Do Infrared Thermometers Hold Promise for an Effective Early Warning System for Emerging Respiratory Infectious Diseases?

BACKGROUND: Major respiratory infectious diseases, such as influenza, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2, have caused historic global pandemics with severe disease and economic burdens. Early warning and timely intervention are key to suppress such outbreaks. OBJECTIVE: We propose a theoretical framework for a community-based early warning (EWS) system that will proactively detect temperature abnormalities in the community based on a collective network of infrared thermometer-enabled smartphone devices. METHODS: We developed a framework for a community-based EWS and demonstrated its operation with a schematic flowchart. We emphasize the potential feasibility of the EWS and potential obstacles. RESULTS: Overall, the framework uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology on cloud computing platforms to identify the probability of an outbreak in a timely manner. It hinges on the detection of geospatial temperature abnormalities in the community based on mass data collection, cloud-based computing and analysis, decision-making, and feedback. The EWS may be feasible for implementation considering its public acceptance, technical practicality, and value for money. However, it is important that the proposed framework work in parallel or in combination with other early warning mechanisms due to a relatively long initial model training process. CONCLUSIONS: The framework, if implemented, may provide an important tool for important decisions for early prevention and control of respiratory diseases for health stakeholders.

Portuguese Sports Fans Reaction to Professional Athlete's Activism on Social Media: A Systematic Literature Review

Although athlete activism has gained tremendous popularity in all levels of competition over the years. With the Covid 19 pandemic, we started to witness numerous acts of activism such as protests and rallies that counted with the presence and support of some of sport's biggest names. Moreover, this topic, in specific the fan reaction to athlete activism remains vastly understudied. To better understand the manners in which Portuguese sports fans react to athlete activism on social media there is a need to deepen our understanding on this topic. Much of the academic research and studies performed on the area of athlete activism and fan reaction to said activism has been mostly conducted in the USA. To better comprehend the state of activism by professional athletes today as well as to have a better historic comprehension around athlete activism, a systematic literature review process was used to collect relevant literature. Consequently, this provides a solid theoretical framework that can back up an empirical investigation with a quantitative approach about Portuguese sports fans reaction to professional athlete's activism on social media. This process served the fundamental purpose of identifying relevant and valid literature in a systematic and organized manner while observing that the majority of the studies around this thematic used a qualitative approach. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Digital Service Quality from Elderly Generation Perspective to Improve Online Business and Economy: A Theoretical Framework

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, older people are encouraged to use information, communication and technology in their everyday lives and discouraged from physical interactions. In Malaysia, it shows that implementing the Movement Control Order (MCO) to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a shift in consumer trends, prompting businesses to explore new strategies to interact with consumers. But there is no study indicating the contributions of older people in this new business environment. Several complaints were reported regarding the usability, acceptability, and suitability of these applications for the elderly. The objectives of this study: (1) to investigate issues and challenges on older citizens in current software design quality;(2) To identify current practises on software usage amongst the older citizens, especially in e-commerce and e-business applications;and (3) To propose a model a software design quality that meets older people requirements, limitations, and expectations. The new model helps the developers design and construct software compatible with the elderly based on a quality perspective. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Knowledge Management for Managing Crisis in Tourism: Theoretical insights

Purpose: COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented crisis affecting the entire tourism industry. Accommodation, food, and travel sectors have been affected by the decreased number of visitors, which had a ripple effect on the financial situation of the whole industry. The purpose of this work is a better understanding of the role of knowledge management in terms of mitigating the crisis in the tourism sector, as well as a development of the framework that appropriately addresses the relevance of KM in crisis situations. Methodology: This study is based on the literature review of selected papers devoted to crisis management and knowledge management in the time of crisis. The research output is presented in the form of a new framework. This study focuses on the potential support of KM practices on the crisis management within a tourism industry. This work delivers the insights regarding the potential knowledge management application in tourism sector in terms of coping with high-volume crisis. Findings: The proposed framework shows that knowledge management practices can be potentially helpful in the time of crisis and may be integrated into a kind of framework for crisis management. Those practices need to be carefully adjusted to the particular situation and to the possibilities of their implementation, as well as to the type of crisis situation and its severity. Additionally, the importance of knowledge as a mean of support for tourism organizations in their decision-making process has been confirmed. Research limitations: Research output is limited to the theoretical contribution originating from the framework. This limitation is to be overcome in the future when the pilot study testing this framework is conducted. Practical implications: Findings of this study provides useful insights not only for the academic society and researchers, but also for tourism organizations striving for further development and improvement of its' internal processes and handling a crisis situation. Originality/value: This paper improves the overall understanding about the role of knowledge management during a crisis in tourism sector. Theoretical findings provided in this study can constitute the inspirational benchmark for the tourism organizations helping them to catch on the impact of KM practices on the crisis management. © 2022, Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited. All rights reserved.

