Connectivity Issues Research Articles

“The <em>Internet of Life</em>”

“The <em>Internet of Life</em>”

Feasibility, Reliability, and Safety of Remote Five Times Sit to Stand Test in Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancer.

Background: To determine the feasibility, reliability, and safety of the remote five times sit to stand test (5STS) test in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Methods: Consecutive adult patients undergoing surgical treatment for lower gastrointestinal cancer at a major referral hospital in Sydney between July and November 2022 were included. Participants completed the 5STS test both face-to-face and remotely, with the order randomised. Outcomes included measures of feasibility, reliability, and safety. Results: Of fifty-five patients identified, seventeen (30.9%) were not interested, one (1.8%) had no internet coverage, and thirty-seven (67.3%) consented and completed both 5STS tests. The mean (SD) time taken to complete the face-to-face and remote 5STS tests was 9.1 (2.4) and 9.5 (2.3) seconds, respectively. Remote collection by telehealth was feasible, with only two participants (5.4%) having connectivity issues at the start of the remote assessment, but not interfering with the tests. The remote 5STS test showed excellent reliability (ICC = 0.957), with limits of agreement within acceptable ranges and no significant systematic errors observed. No adverse events were observed within either test environment. Conclusions: Remote 5STS for the assessment of functional lower extremity strength in gastrointestinal cancer patients is feasible, reliable, and safe, and can be used in clinical and research settings.

"I didn't Notice that You Were Watching Me": Exploring a User Acceptance Study to Conduct Cultural Domain Analysis Online During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This article explores the implementation process of a User Acceptance Study to evaluate the feasibility of conducting cultural domain analysis (CDA) online during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted 19 cultural domain analysis sessions involving three techniques: free listing, pile sorts, and rank ordering. A diverse set of participants were recruited to help assess requirements and needs that researching online involves. We found that conducting CDA online is a feasible research method that offers benefits such as generating large amounts of data, making participants feel comfortable joining sessions from a safe space, providing anonymity, reducing research costs such as time and travel, and eliciting large numbers of responses. We also identified several factors for consideration when implementing CDA online and provide recommendations for improvement, including the aesthetics of the digital software employed, user accessibility and digital literacy, participants' environments, Internet connection, and online-specific ethical issues.

The Good, the Bad, and the Pandemic: An Intra-Group Approach to Exploring Students’ Experiences with Collaborative Learning During COVID-19

Collaborative learning is increasingly common in higher education, with several studies pointing to its effectiveness. However, it also poses some social and cognitive challenges for students, resulting in students’ mixed attitudes toward collaborative learning. COVID-19 has added to these challenges by, for example, introducing barriers to face-to-face communication. Existing studies exploring the impact of COVID-19 on students’ experiences with collaborative learning focus on individual students, missing potential intra-group trends that could be useful to instructors. Using both Likert-style and open-ended questions, this study explored 38 college students’ experiences engaging in collaborative learning during COVID-19 both individually and at the intra-group level. Overall, students’ experiences were positive both academically and socially, though some experienced challenges such as freeloading and online connection issues. For most groups, there were one or two students who had negative experiences, but these issues seemed to be individual and not indicative of a group-level problem. The study introduces an intra-group approach to collaborative learning research. Its findings suggest that instructors should apply collaborative learning pedagogies to enhance students’ learning and social connectedness. Instructors could further improve students’ experiences by identifying and solving common issues (e.g., freeloading, technical difficulties) by surveying students or encouraging them to share these difficulties with the instructor.

LEGAL PERCEPTION OF THE QUALITY OF VIRTUAL PHYSICS CLASSES IN STUDENTS OF THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MANABÍ -ECUADOR

The objective of this study was to determine the opinions of students in the Food Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Chemical Engineering programs at the Technical University of Manabí on the virtual teaching of Physics that took place during the 2020-2022 period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To accomplish this, a questionnaire consisting of 14 closed questions and two open questions was completed by 197 students. The results revealed that the majority of students had a negative view of the distance teaching of Physics, particularly regarding problems related to the home environment, connectivity issues, lack of communication between teachers and students, reduced concentration, and a decrease in experimental activities. However, several students also identified positive elements of distance education, particularly related to the teaching of Physics on general topics. These positive elements included increased use of audiovisual material, which contributed to understanding of Physics concepts and processes, and could be adopted more broadly in Physics education, not only in distance learning.

