Supplementary Services Research Articles

Applying Virtual Reality Assisted Critical Thinking Training Programs Among Nurse Practitioners

The three-dimensional virtual world generated in virtual reality (VR) environments involves vision, hearing, touch, and potentially other user senses. VR environments are designed to closely simulate real situations/scenarios, allowing users to observe and engage in experiences free of time and space restrictions. Virtual patients are an extension of virtual reality. In recent years, virtual reality exercises have been widely used in various medical education and training programs to promote professional competence. The clinical practice of nurse practitioners is similar to physicians in some institutions. Nurse practitioners perform supplementary medical services such as physical assessment, medical history collection and consultation, problem detection, test result assessment, differential diagnosis, and patient health problem decision-making under the supervision of physicians. The critical thinking component in nurse practitioner education is largely similar to that taught in medical education. VR is often used in medical education to train medical students. Also, VR may be applied in critical thinking training for nurse practitioners to promote competence in reasoning and differential diagnosis. However, few studies in the literature have evaluated the effectiveness of VR-based training for nurse practitioners in Taiwan. In the future, this issue needs to be studied further.

Analysis of Different Load Balancing Algorithms in Cloud Computing

In today's world, the IT industry is emerging day by day; therefore, the need for storage and computing is increasing multifold. Cloud computing has transformed the IT sector to much greater heights by virtualizing the systems, thereby reducing cost of the hardware to greater extent. Cloud computing is based on the pay as per use policy. Due to the exponential growth in cloud computing, users demand supplementary services and improved results which makes load balancing a major challenge. Load balancing distributes the workload across multiple nodes to optimize the performance of the system. Various load balancing algorithms exist to provide better resource utilization. This paper gives a brief analysis of load balancing algorithms and also compared these algorithms on the basis of certain metrics like average response time, processing cost, and data servicing time.

Artificial intelligence in financial services: a qualitative research to discover robo-advisory services

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to gauge the awareness and perception of Indian individual investors about a new fintech innovation known as robo-advisors in the wealth management scenario. Robo-advisors are comprehensive automated online advisory platforms that help investors in managing wealth by recommending portfolio allocations, which are based on certain algorithms.Design/methodology/approachThis is a phenomenological qualitative study that used five focussed group discussions to gather the stipulated information. Purposive sampling was used and the sample comprised investors who actively invest in the Indian stock market. A semi-structured questionnaire and homogeneous discussions were used for this study. Discussion time for all the groups was 203 min. One of the authors moderated the discussions and translated the audio recordings verbatim. Subsequently, content analysis was carried out by using the NVIVO 12 software (QSR International) to derive different themes.FindingsFactors such as cost-effectiveness, trust, data security, behavioural biases and sentiments of the investors were observed as crucial points which significantly impacted the perception of the investors. Furthermore, several suggestions on different ways to enhance the awareness levels of investors were brought up by the participants during the discussions. It was observed that some investors perceive robo-advisors as only an alternative for fund/wealth managers/brokers for quantitative analysis. Also, they strongly believe that human intervention is necessary to gauge the emotions of the investors. Hence, at present, robo-advisors for the Indian stock market, act only as a supplementary service rather than a substitute for financial advisors.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the explorative nature of the study and limited participants, the findings of the study cannot be generalised to the overall population. Future research is imperative to study the dynamic nature of artificial intelligence (AI) theories and investigate whether they are able to capture the sentiments of individual investors and human sentiments impacting the market.Practical implicationsThis study gives an insight into the awareness, perception and opinion of the investors about robo-advisory services. From a managerial perspective, the findings suggest that additional attention needs to be devoted to the adoption and inculcation of AI and machine learning theories while building algorithms or logic to come up with effective models. Many investors expressed discontent with the current design of risk profiles of the investors. This helps to provide feedback for developers and designers of robo-advisors to include advanced and detailed programming to be able to do risk profiling in a more comprehensive and precise manner.Social implicationsIn the future, robo-advisors will change the wealth management scenario. It is well-established that data is the new oil for all businesses in the present times. Technologies such as robo-advisor, need to evolve further in terms of predicting unstructured data, improvising qualitative analysis techniques to include the ability to gauge emotions of investors and markets in real-time. Additionally, the behavioural biases of both the programmers and the investors need to be taken care of simultaneously while designing these automated decision support systems.Originality/valueThis study fulfils an identified gap in the literature regarding the investors’ perception of new fintech innovation, that is, robo-advisors. It also clarifies the confusion about the awareness level of robo-advisors amongst Indian individual investors by examining their attitudes and by suggesting innovations for future research. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the awareness, perception and attitudes of individual investors towards robo-advisors.

