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Both enterprises and their employees have globally experienced remote work at an unprecedented scale since the outbreak of COVID-19. As the pandemic becomes less of a threat, some companies have called their employees back to a physical office, citing issues related to working remotely, but many employees have refused to return. Thus, working in the metaverse has gained much attention as an alternative that could complement the weaknesses of completely remote work or even offline work. However, we do not know yet what benefits and drawbacks the metaverse has as a legitimate workspace, because there are few real cases of 1) working in the metaverse and 2) working remotely at such an unprecedented scale. Thus, this paper aims to identify real challenges and opportunities the metaverse workspace presents when compared to remote work by conducting semi-structured interviews and participatory workshops with various employees and company stakeholders (e.g., HR managers and CEOs) who have experienced at least two of three work types: working in a physical office, remotely, or in the metaverse. Consequently, we identified 1) advantages and disadvantages of remote work and 2) opportunities and challenges of the metaverse. We further discuss design implications that may overcome the identified challenges of working in the metaverse. © 2023 Owner/Author.
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This chapter examines the power of lament to express Han and suffering during COVID-19. It explores the significant role of psalms of lament as a response to suffering in four ways. First, they are vehicles for expressing and communicating sorrow, anger, and real human struggles. Second, psalms of lament can provide pathways leading us out of the experience of muteness, of being overwhelmed and silenced by suffering, and the accompanying resentment that results. Third, they can build communal motivation toward shared protest, becoming a resource of solidarity in giving voice to pain and struggle in the world. Finally, psalms of lament can bring a cathartic, emotional release in the context of faith, a prayer growing from a deep desire for a healing relationship with God. This paper will research Lament psalms and draw resources, particularly from Dorothee Soelle's articulation of suffering and transformation, from the concept of Han in Minjung theology, and develop a contextual aesthetic approach in light of Korean musical forms that communicate the experience of Han. Korean forms of traditional music can be employed in worship to express Han via psalms of lament and provide a significant case study for taking up Korean local cultural and spiritual heritage. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.
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Background: High titer COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) reduces hospitalizations among immunocompetent outpatients. This study evaluated recipient post-transfusion S receptor binding domain (S-RBD) IgG antibody levels and the association of progressing to hospitalization among unvaccinated outpatients with COVID-19 treated with CCP or control plasma. Method(s): This analysis focused on participants from a multicenter doubleblind, randomized, controlled trial comparing treatment of outpatients with COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) or control plasma without SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Participants with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were transfused within 9-days of symptom onset between June 2020 and October 2021 (n=110 vaccinated control;n=105 vaccinated CCP;n=464 unvaccinated control;n=472 unvaccinated CCP;total n=574 control and n=577 CCP recipients). All subjects had specimens collected the day prior to transfusion (D-1), within 30 minutes after transfusion (D0), 14 (D14), 28 (D28), and 90 (D90) days post-transfusion. Ancestral SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD was measured by an in-house validated ELISA. All 54 COVID-19-related hospitalizations occurred within 2 weeks of transfusion. Result(s): Post-transfusion anti-S-RBD IgG levels on D0 were significantly greater for CCP (median=4 titer,log3) compared to control (median=2 titer,log3;p< 0.001) recipients. Neither sex nor age impacted antibody levels following CCP treatment at D14, D28, and D90. Vaccinated recipients had greater titers than unvaccinated recipients prior to transfusion with little change in titers post-transfusion. Unvaccinated recipients had low antibody titers on D-1 with CCP recipients exhibiting a significant increase in titer from D-1 to D0 compared to controls (mean fold change=1.89;p< 0.001). Among unvaccinated recipients, those who received CCP transfusion late ( >5 days after symptom onset) and had low D0 antibody levels (< 4.24 titer, log3) had the greatest proportion of hospitalizations (5.5%). In contrast, those who received CCP transfusion early (< 5 days after symptom onset) with high D0 antibody levels ( >4.24 titer, log3) had no hospitalizations. Unvaccinated CCP recipient anti-S-RBD IgG antibody levels on D0 correlated with donor anti-S-RBD IgG antibody levels (r=0.30, p< 0.001). Conclusion(s): Among unvaccinated outpatients with COVID-19, CCP recipient antibody dilutional titers after transfusion over 540 titer correlated with protection against hospitalization when transfusion occurred within 5 days of symptom onset. (Figure Presented).
