Physician virtual community and medical decision making

High-Throughput Cross-Technology Communication via Chip-Level Side Channel

Cross-technology Communication (CTC) is a novel technique enabling data transmission among devices equipped with different physical layers in a heterogeneous wireless network. Particularly, by enabling cross-technology communication between ZigBee and WiFi, the energy-saving problem and media access control under cross-technology interference would be resolved easily. However, the current CTC designs are either too slow or destructive to ongoing ZigBee transmissions. In this paper, we propose a new Cross-technology Communication framework based on ZigBee chip-level side channel. The proposed design enables the high-throughput ZigBee-to-WiFi cross-technology communication while maintaining transparency to the existing ZigBee network. Specifically, we modify some ZigBee chips within one ZigBee symbol to create a side channel at the CTC sender (ZigBee) for carrying CTC bits while the CTC receiver (WiFi) can detect those modifications and demodulate the CTC bits at WiFi preamble detection. Both theoretical analysis and experiments show that our design would be transparent to ZigBee and throughput can reach 31.25 Kbps—1000× the state-of-the-art CTC design.

Exploring the Social Networks' Use in the Health-Care Industry: A Multi-Level Analysis

The application of social networks in the health domain has become increasingly prevalent. They are web-based technologies which bring together a group of people and health-care providers having in common health-related interests, who share text, image, video and audio contents and interact with each other. This explains the increasing amount of attention paid to this topic by researchers who have investigated a variety of issues dealing with the specific applications in the health-care industry. The aim of this study is to systematize this fragmented body of literature, and provide a comprehensive and multi-level overview of the studies that has been carried out to date on social network uses in healthcare, taking into account the great level of diversity that characterizes this industry. To this end, we conduct a scoping review enabling to identify the major research streams, whose aggregate knowledge are discussed according to three levels of analysis that reflect the viewpoints of the major actors using social networks for health-care purposes, i.e., governments, health-care providers (including health-care organizations and professionals) and social networks’ users (including ill patients and general public). We conclude by proposing directions for future research.

Social Media Enhances Consumer Behaviour During e-Transactions: An Empirical Evidence from Bahrain

This study aims to investigate the role of social media on consumer behaviour in the restaurants industry of Bahrain. The objectives of this research were to assess importance of social media as a marketing tool for Bahrain’s restaurants for influencing consumer purchase decision-making. Such an objective was reached by the scholars who randomly collected data from 224 respondents in Bahrain, who use social media, using a survey instrument. The findings of the descriptive analysis revealed that social media affects consumers’ decision-making, such that the consumers use the social media to study new products, services, and particularly new brands. Also, ongoing consumer discussions reveal how social media exposes the pros and cons of products, services, and brands, so consumers are comfortable with their online decisions, since they can select broads before settling on what is the best price, quality, etc. Moreover, the social media speeds the spread of information unlike any other mass media; ensuring that new knowledge reaches consumers, hence enhancing competition among retailers in the restaurant industry. This study concludes that social media plays a vital role in promoting consumer welfare and decision-making.

Fostering knowledge sharing behaviour among public sector managers: a proposed model for the Malaysian public service

Purpose

– This paper aims to propose a conceptual model of knowledge sharing behaviour among Malaysian public sector managers.

Design/methodology/approach

– An extensive literature review method was used to identify and analyse relevant literature in order to propose a knowledge sharing model.

Findings

– The authors identified three potential predictor groups of knowledge sharing behaviour among Malaysian public sector managers. The groups are intrinsic motivational factors, extrinsic motivational factors and organisational socialisation factors. The paper proposes organisational commitment as the mediating variable between the identified predictors and knowledge sharing behaviour (knowledge donating and knowledge collecting).

Research limitations/implications

– The paper offers a number of propositions, which leads to a knowledge sharing model. Future research should validate and examine the predictive power of the proposed model.

Practical implications

– Upon model validation, the paper could offer practical interventions for human resource development (HRD) practitioners to assist organisations towards fostering knowledge sharing behaviour. The paper highlights the importance of employee’s organisational commitment in order to engage in organizational-related behaviours such as knowledge sharing.

Originality/value

– The paper used a new approach in theorising knowledge sharing behaviour by integrating the General Workplace Commitment Model, Self-Determination Theory and Social Capital Theory. The suggestion of public service motivation as one of the intrinsic motivational factors could provide new insights to the HRD practitioners on fostering knowledge sharing behaviour in the public service subject to model validation.