A Monitoring System for Transboundary Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) considering the Demographic Characteristics in Gairo, Tanzania

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is present in many countries, including Tanzania. Gairo is among the districts that frequently face FMD. This study found that the current mechanism for communicating FMD in Gairo district suffers from a long chain of information flow that causes delay and insufficient information for FMD control. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the implementation of an information system named "Monitoring System for Transboundary Foot and Mouth Disease," developed purposely to provide a standard platform for communicating FMD between livestock keepers and other stakeholders in the district. The system enables timely sharing of FMD events such as outbreaks, precaution measures, clinical signs, and negative impacts using Short Message Services (SMS), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), and Voice Calls (robo-calls) through the mobile phones. Also, livestock keepers may report FMD outbreaks direct to the system using feature phones. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze data and Microsoft Visio was used for drawing the system architecture and information flow diagram. Finally, the system was implemented using PHP hypertext processor, JQuery, HTML, JSON, JavaScript, MySQL, and Apache webserver.

The Automation of the Taxi Industry \u2013 Taxi Drivers\u2019 Expectations and Attitudes Towards the Future of their Work

Advoc ates of autonomous driving predict that the occupation of taxi driver could be made obsolete by shared autonomous vehicles (SAV) in the long term. Conducting interviews with German taxi drivers, we investigate how they perceive the changes caused by advancing automation for the future of their business. Our study contributes insights into how the work of taxi drivers could change given the advent of autonomous driving: While the task of driving could be taken over by SAVs for standard trips, taxi drivers are certain that other areas of their work such as providing supplementary services and assistance to passengers would constitute a limit to such forms of automation, but probably involving a shifting role for the taxi drivers, one which focuses on the sociality of the work. Our findings illustrate how taxi drivers see the future of their work, suggesting design implications for tools that take various forms of assistance into account, and demonstrating how important it is to consider taxi drivers in the co-design of future taxis and SAV services.

An Unstructured Supplementary Service Data System for Daily Tracking of Patient Samples and Diagnostic Results in a Diagnostic Network in Malawi: System Development and Field Trial.

BackgroundDiagnostics in many low- and middle-income countries are conducted through centralized laboratory networks. Samples are collected from patients at remote point-of-care health facilities, and diagnostic tests are performed at centralized laboratories. Sample transportation systems that deliver diagnostic samples and test results are crucial for timely diagnosis and treatment in such diagnostic networks. However, they often lack the timely and accurate data (eg, the quantity and location of samples prepared for collection) required for efficient operation.ObjectiveThis study aims to demonstrate the feasibility, adoption, and accuracy of a distributed data collection system that leverages basic mobile phone technology to gather reports on the quantity and location of patient samples and test results prepared for delivery in the diagnostic network of Malawi.MethodsWe designed a system that leverages unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) technology to enable health workers to submit daily reports describing the quantity of transportation-ready diagnostic samples and test results at specific health care facilities, free of charge with any mobile phone, and aggregate these data for sample transportation administrators. We then conducted a year-long field trial of this system in 51 health facilities serving 3 districts in Malawi. Between July 2019 and July 2020, the participants submitted daily reports containing the number of patient samples or test results designated for viral load, early infant diagnosis, and tuberculosis testing at each facility. We monitored daily participation and compared the submitted USSD reports with program data to assess system feasibility, adoption, and accuracy.ResultsThe participating facilities submitted 37,771 reports over the duration of the field trial. Daily facility participation increased from an average of 50% (26/51) in the first 2 weeks of the trial to approximately 80% (41/51) by the midpoint of the trial and remained at or above 80% (41/51) until the conclusion of the trial. On average, more than 80% of the reports submitted by a facility for a specific type of sample matched the actual number of patient samples collected from that facility by a courier.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that a USSD-based system is a feasible, adoptable, and accurate solution to the challenges of untimely, inaccurate, or incomplete data in diagnostic networks. Certain design characteristics of our system, such as the use of USSD, and implementation characteristics, such as the supportive role of the field team, were necessary to ensure high participation and accuracy rates without any explicit financial incentives.

