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Online and distance learning classes have been touted for the last several years as an innovation in higher education that should help improve the entrepreneurial growth mindset of students. However, the reported negative online learning experience of many college students worldwide during the COVID-19 epidemic has shown that many opportunities remain to improve the sustainable development and growth of online visual instruction practices. In this study, we outline and investigate a set of hypotheses related to the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use (from TAM) of online video instruction in higher education courses during the pandemic. We employ grounded theory using autoethnographic case studies as a data source. We found that (a) synchronous broadcast lectures improve participant attitude (H1) and motivation (H2) toward online instruction, (b) prerecorded video instruction increases participant perceived "ease of use" (H3) and perceived behavioral control (H4) of online instruction, but (c) indicators of recorded dates on pre-recorded video instruction decreases participant perceived "usefulness" (H5) and "certainty" (H6) of online instruction. We enrich the insights of popular motivation models for organizations and the higher education industry by outlining a set of emotional elements originating in neuroscience leadership research (SCARF) that might either amplify or diminish the perceived the ease of use and perceived usefulness to technology usage relationships when participations engage in online learning situations.
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Remote work has been gaining in popularity for years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Along with its perceived benefits, remote work often results in individuals spending long hours at a computer or on the phone. Consequently, remote workers may find that a large portion of their day is spent sitting without taking any kind of break, especially those for physical activity. The purpose of this action research study was to explore proven strategies that enable remote workers to take active breaks during their workday. Data was collected from longtime remote workers during Cycle 1 research through 11 semi-structured interviews and document analyses. Data analysis led to 12 themes that responded to the research questions. Along with the literature and a focus group, these findings informed the action step, which was designed, executed, and evaluated in Cycle 2. The action step involved four longtime remote workers sharing their lived experiences around remote work, breaks, and activity through a podcast series. These podcasts were consumed by 16 new remote workers who answered qualitative survey questions to determine the impact of the podcasts on their break taking during their workdays. The research found that a remote worker's work environment, degree of autonomy, and break options influence how they fit in breaks during their workdays. The findings suggest that remote workers need consistent organizational support;that having autonomy to manage their workdays is critical for remote workers;and all breaks "are not created equal". (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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The United States health care system lacks uniform and universal health coverage, causing approximately 10% of the population to be without health insurance, a critical determinant of health care access. Safety net organizations, including free clinics, provide free and/or reduced health care services to sociodemographic disadvantaged individuals. Despite concerns about the uninsured population, free clinic patients have not been sufficiently studied. This dissertation was designed to address this gap by adding to the literature and was designed around three empirical chapters utilizing mixed methodology.The first study used cross-sectional primary data to examine the differences between perceived and physiological stress levels and the effect of a social support network among uninsured free clinic patients. Findings suggest that higher levels of perceived stress are not significantly more prevalent than higher levels of salivary cortisol among these populations. Higher levels of social networking are significantly associated with lower perceived stress levels;having more friends than family members is slightly more associated with lower levels of perceived. However, social support and networking was not significantly associated with patients' salivary morning cortisol levels.The second study utilized a qualitative approach regarding COVID-19 vaccine perception and hesitancy among uninsured free clinic patients. Social networks are found to be important factors in reducing vaccine hesitancy. Hesitant patients had concerns related to vaccines' safety, effectiveness, and side effects. Lack of valid and reliable COVID-19 vaccination information was a challenge among this study's participants.The third study also utilized cross-sectional primary data to examine whether certain factors, including the component of patient-centeredness, are associated with patient autonomy among these populations. Findings conclude that Spanish speaking patients at the free clinic have a stronger belief in a paternalist model of the provider-patient relationship. Better communication between patients and providers results in higher levels of autonomy. Higher levels of educational attainment and better communication partnership were associated with higher levels of a free clinic patient's understanding of treatment risks.In conclusion, this dissertation's focus was to understand characteristics of an uninsured population to help develop strategies and intervention on changing behaviors, providing information that leads to their better health outcome. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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Objectives: The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 resulted in a global pandemic. Vaccine mandates were implemented in several countries, including in Taiwan, and often targeted health-care workers in particular. This study investigated attitudes among Taiwanese physicians toward such policies and how ethical beliefs and logic influenced attitudes. Methods: A total of 16 physicians were recruited by using the snowball method from hospitals in northern Taiwan. