Use Of Digital Methods Research Articles

Leveraging digital tools to enhance diversity and inclusion in clinical trial recruitment.

Clinical research is pivotal in assessing the safety and efficacy of new treatments in healthcare. However, the success of such research depends on the inclusion of a diverse and representative participant sample, which is currently lacking. This lack of diversity in biomedical research participants has significant repercussions, limiting the real-world applicability and accessibility of medical interventions, especially for underrepresented groups. Barriers to diverse participation include historical mistrust, logistical challenges, and financial constraints. Recent guidelines by government agencies and funding bodies emphasize the need for diversity in clinical trials, but specific strategies for inclusive recruitment are often lacking. This paper explores the use of digital methods to enhance diversity and inclusion in research recruitment. Digital tools, such as electronic medical records, social media, research registries, and mobile applications, offer promising opportunities for reaching diverse populations. Strategies include culturally tailored messaging, collaborations with community organizations, and the use of SEO to improve visibility and engagement. However, challenges such as privacy concerns, digital literacy gaps, and ethical considerations must be addressed. The promotion of diversity in clinical research recruitment is crucial for advancing health equity. By leveraging digital tools and adopting inclusive strategies, study teams can improve the diversity of study participants, ultimately leading to more applicable and equitable healthcare outcomes.

Development of a Maturity Model for the Digital transformation of companies in the context of Construction Industry 4.0

The construction industry is characterized by a low level of productivity and digitalization, as well as the critical perceived instability of costs, deadlines and quality. One way to address these challenges is to increase the use of digital methods and technologies in the future. Optimal use of these can help to improve the quality of planning and execution and optimize the operation of existing buildings. The challenge is the implementation and integration of these methods and technologies into existing company structures. In many cases, companies do not have a unified understanding of the current state of digitization in their organization. This article closes this research gap and presents the development of a novel maturity model for construction companies in the context of Construction Industry 4.0, the Digital Construction Company Maturity Model (DCCMM). Based on a literature review, the appropriate technologies used in the construction industry are identified and the basic requirements for the maturity model are defined. Once implemented, the model comprises five dimensions and 28 assessment parameters that describe digital transformation across six maturity levels. The conceptual model is tested and validated in eight construction companies. This is done in the context of qualitative interviews. The DCCMM serves as a holistic framework for the individual classification of companies in terms of digital transformation. This provides construction companies with a transparent and comprehensible indication of the degree of digitalization of their own structures. The result will make a significant contribution to further digitalization in the construction industry.

On the Issue of the Erosion of the Social Stratum of Engineering and Technical Workers During the Years of Socio-Economic Transition (1987–1999)

The author explores the issue of the erosion of the social stratum of engineers and technicians, which occupied a significant place in the structure of Soviet society, under the influence of the transformation processes of the late 1980s–1990s. Using the materials of in-depth interviews, ego-documents, “digital footprint”, and archival sources, with the use of digital methods (analytical platform PolyAnalyst), the author studies the processes of adaptation of engineering and technical intelligentsia to the realities of the transition economy, traces the change of value attitudes of engineers and technicians. The author identifies three key strategies of post-Soviet engineers’ adaptation to so-called “savage capitalism”: cooperative entrepreneurship, application of professional knowledge and skills in the sphere of private household services, and leaving the profession for private trade. She analyses factors that contributed to the choice of this or that strategy, favored and hindered adaptation in general. She concludes that the loss of socio-professional identity led to the deterioration of social well-being of former soviet ITRs, regardless of their former specialization and acquired material status, and, more broadly, led to the crisis of social and civic identity in post-soviet Russia, the consequences of which are still being felt today.

The controversial case of a coastal Mesolithic tool: A geometric approach to the analysis of the Asturian pick

The Mesolithic period along the coast of the Cantabrian Region (Spain), known as the “Asturian,” is distinguished by the presence of shell middens and a particular lithic tool, the Asturian pick. Despite the tool’s archaeological significance, its technological and functional aspects have not been fully understood, resulting in ambiguous interpretations of its morphological relationships and utilitarian purposes. Our research aims to quantify and analyse the technological processes that have influenced the Asturian pick's form and investigate the selection criteria governing its morphology and choice of raw materials. A novel aspect of our approach is the use of digital methods, including photogrammetry and three-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis. We analysed a sample of Asturian picks, compared against a control group of different elements and raw material specimens. The findings corroborate the homogeneity and standardisation of the Asturian pick's design and unveil regional shape variations that correspond with the distinct raw materials available in each locality.

