Eventuality of an Apartheid State of Things

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-76
Author(s):  
Sahil Sholla ◽  
Roohie Naaz Mir ◽  
Mohammad Ahsan Chishti
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
High Order ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Smart Device ◽  
Protocol Stack ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
Psychological Harm

Notwithstanding the potential of IoT to revolutionise our personal and social lives, the absence of a solid framework of ethics may lead to situations where smart devices are used in ways uncongenial to the moral fabric of a society. In this work, the authors seek to provide a conceptual framework toward incorporating ethics in IoT. They employ the concept of object for each smart device in order to represent ethics relevant to its context. Moreover, the authors propose dedicating a separate ethics layer in the protocol stack of smart devices to account for socio-cultural ethical aspects of a society. The ethics layer enables us to account for ethical responsibilities of smart devices vis-a-vis society so that inadvertent physical, emotional or psychological harm to human beings is avoided. Such mechanism ensures that devices operate ethically not only at individual level but also at D2D level to give rise to high order ethical structures e.g. ethical home, ethical office, ethical university, ethical city, etc.

Eventuality of an Apartheid State of Things

2020 ◽  
pp. 1214-1231
Author(s):  
Sahil Sholla ◽  
Roohie Naaz Mir ◽  
Mohammad Ahsan Chishti
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
High Order ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Smart Device ◽  
Protocol Stack ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
Psychological Harm

Notwithstanding the potential of IoT to revolutionise our personal and social lives, the absence of a solid framework of ethics may lead to situations where smart devices are used in ways uncongenial to the moral fabric of a society. In this work, the authors seek to provide a conceptual framework toward incorporating ethics in IoT. They employ the concept of object for each smart device in order to represent ethics relevant to its context. Moreover, the authors propose dedicating a separate ethics layer in the protocol stack of smart devices to account for socio-cultural ethical aspects of a society. The ethics layer enables us to account for ethical responsibilities of smart devices vis-a-vis society so that inadvertent physical, emotional or psychological harm to human beings is avoided. Such mechanism ensures that devices operate ethically not only at individual level but also at D2D level to give rise to high order ethical structures e.g. ethical home, ethical office, ethical university, ethical city, etc.

Water Pollution and Its Impact on Environment of Society

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Thyagaraju
Keyword(s):  
Water Pollution ◽  
Pollution Prevention ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Biological Entities ◽  
Micro Organisms

The present seminar paper mainly highlight  the concept of  water pollution, causes of water pollution,  Its Effects, Elements of  pollutants, Methods  used to prevent the water pollution in environment  and the mandatory initiatives taken by the concerned authorities for prevention of  water pollution. Water   is essential for survival of all living organisms on the earth. Thus for human beings and plants to survive on land, water should be easily accessible. The term “Pollution” is generally refers to addition of any foreign body either living or non – living or deletion of anything that naturally exists. The basic Sources of Water pollution causes due to Culmination into lakes, rivers, ponds, seas, oceans etc. Domestic drainage and sanitary waste, Industrial drainage and sewage, Industrial waste from factories, Dumping of domestic garbage, Immersion of Idols made of plaster of Paris, Excess use of Insecticides , pesticides, fungicides, Chemical fertilizers, Soil erosion during heavy rains and floods, Natural disasters, tsunami etc. General pollutants  which are also caused for water pollution  which include Organic, Inorganic, and Biological entities, Insecticides, Pesticides, Disinfectants ,Detergents, Industrial solvents, Acids, Ammonia fertilizers, heavy metals, Harmful bacteria, Virus, Micro –Organisms and worms, Toxic chemicals. Agricultural lands become infertile and thereby production also drops, Spread of epidemic diseases like Cholera, Dysentery, Typhoid, Diarrhea, Hepatitis, Jaundice etc. The  basic responsibility of the Government, NGOs, National Pioneer scientific Research Institutions may conduct  research oriented programs on control of water pollution by create  awareness among the public through mass media and Environmental Education on recycling units,  and  water treatment plants must be established both at domestic levels and Industry levels, Every citizen must feel responsible to control water pollution. There have been many water pollution prevention acts that have been set up by the governments of the world. But these are not enough for permanent water pollution solutions. Each of us needs to take up the responsibility and do something at an everyday at individual level. Otherwise we can’t survive in a society forever in a future. 

