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10 skills that are hard to learn but pay off forever

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posted by Soeung Saran @ 4:12 PM  

June 27, 2011

As technology continues to improve, the range of potential used of telemedicine will increase. Telemedicine will offer more beneficial application in preventing disease than curing disease

Saran Soeung

Technology has enabled people to access a variety of advanced services including health, education, or trade. One of these, technologies which have played a significant role in the health sector is commonly known as ‘telemedicine’. The term ‘telemedicine’ has been defined in disparate meaning. However, here it is referred to the provision of medical service through information technology and telecommunication such as videoconference or asynchronous (Wild, 2004). In recent years, it can be seen that there are number of newly developed medical clinics where high-technology equipment is being equipped for different purposes. The presence of telemedicine allows patients in remote areas to be able to access health services, including prevention and curing. Discernibly, telemedicine application is likely to provide more advantages in terms of disease prevention than curing disease. The following essay will discuss extensively on the benefits of telemedicine applications toward preventing and curing disease.

One of the most crucial functions of telemedicine toward disease prevention is tele-monitoring. Tele-monitoring or as it is called ‘case management’ will give an opportunity to doctors to follow up patients’ condition and spontaneously provide them with medical assistance by using mobile phone inspection. An old man, for example, who has hypertension may want to stay at home rather than hospital, but he requires more medical assistance while he is at home. In response to this and with the purpose of saving cost, a doctor can implant a small part sensor with which all activities of patient can be monitored. By providing this kind of technology, the symptom of an illness can be automatically controlled and sent to hospital and the medical assistance can be provided periodically or whenever the patient encounters a problem (Pallant, 2009, 22-23). Indeed, the patients need only see doctor whenever it is necessary.
A further function of telemedicine toward disease prevention is tele-consultation. This initiative is to respond to myriad of patients who are not able to access clinical consultation due to a dearth of doctors and poor communication infrastructure, in particular, for those who are living in underserved remote areas. A solid and successful example about this is from Tristan da Cunha Island which is located in the middle of South Atlantic, the remotest location in the world (Unknown, 2009). If, previously, residents were sick, they would not be able to access to medical assistance easily as there was no mode of transportation for sending patients to hospital. Despite this, Project Tristan was established by using medical technology and that medical services can be provided accordingly. By using tele-consultation, the patients have chance to talk directly with experts and discuss their concerns as if they are consulting with specialists in person.

Even though telemedicine applications have been evolving for disease prevention, its development has been used in different aspects for curing disease. Telesurgery and robotics is one aspect of disease treatment by using technology. The term ‘telesurgery’ refers to a surgery in which the surgeon is not at the patient’s immediate side and use tele-electronic device (Standberry, 2001). The goal of using telesurgery is to make surgical expertise available for those who are inaccessible to doctors. The telesurgery is made possible by using robotic aids together with microcamera and optical instrument. A microcamera is used to project images from patients and displayed on the videoscreen which can be viewed by surgical doctors who will give instruction to other doctors in the surgical room with the patients. This can be illustrated by a presentation of James P Marcin, MD, who showed a robotic surgery taken place in India where a child in a chronic condition and got a robotic surgery (Marcin, Unknown). In short, telesurgery and robotics has played a significant role in medical treatment and surgery where experts are inaccessible.

Another advantage of telemedicine applications in curing disease is telediagnosis. According to medical dictionary the term ‘telediagnosis’ is a diagnosis that is made at a remote location and is based on the evaluation of data transmitted from electronic instruments that monitor the patient and a transfer data to a diagnostic center. The idea of telediagnosis is to improve and provide patients in underserved areas with medical services, which is a basic need for all. One demonstration of this is the availability of medical service by using communication technologies for Cambodian indigenous people in Ratanakiri province where a telemedicine service was established in 2003 in Banlung District Referral Hospital (Pabico, 2004). Initially, patients are selected regarding their condition. The patients get checked by a nurse and their conditions are transmitted to specialists in Phnom Penh or Boston via a wireless internet connection. The comments from the experts are sent back in the following day. A team of doctors in Banlung holds discussion about the assessment and recommendations from the expert and treat the patient accordingly. This practice allows around 10 patients a month to get medically treated and they are not required to travel long distances.

