Virtual Resources Research Articles

Use of Learner Engagement Analytics to empower medical educators to make data-informed decisions

Learner Engagement Analytics (LEA) has enabled Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to identify learners who are not engaging with their studies and provide targeted support and help (Naeem and Bosman, 2023). It has also allowed educators to make data-informed decisions to inform their curriculum design and classroom practice (Cogliano et al., 2022). The LEA data is captured from a wide range of sources related to teaching and learning which offer meaningful insights into a learner’s learning habits (Eady et al., 2021). Previous research suggests that providing learning analytics to educators in Higher Education Institutions can improve learning outcomes for students (Aslan et al., 2019). At Queen Mary University of London, a multidisciplinary team was formed of medical educators, LEA experts, learning technologists, and learning innovation professionals to investigate how LEA can inform curriculum redesign in the early phase of the medical curriculum. Through a series of scholarship meetings on LEA using data dashboards from the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), the team analysed learners’ engagement with the virtual pre-sessional resources. The VLE interactive resources were designed to allow medical learners to develop clinical interpretation skills during practical sessions, as recommended by the General Medical Council (GMC, 2018). However, medical educators lacked the metrics to evaluate learners’ interaction with these virtual resources. Therefore, it was inevitable to train educators on how to use LEA to optimise students’ learning. The team assessed the learners' engagement on the VLE, quantified engagement scores, and evaluated the results against key outcomes, including the learners' performance. The LEA data offered further insights into virtual engagement across multiple modules in the medical curriculum. Effectively, the outcome of this work empowered medical educators to make informed decisions regarding the future use of VLE resources in curriculum design and develop virtual resources to increase students’ engagement and enhance their learning.

Smart Factory Operation Management System and Innovation in the Era of Smart Manufacturing

This study is dedicated to the innovative research of smart factory operation management systems in the era of smart manufacturing. Against the backdrop of the rapid evolution of the information revolution, smart manufacturing, represented by a new generation of information technologies such as mobile Internet, big data, and artificial intelligence, is rapidly emerging. As an information-physical fusion system, smart factories interpenetrate physical and virtual resources by interweaving multi-scale production systems, forming an open, complex giant system with multiple levels and dimensions. It is found that smart factories face a complex and variable structure, and their production and operations involve a large number of cross-domain, cross-industry, and cross-region manufacturing resources, requiring the establishment of a new operation management system framework and breakthroughs in key theories and methods. This study provides comprehensive and in-depth theoretical and technical support for constructing a smart factory operation management system. It lays the foundation for the smart upgrading of the manufacturing industry.

Research on Parallel Task Scheduling Algorithm of SaaS Platform Based on Dynamic Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization in Cloud Service Environment

To efficiently realize the parallel task scheduling of SaaS platform in large-scale cloud service environment, this paper studies the parallel task scheduling algorithm of SaaS platform based on dynamic adaptive particle swarm optimization in cloud service environment. Users access the cloud through the user access interface module, and issue task scheduling instructions or send task scheduling requests. After the service management module provides diversified application service support according to the scheduling requirements, the core service module determines the SaaS platform parallel scheduling objective function, and uses dynamic adaptive particle swarm optimization to solve the objective function to obtain the SaaS platform parallel task scheduling results. The test results show that the algorithm has better multi-objective solving ability and can obtain higher quality objective solutions, and the test results of the total execution time of parallel scheduling tasks and the total transmission time of task data on SaaS platform are all within 30 s. The results of virtual machine resource load balancing degree are all below 15%; the utilization rate of virtual machine resources is above 92.2%.

