Tool For Gathering Information Research Articles

Willingness toward voluntary counseling and testing and associated factors among tuberculosis infected patients at public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Voluntary counseling and testing for HIV has proven to be a highly effective and cost-efficient approach in many locations, yielding excellent results. It serves as a gateway to a range of HIV-related services, including the provision of antiretroviral drugs. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the willingness toward VCT and associated factors among TB infected patients at Public Hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2023. A facility-based cross-sectional study was undertaken at public hospitals in Addis Ababa from 1st to 30th of March 2023 with 235 participants using systematic random sampling. Trained data collectors employed a pretested data extraction tool for information gathering. Variables with p-value less than 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression were considered statistically significant. The prevalence of willingness toward VCT among TB infected patients was (78.3, 95%CI: 72.8, 83.4). Individuals with a primary education level (AOR: 6.32; 95%CI: 1.65, 24.25), government employees (AOR: 5.85; 95%CI: 1.78, 19.22) and private employees (AOR: 3.35; 95%CI: 1.12, 10.01), good knowledge of VCT (AOR: 3.12; 95%CI: 1.36, 7.16), perceived a higher risk (AOR: 6.58; 95%CI: 2.44, 17.73) and perceived stigma (AOR: 14.95; 95%CI: 4.98, 44.91) were factors associated with willingness toward VCT. The proportion of Tuberculosis infected patients expressing willingness toward Voluntary Counseling and Testing in this study was higher than in previous studies, it falls below the UNAIDS target of 90% of people knowing their HIV status. Notably, factors such as level of education, occupation, knowledge, perceived risk, and perceived stigma emerged as independent factors significantly associated with the willingness of TB-infected patients to undergo VCT. These findings underscore the importance of considering socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge levels, and psychosocial factors in designing strategies to enhance VCT acceptance among TB-infected individuals.

أثر استخدام تقنيات إدارة المشاريع على تطوير المشاريع بالتطبيق على شركات القطاع الخاص بالمنطقة الشرقية بالمملكة العربية السعودية

The aim of the research is to highlight the impact of the use of enterprise management techniques on enterprise development by applying to private sector companies in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia by clarifying the dimensions of enterprise development, as well as to reveal the impact of project management techniques on enterprise development in its dimensions (project scheduling, project resources, project cost, project risks, project quality). The researcher has relied on the analytical descriptive approach to achieve the objectives of the study. The identification was used as an information-gathering tool. This research was applied to a study community consisting of workers from private sector companies in the eastern region within Saudi Arabia. (SPSS). This research has yielded a series of important findings, the most significant of which is that there is a statistically significant effect between the techniques used in project management (as a separate variable) and enterprise development (as a follow-up variable) within private sector companies in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. There is a statistically significant effect between the techniques used in project management (as a separate variable) and the scheduling of projects (as a first dimension of enterprise development) (as a follow-up variable) within private sector companies in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. The researcher recommended the need for senior management to develop skills through continuous training in project management. There is a need for agreement between senior leadership in projects and departments on the determinants of strategic plan development. Resource management depends on the efficiency and effectiveness of project planning.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Employee Recruitment in the Furniture Industry of Iran According to the Role of Contextual Factors

Abstract The present research aims to analyze the effect of contextual factors affecting the application of artificial intelligence technology in employee recruitment in the furniture industry of Iran, which is a practical purpose and has been carried out in a descriptive-surveillance manner, to find out the reasons, facilitators and limitations of its use with the presented conceptual model. Make this technology understandable to organizations during employee recruitment. To measure and analyze the effect of these factors, a questionnaire was used as an information-gathering tool, which was given to 250 senior managers and middle managers of companies active in the furniture industry of Iran. The results of the analysis of the information obtained in two descriptive and inferential parts, according to the data analysis algorithm in the method of structural equations and Smart PLS software, confirmed the hypotheses of the research and showed that the effective background factors include: technological factors, organizational and environmental have a positive and significant effect on the use of Artificial intelligence in the furniture industry in Iran, and the use of artificial intelligence as a competitive advantage improves the organizational capabilities of recruitment and recruitment (based on data, process, staff) in the furniture industry. Forgives. Also, it makes it easier to carry out “blind” Recruitment of employees processes and review frequent applications, and by simplifying the application analysis process through applicant tracking systems, it can save time and money in human resources processes and reduce discrimination in choices.

