The Extent and Coverage of Current Knowledge of Connected Health: Systematic Mapping Study

Background: This paper examines the development of the Connected Health research landscape with a view on providing a historical perspective on existing Connected Health research. Connected Health has become a rapidly growing research field as our healthcare system is facing pressured to become more proactive and patient centred. Objective: We aimed to identify the extent and coverage of the current body of knowledge in Connected Health. With this, we want to identify which topics have drawn the attention of Connected health researchers, and if there are gaps or interdisciplinary opportunities for further research. Methods: We used a systematic mapping study that combines scientific contributions from research on medicine, business, computer science and engineering. We analyse the papers with seven classification criteria, publication source, publication year, research types, empirical types, contribution types research topic and the condition studied in the paper. Results: Altogether, our search resulted in 208 papers which were analysed by a multidisciplinary group of researchers. Our results indicate a slow start for Connected Health research but a more recent steady upswing since 2013. The majority of papers proposed healthcare solutions (37%) or evaluated Connected Health approaches (23%). Case studies (28%) and experiments (26%) were the most popular forms of scientific validation employed. Diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and heart conditions are among the most prevalent conditions studied. Conclusions: We conclude that Connected Health research seems to be an established field of research, which has been growing strongly during the last five years. There seems to be more focus on technology driven research with a strong contribution from medicine, but business aspects of Connected health are not as much studied

Solução ubíqua baseada em NFC para a análise de dados turísticos em cidades inteligentes.

El registro y el análisis detallado de las trayectorias del visitante y los movimientos individuales en tiempo real de las decenas de miles de visitantes es una de las áreas más importantes de la investigación en turismo. Para observar los movimientos turísticos, está disponible una variedad de técnicas. Nuevas técnicas de seguimiento se están explorando y gracias al avance de la tecnología es posible disponer en cualquier momento y desde cualquier lugar (computación ubicua) de la de información que se ha utilizado para registrar el movimiento de turistas, con alta resolución. En estos entornos (ambientes etiquetados) donde el usuario interactúa con su medio ambiente, una tecnología emergente conocida como Near Field Communication [NFC] ofrece una manera natural para la interacción entre los usuarios y su entorno. Este artículo elabora una propuesta ubicua, basada en NFC, que permite obtener datos turísticos en tiempo real que son analizados con el método de cadenas de Markov por medio de pruebas experimentales y estadísticas, gracias a que se demuestra que el movimiento de un turista está influenciado por el estado o sitio turístico donde se encuentre antes de pasar a otro, corroborando la hipótesis que indica que es posible capturar información dejada por los turistas por medio de herramientas tecnológicas, y que gracias al procesamiento de esa información se puede obtener una traza que muestre la actividad realizada, la misma que, por medio de su visualización permitirá la toma de decisiones que favorezcan la actividad turística como parte de la economía regional y nacional. Detailed recording and analysis of visitor paths and individual mouse movements in real time of tens-of-thousands of visitors is one of the most important areas of tourism research, and to observe tourist movements a variety of techniques are available. New tracking techniques are explored and due to the advance of technology we can have information at any time and from anywhere (pervasive computing). This has been used to record movement information of tourists with high resolution. In these environments (tags environments) where the user interacts with the environment, an emerging technology called NFC (Near Field Communication) is providing a natural means of interaction between the users and their environment. This paper shows the implementation of an NFC-based pervasive solution that allows tourist tracking data to be obtained in real time; it is simplified and analyzed with the Markov chains method by experimental and statistical testing. It is also demonstrated that the movement of a tourist is influenced by the state or tourist site where he or she is to move to another, corroborating the hypothesis "that if you can capture the information left by tourists through technological tools, thanks to the processing of such information you can obtain a trace that is a sample of the activity which, through its display, allows decisions that promote tourism as part of the regional and national economy".O registro e a análise pormenorizados dos percursos do visitante bem como os movimentos individuais em tempo real das dezenas de milhares de visitantes pertencem a uma das mais importantes áreas de pesquisa em turismo. Para observar os movimentos turísticos, encontra-se disponível uma variedade de técnicas. Novas técnicas de monitorização estão sendo exploradas e graças aos avanços da tecnologia é possível ter em qualquer momento e desde qualquer lugar (computação ubíqua) a informação que foi usada para registrar o movimento de turistas, com alta resolução. Nesses ambientes (ambientes etiquetados) onde o usuário interage com o seu ambiente, uma tecnologia emergente conhecida como Near Field Communication [NFC] fornece uma maneira natural para a interação entre os usuários e seu ambiente. Este artigo desenvolve uma proposta ubíqua, baseada em NFC, que permite obter dados turísticos em tempo real que são analisados com o método de cadeias de Markov através de testes experimentais e estatísticas, graças a que se demonstra que o movimento de um turista é influenciado pelo estado ou local turístico onde se encontra antes de passar para outro, confirmando a hipótese que é possível capturar informação deixada pelos turistas através de ferramentas tecnológicas, e que graças ao processamento dessa informação pode obter-se um traço que mostre a atividade realizada, o mesmo que, através da sua visualização permitirá tomar decisões que promovam o turismo como parte da economia regional e nacional.

