Building back better: lessons learned from a year with COVID 19 caused changes to school and teaching

As part of the large-scale ‘COVID-19, Building Back Better'-project, primary school (grade 0-6) stakeholders (students (N = 2.427), parents (N = 153), school staff (N = 176) and school leaders (N = 14)) answered the open-ended survey-question: ‘What have you learned during the COVID-19 pandemic that could be used to make school and teaching better in the future?'. The responses are inductively organised. The analysis points at several learning potentials from COVID-19 and suggests different politically and ethically feasible focus points for quality teaching and education after COVID-19 (e.g. more efficient teaching/worktime, a focus on students' and school staff's well-being in school, outdoor teaching/outdoor time, movement in teaching, online teaching, new and creative teaching methods, clear and simple structure, shorter school days, no parents at school, improved school-home collaboration and information/communication from school). We discuss the feasibility of implementing the suggestions and argue for cooperative procedures paying attention to contradicting perceptions when reimagining education in the future. © 2023 ASPE.

"You are on mute”: the impact of indoor soundscape on sexual well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown

Sexual well-being is a fundamental facet of the overall well-being of most individuals and implies the ability to have safe and pleasurable sexual experiences, beyond the absence of disease or disturbance. The extent to which people can achieve sexual well-being depends, among other aspects, on whether they live in an environment that promotes and support it. The present study focuses on the unexplored impacts of the perceived acoustic environment (i.e., the soundscape) on human sexual activity carried out in domestic settings. Verbal descriptions have been gathered from open-ended questions included in a survey administered to 848 respondents living in the UK (London area) and in Italy in January 2021 during the COVID-19 lockdown. Thematic analysis was used to extract a framework detailing the positive and negative impacts of the acoustic environment on sexual activity. The results show the mechanisms by which the acoustic features of the environment can impact on the sexual experience in terms of privacy, distraction, disruption or support, up to trigger coping strategies (e.g., controlling windows, playing music) and behavioural changes (e.g., lowering the volume of the voice) that can in turn limit or enhance the freedom of sexual behaviour, affect or foster sexual well-being. © 2022 Internoise 2022 - 51st International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering. All rights reserved.

The impact of Covid-19 on management decision-making: The case within Australian organizations

The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly altered the way leaders in organizations manage their employees, requiring them to adopt a more supportive stance to facilitate employee wellbeing and at the same time maintain productivity. The pandemic has precipitated changes to how organizations manage and communicate with their staff. Because the situation has changed due to the infectious disease of COVID-19, managerial decisions are expected to change, commensurate with the situation. It is within this context that this study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Australian managers’ decision-making approaches. A qualitative method utilizing structured interviews consisting of 11 open ended questions was used to gauge the effect of the pandemic on 55 Australian public service managers. The study reveals that, because of the pandemic, new management approaches were employed and reveals insights into employees’ attitudes toward these new approaches. The research highlights how the use of multiple technological platforms have facilitated organizational communication, despite technical difficulties, to maintain at least a reasonable level of connectivity and helped to facilitate the achievement of organizational goals and objectives.

Work In Progress: Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Engineering Students' Sense of Belonging and Learning

This work in progress paper reports on part of a larger project examining engineering students' learning experiences, sense of belonging, motivation, and engineering identity, specifically focusing on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected these attributes and students' connection to others. A survey was distributed in Spring 2021 to engineering students (n = 1565) at a land grant institution in the southeastern U.S. that included open-ended questions about how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the students' learning experiences and sense of belonging. Likert-type questions asked students to rate the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic affected their learning experiences, sense of belonging and connections to others (peers, instructors, TAs, other engineering groups). Our analysis of the qualitative data (open-ended survey responses;n=815) used inductive, emergent coding to categorize students' responses. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the quantitative data (close-ended responses) to help visualize emerging themes. Analysis with respect to gender and race/ethnicity revealed significantly lower connections to peers for Hispanic/Latino students when compared to White students. Analysis also found that female students reported statistically higher effects of online learning on their sense of belonging in engineering compared to male students. First year students felt less connected and more stressed than they had prior to the pandemic. First-year and senior students reported lower connections with their TAs than sophomore and junior students. Some students said they relied on technology, such as social media platforms to connect with other students and groups. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

The concerns and perceived challenges that students faced when traditional in-person engineering courses suddenly transitioned to remote learning

