Electronic Communication Devices Research Articles

Use of communication technologies in document exchange for the management of construction projects

Abstract Information and communication technologies represent a set of people, processes, technical and software tools providing collection, transport, storage and processing of data for distribution and presentation of information. Particularly communication systems are the main tool for information exchange. Of the other part, these technologies have a broad focus and use. One of them is the exchange of documents in the management of construction projects. Paper discusses the issue of exploitation level of communication technologies in construction project management. The main objective of this paper is to analyze exploitation level of communication technologies. Another aim of the paper is to compare exploitation level or rate of document exchange by electronic communication devices and face-to-face communication.

Bryant Park, New York: Strangers in Public Spaces

Urban sociologists have studied how people interact in public spaces, but there has been little study of how changing technology has impacted how people relate to one another in these spaces. We conducted an observational study of people in Bryant Park in New York City to find out how electronic devices impact social contact in a small public park that normally would be conducive to interacting with others. We sought to understand how visitors to this urban park have evolved, how they engage with each other and with personal technology in the park, and how they relate to the surrounding urban space. We found that electronic communication devices can either isolate city dwellers or bring them closer together, depending on personal and environmental factors.

P011. The use of electronic pain diaries via telemedicine for managing chronic pain.

Chronic pain is defined as pain that persists for longer than 3 to 6 months with persistence beyond “normal healing time” of an injury [1]. Pain is a subjective experience, which is difficult to accurately measure. Current approaches to evaluate chronic pain suffer from methodological problems. A real-time data capture approach using electronic diaries has been proposed as a new standard for pain measurement. The formulation of a correct diagnosis and the delivery of optimal care depend on accurate communication between patients and clinicians regarding patients’ symptoms that necessitate reliance on memory, which is often imprecise. Data suggest that remote clinical assessments via telemedicine can improve clinical monitoring, diagnosis and care, and facilitate research participation. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility and the reliability of using a handheld electronic communication device via telemedicine as a method for assessing and monitoring pain and discomfort in chronic pain patients. In collaboration with TERIN, an Italian ICT (information and communication technology) consortium, we have developed an easy-to-use smartphone-based electronic pain diary (IHCS AID Diary) which enables assessment of clinical features of pain over time. Data are transferred via internet to the central server that provides the web interface to access the system (IHCS - Innovative Health Care System), to which we can connect to explore processed data and to interact with it. Fifty-three headache patients were selected. The subject's task, during pain, was to indicate the location of pain (on a bodymap), the intensity of pain (on a visual analogue scale - VAS), the state of discomfort (on the Wong-Baker FACES pain rating scale), other pain associated manifestations and therapeutic response by using the AID Diary. All subjects also completed paper pain diaries. Preliminary results showed that 27 patients (51%) were compliant in using the AID Diary during pain, 18 patients (34%) had issues with application malfunctioning and transferring data and 8 patients (15%) were noncompliant. Paper pain diaries returned by the group of compliant patients contained more errors and omissions compared to the AID Diary. The potential use of a smartphone-based electronic pain diary via telemedicine seems to be a feasible and reliable method for conducting remote assessments of clinical features of pain in chronic pain patients over time, thus improving clinical monitoring, differential diagnosis and treatment of pain. Written informed consent to publish was obtained from the patient(s).

Game Theoretic Approach to Analyze the Economic Consequences of Hazardous Substance-Free Products: Manufacturing Use and End-Life of Cell Phones

AbstractWhen disposed of after the end of their useful life, electronic communication devices such as cell phones pose significant environmental risks. Cell phones are one of the fastest growing contributors to the electronic waste (e-waste) stream. Increasing awareness about the environmental risk associated with the hazardous components of the electronic products and recent legislative pressure warrants the manufacturers to reduce or replace the hazardous materials with alternatives. The present study analyzes the economic consequences of reducing or replacing these hazardous materials and the possible response of the stakeholders. A strategic game theory model has been applied in this paper for three stakeholders considering the cost difference between hazardous substances-free (HSF) and hazardous substance (HS) cell phones. Results suggest that the HSF cell phones can be a preferred choice of the manufacturers and consumers if the cost of disposal of HS mobiles can be internalized, and a marginal ince...

