Telephone Set Research Articles

Innovative moments in low-intensity, telephone-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression.

Innovative moments (IMs), defined as moments in psychotherapy when patients' problematic patterns change toward more elaborated and adaptive patterns, have been shown to be associated with a clinical change in patients with depression. Thus, far IMs have been studied in face-to-face settings but not in telephone-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (t-CBT). This study investigates whether IMs occur in t-CBT and examines the association between IMs and symptom improvement, and reconceptualization and symptom improvement. The therapy transcripts of n = 10 patients with mild to moderate depression (range: 7-11 sessions, in total 94 sessions) undergoing t-CBT were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. Symptom severity (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) and IMs (levels and proportions) were assessed for each therapy session. Hierarchical linear models were used to test the prediction models. The rating of IMs was shown to be feasible and reliable using the Innovative Moments Coding System (IMCS) (84.04% agreement in words coded), which is indicative of the applicability of the concept of IMs in t-CBT. Only reconceptualization IMs were shown to have a predictive value for treatment success (R2 = 0.05, p = 0.01). The results should be interpreted with caution due to the exploratory nature of this study. Due to the telephone setting, it was necessary to adapt the IMCS. Nonetheless, the extent of IMs identified in the low-intensity t-CBT investigated was comparable to IMs in face-to-face therapy. Further studies are needed to clarify the association between IMs and treatment success as a change process, especially for low-intensity treatments.

A SPEECH ACT ANALYSIS OF KABBA-MARKET WOMEN AND CUSTOMERS’ INTERACTION

The goal of this study is to investigate Speech Act types in the utterances between traders in Kabba markets and their customers. To gather data for this study, the researcher visited the five popular markets in Kabba, Kogi State. The five markets include Kabba Central market, Zango Market, Odogi market, Ojapona and Ojaoba. The researcher approached some market women with a telephone set which has a device to record conversations. The voices of the market women in the course of haggling prices, responding to enquiries from customers, displaying and showing goods and food stuff to be bought by customers served as primary data for the study. The theory adapted for the analysis of the conversations is Austin’s (1962) Speech Act Theory. We find that the dominant speech act in the utterances is informing, used to inform the customers about the prices of the commodities, “commending” which is used to appreciate the traders. “Questioning” appeared in the samples and it was used to ask the traders what they have in stock. “Appreciating” as a speech act was used to express gratitude after as successful bargain. “Agreeing” appeared in the samples functioning as a consensus between trader and buyer. “Ordering”, “revealing” and “informing” also appeared as acts for asking traders to bring what he or she sells, and revealing information about the commodity. The efforts in this present study has led us to a three-fold distinction which Austin draws in relation to the locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts involved in a total speech Act.

History of Telephone Sets by NTT under Influence of Social and Technology Environment

History of Telephone Sets by NTT under Influence of Social and Technology Environment

Analysis Of Voice Quality on Aircraft Telephone Through Internet Telephony Gateway in Voice Over Internet Protocol

Along with the development of the era, analog telephones have been replaced by IP Phones whose communication range can be wider and more flexible. Therefore, analog telephones are almost forgotten because of the limited communication range. With the addition of ITG (Internet Telephony Gateway) then analog telephones can communicate in VoIP networks. This research will discuss the analysis of voice quality in the communication process between telephone sets via ITG in a VoIP network based on the shape of the input and output, the amplitude response to frequency changes and the delay. Data retrieval is done by using a transmission test set as a substitute for human voice and knowing the amplitude value generated every time there is a change in frequency and an oscilloscope as a tool to determine the shape of the input and output waves as well as the delay. The results of this study indicate that delay generated by communication between analog telephones is <1 ms. When viewed from the form of the information signal generated from communication between telephone sets, that is, the shape of the input and output information signals are both sines, so it can be said that the information signal has not decreased in quality. The amplitude response resulting from frequency changes in communication between analog telephones is, the greater the value of the communication frequency.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Contamination of Frequently Touched Objects in Intensive Care Units: Potential Threat of Nosocomial Infections.