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Results: Physicians tended not to support mandatory vaccination. Five themes emerged: (1) Individual rights, including violation of autonomy and labor rights;(2) vaccine performance, including safety and efficacy;(3) institutional norms, including the degree of relevancy of the policy-issuing unit and the employment relationship between physicians and institutions;(4) social and workplace stigma resulting from coercive policies in different job categories or departments;and (5) professional ethics of physicians. Conclusions: Autonomy and professional ethics among physicians influence attitudes toward vaccine mandates. Vaccine performance, institutional norms, and stigma also influence attitudes toward vaccine mandates and decision-making. Even with high ethical awareness, the study participants tended not to support vaccine mandates. The government should formulate mandatory vaccination policy means for healthcare workers that can be used by hospitals. Each hospital should assess their unique risks and implement policies that best suit their needs. (Taiwan J Public Health. 2023;42(1):75-87)
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Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated a shift to remote working for previously office-based employees in South Africa, impacting employee outcomes such as well-being. The remote work trend is expected to continue even post the pandemic, necessitating for organizational understanding of the factors impacting employee well-being. Using the Job Demands-Resources model as the theoretical framework, this study aims to understand the role of job demands and resources as predictors of employee well-being in the pandemic context. Design/methodology/approach: A self-administered online survey questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data about remote workers' (n = 204) perceptions of specifically identified demands, resources and employee well-being. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation and moderated hierarchical regression were used to analyse the data. Findings: This study found that job demands in the form of work-home conflict were associated with reduced employee well-being. Resources, namely, job autonomy, effective communication and social support were associated with increased employee well-being. Job autonomy was positively correlated to remote work frequency, and gender had a significant positive association to work-home conflict. Social support was found to moderate the relationship between work-home conflict and employee well-being. Findings suggest that organizations looking to enhance the well-being of their remote workforce should implement policies and practices that reduce the demands and increase the resources of their employees. The significant association of gender to work-home conflict suggests that greater interventions are required particularly for women. This study advances knowledge on the role of demands and resources as predictors of employee well-being of remote workforces during COVID-19 and beyond. Originality/value: This paper provides insight on employee well-being during COVID-19 remote work. Further, the findings suggest that organizations looking to enhance the well-being of their remote workforce should implement policies and practices that reduce the demands and increase the resources of their employees. The significant association of gender to work-home conflict suggests that greater interventions are required particularly for women. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study carried out to explore the employee well-being during COVID-19 pandemic and will be beneficial to stakeholders for understanding the factors impacting employee well-being.
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In 2020, USA Lacrosse moved all coach training workshops to a virtual format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowing that in-person coach training has been heavily studied regarding the motivation of the coaches who participate, the shift to virtual delivery of coach education prompted the researchers to examine how the workshops themselves supported the basic needs, motivation, and engagement of coach learners. Aligned with self-determination theory's conception of motivation and the three basic needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, the researchers drew upon observation and survey data that were collected to determine the success of the virtual training. Using this information, the researchers found that the coach trainers used a variety of need-supportive behaviors and very few need-thwarting behaviors. Surveys revealed that the coaches displayed high levels of autonomous motivation, low levels of controlled motivation, and favorable engagement. These results are discussed in conjunction with the literature that is focused on in-person training programs as well as best practices in technology-enhanced learning to provide input into how virtual programming may be of benefit to coach learners and how coach trainers can best support coaches' needs in a virtual environment.
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Vaccines against COVID-19 represent hope and the Peruvian State implemented the national vaccination plan. The objective of the present investigation was to analyze the main legal norms related to the current pandemic and determine the possibility of arguing its particular use. The qualitative approach and the documentary review technique were used. The results were obtained that the particular use is possible from the recognition of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the regulation of the sanitary registration of medicines. The conclusions were that there is non-compliance by the authorities by failing to observe the individual exercise of the right to health, which makes it impossible for the citizen to acquire the afore-mentioned vaccine. © 2023, University of Cienfuegos, Carlos Rafael Rodriguez. All rights reserved.
