined e-learning and classroom-based teaching, simulation sessions and clinical rotations were suggested by healthcare professionals as optimal approaches to deliver the above-mentioned content. Conclusions: This study is the first of its kind to investigate health professionals’ perspectives and expectations relating to the knowledge, skills and competency needs in digital health for current and future healthcare workforce. Healthcare workers are keen to acquire relevant knowledge, skills and competencies related to digital health. Different modes of education delivery is of interest to fit in with busy schedule of health workers.

Keywords: digital health, telehealth, telemedicine, education, curriculum

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: K. Power, M. White, B. Dunleavey, E. Comerford, C. Doherty, N. Delanty, R. Corbridge, M. Fitzsimons

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Introduction: Providing people with access to their own healthcare information and engaging them as co-authors of their health record can promote better transparency, trust, and inclusivity in the healthcare system. With the advent of electronic health records, there is a move towards involving patients as partners in their healthcare by providing them with access to their own health data via electronic patient portals (ePortal). For example, a recently developed ePortal to the Irish National Epilepsy Electronic Patient Record (EPR) provides access to summary medical records, tools for Patient Reported Outcomes (PROM), health goal-setting and preparation for clinical appointments. Aim: To determine what people with epilepsy (their families/carers) value about the Irish epilepsy ePortal. Methods: A socio-technical process was employed recruiting 30 families of people with epilepsy who also have an intellectual disability (ID). Family members who are a care partner of the person with epilepsy (PWE) were invited to co-design, develop and implement the ePortal. Family members engaged in usability and utility testing which involved a face to face meeting to learn about the ePortal, register for a user account and evaluate its structure and content. Family members were instructed to login to the portal on at least two separate occasions following the meeting and to complete a self-report evaluation tool during this time. The evaluation tool, based on a Usability Questionnaire (Lewis, 1993), consists of a short assessment of comfort using technology, instructions for using the ePortal and some tasks to complete. Tasks included validating summary record details, assessing ePortal ease of use, evaluation of information presented. Participants were asked for suggestions on how to improve the portal and make it more applicable to PWE who also have an ID. Results: Family members responded positively to the ePortal and valued the ability to share information between clinicians and care partners; use the ePortal as a passport between different healthcare settings (e.g., primary care to hospital). In the context of elderly parents of PWE, the ePortal is valued as a tool for supporting shared care between family members. Participants welcomed the facility to log lists of questions and goals to discuss with the clinician at the next clinical appointment as a means of improving quality of care. Participants also suggested further enhancements to the ePortal such as access to clinic letters which can provide an aide memoir in terms of the careplan agreed with the clinical team. For example, through the ePortal, people could see what investigations or therapies are scheduled. Conclusion: The Epilepsy Patient Portal is accessible via a range of devices such as smartphones and tablets. ePortals have the potential to help personalise care, improve patient involvement in clinical decision making, engage them as quality and safety partners, and help clinicians be more responsive to patient needs. Acknowledgement: The epilepsy ePortal project is part of PISCES, a Lighthouse Project funded by eHealth Ireland and HSE to help build an understanding of the benefits of eHealth technologies in the Irish Healthcare System.

Keywords: electronic patient portal, electronic patient record, epilepsy, intellectual disability, usability testing

Procedia PDF Downloads 340

Authors: Violet Petit-Steeghs, Jochem J. R. Van Roon, Jacqueline E. W. Broerse

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Last decennia the retirement age in Europe is gradually increasing. As a result, people have to continue working for a longer period of time. Health problems due to increased sedentary behavior and mental conditions like burn-out, pose a threat in fulfilling employees’ working life. In order to stimulate the ability and willingness to work in the present and future, it is important to stay vital. Vitality is regarded in literature as a sense of energy, motivation and resilience. It is assumed that by increasing their vitality, employees will stay healthier and be more satisfied with their job, leading to a more sustainable employment and less absenteeism in the future. The aim of this project is to obtain insights into the experiences and barriers of employees, and specifically office workers, with regard to their vitality. These insights are essential in order to develop appropriate measures in the future. To get more insights in the experiences of office workers on their vitality, 8 focus group discussions were organized with 6-10 office workers from 4 different employers (an university, a national construction company and a large juridical and care service organization) in the Netherlands. The discussions were transcribed and analyzed via open coding. This project is part of a larger consortium project Provita2, and conducted in collaboration with University of Technology Eindhoven. Results showed that a range of interdependent factors form a complex network that influences office workers’ vitality. These factors can be divided in three overarching groups: (1) personal (2) organizational and (3) environmental factors. Personal intrinsic factors, relating to the office worker, comprise someone’s physical health, coping style, life style, needs, and private life. Organizational factors, relating to the employer, are the workload, management style and the structure, vision and culture of the organization. Lastly, environmental factors consist of the air, light, temperature at the workplace and whether the workplace is inspiring and workable. Office workers experienced barriers to improve their own vitality due to a lack of autonomy. On the one hand, because most factors were not only intrinsic but extrinsic, like work atmosphere or the temperature in the room. On the other hand, office workers were restricted in adapting both intrinsic as well as extrinsic factors. Restrictions to for instance the flexibility of working times and the workload, can set limitations for improving vitality through personal factors like physical activity and mental relaxation. In conclusion, a large range of interdependent factors influence the vitality of office workers. Office workers are often regarded to have a responsibility to improve their vitality, but are limitedly autonomous in adapting these factors. Measures to improve vitality should therefore not only focus on increasing awareness among office workers, but also on empowering them to fulfill this responsibility. A holistic approach that takes the complex mutual dependencies between the different factors and actors (like managers, employees and HR personnel) into account is highly recommended.

