Technology Researchers Research Articles

A multistakeholder Delphi consensus core outcome set for clinical trials in moderate-to-severe asthma (coreASTHMA)

BackgroundTreatments for long-term control of asthma have improved and include a promising but expensive class of biologic therapies. However, the clinical trials evaluating these and other novel treatments have used a variety of different outcomes to evaluate efficacy. The evolution of asthma care calls for a re-examination of outcomes that are most important to patients and other stakeholders. ObjectiveTo develop a core set of outcomes to be measured in phase 3 and phase 4 clinical drug trials in patients with moderate-to-severe asthma. MethodsWe used a robust and in-depth multistakeholder consensus process bringing together patients, clinicians, regulators, payers, health technology assessors, researchers, and product developers to reach consensus on outcomes. We used a modified Delphi method to reach consensus, an approach adapted from the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials Initiative aligned with contemporary methodological standards for core outcome set development. ResultsThe following outcomes were included in the final core set: severe asthma exacerbation, change in asthma control, asthma-specific or severe asthma-specific quality of life, asthma-specific hospital stay (ie, >24-hour stays at any level of care) or admission, and asthma-specific emergency department visit. ConclusionThese 5 outcomes represent a minimum set of core outcomes for use in phase 3 and phase 4 clinical drug trials in moderate-to-severe asthma. Consistent collection of these outcomes as minimum, independent of whether additional heterogeneous primary or secondary outcomes are included, will allow for meaningful comparisons of the effect of asthma therapies across clinical trials.

Deboning the Fish: Hosting a Future Creating Workshop with Undergraduate Women in STEM

Despite the broad scope of literature on the topic of women in STEM, women in male-dominated spaces within academia are rarely given the opportunity to speak openly about their disadvantages in the toxic STEM culture. The current study implements a Critical Utopian Action Research method, Future Creating Workshop (FCW), with undergraduate women in STEM in order to highlight women’s voices in the context of their experiences in their undergraduate STEM programs, and develop a salient and timely action plan with women in STEM that capitalizes on their strengths and works towards dismantling barriers to their STEM participation. Four key themes that arose from the FCW that highlighted barriers women in STEM majors face: (1) Social Inequalities, (2) Research Accessibility, (3) Unwelcoming Academic Environment, and (4) Lack of Confidence. A fifth theme, ‘Need for Mentorship,’ developed from the action phase of the FCW, in which the women came up with suggestions for programming moving forward. The current study is couched in a larger participatory action research project, Participatory Opportunity for Women Researchers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (POWER in STEM). The purpose of POWER as a whole is to understand the lived experiences of women in STEM at the University of Cincinnati, and mobilize this knowledge to create an action plan that will influence programming.

Personalized Computer Support of Performance Rates and Education Process in High School: Case Study of Engineering Students

To date, the existing principles of a unified approach to schooling do not meet the requirements of a fundamental socio-economic transition characterized by personalization and customization of products and services that concern all areas, including education. The paradigm of education systems is being restructured in many countries towards a new approach of personalized learning that is adapted to students' needs, allows them to choose individual educational trajectories, and respects unique skills and qualities. The study aimed to determine the impact of personalization on the academic performance of engineering students in physics. The experiment on personalized student support was conducted during the academic year 2018-2019 at I.T. Trubilin Kuban State Agrarian University. The sample covered 78 students. The starting point of the research was the assessment of students' skills in mathematics, as the study of physics is based on mathematical analysis and interpretation. Test in physics and the criterion of alpha Kronbach (test reliability is determined with a coefficient of 0.87) were used as a toolkit for research. Besides, the statistical tools and covariance analysis of data processing were employed. The research was supported by the SPSS Statistics software package. According to the results obtained, higher post-test scores were recorded for students in the experimental group. The personalized learning has been found to have a significant impact on the academic performance of students. Those with low and medium ability in mathematics demonstrated higher growth in academic achievement than students with recorded high aptitude scores. A correlation between learning methods and mathematical skills to achieve high academic performance has been established. The influence of personalization in the learning process was determined to be moderately high (determinacy coefficient of 72.6%). The study is relevant for the development of constructive approaches that could help teachers improve their approach to learning and students improve academic achievements. The results may be of interest to researchers of educational technology, educators, and university administration management.