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This book chapter provides an overview of Temi, an autonomous, video-oriented personal assistant robot which was deployed within the Centre for Independent Language Learning (CILL) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The artificial intelligence robot was chosen principally because of its role as a Robot as a Service (RaaS). Such a service can deliver greater self-improvement and better learning strategies (e.g. Cohen, A. D. (2014). Strategies in learning and using a second language (2nd ed.). Routledge., Dörnyei et. al., 2015, Wenden, Learner strategies for learner autonomy, Prentice Hall, 1991, Yang, Frontiers in Psychology 12:600, 218–600, 218, 2021) as well as foster beneficial attitudes and skills towards the users' long-term language learning success. Through its cloud-based system, Temi offers users access to dynamic interactions and enhanced CILL services, during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a whole, it appears that the introduction of Temi has proven to be an effective strategy to augment learners' autonomy. It further allows administrators to rethink how CILL services are conducted during human resource shortages. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has opened up the landscape for the advantages of work from home (WFH) and adapting oneself in performing tasks. Leadership style and work autonomy also have the potential to assist employees to adapt the flexible work environment. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to examine the effect of WFH, work autonomy and humble leadership on adaptive performance as well as its moderating effect. Self-determination theory is referred to as an underlying theory to identify the extent to which work autonomy and humble leadership may assist employees to be more motivated in performing work from home. The Partial Least Square (PLS) technique was used to test the hypothesized relationships among variables using the 200 responded data. The results of this study indicated that the WFH, job autonomy and humble leadership influenced adaptive performance and employees with high job autonomy and perceived high humble leadership strengthen the relationship between WFH and adaptive performance. The study sheds new light on the theoretical contribution that the extensive of work autonomy and the influence of a humble leadership style has improved adaptive performance even when working from home. Whereas in practice, organizations need to equip supervisors with a humble leadership style and expand work autonomy to strengthen employee performance regardless of where they work. © 2023 Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. All rights reserved.
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This chapter examines the state of response and likely long-term implications across the continuum of place types for older adults, from independent housing to skilled nursing, with a focus on how physical settings and technological systems can empower autonomy and identity. It does so by adopting a person-environment (P-E) exchange framework as articulated by Chaudhury and Oswald (J Aging Stud 51:100821, 2019) This framework is structured in three sections: components of P-E interaction, P-E processes, and environment-related outcomes. Components of P-E interaction include individual characteristics, social factors, physical/built environments, and technological systems with this chapter focusing on the last two. These components form a milieu within which the dialectic interaction between agency and belonging occurs and ultimately informs assessments regarding autonomy and identity. Emergent themes discussed in this chapter include a heightened emphasis on inclusive housing models, age-friendly integration of technology, environmental flexibility in design and programming, and enhanced support for the needs of caregivers. Examining place change through an integrative P-E framework offers a lens to understanding what implications to agency and belonging might be tied to modifications in the physical and technological environment in response to COVID-19 and how that might inform outcomes related to autonomy and identity among older adults. The environmental responses to COVID-19 will accelerate the ability of independent housing to serve individuals longer in their homes and should promote a radical embrace of small house approaches to skilled care, thereby challenging assisted living as a place type altogether. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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In the United States, religious exemptions to health-driven mandates enjoy, and should enjoy, protected status in medical ethics and healthcare law. Religious exemptions are defined as seriously professed exceptions to state or federal laws, which appeal to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, allowing workers to request an exception to a job requirement, including a health-protective mandate, if it "conflicts with their sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances". In medical ethics, such religious exceptions are usually justified on the basis of the principle of autonomy, where personally held convictions, reflected in scripture or established religious norms, are safeguarded on the basis of the first amendment, thereby constituting an important area in which societal good must yield to individual liberty. Acknowledging the longstanding category of "religious exemptions", and referencing some examples that adhere to its parameters in good faith (e.g., objections made by some institutions to HPV vaccines), I argue that, to date, no coherent basis for religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccines has been offered through appeal to the principle of autonomy, or, in a healthcare context, to "medical freedom". Indeed, proponents of characterizing these exemptions as legitimate misconstrue autonomy and abuse the reputation of the religious traditions they invoke in defense of their endeavors to opt out. The upshot is not only an error in interpreting the principle of autonomy, whereby it is issued a "blank check", but also a dishonesty in itself whereby a contested political position becomes deliberately disguised as a protected religious value. "Sincerely held beliefs", I conclude, appear no longer to constitute the standard for religious accommodation in the era of COVID-19. Individual declaration, seemingly free of any reasonable constraint, does. This is a shift that has serious consequences for public health and, more broadly, the public good.
