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Robots are increasingly being used in the industry. Businesses that use robots can produce products and provide services at lower costs and with higher quality. Some industries, like automotive manufacturing, have become dependent on robots. The impact of robots on society and the greater economy is not clear. Robots threaten the jobs of lowskilled workers and even middle-skilled workers. While researchers and governments are trying to understand the impact of robots on the economy, it is commonly accepted that robots will be used more widely across all industries. With this in mind, it is useful to consider the current research in robotics at South African research institutions. This paper is such a review. It is not exhaustive, but it provides a sense of the robotics research being done in South African research institutions. It appears that research institutions do not work on common themes, yet many research groups relate their work to Industry 4.0. The review suggests that each research group is working on topics of interest to them. The implication of this is that a wide variety of robotic themes are being researched in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial awareness is an important competence for a mobile robotic system. A robot needs to localise and perform context interpretation to provide any meaningful service. With the deep learning tools and readily available sensors, visual place recognition is a first step towards identifying the environment to bring a robot closer to spatial awareness. In this paper, we implement place recognition on a mobile robot considering a deep learning approach. For simple place classification, where the task involves classifying images into a limited number of categories, all three architectures; VGG16, Inception-v3 and ResNet50, perform well. However, considering the pros and cons, the choice may depend on available computational resources and deployment constraints.

Different reinforcement learning (RL) methods exist to address the problem of combining multiple different learners to generate a superior learner. These existing methods usually assume that each learner uses the same algorithm and/or state representation. We propose an ensemble learner that combines a set of base learners and leverages the strengths of the different base learners online. We demonstrate the proposed ensemble learner’s ability to combine the strengths of multiple base learners and adapt to changes in base learner performance on various domains, including the Atari Breakout domain.

The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of the recruitment process on the organizational performance. It has been hypothesized in this study that an effective recruitment process could enhance the organizational process. After critically reviewing the literature, the study finds employee commitment as a key factor which affects the relationship between recruitment process and organizational performance. Therefore the second objective of the current study is to investigate the mediating role of employee commitment in the relationship between recruitment process and organizational performance. The data is collected from 247 employees of Fujairah National Group of UAE and the structural equation modeling using AMOS is used to analyze the data. The findings of the study show a great deal of agreement with the results. The findings of the study will be helpful for HR practitioners, policymakers and researchers in understanding the relationship between employee commitment, recruitment process, and organizational performance.

Burnout is an emerging concept of twenty first century. Its measurement and assessment has attracted the interest of scientists around the globe. Social scientists, particularly faced problems in deciding the dimensions of burnout. The most commonly used Maslach Burnout Inventory has three dimensions, however, there are more negatively coded items in this inventory that can undermine its validity. In response Oldenburg Burnout Inventory was developed with a uniform number of negative and positive items. It has been tested among different populations around the world with good factors structure, but it has not been tested in academia of Pakistan, especially among a diverse population of teaching staff. The current study aims at Econometric testing of Oldenburg Burnout Inventory followed by its distribution among 450 academic staff working in six universities of Pakistan. A cross-section research design was applied. The reliability was checked through calculating inter items statistics, i.e. Cronbach Alpha & Pearson correlation coefficients, while the construct validity was determined by running Factor Analysis. The reliability analysis showed that all items had mean Cronbach Alpha Coefficient of Σα= 0.83, whereas items-total correlations ranged up to r=0.62, which is evidence of its internal consistency. The results of Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed that that factor loadings ranged from 0.57 to 0.90. Similarly, the results of Confirmatory factor analysis showed that two-factor model demonstrated better fit as compared to one-factor model. The detailedEconometric analysis confirmed that Oldenburg Burnout Inventory is a reliable and valid tool for measurement of burnout in academia of Pakistan, thus it could also be successfully used in different working sectors of Pakistan for the assessment of Burnout. The findings of the current study are valuable additions into the existing body of knowledge and empirical research on the burnout inventories.

Literature identified employee empowerment under the socio-technical context can help to enhance sustainable manufacturing performance (SMP). However, few studies have attempted to empirically test the relationship between the employee empowerment and SMP. The current study focused on the investigation of the relationship between employee empowerment and SMP. The study used quantitative research design to address the problem. The study used random sample of 100 employees from large manufacturers in Malaysia to collect data on a 5 point- likert scale questionnaire adopted from the literature. Further, this data statistically tested using smart PLS (structural equation modeling) to empirical investigations of the relationships between employee empowerment and SMP. Results indicated that employee empowerment has a positive relationship with social, environmental and economic performance of the manufacturers in Malaysia. A result of the study suggests to the policy makers to enhance level of employee empowerment in order to improve SMP.