Keywords: occupational health, perspectives office workers, sustainable employment, vitality at work, work & wellbeing

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Vijayabhaskar Reddy Kandula, Peter Provost Taillac, Balasubramanya M. A., Ram Krishnan Nair, Gokul Toshnival, Vibhu Dhawan, Vijaya Karanam, Buffy Cramer

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Introduction: The lack of Emergency Care Services (ECS) is a cause of extensive and serious public health problems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), Many LMIC countries have ambulance services that allow timely transfer of ill patients but due to poor care during the ‘Golden Hour’ many deaths occur which are otherwise preventable. Lack of adequate training as evidenced by a study in India is a major reason for poor care during the ‘Golden Hour’. Adapting developed country models which includes staffing specialty-trained doctors in emergency care, is neither feasible nor guarantees cost-effective ECS. Methods: Based on our assessment and felt needs by first-line doctors providing emergency care in 2014, Rajiv Gandhi Health Sciences University’s JeevaRaksha Trust in partnership with the University of Utah, USA, designed, piloted and successfully implemented a 4-day Comprehensive-Emergency Care and Life Support course (C-ECLS) for allopathic doctors. 1730 doctors completed the 4-day course between June 2014 and December- 2020. Subsequently, we conducted a survey to investigate the utilization rates and usefulness of the training. 1662 were contacted but only 309 completed the survey. The respondents had the following designations: Senior faculty (33%), junior faculty (25), Resident (16%), Private-Practitioners (8%), Medical-Officer (16%) and not-working (11%). 51% were generalists (51%) and the rest were specialists (>30 specialties). Results: 97% (271/280) felt they are better doctors because of C-ECLS. 79% (244/309) reported that training helped to save life- specialists more likely than generalists (91% v/s 68%. P<0.05). 64% agreed that they were confident of managing COVID-19 symptomatic patients better because of C-ECLS. 27% (77) were neutral; 9% (24) disagreed. 66% agreed that training helps to be confident in managing COVID-19 critically ill patients. 26% (72) were neutral; 8% (23) disagreed. Frequency of use of C-ECLS skills: Hemorrhage-control (70%), Airway (67%), circulation skills (62%), Safe-transport and communication (60%), managing critically ill patients (58%), cardiac arrest (51%), Trauma (49%), poisoning/animal bites/stings (44%), neonatal-resuscitation (39%), breathing (36%), post-partum-hemorrhage and eclampsia (35%). Among those who used the skills, the majority (ranging from (88%-94%) reported that they were able to apply the skill more effectively because of ECLS training. Conclusion: JeevaRaksha’s C-ECLS is the world’s first comprehensive training. It improves the confidence of front-line doctors and enables them to provide quality care during the ‘Golden Hour’ of emergency. It also prepares doctors to manage unknown emergencies (e.g., COVID-19). C-ECLS was piloted in Morocco, and Uzbekistan and implemented countrywide in Bhutan. C-ECLS is relevant to most settings and offers a replicable model across LMIC.

Keywords: comprehensive emergency care and life support, training, capacity building, low- and middle-income countries, developing countries

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Authors: Fatemeh Jannesarvatan, Ghazaal Parastooei, Jimmy frerejan, Saedeh Mokhtari, Peter Van Rosmalen

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Medical and dental education increasingly emphasizes the acquisition, integration, and coordination of complex knowledge, skills, and attitudes that can be applied in practical situations. Instructional design approaches have focused on using real-life tasks in order to facilitate complex learning in both real and simulated environments. The Four component instructional design (4C/ID) model has become a useful guideline for designing instructional materials that improve learning transfer, especially in health profession education. The objective of this study was to apply the 4C/ID model in the creation of virtual patients (VPs) that dental students can use to practice their clinical management and clinical reasoning skills. The study first explored the context and concept of complication factors and common errors for novices and how they can affect the design of a virtual patient program. The study then selected key dental information and considered the content needs of dental students. The design of virtual patients was based on the 4C/ID model's fundamental principles, which included: Designing learning tasks that reflect real patient scenarios and applying different levels of task complexity to challenge students to apply their knowledge and skills in different contexts. Creating varied learning materials that support students during the VP program and are closely integrated with the learning tasks and students' curricula. Cognitive feedback was provided at different levels of the program. Providing procedural information where students followed a step-by-step process from history taking to writing a comprehensive treatment plan. Four virtual patients were designed using the 4C/ID model's principles, and an experimental design was used to test the effectiveness of the principles in achieving the intended educational outcomes. The 4C/ID model provides an effective framework for designing engaging and successful virtual patients that support the transfer of knowledge and skills for dental students. However, there are some challenges and pitfalls that instructional designers should take into account when developing these educational tools.

