Preferred Frequency Research Articles

On the Selection of Workplace in the COVID-19 Era Using Attitudinal Factors

After two years of living with the threat of COVID-19 in Ontario, Canada, pre-pandemic circumstances returned. During the pandemic, we relied on ICT-based tools to carry out our daily tasks, and now we have reached a tipping point. Should we keep our new routines to benefit us in the future? Or should we return to our routines before the pandemic? This study utilized a travel survey to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work activity-travel behavior and the persistence of new traditions in the post-pandemic era. The data for this study comes from a sample of 1,000 Greater Toronto Area residents who participated in a web-based survey in July, 2021, when Ontario began the third phase of reopening. This paper investigates work activity and workplace selection in more depth. Using factor analysis, a collection of latent attitudinal variables was identified. An integrated choice and latent variable model estimated the influential systematic and latent variables on the perceived workplace selection in the post-pandemic condition. The results showed that 71% of responders want to continue working from home at least once weekly after the pandemic. The preferred frequency of telecommuting in the post-pandemic period was positively correlated with education level, positive feelings about telecommuting experience, and certain occupation types, while negatively associated with age.

ASSOCIATION OF SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS AND DIETARY PREFERENCE WITH ANAEMIA AMONG MALES: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: Anaemia is a problem of paramount importance but research about its impact and socio-demographic characteristics in adult men is scanty. The current study aimed to determine the frequency and association of socio-demographic factors and dietary preference with anaemia in male patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Department of Medicine, Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad. A total of 144 patients were enrolled. Patients were interviewed on basis of a questionnaire and examined for symptoms of anaemia. Admitted patients from medicine ward who were aged above 20 years were included in the study. Unconscious patients and those who were unable to communicate were excluded from the study. Data was analyzed using SPSS-22. Results: This study included a total of 144 patients. Respondents were in the age range of 22–90 years with mean age 49.66±16.474 years. A total of 90 (62.5%) patients belonged to rural areas and 54 (37.5%) belonged to urban areas, 50 (34.7%) were unemployed and 94 (65.3%) were employed. Presence of anaemia was found to be significantly associated with concomitant presence of chronic diseases (p<0.05). Conclusion: Moderate anaemia is common in our males, and is significantly associated with presence of chronic diseases. No significant association of anaemia was found with dietary preferences. Pak J Physiol 2024;20(3):56–8, DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v20i3.1754

The Psychological and Social Effects of Social Media on Adolescents

This study examines the psychological and social effects of social media on adolescents, using a sample of 300 participants to analyze their social media interaction behaviors. Through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression models, and independent samples tests, variables such as social media usage duration, frequency of checks, notification responses, and online interaction preferences were examined. The regression analysis revealed an R^2 value of 0.031, indicating a poor model fit and suggesting that the predictors did not significantly explain the variance in the psychological outcomes measured. The findings indicate a minimal influence of specific measured social media behaviors, pointing to the potential impact of unmeasured factors such as personality traits and offline social environments. The study highlights the need for future research to incorporate a broader range of variables and employ longitudinal designs to better understand the complex effects of social media on adolescent well-being.

Insights into patient awareness and preferences in medical imaging procedures involving ionizing radiation

