Virtual Service Research Articles

Sistem Pendukung Keputusan Pemilihan Aplikasi Chat Terbaik Dalam Mendukung Pembelajaran Daring di Masa Pandemi Covid Menggunakan Metode Multi Attribute Utility Theory

The Chating application is a virtual communication service either through messages, voice calls, or video calls that can assist in conducting online lectures during a pandemic. There are many types of applications that can be used to communicate during online lectures. Such as the Telegram application, Whatsapp application, Discord, KaKaoTalk, Line or WeChat and other social media applications that can be used to communicate personally or in groups. However, these applications have their own advantages and disadvantages that can affect the comfort and optimization of learning. Therefore, to determine the best Chating application, each alternative must have its own criteria as a requirement for the optimization of the application. As in this study, the authors added some data as criteria, namely Group Support, Member Capacity, Security, Account Privacy and Services provided by the application. Which, each criterion has a predetermined weight and is carried out with a settlement process using the Multi Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) method for the ranking process. From calculations using the Multi Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) method, it will produce sequential alternatives from the highest to the lowest. The alternative value which is Qi or the highest ranking will be used as an alternative recommendation for chat applications that will be used as a tool to support online learning during the Covid pandemic.

RESILIENT WEB-APPLICATION SCALING THROUGH INTEGRATED DATABASE ELASTICITY

This work has focused on the optimization and scaling of web applications, particularly those that utilize databases. The work covered various deployment environments, including physical servers, dedicated servers, virtual servers, cloud systems, and Serv

Performance Evaluation of the KVM Hypervisor Running on ARM-Based Single-Board Computers

Single-Board Computers (SBCs) were initially targeted for education and small projects with low power-processing needs. However, their computational power has increased dramatically in the last few years, and they are now used in more advanced developments. In this paper, a study of the feasibility of using ARM-based SBCs as hypervisors is done. The authors selected the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B and the ODROID-N2+ and assessed them as virtualization servers, when running up to four VMs simultaneously, with the Linux de facto hypervisor (KVM). The tests performed in this work include: reading and writing throughputs in different types of storage media, processing power assessment, memory performance, timed compilations of open-source software, and performance of encryption algorithms. The results of the experiments showed that the amount of memory available in these SBCs is a determinant factor about the maximum number of VMs that can be executed simultaneously. The performance of the ODROID-N2+ exceeded the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. However, the community support received by the latter is huge compared to the one of the former, and this can be a game changer when selecting a viable platform.

Utilization of digital prenatal services and management of depression and anxiety during pregnancy: A retrospective observational study.

We examined how utilization of Maven, a digital healthcare platform that provides virtual prenatal services, is associated with improvements in perceived management of anxiety and depression during pregnancy, and how medical knowledge and support may influence this association. In this retrospective study we used adjusted logistic regression to examine the relationship between digital platform use in pregnancy and perceived mental health management, and how perceived management of mental health is affected by user-reported improvements in medical knowledge and feeling supported by the platform. Effects were evaluated separately among users with and without a mental health condition. Demographics, medical history, and mental health management were self-reported. Of 5,659 users, 705 (12.5%) reported that Maven helped them manage anxiety and/or depression in the prenatal period. In adjusted models, users who read more articles, sent more messages to care advocates, or had more appointments with providers were more likely to report improved management of mental health in a dose-response manner (e.g., articles read: Q2 aOR 1.31 (95% CI 1.01-1.70), Q3 aOR 1.68 (95% CI 1.30-2.17), Q4 1.99 (95% CI 1.54-2.59)). Improvements in medical knowledge and high perceived support were both associated with better perceived mental health management. Results were similar in users with and without a mental health condition. These results suggest that access to a diverse set of digital resources provides multiple pathways to managing depression and anxiety during pregnancy for those with and without a diagnosed mental health condition.

