ABSTRACT
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)
ABSTRACT
The present study aimed to investigate the factors associated with the level of rumination about the war among people living in Poland and Ukraine. This cross-sectional study recruited internet users from advertisements on social media. Levels of rumination, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), time spent on news of the war, and related demographic variables were collected. The reliability and construct validity of rumination were estimated. Potential factors associated with the level of rumination were identified using univariate linear regression analysis, and further entered into a stepwise multivariate linear regression model to identify independent factors. Due to the non-normality of distribution, multivariate linear regression with 5000 bootstrap samples was used to verify the results. A total of 1438 participants were included in the analysis, of whom 1053 lived in Poland and 385 lived in Ukraine. The questionnaires on rumination were verified to have satisfactory reliability and validity. After analysis with stepwise and bootstrap regression, older age, female gender, higher DASS and IES-R scores, and longer time spent on news of the war were significantly associated with higher levels of rumination for both people living in Poland and Ukraine. Lower self-rated health status, history of chronic medical illness and coronavirus disease 2019 infection were also positively associated with rumination for people living in Poland. We identified several factors associated with the level of rumination about the Russo-Ukrainian War. Further investigations are warranted to understand how rumination affects individuals' lives during crises such as war.
ABSTRACT
PurposeHuman resources (HR) management has encountered unforeseen obstacles and issues in recruiting, retaining, training and developing workforces under the "new normal” due to pandemic circumstances followed by the Russo–Ukrainian War and global economic turmoil. As the world is now well-equipped with technological advancements and internet-based connectivity, many pandemic disruptions have been avoided through rapid adaptation of technological systems. Despite the constructive outcomes of this contemporary approach to learning and development (L&D), this study explores the further depths of massive open online courses (MOOC) platform adoption in human resource development initiatives during pandemic times.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research approach was adopted to understand the employee and HR perspective on the changes in L&D approaches in organizations. To gather the primary data, respondents were divided into two clusters;different sets of questionnaires were developed for interview sessions.FindingsResults suggest that employee L&D was much more improvised with distance or online learning, including organizational e-learning systems and MOOC platforms. To accomplish their HR development goals, organizations went through significant transformations during the Coronavirus pandemic;organizational attempts to initiate online training and MOOC-based learning fostered positive results in employee capacity development, process improvement, employee engagement and motivation.Originality/valueThis research will assist organizations in developing interactive training methods as an effective replacement for traditional training. Additionally, it will assist readers, practitioners and HR specialists in understanding how MOOCs are changing the L&D ecosystem.
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PurposeThis paper examines the time-varying return connectedness between renewable energy, oil, precious metals, the Gulf Council Cooperation region and the United States stock markets during two successive crises: the pandemic Covid-19 and the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian war. The main objective is to investigate the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian war on the connectedness between the considered stock markets. Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses the time-varying parameter vector autoregression approach, which represents an extension of the Spillover approach (Diebold and Yilmaz, 2009, 2012, 2014), to examine the time-varying connectedness among stock markets. FindingsThis paper reflects the effect of the two crises on the stock markets in terms of shock transmission degree. We find that the United States and renewable energy stock markets are the main net emitters of shocks during the global period and not just during the two considered crises sub-periods. Oil stock market is both an emitter and a receiver of shocks against Gulf Council Cooperation region and United States markets during the full sample period, which may be due to price fluctuation especially during the two crises sub-periods, which suggests that the future is for renewable energy. Originality/valueThis paper examines the effect of the two recent and successive crises, the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian war, on the connectedness among traditional stock markets (the United States and Gulf Council Cooperation region) and commodities stock markets (renewable energy, oil and precious metals).
ABSTRACT
Purpose: Human resources (HR) management has encountered unforeseen obstacles and issues in recruiting, retaining, training and developing workforces under the "new normal” due to pandemic circumstances followed by the Russo–Ukrainian War and global economic turmoil. As the world is now well-equipped with technological advancements and internet-based connectivity, many pandemic disruptions have been avoided through rapid adaptation of technological systems. Despite the constructive outcomes of this contemporary approach to learning and development (L&D), this study explores the further depths of massive open online courses (MOOC) platform adoption in human resource development initiatives during pandemic times. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research approach was adopted to understand the employee and HR perspective on the changes in L&D approaches in organizations. To gather the primary data, respondents were divided into two clusters;different sets of questionnaires were developed for interview sessions. Findings: Results suggest that employee L&D was much more improvised with distance or online learning, including organizational e-learning systems and MOOC platforms. To accomplish their HR development goals, organizations went through significant transformations during the Coronavirus pandemic;organizational attempts to initiate online training and MOOC-based learning fostered positive results in employee capacity development, process improvement, employee engagement and motivation. Originality/value: This research will assist organizations in developing interactive training methods as an effective replacement for traditional training. Additionally, it will assist readers, practitioners and HR specialists in understanding how MOOCs are changing the L&D ecosystem. © 2022, Shamsul Huq Bin Shahriar, Silvia Akter, Nayeema Sultana, Sayed Arafat and Md. Mahfuzur Rahman Khan.
ABSTRACT
This paper suggests that the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war and existing rivalries among future global leaders, such as the USA vs. China, NATO vs. Russia, and China vs. India, may result in a second Cold War. A new global order and an emerging second Cold War will have many impacts on global, regional, national, and political economies and sectors, as well as commercial and business activities. This paper elaborates on the new (de)globalization, diminishing national and regional economic powers, and environmental challenges. Nations will develop new industrial policies and try to secure global supply chains and material flow. At the same time, it is expected that investment in defense, energy, and food sectors will increase to shore up national and regional security. Tourism and other travel-based sectors, such as sports events, might degrow. These wars might deinternationalize the activities of corporations who would need to develop new business processes, organizational forms, and technological capabilities to protect their existing markets and businesses. Based on these arguments and discussions, the paper calls for studies to examine new research ideas and suggest empirical research to expand our understanding and support the informed decision-making of policymakers and managers.