Trends of infodemiology studies: a scoping review

Introduction

The health care industry is rich in data and information. Web technologies, such as search engines and social media, have provided an opportunity for the management of user generated data in real time in the form of infodemiology studies. The aim of this study was to investigate infodemiology studies conducted during 2002–2016, and compare them based on developed, developing and in transition countries.

Methods

This scoping review was conducted in 2017 with the help of the PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar, Wiley and Springer databases were searched between the years 2002 and 2016. Finally, 56 articles were included in the review and analysed.

Results

The initial infodemiology studies pertain to the quality assessment of the hospital's websites. Most of the studies were on developed countries, based on flu, and published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Conclusion

The infodemiology approach provides unmatched opportunities for the management of health data and information generated by the users. Using this potential will provide unique opportunities for the health information need assessment in real time by health librarians and thereby provide evidence based health information to the people.

     

Physical activity and nutrition guidelines to help with the fight against COVID-19

ABSTRACT

As the world is witnessing the epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019, emerging genetics and clinical pieces of evidence suggest a similar immunopathology to those of severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome. Staying at home to prevent the spread of the virus and consequently being largely inactive is associated with unintended consequences. These can actually enhance the infection risk and exacerbate poor health conditions including impaired immune function. Physical activity is a feasible way of improving health, particularly physical and mental health in a time of social isolation. However, people with certain health conditions in these circumstances may need a special physical activity programme in addition to any exercise they may already be performing via online programmes. This review aims to provide practical guidelines during the COVID-19 quarantine period. We suggest performing aerobic, resistance training, respiratory muscle training and yoga in the healthy, and in those with upper respiratory tract illness, patients with lower respiratory tract illness should be restricted to respiratory muscle training and yoga. In addition, vitamins D and C, omega-3 fatty acids, and regular consumption of fruit and vegetables might be considered as nutritional aids to support the immune system in those affected by COVID-19.     

Rethinking the legacies of Bandung

By explaining the different trajectories that the “Bandung spirit” has taken since its inception in the mid-1950s, including various popular organizations that have not only been influenced by the Bandung conference but have taken the original ideas and actions into more progressive directions, it is argued in this article that the inclusion of the popular element is not only important to understand the history of the “Bandung spirit” but is also a necessary part of our thinking about the future of Bandung as a political project.     

Indonesia’s original sin: mass killings and capitalist expansion, 1965–66

Following an aborted coup attempt in October 1965, the Indonesian military organized what turned out to be one of the most horrifying massacres of the twentieth century. More than half a million people were killed while hundreds of thousands of others were detained for years in prison camps throughout the country. There are two major points that this paper attempts to make. First, that the killings are in fact a case of state violence despite of the efforts to make it look like spontaneous violence. Second, that the killings are crucial to the expansion of capitalism in Indonesia. Using Marx’s concept of ‘primitive accumulation’, it attempts to show that the mass killings and arrests, the expropriation of people from their houses and lands, and the elimination of working‐class political formations, are integral parts of an economic strategy of the New Order.     

Design of 2-D stable analog and recursive digital filters using properties of the derivative of even or odd Parts of Hurwitz polynomials

In this paper, a method for the design of 2-D analog and recursive digital filters is presented. Starting from a structure in the analog domain, suitable even or odd parts of two-variable Hurwitz polynomials are generated. This enables 2-variable very strictly Hurwitz polynomials (VSHP) to be obtained,² thus avoiding non-essential singularities of the second kind. Thus it will ensure a stable 2-D recursive digital filter obtained by the use of bilinear transformations. Examples are given to illustrate the method.     

Evaluating university education: Graduates give their views

Conclusion The graduates' evaluation of the evaluation system makes it clear that in their view the assessment of knowledge acquired is not a way of improving training. The evaluation carried out is very narrow, covering few fields. Basically, it deals only with the acquisition by students of the material and ideas transmitted in courses. It is not always objective, and the pass system in force gives precedence to quantity over quality. It gives an illusory picture of training and success. Original language: French Farid Boubekeur (Algeria) Lecturer in educational sciences at the University of Constantine. Holds doctorates from the Strasbourg Institute of Human Sciences (France) and the Sophia Antipolis University at Nice (France). Chair of the Science Council of the Institute of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Constantine. His research deals with higher education problems, the role of social actors in academic failure and the structural analysis of discourse as educational theory and method. He is the author of several articles on education recently published in educational journals. This article is taken from a report based on an activity financed as part of the study programme of African Universities on the Management of Higher Education in Africa, a special project of the Association of African Universities. The study programme was financed by the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Swiss Agency for International Co-operation for Development. Neither the Association nor the providers of funds are in any way responsible for the views expressed here.     

Validation of the short form of the career development inventory with an Iranian high school sample

A short 33-item form of the Career Development Inventory was validated on a sample of 310 Iranian high school students. Factor analysis indicated that attitude and cognitive subscale items loaded on their respective factors, and that internal reliability coefficients at all levels were satisfactory to good. Support for validity was demonstrated by associations in the expected direction for career decidedness and career decision-making self-efficacy. This short form of the inventory shows promise as a measure of career maturity with students from a non-Western country.     

Performance contagion and human resource layout: New concepts in performance management

Job performance can be defined as the extent to which one exhibits behaviors that further the goals of the organization, and leaders try to manage the factors influencing the performance in an organization to guide it toward organizational goals. A main factor that influences the performance is emotions and behavior of other people. The influence of people on each other can be divided into physical and metaphysical contagions in the scientific literature. In this article, we introduce a new kind of metaphysical contagion that has a close relationship with individual and organizational performance. We name it performance contagion and introduce two kinds of factors (content and process) and subfactors. We conceptualize a new concept in performance management defined as human resource layout. Tools are suggested for applying the steps of this model to improve both individual and organizational performance.