A framework for automating environmental vulnerability analysis of network services

The primary objective of this paper is to introduce a comprehensive framework designed to automate the assessment of environmental vulnerability status of communication protocols and networked services, within operational contexts. The proposed algorithm leverages the Common Vulnerability Scoring System version 3 (CVSS 3) metrics in conjunction with network security data. The initial step involves the establishment of a network security ontology, which serves to model the environmental attributes associated with the current security posture of communication protocol channels available within an infrastructure. The process commences with the identification and enumeration of all active communication services through a combination of diverse information gathering tools. Subsequently, active network services undergo assessment using a blend of passive scanning and active security analysis tools, which produce the environmental security score. This score can be integrated into vulnerability scoring systems such as CVSS, facilitating the fine-tuning of base CVSS scores, as well as vulnerability mitigation in real-world environments. To validate the proposed framework, we conducted testing across various networks and communication protocols within a controlled environment, thereby offering tangible illustrations for widely-utilized communication protocols.

Analysis of the social perception of a producer about the pig production system and his experience with alternative feeding

This study was carried out in the municipality of Florencia Caquetá. The purpose of the following investigation was to analyze the social perception of a producer of breeding sows, regarding the production system and their experience in the use of alternative feeds, for which the interview was used as an information gathering tool. Data was found around three important families for the producer, the first was the productive technical part, which covered everything related to the productive process, taking topics such as genetics, reproduction and hygiene. The next family was economics, dealing with topics such as marketing, inflation, the market, and profitability. Finally, the pig family, where the importance of knowledge, dedication and replicating the same knowledge was highlighted, thus understanding the motivations of the producer, how he visualizes his future production and wanting to share his knowledge with other producers who want to venture in new ways of producing bristles.Keywords: production, sows, feeding, knowledge, dedication

Efikasi Diri Mahasiswa Pada Perkuliahan Matematika Diskrit

Abstract The purpose of this qualitative research is to describe in detail the profile of students' self-efficacy in dealing with discrete mathematics courses. The subjects of this study were 21 students of class TI21A4 Informatics Engineering Study Program, Duta Bangsa University, Surakarta, who were taking a Discrete Mathematics course. The information gathering tool consisted of a self-efficacy questionnaire and a guide for interview sessions. Participants filled out a questionnaire related to self-efficacy. The output of the self-efficacy questionnaire showed that 5% of students showed a very high level of self-efficacy, 39% had a high level of self-efficacy, 33% had a moderate level of self-efficacy, and 23% experienced a low level of self-efficacy. After that, 6 students were selected to be research subjects, consisting of 2 students each with high, medium, and low self-efficacy levels. Students with high and medium self-efficacy in solving Discrete Mathematics questions do not give up easily, while students with low self-efficacy give up easily when solving these problems. Students with high and moderate self-efficacy have been able to learn independently, while students with low self-efficacy have not been able to learn difficult Discrete Mathematics material independently and need guidance from the lecturer. Even so, students with high, medium, and low self-efficacy were able to complete assignments and submit assignments on time. Students with low self-efficacy, their learning efforts are less than optimal for various reasons so that they have not been able to achieve the targeted learning achievements. While students with high and moderate self-efficacy are already optimal with regard to their learning efforts Keywords: self-efficacy; student; discrete mathematics

“Japa”: An Exploratory Study of the Roles of Social Media in an Out-Migration Trend in Nigeria

This study seeks to understand the roles of social media in the new “Japa” migration trend in Nigeria. As part of this main objective, the study investigates the demographic characteristics of these new migrants—their age, gender, and socioeconomic status classifications. It also explores the challenges experienced by these new migrants before leaving and after arriving at their destination countries and asks if and how social media mitigates these challenges. The participants consist of Nigerians who lived in the United Kingdom ( N = 18; 48.6%), Canada ( N = 5; 13.5%), the United States ( N = 10; 27%), Sweden ( N = 1; 2.7%), and France ( N = 3; 8.1%). They were aged between 26 and 48 years, with an average age of 32.5. There were 22 (59.5%) men and 15 women (40.5%) in the study. The study finds little to no evidence to support the conclusion of a more direct influence of social media on the migration decision of this Japa migration trend among the cohort interviewed. More conservative social media platforms were preferred to other, more open social networking categories. Also crucially important is the role of trust engendered by offline social network ties (including family kinship and friendship) of online influencers. The display of affluence as a motivating factor could not be conclusively established; other factors like socioeconomic, insecurity, career prospects, and unemployment were mentioned as more important. Social media applications were recognized as information-gathering tools rather than inspirational or motivational sources for the Japa migration enterprise.

