An Online Collaborative Biology Simulation Used by Ukrainian Students During the 2022 Russian Invasion

Although the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted learning for students worldwide, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has more severely impacted education for Ukrainian students. This study was conducted in the context of an educational technology master's thesis (Halchevska, 2022) at the University of Tartu, Estonia. A master's student with Ukrainian background contacted a biology teacher in Ukraine and offered to help teach an online collaborative lesson about genetics and the laws of inheritance. The lesson involved using an innovative computer simulation called the Collaborative Rabbit Genetics Lab. The learning materials were translated into Ukrainian. A quasi-experimental research design compared whether prior experience working with a collaborative seesaw simulation would influence outcomes later with the biology-related collaborative simulation. Data from two classes of 9th-grade students were collected using questionnaire items related to the perception of interdependence, an open-ended question about collaboration, and a focus group interview. The results indicate that prior practice with a collaborative simulation somewhat enhanced perceived collaboration the next time students worked with a similar type of interdependent task but did not affect task performance. The findings suggest that more guidance is needed to support learners in online collaboration when they solve interdependent tasks. Copyright © 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Lessons Learnt and Policy Implications from Implementing the POWERPOOR Approach to Alleviate Energy Poverty

Energy poverty is a multifaceted phenomenon that affects many Europeans. Alleviating energy poverty is high in the EU, national, and local policy agendas. Despite the attention the phenomenon has been gaining from a policy perspective, especially after the current energy crisis, there are still some gaps due to the complexity of the issue and its vastly different manifestations across Europe. This manuscript presents the policy implications stemming from the implementation of the POWEPROOR approach in alleviating energy poverty in eight European countries, as co-created with relevant stakeholders in each country. The knowledge gained from empowering energy-poor citizens by promoting behavioural changes and small-scale energy efficiency interventions, as well as by encouraging the uptake of renewable energy sources in the form of collective energy initiatives while leveraging innovative financing schemes, resulted in policy recommendations for national and sub-national governments and lessons for civil society and the private sector.

ECMO-COVID offer and global mortality: Where does Portugal stand?

Objectives: To evaluate the ECMO offer during the COVID pandemic in the different European countries Methods: We colected COVID and demographic data from Worldometer and the national ECMO runs from the EuroELSO platform. Result(s): Europe presented a broad offer of ECMO. If during the first wave the Health System;s resources were not prepared to accommodate the high number of patients, during the following two years ECMO demonstrated to be a useful tool in the treatment of COVID pneumonia. However, across different European countries the use of ECMO was very different. In Portugal ECMO was used in 336 patients, in a universe of 5,557,941 COVID cases within a total population of 10,140,570 individuals. Of these, 336 were placed on extracorporeal circulation, which corresponds to 60.5 cases per million positive cases and 33.1 per 1 million individuals. The average number of patients placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) per million positive cases was 39 amongst the surveyed countries. Portugal was the 4th country with the most patients of ECMO per million cases (1st is Belgium with 106.5;Estonia 106.1;and Austria 68.5) and per million inhabitants (33.1), after Estonia (49.2), Austria (43.2) and Belgium (42.6). The mortality rate of COVID patients in Portugal is 0.46%. It is lower than the average of the countries under analysis (0.56%). When analyzing the frequency of cases concerning the mortality rate, there is seemingly an increase in the mortality rate with a decrease in the number of cases. The significant differences in the mortality rate between different countries can be explained by several other factors: different criteria for the main diagnosis of death;capacity of the different countries regarding the population;s access to vaccination and the different access to health care. Conclusion(s): ECMO-COVID offer was very different across countries. In Portugal, the offer was amongst the greatest in Europe, not compromising the overall response to the global COVID population.

Field Testing the "Avoid the Needle" Intervention for Persons at Risk for Transitioning to Injecting Drug Use in Tallinn, Estonia and New York City, USA.