Report from the child neurology education and training workshop at the International Child Neurology Congress 2024: Expert'saddressing the training gap

This report summarizes the key findings of a workshop undertaken at the International Child Neurology Congress in 2024 by child neurologists with expertise in training education and invested colleagues. The workshop aimed to explore global issues which have impact on access to child neurology training. The major findings supported a great need for more training programs globally, that consensus is needed for the minimum standards of training, and that training programs can be strengthened via global health partnerships especially with collaborations from regions with more available resources. The group concurred that the phenomena of ‘neurophobia’ amongst general paediatricians and medical trainees, was a reality, and creates barriers both working with paediatric colleagues, as well as recruiting specialists to the field. Optimal teaching practices for child neurology should include the expansion of learning through global partnerships and virtual educational resources. Measures must be put into place for fledgling training programs, to support colleagues in less resourced settings and to avoid their burn-out. Collegial and collaborative work is essential to support the future of child neurology across the globe, both to reach the current capacity needs but also to meet the necessary growth in the field.

A Study of Virtual Water Trade among G20 Countries from a Value-Added Trade Perspective

Abstract: From a value-added trade perspective, this study utilizes the world input–output tables and the water footprint data of each industry in each country in the Eora database to explore the virtual water resources of 19 countries (the G20 countries excluding the European Union) in 2016. We calculated nine value chain decompositions and the pattern of virtual water flows and then explored the implied virtual water use due to the trade of intermediate goods and final goods, and we also analyzed the unequal trade of virtual water and added value among countries. The results indicate the following. Firstly, in most countries, the largest portion of virtual water is attributed to exports of intermediate inputs that are produced in the source country and fully utilized by the direct import countries, followed by the foreign value-added component of intermediate goods, while the smallest share of virtual water is returned to the country. Secondly, in value-added trade, excluding the rest of the world (ROW), China, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Germany are net importers in the virtual water trade between G20 countries, and the USA is the largest net exporter of virtual water. Thirdly, intermediate product trade is the dominant form of implied virtual water trade among countries, which leads to a net flow ratio of implied virtual water of about 80% to 90%. Lastly, the Virtual Water Inequality Index shows that thirteen country combinations, including Brazil and Argentina, exhibit significant inequality, and most countries are in a relatively equal state. In addition, the virtual water and added value of the relatively economically developed regions benefit more from the virtual water trade. Therefore, it is crucial for countries to reduce their consumption of virtual water when trading intermediate products to develop high-value-added and low-water-consumption industries and to choose appropriate virtual water trade targets.

A Dynamic Sandbox Detection Technique in a Private Cloud Environment

In specific private cloud scenarios, how to defend against malicious software and ensure data security is one of the current research hotspots, and sandbox is an important detection method. This paper proposes a dynamic behavior detection technique based on sandboxing, which real-time monitors and analyzes malicious software behavior. By improving the sandbox behavior weight, integrating virtual resources, and designing fine-grained access control, the detection accuracy and efficiency are enhanced based on zero trust access control system. The simulated attacks are identified on the testing platform, drawing knowledge graphs, achieving effective discovery and tracing. Meanwhile, this paper verified through experiments that the system consumption of the detection method is within an acceptable range, expanding the detection range and reducing the missed detection rate.

Virtualized network functions resource allocation in network functions virtualization using mathematical programming

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) revolutionizes network services by eliminating the need for dedicated hardware. This virtualization enables flexible and efficient deployment of various network functions like proxies, firewalls, and load balancers. Providing the service requested by the user in the network is done by a sequence of virtual network functions, which are known as service functions chain. One of the main challenges in the development of network functions virtualization architecture is the allocation of resources to the requested network services in network infrastructures, this challenge is called network function virtualization resource allocation problem. Therefore, this paper addresses the resource allocation problem in Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) architectures using mathematical programming techniques. A multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is proposed to optimize resource allocation for virtual network functions (VNFs). The model incorporates constraints related to node and link resource capacities, as well as delay requirements. The objective functions focus on maximizing network throughput, minimizing node resource costs (CPU cores and memory), reducing capital and operational expenses, and ensuring efficient execution time. These constraints and objective functions are formally defined by mathematical functions. The proposed mathematical model is implemented and solved using the Cplex solver. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed mathematical model, various network topologies were evaluated under different parameters. These parameters included the length of Service Function Chains (SFCs), the number and length of flows, node resource capacities, the number of nodes and VNFs. The experimental results demonstrated the model’s ability to efficiently allocate resources to VNFs across these different scenarios.