Virtual Services in the Health Sciences Library: A Handbook

Health sciences libraries serving universities and medical facilities have long used technology to provide library services, but COVID-19 presented libraries with unique challenges. Libraries shut their doors and adapted to conducting reference, instruction, and outreach, remotely. For some libraries described in Virtual Services in the Health Sciences Library: a Handbook, those services had been done in the library; for others, the library had considered adding virtual services. For those libraries that have not made the jump, this text presents strategies to which all health sciences libraries would find a useful reference. Given its practical strategies and engaging text, this reviewer finds Virtual Services in the Health Sciences Library: a Handbook to be an inspiring and a highly recommended reference for health sciences libraries.

A Multi-Agent-Based VM Migration for Dynamic Load Balancing in Cloud Computing Cloud Environment

Cloud computing is the use of remote servers on the internet to store, manage, and process data. It is a demand-based service where users need to pay only for what they use. Cloud computing users are extensively distributed throughout the globe, so it is a big challenge to keep track of this huge data. Load balancing is the distribution of workloads in a smart way among multiple compute resources, like virtual servers. Compute resources can be added or removed from the load balancer according to the needs of the user. A load balancer is primarily used to optimize the use of resources, costs, and VMs, as well as to maximize throughput, reduce response time, and prevent overloading in various VMs. In this paper, multi-agent-based virtual machine migration has been proposed for dynamic load balancing in a cloud computing environment. The proposed algorithm shows better results in terms of makespan time, average response time, and data center processing time than other conventional cloud load balancing algorithms.

CE2RV: Commissioned energy‐efficient virtualization for large‐scale heterogeneous wireless sensor networks

SummaryThe Internet of Things (IoT) comprises sensor networks, intelligent things, devices, and humans for heterogeneous services and applications. Energy constraints in conventional wireless networks impact IoT performance resulting in service failures. For reducing the adverse impact of energy, this article introduces a commissioned energy‐efficient resource virtualization (CE2RV) scheme. This proposed scheme classifies the sensor nodes as fast and slow‐depleting for identifying service failures. The fast‐depleting nodes are discontinued from the service replications, and the remaining energy high‐node‐connected resources are identified. Such resources are virtualized for thwarting the existing energy failures over various services. The node classifications are performed using a tree‐learning algorithm. The classifications are performed for node replacement and service virtualization under different energy depletion rates. This is required for preventing sensor network disconnections between the users and service providers. The classification is required for overcoming multiple virtualizations between common nodes across different service providers. The proposed scheme's performance is analyzed using the metrics of service disconnections, energy utilization, energy efficiency, and service delay.

Three‐year outcomes of an optometrist‐led virtual clinic for new glaucoma referrals

The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate the outcomes of an optometrist-led virtual glaucoma clinic (VGC). New patients referred to the glaucoma service who were consultant triaged as 'low risk' were assessed virtually by specialist-trained optometrists in the VGC and either discharged or monitored for a period of 3 years. Ten percent of virtual case notes were audited by a glaucoma consultant to verify quality and generate learning objectives. Retrospective case-note review and analysis of all patients seen in the virtual clinic between 2014 and 2016 was undertaken to determine 3-year outcomes. A total of 1710 new patients were seen in the clinic between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2016. Of these, 1033 (60.4%) patients required no outpatient input in 3 years of follow-up. Additionally, 320 (18.7%) were discharged at the first visit, and the proportion of glaucoma suspect and ocular hypertension patients who converted to glaucoma was 12.1% and 5.8%, respectively. At 3 years, 95 patients had died, 159 were lost to follow-up, 576 were discharged and 371 were diagnosed with glaucoma at baseline or during the 3-year follow-up. The cumulative discharge proportion from the service at the end of 3 years was 82.6%. No patients required emergency eye treatment or sight-impairment registration, and of the 12 referred back to the clinic on discharge, only five required ongoing monitoring. This optometrist-led VGC combined two aspects of novel service delivery to reduce the burden of glaucoma monitoring in outpatient departments and consolidate consultant contact to patients requiring more intervention. This model will be of value in units establishing virtual services and looking to expand the role of allied health professionals.