Transformer-enabled generative adversarial imputation network with selective generation (SGT-GAIN) for missing region imputation

Although data have been extensively leveraged for process monitoring and control in advanced manufacturing, it still suffers from the connection issues among sensors, machines, and computers, which may lead to significant data loss, i.e., missing region in the collected data, in the application of data-driven monitoring. To address the missing region issues, one popular way is to perform missing data imputation. With the advances of machine learning, many approaches have been developed for the missing data imputation, such as the popular Generative Adversarial Imputation Network (GAIN), which is based on the Generative Adversarial Network (GAN). However, the inherent shortcomings of generative adversarial architecture may still lead to unstable training. More importantly, the collected online sensor data in manufacturing are in sequential order whereas GAIN considered the input data independently. Hence, to address these two limitations, this work proposes a novel approach termed transformer-enabled GAIN with selective generation (SGT-GAIN). The contributions of the proposed SGT-GAIN consist of three aspects: (i) the architecture for transformer-enabled generation is developed to capture the sequential information among the data; (ii) a selective multi-generation framework is proposed to further reduce the imputation bias; and (iii) an ensemble learning framework is applied to enhance the imputation robustness. Both the numerical simulation study and a real-world case study in additive manufacturing demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed SGT-GAIN.

Performance of alert transmissions from cardiac implantable electronic devices to the CareLink network: A retrospective analysis

Remote monitoring of cardiac implantable electric devices improves patient outcomes and experiences. Alert-based systems notify physicians of clinical or device issues in near real-time, but their effectiveness is contingent upon device connectivity. To assess patient connectivity by analyzing alert transmission times from patient transceivers to the CareLink network. Alert transmissions were retrospectively gathered from a query of the United States de-identified Medtronic CareLink database. Alert transmission time was defined as the duration from alert occurrence to arrival at the CareLink network and was analyzed by device type, alert event, and alert type. Using data from previous studies, we computed the benefit of daily connectivity checks. The mean alert transmission time was 14.8 hours (median = 6 hours), with 90.9% of alert transmissions received within 24 hours. Implantable pulse generators (17.0 ± 40.2 hours) and cardiac resynchronization therapy-pacemakers (17.2 ± 42.5 hours) had longer alert transmission times than implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (13.7 ± 29.5 hours) and cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillators (13.5 ± 30.2 hours), but the median time was 6 hours for all 4 device types. There were differences in alert times between specific alert events. Based on our data and previous studies, daily connectivity checks could improve daily alert transmission success by 8.5% but would require up to nearly 800 additional hours of staff time on any given day. Alert transmission performance from Medtronic devices was satisfactory, with some delays likely underscored by patient connectivity issues. Daily connectivity checks could provide some improvement in transmission success at the expense of increased clinic burden.

Online Education and Internet Connectivity Problems: A Perspective of the Teachers and Undergraduate Dental Students

OBJECTIVES Assessment of difficulties and glitches regarding internet connectivity faced by undergraduates and teachers during online learning. METHODOLOGY This study was conducted using an online questionnaire. 186 undergraduate students and teachers were included from CMH, Lahore. The duration of this study was 3 months. . RESULTS There was found to be no statistical difference in reluctance to use online platforms (p=0.17), frequent loss of internet (p=0.181), difficulty in dealing with the loss of connection (p=0.181), disturbance in planned schedule due to loss of connection (p=0.213), lagging behind in schedule (p=0.630), inability to convey the message (p=0.093), lack of internet in remote areas (p=0.302), lack of training to deal with connection problems (p=0.766), poor connection due to technical problems in devices (p=0.089) and poor quality internet (p=0.740) among faculty and students. CONCLUSION The problems due to internet connectivity issues in online education were faced more by students as compared to faculty.

