Face Mask detection using Mask R-CNN to control the spread of Covid-19

Business executives are developing cutting-edge digital solutions as the virus outbreak spreads. A face mask detection system is one of them, and it can be used to spot people wearing them. Face mask identification software and applications have already been released by a few businesses, and others have promised to do the same for the service. The proposed work examines face mask detection accuracy using CNN networks. Mask wear is now required in many developed and developing countries worldwide when leaving the house or entering public spaces. It will be difficult to maintain touchless access control in buildings while recognising faces wearing masks on any surveillance systems. Masks covering faces has made face detection algorithms and performance difficult. The proposed work detect face mask labeled no mask or mask with detection accuracy. The work train the system to click images of a face and provide labeled data. The work is classified using Convolution Neural Network (CNN), a Deep learning technique, to classify the input image with the help of the classification algorithm MobileNetV2. The trained system shows whether a person in the video frame is wearing a mask or not. © 2023 IEEE.

Evaluation of the Cross-Platform Framework Flutter Using the Example of a Cancer Counselling App

The advance of digitalization is constantly bringing new solutions to various areas of life in our society. The COVID-19 pandemic, among other things, brought increased attention to the application and support of treatments through digital solutions in the healthcare sector due to contact restrictions. However, the development of digital solutions comes at a high cost in terms of time and expenses. Mobile app development requires the development of two separate apps for the two respective market-leading mobile operating systems iOS and Android. Cross-platform frameworks make it possible to develop apps for both operating systems on a single code base, thus saving the development and maintenance of two separate codes. Flutter is currently the most popular cross-platform framework for the development of mobile apps. This paper has evaluated Flutter based on an existing criteria catalogue. As a usage context for the evaluation, a prototype for Cancer Counselling App of the University Medical Center Freiburg was implemented. According to the gained own prototyping experience with Flutter and a thorough literature analysis in this area, the criteria catalogue was filled out and the result was compared with other mobile App development paradigms. Copyright © 2023 by SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Blockchain in Dubai: Toward a Sustainable Digital Future

As governments across the world examine blockchain technology, there are growing concerns about how to implement, enforce and maximize the benefits of the technology. Many countries have to do extensive research and analysis before coming up with proposals. The future of the Emirates Economy is getting less foggy as COVID-19 pushes many government sectors to dip their toes in digital blockchains. It is just a matter of time until blockchain technology is fully implemented in both the public and private sectors. This chapter's purpose is to first understand what is blockchain? Second, to explore blockchain technology in Dubai and third, to describe the sustainable aspects generated by blockchain by looking at different projects implemented in Dubai. The paper summarizes several measures for implementing, promoting and regulating the advancement of blockchain technology taking the example of Dubai. Finance, supply chain, digital identity, energy, healthcare, real estate, transportation and crowdfunding are only a few industries that have well-embraced blockchain technology. This chapter uses an exploratory approach by reviewing past studies and literature reviews on the topic of blockchain in Dubai. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.

The Artificial Intelligence in Teledermatology: A Narrative Review on Opportunities, Perspectives, and Bottlenecks.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is recently seeing significant advances in teledermatology (TD), also thanks to the developments that have taken place during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last two years, there was an important development of studies that focused on opportunities, perspectives, and problems in this field. The topic is very important because the telemedicine and AI applied to dermatology have the opportunity to improve both the quality of healthcare for citizens and the workflow of healthcare professionals. This study conducted an overview on the opportunities, the perspectives, and the problems related to the integration of TD with AI. The methodology of this review, following a standardized checklist, was based on: (I) a search of PubMed and Scopus and (II) an eligibility assessment, using parameters with five levels of score. The outcome highlighted that applications of this integration have been identified in various skin pathologies and in quality control, both in eHealth and mHealth. Many of these applications are based on Apps used by citizens in mHealth for self-care with new opportunities but also open questions. A generalized enthusiasm has been registered regarding the opportunities and general perspectives on improving the quality of care, optimizing the healthcare processes, minimizing costs, reducing the stress in the healthcare facilities, and in making citizens, now at the center, more satisfied. However, critical issues have emerged related to: (a) the need to improve the process of diffusion of the Apps in the hands of citizens, with better design, validation, standardization, and cybersecurity; (b) the need for better attention paid to medico-legal and ethical issues; and (c) the need for the stabilization of international and national regulations. Targeted agreement initiatives, such as position statements, guidelines, and/or consensus initiatives, are needed to ensure a better result for all, along with the design of both specific plans and shared workflows.

