Multiple Surveys Research Articles

Time matters. Global assessment of quality, duration and mismatch between real practice working conditions and physician needs performing outpatients cardiological consultations

Abstract Background Nowadays time-shortage to perform medical consultations is a common issue of cardiologist practice worldwide. Purpose The aims of this work are to assess the practical working conditions in which outpatient cardiologists work, the severity of the time-pressure issue, what impact time shortage has in terms of work accuracy and the local differences across the World. Methods A multiple choice survey was submitted randomly to participants during the ESC congress in presence (2019) and throughout several social media pages of Physicians Associations. The respondents were asked about available time for single outpatient consultation, additional staff available, respect of ESC guidelines and a self evaluation over their own job quality and avoidable time-related mistakes. The respondents were 60 cardiologists from 22 countries, mostly Europeans. Results Most cardiologists suggested that the appropriate time for consultation should be between 30 and 45 minutes, while in the real World is commonly 20 minutes or less. Time-pressure affects the outcome since inadequate time allocation is a significant source of inaccuracies. Furthermore the results likely underestimate the severity of the problem, for several methodological limitations of the study Conclusions Scientific associations should define a recommended minimum outpatient consultations execution time, since time affects quality and it is a current unmatched clinician's need worldwide. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Integrating trawl and longline surveys across British Columbia improves groundfish distribution predictions

Predictions of the distribution of groundfish species are needed to support ongoing marine spatial planning initiatives in Canadian Pacific waters. Data to inform species distribution models are available from several fishery-independent surveys. However, no single survey covers the entire region and different gear types are required to survey the range of relevant habitat. Here, we demonstrated a method for integrating presence–absence data across surveys and gear types that allows us to predict the coastwide distributions of 65 groundfish species in British Columbia. Our model leverages data from multiple surveys to estimate how species respond to environmental gradients while accounting for differences in survey catchability. We find that this method has two main benefits: (1) it increases the accuracy of predictions in data-limited surveys and regions while having negligible impacts on accuracy when data are already sufficient, and (2) it reduces uncertainty, resulting in tighter confidence intervals on predicted occurrences. These benefits are particularly relevant in areas of our coast where our understanding of habitat suitability is limited due to a lack of spatially comprehensive long-term groundfish surveys.

The Pantheon+ Analysis: The Full Data Set and Light-curve Release

Here we present 1701 light curves of 1550 unique, spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that will be used to infer cosmological parameters as part of the Pantheon+ SN analysis and the Supernovae and H 0 for the Equation of State of dark energy distance-ladder analysis. This effort is one part of a series of works that perform an extensive review of redshifts, peculiar velocities, photometric calibration, and intrinsic-scatter models of SNe Ia. The total number of light curves, which are compiled across 18 different surveys, is a significant increase from the first Pantheon analysis (1048 SNe), particularly at low redshift (z). Furthermore, unlike in the Pantheon analysis, we include light curves for SNe with z < 0.01 such that SN systematic covariance can be included in a joint measurement of the Hubble constant (H 0) and the dark energy equation-of-state parameter (w). We use the large sample to compare properties of 151 SNe Ia observed by multiple surveys and 12 pairs/triplets of “SN siblings”—SNe found in the same host galaxy. Distance measurements, application of bias corrections, and inference of cosmological parameters are discussed in the companion paper by Brout et al., and the determination of H 0 is discussed by Riess et al. These analyses will measure w with ∼3% precision and H 0 with ∼1 km s−1 Mpc−1 precision.

Predicting Visual Differentiability for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Gestures

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly integrated into diverse human interaction domains that require robust human-robot communication systems. Visual communication techniques have shown promise in their ability to communicate concrete information to observers. Such techniques, often described as a UAV ‘gesture,’ may be especially useful in the domain of unmanned aerial flight as they can be integrated as a stand-alone software solution in contrast to light or sound-based systems that often require additional hardware and add weight to a vehicle. Gestures may also be useful in contexts where long distance operation reduces the effectiveness of sound-based communication strategies. As gesture is a visual communication technique, it is critical that gestures are designed to optimize an observer’s ability to visually perceive the shape of a gesture’s motion. Factors such as low visual differentiability between gestures within a set may reduce an observer’s ability to classify the shape of a gestural motion. In this letter, we discuss the results from multiple gesture perception surveys. We also develop and evaluate techniques to predict, in advance, how participants may perceive a UAV gesture. We demonstrate that participant gesture classification accuracy correlates to trajectory distance measures and present a method for evaluating high-differentiabilty gesture sets. This letter will enable gesture designers to create gesture sets that are differentiable with high-confidence.