Success and failure in eHealth

Introduction In the field of eHealth, there seems to be a gap between promising research and clinical reality. This master thesis aims to give insight in patterns that can be found regarding the possible outcome in terms of success and/or failure. An in-depth review of workflow will be done, to get an understanding of the implications of eHealth on workflow. Methods Using a systematic article search, papers have been collected regarding the subject of this thesis. Through multiple search strategies, one final search string has been formulated. This final search string led to 903 papers. These papers have been assessed on relevance using qualitative methods. This resulted in 258 papers, which have been categorised by topic, entity and success or failure. After categorisation, the topic of workflow has been selected for an additional in-depth full-text review. Results The categorisation led to 27 categories. The categories are separated among the following entities: patient, health professional, health system and all. The first three have been separated in terms of success and failure as well. This led to a quantitative overview of different categories, for different actors in terms of success and failure. Workflow appeared to be essential for the possible success or failure of eHealth implementations. It is important to include workflow in the design of the tool as well. Conclusion Different categories show a unique combination in success and failure, and to what entity they belong. The category costs appeared to be mostly based on the health system and is attributed to failure. Therefore it is a pre-requisite for the implementation of eHealth. Other categories like quality healthcare and user expectations seem to target on success. The category legal was smaller than anticipated, which could have been caused by categories that are closely linked to each other

Next Generation Emergency Call System with Enhanced Indoor Positioning

The emergency call systems in the United States and elsewhere are undergoing a transition from the PSTN-based legacy system to a new IP-based system. The new system is referred to as the Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) or NG112 system. We have built a prototype NG9-1-1 system which features media convergence and data integration that are unavailable in the current emergency calling system. The most important piece of information in the NG9-1-1 system is the caller's location. The caller's location is used for routing the call to the appropriate call center. The emergency responders use the caller's location to find the caller. Therefore, it is essential to determine the caller's location as precisely as possible to minimize delays in emergency response. Delays in response may result in loss of lives. When a person makes an emergency call outdoors using a mobile phone, the Global Positioning System (GPS) can provide the caller's location accurately. Indoor positioning, however, presents a challenge. GPS does not generally work indoors because satellite signals do not penetrate most buildings. Moreover, there is an important difference between determining location outdoors and indoors. Unlike outdoors, vertical accuracy is very important in indoor positioning because an error of few meters will send emergency responders to a different floor in a building, which may cause a significant delay in reaching the caller. This thesis presents a way to augment our NG9-1-1 prototype system with a new indoor positioning system. The indoor positioning system focuses on improving the accuracy of vertical location. Our goal is to provide floor-level accuracy with minimum infrastructure support. Our approach is to use a user's smartphone to trace her vertical movement inside buildings. We utilize multiple sensors available in today's smartphones to enhance positioning accuracy. This thesis makes three contributions. First, we present a hybrid architecture for floor localization with emergency calls in mind. The architecture combines beacon-based infrastructure and sensor-based dead reckoning, striking a balance between accurately determining a user's location and minimizing the required infrastructure. Second, we present the elevator module for tracking a user's movement in an elevator. The elevator module addresses three core challenges that make it difficult to accurately derive displacement from acceleration. Third, we present the stairway module which determines the number of floors a user has traveled on foot. Unlike previous systems that track users' foot steps, our stairway module uses a novel landing counting technique. Additionally, this thesis presents our work on designing and implementing an NG9-1-1 prototype system. We first demonstrate how emergency calls from various call origination devices are identified, routed to the proper Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) based on the caller's location, and terminated by the call taker software at the PSAP. We then show how text communications such as Instant Messaging and Short Message Service can be integrated into the NG9-1-1 architecture. We also present GeoPS-PD, a polygon simplification algorithm designed to improve the performance of location-based routing. GeoPS-PD reduces the size of a polygon, which represents the service boundary of a PSAP in the NG9-1-1 system

Indoor location identification technologies for real-time IoT-based applications: an inclusive survey