Preparing for Virtual Interviews: A Pilot Study to Understand the Needs of Interviewees.

Virtual interviews play a crucial role in the ranking process. National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) data shows a median number of 23.5 interviews per applicant. Considering this volume of interviews, graduate medical education programs must leverage the virtual pre-interview materials to impact applicants' attitudes and perceptions of the interview beforehand. This study is a secondary data analysis of an anonymous cross-sectional survey collected during two orientation sessions held in June and July 2022. Responses from 123 residents and fellows rated the usefulness of available print and virtual pre-interview resources. Using a 5-point Likert scale, social media sites scored an average usefulness score of 4.0, while the information packet and program website scored 3.88 and 3.90, respectively. This article provides recommendations for restructuring virtual resources to aid residents and fellows, specifically under-represented minorities in medicine (UiM) applicants, in having a quality interview experience.

Virtual pharmacy as a component of the electronic educational environment at the Department of Pharmacology in order to increase the clarity and efficiency of assimilation of educational material (the role of increasing the clarity of educational material in the electronic information educational environment to improve the education resultat the Department of Pharmacology of the First Pavlov State Medical University of

Aim. To study the effectiveness of a virtual pharmacy as an element of an electronic information educational environment at the Department of Pharmacology.Material and methods. A total of 250 3rd year students of the Faculty of General Medicine and 196 2nd year students of the Faculty of Dentistry of the First Pavlov State Medical University of St. Petersburg. To achieve these goals, structured interviews, focus groups, and subsequent analysis were used. The performance of third-year students at the Faculty of General Medicine was assessed before and after the introduction of digital tools for visualizing material using elements of a virtual pharmacy.Results. A survey of students found high interest in using visual methods and, in particular, a virtual pharmacy. Clinical and pharmacological tasks using a virtual pharmacy significantly facilitated the acquisition of pharmacological knowledge and were rated positively by the majority of students. An analysis of the academic success of students who with a virtual pharmacy resource found that the average score increased and they began to pass the tests on the first try. When collecting data, Google forms were used, which, due to anonymity, made it possible to receive detailed proposals from students for improving the virtual pharmacy and teaching methods using the electronic information educational environment.Conclusion. The study showed that the virtual pharmacy method has established itself as an effective pedagogical tool that has made it possible to increase the visibility of difficult educational material and the efficiency of learning new knowledge.

Integrating online and offline teaching to promote creativity for STEM learners

This research extends previous findings by proposing an online and offline integrated teaching framework to enhance creativity for STEM learners. The framework integrates key elements from both modalities, featuring a combination of virtual and physical resources to support a comprehensive learning experience. The study introduces a "smart flowerpot" project as a practical application, detailing the instructional design, learning resources, and assessment strategies. It highlights the challenges in resource selection and the increased workload for teachers transitioning from traditional classroom settings. While the framework offers a promising approach, it acknowledges the need for empirical testing and consideration of external factors that may influence its effectiveness. The research advocates further exploration to validate the framework and its potential to transform STEM education.

Maintaining and Improving Virtual Call Centers for Public Health: The CUNY Recovery Corps Experience.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, individuals who tested positive, exposed contacts, and their families faced significant challenges in accessing essential resources for successful quarantine and isolation. These resources included alternative housing, food access, grocery delivery, missed wage assistance, transportation for household members, medical care, and more. The City University of New York (CUNY) Recovery Corps emerged as an innovative virtual resource navigation service to connect New Yorkers to essential resources and later to vaccinations, treatment, and services for Long COVID. The program prioritized reaching people living in underserved and under-resourced neighborhoods. Over 3years, it made a substantial impact, reaching 374728 New Yorkers and connecting 135147 to crucial resources. Implementing a successful virtual navigation center amidst a global pandemic posed unique challenges. It required well-established systems to provide services, manage staff, build community, and both assure and improve service quality. Continuous quality assurance and process improvement efforts resulted in a nearly 10-point increase in successful client-resource connections program-wide, with individual navigators showing improvements of up to 20%. Staff-led initiatives, such as population-specific resource guides and incentive awards, boosted morale and cohesion. Providing continuous professional development opportunities and requested training including trauma-informed care, self-care, and strategies for managing grief contributed to staff retention and improved client interactions. The CUNY Recovery Corps provides a blueprint for setting up navigation services for emergency response and supporting health and social services. The current paper delves into the intensive quality improvement efforts, program management infrastructure, and staff support that made this program a success. By applying these lessons on establishing and maintaining a virtual call center prioritizing the client's well-being and staff strengths, policymakers and social service leaders can effectively address various health and social service needs proactively rather than rebuilding after each disaster.