Abstract Introduction: Advancements in technology have revolutionized the landscape of medical imaging, offering a multitude of modalities. However, this progress is not always fully traceable to patients, necessitating studies in this area to bridge the gap between technological advancements and patients’ insights. This study delves into patient awareness, preferences, and understanding concerning radiation risk in medical imaging procedures using ionizing radiation. Material and methods: An anonymous survey was conducted among 152 patients in Bulgaria who underwent X-ray procedures to gauge their insights into medical imaging. Data analysis utilized SPSS version 20.0, computing frequencies and percentages for categorical variables like gender, age, and education. Results: Significant correlations were found between gender and the need for knowledge related to radiation risks (χ2 = 4.622, p = 0.032), as well as patient understanding of radiation dose information and decision-making preferences (χ2 = 10.800; p = 0.020). Female participants showed higher awareness levels in these areas compared to male participants. Younger patients, notably aged 36-50 (52.6%), comprised a significant portion undergoing X-ray imaging, diverging from global trends. Age correlated with the frequency of X-ray examinations (χ2 = 171.256; p = 0.000) and decision-making preferences (χ2 = 8.324; p = 0.016), with older patients favoring informed decisions with physician input. Education levels significantly influenced radiation risk awareness (χ2 = 7.084, p = 0.008) and understanding of radiation dose information (χ2 = 14.752, p = 0.001). Patients with higher education levels demonstrated a significantly better understanding of absorbed radiation doses compared to those with secondary education. These findings highlight the influence of demographic factors such as gender, age, and education on patient awareness, knowledge acquisition, and decision-making processes regarding medical imaging and radiation risks. Conclusions: Tailored communication strategies, informed consent practices, and ongoing specialist education are crucial to enhancing patient awareness, optimizing decision-making processes, and ensuring radiation safety in medical imaging. Implementation of electronic health records can further improve radiation exposure monitoring, aligning with evolving technological standards and patient needs.

Television Viewing Frequency and Mode of Delivery Preferences among Primiparous Women in Nairobi, Kenya

Purpose: This study aims to establish television viewing frequency and mode of delivery preferences among primiparous women in Nairobi Kenya, aiming at developing informed strategies to minimize health risks and costs, promoting safer childbirth choices in a media-driven urban environment. Methodology: The study utilized a sequential mixed-methods approach, which involved 300 purposefully selected primiparous women from eleven sub-counties in Nairobi during routine child immunization schedules. Among the participants, 150 had vaginal deliveries, while the remaining underwent elective caesarean deliveries. Data collection was carried out through interviewer-administered questionnaires, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews. Quantitative analysis involved the use of mean-weight scores, Chi-square tests, and Cramer's V using SPSS version 28.0.1.1(15). Thematic analysis was employed for qualitative data using Nvivo 14 to comprehensively understand the research topic. The findings were presented through both numerical analysis and narrative exploration. Findings: Respondents who underwent elective caesarean deliveries had higher mean TV viewing frequencies on both weekdays and weekends, compared to those who had vaginal deliveries. Both for weekdays and weekends had significant associations with moderate effect sizes. The null hypothesis was rejected due to the significant correlation and linear regression explaining 81.3% of the variability. Each additional weekday TV-watching hour increased the odds in preferring a particular mode of delivery by 40%, and on weekends, by 39%. Qualitative analysis confirmed that viewing frequency is influenced by factors such flexible schedules, cost-effectiveness, accessibility, and content preferences. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study uses cultivation and medicalization theory to establish that television viewing frequency shapes perceptions and subsequent childbirth preferences among urban women, adding to existing body of knowledge on media effects theories. To promote informed childbirth choices, recommendations include encouraging women to critically evaluate media information and seek reliable sources. Additionally, integrating media literacy into antenatal care, implementing targeted campaigns, and researching other media forms beyond television are essential.

A biomechanics and energetics dataset of neurotypical adults walking with and without kinematic constraints

Numerous studies have explored the biomechanics and energetics of human walking, offering valuable insights into how we walk. However, prior studies focused on changing external factors (e.g., walking speed) and examined group averages and trends rather than individual adaptations in the presence of internal constraints (e.g., injury-related muscle weakness). To address this gap, this paper presents an open dataset of human walking biomechanics and energetics collected from 21 neurotypical young adults. To investigate the effects of internal constraints (reduced joint range of motion), the participants are both the control group (free walking) and the intervention group (constrained walking - left knee fully extended using a passive orthosis). Each subject walked on a dual-belt treadmill at three speeds (0.4, 0.8, and 1.1 m/s) and five step frequencies ( − 10% to 20% of their preferred frequency) for a total of 30 test conditions. The dataset includes raw and segmented data featuring ground reaction forces, joint motion, muscle activity, and metabolic data. Additionally, a sample code is provided for basic data manipulation and visualisation.