RESEARCH OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR DURING THE PANDEMIC: DIGITAL SOLUTIONS IN THE LOCKDOWN ERA

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has been one of the most important and devastating events in the past two years. Scientists from various fields have studied the consequences of this crisis using comparative and analytical research methods. Based on their findings, it can be concluded that digital transformation is now a prerequisite for any company's activities. Social media has been important in society prior to the pandemic, but is now gaining even more momentum. Companies from various industries can develop an advantageous interaction and promotional channel on social networks. For small businesses, utilizing social media to sell groceries for home delivery is an effective way to embark on a digital transformation process. For larger organizations, digital social media can assist in building societies around their brands, particularly during times of uncertainty and high user traffic. In addition, organizations need to consider ways to minimize consumer risks, which can be divided into two main types: risks of infection and risks of fraud and data abuse in e-commerce transactions. The risk of infection is expected to decrease as a result of massive vaccination campaigns. To address the risk of fraud in online transactions, businesses can eliminate probable fraud risks through security protocols, integrations, and a blend of communications, technologies, and promotion through licensed operators. © 2022, Procedia Environmental Science, Engineering and Management. All Rights Reserved.

Adapting Digital Environment to Sustain Operations Remotely

Oil and gas remote operations (RO) enabled by automation and digital solutions are reducing the number of people required to work in the wellsite;many subject matter experts can now complete their daily tasks from the safety of the office in town. We have been transitioning to these new ways of working for some time, and the progress has been greatly accelerated to help ensure business continuity for customers during COVID-19 restrictions, allowing high numbers of wellsite operatives the freedom to work from home. For the Oil & Gas companies that have experimented with more technology, the results have been incredible. Digital transformation has finally hit the industry and it's taking off to meet sustainable goal of upstream companies, this transformation is one such measure by which these goals can be approached. Despite the global availability of technology to handle analytical task from a safe distance, substantial drilling activities have been carried out traditionally across globe. Such traditional drilling operations were carried out in Thailand where client and SLB work together in fast paced factory drilling environment where an oil well can drill and complete within 7 days for 2 strings (2-sections only) 2400-2600 m in onshore operation which requires experienced people to monitor and execute tasks. To support such operation from town i.e., remotely with systematic monitoring by skilled people, one requires to adapt digitization. This paper demonstrates the ability of SLB to adapt the digital environment by introducing "Remote Operation Center" setup enabling to help client achieve their sustainable goals within budget and provided an alternate solution to sustain operations in COVID-19 pandemic. Remote Operations is the ability to operate a system or a machine at a distance;one can handle multiple operations from a safe environment of office in town using technology. It unfolds analytical task & physical task;the former is handed over to Remote Operation Center and physical task is left at rig crew. The Remote Operation Center execute both Directional Drilling (DD) and Measurement & Logging While Drilling (MLWD) services at the well site, from town. Executing Directional Drilling Remote Operation was more challenging. RO moves industry towards future and pushes all other traditional players to work on sustainable goals while adapting to digital environment. On site presence of crew was reduced by 50% while maintaining same pace of operations with better data analysis. Copyright 2023, Society of Petroleum Engineers.

The Potential of the Remote Monitoring Digital Solutions to Sustain the Mental and Emotional Health of the Elderly during and Post COVID-19 Crisis in Romania.

