Department Websites Research Articles

Sociology Graduate School Requirements and Competitive Advantage

This study examines the admission requirements of Canadian Master of Arts in Sociology programs. A content analysis was performed on a sample of 58 programs based on information provided on department and university websites. Admission requirements centred on high grade point averages, strong letters of support and prior academic and research experience as indicated in a Curriculum Vitae, samples of work or a statement of intent. Results revealed admission preferences for applicants with minimum entrance grades of 80%, an honours degree, prior courses in research methods, statistics and social theory, and a demonstrated research focus. In addition to maintaining high grades, our findings suggest that undergraduates planning to pursue a Master’s degree in sociology should aim to incorporate substantive courses early on in their programs of study and take advantage of other opportunities to develop research skills, networks and training.

What defines a good website of a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology? A user survey.

The Internet has become a widely used source of healthcare information. Many Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology use their websites for public relations purposes. It is, however, unclear, what relevant stakeholders such as patients, relatives of patients, physicians, and medical students expect of an Obstetrics and Gynecology Department's website. Therefore, we evaluated the opinions and expectations of the various stakeholders using a structured questionnaire. We asked gynecologic patients, obstetric patients, relatives of patients, medical students, and physicians to fill in an anonymous questionnaire consisting of general facts about the informant, one open-ended question on expectations and wishes regarding the website, and 28 rating scale questions (7-step visual analog scale ranging from, not important' to, very important') covering the topics "website navigation" (4 questions), "first contact" (3 questions), "clinic processes" (7 questions), "facts and figures about the Department" (4 questions), "visual impressions" (5 questions), and "obstetrics-specific items" (5 questions). Questionnaires for physicians included four additional questions about the value of Department websites as an information tool for themselves and their patients. We used descriptive statistics to analyze the data. 1458 questionnaires were analyzed (gynecologic patients, n = 615 [42%]; obstetric patients, n = 479 [33%]; relatives of patients, n = 77 [5%]; medical students n = 238 [16%]; physicians, n = 41 [3%]). The number of circulated questionnaires was not recorded and thus, the response rate is unknown. 1304 (89%) respondents used the Internet as a regular source of health care information, 642 (44%) had previously searched an Obstetrics and Gynecology Department website. All respondents rated contact data and information about processes in the clinic highest; whereas, other issues such as medical facts, visual impressions, and website design issues were significantly less important. Pregnant women rated contact information and obstetric facts highest. 90% of physicians regularly used Department websites for patient referrals and rated contact information and medical team details most important. When designing a website of an Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, contact information and information about processes in the clinic should be displayed most prominently and be easily accessible. Subsections specifically targeted at obstetric patients and physicians should be provided.

Leaders in Urologic Education and Their Relationship to Industry: An Analysis of Sunshine Act Open Payments From 2014-2016

To examine trends in the financial relationship between biomedical companies and leaders in urologic education during the first 3 full calendar years since implementation of the Sunshine Act. All accredited American Urological Association (AUA) residency programs were identified using the AUA website. Urology program directors and department chairs of the affiliated institutions were identified using residency program or urology department websites. Urology journal editors who practice in the United States were identified using the SCImago Journal & Country Rank website. All identified individuals were categorized by urologic subspecialty and AUA region based on information stated on their corresponding websites. Payment data for each individual from 2014 to 2016 was accessed using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Open Payments website, and statistical analyses were performed to elucidate trends based on leadership position, urologic specialty, AUA region, payment type, and overall payments over time. Out of the 239 urologists identified, 85%, 78%, and 91% received some sort of payment in 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively. Department chairs accepted payments more readily than program directors and journal editors in all years. Average total payments for all urologists increased yearly, with mean general payments trending down and mean research payments trending up. The Sunshine Act was passed in part to promote transparency of the physician-industry relationship. Though the proportion of urologic leaders accepting payments between 2014 and 2016 did not change significantly, increased public scrutiny could have contributed to the decrease in yearly general payments and the increase in yearly research payments.