Background Bacterial contamination in intensive care units is an important risk factor associated with increasing incidences of nosocomial infections. This study was conducted to study the bacterial colonization on commonly touched objects of intensive care units and antibiotic resistance pattern of bacterial isolates. Methods This study was conducted in different intensive care units of Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal. A total of 235 swabs were collected from surfaces of bed rails, monitors, door handles, IV stands, telephone sets, nursing stations, medicine trolleys, sphygmomanometers, wash basin taps, dressing drums, stethoscopes, pulse oximeters, ventilators, defibrillators, and stretchers. Isolation, identification, and antibiotic susceptibility tests of the bacteria were performed following standard microbiological techniques. Results Of 235 samples, bacterial growth was observed in 152 samples. A total of 90 samples of Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from 235 samples. Most of the sampling sites included in this study were found contaminated with S. aureus. The highest number of S. aureus was cultured from the surface of bed rails. Of the total S. aureus isolates, 54.4% (49/90) were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Vancomycin resistance was detected among 8.1% MRSA isolates (4/49). Acinetobacter species were the commonest Gram-negative bacterial isolate. Conclusion Bacterial contamination of the objects/instruments of the ICU was recorded to be high. The most common contaminating bacteria were S. aureus with a high percentage of MRSA and emergence of VRSA. Periodic microbiological surveillance, detection of contaminated sites, and effective decontamination methods would minimize the colonization by potential pathogens and their transmission.

THE OPERATIONAL SUPERVISION OVER TELEPHONE CALLS IN THE 2ND NOV, 2021 BILL ON THE BILL ON THE CHANGE OF THE BILL ON PRISON SERVICE AND SOME OTHER BILLS

The following article discusses carrying out the operational supervision in the 2nd Nov, 2021 bill on the bill on the change of the bill on prison service. The 1st section characterizes the picture of crime committed both by prisoners and prison service in correctional institutions. The third chapter is dedicated to the role of a telephone set in the functioning of prisons including legal phones and the ones obtained by prisoners in an illegal way. The second part focuses on the rules included in the bill project and describes as follows: Internal Inspectorate of the Prison Service, operational control supervision procedure and the form of this control. The last section of the article summarizes the topic.

High Pass Filter Application to Reduce Voice Communication Delays on IP Phones

Abstract: VoIP technology is equipped with several functions, namely, the signalling function, meaning the VoIP is in charge of receiving the network from the caller, after which the conversation delivered. This technology is capable to pass voice traffic in the form of packets over an IP network. Packets of sound undergo a long process or delay to get to the destination it can damage the voice’s quality being heard. It happened because there is continuous delay in the communication between IP phone set on VoIP technology that causes echo in the receiver’s voice. Echo can occur during communication with IP phone set with average delay capacity above 5ms. The delay on the delivery and reception as in the results of communication between telephones can be adjusted for sound frequency of 300 Hz to 1000 Hz as a cut off by adding High Pass Filter (HPF) application. HPF filter application is able to stabilize the amplitude of about -21 dBm from the set of transmission test on the receiver when there is weakening at low frequencies, but when the frequency is raised to 1500-2250 Hz the amplitude strengthens to -12,2 dBm or increases the value of about 8.8 dB. Meanwhile, for the lower frequency such as 300 – 950 Hz, the filter would not pass it since the frequency is designed to be cut-off at 1000 Hz. The value of delay is narrower to 0.08ms by HPF application at the frequency of sound upper limit received by any 1000-3400 Hz telephone set. Keywords: VoIP technology, echo cancelling, HPF filter, delay, voice quality

Does the E-commerce Transformation of Cities Promote Green and High-quality Development? Evidence from a Quasi-natural Experiment Based on National E-commerce Demonstration Cities

