scholarly journals Specialization-Specific Course Assessments Integrated for Program Assessment

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qurban A. Memon ◽  
Adnan Harb ◽  
Shakeel Khoja

The program assessment process combines assessments from individual courses to generate final program assessment to match accreditation benchmarks. In developing countries, industrial environment is not diversified to allow graduating engineers to seek jobs in all disciplines or specializations of an engineering program. Hence, it seems necessary to seek evolution of an engineering program assessment for specialized requirements of the industry. This paper describes how specialization-specific courses’ assessments are grouped per requirements and then integrated towards overall program assessment. A software program application is developed to automate this development to reduce assessment work and show equivalently as integration of specialization-specific assessments per outcome per term. The implementation also shows how outcomes are integrated per specialization-specific courses in order to judge the implementation of the program assessment. This effort is expected to help stake holders of the program to judge evolution and quality of specialization tracks vis-à-vis expectations of the local industry.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Yong Adilah Shamsul Harumain ◽  
Nur Farhana Azmi ◽  
Suhaini Yusoff

Transit stations are generally well known as nodes of spaces where percentage of people walking are relatively high. The issue is do more planning is actually given to create walkability. Creating walking led transit stations involves planning of walking distance, providing facilities like pathways, toilets, seating and lighting. On the other hand, creating walking led transit station for women uncover a new epitome. Walking becomes one of the most important forms of mobility for women in developing countries nowadays. Encouraging women to use public transportation is not just about another effort to promote the use of public transportation but also another great endeavour to reduce numbers of traffic on the road. This also means, creating an effort to control accidents rate, reducing carbon emission, improving health and eventually, developing the quality of life. Hence, in this paper, we sought first to find out the factors that motivate women to walk at transit stations in Malaysia. A questionnaire survey with 562 female user of Light Railway Transit (LRT) was conducted at LRT stations along Kelana Jaya Line. Both built and non-built environment characteristics, particularly distance, safety and facilities were found as factors that are consistently associated with women walkability. With these findings, the paper highlights the criteria  which are needed to create and make betterment of transit stations not just for women but also for walkability in general.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Daniel Obeng-Ofori

The pressure to publish is a fact of life in academia. Academics are expected to demonstrate that they are active researchersand that their work has been vetted by peers and disseminated in reputable scholarly forums. In practice, however, a numberof critical constraints hamper effective publication of scientific research in most developing countries. These include lackof effective mentoring system, poor facilities and inadequate funding for effective research and heavy workload where toomuch time and effort are spent in teaching, grading, meetings and other non-academic activities. In spite of these seeminglyinsurmountable challenges, with proper planning and commitment, one can still conduct research and publish to advanceones career and exchange of knowledge. The paper discusses the critical guiding principles in scientific writing and publishingin an unfriendly research environment as pertains in most universities in the developing world. The overriding principle isto cultivate the discipline of scientific writing consciously and follow it through religiously. This could be achieved if time isallocated for scientific writing in the scheme of weekly schedule of activities and made to be functional through meticulousplanning and commitment. Equally important is to avoid procedural mistakes in scientific writing. While the quality of theresearch is the single most important factor in determining whether an article will be published, a number of proceduralmistakes can help tip the balance against its publication. It should also be noted that when a manuscript is submitted to ascholarly journal, there are two audiences to satisfy: first the editor and external reviewers, and then the journal’s readers.That first group must be satisfied to create the opportunity to appeal to the second. Thus, familiarity with the style and tone ofthe specific journal is crucial.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3279
Author(s):  
Maria Habib ◽  
Mohammad Faris ◽  
Raneem Qaddoura ◽  
Manal Alomari ◽  
Alaa Alomari ◽  
...  

