Authentic Online Research Articles

Treatment of MRSA Infection: Where are We?

Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of septicemia, endocarditis, pneumonia, skin and soft tissue infections, bone and joint infections, and hospital-acquired infections. In particular, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, and continues to be a major public health problem. The emergence of multidrug-resistant MRSA strains along with the wide consumption of antibiotics has made anti-MRSA treatment a huge challenge. Novel treatment strategies (e.g., novel antimicrobials and new administrations) against MRSA are urgently needed. In the past decade, pharmaceutical companies have invested more in the research and development (R&D) of new antimicrobials and strategies, spurred by favorable policies. All research articles were collected from authentic online databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, by using different combinations of keywords, including 'anti-MRSA', 'antibiotic', 'antimicrobial', 'clinical trial', 'clinical phase', clinical studies', and 'pipeline'. The information extracted from articles was compared to information provided on the drug manufacturer's website and Clinical Trials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/) to confirm the latest development phase of anti-MRSA agents. The present review focuses on the current development status of new anti-MRSA strategies concerning chemistry, pharmacological target(s), indications, route of administration, efficacy and safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics, and aims to discuss the challenges and opportunities in developing drugs for anti-MRSA infections.

Should I believe this review? The impact of nicknames on perceived authenticity of online reviews in peer-to-peer accommodation

ABSTRACT To bridge the knowledge gap relating to consumers’ efforts to distinguish fake from authentic online reviews, this study explores the impact of different forms of address for P2P accommodation hosts (formal address vs. nickname) on consumers’ perceptions of review authenticity. Through three experiments, the results revealed that using a host’s nickname acted as a noteworthy social cue, notably enhancing consumers’ perceptions of authenticity, confirming the mediating role of inferred relationship closeness. This study offers a fresh perspective on online review authenticity literature and reveals a new research direction for tourism and hospitality, i.e. the novel concept of “inferred relationship closeness.”

Development and Evaluation of a Framework for Authentic Online Co-Design: Partnership-Focussed Principles-Driven Online Co-Design.

Co-design in health research involves patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) in intervention or service design. Traditionally, co-design is undertaken in-person; however, exploring online delivery is warranted. PPIE in co-design must be considered carefully, and assumptions that in-person approaches will transition automatically to an online environment should be avoided. Currently, there are a lack of evidence-informed approaches to facilitating co-design online. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a framework for authentically adapting health research co-design into an online environment. The initial framework was developed through a literature review, synthesis of in-person co-design principles, and alignment of online strategies. The framework was then applied to a co-design project with 10 participants across relevant PPIE groups (end-users [n = 4], clinicians [n = 2], coaches [n = 2] and clinician-researchers [n = 2]). Participants' experiences of the online co-design process were evaluated via a mixed-methods design using surveys and semi-structured interviews. Evaluation data were analysed using descriptive statistics and reflexive thematic analysis to inform a revised framework. The developed framework, Partnership-focussed Principles-driven Online co-Design (P-POD) was used to design eight 90 min online co-design workshops. Evaluation data involved 46 survey responses, and eight participants were interviewed on project completion. Survey data indicated that the process was satisfying, engaging and adhered to the P-POD framework. Themes derived from interview data describe a respectful and collaborative online culture, valuing of diverse perspectives and space for healthy debate, how power was perceived as being shared but not equal and multiple definitions of success within and beyond the process. A final, refined P-POD framework is presented. With evaluation of the initial P-POD framework showing evidence of adherence to co-design principles, positive participant experiences and goal achievement for both the project and the participants, the refined P-POD framework may be used and evaluated within future intervention or service design. This study involved the participants (end-users, clinicians and service providers) in the co-design process described, interpretation of the results through member-checking interview responses, assisting in development of the final framework and as co-authors for this manuscript.