The COVID-19 pandemic amplified the elderly's aging-related dysfunctionalities and vulnerabilities. Research surveys, aimed at evaluating the socio-physical-emotional state of the elderly and obtaining data on their access to medical services and information media services during the pandemic, were carried out on Romanian respondents aged 65+. Identification and mitigation of the risk of emotional and mental long-term decline of the elderly after SARS-CoV-2 infection, based on the implementation of a specific procedure, can be performed through Remote Monitoring Digital Solutions (RMDSs). The aim of this paper is to propose a procedure for the identification and mitigation of the risk of emotional and mental long-term decline of the elderly after SARS-CoV-2 infection that comprises RMDS. The importance of using the knowledge obtained by COVID-19-related surveys corroborating the necessity of including personalized RMDS in the procedure is highlighted. The Non-invasive Monitoring System and Health Assessment of the Elderly in a Smart Environment (RO-SmartAgeing) is an RMDS designed to address the improved preventative and proactive support for diminishing this risk and to provide suitable assistance for the elderly through a safe and efficient smart environment. Its comprehensive functionalities targeted supporting primary healthcare assistance, specific medical conditions-as the mental and emotional disorders post-SARS-CoV-2 infection-and enlarged access to aging-related information, together with customizable features, illustrated the match with the requirements included in the proposed procedure.

Digital solutions and Moroccan companies during the Covid-19 pandemic

The novel Covid-19 pandemic has massively caused considerable damages to various industries and sectors in the whole world. As is the case in the rest of the other countries, Moroccan supply chains (SCs) have been seriously disrupted. To adapt to this new condition, Moroccan companies need to quickly adjust their processes through the use of digital technologies. This research seeks to analyse how Moroccan companies responded to the Covid-19 pandemic through the adoption of digital solutions. The present data were collected from 196 companies sampled across different regions in Morocco and analysed using the Chi-square test, the algorithmic K-means method, and the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings revealed that the sector has impacted the behavior of the supply chain (SC) in the adoption of technological solutions. Findings also revealed that the companies operating in the first and second sector have mobilized expensive technological tools to overcome the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, companies with a simple SC have mobilized low-cost digital solutions to maintain their resilience.

Evidence of mobile health integration into primary health care systems for better maternal mental health in LMICs during COVID-19 pandemic - Review.

Mental illnesses are prevalent worldwide, especially in the underdeveloped countries of the South Asian region, particularly in women, where they largely remain unaddressed. Evidence from the South Asian region indicates that there is a high burden of mental disorders in vulnerable populations such as pregnant women. Mental health problems during pregnancy and in the postpartum period are twice as common in LMICs as compared to HICs. Interventions delivered by community health workers (CHWs) in many health delivery and promotive initiatives have played a vital role in improving mental health. CHW-based interventions are cost-effective, efficient and acceptable for the local people and can strengthen the overall health system. This review aimed to explore integration of maternal mental health into existing maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) programs so that delivery of mental health interventions can be done alongside MNCH interventions. Integrating maternal mental health programmes into existing MNCH programs and using digital platforms for expanding their delivery through CHWs, lay counsellors, and other frontline health workers can prove to be a promising strategy. Even though mHealth platforms for addressing a variety of health issues have been widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital platforms for addressing maternal mental health issues remains inadequate.

Digital solutions and Moroccan companies during the Covid-19 pandemic

The novel Covid-19 pandemic has massively caused considerable damages to various industries and sectors in the whole world. As is the case in the rest of the other countries, Moroccan supply chains (SCs) have been seriously disrupted. To adapt to this new condition, Moroccan companies need to quickly adjust their processes through the use of digital technologies. This research seeks to analyse how Moroccan companies responded to the Covid-19 pandemic through the adoption of digital solutions. The present data were collected from 196 companies sampled across different regions in Morocco and analysed using the Chi-square test, the algorithmic K-means method, and the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings revealed that the sector has impacted the behavior of the supply chain (SC) in the adoption of technological solutions. Findings also revealed that the companies operating in the first and second sector have mobilized expensive technological tools to overcome the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, companies with a simple SC have mobilized low-cost digital solutions to maintain their resilience. © 2022 IEEE.

Foundation Level Barriers to the Widespread Adoption of Digital Solutions by Care Homes: Insights from Three Scottish Studies.

The care home sector has great potential to benefit from technological innovations and to be at the forefront of developing novel digital solutions to improve the experiences of care home residents, their families, and the staff caring for them. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed variability in digital capabilities and longstanding data challenges within the care home sector. Paradoxically, however, it also increased the use of digital tools and services to support residents and staff. There are, however, a number of barriers to sustained and widespread adoption of digital solutions by care homes. Here, the focus is on foundation-level barriers and the groundwork required to overcome them. Using data from three Scottish-based studies, foundation-level barriers to the adoption of digital tools and services faced by care homes are discussed. These main barriers are the need for robust basic internet connectivity; capabilities for digital data collection; access to data to inform and drive digital solutions; the need for trust in the use of resident data by commercial companies; and the danger that poorly coordinated strategies undermine efforts to build a care home data platform and the digital solutions it can support. Sustained and widespread adoption of digital solutions by care homes will require these foundation-level barriers to be addressed. Strong and stable data and digital foundations supported by sector-specific scaffolding are major prerequisites to the widespread adoption of digital solutions by care homes.