Preface

The 2021 6th International Conference on Electronic Technology and Information Science (ICETIS 2021) was held on January 22-24, 2021 as a virtual conference due to the growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), and in order to protect the well-being of our attendees, partners, and staff as our number one priority. ICETIS 2021 is to bring together innovative academics and industrial experts in the field of electronic technology and information science to a common forum. The primary goal of the conference is to promote research and developmental activities in electronic technology and information science and another goal is to promote scientific information interchange between researchers, developers, engineers, students, and practitioners working all around the world.This scientific event brings together more than 160 national and international researchers in electronic technology and information science. On top of the local participants coming from different national universities, international participants are also registered from different countries, namely UK, USA, Malaysia. During the conference, the conference model was divided into three sessions, including oral presentations, keynote speeches, and online Q&A discussion. In the first part, some scholars, whose submissions were selected as the excellent papers, were given about 5-10 minutes to perform their oral presentations one by one. Then in the second part, keynote speakers were each allocated 30-45 minutes to hold their speeches.In the second part, we invited three professors as our keynote speakers. Assoc. Prof. Mahmoud AlShawabkeh, from Guangxi Normal University for Nationalities, China. His research area focuses on Computer Network Security and Information Systems. And then we had Assoc. Prof. Lei Zhang from Henan University, China. He devoted in Machine learning, Big data, Information security and other related research area. Assoc. Prof. Zhihan Lv, from Qingdao University, China. His research mainly focuses on Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Geographic Information Systems, Computer Vision, Multimedia, 3D Visualization, 3D Graphics, Serious Game, HCI, Bigdata, Internet of Things. Their insightful speeches had triggered heated discussion in the third session of the conference. Every participant praised this conference for disseminating useful and insightful knowledge.The proceedings are a compilation of the accepted papers and represent an interesting outcome of the conference. Topics include but are not limited to the following areas: Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering and more related topics. All the papers have been through rigorous review and process to meet the requirements of International publication standard.We would like to acknowledge all of those who supported ICETIS 2021. The help and contribution of each individual and institution was instrumental in the success of the conference. In particular, we would like to thank the organizing committee for its valuable inputs in shaping the conference program and reviewing the submitted papers.The Committee of ICETIS 2021List of Committee members are available in this pdf.

Love and breakup letter methodology: A new research technique for medical education.

In everyday life, feelings are important to us, influencing our decision-making and motivating our actions. This is equally true within medicine and medical education, where feelings influence key aspects such as clinical decision-making, empathy, resilience, professional identity, reflection, team dynamics, career choices and questions of prejudice and bias. Feelings are therefore legitimate targets in medical education research, but asking research participants to talk openly about feelings can be challenging for participants and researchers alike. Within the disciple of User Experience (UX)-a relatively new research discipline used in the world of technology-researchers also seek to understand their customer's feelings, which are central to aspects of brand loyalty and choice of software platforms. UX researchers have developed innovative ways to explore feelings, in particular through the use of Love and Breakup Methodology (LBM)-participants are asked to write love and breakup letters to the product or app under study, and the letters are then used to guide the focus group discussion that follows. Methods: In this article, we describe the theoretical underpinnings of LBM, including ontological considerations. We also consider how LBM can be successfully used in medical education research and outline how we have adapted it in our own research studies and programme evaluations. Conclusions: Love and breakup letters are creative ways of understanding participants' positive and negative emotions about the matter under study. LBM has been utilised extensively by UX researchers in technology, but has been little used in medical education. It has rich potential to enhance research approaches to aspects of medicine that are influenced by feelings, including empathy and resilience, team working and many other aspects of professional practice. Although principally a focus group research tool, it can be adapted to other approaches, including questionnaire surveys and individual interviews.

Quantitative quality: a study on how performance-based measures may change the publication patterns of Danish researchers

Nations the world over are increasingly turning to quantitative performance-based metrics to evaluate the quality of research outputs, as these metrics are abundant and provide an easy measure of ranking research. In 2010, the Danish Ministry of Science and Higher Education followed this trend and began portioning out a percentage of the available research funding according to how many research outputs each Danish university produces. Not all research outputs are eligible: only those published in a curated list of academic journals and publishers, the so-called BFI list, are included. The BFI list is ranked, which may create incentives for academic authors to target certain publication outlets or publication types over others. In this study we examine the potential effect these relatively new research evaluation methods have had on the publication patterns of researchers in Denmark. The study finds that publication behaviors in the Natural Sciences & Technology, Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) have changed, while the Health Sciences appear unaffected. Researchers in Natural Sciences & Technology appear to focus on high impact journals that reap more BFI points. While researchers in SSH have also increased their focus on the impact of the publication outlet, they also appear to have altered their preferred publication types, publishing more journal articles in the Social Sciences and more anthologies in the Humanities.