Taken to its conclusion, technology has made large scale medical service available to different kind of patients, particularly for those who are living in underserved remote areas or in hazardous environments. This kind of initiative has provided a number of benefits to patients since they will be able to save their time and money and they, furthermore, have a chance to consult with and/or be treated by experts. In the meantime, the doctors are able to diagnose more accurately, while the treatment can be conducted even more precisely. However, the benefits of telemedicine applications toward disease prevention and disease treatment do not neutralize. It may well be projected that in the future telemedicine applications will be more beneficial towards treatment such as robotic surgery and this will allow more and more patients who are living in the different parts of the globe to access the latest medical technology. In my personal view, telemedicine should be applied in a limited level so as to ensure that it does not harm the patients but provide them with specialized service.

Bibliography
Marcin, J. P. (Director). (Unknown). Telemedicine: An Evolving Tool for Improving Health Care Access and Delivery [Motion Picture].

Pabico, A. P. (2004). Telemedicine Brings Care to Indigenous Peoples. Retrieved 2011, from http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=25485

Standberry, S. (2001, 12 20). Wiley Online Library. Retrieved 04 2011, from Journal of Internal Medicine: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2796.2001.00699.x/pdf

Unknown. (2009). Telemedicine. In P. H. John Slaght, English for Academic Study (pp. 22-24). UK: Garnet Education.

Wild, S. (2004, 02 14). The Telemedicine Revolution. Retrieved 04 2011, from Wound Care Logistics: http://www.woundcarelogistics.co.uk/pdf/Bibliography/The%20Telemedicine%20Revolution.pdf

posted by Soeung Saran @ 9:04 AM  

May 21, 2011

Statistics can be used to mislead?

Written by Saran Soeung

Statistics have been utilised by government institutions, business entities, or non-governmental organisations to indicate their own achievement and positive or negative development to public. Each day, the media bombards audiences a myriad of statistics in order to tabulate that stock markets have increased or tumbled or the toll of crime in cities are alarmed or debunked. This kind of data is used to gain public confidence and to prove audiences that they are working very well. Even though some people believe that statistics are technically accurate and valuable, this author feels that statistics can be misleading and deliberately misinterpreted.

One obvious problem with statistics is making a generalisation from small sample size. Most often, statistics are obtained by taking sample from large group of people and it is assumed that the sample represents the whole group of people (Adam, 1995, Internet). For example, after completion of project, a special team is commissioned to conduct a survey in Kampot Province, one community where women’s right education was conducted. 100 people could be randomly selected to be interviewed. As a result, if 75 per cent confirmed that gender-based violence in their community has decreased gradually, while the rest responded that the violence has leveled off, the team accordingly could conclude that the violence in Kampot has declined steadily. It would not be surprising since it has indicated positive result; however, it is very risky to provide such a generalization as the sample size is too small and sample selection can be biased (Responsible Thinking: Misleading Statistics, Author Unknown, Internet).

Unclear definition also contributes to misleading statistics. The definition has played an important role in ensuring that the statistics are technically accurate and reliable. If it fails to do so, the quality of report will not be acceptable and biased (Pallant, 2009, 34-35). Let us take a look at an example of the quality of education of public and private universities. The public universities declared that their quality is much higher than the quality of private one. However, the private universities also declared that their qualities are outstanding. In this case, both the public and private universities did not confirm on how they assessed the quality of education. In fact, the qualities of education can be judged by qualified teachers, disciplines, studies hours, curriculums or teaching approaches. This denotes that different institutions have produced diverse statistics regarding their own definition and the result is statistically atypical.

The other problem is when all relevant variables are not used for research studies. The variable is generally a correlation between one another and it manipulates on the accuracy of the research studies. One example is about the increase of rice yield after using the compost. If one research study has implied that the rice yield has been increasing because of using the fertilizer introduced by a new company, the accuracy of the data can ambiguous. This conclusion can be inaccurate and statistically used to fool audiences. In fact, it is not only fertilizer but many other variables such as taking care of the rice field, maintaining the level of water, or using new farming techniques. Indeed, the more variables we look at, the more confidence can be used to conclude that the rice yield has increased accordingly.