Impact of GDP and Inflation on Stock Market Performance in Nepal and Sri Lanka: A Comparative study of NEPSE and CSE index

The stock market is a complex phenomena that can be influenced by a myriad of factors. However, gross domestic product and inflation rate are considered two most critical variables affecting the stock market’s performance. This research aims to investigate the impact of GDP and inflation on the volatility of stock exchange performance of Nepal and Sri Lanka by employing the Least Square Regression Approach. Both countries are situated in South Asia and boast agrarian-based economies. Additionally, they are renowned for their rich cultural heritage, ancient civilizations, and historical sites. As a result, this research is centred on investigating the unique aspects of these two nations. Time series data of closing stock of every fiscal year from 1997 to 2021 was collected from authentic online sources and analyzed with the help SPSS Version 20. The findings of this study indicate a significant influence of GDP and inflation on stock index of both countries (p-value < 0.05). The analysis further indicates that the microeconomic variables accounted for 78.7% and 91.9% of the stock index variation for Nepal and Sri Lanka, respectively. Furthermore, the study finds a strong positive correlation between GDP and stock index of both countries, while inflation exhibits a weak negative correlation with the NEPSE index and a moderate negative correlation with the CSE index. Despite the focus on only two independent macroeconomic variables, this research highlights their significant impact on stock market performance. Policymakers and investors can leverage these findings to make informed decisions while navigating the complexities of the stock market.

Challenges in implementing online assessments at Maldivian higher education institutions: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to abruptly adopt online assessments in place of traditional assessments, posing several challenges especially in the developing countries. The purpose of this study was to explore the challenges experienced by lecturers in implementing online assessments at HEIs in the Maldives, during the time of COVID-19 pandemic. Data was collected using qualitative, semi-structured interviews from a purposefully selected sample of 30 lecturers representing eleven different disciplines and ten HEIs in the country. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis method. Findings revealed seven major themes which include difficulties in keeping up with the fast-changing assessment policies; students ‘lack of awareness on institutional assessment policies and procedures; inadequate infrastructure and work-space to deliver online assessment; lack of technological competency of lecturers and students; issues related to work-load and time management; lecturers’ competency in designing online assessments; addressing student diversity; and ensuring academic integrity. In the light of these findings, it is recommended that both students and lecturers need to be made aware of institutional assessment policies, better training needs to be offered for lecturers to enhance their skills in designing and implementing online assessments so that they can offer more authentic online assessments that would enhance academic integrity.

Assessing Relationship of Student Learning Experiences and Academic Performances in Higher Education through Online Learning Platforms

In recent years, the entire world experienced the impact of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), leading to significant disruptions across various economic sectors, including the field of education. Since then, online learning has made a significant impact in addressing educational needs. This study’s primary objective is to assess the relationship between higher education student learning experiences and their academic performances through online learning platforms. This study adopts a quantitative approach with a descriptive, comparative, and correlational research design. Surveys through Google Forms were used as instruments to gather data from 119 mathematical students from the Faculty of Education, UiTM Puncak Alam. The survey encompasses 24 questions covering students’ personalization, learning authenticity, and collaboration in online learning settings. Results of this study indicate that students exhibited positive educational experiences, particularly in terms of personalization, authenticity, and collaboration. Lastly, the research also reveals a strong positive correlation between students’ experiences and academic performance, specifically in the factors of personalization, authenticity, and collaboration. These findings contribute valuable insights into the effectiveness of online learning for higher education students and highlight the importance of personalized and authentic online educational experiences in fostering academic success.

PRACTICAL BASICS OF ECO-ORIENTED EDUCATION OF FUTURE TEAC

The research relevance is stemmed from problems of introducing aspects of greening of education in the process of learning a foreign language at pedagogical universities. The research purpose is to develop a model for forming an eco-oriented worldview through a pedagogical approach in training future English language teachers. The main method for investigating this issue is the "Diagnosis of Personal Life Values” testing method developed by Sopov V.F. and Karpushina L.V., which allows for determining an individual's personal attitude towards various aspects of life based on their priorities in defining value orientations as an important component of their essence. The paper presents a model of the establishment of the foundations of personal eco principles based on fostering an internal ideology of respect for nature and environment within the framework of teaching a foreign language in pedagogical universities. This paper introduces a model for cultivating eco principles in individuals by fostering an internal ideology of respect for nature and the environment, integrated into the teaching of foreign languages at pedagogical universities. This model promotes an appreciation for living nature and all its components, including various natural elements and species, encouraging self-identification as a friend of nature. It includes both personal and social life, with a focus on value-driven motivations aimed at enhancing the quality of life for all living beings at every level. The development of an eco-oriented worldview in future English teachers is supported by engaging with authentic online presentations on nature and environment, including conferences, documentaries, and TV programs.

