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The Use of Mobile Apps and SMS Messaging as Physical and Mental Health Interventions: Systematic Review
No full textThe initial introduction of the World Wide Web in 1990 brought around the biggest change in information acquisition. Due to the abundance of devices and ease of access they subsequently allow, the utility of mobile health (mHealth) has never been more endemic. A substantial amount of interactive and psychoeducational apps are readily available to download concerning a wide range of health issues. mHealth has the potential to reduce waiting times for appointments; eradicate the need to meet in person with a clinician, successively diminishing the workload of mental health professionals; be more cost effective to practices; and encourage self-care tactics. Previous research has given valid evidence with empirical studies proving the effectiveness of physical and mental health interventions using mobile apps. Alongside apps, there is evidence to show that receiving short message service (SMS) messages, which entail psychoeducation, medication reminders, and links to useful informative Web pages can also be advantageous to a patient's mental and physical well-being. Available mHealth apps and SMS services and their ever improving quality necessitates a systematic review in the area in reference to reduction of symptomology, adherence to intervention, and usability.
The aim of this review was to study the efficacy, usability, and feasibility of mobile apps and SMS messages as mHealth interventions for self-guided care.
A systematic literature search was carried out in JMIR, PubMed, PsychINFO, PsychARTICLES, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, and SAGE. The search spanned from January 2008 to January 2017. The primary outcome measures consisted of weight management, (pregnancy) smoking cessation, medication adherence, depression, anxiety and stress. Where possible, adherence, feasibility, and usability outcomes of the apps or SMS services were evaluated. Between-group and within-group effect sizes (Cohen d) for the mHealth intervention method group were determined.
A total of 27 studies, inclusive of 4658 participants were reviewed. The papers included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (n=19), within-group studies (n=7), and 1 within-group study with qualitative aspect. Studies show improvement in physical health and significant reductions of anxiety, stress, and depression. Within-group and between-group effect sizes ranged from 0.05-3.37 (immediately posttest), 0.05-3.25 (1-month follow-up), 0.08-3.08 (2-month follow-up), 0.00-3.10 (3-month follow-up), and 0.02-0.27 (6-month follow-up). Usability and feasibility of mHealth interventions, where reported, also gave promising, significant results.
The review shows the promising and emerging efficacy of using mobile apps and SMS text messaging as mHealth interventions
Challenges affecting the implementation of e-procurement in the Malawi Public Sector: - The Case of Malawi Housing Corporation, Lilongwe City Council, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Immigration Department and Malawi Defence Force.
No full textAs part of e-government initiative, the public sector is encouraged to adopt e-procurement systems and some initiatives are currently underway in Malawi public sector. Despite the numerous benefits of e-procurement and goals set by the Government of Malawi (GoM) to reduce costs, improve service delivery, enhance transparency and efficiency, the public sector is reluctant to move procurement to the Internet and government ministries or departments have not yet implemented e-procurement.This study aimed at assessing the challenges that affect the implementation of e-procurement, perceived benefits, and critical success factors for effective implementation. Both Qualitative and Quantitative research methodologies were used as a guide to achieve the research objectives and the Questionnaire was used to collect data from government ministries and departments. Systematic Random sampling was used to select the government offices to be included in the study then purposive sampling was used to obtain the required primary data from respondents that are knowledgeable with the subject area. Out of the 113 questionnaires distributed, only 91 were received and analyzed, representing 81 percent response rate. Data was analyzed using thematic areas for qualitative (descriptive data) and excel for quantitative data. The results indicate that all the public entities in this study currently do not use any form of e-procurement but they are ready to adopt some. However, the respondents were able to identify the benefits that include, reduced maverick buying and reduced lead time. Challenges for implementation include lack of trained personnel, organizational culture that does not embrace technology, lack of managerial support and cost for setting up the system. The respondents further identified some critical success factors for e-procurement implementation and these include enhanced managerial support and end user training as the major ones. While system integration, users and supplier involvement are the secondary factors for consideration too. The researcher concluded that e-procurement requires resources, training and enactment of law within the public procurement framework for improved efficiency and service delivery. Hence, recommendations have been made to various stakeholders to enhance the implementation process. For instance, the Government of Malawi (GoM) to reduce taxes on ICT equipment and develop curriculum on e-procurement in institutions of higher learning. Executive management of public institutions to involve staff during implementation and train staff on e-procurement systems and tools usage. Lastly, recommendations to employees to acquire the necessary skills through attendance of short term or long term learning from institutions such as Malawi institute of Management (MIM) to enhance computer skills capacity especially in e-procurement
Enjoyment and happiness
No full textThe chapter introduces modern perspectives on well-being, work and leisure as a context for presenting research on the importance of enjoyment for happiness and well-being, with comments on the implications for public policy. In-depth interviews show that high enjoyment , ‘optimal experience’ or ‘flow’ can occur when challenge is met with equal skill. Research using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) shows the importance of enjoyment for well-being. A survey on happiness showing the importance of enjoyment is presented. An empirical model indicates the important role of enjoyment in well-being, linking personal and situational factors. The importance of enjoyment, visual interest and the aesthetics of everyday life for well-being is also highlighted
Kelsen and the necessity of God in the natural-law doctrine
No full textIn this chapter, I examine Kelsen’s contention that the natural law doctrine necessarily depends on the existence of God or other supreme creator. I argue that this contention is based on a number of interrelated claims: that the natural law doctrine attempts to provide a definitive standard of justice; that such a definitive account may only be posited by a superhuman creator; that natural law seeks to derive principles of justice from the nature of reality; and that natural law norms may only be derived from a general norm posited by God, moreover, if natural lawyers deny the claim that the principles of natural law may only be derived from God, they must necessarily be attempting to derive an ought from an is. Throughout the chapter, I challenge Kelsen’s claims by considering natural law theories which do not conform to them. I consequently argue that Kelsen’s conception of natural law is a caricature which does not correspond to, or accurately reflect, the rich and varied tradition of natural law thought