Policy Note: The Role of Supplementary Service Providers in Urban Water Supply

Policy Note: The Role of Supplementary Service Providers in Urban Water Supply

The Role of Supplementary Services in Enhancing Customer-Based Brand Equity: An Applied Study on Five Star Hotels in Cairo City

This research focused on understanding the important of Supplementary Services (SS) and its role in enhancing Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) in Five-stars Hotels in Cairo city in Egypt. In order to achieve this, the research dealt with the concepts of SS, its dimensions and CBBE concepts and its dimensions. The field study dealt with the role of SS in enhancing and improving CBBE by preparing a survey list and distributing it to 384 customers who benefit from the services provided in the five-star hotels in Cairo using the sample method due to the large size of the population where the received and correct lists reached 300 survey lists and survey responses were 78%. The statistical analysis was carried out by means of a number of statistical methods and tests, such as the confirmatory factor analysis method, multiple regression and correlation analysis and one-way ANOVA method. The research reached to a number of results the most important of them is there is a positive statistically significant relationship between the dimensions of SS (information, order taking, billing, payment, consultation, hospitality, safe keeping and exception) and CBBE. In light of the results of the research, it was possible to reach a set of recommendations, the most important of which are, (1) the need for officials in the five-star hotels under study to provide SS that value-enhancing services such as (hospitality consultation - exception), (2) the need for attention of those responsible for the hotel's brand image, preservation of its history and reputation, and attention to everything that makes the hotel's image appropriate. However, the scope of this study, the methods used in it, and its findings indicate that there are areas for further future studies. رکز هذا البحث على فهم أهمية الخدمات التکميلية ودورها في تعزيز العلامة التجارية لدى العملاء في الفنادق الخمس نجوم بمدينة القاهرة في مصر. ولتحقيق ذلک تناول البحث بعض المفاهيم مثل الخدمات التکميلية وأبعادها ومفهوم وأبعاد العلامة التجارية لدى العملاء. وتناولت الدراسة الميدانية دور الخدمات التکميلية في تعزيز وتحسين العلامة التجارية لدى العملاء من خلال إعداد قائمة استقصاء وتوزيعها على 384 عميلا يستفيدون من الخدمات المقدمة في الفنادق الخمس نجوم بمدينة القاهرة باستخدام أسلوب العينة الميسرة نظرا لکبر حجم المجتمع, حيث وصلت القوائم المستلمة والصحيحة إلى 300 قائمة استقصاء وکانت الردود على الاستبيان بنسبة 78٪ وقد تم إجراء التحليل الإحصائي من خلال عدد من الأساليب والاختبارات الإحصائية مثل اسلوب تحليل العامل التوکيدى، وتحليل الانحدار والارتباط المتعدد واسلوب تحليل التباين احادى الاتجاه وذلک من خلال حزمة البرامج الاحصائية الجاهزة SPSS. وتوصل البحث إلى عدد من النتائج أهمها وجود علاقة ذات دلالة إحصائية بين أبعاد الخدمات التکميلية) المعلومات, استلام الطلبيات, إصدار الفواتير,الدفع, تقديم الاستشارة, الضيافة, حماية ممتلکات العميل والاستثناءات) والعلامة التجارية لدى العملاء. وفي ضوء نتائج البحث امکن التوصل الى مجموعة من التوصيات التى يمکن ان تساهم فى تعزيز العلامة التجارية لدى العملاء کان من اهمها (1) ضرورة قيام المسؤولين في الفنادق الخمس نجوم قيد الدراسة بالاهتمام اکثر بخدمات تعزيز القيمة مثل (الضيافة - الاستشارة - الاستثناء) و(2) الحاجة إلى اهتمام المسؤولين بالعلامة التجارية للفندق وصورته, والحفاظ على تاريخه وسمعته والاهتمام بکل ما يجعل صورة الفندق مناسبة, إلا أن نطاق هذه الدراسة والطرق المستخدمة فيها ونتائجها تشير إلى وجود مجالات لمزيد من الدراسات المستقبلية.