Keywords: 4C/ID model, virtual patients, education, dental, instructional design

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Authors: Irina-Emily Hansen, Ola Jon Mork

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The European economic growth strategy and supporting it framework for research and innovation highlight the importance of nurturing new open innovation in order to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. One of the main approaches to enhance innovation in European society is the Triple Helix model that centres on science- industry collaboration where the universities are assigned the managerial role. In spite of the defined collaboration strategy, the collaboration between academics and in-dustry in Europe has still many challenges. Many of them are explained by culture difference: academic culture aims towards scientific knowledge, while businesses are oriented towards pro-duction and profitable results; also execution of collaborative projects is seen differently by part-ners involved. That proves that traditional management strategies applied to collaboration between researchers and businesses are not effective. There is a need for dynamic strategies that can support the interaction between researchers and industry intensifying knowledge co-creation and contributing to development of national innovation system (NIS) by incorporating individual, organizational and inter-organizational learning. In order to find a good subject to follow, the researchers of a given paper have investigated one of the most rapidly developing knowledge-based, innovation society, Singapore. Singapore does not dispose much land- or sea- resources that normally provide income for any country. Therefore, Singapore was forced to think differently and build society on resources that are available: talented people and knowledge. Singapore has during the last twenty years developed attracting high rated university camps, research institutions and leading industrial companies from all over the world. This article elucidates and elaborates Singapore’s national innovation strategies from Knowledge Management perspective. The research is done on the variety of organizations that enable and support knowledge development in this state: governmental research and development (R&D) centers in universities, private talent incubators for entrepreneurs, and industrial companies with own R&D departments. The research methods are based on presentations, documents, and visits at a number of universities, research institutes, innovation parks, governmental institutions, industrial companies and innovation exhibitions in Singapore. In addition, a literature review of science articles is made regarding the topic. The first finding is that objectives of collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs and industry in Singapore correspond primary goals of the state: knowledge- and economy growth. There are common objectives for all stakeholders on all national levels. The second finding is that Singapore has enabled system on a national level that supports innovation the entire way from fostering or capturing the new knowledge, providing knowledge exchange and co-creation to application of it in real-life. The conclusion is that innovation means not only new idea, but also the enabling mechanism for its execution and the marked-oriented approach in order that new knowledge can be absorbed in society. The future research can be done with regards to application of Singapore knowledge management strategy in innovation to European countries.

Keywords: knowledge management strategy, national innovation system, research industry and business collaboration, knowledge enabling

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Authors: M. Saba, A. Iaaly, E. Carlier, N. Georges

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This research focuses on assessing the ground water quality of Northern Lebanon affected by saline water intrusion. The chemical, physical and microbiological parameters were collected in various seasons spanning over the period of two years. Results were assessed using Geographic Information System (GIS) due to its visual capabilities in presenting the pollution extent in the studied region. Future projections of the excessive pumping were also simulated using GIS in order to assess the extent of the problem of saline intrusion in the near future.

Keywords: GIS, saline water, quality control, drinkable water quality standards, pumping

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Mohammad Hadi Khorashadi Zadeh, Amin Karkon, Seyd Mohammad Reza Mashhoori ‎

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the technology of Computer audit played a major role in the progress and ‎prospects of a proper application to improve the quality and efficiency of audit ‎work. But due to the technical complexity and the specific risks of computer ‎audit, it should be shown effective in audit and preventive action. Mainly through ‎research in this paper, we proposes the causes of audit risk in a computer ‎environment and the risk of further proposals for measures to control, to some ‎extent reduce the risk of computer audit and improve the audit quality.‎

Keywords: computer auditing, risk, measures to prevent, information technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 489

Authors: Sujesh F. Sujan, Steve W. Jones, Arto Kiviniemi

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The use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the Architectural-Engineering-Construction (AEC) industry is a form of systemic innovation. Unlike incremental innovation, (such as the technological development of CAD from hand based drawings to 2D electronically printed drawings) any form of systemic innovation in Project-Based Inter-Organisational Networks requires complete collaboration and results in numerous benefits if adopted and utilised properly. Proper use of BIM involves people collaborating with the use of interoperable BIM compliant tools. The AEC industry globally has been known for its adversarial and fragmented nature where firms take advantage of one another to increase their own profitability. Due to the industry’s nature, getting people to collaborate by unifying their goals is critical to successful BIM adoption. However, this form of innovation is often being forced artificially in the old ways of working which do not suit collaboration. This may be one of the reasons for its low global use even though the technology was developed more than 20 years ago. Therefore, there is a need to develop a metric/method to support and allow industry players to gain confidence in their investment into BIM software and workflow methods. This paper departs from defining systemic risk as a risk that affects all the project participants at a given stage of a project and defines categories of systemic risks. The need to generalise is to allow method applicability to any industry where the category will be the same, but the example of the risk will depend on the industry the study is done in. The method proposed seeks to use individual perception of an example of systemic risk as a key parameter. The significance of this study lies in relating the variance of individual perception of systemic risk to how much the team is collaborating. The method bases its notions on the claim that a more unified range of individual perceptions would mean a higher probability that the team is collaborating better. Since contracts and procurement devise how a project team operates, the method could also break the methodological barrier of highly subjective findings that case studies inflict, which has limited the possibility of generalising between global industries. Since human nature applies in all industries, the authors’ intuition is that perception can be a valuable parameter to study collaboration which is essential especially in projects that utilise systemic innovation such as BIM.

