The factors that influence the adoption or non-adoption of information and communications technologies (ICTs) by recently-arrived immigrants in the Wellington Region : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Information at Massey University

The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand recent immigrants' perceptions of ICTs, what causes them to adopt or not adopt ICTs, and the factors that influence such action. A self-selected, volunteer sample of 32 recent immigrants living in 15 households, between the ages of 12 - 65 and who came from developing countries that include Africa (5), the Middle East (4), Central Asia (3) and South East Asia (2) participated in the research. The Refugee and Migrants' Service (RMS), Wellington branch, and ethnic community leaders supported the study and introduced the researcher to potential participants. Two rounds of semi-structured, in-depth audio-taped interviews were held in the immigrants' own homes. The aim of the first round of interviews was to establish trust with the volunteers. The second round of interviews occurred six weeks later. The follow-up interviews provided an opportunity for both the researcher and the participants to validate the transcribed interviews as well as allowing further discussion on their ICT adoption. The majority of participants interviewed had a positive attitude towards ICTs. They viewed the technology as a useful tool because they saw relative- advantage benefits such as accomplishing tasks more easily, saving money on communication and finding employment. A priority on home access was evident for nearly half the interviewees who owned their computers (despite participants being low-waged and some unemployed). The major method of adoption for the immigrants who were new to computing was via friends and family. The personal one-to-one teaching, in a safe, relaxed environment was important to many migrants, as was the timeliness of the teaching. Overall, the results show that young, male participants with a relatively higher educational background were more likely to be adopters. In contrast, older female participants with little or no education were less likely to participate in ICTs. The results also show that the majority of the participants lacked computing experience. This study was exploratory in nature, therefore there is opportunity for researchers interested in understanding ICTs adoption to build on these research findings and explore in greater detail a range of factors that influence recent immigrants' adoption or non adoption of ICTs. The findings have important implication for policy makers and practitioners who wish to create an inclusive society where all members, including recent immigrants, are able to access and use ICTs and hence be able to fully participate in the information society. Recommendations, based on the study's findings, include suggestions to promote ICTs among recently-arrived immigrants community

Preprint: Using RF-DNA Fingerprints To Classify OFDM Transmitters Under Rayleigh Fading Conditions

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a collection of Internet connected devices capable of interacting with the physical world and computer systems. It is estimated that the IoT will consist of approximately fifty billion devices by the year 2020. In addition to the sheer numbers, the need for IoT security is exacerbated by the fact that many of the edge devices employ weak to no encryption of the communication link. It has been estimated that almost 70% of IoT devices use no form of encryption. Previous research has suggested the use of Specific Emitter Identification (SEI), a physical layer technique, as a means of augmenting bit-level security mechanism such as encryption. The work presented here integrates a Nelder-Mead based approach for estimating the Rayleigh fading channel coefficients prior to the SEI approach known as RF-DNA fingerprinting. The performance of this estimator is assessed for degrading signal-to-noise ratio and compared with least square and minimum mean squared error channel estimators. Additionally, this work presents classification results using RF-DNA fingerprints that were extracted from received signals that have undergone Rayleigh fading channel correction using Minimum Mean Squared Error (MMSE) equalization. This work also performs radio discrimination using RF-DNA fingerprints generated from the normalized magnitude-squared and phase response of Gabor coefficients as well as two classifiers. Discrimination of four 802.11a Wi-Fi radios achieves an average percent correct classification of 90% or better for signal-to-noise ratios of 18 and 21 dB or greater using a Rayleigh fading channel comprised of two and five paths, respectively.Comment: 13 pages, 14 total figures/images, Currently under review by the IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Securit

HIV and AIDS related knowledge, source of information, and reported need for further education among dental students in Sudan- a cross sectional study