This study aimed to field tested the "Avoid the Needle" (AtN) intervention to reduce transitions from non-injecting to injecting drug use in two different epidemiological settings. Respondent driven sampling was used to recruit current non-injecting drug users (NIDUs) in Tallinn, Estonia in 2018-19 and in New York City (NYC) in 2019-20. Both persons who had never injected and persons who had previously injected but not in the last 6 months were eligible; a structured interview was administered, a blood sample collected, and the intervention administered by trained interventionists. We recruited 19 non-injectors from Tallinn and 140 from NYC. Participants in Tallinn were younger and had begun using drugs at earlier ages than participants in NYC. The primary drugs used in Tallinn were amphetamine, fentanyl, and opioid analgesics, while in NYC they were heroin, cocaine, speedball, and fentanyl. Six-month follow-up data were obtained from 95% of participants in Tallinn. The study was interrupted by COVID-19 lockdown in NYC, but follow-up data were obtained from 59% of participants. There were minimal transitions to injecting: 1/18 in Tallinn and 0/83 in NYC. There were significant declines in the frequencies of using readily injectable drugs (fentanyl, amphetamine, heroin, cocaine) from baseline to follow-up in both sites (Cochran-Armitage tests for trend, χ2 = 21.3, p < 0.001 for New York City; and χ2 = 3.9, p = 0.048 for Tallinn). Reducing transitions into injecting is a potentially very important method for reducing HIV transmission and other harms of drug use. Further investigation and implementation of AtN type interventions is warranted.

Acceleration of Remote Work and Coworking Practices in Estonia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Estonia is a country with a small economy and a high level of digitalization that was more ready for remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic than many other countries. This paper shows how a small and flexible society with its institutions reacted to turbulent times and what developments it has brought along. We use data from Statistics Estonia and other public sources, as well as previous qualitative studies on coworking spaces in Estonia. We conclude that employees' preferences towards hybridity and remote practices and the readiness of employers to meet them, supported by the high pre-pandemic level of digitalization and developed ICT sector, could improve the revitalization of rural and deprived regions and reduce the socioeconomic disparities across Estonia. © 2023, The Author(s).

Website information on visiting policies at specialist in-patient palliative care settings during COVID-19 pandemic across Central and Eastern Europe: a quantitative and qualitative study

Introduction: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, visiting policies in various healthcare centres across the world have changed. Visiting patients by relatives and friends have been stopped or significantly limited. New conditions and legal constraints for family visits had to be implemented also at in-patient palliative care settings, even though accompanying a dying person is crucial for the quality of the end of life. The study aimed to identify and review the visiting policies at in-patient specialist palliative care settings across Central and Eastern Europe. Patients and Methods: The study was conducted one year after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak from May to October 2021. Information about visiting policies, published on official websites of the in-patient specialised palliative care settings (stationary hospices and hospital-based palliative care units) from Central and Eastern European countries, were identified and categorised. The websites which lacked information about visiting policy during the COVID-19 pandemic were excluded. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the obtained data was conducted by using content analysis techniques and descriptive analysis. The content from websites was translated into Polish with the usage of the Google Translate machine tool. Result(s): Data from 55 in-patient palliative care settings from 8 countries were collected and analysed (83.6% from Poland, and the other from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine). In 43.6% of the organisations, visits were stopped and 56.4% of settings published information about the special requirements for visiting arrangements. In 32.7% of all examined units upfront approval from a physician or the head of a department for visiting a patient was required, and 29.1% published information about personal protective equipment. 32.7% of organizations recommended telephone contact with the patient, and 12.7% provided video calls. Conclusion(s): Web information regarding visiting patients in in-patient palliative care settings is limited. There is a need to establish detailed requirements for the visits with better access to the website for the visitors, in case of a global disease outbreak.Copyright © Via Medica, ISSN 2545-0425, e-ISSN: 2545-1359.

Tracing the Origin of Genotype II African Swine Fever Virus in China by Genomic Epidemiology Analysis

The pandemic spread of African swine fever (ASF) has caused serious effects on the global pig industry. Virus genome sequencing and genomic epidemiology analysis play an important role in tracking the outbreaks of the disease and tracing the transmission of the virus. Here we obtained the full-length genome sequence of African swine fever virus (ASFV) in the first outbreak of ASF in China on August 3rd, 2018 and compared it with other published genotype II ASFV genomes including 9 genomes collected in China from September 2018 to October 2020. Phylogenetic analysis on genomic sequences revealed that genotype II ASFV has evolved into different genetic clusters with temporal and spatial correlation since being introduced into Europe and then Asia. There was a strong support for the monophyletic grouping of all the ASFV genome sequences from China and other Asian countries, which shared a common ancestor with those from the Central or Eastern Europe. An evolutionary rate of 1.312 × 10−5 nucleotide substitutions per site per year was estimated for genotype II ASFV genomes. Eight single nucleotide variations which located in MGF110-1L, MGF110-7L, MGF360-10L, MGF505-5R, MGF505-9R, K145R, NP419L, and I267L were identified as anchor mutations that defined genetic clusters of genotype II ASFV in Europe and Asia. This study expanded our knowledge of the molecular epidemiology of ASFV and provided valuable information for effective control of the disease.

