Intifada 3.0? Cyber colonialism and Palestinian resistance

Palestine “exists” on Google and increasingly in various other “virtual” ways. But are “Palestine” on Google or the acquisition of the google.ps domain name in 2009 examples of political resistance on the internet? For Palestinian politicians, virtual presence has historical significance. Consider, for example, the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology’s (MTIT) suggestion that “ICTs information and communications technology] contribute directly to the national goal of establishing and building an independent state.”3 Within that context, Sabri Saydam, adviser to Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas and a former MTIT minister himself, posited Google’s 2013 move as “a step towards...liberation.” 4 For Israeli politicians, as quoted above, the emergence of (a virtual) “Palestine” poses ideological and practical dangers. Both camps ascribe power to the internet. Their only disagreement is over the ends to which the internet is a means: The internet is a threat to the existence of the state of Israel or a step toward a future state. At heart, however, both views are a form of technological determinism. They remove the internet from human, historical, and geopolitical contexts, and posit it as agent of political, social, or economic change. We contend that neither position is valid

Advantages of Point of Care Ultrasound over Traditional Imaging

Ultrasound has been found to be a valuable diagnostic tool for ruling in or out serious and common medical conditions. The advent of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) provides trained primary care providers the technology to gather immediate data for clinical decision making and to move patient care down the correct clinical pathway in a timely and more cost effective manner. This tool has been shown to assist in motivational interviewing by giving real time evidence to the patient. This technology has the potential to significantly enhance access for patients in rural communities where diagnostic centers and specialty care can be geographically and financially challenging. The purpose of this retrospective study is to identify the benefits of the use of handheld ultrasound versus in the rural Primary Care setting to rule in/rule out specific diagnoses: The scope of diagnoses or ruled out pathologies for the purpose of this study will consist of the following: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)/Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA)/Joint Effusion/Hydronephrosis/ Tendinopathy/ Thyroid disease/ Cysts--specifically subdural or liver cyst/Rotator cuff injury/ Cholecystitis. POCUS was introduced in the Hudson Headwaters Network in 2015 when the Network purchased units for their primary and urgent care clinics and trained clinicians began providing this service at no cost to patients. This quality improvement project is a retrospective chart review to document time to diagnosis, time to initiation of intervention if appropriate, any additional diagnostic evaluation, related subspecialty referrals and care and location of any out of office care provided in relation to site where POCUS was performed.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1419/thumbnail.jp

A Semantic Offsite Construction Digital Twin- Offsite Manufacturing Production Workflow (OPW) Ontology

Offsite Manufacturing (OSM) is a modern and innovative method of construction with the potential to adopt advanced factory production system through a more structured workflow, standardised products, and the use of robotics for automation. However, there have been challenges in quantifying improvements from the conventional method, which leads to the low uptake. The concept of a digital twin (DT) is useful for OSM, which enables production to be represented virtually and visually including all activities associated with it, resources, and workflow involved. Thus, essential information in the product development process such as cost, time, waste, and environmental impacts can be assessed. However, the data required to have accurate results and better-informed decision-making come from heterogeneous data formats (i.e. spreadsheets and BIM models) and across different domains. The inclusion of semantic web technologies such as Linked Data (LD) and Web Ontology Language (OWL) models has proven to better address these challenges especially in terms of interoperability and unambiguous knowledge systematisation. Through an extensive systematic literature review followed up by a case study, an ontology knowledge structure representing the production workflow for OSM is developed. A real-life use case of a semi-automated production line of wall panel production is used to test and demonstrate the benefits of the semantic digital twin in obtaining cost and time data of the manufacturing for assessment. Results demonstrated the potential capability and power of capturing knowledge for an ontology to assess production workflow in terms of cost, time, carbon footprint thereby enabling more informed decision making for continuous improvements