Peter H. Venables (1923–2017)

Peter H. Venables (1923–2017)

Influences for Gender Disparity in the Radiology Societies in North America.

The objective of our study was to outline the gender distribution in leadership positions in the North American radiology societies. A review of North American radiology societies was conducted to identify committee members and those holding leadership positions. The Scopus database was queried for research productivity metrics of these individuals. Gender, university affiliation, and academic rank were identified from departmental websites. The chi-square test was used to assess for differences in gender distribution, and nonparametric analyses were applied to determine gender differences in continuous variables. Of 2826 radiology society committee members, men outnumbered women 67.4% (n = 1906) to 32.6% (n = 920). There were 696 society leadership positions, of which men held 501 (72.0%) and women held 195 (28.0%) (p < 0.003). Additionally, 26.3% of all men held leadership positions compared with 21.2% of all women (p = 0.0032). Overall, men had a higher median h-index (14 [range, 0-113] vs 11 [range, 0-73]), number of publications (52 [range, 2-1264] vs 35 [range, 2-428]), and number of citations (880 [range, 0-54,813] vs 483.5 [range, 0-17,332]) than women (p < 0.001). Across university academic ranks of assistant and associate professor, research productivity metrics were similar between genders, but interestingly, female representation decreased with increasing academic rank. A higher proportion of men held a university rank of professor than women (39.5% vs 33.4%; p = 0.0017) with parity at the levels of assistant and associate professors. Gender disparity exists in the leadership positions in North American radiology societies. We have attempted to study the relationship between gender, academic rank, and h-index with leadership roles in these societies.

A conceptual model of the impacts of quality components of a health department website on students' health literacy at Semnan University of Medical Sciences.

BackgroundPeople with poor health literacy are those who have less knowledge about disease management and health promotion behaviors, and generally have poorer health status.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the impact of qualitative components of the health website of Semnan University of Medical Sciences on the students’ health literacy.MethodsThis study was performed on 529 medical and allied health students in schools affiliated to Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Iran in 2016–2017. A researcher-made questionnaire and standard questionnaire were used. Descriptive statistics and regression test were used by SPSS 19 to analyze data in significance level of 0.01.ResultsThe findings showed that there were poor relationships between communications in the health website and health literacy (R2=0.265, B=0.50), between understanding of concepts in the health website and health literacy (R2=0.259, B=0.38) and patient centeredness in the health website and health literacy (R2=0.241, B=0.30).ConclusionIt is concluded that the empowerment of students’ health literacy through the University Health Department website can be realized when the health department website is used as a tool for learning and the website is much more active in social marketing in the field of health.

C-index and Subindices of the h-index: New Variants of the h-index to Account for Variations in Author Contribution.

ObjectivesBibliometrics are used to assess or compare the academic productivity of individuals or groups. Most of these metrics, including the widely used h-index, do not recognize the added contribution that is generally provided by authors listed first, second, second-to-last and last (enhanced positions) in a publication citation. We propose the c-index as a novel modification to the h-index that will better reflect an individual’s academic output, incorporating authorship position.MethodsOne hundred and sixty-six academic neurosurgeons in eight New York City (NYC) metropolitan region training programs were identified through department websites. Using the Scopus citation database, bibliometric profiles were created for each surgeon. Once an individual’s h-index was calculated, the h-core articles (those with h or more citations) were specifically assessed to determine citation author position. Novel bibliometric indices were created to reflect the number of h-core articles that accounted for primary (hp), senior (hs) or internal authorship (hi) position. Weighted “involvement factors” for primary (ip) and senior (is) author contribution were created to reflect the added value of “enhanced position” authorship in an individual’s h-core publications. c-indices were created to reflect the author’s h-index once augmented by primary (cp), senior (cs), and overall (co) “enhanced position” authorship. Comparisons were made within each institution and across institutions, according to academic rank (assistant professor, associate professor, professor and chairperson).ResultsBreakdown by academic rank showed an increasing average h-index progressing from assistant professor through professor rank with no significant difference demonstrated between professor and chair status. This pattern was seen across all departments (aggregate) but with fewer instances of significance at the level of individual departments. After h-index modification, cp, cs, and co indices showed a similarly significant trend. As faculty rank increased, there was a significant trend toward increasing numbers of articles with authors in enhanced positions and a higher percentage of articles with the author in a senior position. Academic faculty had higher h, cp, and cs indices than clinical faculty. Evaluation of each individual department revealed no significant trend regarding a department’s higher average cp or cs. Average c-index for a department paralleled the average h-index of that department, with larger departments tending to have larger cumulative h, cp, cs, and co indices. No consistent correlation was seen between mean h-indices and academic rank at an individual departmental level.ConclusionsThis study examines the academic productivity of a subset of neurosurgical programs in the NYC metropolitan area as a test bed for novel bibliometric indices. hp, hi, and hs represent the respective number of primary, internal and senior authorship papers that comprise an individual’s h-core papers. cp, cs, and co, variations of the h-index metric, are designed to more accurately reflect the contributions by primary, secondary and senior authors. Increasing academic rank was associated with an increased number of articles with the author in enhanced positions and a higher percentage of articles in a senior position.

