Moving Clinical Operations Forward During Pandemic

In the short and long term, sponsors should think through: * Protocol modifications to incorporate remote patient and site assessments or other virtual elements. * Patient visit requirements and anticipated data collection challenges. * Effective resumption of activities when the pandemic situation improves. * Improvements to risk management planning.8 * Overall impact on clinical trial and clinical program timelines (including time to approval). [...]each passing day brings new information about the spread of COVID-19 globally. [...]to plan for the short and long term, sponsors should go back to the drawing board and reevaluate overall clinical study design, including patient eligibility, feasibility, enrollment, timelines, and budgets against the evolving global landscape. [...]alarming projections indicate that socialdistancing countermeasures may need to be in place well into 20219, which means that biopharmaceutical sponsors should make urgent decisions now to plan for continued clinical research in the coming months.

International Symposium on Eastern Indonesia Marine Ecosystems

EditorsAgus Setiawan, Iis Triyulianti, Charlie Ester de Fretes, Muhammad Zain Tuakia, Sem Likumahua, Faisal Hamzah, Corry Yanti Manullang, Dewi Seswita Zilda, Abdul Wahab Radjab, Muhammad Fadli, Rafidha Dh. Ahmad Opier, Ahmad Romdon.PrefaceThe evaluation of the First Symposium on Banda Sea Ecosystem (ISBSE) held by the Research Center for Deep Sea (then under the Indonesian Institute of Sciences-LIPI) in 2017 indicated the need to expand the geographic coverage area of the symposium. As the follow up, in 2022, the Research Center organized the International Symposium on Eastern Indonesia Marine Ecosystems (ISEIME), with the objective is to gather all marine scientists and observers to meet and share their knowledge and recent information regarding marine ecosystems in eastern Indonesia and the country in general. ISEIME is one of various international conferences that organized by the Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency-BRIN to focus on topics such as Oceanography and Climate Change;Marine Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Ecology;Marine Monitoring and Management;Marine Pollution;and Marine Geosciences. The event took place on the 24th of November 2022.Human health problems due to the pandemic of COVID-19 in Indonesia has decreased recently, yet in some parts of the country still show slight increase cases. To this end, we decided to conduct the ISEIME 2022 virtually using the zoom platform, which was remotely organized from Ambon, eastern Indonesia. The symposium was commenced by a report from the chairman of ISEIME and subsequently followed by a welcoming-remarks by the Head of Research Center for Deep Sea, Intan Suci Nurhati, Ph.D. In the first session, two keynote speakers (Prof. Ocky Karna Radjasa and Prof. Dwi Listyo Rahayu from BRIN) were given 30-40 minutes to present their talks and followed by a 30 minutes Q&A. Three invited speakers, Prof. Stevan Steinke, Prof. Wiedong Yu and Prof. Madya Dr. Tuan Nurul Sabiqah Tuan Anuar delivered their talks during the second session. In the parallel session, 30 speakers were divided into five different rooms according to the topics and they were given 15 minutes each to deliver their presentations, followed by 5 minutes Q&A.The event has gained a great success due to hard work from the collaboration between the local committee in Ambon, Bali and Jakarta. We would like to thank BRIN International Conference Event Organizer who had taken part in providing time and financial support during the event. Special acknowledgement to all speakers who contribute in the event by imparting their knowledge during the talks and discussions, and also their willingness to participate and contribute in the future marine research in Indonesia. We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to all authors who contribute their findings through their written papers, and for their significant thoughts and ideas in discussions during their presentations. Finally, we give a great appreciation and many thanks to reviewers who have voluntarily participated and contributed not only in judging papers, but also in providing constructive comments and suggestions for authors to improve their manuscripts.ISEIME chairmanSem LikumahuaList of ISEIME Committee is available in this Pdf.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CTSA Clinical Research Centers over 2 years.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic had an abrupt impact on patient-oriented research early in the pandemic. CTSA Clinical Research Centers (CRCs) rapidly adapted to this challenge, but the continued impact of later phases of the pandemic on CRC operations is not clear. Methods: An online REDCap survey of CTSA CRCs was developed that covered the first 2 years of the pandemic. The survey focused on impact on CRC functions, mitigation strategies, recovery of CRC activities, CRC contributions to COVID-related research, and potential lessons for future public health emergencies. The survey was sent to CRC directors at 61 CTSA Hubs in May 2022. Results: Twenty-seven Hubs (44%) responded to the survey. Most CRCs reported greater than 50% declines in inpatient census in the first year of the pandemic, with less severe impacts on outpatient census. CRCs pivoted to support COVID-related research and adopted innovative technology-driven approaches to support clinical research. Census improved in the second year of the pandemic in most CRCs but often remained below pre-pandemic levels, and greater than half of CRCs reported decreased revenue. Conclusions: CTSA-supported CRCs faced unprecedented challenges at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and responded rapidly to support COVID-related research and implement innovative approaches that allowed patient-oriented research activities to resume. However, many CRCs continued to report decreased research activities in the second year of the pandemic, and the long-term effects on CRC operations on finances are not clear. CRCs will likely need to evolve to provide support in nontraditional ways.