COGNITIVE MECHANISMS OF FORMATION OF TEMPORAL MEANINGS IN THE ADVERTISING TOURIST NARRATIVE

Background. The article considers cognitive mechanisms of the formation of the temporal meanings in the advertising tourist narrative. Relevance of the study is determined by its correlation with modern linguistic research aimed at studying linguistic semantics in its relationship with cognitive structures. Having a multicomponent structure, time is currently positioned as an attribute of human activity and also as a phenomenon of human existence. However, there is insufficient study of the interpretive potential of time, which makes research topic relevant.
 Purpose. The research purpose is as follows: to determine the cognitive mechanisms of the temporal organization of the advertising tourist narrative.
 Materials and methods. Language units of various levels were used for the study, obtained from authentic online texts of advertising tourist narrative. The main research methods include analysis and synthesis of theoretical material, the continuous sampling method, descriptive method, contextual analysis method as well as cognitive modeling method.
 Results. The results have shown that the main cognitive mechanisms of formation and interpretation of temporal meanings in the advertising tourist narrative include focusing, profiling, perspectivization, conceptual metaphor. Cognitive models of structuring temporal meanings, the source of which are the cognitive mechanisms outlined above, are considered.
 Practical implications. The research results can be used in the development of courses on general linguistics, lexicology and cognitive linguistics.

Do typing skills matter? Investigating university students’ typing speed and performance in online exams

ABSTRACT In response to COVID-19, universities worldwide experienced drastic and sudden changes including the need to shift to online teaching and assessment. Following previous research suggesting that individual differences in typing skills could influence text quantity and quality, we investigated whether university students’ typing speed is related to their performance in an online written exam, considering that low typing skills could potentially be disadvantageous. To this end, first-year university students participated in a copy-typing task immediately after completing a graded online exam. Results show a trend toward a triangular relationship between typing speed, text length and exam performance. Despite coefficients being small, this approach allows unique insights into externally valid data of university students’ typed free text production in an authentic online exam situation. Our findings emphasize the need for more research into this highly variable skill in order to understand and minimize unwanted interindividual differences that could possibly influence exam outcomes.

Understanding the antecedents of patients’ missed appointments: the perspective of attribution theory

The occurrence of missed appointments from online outpatient bookings significantly hinders the operational efficiency of outpatient services. This study aimed to investigate various factors influencing patients’ missed appointments from online outpatient bookings. Drawing on attribution theory, an empirical analysis was conducted using 382,004 authentic online outpatient appointments. The empirical findings revealed that appointment lead-time, appointment time, weekday appointments, online doctor rating, appointment doctor’s expertise, patient distance, and previous outpatient visit experience significantly influenced patients’ missed appointment behaviors from online outpatient bookings. Importantly, previous outpatient experience positively moderated the relationship between the appointment doctor’s expertise and patients’ missed-appointment behavior. This study provides insights into the factors influencing patients’ missed-appointment behavior from online outpatient bookings. It further offers a theoretical foundation for medical institutions in China to mitigate the likelihood and adverse effects of patients’ missed-appointment behavior from online outpatient bookings.

A Real-Time Predictive Model for Identifying Course Dropout in Online Higher Education

Course dropout is a concern in online higher education, mainly in first-year courses when different factors negatively influence the learners' engagement leading to an unsuccessful outcome or even dropping out from the university. The early identification of such potential at-risk learners is the key to intervening and trying to help them before they decide to drop out. This paper focuses on this challenging problem by providing a predictive dropout model with distinctive characteristics from previous approaches. First, the identification is in real time by providing a daily dropout prediction. Second, a temporal window of variable size is defined to evaluate the likelihood of being a dropout learner at the activity level. Such contributions will serve as a basis for designing and applying intervention mechanisms to reverse the course dropout at-risk situation. The predictive model and the temporal window have been evaluated on data from an authentic online learning setting in two first-year undergraduate courses. We show the accuracy of correctly identifying at-risk learners within activities and the model performance to detect actual course dropout learners.

«We are new farmers selling products from rural area»: the labor process to perform authenticity of live e-commerce sellers in China

This article examines the labor process to perform authenticity of live e-commerce sellers, so-called "new farmers", as entrepreneurial subjects, in rural China. The author conducted fieldwork in three live e-commerce teams for one year. Drawing on these data, this article elaborates the exploitative aspect of plat-form labor by describing the tension between mobilization narratives and the labor experience to perform authenticity. These mobilization narratives include interre-lated discourse praising performing authenticity of new farmers, including the ad-vantage of visualization technology, making the marginalized visible, and em-powerment for entrepreneurial individuals. However, these myth obscures the physical labor, gatekeeping process, and necessary capital to construct authentici-ty online. The author concludes by arguing the platform economy demands hybrid labor regime and enhances, instead of improving the social status of marginalized rural subjects.