Harvesting nature's bounty: exploring the ethnobotanical landscape of wild edible plants in the Awi Agäw community, Northwestern Ethiopia

BackgroundFeeding the world's future population while still facing a variety of socioeconomic and climate change scenarios with uncertain outcomes is a key global societal concern that should be addressed in a science-based manner. Ethiopia boasts a great diversity of wild edible plant species (WEPS), but millions of its citizens still suffer from chronic hunger every year. In this context, we here document the use and conservation of WEPS in the Awi Agäw community, Northwestern Ethiopia.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study from October 2021 to June 2022. Ethnobotanical and conservation status data were collected via semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, field walks and market surveys. A total of 374 respondents from three districts (Guangua, Jawi and Ankasha) were purposely selected for the study. Descriptive statistics, including preference rankings, frequencies and direct matrix rankings, were employed for the data analysis.ResultsWe identified a total of 39 WEPS plant taxa distributed among 26 families and 32 genera. The Moraceae and Rosaceae had the greatest numbers of plants, with five and three species, respectively. The WEPS are regularly consumed in the study area to alleviate hunger. However, threats such as habitat loss, agricultural expansion, deforestation for firewood and other reasons, and pesticide use threaten WEPS availability.ConclusionTherefore, community-based conservation interventions need to be encouraged to safeguard WEPS and associated traditional knowledge. Furthermore, nutritional quality analysis is recommended for the selection of promising WEPS candidates.

Treatment preferences in diverticulitis are common and rarely change after a clinic visit

With the increasing prevalence of diverticulitis, professional guidelines encourage the individualization of treatment. However, the frequency of treatment preferences of both surgeons, and patients, and the resultant impact of that preference on diverticulitis management is underexplored. We reviewed 27 consecutive patient visits of 3 colorectal surgeons at our institution to evaluate factors that drove their treatment, as well as their equipoise for patient randomization into medical or surgical treatments. Using standardized pre- and post-visit questionnaires, we investigated the impact of the clinic visit on treatment recommendations. Our results demonstrate that our surgeons have a practice bias towards complicated disease, and have a preference towards operative management of diverticulitis, in both complicated and uncomplicated disease. This preference was frequently unchanged after clinic visit, which has implications for guiding truly shared decision making, as it continues to be the recommendation.

Scan-associated anxiety (scanxiety): the enigma of emotional breathing oscillations at 0.32 Hz (19 bpm).

MRI-related anxiety in healthy participants is often characterized by a dominant breathing frequency at around 0.32 Hz (19 breaths per minute, bpm) at the beginning but in a few cases also at the end of scanning. Breathing waves at 19 bpm are also observed in patients with anxiety independently of the scanned body part. In patients with medically intractable epilepsy and intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG), spontaneous breathing through the nose varied between 0.24 and 0.37 Hz (~19 bpm). Remarkable is the similarity of the observed breathing rates at around 0.32 Hz during different types of anxiety states (e.g., epilepsy, cancer, claustrophobia) with the preferred breathing frequency of 0.32 Hz (19 bpm), which is predicted by the binary hierarchy model of Klimesch. This elevated breathing frequency most likely reflects an emotional processing state, in which energy demands are minimized due to a harmonic coupling ratio with other brain-body oscillations.

PCB-based miniature vibro-tactile display for the visually impaired

An estimated 2.2 billion people worldwide are visually impaired (WHO, 2019), yet current Braille readers are limited to one or two rows of text and cannot display images. Thus, a low-cost, electronically refreshable tactile display for accessing graphical and textual information is needed. We are developing such a display using a printed circuit board (PCB) as the substrate and bottom electrode array, and a metalized Kapton film as the vibrating membrane. Punched foam tape is used as a spacer to create a gap between the board and film so the pixels can be actuated electrostatically. The current prototype has 6 pixels at 3.5 mm spacing, Vibration amplitudes of 8 microns peak-to-peak were achieved in a prototype using a drive voltage of 600V at 200 Hz. This is sensible to the human touch. Further optimization requires matching the mechanical impedance of the finger, and maximizing vibration amplitude in the preferred sensible frequency range between 50 and 300 Hz. Finite element analysis (FEA), laser vibrometry, and nano-newton force-displacement measurements have been used to characterize the system. Future versions will increase amplitude, reduce drive voltages, and increase display resolution to larger arrays of more closely spaced pixels through further miniaturization.

