The Differing Provision of Ed-Tech Demonstration and E-Learning in Europe, Asia, and America

This chapter explores examples of the digital divide within diverse countries and across the globe, and presumptions about the West's preparedness for online learning are questioned. The scale of the effects of the pandemic are used to highlight the juxtaposition of the great potential of online learning with the stark reality that though the West can debate the extent of their e-learning during the spread of the coronavirus while poorer nations have great swathes of disconnected and vulnerable youth without the interventions of their teachers, the fact is that there is little evidence that all the conditions of effective online learning exist throughout the world. Ed-tech demonstration of affordable internet, different approaches to learning online, availability of digital equipment, teacher incentives and training, and providing quiet places to study at home, as well as other initiatives to resolve some of these issues in Europe and the wider world are explored and questioned.

1076 Online Availability of Hand Splints for Patients with Common Upper Limb Nerve Entrapment Syndromes During COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim Splinting is first line treatment in mild to moderate cases of carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome. During COVID-19 lockdown, patients experience prolonged waiting time for their splints from specialist service if not requiring surgery. Many of our patients have not trialled splinting prior to their specialist appointments. We aimed to look at the quality of splints commercially available for the general public to purchase thereby starting treatment earlier. Method Hand splints for nerve entrapment are readily available through two of the biggest UK online retailers, Amazon.co.uk and eBay.co.uk. We searched the terms ‘carpal’ and ‘cubital’ tunnel splints on both sites, the top 5 results were assessed for their suitability, accessibility, and affordability. Results The average cost of splints for carpal tunnel syndrome on Amazon and eBay are £9 and £8 respectively, and £15 on Amazon and £10 on eBay for cubital tunnel syndrome. We found that all top 5 hand splints found on these websites are suitable for the conditions they advertised. The average time for free delivery of splints is 2 days for Amazon and 3 days for eBay. Splints are easily sized by using the sellers wrist/elbow circumference measurement guide. Conclusions This study has given us the confidence to encourage patients to purchase splints, at an affordable price, from online sites whilst either waiting for specialist appointments or as part of their specialist recommended treatment. With early initiation of treatment, patients may have symptomatic relief and, in some cases, avoid the need for further treatment, leading to reduced hospital footfall.

When is the Peak Performance Reached? An Analysis of RDF Triple Stores

With significant growth in RDF datasets, application developers demand online availability of these datasets to meet the end users’ expectations. Various interfaces are available for querying RDF data using SPARQL query language. Studies show that SPARQL end-points may provide high query runtime performance at the cost of low availability. For example, it has been observed that only 32.2% of public endpoints have a monthly uptime of 99–100%. One possible reason for this low availability is the high workload experienced by these SPARQL endpoints. As complete query execution is performed at server side (i.e., SPARQL endpoint), this high query processing workload may result in performance degradation or even a service shutdown. We performed extensive experiments to show the query processing capabilities of well-known triple stores by using their SPARQL endpoints. In particular, we stressed these triple stores with multiple parallel requests from different querying agents. Our experiments revealed the maximum query processing capabilities of these triple stores after which point they lead to service shutdowns. We hope this analysis will help triple store developers to design workload-aware RDF engines to improve the availability of their public endpoints with high throughput.

Effect of Infodemic Regarding the Illegal Sale of Medications on the Internet: Evaluation of Demand and Online Availability of Ivermectin during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and the related infodemic generated confusion and increased demand of various pharmaceuticals, ushering in the opportunity for illicit online vendors to fill a gap in the marketplace using potentially dangerous products. The aim of our study is to provide evidence regarding increased demand, online availability and consumer accessibility of ivermectin, an anthelmintic agent, without substantiated indications in reference to SARS-CoV-2. In our study, we combined infodemiology methodology aligned with search engine result assessment and website analytics to evaluate patient safety risks. Users’ Google queries regarding ivermectin were trending and peaked during the last week of November 2020 and March 2021. Consumers more likely found links leading directly or indirectly (via redirection) to illegal online retailers representing nearly half (53.3%) of search engine result links regarding the first three result pages in December 2020 and topped off at 73.3% by March 2021. Illicit medicine retailers outnumbered and outranked their legitimate counterparts and dominated the first search engine results page. A vast majority (77.7%) of the identified online pharmacies were characteristically rogue; more than half (55.5%) offered prescription-only products without a valid medical prescription. Our results illustrate connection between infodemic and its consequences on the illicit online pharmacy market