A Universal Privacy-Preserving Multi-Blockchain Aggregated Identity Scheme

Cryptocurrencies offer various benefits in terms of privacy protection and cross-border transactions, but they have also been used for illicit activities such as money laundering due to their anonymous nature and the difficulty of cross-border regulation. Additionally, the unethical actions of some virtual asset service providers (VASPs), such as rug pulls and the embezzlement of user funds, have further eroded the trust between users and VASPs. Implementing identity management on blockchains can help restore trust between users and VASPs. However, current solutions have privacy concerns as identity providers have access to the asset balances and transaction records of each user’s wallet account, and no solution can support all public blockchains unconditionally. To address these issues, this paper proposes a multi-chain aggregated identity scheme. In this scheme, the identity provider will issue a non-fungible token (NFT) for users who have undergone verification, and wallet accounts from different blockchains will be added to a cryptographic accumulator. The accumulator value is then bound to the identity NFT through a smart contract by the user. This allows the user to prove to others that the identity of the wallet account owner has been verified. The use of accumulators also allows users to combine proof for multiple wallets into a single proof, which significantly improves the efficiency and provides a way for VASPs such as centralized exchanges to demonstrate Proof of Reserves (PoR) to users. Importantly, this scheme preserves privacy as neither the identity provider nor the VASPs can link the user’s real identity with the wallet accounts. Only regulators can access the user’s identity data held by the identity provider and the user’s wallet account held by the VASP to link real identities with wallet accounts for the purpose of sanctions or criminal investigations. Additionally, the scheme supports all blockchains by allowing wallet accounts from any public blockchain to be added to the accumulator. Furthermore, the NFT implementation in the scheme helps prevent identity loss or theft, as it can only be transferred by the identity provider.

“Jerry was a terrific host!” “You were a brilliant guest!”

Abstract Expanding the research investigating compliments in CMC genres, this study explores reciprocal compliments from consumers and service-providers on Airbnb, a major tourism platform. Specifically, the study examines distribution of compliments in both guest reviews of Online Experiences (a virtual tourism service) and hosts’ responses to those reviews, focusing on compliment topics, their syntactic realizations, and their associated intensification strategies. Despite some similarities with prior research on CMC compliments with respect to the overall frequency and general expression of compliments, we also identified several differences related to compliment reciprocity as well as a greater tendency toward more formal language use in this professional digital context. These differences are likely related to the different relationships among participants, as well as different user goals when communicating on commercially-oriented sites versus social networking sites, demonstrating the need to expand the scope of CMC compliment research to include a broader range of platforms.

Simulation-Based Schedule Optimization for Virtual Coupling-Enabled Rail Transit Services with Multiagent Technique

Virtual coupling (VC) is a train-centric next generation signalling system, which can enable multiple trains to operate in a formation just like one train or decouple separately on-the-run or at station flexibly or as planned. With the aim of optimizing the interdeparture train headway time, providing the variable capacity for diverse passenger demand, maximizing the passenger riding comfort degree, and minimizing passenger travel cost and train operation cost, the dynamic schedule for VC-enabled rail transit services is investigated with the multiagent simulation technique on NetLogo platform. Our contribution is mainly fourfold. First, VC-enabled rail transit entity for simulation is represented with the multiagent technique, including representation of train unit, train convoy, passenger attributes and behavior, and mathematical formula for calculation of the train operation cost and passenger travel cost, as well as passengers riding comfort degree are proposed. Second, the operational principles for flexible and self-organisingVC-enabled trains are defined. Third, the VC-enabled train-centric, passenger demand-driven, and agent-based simulation flow and algorithms are developed innovatively, which adopt the ergodic strategy for simulation by traversing each O-D pair demand along each route section over the rail transit network. Finally, we test and discuss the proposed methodology on the designed computational experiment on the NetLogo platform, and the simulation results series validated the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The provided research can effectively support the VC-enabled platoon operation-oriented train service schedule for future study.