Scholarly activity in academic plastic surgery: the gender difference

BackgroundThe number of women in medicine has grown rapidly in recent years. Women constitute over 50% of medical school graduates and hold 38% of faculty positions at United States medical schools. Despite this, gender disparities remain prevalent in most surgical subspecialties, including plastic surgery. The purpose of this study was to analyze gender authorship trends. Materials and methodsA cross-sectional study of academic plastic surgeons was performed. Data were collected from departmental websites and online resources. National Institute of Health (NIH) funding was determined using the Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools database. Number of published articles and h-index were obtained from Scopus (Elsevier Inc, New York, NY). Statistical analysis was performed in SPSS (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). ResultsA total of 814 plastic surgeons were identified in the United States. Compared to men, women had significantly fewer years in practice (P <0.001), lower academic ranks (P <0.001), and published less (P <0.001). There was no difference in the number of PhD degrees between genders; women with PhDs published less than men with PhDs (P = 0.04). 5.1% of women and 6.9% of men received NIH funding during their career (P = 0.57). There was no gender difference in scholarly output among NIH-funded surgeons. Overall, years in practice, academic rank, chief/program director title, advanced degrees, and NIH funding all positively correlated with academic productivity. ConclusionsThis study identifies significant gender disparities in scholarly productivity among plastic surgeons in academia. Future efforts should focus on improving gender equality and eliminating barriers to academic development.

Electronic and Social Media-based Radiology Learning Initiative: Development, Implementation, Viewership Trends, and Assessment at 1 Year

We report the development of a new "Case of the Day" (COTD) educational initiative using email, social media (SoMe), and a website to disseminate content, as well as its trends in viewership and assessment of utility for the first year of implementation. Using an image-rich format, a new unknown case was disseminated to radiology trainees and attendings at our institution by email twice per week, including history, salient images, and follow-up questions. Simultaneously, content was externally disseminated on Twitter and a publicly viewable departmental website. On subsequent days, the answer was posted via email, Twitter, and website in the form of a brief YouTube video lecture. Viewership data were collected over the first 12 months (July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017), and an anonymous survey of participants was performed. Sixty-five COTDs had complete viewership data and were included in our analysis, yielding 4911 "case" email views (mean = 76), 3798 "answer" email views (mean = 58), 68,034 "case" Twitter impressions (mean = 1047), 75,724 "answer" Twitter impressions (mean = 1164), 5465 "case" Twitter engagements (mean = 84), and 5307 "answer" Twitter engagements (mean = 82). COTD YouTube video lectures garnered 3657 views (mean = 61) amounting to 10,358 minutes of total viewing time. Viewers were very satisfied with COTD quality, with 97% (n = 63) reporting the quality as "good" or "excellent." Email and SoMe can serve as effective tools for disseminating radiology educational content. SoMe offers substantial external visibility and branding potential for programs.

An Assessment of the Academic Impact of Shock Society Members.