This research evaluates the impact of switching college engineering courses from in-person instruction to emergency remote learning among engineering students at a university in the Midwest. The study aimed to answer the question: What were the concerns and perceived challenges students faced when traditional in-person engineering courses suddenly transitioned to remote learning? The goal of this study is to uncover the challenges students were facing in engineering online courses and to understand students' concerns. Our findings can help improve teaching instruction to provide students with previously unavailable educational assistance for online engineering courses. We collected online survey responses during weeks 8 and 9 of the academic semester, shortly after the COVID-19 shutdown and emergency transition to remote learning in Spring 2020. The survey included two open-ended questions which inquired about students' feedback about moving the class online, and one two-item scale which assessed students' confidence in online engineering learning. Data analysis for the open-ended questions was guided by the theoretical framework - Social Cognitive Career Theory [1] that explores how context, person factors and social cognitions contribute to career goals, interests and actions. A phenomenological approach [2] was conducted to understand the experience of these students. Open coding and axial coding [2] methods were used to create initial categories then themes related to students' concerns and challenges. Data from the two-item scale was evaluated using descriptive statistics: means, standard deviations, and ranges. Four main themes with separate sub-categories emerged from the student responses: 1) Instructor's ability to teach course online (Instructional limitations, Seeking help, Increased Workload), 2) Student's ability to learn online (Time Management, Lower engagement and motivation, Harder to absorb material, Hard to focus, Worry about performance), 3) Difficulties outside of class (Technology issues), and 4) No concerns. Students seemed more concerned about their ability to learn the material (48% of responses) than the instructor's ability to teach the material (36% of responses). The instructional limitations or lack of instructional support (22% of responses) and time management (12% of responses) were among the major concerns in the sub-categories. The results from two-item scale indicated participants' s confidence in their ability to master their classroom knowledge was at an intermediate level via online instruction (6/10), and participants' confidence in the instructor's ability to teach knowledge in online classes is moderate to high (7/10). The results align with the open-ended question response in which students were somewhat more concerned about their ability to learn than the instructor's ability to teach. The themes and analysis will be a valuable tool to help institutions and instructors improve student learning experiences. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

Decreasing Student Stress Through Multi-Attempt Digital Engineering Assessments with Rotating Questions

This paper will discuss building multi-attempt quizzes and exams that use the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) to deliver engineering assessments designed to lower overall student stress and anxiety. These assessments use practice-focused questions that force students to build programs (C++ and Matlab), draft engineering drawings (AutoCAD and Solidworks), and apply engineering design, ethics, and intellectual property concepts to solve open-response questions. Each time a student takes the assessment, the questions shift randomly within topical areas facilitated by question banks that rotate among questions of similar difficulty for each new attempt. Each assessment is composed of 1-5 question banks to ensure all topics were covered throughout the various assessments. In total, 17 assessments used this framework across two fall semesters and one spring semester in the 2020 and 2021 school years. Over the course of 10 unique assessments and 3 semesters, 54.7% of students used more than one attempt on each quiz or exam when averaged across all assessments in the study. Using LMS analytics and open-ended questions administered through an end-of-term student survey, 86.2% of students reported positive experiences regarding the assessment methods, 51.2% of students reported decreased anxiety, and 22.6% of students appreciated the greater flexibility provided by the assessments. From this data, multi-attempt assessments had a positive impact on students' wellbeing in three semesters that were particularly challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

Fashion and Pandemic: Covid-19 and its Implications in Small Companies from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

This paper aims to analyze the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on small companies in the fashion sector in Rio Grande do Sul, as well as to understand the advertising strategies adopted in the maintenance/acquisition of customers. As for its typology, this work uses Descriptive (objectives), Bibliographic, Field Research and Survey (technical procedures) and Qualitative (problem approach) research. script consisting of 13 open questions, having as target audience respondents who act as managers in small companies in the fashion sector in Rio Grande do Sul. At the end of the study, the results showed, among other points, that one of the greatest impacts of the pandemic for fashion companies was, precisely, the increase in price and the lack of raw material, the which led respondents to look for alternative materials to maintain production. Furthermore, brands had to quickly adapt to new changes, as those that did not have a more solid presence within the digital environment felt the need to accelerate this process and put all their efforts into this "new" way of selling. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar os impactos da pandemia Covid-19 em pequenas empresas do setor de Moda do Rio Grande do Sul, bem como compreender as estratégias publicitárias adotadas na manutenção/aquisição de clientes. Quanto à sua tipologia, este trabalho utiliza-se das pesquisas Descritiva (objetivos), Bibliográfica, Pesquisa de Campo e Survey (procedimentos técnicos) e Qualitativa (abordagem do problema), sendo que, na etapa de coleta de dados, construiu-se um roteiro composto por 13 perguntas abertas, tendo, como público-alvo, respondentes que atuam como gestoras em pequenas empresas do setor de Moda do Rio Grande do Sul. Ao fim do estudo, os resultados demonstraram, entre outros pontos, que um dos maiores impactos da pandemia para as empresas de Moda foi, justamente, o aumento no preço e a falta de matéria-prima, o que levou as respondentes a buscarem materiais alternativos para manter a produção. Ainda, as marcas tiveram que se adaptar rapidamente às novas mudanças, visto que, aquelas que não possuíam uma presença mais sólida dentro do ambiente digital, sentiram a necessidade de acelerar esse processo e colocar todos seus esforços nesse "novo" jeito de vender. (Portuguese) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Revista FSA is the property of Revista FSA (Faculdade Santo Agostinho) 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.)

