ABSTRACT
Objectives: Since December 2019, after the declaration of new cases regarding novel coronavirus disease, many variants have emerged as a consequence of the viral evolution. Although the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants have been studied on a molecular basis, their clinical and pathologic disparities have been understood inadequately. The aim of this research was to figure out the differences between the SARS-CoV-2 Al-pha (B1.1.7) variant and the classical Wuhan groups on the clinical basis and laboratory results of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who had a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Methods: The study was performed retrospectively inclusive of epidemiological, laboratory data, and clinical symptoms of patients who were admitted to the emergency service between February 15 and March 15, 2021, and had positive COVID-19 PCR test results. Results: Although there was no statistically significant difference in symptoms between the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant and classical variant (Wuhan-type [WT]) groups, C-reactive protein, lymphocyte, and leukocyte counts were statistically significantly higher in the WT group, and prothrombin time, International Normalized Ratio (INR) and serum creatinine values were statistically significantly higher in the Alpha group. Conclusion: Studies such as ours that investigate both the clinical features and laboratory data of SARS-CoV-2 variants will close the knowledge gaps, so better decisions may be made by health policymakers. Additional studies in this area will increase the understanding of the topic.
ABSTRACT
Teamwork is an important skill valued by corporate employers across the globe. As such, it is crucial for students to learn teamwork for the purpose of securing a job and performing well in corporate environments. In addition to certain technical skills, essential 21st-century skills include communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. A well-known learning theory that helps students learn these skills is cooperative learning. Cooperative learning posits that when students collaborate within teams to solve complex problems, their creativity and critical thinking skills are improved as a result. Implementing cooperative learning in the past several months has been challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden shift from face-to-face to online instruction, has left a void for newer pedagogical approaches to teach teamwork. In this full paper, we investigate the impact of cooperative learning during the Spring 2020 semester by studying team retrospectives written by students enrolled in a system analysis and design course. The pedagogical foundation for the system analysis and design course was cooperative learning. The course required students to work in teams to develop a software prototype. The project was divided into four milestones and each team was required to submit a team retrospective detailing overall planning, task allocation, group processes, and strategies for improvement. The first two milestones were completed during face-to-face instruction, while teams met online for the last two milestones due to the shift to online instruction. To investigate team effectiveness, a rubric based on the Goals, Roles, Processes and Interpersonal relations (GRPI) model of team effectiveness was created and team retrospectives were scored using that rubric. We used a mixed-method approach to explore the following research questions: 1) What was the impact on team effectiveness when instruction changed from face-to-face to online due to the COVID-19 pandemic? 2)What strategies were adopted by teams to navigate the sudden change in instruction? To address the first research question, we performed inferential statistics to compare the impact of team effectiveness between face-to-face and online instruction. To address the second research question, we conducted a thematic analysis to understand the qualitative differences of team effectiveness for face-to-face and online instruction. Our results demonstrate a significant increase in teamwork effectiveness for online instruction. In addition, our thematic analysis shows particular strategies adopted by teams that led to improved team effectiveness in the online instruction environment. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021