THE USE OF MESSENGER CHATS IN STATE AND MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF LEGAL REGULATION

Currently, communication technologies play a key role in public administration. With the development of mobile devices and messengers, the use of chats is becoming an increasingly popular tool for information exchange and coordination of activities. The purpose of the study is to consider some problematic aspects of the use of digital methods of communication by public authorities on the example of messenger chats. Materials and methods. The research was based on general scientific methods of cognition: observation, analysis, synthesis, description, generalization, comparison and others. On the basis of content analysis, comparative and systematic approaches, the use of chats in state and municipal management was investigated. The work also used system-wide scientific methods of theoretical and empirical research, as well as specific methods that made it possible to substantiate the results obtained. Sociological methods were used to study the opinions of chat users, as well as of experts and scientists. Private scientific methods, such as comparative-legal, formal-legal, statistical and structural-functional ones, were used for the study. This made it possible to identify trends, to formulate conclusions, and to offer recommendations for solving a number of issues in problem areas. Results. The obvious advantages of using messenger chats have led to their widespread use in the practice of state and municipal administration: speeding up decision-making processes, simplifying coordination, improving coordination of actions within the department and in interdepartmental interaction, increasing the quality of feedback between the state and citizens, etc. Despite the significant prospects of using messengers to improve the efficiency of communication and the quality of public and municipal services provided, to promote the development of the digital state, it is necessary to take into account the risks and problems: the use of personal mobile devices by employees; identification of the administrator and users; the possibility of deleting messages completely; legal consequences of messages sent via chat; protection of personal data; security and the integrity of messages transmitted via chat, etc. Conclusions. Some of the issues related to the use of messenger chats in the practice of state and municipal administration can be resolved by the adoption of departmental or local acts regulating the rules for the use of such chats, message monitoring, administrator powers, business etiquette, etc. In modern realities, it is important to conceptually revise approaches to document management, document flow and the concept of "document", taking into account the introduction and widespread use of digital innovations.

(Re)sharing feminisms: Re-sharing Instagram Stories as everyday feminist practices

Contemporary experiences of everyday feminisms often include the use of social media platforms like Instagram. The introduction of Instagram Stories created a space for emerging feminist engagements, allowing for practices of re-sharing content that serve as small acts of political engagement, accommodating the participation of otherwise reluctant users. This article explores the feminist potential of these re-sharing practices, grounding it on the analysis of 2282 Instagram Stories, produced by 52 Instagram users in Portugal. This analysis combines qualitative textual analysis, close readings, and the use of digital methods to explore overarching patterns. The article foregrounds the multiple meanings of re-sharing, its social character, its ability to engage in intertextual conversations with the original context, while simultaneously recognising some of the limitations of the Stories’ format for feminist action. In this way, this article reflects on the tensions and possibilities of these small acts of political engagement.

Learning Phonology with Data in the Classroom: Engaging Students in the Creolistic Research Process

Phonology is a linguistic discipline that is naturally computational. However, as many researchers are not familiar with the use of digital methods, most of the computation required is still performed by humans. This article presents a training experiment of master’s students of the phonology seminar at the University of Porto, bringing the research process directly to the classroom. The experiment was designed to raise students’ awareness of the potentialities of combining human and machine computation in phonology. The Centre for Digital Culture and Innovation (CODA) readily embraced this project to showcase the application of digital humanities as humanities in both research and training activities. During this experiment, students were trained to collect and process phonological data using various open-source and free web-based resources. By combining a strict protocol with some individual research freedom, the students were able to make valuable contributions towards Creolistic Studies, while enriching their individual skills. Finally, the interdisciplinary nature of the approach has demonstrated its potential within and beyond the humanities and social sciences fields (e.g., linguistics, archaeology, history, geography, ethnology, sociology, and genetics), by also introducing the students to basic concepts and practices of Open Science and FAIR principles, including Linked Open Data.

Ways That Qualitative Researchers Engage in “Technological Reflexivity”: A Meta-Synthesis

While the use of digital qualitative methods has increased, we do not yet know to what extent researchers are engaging in intentional reflexivity around the consequences of this shift. In this systematic thematic synthesis, we analyzed journal articles that reported use of digital methods for data collection. We found four circumstances in which authors reported engaging in “technological reflexivity” and two rhetorical moves for doing so. These strategies for engaging in technological reflexivity are useful for making the consequences of adopting digital research workflows visible and open for further inquiry.