scholarly journals Pro-Environmental Behavior in an Aging World: Evidence from 31 Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1748
Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Feng Hao ◽  
Yunxia Liu
Keyword(s):  
Linear Models ◽  
Population Change ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Environmental Behavior ◽  
National Level ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The Individual

Population change and environmental degradation have become two of the most pressing issues for sustainable development in the contemporary world, while the effect of population aging on pro-environmental behavior remains controversial. In this paper, we examine the effects of individual and population aging on pro-environmental behavior through multilevel analyses of cross-national data from 31 countries. Hierarchical linear models with random intercepts are employed to analyze the data. The findings reveal a positive relationship between aging and pro-environmental behavior. At the individual level, older people are more likely to participate in environmental behavior (b = 0.052, p < 0.001), and at the national level, living in a country with a greater share of older persons encourages individuals to behave sustainably (b = 0.023, p < 0.01). We also found that the elderly are more environmentally active in an aging society. The findings imply that the longevity of human beings may offer opportunities for the improvement of the natural environment.

scholarly journals Latency-Optimal Computational Offloading Strategy for Sensitive Tasks in Smart Homes

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 2347
Author(s):  
Yanyan Wang ◽  
Lin Wang ◽  
Ruijuan Zheng ◽  
Xuhui Zhao ◽  
Muhua Liu
Keyword(s):  
Queue Length ◽  
Optimization Problem ◽  
Time Slot ◽  
Smart Homes ◽  
Back Pressure ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Smart Device ◽  
Simulation Results ◽  
Computational Offloading ◽  
The Stability

In smart homes, the computational offloading technology of edge cloud computing (ECC) can effectively deal with the large amount of computation generated by smart devices. In this paper, we propose a computational offloading strategy for minimizing delay based on the back-pressure algorithm (BMDCO) to get the offloading decision and the number of tasks that can be offloaded. Specifically, we first construct a system with multiple local smart device task queues and multiple edge processor task queues. Then, we formulate an offloading strategy to minimize the queue length of tasks in each time slot by minimizing the Lyapunov drift optimization problem, so as to realize the stability of queues and improve the offloading performance. In addition, we give a theoretical analysis on the stability of the BMDCO algorithm by deducing the upper bound of all queues in this system. The simulation results show the stability of the proposed algorithm, and demonstrate that the BMDCO algorithm is superior to other alternatives. Compared with other algorithms, this algorithm can effectively reduce the computation delay.

Medication Adherence: Expanding the Conceptual Framework

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Krousel-Wood ◽  
Leslie S Craig ◽  
Erin Peacock ◽  
Emily Zlotnick ◽  
Samantha O’Connell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Medication Adherence ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Implicit Attitudes ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Time Preferences ◽  
Adherence Behavior ◽  
Individual Level

Abstract Interventions targeting traditional barriers to antihypertensive medication adherence (AHMA) have been developed and evaluated, with evidence of modest improvements in adherence. Translation of these interventions into population-level improvements in adherence and clinical outcomes among older adults remains suboptimal. From the Cohort Study of Medication Adherence among Older adults (CoSMO), we evaluated traditional barriers to AHMA among older adults with established hypertension (N=1544; mean age=76.2 years, 59.5% women, 27.9% Black, 24.1% and 38.9% low adherence by proportion of days covered (i.e., PDC&lt;0.80) and the 4-item Krousel-Wood Medication Adherence Scale (i.e., K-Wood-MAS-4≥1), respectively), finding that they explained 6.4% and 14.8% of variance in pharmacy refill and self-reported adherence, respectively. Persistent low adherence rates, coupled with low explanatory power of traditional barriers, suggest that other factors warrant attention. Prior research has investigated explicit attitudes toward medications as a driver of adherence; the roles of implicit attitudes and time preferences (e.g., immediate versus delayed gratification) as mechanisms underlying adherence behavior are emerging. Similarly, while associations of individual-level social determinants of health (SDOH) and medication adherence are well-reported, there is growing evidence about structural SDOH and specific pathways of effect. Building on published conceptual models and recent evidence, we propose an expanded conceptual framework that incorporates implicit attitudes, time preferences and structural SDOH, as emerging determinants that may explain additional variation in objectively and subjectively measured adherence. This model provides guidance for design, implementation and assessment of interventions targeting sustained improvement in implementation medication adherence and clinical outcomes among older women and men with hypertension.