Persistent Speech Sound Disorder in a 22-Year-Old Male: Communication, Educational, Socio-Emotional, and Vocational Outcomes

Persistent Speech Disorder (PSD) is present when a speech impairment extends beyond 8–9 years of age. Persistent Speech Disorder can extend into adolescence and adulthood. While PSD can include individuals with residual speech errors, such as distortions of /r/, /s/, and /z/, clinicians are particularly concerned in cases where PSD affects speech intelligibility. This paper is presented in two parts. Part 1 reviews the limited literature available on speech, language, literacy, educational, vocational, and socio-emotional outcomes in people with PSD of currently unknown origin. Part 2 presents a case study of a 22-year-old man, known as BJ, who has Nonverbal IQ in the normal range and severe PSD, specifically Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Longitudinal data on BJ from 3;3 years to 22 years is presented, alongside BJ's insights into PSD written via e-mail or using his electronic communication device. These two sources of information add to the limited body of information about the course of PSD and the experience of PSD in an individual through to adulthood.

The evolution of human communication.

We have all likely displayed wonderment on how human communications have evolved from a rather primitive, and likely effective for the time period, cave drawings, to a myriad of languages, and then to our present day highly sophisticated internet modalities. One might even say that YouTube is a greatly enhanced and accelerated cave drawing with sound. Our command of electronic communication and interactive devices has thus far gone from finger control to voice command. In the article, “Knock Once For YES, Twice For No”, Professor Bernard Perbal has enticed our neural centers with the possibility of conscious brain-to-brain communication, in wireless mode. If able to be accomplished in the future he writes that the ‘wide use of such applications might seem a long way off, they raise quite a number of ethical, legal and societal issues’. Professor Perbal, a long time proponent of the individual’s rights to their own genetic information, the essentiality of freedom of speech, and the importance of communication, has laid out some very thoughtful arguments, and provided some fascinating experimental evidence for why brain-to-brain communication should be seriously entertained. After all, if brain is the last frontier in our research endeavors, then communications between brains, in all its variations, should be one area of research that is highly warranted. As indicated large scale international consortia are busy mapping out the brain circuitry in the hope, like genomics, that once we have all the coordinates and molecular details we will be able to understand our incredible ‘brainy’ supercomputer and treat illnesses with precision. However, in the same way genetics has now been confounded by epigenetics, non-coding DNA, and RNA bits and bytes, we might expect that the basic brain map may be confounded by yet, undefined circuits and unexplained phenomena, like telepathy. As another example of how original conceptions have been thrown out the window comes from the field of sensory perception. One could now say that our bodies are one incredible taste and odorant sensor (Foster et al. 2014). So can brain-to-brain communications stand on their own or, as many of you know from everyday experiences, the visual (even using past memories) is an essential element for total comfort with your communicator (Perrodin et al. 2015). And, while you are busy reading this online please note the following (Kuhn and Gallinat 2015). The journey into the future new world of brain-to-brain communication will be with some trepidation. In comparison to information transmission through the ether, we can all appreciate current practical applications such as controlling prosthetic limbs by integration of the nervous system, a truly fantastic advance. There is no doubt, as Professor Perbal states that mind over matter, machines, and other brains, would have enormous implications for us and the world. Communication with animals could bring a whole new meaning to ‘man’s best friend’. Once we really open up this Pandora’s Box then we have to be prepared to use our collective wisdom to avoid possible abuse and misuse.

Design and Development of a Bio-Inspired Flapping Wing Type Micro Air Vehicle

This paper presents the design and development of a bio-inspired flapping wing type Micro Air Vehicle (MAV). Bio-inspiration is implicated to design a flapping wing aerodynamic ornithopter, controlled using a micro scale integrated on- board electronic circuits and communication device. The study of flapping flight from an experimental standpoint brought insight into the lift-generating mechanisms produced during flapping. These vehicles are meant to address a large number of civilian and military applications including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. A First Person View (FPV) approach is utilized to wirelessly pilot the vehicle and for surveillance. The integrated system concludes to present a multidimensional approach to design, develop and control a micro scale aerial vehicle for deployment.