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As the workplace continuously reinvents itself due to advances in technology, changes in society, and unexpected events like COVID-19, both employers and employees are employing idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) to allow for flexibility for both sides. This chapter addresses i-deals from a human resources (HR) perspective, by focusing on three critical themes. First, we discuss how organizations effectively institutionalize i-deals, and how such i-deals impact human resource philosophy and practices, given that HR departments often lead the effort to institutionalize such deals through individualized and fair HR practices. Next, we explore how supervisors can make sure that i-deals are fair and effective. Following this, we discuss where i-deals fit in the international human resource management (IHRM) context. A total of fourteen future research directions are identified with particular emphasis on practical HR perspectives. Finally, this chapter constructs a bridge between the two disciplines through drawing upon established literatures from i-deals and IHRM, to extending our current knowledge through both theoretical and practical lenses. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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The COVID-19 crisis provided an opportunity for information professionals to rethink the role of information in individuals' decision making such as vaccine uptake. Unlike previous studies, which often considered information as a single factor among others, this study examined the impact of the quantity and trustworthiness of information on people's adoption of information for vaccination decisions based on the information adoption model. We analyzed COVID-19 Preventive Behavior Survey data collected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from Facebook users (N = 82,213) in 15 countries between October 2020 and March 2021. The results of logistic regression analyses indicate that reasonable quantity and trustworthiness of information were positively related to COVID-19 vaccination intent. But excessive and less than the desired amount of information was more likely to have negative impacts on vaccination intent. The degrees of trust in the mediums and in the sources were associated with the level of vaccine acceptance. But the effects of trustworthiness accorded to information sources showed variations across sources and mediums. Implications for information professionals and suggestions for policies are discussed. © 2023 Association for Information Science and Technology.
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Purpose: This study attempted to identify the influence of long-term care hospital nurses' nursing professionalism and knowledge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on nursing intentions for COVID-19 patients. Methods: Data were collected from nurses who had worked for at least 6 months at long-term care hospitals with more than 100 beds located in North Gyeongsang Province from July 15 to 31, 2021. In total, 207 questionnaires were analyzed using the t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression with SPSS for Windows version 25.0. Results: Among the sub-factors constituting nursing professionalism, self-concept of the profession (r=.22, p=.001) and professionalism of nursing (r=.23, p=.001) were correlated with nursing intention for COVID-19 patients, whereas there no correlation was found between knowledge of COVID-19 and nursing intention for COVID-19 patients. In addition, among the sub-factors of nursing professionalism, the only factor influencing nursing intention for COVID-19 patients was professionalism of nursing, which could explain approximately 6.0% of variance in nursing intention for COVID-19 patients (β=.58, p=.049). Conclusion: It is important to strengthen professionalism of nursing among various aspects of nursing professionalism in order to improve long-term care hospital nurses' nursing intention for COVID-19 patients. © 2023 Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing.