Based on the quasi-natural experiment of national e-commerce demonstration cities, this paper studies the influence of the construction of national e-commerce demonstration cities on the green and high-quality development of the city and its mechanism by using the “progressive” DID method. It is found that compared with non-state e-commerce demonstration cities, the construction of national e-commerce demonstration cities significantly promotes the green and high-quality development of cities. We also adopt identification strategies such as instrumental variable method, PSM-DID method and placebo test, and find that the conclusions are still valid. Further research shows that the positive promotion effect is more significant in the samples of large-sized cities and resource-based cities. It is found that national e-commerce demonstration cities promote the green and high-quality development of the city mainly through the three channels of industrial structure upgrading effect, economic agglomeration effect and transaction cost reduction effect.This paper has three main contributions: Firstly, from the perspective of e-commerce development, it examines the impact of national e-commerce demonstration city construction on green and high-quality development for the first time, and expands and deepens the existing academic literature on green development and environmental pollution factors. Secondly, it evaluates the policy effect and mechanism of China’s e-commerce demonstration cities from the perspective of urban green and high-quality development, verifies that the construction of national e-commerce demonstration cities has a promoting effect on the green and high-quality development of cities, and provides empirical guidance for the further promotion and improvement of this type of urban development model. Thirdly, it adopts the identification strategy of the post stations in the Ming Dynasty and the number of telephone sets per 10,000 people in 1984 as instrumental variables, which is helpful to effectively identify the causal relationship between the pilot policies of national e-commerce demonstration cities and the green and high-quality urban development.

Bacterial contamination of neonatal intensive care units: How safe are the neonates?

BackgroundIntensive care units (ICU) are essential healthcare facility for life threatening conditions. Bacterial contamination of objects/instruments in ICU is an important source of nosocomial infections. This study is aimed to determine the level of bacterial contamination of instruments/objects which are commonly touched by healthcare workers and frequently come in contact with the neonates.MethodsThis hospital based prospective study was conducted in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal. A total of 146 samples collected from surfaces of incubators, radiant warmers, suction tips, ventilators, stethoscopes, door handles, weighing machines, mothers’ beds, phototherapy beds, laryngoscope, telephone sets, blood pressure machine, etc. formed the material of the study. Isolation, identification and antibiotic susceptibility of the bacterial isolates was performed by standard techniques. Blood culture isolates from NICU patients during the study period were compared with the environmental isolates.ResultsOut of 146 samples, bacterial growth was observed in 109. A total of 119 bacterial isolates were retrieved from 109 samples. Three common potential pathogens isolated were Escherichia coli (n = 27), Klebsiella species (n = 21) and Staphylococcus aureus (n = 18). Majority of E. coli and Klebsiella isolates were from incubators, suction tips and mothers’ beds. Majority of S. aureus isolates were cultured from radiant warmers. Among S. aureus isolates, 33.3% (6/18) were methicillin resistant. Majority of the bacterial isolates were susceptible to gentamicin and amikacin. Common potential pathogens isolated from blood culture of NICU patients were S. aureus and Klebsiella species.ConclusionHigh degree of bacterial contamination of objects/instruments in NICU was recorded. Isolation of potential pathogens like E. coli, Klebsiella species and S. aureus is a major threat of nosocomial infections. Blood culture data of NICU reflects possibility of nosocomial infections from contaminated sites. Gentamicin and amikacin may be used for empirical therapy in suspected cases of nosocomial infections in NICU.

Исследование пассивных средств защиты информации от утечки по акустоэлектрическим каналам в среде Matlab

Purpose: design of the passive device of the speech information protection from acoustoelectric leakage channels and study of the characteristics of protection device using a virtual laboratory bench developed in the Matlab environment. Methods: mathematical modeling using Matlab environment. Practical relevance: designed in the Matlab modeling environment: an equivalent circuit of the telephone set, which makes it possible to simulate acoustoelectric information leakage channels, schematic diagrams of passive protection devices for telephone sets that implement protection methods: limiting low-amplitude signals, filtering high-frequency injection signals and disabling acoustoelectric transducers, a virtual laboratory stand for research of the characteristics of protective device. Using a virtual laboratory stand, the main characteristics of the developed protection devices were studied and their performance was assessed when connected to the telephone network.