Viability assessment of supplementary vocational education institutions based on staff satisfaction analysis

The tasks associated with the viability assessment of an organization are relevant for most companies in the current market environment. This can be explained by the fact that the solution of these problems makes it possible to see the state of the enterprise, its possible potential prospects at this juncture, to determine the further strategy, areas of work for successful long-term functioning in the future. The article is concerned with the study of the relevant measurable criteria required for the viability assessment of supplementary vocational education institutions. The methodological basis of the study includes the management concept based on a balanced scorecard, as well as a problem-oriented approach, taking into account the specifics of the activities of institutions providing supplementary vocational education services. Eight groups of criteria for viability assessment of supplementary vocational education institutions with specific indicators have been identified and a scale for their measurement has been proposed. The correspondence of these groups of criteria within the components of the integrated management system has been shown. The satisfaction with the work of staff in the institution is analyzed herein based on the results of a survey of employees for two years.

Alignment of Supplementary Aids and Services With Student Needs and Placement.

Trends in the supplementary aids and services (SAS) written in individualized education programs (IEPs) for students with significant disabilities (a) in different educational placements, (b) with and without behavior support plans (BSP), and (c) with and without complex communication needs (CCN) are examined using multivariate analysis of variance. Results show no significant differences in SAS for students across separate, resource, and inclusive placements. Students with BSPs had significantly more collaborative and behavior SAS than those without BSPs. Students with CCN had significantly more social-communication SAS than those whose IEPs indicated little to no communication support needs; however, 51.1% of students with CCN had no social-communication SAS. Findings raise concern around the extent to which SAS are considered before placement decisions, the high frequency of paraprofessional support for students with BSPs, and the low frequency of social-communication SAS written for students with CCN. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are provided.

Using machine learning to derive spatial wave data: A case study for a marine energy site

Ocean waves are widely estimated using physics-based computational models, which predict how energy is transferred from the wind, dissipated, and transferred spatially across the ocean. Machine learning methods offer an opportunity to predict these data with significantly reduced data input and computational power. This paper describes a novel surrogate model developed using the random forest method, which replicates the spatial nearshore wave data estimated by a Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) numerical model. By incorporating in-situ buoy observations, outputs were found to match observations at a test location more closely than the corresponding SWAN model. Furthermore, the required computational time reduced by a factor of 100. This methodology can provide accurate spatial wave data in situations where computational power and transmission are limited, such as autonomous marine vehicles or during coastal and offshore operations in remote areas. This represents a significant supplementary service to existing physics-based wave models.

A Proposed Information System for Communicating Foot-and-Mouth Disease Events among Livestock Stakeholders in Gairo District, Morogoro Region, Tanzania

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) is present in many countries globally, including Tanzania, especially Gairo district. The data shows that 78% of livestock keepers in Gairo district had already observed FMD infection in their cattle, and the pastoral communities were mostly affected. Currently, vaccination is the main tool for controlling FMD because there are no therapeutic intervention tools. Therefore, effective communication among livestock stakeholders can be used as an essential tool of preparedness for the disease’s impact. This study had two specific objectives: (i) to explore the challenges of communicating FMD events among livestock keepers and other livestock stakeholders in Gairo district and (ii) to propose an information system for sharing FMD events among the livestock stakeholders in Gairo district. The study found that there was a delay when communicating FMD events in Gairo district due to the long chain of information flow. Therefore, the system aims to reduce the communication chain by allowing livestock keepers to report disease outbreaks directly to the system. Livestock keepers may also access FMD precaution measures, negative impacts, clinical signs transmission ways, and current outbreaks directly from the system using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Short Message Services (SMS), robocalls, and feature phones. The system also provides a common platform for sharing FMD outbreaks data and events to other stakeholders based on the system’s privileges. In this study, a closed-ended interview using a questionnaire was used for data collection. The PHP hypertext processor, jQuery, HTML, JSON, JavaScript, Apache web server, and MySQL database were used for developing the system.