Maintaining a high quality of conversation between doctors and patients is essential in telehealth services, where efficient and competent communication is important to promote patient health. Assessing the quality of medical conversations is often handled based on a human auditory-perceptual evaluation. Typically, trained experts are needed for such tasks, as they follow systematic evaluation criteria. However, the daily rapid increase of consultations makes the evaluation process inefficient and impractical. This paper investigates the automation of the quality assessment process of patient–doctor voice-based conversations in a telehealth service using a deep-learning-based classification model. For this, the data consist of audio recordings obtained from Altibbi. Altibbi is a digital health platform that provides telemedicine and telehealth services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The objective is to assist Altibbi’s operations team in the evaluation of the provided consultations in an automated manner. The proposed model is developed using three sets of features: features extracted from the signal level, the transcript level, and the signal and transcript levels. At the signal level, various statistical and spectral information is calculated to characterize the spectral envelope of the speech recordings. At the transcript level, a pre-trained embedding model is utilized to encompass the semantic and contextual features of the textual information. Additionally, the hybrid of the signal and transcript levels is explored and analyzed. The designed classification model relies on stacked layers of deep neural networks and convolutional neural networks. Evaluation results show that the model achieved a higher level of precision when compared with the manual evaluation approach followed by Altibbi’s operations team.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 213
Author(s):  
Dulce Romero-Ayuso ◽  
Cristian Cuerda ◽  
Carmen Morales ◽  
Ricardo Tesoriero ◽  
José Matías Triviño-Juárez ◽  
...  

Cognitive dysfunction affects the performance of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and the quality of life of people with these deficits and their caregivers. To the knowledge of the authors, to date, there are few studies that focus on knowing the relationship between personal autonomy and deductive reasoning and/or categorization skills, which are necessary for the performance of the ADL. The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between ADL and categorization skills in older people. The study included 51 participants: 31 patients with cognitive impairment and 20 without cognitive impairment. Two tests were administered to assess cognitive functions: (1) the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); and (2) the digital version of Riska Object Classification test (ROC-d). In addition, the Routine Tasks Inventory-2 (RTI-2) was applied to determine the level of independence in activities of daily living. People with cognitive impairment performed poorly in categorization tasks with unstructured information (p = 0.006). Also, the results found a high correlation between cognitive functioning and the performance of ADLs (Physical ADL: r = 0.798; p < 0.001; Instrumental ADL: r = 0.740; p < 0.001), a moderate correlation between Physical ADLs and categorization skills (unstructured ROC-d: r = 0.547; p < 0.001; structured ROC-d: r = 0.586; p < 0.001) and Instrumental ADLs and categorization skills in older people (unstructured ROC-d: r = 0.510; p < 0.001; structured ROC-d: r = 0.463; p < 0.001). The ROC-d allows the assessment of categorization skills to be quick and easy, facilitating the assessment process by OT, as well as the accuracy of the data obtained.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002218562110039
Author(s):  
Eugene Schofield-Georgeson

Over the past two decades, industrial relations scholarship has observed a trend towards an increasingly punitive industrial environment along with the ‘re-regulation’ of labour law. Absent from much of this literature, however, has been an empirical and historical measurement or comparison of the scale and quality of this systemic change. By surveying coercive and penal federal industrial legislation over the period 1901–2020, this study shows empirically that over the last 40 years, there has been a steep increase in the amount of coercive federal labour legislation in Australia. It further measures and compares the volume of coercive labour legislation enacted specifically against ‘labour’ and ‘capital’ or both throughout the same period (1901–2020). Analysis reveals a correlation between a high volume of coercive labour legislation with low levels of trade union power and organisation. Argued here is that coercive labour legislation has been crucial to transitioning from a liberal conciliation and arbitration model of Australian industrial relations towards a neoliberal framework of employment legislation. In the former, regulation was more collective, informal and egalitarian (embodied by the sociological concept of ‘associative democracy’). Under a neoliberal framework, regulation is now more individualised, technical, punitive and rarely enforced, resulting in less equal material outcomes.


1987 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 350-352
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Merriman

This paper describes the application of affordable program management software to the task of planning human factors programs conducted in support of complex system developments. A model of the military system acquisition process was developed and a model human factors engineering program was overlayed upon it. Interdependencies were created between the models so that changes made in the acquisition schedule would cause the human factors program to be automatically tailored. This approach has potential to reduce planning time and increase the quality of human factors plans.


2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Behrooz Hashemi-Domeneh ◽  
Nasim Zamani ◽  
Hossein Hassanian-Moghaddam ◽  
Mitra Rahimi ◽  
Shahin Shadnia ◽  
...  