Exploring the challenges for medical tourism in the United Arab Emirates during the Covid-19 pandemic era: a stakeholder perspective

PurposeThis paper explores medical tourism development challenges in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pre- and during Covid-19. Medical tourism is becoming a dynamic, rapid growth area and an engine of economic development.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews were conducted with medical tourism professionals. Fourteen medical tourism stakeholders were interviewed from 1 January to 31 January 2020. Qualitative thematic analysis was applied on medical tourism challenges before and during the pandemic.FindingsThe major themes indicated concerns for medical tourism in the UAE and they included higher medical services costs and a shortage of highly qualified medical expertise. The emerging themes related to the challenges of coping with Covid-19 and strategies to attract medical tourists.Originality/valueThis study contributes towards (1) the theory of medical tourism, (2) the related limited prior published work on this topic relating to the UAE and (3) the importance of medical tourism in today's tourism industry. Additionally, there are theoretical and practical implications for medical tourism stakeholders in terms of attracting inbound medical tourists to the UAE from other countries during the Covid-19 crisis and in the post-pandemic situation.

International cruise research advances and hotspots: Based on literature big data

This paper makes a systematic visual analysis of cruise research literature collected in science network database from 1996 to 2019. The results show that: the overall number of published literature on cruise research is growing;North American states, Europe, and Asia are the main regions of cruise research. The evolutionary of theme development of cruise research has three stages, and the current hot topics of cruise research can be summarized as cruise tourism, luxury cruises, cruise passengers, destination ports, environmental and biological conservation, and cruise diseases. Future research in the cruise field are in the areas of cruise supply chain, technology in cruise, children's cruise experience, itinerary design, planning and optimization, brand reputation and luxury cruises, public transportation in destinations, environmental responsibility of passengers and corporate social responsibility, optimization of energy systems, climate change in relation to the cruise industry, the Chinese cruise market and risk management of cruise diseases.

Mobile Learning Among University Students: Adoption and Application of M-Learning

The successful implementation of mobile learning is mainly impacted by learners' attitudes to accepting and applying mobile learning systems. In the current study, an m-learning application was developed and implemented for university students, and their perspective toward the adoption and application of m-learning was investigated. This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2020. The participants were 114 university students at Abadan University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected by means of a valid questionnaire containing 42 questions in 13 subscales in addition to an open-ended question about the positive and negative aspects of the m-learning application. There was a significant relationship between acceptance and major (P=0.001), mobile usage (P=0.035), and familiarity with m-learning (P<0.001). The total mean of m-learning application acceptance was 3.95±0.32, which shows a good level. Self-efficacy, perceived ease of use, and user interface were, respectively, the most influencing factors;mobile device limitation and governmental support were the least influencing factors. "Direct communication with the teacher/instructor” and "Internet disconnection during video teaching” were among the positive and negative aspects of applying the m-learning application, respectively. The m-learning application was well adopted among the students. Mobile device limitations are a reason for the student's concerns. "Usability features” can be a point for covering mobile device limitations.