Fungal endophytes and origins of decay in beech (Fagus sylvatica) sapwood

Sapwood comprises much above-ground forest biomass, but its mycobiome in living trees is largely unknown. Here, we characterize the endophytic fungal communities of the functional sapwood of young and mature living beech trees ( Fagus sylvatica) at multiple scales, from within individual trees to woodland sites across the southern United Kingdom. Fungal community composition was determined using both culture-based and molecular approaches across two loci. Wood decay fungi, including those that cause heart rot, were detected in approximately 80% of all samples. Fungal community composition differed according to the survey approach (high throughput sequencing vs. isolation of fungi into culture) and between geographic location and individual trees, but no significant patterns were detected at different heights in individual trees or around their circumferences. ITS and LSU sequencing detected more distinct taxa than culturing. However, LSU primers yielded more OTUs than did ITS primers, though both identified unique OTUs. This highlights the importance of multiple survey approaches, including multiple primer pairs, for better characterisation of communities and confidence in results of endophyte studies.

Updated orbital monitoring and dynamical masses for nearby M-dwarf binaries

Young M-type binaries are particularly useful for precise isochronal dating by taking advantage of their extended pre-main sequence evolution. Orbital monitoring of these low-mass objects becomes essential in constraining their fundamental properties, as dynamical masses can be extracted from their Keplerian motion. Here, we present the combined efforts of the AstraLux Large Multiplicity Survey, together with a filler sub-programme from the SpHere INfrared Exoplanet (SHINE) project and previously unpublished data from the FastCam lucky imaging camera at the Nordical Optical Telescope (NOT) and the NaCo instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). Building on previous work, we use archival and new astrometric data to constrain orbital parameters for 20 M-type binaries. We identify that eight of the binaries have strong Bayesian probabilities and belong to known young moving groups (YMGs). We provide a first attempt at constraining orbital parameters for 14 of the binaries in our sample, with the remaining six having previously fitted orbits for which we provide additional astrometric data and updated Gaia parallaxes. The substantial orbital information built up here for four of the binaries allows for direct comparison between individual dynamical masses and theoretical masses from stellar evolutionary model isochrones, with an additional three binary systems with tentative individual dynamical mass estimates likely to be improved in the near future. We attained an overall agreement between the dynamical masses and the theoretical masses from the isochrones based on the assumed YMG age of the respective binary pair. The two systems with the best orbital constrains for which we obtained individual dynamical masses, J0728 and J2317, display higher dynamical masses than predicted by evolutionary models.

Health effects of voluntary exposure to cold water – a continuing subject of debate

ABSTRACT This review is based on a multiple database survey on published literature to determine the effects on health following voluntary exposure to cold-water immersion (CWI) in humans. After a filtering process 104 studies were regarded relevant. Many studies demonstrated significant effects of CWI on various physiological and biochemical parameters. Although some studies were based on established winter swimmers, many were performed on subjects with no previous winter swimming experience or in subjects not involving cold-water swimming, for example, CWI as a post-exercise treatment. Clear conclusions from most studies were hampered by the fact that they were carried out in small groups, often of one gender and with differences in exposure temperature and salt composition of the water. CWI seems to reduce and/or transform body adipose tissue, as well as reduce insulin resistance and improve insulin sensitivity. This may have a protective effect against cardiovascular, obesity and other metabolic diseases and could have prophylactic health effects. Whether winter swimmers as a group are naturally healthier is unclear. Some of the studies indicate that voluntary exposure to cold water has some beneficial health effects. However, without further conclusive studies, the topic will continue to be a subject of debate.

Detection of Dynamic Phenomena Associated with Underground Nuclear Explosion Using Multiple Seismic Surveys and Machine Learning

