Effect of culture on acceptance of telemedicine in Middle Eastern countries: Case study of Jordan and Syria

© Mary Ann Liebert, INC.We investigated issues that affect the use and adoption of telemedicine in Middle Eastern countries, taking the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic as case studies. Our study is based on interviews with key stakeholders (including doctors, technicians, engineers, and decision makers) and questionnaires administered to key stakeholders (including patients), ensuring opinion was gained from people from a full range of backgrounds and roles in the healthcare system. We found doctor and patient resistance was a major issue preventing the adoption of telemedicine in both countries, followed by poor infrastructure, lack of funding, and lack of information technology training. Our research identifies that culture is a greater issue than technical matters for the adoption of telemedicine in Middle Eastern countries. Based on our preliminary results we developed a guideline framework for each country that might be applied to telemedicine projects at the pre-implementation phase. The proposed guideline framework was validated through a return visit to the stakeholders and seeking further opinion

Board Performance Evaluation Post-Financial Crisis

Over the last ten years, the practice of conducting performance evaluations of boards of directors has become commonplace in large corporations. Not only is the process widely established but it is seen as an essential tool in achieving better board performance and effectiveness

Regulatory responses to the global financial crisis - the next cycle of corporate governance reform?

The causes of the global financial crisis are complex and multidimensional. A combination of factors including low interest rates, highly complex financial products, poor risk management and excessive incentive schemes contributed to the spectacular failure of many financial institutions, which in turn has damaged the wider international economy. The long-term policy response to deal with the crisis has focused on issues of transparency, disclosure, and risk management. The coordinated global effort to rebuild the financial system and restore economic growth has three essential dimensions: containing the contagion and restoring market operations coping with long-term systemic problems aligning international regulation and oversight of financial institutions

When The Boys Come Home

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/2714/thumbnail.jp

When You\u27re In Love With Someone Who Is Not In Love With You

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/2707/thumbnail.jp

Effect of vibro stone column installation on the performance of reinforced soil

Empirical design methods for stone column foundations are often on single stone columns or as a homogeneous medium of soil/column. These methods underestimate the capacity of the composite system because they do not take into account the increased confining stress acting on the stone column or the increased stiffness of the soil. This study used Plaxis 2D to study the effect of the installation method on the confining pressure and soil stiffness around a single column by assuming the installation of the column could be modelled as an expanding cavity followed by consolidation of the surrounding soil. The mean stress and stiffness generated during installation between two, adjacent columns was used in Plaxis 3D to compare the settlement of circular foundations on estuarine deposits reinforced by stone columns at a site in Santa Barbara, California. Good agreement was found between the predicted and actual settlement of the trial foundations on three column arrangements. The predictions gave a better estimate of the settlement compared to those using a unit cell or homogeneous medium showing that improvements to the soil should be taken into account when assessing stone column performance

Balancing Act - the Tightrope of Corporate Governance Reform

Over the last five years, corporate governance has proved an insistent issue in the boardrooms of Australia. In March 2003, the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) Corporate Governance Council launched its Principles of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice Recommendations (the guidelines). The following year amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 came into force, designed to improve corporate accountability and auditing practices. In annual reports for 2004-2005, Australian corporations were asked to disclose more information about their corporate governance practices than ever before. This prompted a review of existing governance structures and procedures against those recommended or required by the new regulation

You\u27re A Dangerous Girl

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/2822/thumbnail.jp

Hydraulic conductivity of composite soils

Many natural soils (e.g. glacial tills, residual soils, and alluvial soils) and artificial soils (e.g. engineered fill, environmental barriers) are formed of a range of particle sizes and types. These soils are often difficult to sample and test when using standard site investigations thus it is necessary to resort to empirical correlations; most of which were developed for coarse-grained (e.g. clean sands) or fine-grained (e.g. pure clays) soils. The hydraulic conductivity is dependent on the void ratio, clay type and particle size distribution and, in the case of composite soils it is also dependent on the clay content. Composite soils formed of four clay minerals and two sands were consolidated from slurry to determine the variation of hydraulic conductivity with clay content, clay type and void ratio. The matrix dominated soils, the flow is a function of the matrix void ratio and clay type; and, in clast dominated soils, the intergranular void ratio and particle size distribution. The transition from a matrix dominated soil to a clast dominated soil occurs at a fines content between 20% and 35%

Modelling Small-Scale Stand-Alone (PV) Energy Systems with Reverse Osmosis Integration

Australia has a vast land mass characterised by more than 35,000km of shore-line and an abundance of renewable sources (e.g., solar and wind en ergy). Despite the existence of much potential to utilise sustainable pathways of power generation, ther e remains a general reliance on electricity generated from larger plants which are mostly grid-connected but fossil-fuel operated. In Western Australia, only a fraction of its coastal areas and inland mass is serviced by the South West Interconnected (grid) System. For the majority of its regional commun ities, decentralised power generati on forms the prime source of power provision. This exacerbates the situation with regard to accessing el ectricity due to the elevated cost of obtaining fuel (for power generation) as well as relian ce on smaller, less-efficient, generator sets. For many small (remote) or coastal communities’ access to potable water is limited alongside good availability of renewable energies. This provides opportunity for utilis ing renewably powered stand-alone energy systems to help deliver the power needed to directly run utilities, operate desalination systems and reduce the associated emissions footprint. This investigation uses modelling to analyse the perf ormance of small-scale stan d-alone (energy) systems incorporating Reverse Osmosis (RO), providing up to 15litres/day potable water. Through inclusion of physical models representing different hardware components in a Solar-Photovoltaic (PV) system, this research provides an insight into the interaction between the availability of solar energy, energy conversion into DC electric power via PV panels, power conditioning (DC to AC), battery charging/discharging and the power needed for desalination. This paper not only highlights a modelling methodology for such systems but also demonstrates how individual (system) components may be characterised and seasonal variations (of solar irradiance, localised wind speed and ambient temperature) included in the simulations. Simulations undertaken include consideration for unit quantities (solar irradiance per square metre and temporal resolution of predicted irradiance to 1hour). Such approa ches provide a basis for future studies into energy system scalability, energy efficiency in small-scale (stand-alone, renewably powered) desalination systems as well as the deployment of other (non-battery) energy storage media to increase renewable energy utilisation. Modelling yields solar irradiance predictions which are co mpared to measured data at locations typical of Perth, West Australia. The models also accommodate co nsiderations for the effects of localised wind speed and ambient temperature on predicted PV panel pe rformance. This yields mo re accurate conversion characteristics of PV and helps provide better resolved (dynamic) renewable energy (input) data for the simulations. Laboratory based experiments are used to verify the efficiency, water recovery ratio and power characteristics of RO as well as other energy system components. Simulations undertaken using MATLAB help analyse the energy system over a yearly period. Results allow predictions of total (renewable) energy availability, excess (renewable) energy (not captured due to battery capacity) and total potable water production (under two different amounts of daily water demand). Outcomes are discussed with regard to the benefits of incorporating more advanced predictive m odelling methodologies and alternate means of (battery- free) energy storage for stan d-alone PV energy systems