Language portraits going digital and multimodal: deciphering the translanguaging space and linguistic repertoires among multilinguals

In recent years, language portraits (LPs) have emerged as a valuable tool for visually representing multilingual learners’ linguistic repertoires. However, previous studies have primarily relied on traditional methods of inviting participants to sketch their language portraits on paper using pens and crayons. In this paper, we propose the use of digital methods to collect and analyze data on language portraits to examine the translingual practices and negotiations of meaning among multilingual individuals. By utilizing Synchronic Computer-Mediated Communication platforms, participants can actively deploy and mobilize multi-linguistic and multi-semiotic resources in lived experiences, engaging in interactive translanguaging practices. In this particular case study, data were collected through a biographic survey and a sketch of the language portraits in digital form, which were then further supported by follow-up interviews. Four participants’ LPs and oral narratives during the interviews were then subjected to qualitative multimodal analysis and discourse analysis. The results revealed that these digital language portraits (DLPs) possess significant features such as digital affordance and multimodality. They tap into the translanguaging spaces that emerge from the creative and critical meaning-making process, enabling multilingual individuals to visualize their linguistic repertoires through digital visual strategies. Furthermore, it was discovered that DLPs can foster creative performance and discursive negotiations, thereby enhancing participants’ expressive abilities in developing their language perceptions.

Цифровизация гражданского судопроизводства Англии

Introduction: England is going through a period of radical reform of the civil justice system. A new landscape of digital dispute resolution is advancing, based on the idea that the transition from ‘paperbased’ resolution of legal disputes in physical courts to an online environment will help meet the dual requirements of expanded access to justice and significantly reduced system costs. As noted by the English authors, now the country has a semi‐digital justice system and hybrid ways of working. Supporters of the reforms define the current system as unstable and consider growing digitalization to be the only realistic solution. Purpose: to form an idea of the digitalization of civil proceedings in England based on analysis of scientific sources and regulations. Methods: empirical methods of comparison, description, interpretation; theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic; special scientific methods such as legaldogmatic and the method of interpretation of legal norms. Results: the conducted research has shown that a modernization program is currently being implemented in the courts of England and Wales, focused on the transition from traditional ways of working to the use of digital methods. There have been created various pilot schemes aimed at improving access to justice, at facilitating preliminary resolution of disputes and resolution of disputes at early stages, at reducing the number of claims reaching the court, at increasing the economic efficiency of civil proceedings and judicial efficiency. Judicial reform has been carried out by the UK government for more than 25 years. But the civil justice reform program, with its commitment to digitalization and online process, began in earnest in 2014, when the Ministry of Justice announced that Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) would implement a reform program the central element of which would be the use of information technology, including online processes, to facilitate dispute resolution. The concept of online court was to create a convenient online system for processing simple monetary claims with a value not exceeding 25,000 pounds. Conclusions: in 2023, the following digital technologies were widely used by UK courts: video hearings (at the discretion of the court); creation of electronic packages of court documents (e‐bundles) and electronic filing of court documents; electronic communication between the parties and the court; online portals for processing various forms of claims; creation of an online system of protocols of preliminary actions (Pre Action Protocols), called online PAPs. Currently, various claim portals designed to handle claims of various types are operating or undergoing pilot testing in the country: the Online Civil Monetary Claims (OCMC) portal (processing of claims for a certain amount of money limited to 25,000 pounds); the Damages Claims Portal (DCP) (processing of claims for damages in the district court); Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal (processing of accident injury claims). An important event was the creation of the Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC) in accordance with the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022. This law created the basis for the development of new, simplified Rules for online services in civil, family, and arbitration proceedings. The Recommendations of the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT) should also be taken into account with regard to the use of blockchain technologies in legal proceedings and judicial practice on this issue. The final report of the UKJT was published on June 28, 2023. The final position of the UKJT was to support common law as the primary means to be used to resolve claims against cryptocurrencies.

