Internship Alternatives: Solutions for the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

Internships are an integral component of most undergraduate and graduate public administration programs. These learning opportunities allow students to get practical experience in a workplace setting before graduation and provide them with an opportunity to apply knowledge gained in the classroom to the "real world." But what are students, departments, and employers to do when circumstances--including major disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic as well as situations unique to specific students--complicate or even prevent on-site internship experiences? This article outlines a variety of approaches to finding a solution to this problem, weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each.

Online Psycho-Educational Intervention in Mathematical Learning Difficulties

The present study shows the results of six case studies referring to an intervention applied to mathematical learning difficulties. Participants were 8 to 12 years old. The intervention considered mathematics as a language and it is theoretically based on Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model, Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and Peircean semiotics. The objective was to work on the development of academic skills associating mathematics with interactional social skills. The analysis was based on qualitative data collected during the intervention process and quantitative data from scales and instruments with pre- and post-intervention measures. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic context, some methodological issues were affected, mainly because the evaluations took place before and in the midst of the pandemic. Social impacts of the pandemic have unevenly affected participants, especially adolescents and children. The pandemic had a worse effect on adolescents than on children, especially regarding procedures that involve memory, and those with attentional problems also had worse results.

Flexible curriculum design for quantitative skills development: Building on the insights gained during COVID-19

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, technology-enhanced learning and its relation to student engagement, and the necessity of good student-staff relationships for creating a successful education environment were evident. The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education to adapt to a challenging technology-led learning environment that demanded, inter alia, high levels of flexibility and human-centredness. Valuable lessons were learned that highlighted new perspectives on curriculum design and delivery in a normalised, technology-driven environment. Against the background of COVID-19-related literature on teaching and learning, the authors reflect on their insights regarding curriculum design and delivery of two quantitative skills modules during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on further curriculum planning. The focus of the article is on the intentional flexibility built into curriculum offerings during 2020-2022. The study reviewed flexibility on three levels, namely student, facilitator (staff) and delivery levels, through a multi-method research methodology. Quantitative data related to the academic performance of 2 949 students enrolled for the two quantitative skills modules from 2020 to 2022. Qualitative data related to themes through thematic analysis of student and facilitator surveys, focusgroup discussions and semi-structured interviews. The improved student academic performance reported by the study could be attributed to, amongst other factors, 1) flexibility of the selected delivery option, 2) positive staff and student experiences and engagement, and 3) intentional inclusion of activities promoting student-staff relationships. The good academic results obtained during the pandemic led to important curriculum decisions for a normalised future for these modules, which will be built on flexibility and human-centredness. Among these decisions is to continue presenting the modules in an online environment, even though traditional face-to-face teaching options are available.

Modeling of Physical Activity Behavioral Interventions Relying on MPC Strategy

Physical inactivity is becoming an important threat to public health in today's society. The COVID-19 pandemic has also reduced physical activity (PA) levels given all the restrictions imposed worldwide. In this work, physical activity interventions supported by mobile devices and relying on control engineering principles were proposed. The model was constructed relying on previous studies that consider a fluid analogy of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), which is a psychological theory that describes how people acquire and maintain certain behaviors, including health-promoting behaviors, through the interplay of personal, environmental, and behavioral factors. The obtained model was validated using secondary data (collected earlier) from a real intervention with a group of male subjects in Great Britain. The present model was extended with new technology for a better understanding of behavior change interventions. This involved the use of applications, such as phone-based ecological momentary assessments, to collect behavioral data and the inclusion of simulations with logical reward conditions for reaching the behavioral threshold. A goal of 10,000 steps per day is recommended due to the significant link observed between higher daily step counts and lower mortality risk. The intervention was designed using a Model Predictive Control (MPC) algorithm configured to obtain a desired performance. The system was tested and validated using simulation scenarios that resemble different situations that may occur in a real setting.