'The Pandemic Affected My Life in a Negative Way': The Experiences of Estonian Children in Child Protective Services During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

This study investigates children's experiences concerning the effect of the containment measures associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on their daily lives. A small-scale study using in-depth, semi-structured interviews was conducted in Estonia with 10 children registered with Child Protective Services (CPS) as in need of assistance. The COVID-19 pandemic generally negatively affected the children, who struggled with e-schooling, social relationships and emotional well-being. Most of the children reported struggling with their emotional well-being, using words such as anxiety, tension, fear, sadness, and depressing. Not all of the children received the necessary support or assistance from the CPS. The children reported a few positive experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as attaining a more personalised method and schedule for studying and receiving parental support during e-schooling.

Estonian Men Over 65 Are More Willing to Use Digital Technology

Digital technology offers older people an excellent opportunity to cope independently, which has become particularly apparent now in times of the COVID-19 crisis. Computers and smart devices provide additional access to a variety of online health-related information and communication with healthcare professionals, as well as digital health-related applications. Research suggests that while men are interested in digital solutions, women are more likely to seek online health information and exhibit better health behavior. The article aims to critically examine gender differences in digital technology acceptance for health purposes, online health information seeking, and COVID-19 vaccine readiness among older adults living in the small Eastern European country of Estonia. Data on the 65+ age group (65 men and 116 women) were derived from a larger survey, which contained a representative sample in terms of gender, age, and nationality and was conducted among Estonian older adults in 2020. In light of the findings of earlier research, it was surprising to learn that 65+ men in Estonia take a slightly greater interest in health information compared to their female peers, which could result from men's poorer health status. Although it was more important for women to have access to a doctor from a distance, men expressed more avid interest in various digital health gadgets and services. As it happens, they were also more willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Thus, this study positively dispels the myth that men are dismissive about their health and information regarding it. The results of the study imply that older people in Estonia, well-educated men in particular, are enthusiastic digital technology users for health purposes which could prove to be valuable insight to those responsible for should be taken into account when developing digital services and health campaigns.

Challenges of Hybrid Flexible (HyFlex) Learning on the Example of a University of Applied Sciences

Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, it became increasingly necessary to rearrange the teaching process at all school levels. Higher education institutions all over the world have been facing the challenge since 2020, to find blended teaching formats and activities to provide higher education without compromising the quality of education, but at the same time mitigating health risks. This article deals with the HyFlex learning model. The aim of this paper is to identify problems that may arise when implementing HyFlex teaching and learning in higher education. Identifying problems also provides an opportunity to offer solutions to these problems and to introduce possible solutions more widely. In order to answer the research question an online survey was conducted in spring 2021 (n = 570). The survey consisted of both closed and open questions. The fact that Estonia was one of those countries, where periods of F2F classes during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic were possible, speaks in favor of conducting the research in Estonia. In conclusion, most of the students (75%) participating in the survey were rather positive, rating the learning experience to be good or even excellent. However, some problems were pointed out too: difficulties in concentrating, decrease of learning motivation/self-discipline, lack of depth in learning, and insufficient self-directed learning skills;followed by communication barriers and problems related to digital competencies and skills for both teachers and students. Based on the above, almost a quarter of the respondents found that the volume of learning increased. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

A Comparative Analysis of the Fintech Ecosystems in Romania and Estonia

Romania and Estonia both have young fintech ecosystems that are growing rapidly and closing the gap with the more developed ecosystem in Western Europe. Although Romania is larger both in terms of population and GDP, the Romanian fintech ecosystem is almost 4 times smaller than the Estonian one. In this paper the author examines what are the factors that are contributing to the faster development of the Estonian ecosystem and whether some of these factors can be replicated in other countries, besides Romania. My results indicate that factors such as a government that is open to innova tion and working with startups, a more international mindset of the startups and better collaboration between fintech startups themselves and between the startups and universities can accelerate the development of the ecosystem and help the startups grow faster. My results both confirm existing studies on the subject and can help the stakeholders in the ecosystem better work together to accelerate the development of the ecosystem and, ultimately, better service their clients. These success factors that have contributed to the faster development of the Estonian ecosystem can most, if not all, be replica ted in Romania and other countries in the region to achieve similar, if not better results. The silver line between all this factor is a change in mindset that allows for a better collaboration between the stakeholders in the ecosystem, but also for improved individual business models and more innovative products and services that we can all benefit from.