Professional society membership enhances career development and productivity by offering opportunities for networking and learning about recent advances in the field. The quality and contribution of such societies can be measured in part through the academic productivity, career status, and funding success rates of their members. Here, using Scopus, NIH RePORTER, and departmental websites, we compare characteristics of the Shock Society membership to those of the top 55 NIH-funded American university and hospital-based departments of surgery. Shock Society members' mean number of publications, citations and H-indices were all significantly higher than those of non-members in surgery departments (P < 0.001). A higher percentage of members also have received funding from the NIH (42.5% vs. 18.5%, P < 0.001). Regression analysis indicated that members were more likely to have NIH funding compared with non-members (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.12-1.916). Trauma surgeons belonging to the Shock Society had a higher number of publications and greater NIH funding than those who did not (130.4 vs. 42.7, P < 0.001; 40.4% vs. 8.5%, P < 0.001). Aggregate academic metrics from the Shock Society were superior to those of the Association for Academic Surgery and generally for the Society of University Surgeons as well. These data indicate that the Shock Society represents a highly academic and productive group of investigators. For surgery faculty, membership is associated with greater academic productivity and career advancement. While it is difficult to ascribe causation, certainly the Shock Society might positively influence careers for its members.

P015: Staff skills: a procedural skills curriculum for emergency medicine attending physicians in Calgary

Introduction: Emergency medicine attending physicians perform many essential procedures but some infrequently. Skill proficiency and familiarity declines over time. We intended to identify skills where colleagues felt deficient and create an opportunity to demonstrate and practice in a safe environment. Methods: Sessions began from a review of ultrasound guided central line and pacemaker insertion. Other procedures have been added as a result of critical incidents, needs assessments by attending physicians, acquisition of new technology/equipment and expert consensus. An evaluation and needs assessment is performed after each session to adjust curricula. Results: Since 2011, we have held 2-3 skill sessions per year at the Advanced Trauma Surgical Skills Laboratory at the University of Calgary. Sessions are taught by attending emergency physicians, employ task trainers, simulators, animal and human cadaveric models, ultrasound, and procedural equipment stocked in our local hospitals. We are able to accommodate ~30 participants per session for 3 hours of rotating 7-8 participants through various stations. Every session has been fully attended with a wait list. Physicians register by email with preference given to new participants and those identified during clinical practice review of requiring remediation. Costs of sessions are covered by voluntary contribution to an emergency department physician support fund. Procedures practiced have included airway (basic, adjuncts, bronchoscopy, video laryngoscopy, surgical airway, chest tube), vascular access (ultrasound guided central venous insertion, transvenous pacemaker insertion, nerve blocks, IO insertion), surgical skills (thoracotomy, chest tube, canthotomy, surgical airway) and other percutaneous procedures (paracentesis, thoracentesis, nerve block, lumbar puncture). High fidelity skills videos were created to augment the sessions, available on the department website. Four point scale evaluations from our most recent session yielded 100% excellent rating for overall workshop and relevance to practice. The 6 facilitators performance received 100% excellent or good ratings. Conclusion: We have developed a fun, nonthreatening opportunity for attending physicians to practice infrequent but important ED procedures. The sessions are well received, well attended, foster collegiality, confidence and competence in performance of infrequent ED skills. Our model could be generalized to other centres.

Availability of Foodborne Illness Reporting Mechanisms for the Public on Local Health Department Web Sites.