ZigBee-Based Self-Service Charging Framework for Plug-in Electric Vehicles

This research presents a self-service charging structure for plug-in type electric vehicles, which includes multiple charging stations, a data service centre, and a mobile communication service centre. Each charging station is equipped with ZigBee networking devices, a charging station computer monitoring centre, and several chargers. The ZigBee networking equipment establishes a wi-fi connection with a ZigBee terminal node device in the electric vehicle. Each charger comprises a charger information management unit, an IC magnetic card identification device, a touch screen, a printer, and a charging device. The proposed self-service charging structure overcomes the issues of unstable electrical connection and high networking complexity associated with both wired and wi-fi communication procedures. It enables user-friendly, safe, auto, and intelligent charging processes without the need for manual intervention. Additionally, the structure supports multiple charging service modes. The research also presents a self-service charging procedure for plug-in type electric vehicles.

Expected changes in parenting after an online parent training for ADHD

BackgroundAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder in children and adolescents. Treatments for this population should be multidisciplinary and must be initiated as early as possible. Non-pharmacological interventions for ADHD include psychoeducation, parent behavioural training programs and school interventions and accommodations. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed an online version of a combined psychoeducation and behavioural training program to facilitate access to mental health treatment and ensure continuity of care. ObjectiveThe study assessed the acceptability of this online parent training program, among parents and caretakers of children and adolescents with ADHD. MethodsThe program consisted of ten online sessions over the course of two consecutive days (five sessions a day). Satisfaction, usefulness and general comments about the program were assessed with open-ended questions and visual-analogous scales. Parents/caretakers’ use of strategies to manage behavioural problems was assessed using the Parenting and Family Adjustment Scales. ResultsA total of 206 parents participated in the online program 175 of whom completed the evaluation. Participants were satisfied with the content of the program. More than half of participants had already started using strategies included in the program. The engagement was high and no major obstacles were identified other than some internet connection issues. DiscussionIn our survey, online delivery was described as more convenient, and participants were satisfied with the content of the program finding it beneficial for their child. Despite this, some difficulties in implementing new strategies were observed. Online BTP increased access to the BTP programs while being effective on ADHD symptoms and behavioural disturbances. ConclusionsWith these measures, we hope to improve engagement in online psychoeducation and behavioural therapy programs. Future research evaluating online behavioural training programs should focus on ways to make them more accessible and adaptable to families’ obstacles.

Digital inhibitors in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic

The novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) global pandemic has brought vast changes to people’s lifestyles in general and has changed business processes globally. The education systems are not spared from the COVID-19 impact and business delivery procedures. Africa mainly being the consumer of digital goods and services and not necessarily the producer as shown in the centre periphery model was not spared either. This paper explores the effects of COVD- 19 at institutions of higher learning and how they were immensely affected resulting in increased use of the web 2.0. However, the digital learning methods encountered digital inhibitors which include but not limited to accessibility, connectivity, social, geographical, economic, legal and technological digital issues. Challenges faced by the community of higher learning institutions in Zimbabwe embracing the digital learning tools are discussed. Using a qualitative approach, this article interrogates the impact of these higher education digital inhibitors in Africa with special reference to Zimbabwe during and post COVID-19 global pandemic. The research instruments used were online interviews and experiences. It is against this background that the writers unearth digital inhibitors in higher education during the COVID-19 era. Post COVID-19 era cannot be still business as usual. It is recommended that to bridge the gap there is need to consider Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as basic necessity not a luxury that have too be accessed by all as well as being in a position to operate the tools and having information literacy skills.

Formation of Coordinated Alliance for China Railway Express Platforms Considering Logistics Cost Sharing

Lack of coordination, mutual independence and disorderly competition among China Railway Express platforms gives rise to high logistics costs; in contrast, horizontal collaboration could form a pool of logistics resources with a scale effect to effectively reduce operating costs. This paper presents a methodology to build a coordinated alliance of China Railway Express platforms in a cost-sharing model. A hybrid approach is proposed, using the gravity model of cross-border logistics, variable-weighted Shapley value, cargo volume decision-making model, and cross-border logistics cost analysis model. Seven China Railway Express platforms in southwest China: Chengdu, Chongqing, Guiyang, Kunming, Liuzhou, Nanning and Zunyi, are selected as examples for empirical analysis. The results demonstrate that alliance is an effective way to control costs, however, issues of railway connectivity can lead to deflection of the optimal alliance and insufficient capacity can affect the stability of the alliance.