Research on the paths and strategies of the integrated development of culture and tourism industry in urban historical blocks.

COVID-19 has brought about great impact on the global economy. Various countries have adopted different levels of spatial isolation measures to curb the spread of the epidemic. These measures not only limit the spatial flow of people and property, but also cause global anxiety and public mental health problems. Corresponding to this process, cultural demands are growing stronger and the humanistic shift in today's urban economic development also puts forward higher requirements for local culture. Historic districts are an important symbolic historical and cultural landscape of a city, and many cities regard them as important starting points for the shaping of urban characteristics and competitiveness. Taking Qingming Bridge Historical and Cultural Block in Wuxi City as an example, combined with the public's mental health needs in the context of COVID-19 and the current background of the return of humanism in urban development, and construct a more sustainable framework for the renewal and development of urban historical blocks, focusing on the integration and development of the cultural landscape and tourism in the historical block. A comprehensive analysis shows that the development of Qingming Bridge Historical and Cultural Block must be based on the comprehensive investment of "four types of resources," such as culture, land, capital, and labor, and must rely on the cooperation of the "two sectors" of culture and tourism. By earnestly respecting the above, as well as the "triple bottom line" of regional ecology, economy, and society, sustainable development can be achieved.

Design of a Virtual Platform to Counter Economic Recession

This paper aims to present the proposal of a platform founded on a Virtual Breeding Environment (VBE) as an alternative for resource sharing, survival, and growth of organizations that were impacted by the economic recession caused by COVID-19. Considering this, an informational platform model is presented, based on the theoretical framework of VBE and the potential to meet the needs of actors who are part of this environment. The result is a platform called Collabore. This platform helps with resource sharing between companies and enables the development of new network technologies. It also facilitates the co-creation of value between actors, allows lobby creation to compete with large companies in the global market, ensures new jobs and income generation, and facilitates the collaboration between companies dispersed globally, connected by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). © 2022, IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.

Practitioner Perspectives of the Impact of COVID-19 on CS Education in High Schools Serving Historically Marginalized Students (Fundamental)

Practitioners delivering computer science (CS) education during the COVID-19 pandemic have faced numerous challenges, including the move to online learning. Understanding the impact on students, particularly students from historically marginalized groups within the United States, requires deeper exploration. Our research question for this study was: In what ways has the high school computer science educational ecosystem for students been impacted by COVID-19, particularly when comparing schools that have student populations with a majority of historically underrepresented students to those that do not? To answer this question, we used the CAPE theoretical framework to measure schools' Capacity to offer CS, student Access to CS education, student Participation in CS, and Experiences of students taking CS [1]. We developed a quantitative instrument based on the results of a qualitative inquiry, then used the instrument to collect data from CS high school practitioners located in the United States (n=185) and performed a comparative analysis of the results. We found that the numbers of students participating in AP CS A courses, CS related as well as non-CS related extracurricular activities, and multiple extracurricular activities increased. However, schools primarily serving historically underrepresented students had significantly fewer students taking additional CS courses and fewer students participating in CS related extracurricular activities. Student learning in CS courses decreased significantly;however, engagement did not suffer. Other noncognitive factors, like students' understanding of the relevance of technology and confidence using technology, improved overall;however, student interested in taking additional CS courses was significantly lower in schools primarily serving historically underrepresented students. Last, the numbers of students taking the AP CS A and AP CS Principles exams declined overall. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

The Impact of Strategies for Effective Engagement on Student Success Before and During COVID-19

Student engagement is an important and reliable indicator of student success. Pedagogical design of the learning environment therefore must be grounded in the theoretical framework of engagement. This paper provides details of technology-supported strategies for effective engagement and their impact on student learning that are based on theoretical elements of engagement. These strategies were implemented before and during COVID-19 in several introductory math and aerospace engineering courses at an HBCU. A total of 642 math students and 183 aerospace engineering students were impacted during the study. A pre and post design was used for measuring attitudinal changes of the participant students. A comparison of the impact of the strategies on attitudes between pre-COVID and during COVID is shared. The data was also analyzed based on the gender. Data analysis indicated that the approach was effective and had a positive impact on student engagement. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

UNDERSTANDINGS AND PERSPECTIVES ON BLENDED LEARNING IN A BRAZILIAN PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN THE CONTEXT OF TRANSFORMATIONS

