National Information Center Research Articles

Research in Physics Education: A Study of Content Analysis

The current study is a content analysis of research in Physics education that was published between the years of 2008 and 2013 and was reached through the Turkish national academic network and information centre (ULAKBIM) and EBCSO. It is aimed to guide the researchers who are planning to conduct studies in this particular field by specifying tendencies of 105 articles on physics education in terms of their methods, subject areas, research titles, data analysis techniques, and sampling types. The data obtained from the study is presented with graphic, frequency and percentage tables. According to the research results, the physics education research was mostly carried out in 2013. When physics as subject titles is take into consideration, it is found that a large part of the studies are about mechanical physics and electric physics; however, when they are analyzed from the angle of their research titles, it seems that teaching methods and cognitive dimensions came into prominence. The findings of the study indicate that the majority of the physics education studies are quantitative in nature; achievement tests, interest tests, attitude tests and aptitude tests are mainly used as data collection instruments; a descriptive analysis method is used as data analysis method. Besides, the researchers preferred to choose their sample group from secondary school students and as a sample size they focused on groups of 31-100 students. The necessary recommendations are offered to the researchers of physics education in this study.

Medical Colleges in Saudi Arabia: Can We Predict Graduate Numbers?

The shortage of Physicians is a major problem in many countries. Medical colleges are often encouraged to increase the graduate numbers. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi physicians form only 37.89% of the physician manpower. The remainder of the physicians are expatriates. It was recently estimated that the Kingdom would need 29,128 physicians by the year 2014 in order to maintain the same physicians-to-population ratio, i.e., 2.7 per 100,000. To solve the problem, the higher education institutions invested in medical education and increased their number of college graduates. However, there are many questions about whether this strategy will proof successful in covering the shortage or whether this will lead to problems, for example an excess in the number of physicians. These can only be answered if future graduate numbers are estimated and kept under control. In this study, common data mining techniques were reviewed and applied to the output of Saudi medical colleges over the past years. These techniques can be used to predict graduate numbers. The results show the importance of developing a national student information center to fix the data collection problems described in this paper.

Medication Errors Outside Healthcare Facilities: A National Poison Centre Perspective

Medication errors (ME) are a major concern to healthcare systems. Most studies evaluated ME occurring in healthcare facilities; only few focused on ME outside them. The objective was to characterise ME occurring outside healthcare facilities. A prospective observational follow-up study evaluating all ME occurring outside healthcare facilities reported to a national poison information centre during a 5-month period. For each ME case, a detailed questionnaire was filled and a follow-up call was made within 7 days. The collected data included demographics, circumstances, type of error and outcome. Of 1381 consecutive ME cases were included; 97.8% involved a single incident and 88.3% one drug. The main characteristics of the ME were as follows: children younger than 6 years old (58.9%), parents responsible for 55.6% of cases, wrong dose 34.5% and different medication 30.1%. Analgesics (27.4%) and antimicrobials (12.2%) were the most common pharmaceuticals. The main reasons for the ME were look-alike packaging (31.4%) and misunderstood instructions (28%). Most followed up patients (97.1%) were asymptomatic or mildly affected; there was one severe case and no mortality. Most ME occurring outside healthcare facilities are single incidents, involving young children who were administered a wrong dose or medication due to look-alike packaging or misunderstood instructions with asymptomatic or mild outcome. Improved packaging, labelling and patient education are suggested to reduce ME.

Transformation of the Official Memory of Conflict: A Tentative Model and the Israeli Memory of the 1948 Palestinian Exodus

Collective memory of an intractable conflict is an important determinant of the psychological and the behavioral dynamics of the parties involved. Typically biased, it de-legitimizes the rival and glorifies the in-group, thereby inhibiting peaceful resolution of the conflict and reconciliation of the parties. Therefore, the transformation of this memory into a less biased one is of great importance in advancing peace and reconciliation. This article introduces for the first time a tentative model of that transformation, describing the seven phases of the transformation process and the five categories of factors that influence it. Methodologically, this is done using a case study approach, based on the empirical findings regarding the Israeli official memory from 1949 to 2004 surrounding the causes of the 1948 Palestinian exodus. This memory is represented by all of the publications produced during the 56-year research period of the Israeli army (IDF), the National Information Center, and the Ministry of Education. While until 1999 this inclusive memory was largely Zionist (i.e., all the Palestinian refugees left willingly in 1948), since 2000, it has become partially critical because the Ministry of Education has begun adopting the critical narrative (i.e., some left willingly while others were expelled).