Developing a Cost Structure of Frozen Semen Production and Performance of Artificial Insemination for Sheep Breeding Program

Background: Artificial insemination is an important applicable tool in increasing productivity by genetic exploitation through the male line. But farmers or breeders adoption require to be known the detailed cost structure and the nature of the cost function of the new technology. In this paper, therefore an attempt is made to develop a cost structure for frozen semen dose and a representative artificial breeding program in ewes.Methods: Semen was frozen twice-weekly for a period of a month following traditional box-freezing. Variable and fixed costs associated with the ram management, semen collection, processing and freezing were estimated and used in frozen semen production cost calculation. Cost items estimated as per cost assumption model and used for artificial insemination cost calculation.Result: The mean production cost of a frozen semen straw was estimated as Tk. 41.66 where ram maintenance cost, semen processing and preservation cost and staff cost shared the maximum expenses were to be 53.69, 12.93 and 33.38%, respectively. The average performance cost of artificial insemination incurred in the study was approximately Tk. 217.31, there in the semen dose, AI pipette and hormone cost covered the top areas of expenses to be 38.34, 23.00 and 19.33%, respectively. The cost estimate of the current study will be of more informative for breeders, stakeholders and researchers in sheep breeding technology.

ESOL pre-service teachers’ culturally and linguistically responsive teaching in mixed-reality simulations

PurposeSimulation technology has been used as a viable alternative to provide a real life setting in teacher education. Applying mixed-reality classroom simulations to English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher preparation, this qualitative case study aims to examine how pre-service teachers (PSTs) practice culturally and linguistically responsive teaching to work with an English learner (EL) avatar and other avatar students.Design/methodology/approachUsing an embedded single case study, three PSTs’ teaching simulations and interviews were collected and analyzed.FindingsThis study found PST participants made meaningful connections between theory and practices of culturally and linguistically responsive teaching, particularly by connecting academic concepts to students’ life experiences, promoting cultural diversity, using instructional scaffolding and creating a safe environment. Nevertheless, they needed further improvement in incorporating cultural diversity into content lessons, creating a challenging and supportive classroom and developing interactional scaffolding for ELs’ language development. The findings also show that while PST participants perceived simulation technology as very beneficial, expanding the range of technological affordances could provide PSTs an opportunity to undertake a full range of critical teaching strategies for ELs.Originality/valueThis research contributes to broadening the realm of mixed-reality technology by applying it to ESOL teacher education and has implications for both ESOL teacher educators and simulation technology researchers.

Many Ways Lead to the Goal—Possibilities of Autonomous and Infrastructure-Based Indoor Positioning

There are many ways to navigate in Global Navigation Satellite System-(GNSS) shaded areas. Reliable indoor pedestrian navigation has been a central aim of technology researchers in recent years; however, there still exist open challenges requiring re-examination and evaluation. In this paper, a novel dataset is used to evaluate common approaches for autonomous and infrastructure-based positioning methods. The autonomous variant is the most cost-effective realization; however, realizations using the real test data demonstrate that the use of only autonomous solutions cannot always provide a robust solution. Therefore, correction through the use of infrastructure-based position estimation based on smartphone technology is discussed. This approach invokes the minimum cost when using existing infrastructure, whereby Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) forms the basis of the autonomous position estimation. Realizations with Particle Filters (PF) and a topological approach are presented and discussed. Floor plans and routing graphs are used, in this case, to support PDR positioning. The results show that the positioning model loses stability after a given period of time. Fifth Generation (5G) mobile networks can enable this feature, as well as a massive number of use-cases, which would benefit from user position data. Therefore, a fusion concept of PDR and 5G is presented, the benefit of which is demonstrated using the simulated data. Subsequently, the first implementation of PDR with 5G positioning using PF is carried out.