Keywords: building information modelling, perception of risk, systemic innovation, team collaboration

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Alexis Grandcoin, Stephanie Piel, Estelle Baures

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Brittany (France) is an agricultural region, where emerging pollutants are highly at risk to reach water bodies. Among them, pesticides metabolites are frequently detected in surface waters. The Vilaine watershed (11 000 km²) is of great interest, as a large drinking water treatment plant (100 000 m³/day) is located at the extreme downstream of it. This study aims to provide an evaluation of the pesticides metabolites pollution in the Vilaine watershed, and an understanding of their availability, in order to protect the water resource. Hydroclimatic conditions, land use, and water quality parameters controlling metabolites availability are emphasized. Later this knowledge will be used to understand the favoring conditions resulting in metabolites export towards surface water. 19 sampling points have been strategically chosen along the 220 km of the Vilaine river and its 3 main influents. Furthermore, the intakes of two drinking water plants have been sampled, one is located at the extreme downstream of the Vilaine river and the other is the riparian groundwater under the Vilaine river. 5 sampling campaigns with various hydroclimatic conditions have been carried out. Water quality parameters and hydroclimatic conditions have been measured. 15 environmentally relevant pesticides and metabolites have been analyzed. Also, these compounds are recalcitrant to classic water treatment that is why they have been selected. An evaluation of the watershed contamination has been done in 2016-2017. First observations showed that aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) and metolachlor ethanesulfonic acid (MESA) are the most detected compounds in surface waters samples with 100 % and 98 % frequency of detection respectively. They are the main pollutants of the watershed regardless of the hydroclimatic conditions. AMPA concentration in the river strongly increases downstream of Rennes agglomeration (220k inhabitants) and reaches a maximum of 2.3 µg/l in low waters conditions. Groundwater contains mainly MESA, Diuron and metazachlor ESA at concentrations close to limits of quantification (LOQ) (0.02 µg/L). Metolachlor, metazachlor and alachlor due to their fast degradation in soils were found in small amounts (LOQ – 0.2 µg/L). Conversely glyphosate was regularly found during warm and sunny periods up to 0.6 µg/L. Soil uses (agricultural cultures types, urban areas, forests, wastewater treatment plants implementation), water quality parameters, and hydroclimatic conditions have been correlated to pesticides and metabolites concentration in waters. Statistical treatments showed that chloroacetamides metabolites and AMPA behave differently regardless of the hydroclimatic conditions. Chloroacetamides are correlated to each other, to agricultural areas and to typical agricultural tracers as nitrates. They are present in waters the whole year, especially during rainy periods, suggesting important stocks in soils. Also Chloroacetamides are negatively correlated with AMPA, the different forms of phosphorus, and organic matter. AMPA is ubiquitous but strongly correlated with urban areas despite the recent French regulation, restricting glyphosate to agricultural and private uses. This work helps to predict and understand metabolites present in the water resource used to craft drinking water. As the studied metabolites are difficult to remove, this project will be completed by a water treatment part.

Keywords: agricultural watershed, AMPA, metolachlor-ESA, water resource

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Ziwei Song, Junjun Fan, Jeremy Teo, Yang Yu, Yukun Ma, Jie Yan, Shupei Mo, Lisa Tucker-Kellogg, Peter So, Hanry Yu

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Liver is the center of detoxification and exposed to toxic metabolites all the time. It is highly regenerative after injury, with the ability to restore even after 70% partial hepatectomy. Most of the previous studies were using hepatectomy as injury models for liver regeneration study. There is limited understanding of small-scale liver injury, which can be caused by either low dose drug consumption or hepatocyte routine metabolism. Although these small in situ injuries do not cause immediate symptoms, repeated injuries will lead to aberrant wound healing in liver. Therefore, the cellular dynamics during liver regeneration is critical for our understanding of liver regeneration mechanism. We aim to study the liver regeneration of small-scale in situ liver injury in transgenic mice labeling actin (Lifeact-GFP). Previous studies have been using sample sections and biopsies of liver, which lack real-time information. In order to trace every individual hepatocyte during the regeneration process, we have developed and optimized an intravital imaging system that allows in vivo imaging of mouse liver for consecutive 5 days, allowing real-time cellular tracking and quantification of hepatocytes. We used femtosecond-laser ablation to make controlled and repeatable liver injury model, which mimics the real-life small in situ liver injury. This injury model is the first case of its kind for in vivo study on liver. We found that small-scale in situ liver injury is repaired by the coordination of hypertrophy and migration of hepatocytes. Hypertrophy is only transient at initial phase, while migration is the main driving force to complete the regeneration process. From cellular aspect, Akt/mTOR pathway is activated immediately after injury, which leads to transient hepatocyte hypertrophy. From mechano-sensing aspect, the actin cable, formed at apical surface of wound proximal hepatocytes, provides mechanical tension for hepatocyte migration. This study provides important information on both chemical and mechanical signals that promote liver regeneration of small in situ injury. We conclude that hypertrophy and migration play a dominant role at different stages of liver regeneration.