Digital preservation policy in National Information Centres in Nigeria

PurposeThe study aims to examine availability, coverage of digital preservation policy and the structures put in place by National Information Centres in Nigeria to preserve digital information.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research methodology using a case study approach was adopted. Documentary sources, a semi‐structured questionnaire for the focus group, and interviews were the instruments used to collect data. While a homogeneous sampling of five staff in the digitisation/digital preservation unit was adopted for the focus group interview, only one top management staff member from the rank of Assistant Director of each of the selected three National Information Centres was interviewed.FindingsThe National Bureau of Statistics and the National Library of Nigeria have digital preservation policies. However, the area of coverage of the available policies is not adequate enough to ensure the long‐term preservation of digital information. Similarly, the study revealed that the lack of institutional support from the National Information Centres studied is one of the challenges in the implementation of the digital preservation policy.Practical implicationsFor any National Information Centre to ensure the accessibility and reuse of its digital information, it must have a digital preservation policy, without which the active management of digital information will be very challenging and can result in the loss of vital digital information of significant importance.Originality/valueThere is currently no research work addressing issues on digital preservation policy with a particular focus on Nigeria. This paper therefore highlights shortcomings of the available digital preservation policy and proposes a national digital preservation policy that will chart a road map for effective digital preservation activities in any National Information Centre.

Land Records Data Integration Strategies: Certain Methodological Solutions

Land record computerization is one of the earliest e-governance projects initiated in India and a majority of states have reached a stage wherein they could capture mutation details as a part of automation process and provide Record of Rights (RoR) to a common man in service mode. However, it is difficult to achieve interoperation among these state-wise databases since they evolved at different points of the space–time continuum. The country has disparate land records system in various states; there was a need for convergence to make the land records data interoperable. However, as there was no platform, the Department of Land Resources (DoLR) requested to National Informatics Centre (NIC) to study and suggest a methodology for attaining convergence without disturbing the existing land record data collected from the States/Union Territories (UTs). The DoLR identified 15 parameters for standardization at the national level. Interoperability may facilitate multipurpose information and knowledge exchange wit...

Progress in Promoting the Three Rs in Korea: Efficiency and Consistency

The Korea National Information Center for the 3Rs was established in August 2011, to enhance humane science and animal welfare in Korea. It is a national Three Rs platform, with the goal of exchanging knowledge and sharing examples of best practice, in order to help replace laboratory animal use in education and training. This paper briefly summarises the progress made and the challenges that have become apparent during the initial operation of the collaborative project. There is a need to recognise and manage the challenges resulting from policy changes, especially misinterpretation of the objectives by the decision makers at the participating academic institutions and the government. The collective power of this type of collaborative project can be used to leverage an ongoing commitment to essentials such as consistent funding for operational and support staff, as well as allocation of the required space.

Economic Studies Part 2: Evaluating the Quality

There are many opportunities for bias in economic evaluations. Thus, critical appraisal of economic studies is very important but complex. No standard methodology for appraisal has been universally adopted. However, consideration of the common elements that constitute a high-quality economic study provides the clinician with the tools to understand when one might be dealing with a high-quality study, a deeply flawed one, or one that made the best use of the data available. Studies of economic impact have become increasingly important in health policy decisions given the finite resources available for health care. While they should not be the sole basis of decision making, such studies provide potentially valuable information if well done. It is therefore important that high-quality economic studies be conducted and the results of economic studies be placed in the context of their quality. Learn more about economic evaluation Drummond MF, Sculpher MJ, Torrance GW, O'Brien BJ, Stoddart GL. Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programs. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2005 What is an economic evaluation? Introduction to Economic Evaluation. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/owcd/EET/SeriesIntroduction/1.html Health Economics Information Resources. A self-study course. National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR). Available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nichsr/edu/healthecon/beginningend.pdf Boos N. The impact of economic evaluation on quality management in spine surgery. Eur Spine J 2009;18(Suppl 3):338–347 Holtz A, Nelson HD, Reid E. Our questions, our decisions: standards for patient-centered outcomes research. Preliminary Draft Methodology Report; PCORI Methodology Committee; Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute 2012; Available at: http://www.pcori.org/assets/Preliminary-Draft-Methodology-Report.pdf Funding This article was funded by AOSpine.