The definitions and denominations of blended learning vary considerably. The Covid-19 pandemic has favored a lack of differentiation by indistinctly naming models of emergency remote education through the term blended learning. Hence, the several ways of understanding blended learning are echoed in the diversity of practices that can be adopted. This paper is a snapshot of a masters' study that aimed at analyzing the understandings and teachers' practices related to blended learning in a private university in Brazil. During the time of this study, the institution was going through intense internal transformations and an uncertain external context full of unpredictability due to the pandemic situation. This is a case study, and it has a qualitative and exploratory approach. Data was collected from the analysis of institutional documents and semi- structured interviews with instructors from the university. The theoretical framework and literature review uses Bacich, Tanzi Neto and Trevisani (2015);Horn and Staker, (2015);Kanuka and Rourke (2013);Moran (2013);Moreira and Monteiro (2013);Morin (2015);Paniago (2016);and Tori (2009;2017). The findings were analyzed through a content analysis lens, and showed multiple understandings of the concept of blended learning, relative incomprehension of how to support active learning in various spaces in an integrated manner. In these instructors' practices and beliefs, the ICT are primarily used to provide a more personalized pace of study with some element of students' organization concerning time and space. The pandemic was contextualized as a driving factor for the expansion of blended courses, but it does not follow in the same proportion an approach to valorization and development of the faculty. © 2022 IADIS Press. All rights reserved.

Problematic mobile phone use and cyberbullying perpetration in adolescents

The phenomenon of problematic mobile phone use has become increasingly common among adolescents during the lockdowns mandated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, research is still scarce on the impact of such use on delinquent cyberspace conduct (i.e. cyberbullying). This study applies the theoretical framework of general strain theory to examine how problematic mobile phone use affects the perpetration of cyberbullying. The results of this empirical examination of longitudinal survey data obtained from 2,161 adolescents in South Korea reveal that problematic mobile phone use is positively associated with engagement in cyberbullying. It is a type of strain that induces negative emotional states and results in the perpetration of cyberbullying. Furthermore, this study investigates the moderating roles of both traditional bullying experiences (i.e. traditional bullying and victimisation) in the association between problematic mobile phone use and the perpetration of cyberbullying. We found traditional bullying perpetration positively moderates the effects of problematic mobile phone use on cyberbullying. On the other hand, we found the moderating effect of traditional bullying victimisation of adolescents was insignificant. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The Simultaneous Effect of Class Attendance on Grade Expectations in an Online Learning Setting

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between class attendance and the student's expected grade. Based on various theoretical frameworks such as expectancy, attribution, and achievement goal theories, in this study, we test the simultaneous effect of attendance on students’ overall academic performance using the expected average exam grade as the outcome. We employed data from an online survey of bachelor and master students attending several programs in 26 Faculties of 12 Albanian Universities during the lockdown period following the Covid-19 pandemic when teaching was switched almost immediately from face-to-face to synchronous online modality. 2SLS regression results show a robust positive relationship between attendance and grade expectations and validate the proposed reverse causality. The study’s theoretical and practical implications are discussed, emphasizing the role of expected grades as an essential predictor of class attendance, and suggesting instructors’ actions to manage student expectations and increase attendance. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Internationalization of Chinese open universities

Purpose>In 2019, the goal of developing a world-class open university through different stages was put forward by the Open University of China (OUC), which indicated that internationalization for Chinese open universities came to the agenda. However, international activities of open universities are different from those in conventional universities, and how to fulfill the goal of internationalization is a main issue faced by educators in Chinese open and distance education arena. This research aimed to identify ways of internationalization for the OUC system.Design/methodology/approach>A survey was employed as a tool to get feedback from target audience. A questionnaire was released to academics, management staff and researchers to the 44 provincial open universities. A total of 501 samples were collected. Among them, 332 were from academics, which accounted for 66.27%, 152 were from school-level directors and 17 were from university-level leaders.Findings>By analyzing the data collected in the survey, the study proposes four recommendations to fulfill the goal of internationalization for Chinese open universities and these include strengthening top-level strategies, building up professional teams, sharing learning resources and delivering upper-level programs.Research limitations/implications>The targets of this research were all staff at different levels in the central and local institutions;no students were included in the research. Therefore, this did not reflect a picture from the student perspective, and this will be improved in future research.Originality/value>Since the establishment of the OUC in 1979, there has been no clear and systematic pathways for the development of internationalization of Chinese open universities. This research proposes a theoretical framework of internationalization for open universities and suggests a direction for future development.