Background: Information on the HIV and AIDS-related knowledge among dental students provides a crucial foundation for efforts aimed at developing an appropriate dental curriculum on HIV and AIDS, and for attracting the attention of dental school educators towards the subject. Purposes: Focusing on a census of dental students attending their 3rd, 4th and 5th study year at publicly – and privately funded dental faculties in Khartoum, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and socioeconomic correlates of dental students' knowledge, sources of information and reported need for further education related to HIV and AIDS. Methods: At the time of the survey (March–May 2007), the total number of dental students registered was 782 of which 642 (response rate 82%, mean age 21.7 year, 72% girls) completed anonymous selfadministered questionnaires in supervised class room settings. Results: A total of 49% and 86% had correct sum scores with respect to knowledge of transmission through contamination and through shaking hands and eating, respectively. About half the dental students recognized a need for further education across HIV related issues, varying from 75% (basic HIV/AIDS related issues) to 84% (patient management). Only 38% of the students had correct sum scores regarding various occupational groups at risk for contacting HIV and AIDS. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that compared to privately funded dental school students, publicly funded dental school students were less likely to have correct knowledge about modes of HIV transmission (OR = 0.6) and occupational risk groups (OR = 0.6) and to have received information from lectures/health care workers (OR = 0.5). Conclusion: Students attending privately funded schools were more knowledgeable about various HIV related issues than students from publicly funded schools. About half of the students investigated had received HIV/AIDS information from various sources and reported need for further education. This suggests that students are not adequately prepared for treating patients with HIV infection and AIDS and that the dental school curriculum needs improvements. Differences between public and private dental schools should be considered when planning such improvements

Influencia del nivel educacional en la respuesta sexual femenina

Rosario Fadul C. (biografía): Fue profesora de enfermería pasiquiátrica en la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. Realizó un posgrado en terapia marital y sexual en el Instituto APEC de Educación Sexual (INSAPEC). Actualmente dirigie el Instituto de Sexualidad Humana de la UASD y es coordinadora de su programa de maestría en terapia familiar. Junto con el Dr. Rafael García Álvarez escribió el libro "Lo que quiero saber sobre el sexo: guía de respuestas a las inquietudes privadas de tu intimidad". Otras obras suyas son: "Conducta sexual del adolescente dominicano" (en coautoría con Rafael García, Antonio de Moya, Elizabeth Gómez y Edward Herold) y "Sosúa Sanky-Pankies and Female Sex Workers" (en coautoría con Antonio de Moya, Rafael García y Edward Herold)............./.............Rafael García Álvarez (biografía): Médico psiquiatra de nacionalidad dominicana. Como docente, ha enseñado epidemiología, psiquiatría y terapia sexual en la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) y en la Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU). Además, dirigió la maestría en salud pública de la UASD y fundó, en 1985, el Instituto de Sexualidad Humana de ese centro universitario. En el Instituto APEC de Educación Sexual, tuvo a su cargo la maestría en terapia marital y sexual. Entre sus trabajos publicadas están: "Lo que quiero saber sobre el sexo: guía de respuestas a las inquietudes privadas de tu intimidad" (en coautoría con Rosario Fadul), "Conducta sexual del adolescente dominicano" (en coautoría con Rosario Fadul, Antonio de Moya, Elizabeth Gómez y Edward Herold), "Sosúa Sanky-Pankies and Female Sex Workers" (en coautoría con Antonio de Moya, Rosario Fadul y Edward Herold), "Infantofilia, Pedofilia y Hebefilia: hallazgos recientes" (en coautoría con E. Antonio de Moya)........../...........Aida María Freites (biografía): Psicóloga, realizó un posgrado en terapia marital y sexual en el Instituto APEC de Educación Sexual (INSAPEC)........./........Laura Erickson: Es psicóloga.Se presenta aquí una investigación sobre la sexualidad femenina. La hipótesis, comprobada por los resultados, sostiene que el nivel educacional de la mujer incide en su respuesta sexual. Limitándose a mujeres dominicanas de clase alta y entre los 20 y los 45 años de edad, el estudio asociativo comparó las diferencias que se dan, en el ámbito de la respuesta sexual, y particularmente en el logro del orgasmo, entre quienes solo son bachilleras y quienes tienen estudios universitarios. También se consideraron las variables del nivel educativo de los progenitores, el nivel de satisfacción de la primera relación sexual y la actitud del compañero, todas las cuales mostraron incidir positivamente en el fenómeno estudiado. Estos resultados son contestes con la comprobación hecha por la psicología y la sexología de que la conducta sexual humana no solo es el producto de factores biológicos, sino también de factores psicológicos, ambientales y culturales