Keywords: hepatocyte, hypertrophy, intravital imaging, liver regeneration, migration

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Authors: Ardavan Zamanpour, Somaieh Yassari

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ZigBee protocol network was developed in industries and MIT laboratory in 1997. ZigBee is a wireless networking technology by alliance ZigBee which is designed to low board and low data rate applications. It is a Protocol which connects between electrical devises with very low energy and cost. The first version of IEEE 802.15.4 which was formed ZigBee was based on 2.4GHZ MHZ 912MHZ 868 frequency band. The name of system is often reminded random directions that bees (BEES) traversing during pollination of products. Such as alloy of the ways in which information packets are traversed within the mesh network. This paper aims to study the performance and effectiveness of this protocol in wireless networks.

Keywords: ZigBee, protocol, wireless, networks

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Authors: Enji E. Alzamzami, Kholod A. Almwallad, Rahaf J. Alwafi, Roaa H. Alansari, Shatha S. Alshehri, Aeshah A. Alsiyami

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This paper demonstrates a system that helps solve the congestion problem at the entrance gates and limits the spread of viruses among people in crowded environments, such as COVID-19, using the IoT (Internet of Things). This system may assist in organizing the campus entry process efficiently by developing a smart card application supported by NFC (Near Field Communication) technology through which users' information could be sent to a reader to share it with the server and allow the server to perform its tasks and send a confirmation response for the request either by acceptance or rejection.

Keywords: COVID-19, IoT, NFC technology, smart card

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Yusuf Adebayo Oduwole

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The evaluation of blockchain technology's potential effects on the accounting and auditing fields is the main objective of this essay. It also adds to the existing body of work by examining how these practices alter technological concerns, including cryptocurrency accounting, regulation, governance, accounting practices, and technical challenges. Examples of this advancement include the growth of the concept of blockchain and its application in accounting. This technology is being considered one of the digital revolutions that could disrupt the world and civilization as it can transfer large volumes of virtual currencies like cryptocurrencies with the help of a third party. The basis for this research is a systematic review of the articles using Vosviewer to display and reflect on the bibliometric information of the articles accessible on the Scopus database. Also, as the practice of using blockchain technology in the field of accounting and auditing is still in its infancy, it may be useful to carry out a more thorough analysis of any implications for accounting and auditing regarding aspects of governance, regulation, and cryptocurrency that have not yet been discussed or addressed to any significant extent. The main findings on the relationship between blockchain and accounting show that the application of smart contracts, such as triple-entry accounting, has increased the quality of accounting records as well as reliance on the information available. This results in fewer cyclical assignments, no need for resolution, and real-time accounting, among others. Thereby, to integrate blockchain through a computer system, one must continuously learn and remain naive when using blockchain-integrated accounting software. This includes learning about how cryptocurrencies are accounted for and regulated. In this study, three original and contributed efforts are presented. To offer a transparent view of the state of previous relevant studies and research works in accounting and auditing that focus on blockchain, it begins by using bibliographic visibility analysis and a Scopus narrative analysis. Second, it highlights legislative, governance, and ethical concerns, such as education, where it tackles the use of blockchain in accounting and auditing. Lastly, it examines the impact of blockchain technologies on the accounting recognition of cryptocurrencies. Users of the technology should, therefore, take their time and learn how it works, as well as keep abreast of the different developments. In addition, the accounting industry must integrate blockchain certification and practice, most likely offline or as part of university education for those intending to become auditors or accountants.

Keywords: blockchain, crypto assets, governance, regulation & smart contracts

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Authors: Wen Cai Ng, Saman Ilankoon, Meng Nan Chong

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The vast increase in global energy demand, coupled with the growing concerns on environmental issues, has triggered the search for cleaner alternative energy sources. In view of this, the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting offers a sustainable hydrogen (H2) production route that only requires solar energy, water, and PEC system operating in an ambient environment. However, the current advancement of PEC water splitting technologies is still far from the commercialization benchmark indicated by the solar-to-H2 (STH) efficiency of at least 10 %. This is largely due to the shortcomings of photoelectrodes used in the PEC system, such as the rapid recombination of photogenerated charge carriers and limited photo-responsiveness in the visible-light spectrum. Silver orthophosphate (Ag3PO4) possesses many desirable intrinsic properties for the fabrication into photoanode used in PEC systems, such as narrow bandgap of 2.4 eV and low valence band (VB) position. Hence, in this study, a highly efficient Ag3PO4-based photoanode was synthesized and characterized. The surface of the Ag foil substrate was directly oxidized to fabricate a top layer composed of {111}-bound Ag3PO4 tetrahedrons layer with a porous structure, forming the dual-layer Ag/Ag3PO4 photoanode. Furthermore, the key synthesis parameters were systematically investigated by varying the concentration ratio of capping agent-to-precursor (R), the volume ratio of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-to-water, and reaction period. Results showed that the optimized dual-layer Ag/Ag3PO4 photoanode achieved a photocurrent density as high as 4.19 mA/cm2 at 1 V vs. Ag/AgCl for the R-value of 4, the volume ratio of H2O2-to-water of 3:5 and 20 h reaction period. The current work provides a solid foundation for further nanoarchitecture modification strategies on Ag3PO4-based photoanodes for more efficient PEC water splitting applications. This piece of information needs to be backed up by evidence; therefore, you need to provide a reference. As the abstract should be self-contained, all information requiring a reference should be removed. This is a fact known to the area of research, and not necessarily required a reference to support.