YesThe advent of the Internet of Things has witnessed tremendous success in the application of wireless sensor networks and ubiquitous computing for diverse smart-based applications. The developed systems operate under different technologies using different methods to achieve their targeted goals. In this treatise, we carried out an inclusive survey on key indoor technologies and techniques, with to view to explore their various benefits, limitations, and areas for improvement. The mathematical formulation for simple localization problems is also presented. In addition, an empirical evaluation of the performance of these indoor technologies is carried out using a common generic metric of scalability, accuracy, complexity, robustness, energy-efficiency, cost and reliability. An empirical evaluation of performance of different RF-based technologies establishes the viability of Wi-Fi, RFID, UWB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and Light over other indoor technologies for reliable IoT-based applications. Furthermore, the survey advocates hybridization of technologies as an effective approach to achieve reliable IoT-based indoor systems. The findings of the survey could be useful in the selection of appropriate indoor technologies for the development of reliable real-time indoor applications. The study could also be used as a reliable source for literature referencing on the subject of indoor location identification.Supported in part by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund of the Federal Government of Nigeria, and in part by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant agreement H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016 SECRET-72242

Internet of Things (IoT) for Automated and Smart Applications

Internet of Things (IoT) is a recent technology paradigm that creates a global network of machines and devices that are capable of communicating with each other. Security cameras, sensors, vehicles, buildings, and software are examples of devices that can exchange data between each other. IoT is recognized as one of the most important areas of future technologies and is gaining vast recognition in a wide range of applications and fields related to smart homes and cities, military, education, hospitals, homeland security systems, transportation and autonomous connected cars, agriculture, intelligent shopping systems, and other modern technologies. This book explores the most important IoT automated and smart applications to help the reader understand the principle of using IoT in such applications

All-Women Initiatives in Art and Technology 1986-2020. Atenea: Mentoring and Networking Project in Steam