Interviewing Young Thai Adults About Changes in Brand Consumption During Covid-19 Lockdowns

Over the past two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way customers consume brands during the periodic lockdowns that happened in Thailand. Twenty young Thai adults were interviewed in a qualitative research about changes in their brand consumption as a direct result of having to stay at home for months to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The interviewees were asked open-ended questions about their favorite and most consumed brands before lockdowns and how the preferences changed during lockdowns as well as how the pandemic has changed their brand perceptions. The results showed a huge and relatively permanent increase in customers spending more time and money online with their preferences shifting to brands that have a strong digital presence. In order for companies to adapt to these changes, they must prioritize maximizing value through key factors which include smoothly transitioning to digitization, offering affordable products with constant promotions, and ensuring fast, reliable deliveries. © 2022 IEEE.

Frame of reference training for content analysis with structured teams (FORT-CAST): A framework for content analysis of open-ended survey questions using multidisciplinary coders.

In the context of a global pandemic, the need for reliable analysis of qualitative data in healthcare has never been more pressing. Open-ended questions are a feasible way for both researchers and organizational stakeholders to gain deeper insight into complex situations when timely research is needed. However, the interpretation of brief, textual responses can prove problematic. Both manual and automated/semiautomated methods of coding qualitative data have been associated with errors and costly temporal delays. Data obtained from the qualitative analysis of open-ended questions have been questioned for lacking robust insights. The present article introduces an innovative, manual, team-based method of analyzing responses to open-ended survey questions. This method was developed and implemented at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the needs of nurses and their perceptions of organizational strategies that were implemented to address pandemic-related challenges. This framework utilizes a dedicated project management structure, general purpose software for data collection and analysis, frame-of-reference training designed for an interdisciplinary team of coders, and data analysis procedures that align with qualitative content analysis procedures. In concert, these techniques empower researchd team members with varying backgrounds and disparate levels of experience to provide unique human insights to data analysis procedures, refine the coding process, and support the abstraction of meaningful themes that were used to prioritize organizational strategies and further support nurses as the pandemic progressed.

Evaluation of descriptive answers of open ended questions using NLP techniques

The COVID-19 pandemic has made a severe impact on education system. The face to face lectures attending has replaced with online learning. These closures affected the examination system as well. Answering mechanisms have become less descriptive to adapt newer modes of evaluation thus an automated system for evaluation of descriptive answers is required. This research paper introduces a mechanism for automated scoring/grading the descriptive answers for the students. It applies efficient Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques to provide a helping hand to teachers in educational sector. Three different supervised ML models are used;Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF) and multinomial Naïve Bayes (NB). With these, Soft Cosine similarity is being used for analyzing similarity between datasets (dataset-1 and dataset-2) and gold standard corpus. After analyzing, it is observed that Multinomial NB model outperforms on dataset-2 with 92% accuracy. © 2021 IEEE.

Framing automatic grading techniques for open-ended questionnaires responses. A short survey

The assessment of students' performances is one of the essential components of teaching activities, and it poses different challenges to teachers and instructors, especially when considering the grading of responses to open-ended questions (i.e., short-answers or essays). Open-ended tasks allow a more in-depth assessment of students' learning levels, but their evaluation and grading are time-consuming and prone to subjective bias. For these reasons, automatic grading techniques have been studied for a long time, focusing mainly on short-answers rather than long essays. Given the growing popularity of Massive Online Open Courses and the shifting from physical to virtual classrooms environments due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the adoption of questionnaires for evaluating learning performances has rapidly increased. Hence, it is of particular interest to analyze the recent effort of researchers in the development of techniques designed to grade students' responses to open-ended questions. In our work, we consider a systematic literature review focusing on automatic grading of open-ended written assignments. The study encompasses 488 articles published from 1984 to 2021 and aims at understanding the research trends and the techniques to tackle essay automatic grading. Lastly, inferences and recommendations are given for future works in the Learning Analytics field. © 2021 Copyright for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).