An analysis of to deliver cheap nutritious products: National Fish Barn Program

There is a program called the national fish barn (Lumbung Ikan Nasional), which aims at delivering fish to consumers from the the country’s most productive fishing areas, namely Maluku. The program has focused on the preparation of integrated ports and concerns aspects of the readiness of the participating districts and cities. This paper was based on a research conducted in January – March 2021, with an objective to assess their readiness indexes, covering five related dimensions: ecological, economic, social, institutional, technological. Analytical tools used in this study were multi dimentional scaling and prospective analysis. The multidimensional scaling (MDS) data was obtained through mail surveys involving fisheries service officials in 11 districts and cities. Applyng the same technique, data collection for prospective analysis involving local university scientests. The results of MDS analysis showed that 11 districts and cities demonstrated readiness indexes categorized as ‘fairly prepared to very prepared’ for the ecological, economic and social dimensions. Challenges are found in the institutional and infrastructure dimensions, where there are a number of districts and cities indexed ‘less prepared’ or even ‘unprepared’. The research concluded with the result of prospective analysis, which then become policy implication of this research; in this case, it is recommended that a number of attributes should receive attention to improve the readiness indexes of participating districts and cities. These attributes are: ‘market opportunity’, ‘business competitiveness’, ‘participation of entrepreneurs’, ‘financial institutions’, ‘information infrastructure’

E-PANOPTICON OF FACE-TO-DISPLAY WORKERS: FROM THE OFFICE TO THE HOME

Electronic Monitoring (EM) is becoming prevalent, enabling varied and pervasive monitoring of workplaces. The research design was a set of e-mail surveys. Quantitative data were analyzed using cross-tabulation of data, descriptive and chi-square tests statistics. The study provides an overview of e-worker monitoring in five countries. Twenty percent of respondents believe that their organization uses employee monitoring software to track their activities. Almost half of the e-workers believe that their activities are not being tracked by software. Nearby 1/10 of the face-to-display workers surveyed would trust their employer more using EM. Four-fifths of e-workers state that EM affects their productivity. Presented data emphasizes that companies using face-to-display workers monitoring software can negatively affect morale and productivity instead of producing better work. Further, employees are often unfamiliar with whether or not there is monitoring software tracking their activities. The study recommends that organizations should inform its employees before implementation of EM system to facilitate their positive attitudes

Factors associated with sarcopenia screened by finger-circle test among middle-aged and older adults: a population-based multisite cross-sectional survey in Japan

BackgroundPrevious epidemiological studies have demonstrated the prevalence and relationship of various factors associated with sarcopenia in older adults; however, few have examined the status of sarcopenia in middle-aged adults. In this study, we aimed to, 1) evaluate the validity of the finger-circle test, which is potentially a useful screening tool for sarcopenia, and 2) determine the prevalence and factors associated with sarcopenia in middle-aged and older adults.MethodsWe conducted face-to-face surveys of 525 adults, who were aged 40–91 years and resided in Settsu City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan to evaluate the validity of finger-circle test. The finger-circle test evaluated calf circumference by referring to an illustration printed on the survey form. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) was plotted to evaluate the validity of the finger-circle test for screening sarcopenia and compared to that evaluated by skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) measured using bioimpedance. We also conducted multisite population-based cross-sectional anonymous mail surveys of 9337 adults, who were aged 40–97 years and resided in Settsu and Hannan Cities, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Participants were selected through stratified random sampling by sex and age in the elementary school zones of their respective cities. We performed multiple logistic regression analysis to explore associations between characteristics and prevalence of sarcopenia.ResultsSarcopenia, defined by SMI, was moderately predicted by a finger-circle test response showing that the subject’s calf was smaller than their finger-circle (AUROC: 0.729, < 65 years; 0.653, ≥65 years); such subjects were considered to have sarcopenia. In mail surveys, prevalence of sarcopenia screened by finger-circle test was higher in older subjects (approximately 16%) than in middle-aged subjects (approximately 8–9%). In a multiple regression model, the factors associated with sarcopenia were age, body mass index, smoking status, self-reported health, and number of meals in all the participants.ConclusionsSarcopenia, screened by the finger-circle test, was present not only among older adults but also among middle-aged adults. These results may provide useful indications for developing public health programs, not only for the prevention, but especially for the management of sarcopenia.Trial registrationUMIN000036880, registered prospectively May 29, 2019, https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000042027