Business Acumen and the Future of Work

Recent, momentous times in humankind's history as countries struggle to deal with COVID19, amplify the need for new thinking, skills and capabilities in business and for life itself. Business as usual is no longer an option;indeed the future of work is being reshaped by factors that at times appear beyond our control. The new normal will be one of even higher uncertainty, volatility and shifting geopolitical demands that will require new and more nuanced mindsets, skillsets and capabilities. In a business sense, entrepreneurship will come even more to the fore than it has over the last decade, as complex conditions facing post-COVID business will require innovative, agile and lean responses. Yet to anchor the creativity inherent in the future of work, a fundamental platform of capabilities is required that span multiple disciplines and theatres of endeavor. Business acumen has for some six decades and more been seen as an omnipresent necessity, vital to both the efficient and effective management of core business and critical to the development of tomorrow 's business. This paper presents research on business acumen and the implications for the future of work using one of the world's most advanced medical research institutes as a case site as this organization looks to transition a largely laboratory-embedded workforce, to one that understands the need to transform knowledge into commercial outcomes that deliver more optimal solutions for those in need.

THE IMPACT OF THE FIRST DECADE OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF INVENTORS

Arthur Molella, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), authored an excellent historical review of the formation and the early impact of the NAI (1). Now, as we complete the first decade of the NAI, I will emphasize the importance of the intellectual revolution that the NAI has achieved for the betterment of academia and for our society as a whole. The NAI is much more than just a professional society since it spans all professions. Like the other national academies, the NAI's impact extends well beyond academia, expanding knowledge, capabilities, and employment in the private and government sectors as well. The NAI has brought the process of new knowledge discovery, which is primarily conducted in our major research universities, back into the broader service of our knowledge-based economy, returning to the vision and mission of higher education as embodied in our land-grant universities and expanded through the Smith-Lever Act of 1914. To understand the past benefit and future promise of the NAI, it must be viewed primarily as the transformative process that it is-one that works for the betterment of human-kind.

ROYAL MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND A ROAD LESS TRAVELED

[...]a people centric approach is fundamental to realizing a successful future. The selection process for ECPs was based on the answers to a series of questions: * Did RMIT have critical mass on a national and international scale to create impact? * If there was critical mass was the capability competitive and the research high quality? * Were the capabilities in areas differentiated enough to deliver value that other institutions could not? * Were the capabilities deployable and would a Platform actually deliver the benefit RMIT wanted for others? The RMIT research community provided more than 100 proposals for ECPs which was eventually down-selected to eight - Advanced Manufacturing and Fabrication, Advanced Materials, Biomedical and Health Innovation, Design and Creative Practice, Global Business Innovation, Information and Systems (Engineering), Social Change, and Urban Futures. The ECPs were established to evolve the RMIT research capability so that it is increasingly relevant to the needs of the broader community and to have a greater focus on impact with the expressed purpose of deploying RMIT capability to deliver economic, societal and environmental benefit.

Calls for halt to funding for industrial agriculture

Speed read Civil society groups say ‘Green Revolution’ programmes have failed Funds awarded by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa ‘go to western institutions’ Leaders urge governments and donors to redirect support to Africa-led projects Civil society organisations have called on influential donors to stop funding industrial agriculture programmes, which they say harm smallholder farmers and the environment. A spokesperson for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said: “We share AGRA’s view that there are many paths to sustainably increasing smallholder farmers’ productivity and incomes in Sub-Saharan Africa. “The German government fundamentally supports the central tasks of AGRA, including transforming smallholder farming and value chains, and increasing farm productivity to meet the needs of a growing population and improve food security,” she said.