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Brazil has been standing out as one of the worst places on Earth to be during a global health crisis, especially for those whose struggle for basic humanitarian rights is already routine. How do the political environment and historical inequalities in countries like Brazil affect the ways in which public policy and technologies are framed as responses for the pandemic crisis? In this paper we aim to present the sequence of actions and omissions in the fight against sars-cov2 in Brazil, concentrating on measures based on the use of digital technologies and the sociotechnical arrangements unfolding in materialities that give shape to such measures. We will also discuss possible repercussions of the widespread adoption of surveillance technologies as a quick fix to the effects of the pandemic. Our focus is to explain how the materiality of the virus and its political as well as territorial effects are combined with digital technologies as responses (or lack of them) in the fields of healthcare, education, communication and labour in the context of the global South. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Information Polity: The International Journal of Government & Democracy in the Information Age is the property of IOS Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
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O surgimento da pandemia de Covid-19 trouxe uma explicação imposta para a crise estrutural do capital, que vinha sendo gerida a partir de uma ofensiva do capital contra todas as conquistas do trabalho. Nesse contexto, a extensão inédita da assistência, como mecanismo privilegiado para enfrentar a dessocialização e o risco de sobrevivência de grandes contingentes expulsos do vínculo empregatício, ganha nova legitimidade na medida em que sua plasticidade tornou adequada para enfrentar a sobrevivência de novos contingentes atingidos pela pandemia. Esse contexto traz novos desafios à busca de ampliar a autonomia relativa da profissão de Serviço Social.Alternate :La emergencia de la pandemia covid 19 trajo una explicación impostada a la crisis estructural del capital, que venía siendo administrada en base a una ofensiva del capital contra todas las conquistas del trabajo. En este contexto la extensión sin precedentes de la asistencia, como mecanismo privilegiado para atender la desocialización y riesgo de supervivencia de grandes contingentes expulsados de la relación laboral, cobra nueva legitimidad en tanto su plasticidad la volvió apropiada para atender la sobrevivencia de nuevos contingentes afectados por la pandemia. Este contexto coloca nuevos desafíos a la búsqueda por ampliar la autonomía relativa por parte de la profesión Trabajo Social.Alternate :The emergence of the covid 19 pandemic brought a false explanation to the structural crisis of capital, which has been managed based on an offensive by capital against all the conquests of labor. In this context, the unprecedented extension of assistance, as a privileged mechanism to deal with the risk of desocialization and survival of large contingents expelled from the employment relationship, gains new legitimacy to the extent that its plasticity made it adequate to attend to the survival of new contingents affected for the pandemic. This context poses new challenges in the quest to expand the relative autonomy of the Social Work profession.
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In today's educational world, it is crucial for language teachers to continuously evolve in order to best serve language learners. Further study on the best practices and challenges in the language classroom is crucial to ensure instructors continue to grow as educators. The "Handbook of Research on Language Teacher Identity" addresses new developments in the field of language education affected by evolving learning environments and the shift from traditional teaching and assessment practices to the digital-age teaching, learning, and assessment. Ideal for industry professionals, administrators, researchers, academicians, scholars, practitioners, instructors, and students, this book aims to raise awareness regarding reflective practice and continuous professional development of educators, collaborative teaching and learning, innovative ways to foster critical (digital) literacy, student-centered instruction and assessment, development of authentic teaching materials and engaging classroom activities, teaching and assessment tools and strategies, cultivation of digital citizenship, and inclusive learning environments.
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Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown of nursing institutions changed nursing students' learning conditions in clinical practice. They were removed from their ordinary clinical practice and isolated in their homes for one week before resuming an alternative clinical practice. Owing to the changed learning conditions, nursing students had to readjust and find new and different solutions to manage their own learning. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the impact of removing first-year nursing students from clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic on their perceived learning and development. Methods: A qualitative descriptive and interpretative design based on group and individual interviews was used. Eleven first-year nursing students from a university college in Norway participated in the study. They were interviewed from their homes, after completing their first 10-week clinical practice. Three group interviews and two individual interviews were recorded using the digital live video aid Zoom and analyzed using systematic text condensation. Results: The main theme "loss of experience," summarized how the nursing students experienced their first clinical practice during the COVID-19 lockdown. The nursing students shifted from a predictable to an unpredictable clinical practice without supervision from the nurse supervisor or the nurse educator. The organization and planning of the practice were left to the students, who bore the responsibility of achieving the learning outcomes. Three categories were identified: unpredictable learning situations, compensating learning activities, and achieving learning outcomes. Conclusions: Nursing students faced difficulties in their first clinical practice during the COVID-19 lockdown, which made a challenging study situation. Too much autonomy and responsibility for their own learning reinforced a loss of experience. The uncertainty of the study situation potentially harmed their professional development, learning outcomes, and self-efficacy, especially concerning basic nursing skills.