Diel and tidal cycles in summer habitat use by St. Lawrence Estuary Belugas through a pluriannual passive acoustics monitoring network

A network of 10 passive acoustics monitoring stations is used to examine patterns of habitat use at diel and tidal timescales by St. Lawrence Estuary beluga during summer 2018 and 2019. An occurrence index of vocal activity within the preferred frequency band of communications for belugas is used as a proxy for presence at the stations. Diel and tidal patterns of activity and mean residency time are extracted from statistics of hourly occurrence timeseries at the 10 stations. Spatially, diel and tidal occurrence levels of beluga communication sounds show patterns of variation that differ among the stations, but tend to be locally stable from one summer to next. Mean residency time at the 9 Estuary stations vary between 4 to 15 hours and most have an occurrence maximum during early morning. The Saguenay fjord station shows a distinct profile, with a mean residency time of 30 hours and high level of activity at evening and night. This work underlines the ability of passive acoustics, through continuous monitoring at high spatio-temporal resolution, to reveal the complexity of the habitat use by this confined marine mammal population and understand its responses to diel and tidal forcings of the ecosystem.

Development of a customized m-Health-based intervention to reduce loss to follow-up among patients undergoing treatment for cervical lesions at a rural referral Hospital, South Western Uganda

BackgroundLoss to follow-up (LTFU) in individuals undergoing cervical cancer treatment is a major challenge in many low resource settings. We describe development of a customized and tailored mHealth intervention for reducing LTFU among patients undergoing cervical cancer treatment at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH). MethodsWe interviewed all health care providers (HCPs) at the cervical cancer clinic of MRRH, between April and May 2023. Transcripts were subsequently derived, reviewed and coded to generate themes and categories using inductive content analytic approach. Four medical experts used this data to develop relevant SMS content, which was incorporated into an app. ResultsHCPs had owned a phone for 13.8 ≤ years, had worked at the clinic for 5 ≤ years, and used text messages regularly. Qualitative data revealed that the main challenge to re-engagement was absence of a reminder mechanism between HCPs and patients. HCPs preferred text and or audio mode of messaging to improve health care responsiveness to LTFUs, awareness, continuity of care, and health service uptake among the majority illiterate population; though with potential constraints of costs and workload. Identified key messaging content included; the importance of attending scheduled follow-ups, follow up visit date and clinic customization and tailoring the message to the intended recipient. SMS content was uploaded onto the cc-follow-up app platform and customized according to preferred language, day, frequency and time of delivery. ConclusionTailoring an mHealth messaging intervention could help re-engage and reduce LTFU through improved information sharing, awareness, responsiveness, care engagement and medical compliance. A pilot study is required for our intervention in South Western Uganda.

Modeling Digital Personality: A Fuzzy-Logic-Based Myers–Briggs Type Indicator for Fine-Grained Analytics of Digital Human

