scholarly journals Exploratory study: the COVID-19 pandemic and community-based animal organisations and households in the USA

2021 ◽  
Vol 10.47389/36 (36.3) ◽  
pp. 85-91
Author(s):  
Sarah DeYoung ◽  
Ashley Farmer
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Emergency Managers ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Using Data

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of human systems. Gaps in community services for people with companion animals can prevent people from seeking care during a pandemic or create other issues. This paper describes exploratory research to identify some key challenges and successes for animal services providers and for households with companion animals. Using data from 19 USA states were gathered using an online survey and respondents were from 13 animal services organisations and 90 households. Themes were identified based on organisational-level challenges or successes, as well as themes at the household level. These findings may be useful for emergency managers and planners who design outreach and support services for people with companion animals, for example, planning for low-cost animal boarding services for people hospitalised or unable to care for their animal.

scholarly journals Affordable stroke therapy in high-, low- and middle-income countries: From Theradrive to Rehab CARES, a compact robot gym

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 205566831770873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Jillian Johnson ◽  
Roshan Rai ◽  
Sarath Barathi ◽  
Rochelle Mendonca ◽  
Karla Bustamante-Valles
Keyword(s):  
Stroke Rehabilitation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Stroke Therapy ◽  
Robot Assisted ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Improve Access

Affordable technology-assisted stroke rehabilitation approaches can improve access to rehabilitation for low-resource environments characterized by the limited availability of rehabilitation experts and poor rehabilitation infrastructure. This paper describes the evolution of an approach to the implementation of affordable, technology-assisted stroke rehabilitation which relies on low-cost mechatronic/robot devices integrated with off-the-shelf or custom games. Important lessons learned from the evolution and use of Theradrive in the USA and in Mexico are briefly described. We present how a stronger and more compact version of the Theradrive is leveraged in the development of a new low-cost, all-in-one robot gym with four exercise stations for upper and lower limb therapy called Rehab Community-based Affordable Robot Exercise System (Rehab C.A.R.E.S). Three of the exercise stations are designed to accommodate versions of the 1 DOF haptic Theradrive with different custom handles or off-the-shelf commercial motion machine. The fourth station leverages a unique configuration of Wii-boards. Overall, results from testing versions of Theradrive in USA and Mexico in a robot gym suggest that the resulting presentation of the Rehab C.A.R.E.S robot gym can be deployed as an affordable computer/robot-assisted solution for stroke rehabilitation in developed and developing countries.

The Consequences of Personality Biases in Online Panels for Measuring Public Opinion

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas A Valentino ◽  
Kirill Zhirkov ◽  
D Sunshine Hillygus ◽  
Brian Guay
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Openness To Experience ◽  
Online Surveys ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Online Panels ◽  
Election Studies

Abstract Online surveys, particularly those that draw samples from online panels of experienced respondents, now comprise a large segment of the academic and commercial opinion research markets due to their low cost and flexibility. A growing literature examines the implications of online surveys for data quality, most commonly by comparing demographic and political characteristics of different samples. In this paper, we explore the possibility that personality may differentially influence the likelihood of participation in online and face-to-face surveys. We argue that individuals high in extraversion and openness to experience may be underrepresented, and those low in these traits overrepresented, in professionalized online panels given the solitary nature of repeated survey-taking. Since openness to experience in particular is associated with liberal policy positions, differences in this trait may bias estimates of public opinion derived from professionalized online panels. Using data from the 2012 and 2016 dual-mode American National Election Studies, we compare political preferences and personality traits across parallel face-to-face and online samples. Respondents in the online samples were, on average, less open to experience and more politically conservative on a variety of issues compared to their face-to-face counterparts. This was true especially in 2012, when online respondents were drawn from a large panel of experienced respondents. We also find openness to be negatively related to the number of surveys completed by these respondents. These results suggest that reliance on professionalized survey respondents, who comprise the vast majority of online survey samples, can bias estimates of many quantities of interest.

scholarly journals Community Veterinary Medicine Programs: Pet Owners' Perceptions and Experiences

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori R. Kogan ◽  
Veronica H. Accornero ◽  
Emily Gelb ◽  
Margaret R. Slater
Keyword(s):  
Veterinary Medicine ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Pet Ownership ◽  
Veterinary Services ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Care Clinic ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Pet Owners ◽  
Client Communication

Many American pet owners struggle financially, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated this problem. Yet, the positive effects that companion animals have in people's lives create the need for supportive systems to ensure that financial limitations, and other barriers, do not preclude pet ownership. To help address these barriers, and reach underserved communities, various forms of community-based veterinary medicine programs have been developed across the country. This study assesses two community-based veterinary programs in North Carolina, USA. In addition to perceptions surrounding veterinary services, this study paid specific attention to communication and respect; two additional elements needed for successful community-based veterinary programs. Surveys were given to clients accessing Asheville Humane Society (AHS) mobile veterinary care clinic and Asheville Humane Society (AHS) Affordable Pet Care Clinic. Results of the anonymous survey indicate that the majority of clients had positive veterinary care experiences in terms of both veterinary services and client communication. In conclusion, low-cost or free community veterinary programs—with effective communication, empathy, and cultural competence—can help open the door to future positive veterinary experiences for disadvantaged pet owners.