Clinical Translation, Ethics, and Policy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Kimmelman
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Linear Process ◽  
Clinical Translation ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
New Treatments ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Translation Ethics

Many representations of clinical translation present it as a linear process by which bench discoveries are advanced into clinical practice. The present chapter offers a conceptual framework that highlights distinctive ethical aspects of clinical translation. The framework understands clinical translation as a process not so much as developing new treatments but rather generating evidence on how to use (and how not to use) new as well as old interventions. It also emphasizes attending to the relationship of different studies with each other and the importance of coordinating different studies with each other. The model presented here foregrounds the role of coordination in realizing societal objectives of clinical translation at minimal burden and cost for patients and study volunteers.

scholarly journals The Use of Smart Devices by Care Providers in Emergency Departments: A Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Alameddine ◽  
Hussein Soueidan ◽  
Maha Makki ◽  
Hani Tamim ◽  
Eveline Hitti
Keyword(s):  
Health Center ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Academic Health Center ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Smart Device ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Academic Health

BACKGROUND The use of smart devices (SD) by healthcare providers in care settings is a common practice nowadays. Such use is not restricted to applications related to the care of patients but often extends to personal calls and applications with frequent prompts and interruptions. This enhances the risk of distractions caused by SD in the hospital settings and raises concerns on service quality and patient safety. Such concerns are exacerbated in complex care settings like the Emergency Department (ED). OBJECTIVE This study measured the frequency and patterns of SD use among healthcare providers in the ED of a large academic health center in Lebanon. The perceived consequences of care providers on using SDs on the provider-provider communication and the care quality of patients in ED were further assessed. The study further examined the factors associated with the use of smart devices and measured the approval for regulating such use. METHODS The study was carried at the ED of an academic health center in Lebanon. The ED received the highest volume of patient visits in the country. Data was collected using a cross-sectional electronic survey sent to all ED healthcare providers (n=236). The target population included core ED faculty members, attending physicians, residents, medical students, and the nursing care providers. RESULTS Half of the target population responded to the questionnaire. A total of 85.6% of the respondents use one or more medical applications on their smart devices. The respondents believed that using the SD in the ED improved the coordination among the care team (81.6%) and that it was beneficial to patient care (78.9%). In addition, 41.1% of the respondents acknowledged they were distracted when using their SD for non-work purposes. Furthermore, 54.8% of the respondents acknowledged having witnessed their colleagues committed a near miss or an error due to the smart device-caused distractions. Regression analysis revealed that age and missing information due to using the SD are major predictors of committing an error at the ED (p<0.05). Interestingly, more than 40% of the respondents were significantly addicted to using SD and more than third of them felt the need to cut down on such use. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study make it imperative to safeguard the safety and wellbeing of patients, particularly in high intensity, high volume department such as the ED. Irrespective of the positive role the SD play in the healthcare process, the negative effects of its use mandate proper regulation. This is an ethical mandate taking into consideration the important consequences such use may have on care processes and outcomes.

scholarly journals Innovative technologies and living spaces; Updated living standards according to the evolution of homo sapiens

2020 ◽  
pp. 91-108
Author(s):  
Alp Karaca
Keyword(s):  
French Revolution ◽  
Social Life ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
The One