Foodborne illness is a serious and preventable public health problem, with high health and economic tolls in the United States. Local governments play an important role in food safety, with local health departments (LHDs) responsible for licensing and inspecting restaurants. Foodborne illness complaints from the public result in identification of more serious and critical food safety violations than regularly scheduled inspections; however, few people report foodborne illness. Availability of existing methods for the public to report foodborne illness to LHDs across the United States was examined. In 2016, data were collected and analyzed from a nationally representative stratified sample of 816 LHDs. Each LHD Web site was examined to determine whether the Web site included a way for constituents to report a suspected foodborne illness. Just 27.6% of LHD Web sites included a way for constituents to report a suspected foodborne illness. LHDs with reporting mechanisms were serving significantly larger populations and had significantly more staff members, higher revenues, and higher expenditures. Health departments with reporting mechanisms were also significantly more likely to conduct environmental health surveillance activities, to regulate, inspect, and/or license food service establishments, and to be involved in food safety policy. Consumer reports of suspected foodborne illness help identify serious and critical food safety violations in food establishments; however, foodborne illness is vastly underreported by the US public. While more evidence is needed on how current systems are working, increasing the visibility and availability of Web-based reporting mechanisms through the following strategies is recommended: (1) test and modify search functions on LHD Web sites to ensure consumers find reporting mechanisms; (2) add a downloadable form as an option for reporting; (3) coordinate with state health departments to ensure clear instructions are available for reporting at both state and local levels; and (4) consider linking directly to state health department reporting mechanisms.

Sex Differences in Academic Rank and Publication Rate at Top-Ranked US Neurology Programs

Women are underrepresented in academic neurology, and the reasons for the underrepresentation are unclear. To explore potential sex differences in top-ranked academic neurology programs by comparing the number of men and women at each academic faculty rank and how many articles each group has published. Twenty-nine top-ranked neurology programs were identified by combining the top 20 programs listed on either the 2016 or 2017 Doximity Residency Navigator tool with the top 20 programs listed in the US News and World Report ranking of Best Graduate Schools. An internet search of the departmental websites was performed between December 1, 2015, and April 30, 2016. For each faculty member on a program site, the following biographical information was obtained: first name, last name, academic institution, sex, academic faculty rank, educational leadership (clerkship, fellowship, or residency director/assistant director), and year of medical school graduation. To compare the distribution of men vs women and the number of publications for men vs women at each academic faculty rank. Secondary analyses included Scopus h-index, book authorship, educational leadership (clerkship, residency, or fellowship director/assistant director), and clinical activity as inferred through Medicare claims data in men vs women after controlling for years since medical school graduation. Of 1712 academic neurologists in our sample, 528 (30.8%) were women and 1184 (69.2%) were men (P < .001). Men outnumbered women at all academic faculty ranks, and the difference increased with advancing rank (instructor/lecturer, 59.4% vs 40.5%; assistant professor, 56.7% vs 43.3%; associate professor, 69.8% vs 30.2%; and professor, 86.2% vs 13.8%). After controlling for clustering and years since medical school graduation, men were twice as likely as women to be full professors (odds ratio [OR], 2.06; 95% CI, 1.40-3.01), whereas men and women had the same odds of being associate professors (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.82-1.32). Men had more publications than women at all academic ranks, but the disparity in publication number decreased with advancing rank (men vs women after adjusting for years since medical school graduation: assistant professor [exponentiated coefficient, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.57-2.12]; associate professor [1.53; 95% CI, 1.22-1.91]; and full professor [1.36; 95% CI, 1.09-1.69]). Men had a higher log Scopus h-index than women after adjustment (linear coefficient, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.34-0.55). There was no significant association between sex and clinical activity (linear coefficient, 0.02; 95% CI, -0.10 to 0.13), educational leadership (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.85-1.40), or book authorship (OR, 2.75; 95% CI, 0.82-9.29) after adjusting for years since medical school graduation. Men outnumber women at all faculty ranks in top-ranked academic neurology programs, and the discrepancy increases with advancing rank. Men have more publications than women at all ranks, but the gap narrows with advancing rank. Other measures of academic productivity do not appear to differ between men and women.

Academic Surgical Oncologists' Productivity Correlates with Gender, Grant Funding, and Institutional NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center Affiliation.