This study reveals the detailed conceptualization of integrity, ethics, freelancing, entrepreneurship, and role of integrity in the success of freelance and entrepreneurship. The paper is supported through conceptual review of an existing literature. It is found that integrity and ethics are well thought of similar but theoretically they are different; integrity is wholeness, pure, moral, and consistent characteristics; whilst the principles or set of rules within which one works are called ethics; a freelancer works on contract basis, is responsible for own-skill development, risks, commitments, business development, and maintenance of integrity in self, profession, and business; however, an entrepreneur is person who establishes a business with innovation, risk-taking and proactiveness. Current study found that the integrity is a core element for the success of any business whether it is freelancing or entrepreneurship; to main the integrity in business is an equal responsibility of both the employees and management. Furthermore, as the global culture is diverse in nature, some countries are liberal, some are under religious influence, and others are mixed cultured. Thus, the parameters for ethics and integrity may be different contextually, geographically, sociologically, and temporally. In order to further understand and determine such parameters an empirical research may be performed in future.

Highly competitive workplace trends of twenty first century have set new performance standards for academic staff. Now the academicians are expected to engage in multiple tasks resultantly they need extra energies and skills. The motivational hypothesis of Job Demands-Resources model states that resources play a vital role in installing energies and Performance. Following this proposition, the current study examined dynamic linkages between Resources, Work Engagement and Job Performance of academic staff working in universities of Pakistan. Using a cross section survey design, self reported data was collected on variables of Demographics, Resources, Work Engagement and Job Performance from 1184 academic staff working with 12 universities of Pakistan. Demographic data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, whereas Structural Equation Modeling was performed to know the linkages between selected variables. The demographic results revealed that the majority of academic staff were married, within the age of 20 to 40 years and were holding job positions of Lecturers and Assistant Professors, thus their job experience was between 05 to 15 years. The results of Structural Equation Modeling showed that Resources were significantly linked to Work Engagement and Work Performance, where Work Engagement acted as a mediator variable between Resources and Work Performance variables. It is concluded that resources are vital elements of better performance. Therefore, efforts should be directed towards the appropriate acquisition, distribution and utilization of resources, so that the Job Performance of teaching staff in Pakistan could be enhanced to the desired level.

This study examines the human resource practices that promote employee retention. Effective human resource practices can reduce employee turnover and increase retention within an organization. Key employees are the instrument for overall growth and development of an organization. This study focuses on telecom sector of Pakistan. The most important human resource practices have been identified with the help of literature. These practices are training and development, compensation and culture. A questionnaire was developed in this study with the help of literature to measure the identified human resource practices and employee retention. The sample size of this study was 250. Regression analysis was performed to analyse the data. The results of multiple regressions revealed a significant impact of human resource practices on employee retention. Compensation and culture has a positive relationship with employee retention whereas training and development has a negative one. This study guides the management to devise the effective strategies to improve the employee retention.

Since its passage in April 2006, the Massachusetts health reform law (Chapter 58) has expanded affordable insurance coverage to 355,000 people. Major milestones have been achieved, including establishment of new coverage programs, merger of small-group and nongroup insurance markets, creation of an insurance 'Connector,' determination of affordability and penalty standards for an individual mandate, and launch of employer responsibility requirements. Key challenges remain, including full implementation of the individual mandate, cost control, and securing of long-term financing. Massachusetts health reform is offering valuable and important lessons for the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disaster risk management (DRM) seeks to help societies prepare for, mitigate, or recover from the adverse impacts of disasters and climate change. Core to DRM are disaster risk models that rely heavily on geospatial data about the natural and built environments. Developers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the quality of these models. Yet, there is still little understanding of how the extent of hidden geospatial biases affects disaster risk models and how accountability relationships are affected by these emerging actors and methods. In many cases, there is also a disconnect between the algorithm designers and the communities where the research is conducted or algorithms are implemented. This perspective highlights emerging concerns about the use of AI in DRM. We discuss potential concerns and illustrate what must be considered from a data science, ethical, and social perspective to ensure the responsible usage of AI in this field., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2021 The Authors.)