Introduction of Telemedicine in a Prehospital Emergency Care Setting: A Pilot Study.

Advances in information and communication technology have led to telemedicine applications that could support paramedics in the prehospital field. In an effort to optimise the available resources like prehospital emergency physicians (PHP), the State Health Services of a Swiss state decided to launch a pilot study on the feasibility of using telemedicine in the prehospital emergency setting. The primary objective was to measure the number of missions completed without technical problems with remote PHP support through telemedicine (tele-PHP). The secondary objectives were to evaluate the safety of this protocol and to describe the actions and decisions that clinicians can make by using tele-PHP. This was a prospective observational pilot study on all missions involving the dispatch of ground PHP or tele-PHP. The severity score, dispatch criteria, actions, and decisions made by ground PHP and tele-PHP were collected. PHP were dispatched simultaneously with an ambulance on 478 occasions, including 68 (14%) situations that started directly with tele-PHP. Among those situations, three had to be transformed into on-site PHP missions after the on-site evaluation by paramedics. Fifteen missions were cancelled by paramedics once they were on site, and six missions encountered a connection issue. Forty-four PHP missions that were dispatched simultaneously with paramedics were completed by tele-PHP only without any connection problems. Paramedics and PHP estimated that actions or decisions were provided by PHP in 66% of the on-site PHP missions and 34% of the tele-PHP missions. This is the first experience of tele-PHP regarding PHP dispatch in Switzerland. Despite the small number of missions carried out, tele-PHP could be used for well-selected situations to reduce the need for a PHP on site.

Usability and perceptions of a one-on-one telementoring program for young physicians in rural settings of Peru: a mixed method study

BackgroundTelementoring seems to be a promising strategy to deliver training and counselling to physicians in remote areas. In Peru, early graduated physicians must work for the Rural and Urban-Edge Health Service Program where they face important training needs. The aim of this study was to describe the usage of a one-on-one telementoring program for rural physicians and evaluate the aspects related to the perceptions of acceptability and usability.MethodsMixed methods study on recently graduated physicians who work in rural areas and participate in the telementoring program. The program used a mobile application to connect these young doctors with specialized mentors to answer queries about real-life problems raised by working in a rural area. We summarize administrative data to assess participant characteristics and their participation in the program. Additionally, we conducted in-depth interviews to explore the perceived usability, ease of use, and reason for non-use of the telementoring program.ResultsOf 74 physicians (mean age 25, 51.4% women) enrolled, 12 (16.2%) actively used the program and performed a total of 27 queries, which received response in an average time of 5.4 ± 6.3 h. In the interviews, the main reasons for non-use were connectivity issues, feelings of shame, and self-efficacy. For those who used the telementoring program they referred it was easy to use and solve their inquiries timely.ConclusionsThe implementation of a telementoring program sought to provide guidance to recently graduated physicians working in rural areas. Low use rates show that administrative and process-related deficiencies in the program implementation need to be improved.

Patient satisfaction with telemedicine in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed methods study