Investigation of Microbial Contamination in the Clinic and Laboratory of the Prosthodontics Department of Dental School

Objective: To determine the level of clinical contamination in the clinic and laboratory of the prosthodontics department of Kerman Dental School. Material and Methods: Clinical surfaces of the dental units, the laboratory, and the professors' lounge of the prosthodontics department were randomly sampled. The sampled surfaces included the dental units' console, light switch, light handle, headrest, and air-water spray syringe in the clinic, plastering tables, buttons of the vibrator, polishing, and trimmer machines, acryl tables, handles of pressure pot and press machine, handpiece holders, work desks, and drawer handles in the laboratory, and desks, computer mouse and keyboard, telephone sets, and doorknob in the professor's lounge. The samples were examined for the type and growth of microorganisms. The data were entered into SPSS, where they were analyzed using the chi-square test at the 0.05 significance level. Results: Of all the samples taken, 89.9% showed microbial contamination. The most common type of contamination was fungus (34.8%) and the least common types were Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus epidermidis (1.1%). The second and third most common types of bacteria in the samples were Staphylococcus aureus (18%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.4%), respectively. There was no significant difference between the frequencies of microbial contamination in the clinic, the laboratory, and the professors' lounge. Conclusion: Given the strong chance of cross-infection in the examined department and laboratory, it is necessary to enforce protocols for proper disinfection of surfaces before, between and after treatments.

Availability of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Equipment and Facilities in K to 12 BasiC Education Program in Secondary Schools

The objectives of the study were to determine the availability of ICT hardware, software, and facilities and their frequency of availability in school. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire. The majority of the respondents are female, more or less 35 years old, and have been in the service for about seven years. Most of them were college graduates and were major of Filipino or Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE), currently handling grade 10 students having an average class size of 45 students. A greater number of the respondents were Teacher I.Overhead projector, LCD, Computer set, Internet connection, telephone, digital camera, scanner, and television sets were said to be readily available in the schools of each respondent. Only fax machines as stated as not available in their schools. VCD players and other Microsoft office tools like Word, PowerPoint, Excel Publisher, Spreadsheet, and Database were available in each school of the respondents. Moreover, Programming software was also stated to be available. With regards to the availability of rooms for special purposes, audiovisual rooms (78.4%), computer room, conference room were also available.

Determinants of loss to follow-up among HIV positive patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in a test and treat setting: A retrospective cohort study in Masaka, Uganda.

BackgroundRetaining patients starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) and ensuring good adherence remain cornerstone of long-term viral suppression. In this era of test and treat (T&T) policy, ensuring that patients starting ART remain connected to HIV clinics is key to achieve the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets. Currently, limited studies have evaluated the effect of early ART initiation on loss to follow up in a routine health care delivery setting. We studied the cumulative incidence, incidence rate of loss to follow up (LTFU), and factors associated with LTFU in a primary healthcare clinic that has practiced T&T since 2012.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed extracted routine program data on patients who started ART from January 2012 to 4th July 2016. We defined LTFU as failure of a patient to return to the HIV clinic for at least 90 days from the date of their last appointment. We calculated cumulative incidence, incidence rate and fitted a multivariable Cox proportion hazards regression model to determine factors associated with LTFU.ResultsOf the 7,553 patients included in our sample, 3,231 (42.8%) started ART within seven days following HIV diagnosis. There were 1,180 cases of LTFU observed over 15,807.7 person years at risk. The overall incidence rate (IR) of LTFU was 7.5 (95% CI, 7.1–7.9) per 100 person years of observation (pyo). Cumulative incidence of LTFU increased with duration of follow up from 8.9% (95% CI, 8.2–9.6%) at 6 months to 20.2% (95% CI, 19.0–21.4%) at 48 months. Predictors of elevated risk of LTFU were: starting ART within 7 days following HIV diagnosis ((aHR) = 1.69, 95% CI, 1.50–1.91), lack of a telephone set (aHR = 1.52, 95% CI, 1.35–1.71), CD4 cell count of 200–350μ/ml (aHR = 1.21, 95% CI, 1.01–1.45) and baseline WHO clinical stage 3 or 4 (aHR = 1.35, 95% CI, 1.10–1.65). Factors associated with a reduced risk of LTFU were: baseline age ≥25 years (aHR ranging from 0.62, 95% CI, 0.47–0.81 for age group 25–29 years to 0.24, 95% CI, 0.13–0.44 for age group ≥50 years), at least primary education level (aHR ranging from aHR = 0.77, 95% CI, 0.62–0.94 for primary education level to 0.50, 95% CI, 0.34–0.75 for post-secondary education level), and having a BMI ≥ 30 (aHR = 0.28, 95% CI, 0.15–0.51).ConclusionThe risk of loss to follow up increased with time and was higher among patients who started ART within seven days following HIV diagnosis, higher among patients without a telephone set, lower among patients aged ≥ 25 years, lower among patients with at least primary education and lower among patients with BMI of ≥ 30. In this era of T&T, it will be important for HIV programs to initiate and continue enhanced therapeutic education programs that target high risk groups, as well as leveraging on mHealth to improve patients’ retention on ART throughout the cascade of care.

