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Intelligent process automation and its relevance to various industries
No full textIntelligent process automation represents a significant leap forward in the integration of artificial intelligence and robotic process automation to streamline and enhance various business operations. As industries strive to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and stay competitive, the adoption of IPA has gained considerable momentum. This chapter explores the transformative potential, current applications, and future trends and innovations of IPA. The primary objective is to provide a comprehensive analysis of how IPA is being utilized across diverse industries, including finance, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, telecommunications, and insurance. It addresses key questions regarding the components and technologies underpinning IPA, its benefits and challenges, and future research opportunities. A multi-method approach was employed, including a thorough review of existing literature and interviews with industry experts. The chapter is structured to provide an in-depth overview of IPA, followed by detailed examinations of its applications across various industries. Benefits such as increased efficiency, cost reduction, and improved accuracy are discussed alongside challenges like system integration and data security. Future trends and innovations in IPA are highlighted, and real-world case studies provide practical insights. The chapter concludes with strategic recommendations and a summary of key findings, aiming to guide further research and development in the field of IPA
Pakistan’s international investment policy: towards a new generation of fair and equitable treatment provisions
Get PDFFair and equitable treatment is the most invoked substantive protective standard which exists in the majority of Pakistan’s international investment agreements. The standard has gained prominence as a controversial provision available to foreign investors due to being regularly being invoked in investor state disputes.
The international investment agreements do not provide adequate protection for Pakistan. The main argument put forward by this thesis is that the present interpretation and application of fair and equitable treatment creates an imbalance in rights of foreign investors and the regulatory space of Pakistan as a host state.
This thesis therefore analyses the contemporary nature of fair and equitable treatment provisions in Pakistan’s International Investment Agreements prior to drawing a conclusion as to why they do not adequately protect the interests of Pakistan as a host state. This is undertaken by conducting doctrinal research of the fair and equitable treatment provisions and by using case studies of the mining and construction industries.
Given the lack of adequate protection provided by the international investment agreements for Pakistan, my thesis examines different jurisdictions to identify whether these jurisdictions can assist Pakistan in protecting the interests of Pakistan. Lastly, my thesis argues that a reform of fair and equitable treatment can protect Pakistan and accommodate the interests of foreign investors.
Fair and equitable treatment is an obligation on a host state to act fairly and equitably towards the investments of foreign investors. Fair and equitable treatment has gained popularity over the years as it is the most invoked substantive protective standard by foreign investors in investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) cases. This is due to the lack of a definition of fair and equitable treatment in international investment agreements. Attempts to clarify the meaning and interpretation of fair and equitable treatment have exacerbated the application of the standard resulting in implications for host states. This has resulted in a rise of investor state dispute settlement cases against host states, in particular, developing countries have been affected the most. As a result, tribunals, arbitrators and organisations have established an ongoing reform of fair and equitable treatment in international investment law
Development of Digital Health Gender and Sexual Health Literacy scale
Get PDFIntroduction
Health literacy, as the ability to obtain, process and understand health information, including gender and sexuality awareness, appears to be underdeveloped in terms of measurement tools and thematic materials. The literature indicates the existence of serious deficits in gender and sexual health literacy at all levels, with implications for relationships with citizens and patients.
Methods
Delphi study agreement was conducted and a pool of potential scale items was generated, reflecting a range of skills and abilities within each domain. Items were carefully worded to ensure clarity, cultural sensitivity and relevance to different gender identities and sexual orientations. Expert review and cognitive pre-testing were employed to refine item wording, assess content validity, and ensure that the 10-item scale was comprehensible and relevant to the target population.
Results
The theoretical development of the 10-item Digital Health Gender and Sexual Health Literacy Scale was successfully completed. The scale items were designed to provide a comprehensive measure of an individual’s ability to navigate the digital landscape for gender and sexual health information.
Conclusions
The theoretical validation of the Digital Health Gender and Sexual Health Literacy Scale (DiGeSHeL) provides the community with a promising tool to assess individuals’ confidence and ability to use digital technologies for sexual health information and resources. However, further research is needed to validate the scale and test its reliability with a diverse group of participants. Once validated, this scale could be a valuable tool for sexual health promotion programmes to identify gaps and evaluate the impact of digital literacy interventions.