VFAS: Reliable and Privacy-Preserving V2F Authentication Scheme for Road Condition Monitoring System in IoV

Fog-based road condition monitoring systems (RCMS) have been widely deployed to reduce traffic congestion and improve road safety. Considering the semi-credibility of fog nodes (FNs), it is vital to perform mutual authentication between vehicles and FNs (V2F). However, existing schemes require the remote trusted authority (TA) participating in V2F authentication online, which results in huge network delays. Besides, these schemes pre-store numerous pseudonyms and private keys into vehicles for identity privacy protection, resulting in an excessive memory burden. Moreover, most schemes fail to consider the reliability and confidentiality of road information provided by vehicles. Inspired by this, we design an reliable and privacy-preserving V2F authentication scheme (VFAS) without real-time participation of TA. Notably, pseudonyms and full private keys are produced by the vehicle itself rather than being pre-stored in the vehicle, which greatly reduces the vehicle's memory burden. Moreover, to ensure the reliability and confidentiality, FN receives road information encrypted with session keys from more than threshold ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\omega$</tex-math></inline-formula> ) different vehicles. Simulation result from real-world datasets is used to fix the threshold ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\omega$</tex-math></inline-formula> ). Formal security proofs and analysis show the VFAS's security properties. According to experimental results, the VFAS performs better than related works in regard to computation, communication and memory burden.

Recent Developments and Potential for Clinical Use of Casein as a Drug Carrier.

The development of drug delivery carriers is the key area of research in the field of novel drug delivery systems. To date, a long list of carriers has been identified for this purpose but the deliveries of poorly water-soluble active substances are still facing challenges and hence, such substances are pharmacologically unsafe and economically incompetent. This article aims to review the applications of casein as a drug carrier and its potential for clinical use. The relevant literature on the casein protein was collected from authentic online scientific databases like PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar using different keywords including "casein", "drug delivery system", "drug carrier" and "bioavailability". The articles and books accessed online have been thoroughly reviewed and the most relevant reports on casein as a drug carrier have only been included in the present study. Casein is a milk protein that has many structural and physicochemical properties which facilitate its functionality in delivery systems. Moreover, its amphiphilic nature makes it the most suitable carrier for both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs without showing any toxic effects. The carriers obtained from natural sources are trustworthy over synthetic carriers and in the demand of the market due to their easy availability, low-cost factor, bio-friendly and nontoxic nature. Casein was found to be an effective natural drug carrier in various delivery systems due to its unique applications in improving the bioavailability and efficacy of a drug.

Higher education teachers' and students' perceptions of open-book and proctored examinations in the COVID-19 pandemic

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education was forced to review its assessment processes. Competency achievement and academic honesty should be ensured in online assessments. In the Master of Educational Technology and Digital Competences of a Spanish University, the open-book examination model was implemented to respond to the new situation considering the characteristics of authentic assessment (adapted to students, intellectually challenging, related to practice, coherent with the didactic methodology, makes plagiarism difficult). We wanted to analyze the relevance of this change in evaluation. The main objective is to analyze the differences between traditional face-to-face exams from before the pandemic and open-book exams with and without proctoring according to the perception of teachers and students. The research is of an empirical nature and quantitative approach and is based on the responses of 66 teachers and 301 students to a questionnaire with sufficient validity (chi-2/Gl: 2.453, RMSEA: .069, CFI: .99 and TLI: .99), and an Omega reliability coefficient of .882. Comparisons were made between model A: traditional face-to-face examination, model B: open-book examination with proctoring, model C: open book examination without proctoring. The results show that for teachers and students open-book exams with or without proctoring had no significant differences and are more in line with an authentic assessment than face-to-face exams. It is concluded that open-book exams with or without proctoring are suitable for authentic online assessment in higher education. It is recommended to contrast the results in other online university courses and to encourage authentic assessment in higher education institutions.