The application of an active seismic method for detecting the source location of an underground nuclear explosion (UNE) is an ongoing field of research. The objective of active seismic in On-Site Inspection (OSI) is to detect the static signatures such as the cavity created by the UNE. Along with characteristic static signatures, UNEs produce dynamic phenomena such as groundwater mounding, which gradually revert to pre-test conditions. These dynamic phenomena are observable for an extended period, even up to several decades. The magnitude of these phenomena is prominent near the source origin and results from the redistribution of residual energy, such as pressure, temperature, and saturation. These dynamic changes in sub-surface rock and fluid properties will affect the seismic property of the rock, resulting in changes of P-wave velocity. These changes can be detected by using an active seismic survey. This study highlights the potential of using time-lapse seismic to identify ground zero by monitoring post-explosion variation in the seismic signature. Time-lapse seismic, also known as 4D seismic, is a well-known technology, used in the oil and gas industry for several decades for petroleum production monitoring and management. It involves taking more than one 2D/3D survey at different calendar times over the same reservoir and studying the difference in seismic attributes. This study investigates the characteristic dynamic phenomena associated with the UNE and their impact on the emplacement rock’s seismic property. Groundwater mounding (GWM) is one of the phenomena with a high gradient of dissipation during the initial days immediately after the explosion. We look at the impact of GWM variation on seismic P-wave velocity and discuss the potential of using time-lapse seismic for its detection. The challenges of implementing time-lapse seismic, such as non-repeatability, seasonal variations and time constraints, are discussed. A frequent seismic monitoring survey method (time-lapse seismic) is proposed to monitor rock and fluid properties changes due to the post-UNE dynamic phenomena. Due to the time constraint for the OSI activity, conventional time-lapse seismic processing would not be suitable. Therefore, a machine learning-based 4D detection workflow is presented. The near-real-time 4D detection workflow using machine learning can be implemented during the OSI to identify the source location or ground zero.

The prevalence of significant cognitive delay among 3- to 4-year-old children growing up in low- and middle-income countries: results from 126 nationally representative surveys undertaken in 73 countries.

We sought to (1) update estimates of the prevalence of significant cognitive delay (SCD) among nationally representative samples of young children overall, and in upper-middle, lower-middle and low-income countries; (2) investigate whether variation in prevalence between countries was systematically associated with national wealth and other country characteristics; (3) investigate the stability of prevalence estimates over time; (4) examine the correlation between SCD and 2019 Global Burden of Disease estimates on the prevalence of the impairment of developmental intellectual disability under 5years of age; and (5) investigate the extent to which risk of SCD within countries varies with child age and gender, maternal education and household wealth. Secondary analysis of data collected in 126 nationally representative Multiple Cluster Indicators Surveys (MICS) conducted under the supervision of UNICEF in 73 countries involving a total of 396596 3- to 4-year-old children. The overall prevalence of SCD was 9.7% (95% CI 8.6-10.9%). Between-country variation in prevalence was strongly related to national wealth, the Human Development Index, the Human Inequality-adjusted Development Index and the Multidimensional Poverty Index, but not income inequality. In the 46 countries in which more than one survey was available prevalence estimates were reasonably stable over time (r=0.80, P<0.001). There were strong independent associations between increased risk of cognitive delay and younger child age, lower levels of maternal education and lower levels of household wealth (but not male gender). There was only a weak association across countries between the estimated prevalence of SCD and Global Burden of Disease estimates of the under 5 prevalence of the impairment of developmental intellectual disability. UNICEF's MICS data are readily (and freely) available to researchers and provide a cost-effective opportunity for researchers who are concerned about better understanding the situation of young children growing up in the world's LMICs with a marked loss of developmental potential in areas of cognition and learning.

Promoting a culture change in junior and youth sport in New Zealand.

This paper provides insight into the evolution of a project designed to address longstanding adult attitudes and behavioural issues in junior and youth sport in New Zealand. The project was funded by Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) and implemented by Aktive, a charitable trust that works with national and regional partners to fund and deliver community sport in Auckland. Aktive collaborated with a team of junior and youth sport researchers, adopting a pragmatic, mixed methods design-based research (DBR) approach to co-design an educational delivery framework aimed at influencing attitudes and assumptions underpinning coaches, parents, and community sport leaders' behaviours. Transformative learning principles informed the delivery framework with the project reaching 4,222 participants. Research evaluations included multiple case studies, surveys, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups, which confirmed awareness of problematic beliefs. The programme expanded to Regional Sport Organisations (RSOs) and National Sport Organisations (NSOs) culminating in a nationwide rollout. The study highlights the effectiveness of theoretically informed adult behaviour change programmes in junior and youth sport, the benefits of programmes being underpinned by a rigorous pedagogical approach, and the benefits of sport organisations and researchers collaborating to design and deliver sustainable change initiatives that address belief systems underpinning current issues.