A scholar'sh-index is defined as the number of h papers published, each of which has been cited at least h times. We hypothesized that the h-index strongly correlates with the academic rank of surgical oncologists. We utilized the National Cancer Institute (NCI) website to identify NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCC) and Doximity to identify the 50 highest-ranked general surgery residency programs with surgical oncology divisions. Demographic data of respective academic surgical oncologists were collected from departmental websites and Grantome. Bibliometric data were obtained from Web of Science. We identified 544 surgical oncologists from 64 programs. Increased h-index was associated with academic rank (p < 0.001), male gender (p < 0.001), number of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants (p < 0.001), and affiliation with an NCI CCC (p = 0.018) but not number of additional degrees (p = 0.661) or Doximity ranking (p = 0.102). H-index was a stronger predictor of academic rank (r = 0.648) than total publications (r = 0.585) or citations (r = 0.450). This is the first report to assess the h-index within academic surgical oncology. H-index is a bibliometric predictor of academic rank that correlates with NIH grant funding and NCI CCC affiliation. We also highlight a previously unexpected and unappreciated gender disparity in the academic productivity of US surgical oncologists. When academic rank was accounted for, female surgical oncologists had lower h-indices compared with their male colleagues. Evaluation of the etiologies of this gender disparity is needed to address barriers to academic productivity faced by female surgical oncologists as they progress through their careers.

Quality of Web-Based Educational Interventions for Clinicians on Human Papillomavirus Vaccine: Content and Usability Assessment.

BackgroundHuman papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates fall far short of Healthy People 2020 objectives. A leading reason is that clinicians do not recommend the vaccine consistently and strongly to girls and boys in the age group recommended for vaccination. Although Web-based HPV vaccine educational interventions for clinicians have been created to promote vaccination recommendations, rigorous evaluations of these interventions have not been conducted. Such evaluations are important to maximize the efficacy of educational interventions in promoting clinician recommendations for HPV vaccination.ObjectiveThe objectives of our study were (1) to expand previous research by systematically identifying HPV vaccine Web-based educational interventions developed for clinicians and (2) to evaluate the quality of these Web-based educational interventions as defined by access, content, design, user evaluation, interactivity, and use of theory or models to create the interventions.MethodsCurrent HPV vaccine Web-based educational interventions were identified from general search engines (ie, Google), continuing medical education search engines, health department websites, and professional organization websites. Web-based educational interventions were included if they were created for clinicians (defined as individuals qualified to deliver health care services, such as physicians, clinical nurses, and school nurses, to patients aged 9 to 26 years), delivered information about the HPV vaccine and how to increase vaccination rates, and provided continuing education credits. The interventions’ content and usability were analyzed using 6 key indicators: access, content, design, evaluation, interactivity, and use of theory or models.ResultsA total of 21 interventions were identified, out of which 7 (33%) were webinars, 7 (33%) were videos or lectures, and 7 (33%) were other (eg, text articles, website modules). Of the 21 interventions, 17 (81%) identified the purpose of the intervention, 12 (57%) provided the date that the information had been updated (7 of these were updated within the last 6 months), 14 (67%) provided the participants with the opportunity to provide feedback on the intervention, and 5 (24%) provided an interactive component. None of the educational interventions explicitly stated that a theory or model was used to develop the intervention.ConclusionsThis analysis demonstrates that a substantial proportion of Web-based HPV vaccine educational interventions has not been developed using established health education and design principles. Interventions designed using these principles may increase strong and consistent HPV vaccination recommendations by clinicians.

Students' attitudes towards impact of the health department website on their health literacy in Semnan University of Medical Sciences.

Background and aimHealth literacy has been of interest to policymakers because of its impact on health decision-making as one of the important issues for promoting community health and improving the quality of health care delivery. Therefore, it seems necessary to examine the status of the website of the health sector of the University of Medical Sciences in promoting health literacy from the viewpoint of the students.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was performed on 529 medical and allied students in schools affiliated to Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran between 2016 and 2017. In this study, a valid and reliable adult health literacy questionnaire designed by Montazeri et al. was used. The questionnaire was distributed among students in medical and allied health schools and they were asked to complete the questionnaire. Independent-samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson product-moment correlation were used to analyze data by SPSS 19.ResultsMean scores of the participants’ attitudes towards reading of health information was 3.14 and towards decision and usage of health information was 2.53. Relationship between the study subjects’ demographic characteristics and their attitudes was significant (p<0.05).ConclusionThis study showed that interventional strategies are necessary to lead students to make effective use of the university’s health department website. Hence, the results of this study showed that the website of the health department needs to be redesigned, and this design would allow a better link between the University of Medical Sciences and its audience to promote health literacy.