Supporting BIM-driven Factory Design by Engineering Data Management Capabilities

Nearly six thousand factory buildings requiring approval in Germany with a volume of almost 5 billion euros per year. According to recent studies, more than two-thirds of these buildings miss their cost targets by at least 10 percent. Building Information Modelling (BIM) promises considerable potential for optimization in the management of projects (e.g., through the targeted use of digital methods and technologies in project management) and through digital platform-based collaboration between stakeholders in building planning and production system planning in the early design and decision-making phases of engineering. This is where the research project "Holistically plan, build, and operate factories with Building Information Modeling (FaBIM)" comes in. The article presents an IT architecture concept based on a design reference process developed in the research project by experts from construction and factory planning. This supports integrated production system and building planning. The concrete application of an integrated BIM-driven data environment approach along the design reference process is demonstrated using the example of a battery cell factory and platform technology from CONTACT Software.

К ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЮ ЦИФРОВОЙ ТЕОЛОГИИ

This article explores the emergence of Digital Theology within the context of Digital Humanities and Digital Religion. It identifies typological similarities in their development, from early instrumental use of digital technologies to the recognition of their unique disciplinary characteristics. The importance of an interdisciplinary “Big Tent” approach is emphasized for understanding the development, specificity, and vocation of Digital Theology. The article also discusses alternative terms, particularly “Cybertheology”, which emerged in the 2000s within the Roman Catholic Church’s discussions about the opportunities and threats posed by digital media and technologies. It suggests that outside the Catholic context, “Cybertheology” did not gain traction due to its association with the early Internet, whereas “digital” is more universal, encompassing a broader range of technologies. The article summarizes four “waves” in the formation of digital theology, from the use of digital methods in education and research to rethinking it as “Theology in the Digital age”, serving as an ethical and value guide for the modern world.

Ensuring food safety using digital technologies

The article discusses the conditions and periods of storage of cereals and flour. Processes occurring in the objects under study when storage conditions are not met, ways of contamination of grain stocks by pests. The use of digital methods will ensure transparency of all links - from producer to consumer, and feedback will help to find and localize the source of infection.

Towards virtual research environment for Glagolitic manuscript studies

The aim of this paper is to support and foster the research on the Croatian Glagolitism within the digital humanities framework, by identifying and examining the features of a virtual research environment that would enhance the possibilities of an interdisciplinary collaborative research of Croatian Glagolitism in a digital environment, supported by the use of digital methods and tools. A survey was conducted among scholars in the Croatian Glagolitism to find out their opinions on the use of digital tools and methods in researching Glagolitism, and get an insight into their experience with digital tools and methods in their research. The scholars were also asked to identify the digital infrastructure elements that would be the most useful and applicable for their research process. This study 1) summarizes the feedback of scholars in Glagolitism obtained in a survey that examined their expectations of a virtual research infrastructure for studies in Glagolitism, 2) provides a fresh insight into the current situation regarding virtual research environments and manuscript studies and 3) gives a proposal of features that a virtual research environment should have to enable collaborative interdisciplinary research in Glagolitism.

The social life of digital methods in psychology: Situating digital methods in the new data politics

AbstractIn this paper I present some preliminary analyses of what is at stake in the growing use of digital methods in psychology. Their exponential rise in the discipline has scientific consequences, because such methods embody unarticulated assumptions that derive from their cultural, technical, or commercial origins. Such methods also rearticulate researcher‐participant relations in new ways, and reframe what it means to take part in psychological research. Additionally, strong calls for psychologists to exploit the potentials of Big Data to analyze and influence human action in real time signal the growing entanglement of psychology, computer science, and the accumulative tactics of the digital economy. As part of a larger project to trace the social life of digital methods in psychology, my aim here is to link disparate literature in psychology, science and technology studies, and critical data studies, to situate such methods in the broader context of technologically afforded shifts in modes of economic and knowledge production. I argue that digital methods are in urgent need of analysis, not only in terms of the interpretive frames, modes of participation, and courses of action they afford, but as research media that circulate in a larger digital and political economic ecosystem, and with associations that span multiple sociotechnical assemblages.