An investigation on the effects of absence of councilors on local governance in Malawi; a case study of Blantyre district council (2009-2014)
No full textThe report presents the findings of a study that aimed at investigating the effects of the absence of local elected councillors in Malawi local government. The research focused on Blantyre district council with a target of Urban and Rural areas, because these are the key sections in which the absence of local elected councillors has largely affected. The research will make conclusions and recommendations from the secondary data reviewed in literature together with the data obtained from the primary key informant interviews analysed. Local government administration in Malawi has since the attainment of democracy faced a number of challenges in terms of representation, implementation of accountability and decentralisation and mobilisation of local people to participate in decision making. This according to the background of the paper has been caused by an absence of the local elected councillors which are the key actors in the representation of local people in local government. The study adopted a qualitative data strategy in both data collection and analysis. It used key informant interviews and literature review as data collection methods. The research adopted the content analysis in the discussion of the data presented. It samples a population of 7 key local government informants within the council who had first-hand information on the topic of study. The research found that, local elected councilors are a crucial entity in the administration of local government. However, their existence has been hindered by political factors that lead to manipulating and compromising democratic principles like elections so as to block their mandate.It is therefore on this basis that the research recommended that, the constitution should be reviewed to adapt with the new decentralisation provisions, create new strong legal structures that are to be instituted for enforcement of Malawi local electoral laws, fair conduct of elections by an independent electoral commission, continuous trainings of local elected councilors and citizen engagement would strengthen and ensure that councilors are in existence and deliver effectively
No-one plays alone
No full textThe discourses around games have tended to focus upon either their artefactual qualities or the phenomenological experience of play. In both cases, games are primarily to be understood singularly. An alternative approach, related to Foucault’s archaeological methods, is to focus upon the manner in which games share player practices with earlier games. This technique can be applied to all eras of games, and is not merely restricted to videogames – indeed, a significant proportion of the player practices of videogames descend directly from the player practices of tabletop games, especially in terms of the progenitive role of tabletop role-playing games for contemporary digital entertainment. Such player practices can be broadly understood in terms of interface (how the player engages with the game), world (what the player imagines is happening), or the agency practices that connect the interface and the world.Three propositions concerning the relationships between fictional setting and designed rule systems within games are explored, the last of which stresses the idea that ‘no-one plays alone’ i.e. that all play entails continuity of its practices over and above variation of those practices. These propositions are used to demonstrate three aesthetic flaws that are peculiar to, or particularly relevant for, videogames. This in turn leads to a discussion of the ways that commercially successful games have always proceeded by leveraging the existing networks of practice. The result is an alternative perspective for game design, game scholarship, or game critique, one that foregrounds the role of player practices
The influence of data protection and privacy frameworks on the design of learning analytics systems
No full textLearning analytics open up a complex landscape of privacy and policy issues, which, in turn, influence how learning analytics systems and practices are designed. Research and development is governed by regulations for data storage and management, and by research ethics. Consequently, when moving solutions out the research labs implementers meet constraints defined in national laws and justified in privacy frameworks. This paper explores how the OECD, APEC and EU privacy frameworks seek to regulate data privacy, with significant implications for the discourse of learning, and ultimately, an impact on the design of tools, architectures and practices that now are on the drawing board. A detailed list of requirements for learning analytics systems is developed, based on the new legal requirements defined in the European General Data Protection Regulation, which from 2018 will be enforced as European law. The paper also gives an initial account of how the privacy discourse in Europe, Japan, South-Korea and China is developing and reflects upon the possible impact of the different privacy frameworks on the design of LA privacy solutions in these countries. This research contributes to knowledge of how concerns about privacy and data protection related to educational data can drive a discourse on new approaches to privacy engineering based on the principles of Privacy by Design. For the LAK community, this study represents the first attempt to conceptualise the issues of privacy and learning analytics in a cross-cultural context. The paper concludes with a plan to follow up this research on privacy policies and learning analytics systems development with a new international study
3-D vertically aligned few layer graphene--partially reduced graphene oxide/sulfur electrodes for high performance lithium--sulfur batteries
No full text3-D vertically aligned few-layered graphene (FLGs) nanoflakes synthesised using microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition are melt-impregnated with partially reduced graphene oxide-sulfur (PrGO-S) nanocomposites for use in lithium–sulfur batteries. The aligned structure and the presence of interconnected micro voids/channels in the 3-D FLG/PrGO-S electrodes serves as template not only for the high sulfur loading (up to 80 wt%, areal loading of 1.2 mg cm−2) but also compensates for the volume changes occurring during charge–discharge cycles. The inter-connectivity of the electrode system further facilitates fast electronic and ionic transport pathways. Consequently, the binder-free 3-D FLG/PrGO-S electrodes display a high first-cycle capacity (1320 mA h g−1 at C/20), along with excellent rate capability of ∼830 mA h g−1 and 700 mA h g−1 at 2C and 5C rates, respectively. The residual functional groups of PrGO (–OH, –C–O–C– and –COOH) facilitate fast and reversible capture of Li+ ions while confining the polysulfide shuttles, thus, contributing to excellent cycling capability and retention capacity. The 3D electrodes demonstrate excellent capacity retention of ∼80% (1040 mA h g−1 at C/10) over 350 charge–discharge cycles. Comparatively, the 2-D planar PrGO-S electrodes displayed poor electronic conductivity and can only provide 560 mA h g−1 after 150 cycles, thereby further highlighting the vital role of the electrode morphology in improving the electrochemical performance of Li–S batteries