Forced Convection Heat Transfer of Zirconia-water Nanofluid in Vertical Triangular Sub-channel

Recently, the researchers in nuclear technology are thinking about the use of nanofluid as an alternative cooler, besides using the base-fluids or water and gas. The idea of using nanofluid is already being considered to be applied in nuclear power plants in the future. This nanofluid is expected to be applied in cooling systems, both primary cooling systems and emergency core cooling systems. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the characteristics of the thermo-physical properties of ZrO2-water nanofluid in the forced convection flow. Recent studies showed that ZrO2-water nanofluid has a good prospect to be used in the nuclear reactor technology due to its low neutron absorption cross section. Although several papers have reported the physical properties of ZrO2-water nanofluid, practically there is no correlation equation for predicting forced convection heat transfer in a vertical triangular sub-channel in ZrO2-water nanofluid. This experiment used ZrO2–water nanofluid at a constant nanofluid concentration of 0.10 wt.%. The results showed that the average increase in ZrO2-water nanofluid heat transfer coefficient was greater than 20% compared to the base-fluids or water heat transfer coefficient as coolant. It is expected that this nanofluid will support the current trend especially in cooling system applications.

Design of implantable cardioverter defibrillator using low power subthreshold digital circuit

Due to tremendous Technological advancements researchers and scientists have proposed designs operating under subthreshold and near threshold regions. With recently, growing the need for low power consumption of devices, the low power circuits have become more eye-catching to the design engineers. But the act of subthreshold design has become more profound to the PVT variations due to exponential relationship of current in Subthreshold region depends on supply voltage(Vgs) and threshold voltage(Vth). The motivation for low power electronics has been derived from the subthreshold operation & its driving forces. In this paper the subthreshold design of source coupled logic circuit is described with its functionality under subthreshold region and performance in static and dynamic mode of operation and used as Implantable cardioverter defibrillator under 28nm technology.

A Review of the Practical Applications of Pedagogic Conversational Agents to Be Used in School and University Classrooms

Pedagogic Conversational Agents (PCAs) can be defined as autonomous characters that cohabit learning environments with students to create rich learning interactions. Currently, there are many agents reported in the literature of this fast-evolving field. In this paper, several designs of PCAs used as instructors, students, or companions are reviewed using a taxonomy to analyze the possibilities that PCAs can bring into the classrooms. Finally, a discussion as to whether this technology could become the future of education depending on the design trends identified is open for any educational technology practitioner, researcher, teacher, or manager involved in 21st century education.

Developmental research on an interactive application for language speaking practice using speech recognition technology

This developmental research aims to (1) examine the design and developmental process, (2) investigate the nature and structure of the application, and (3) analyze the results of expert reviews and usability tests. Twenty-five participants, including a developer, an instructional designer, Korean language educators, educational technology researchers, human–computer interaction experts, and language learners, were involved in this study. This study was conducted in the following steps: (1) formulated design principles through the literature review of language instruction and learning theories, computer-assisted language learning, speech recognition technology, human–computer interaction, and scaffolding, (2) developed a functional software prototype that adopted the formulated design principles, (3) conducted expert reviews and learner usability tests, (4) revised and updated the application through the repetitive expert reviews and learner usability tests, (5) analyzed the results of the final expert review, usability test, and log data analysis, and (6) clarified the implications of the development research. The developed application shows an approach to addressing the challenges of second language classrooms that might cause a low-level of learner’s language speaking performance. This study specifically delivers knowledge about the design and developmental process of computer-assisted language learning software. This provides guidelines for educational technology researchers and practitioners who work on similar projects.

Arctic Amplification and Policy Recommendations

The objectives of the present study are to examine the consequences of increasing temperatures in the Artic and provide policy recommendations. We present a review of the connections between climate indicators and how these are amplified in the Arctic region. This has a direct effect in distant regions around the world. Increasing temperatures have direct consequences in many ecosystems ranging from the disruption of phytoplankton communities, ice-albedo feedbacks in the retreat of sea ice, sea rising levels and increasing wind induced coastal upwelling. Thanks to state-of-the-art technologies researchers can extract ecosystem related data and understand historical changes to visualize future changing patterns. The latter will serve to illustrate economic impacts for all the above-mentioned issues which not only affect the Arctic. The Arctic mirrors what the rest of the world could experience in the future if we do not achieve the temperature reduction needed. For this reason, the goal of this paper is to connect the climate system with current economic schemes to provide distinctive policy recommendations to support the road towards carbon negative economies.

Formation and Development of the Italian Vocal School from 16th to 19th Centuries

The article is devoted to the development and formation of the Italian vocal schools in the era of the New Age. The most important aspects of the development of the Italian vocal school are the domination of castrate singers in the 18th century and their gradual ousting in the era of the romantic opera formation. During the 20th century, the internationalization of Italian opera and vocal teaching methods take place. The study is based on a complex of historical methods. The materials are of interest to researchers of vocal technology and cultural history.

