An SEM-REM-Based Study on the Driving and Restraining Mechanisms and Potential of Reclaimed Water Utilization in China

In order to promote the efficient use of reclaimed water in China and make water resources allocation better structured, this paper analyzed the factors that drive and restrain the current utilization of reclaimed water and unveiled their correlation and hierarchy in a way to develop a non-recursive structural framework of what drives and restrain reclaimed water use. By structural equation modeling (SEM), the transmission path of affecting factors was identified, the contribution of the factors quantified, and key indicators for potential prediction selected. On that basis, a random-effects model (REM) was built to predict the potential availability of the country’s reclaimed water. Meanwhile, parametric confidence intervals at 10–90% quantile levels were described, given the uncertainty of REM parameters. The results showed that four indicators for potential prediction, namely the total amount of wastewater treated, the density of water pipelines in built-up areas, investment in facilities for reclaimed water treatment, and the processing of applications for water treatment patents, are intertwined with the utilization of reclaimed water. Overall, the REM for potential prediction produced more precise fitting results, with the most significant fitting error standing at 5.9%. Going ahead, China is set to maintain the rapid growth in reclaimed water use, and up to 13.7 billion cubic meters of reclaimed water is expected to be available by 2025. This will help better structure the urban water supply and render regional water recycling more efficient.

Attitudes and Willingness to Accept Long-Acting Injections for Patients With Schizophrenia in Beijing: A Cross-Sectional Investigation Based on Samples From the Communities

Background: Schizophrenia has brought a serious disease burden to China. Under the background that community rehabilitation has become the mainstream treatment model, the long-acting injection (LAI) can better prevent recurrence. Some districts in Beijing have also issued policies. This article aims to find out patient's current attitudes toward LAI and provide policy suggestions.Methods: Some patients with schizophrenia in the communities are selected, while the survey format is face-to-face conversation. The content of the self-made questionnaire includes patients' willingness and reasons for accepting LAI treatment. Descriptive statistics, t-test and F-test are used to process the data from questionnaire surveys.Results: About 10% of respondents have had experience using LAI and the current utilization rate is 2.4%. Respondents' willingness to accept LAI is generally low (only 18.1% are willing). The main reason for willingness is no need to take medication every day, while the main reasons for unwillingness are high cost, fear of injection and lack of understanding.Conclusion: Beijing community patients are not very optimistic about LAI's cognition and willingness. Medication habits play an important role in their medication selection decisions. Intervention such as educate clinicians and patients about LAI and provide free injections to patients can be imposed. The promotion of LAI still has a long way to go.

Review of Big Data Integration in Construction Industry Digitalization

The 2030 agenda for sustainable development has embraced the importance of sustainable practices in the construction industry. Parallel to the Industry revolution 4.0, the construction industry needs to keep pace with technological advances in data management to keep pace with the revolution through the ability to process and extract value from data. This phenomenon attracts the requirement of Big Data (BD). The construction industry deals with large volumes of heterogeneous data, which is expected to increase exponentially following an intense use of modern technologies. This research presents a comprehensive study of the literature, investigating the potential application of BD integration in the construction industry. The adoption of such technologies in this industry remains at a nascent stage and lags broad uptake of these technologies in other fields. The Construction Industry is driving to boost its productivity through the implementation of data technologies; hence, significant research is needed in this area. Currently, there is a lack of deep comprehensive research on BD integration applications that provide insight for the construction industry. This research closes the gap and gives an overview of the literature. The discussion presented the current utilization, the issues, and ways for potential works along with the challenges companion with the implementation.

The Role of Digital Consumer Protection in Mediating the Effect of Mobile Money usage towards Financial Inclusion: an Evidence from Buleleng, Indonesia