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Herein, we establish a novel isothermal digital amplification system termed digital nicking and extension chain reaction system-based amplification (dNESBA) by utilizing the isothermal NESBA technique and the newly developed miniaturized fluorescence monitoring system (mFMS). dNESBA enables parallel isothermal NESBA reactions in more than 10,000 localized droplet microreactors and read the fluorescence signals rapidly in 150 s by mFMS. This system could identify the genomic RNA (gRNA) extracted from target respiratory syncytial virus A (RSV A) as low as 10 copies with remarkable specificity. The practical applicability of dNESBA was also successfully verified by reliably detecting the gRNA in the artificial sputum samples with excellent reproducibility and accuracy. Due to the intrinsic advantages of isothermal amplifying technique including the elimination of the requirement of thermocycling device and the enhanced portability of the miniaturized read-out equipment, the dNESBA technique equipped with mFMS could serve as a promising platform system to achieve point-of-care (POC) digital molecular diagnostics, enabling absolute and ultra-sensitive quantification of various infectious pathogens even in an early stage.Copyright © 2023
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Upton Sinclair's muckraking exposé of Chicago's meatpacking industry, The Jungle, elicited outrage in the American public and led to the Meat Inspection Bill and the Pure Food and Drug Act, both in 1906. Sinclair himself wanted more of a showcase for his socialist politics and commented that he had "aimed at the public's heart, and by accident... hit it in the stomach." But what is most controversial about this novel is its suggestion that the meat-packing industry was making cannibals of us all, with graphic scenes of workers felling into industrial cooking vats and being incorporated into the industry's food products. Cannibalism, after all, has a range of cultural and metaphorical meanings, from serving as a marker of "othering" (the primitive vs. the civilized) to an analogy for capitalism. In The Jungle, Sinclair features a Lithuanian immigrant femily whose trials and tribulations demonstrate the meatpacking industry's indifference to individual workers. New immigrant workers are subject to abusive working conditions that treat them not as individuals but as consumable tools. Such conditions a century ago are echoed in what we know of the U.S. meatpacking industry today, circumstances brought to light in our recent COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, while Sinclair is sympathetic to the Eastern Europeans he features, he remains conspicuously racist in his depiction of Black Americans. In this essay, I revisit Sinclair's The Jungle for what it says about a cannibalism that implicates us all, as well as the race (and class) politics of the meatpacking industry then and now. Copyright © 2022 ELLAK.
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Purpose – COVID-19 has dramatically changed the business landscape, and the travel industry is no exception. The industry is undergoing a paradigm shift to the platform business, and traditional travel agencies are moving their businesses to online platforms. However, in this irreversible global paradigm shift, it is not easy for travel companies to hire and retain employees, especially companies in the IT sector. Studies typically study consumers, such as selection attributes and satisfaction with travel platforms. However, to the best of our knowledge, there have been almost no studies on employees. This study explored how the empowerment of online travel platform employees influences their perceived person-environment (P-E) fit and work engagement. Design/Methodology/Approach – We analyzed data from 352 employees of 26 domestic online travel platforms who were surveyed in January and February 2021. After coding the collected data, we analyzed it using frequency, exploratory factor, reliability, correlation, and multiple regression analyses using IBM SPSS Statistics, ver. 20.0. Findings – First, enhancing the meaningfulness of work and organizational autonomy influences person-job (P-J) fit and person-organization (P-O) fit. Second, enhancing the meaningfulness of work significantly influences vigor, dedication, and absorption in terms of work engagement, while organizational autonomy significantly inf luences work engagement vigor. Third, P-J fit and P-O fit inf luence the vigor of work engagement, and P-O fit influences dedication and absorption. Research Implications – This study demonstrated that the empowerment of travel platform employees can improve perceived P-E fit and work engagement. Thus, if organizations guarantee some degree of empowerment, employees will be energized and engaged more in their workplace. Finally, this helps expand the scope of online travel platform research from the perspective of personnel organization. © 2023 International Academy of Global Business and Trade.
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Target date funds (TDFs) have their portfolios periodically adjusted according to the retirement dates of fund subscribers and are generally composed of several funds. TDFs attract attention in the recent pension market due to the increasing role of private pensions, the concern about the depletion and financial instability of the National Pension Fund, increased interest in stock and fund markets after COVID-19, and the introduction of the retirement pension default option. In particular, target date funds seeking globally diversified investment strategies could change the irrational investment behavior of pension assets that are still mainly invested with principal and interest-guaranteed products and consequent low returns. To this end, this study examines the current status and issues of TDF in the United States and Korea, and proposes ways to develop domestic TDF in the right direction. © 2022, Korean Securities Association. All rights reserved.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the family economy by threatening job security, which has been acting as a source of stress for fathers. Social distancing has increased father-child interaction time and the burden of parenting. The parenting stress levels of fathers increased, and mental health problems such as depression and anxiety were induced. This was reported to be more serious in vulnerable groups, according to the race or socioeconomic status of the fathers. Fathers' mental health problems in the context of COVID-19 affect father-child relationships and children's adjustment in the long term. Healthcare professionals must develop community-based intervention programs to screen fathers' risk factors and educate them on mental health issues, while considering the changing roles and mental health of fathers during the pandemic. Before another epidemic breaks out. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
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The second component of this three-paper series studying cloth face masks for children ages 4 to 6 years old concentrates on optimizing aerosol capture and air permeability through fabric selection. Material choices were evaluated in two modes: Flat Filter (FF) and Head Form (HF). FF isolates material factors while HF simulates the performance of the constructed masks on a 3D printed child head form. In FF mode, higher filtration efficiency correlated to lower air permeability in both reusable commercial and experimental face masks regardless of fiber contents, fabric structures, and number of layers. Our prototype face mask developed in design exploration successfully captured 37 +/- 12% of 0.3 mu m, 87 +/- 3% of 0.5 mu m, and 87 +/- 2% of 1.0 mu m particles while maintaining good air permeability, moisture capture, and aerosolized salt capture in HF mode. Sealing masks to minimize outward leakage reduced particle capture up to 64%. Particle leakage data captured at the eye level of the head form illuminated the synergy between mask design, material choice, and fit.
