ABSTRACT
The purpose of this section is to conclude and summarise the book's discussions and arguments which were presented in its various chapters. The contents in the different chapters cover various issues that impinge upon human relationships, ranging from racism, gender-based violence and families, to health care, among others. Its main premise was to decipher the manner in which healthy human relationships could be promoted through social work and social development interventions. In its concluding remarks, this chapter notes that since the dawn of democracy in 1994, South Africa has not only undergone fundamental changes, but it has in many respects been in a fluid state. Also, the country still has social and economic fissures it inherited from colonial and apartheid rule. The foregoing situation has continuously compounded many social problems which were nurtured by the unjust systems of colonialism and apartheid. This chapter ends on a grave note and ponders on the latest and most severe threat to confront humanity since the Second World War which is the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a global digitalization of organizational activities: the pandemic forced people and organizations to profoundly review values, purposes and norms. However, the research on how digital technologies impact human relationships and interactions at work results fragmented. Still, the importance of understanding which behaviors and norms enhance social interactions and organizational performances in digital environments remains critical, especially after COVID-19 advent. Therefore, this study explores how human relationships change in a wholly digital environment and what to expect for the new normal. Design/methodology/approach: The study first explores the research gap through a systematic literature review to clearly understand what emerged so far. Second, through semi-structured interviews and a focus group, an empirical analysis was conducted. Findings: Findings suggest that both work and emotional dimensions are crucial to nurturing human relationships in a digital environment. More precisely, the study unveils the need for innovative leaders to review their approaches to communication and the work experience and consider the emotional dimension in terms of community purpose and individual well-being, while identifying rituals as an overlapping tool. Finally, the authors propose a parallelism between these results and the agile revolution to inspire leaders to rethink their leadership and behaviors getting closer to the agile approach, which may represent a valuable way to rethink human relations in our professional environment. Originality/value: The paper sheds light on an ongoing phenomenon that touches the lives of each organizational actor. The two-step structure hopes to provide both a structured base of the knowledge developed to date, proposing a systematic view of what has been studied since the outbreak of the pandemic to date and to provide insights for future developments. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
The article represents the current pedagogical problem of building human relationships that foreign students face in Bulgarian second language acquisition for medical purposes in the conditions of Covid-19 and social distancing. A number of observed problems in the context of e-learning are analyzed. Special attention is paid to various aspects of academic communication with foreign medical students during the pandemic. Specific examples which can be used to prove that the usage of digital devices and content over a long period of time exacerbates the deficit of personal contacts and adds specific challenges to the multi- subject interaction: teacher - student - patient are given. The article outlines methodological ideas and tasks used in the distance learning environment in order to form both human e algorithms in the professional behavior of future medical professionals from other countries and skills for ethical communication in the healthcare.
ABSTRACT
Human relationships, intimacy and the role of technology within it constantly change, catapulted in 2020 by COVID-19. We take this social rupture as an opportunity to reimagine possible futures for love, friendship, and kinships. Through design futuring and related approaches, we offer five prompts we developed for imagining alternative futures exploring a diverse range of intimacies. Through generating responses to the prompts, we offer alternative intimate futures as well as reflections on how such 'prompts for futuring' can be generative for design research. Our work extends calls for diversifying design futuring, imploring design researchers to consider diverse and inclusive ways of designing for futures, especially for human relationships and intimacy. © 2022 Owner/Author.
ABSTRACT
We educators may have been obsessed with perfection, expertise, polished experiences and performances too much for too long. Where is the human? Ironed out? This provocative opinion paper is a collection of the authors' reflections based on experiences, observations, ideas and readings. We invite educators to consider and explore what may help them (re-) connect with their inner selves and others socially, emotionally and cognitively in the context of learning and teaching in HE during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. With reference to a collaborative creative initiative that was implemented under the auspices of the Global OER Graduate Network, the paper aims to instigate a discussion around the importance of building and sustaining effective relationships in HE. These are perceived as the drivers that potentially boost participation and student success using collaboration, creativity and openness. Working in partnership with students, recognising and accepting individuality as well as creating opportunities for connection can support the operationalisation of these reflections in practice.