Homosapiens is the common family name for contemporary human beings. There are different kinds of homo species but the most recent one with the most improved abilities are human beings of the present era, who have adapted themselves to the new technologies and life conditions by improving themselves. The substantial improvements in technology started with the French Revolution in 1799. Initially, technology helped human beings in the production and industry sectors. Thereafter, in the 1990s, technology penetrated living spaces, firstly helping with household duties and then impacting social life, first with the radio and later with the television. Living spaces started to change through the organisation of spaces, and most houses were organised according to location reserved for the television. This is the biggest change brought about by technology in living spaces. The expectations of human beings were on the rise simultaneously with economic welfare and consumption-based demands. In the 2000s, phyisical limitations occurred, while expectations increased even more. These were constraints over time, materials and economy, and the solution came from technology via virtual reality and generated cyber spaces, which were without limits, economical and surpassed the built environments. Due to the lack of physical conditions, built envionments ceded their place to virtual living spaces and virtual cities. In the present study, data collection was undertaken via a study of innovations within living spaces and also via an observation of social lives within living spaces. The present article aims to present what can be foreseen, on the basis of cause and effect, concerning the impacts of the current evolution on the one hand and massive outbreaks of viruses on the other hand, the impacts on the physical spaces of the homosapiens species that have succeeded in adapting to all the changes that they have come across from their beginnings until the present era, the impacts that both phenomena will have on the current living standards and living spaces of humans and what changes human living spaces will undergo in the ongoing process of evolution. Human beings will continue renewing themselves throughout the said phenomena before concluding their process of evolution.   Keywords: Innovative, technology, living spaces, living standards, homosapiens.

How Individualized Niches Arise: Mechanisms of Niche Construction, Niche Choice, and Niche Conformance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose Trappes ◽  
Behzad Nematipour ◽  
Marie I. Kaiser ◽  
Ulrich Krohs ◽  
Koen J. van Benthem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Modern Synthesis ◽  
Evolutionary Synthesis ◽  
Narrow Sense ◽  
Extended Evolutionary Synthesis ◽  
Individual Level

The debate between the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES) and the modern synthesis (MS) partly relies on different interpretations of niche construction. We dissect the umbrella term of niche construction into three separate mechanisms: niche construction (taken in a narrow sense), in which individuals make changes to the environment; niche choice, in which individuals select an environment; and niche conformance, in which individuals change their phenotypes. Each of these individual-level mechanisms affects an individual’s phenotype-environment match, its fitness, and its individualized niche, defined in terms of the environmental conditions under which an individual can survive and reproduce. Our conceptual framework distinguishes several ways in which individuals alter the selective regimes that they and other organisms experience. It also places clear emphasis on individual differences and construes niche construction and other processes as evolved mechanisms. We therefore argue that our framework helps to resolve the tensions between EES and MS.

The Negative Effects of Using Smart Devices on the Physical and Psychological Health of Palestinian Children aged (13-16) years from their Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 01-19
Author(s):  
Nuha Iter
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Smart Device ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health ◽  
Palestinian Children ◽  
Open Question ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Descriptive Method

The study aimed to explore the negative effects of using smart devices on the physical and psychological health of children aged (13-16) years from their perspective. The study was applied to a random sample of children aged (13-16), consisting of (102) male and female students. The descriptive method was used to answer the study questions, and a questionnaire was developed to collect data, which contains (3) sections, first section asked about the most used and preferred devices by children aged (13-16) years, and the number of hours the child used the smart device, the second one asked about the negative effects of using the smart devices on the physical and psychological health of children aged (13-16) years from their perspective, and the third section is an open question to know other negative effects of using the smart devices on the physical and psychological health of children aged (13-16) years. The study achieved a set of results, such as the smartphones are the most used and preferred devices by children aged (13-16) years, where (57%) of the study sample preferred to use, and there is  (86.3%) of children aged (13-16) use these devices at average from 4 up to 6 hours daily.  The responders highly agreed upon the negative effects of the use of smart devices on the physical health with average (4.2); which is a high degree, also the responders highly agreed upon the negative effects of  the use of smart devices on the physiological health with average  is  (3.73) which is also high,  added there are other effects caused by the use of smart devices for long hours on  children aged (13-16); the low rate of family discussions, and causes the low writing skills for child.   Depending on the results of the study, the researcher recommends that:  researchers should conduct a correlative study to know the relationship between the effects and the number of hours of daily use of devices; families should rationalize the use of smart devices.

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