Investigating Engineering Culture During COVID-19

Research on engineering culture often aims, either explicitly or implicitly, to understand why engineering in the U.S. remains largely white and largely male. However, while increasing diversity in engineering has been a major focus in the U.S. for decades, the percentages for women and people of color have stayed relatively stagnant. Recently, however, the COVID-19 pandemic caused rapid changes in education and exacerbated challenges around diversity and inclusion in engineering. It also provides a unique opportunity to investigate engineering culture during a time of crisis to examine possibilities for cultural change from a new lens. To that end, this study investigates three U.S. mechanical engineering student's perspective on their department's response to COVID-19 in order to understand the extent to which various dimensions of engineering culture [1] impacted the response. This study aims to understand how students' reported experiences map onto the dimensions of engineering culture as well as to assess the fit of the theoretical framework and inform codebook development for a larger research study. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021

A case study of the wellness practices of Black pastors providing emotional support from the frontlines

Research indicates that Black pastors provide significant frontline emotional support to their congregants and the individuals living in the communities that their churches serve. Clergy are frequently the first mental health resource. Along with congregants' individual and familial traumas, Black pastors often address racial trauma and health disparities as evidence in the Coronavirus Pandemic. However, there is limited data on the wellness (self-care) practices Black pastors incorporate into their routines to guard against the symptoms attributed to burnout. This research study utilized semi-structured interviews, virtual worship experiences, and a focus group to voice the authentic emotional support of Black pastors and to highlight the self-care practices they implement. The study found that Black pastors address similar mental and psychological challenges as professionals from traditional mental health delivery systems. It also found that the participants utilize diverse self-care practices, and their perceptions and intentional utilization of self-care differ significantly. A key finding of the study revealed a connection between the participants' leadership styles and their consistent use of intentional self-care practices.The research also addresses the importance of counselors, counselor educators, and Black pastors collaborating to improve the overall counseling outcomes for Black people and individuals living in underserved communities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Systems Development in Pandemic Times: The Case of a Vaccination Registration Service: Some Well-Known Lessons Might Be Learned Again

There are several theoretical frameworks as well as practical experiences on how to improve the development, implementation, and operations of e-government services. The paper shortly describes the case of the Hungarian COVID-19 vaccination registration service for citizens that was inappropriately designed from the organizing point of view. Application of two general principles, that could have been used during the design of the service, are presented in the paper as an afterthought. Though the lack of reliable data does not allow to identify the root causes of the improper building of the vaccination registration service, it is argued that some well-known lessons could be learned again: e-government services are socio-technical systems that should be designed with systems thinking in mind. © 2021 ACM.

Building affirming spaces on uneven terrain: Counter narratives by formerly incarcerated college students

A college education after incarceration is an important means of social and economic mobility, but when formerly incarcerated individuals attempt to enroll in college courses or earn a college degree, they often face institutional roadblocks (e.g. required disclosure on applications), academic obstacles (e.g. readjusting to formal education or using academic technology), and interpersonal challenges (e.g. microaggressions or stigmatization). Utilizing a symbolic interactionist theoretical framework whereby all meaning is socially constructed through language with others, I bring together master narrative, counter narrative, and counterspace frameworks to explore how four formerly incarcerated college students narrate their navigation into and through college spaces. I conducted iterative interviews with four focal participants and interviews with other students and campus leaders on the two campuses in which the focal participants were enrolled, and I conducted a narrative analysis of each focal student to build three key themes.Findings reveal that first, students grappled with master narratives related to the "socially coveted" college experience (the master narrative a university, a college student, a college degree, and self-sufficiency), and the denigrated master narrative of incarceration. Critical to this theme is that formerly incarcerated students are simultaneously navigating exclusionary narratives of college students and deficit narratives of formerly incarcerated people. Second, students resisted these master narratives by accessing the counter narratives of students who better represented them, building their own counter narratives, utilizing support from a significant advocate in their academic journey, and by borrowing language from others to build a new narrative of self. Third, students built new imaginaries of what could be on college campuses by constructing spaces for other formerly incarcerated students, leveraging student staff positions, and critiquing problematic academic spaces. The switch to remote instruction due to COVID-19 challenged students to build academic spaces in unconventional spaces (e.g. bedrooms, living rooms, and backyards) and led to a deeper appreciation for previously taken-for-granted campus spaces like the library.This project amplifies the voices of a population that is stigmatized on college campuses and in communities more generally and rejects one-dimensional and deficit views of formerly incarcerated people. This project also complicates the cultural narratives that college acceptance and graduation lead to greater economic or societal benefits, because, as these students indicate, formerly incarcerated students have to do more to be "accepted back into the community." Formerly incarcerated people face significant barriers and collateral consequences post-incarceration, and my work highlights the ways formerly incarcerated students contend with deficit narratives to build affirming narratives and spaces to benefit future students like them. I conclude with recommendations for research and higher education stakeholders, and for community members to continue building towards much needed social change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Interactive storytelling experience for museums in the era of COVID-19