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a challenge for intensive care units (ICU) in part due to the failure to identify risks for patients early and the inability to render an accurate prognosis. Previous reports suggest a strong association between hypercoagulability and poor outcome. Factors related to hemostasis may, therefore, serve as tools to improve the management of COVID-19 patients., Aim: The purpose of this report is to develop a model to determine whether it is possible to early identify COVID-19 patients at risk for thromboembolic complications (TCs)., Methods: We analyzed electronic health record data of 108 consecutive COVID-19 patients admitted to the adult ICU of the Erasmus University Medical Center between February 27 and May 20, 2020. By training a decision tree classifier on 66% of the available data, a model for the prediction of TCs was developed., Results: The median (interquartile range) age was 62 (53-70) years and 73% were male. Forty-three patients (40%) developed a TC during their ICU stay. Mortality was higher for patients in the TCs group compared to the control group (26% vs. 8%, P =0.03). Lactate dehydrogenase, standardized bicarbonate, albumin, and leukocytes were identified by the Decision Tree classifier as the most powerful predictors for TCs 2 days before the onset of the TC, with a sensitivity of 73% and a positive likelihood ratio of 2.7 on the test dataset., Conclusions: Clinically relevant TCs frequently occur in critically ill COVID-19 patients. These can successfully be predicted using a decision tree model. Although this model could be of special importance to aid clinical decision making, its generalizability and clinical impact should be determined in a larger population., Relevance for Patients: Recently, severe TCs were observed in COVID-19 patients with progressive respiratory failure warranting ICU treatment. Timely identification of patients at risk of developing TCs is critical inasmuch as it would enable clinicians to initiate potentially salvaging therapeutic anticoagulation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © Whioce Publishing Pte. Ltd.)

Recent advancements in robotics technology have allowed more complex surgical procedures to be performed using minimally invasive approaches. In this article, we reviewed the role of robotic assistance in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery. We highlight the advantages of robot-assisted surgery and its clinical application in this field.

Hispanics are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States to lack health insurance. This paper draws on quantitative and qualitative research to evaluate the extent to which health reforms in Massachusetts, a model for the Affordable Care Act of 2010, have reduced disparities in insurance coverage and access to health care. We found that rates of coverage and the likelihood of having a usual provider increased dramatically for Massachusetts Hispanics after the state's reforms, but disparities remained. The increase in insurance coverage among Hispanics was more than double that experienced by non-Hispanic whites. Even so, in 2009, 78.9 percent of Hispanics had coverage, versus 96 percent of non-Hispanic whites. Language and other cultural factors remained significant barriers: Only 66.6 percent of Hispanics with limited proficiency in English were insured. One-third of Spanish-speaking Hispanics still did not have a personal provider in 2009, and 26.8 percent reported not seeing a doctor because of cost, up from 18.9 percent in 2005. We suggest ways to reduce such disparities through national health care reform, including simplified enrollment and reenrollment processes and assistance in finding a provider and navigating an unfamiliar care system.

In April 2006, Massachusetts passed its third major health care access reform law since 1988. This law establishes new structures and requirements that have never been attempted by any state. Key features include a shift of federal Medicaid dollars from institutional support to individual insurance subsidies, establishment of an insurance "Connector," individual and employer responsibility, a small-firm and individual insurance market merger, and provisions to address racial and ethnic health disparities. Massachusetts will engage in a multiyear implementation process. Only after this process is complete will the law's significance be clear.

On June 18th, Maine governor John Baldacci signed into law a comprehensive health care initiative know as Dirigo Health. Dirigo is Latin for "I lead", the state motto. Dirigo is often referred to as Maine's new universal coverage law. The law seeks to achieve universal access to coverage by integrating access, cost, and quality initiatives. While Dirigo responds to and takes advantage of particular circumstances in Maine, it has naturally drawn a great deal of interest from other states seeking to deal with similar problems. This issue brief provides an overview of Dirigo Health and outlines areas that might inform the health policy debate in Massachusetts (and perhaps other states as well).

As part of an evaluation of a program to train pediatric residents in child psychiatry, measures were made of the following variables predictive of the residents' performance in the program: personality traits, attitude toward psychiatry, willingness to treat psychological problems, preprogram interview performance, length of commitment to pediatrics, and frequency of interaction with teachers in the program. Outcome variables were pediatric residents' course evaluation, frequency of interaction with teachers in the program, and postprogram interview performance. In multiple regression equations the variables predictive of the residents' performance explained up to 72 percent of the variance of the residents' participation in the program, 88 percent of the variance of the postprogram interview, and 61 percent of the variance of the residents' course evaluations.

Family lunch sessions have proved a useful diagnostic and therapeutic technique in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. This paper describes the goals of these sessions and the strategies employed in the restructuring of family relationships. Data are presented illustrating changes in eating behavior of eight identified patients.

Linear and open systems (multiple feedback) models of psychosomatic illness in children are contrasted in terms of their implications for cause and treatment. An open systems family model is presented that describes three necessary (but not independently sufficient) conditions for the development and maintenance of severe psychosomatic problems in children: (1) a certain type of family organization that encourages somatization; (2) involvement of the child in parental conflict; and (3) physiological vulnerability. Predisposition for psychosomatic illness, symptom choice, and maintenance are discussed within this conceptual framework. We report on family therapy strategies based on this model and the results of family treatment with 48 cases of "brittle" diabetes, psychosomatic asthma, and anorexia nervosa.