First national survival data for colorectal cancer among Saudis between 1994 and 2004: what’s next?

BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common malignancy in the Saudi population. This study aimed to review CRC data from the Saudi Cancer Registry (SCR) in order to evaluate the prognostic factors for CRC survival in Saudi patients.MethodsThis study was a retrospective censored overall survival (OS) analysis of CRC data for the period 1994–2004 obtained from the SCR. Data were collected from all 13 administrative regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) by the SCR in collaboration with the National Information Center of the Ministry of Interior. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the cumulative survival rate, which was then stratified by gender and by period (1994–1999 versus 2000–2004). The clinico-pathological variables that might affect CRC survival were analyzed by Cox regression analysis.ResultsBetween 1994 and 2004, 549 CRC cases were diagnosed (363 [66.1%] in males and 186 [33.9%] in females). The OS for CRC during this period was 44.6% (44.7% for 1994–1999 and 44.3% for 2000–2004 [p=0.7]). There was a significant (p=0.003) discrepancy of 9.6% between the male five-year OS (41.0%) and the female five-year OS (50.6%). The five-year OS was 63.3% for patients with localized disease, 50.2% for those with regional disease, and 14.7% for patients with metastases. By Cox regression analysis, age and extent were significant prognostic factors of survival in patients with colon cancer; the risk was higher in patients with distant metastasis (hazard ratio [HR], 2.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-5.45; p=0.01). In patients with rectal cancer, the risk was lower in males (HR, 0.66; CI, 0.45-0.98; p=0.04), but higher in patients with unknown tumor extent (HR, 3.70; 95% CI, 1.66-8.24; p=0.01).ConclusionsThe five-year OS for 1994–2004 was 44.6% for patients with CRC. More so, five-year OS based on CRC stage was generally lower than the typically reported survival rates. The establishment of a national screening program and increased access to specialized medical faculties may be necessary to improve CRC survival in the KSA.

Major events and the collective memory of conflicts

PurposeCollective memory of conflicts is assembled around major events, such as, in the context of the Israeli‐Palestinian conflict, the 1948 Palestinian exodus from the central cities of Lydda and Ramla. To date, however, various theoretical aspects of major events of conflicts have not been considered in the literature. This article aims to address this lack by exploring for the first time the way in which the causes for that exodus were presented in Israel from 1949 to 2005.Design/methodology/approachMethodologically, this is based on studies that have analyzed separately the publications by various Israeli state establishments (e.g. National Information Center, Ministry of Education, the National Archive, and the army – IDF), and those by various Israeli‐Jewish societal establishments (e.g. the research community, newspapers and 1948 war veterans).FindingsTheoretically, the article contributes various insights, pertaining, for example, to: the five Manifestation Characteristics and the two Influence Characteristics of major events of conflicts; the eight determinant factors that shape the impact of these events; and the dynamic nature of the representation of major events.Originality/valueTaken altogether, this article contributes to the empirical and theoretical research on the major events in conflicts.

A new approach to abrupt change detection based on Fisher information

The dynamics structure of many complex system there often happens a suddenly change due to the effect of outside force in nature. This abrupt change is closely related to human life. In order to make an accurate prediction of abrupt change and take corresponding measures, abrupt change should be detected effectively. Fisher information (FI) can keenly catch and characterize a small change in probability density distribution (PDD) of a system variable. While there is a change in dynamic structure of a system, the PDD of the system variable will have some changes correspondingly. In view of this, in this paper we describe in detail that FI is used to detect and recognize the abrupt change of system dynamics structure, and it is a new method to solve the detection of abrupt change in dynamic structure of a system. First of all, this method is used to present the ability to detect abrupt change lying in ideal datasets of different types of ideal signals. Next, this method is used to analyze daily datasets of ground climate from national meteorological information center of China meteorological administration between 1960 and 2008 in Lanzhou meteorological observation station in Northwest area. The results show that the daily datasets are consistent with historical records, which further verifies that the method is effective and practical.