Key messages
• Gender and sexual literacy are crucial for health.
• Health literacy as six vital sign
The effectiveness of structured physical activity on agitation in people with dementia: A rapid review
No full textObjectives: Managing agitation and other behaviours that challenge is a significant dementia care challenge. The priority is to find effective non-pharmacological interventions as drug treatments can have significant side effects. This review evaluates the effectiveness of structured physical activity on agitation in dementia.
Method: Our rapid review searched four electronic databases, Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE, CINAHL and Embase, for interventional studies using a structured physical activity programme in people with dementia and studied the effect of this activity on behaviours that challenge. Study quality was assessed using CASP criteria and data was narratively synthesised.
Results: We included 13 studies in this review (four rated as high quality), involving a total of 1546 participants. Results were analysed according to exercise type, frequency and intensity of the intervention. Exercise is effective in reducing agitation and studies with higher adherence to exercise demonstrated more positive effects on agitation and behaviours that challenge.
Conclusion: Physical activity can be effective in reducing agitation in older adults with dementia. Further research is needed to clarify the type of intervention that is most beneficial. Strategies to make physical activity more acceptable and available to people with dementia need to be established
The psychosocial burden of cutaneous leishmaniasis in rural Sri Lanka: A multi-method qualitative study.
Get PDFLeishmaniasis is a tropical infectious disease affecting some of the world's most economically disadvantaged and resource-poor regions. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common out of the three clinical types of Leishmaniasis. Since 1904 this disease has been endemic in Sri Lanka. CL is considered a disfiguring stigmatising disease with a higher psychosocial burden. However, there needs to be a more in-depth, holistic understanding of the psychosocial burden of this disease, both locally and internationally. An in-depth understanding of the disease burden beyond morbidity and mortality is required to provide people-centred care. We explored the psychosocial burden of CL in rural Sri Lanka using a complex multimethod qualitative approach with community engagement and involvement. Data collection included participant observation, an auto-ethnographic diary study by community researchers with post-diary interviews, and a Participant Experience Reflection Journal (PERJ) study with post-PERJ interviews with community members with CL. The thematic analysis revealed three major burden-related themes on perceptions and reflections on the disease: wound, treatment, and illness-experience related burden. Fear, disgust, body image concerns, and being subjected to negative societal reactions were wound-related. Treatment interfering with day-to-day life, pain, the time-consuming nature of the treatment, problems due to the ineffectiveness of the treatment, and the burden of attending a government hospital clinic were the treatment-related burdens. Anxiety/worry due to wrongly perceived disease severity and negative emotions due to the nature of the disease made the illness experience more burdensome. Addressing the multifaceted psychosocial burden is paramount to ensure healthcare seeking, treatment compliance, and disease control and prevention. We propose a people-centred healthcare model to understand the contextual nature of the disease and improve patient outcomes. [Abstract copyright: Copyright: © 2024 Nuwangi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Richborough - The secret port
No full textUsing primary sources to describe the secret development, operation and disposal of Richborough port in the First World War, including the controversy over its command and control
Lee Silverman voice treatment versus NHS speech and language therapy versus control for dysarthria in people with Parkinson's disease (PD COMM): pragmatic, UK based, multicentre, three arm, parallel group, unblinded, randomised controlled trial.