Health equity related challenges and experiences during the rapid implementation of virtual care during COVID-19: a multiple case study

BackgroundVirtual care quickly became of crucial importance to health systems around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the potential of virtual care to enhance access for some communities, the scale and pace at which services were virtualized did not leave many organizations with sufficient time and resources to ensure optimal and equitable delivery of care for everyone. The objective of this paper is to outline the experiences of health care organizations rapidly implementing virtual care during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and examine whether and how health equity was considered.MethodsWe used an exploratory, multiple case study approach involving four health and social service organizations providing virtual care services to structurally marginalized communities in the province of Ontario, Canada. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with providers, managers, and patients to understand the challenges experienced by organizations and the strategies put in place to support health equity during the rapid virtualization of care. Thirty-eight interviews were thematically analyzed using rapid analytic techniques.ResultsOrganizations experienced challenges related to infrastructure availability, digital health literacy, culturally appropriate approaches, capacity for health equity, and virtual care suitability. Strategies to support health equity included the provision of blended models of care, creation of volunteer and staff support teams, participation in community engagement and outreach, and securement of infrastructure for clients. We put our findings into the context of an existing framework conceptualizing access to health care and expand on what this means for equitable access to virtual care for structurally marginalized communities.ConclusionThis paper highlights the need to pay greater attention to the role of health equity in virtual care delivery and situate that conversation around existing inequitable structures in the health care system that are perpetuated when delivering care virtually. An equitable and sustainable approach to virtual care delivery will require applying an intersectionality lens on the strategies and solutions needed to address existing inequities in the system.

Feasibility and acceptability of a virtual clinical pharmacy service for elective orthopaedic inpatients in an Australian metropolitan hospital

AbstractBackgroundVirtual healthcare services are usually provided from urban centres to outpatient clinics or underserved rural areas. This study utilises virtual pharmacy as an innovative model to provide services to a metropolitan hospital from a rural area.AimThis study assesses the feasibility, and patient and staff acceptability of a Virtual Clinical Pharmacy Service (VCPS) in a tertiary metropolitan hospital ward with limited on‐site clinical pharmacy services.MethodPharmacists from a rural health district provided telepharmacy services for nine weeks. Data on service provision and detection of medication‐related issues were captured in the electronic health record. Service acceptability was assessed through a staff focus group and patient acceptability by a patient‐reported experience measures (PREM) survey. Ethical approval was granted by the Greater Western Human Research Ethics Committee (Reference no: 2021/ETH00097).ResultsThe VCPS demonstrated high utilisation, with 535 clinical and medication reviews provided for 225 patients. Virtual medication reviews identified 151 medication‐related issues or recommendations. PREM surveys (n = 22) were supportive of the VCPS model. Staff valued the service and reported ease of access to specialist medication advice and confidence that patient medications were correct. Staff raised patient confidentiality in open wards and lack of experience using virtual healthcare as barriers to the implementation.ConclusionFeasibility was demonstrated by high service utilisation, detection of medication‐related issues, and measures of acceptability from patients and staff. The VCPS offers a solution to enhance sustainability and service agility by delivery of clinical services when face‐to‐face is not practicable or available. Further research is required to demonstrate efficacy and to confirm patient acceptability.

Chinese Patients' Virtual Consultation Use of Different Sponsorship Types of Telemedicine Platforms: A Cross-Sectional Study in Zhejiang Province, China.

Background: Virtual consultation has been one of the most prevalent direct-to-consumer telemedicine services in China. However, little is known about patients' virtual consultation use of different sponsorship types of telemedicine platforms. This study aimed to examine Chinese patients' virtual consultation use and identify the factors that affect consultation use of different sponsorship types of platforms. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey on 1,653 participants in tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 hospitals in 3 cities with different income levels, in Zhejiang Province, in May and June 2019. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors that affect patients' virtual consultation use of different sponsorship types of platforms. Results: The most frequently used consultation platform was digital health company-sponsored platforms (36.60%), hospital-sponsored platforms (34.57%), doctors' personal social media (11.09%), other company-sponsored platforms (9.24%), and medical e-commerce company-sponsored platforms (8.50%). The patients' virtual consultation use of different sponsorship types of platforms was determined by education levels, monthly income levels, perceived health status, internet use, and city income levels. Conclusions: Chinese patients' virtual consultation service use varied by platform sponsorship type. Digital health company-sponsored platforms owned advantages over other platform types in high-end consumers with higher education levels, higher income levels, living in high-income cities, and active in internet use. This study implied that different sponsorship types of direct-to-consumer telemedicine platforms in China differ from each other in online health care resource allocation, business model, and competitive advantage.