“We Wear Face Shield and Mask”: COVID-19 Related Words and Phrases Used by Thai Learners of English

Since 2020, measures against the COVID-19 pandemic have been implemented worldwide, and these are reflected in language. The objectives of this study are to explore the use of COVID-19 - related words and terms in Thai learners of English, document their usage, and investigate their varieties and errors, and suggest pedagogical implications for using authentic online materials in teaching English. The data were the written language that were collected from January 2021 to July 2021 from online Facebook groups administered by students of an open university in Thailand. A qualitative descriptive method of analysis was used. Words and terms related to the pandemic were thematically categorized and analyzed considering loanwords and borrowing. Patterns of use were analyzed and compared with corpora. The findings emerged from the analysis. There are a number of COVID-19 related loanwords from English used by Thai learners of English and the conventionalization of these loanwords, varieties and errors are observed. Most of the loanwords were used in code-mixing, and this is likely the source of errors when Thai learners use these words in their English. The findings have some pedagogical implications. The paper recommended that teachers identify and correct students&amp;rsquo; errors immediately. Students should sometimes also be given some explanation about the errors in order to prevent potential overgeneralization of word use. Furthermore, the paper recommended that further research be carried out on the new terms that have been transferred to Thai language as loanwords, loan-translations and loan-blends.

Impact of using authentic online learning environments on students’ perceived employability

The digitalization and globalization of society and the corresponding impact on the rules of the labor market is shifting the education sector toward new pedagogical approaches that integrate wholly online methodologies. Sustainable Development Goal 4 advocates for inclusive and equitable quality education that promotes lifelong learning opportunities, and, as we have seen during the COVID-19 lockdown, online learning can play a key role. In a context where lifelong learning becomes crucial to maintaining graduates’ employability, the innovative teaching methodologies that promote employable competencies in online environments are especially desirable. With the purpose of improving the employability of students, this article analyses the impact of introducing the Authentic Learning Scenarios (ALS) paradigm in an online environment. We develop a quasi-experimental design. Based on the nine ALS criteria and their application to e-learning, we redesign a course in a business degree program. Data from 135 students were collected, with special focus on achieving general competences. We compare the perception of the competency profile attained between a group of students who took the course before incorporating the ALS paradigm and another group that took it once it had been redesigned. Results show that redesigning the course enables students to perceive the learning process as more authentic, as well as acquiring a more advanced competence profile. Besides this, it has been shown that technology can contribute to building cognitive authenticity in virtual classrooms, without the need for face-to-face internships, which are often not a feasible option for students of online programs.

Originality in online dating profile texts: How does perceived originality affect impression formation and what makes a text original?

This paper investigates origins and consequences of perceived profile text originality. The first goal was to examine whether the perceived originality of authentic online dating profile texts affects online daters’ perceptions of attractiveness, and whether perceptions of (less) desired partner personality traits mediate this effect. Results showed the positive impact of perceived profile text originality on impression formation: text originality positively affects perceptions of intelligence and sense of humor, which improve impressions of attractiveness and boost dating intention. The second goal was to explore what profile text features increase perceptions of profile text originality. Results revealed profile texts which were stylistically original (e.g., include metaphors) and contained more and concrete self-disclosure statements were considered more original, explaining almost half of the variance in originality scores. Taken together, our results suggest that perceived originality in profile texts is manifested in both meaning and form, and is a balancing act between novelty and appropriateness.

“It’s All About the Look”: Making Sense of Appearance, Attractiveness, and Authenticity Online

Existing research on Instagram suggests that the mobile application is dominated by a cast of hegemonically attractive influencers. But calls for greater diversity and inclusion are on the rise, raising important questions about how social media influencers and the industry personnel who support them understand diversity and negotiate appearance ideals. Drawing on 40 interviews with influencers and industry personnel as well as a year of online observation, I find that hegemonic ideals surrounding appearance and attractiveness continue to shape who is (and isn’t) perceived as worthy of visibility online. Industry personnel and influencers alike share that these ideals play an important role in cultivating a following on social media but remain convinced that change is underway. Emphasizing the importance of influencers’ relatability and perceived authenticity, influencers, agents, and brand representatives shift focus away from broader issues surrounding the platform including the role that industry personnel play in moderating and constraining opportunities for diversity online.

BuBu fandom and authentic online spaces for Chinese fangirls

Considering BuBu fandom to be an authentic online fan space has implications for the transformative cycle of literacy production, social exchange, and identity formation as fangirls appropriate new materials and make new meanings. Specific illustrative data from two informants demonstrate that the site of BuBu fandom engages fangirls both in interest-driven literacy practices and social activities, with both rooted in a Chinese cultural context.