Intentions to purchase a sustainable mobile phone by network analysis in four European countries

The environmental impact of the smartphone industry is large and growing. Smartphone production requires precious metals, and its manufacturing, energy consumption during use, and disposal also harm the environment. These impacts are exacerbated by the low repairability and short replacement cycles of around two years. We investigate the factors relating to the intention to purchase an easily repairable modular smartphone (the Fairphone 4), in order to better understand what influences consumers to choose this sustainable alternative. We used an attitude network approach in a pre-registered online study (total N = 2202) in four countries: the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Across countries, psychological factors were more closely related to intentions to buy a sustainable smartphone than product and brand characteristics. In particular, joy and excitement, overall attitude, and green product interest related positively to purchase intentions, while the status of the product and feelings of uncertainty about the product correlated negatively with intentions. We discuss network analysis as a tool for information gathering and hypothesis generation, and suggest how the results could inform marketing and communication strategies.

The Impact of the Workforce Diversity, Innovation Capacity and Corporate Social Responsibility on the Image of the Organization

Abstract Demographic trends play an important role in the development of workforce diversity. Population expansion and immigration are two examples of demographic changes that have created more diverse environments and made it crucial for organizations to be able to adapt and manage change. Organizations constantly need to reassess their methods and come up with new, original ideas for managing people as a result of demographic and global changes. Positive adjustments could boost an organization’s performance in matters of innovation and strengthen its ties to its customers as well as to the entire community. The research purpose of our paper is to provide an analysis of various viewpoints on the perceived image of the organization while taking into account the influence of three aspects: workforce diversity, creativity and innovation capacity, and corporate social responsibility. The perception of these three important organizational aspects was examined among employees from organizations of all sizes and in a range of activities from Romania. A questionnaire was used as an information gathering tool. The study is based on the quantitative approach, which considers the statistical analysis of numerical data. Based on the study findings and due to the inductive reasoning, today’s leaders are responsible both for managing employees, but also for meeting the needs of customers who are increasingly ethnically and culturally diverse. It is necessary to pay attention to aspects related to diversity. Whether the goal is to be a valued employer, to provide excellent products and services to customers, or to maintain a competitive advantage, diversity is recognized and used as an important organizational resource.

The U.S. Experience in Drafting Guidelines for Judicial Interviews of Children and Its Translation to Hague Abduction Convention Return Proceedings Globally

This article will focus on judicial interviews of children, in chambers, including in Hague Abduction Convention cases; the potential promise and pitfalls of conducting such interviews; and how the U.S. experience provides an excellent template for future discussions and work on creating a soft law instrument on this important information-gathering tool.

Web Vulnerability Scanning Framework

Abstract: The increasing reliance on web-based systems has brought cybersecurity to the forefront of concerns for organizations and individuals alike. In this paper, we present a framework that leverages open-source tools for information gathering (reconnaissance) and vulnerability assessment in web-based systems. The framework is designed to be hosted as a website, providing a user-friendly interface for cybersecurity practitioners to conduct reconnaissance and identify vulnerabilities in their target systems. Through integration of various open-source tools, our framework enables efficient and effective information gathering and vulnerability scanning, aiding in the identification and mitigation of potential security risks. Our framework contributes to the field of cybersecurity by providing a unified solution for reconnaissance and vulnerability assessment in webbased systems. The integration of open-source tools and the flexibility of our framework make it a valuable resource for cybersecurity practitioners.

Information and communication technology development and health gap nexus in Africa.

Development of information and communication technology has been identified as a tool for fast and effective information gathering and dissemination, and as a means through which almost every social and economic sector (including the health sector) could achieve economic, operational, and service delivery efficiencies that can enable the realization of targeted outcomes. ICT can serve as a tool for achieving international agreements (including the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978), thereby accelerating the achievement of various global development targets. Consequently, based on a sample of 38 countries from 2000 to 2018, this study investigates the effect of ICT development on the health gap, and whether the effect varies by gender and sub-region in Africa. The dependent variable (health gap) was measured as the difference between the achieved life expectancy at birth of 60 years and the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978 targeted life expectancy at birth of 60 years. The main independent variables are ICT indicators (ICT index, mobile cellular subscriptions, and internet access), while the gross domestic product (GDP), which is the measure of economic growth, healthcare expenditure, urbanization, and labor market outcome, is employed as control variables. The effect was examined using Driscoll-Kraay standard errors, feasible generalized least squares (FGLS), and panel-corrected standard error (PCSE). The findings of the Driscoll-Kraay standard errors estimation technique supported by those of FGLS and PCSE suggest that ICT does act as an indispensable stimulator for Africa to significantly exceed the international health target of life expectancy at birth of 60 years. It can be concluded that African leaders need to take advantage and maximize the health-enhancing potential of the internet component of ICT through relevant policies that would improve internet coverage, connectivity, and access for individuals and health institutions.