Sustainable Real Estate and Resilient Cities: Management, Assessment and Innovations

The main topics of this Special Issue include the following: (i) building management, (ii) building costs, (iii) mass appraisal methods, (iv) econometric models, (v) real estate risk management, (vi) economic valuation of real estate investment projects, (vii) real estate market, (viii) social housing, (ix) urban economics, (x) land, (xi) transport economics, (xii) real estate economics and finance, (xiii) sustainable building transformations and economic effects on environment, (xiv) green buildings, (xv) resilient cities, (xvi) COVID-19 pandemic and (xvii) Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). [...]the universities or research institutes affiliations to which the Authors belong are distributed throughout the world: in the Europe the authors come from Spain, France, Portugal, Netherland, Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, Poland, and Hungary;in Asia from China, Korea, Russia, Malaysia, and United Arab Emirates;in South America from Colombia and Chile;in Africa from Ghana;and in Oceania from Australia. In particular, in the study the central role played by public-private partnership (PPP) to combine the competencies of the public sector and both the financial and managerial commitment of the private entities in the process of delivering infrastructure, to fulfilling social and economic needs, to rise the quality of life, and to support sustainable development, is recognized and, then, a conceptual model for the identification and classification of stakeholders in this projects typology, is developed and tested [5]. By selecting a single-story 3D-printed house in the United Arab Emirates, the authors implement the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework to quantify the environmental loads of raw materials extraction and manufacturing, as well as energy consumption during construction and operation phases;the authors also identify the economics of the selected structural systems through life cycle costing analysis (LCCA).

Postcorona Pandemic Educational Science Research in Saudi Universities

The present study attempted to determine the actuality of scientific research in educational sciences from the perspective of Saudi faculty after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19). The study also revealed the obstacles facing academic science research postpandemic. The study predicted the future of educational science research in Saudi universities postpandemic. The study employed a descriptive survey method on 255 educational science faculty members. The study’s most important outcome is that scientific research is a precondition for professor promotions. Universities (the focus of the study) have a scientific research system and faculty with research skills. The biggest problem for scientific research in educational sciences in Saudi universities during the pandemic was that faculty members were too busy with teaching and administrative tasks to focus on research. Both experts predicted the future of educational sciences research at Saudi universities postpandemic. The researchers recommend that universities offer the infrastructure to facilitate scientific research, minimize teaching loads and administrative work, and increase the relationship between “Research Centers” and “Deanships of Scientific Research.”

Instructor Continuity: A Tool for Increasing Student Success in First-Year Composition Sequences

Incorporating instructor continuity into the first-year composition (FYC) sequence represents an opportunity for community colleges to make an informed scheduling and advising decision in order to assist in the goal to increase student success rates in FYC. Utilizing course completion data from a community college in northern Alabama, this study examined the differences in composition class sequences taught by the same instructor and composition class sequences taught by different instructors. Findings indicated that students who had the same instructor for both composition courses in their FYC sequence were more likely to pass the second composition course than students who had different instructors for the courses.

Editorial: “Innovation, technology and the green transition: towards a more resource-efficient and competitive economy”

[...]innovation policy should be suitable for attaining aims, which are different at each economic development stage. [...]seven lessons from three prosperous Asian countries are crucial for economic development: securing political stability;increasing R&D expenditures;facilitating the acquisition, diffusion and internalization of technology;encouraging government–industry–university collaborations;using the selection and concentration strategy;changing the governmental role from regulator to facilitator;and establishing a legal framework”. The paper titled “Comprehensive evaluation of Iranian regional innovation system (RIS) performance using analytic hierarchy process (AHP)” (by Ali Asghar Sadabadi, Zohreh Rahimi Rad and Kiarash Fartash) provides “a model based on the context and conditions of the regions in Iran for monitoring regional innovation systems (RISs). [...]after the extraction and correction of the indicators to evaluate the RISs, a comprehensive model was identified in 5 dimensions, 16 indicators and 176 sub-indicators.