A Game-Theoretic Approach for Rendering Immersive Experiences in the Metaverse

The metaverse is an upcoming computing paradigm aiming towards blending reality seamlessly with the artificially generated 3D worlds of deep cyberspace. This giant interactive mesh of three-dimensional reconstructed realms has recently received tremendous attention from both an academic and commercial point of view owing to the curiosity instilled by its vast possible use cases. Every virtual world in the metaverse is controlled and maintained by a virtual service provider (VSP). Interconnected clusters of LiDAR sensors act as a feeder network to these VSPs which then process the data and reconstruct the best quality immersive environment possible. These data can then be leveraged to provide users with highly targeted virtual services by building upon the concept of digital twins (DTs) representing digital analogs of real-world items owned by parties that create and establish the communication channels connecting the DTs to their real-world counterparts. Logically, DTs represent data on servers where postprocessing can be shared easily across VSPs, giving rise to new marketplaces and economic frontiers. This paper presents a dynamic and distributed framework to enable high-quality reconstructions based on incoming data streams from sensors as well as to allow for the optimal allocation of VSPs to users. The optimal synchronization intensity control problem between the available VSPs and the feeder network is modeled using a simultaneous differential game, while the allocation of VSPs to users is modeled using a preference-based game-theoretic approach, where the users give strict preferences over the available VSPs.

Systematic Review of Misinformation in Social and Online Media for the Development of an Analytical Framework for Agri-Food Sector

The ubiquity of social and online media networks, the credulousness of online communities, coupled with limited accountability pose a risk of mis-, dis-, mal-, information (mis-dis-mal-information)—the intentional or unintentional spread of false, misleading and right information related to agri-food topics. However, agri-food mis-dis-malinformation in social media and online digital agricultural communities of practice (CoPs) remains underexplored. There is also a limited theoretical and conceptual foundation for understanding mis-dis-malinformation topics in the agri-food sectors. The study aims to review mis-dis-malinformation literature and offer a framework to help understand agri-food mis-dis-malinformation in social media and online CoPs. This paper performs a systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The review shows that many disciplines, particularly communication, social media studies, computer science, health studies, political science and journalism, are increasingly engaging with mis-dis-malinformation research. This systematic research generates a framework based on six thematic categories for holistically understanding and assessing agri-food mis-dis-malinformation in social and online media communities. The framework includes mis-dis-malinformation characterization, source identification, diffusion mechanisms, stakeholder impacts, detection tactics, and mis-dis-malinformation curtailment and countermeasures. The paper contributes to advancing the emerging literature on ‘controversial topics’, ‘misinformation’, and ‘information integrity’ of the virtual agri-food advisory services. This is the first attempt to systematically analyze and incorporate experience from diverse fields of mis-dis-malinformation research that will inform future scholarly works in facilitating conversations and advisory efforts in the agri-food sector.

Families' Experiences in the Virtual Hanen More Than Words Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic required most pediatric rehabilitation programs to shift to a virtual delivery format without the benefits of evidence to support this transition. Our study explored families' experiences participating virtually in More Than Words, a program for parents of autistic children, with the goal of generating new evidence to inform both virtual service delivery and program development. Twenty-one families who recently completed a virtual More Than Words program participated in a semistructured interview. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed in NVivo using a top-down deductive approach that referenced a modified Dynamic Knowledge Transfer Capacity model. Six themes capturing families' experiences with different components of virtual service delivery were identified: (a) experiences participating from home, (b) accessing the More Than Words program, (c) delivery methods and program materials, (d) the speech-language pathologist-caregiver relationship, (e) new skills learned, and (f) virtual program engagement. Most participants had a positive experience in the virtual program. Suggested areas for improvement included the time and length of intervention sessions and increasing social connections with other families. Practice considerations related to the importance of childcare during group sessions and having another adult to support the videorecording of parent-child interactions. Clinical implications include suggestions for how clinicians can create a positive virtual experience for families. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.22177601.