scholarly journals Hyperaccumulators for Potentially Toxic Elements: A Scientometric Analysis

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1729
Author(s):  
Dongming Zhang ◽  
Miles Dyck ◽  
Lana Filipović ◽  
Vilim Filipović ◽  
Jialong Lv ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxic Elements ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Potentially Toxic Elements ◽  
Collaboration Network ◽  
Scientometric Analysis ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
The University

Phytoremediation is an effective and low-cost method for the remediation of soil contaminated by potentially toxic elements (metals and metalloids) with hyperaccumulating plants. This study analyzed hyperaccumulator publications using data from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) (1992-2020). We explored the research status on this topic by creating a series of scientific maps using VOSviewer, HistCite Pro, and CiteSpace. The results showed that the total number of publications in this field shows an upward trend. Dr. Xiaoe Yang is the most productive researcher on hyperaccumulators and has the broadest international collaboration network. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), Zhejiang University (China), and the University of Florida (USA) are the top three most productive institutions in the field. China, the USA, and India are the top three most productive countries. The most widely used journals were the International Journal of Phytoremediation, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, and Chemosphere. Co-occurrence and citation analysis were used to identify the most influential publications in this field. In addition, possible knowledge gaps and perspectives for future studies are also presented.

Broadband adoption in urban and suburban California: information-based outreach programs ineffective at closing the digital divide

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-459
Author(s):  
Lloyd Levine
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Program Effectiveness ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Low Income Households

Purpose The digital divide has persisted in California and the USA as a whole at approximately the same level for the past decade. This is despite multiple programs being created and billions of dollars being spent to close it. This paper examines why the efforts to date have been ineffective and to offers policy alternatives that might be more successful. Design/methodology/approach Using data from three, variable constrained projects in California, this paper examines the effectiveness of information-based outreach efforts at closing the digital divide. The projects tested various outreach and enrollment methods to see which, if any, could increase broadband adoption in low-income households. Findings This project found that providing low-income households’ information about low-cost broadband offerings was ineffective at closing the digital divide. The findings in this paper were similar to those of two other works that examined the federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Practical implications The findings of this paper along with the works cited that evaluated the BTOP program should be enough to change public policy. For the past ten years, efforts to close the digital divide have focused on providing information to low-income households. However, two independent surveys show broadband adoption has remained virtually flat during that period. Social implications The digital divide brings concomitant economic and education harms and challenges that plague those unable to access information, services, educational and employment opportunities with the same ease, speed and sufficiency as their connected peers and neighbors. Those harms exacerbate the already existing education and income divides. This paper shows that without a change in strategy, those harms will persist. Originality/value This paper breaks new ground and addresses one of the weaknesses identified in existing research. To the best of author’s knowledge, this is the first paper of its type to use programs designed to generate data that can be empirically evaluated for effectiveness. Prior studies attempted to assess program effectiveness by using data generated from fully implemented government programs. However, those programs contained a vast number of unidentified variables and insufficient data collection. They were not designed to facilitate academic evaluation, and as such made a true effectiveness evaluation challenging.

scholarly journals Low-cost fitness and activity trackers for biometric authentication

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saad Khan ◽  
Simon Parkinson ◽  
Na Liu ◽  
Liam Grant
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Supervised Machine Learning ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Biometric Authentication ◽  
Activity Trackers ◽  
Rate Step ◽  
Data Source ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Rich Data

Abstract Fitness and activity tracking devices acquire, process and store rich behavioural data that are consumed by the end-user to learn health insights. This rich data source also enables a secondary use of being part of a biometric authentication system. However, there are many open research challenges with the use of data generated by fitness and activity trackers as a biometric source. In this article, the challenge of using data acquired from low-cost devices is tackled. This includes investigating how to best partition the data to deduce repeatable behavioural traits, while maximizing the uniqueness between participant datasets. In this exploratory research, 3 months’ worth of data (heart rate, step count and sleep) for five participants is acquired and utilized in its raw form from low-cost devices. It is established that dividing the data into 14-h segments is deemed the most suitable based on measuring coefficients of variance. Several supervised machine learning algorithms are then applied where the performance is evaluated by six metrics to demonstrate the potential of employing this data source in biometric-based security systems.