Public Procurement of Innovative and Technological Solutions in the EU

Smart cities should identify and procure the best technical solutions for their communities and companies while at the same time demonstrating the local economic benefits of public procurement. Whenever possible, the procurement process should increase innovation in sustainability. Public procurement of innovative solutions can contribute to the economic recovery of the EU, especially after the crisis caused by COVID-19 with the help of better and more technologically accessible public investments. It is a means of stimulating the transformation of European economies into digital economies. This paper seeks to explain the use and advantages of public procurement of innovative solutions. The contracting authority acts as the first customer (launch customer) of innovative goods or services that are not yet widely available commercially and are technologically acceptable. Instead of buying a finished product, service or process, the contracting authority acts as the first user and buys a product, service or process that is new to the market and has significant new features in terms of innovation and technological achievements. Therefore, this paper will try to identify how various stakeholders can use innovative and technology-aware public procurement systems procedures and contribute to the accelerated development of digitalization mandated by the European Commission. © 2022 Croatian Society MIPRO.

Key Stakeholder Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing Remote Monitoring Technologies: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The implementation of novel digital solutions within the National Health Service has historically been challenging. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a greater push for digitization and for operating remote monitoring solutions. However, the implementation and widespread adoption of this type of innovation have been poorly studied. OBJECTIVE: We aim to investigate key stakeholder barriers and facilitators to implementing remote monitoring solutions to identify factors that could affect successful adoption. METHODS: A mixed methods approach will be implemented. Semistructured interviews will be conducted with high-level stakeholders from industry and academia and health care providers who have played an instrumental role in, and have prior experience with, implementing digital solutions, alongside the use of an adapted version of the Technology Acceptance Model questionnaire. RESULTS: Enrollment is currently underway, having started in February 2022. It is anticipated to end in July 2022, with data analysis scheduled to commence in August 2022. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study may highlight key barriers and facilitators to implementing digital remote monitoring solutions, thereby allowing for improved widespread adoption within the National Health Service in the future. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05321004; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05321004.

Getting the Country Back to Work, Safely: A Digital Solution

This article explains how businesses can use a widely available, low-cost technology to protect their employees from Covid-19 as they return to work. The proposed approach encompasses the need for better management of processes that can limit infection spread, including management of employee movements, physical distancing, segmentation of personnel into groups, and coordination of sanitization activities. © 2020 ACM.

Pilot of a digital contact tracing card in a hospital setting in New Zealand, 2020.

Countries are rapidly developing digital contact tracing solutions to augment manual contact tracing. There is limited empirical evidence evaluating these tools. We conducted a feasibility study of a Bluetooth-enabled card with hospital staff in New Zealand (n = 42). We compared the card data against self-report contact surveys and a stronger Bluetooth device. The cards detected substantially more contacts than self-report contact surveys, while the concordance between Bluetooth devices was high, suggesting that the cards detected clinically relevant close contacts. There was high acceptability among participants, suggesting that their integration would be accepted by healthcare staff. As the pandemic shifts, there is a need to rapidly contact trace and conduct informed risk management, particularly in critical settings such as healthcare.

The role of Design and digital media as the basis for conceiving complementary digital means to aid the treatment and support of individuals with cognitive disabilities

This research’s goal is to demonstrate the contribution that digital media can have in supporting individuals with cognitive impairment, namely in the access to sensory therapies and clinical followup. The study is being developed for the Portuguese context, where this type of therapy is available mainly through Snoezelen rooms. These therapy rooms are mainly located in large urban centers and their supply is far below demand. In the last two years, this situation was significantly worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced an even greater limitation to these rooms. This study arises then with the goal of answering to this difficulty of accessing sensory therapies, through the creation of an online solution that works as an alternative and complementary resource. This paper focuses on this research’s first phase, in which was conducted the identification and analysis of the problem;the literature review on the role of design for inclusion;the analysis of the digital solutions currently available in the market;and the presentation of the first studies of the prototype that is being developed. The results obtained with this study’s first phase show that there is currently no online solution that answers, in a relevant way, to the needs of this community;and that Design, through its methodologies, may offer a contribution to the construction of an interface solution that favours inclusion. © 2021 Association for Computing Machinery.