The use of electronic devices for communication with colleagues and other healthcare professionals - nursing professionals' perspectives.

The aim of the study is to describe nursing professionals' experiences of the use of electronic devices for communication with colleagues and other healthcare professionals. Information and communication technology applications in health care are rapidly expanding, thanks to the fast-growing penetration of the Internet and mobile technology. Communication between professionals in health care is essential for patient safety and quality of care. Implementing new methods for communication among healthcare professionals is important. A cross-sectional survey was used in the study. The data were collected in spring 2012 using an electronic questionnaire with structured and open-ended questions. The target group comprised the nursing professionals (N = 567, n = 123) in one healthcare district who worked in outpatient clinics in publically funded health care in Finland. Nursing professionals use different electronic devices for communication with each other. The most often used method was email, while the least used methods were question-answer programmes and synchronous communication channels on the Internet. Communication using electronic devices was used for practical nursing, improving personnel competences, organizing daily operations and administrative tasks. Electronic devices may speed up the management of patient data, improve staff cooperation and competence and make more effective use of working time. The obstacles were concern about information security, lack of technical skills, unworkable technology and decreasing social interaction. According to our findings, despite the obstacles related to use of information technology, the use of electronic devices to support communication among healthcare professionals appears to be useful.

A new compact UWB traveling-wave antenna based on CRLH-TLs for embedded electronic systems

Design and fabrication of a traveling-wave printed planar composite right/left-handed (CRLH) antenna are presented in this paper. The proposed traveling-wave antenna constructed of four unit cells with b-shaped geometries, which each occupy 2.49 mm length, 6.32 mm width, and 0.8 mm height. In this paper, with designing the optimized b-shaped printed planar structure by the standard manufacturing techniques on the printed circuit boards, which perform the roles of the series left-handed (LH) capacitances (CL), the antenna size, bandwidth, and radiation specifications may be improved to the desirable range. Also, to obtaining the desired results the spiral inductors have been used, which play the roles of the shunt LH inductances (LL). The fabricated antenna with the proposed structure can be covered more from 2 GHz measured impedance bandwidth with minimum of the measured gain and radiation efficiency equal to 6.1 dBi and 52.3%, respectively, which happen at 9 GHz. According to the provided results, the proposed compact ultra-wideband traveling-wave antenna is a potential candidate to use in the embedded electronic systems and portable wireless communication devices.

Age-related trends in utilization of the internet and electronic communication devices for coordination of cancer care in elderly patients

In this rapidly changing electronic era, we implemented a study to define age dependent variations in access and use of internet and electronic devices in the exchange of healthcare related information (HRI) and coordination of clinical care (CCC) among elderly patients with cancer. Data was collected through independently completed surveys after obtaining IRB approval in a single institution cancer center over a 4-month period. Questions regarding internet access and use of electronic media to obtain health information and coordinate care were distributed. The sample was divided in two groups based upon the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of geriatric patients: <65 y/o (group A) and ≥65 y/o (group B). One hundred and twenty-six surveys were analyzed with 70 patients in group A and 56 patients in group B. Access to the internet and use of email was higher in the group A (77% and 71%) vs. group B (36% and 33%, p < 0.001). The younger group felt more comfortable using the internet when compared to the older group (70% vs. 40%, p = 0.01). Patients in group B demonstrated a strong preference for paper copy based HRI and phone calls to CCC than text messages or emails (73% and 95%, p < 0.001). A transition zone between the ages of 65 and 70 years was defined to identify patients with increased reluctance to use internet and electronic devices to exchange HRI and CCC. The data supports that there is an age-defined underutilization of internet and electronic devices to exchange HRI and CCC. Characterization of this age-dependent transition zone will enable clinicians to identify patients who may not interface well with electronic communication strategies, and to improve delivery of HRI and CCC for the elderly.