ESMO Resilience Task Force recommendations to manage psychosocial risks, optimise well-being, and reduce burnout in oncology

Burnout in health care professionals (HCPs) results from exposure to psychosocial risks at work. Left unaddressed, burnout can lead to chronic health problems, increased staff turnover, reduced work hours, absenteeism, and early retirement from clinical practice, thus impacting patient care. The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Resilience Task Force (RTF) was established in December 2019 to support the well-being of oncology HCPs globally. This ESMO RTF position paper aims to provide a set of recommendations to optimise well-being and mitigate burnout in oncology, and to help individuals and institutions maintain the delivery of optimal cancer care. Recommendations were developed by a diverse multinational panel of interprofessional experts based on the key findings from three previously reported ESMO RTF surveys. Several recurrent work-related psychosocial risks in oncology were identified; in particular, concerns about workload and professional development. The need for flexible work patterns, continued use of virtual resources, well-being resources, and targeted support for at-risk groups were highlighted as key considerations to safeguard HCPs' health and prevent burnout. In total, 11 recommendations relating to three priority themes were developed: (i) information and training; (ii) resources; (iii) activism and advocacy. Optimising the well-being of oncology HCPs is essential for the provision of high-quality, sustainable care for patients globally. The ESMO RTF will continue its mission and is rolling out several initiatives and activities to support the implementation of these recommendations.

Internet of Things, critical infrastructures, and the governance of cybersecurity in 5G network slicing

Over the last decade, cybersecurity has become a disruptive challenge driven by the shift to 5G networks. 5G is an application-agnostic general-purpose technology (GPT) characterized by its major role as multidimensional upstream technology for a large and open set of downstream Internet of Things (IoT) applications and use cases in various network industries and, more generally, within the economy as a whole. The focus of this paper is on the network economics of cybersecurity governance, considering the interplay between the recent EU cybersecurity regulatory framework, the extensive standardization efforts of international standardization organizations, and the economic incentives to tackle 5G network performance and security challenges. Based on the economic concept of 5G-based network slicing, the entrepreneurial challenges driven by the Internet of Things (IoT) are analyzed with an eye towards the complementarity between the physical side and virtual side of IoT applications. Network slicing gains particular relevance in the context of different types of logically separated, QoS-differentiated 5G bandwidth capacities, which are combined with other virtual resources such as sensor networks, data storage and processing, together with end-to-end slice security. It is shown in this paper that economic incentives for the implementation of 5G cybersecurity cannot be considered in isolation but must be viewed in combination with other performance requirements of 5G network slices. This is the driver for implementing network slicing architectures within 5G networks that feature a multitude of heterogeneous network slices with different QoS differentiation and various cybersecurity requirements.

Fit Entropy-Based Dynamic Communication Resource Slicing-Optimization Method in Smart Distribution Grids on the Medium-Low-Voltage Side.