Performance of Various VoIP Vocoders using Wireshark with Asterisk PBX

A private branch exchange (PBX) is implemented by an Asterisk software. In conjunction with appropriate telecommunication hardware interfaces and network applications, Asterisk is employed to establish and manage the telephone calls between telecommunication endpoints, like customary telephone sets, destinations on the general public switched telephone network (PSTN), and devices or services on voice over internet Protocol (VoIP) networks. A Vocoder may be a system of coders and encoders that is employed to scaleback the bandwidth over the restricted use of bandwidth necessities and restricted capability channels in real time needs. This paper presents Performance of Various VOIP Vocoders using wireshark with Asterisk PBX.

Dinâmica setorial e especialização produtiva da indústria de transformação brasileira entre 1998 e 2014

O processo de desindustrialização no Brasil tem sido amplamente discutido na literatura econômica. Contudo, seria o caso de considerarmos toda a indústria como perdedora desse processo de desenvolvimento? E quais seriam os fatores associados às transformações estruturais da indústria brasileira? Este artigo analisa os setores perdedores e ganhadores do processo de desenvolvimento brasileiro entre 1998 e 2014, período marcado por profundas transformações econômicas. O trabalho utiliza uma abordagem bastante desagregada, incluindo dados de 200 classes da indústria de transformação e uma nova estratégia de agrupamento dos setores mais e menos dinâmicos. Os resultados destacam: setores especialmente favorecidos, como o processamento de commodities agrícolas e os setores de bens de consumo (como a fabricação de computadores, aparelhos telefônicos, aparelhos de ar-condicionado, automóveis, aparelhos de televisão, entre outros); e setores especialmente fragilizados, como os segmentos têxteis e da indústria química.

Bacterial contamination of frequently touched objects in a tertiary care hospital of Pokhara, Nepal: how safe are our hands?

BackgroundObjects frequently touched by patients and healthcare workers in hospitals harbor potential pathogens and may act as source of infectious agents. This study aimed to determine the bacterial contamination of common hospital objects frequently touched by patients, visitors and healthcare workers.MethodsA total of 232 samples were collected from various sites like surface of biometric attendance devices, elevator buttons, door handles, staircase railings, telephone sets and water taps. Isolation, identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing of the isolates was performed by standard microbiological techniques. Biofilm forming ability of the S. aureus isolates was tested by a microtitre plate method.ResultsA total of 232 samples were collected and 219 bacterial isolates were recovered from 181 samples. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common bacterial isolate (44/219). Majority of S. aureus isolates were recovered from elevator buttons, biometric attendance devices and door handles. Among the S. aureus isolates, 36.3% (16/44) were methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) while remaining were methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Out of 44 S. aureus isolates, 12 (29.5%) were multidrug resistant and 14 (31.8%) were biofilm producers. The majority of MRSA isolates 62.5% (10/16) were biofilm producers. Acinetobacter was the most common Gram negative isolate followed by E coli and Pseudomonas species.ConclusionsHigh bacterial contamination of frequently touched objects with variety of potential pathogens and normal flora was detected. S. aureus was the most common bacterial isolate. Biofilm forming ability offers additional survival advantage to the organisms on these objects. Present study highlights the need of improved hand hygiene among healthcare workers and regular cleaning/disinfection of sites of frequent public contact.