English

As a consequence of the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), nowadays almost all governments around the world, included Indonesian government have official websites to provide information and services for their citizen. In the second period of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration has thirty two ministries and each ministries have an official website. However implementation of the ministry websites have not been measured yet on usability aspect. The objective of this research is to examine the usability of ministry websites of Indonesian Government. Eleven websites was taken as sample in this study. Respondents are 128 Internet users who have competency for assessing web usability. Usability of websites were measured by several indicators were adapted from E-Government Toolkit for Developing Countries that was prepared by the National Informatics Centre and UNESCO. The main indicators consist of navigation architecture, layout design, and content.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT- -INITIATIVES BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

E-Agriculture is an emerging field focusing on the enhancement of agricultural and rural development through improved information and communication processes. The main phases of the agriculture industry are: Crop cultivation, Water management, Fertilizer Application, Pest management, Harvesting, Post harvest handling, Transporting of food/food products, Packaging, Food preservation, Food processing/value addition, Food quality management, Food safety, Food storage, marketing. ICT can play a significant role in maintaining the different properties of information as it consists of three main technologies- Computer Technology, CommunicationTechnology and Information Management Technology. There are different applications of ICT in Agriculture sector such as Office automation, Knowledge Management System ,E-learning, Ecommerce ,ICT for managing Agricultural Resources and Services ,CAM ,CAD ,RFIDs , Wireless Technologies ,GPS and GIS. There are certain initiatives taken by the Central Government for the development of agriculture. The Central Ministry of Agriculture and National Informatics Centre (NIC) emphasized Informatics for Agricultural Development. Its main aim is to create an environment conducive for raising the Farm productivity and income through provision of relevant information and services to the stakeholders Department of Agriculture and Cooperation

Evaluating the Impact of Training Health Professionals to Deliver Brief Motivational and Skills-Based Interventions for Cannabis Use Disorder

Background: While there is considerable evidence that brief motivational and skills-based interventions for substance use are effective, little is known regarding the transfer of knowledge from research to practice. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of two half-day didactic clinical training workshops for allied health workers, which did not incorporate feedback or supervision, via independent follow-up three months post training.Methods: In total, 1322 participants attended either or both of the evidence-based treatment workshops run by the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre. Of those participants, 495 (37%) completed an online follow-up evaluation three months later regarding their use of the newly learnt intervention(s).Results: At follow-up, 270 (54.5%) participants had an opportunity to use the skills and 144 (53.3%) of those participants reported having used the clinical skills taught in the workshop. Of those who used one of the interventions, 90 (62.5%) participants reported their clients had reduced or quit their cannabis use. Furthermore, 43 (30%) of these participants had attempted to train others in the workplace in the techniques learnt in the workshop.Conclusion: Even a half-day didactic clinical training workshop on evidence-based brief cognitive–behavioural techniques delivered to clinicians working in the field can improve knowledge and confidence among clinicians and outcomes among their clients with cannabis use related problems.

The Passing of Time and the Collective Memory of Conflicts: The Case of Israel and the 1948 Palestinian Exodus

Collective memory is a general category that includes various kinds of memories such as popular, official, autobiographical, cultural, and historical (that produced by scholars). The impact of the passing of time on the collective memory of conflicts, despite its importance, is narrowly addressed in the literature. This article addresses that lack. Empirically, the article is based primarily on a study that examined Israeli collective memory from 1949 to 2004 regarding the causes for the 1948 Palestinian exodus. Methodologically, it is based mostly on content analysis of publications of seven main Israeli–Jewish institutions: the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the National Information Center, the Ministry of Education, newspapers, the research community, non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) and 1948 war veterans’ memoirs, as well as interviews with key people in these institutions. Theoretically, the article offers various contributions, such as: it proposes that time is a meta‐factor which includes fifteen factors influencing collective memory and describes which kind of memory is influenced by each factor and in what way (with focus on the historical memory). The article also discusses the intra‐generational process that occurs within the direct‐experience generation, differentiates between different modes of influence of the factors (for example, direct and indirect), and proposes that time is an apolitical meta‐factor.