Using Human-Centered Design to Adapt Supply Chains and Digital Solutions for Community Health Volunteers in Nomadic Communities of Northern Kenya.

Unreliable and nonexistent supply chain procedures and processes are one of the primary barriers to achieving functional community health units in nomadic communities in the arid/semiarid counties of Kenya. We used a human-centered design (HCD) approach to engage communities and community health volunteers (CHVs) in redesigning a proven data-centric supply chain approach that included a digital solution, called cStock, for this challenging context. We conducted the HCD process in 4 phases: (1) understanding intent, (2) research and insights, (3) ideation and prototyping, and (4) supply chain design and requirements building. Data collection used qualitative methods and involved a range of stakeholders including CHVs, supervisors, and local beneficiaries. CHVs and their supervisors also participated in cStock usability testing. Drawing on insights and personas generated from the research, stakeholders ideated and codesigned supply chain tools. The research identified critical insights for informing the redesign of cStock for nomadic communities. These insights were categorized into supply chain, information systems, human resources, behaviors, service delivery infrastructure, and connectivity. Four supply chain data solutions were designed, prototyped, tested, and iterated: a stock recording paper-based form, a user-friendly cStock application, a supervisor cStock application, and an unstructured supplementary service data reporting system using feature phones. Using the HCD process incorporated the perspective of CHVs and their communities and provided key insights to inform the design of the supply chain and adapt cStock. The process helped make cStock to be inclusive and have the potential to have a meaningful impact on strengthening the supply chain for seminomadic and nomadic communities in northern Kenya. A strong supply chain for these CHVs will increase access to essential and reproductive health commodities and contribute to improving the overall health and well-being of these communities, especially women and children.

Impact of managed stingless bee and western honey bee colonies on native pollinators and yield of watermelon: A comparative study

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is an important crop cultivated in India and other warmer regions of the world. The crop is dependent on insect pollinators for its fruit set. However, information about pollination ecology in Indian states remains undetermined. We used a replicated field-scale experiment to identify the native pollinators and their foraging behaviour, including abundance, visitation rate, duration of visit, and pollination efficiency. We compared treatments with open-pollinated, hand-pollinated and the addition of two managed pollinator species to estimate the yield enhancement potential of managed stingless bees and western honey bees and their impact on native pollinator species. We found that ants, bees, butterflies, beetles, and wasps visited the flowers either for nectar, pollen, and/or floral tissue. Regarding the ‘pollinator importance’ value of the visitors, Halictus acrocephalus and Lasioglossum funebre were the most effective native pollinators. Despite their contribution, the plants showed a significant pollination deficit in the open-pollinated system which can be overcome by supplementary pollination services through the management of western honey bees (Apis mellifera) and/or stingless bees (Tetragonula iridipennis). However, the application of A. mellifera colonies greatly reduces the abundance, visitation rate and foraging time (amount of time spent per visit on a flower) of native pollinators. Hence, the utilization of managed stingless bee colonies for pollination services is more suitable and has a lesser impact on native pollinator species, which may lead to sustainable agricultural practices.

Built to Last: Sustainability of Early Childhood Education Services in Rural Indonesia

This paper studies the sustainability of preschools established under a large-scale project in rural Indonesia. We returned to project villages three years after the project closed to understand why some preschools were able to sustain operations while others closed. We present four key findings. First, 92 per cent of preschools from the project remained open three years after project funding ended. Second, preschools planned for sustainability by taking into account six factors: preschool quality, finance, supplementary services, market condition, household wealth, and parental involvement. Third, each of these factors predicts sustainability after project closure. Finally, interviews with former teachers show that the few preschools that closed were those that struggled to find both the financial and human resources needed to continue operating. We discuss actionable lessons for the design and sustainability of future early childhood education projects.

Product-service systems evolution in the era of Industry 4.0

Recent economic transformations have forced companies to redefine their value propositions, increasing traditional product offerings with supplementary services—the so-called Product-Service System (PSS). Among them, the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies is very common. However, the directions that companies are undertaking to offer new value to their customers in the Industry 4.0 have not yet been investigated in detail. Based on a focus group, this paper contributes to this understanding by identifying the main trajectories that would shape a future scenario in which PSS and Industry 4.0 would merge. In addition, future research directions addressing (a) the transformation of the PSS value chain into a PSS ecosystem, (b) the transformation inside a single company towards becoming a PSS provider, and (c) the digital transformation of the traditional PSS business model are identified.