Digital human in cyberspace can help provide humanized services in specific applications, such as question & answer systems, recommender systems, chatter robots, and intelligent assistants. While most researches focus on behavior analytics, few of them integrate the personality that is also a closely related factor. As a classic indicator for personality representation, Myers–Briggs type indicator (MBTI) categorizes an individual into mutually exclusive types from four dichotomous axes (extraversion versus introversion, sensing versus intuition, thinking versus feeling, judging versus perceiving). Traditional recognition method using MBTI simply measures the user’s preference frequency in each axis through questionnaires, treating the dominant value as the identified result. Such a paradigm, however, represents all the people with only 16 types and cannot distinguish heterogeneous users clearly. This article proposes a novel personality recognition method using fuzzy logic. Different from previous classifications, our new method categorizes the individual in a continuous space and represents one’s personality in a more fine-grained level. We have designed comparative psychological tests for 77 people. The validation experiments on such tests indicate that the fuzzy-logic-based method is not only consistent with the classic MBTI tests (in the sense of defuzzification) but also provides the uncertainty for each personality type. Therefore, it can be viewed as a generalization of the classic MBTI tests and promotes the representation of individual’s heterogeneity for fine-grained analytics of digital human.

Current Rehabilitation Practices and Return to Sports Criteria After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Survey of Physical Therapists in Saudi Arabia.

With the high prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament rupture among young and active individuals, rehabilitation after the injury and surgery should meet the current evidence-based recommendations to restore knee function and reduce the risk of further injury. This study aimed to investigate the current rehabilitation practices and return to sports (RTS) criteria after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) among physical therapists in Saudi Arabia. Online cross-sectional survey-based study. A total of 177 physical therapists in Saudi Arabia participated in this survey. The survey included questions about the preferred postoperative timing and frequency of rehabilitation, current views on the importance of preoperative and postoperative rehabilitation to the overall outcomes, the timeframe of RTS, and the decision-making process to RTS. Most therapists (96.6%) believed preoperative rehabilitation was essential/important to postoperative outcomes. Two-thirds encouraged patients to start rehabilitation program within 1 to 4days immediately post-ACLR. RTS was permitted 6 to 9months post-ACLR by 60% of therapists if satisfied with patient progress and capacity. Factors considered before RTS included knee strength (72.9%), functional capacity (86.4%), lower limb and trunk mechanics (62.7%), and psychological readiness (42.2%). Knee strength was assessed by manual muscle testing (39%), handheld dynamometry (15.3%), and isokinetic dynamometer (13.6%). While 60% of the therapists used single-limbed hop for distance for evaluating functional capacity, only 27.1% used a hop test battery. The surveyed physical therapists in Saudi Arabia demonstrated variations in the current rehabilitation practices and RTS criteria post-ACLR. Over half of the surveyed therapists considered preoperative rehabilitation essential to postoperative outcomes. However, the therapists should update their perspective with current evidence-based practice regarding the RTS timeframe, psychological readiness assessment for RTS, and knee strength evaluation using objective measurements.

Meditation as an Online Pedagogical Method through the Lens of Online Adult Learners’ Experiences

The purpose of this study is to understand the ways in which meditation practice can be used as an online pedagogical method based on adult learners’ experiences with various forms of meditation practices. To arrive at this purpose, the researcher found it necessary to gather data about frequency of use, preferences, and related transformative experiences of the participants. Through qualitative inquiry, this study explored adult learners’ perceptions, attitudes, and reflections on using meditative practices while engaged in asynchronous online learning. Participants utilized prerecorded online meditation videos and biofeedback devices designed for meditation which provided immediate feedback and analytics. The data collection methods included surveys, participants’ meta-reflections, and a focus group interview. Data analyses included coding and constant comparative methods along with descriptive statistical analysis for the Likert-scale responses. Analyses led to themes describing participants’ self-awareness, preferred meditation practices, barriers to meditation, and suggestions for incorporating meditation as an online pedagogical method.

Human Gait Entrainment to Soft Robotic Hip Perturbation During Simulated Overground Walking.