[ES] La presente tesis doctoral es una exploración sobre las iniciativas auto-organizadas de mujeres que han surgido en la intersección del arte y la tecnología a nivel internacional. Estas iniciativas comunitarias han ido apareciendo en lugares donde existe una escena de arte y nuevos medios, la cual es generalmente de dominación masculina y baja en diversidad. Este trabajo de investigación es un mapeo de este fenómeno tecno-social y artístico, tratando de identificar las primeras prácticas. A través de entrevistas, encuestas y métodos de investigación etnográfica, esta tesis aspira a comprender el contexto que ha dado lugar a semejantes iniciativas a lo largo de tres décadas y media, examinando las diferentes tipologías por los formatos, extensión, espacio y estructura que éstas han adoptado para afrontar la situación de las mujeres en estas áreas. Existe un vació de referencias sobre formas organizativas y de comisariado en las áreas de arte y tecnología. Además, la literatura general señala las subculturas digitales de los noventa, tales como el ciberfeminismo y el movimiento DIY, como los primeros y principales referentes para las alianzas de mujeres y el activismo translocal en la era digital. Sin embargo, las estrategias de colaboración y segregación en áreas de arte y tecnología no han sido analizadas desde los estudios feministas desde una perspectiva histórica en profundidad. Por lo tanto, esta tesis establece la relación entre dichas iniciativas con la historia de los grupos de mujeres artistas y espacios de arte alternativos, la historia de las mujeres en el arte de nuevos medios y la cultura de redes. Las nuevas tecnologías de la información y comunicación han permitido nuevas formas de comunicación y conectividad transfronterizas; sin embargo, este trabajo investiga en qué medida estas iniciativas dependen de las TIC para el establecimiento de su comunidad, comparado con los formatos analógicos. Con los resultados, esta tesis aspira a convertirse en una fuente de referencias que enriquezca la escasa bibliografía de la temática, proporcionando una lista de formas organizativas y de comisariado, así como las practicas más tempranas nunca publicadas, y en conjunto contribuir a la historiografía actual sobre mujeres. Por último, a la vez que se comenta la situación actual de las mujeres en las áreas de arte y tecnología, este trabajo presenta Atenea, un proyecto de mentorización y networking para mujeres en las artes y carreras STEM. Atenea está compuesto de un programa de actividades con diferentes actividades organizativas y de comisariado, así como una plataforma de networking. Adicionalmente, el proyecto tiene un programa enfocado en transmitir conocimientos STEM a niñas a través de prácticas artísticas con tecnología de la mano de mujeres artistas nacionales como mentoras.[CAT] La present tesi doctoral és una exploració sobre les iniciatives autoorganitzades de dones que han sorgit en la intersecció de l'art i la tecnologia a nivell internacional. Aquestes iniciatives comunitàries han anat apareixent en llocs on hi ha una escena d'art i nous mitjans, la qual és generalment de dominació masculina i baixa en diversitat. Aquest treball de recerca és un mapeig d'aquest fenomen tecno-social i artístic, tractant d'identificar les primeres pràctiques. A través d'entrevistes, enquestes i mètodes d'investigació etnogràfica, aquesta tesi aspira a comprendre el context que ha donat lloc a semblants iniciatives al llarg de tres dècades i mig, examinant les diferents tipologies pels formats, extensió, espai i estructura que aquestes han adoptat per afrontar la situació de les dones en aquestes àrees. Hi ha un buit de referències sobre formes organitzatives i de comissariat en les àrees d'art i tecnologia. A més, la literatura general assenyala les subcultures digitals dels noranta, com ara el ciberfeminisme i el moviment DIY, com els primers i principals referents per a les aliances de dones i l'activisme translocal en l'era digital. No obstant això, les estratègies de col·laboració i segregació en àrees d'art i tecnologia no han estat analitzades des dels estudis feministes des d'una perspectiva històrica en profunditat. Per tant, aquesta tesi estableix la relació entre aquestes iniciatives amb la història dels grups de dones artistes i espais d'art alternatius, la història de les dones en l'art de nous mitjans i la cultura de xarxes. Les noves tecnologies de la informació i comunicació han permès noves formes de comunicació i connectivitat transfrontereres; però, aquest treball investiga en quina mesura aquestes iniciatives depenen de les TIC per a l'establiment de la seva comunitat, comparat amb els formats analògics. Amb els resultats, aquesta tesi aspira a convertir-se en una font de referències que enriqueixi l'escassa bibliografia de la temàtica, proporcionant una llista de formes organitzatives i de comissariat, així com les pràctiques més primerenques mai publicades, i en conjunt contribuir a la historiografia actual sobre dones. Finalment, alhora que es comenta la situació actual de les dones en les àrees d'art i tecnologia, aquest treball presenta Atenea, un projecte de mentorització i networking per a dones en les arts i carreres STEM. Atenea està compost d'un programmea d'activitats amb diferents activitats organitzatives i de comissariat, així com una plataforma de networking. Addicionalment, el projecte té un programmea enfocat a transmetre coneixements STEM a nenes a través de pràctiques artístiques amb tecnologia de la mà de dones artistes nacionals com mentores.[EN] This dissertation explores a series of all-women self-organised initiatives that have emerged at the intersection of art and technology internationally. These grassroot initiatives have continued to appear in places where there is a new media arts scene, generally male-dominated and low in diversity. This research work is a mapping of this techno-social and artistic phenomenon, attempting to identify its earliest practices. Through interviews, surveys and ethnographic research, this thesis seeks to comprehend the context that has given rise to such initiatives over three decades and half, examining the different typologies by formats, extension, space and structure that they have adopted to address the situation of women in these fields. There is a void of references on all-women curatorial and organisational forms in art and technology. Moreover, general literature points at digital subcultures of the 1990s such as cyberfeminism and DIY movement as first referents for women's alliance and translocal activism in the digital age. However, collaboration and segregation strategies in new media arts have not been discussed in feminist scholarship from a deeper historical perspective. Therefore, this dissertation elaborates the linkage of such initiatives to early history of all-women art groups and alternative art spaces, history of women in new media arts and to network cultures. New information and communication technologies have enabled new forms of communication and connectivity cross-borders; however, this work investigates in which measure these initiatives are dependent upon ICT for the establishment of a community, compared to analog formats. With the results, this dissertation aims to become a source of references that enriches the scarce bibliography on the topic, providing a list of curatorial and organisational forms with the earliest and unpublished practices that altogether contribute to current women's historiography. Lastly, while discussing the current situation of women in art and technology fields, this works presents Atenea, a mentoring and networking platform for women in Arts and STEM careers. Atenea is comprised of a programme having different organizational, curatorial and networking activities. Additionally, the platform has a project focused on teaching STEM skills to girls through new media arts with female artists as mentors. Keywords: All-women, self-organised, initiatives, new media arts, digital arts, electronic arts, art, technology, activism, mapping, alternative art spaces, collaboration, segregation, ICT, digital age, virtual, community, network cultures, feminism, cyberfeminism, Atenea, STEM, STEAM, girls, organisational, curatorial, networking platform, mentoring,Robles Mateo, E. (2020). All-Women Initiatives in Art and Technology 1986-2020. Atenea: Mentoring and Networking Project in Steam [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/159248TESI