Abstract The use of pesticides such as aluminium phosphide (AlP) has increased in the recent years and improved the quantity and quality of agricultural products in a number of developing countries. The downside is that AlP causes severe chronic and acute health effects that have reached major proportions in countries such as India, Iran, Bangladesh, and Jordan. Nearly 300,000 people die due to pesticide poisoning in the world every year. Poisoning with AlP accounts for many of these deaths. Unfortunately, at the same time, there is no standard treatment for it. The aim of this article is to give a brief review of AlP poisoning and propose a treatment flowchart based on the knowledge gained so far. For this purpose we reviewed all articles on the management of AlP poisoning published from 2000 till now. Using a modified Delphi design, we have designed a handy flowchart that could be used as a guide for AlP poisoning management of patients in emergency centres.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Boar ◽  
Erola Palau Pinyana ◽  
Marc Oliveras-Villanueva

PurposeThis paper takes a critical view of synergies and trade-offs and discloses the practices that countries and companies should apply to achieve sustainable development.Design/methodology/approachThis paper offers a systematic literature review of 408 papers to find models of sustainable development goals (SDGs) interaction with the aim of shedding light on the existing synergies and trade-offs and finding solutions to enhance these synergies and minimize the trade-offs.FindingsBoth rich and developing countries should follow multiple strategies to improve the quality of life of their citizens. Developing countries should focus on eradicating poverty. Rich countries should apply new economic models that are more likely to be environmental-friendly. Finally, the topic of SDGs should be revisited by the United Nations.Practical implicationsBoosting the quality of education and providing clean energy are two of the most relevant actions that should to be taken by countries, as they will accelerate the fulfilment of all the other SDGs. The use of circular economic models or new business models, such as the sharing economy, is essential to the achievement of sustained economic growth without negative environmental impact.Originality/valueThe paper analyzes SDG interactions and offers a critical vision of practices that countries and companies should adhere to for achieving sustainable development.


Kybernetes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Lei ◽  
Jianming Liu ◽  
Wu Li

Purpose Hospital information system (HIS) can be examined as a vital factor for developing the quality of health care and cost managing. There exists abundant literature on HISs, but implementation-based literature of HIS is rare, typically about progressive countries. However, a study that can comprehensively review published articles is scarce. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the systematic and comprehensive study of HIS in developed countries. Together, the benefits and harms relevant to HIS’s different mechanisms have been considered, and the fundamental challenges of them are addressed to design more efficient HIS in the future. Design/methodology/approach HIS has been used globally for numerous years and is now being used in a wide area. HIS is broadly used in clinical settings. Information technology (IT) and information system have been suggested as a required piece to solve the health-care-related issues. Hence, to improve HIS’s ability, this paper conducted a review method concentratating on research related to HIS until 2019. A total of 21 papers were recognized and examined as principal research for the summary. Findings The authors found that HIS can help in reduction of medical mistakes, enhancement doctors’ performance and increase in the quality of the care provided. HIS management can be used to provide better health-care services. Therefore, HIS must be sensible and use clear structures. The authors conclude that, generally, with an increase in awareness, acceptability and the need for HIS worldwide, there will be more strategies and approaches available. Research limitations/implications First, this paper provides an outline of the status of HIS. Second, it identifies some distinct research gaps that could be worth studying. Some flawless work may be removed because of applying some filters to select the original articles. Surveying all the papers on the topic of HIS is impossible, too. Practical implications Design and sustainability of HIS is still a big issue for most developing countries, despite its wide usage in the developed countries. The technology is changing rapidly, so the field should be reviewed regularly. This paper suggests a suitable framework that will guide HIS in the local conditions of developing countries. Social implications The government will be assisted by the suggested solving ways in its performance and design of electronic health-care projects. Originality/value The study brings the viewpoints on the state of HIS mechanisms in developing countries. The paper’s results can offer visions into future research requirements. By providing comparative information and analyzing the current growths in this area, this study will support researchers and professionals to understand the progress in HIS mechanisms better.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sope Williams-Elegbe

Purpose Corruption affects development and quality of life of citizens in affected countries. The increase in anti-corruption measures globally reflects a consensus that corruption is pervasive and costly. Public procurement is one area in which corruption manifests because of the sums of money involved; the asymmetry of information; and the bureaucratic nature of decision-making, which presents opportunities for abuse. In developing countries, procurement corruption is rife because of institutional weaknesses, lack of enforced accountability mechanisms and culture of silence in relation to public sector malfeasance. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines procurement corruption in countries with systemic corruption, using Nigeria as a case study, to determine how to reduce public procurement corruption. Findings The paper will highlight prevalent corrupt schemes in public procurement in Nigeria, examine the reasons for the failure of state anti-corruption institutions and analyze the kinds of initiatives that reduced procurement corruption and increased accountability in other countries and the utility of adopting such mechanisms in the Nigerian context.


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