Herbal smoking products: a systematic content analysis and mapping of the e-retail market

ObjectiveTo assess the online availability and e-marketing strategies of herbal smoking products (HSPs).MethodologyGoogle, Yahoo and Bing were searched using relevant keywords related to HSPs. The first 50 records were retrieved and duplicates were removed. Two trained and calibrated authors screened the records according to the eligibility criteria and extracted data from each selected retail-webpage as per the pre-tested data extraction form.ResultsOut of the initial 1044 records obtained, 73 retail webpages were finally included. Most of the webpages about HSPs hailed from India followed by the USA. The results showed 24 brands with about 189 flavour variants that are readily available online to all age groups including minors, with price per pack (20 sticks) of herbal cigarettes ranging from INR (₹) 51 to 1830 (median 588). There are no regulations regarding the sale and marketing of HSPs concerning age restrictions and display of health warnings.ConclusionHSPs are readily available online at affordable prices and attractive variants for customers of all ages. The flavour appeal and the health benefit appeal is being used to target minors and young women. There is an urgent need for some regulations on the sale and e-marketing of such products that have an enormous potential to be used as a gateway to tobacco smoking.

Success factors of academic journals in the digital age

Since the early 1990s, when digitalisation began to open new opportunities for disseminating information, many academic journals started to introduce online services. However, while some studies suggest that online availability and free access to journal articles are positively connected to the number of citations an article receives, little is known about whether being an early adopter of digital services provides journals with a (long-term) competitive advantage in times of digital change. We use data from SSCI-listed management journals to examine which journals pioneered the introduction of digital services, to what extent first-mover advantages can be identified, and which journal characteristics are associated with citation-based performance indicators. Our results show that lower ranked journals were the first to introduce digital services and were beneficiaries of the digital age. Furthermore, we find a negative correlation between general submission fees and journal performance and that the top-performing journals of our sample are those of non-commercial publishers. Our analysis of the relationship between journal performance and the provision of open access contradicts previous studies, as we find no positive correlations between performance and open access on the journal level.

Factors Influencing Energy Drink Consumption in Participants and Viewers of Extreme Sports

Objective. To quantify energy drink consumption and influences affecting consumption in those who participate in or watch extreme sports. Methods. An online survey, informed by focus groups, was administered via Quadrics®. Advertisement was via social media, emailing extreme sport clubs, flyers at extreme sport locations, and word of mouth. Participation was limited to those >18 y who watched and/or participated in extreme sports. The study was conducted in New Zealand, with international online availability. Variables measured comprised age, sex, energy drink consumption, reasons for their use, extreme sport viewing, advertising, and sponsorship. Logistic regression models were utilised. Results. Amongst participants who completed the questionnaire (n = 247), the mean (SD) age was 26.2 (8.2) y, 40.5% were female, 57.9% consumed energy drinks, and 25.5% consumed >one per week. For every year older, odds of consuming energy drinks were 3.1% lower p = 0.04 . A 31% increase in energy drink consumption for every single increase of viewing extreme sport per week was observed p = 0.009 ; however, reported viewing of advertising was not associated with increased consumption. Conclusions. A large proportion of extreme sport enthusiasts regularly consume energy drinks, especially younger adults. Extreme sport viewing, where energy drink sponsorship is common, appears to increase their consumption, even if not considered advertising by the viewers themselves.

Challenges in Communication with Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN)

Communication is an important aspect of organisation’s relationship in service to the public. The study investigates nurses’ opinion on ‘Challenges in communicating with Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN)’. This is a descriptive web-based study with 896 participants. Data analysis was done using Google form. The result showed that 91.1% majority of the respondents were Registered/Graduate nurses. Majority 74.1% have tried to reach out to Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) through email, phone calls, text messages, Letters etc. 39.2% of those who reached out by email never got any reply. The participants suggested a better customer service, embracement of online availability and prompt responses to the received messages by Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN). The study recommends that an active online availability by NMCN to improve communication.

The Impact of Open Access Mandates on Invention

How do barriers to the diffusion of academic research affect innovation? In 2008, the NIH mandated free online availability of funded research. This policy caused a 50 percentage point increase in free access to funded articles. We introduce a novel measure, in-text patent citations, to study how this mandate affected industry use of academic science. After 2008, patents cite NIH-funded research 12-27% more often. Non-funded research, funded research in journals unaffected by the mandate, and academic citations see no change. These estimates are consistent with a model of search for useful knowledge. Ineffciency caused by academic publishing may be substantial.