The influence of learning orientation and creative broadcasting techniques on small business sustainability: a case study of selected community radio stations in Bloemfontein

Published ThesisDespite the abundant literature highlighting the significance of community radio stations (CRS) in advancing community development and promoting local employment opportunities, articulating the collective voice of marginalised communities, and in advancing pluralist democracy in South Africa, there is a lack of literature that investigates the critical success factors for the long-term sustainability of these community based organisations. The current study, which recognises the importance of creating learning organisations and the introduction of new broadcasting techniques to the survival of an organisation, explores the influence of learning orientation (LO) and creative broadcasting techniques (CBT) on the sustainability of CRS. There exists extant literature that attests to LO as an antecedent of innovation and the sustainability of firms on the one hand, and new broadcasting capabilities and procedures (CBT) as instrumental to the long-term sustainability of CRS on the other. Yet studies that explore the intersection of these three variables (i.e. LO, CBT and the diverse forms of sustainability) are hard to come by, hence this study. The study draws on an interpretive epistemology, qualitative approach and two case studies of CRS located in Bloemfontein, Free State. It investigates the LO and CBT of these institutions to develop some in-depth knowledge of their influence on the community stations’ sustainability. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with CRS managers, producers and presenters and observed the broadcasting practices and activities of these CRS. The results of the study reveal that LO and CBT, especially the implementation of each of the components, positively influenced organisational, financial and social sustainability of CRS. The study recommends that each CRS should draw up a station constitution, which specifies the code of good practice and conduct in conformity to their licencing conditions, vision and goals. The constitution should be availed to all employees to ensure unity of purpose and common understanding of the practices adopted and methods implemented by the CRS

Disrupting surveillance: critical software design-led practice to obfuscate and reveal surveillance economies and knowledge monopolies

Big data collection, behavioural economics and targeted advertisement are changing the dynamics and notions of our individuality and societies. By mobilising critical design methods, I made a series of critical design works to reveal and disrupt surveillance and knowledge monopolies. The aim of this practice-led investigation is to challenge surveillance and knowledge practices within internet search and advertising industries and through this contribute to surveillance debates and critical design practice. The four critical design practices that I developed during the course of this investigation namely Zaytoun, Philodox, Maladox and Open Bubble all interrogate humans’ relations to technology and more specifically their transformations as objects and subjects of surveillance capitalism. Zaytoun challenges notions of data consumption, quantification and distancing. Philodox reveals and critiques some trust issues and algorithmic biases of internet search engines. Maladox, is an anatomical engine of fictional speculative cyborg dis-eases, creating a critical space to reconsider our relationship to technology. Finally, Open Bubble is a counter surveillance browser extension that obfuscates and challenges knowledge enclosures imposed by search engines. Based on a review of philosophy of technology and especially as it relates to Science and Technology Studies (STS), I reflect on some of the underlying conditions that made possible the existence of modern technology in its current form. I analyse the contextual background of this body of work and its take on technology as a central lever for governance and for shaping of human subjects. This thesis investigates the taken for granted ways our interactions with surveillance capitalism infrastructures are transforming our individual and collective beings and in turn the new cyborg ontologies that we are being integrated into. The four critical design works included in this investigation offer alternative possibilities for critical engagement with, and interpretation of, big data and the algorithmic manipulations we are subjected to. This thesis attempts to take the below contributions to the theoretical developments around governmentality, surveillance capitalism, but also to critical design and design informatics. I develop ideas aiming at moving from humans and subjectivity as the nexus for governance towards attention to the cyborg as the emerging central site for both governance and resistance. Furthermore, through my practices I illustrate the importance of non-visual relations to audiences be it through touch or hearing in opening up spaces for questioning and resistance. I believe attention to the sensory dynamics of the experience and resistance have strong potentials for contributing to the debates around resistance within governance regimes. Furthermore, this thesis brings attention to the micro processes & software codes and algorithms that enable surveillance capitalism and engages in exercises aiming at disrupting them. I believe such detailed work focused on the ways humans interact with internet-based regimes of surveillance is a much-needed complement to the already well-developed critiques of institutions and structures of surveillance capitalism. Concerning critical design, my works bring attention to the role of spatial configuration of the works in conditioning the users’ rhythm, intensity and span of engagement with the work. In addition, I believe my practices and my theoretical developments around them open possibilities for new reflections on different forms of satire and laughter and how they can be situated in users’ experiences with critical design work