Convocation Speaker Calls for ‘Century of the Mind’

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Clinical and Research NewsFull AccessConvocation Speaker Calls for ‘Century of the Mind’Mark MoranMark MoranSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:12 Jun 2013https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2013.6b11AbstractWhat has long been called the “mind” can now be understood as the growth of connections between neurons that arises from individual human encounter with experience.Mind change”—a result of the threat to neuronal connections and growth of the brain posed by digital technology—may be as important a challenge in the 21st century as climate change. That’s what Susan Greenfield, C.B.E., D.Phil., told APA members during the William C. Menninger Memorial Convocation Lecture at APA’s 2013 annual meeting in San Francisco last month. Greenfield, a neuroscientist at the University of Oxford and author of a neuroscientific theory of consciousness titled The Private Life of the Brain, described her work searching for biomarkers of—and pharmacologic interventions for—neurodegenerative diseases.Susan Greenfield, C.B.E., D.Phil., tells annual meeting attendees that long hours using electronic communication devices could threaten the growth of neuronal connections by depleting opportunites for human interaction. David HathcoxShe outlined what she said is a neuroscientific theory of the mind. “The wonderful thing about being born a human being is that you are born with a full complement of neurons, but it is the growth of the connections between those neurons that accounts for the growth of the brain after birth,” Greenfield said. “You are going to be unique—no one will have a brain like yours in the 100,000 years we have stalked this planet because those connections are formed, updated, changed, and endlessly revised by the dialogue you as a human being have with the outside world. That is why we occupy more ecological niches than any other species on the planet, and it is why we are individuals, because if you have individual experiences—unlike, say the goldfish that doesn’t have a great personality—then you are going to be an individual.” But Greenfield also expressed her belief that the vast amounts of time many people—especially children and adolescents—are spending in isolated contemplation of computer screens, tablets, or smartphones may be threatening the growth of connections by depleting the opportunities for real encounters with experience. “If you are spending, as some kids are, five hours-plus a day not walking on the beach, not giving someone a hug, not looking someone in the eye,...you should expect to see some differences, and not all of them are going to be good,” she said. Greenfield, who also is the author of You and Me: The Neuroscience of Identity, said there is a “huge amount of evidence accumulating” that mind change, analogous to climate change, is happening. “We need to take this seriously,” she said.But unlike climate change—to which the human response can be only damage control—Greenfield said we can harness the power of neuroscience to make positive changes. She recalled that President George H. W. Bush proclaimed the 1990s as the “Decade of the Brain.” But she said the accomplishments of that period and since have only scratched the surface of what is possible with the expanding reach of neuroscience. “That is nothing compared to this century, and I would like to persuade you that what we should really be thinking about is the 21st century—the whole century—as the century of the mind.“For the first time in our privileged Western world, we have a longer life expectancy than at any other time,” she said. “So what are we going to do with all this time?.... That is the challenge, and that is what is so different about mind change. We have the enormous chance to truly make the 21st century the century of the individual human mind.” ■ ISSUES NewArchived

Use and Acceptance of AAC Systems by Children with Angelman Syndrome

This investigation of children with Angelman syndrome (AS) examined reported uses of electronic augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices (i.e., VOCAs), including speech generating devices, in relation to other aided and unaided methods of communication. A total of 122 parents of children with AS, mostly from the USA self-administered a survey over the Internet. Qualitative methods based primarily on thematic analysis were used to organize and examine data. Children relied heavily on unaided methods of communication such as natural gestures, regardless of their experiences with electronic communication devices. Parents cited various reasons for children's acceptance or rejection of their most advanced devices. Clinical implications are discussed in relation to children's needs for multimodal methods of communication, including accurately matching children's capabilities to AAC device characteristics. Practitioners are encouraged to consider reasons that parents cited for children's acceptance versus rejection of devices when implementing AAC programs.

Microbiological Profile of Organisms Cultured from Medical Staff Mobile Phones in ICU Units at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Mobile phones are widely used as portable electronic devices for communication and it is in close contact with the body of health care workers (HCW)3. Mobile phones may serve as vectors for the nosocomial transmission of microorganisms2.