BackgroundThe capacity to deliver essential health services has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly due to lockdown restrictions. Telemedicine provides a safe, efficient, and effective alternative that addresses the needs of patients and the health system. However, there remain implementation challenges and barriers to patient adoption in resource-limited settings as in the Philippines. This mixed methods study aimed to describe patient perspectives and experiences with telemedicine services, and explore the factors that influence telemedicine use and satisfaction.MethodsAn online survey consisting of items adapted from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Clinician & Group Adult Visit Survey 4.0 (beta) and the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire (TUQ) was completed by 200 participants aged 18 to 65 years residing in the Philippines. A subsample of 16 participants was interviewed to provide further insights on their experiences. We used descriptive statistics to analyze survey data and thematically analyzed data from interviews guided by the principles of grounded theory.ResultsParticipants were generally satisfied with telemedicine, and found it to be an efficient and convenient means of receiving healthcare. About 3 in 5 perceived telemedicine as affordable, with some finding telemedicine costs to be high and comparable to in-person consultations. Our results suggest that participants preferred telemedicine services, especially in cases where they feel that their condition is not urgent and does not need extensive physical examination. Safety against COVID-19, privacy, accessibility, and availability of multiple communication platforms contributed to patient satisfaction with telemedicine. Negative perceptions of patients on quality of care and service related to their telemedicine provider, inherent limitations of telemedicine in the diagnosis and management of patients, perceived high costs especially for mental health conditions, and poor connectivity and other technological issues were barriers to telemedicine use and satisfaction.ConclusionTelemedicine is viewed as a safe, efficient, and affordable alternative to receiving care. Expectations of patients on costs and outcomes need to be managed by providers to increase satisfaction. Continued adoption of telemedicine will require improvements in technology infrastructure and technical support for patients, training and performance evaluation of providers to ensure quality of care and service, better patient communication to meet patient needs, and integration of telemedicine services in remote areas that have limited access to medical services. Telemedicine, to realize its full potential, should be centered in health equity – addressing patient barriers and needs, reducing health disparities across population groups and settings, and providing quality services to all.

Usability of Telehealth Systems for Noncommunicable Diseases in Primary Care From the COVID-19 Pandemic Onward: Systematic Review.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth was expanded without the opportunity to extensively evaluate the adopted technology's usability. We aimed to synthesize evidence on health professionals' perceptions regarding the usability of telehealth systems in the primary care of individuals with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs; hypertension and diabetes) from the COVID-19 pandemic onward. A systematic review was performed of clinical trials, prospective cohort studies, retrospective observational studies, and studies that used qualitative data collection and analysis methods published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese from March 2020 onward. The databases queried were MEDLINE, Embase, BIREME, IEEE Xplore, BVS, Google Scholar, and grey literature. Studies involving health professionals who used telehealth systems in primary care and managed patients with NCDs from the COVID-19 pandemic onward were considered eligible. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were reviewed. Data were extracted to provide a narrative qualitative evidence synthesis of the included articles. The risk of bias and methodological quality of the included studies were analyzed. The primary outcome was the usability of telehealth systems, while the secondary outcomes were satisfaction and the contexts in which the telehealth system was used. We included 11 of 417 retrieved studies, which had data from 248 health care professionals. These health care professionals were mostly doctors and nurses with prior experience in telehealth in high- and middle-income countries. Overall, 9 studies (82%) were qualitative studies and 2 (18%) were quasiexperimental or multisite trial studies. Moreover, 7 studies (64%) addressed diabetes, 1 (9%) addressed diabetes and hypertension, and 3 (27%) addressed chronic diseases. Most studies used a survey to assess usability. With a moderate confidence level, we concluded that health professionals considered the usability of telehealth systems to be good and felt comfortable and satisfied. Patients felt satisfied using telehealth. The most important predictor for using digital health technologies was ease of use. The main barriers were technological challenges, connectivity issues, low computer literacy, inability to perform complete physical examination, and lack of training. Although the usability of telehealth systems was considered good, there is a need for research that investigates factors that may influence the perceptions of telehealth usability, such as differences between private and public services; differences in the level of experience of professionals, including professional experience and experience with digital tools; and differences in gender, age groups, occupations, and settings. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated incredible demand for virtual care. Professionals' favorable perceptions of the usability of telehealth indicate that it can facilitate access to quality care. Although there are still challenges to telehealth, more than infrastructure challenges, the most reported challenges were related to empowering people for digital health. PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42021296887; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=296887. RR2-10.21801/ppcrj.2022.82.6.

Influence of Collaboration on the Quality of Research Outcome Among Mass Communication Students in South-South Nigeria

The study explored the influence of Mass Communication collaboration on research outcomes in selected universities in the South-South of Nigeria. The paper observed that the influence of research collaboration amongst Mass Communication scholars was high. The most influential factors to collaborative research practice were enhanced team approach in research and the generation of new insights or perceptions that individuals working on their own may not have been able to achieve. The issue of internet connectivity, difficulty in working with colleagues in research as many of them may not be able to contribute anything, and being afraid of inadequate contribution by co-authors were the most established drawbacks discovered in this study. The study recommended that there should be research collaboration that is anchored on the necessary atmosphere that will make the exercise worthwhile by institutions of learning.