Digital preservation strategies

This study examines digital preservation strategies in national information centres in Nigeria. Specifically the study tried to find out the digital preservation strategies and structures put in place for the implementation of the strategies adopted. The population of the study consists of the National Library of Nigeria, the National Archives of Nigeria and the National Bureau of Statistics. A case study and qualitative methodology approaches were adopted for the study. A semi-structured questionnaire was designed and administered to a focused group of five staff of the digital preservation/digitization unit of the population. The study discovered, among others, that migration is the most popular digital preservation strategy adopted and no structure to assess digital objects for preservation action is put in place. The study recommended that a National Centre for Digital Preservation, responsible for monitoring and conducting research in digital preservation activities, should be established.

Molecular epidemiology and a loop-mediated isothermal amplification method for diagnosis of infection with rabies virus in Zambia

The National Livestock Epidemiology and Information Center (NALEIC) in Zambia reported over 132 cases of canine rabies diagnosed by the direct fluorescent antibody test (DFAT) from 2004 to 2009. In this study, the lineage of rabies virus (RABV) in Zambia was determined by phylogenetic analysis of the nucleoprotein (N) and glycoprotein (G) gene sequences. Total RNA was extracted from 87-DFAT brain specimens out of which only 35 (40%) were positive on nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for each gene, and 26 being positive for both genes. Positive specimens for the N (n=33) and G (n=35) genes were used for phylogenetic analysis. Phylogenetic analysis of the N gene showed two phylogenetic clusters in Zambia belonging to the Africa 1b lineage present in eastern and southern Africa. While one cluster exclusively comprised Zambian strains, the other was more heterogeneous regarding the RABV origins and included strains from Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia. Phylogenetic analysis of the G gene revealed similar RABV strains in different hosts and regions of Zambia. We designed primers for reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay from the consensus sequence of the N gene in an attempt to improve the molecular diagnosis of RABV in Zambia. The specificity and reproducibility of the RT-LAMP assay was confirmed with actual clinical specimens. Therefore, the RT-LAMP assay presented in this study may prove to be useful for routine diagnosis of rabies in Zambia.

Jocelyn Anne Rankin, PhD, FMLA, 1946–2010

Jocelyn Anne Rankin, PhD, FMLA, 1946–2010

The International Collaboration on Complementary Therapy Resources (ICCR): Working Together to Improve Online CAM Information

Use of the Internet to find health information is increasing dramatically but the quality of information, particularly on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is variable. The International Collaboration on Complementary Therapy Resources (ICCR) involves collaboration between the national CAM information centers in Australia, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and a CAM information service in Germany. The study objectives were to compare the services and areas of expertise offered by each of the national CAM information services, to explore common challenges encountered in practice, and to establish specific objectives for the collaboration. The workshop incorporated set templates for presentations, brainstorming, and analysis of notes to identify common themes. Differences and similarities between the various services were revealed. Common challenges were identified under the main themes of overall context, users and needs, content and processes. Based on these themes, it was possible to agree on a number of specific objectives. The member organizations of the ICCR serve a range of different audiences and have varied remits to fulfill. For the international collaboration to be effective, it was necessary to identify common challenges and to agree on specific objectives and potential ways of working together. Progress to date is also discussed together with plans for the future.

Classification of Agricultural Land Soils: A Data Mining Approach

The problem of the knowledge acquisition and efficient knowledge exploitation is very popular also in agriculture area. One of the methods for knowledge acquisition from the existing agricultural databases is the methods of classification. In agricultural decision making process, weather and soil characteristics are play an important role. This research aimed to assess the various classification techniques of data mining and apply them to a soil science database to establish if meaningful relationships can be found. A large data set of soil database is extracted from the Soil Science & Agricultural department, Kanchipuram and National Informatics Centre, Tamil Nadu. The application of data mining techniques has never been conducted for Tamil Nadu soil data sets. The research compares the different classifiers and the outcome of this research could improve the management and systems of soil uses throughout a large number of fields that include agriculture, horticulture, environmental and land use management.