Mesh material feasibility tests for maximum water collection by using white PE plastic sheet, black polyolefin meshes and HDPE green mesh

Atmospheric water harvesting is an adaptation of natural processes of water cycles which involve condensation and precipitation process. The purposes of this study are to investigate the efficiency of mesh material test for maximum water collection and to determine the relationships of meteorological effects on the amount of water collected. ln order to investigate the efficiency of mesh material tests, it should possess the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity on the surfaces to promote atmospheric water deposition. There are several types of material test were used in this study which is white PE plastic sheet, black Polyolefin meshes, and HDPE green mesh. On the other hand, the primary data collection on volume of water collected was obtained from daily monitoring and secondary atmospheric data were also collected from Malaysian Meteorological Department website for 60 days and statistical analysis were carried out to compare the feasibility of material tests for maximum water collection. To relate the primary data and secondary data, multiple linear regression analysis were used in this study as well as to prove that meteorological effects and material properties of mesh can affect the volume of water collected. Basically, this study aimed to find an alternative way to reduce water scarcity issues in highland area where the sources of surface water and sources of groundwater are almost none. As a result, the volume of water collected by mesh material tests does relate to the meteorological effects especially on rainfall amount as an option to open a new view on utilizing new source of water.

The Current Online Face of U.S. Academic Ophthalmology

Purpose To evaluate the comprehensiveness and navigation ease of online content from Web sites of U.S. academic ophthalmology departments. Design Cross-sectional analysis of 117 U.S. academic ophthalmology department Web sites from October 1 to October 31, 2017. Methods Data were obtained on various categories, including: clinical access and subspecialty services, social media, patient support and accessibility, residency and fellowship details, and research and faculty characteristics. Percent of Web sites possessing each feature was calculated. In addition, a comparison of content completeness and navigation metrics of Web sites between the US News and World Report top 13 ranked departments and the remaining 96 that possess an ophthalmology residency was performed. Results Greater than 80% of Web sites list a basic core of information online: address, contact information, resident and faculty characteristics, and clinical expertise. However, only 69.2% have capabilities to donate online and 59.8% supply educational material for common eye conditions. Less than half of institutions list emergency and trauma, oncology, and low-vision rehabilitation services; only 49.6% provide a social network platform. Strikingly, accessibility features are limited; scalable text, changeable color, and multilingual capabilities are available in 20.5, 4.3, and 8.5% of Web sites, respectively. In the comparison of top 13 departments with the remaining 96, the high-ranking departments possess more Web site features, but are just as efficient to navigate. Conclusion U.S. academic ophthalmology departments in 2017 provide a basic foundation of online content, but few contain abundant features from the viewpoints of different users.

The staffs’ understanding of the role of the health department website on health education in a university of medical sciences

The staffs’ understanding of the role of the health department website on health education in a university of medical sciences

Issues and concerns on statutory bodies and federal government - evidence from Malaysian Auditor General's report

This study aimed to identify the common issues frequently raised in the Malaysian Auditor General's reports, its particulars or descriptions and to investigate whether the levels of inefficiencies quoted in the Auditor General's reports keep increasing or decreasing in the period of this study. This study was based on secondary data and was supported with the feedback report received from the ministries, departments, state governments, government agencies and bodies in Malaysia, and also through Malaysian National Audit Department website in the section of auditor general's report for statutory bodies and federal government. This study found that the wastage in resources is the most critical issues faced by the government. It represents one-third or 36% from all of the issues examined in the Auditor General Report for the period of 2011 to 2013. Accordingly, this issue was also the highest issue commented in both statutory bodies and federal government. The other issues highlighted by the auditor general include poor job quality, unreasonable delay in job completion, improper payment, and unreasonable project price.