A Critical Review of Power Take-Off Wave Energy Technology Leading to the Conceptual Design of a Novel Wave-Plus-Photon Energy Harvester for Island/Coastal Communities’ Energy Needs

As the global interest in renewable energy generation continues, the need to develop new and innovative solutions is being explored every day throughout the world by researchers and innovators. Hybrid renewable energy innovations are gaining progressive interest not only because of the threat of climate change but also due to the technological advancements seen in renewables. Ocean waves have immense potential as a renewable energy source, and related technologies have advanced continuously over the past few decades. In response, this paper extensively studies wave energy converters (WECs) based on the power take-off (PTO) technique, and presents a novel hybrid wave-plus-photon energy (HWPE) harvester called Wavevoltaics, based on wave and solar energy capture systems for coastal communities’ power needs, in line with decarbonization measures. The HWPE harvester uses a simple rack-and-pinion mechanism in combination with solar cell technology to convert the wave energy into usable electrical energy in a water column structural design. This novel HWPE device can be used to provide power for lighting and gadgets for coastal communities that rely heavily on fossil fuels for their lighting and electrical needs. Later in the paper, the challenges faced in hybrid wave energy development are presented.

Increased Digital Resource Consumption in Higher Educational Institutions and the Artificial Intelligence Role in Informing Decisions Related to Student Performance

As education is an essential enabler in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it should “ensure inclusive, equitable quality education, and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. One of the frameworks for SDG 4 is to propose the concepts of “equitable quality education”. To attain and work in the context of SDG 4, artificial intelligence (AI) is a booming technology, which is gaining interest in understanding student behavior and assessing student performance. AI holds great potential for improving education as it has started to develop innovative teaching and learning approaches in education to create better learning. To provide better education, data analytics is critical. AI and machine learning approaches provide rapid solutions with high accuracy. This paper presents an AI-based analytics tool created to predict student performance in a first-year Information Technology literacy course at The University of the South Pacific (USP). A Random Forest based classification model was developed which predicted the performance of the student in week 6 with an accuracy value of 97.03%, sensitivity value of 95.26%, specificity value of 98.8%, precision value of 98.86%, Matthews correlation coefficient value of 94% and Area Under the ROC Curve value of 99%. Hence, such a method is very useful in predicting student performance early in their courses of allowing for early intervention. During the COVID-19 outbreak, the experimental findings demonstrate that the suggested prediction model satisfies the required accuracy, precision, and recall factors for forecasting the behavioural elements of teaching and e-learning for students in virtual education systems.

Practice, benefits, and impact of personal protective equipment (PPE) during COVID-19 pandemic: Envisioning the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) through the lens of clean water sanitation, life below water, and life on land in Fiji.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) highlights the global health emergency. To limit the rate of COVID-19 transmission to health care workers, adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) are required. Emerging reports indicate that the widespread usage of PPE during the COVID-19 outbreak has exacerbated plastic contamination in the ocean. PURPOSE: This paper attempts to understand the influence of practice, benefits, and impact of PPE during the COVID-19 crisis on clean water sanitation, life below water, and life on land (SDGs 6, 14, and 15 respectively) in Fiji and assess the effectiveness of measurements taken to deal with this crisis. Fiji is a small Pacific Island Country (PIC) and the global crisis of COVID-19 entered the Fijian border on 19th, March 2020. The second wave of COVID-19 was reported on 18th, April 2021, which began at a managed quarantine facility after contact between a couple returning from India to Fiji and a soldier. Since then the number of cases has been increasing daily and posing a risk to the public. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A personal observation was made to collect the PPE pollution on the streets, near roads, car parks, markets, and towns. RESULTS: Widespread PPE pollution was noticed, and the common PPE found on the Vesivesi road in Suva, Fiji were facemasks (61.36%) and hand gloves (38.64%), as it is mostly used by the public, police officers, municipal waste management, shopping malls workers, and medical care workers. Face shield littering was limited due to fewer users. CONCLUSIONS: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this study stresses a great concern on enabling SDGs 6, 14, and 15 and how the use of PPE during this period has impacted the natural environment. It is critical to remember that managing PPE waste during a contagious pandemic should be treated as an emergency and handled quickly.

Abuse of social media duringCOVID-19 pandemic in Fiji.

The spread of misinformation, facilitated by social media and other digital platforms, has proven to be as destructive to global public health as the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself. Fake news adds challenges to human communication efforts, producing tension, misunderstanding, and disbelief. While social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Viber, etc. have provided a huge relief during the lockdown helping reduce mental stress and depression as well as facilitating online education, and work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also raised concerns over the spread of fake news. In such a situation, online fake news poses a new threat to public health communication as more people now depend on the internet to get health-related information. In response, this study seeks to understand how manipulation of news on social media has posed a threat to Fijian public health. Eventually, some of these have resulted in police investigations.

The use of careFiji app for contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Digital gap and challenges faced in Fiji.

Globally, digital contact tracing initiatives has been used as a tool to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fijian Government and Ministry of Health are promoting the use of the "careFiji" app to help in contact tracing. This paper will discuss the rollout of the careFiji app which helps in combating COVID-19 in Fiji, and the challenges caused by the digital gap that has surfaced during the pandemic.

Remote learning and online teaching in Fiji during COVID-19: The challenges and opportunities.

Fiji is a small Pacific Island Country with a population of around 902,536 people. The current pandemic of COVID-19 is impacting the well-being, social life, and economic status of the country. Besides, the well-known health difficulties caused by this virus, education is another crucial sector that has been crippled. To prevent the local transmission of such deadly virus the common exercises used globally are lockdowns (stay-in), social distancing, and use of PPEs (facemask, hand glove, and face shield). As a result, students, and teachers at all levels of school have been obliged to quickly adapt to online learning. Therefore, in this paper, an outlook of COVID-19 and its impact on the educational system is discussed.

COVID-19 and vaccination rollout in Fiji: Challenges caused by digital platform.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, a variety of interventions have reduced SARS-CoV-2 virus infection and mortality, including individual precautions such as wearing proper personal protective equipment (i.e., hand gloves, facemasks, and face shields), social distancing, handwashing, and limiting interpersonal interaction to outside situations. The most promising hope for ending the COVID-19 pandemic is the successful launch of COVID-19 vaccines. In response, this letter to editor will disclose the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination and challenges caused by digital platforms in Fiji.

Use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during COVID-19 pandemic: A letter to the editor on "Envisioning the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the lens of clean water sanitation, life below water, and life on land in Fiji".

COVID-19 pandemic is a designated worldwide public health emergency, the use of a variety of plastic-based personal protective equipment (PPE) has escalated as a means of reducing infection. Emerging reports imply that the rapid expansion of PPE during the COVID-19 outbreak has exacerbated microplastics contamination in the ocean. In response, this letter to the editor will disclose the impact of PPEs on clean water sanitation, life below water, and life on land in regards to SDGs 6, 14, and 15, respectively.