Digitalization of the supply chain: transformation factors

PurposeThere is an increasing interest in the supply chain's digitalization, yet the topic is still in the preliminary stages of academic research. The academic literature has no consensus and is still limited to research assessing the supply chain's digitalization of organizations. This study aims to explore the supply chain digitalization drivers to understand the emerging phenomena. More specifically, the authors devised from the literature the most common factors in assessing the readiness in scaling supply chain digitalization.Design/methodology/approachThis study followed a five-phased systematic literature review (SLR) methodology in this research: designing, analyzing, conducting, writing and assessing the quality of the review. The SLR is beneficial for justifying future research regardless of the complex process that requires dealing with high-level databases, information filtering and relevancies of the content. Through analysis of 347 titles and s and 40 full papers, the authors showed and discussed the supply chain digitalization: transformation factors.FindingsThe results generated three main themes: technology, people and processes. The study also generated ten subthemes/primary drivers for assessing the readiness for supply chain digitalization in organizations: IT infrastructure, cybersecurity systems, digitalization reskilling and upskilling, digitalization culture, top management support, digitalization and innovation strategy, integrated supply chain, digital innovation management, big data management and data analytics and government regulations. The importance of each factor was discussed, and future research agenda was presented.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the key drivers of the supply chain digitalization were identified, there is still a need to study the statistical correlation to confirm the interrelationships among factors. This study is also limited by the articles available in the databases and content extraction.Practical implicationsThis study supports decision-makers in understanding the critical drivers in digitalizing the supply chain. Once these factors are studied and comprehended, managers and decision-makers could better anticipate and allocate the proper resources to embark on the digitalization journey and make informed decisions.Originality/valueThe digitalization of the supply chain is more critical nowadays due to the global disruptions caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the surge of organizations moving toward the digital economy. There is a gap between the digital transformation pilot studies and implementation. The themes and factors unearthed in this study will serve as a foundation and guidelines for further theoretical research and practical implications.

Learning digital skills online: empowering older adults through one-to-one, online digital training provision.

Introduction: Digital exclusion, through lack of access and poor digital skills, can have an adverse impact on daily living. Not only did the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impact the necessity of technology in our daily lives, but also reduced the availability of digital skills programmes. This study aimed to explore perceived facilitators and barriers of a digital skills programme that was delivered remotely (online) and to reflect on this form of training as a possible alternative to traditional face-to-face models. Methods: Individual interviews were carried out with programme participants and the programme instructor. Results: Two themes were generated from this data: (a) Creating a unique learning environment; and (b) Encouraging further learning. Discussion: Barriers to digital delivery were evident, however, the individual and personalized delivery empowered participants within their own learning, supporting individuals to learn skills relevant to them and to continue their digital learning journey.

Editorial: Reflecting on the implementation of teaching and learning strategies for sustainability

LMS use and the academic performance of undergraduate students In our first Refereed Article Odekeye, Fakokunde, Metu and Adewusi investigated the perception of undergraduate students on the use of a Learning Management System (LMS) in the learning process. researchers employed a descriptive survey design and administered an online questionnaire among undergraduate students at Osun State University. Using digital tools for social engagement in remote learning The authors note that digital tools have evolved into a way of life, and as a result, they have become a growing area of interest for academics who research teaching and learning. The section closes with two studies that present use cases that may be of interest to readers on resource availability and creative use of digital tools to enhance teaching and learning in resource strained contexts. Reflections on teaching and learning post COVID-19 In this article Tiyamike Ngonda reflects on teaching and learning at two universities in Africa, considering evidence from the literature on the challenges of transition to online teaching and learning and the affordances of the learner management systems they adopted.

Addressing the elephant in the room: Teaching real life skills in the online format

The transition of tertiary courses to online offerings has been gradually occurring since the inception of distance education courses. Fully online education was fast tracked at many institutions due to the spread of COVID-19 with several exclusively face-to-face learning centres rapidly adapting to online mediums. However, such online learning does not reflect the carefully planned, curated and implemented programs that typically make up fully online education programs, as offered by various prestigious tertiary institutions. The rapid shift has also highlighted an elephant in the room;some students prefer the online medium and the flexibility it inherently provides. As such, tertiary centres that had not previously fathomed online learning are now open to the possibility of online learning becoming the norm. Prior to 2020, the question of developing and teaching students' real-life skills for the workforce was already under consideration and has only grown in importance with global events. Supporting students to develop transferable skills and gain employment is a vital function of tertiary centres under the framework of the fourth industrial revolution. A key area is work readiness, which has received increased attention since the turn of the century, as tertiary institutions increasingly aim to produce graduates who perceive and are perceived as work ready. Currently, with changing accreditation processes, a focus on a skill-based economy and growing interest and adaptability in the online space, the importance of defining the skill sets of university graduates is paramount. This chapter will focus on reviewing the skills graduates are expecting from courses, what employers are seeking and what current students are requesting based on a subsection of qualitative interview-based research completed throughout 2019-2021 in the area of psychological sciences. Understanding such skills provides the foundation for successful transition to an increased number of courses adapting to fully online learning. Further, defining skill sets allows for a baseline for skill development and comparison between traditional and novel modes of learning. © 2022 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