Keywords: solar-to-hydrogen fuel, photoelectrochemical water splitting, photoelectrode, silver orthophosphate

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Authors: S. Thomet, S. De-Paoli, F. Ghaffari, J. M. Daveau, P. Roche, O. Romain

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In this paper, we present a hardware module dedicated to understanding the fail reason of a System on Chip (SoC) exposed to a particle beam. Impact of Single-Event Effects (SEE) on processor-based SoCs is a concern that has increased in the past decade, particularly for terrestrial applications with automotive safety increasing requirements, as well as consumer and industrial domains. The SEE created by the impact of a particle on an SoC may have consequences that can end to instability or crashes. Specific hardening techniques for hardware and software have been developed to make such systems more reliable. SoC is then qualified using cosmic ray Accelerated Soft-Error Rate (ASER) to ensure the Soft-Error Rate (SER) remains in mission profiles. Understanding where errors are occurring is another challenge because of the complexity of operations performed in an SoC. Common techniques to monitor an SoC running under a beam are based on non-intrusive debug, consisting of recording the program counter and doing some consistency checking on the fly. To detect and understand SEE, we have developed a module embedded within the SoC that provide support for recording probes, hardware watchpoints, and a memory mapped register bank dedicated to software usage. To identify CPU failure modes and the most important resources to probe, we have carried out a fault injection campaign on the RTL model of the SoC. Probes are placed on generic CPU registers and bus accesses. They highlight the propagation of errors and allow identifying the failure modes. Typical resulting errors are bit-flips in resources creating bad addresses, illegal instructions, longer than expected loops, or incorrect bus accesses. Although our module is processor agnostic, it has been interfaced to a RISC-V by probing some of the processor registers. Probes are then recorded in a ring buffer. Associated hardware watchpoints are allowing to do some control, such as start or stop event recording or halt the processor. Finally, the module is also providing a bank of registers where the firmware running on the SoC can log information. Typical usage is for operating system context switch recording. The module is connected to a dedicated debug bus and is interfaced to a remote controller via a debugger link. Thus, a remote controller can interact with the monitoring module without any intrusiveness on the SoC. Moreover, in case of CPU unresponsiveness, or system-bus stall, the recorded information can still be recovered, providing the fail reason. A preliminary version of the module has been integrated into a test chip currently being manufactured at ST in 28-nm FDSOI technology. The module has been triplicated to provide reliable information on the SoC behavior. As the primary application domain is automotive and safety, the efficiency of the module will be evaluated by exposing the test chip under a fast-neutron beam by the end of the year. In the meantime, it will be tested with alpha particles and electromagnetic fault injection (EMFI). We will report in the paper on fault-injection results as well as irradiation results.

Keywords: fault injection, SoC fail reason, SoC soft error rate, terrestrial application

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Authors: Rafaella Nogaroli

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It is presented hypothetical cases in the context of AI algorithms to support clinical decisions, in order to discuss the importance of doctors to respect AI ethical principles. Regarding the principle of transparency and explanation, there is an impact on the new model of patient consent and on the understanding of qualified information. Besides, the human control of technology (AI as a tool) should guide the physician's activity; otherwise, he breaks the patient's legitimate expectation in a specific result, with the consequent transformation of the medical obligation nature.

Keywords: medical law, artificial intelligence, ethical principles, patient´s informed consent, medical obligations

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Authors: Felipe Villegas-Velasquez, Harold Pantoja-Villota, Sergio Holguin-Cardona, Alejandro Osorio-Botero, Brayan Candamil-Arango

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Colombian electricity comes mainly from hydric resources, affected by environmental variations such as the El Niño phenomenon. That is why incorporating other types of resources is necessary to provide electricity constantly. This research seeks to fill the wind speed and global solar irradiance dataset for two years with the highest amount of information. A further result is the characterization of the data by region that led to infer which errors occurred and offered the incomplete dataset.

Keywords: energy, wind speed, global solar irradiance, Colombia, imputation

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Authors: Ahmad Alwosheel, Ahmed Alqaraawi

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This work proposes a new speaker segmentation approach for two speakers. It is an online approach that does not require a prior information about speaker models. It has two phases, a conventional approach such as unsupervised BIC-based is utilized in the first phase to detect speaker changes and train a Neural Network, while in the second phase, the output trained parameters from the Neural Network are used to predict next incoming audio stream. Using this approach, a comparable accuracy to similar BIC-based approaches is achieved with a significant improvement in terms of computation time.

Keywords: artificial neural network, diarization, speaker indexing, speaker segmentation

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Authors: Fazal-e-Amin, Abdullah S. Alghamdi, Iftikhar Ahmad

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Software ecosystems’ concept is an inspiration from the natural ecosystem. Software ecosystems refer to large systems developed on top of a platform composed of different components developed by different entities of that ecosystem. Ecosystems improve information access, dissemination and coordination considerably. The ability to evolve and accommodate new subsystems gives a boost to the software ecosystems. In this paper, Saudi education software ecosystem is discussed and its need and potential benefits are highlighted. This work will provide a basis for further research in this area and foundation in development of Saudi education ecosystem.