The Unexpected Positive Outcomes for Summer Camps in the Time of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic completely upended the camping industry, posing unique and significant challenges to youth summer engagement experiences, with many camps choosing not to operate in the summer of 2020. These canceled programs resulted in staff layoffs and loss of revenue. Some state requirements necessitated camp closures, while other camps closed due to uncertainty about the ability to provide a safe, healthy camp experience that retained the essence of summer camp. The small portion of camps that did open were forced to be cre-ative in how they offered programs. Some camps chose to run limited in-person programs, some offered family camps for family units, while others transitioned to virtual camp experiences. For these camps that did run in some capacity, several national organizations were able to gather data regarding operational challenges and benefits. Using document analysis, this project examined research findings from four national camp organizations. This cross-organizational analysis high-lights the experiences of camps offering in-person summer programs and services in implementing nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission in 2020. Camps used a variety of NPIs that involved both personal responsibility and community cooperation to create a camp experience that was socially distant and as sanitary as possible. This study also examines the experiences of camps offering virtual programs and services as a means to connect with individuals and support socialization needs of youth. These virtual programs varied widely, but all provided youth the opportunity to connect with like-minded campers and staff to have community building experiences despite isolation. In the context of many COVID-19 challenges, this study identifies positive benefits associated with operating camp in the summer of 2020. These unexpected positive impacts encompass health center operations, food service, programmatic changes, changes to the structure of camper units, and a shifting focus toward mental, emo-tional, and social health. Many of these positive outcomes are perceived by camp administrators as beneficial changes that will likely remain after the pandemic and continue to impact the camping industry for the foreseeable future.

Perspicacious Fuzzy Clustering Franchised by Grasshopper Optimization Dexterity for Robust Resource Scheduling with Effective Load Balancing in Cloud Precedent

Utilizing cloud resources become promising in encroachment of internet technology, countenancing everyone to use resources for little or no cost. It will be very important to have task scheduling for sharing resources in cloud environment. To maintain effective resource usage, cloud technology equally divides workload among shareable resources when it receives task requests. Machine learning and metaheuristic algorithms afford dynamic component for equitable task distribution in cloud paradigm. The current state-of-art unsupervised models-based load balancing arbitrarily selects centroid locations and struggles to achieve incorrect task requests. Using an optimization technique that takes inspiration from behavioral science, study aims to build well-balanced clustering model-based task scheduling system. In order to efficiently schedule tasks among virtual servers in cloud environment, this proposed work styles aids of perspicacious fuzzy and Grass Hopper algorithms. The results showed that PFC-GOD upsurges cloud resources usage while lowering make-span, execution time, and high balance load scheduling.

Hospital-Based, Community Teaching Kitchen Integrates Diabetes Education, Culinary Medicine, and Food Assistance: Case Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Recent USDA Economic Research Service Population Survey cites a stabilization of food insecurity overall in the USA between 2019 and 2020, but Black, Hispanic, and all households with children cited increases - underscoring that the COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruptions to food insecurity for historically disenfranchised populations. Describe lessons learned, considerations, and recommendations from the experience of a community teaching kitchen (CTK) in addressing food insecurity and chronic disease management among patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Providence CTK is co-located at Providence Milwaukie Hospital in Portland, Oregon. Providence CTK serves patients who report a higher prevalence of food insecurity and multiple chronic conditions. Providence CTK has five components: chronic disease self-management education, culinary nutrition education, patient navigation, a medical referral-based food pantry (Family Market), and an immersive training environment. CTK staff highlight that they provided food and education support when it was needed most, leveraged existing partnerships and staffing to sustain operations and Family Market accessibility, shifted delivery of educational services based-on billing and virtual service considerations, and repurposed roles to support evolving needs. The Providence CTK case study provides a blueprint for how healthcare organizations could design a model of culinary nutrition education that is immersive, empowering, and inclusive.