University-Wide Digital Skills Training: A Case Study Evaluation

Digital competencies and confidence are thought to be critical to success in higher education. However, despite learning frequently taking place online through the use of virtual learning environment and tools such as lecture capture, and evidence to counter the idea of digital nativity, these critical skills are often not explicitly taught at university. In the present study, we describe the development and evaluation of our Essential Digital Skills programme, which is a university-wide digital training programme designed and implemented at a large London university, aimed at new students but open to all students at the University. Using Kirkpatrick's evaluation model, we demonstrate that the programme provided effective training in digital skills for all students but that individual differences exist in the training experience, notably around ethnicity and student status, with Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students and international students feeling that the training made a greater contribution to their skill levels and resulted in greater behaviour change and impact, as well as intention to undertake further training.

Examining Leadership Traits to Succeed in a VUCA-Induced Environment in Eskom

Leading through a crisis and volatile environment requires very different and unique leadership traits. This research sought to understand if the leaders at a state-owned (SoE) utility in South Africa, Eskom, are equipped with the required traits to succeed in a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous (VUCA) induced crisis environment like the Covid-19 pandemic and if there is an alignment between how leaders perceive how well they can perform their tasks with their employees' perceptions of their ability to do the task in this environment. Ineffective leadership response to such an environment and crisis due to leaders lacking the essential traits can cost the SoE direly in financial terms, market value, service delivery, brand equity, and employee attrition. Thus, establishing the key leadership traits that leaders at Eskom lack for leading in VUCA and crisis environments would assist Eskom in identifying the appropriate upskilling for their leaders. Using a quantitative research design, the study surveyed a total of 65 senior managers and 45 employees at Eskom, an SoE in South Africa, using an online survey platform. The study found that the senior managers at Eskom are equipped to some degree with the appropriate traits required to succeed in a VUCA environment. They could not perform all 32 tasks well as per the SCAILES framework but do display key traits that align to 6 constructs of the framework: strategic, complex, adaptive, learning, emergence, and systems.

The critical success factors to remote development of construction management skills and competencies in Nigeria

PurposeConstruction management skills and competencies (CMSC) are of greatest importance for the industry to succeed and thrive. Some factors are critical to CSMC development. Hence, following the restrictions occasioned by the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, this study reviewed and examined these factors to understand their level of influence in the remote development of CMSC adopted by the industry within and post the disruptions induced by the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a quantitative and descriptive research method. Data were sourced from 155 completed and usable survey questionnaires with registered and licensed engineering and construction professionals practicing in both private and public sectors in Nigeria. Participants were drawn from the membership database of the Nigeria Society of Engineers.FindingsThe identified critical success factors (CSFs) are categorised into organisational factors which include leadership, engineering project networks and eLearning, measurement and review system, strategy and resources, organisational culture, tradition and structure. In addition to individual factors in this order of influence;willingness to learn, promotion and career development, obtaining certified qualification and obtaining respect of peers are CSFs of remote development of CMSC in Nigeria.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to identify and examine the CSFs to remote development of CMSC tailored to developing countries in Africa. It explored the two categories of CSFs in both remote and traditional CMSC developments and established that the organisational factors remain positively dominants in traditional as well as in remote development of CMSC. It further ranked the individual factors in their order of influence in Nigeria, offered insights into motivation of construction management trainees in developing countries and offered areas of improvements such as quality of training and certification.

Occupational Social Work: A Field of Practice in Need of Revival

The COVID-19 pandemic focused attention on the high levels of occupational stress experienced by frontline and essential workers. Occupational stress is also not unique to these workers as demonstrated by the consistently high rates of suicide within certain occupational groups. Occupational social work is the specialized field most suited to address the needs of workers under stress, yet it has been in decline in the United States since the 1990s. The factors contributing to this decline are put forward, including managed care, the dominance of the advanced clinical social work license, and the lack of a social work presence in occupational stress effectiveness research. The implications for practice regarding the actions that can be taken by the profession to revive this field and be more responsive to vulnerable workers are discussed. © The Author(s) 2023.