Post Covid-19 pandemic and library users' education: Impact on examination and survey

The study investigates the impact of post-COVID-19 pandemic on library users' education course, specifically on examinations and survey practices upon the resumption of on-campus instruction. A descriptive survey research design was employed with 384 students from Adeleke University responding to the survey. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data collected. The study found that library users' education was significantly impacted post-pandemic in terms of examinations, questionnaire administration, lectures, and orientation exercises. The majority of students preferred computer-based tests (CBT) for exams and online methods for questionnaire administration, but the study also identified challenges such as rigid examination schedules, internet connectivity issues, and a limited number of computers available. The study, therefore, recommends that universities invest in technology infrastructure to improve internet connectivity, increase the number of computers available for students, and offer more flexible examination schedules to accommodate students who face internet connectivity issues. These measures would help ensure a smoother transition to online learning for library users in the case of a future pandemic and beyond.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on academic activities, clinical training, and occupational expectations of postgraduate students of prosthodontic departments in Kerala –A cross-sectional study

The first Covid case in India was reported in Kerala. Kerala’s attempt to contain Covid 19 in the initial period was praised nationally and internationally. This study is a humble attempt to study the impacts of the pandemic outbreak on academic activities, clinical training, and occupational expectations of prosthodontics postgraduate students in Kerala during the period of October 2020 to December 2020. A set of 20 close-ended questions were formulated. The questionnaire was circulated online using google forms among the postgraduate students pursuing prosthodontics in dental colleges in Kerala. Prosthodontic Postgraduate students of dental colleges in Kerala who were willing to participate in the study and gave informed consent were included in the study. Even though Prosthodontic postgraduate students appeared comfortable with technology adaptations for a didactic curriculum, internet connectivity issues were a major hindrance to the smooth conduction of online academic activities. The dental fraternity played a crucial role in the early detection of positive cases and was instrumental in flattening the covid curve in Kerala. The pandemic and the consequent movement restrictions affected the research activities and thesis preparation of postgraduate students. A sufficient supply of good quality PPE kits, rapid antigen screening kits in the department itself, and strict adherence to prudent sterilization and infection control measures were considered crucial in ensuring occupational safety and good patient care in prosthodontic departments during the pandemic waves. The unprecedented pandemic was a learning curve for all the stakeholders in the dental stream. Necessary measures should be taken by the authorities to equip dental colleges so that pandemics should not affect the dental education scenario in the future.

Challenges of Teaching English Language Online: Teachers Perspective

Virtual online teaching was adopted at the Iraqi educational institutions: schools and universities when COVID-19 break out. It was the only alternative to revival the education sector after locking down schools and universities by the condition of the quarantine. The scenario of locking down schools and universities after the spread of COVID-19 pandemic pushed stakeholders and decision makers to switch the educational process to the online mode (Thi1 &Minh, 2021). This sudden shift arose many issues and challenges which was faced by both teachers as well as learners, soon questions about the validity and authenticity of the educational process and outcomes were raised. The current study seeks to uncover hidden issues and challenges which English language teachers at Diyala University encounter at this critical period 2019-2022. A semi-structured interview was utilized as the instrument of this small scale qualitative and descriptive study. The qualitative raw data obtained from the interview transcripts were thematically coded and analyzed. The finding were interpreted in two directions: first: failure of the new online teaching process in obtaining the desired educational outcomes outlined by the ministries of education and higher education due to several reasons: uncontrolled examination session which led to student cheating and resulted in unauthentic grading marks. In addition to internet connection issues which is added to the teachers burden and affect negatively EFL teaching process. Secondly: it was proven that online teaching can be beneficial in the sense that it can save time and effort if new strategies of assessment were adopted, intensive training courses for teachers as well as students were applied, in addition to providing good internet service for both student and teacher.