Evaluation of atopy schools for parents

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis is a highly prevalent chronic disorder. Therapeutic education in diseases of this kind is essential in order to improve patient management and prognosis. A study was conducted regarding parent satisfaction following educational sessions in an Atopy School organized by a multidisciplinary team.Material and methods: E-mail surveys with variables scored by means of a Likert scale were administered among the parents participating in the workshops organized by the Atopy School. The educational program comprised four sessions with a duration of 4 hours.Results: Ninety-five percent of the parents were satisfied after participating in the workshops, and were of the opinion that the therapeutic education received was useful for improving control of the illness of their children. Likewise, 85% were satisfied or very satisfied with the help received in the sessions for control of the disease during flare-ups, and 90% considered the data and advice received in the sessions to be of use in improving quality of life of both the children and the family as a whole.Conclusions: The Atopy School afforded caregiver empowerment, and the parents were satis-fied and felt more secure in dealing with the disease of their children—thereby improving the prognosis and quality of life.

The Long-Term Impact of Different Offline Population Inclusion Strategies in Probability-Based Online Panels: Evidence From the German Internet Panel and the GESIS Panel

While online panels offer numerous advantages, they are often criticized for excluding the offline population. Therefore, some probability-based online panels have developed offline population inclusion strategies. Two dominant approaches prevail: providing internet equipment and offering an alternative survey participation mode. We investigate the impact of these approaches on two probability-based online panels in Germany: the German Internet Panel, which provides members of the offline population with internet equipment, and the GESIS Panel, which offers members of the offline population to participate via postal mail surveys. In addition, we explore the impact of offering an alternative mode only to non-internet users versus also offering the alternative mode to internet users who are unwilling to provide survey data online. Albeit lower recruitment and/or panel wave participation probabilities among offliners than onliners, we find that including the offline population has a positive long-term impact on sample accuracy in both panels. In the GESIS Panel, the positive impact is particularly strong when offering the alternative participation mode to non-internet users and internet users who are unwilling to provide survey data online.

Factors Associated With Sarcopenia Screened by Finger-Circle Test Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Population-Based Multisite Cross-Sectional Survey in Japan

Background: Prior epidemiological studies have demonstrated the prevalence and the relationship of various factors associated with sarcopenia in older adults; however, few have examined sarcopenia status in middle-aged adults. In the present study, we aimed: 1) to evaluate the validity of the finger-circle test, which is potentially a useful screening tool, for assessing sarcopenia, and 2) to determine the prevalence and factors associated with sarcopenia in middle-aged and older adults.Methods: We conducted a face-to-face survey with 525 adults aged 40−91 years residing in Settsu City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan to evaluate the validity of finger-circle test. The finger-circle test was evaluated calf circumference by referring to an illustration printed on the survey form. To assess sarcopenia, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) was plotted to evaluate the validity of the finger-circle test compared to sarcopenia evaluation by skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) measured using bioimpedance. We also conducted a multisite population-based cross-sectional anonymous mail surveys of 9337 adults aged 40−97 years residing in Settsu and Hannan Cities, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Participants were selected through stratified random sampling by sex and age group, in the elementary school zones of their respective cities. We performed multiple logistic regression analysis to explore associations between characteristics and prevalence of sarcopenia.Results: Sarcopenia, defined by SMI, was moderately predicted by a finger-circle test response showing that the subject’s calf was smaller than their finger-circle (AUROC: 0.729, <65 years; 0.653, ≥65 years); such subjects were considered to have sarcopenia. In mail surveys, prevalence of sarcopenia was higher in older subjects (approximately 16%) than in middle-aged subjects (approximately 8−9%). In a multiple regression model, the factors associated with sarcopenia were age, body mass index, smoking status, self-reported health, and number of meals in all the participants.Conclusions: Sarcopenia, screened by the finger-circle test, was present not only among older adults but also among middle-aged adults. These results suggest the importance of providing middle-aged and older adults with the opportunity to individually perform a test that could enable them to identify sarcopenia.Trial registration: UMIN000008105, registered prospectively May 29, 2019, https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000042027