Gray whale habitat use and reproductive success during seismic surveys near their feeding grounds: comparing state-dependent life history models and field data

We used a stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) model to quantify the consequences of disturbance on pregnant western gray whales during one foraging season. The SDP model has a firm basis in bioenergetics, but detailed knowledge of minimum reproductive length of females (Lmin) and the relationship between length and reproductive success (Rfit) was lacking. We varied model assumptions to determine their effects on predictions of habitat use, proportion of animals disturbed, reproductive success, and the effects of disturbance. Smaller Lmin values led to higher predicted nearshore habitat use. Changes in Lmin and Rfit had little effect on predictions of the effect of disturbance. Reproductive success increased with increased Lmin and with higher probability of reproductive success by length. Multiple seismic surveys were conducted in 2015 off the northeast coast of Sakhalin Island, with concomitant benthic prey surveys, photo-identification studies, and whale distribution sampling, thus providing a unique opportunity to compare output from SDP models with empirical observations. SDP model predictions of reproductive success and habitat use were similar with and without acoustic disturbance, and SDP predictions of reproductive success and large-scale habitat use were generally similar to values and trends in the data. However, empirical estimates of the proportion of pregnant females nearshore were much higher than SDP model predictions (a large effect, measured by Cohen’s d) during the first week, and the SDP model overestimated whale density in the south and underestimated density around the mouth of Piltun Bay. Such differences in nearshore habitat use would not affect SDP predictions of reproductive success or survival under the current seismic air gun disturbance scenario.

Distance is “a big problem”: a geographic analysis of reported and modelled proximity to maternal health services in Ghana

BackgroundGeographic barriers to healthcare are associated with adverse maternal health outcomes. Modelling travel times using georeferenced data is becoming common in quantifying physical access. Multiple Demographic and Health Surveys ask women about distance-related problems accessing healthcare, but responses have not been evaluated against modelled travel times. This cross-sectional study aims to compare reported and modelled distance by socio-demographic characteristics and evaluate their relationship with skilled birth attendance. Also, we assess the socio-demographic factors associated with self-reported distance problems in accessing healthcare.MethodsDistance problems and socio-demographic characteristics reported by 2210 women via the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health Survey were included in analysis. Geospatial methods were used to model travel time to the nearest health facility using roads, rivers, land cover, travel speeds, cluster locations and health facility locations. Logistic regressions were used to predict skilled birth attendance and self-reported distance problems.ResultsWomen reporting distance challenges accessing healthcare had significantly longer travel times to the nearest health facility. Poverty significantly increased the odds of reporting challenges with distance. In contrast, living in urban areas and being registered with health insurance reduced the odds of reporting distance challenges. Women with a skilled attendant at birth, four or more skilled antenatal appointments and timely skilled postnatal care had shorter travel times to the nearest health facility. Generally, less educated, poor, rural women registered with health insurance had longer travel times to their nearest health facility. After adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, the following factors increased the odds of skilled birth attendance: wealth, health insurance, higher education, living in urban areas, and completing four or more antenatal care appointments.ConclusionStudies relying on modelled travel times to nearest facility should recognise the differential impact of geographic access to healthcare on poor rural women. Physical access to maternal health care should be scaled up in rural areas and utilisation increased by improving livelihoods.

A Practical Approach to Publishing and Using Event-based Biodiversity Data

Despite the rapid growth of biodiversity data within global and national biodiversity infrastructures, the types of data available in these infrastructures are limited. In particular, the lack of data that captures presences/absences of species over multiple survey or sampling events has been identified as a major weakness of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA). The ALA, in collaboration with GBIF, have started work to deliver improved access to data types in the short-term by focusing on event-based biodiversity data, like from expeditions or ecological surveys, as part of the ALA Extended Data Model project. The ALA takes an opinionated approach to publishing event-based biodiversity data using Event Core Darwin Core Archives (DwCA), adding fields and vocabularies to Darwin Core that represent nested events, and link occurrence records to a parent event (based on The Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) ENV-DATA). They have currently developed a pilot system to showcase how data are published, and a user interface for querying and downloading data directly from the system. Through this collaboration to create a pilot event-based system, GBIF aims to enhance its indexing and representation of event-based data by trialling a demonstration tool to explore event data. This tool will also allow for feedback for the new GBIF extended data model tasks. Publishing event-based biodiversity data will make information like collection methods, sampling effort, and species presence/absence accessible. This data, in addition to existing occurrence data, will allow people to answer more detailed ecological questions using more complex statistical analyses of species distributions over time.

