ABSTRACT
This article assesses the role played by the information design of the interactive visualization of the press in the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic, taking as a case study the newspaper The New York Times, a world reference in scientific journalism that has played a fundamental role as an informant on this health crisis. To do this, a content analysis method was integrated into different interactive journalistic visualizations (N=103) that the newspaper published from December 2019 (beginning of the pandemic) to December 2020 (beginning of the first acquisitions of vaccines), and were coded to determine, identify and examine detailed patterns in three axes of study: I) the informative approach;2) visual and multimedia resources;and 3) type of interaction. The results indicate that the design of interactive press information in the dissemination of the COVID 19 pandemic focuses mainly on data journalism through visualizations with non-figurative and hybrid graphical interfaces with access to geo-located databases that offer the possibility of exploring the visualization of data in an innovative way and in real time on the total number of contagion cases per day (hospitalized, percentage of bed occupancy and number of beds available in hospitals), cases per capita and deaths from coronavirus by state and counties in the United States, as well as other countries. These practices are associated with interoperability activities and globally linked data, which provide the opportunity to generate greater knowledge about the behavior of this pandemic in the world and allow more effective management of risks to human health. © 2022 Universidad Diego Portales. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Over the last decade, national and international agencies have repeatedly called for research practices aligned with the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), with varied effects on different disciplines and countries. The COVID-19 pandemic made this need even more critical. This study aimed to explore whether and how, from researchers' point of view, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to changes in RRI-based research practices in the different disciplines and, more generally, society's perception of science. 1499 researchers in the three Catalan-speaking regions of Spain responded to an online questionnaire in the first months of the pandemic. Results showed that while only half perceived an impact on RRI-based practices, this proportion was higher for Health Sciences and Social Sciences researchers in all the dimensions. Most researchers perceived a positive impact on societal actors' views of science, although researchers in the Humanities were more sceptical than those in other disciplines. The analysis of open-ended questions revealed researchers from all disciplines were also concerned about fake news and claimed that researchers' working conditions and research funding across all disciplines needed to be improved for future research to be capable of coping with current and future challenges. © 2022 University of Deusto. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes in learning methodologies at all educational levels, including higher education. Under these circumstances, one of the most difficult challenges to face is to approach practical and laboratory learning at university when students' attendance to the physical laboratory space is restricted. The future graduates of Bachelor's Degree in Biotechnology are appealed to master many instrumental techniques related to this field. The article describes the scaffolding actions carried out to successfully adapt onsite laboratory sessions to virtual ones and evaluate the students' perception about the contribution of the online methodologies to the practical skills of bioprocess engineering. Two voluntary groups of students were formed, one to attend the practical lessons on site and the other online. The suggested scaffolding was structured in four different types of materials and resources: screencasts, pedagogical articles, calculation sheet templates and online assessment tests. Students' perception was collected by means of an e-questionnaire. About 70% of students thought the online platform allowed them to follow the practical tasks in a way equivalent to face-to-face teaching and 62.1% found that online model presents more advantages than disadvantages than the onsite model. 85.7% of students considered that practical tasks highly contributed to their capacity of solving complex problems and master mathematical tools, while 65.7% of them associated the practical task with their availability to understand the principles of bioengineering. However, 40% of them thought that the online model satisfactorily contributes to the acquisition of these specific skills.
ABSTRACT
Allergic rhinitis has been increasing in Latin American countries, leading to a growing population of patients who need medical treatment for this respiratory condition. Its similarity to COVID-19 in terms of symptoms and the possibility of concurrence with it, make allergic rhinitis of particular interest to health systems. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have been particularly vulnerable due to multiple challenges, including high poverty rates, limited access to medical care and limitations in the provision of basic health services, as well as the absence of guidelines of treatment for allergic rhinitis in a pandemic situation. With the aim of to provide essential management for multidisciplinary teams in Latin America and the Caribbean regarding the evaluation and treatment of allergic rhinitis during the COVID-19 pandemic, published scientific literature on the treatment of allergic rhinitis and COVID-19 was reviewed, and the opinion of leading professionals from scientific societies in the region was considered. The different measures to avoid infections and the different treatment strategies were analyzed, with an emphasis on intranasal therapy and treatment with allergy vaccines. A position statement was formulated with the intention of maintaining continuity of medical service in the context of a pandemic and minimizing the spread, infection and complication associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in patients undergoing or starting treatment for allergic rhinitis. Copyright © 2022, Finlay Ediciones. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Purpose This paper aims to identify the documented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on early career researcher (ECR) activity, development, career prospects and well-being. Design/methodology/approach This is a systematic literature review of English language peer-reviewed studies published between 2020 and 2021, which provided empirical evidence of the impact of the pandemic on ECR activity and development. The search strategy involved online databases (Scopus, Web of Science and Overton);well-established higher education journals (based on Scopus classification) and references in the retained articles (snowballing). The final sample included 11 papers. Findings The evidence shows that ECRs have been affected in terms of research activity, researcher development, career prospects and well-being. Although many negative consequences were identified, some promising learning practices have arisen;however, these opportunities were not always fully realised. The results raise questions about differential effects across fields and possible long-term consequences where some fields and some scholars may be worse off due to priorities established as societies struggle to recover. Practical implications There is a need for revised institutional and national policies to ensure that sufficient measures are implemented to support ECRs' research work in a situation where new duties and chores were added during the pandemic. Originality/value This paper provides insights into the impacts of the initial societal challenges of the pandemic on ECRs across disciplines that may have long-lasting effects on their academic development and well-being.
ABSTRACT
Innovation and entrepreneurship are key factors to provide added value for food systems. Based on the findings of the Erasmus+Strategic Partnership BoostEdu, the objective of this paper is to provide answers to three knowledge gaps: 1) identify the needs for innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) in the food sector;2) understand the best way to organize learning;3) provide flexibility in turbulent times. BoostEdu aimed to provide a platform for continuing education within I&E for food professionals and was carried out through co-creation workshops and the development of an e-learning course. The results of the project in particular during the Covid-19 pandemics, highlighted the need for flexible access to modules that are complementary to other sources and based on a mix of theoretical concepts and practical experiences. The main lessons learned concern the need of co-creation and co-learning processes to identify suitable practices for the use of innovative digital technologies.