Beyond Medicines Supply: Evaluation of Value-added Community Pharmacist’s Services in Libya: Cross Sectional Analysis

Community pharmacists are front line to citizens for information and services on general health issues. This could be through what is called value-added pharmacy services; these are supplementary services to pharmacy activities which do not include dispensing of medicines and professional consultation. This study aims to evaluate and to discuss the services offered by the community pharmacists other than dispensing medicines in Libya. The study used observational cross-sectional survey over the period of December 2018 to March 2019 by a questi­onnaire consisting of seven questions divided into three sections according to feature of professional practice in order to show the value-added pharmacy services offered by community pharmacists in the western region of Libya extended from Tripoli to Zawia. Over 70% of the surveyed community pharmacists think positively toward the added pharmacist’s services and are accepting to do other services which contribute to enhance the community health excluding dispensing medicines. Thus, more than 85% offer measurement of blood pressure, blood glucose (10%) and body weight and height (80%). Over 50% of the surveyed community pharmacists are with career experience of five years or less, whereas, about 5% is with experience more than 15 years. In conclusion, community pharmacies services in the subjected area are deemed to be focused on in order to enhance their services. The survey recommends that attention should be paid concerning the value-add pharmacy services toward promote it in the right way by scientific and professional policy.

The role of music therapy in Australian mental health services and the need for increased access to service users.

This opinion paper aims to provide an overview of the current evidence base supporting the use of music therapy in mental health care. It also aims to offer critique on the issue of access to music therapy in Australia. There is a strong evidence base for music therapy to provide symptomatic relief and improve quality of life for people living with mental illness. However, music therapy is underfunded and framed as a supplementary service within mental health services in Australia, which limits its access to consumers. Funding music therapy as an evidence-based treatment option would fill an existing service gap and provide equitable access to a cost-effective and often consumer preferred treatment option for mental health consumers.

Design of a model based engineering deep learning scheduler in cloud computing environment using Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT)

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) integrated with cloud computing resources offers effective advancements in the field of industrial automation with open connectivity and emergent computing. With such advancements, the supplementary services evolves in order to augment the automation process in manufacturing and production industries. However, the integration and transformation of cloud and IIoT environment poses serious limitation on reliability and computational performance. It is very necessary to develop a framework that handles and provides a bridge between the rapid input acquisitions from an IIoT device and rapid data processing or storage by the cloud. In this paper, model based engineering (MBE) model is used to control the workflow in cloud environment, which is integrated with a deep learning algorithm named recurrent neural network (RNN) algorithm. The RNN is utilized to control the future workload prediction and supply necessary resources to balance the workflow in cloud computing environment. The entire predictions are carried out based on the input data acquisition rate from the IIoT devices. The storage or processing of the input data is carried out by the Virtual Machines presents in cloud environment. The resources allocation and scheduling of workload is carried out in the control plane using RNN that optimizes the workflow. The RNN is resumed to solve iteratively the task of optimization. The experiments are conducted to test the efficacy of the model and the results are verified in terms of total energy consumption, task response time, and VM Utilization. The experiments are conducted with same/different types of IIoT devices. The simulation results reveal the improved efficacy of the MBE–RNN model than existing deep learning and MBE schedulers. The results show that the MBE–RNN acquires improved processing ability with reduced task response time and energy utilization.

Are spas and wellness still considered luxurious in today’s world?

ABSTRACT The world of spas has been around for thousands of years. Built as a supplementary service or facility for luxury hotels, it has quickly become a must have for most if not all luxury hotels around the world. Difficulties may be arising, however. Are spas still considered a luxury? Based on current readings, it could be suggested that spas and wellness have become a part of life, depicting a necessity for survival rather than anything else. Questions are therefore asked: Are spas and wellness still considered a luxury in the current era? This descriptive analysis article will take a critical look at spa and wellness, asking questions about its so-called luxury status.