With the rapid development of new energy and smart technology, the demand for inter-device communication in medium-low-voltage smart distribution grids has sharply increased, leading to a surge in the variety and quantity of communication services. To meet the needs of diverse and massive communication services, deploying service function chains to flexibly combine virtual resources has become crucial. This paper proposes an optimization method based on fit entropy and network utility to address the limited communication network resources in medium-low-voltage smart distribution grids. This was conducted by modeling the distribution grid as a three-domain model consisting of a service domain, a logical domain, and a physical domain and transforming it into a hierarchical bipartite hypergraph-matching problem, which is a complex combinatorial optimization problem. This paper introduces two matching optimization algorithms: "business domain-logic domain-physical domain integration" and "service domain-logic domain, logic domain-physical domain two-stage", which effectively address this problem based on fit entropy and utility. The simulation results demonstrate that these algorithms significantly improve service success rates and resource utilization, enhancing overall network utility.

Resources to Support Canadian Nurses to Deliver Virtual Care: Environmental Scan.

Regulatory and professional nursing associations have an important role in ensuring that nurses provide safe, competent, and ethical care and are capable of adapting to emerging phenomena that influence society and population health needs. Telehealth and more recently virtual care are 2 digital health modalities that have gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth refers to telecommunications and digital communication technologies used to deliver health care, support health care provider and patient education, and facilitate self-care. Virtual care facilitates the delivery of health care services via any remote communication between patients and health care providers and among health care providers, either synchronously or asynchronously, through information and communication technologies. Despite nurses' adaptability to delivering virtual care, many have also reported challenges. This study aims to describe resources about virtual care, digital health, and nursing informatics (ie, practice guidelines and fact sheets) available to Canadian nurses through their regulatory and professional associations. An environmental scan was conducted between March and July 2023. The websites of nursing regulatory bodies across 13 Canadian provinces and territories and relevant nursing and a few nonnursing professional associations were searched. Data were extracted from the websites of these organizations to map out educational materials, training opportunities, and guidelines made available for nurses to learn and adapt to the ongoing digitalization of the health care system. Information from each source was summarized and analyzed using an inductive content analysis approach to identify categories and themes. The Virtual Health Competency Framework was applied to support the analysis process. Seven themes were identified: (1) types of resources available about virtual care, (2) terminologies used in virtual care resources, (3) currency of virtual care resources identified, (4) requirements for providing virtual care between provinces, (5) resources through professional nursing associations and other relevant organizations, (6) regulatory guidance versus competency in virtual care, and (7) resources about digital health and nursing informatics. Results also revealed that practice guidance for delivering telehealth existed before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was further expanded during the pandemic. Differences were noted across available resources with respect to terms used (eg, telenursing, telehealth, or virtual care), types of documents (eg, guideline vs fact sheet), and the depth of information shared. Only 2 associations provided comprehensive telenursing practice guidelines. Resources relative to digital health and nursing informatics exist, but variations between provinces were also noted. The use of telehealth and virtual care services is becoming mainstream in Canadian health care. Despite variations across jurisdictions, the existing nursing practice guidance resources for delivering telehealth and virtual care are substantial and can serve as a beginning step for developing a standardized set of practice requirements or competencies to inform nursing practice and the education of future nurses.

Use and impact of virtual resources for peer support by young adults living with cancer: A systematic review

Contexte : Il n’est pas rare que les besoins psychosociaux des jeunes adultes atteints de cancer ne soient pas satisfaits. Peu d’études se sont penchées de manière exhaustive sur l’efficacité des ressources de soutien par les pairs en ligne pour répondre aux besoins de cette population. Méthodologie : Une recherche dans les bases de données Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Embase et Medline a permis de trouver des articles portant sur les interventions de soutien par les pairs à l’intention des jeunes survivants du cancer âgés entre 18 et 40 ans. Résultats : Cette recherche a fait ressortir 2 773 articles, dont 12 ont été retenus par consensus. Les articles ont fait l’objet d’une synthèse qualitative à partir de données extraites à l’aide de la liste de vérification Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR; modèle pour la description et la reproduction des interventions). En tout, 6 études ont montré l’existence d’une corrélation entre le soutien par les pairs en ligne et l’amélioration du bien-être. Ce type d’intervention pourrait donc être utile pour les jeunes atteints de cancer. Conclusion : La présente revue systématique résume l’état actuel des connaissances sur la disponibilité et l’évaluation des programmes en ligne de soutien par les pairs à l’intention des jeunes; elle révèle également le besoin d’approfondir la recherche dans ce domaine. Mots-clés : jeune adulte, soutien social, survivant au cancer, survivance sociale, médias sociaux, intervention sur Internet