The recent COVID-19 restrictions have forced many museums and entertainment institutions to shut their doors to visitors. This initiated an extraordinary impact on the heritage sector, forcing museum professionals to rethink and reshape how heritage contents could be made more accessible. This paper is part of ongoing research for developing a theoretical framework towards enhancing the visitor experience within the museum environments. The study investigates the implementation of gamified storytelling experience within the context of immersive technology in museum environments towards increasing the level of immersion of the visitor's when "interacting" with museum artefacts. Digital technology allows museum professionals to implement advanced interaction within their exhibition displays, enabling visitors to be more active and involved in the knowledge exchange process. Museum display and exhibition practices are beginning to explore the potential of immersive technology to provide visitors with meaningful experiences that facilitate the transfer of knowledge. In this study, Virtual Reality (VR) is considered as an instrument that could enable better interpretation of these artefacts. To add and increase immersion and meaningful interactions in VR experiences, this study investigates storytelling and gamified approaches as key enablers of such experiences. The study covers engineering heritage with the Lanchester petrol-electric car developed in 1927 as the subject matter and also an artefact. The car, the inventor, Frederick Lanchester, and the history serves as the focal point of the investigation into the gamified immersive representations of museum objects. Three different VR experiments (gamified, narrated, and immersive) will be conducted in closed (university lab) and open (museum) environments to validate and determine the framework's impact on enhancing the users' experiences and interpretations. The developed framework will benefit museums exhibition in general by improving the interpretation process and educational experience for the visitors. The paper describes different approaches considered in this study such as gamification and storytelling practices in museum mediums to improve immersions and motivation of the visitors. © The Authors, 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Selecting a theoretical framework to guide research on the COVID-19 pandemic impacts on nursing care delivery and the critical care work system (using Reed's Intermodern approach to theory critique).

Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on nursing care delivery in critical care work systems is urgently needed. Theoretical frameworks guide understanding of phenomena in research. In this paper, we critique four theoretical frameworks (Donabedian's Quality Model, the Quality Health Outcomes Model, the Systems Research Organizing Model, and the Systems Engineering (SEIPS) 2.0 Model) using (blinded) (2018) Intermodern philosophical perspective of nursing science. (blinded) (2018) Intermodern approach to theory critique was selected for its pragmatic perspective and focus on personal and professional health and wellbeing. The SEIPS 2.0 Model was ultimately selected to guide the study of the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on nursing care delivery in the critical care work systems.

Robotics in Teaching-Learning: But in Nursing?

In this teaching-learning column, the use of robotic technology is explored as a possible adjunctive assistant to faculty. Given the advances in technology and the imposed restrictions of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, a discussion of using robotic technology in the teaching-learning of nursing seems timely and relevant. Questions to consider are explored. Then a concern and a possibility are presented for incorporating this advancing technology into teaching-learning from a humanbecoming perspective. Faculty are encouraged to enter into a deeper dialogue with colleagues in exploring options for incorporating robots with the caveat that the core of teaching-learning must remain the presence of teacher with student on the co-created never ending journey of the unfolding mystery in coming-to-know.

Intention-Based Critical Factors Affecting Willingness to Adopt Novel Coronavirus Prevention in Pakistan: Implications for Future Pandemics.

Since human beings have a long tradition of coexistence with pandemics, which may profoundly impact them, adopting preventive measures is crucial for humankind's survival. This study explores the intention-based critical factors affecting the willingness of individuals to adopt pandemic prevention. To this end, a representative sample of 931 Pakistanis filled in an online questionnaire. However, only 828 questionnaires were found to be complete and valid for path modeling analysis. The core findings are as follows: Firstly, peer groups' beliefs, self-efficacy, perceived risk, pandemic knowledge, ease of pandemic prevention adoption, and risk-averse behavior are revealed as driving forces of the individuals' willingness to adopt pandemic prevention. Contrastingly, a lack of trust in political will and mythical attitude towards pandemics are uncovered as inhibitors. Nevertheless, moral values depict a neutral role. Secondly, the peer groups' beliefs are highest ranked, followed by the lack of trust in political will and a mythical attitude towards pandemic prevention. Finally, moral values are determined as the lowest-ranked critical factor. Based on these results, the government should promote awareness campaigns on lethality and fatality of the pandemic at both centralized and decentralized levels to win people's trust at the grass-roots level and overcome the mythical attitude of individuals at all societal levels. Besides, access to personal protective gears should be made feasible since an easier pandemic prevention adoption would increase the individuals' willingness to adopt such preventative measures.