Get PDFTo assess the clinical effectiveness of two speech and language therapy approaches versus no speech and language therapy for dysarthria in people with Parkinson's disease. Pragmatic, UK based, multicentre, three arm, parallel group, unblinded, randomised controlled trial. The speech and language therapy interventions were delivered in outpatient or home settings between 26 September 2016 and 16 March 2020. 388 people with Parkinson's disease and dysarthria. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups (1:1:1): 130 to Lee Silverman voice treatment (LSVT LOUD), 129 to NHS speech and language therapy, and 129 to no speech and language therapy. LSVT LOUD consisted of four, face-to-face or remote, 50 min sessions each week delivered over four weeks. Home based practice activities were set for up to 5-10 mins daily on treatment days and 15 mins twice daily on non-treatment days. Dosage for the NHS speech and language therapy was determined by the local therapist in response to the participants' needs (estimated from prior research that NHS speech and language therapy participants would receive an average of one session per week over six to eight weeks). Local practices for NHS speech and language therapy were accepted, except for those within the LSVT LOUD protocol. Analyses were based on the intention to treat principle. The primary outcome was total score at three months of self-reported voice handicap index. People who received LSVT LOUD reported lower voice handicap index scores at three months after randomisation than those who did not receive speech and language therapy (-8.0 points (99% confidence interval -13.3 to -2.6); P<0.001). No evidence suggests a difference in voice handicap index scores between NHS speech and language therapy and no speech and language therapy (1.7 points (-3.8 to 7.1); P=0.43). Patients in the LSVT LOUD group also reported lower voice handicap index scores than did those randomised to NHS speech and language therapy (-9.6 points (-14.9 to -4.4); P<0.001). 93 adverse events (predominately vocal strain) were reported in the LSVT LOUD group, 46 in the NHS speech and language therapy group, and none in the no speech and language therapy group. No serious adverse events were recorded. LSVT LOUD was more effective at reducing the participant reported impact of voice problems than was no speech and language therapy and NHS speech and language therapy. NHS speech and language therapy showed no evidence of benefit compared with no speech and language therapy. ISRCTN registry ISRCTN12421382. [Abstract copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Monitoring daily sleep, mood, and affect using digital rechnologies and wearables: A systematic review
Get PDFBackground: Sleep and affective states are closely intertwined. Nevertheless, previous methods to evaluate sleep-affect associations have been limited by poor ecological validity, with a few studies examining temporal or dynamic interactions in naturalistic settings. Objectives: First, to update and integrate evidence from studies investigating the reciprocal relationship between daily sleep and affective phenomena (mood, affect, and emotions) through ambulatory and prospective monitoring. Second, to evaluate differential patterns based on age, affective disorder diagnosis (bipolar, depression, and anxiety), and shift work patterns on day-to-day sleep-emotion dyads. Third, to summarise the use of wearables, actigraphy, and digital tools in assessing longitudinal sleep-affect associations. Method: A comprehensive PRISMA-compliant systematic review was conducted through the EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE(R), PsycINFO, and Scopus databases. Results: Of the 3024 records screened, 121 studies were included. Bidirectionality of sleep-affect associations was found (in general) across affective disorders (bipolar, depression, and anxiety), shift workers, and healthy participants representing a range of age groups. However, findings were influenced by the sleep indices and affective dimensions operationalised, sampling resolution, time of day effects, and diagnostic status. Conclusions: Sleep disturbances, especially poorer sleep quality and truncated sleep duration, were consistently found to influence positive and negative affective experiences. Sleep was more often a stronger predictor of subsequent daytime affect than vice versa. The strength and magnitude of sleep-affect associations were more robust for subjective (self-reported) sleep parameters compared to objective (actigraphic) sleep parameters
Capital structure and public corruption among non-financial firms in the MENA region: The impact of the Arab spring.
Get PDFThis study investigated the determinants of financing decisions of firms from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, particularly the effect of public corruption on financing decisions and the effect of disorder following the Arab Spring on public corruption-financing structure relationship. The study encompasses a total of 800 business entities from 14 different countries, spanning the time frame of 2005-2018. Data is analyzed through the application of static fixed effects and dynamic GMM-System models. Results indicate that large, tangible companies prefer debt, whereas profitable companies with more room for growth choose equity. Less corruption is associated with increased corporate debt. The use of debt decreased because of the Arab Spring, and corruption's effect on leverage became weaker. The speed of adjustment to the target leverage is comparatively slow for book leverage, while it is significantly greater for market leverage. These outcomes are consistent with the pecking order behavior resulted from increasing information asymmetry, but the tradeoff theory has some support as well. The implications of this study entail the need for enhancing investor protection, strengthening control measures, increasing transparency, and fostering the overall growth of the financial system to facilitate enterprises' use of debt financing, particularly in the post-Arab Spring era. This paper provides fresh empirical evidence demonstrating the effect of the Arab Spring on capital structure and on the relationship between country corruption and capital structure in the MENA region. The paper also expands the body of research on capital structure and corruption across countries by providing empirical findings from a region that has been relatively overlooked in previous scholarly works. [Abstract copyright: © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.