Use and impact of virtual resources for peer support by young adults living with cancer: A systematic review

Background: Young adults (YA) with cancer often have unmet psychosocial needs. The impact of peer support delivered in an online format to fulfil these needs in the populations of YA with cancer has not been thoroughly examined. Methods: We searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Embase, and Medline databases. We included articles about online peer support interventions for YA cancer survivors between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. Results: Our literature search yielded n = 2,773 articles and we obtained consensus on 12 articles for inclusion. We qualitatively synthesized these articles using data abstraction based on the Template for Intervention and Replication (TIDierR) checklist. Overall, six studies demonstrated correlation between online peer support and improved wellbeing of participants. Thus, online peer support may be useful for young cancer patients. Conclusion: This systematic review summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding the availability and evaluation of online YA peer support programs and reveals the need for further research in this field. Keywords: young adult, social support, cancer survivor, social survivorship, social media, internet-based intervention

Efficient resource allocation in cloud environment using SHO-ANN-based hybrid approach

The cloud computing paradigm provides services to users in an on-demand fashion using high-speed Internet. This Internet-based computing paradigm provides resources on a rent basis without any fault. Virtual machine resource allocation is one of the challenging concerns in a cloud computing environment. The existing static, dynamic, and Meta-Heuristic approaches provide the solution to the virtual machine allocation problem. These techniques stuck with the local optimal solution. The slow convergence rate leads to the optimal solution locally and fails to provide the optimal solution Globally. This manuscript proposes a hybrid Spotted Hyena optimizer and artificial neural network, named the SHO-ANN technique, to provide a solution to the virtual machine assignment problem. The presented hybrid technique is evaluated and analyzed using performance metrics “Energy Consumption (Kwh) (8.54%), Host Utilization (24.8%), Average Execution Time(ms) (26.33%), SLA Violations (1.33%), and Number of Migrations (Counts) (19.73%)”. The spotted hyena optimizer is used to provide the vast data set to the ANN model for better accuracy. The hybrid approach provides an optimal solution globally with high convergence. The experimental results exhibit that the SHO-ANN outperforms the IqMc, SHO, and Genetic approaches using real workload scenarios and fabricated scenarios.

Expanding technological horizons from the implementation of an ecosystem of virtual learning resources for university students

Expanding technological horizons from the implementation of an ecosystem of virtual learning resources for university students

Differentially private and truthful auction-based resource procurement for budget-constrained DAG applications in clouds

With the rapid proliferation of emerging scientific computing, more and more cloud users (CUs) with large-scale applications are seeking efficient executing paradigms in clouds. Following this trend, a cloud market with multiple cloud service providers (CSPs) is emerging, which aims to provide efficient cross-cloud services to CUs through the cooperation among CSPs. In the market, CUs can procure different virtual machine resources and their combinations from one or more CSP(s) in a pay-as-you-go way. In such a procurement process, it is challenging to achieve privacy protection and truthfulness of CSPs while enabling flexible resource combinations. As such, we design a differentially private and truthful auction-based resource procurement mechanism (DTARP) in clouds. Specifically, we first propose a budget-aware resource profile determination algorithm (BRPD) to obtain a set of resource profiles, in order to bridge the difference between application tasks and resources under the budget constraint. Next, we design a differential privacy-based winning CSP selection algorithm to choose a set of winning CSPs, and the payment calculation algorithm to calculate the payment for each winning CSP. Strict theoretical analysis proves that the proposed DTARP achieves differential privacy, truthfulness, individual rationality, computational efficiency, and approximate social cost minimization while guaranteeing the efficient completion of application tasks under the budget. Extensive simulation results also demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed DTARP.