China’s language input system in the digital age affects children’s reading development

Written Chinese as a logographic system was developed over 3,000 y ago. Historically, Chinese children have learned to read by learning to associate the visuo-graphic properties of Chinese characters with lexical meaning, typically through handwriting. In recent years, however, many Chinese children have learned to use electronic communication devices based on the pinyin input method, which associates phonemes and English letters with characters. When children use pinyin to key in letters, their spelling no longer depends on reproducing the visuo-graphic properties of characters that are indispensable to Chinese reading, and, thus, typing in pinyin may conflict with the traditional learning processes for written Chinese. We therefore tested character reading ability and pinyin use by primary school children in three Chinese cites: Beijing (n = 466), Guangzhou (n = 477), and Jining (n = 4,908). Children with severe reading difficulty are defined as those who were normal in nonverbal IQ but two grades (i.e., 2 y) behind in character-reading achievement. We found that the overall incidence rate of severe reading difficulty appears to be much higher than ever reported on Chinese reading. Crucially, we found that children's reading scores were significantly negatively correlated with their use of the pinyin input method, suggesting that pinyin typing on e-devices hinders Chinese reading development. The Chinese language has survived the technological challenges of the digital era, but the benefits of communicating digitally may come with a cost in proficient learning of written Chinese.

Availability and night‐time use of electronic entertainment and communication devices are associated with short sleep duration and obesity among Canadian children

What is already known about this subject Short sleep duration is a risk factor for obesity. Television (TV) in the bedroom has been shown to be associated with excess body weight in children. Children increasingly use other electronic entertainment and communication devices (EECDs) such as video games, computers, and smart phones. What this study adds Access to and night-time use of EECDs are associated with shortened sleep duration, excess body weight, poorer diet quality, and lower physical activity levels. Our findings reinforce existing recommendations pertaining to TV and Internet access by the American Academy of Pediatrics and suggest to have these expanded to restricted availability of video games and smart phones in children's bedrooms. While the prevalence of childhood obesity and access to and use of electronic entertainment and communication devices (EECDs) have increased in the past decades, no earlier study has examined their interrelationship. To examine whether night-time access to and use of EECDs are associated with sleep duration, body weights, diet quality, and physical activity of Canadian children. A representative sample of 3398 grade 5 children in Alberta, Canada, was surveyed. The survey included questions on children's lifestyles and health behaviours, the Harvard Youth/Adolescent Food Frequency questionnaire, a validated questionnaire on physical activity, and measurements of heights and weights. Random effect models were used to assess the associations of night-time access to and use of EECDs with sleep, diet quality, physical activity, and body weights. Sixty-four percent of parents reported that their child had access to one or more EECDs in their bedroom. Access to and night-time use of EECDs were associated with shortened sleep duration, excess body weight, poorer diet quality, and lower physical activity levels in a statistically significant manner. Limiting the availability of EECDs in children's bedrooms and discouraging their night-time use may be considered as a strategy to promote sleep and reduce childhood obesity.

An analysis of preferences for hazardous substances free products: manufacturing, use and end of life of mobile phones

Electronic communication devices such as mobile phones pose significant environmental risks when disposed of after the end of their useful life. Mobile communication devices are one of the fastest growing contributors to the electronic waste (e-waste) stream. Recent legislative pressure and increasing awareness about the environmental risk associated with the hazardous components of the electronic products warrants the manufacturers to reduce or replace the hazardous materials with alternatives. The present study analyses the economic consequences of reducing or replacing these hazardous materials and the possible response of the consumers. A strategic game theory model has been applied in this paper for manufacturer and consumers considering the cost difference between hazardous substances free (HSF) and hazardous substance (HS) mobile. Results suggest that the HSF mobiles can be a preferred choice of the manufacturers as well as consumers if the cost of disposal of HS mobiles can be internalized and a marginal incentive (e.g. 0.9% for a cost difference to 5%, and 5.3% for a cost difference to 10%) is given. The study further highlights the need for realizing the fact that passing on the incentives to the consumers in order to promote schemes for return back to manufacturer at its end of life for effective reuse and recycling gives higher returns.