The research experience of postgraduate students: a mixed-methods study

Research experience is widely used in quality assurance exercises to benchmark postgraduate education at the institutional level. However, individual differences in students' research experience have been largely neglected. Furthermore, little is known about how differences in students' research experience are associated with skill development and overall satisfaction. This study addressed these gaps using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Study 1 was a quantitative study that involved surveying 590 research postgraduate students (i.e. 421 PhD and 168 MPhil students). A person-centered approach, specifically latent profile analysis, was used to analyze the data. Our findings revealed that students could be divided into three groups based on their research experience: rewarding, ordinary, and unsatisfactory. Those with a rewarding research experience experienced greater development in their skills and higher levels of satisfaction, while those in the unsatisfactory group demonstrated the worst outcomes. Study 2 was a qualitative study that involved interviews with 10 PhD students. The qualitative findings largely triangulated the quantitative results but also uncovered emerging themes, including the importance of student-supervisor misfit, publication pressure, and the COVID-19 pandemic context. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Implementation of a Student-Teacher-Based Blended Curriculum for the Training of Medical Students for Nasopharyngeal Swab and Intramuscular Injection: Mixed Methods Pre-Post and Satisfaction Surveys.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic caused a major disruption in the health care sector with increased workload and the need for new staff to assist with screening and vaccination tasks. Within this context, teaching medical students to perform intramuscular injections and nasal swabs could help address workforce needs. Although several recent studies discuss medical students' role and integration in clinical activities during the pandemic, knowledge gaps exist concerning their role and potential benefit in designing and leading teaching activities during this period. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to prospectively assess the impact in terms of confidence, cognitive knowledge, and perceived satisfaction of a student-teacher-designed educational activity consisting of nasopharyngeal swabs and intramuscular injections for the training of second-year medical students in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland. METHODS: This was a mixed methods pre-post surveys and satisfaction survey study. Activities were designed using evidence-based teaching methodologies based on the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely) criteria. All second-year medical students who did not participate in the activity's old format were recruited unless they explicitly stated that they wanted to opt out. Pre-post activity surveys were designed to assess perception of confidence and cognitive knowledge. An additional survey was designed to assess satisfaction in the mentioned activities. Instructional design was blended with a presession e-learning activity and a 2-hour practice session with simulators. RESULTS: Between December 13, 2021, and January 25, 2022, a total of 108 second-year medical students were recruited; 82 (75.9%) students participated in the preactivity survey and 73 (67.6%) in the postactivity survey. Students' confidence in performing intramuscular injections and nasal swabs significantly increased on a 5-point Likert scale for both procedures-from 3.31 (SD 1.23) and 3.59 (SD 1.13) before the activity to 4.45 (SD 0.62) and 4.32 (SD 0.76) after the activity (P<.001), respectively. Perceptions of cognitive knowledge acquisition also significantly increased for both activities. For the nasopharyngeal swab, knowledge acquisition concerning indications increased from 2.7 (SD 1.24) to 4.15 (SD 0.83), and for the intramuscular injection, knowledge acquisition concerning indications increased from 2.64 (SD 1.1) to 4.34 (SD 0.65) (P<.001). Knowledge of contraindications for both activities increased from 2.43 (SD 1.1) to 3.71 (SD 1.12) and from 2.49 (SD 1.13) to 4.19 (SD 0.63), respectively (P<.001). High satisfaction rates were reported for both activities. CONCLUSIONS: Student-teacher-based blended activities for training novice medical students in commonly performed procedural skills seem effective for increasing their confidence and cognitive knowledge and should be further integrated within a medical school curriculum. Blended learning instructional design increases students' satisfaction about clinical competency activities. Future research should elucidate the impact of student-teacher-designed and student-teacher-led educational activities.

ERT-Based EFL Instruction and Assessment: Student Reflections on L2 Skill Development

This paper presents a reflective account of tertiary level Turkish learners of English language about their emergency remote learning experiences amid Covid-19 pandemic. The participants of this case study were the preparatory year students of the English Language and Literature undergraduate programme at Iğdır University in two successive years, covering the second half of the 2019 - 2020 spring semester and the entire 2020 - 2021 academic year. In an online survey form of open-ended questions, the students were asked to reflect on their experiences during the instruction and assessment processes of pandemic-driven Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) with a specific focus on the development of foreign language skills. Student answers were coded through thematic analysis, and the main themes and categories were determined. The findings indicated both the affordances and shortcomings of ERT. Reflecting on their performance in the instruction and assessment practices, the students reported improvement in all language skill areas to varying extents, most effectively in writing, along with challenges, especially in the development of oral skills (speaking and listening) and in the assessment of productive skills (writing and speaking). The reasons are discussed in the light of available literature, and implications for future experiences are provided.