The current utilization of digital services especially in finance sector among the productive age communities is increasing. Mobile money utilization and the implementation of a digitalization system in the financial sector are expected to increase financial inclusion. By increasing financial inclusion, the poverty rate is also expected to be reduced. Buleleng Regency is one of regency in Bali Province, Indonesia which has a high poverty rate. It is necessary to increase financial inclusion through mobile money usage. However, it is also necessary to increase consumer protection to support this digitalization. This research aims to determine the effect of mobile money usage on financial inclusion with digital consumer protection as a mediator in productive age communities in Buleleng Regency, Bali, Indonesia. The population of this research consists of 439,400 people from productive age group in Buleleng Regency, Bali, Indonesia. This research used a non-probability sampling technique with the total of 477 samples. This research applies the Sobel test, Baron and Kenny’s mediation analysis, and the PROCESS method by Hayes. The results of this study show that digital consumer protection partially mediates the effect of the mobile money usage on financial inclusion in Buleleng Regency, Bali, Indonesia. Based on the results of this study, it is suggested to regulators and related agencies in Indonesia to show more attention about the safety factors of mobile money users by strengthening consumer protection in terms of both regulation and the system reliability. Furthermore, it is also necessary to develop education programs on how to manage finance properly by using mobile money in order to improve people’s welfare.

Actor-network theory as a method for evaluating the energy sectors

The objective of this article was to evaluate the current utilization of the Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as a research method in the energy sector. High impact scientific articles gathered from the ScienceDirect database were analyzed, taking into account the methodological research particularities (in terms of its nature, objective, issue approach, and technical procedures) and the means of data collection and analysis in the light of the ANT method. Few pieces of research in the energy sector were found utilizing ANT as an analysis method. A pattern for the methodological characterization was identified, in which most of the articles approached ANT as a diagnostic, exploratory, qualitative, and analytical method for case studies. Since most of the papers aimed mainly at the reconstruction of past events, data collection was characterized mainly by searching for documents and, whenever possible, by contacting the players who participated in the reconstructed history. The analysis, though, aimed at identifying the participants and the dynamics of their interactions. The ANT method presents immense potential for research in the energy sector since energy systems evolve throughout complex networks, inseverable from environmental, technological, and social, including those of political and economic nature. Still, as yet, in a continually growing development scenario, ANT's utilization may contribute to understanding how these networks evolve and who plays the most crucial role in it.

Land-Use Changes and Food Insecurity around Oil Palm Plantations: Evidence at the Village Level

Land conversion of oil palm plantations in the villages of West Kalimantan has caused drastic changes in how farmers fulfill their basic household needs. One such change affects farmers’ food security. This study aimed to explain the deterioration of food self-sufficiency at the village level due to the pressure to use residual pockets of land for oil palm cultivation. The collected evidence was analyzed through an assessment of their residual pockets of land in a single village. A case study survey collected data from July until September 2019 in the village of Batu Barat, district of Kayong Utara, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The study utilized 70 family heads as samples for interviews. They were selected through a simple random sampling technique. We used descriptive quantitative and qualitative methods in our investigation. The results confirmed that the current utilization of the village’s residual lands actually entails even greater food insecurity for farmers, as exemplified by a sizeable decrease in rice fields to merely an estimated 0.59 hectares per household. By contrast, the land utilized by independent smallholders of oil palm cultivation increased to an average of approximately 0.67 hectares per household. This land conversion not only exacerbated food-farmland availability but

Telemedicine Experience of General Surgery Trainees: Impact on Patient Care and Education

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on patient care, including the increased utilization of contact-free clinic visits using telemedicine. We looked to assess current utilization of, experience with, and opinions regarding telemedicine by general surgery residents at an academic university–based surgical training program. Design A response-anonymous 19-question survey was electronically distributed to all general surgery residents at a single academic university–based general surgery residency program. Setting University of Southern California (USC) general surgery residency participants: Voluntarily participating general surgery residents at the University of Southern California. Results The response rate from USC general surgery residents was 100%. A majority of residents (76%) had utilized either video- or telephone-based visits during their careers. No resident had undergone formal training to provide telemedicine, although most residents indicated a desire for training (57.1%) and acknowledged that telemedicine should be a part of surgical training (75.6%). A wide variety of opinions regarding the educational experience of residents participating in telemedicine visits was elicited. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic brought telemedicine to the forefront as an integral part of future patient care, including for surgical patients. Additional investigations into nationwide telemedicine exposure and practice among United States general surgery residencies is imperative, and the impact of the implementation of telemedicine curricula on general surgery resident telemedicine utilization, comfort with telemedicine technology, and patient outcomes are further warranted. Competencies Practice-based learning, systems-based practice, interpersonal and communication skills