Successful Partnerships: Collaborative and Coordinated Solutions to Baccalaureate Attainment

Higher education, specifically community colleges, has had increased pressure of accountability for students' outcomes. Many community colleges have gravitated toward collaborative programs to help ensure students complete associate degrees and to create more access to baccalaureate degrees. These partnership programs benefit from a coordinated approach and a formation of the partnership collective identity with shared goals and vision, but the end product is often uncoordinated. The purpose of this practice brief is to provide higher education leaders with recommendations based on the evidence in the research literature related to partnership management and strategic collaboration. How to effectively coordinate and manage partnerships, particularly focusing on building and sustaining the cooperative network of institutions, as well as discovering solutions and strategies, specifically utilizing the scrum methodology are contained herein.

Closer together or further apart? Values of hero generations Y and Z during crisis

Purpose>Drawing upon cohort theory, the age-period-cohort framework and the portrait value system, this paper aims to examine differences in basic human values between generations Y and Z as they are shaped by recent major events (most importantly the COVID-19 pandemic).Design/methodology/approach>Hypothesized differences between values of generation Y and Z were tested using a content analysis of recent articles (Study 1) and an online survey through a prolific crowdsourcing website (Study 2).Findings>This research finds that while both generations value universalism and benevolence, Generation Y is more likely to conform and follow traditions while Generation Z values stimulation, hedonism and achievement more. The top two COVID-19 concerns for both groups were the health of others and financial security. Generation Y is more concerned about the economy while Generation Z is more worried about uncertainty in their future.Research limitations/implications>This paper provides insight into how the current environmental crisis has shaped the values of generations Y and Z and offers an understanding of the similarities and differences in values between these two generations.Practical implications>The findings have direct implications for the design of products/services and for the creation of effective marketing communications to reach these two consumer groups.Originality/value>This research is novel in identifying the basic human values of generations Y and Z as they are shaped by recent events such as the most recent economic recession and COVID-19.

Kluane Lake Research Station: Summer Field Season 2021

The 2021 summer field season at the Kluane Lake Research Station (KLRS) was 28 weeks long, from Mar 25 to Oct 6. During this time, KLRS supported almost 2,000 user days, of which 75% were represented by researchers. In total, KLRS welcomed researchers from 13 universities from Canada and the US, and 35 junior researchers (mostly graduate students). From Yukon, the station hosted two high school groups, the Yukon Conservation Corp and the Yukon Boys and Girls Club. Half of our users at the station this summer were visiting for the first time.

Self-Powered Wireless Sensor Matrix for Air Pollution Detection with a Neural Predictor

Predicting the status of particulate air pollution is extremely important in terms of preventing possible vascular and lung diseases, improving people’s quality of life and, of course, actively counteracting pollution magnification. Hence, there is great interest in developing methods for pollution prediction. In recent years, the importance of methods based on classical and more advanced neural networks is increasing. However, it is not so simple to determine a good and universal method due to the complexity and multiplicity of measurement data. This paper presents an approach based on Deep Learning networks, which does not use Bayesian sub-predictors. These sub-predictors are used to marginalize the importance of some data part from multisensory platforms. In other words—to filter out noise and mismeasurements before the actual processing with neural networks. The presented results shows the applied data feature extraction method, which is embedded in the proposed algorithm, allows for such feature clustering. It allows for more effective prediction of future air pollution levels (accuracy—92.13%). The prediction results shows that, besides using standard measurements of temperature, humidity, wind parameters and illumination, it is possible to improve the performance of the predictor by including the measurement of traffic noise (Accuracy—94.61%).

Addressing Contingency in REEES Fields

Research on how faculty have attempted to subvert the casualization of academic labor, that is, the conversion of stable and well-paying jobs into temporary ones, has been going on for decades. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis have cast academic contingency in new light. Given the prevalence of contingency in Slavic and REEES, and the threat of budget cuts in the humanities, REEES faculty have a particular stake in undertaking anti-contingency efforts to protect their colleagues, institutions, and scholarship. This article will assess the conclusions of some recent studies, opinion pieces, debates, and policy recommendations with a view to their potential to address contingency in REEES and Slavic Studies.