Communication and Learning in the New Media Space

Abstract The age of electronic communication is the age of opening categorical and classification boundaries. In the new media space the traditional distinctions between children and adult experiences collapse and disappear. The aim of this essay is to show that the use of electronic technologies has abolished the traditional pedagogical thinking, and brings in new conventions. As a result of evolving new practices which rely on electronic communication devices, communication has become an essential activity among children, helping them acquire and share everyday information and knowledge with intensity and efficiency that can even change the traditional pedagogical thinking. The use of new communication technologies and forms of learning support gain particular importance especially in a system of lifelong learning, which provides identical frameworks for children and adults.

NHS Connecting for Health: Healthcare Professionals, Mobile Technology, and Infection Control

Mobile phones improve the efficiency of clinical communication and are increasingly involved in all areas of healthcare delivery. Despite this, healthcare workers' mobile phones provide a known reservoir of pathogenic bacteria, with the potential to undermine infection control efforts aimed at the reducing bacterial cross-contamination in hospitals. This potential could be amplified further when employers require doctors to carry additional electronic devices for communication, without concurrently providing appropriate guidance on decontamination or use. Eighty-seven on-call doctors' mobile phones were sampled for bacterial growth prior to, and 12 h after, a cleaning intervention involving 70% isopropyl alcohol. Seventy-eight percent of doctors were aware that mobile phones could carry pathogenic bacteria, but only 8% cleaned their phones regularly. The cleaning intervention reduced the number of phones that grew bacteria by 79% (55% [48 of 87] before versus 16% [14 of 87] after cleaning). Eight percent of the phones grew Staphyloccus aureus, and 44.8% of phones grew Gram-positive cocci. All S. aureus isolates were methicillin-sensitive. Bacterial contamination was not associated with gender, specialty, or seniority of the phone user (p>0.05). Simple cleaning interventions can reduce the surface bioburden of hospital-provided doctors' mobile phones and therefore the potential for cross-contamination. This cleaning intervention is inexpensive, easily instituted, and effective. Healthcare workers should carry the minimum number of electronic devices on their person, maintain good hand hygiene, and clean their device appropriately in order to minimize the potential for cross-contamination in the work place.

Admissibility of Computer-Generated Evidence Under Nigeria's (New) Evidence Act, 2011

Computers and other electronic information and communication devices represent a new millennium in the age of technology development. The advent of computers brought with it a new form of record keeping in software - microfilms, microchips, diskettes, flash drives - that are not by any means within the former understanding of the word ‘documents.' However, tendering computer-generated evidence is often as contentious and acrimonious as the underlying litigation itself, with the party opposing such evidence usually relying on the hearsay rule, among other forms of objections under the old Evidence Act, to prevent its admission.This article examines the relevance and conceptual analysis of sections of the new Evidence Act, 2011 under which computer-generated evidence can be admissible in evidence as well as the conditions to be fulfilled under each section. The article concludes by suggesting further steps that can create room for other forms of electronic or computer-generated evidence in Nigerian courts.

Is It Really Cheating? Understanding the Emotional Reactions and Clinical Treatment of Spouses and Partners Affected by Cybersex Infidelity

The recent explosion in new portable electronic communication devices has generated the need for evolving clinical thinking about the meaning of spousal infidelity in the age of these new media. To further the understanding of the emotional reactions of those affected by Internet, Smartphone and social media-related infidelity, an online survey of spouses or committed partners of cybersex users was created and 35 responses analyzed. The results show that even when sexual behaviors are limited to online, partners can lose trust in their loved ones, feel the need to seek assistance, and identify themselves as victims of trauma. Further, the results show significant reports of negative consequences on the partners’ relationships. Qualitative data offer support for the concept that partners’ feelings and actions that were formerly considered indicative of codependency can be normative behaviors of trauma victims seeking to regain control of their lives. Recommendations for clinicians working with partners are presented.