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In spite of the growing availability of COVID-19 vaccines, a substantial number of people is reluctant or uncertain about getting the vaccine. Nudges may improve vaccine uptake but it is unclear how this plays out with the experience of autonomous choice, decision competence, decision satisfaction, and being pressured to make a choice. In an online experiment among a representative sample (N = 884), we examined whether a social norm nudge or a default nudge (either or not transparent) was effective in steering the desired choice of making a hypothetical early vaccination appointment as compared to making a later appointment or no appointment. We also examined how both nudges affected autonomy and related downstream consequences. None of the nudges proved effective in making the desired choice of early vaccination and neither did they impact on downstream consequences. Rather, our results indicate that participants who were certain about their choice (i.e., opted for the earliest available vaccination opportunity or not getting vaccinated at all) reported higher levels of autonomy, competence and satisfaction than participants who did not know yet about vaccination or who postponed the moment of getting their vaccination. We conclude that the experience of autonomy and related downstream consequences is determined by having made up one's mind about vaccination, and is not affected by attempts to nudge the individual.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Vaccines , Humans , Decision Making , COVID-19 Vaccines , COVID-19/prevention & control , VaccinationABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic during 2020-2022 raised ethical questions concerning the balance between individual autonomy and the protection of the population, vulnerable individuals and the healthcare system. Pediatric COVID-19 vaccination differs from, for example, measles vaccination in that children were not as severely affected. The main question concerning pediatric vaccination has been whether the autonomy of parents outweighs the protection of the population. When children are seen as mature enough to be granted autonomy, questions arise about whether they have the right to decline vaccination and who should make the decision when parents disagree with each other and/or the child. In this paper, I argue that children should be encouraged to not only take responsibility for themselves, but for others. The discussion of pediatric vaccination in cases where this kind of risk-benefit ratio exists extends beyond the 2020-2022 pandemic. The pandemic entailed a question that is crucial for the future of public health as a global problem, that is, to what extent children should be seen as responsible decision-makers who are capable of contributing to its management and potential solution. I conclude that society should encourage children to cultivate such responsibility, conceived as a virtue, in the context of public health.
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Due to the global restrictions to decrease the risk of infection in classrooms, the transition from face-to-face education to distance learning was a necessity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the present research sought to explore how the pandemic affects university students during distance learning. Specifically, the study examined the predictors of pressure/tension and attempted to identify the unique and mediator roles of correlates of pressure/tension of university students. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 432 university students from different departments of different universities in Turkey. The online survey was administered between the last week of October and the second week of December 2020. Our findings revealed that there is a positive association between pressure/tension and Covid-specific worry. Also, there is a negative association between learning climate and pressure/tension and between perceived competence and pressure/tension. Further, learning climate mediated the link between Covid-specific worry and pressure/tension. The data of the present study depends on students' academic (learning climate) and also non-academic (Covid worry) experiences during the pandemic. Methodological limitations concerning the research design are discussed.
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In response to COVID-19, Japanese self-access learning centers (SALCs) rapidly shifted their in-person consultations entirely online. While online consultations were scarce prior to 2020, there still existed few attempts. Yet, this prior history has not been considered in recent studies. Additionally, while researchers have recently addressed the role of online consultations, there is insufficient data from students regarding their experiences and future needs. Instead, the discussion has positioned online consultations as a temporary solution without considering their continuation. Therefore, this study assesses the effects that online consultations have had on students and addresses their future role, considering the history while soliciting students' perceptions. Data collection included a survey consisting of closed and open-ended questions administered to eighteen students at a university in Japan who voluntarily participated in multiple online consultations at a self-access facility. The main findings indicate that students would still prefer to attend online consultations in the future and see them as playing an integral role in their self-access learning. Additionally, students' experiences with online consultations have been positive, and motivation and language learning are unhindered.
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This paper contributes to the burgeoning field of research investigating the educational effects of COVID. A questionnaire with both open and closed questions was administered to female takers of an Academic English Reading course at a Saudi university, eliciting responses about aspects of the quality of delivery of that course before and after the onset of COVID. From this quantitative and qualitative student evaluation of traditional class teaching (TCT) versus emergency remote teaching (ERT), some findings emerged that echoed those in the few comparable studies in the West. For example, certain features like the greater autonomy of the student in ERT than TCT were liked by some students but not others, while features such as the superiority of teacher-student communication in TCT were more uniformly approved. Furthermore, predictions from the literature such as that favouring TCT would be associated with greater self-efficacy, or a greater perceived degree of transactional interaction between student and teacher were not supported in the context of this study. Analysis of suggestions for ERT improvement leads to the conclusion that, at present, it may be that students need training to exploit the existing ERT, rather than that the ERT to be altered. © 2023 Manal Saleh M. Alghannam.