Entraining human gait with a periodic mechanical perturbation has been proposed as a potentially effective strategy for gait rehabilitation, but the related studies have mostly depended on the use of a fixed-speed treadmill (FST) due to various practical constraints. However, imposing a constant treadmill speed on participants becomes a critical problem because this speed constraint prohibits the participants from adjusting the gait speed, resulting in significant alterations in natural biomechanics as the entrainment alters the stride frequency. In this study, we hypothesized that the use of a variable-speed treadmill (VST), which enables the participants to continuously adjust their speed, can improve the success rate of gait entrainment and preserve natural gait biomechanics. To test this hypothesis, we recruited 15 young and healthy adults and let them walk on a conventional FST and a self-paced VST while wearing a soft robotic hip exosuit, which applied hip flexion perturbations at various frequencies, ranging from the preferred walking frequency to a 30% increased value. Kinematics and kinetics of the participants' walking under the two treadmill conditions were measured on two separate days. Experimental results demonstrated a higher success rate of entrainment during VST walking compared to FST walking, particularly at faster perturbation frequencies. Furthermore, walking on VST facilitated the maintenance of natural biomechanics, such as stride length and normalized propulsive impulse, better than walking on FST. The observed improvement, primarily attributed to allowing an increase in walking speed following the increase in the perturbation frequency, suggests that using a self-paced VST is a viable method for exploiting the potentially beneficial therapeutic effects of entrainment in gait rehabilitation.

Survey of radiologists on work from home: Using the results to plan a hybrid work model

Background The COVID-19 pandemic saw many radiology departments worldwide adopting work from home (WFH) practices for social distancing and operational resilience. This paper explores the attitudes and perceptions of radiologists on WFH in Singapore. Methods A survey was conducted amongst radiologists at a large tertiary hospital in Singapore from 1 August 2022 to 1 September 2022. Topics included whether they met pre-requisites for WFH, the preferred frequency of WFH, equitability, and perceived impact on joy at work, resident training, and talent recruitment and retention. Results were analysed for significant associations with respondent demographics. Results There was an 88% response rate (49/56). 78% met pre-requisites for WFH. Most radiologists preferred a hybrid arrangement of WFH up to 2 days a week (70%) with 15-20% of their team WFH at any one time. Majority of radiologists wished to WFH when providing out-of-hours coverage (76%). There was perceived positive impact of WFH on individual joy at work (mean rating: 4.1), team joy at work (mean rating: 3.5) and talent recruitment and retention (mean rating: 4.0). Perceived impact on radiology resident training was negative to neutral (mean rating: 2.8). Free-text responses revealed concerns about equitability, WFH setup, training, and collegial relationships. Statistically significant differences in responses were found between genders and radiologists who met pre-requisites versus those who didn’t. Conclusion Our radiologists prefer a hybrid WFH model and anticipate it will increase joy at work and talent recruitment and retention. A hybrid WFH model may help address and mitigate some of the potential negative effects of WFH.

DOKTOR MARKALAŞMASININ HASTANE TERCİHİNE ETKİSİ: TÜRKİYE ÖRNEĞİ

This research aimed to determine to what extent the reason for choosing a hospital can be explained by branded doctors. In this study, which was carried out using the general survey model, which is a quantitative research method, 1077 participants were determined from among adults by simple random sampling method and the data were collected online. "Personal Information Form", "Doctor's Branding Scale" and "Hospital Preference Scale" were used in the research. The Physician Branding Scale consists of 12 statements and one dimension, while the Hospital Preference Scale consists of 16 items and one dimension. In addition, the Personal Information Form was used to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. The obtained data were analyzed with the SPSS program. Since it was determined that the data were normally distributed, t-test, ANOVA, pearson correlation and simple linear regression analyzes were applied in independent groups. As a result of the research, it was determined that the branding of the doctor had a statistically significant and positive effect on the hospital preference. This result shows that the level and frequency of patients' preference for that institution increased with the work of doctors who became branded in institutions.

Primary Care Clinicians' Prescribing Patterns of Reduced-Dose Direct Oral Anticoagulants for Extended-Phase Venous Thromboembolism Treatment.