Modelling and simulation of electric drive vehicle based on space vector modulation technique and field oriented control strategy

Recently, the electric vehicle has emerged as a powerful platform for mitigating energy crisis and reducing environmental pollution in the transportation sector. The major drawbacks of electrically powered automobile that limits its competitiveness with the internal combustion engine counterpart are the vehicle driving range and battery energy capacity. Hence, limited energy storage warrants the need for an effective and efficient energy utilisation in the overall system. This paper uses Field Oriented Control algorithm and Space Vector Modulation technique to enhance and to optimise energy saving at the same time improve the vehicle induction motor efficiency. A simple electric vehicle drive with vehicle dynamic and tractive loads for motor driving load were modelled and simulated using Matlab/Simulink. Simulation results show that modelled vehicle speed satisfied the acceleration index for the electric vehicle

Fluid-induced seismicity: insights from laboratory experiments and implications for geohazard management systems

Fluid-induced seismicity: insights from laboratory experiments and implications for geohazard management systems By Fadul Dawood Abstract Fluid-induced seismicity is a significant geohazard in industrial activities involving subsurface fluid injection, such as hydraulic fracturing, carbon sequestration, wastewater disposal, and enhanced geothermal systems. Current risk management strategies often rely on empirical relationships between fluid injection volumes and cumulative seismic moment. However, field observations show that some induced earthquakes exceed forecasted maximum magnitudes, highlighting limitations in existing predictive models. This thesis investigates the correlation between the spatial and temporal evolution of faulting and measured physical properties of shale reservoir and underburden rocks, and seismic parameters from laboratory earthquakes. Two experimental sets were conducted. First, intact core samples from the Horn River Basin shale in British Columbia, Canada, were characterised for their elastic moduli, ultrasonic wave velocity, and seismic anisotropy. These samples were loaded to failure under reservoir conditions in a triaxial apparatus, with acoustic emissions (AE) monitoring. Three deformation stages were observed: (i) an elastic stage with low AE rates, relatively small magnitudes, and distributed seismic events; (ii) a prefailure stage with increasing AE rates and moderate relative magnitudes AE events; and (iii) a failure stage with high AE rates, larger magnitudes, and AE localization. Progressive deformation was associated with decreases in the frequency-magnitude distribution parameter, b-value and P-wave velocity. AE events location shows that the evolution of seismic parameters at the transition between pre- to co-failure corresponds to the development of a larger, throughgoing fault. In the second set, fluid was injected into a composite sample consisting of shale overlying a granite sawcut, simulating a pre-existing fault in the reservoir underburden. Fault reactivation patterns were strongly influenced by the strength heterogeneity of the composite sample. Initially, complex conjugate faulting developed in the underburden. At constant pore pressure, AE locations show progressive fault reactivation and throughgoing fault growth into the reservoir. The development of the throughgoing fault was accompanied by a reduction in P-wave velocity, an increase in seismicity rate, and larger seismic event magnitudes. Progressive fault reactivation and growth were also associated with a reduction in the b-value. The results reveal a clear relationship between the evolving fault structure, its growth, and the magnitudes of associated seismic events. These findings demonstrate that real-time monitoring of systematic changes in physical properties and seismic parameters can inform proactive risk mitigation strategies, offering a more comprehensive approach to managing fluid-induced seismicity

Interface Development for Digitization of Documents Using OCR

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a semi-automated interface that uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) routines to identify text-based information from a large volume of digitized drawings associated with the oil and gas industry. The identified information is presented in an appropriate interface for any necessary manual modification, with the target of improving the efficiency of maintaining large amounts of older documents. The thesis outlines the design of the interface and the implementation of Tesseract OCR engine, in combination with tailor-made functions and classes that leverage OpenCV to enhance the recognition processThe purpose of this thesis is to develop a semi-automated interface that uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) routines to identify text-based information from a large volume of digitized drawings associated with the oil and gas industry. The identified information is presented in an appropriate interface for any necessary manual modification, with the target of improving the efficiency of maintaining large amounts of older documents. The thesis outlines the design of the interface and the implementation of Tesseract OCR engine, in combination with tailor-made functions and classes that leverage OpenCV to enhance the recognition proces