A New Paradigm for Early Childhood Education: Opening Doors through Virtual Kindergarten

While the COVID-19 vaccines bring hope about the end of pandemic-related closures, leaders worldwide recognize that a fundamental shift has occurred in the way we work, live, and learn. Though we will always need brick-and-mortar schools, our "new normal" must include hybrid and virtual education options for students who do not have access to safe and healthy classrooms. The consequences of not making this shift will place an at-risk generation further behind their peers. At Pathways Early Education Center of Immokalee, in Florida, educators are constantly looking for new ways to engage the children and the families in the migrant farm-working community. As educators discussed strategies to safely bring the children back into the classroom, they considered the option of enhanced virtual classes for their pre-kindergarten students. They were seeking a way to keep students who needed to quarantine for two weeks from falling behind their peers. This article discusses the results of a pilot virtual pre-kindergarten program, which showed that virtual pre-kindergarten students had more positive gains in fine motor skills. Both in-person and virtual pre-kindergarten students will be more prepared with essential skills to succeed in kindergarten than children who have not had access to early education.

A Decade with DYSS: Lessons Learned and Looking Forward

Each summer over the past decade, the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Washington has hosted the "Distinguished Young Scholars Seminar" (DYSS) series, bringing outstanding research trainees from top-tier programs around the country for day-long campus visits filled with student discussions, faculty meetings, mock interview questioning, and a research seminar. Here, we discuss the history and evolving structure of DYSS, highlighting prior successes and lessons learned, as well as opportunities for ongoing improvement.

Building Back Better with Poems: Exploring Theory of Mind/Reflective Functioning, Emotional Literacy, and Poetry in a Pandemic Pod

During the 2020-21 school year, remote instruction due to COVID-19 significantly limited children's access to school-based social interactions. As schools return to in-person instruction, we ask: Can poetry and metaphor be used to develop theory of mind (ToM)/reflective functioning and emotional literacy in the early elementary setting? This article documents the use of poetry in a pandemic pod with four children ages four to eight years, demonstrating the relationship between children's developing understanding and use of metaphor and their emotional literacy skills. Although the psychological significance of ToM is well documented, the field of education rarely focuses on the role school environments play in supporting this essential building block of learning. Our findings support the use of content-rich instruction and the significant role parents and teachers play in supporting the emotional development of children.

Influence of Website-Based E-Learning in the Pandemic Era: Improving Students' Creative Thinking Skills through Educational Management

This study aimed to determine the impact of using web vinnarrai.com as an e-learning tool on a physics course (fluid mechanics) in Universitas Negeri Jakarta (an Indonesian University) to increase student creative thinking skills through educational management. The study employed a quasi-experimental method, with the pre-test and post-test control group design. There are four indicators of creative thinking skills: fluency, originality, flexibility, and elaboration. The sample of this research comprised 216 students at the Universitas Negeri Jakarta, from September 2020 to January 2021. The data were analyzed by determining the percentages of average normalized gains and obtained the n-gain score of 0.71 (high category), the effect size score of 0.81(moderate effect), and Cohen's standard score of 79% (Cohen's standard: high). The results of this research -- by knowing the influence of vinnarrai.com web on a fluid -- showed an increased score of students' creative thinking skills in an experiment class, using website, as compared with a controlled-class, using text-book. So, using a "website-based e-learning" is indicated to have improved the students' creative thinking skills in the pandemic era.

Got COVID-19 Cabin Fever? Journey through Space in Search of Habitable Alien Worlds from Wherever You Learn

Fall 2020 presented myriad challenges for teachers trying to plan curricula to meet students' social-emotional and learning needs following an unprecedented spring and summer of isolation and loss due to the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 (Rivera and Wallace 2020). The result of creative planning and adjusting of curricula for remote instruction led to a new component of thinking about differentiation: Beyond differentiating to students in the classroom, teachers were and continue to differentiate to students in different learning environments. The unit presented in this article is an example of how the authors reimagined their Earth and Space Science class for ninth- and tenth-grade students for remote instruction that included strong data analysis and critical-thinking components. As written, the unit emphasizes building a strong classroom community online, creates opportunities for students to follow their own curiosity, and teaches transferable skills--specifically argumentative writing skills--that will support students' success across subject areas.