Undergraduate dental students' perspectives on teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from an online survey conducted at a South African university using a mixed-methods approach

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : Background. Many institutions of higher education transitioned from classroom-based settings to remote settings as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is unclear how undergraduate dental therapy and oral hygiene students responded to this transition in the learning environment.Objectives. To explore undergraduate dental students' knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and practices related to clinical and theory-based learning at a South African university. Methods. A mixed-methods approach comprising a concurrent dominant status design (QUAN/qual) was used. Therefore, the study was a crosssectional quantitative survey with descriptive qualitative data. An online, self-administered questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions was developed to gain insights into students' knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and learning practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results. Most respondents (n=86;80.4%) agreed that they had the necessary skills to engage with online learning (p=0.04). Respondents in the first year (n=25;76%), second year (n=24;73%) and third year (n=32;28%) were either unsure or did not agree that they understood online platform-based lectures better than classroom-based lectures. The major emergent themes included external (internet connectivity) and internal (students' coping skills) barriers to online learning. Conclusions. This study highlighted dental student challenges in embracing the blended approach of teaching and learning. While this may be a new norm for curriculum delivery, it is important to include student input in curriculum-related decision-making processes

Kwatra v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs 2021 FCA 58 (4 February 2021)

The appellant was an Indian national who arrived in Australia in 1996, and had his visa cancelled in 2019 on the basis that he did not pass the character test in section 501 of the Migration Act due to his extensive criminal record. Kwatra applied to have the original decision cancelling his visa revoked, but his application was denied by a delegate of the Minister and on appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. He appealed to the Federal Court of Australia arguing, inter alia, that the Tribunal failed to carry out its statutory task of review with respect to assessing if the impediments he might face upon his return to India constituted 'another reason' for revoking cancellation pursuant to section 501CA. In particular, Kwatra raised concerns before the Tribunal about returning to India due to the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that he had various health concerns, and would not have job prospects or access to social welfare and therefore would not be able to afford medical assistance. Burley J held that Kwatra had made a sufficiently dear claim concerning dangers to his health arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, but that nowhere in its substantive reasons did the Tribunal refer to the COVID-19 pandemic, its effect on the health-care system in India, or its likely or possible effect on Kwatra should he be deported to India during the pandemic. This failure to address the issue in its reasons left open the inference that the Tribunal did not consider Kwatra's claim to fear harm due to COVID-19 in India as it was required to do. The failure to consider this claim was material to the Tribunal's decision not to revoke Kwatra's visa cancellation. Kwatra had made a material claim concerning Australia's non-refoulement obligations and, had the identified risk of harm upon his return to India been considered, it could, realistically, when weighed with other factors, have provided 'another reason' for revoking the visa cancellation within the requirements of the legislative framework. Burley J was satisfied that a different decision might have been made had there been active intellectual engagement with the claim. This ground of review was upheld. The decision of the Tribunal was quashed and the matter was sent back to the Tribunal, differently constituted, to redetermine according to law.

Undergraduate dental students' perspectives on teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from an online survey conducted at a South African university using a mixed-methods approach

Background. Many institutions of higher education transitioned from classroom-based settings to remote settings as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is unclear how undergraduate dental therapy and oral hygiene students responded to this transition in the learning environment. Objectives. To explore undergraduate dental students' knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and practices related to clinical and theory-based learning at a South African university. Methods. A mixed-methods approach comprising a concurrent dominant status design (QUAN/qual) was used. Therefore, the study was a crosssectional quantitative survey with descriptive qualitative data. An online, self-administered questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions was developed to gain insights into students' knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and learning practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results. Most respondents (n=86;80.4%) agreed that they had the necessary skills to engage with online learning (p=0.04). Respondents in the first year (n=25;76%), second year (n=24;73%) and third year (n=32;28%) were either unsure or did not agree that they understood online platform-based lectures better than classroom-based lectures. The major emergent themes included external (internet connectivity) and internal (students' coping skills) barriers to online learning. Conclusions. This study highlighted dental student challenges in embracing the blended approach of teaching and learning. While this may be a new norm for curriculum delivery, it is important to include student input in curriculum-related decision-making processes. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of African Journal of Health Professions Education is the property of South African Medical Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Using self-organising maps to predict and contain natural disasters and pandemics

The unfolding coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the global need for robust predictive and containment tools and strategies. COVID-19 continues to cause widespread economic and social turmoil, and while the current focus is on both minimising the spread of the disease and deploying a range of vaccines to save lives, attention will soon turn to future proofing. In line with this, this paper proposes a prediction and containment model that could be used for pandemics and natural disasters. It combines selective lockdowns and protective cordons to rapidly contain the hazard while allowing minimally impacted local communities to conduct "business as usual" and/or offer support to highly impacted areas. A flexible, easy to use data analytics model, based on Self Organising Maps, is developed to facilitate easy decision making by governments and organisations. Comparative tests using publicly available data for Great Britain (GB) show that through the use of the proposed prediction and containment strategy, it is possible to reduce the peak infection rate, while keeping several regions (up to 25% of GB parliamentary constituencies) economically active within protective cordons.