The role of sports clubs in empowering Palestinian youth to participate in reducing drug abuse

The study aimed to identify the role of sports clubs in empowering Palestinian youth to participate in drug abuse reduction. In order to achieve the study's objective, the researchers used the analytical descriptive curriculum to fit the study topic. The researchers designed the questionnaire as an information-gathering tool consisting of 37 phrases and a sample of 98 chairpersons and members of the General Assembly of Sports Club The most im-portant findings of the study were that sports clubs play a role in cultural empowerment: Sports clubs hold panel discussions with youth participation that demonstrate the seriousness of drug use. The results show that social em-powerment is concerned with sports clubs documenting meetings and meetings with young people to adopt their ideas. Sports empowerment also shows that sports clubs develop motivational awards for youth participants in sports programs and activities. The results of the difficulties impeding sports clubs' role in empowering Palestinian youth revealed poor coordina-tion between sports clubs and youth institutions in enabling young people to participate in reducing drug abuse. The study's findings reached proposals for attention to the development of preventive plans for young people that illustrate the negative effects of drug prevalence and abuse.Researchers are recommended: The need to develop strategies and plans for preventive, curative and development programs that contribute to empowering young people to participate in reducing drug abuse in Palestinian society.

Border security and the digitalisation of sovereignty: insights from EU borderwork

ABSTRACT The European Union’s effort at controlling its external borders is an endeavour that increasingly relies on digital systems: from tools for information gathering and surveillance to systems for communicating between different agencies and across member states. This makes EU borders a key site for the politics of “digital sovereignty” – of controlling digital data, software and infrastructures. In this article, we propose a new understanding of how the concepts of digital and sovereignty interplay: sovereignty by digital means, sovereignty of the digital, and sovereignty over the digital. We do it by analysing three key manifestations within the EU’s borderwork: firstly, the expansion of EURODAC to include facial biometric data; secondly, the creation of the (future) shared Biometric Matching System (sBMS); and thirdly, the EU-funded West Africa Police Information System (WAPIS). These databases and systems exemplify three transformations of EU borderwork that invoke different dimensions of digital sovereignty: expansion of techniques for governing migration; interoperability of EU databases facilitating the internalisation of borders through domestic policing; and extra-territorialization of borderwork beyond the geographic limits of the EU.

Twitter Ban in Nigeria: A Stigma to Democratic Governance

‘Twitter’ in the 21st century has become a useful tool for information gathering, sharing and interactions amongst individuals and for diplomatic negotiations between governments across the world. The potency along the communication lines of twitter lies in its ability to reach a wide and diversified audience quickly and simultaneously. Most intriguing is that individuals through public opinion on twitter hold governments accountable for their actions. With the application of libertarian theory, the prohibition on Twitter in Nigeria is investigated empirically in this study. Drawing on secondary sources of data collection, findings of the study revealed that regardless of the enormous prospects and economic relevance of twitter in Nigeria, the twitter ban is an undemocratic act and an utter infringement on freedom of expression and access to information sharing which constitute fundamental human rights. The study concluded by stating that the Nigerian government should revert the ban on twitter and restore the digital right of Nigerian residents to the platform. The study recommended that democratic institutions should be more consolidated so that the rule of law can be guaranteed. In addition, given that Nigeria is said to be a democratic country, rather than infringing on rights to freedom of speech and expression by control, banning or censoring of social media activities, the Nigerian government can opt for press conferences, press releases and even social media platforms to communicate with a larger crowd on brewing social issues.

Experimental Validation of Entropy-Driven Swarm Exploration under Sparsity Constraints with Sparse Bayesian Learning.

Increasing the autonomy of multi-agent systems or swarms for exploration missions requires tools for efficient information gathering. This work studies this problem from theoretical and experimental perspectives and evaluates an exploration system for multiple ground robots that cooperatively explore a stationary spatial process. For the distributed model, two conceptually different distribution paradigms are considered. The exploration is based on fusing distributively gathered information using Sparse Bayesian Learning (SBL), which permits representing the spatial process in a compressed manner and thus reduces the model complexity and communication load required for the exploration. An entropy-based exploration criterion is formulated to guide the agents. This criterion uses an estimation of a covariance matrix of the model parameters, which is then quantitatively characterized using a D-optimality criterion. The new sampling locations for the agents are then selected to minimize this criterion. To this end, a distributed optimization of the D-optimality criterion is derived. The proposed entropy-driven exploration is then presented from a system perspective and validated in laboratory experiments with two ground robots. The experiments show that SBL together with the distributed entropy-driven exploration is real-time capable and leads to a better performance with respect to time and accuracy compared with similar state-of-the-art algorithms.