A personalized adaptive e-learning approach based on semantic web technology

Recent developments in semantic web technologies heightened the need for online adaptive learning environment. Adaptive learning is an important research topic in the field of web-based systems as there are no fixed learning paths which are appropriate for all learners. However, most studies in this field have only focused on learning styles and habits of learners. Far too little attention has been paid on understanding the ability of learners. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore adaptation in the field of e-learning systems. Many researchers are adopting semantic web technologies to find new ways for designing adaptive learning systems based on describing knowledge using ontological models. Ontologies have the potential to design content and learner models required to create adaptive e-learning systems based on various characteristics of learners. The aim of this paper is to present an ontology-based approach to develop adaptive e-learning system based on the design of semantic content, learner and domain models to tailor the teaching process for individual learner’s needs. The proposed new adaptive e-learning has the ability to support personalization based on learner’s ability, learning style, preferences and levels of knowledge. In our approach the ontological user profile is updated based on achieved learner’s abilities

Evolution Sustainable Green Inner-wall with Flexible Floor Plan

The trend of renovate residential houses especially the interior of the house has become a common phenomenon for homeowners nowadays in Malaysia. This scenario is quiet concern because sometimes no modifications to comply with the law and the guidelines set by the government housing. Modifications with not done properly can cause injury and harm to families and the people around. To reduce this problem, the concept of sustainable inner walls with flexible floor plan should be incorporated in every house in Malaysia. This is because the wall is the basic structure of a building and usually serves as the border, supporting structures and dividing the space with another space. Wall also causes an increase of the price of a house. This is due to the increase in raw material costs and labor costs, land subsidence have to bear by the developer. The increasing in house prices is causing among Malaysians, especially young executives cannot afford to buy their first home. To reduce the price of the home, reduction in construction interior wall in wet construction should be done and replaced with the sustainable inner wall. This sustainable inner wall also can save the space and the owner simplify can added or reduced the room according their need without spending too much money for renovation in the future

Understanding Refugees\u27 Perspectives on Health Care

Introduction. Burlington, Vermont accepts refugees from around the world. These individuals face unique barriers to accessing healthcare due to language, culture and finances. Research suggests that cultural beliefs about healthcare can affect ability or willingness to seek medical care. Gaining a better understanding of refugee perspectives of the healthcare system may offer insight into how to rectify this issue. Objectives. The goal of this study was to learn about refugee perspectives of the healthcare system and assess their use of services. Methods. We surveyed a convenience sample of 24 refugees to learn more about thoughts and practices surrounding healthcare and the use of the medical system. Results. Survey findings suggested that refugees who had been living in the US for longer than one year access healthcare resources differently from more recent arrivals. Most respondents agreed that reasons for going to a healthcare provider revolved around the diagnosis and treatment of current ailments. Regardless of time spent in the U.S., most respondents were unlikely to seek out preventive care. Refugees who had been in the U.S. longer than one year were less likely to seek out emergency services for acute symptoms that would be better served by a visit with their PCP. Conclusions. Recent arrivals used the emergency room for primary care needs more than those living in the U.S. longer than one year, suggesting the efficacy of provided health education. Study data suggests an important area for improvement may be increased education for refugees about the importance of preventive care.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1250/thumbnail.jp

Isolation of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria from carpets of mosques in Tripoli, Libya

Objective: Isolation of potentially pathogenic bacteria from carpets in hospitals has been reported earlier, but not from carpets in mosques. The aim of the present study is to determine the pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria that may exist on the carpets of mosques in Tripoli, Libya. Methods: Dust samples from carpets were collected from 57 mosques in Tripoli. Samples were examined for pathogenic bacteria using standard bacteriological procedures. Susceptibility of isolated bacteria to antimicrobial agents was determined by the disc-diffusion method.Results: Of dust samples examined, Salmonella spp. was detected in two samples (3.5%, 1 in group B and 1 in group C1), Escherichia coli in 16 samples (28.1%), Aeromonas spp. in one sample (1.8%), and Staphylococcus aureus in 12 samples (21.1%). Multiple drug resistance was observed in >16.7% of E. coli and in 25% of S. aureus. Conclusion: Contamination of carpets in mosques of Tripoli with antibiotic-resistant pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria may pose a health risk to worshipers, particularly, the very young, the old and the immunecompromised. Worshipers are encouraged to use personal praying mats when praying in mosques.Keywords: pathogenic bacteria; antibiotic resistance; carpets; mosques; Tripoli; Liby