Privacy Concerns Due to the Platformization of Secondary Education in Bulgaria in the Time of a Global Pandemic

This paper discusses the platformization of education in the time of a global pandemic in order to better understand the potential privacy implications for the teachers who had first-hand experience with this rapid digital transition. We have developed a case study of Bulgarian secondary education including eleven in-depth interviews aiming to grasp the main context-specific concerns, values, and norms related to privacy in the sector. On the basis of this data, we argue that educational technology (edtech) should be governed with the communities it serves in mind while respecting the appropriateness and the integrity of the information flows. Potential disruptions should be renegotiated with all affected parties before settling for a certain digital solution to be used in class. © 2021 IEEE.

Public administrations' digital response to COVID-19 in the European Union: A closer look at the enabling factors

Following the publication of the report on Public Administrations' Digital Response to COVID-19 in the European Union, this paper aims at showcasing good practices regarding the development and/or the implementation of digital solutions by public administrations to avoid the disruption of public services during the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis, looking at the period from March to June 2020. The paper explores the factors enabling the continuation of public services in this timeframe thanks to the development and/or implementation of digital solutions. A three-pronged data collection was adopted: desk research, a survey sent to national representatives of EU Member States, and three country-specific case studies. Results show that many EU public administrations have demonstrated their resilience and ability to adapt in times of crisis thanks to digitalisation. Supported by political and hierarchical leadership, public administrations leveraged in-house digital skills and cross-administration collaboration and harnessed pre-existing interoperability efforts to implement digital solutions in short timespans. © 2021 ACM.

A Theory-Based, Multidisciplinary Approach to Cocreate a Patient-Centric Digital Solution to Enhance Perioperative Health Outcomes Among Colorectal Cancer Patients and Their Family Caregivers: Development and Evaluation Study.

BACKGROUND: Elective colorectal cancer (CRC) surgeries offer enhanced surgical outcomes but demand high self-efficacy in prehabilitation and competency in self-care and disease management postsurgery. Conventional strategies to meet perioperative needs have not been pragmatic, and there remains a pressing need for novel technologies that could improve health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to describe the development of a smartphone-based interactive CRC self-management enhancement psychosocial program (iCanManage) in order to improve health outcomes among patients who undergo elective CRC surgeries and their family caregivers. METHODS: A multidisciplinary international team comprising physicians, specialist nurses, a psychologist, software engineers, academic researchers, cancer survivors, patient ambassadors, and ostomy care medical equipment suppliers was formed to facilitate the development of this patient-centric digital solution. The process occurred in several stages: (1) review of current practice through clinic visits and on-site observations; (2) review of literature and findings from preliminary studies; (3) content development grounded in an underpinning theory; (4) integration of support services; and (5) optimizing user experience through improving interface aesthetics and customization. In our study, 5 participants with CRC performed preliminary assessments on the quality of the developed solution using the 20-item user version of the Mobile App Rating Scale (uMARS), which had good psychometric properties. RESULTS: Based on the collected uMARS data, the smartphone app was rated highly for functionality, aesthetics, information quality, and perceived impact, and moderately for engagement and subjective quality. Several limiting factors such as poor agility in the adoption of digital technology and low eHealth literacy were identified despite efforts to promote engagement and ensure ease of use of the mobile app. To overcome such barriers, additional app-training sessions, an instruction manual, and regular telephone calls will be incorporated into the iCanManage program during the trial period. CONCLUSIONS: This form of multidisciplinary collaboration is advantageous as it can potentially streamline existing care paths and allow the delivery of more holistic care to the CRC population during the perioperative period. Should the program be found to be effective and sustainable, hospitals adopting this digital solution may achieve better resource allocation and reduce overall health care costs in the long run. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04159363; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04159363.