Estimating sizes of type-2 AGN narrow-line regions from multiple survey spectra – a demonstration

ABSTRACT In the Letter, an interesting method is proposed to estimate size of narrow emission-lines regions (NLRs) of a type-2 AGN SDSS J083823.91 + 490241.1 (=SDSS J0838) at a redshift of 0.101, by comparing spectroscopic properties through the SDSS fibre (MJD = 51873) (diameter of 3 arcsec) and through the eBOSS fibre (MJD = 55277) (diameter of 2 arcsec). After subtractions of ppxf method determined host galaxy contributions, the narrow emission lines of SDSS J0838 in the SDSS spectrum and in the eBOSS spectrum can be well measured by Gaussian functions, leading more than 90 per cent of [O iii] emissions to be covered by the eBOSS fibre with diameter of 2 arcsec. Meanwhile, both none broad emission components and none-variabilities of ZTF 3 yr-long g-/r-band light curves can be applied to confirm SDSS J0838 as a type-2 AGN, indicating few orientation effects on the projected NLRs size in SDSS J0838. Therefore, upper limit about 1 arcsec (2250 pc) of the NLRs size can be reasonably accepted in SDSS J0838. Combining with the intrinsic reddening corrected [O iii] line luminosity, the upper limit of NLRs size in SDSS J0838 well lies within the 99.9999 per cent confidence bands of the R-L empirical relation for NLRs in AGN.

Multi-UAV Collaboration to Survey Tibetan Antelopes in Hoh Xil

Reducing the total mission time is essential in wildlife surveys owing to the dynamic movement of animals throughout their migrating environment and potentially extreme changes in weather. This paper proposed a multi-UAV path planning method for counting various flora and fauna populations, which can fully use the UAVs’ limited flight time to cover large areas. Unlike the current complete coverage path planning methods, based on sweep and polygon, our work encoded the path planning problem as the satisfiability modulo theory using a one-hot encoding scheme. Each instance generated a set of feasible paths at each iteration and recovered the set of shortest paths after sufficient time. We also flexibly optimized the paths based on the number of UAVs, endurance and camera parameters. We implemented the planning algorithm with four UAVs to conduct multiple photographic aerial wildlife surveys in areas around Zonag Lake, the birthplace of Tibetan antelope. Over 6 square kilometers was surveyed in about 2 h. In contrast, previous human-piloted single-drone surveys of the same area required over 4 days to complete. A generic few-shot detector that can perform effective counting without training on the target object is utilized in this paper, which can achieve an accuracy of over 97%.

Resistance of groundwater invertebrates to droughts: Two new cases in planarians and isopods

AbstractBenthic invertebrate communities are deeply influenced by hydrological variability in surface freshwater habitats. However, the responses of macroinvertebrates composing stygofauna in aquifers and unsaturated groundwater environments are not well understood nor specifically studied. Here, we present two new cases of resistance to drying in groundwater‐dwelling animals: planarians of the genus Dendrocoelum and the isopod crustacean Monolistra pavani. Multiple surveys were performed in 53 caves of the Italian Alps and Apennines, sampling different stable and unstable subterranean aquatic environments. Planarians and crustaceans were searched visually and by distressing the substrate. When we detected individuals in dry sectors, we photographed them, observed their features, and released them in pools or streams of the same cave. We rinsed dry individuals of M. pavani in small tanks and recorded the time of reactivation. In a dried subterranean stream, we observed a Dendrocoelum planarian encapsulated in a thick mucus layer, which after a total of 5 min started gliding slowly and reached a length of 18 mm. During the drought of January–April 2022, we detected several individuals of M. pavani in dry areas of two caves. In total, 72% of the tested individuals were able to reactivate. This percentage decreased to 42% after 20 days of dryness. Time to reactivate ranged between 0 and 30 s. Living individuals were observed even after 39 days of drought. Our observations provide new insights into the natural history of groundwater‐dwelling invertebrate taxa that are often neglected in the studies of freshwater ecology. Resistance of groundwater‐dwelling animals to droughts has several implications for global climatic changes and could be species‐ and site‐specific, as previously observed in surface macroinvertebrates.