Keywords: software ecosystem, education software, framework, software engineering

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Authors: Manuel Alejandro Taborda Ceballos, Martin Sommerfeld

Abstract:

Transport phenomena and dispersion of non-spherical particle in turbulent flows are found everywhere in industrial application and processes. Powder handling, pollution control, pneumatic transport, particle separation are just some examples where the particle encountered are not only spherical. These types of multiphase flows are wall bounded and mostly highly turbulent. The particles found in these processes are rarely spherical but may have various shapes (e.g., fibers, and rods). Although research related to the behavior of regular non-spherical particles in turbulent flows has been carried out for many years, it is still necessary to refine models, especially near walls where the interaction fiber-wall changes completely its behavior. Imaging-based experimental studies on dispersed particle-laden flows have been applied for many decades for a detailed experimental analysis. These techniques have the advantages that they provide field information in two or three dimensions, but have a lower temporal resolution compared to point-wise techniques such as PDA (phase-Doppler anemometry) and derivations therefrom. The applied imaging techniques in dispersed two-phase flows are extensions from classical PIV (particle image velocimetry) and PTV (particle tracking velocimetry) and the main emphasis was simultaneous measurement of the velocity fields of both phases. In a similar way, such data should also provide adequate information for validating the proposed models. Available experimental studies on the behavior of non-spherical particles are uncommon and mostly based on planar light-sheet measurements. Especially for elongated non-spherical particles, however, three-dimensional measurements are needed to fully describe their motion and to provide sufficient information for validation of numerical computations. For further providing detailed experimental results allowing a validation of numerical calculations of non-spherical particle dispersion in turbulent flows, a water channel test facility was built around a horizontal closed water channel. Into this horizontal main flow, a small cross-jet laden with fiber-like particles was injected, which was also solely driven by gravity. The dispersion of the fibers was measured by applying imaging techniques based on a LED array for backlighting and high-speed cameras. For obtaining the fluid velocity fields, almost neutrally buoyant tracer was used. The discrimination between tracer and fibers was done based on image size which was also the basis to determine fiber orientation with respect to the inertial coordinate system. The synchronous measurement of fluid velocity and fiber properties also allow the collection of statistics of fiber orientation, velocity fields of tracer and fibers, the angular velocity of the fibers and the orientation between fiber and instantaneous relative velocity. Consequently, an experimental study the behavior of elongated non-spherical particles in wall bounded turbulent flows was achieved. The development of a comprehensive analysis was succeeded, especially near the wall region, where exists hydrodynamic wall interaction effects (e.g., collision or lubrication) and abrupt changes of particle rotational velocity. This allowed us to predict numerically afterwards the behavior of non-spherical particles within the frame of the Euler/Lagrange approach, where the particles are therein treated as “point-particles”.

Keywords: crossflow, non-spherical particles, particle tracking velocimetry, PIV

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Authors: Ibtihal D. Mustafa, Mawia A. Hassan

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Tumor segmentation from MRI image is important part of medical images experts. This is particularly a challenging task because of the high assorting appearance of tumor tissue among different patients. MRI images are advance of medical imaging because it is give richer information about human soft tissue. There are different segmentation techniques to detect MRI brain tumor. In this paper, different procedure segmentation methods are used to segment brain tumors and compare the result of segmentations by using correlation and structural similarity index (SSIM) to analysis and see the best technique that could be applied to MRI image.

Keywords: MRI, segmentation, correlation, structural similarity

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Authors: Robert Lenzie

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Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) is significant in the research literature. However, the effects of tES on brain activity are still poorly understood at the surface level, the Brodmann Area level, and the impact on neural networks. Using a method like electroencephalography (EEG) in conjunction with tES might make it possible to comprehend the brain response and mechanisms behind published observed alterations in more depth. Using a method to directly see the effect of tES on EEG may offer high temporal resolution data on the brain activity changes/modulations brought on by tES that correlate to various processing stages within the brain. This paper provides unpublished information on a cutting-edge methodology that may reveal details about the dynamics of how the human brain works beyond what is now achievable with existing methods.

Keywords: tACS, frequency, EEG, optimal

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Authors: Yobo Opare-Addo

Abstract:

Ghana came under a military and democratic rule of the same leadership from 1981-2000. These were the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC), a military government and a democratic government, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) both under the leadership of Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings. Meanwhile the year 1985 marked a turning point in the development of the tourism industry in Ghana. Interest in tourism among African governments and for that matter the ‘PNDC cum NDC Government’ (PNDC/NDC) arose because of adverse developments in intangible exports and a corresponding decline in commodity export earnings. The ‘PNDC/NDC Government’ undertook measures and policies to improve the tourism industry and at the same time embarked on export diversification to reap the foreign exchange that the industry could generate in Ghana. The objective of this paper is to examine the measures and policies of the PNDC/NDC to improve the tourism industry in order to reap the foreign exchange. It specifically interrogates the role of the government as an agent of tourism development, through its deliberate creation of a conducive environment for tourism to flourish, the involvement of the private sector both foreign and local and the provision of tourism facilities and infrastructure and how these factors impacted on the tourism industry in Ghana. In the final analysis it evaluates the degree of success of the PNDC/NDC Government in this arena of Ghana’s socio-cultural and economic development. Introduction The Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC), a military government under the leadership of Flt. Lt J.J. Rawlings overthrew a constitutionally elected government of People’s National Party in 1981. In 1992, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the general election conducted in December. Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings, the party’s leader became the President of the Fourth Republic from January 1993 to December 2000. It was refreshing to see Ghanaians embrace democracy with renewed energy, zeal, and enthusiasm. This paper takes a critical look at the efforts of the PNDC cum NDC Government (PNDC/NDC) to develop tourism in Ghana during the period from 1981-2000 Methodology: Qualitative method of research was adopted for the study. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources, and analysis was done using descriptive analysis because descriptive analysis made it possible to describe or summarize the statistical data in the research. To gather data from primary sources, questionnaires, oral interviews, and semi-structured discussions were conducted. Respondents included public officials from Ghana Tourist Board, Ministry of Tourism, Hoteliers, restaurant operators and travel and tour operators in Accra. Secondary data sources included articles in journals, reports, magazines, bulletins, and books. The major findings included statistical data for tourism arrivals and receipts during the period and the status of the industry by the year 2000. Conclusion: The paper contributes to knowledge on political and historical aspects of tourism development in Ghana, which is almost non-existent, attitudes of the PNDC cum NDC government towards tourism development and the debates on the generation of foreign exchange to Ghana and third world countries.