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Worldwide attention has been paid to effective protection strategies against the COVID-19 pandemic. Filtering masks are generally kept for a certain period of shelf-life before being used, and frequently, they are used repeatedly with recurrent storages. This study investigates the effect of storage temperature and humidity on the structural characteristics and charges of an electret filter, associating with the filtration performance in terms of efficiency and pressure drop based on a practical use-storage scenario. For the repeated use conditions with recurrent storage, humid storage conditions significantly deteriorated the filtration efficiency as hygroscopic particles quickly wetted the surface and masked the surface charges. The high temperature rapidly deteriorated the filter charges and caused a lowered electrostatic filtration efficiency. In a heated condition, the web became fluffier, yet it did not directly affect the pressure drop or mechanical filtration efficiency. The approach of this study is progressive in that rigorous analysis was performed on examining the particle morphology and internal structure of filter media with varied storage conditions to link with the filtration performance and the effective lifetime. This study intends to provide a scientific reference guiding a desirable storage condition and replacement cycle of filtering masks considering the actual use habits and storage environment. © The Author(s) 2022.
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Background. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 5 to 20 days of isolation for COVID-19 patients depending on symptom duration and severity regardless of genomic PCR results or vaccination history. However, in real clinical practice, more individualized approach is required. We thus developed clinical scoring system to predict viable viral shedding in a given patient by using various factors affecting viable viral shedding. Methods. We prospectively enrolled adult patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to tertiary hospital and day care center between February 2020 and January 2022. The daily dense respiratory sampling (i.e. saliva, sputum, or nasopharyngeal swabs) during the hospital and day care center stay were obtained. Genomic RNA viral load and viral culture were performed for these samples. Clinical predictors of negative viral culture results were identified using survival analysis and multivariable analysis. Results. A total of 612 samples from 121 patients of varying degrees of severity were obtained. Of these, 494 (81%) samples were saliva, 63 (10%) were nasopharyngeal swab, and the remaining 55 (9%) were sputum. Of these 612 specimens, 154 (25%) samples revealed positive viral culture results. Univariate and multivariable Cox's time varying proportional hazard model revealed that symptom onset day, viral copy number, disease severity, organ transplant recipient, gender, and vaccination status were independently associated with viral culture results. We thus developed the 5-factor model from -3 to 3 points: viral copy number (-3 to 3 points depending on copy number), disease severity (1 point to moderate to critical diseases), organ transplant recipient (2 points), gender (-1 points to male), and vaccination status (-2 points to fully vaccinated status). The predictive culture-negative rates were calculated through the symptom onset day and the score of the day the sample was collected. Conclusion. Our clinical scoring system can provide objective probability of negative culture results in a given COVID-19 patient with genomic viral load, and appears to be useful to decide de-isolation policy depending on individualized factors associated with viable viral shedding beyond simple symptom-based isolation strategy by CDC.