Students feedback in selected campus facilities: A case study of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

The National University of Malaysia (UKM) is committed to create a sustainable campus. Facilities provided are one of the important agenda in contributing to campus sustainability. This paper looks into the aspect of students perception towards selected facilities provided. Their feedback is important since students are the main clients in the campus and they are the largest group that study and live on campus.The concept of facilities management itself emphasizes on the client feedbacks in providing the continuous quality improvement.The method used to obtain the required data is through 5-point Likert scale questionnaires survey. A total of 200 sets of questionnaires were distributed to student of UKM Bangi campus. The responses are in relation to facilities aspect of convenience and comfort, landscape and environment, circulation system, accessibility, transportation, security, and lighting. The result shows that the overall scale obtained from the questionnaire is 3.17, which is at moderate level.This result indicates that the selected facilities provided in UKM Bangi campus is at moderate level.The impact of this finding is to the UKM Department of Development Management, in which they can use the finding in prioritizing the management of physical development of UKM Bangi campus in reaching the student need

Thermodynamic Study of Operation Properties Effect on Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEM)

Th thermodynamic analysis of PEM fuel cell energy production depends on the entropy and enthalpy of reaction with the changing of the operating temperatures that ranges between 50 and 100ºC, the electrical work done will be equal to the Gibbs free energy released. Ths paper presents a mathematical model of PEM fuel cells, based on physical-chemical procedures of the phenomena occurring inside the fuel cell, and it was theoretically studied the performance at diffrent operation variables and conditions. Th C++ program is designed to calculate all thermo-chemical parameters, i.e. enthalpy of formation, Gibbs free energy, work and effiency for any type of fuel cells. Th results are plotted as a function of fuel cell operating temperature. Th results shows that the highest value of Gibbs energy is at the lowest operating temperature, and decreases gradually with increasing the temperature, the output voltage is determined by cell’s reversible voltage that arises from potential difference produced by chemical reaction and several voltage losses that occur inside a cell. In addition the results showed that the efficiency of this type of the fuel cells is much higher than the ideal Carnot’s efficiency, it changes between 82% to 85% depends on temperature operation. Th heat output (required heat) from the fuel cell increases with increasing the operating temperature, this heat is used for many thermal applications such as buildings space heating

PROCESS MODELS DISCOVERY AND TRACES CLASSIFICATION: A FUZZY-BPMN MINING APPROACH.

The discovery of useful or worthwhile process models must be performed with due regards to the transformation that needs to be achieved. The blend of the data representations (i.e data mining) and process modelling methods, often allied to the field of Process Mining (PM), has proven to be effective in the process analysis of the event logs readily available in many organisations information systems. Moreover, the Process Discovery has been lately seen as the most important and most visible intellectual challenge related to the process mining. The method involves automatic construction of process models from event logs about any domain process, and describes causal dependencies between the various activities as performed within the process execution environment. In principle, one can use process discovery to obtain process models that describes reality. To this end, the work in this artcle presents a Fuzzy-BPMN mining approach that uses training events log representing 10 different real-time business process executions to provide a method for discovery of useful process models, and then cross-validating the derived models with a set of test event logs in order to measure the accuracy and performance of the employed approach. The method focuses on carrying out a classification task to determine the traces, i.e. individual cases that makes up the test event logs in order to determine which traces that can be replayed by the original model. Thus, the paper aim is to provide a technique for process models discovery which is as good in balancing between “overfitting” and “underfitting” as it is able to correctly classify the traces that can be replayed (i.e allowed) or non-replayable (disallowed) by the model. In other words, the study shows through the Fuzzy-BPMN replaying notation and the series of validation experiments - how given any classified trace (for the test events log) and discovered process model (the training log) it can be unambiguously determined whether or not the traces found can be replayed on the discovered model