Virtual reactor laboratory integrated with cyber security from Bangladesh perspective

This paper intends to present the current status of the education and training program of BAEC TRIGA Research Reactor (BTRR) as well as the prospect of Virtual Reactor Laboratory (VRL) as a tool to impart training and education. VRL has been proposed based on BTRR and its feasibility with regard to imparting training and education programs of research reactor has been assessed. As education and training are key utilizations of BTRR, this VRL will widen the scope of harnessing maximum benefits out of such utilizations. Since nuclear security is a paramount concern, aspects of cyber security has been considered in the proposed VRL. In order to maintain a high degree of privacy of the BTRR facility, different levels of cyber security have been embedded along with the VRL to control the unknown access to the system. VRL can provide an impetus in developing skilled workforce for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP), other proposed nuclear power plants, nuclear installations and broaden the outlook of teachers, students and researchers in nuclear science and technology through distant learning method.

Evaluation of Machine Learning Algorithms for Intrusion Detection System in WSN

Technology has revolutionized into connecting “things” together with the rebirth of the global network called Internet of Things (IoT). This is achieved through Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) which introduces new security challenges for Information Technology (IT) scientists and researchers. This paper addresses the security issues in WSN by establishing potential automated solutions for identifying associated risks. It also evaluates the effectiveness of various machine learning algorithms on two types of datasets, mainly, KDD99 and WSN datasets. The aim is to analyze and protect WSN networks in combination with Firewalls, Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) all specialized for the overall protection of WSN networks. Multiple testing options were investigated such as cross validation and percentage split. Based on the finding, the most accurate algorithm and the least time processing were suggested for both datasets.

Measurement and Evaluation for Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) for Manufacturing Operations - Summary of an Interactive Workshop Highlighting PHM Trends.

Personnel from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) organized and led a Measurement and Evaluation for Prognostics and Health Management for Manufacturing Operations (ME4PHM) workshop at the 2019 Annual Conference of the Prognostics and Health Management Society held on September 23rd, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. This event featured panel presentations and discussions from industry, government, and academic participants who are focused in advancing monitoring, diagnostic, and prognostic (collectively known as prognostic and health management (PHM)) capabilities within manufacturing operations. The participants represented a diverse cross-section of technology developers, integrators, end-users/manufacturers (from small to large), and researchers. These contributors discussed 1) what works well, 2) common challenges that need to be addressed, 3) where the community’s priorities should be focused, and 4) how PHM technological adoption can be sped in a cost-effective manner. This report summarizes the workshop and offers lessons learned regarding the current state of PHM. Based upon the discussions, recommended next steps to advance this technological domain are also presented.

An overview of microencapsulation technology in the application of aroma and antibacterial finishes

There is a need to develop fabrics with special finishes. With the help of technological advancement researchers can bring about innovation in fabrics. The purpose of the study is to investigate the technology that can be used for application of functional finishes on fabrics. This review paper investigates the techniques applied in the formation of the microcapsules, its purpose, and method of application for fixing it on textiles, the binders and polymers used and release of aroma. There are various release mechanisms which can be applied as per the requirement or end use. The essential oils used are highly volatile in nature hence very difficult to maintain the durability of the finish in terms of storage and washability. In this review, microencapsulation techniques of application to obtain innovative fabrics for the textile sector has been highlighted.

Theoretical Minimum Thermal Load in Buildings

Summary Building cooling and heating accounts for a large portion of total global energy use and requires commensurate amounts of resources, which contribute significantly to global warming. Traditionally, addressing this issue has meant improving the efficiency of equipment supplying the thermal energy, reducing envelope heat transfer, and reducing air infiltration. However, this approach is already reaching practical limits. In this perspective, we explore (1) how to reduce thermal load in buildings theoretically and (2) how to achieve that reduction and dramatically lower the energy required to support building loads practically. First, we discuss our framework developed for calculating the theoretical minimum thermal load (TMTL) in buildings. Our analysis shows that current thermal loads in buildings are more than an order of magnitude higher than the TMTL. We also introduce an approximate formula to calculate energy savings from zonal control of thermal load, which shows that the majority of zonal control benefits can be achieved with fewer than 10 zones. Then, we discuss pros and cons of various approaches and strategies to achieve the TMTL. We conclude our perspective with some longer-term R&D ideas, such as thermally adaptive clothing and thermal storage to help approach the TMTL, while providing the additional benefit of interacting with the renewable grid of the future.