O’TRAIN: A robust and flexible ‘real or bogus’ classifier for the study of the optical transient sky

Context. Scientific interest in studying high-energy transient phenomena in the Universe has risen sharply over the last decade. At present, multiple ground-based survey projects have emerged to continuously monitor the optical (and multi-messenger) transient sky at higher image cadences and covering ever larger portions of the sky every night. These novel approaches are leading to a substantial increase in global alert rates, which need to be handled with care, especially with regard to keeping the level of false alarms as low as possible. Therefore, the standard transient detection pipelines previously designed for narrow field-of-view instruments must now integrate more sophisticated tools to deal with the growing number and diversity of alerts and false alarms. Aims. Deep machine learning algorithms have now proven their efficiency in recognising patterns in images. These methods are now used in astrophysics to perform different classification tasks such as identifying bogus from real transient point-like sources. We explore this method to provide a robust and flexible algorithm that could be included in any kind of transient detection pipeline. Methods. We built a convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm in order to perform a ‘real or bogus’ classification task on transient candidate cutouts (subtraction residuals) provided by different kinds of optical telescopes. The training involved human-supervised labelling of the cutouts, which are split into two balanced data sets with ‘true’ and ‘false’ point-like source candidates. We tested our CNN model on the candidates produced by two different transient detection pipelines. In addition, we made use of several diagnostic tools to evaluate the classification performance of our CNN models. Results. We show that our CNN algorithm can be successfully trained on a large and diverse array of images on very different pixel scales. In this training process, we did not detect any strong over- or underfitting with the requirement of providing cutouts with a limited size no larger than 50 × 50 pixels. Tested on optical images from four different telescopes and utilising two different transient detection pipelines, our CNN model provides a robust ‘real or bogus’ classification performance accuracy from 93% up to 98% for well-classified candidates.

Calibration of Hernia-Specific Patient-Reported Outcome Measures.

Although there are many patient-reported outcome measures used for ventral hernia (VH), disease-specific instruments, such as the Hernia-related Quality-of-Life (QoL) Survey (HerQLes) and Abdominal Hernia-Q (AHQ), have shown greater accuracy in capturing all VH-related QoL. We present a novel calibration that allows providers to convert scores between the AHQ and HerQLes, enabling better unification of QoL data. Patients with VH were prospectively identified and simultaneously administered both the AHQ and HerQLes pre- and post-operatively. To ensure the validity of the calibration, responses were excluded if patients answered instruments on different dates or if the responses were discordant on corresponding questions within each instrument. The calibration was estimated using a linear mixed effects model, including linear and quadratic scores, timing of survey relative to surgery and their interactions as fixed effects, and patients as random effects to account for multiple surveys from the same patient. In total, 109 patients were included, responding to 300 pairs of surveys (112 preoperative and 188 postoperative), of which 17 (5.6%) were excluded because of discordant responses. Conversion of the HerQLes to AHQ was most accurate when including whether the survey was completed pre- or post-operatively, with a mean squared error of 0.0091. Similarly, converting the AHQ to HerQLes was most accurate when factoring in the timing of survey administration, with a mean squared error of 0.016. We present a novel and accurate method to convert scores between the AHQ and HerQLes. Being able to unify QoL data from different PROMs supports efforts to more broadly integrate PROMs in surgery and to understand patient-defined measures of success.

Normalization of Process Virtualization in Technology Driven Remote Working Practices

In recent times businesses have started gearing up with the managers and their respective teams to embrace remote working practices. With special focus on technology enabled work-from-home (WFH) process, this research has offered a setting for advancing understanding of the context driven technology-enabled virtualization of remote working practices followed by its implementation and then normalization. Drawing upon the process virtualization theory (PVT) for evaluating context dependent behavior of determinants quantitatively and normalization process theory (NPT) for understanding the normalisation of new technology-driven remote work practices under such contexts, current study is investigating the context resistant static and context driven dynamic factors that impact the technology-enabled virtualization of processes in employee’s WFH process followed by its implementation and then normalization, through multiple surveys conducted on managers and business executives from leading business organisations. Results show that sensory requirements, relationship requirements and control requirements turned out as context-driven dynamic factors and enablers to the technology-enabled virtualization of WFH process; and relative normalisation of this work transformation was sustained through flexible co-construction, legitimation, contextual integration and good leadership.

COVID-19 Dashboard

Abstract: Applying a digital strategy is proven to be one way to reduce the infection rate of COVID-19. As a fundamental part of it, database is capable to create a data repository to predict uncertain impacts of the pandemic. The research proposed a database design for project C-Beta that emphasized on creating an ideal system to record and monitor the daily health condition of people with COVID-19. Mainly, the research adopted Connolly and begg principles of Database Software Development Life Cycle. As a result, the database design activities produced blueprints in the forms of data dictionary, ERD, and user views. The database design delivered in the research included with several features namely user verification, restricted research membership, and flexibility in survey creation. Based on analysis and design phase, C-Beta provides a method to collect data for COVID-19 clinical study. Researchers who utilize C-Beta is able to manage multiple surveys and extract all collected records at the same time.