Beyond Meeting and Tweeting: The Next Challenges for Innovation in Diplomacy

COVID-19 might become another weapon in the armory of those who believe that the answer to the twenty-first century is to build a bigger wall. A pandemic that exposes the weakness of systems for international cooperation will lead some politicians to campaign on more nationalist platforms. In the last decade, countries have realized the benefit of becoming soft power superpowers, and have spent more time and energy shifting the way the world sees them. This chapter discusses from a personal perspective how states have used digital technology to craft new messages internationally, and both the challenges and benefits they have found along the way. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Digital systemic practices in Europe: A survey before the COVID-19 pandemic

Knowledge regarding digital practices in the field of systemic therapy is poor. A few surveys have been conducted in non-European countries investigating the provision of digitally based therapy, counselling, training, and supervision by systemic family and couple therapists (SCFTs). Thus, a survey aiming to investigate the use of information and communication technology (ICT) among European SCFTs was launched in 2017. A sample of 220 SCFTs was included in the survey. The majority were residents in Greece, France and Italy. Descriptive analysis compared SCFTs' digital practices and concerns from the above three countries with those from the rest of Europe. Results showed that 81.4 per cent of European SCFTs used ICT for clinical purposes and 47.7 per cent in training and supervision. Main concerns among European SCFTs related to the quality of therapeutic relationship, ethical and legal issues, and a lack of national and transnational regulation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement ICT use and e-therapy increase access to mental health services and maintain therapeutic contact. Systemic individual therapy, supervision and training are workable online settings. Legislation regulating ICT use in therapy, supervision and training (e.g. General Data Protection Regulation) has to be respected. Training and continuous education in online practices enhance therapists' and clients' options, and ensure digital safeness and effective treatment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

SARS-CoV-2 in animals used for fur farming: GLEWS+ risk assessment (20 January 2021)

SARS-CoV-2 was first identified in humans in December 2019 and has since affected almost 68 million people causing over 1.5 million deaths worldwide. Animal-to-human and animal-to-animal transmission has been documented within farmed minks in several countries. SARS-CoV-2 has been identified in a farmed mink population in a number of countries. Some of the affected farms reported also workers SARS-CoV-2 infection and it is hypothesized that the mink farms were infected through human-mink transmission proving SARS-CoV-2 capability of reverse zoonosis. This Tripartite Risk Assessment, as a joint effort under the GLEWS+ initiative, completed with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), evaluates the risk of introduction and spread of SARS-CoV-2 within fur farming systems as well as whether farmed fur animals could play a significant role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 to humans via spillover. Additionally, using a One Health approach, the Tripartite evaluated the risk of the escaped minks leading to the establishment of a viral reservoir in susceptible wildlife populations. This work provides guidance to Members on this newly emerging threat.

Challenges to social work professionalism during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative analysis of child protective workers' perspectives

The pandemic of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected millions of children and families worldwide, disrupting their daily lives and impacting the ability of Child Protective Services (CPS) to respond to children in need. This small-scale study involving 23 child protective workers from local governments in different regions of Estonia used in-depth, semi-structured interviews to explore child protection work with children in need during the COVID −19 pandemic. Issues resulting from the pandemic that could cause detriment to children was identified. For some children, the COVID-19 crisis has eliminated the possibility of any investigation due to social distancing, which led to information deficit, regardless of the character or level of apparent risk to the child. Children's rights to protection and continuity of care have been threatened, as urgently needed services and other CPS protective measures have been hindered or postponed due to lockdown. Examples of some services that continued online were provided. Furthermore, COVID-19 pandemic created new expectations and roles for CPS, questioning the fundamental goals of child protection work. Nevertheless, child protective workers have demonstrated creativity in finding ways to reach children in need during the pandemic, for example by setting up a crisis hotline, a crisis home. © 2023 GAPS.

ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF UK'S ECONOMY AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND BREXIT

The objective of the paper is to assess the resilience of UKs economy towards two economic shocks: the Covid-19pandemic that hit the global economy in Q4 2019, in years 2020,2021 and2022 and the Brexit following the withdrawal ofUKfrom the European Union on 31 January 2020. To assess the resilience ofUK s economy, two sets of forecasts are generated: forecasts using historical data including the pandemic and the Brexit (from Q11998 to Q4 2021) and not including the pandemic and the Brexit (from Q1 1998 to Q3 2019). The computation of the difference of their averages is an indicator of the resilience of the economy during the pandemic, the greater the difference the greater the resilience. Eurozone is used as benchmark. By subtracting the average forecasted 20222050 Eurozone quarterly GDP growth rate (annualized) obtained with the Q1 1998-Q4 2021 data, +2.93%, by the one obtained with the Q11998-Q3 2019 data, +1.59% the difference is + 1.33%, whereas with UK the difference is -2.33% [-0.24% - (-2.09%)]. Thus, Eurozone shows a greater resilience (+1.33%) than the UK (-2.33%) based on 2022-2050forecasts. In addition, the authors pointed out that the average ofthe 2022-2050 quarterly (annualized) growth rate forecasts ofthe Eurozone is expected to be +2.93% with the 1998-2021 data whereas it is expected to be only -2.09%for UK The Eurozone economy shows better prospects than the UK economy.

Did the pandemic bring new features to counter-urbanisation? Evidence from Estonia.

This paper aims to shed new light on changes in counter-urbanisation over the past three decades. A specific focus will be placed on new features of domestic migration to non-metropolitan rural areas which have become apparent during the global coronavirus pandemic. We focus on the intensity, origins, and destinations of counter-urban moves, and on the individual characteristics of counter-urban movers. Based on a case study of Estonia, our main findings show, firstly, that urbanisation has been the predominant migration trend across the past thirty years, with the main destination of domestic migrants being the capital city and its urban region. Secondly, we find that counter-urban moves have gained importance over time and especially during the periods of economic bust. The most important new features of counter-urbanisation during the pandemic relate to the increased migration of families with children and people who have high-income occupations to non-metropolitan rural areas. These new features of domestic migration could serve to slow down or even reverse the long-term problem of population aging in the countryside and the loss of educated people there.

Editorial

The results reveal a significantly negative impact of Covid-19 on the US stock market being an idiosyncratic black swan event. [...]the author also points out that US may not have hurried to act because its banking sector seemed to recover more quickly than in Australia and Europe. [...]Tetsuya Kirihata's “Contribution of business angel investments: evidence from Estonia” addresses the contribution of business angels (BAs), defined as wealthy individuals who provide risk capital to entrepreneurial firms without family connections in Eastern Europe, Estonia, which is emerging as a start-up hub in the region in recent years.

Surveillance of the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Europe: Longitudinal Trend Analyses.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted Europe, resulting in a high caseload and deaths that varied by country. The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has breached the borders of Europe. Public health surveillance is necessary to inform policy and guide leaders. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide advanced surveillance metrics for COVID-19 transmission that account for weekly shifts in the pandemic, speed, acceleration, jerk, and persistence, to better understand countries at risk for explosive growth and those that are managing the pandemic effectively. METHODS: We performed a longitudinal trend analysis and extracted 62 days of COVID-19 data from public health registries. We used an empirical difference equation to measure the daily number of cases in Europe as a function of the prior number of cases, the level of testing, and weekly shift variables based on a dynamic panel model that was estimated using the generalized method of moments approach by implementing the Arellano-Bond estimator in R. RESULTS: New COVID-19 cases slightly decreased from 158,741 (week 1, January 4-10, 2021) to 152,064 (week 2, January 11-17, 2021), and cumulative cases increased from 22,507,271 (week 1) to 23,890,761 (week 2), with a weekly increase of 1,383,490 between January 10 and January 17. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom had the largest 7-day moving averages for new cases during week 1. During week 2, the 7-day moving average for France and Spain increased. From week 1 to week 2, the speed decreased (37.72 to 33.02 per 100,000), acceleration decreased (0.39 to -0.16 per 100,000), and jerk increased (-1.30 to 1.37 per 100,000). CONCLUSIONS: The United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal, in particular, are at risk for a rapid expansion in COVID-19 transmission. An examination of the European region suggests that there was a decrease in the COVID-19 caseload between January 4 and January 17, 2021. Unfortunately, the rates of jerk, which were negative for Europe at the beginning of the month, reversed course and became positive, despite decreases in speed and acceleration. Finally, the 7-day persistence rate was higher during week 2 than during week 1. These measures indicate that the second wave of the pandemic may be subsiding, but some countries remain at risk for new outbreaks and increased transmission in the absence of rapid policy responses.