Interface Development for Digitization of Documents Using OCR

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a semi-automated interface that uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) routines to identify text-based information from a large volume of digitized drawings associated with the oil and gas industry. The identified information is presented in an appropriate interface for any necessary manual modifica- tion, with the target of improving the efficiency of maintaining large amounts of older documents. The thesis outlines the design of the interface and the implementation of Tesseract OCR engine, in combination with tailor-made functions and classes that lever- age OpenCV to enhance the recognition process.The purpose of this thesis is to develop a semi-automated interface that uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) routines to identify text-based information from a large volume of digitized drawings associated with the oil and gas industry. The identified information is presented in an appropriate interface for any necessary manual modifica- tion, with the target of improving the efficiency of maintaining large amounts of older documents. The thesis outlines the design of the interface and the implementation of Tesseract OCR engine, in combination with tailor-made functions and classes that lever- age OpenCV to enhance the recognition process

Osteomyelitis Infection of Mycobacterium marinum: A Case Report and Literature Review

Mycobacterium marinum (M. marinum) is a ubiquitous waterborne organism that grows optimally at temperatures around 30°C. It is a nontuberculous Mycobacterium found in nonchlorinated water with worldwide prevalence. It is the most common atypical Mycobacterium that causes opportunistic infection in humans. M. marinum can cause superficial infections and localized invasive infections in humans, with the hands being the sites most frequently affected. It can cause skin lesions, which are either single, papulonodular lesions, confined to an extremity, or may resemble cutaneous sporotrichosis. This infection can also cause deeper infections including tenosynovitis, bursitis, arthritis, and osteomyelitis. Disseminated infections and visceral involvements have been reported in immunocompromised patients. We here report a case of severe deep soft tissue infection with necrotizing fasciitis and osteomyelitis of the left upper extremity (LUE) caused by M. marinum in an immunocompromised patient.Open Access Publishing Support Fun

Osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis

Department of Internal Medicine Rheumatology and Nephrology, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, The 8th International Medical Congress for Students and Young Doctors, September 24-26, 2020Introduction. Osteoporosis is a disease where bones lose their bone mineral density (BMD) which causes bone fragility and leads to fractures, Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease that affects the joints symmetrically and is known to cause secondary osteoporosis Aim of the study. To study literatures that focus on the risk factors of osteoporosis and the correlation between it and rheumatoid arthritis. Materials and methods. A literature search using, PubMed, Medscape and the national scientific information archive was performed. among the most relevant articles we selected 70, the data were analyzed by content structure and summarized,as well as statistical analysis where possible. Results. In patients with RA four biomarkers are found to predict fracture sites, Tartrateresistant acid phosphate 5b (TRACP-5b), undercarboxynated osteocalcin (Uc-OC) and bone specific alkaline phosphate (BAP) are able to realize both BMD and bone quality while homocysteine is able to realize only bone quality, In RA patients annual bone mineral density changes are 0.14 + 2.70 in lumbar spine, 0.46 + in proximal hip and 1.14 + 1.85 in forearm. Some studies show that in lumbar spine Homocysteine is the significant predictor for fractures, while in the proximal hip and forearm homocysteine does not have any significance. The most potent predictors for hip and forearm fractures are DAS28-ESR, blood pressure and Vitamin D levels other authors consider a better predictor to be ACPA and Methotrexate dosage use. Another hypothesis suggests that mycobacterium Avium Paratuberculosis (MAP) infection associated with TNF polymorphisms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis might cause secondary osteoporosis and it was found that the association between MAP infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and a risk for development of osteoporosis. Conclusions. Osteoporosis is a common condition diagnosed in patients with RA. Secondary osteoporosis due to RA depends on the disease activity, ACPA level, MTX dosage. Some biochemical markers, as homocysteine, TRACP-5b, Uc-OC and bone specific alkaline phosphate can serve as predictors for osteoporotic fractures at different sites