Placement, Wording, and Interviewers: Identifying Correlates of Consent to Link Survey and Administrative Data

Record linkage is becoming more important as survey budgets are tightening while at the same time demands for more statistical information are rising. Not all respondents consent to linking their survey answers to administrative records, threatening inferences made from linked data sets. So far, several studies have identified respondent-level attributes that are correlated with the likelihood of providing consent (e.g., age, education), but these factors are outside the control of the survey designer. In the present study three factors that are under the control of the survey designer are evaluated to assess whether they impact respondents' likelihood of linkage consent: 1) the wording of the consent question; 2) the placement of the consent question and; 3) interviewer attributes (e.g., attitudes toward data sharing and consent, experience, expectations). Data from an experiment were used to assess the impact of the first two and data from an interviewer survey that was administered prior to the start of data collection are used to examine the third. The results show that in a telephone setting: 1) indicating time savings in the wording of the consent question had no effect on the consent rate; 2) placement of the consent question at the beginning of the questionnaire achieved a higher consent rate than at the end and; 3) interviewers' who themselves would be willing to consent to data linkage requests were more likely to obtain linkage consent from respondents.

SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING TELEPHONIC VOICE RESPONSE INFORMATION RELATED TO ITEMS MARKED ON PHYSICAL DOCUMENTS

The present invention discloses a system and method to telephonically access information related with items printed on a physical document, simply by touching with a finger items marked on the physical document or on any other physical surface. The system includes a touch foil placed over (or under) the document, for reading the coordinates of selected marked items, a telephone set for receiving the coordinates of the items selected by the user and for dialing to an interactive voice response (IVR) service used for accessing and retrieving selected hyperlinked documents from the web through a documents proxy server, for converting retrieved documents to synthesized speech, and for providing to the user through the telephone network, the selected documents that have been converted into speech.

Telephone logs of neurosurgery specialty trainees: a time study

Purpose. With a constant debate on working hours and improved patient outcomes, time studies are crucial to obtain and analyse timelines and work components. This includes time spent on communication. The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude and patterns of telephone call episodes in the work schedule of neurosurgery trainees. Methods. Logs of handheld telephone sets assigned to neurosurgery specialty trainees in a British regional neurosurgical centre were obtained from the hospital switchboard for a 6-month period. This formed the primary data. Ringtime was added to the talktime for outgoing calls. Monday to Friday, 8 am–5 pm was considered as regular hours and the rest as other hours. The outcome measures used were number and duration of telephone episodes (individual and collective) and the timing of these episodes. Results. During the study period of 6 months, there were 12071 incoming calls and 10712 outgoing calls (total calls—22783). The maximum number of incoming calls/ day/ trainee was in the range of 39–78 while the range for outgoing calls was 36–102. On an average, the on-call trainee made and received 33 and 36 calls respectively in a 24-hour period (mean call duration was 1.7 minutes) which meant that a telephone call intruded into the schedule almost once every 21 minutes. Typically, the on-call trainee spent 138 minutes on the telephone (69 calls) in 24 hours, while on an off-call day it was significantly less at 25 minutes (18 calls). Of the calls, 67% happened out of regular hours. Conclusions. Time spent on the telephone is a significant work component and would have a bearing on timelines.

Auditory Progress Bars: Estimations of Time Remaining

Auditory Progress Bars (APB) were originally intended to augment Visual Progress Bars (VPB) to create multimodal displays. More recently, APBs have been tested in absence of VPBs for use in the on-hold telephone setting. In this setting, APBs are a viable option for communicating the probable time remaining in the on-hold wait. However, past studies measure the effectiveness of APBs retrospectively, which is appropriate for understanding how accurately callers can judge how long they have been waiting on hold, but is not appropriate for determining if APBs are intuitively communicating the probable time remaining in the wait—which is more relevant to the caller’s needs. Here, we measure the effectiveness of 3 distinct APBs prospectively which is more consistent with the caller’s concern of how much longer the wait will be before their call is answered. Furthermore, we make APBs more similar to VPBs by playing the APB’s endpoint before the APB’s beginning point. We found evidence that the accuracy of prosp...