Keywords: ghana, infrastructure, policies, privatization, tourism facilities

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Authors: Enobong Akpan-Etuk

Abstract:

The willingness of smallholder farmers in Africa to adopt new agricultural technologies has been low, despite the technological advancement in agriculture. Although technology is seen as the main route out of the traditional methods of food production and poverty, the rate of adoption of agricultural technology remains low among farmers in Africa. Factors affecting the adoption of agricultural technologies include the acquisition of information, characteristics of the technology, education of farmers, social capital, farm size, and household size. This paper explored the literature on the influence of the factors that determine the adoption of technology by smallholder farmers.

Keywords: smallholder, technology, adoption

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Authors: Chayma Bahar, Chokri Baccouch, Hedi Sakli, Nizar Sakli

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Harvesting and transport of optical and radiofrequency signals are a topical subject with multiple challenges. In this paper, we present a Optical RECTENNA system. We propose here a hybrid system solar cell antenna for 5G mobile communications networks. Thus, we propose rectifying circuit. A parametric study is done to follow the influence of load resistance and input power on Optical RECTENNA system performance. Thus, we propose a solar cell antenna structure in the frequency band of future 5G standard in 2.45 GHz bands.

Keywords: antenna, IoT, optical rectenna, solar cell

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Authors: Jiraporn Weenuttranon

Abstract:

The objectives of the consumer behavior of bakery products in Bangkok are to study consumer behavior of the bakery product, to study the essential factors that could possibly affect the consumer behavior and to study recommendations for the development of the bakery products. This research is a survey research. Populations are buyer’s bakery products in Bangkok. The probability sample size is 400. The research uses a questionnaire for self-learning by using information technology. The researcher created a reliability value at 0.71 levels of significance. The data analysis will be done by using the percentage, mean, and standard deviation and testing the hypotheses by using chi-square.

Keywords: consumer, behavior, bakery, standard deviation

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Authors: Sašo Pečnik, Borut Žalik

Abstract:

This paper presents a real-time visualization technique and filtering of classified LiDAR point clouds. The visualization is capable of displaying filtered information organized in layers by the classification attribute saved within LiDAR data sets. We explain the used data structure and data management, which enables real-time presentation of layered LiDAR data. Real-time visualization is achieved with LOD optimization based on the distance from the observer without loss of quality. The filtering process is done in two steps and is entirely executed on the GPU and implemented using programmable shaders.

Keywords: filtering, graphics, level-of-details, LiDAR, real-time visualization

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Authors: Akriti Kafle Baral, Ruixing Zhang, Dzifa K Lalit, Manthar M Alli

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Introduction: Hemodialysis is the most common type of dialysis globally approximately million are reported to receive this type of dialysis. Psychosocial issues in hemodialysis are the psychological and socioeconomic burdens emanating from the initiation and course of treatment and have the potential for gross deterioration in the quality of life and general well-being of patients. Understanding the psychosocial issues and needs of patients undergoing hemodialysis could pave the way for comprehensive support and therapies designed to reduce stress, improve social support, and foster mental resilience. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the psychosocial issues and support needs of patients undergoing hemodialysis at a tertiary care center in Nepal. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted among 20 purposefully selected patients attending hemodialysis treatment at Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences, Nepal. Data was analyzed via thematic analysis. Results: The study resulted in three major themes which included Emotional, psychological, and spiritual struggles, Social and economic impacts, and Support and information needs. Moreover, 16 sub-themes emerged which are Frustration with daily life, Constant fear of death, Thoughts of self-harm, Perceived Burden on Family, Sense of Divine Punishment, Sense of Unfairness, Fear about future uncertainties, Social avoidance, Social stigmatization, Loss of employment, Financial strain, Transportation challenges, Need for early, clear and comprehensive information, Need for support and reassurance from family, Support through peer connections, and Reassurance from healthcare providers. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that patients undergoing hemodialysis in Nepal experience numerous hardships and multifaceted struggles that require support from different dimensions. Establishing robust support systems that include family involvement, peer networks, and effective communication from healthcare professionals can significantly mitigate feelings of anxiety and isolation.

Keywords: hemodialysis, psychosocial issues, support needs, chronic kidney disease, end stage renal disease, Nepal

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