The National Health Accounts of the Philippines: Continuing Development and New Findings

For more than a decade now, the national health accounts (NHA) of the Philippines has been providing data that are important for health policymaking. At present, the NHA not only continues to be important for health policymaking. It has also become indispensable as a tool for monitoring and tracking outcomes of health sector policies. To further expand its usefulness, the Philippine NHA underwent major restructuring, specifically in the classification of health expenditures by uses of funds. The revised NHA now includes several types of breakdown by uses of funds. Analysis of preliminary 2003 estimates of the revised NHA matrices reveals new details of the manner by which health funds are utilized in the Philippines--data that are not available in the original NHA.health sector, national health accounts, health funds

The National Health Accounts of the Philippines: Continuing Development and New Findings

For more than a decade now, the national health accounts (NHA) of the Philippines has been providing data that are important for health policymaking. At present, the NHA not only continues to be important for health policymaking. It has also become indispensable as a tool for monitoring and tracking outcomes of health sector policies. To further expand its usefulness, the Philippine NHA underwent major restructuring, specifically in the classification of health expenditures by uses of funds. The revised NHA now includes several types of breakdown by uses of funds. Analysis of preliminary 2003 estimates of the revised NHA matrices reveals new details of the manner by which health funds are utilized in the Philippines--data that are not available in the original NHA.health sector, national health accounts, health funds

The use of internet-based social media as a tool in enhancing student’s learning experiences in biological sciences

This study explored the use of social media as a tool in enhancing student’s learning experiences, by using online instruction as a supplement to a face-to-face general education course, such as biological sciences. Survey data were collected from 186 students who were enrolled in a Biological Sciences course. The course was taught in a blended format using Facebook and Edmodo online social networks. A four point Likert scale was used to interpret the data collected. Findings indicated that, when traditional face-to-face instruction was combined with online components, students’ learning was enhanced. Findings from this study indicate that students had better experience, better engagement, and appreciated both the social learning experience gave by the online social network. Results revealed that students through student-student interaction and student-teacher interaction enhance their own experiences and improved their learning ability. The findings were used as bases in developing new practices and methodologies involving social networking tools for learning. Moreover, findings were used to design a blended format syllabus and blended learning guidelines. DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i4.17

Monolithic integration of Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) devices onto standard processed CMOS dies

Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) based technology is nowadays the preferred option for low magnetic fields sensing in disciplines such as biotechnology or microelectronics. Their compatibility with standard CMOS processes is currently investigated as a key point for the development of novel applications, requiring compact electronic readout. In this paper, such compatibility has been experimentally studied with two particular non-dedicated CMOS standards: 0.35 μm from AMS (Austria MicroSystems) and 2.5 μm from CNM (Centre Nacional de Microelectrònica, Barcelona) as representative examples. GMR test devices have been designed and fabricated onto processed chips from both technologies. In order to evaluate so obtained devices, an extended characterization has been carried out including DC magnetic measurements and noise analysis. Moreover, a 2D-FEM (Finite Element Method) model, including the dependence of the GMR device resistance with the magnetic field, has been also developed and simulated. Its potential use as electric current sensors at the integrated circuit level has also been demonstrated