Barriers to Knowledge Management Implementation at Fasa Health Center: A Qualitative Content Analysis Study

Background & Objective: Knowledge growth has been very rapid in recent years. Health centers can implement knowledge management in their organization to improve service quality, reduce costs and time, strengthen relationships among colleagues, and produce knowledge faster by reviewing barriers to knowledge management implementation at fasa health center. Material & Methodes: In this qualitative study, some managers of Fasa Health Center were selected based on purposive sampling and the study continued until data saturation. Finally, 5 people were interviewed. Information gathering tools were MAXQDA software and data obtained from the semi-structured interview. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: The findings lead to the extraction of a core theme as barriers to knowledge management implementation that consist of 5 categories: 1- Barrier of organizational structure (with 5 subcategories), 2- Barrier of individual factor (with 3 subcategories) 3- Barrier of Organizational culture (with 4 subcategories) 4- Barrier of information technology (with 6 subcategories) 5-Barrier of management agent (with 4 subcategories) Conclusion: The results showed that university authorities can provide appropriate culture, motivational factors to accelerate more case finding, expedite electronic health records, disease eradication, better cost management, disaster management, electronic submission of monthly data, eliminating the paper, and increasing staff productivity faster

Person or PC? A Comparison of Human and Computer Coding as Content Analyses Tools Evaluating Severe Weather

Computer-aided content analyses programs have been deployed for social science research in recent years; however, few studies have evaluated their effectiveness, compared to human coding. This study uses open-ended responses from respondents seeking information in preparation for Hurricane Michael to compare human- and computer-coding. In particular, the comparison involves the use of Excel as a common and relatively simple coding instrument. Results indicated significant differences between frequencies coded by humans and a computer, with additional findings suggesting that residents employ television as a tool for information gathering when severe weather is imminent. Final discussion focuses on support for a blended model of both human and computer coding, while examining the findings related to severe weather.

Adapting Railway Maintenance to Climate Change

Railway infrastructure is vulnerable to extreme weather events such as elevated temperature, flooding, storms, intense winds, sea level rise, poor visibility, etc. These events have extreme consequences for the dependability of railway infrastructure and the acceptable level of services by infrastructure managers and other stakeholders. It is quite complex and difficult to quantify the consequences of climate change on railway infrastructure because of the inherent nature of the railway itself. Hence, the main aim of this work is to qualitatively identify and assess the impact of climate change on railway infrastructure with associated risks and consequences. A qualitative research methodology is employed in the study using a questionnaire as a tool for information gathering from experts from several municipalities in Sweden, Swedish transport infrastructure managers, maintenance organizations, and train operators. The outcome of this questionnaire revealed that there was a lower level of awareness about the impact of climate change on the various facets of railway infrastructure. Furthermore, the work identifies the challenges and barriers for climate adaptation of railway infrastructure and suggests recommended actions to improve the resilience towards climate change. It also provides recommendations, including adaptation options to ensure an effective and efficient railway transport service.

Profile of the companies participating in the Mexican national exports award

Objective: To identify the profile of the companies participating in the Mexican National Exportation Award (NEA) in the Large Agricultural Exporting Companies category (LAEC), by an information-gathering tool to determine the commercial lines of those businesses, their state of origin, and the exports destination. Methodology: a total of 17 questionnaires (n = 17), applied by the NEA to the LAEC category participants during the 2010-2018 period, were analyzed to determine the commercial business lines, their state of origin, and the destination of the exports. A problem tree was created to find opportunity areas to design solution proposals. The collected information was processed in the NetDraw 2.097 software to show the networks, their dominant actors (countries to which they export), and the products that the companies exported the most. Results: pork and vegetables business lines were identified. The latter revealed a sub-network of tomatoes and strawberries. A network was generated with an open structure comprising 17 nodes and 46 links where three export destination countries stood out: the USA with 15 links, Canada with six, and Japan with five. The highest exported product was the tomato in its different varieties, mainly to the U.S. and Canada. Limitations: Scarce information about the award on the internet. Access restrictions. Most of the exporting companies did not respond to the survey. Conclusions: the perishability of exported products determines the number of destination countries. The precariousness of Mexican agricultural exports was identified because companies trade only one product or a reduced number of them to only one country.