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This study draws on a learning ecologies framework to explore how the teachers and students in a Grade 5 knowledge building (KB) community co-constructed new learning spaces to sustain their science inquiry during COVID-19 school closures. Using an interactional ethnographic approach, we conducted detailed analysis of observation notes, videos of whole-class meetings, and students' online discourse. Our analysis indicated students showed sustained engagement in KB discourse during the school closures, which took place in new learning spaces co-constructed by the teachers and students. The co-construction of learning spaces involved replacing some of the critical classroom-based elements with new options, accommodating the limitations they faced while drawing on new opportunities for students to conduct inquiry in the broader world. Student KB was sustained by a learning culture and activity system formed around the principles of KB and use of relational resources. © ISLS.
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Leukocytoclastic vasculitis after the BNT162b2 vaccine and ChAdOxl nCoV-19 Corona Virus vaccine [recombinant] has been observed. Herein, we report two cases of leukocytoclastic vasculitis that developed after the ChAdOxl-S [recombinant] vaccination. A 61-year-old and a 52-year-old woman presented with pruritic purpuric macules and papules on both lower legs. The patients had been vaccinated with the ChAdOxl-S [recombinant] vaccine. The histopathological analyses were consistent with a diagnosis of leukocytoclastic vasculitis. They were treated with oral prednisolone and improved within 1 month of treatment. We assume that the rash had arisen from the deposition of spike protein at the skin tissue induced by the viral vector of the COVID-19 vaccine or hyperimmune responses by excipients present in vaccine preparations. To our knowledge, our cases would be the first Korean cases of leukocytoclastic vasculitis after the ChAdOxl-S [recombinant] vaccination. © 2022 Korean Dermatological Association. All rights reserved.
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In response to the changes in the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic situation, Ewha Womans University established Ewha Safe Campus (ESC), an on-campus infection outbreak management system, to allow students and faculty members to safely resume face-to face classes in 2022. The COVID-19 testing station, Ewha Safe Station, is the core element of ESC. Symptomatic students and faculty members perform a combo swab self-PCR test or receive a nasopharyngeal swab PCR test from experts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through early detection and management. ESC is significant in that it detects infection risks and proactively implements preemptive measures in a university. The COVID-19 health response system model at the university level was applied for the first time in South Korea, reaching a milestone in the history of university health in South Korea. In particular, it is highly valuable that the test was free of charge, as it enabled all of the examinees to have easy access to the test through joint cooperation with the Seegene Medical Foundation. This is a successful example of cooperation between schools and private institutions for public health improvement. In the future, the direct and indirect effects of the establishment and implementation of ESC need to be evaluated and confirmed, and areas requiring improvements need to be identified in preparation for another infectious disease outbreak in the future.
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In this study, we performed a comprehensive assessment of the vertical CO2 concentration in the urban atmosphere using measurements at two different heights (113 m and 420 m) in Seoul, South Korea. The difference in CO2 concentration between the two altitudes (△CO2 = CO2 at 113 m minus CO2 at 420 m) showed a significant diurnal variation, with the highest at 07:00 (19.9 ppm) and the lowest at 16:00 (3.9 ppm). When the planetary boundary layer (PBL) rose above the two sites (daytime), the CO2 concentrations at the two altitudes were highly correlated (r = 0.87) with low △CO2. In contrast, when the PBL was located between the two sites (night time), the correlation coefficient of the CO2 concentration between the two altitudes decreased by 0.55 with a high △CO2. To explain the cause of this variation in △CO2 according to PBL, we performed Weather Research and Forecasting-stochastic time-inverted Lagrangian transport (WRF-STILT) simulations. Simulations showed that CO2 measurements at two different heights were influenced by the same nearby urban areas during the daytime. However, the site above the PBL only measured the CO2 of air transported from the outside downtown area during the night time. Consequently, the observed night time △CO2 is explained by the difference in air mass between the two measurements owing to PBL variations. The night time △CO2 further implicates the local attribution of observed CO2 below the PBL by removing the effect from the remote area. Because of this unique night time characteristic of △CO2, we evaluated the changes in CO2 concentration in Seoul during the COVID-19 period. Compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, △CO2 clearly decreased from 26.5 ppm to 6.2 ppm with the implementation of social distancing, thus confirming the decreasing local influence of CO2 concentrations. Our findings highlight the potential of atmospheric CO2 monitoring at high altitudes as an observation-based method to assess the effectiveness of local carbon management. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.