scholarly journals Factors influencing outbound medical travel from the USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayse Collins ◽  
Anita Medhekar ◽  
Ho Yin Wong ◽  
Cihan Cobanoglu
Keyword(s):  
American Medical ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Tourism Destination ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how Americans choose a country and medical facility to travel abroad for medical treatment based on the following factors country environment, tourism destination, medical tourism costs and medical facilities and services. Design/methodology/approach Online survey with the help of Amazon Mechanical Turk website was used for data collection, and 541 valid cases were used of American residents who had travelled abroad for medical tourism. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were undertaken to validate the scales. Findings Findings indicated four major factors that can influence American medical tourists’ choices of medical tourism destinations. These factors are overseas’ country factors, attractiveness of tourism destination, medical tourism costs and facilities and services. Both the convergent and discriminant validities for the constructs were established. The results of the measurement-model-fit based on various measures were within the suggested cut-off values. Research limitations/implications Out of the 541 responses of post-travel experienced medical tourists, it is hard to tell how similar/dissimilar the participants are in terms of ranking the four factors. To be competitive to attract global medical tourists, research suggests that the five popular countries of treatment, India, China, Thailand, Mexico and Turkey, identified in this study should provide high quality of medical and tourism facilities to patients. Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of the underlying factors, which influence American medical tourists’ choice of destinations, with validated scales. For this exploratory research, 25 new items together with 34 items from other studies were adapted.

Cross-culture outcomes of a brazilian professor Fulbright in the USA

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (50) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Marcelo Da Silva Leite ◽  
Celeste Gaia
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cross Culture ◽  
College And University ◽  
Governmental Agencies ◽  
The Past ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Fulbright Scholar ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Higher Education Costs

Over the past decade due the expansion of globalization there has been an increasing emphasis on internationalization among faculty, administration and accrediting agencies in the Higher Education.  Although to promote internationalization in the Higher Education, costs are a big challenge, one way to have the international actions with low cost, it is seeking for grants from different governmental agencies and foundations.The Fulbright Scholar program provides a long-standing and externally-funded means for internationalizing college and university curriculum. This article is going to share the perspective   of a Brazilian Fulbright Scholar at an American college and the institution perspective of the Fulbright scholar participation at the College.

scholarly journals Weathering the storm: A qualitative study of social prescribing in urban and rural Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 205031212110291
Author(s):  
Alison Fixsen ◽  
Simon Barrett ◽  
Michal Shimonovich
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Clinical Approach ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Social Prescribing ◽  
And Shifts

Objectives: The non-clinical approach known as social prescribing aims to tackle multi-morbidity, reduce general practitioner (GP) workload and promote wellbeing by directing patients to community services. Usual in-person modes of delivery of social prescribing have been virtually impossible under social distancing rules. This study qualitatively examined and compared the responses of three social prescribing schemes in Scotland to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We interviewed a theoretical sample of 23 stakeholders in urban and rural social prescribing schemes at the start of COVID-19 pandemic. Follow-up interviews with a representative sample were conducted around 10 months later. Interviewees included social prescribing coordinators (SPCs) GPs, managers, researchers and representatives of third sector organizations. Interview transcripts were analysed in stages and an inductive approach to coding was supported by NVivo. Results: Findings revealed a complex social prescribing landscape in Scotland with schemes funded, structured and delivering services in diverse ways. Across all schemes, working effectively during the pandemic and shifting to online delivery had been challenging and demanding; however, their priorities in response to the pandemic had differed. With GP time and services stretched to limits, GP practice-attached ‘Link Workers’ had taken on counselling and advocacy roles, sometimes for serious mental health cases. Community-based SPCs had mostly assumed a health education role, and those on the Western Isles of Scotland a digital support role. In both rural or urban areas, combatting loneliness and isolation – especially given social distancing – remained a pivotal aspect of the SPC role. Conclusion: This study highlights significant challenges and shifts in focus in social prescribing in response to the pandemic. The use of multiple digital technologies has assumed a central role in social prescribing, and this situation seems likely to remain. With statutory and non-statutory services stretched to their limits, there is a danger of SPCs assuming new tasks without adequate training or support.

Comparing respondents who passed versus failed an Instructional Manipulation Check: A case study about support for climate change policies

2021 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 408-415
Author(s):  
Maria Rubio Juan ◽  
Melanie Revilla
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Manipulation Check ◽  
Climate Change Policies ◽  
Instructional Manipulation ◽  
Using Data

The presence of satisficers among survey respondents threatens survey data quality. To identify such respondents, Oppenheimer et al. developed the Instructional Manipulation Check (IMC), which has been used as a tool to exclude observations from the analyses. However, this practice has raised concerns regarding its effects on the external validity and the substantive conclusions of studies excluding respondents who fail an IMC. Thus, more research on the differences between respondents who pass versus fail an IMC regarding sociodemographic and attitudinal variables is needed. This study compares respondents who passed versus failed an IMC both for descriptive and causal analyses based on structural equation modeling (SEM) using data from an online survey implemented in Spain in 2019. These data were analyzed by Rubio Juan and Revilla without taking into account the results of the IMC. We find that those who passed the IMC do differ significantly from those who failed for two sociodemographic and five attitudinal variables, out of 18 variables compared. Moreover, in terms of substantive conclusions, differences between those who passed and failed the IMC vary depending on the specific variables under study.

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