In conclusion, it should be evident that statistics can be used to misinform and sometimes intentionally distort. Most importantly, if the statistics are released by a group that has strong biased, political or philosophical agenda, we should realize that the information has been carefully chosen to promote their own specific purposes. However, it will be beneficial if statistics are released by trustworthy or unbiased institutions and interpreted and compared fairly.

References:


posted by Soeung Saran @ 9:56 AM  

March 25, 2011

List of Online Resource

posted by Soeung Saran @ 2:20 PM  

January 8, 2011

Popular and Recommended Web-based News and Magazines for You to Read

Recently, a number of web-based newspapers and magazines has been operated rapidly. However, those can confound in readers' mind whether or not they are surfing the right and reliable websites. The following are the online newspapers and magazines recommended by a flux of internet users worldwide:

News—International
-    New York Time: http://www.nytimes.com
-    Time: http://www.time.com/time
-    Newsweek: http://www.newsweek.com
-    The Economist: http://www.economist.com
-    The New Internationalist: http://www.newint.org
-    The Guardian Weekly: http://www.guardianweekly.co.uk
-    BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk
-    CNN: http://www.edition.cnn.com
-    ABC: http://www.abc.net.au
-    VOA: http://www.voanews.com/english/news

News—Regional
-    South Asia News: http://www.southasia.net
-    The Bangkok Post: http://www.bangkokpost.com
-    The Phnom Penh Post: http://www.phnompenhpost.com
-    Channel News Asia: http://www.channelnewsasia.com

Travel and Venture
-    Wanderlust: http://www.wanderlust.co.uk
-    Discover: http://www.discovermagazine.com
-    National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com

Culture and Arts
-    The Smithsonian: http://www.smithsonianmag.com
-    The Art Newspaper: http://www.theartnewspaper.com
-    Culture Venture: http://www.cutureventure.net

Film and Music
-    New Musical Express: http://www.nme.com/home
-    Role Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com
-    Entertainment Weekly: http://www.ew.com/ew/movies
-    Total Film: http://www.totalfilm.com/features
-    Filmmaker Magazine: http://www.filmmakermagazine.com

Science
-    Science Magazine: http://www.sciencemag.org
-    Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com

Health
-    Women’s Health: http://www.womanshealthmag.org
-    Men’s Health: http://www.menshealth.com
-    Health Magazine: http://www.health.com/health/service/magazine

Environment
-    The Environmental Magazine: http://www.emagazine.com
-    The Ecologist: http://www.theecologist.org

Lifestyle Magazine
-    Marie Claire UK: http://www.marieclaire.co.uk
-    Vogue: http://www.style.com/vogue
-    GQ: http://www.gqmagazine.com.co.uk

posted by Soeung Saran @ 3:48 PM  

January 5, 2011

WE SHOULD STAY HEALTHY WHILE STUDYING

There are three main factors in keeping students healthy while studying. First, having regular access to nutritious food is a must. The students, for example, should eat beef twice a week and green vegetables five times a week since these kinds of food provide them with more energy.

A further factor is having sufficient time to sleep. It is believed that to be healthy, students need seven to eight hours of sleep each night because sleep gives their brain time to sort out information they have used during the daytime. Lastly, regular exercise plays an active role in improving the health of students. For example, going to gyms once a week and jogging for ten minutes every morning can make them stronger and refresh their memory.

Indeed, nutritious food, enough sleep and regular exercise contribute to the healthy lives of all students.

posted by Soeung Saran @ 9:26 PM  

December 23, 2010

Why Students Need to Develop Study Skills?

Developing strong study skills provides university students with two benefits for their academic study.

First, it assists students to manage time effectively since they are able to use their leisure time and study time. This time management helps learners, for example, complete their tasks on time, so they can reduce their stress accordingly.

A further benefit is that study skills allows students to be independent learners. This means that the students have to be responsible for their own learning success by setting up their own learning schedule, finding reliable sources to study, reflecting on their learning regularly and seeking assistance if they need.

On the whole, developing study skills contributes to the success of academic study.

posted by Soeung Saran @ 2:35 PM