Substantiation of the use of digital methods for assessing the dental status of the oral cavity in normal and pathological conditions

Relevance. Diseases and processes of microbial nature in the oral cavity, such as caries, the hygienic condition of the oral cavity and its individual biotopes in terms of their diagnosis and sanogenetic therapy, are still an urgent problem in dentistry.
 The purpose of the study. To conduct pathogenetic and clinical substantiation of the use of an objective digital express method of Raman-fluorescence diagnostics to assess the dental status of the oral cavity "in situ" in patients with cardiac arrhythmia while taking anticoagulants.
 Material and method. Based on the use of a hardware and software complex of the "InSpectrM" type, 150 people aged 35-55 years with cardiac arrhythmia on the background of taking anticoagulants or without them (in a comparative aspect) were examined. Patients are divided into 2 groups. In each group, the indicators of oral homeostasis at the metabolic, morphometric, functional and clinical levels were evaluated using both digital and classical "ad oculum" method before and after controlled and/or uncontrolled oral hygiene treatment. The following indicators were diagnosed: tissue aerobicity/anaerobicity, type of metabolism, saliva volume and saliva microbial contamination index, digitized Schiller-Pisarev sample, oxygenation index, mineralization, periodontal and hygienic indices, represented by a pie chart to assess the clarity of the results obtained in their relationship.
 Results. It is shown that the proposed digital, express Raman-fluorescent technology for assessing the dental status of the oral cavity eliminates the presence of errors amounting to 200-400% when measuring the "ad oculum" hygienic status of the oral cavity and allows obtaining results in the relationship of all elements of oral homeostasis.It was shown p0.05 that in patients taking anticoagulants with controlled hygienic treatment of the oral cavity, its hygienic condition approaches the norm, unlike patients with uncontrolled hygienic treatment. All the studied indicators p0.05 have positive dynamics. The necessity of remineralizing therapy after each hygienic treatment of hard tooth tissues is substantiated.It is proved that for a comprehensive assessment of the hygienic condition of the oral cavity, it is necessary to use both the method of Raman-fluorescence diagnostics and separate methods of "ad oculum", which complement each other in the relationship.

Accessibility and Usage of Digital Technologies among Academics for Research: A Case of Selected Humanities and Social Sciences Faculties in Sri Lankan Universities

The Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) involve understanding the human experience and the relationships between individuals and groups in society. The adoption of digital technologies has challenged the discipline of HSS, creating an entirely new environment for the study of human activities. This research aims to explore the employment of digital tools, resources and services in HSS research. Further, the use of digital methods (DM) throughout the research process; the impact of COVID-19 on the use of DM in research; the constraints of using DM in research were tested. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from Colombo, Kelaniya and Sri Jayewardenepura universities targeting academics in Economics, English, English Language Teaching, Geography, History and Archeology, Buddhist Studies, Political Science, Sinhala, and Sociology. Considering the digital infrastructure facilities, most of the academics rated email (45.6%) and LMS services (46.7%) as excellent but maintenance provided by the institute was not adequate. Most academics rated good on access to data storage (37.9%); reference management software (27.5%); plagiarism detection software (29.1%); institutional repository (35.2%); and support to online publications (39.6%) provided by their institutes. 55.7% of surveyed academics in SS often use digital data collection methods while in the Humanities it was 43.4%. Online publishing was most often used by SS (50.9%) and only 39.5% by the Humanities. 53.8% of SS academics and 43.4% of humanities academics often use cloud storage. Findings confirmed the expansion of using digital research methods during the pandemic compared to the early pandemic situation. Collaborative research works, virtual conferences, citation databases and digital indexing were identified as popular trends.

Justification of the Use of Digital Methods to Assess the Hygienic Condition of the Oral Cavity

Justification of the Use of Digital Methods to Assess the Hygienic Condition of the Oral Cavity

Pathogenetic and Clinical Justification of the Use of Digital Methods to Assess Oral Homeostasis in Patients with Cardiac Arrhythmias while Taking Anticoagulants

Pathogenetic and Clinical Justification of the Use of Digital Methods to Assess Oral Homeostasis in Patients with Cardiac Arrhythmias while Taking Anticoagulants

Application of digital methods and artificial intelligence capabilities for diagnostics in obstetrics and gynecology

The article analyzes the use of digital methods and artificial intelligence capabilities for diagnostics in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. The author notes that digital methods and artificial intelligence (AI) have a high potential for the diagnosis of gynecological diseases, since it can analyze medical images and other medical data with great accuracy and speed. For example, AI can help in the diagnosis of cervical cancer by identifying anomalies in digital images and screening tests. The use of AI can also help in the recognition of other gynecological diseases, such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids, polyps, etc. In addition, AI can help improve the efficiency and accuracy of diagnostics, as well as reduce the time required to process medical data. This can be especially important in cases where diagnosis needs to be done quickly in order to start treatment as early as possible. However, it should be noted that AI cannot completely replace the experience and expertise of doctors. Still, it can help doctors make more accurate diagnoses and develop more effective treatment strategies.