Validation of the SDM Process Scale to Evaluate Shared Decision-Making at Clinical Sites

The Shared Decision-Making (SDM) Process scale (scored 0-4) uses 4 questions about decision-making behaviors: discussion of options, pros, cons, and preferences. We use data from mail surveys of patients who made surgical decisions at 9 clinical sites and a national web survey to assess the reliability and validity of the measure to assess shared decision-making at clinical sites. Patients at sites using decision aids to promote shared decision-making for hip, knee, back, or breast cancer surgery had significantly higher scores than national cross-section samples of surgical patients for 3 of 4 comparisons and significantly higher scores for both comparisons with “usual care sites.” Reliability was supported by an intra-class correlation at the clinical site level of 0.93 and an average correlation of SDM scores for knee and hip surgery patients treated at the same sites of 0.56. The results document the reliability and validity of the measure to assess the degree of shared decision-making for surgical decisions at clinical sites.

Patient-reported experiences with general practitioners: a randomised study of mail and web-based approaches following a national survey

ObjectiveThe standard data-collection procedure in the Norwegian national patient experience survey programme is post-discharge mail surveys, which include a pen-and-paper questionnaire with the option to answer electronically. A purely electronic protocol has not previously been explored in Norway. The aim of this study was to compare response rates, background characteristics, data quality and main study results for a survey of patient experiences with general practitioners (GPs) administered by the standard mail data-collection procedure and a web-based approach.DesignCross-sectional survey.SettingGP offices in Norway.ParticipantsThe sample consisted of 6999 patients aged 16 years and older registered with a GP in November 2018.InterventionBased on a three-stage sampling design, 6999 patients of GPs aged 16 or older were randomised to one of two survey administration protocols: Group A, who were mailed an invitation with both a pen-and-paper including an electronic response option (n=4999) and Group B, who received an email invitation with electronic response option (n=2000).Main outcome measuresResponse rates, background characteristics, data quality and main study results.ResultsThe response rate was markedly higher for the mail survey (42.6%) than for the web-based survey (18.3%). A few of the background variables differed significantly between the two groups, but the data quality and patient-reported experiences were similar.ConclusionsWeb-based surveys are faster and less expensive than standard mail surveys, but their low response rates and coverage problems threaten their usefulness and legitimacy. Initiatives to increase response rates for web-based data collection and strategies for tailoring data collection to different groups should be key elements in future research.

The Logging Sector in the Lake States of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin: Status, Issues, and Opportunities

Coordinated mail surveys of logging businesses in the Lake States of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin were conducted in spring 2017 to assess the status and capacity of the sector in 2016. Many similarities among logging businesses were noted across the region. Despite the presence of many small logging businesses, much of the volume (58 percent) is produced by a few large producers (13 percent) who seem to have an advantage over their smaller counterparts. Businesses and business owners are aging (average business duration, 27 years and average owner age, 54 years), and the majority are producing below their full operational capacity and achieving break-even profit levels. About one-fourth of the businesses intend to exit the market in the next 5 years, and there is a lack of factors attracting new workforce members into business. Differences exist among states in terms of harvesting systems used, source and method of timber procurement, and transportation strategy adopted.