The direct anticoagulants (DOACs), apixaban and rivaroxaban, are used for extended-phase treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and have labeling for dose reduction for this indication. The objective of this study was to better understand primary care clinician prescribing patterns of apixaban and rivaroxaban for extended-phase anticoagulation. We conducted a 21-question survey targeting members of the American College of Physicians and United States Veterans Administration anticoagulation management services. Survey questions covered prescribing behaviors for dose reduction of apixaban and rivaroxaban for extended VTE treatment, as well as questions related to the respondent's practice setting. We used logistic regression to assess associations between demographics and prescribing behaviors. We used k-means clustering to identify distinct groups of prescribing patterns. Among 227 respondents, most were attending physicians (60%) and one-third (34%) practiced in internal medicine or primary care. Most (59%) indicated they dose-reduced DOACs. Hospitalists (no outpatient care) were least likely to dose-reduce (OR 0.09 [95% CI 0.03-0.22]), as well as early-career clinicians (0.53 [0.30-0.91]). Pharmacists and clinicians who treat over 500 VTE patients annually were most likely to dose reduce (6.4 [2.9-16.3]), (2.9 [1.5-6.0]), respectively. We identified five clusters of dosing behaviors and characterized clinician makeup. Clusters were primarily differentiated by frequency of dose reduction, DOAC preference, and temporary re-escalation of doses. We identified clinician characteristics that are associated with dose-reduction prescribing behaviors; these analyses provide insight into where targeted interventions, such as protocolization and education, would be most beneficial.

THE METHOD OF OPTIMIZING THE DISTRIBUTION OF RADIO SUPPRESSION MEANS AND DESTRUCTIVE SOFTWARE INFLUENCE ON COMPUTER NETWORKS

Context. Currently, generalized methodical approaches to the development of scenarios of complex radio suppression and electromagnetic influence of typical special telecommunication systems have been developed. However, during the development of possible cases for the complex application of radio suppression and destructive software influence,the problem of optimizing the resource of these means and its distribution according to the goals of radio suppression and objects of destructive computer influence arose, which has not yet been fully resolved.Especially in the literature known to the authors, there is no method for optimizing the resource distribution of radio and computer influence, used for the development and practical implementation of optimal scenarios of destructive influence on computer networks of enemy military groups in military operations.
 Therefore, it is necessary to formulate a problem and develop a method of optimizing the distribution of the resource of radio suppression and destructive software influence for the development of possible scenarios of the enemy’s violation of information exchange in a standart telecommunication network.
 Objective. The purpose of the research is to develop a method for optimizing the distribution of the resource of radio suppression and destructive software influence for the development of scenarios of information exchange violations by the enemy in the telecommunications network.
 Method.To achieve the purpose of the research, the methods of nonlinear optimization of heterogeneous resource distribution, mass service theory, and expert evaluation were comprehensively applied and developed in the field of modeling of information conflict.
 To determine the coefficients of protection of objects from radio-electronic and destructive computer influence, expert evaluation methods are used, in particular, the method of frequencies of preferences of the decision-maker using the Thurstone method. This method requires only one expert (a decision-maker), minimal communication time with him, minimal expert information (full ordering of weighting factors) and can be applied with a small number of evaluated weighting factors.
 To solve the problem of optimal distribution of a heterogeneous resource of means of destructive influence, to ensure the value of the multiplicative objective function of an arbitrary form is not less than the given one, the method of successive increments is applied.
 To determine the efficiency indicator of information exchange violation, the methods of mass service theory are applied, which allows to formalize special telecommunication systems as a set of mass service systems – subsystems of digital communication and computer networks.
 Results. The formulated problem and the entered indicators made it possible to solve the problem of determining the minimum resource of means of destructive influence and their optimal distribution according to the purposes of radio suppression on the objects of destructive program influence in order to achieve the required level of disruption of the efficiency of information exchange in special telecommunication systems.
 Conclusions.According to the results of the article, a method for optimizing the distribution of the resource of radio suppression and destructive software influence has been developed for the development of possible scenarios of information exchange violations by the enemy in a typical telecommunications network.The verification of the proposed method was carried out by comparing the theoretical results with the results of simulated modeling of scenarios of violation of the information exchange in the telecommunications network by the enemy.