Rural Remote Learning in Manitoba During COVID-19: Opportunities and Challenges of Action Research

In September of 2020, seven school divisions in Western Manitoba developed a remote learning program to support medically fragile families whose children could not return to classrooms. The coalition of these school divisions, known as the Westman Consortia Partnership (WCP), needed to investigate what beliefs, practices, and strategies were critical to this new rural remote learning program, hence the collaboration with researchers to answer that question. From action research perspectives, this paper unpacks opportunities and challenges researchers faced in pre-, peri-, and post- research contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper explores action research aspects that were both followed and disrupted given the social, cultural, and historical context of the participants in the study.

Introduction

This chapter provides an introduction to the papers in this volume that discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social and economic development in India and explore a path forward. While summarising some of the main insights in each paper, the chapter proposes that the disruption caused by the pandemic provides an opportunity to reframe the theoretical frameworks in the field of development to bring them into greater alignment with the principles of justice, inter-group unity and solidarity and environmental sustainability. The present narrow focus on economic growth as the goal of development will need to be replaced by a broader focus on human well-being which includes the spiritual, material and social dimensions of life. Progress towards this vision will require active collaboration between the State, civil society, the private sector and individuals as protagonists of development. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.

A relational model of university's identity and architectural design pre- and post-pandemic

PurposeThe present research aims to explore the relationship between the university's new identity and its architectural design, and to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on this model. It also aims to analyze the declared identity of the new Egyptian universities.Design/methodology/approachTo formulate the hypothesis of the relational model, the research started with the literature related to physical and nonphysical variables of university's identity (organizational and visual identity) and the impact of the pandemic on its identity. Secondly, an online questionnaire targeting academic leaders was conducted to identify the relative importance of the selected variables of university's identity pre- and post-pandemic. Thirdly, a content analysis of the new Egyptian universities' identity was used to track the correlation between the selected variables based on information accessible on universities' websites. Finally, the results of the content analysis and the questionnaire were compared to test the hypothesis.FindingsThe study reveals the most important physical variable of university's new identity pre- and post-pandemic is technological infrastructure and flexible design, while the least important is university's unique design. The results highlight that the universities need to revisit the declared identity to reflect the new challenges posed by COVID-19.Originality/valueThis study is considered one of the first researches that links the physical and nonphysical variables of university's new identity. The current study contributes to analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on university identity and architecture.

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH STRESS LEVELS AMONG THAI FARMERS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in increased stress levels among Thai farmers, which can negatively impact their physical and mental health. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with stress among farmers in order to inform efforts to support the mental health of this population. Study subjects were Thai farmers in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. Subjects were purposely selected from Thai farmers aged ≥20 years in the study province. The minimum number of subjects calculated to be needed for the study was 250. Study subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire that asked about demographics, work experience, the impact of COVID-19, their self-perceived stress levels, the presence of selected factors that could influence stress and a Thai version of the Job Content Questionnaire developed by Phakthongsuk and Apakupakul. The questionnaire results were interpreted using the Karasek Job Demand-Control model, which is a model used to identify workplace stressors. The questionnaire was scored with a total possible number of 0-241 points, where a score of 0-144 points was defined as having a low stress level and a score of ≥145 points was defined as having a high stress level. The study was conducted during June-September 2021. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis to identify factors significantly associated with a high stress level. A total of 144 subjects were included in the study;59.7% male. The mean (±standard deviation) age of subjects was 52.1 (±12.9) (range: 22-65) years. 59.7% of subjects had low stress levels and 40.3% had high stress levels. On multivariate analysis the factors significantly associated with a high stress level were: lack of agricultural investment (the inadequate availability of agricultural funding) (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 8.94;95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-78.44;p=0.04) and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological stress (aOR = 3.20;95% CI: 1.16-8.78;p=0.03). Factors not significantly associated with stress were: age, marital status and work experience. In summary, the factors associated with high stress levels among study subjects were lack of agricultural investment and impact of COVID-19. We conclude, a program to improve the mental health of the study population needs to deal with the problem of agricultural investment and the effect of COVID-19. Further studies are needed to determine if a program that addresses these issues can practically improve stress levels in the study population. © 2023, SEAMEO TROPMED Network. All rights reserved.

The impact of covid-19 on education: a three-phase study on students' attitudes toward transformative modes of instruction

The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in countless changes to daily life. This has included the move to emergency remote learning for PreK-12 and post-secondary education around the world. The impact of COVID-19 resulted in extensive periods of emergency synchronous teaching and learning, with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. Many institutions adjusted their traditional instructional format to synchronous online instruction in early Spring, 2020 semester. To better understand the impact of transformative modes of instructions on the learning process and to investigate factors that may affect the effectiveness of synchronous online instruction and serve as input to instructional process improvements in the future, surveys were conducted in three phases: phase I: during the second and third week after all F2F courses were transformed to synchronous online instruction in March, 2020;phase II: during the last week of the Spring semester 2020;and phase III: in the middle of Spring, 2021 semester. The surveys set out to measure students' perceived satisfaction and effectiveness of synchronous learning experiences and to capture the underlying factors that contribute to the perceived satisfaction levels as they gained more experiences with the synchronous online learning process. The results show students overwhelmingly prefer being in a physical classroom when they first transformed to synchronous instruction mode in Spring, 2020. However, after one year's practice with the synchronous online instruction, almost all dimensions observed in this study have been changed significantly, including satisfaction with the synchronous online instruction, perceived grade, interaction, comprehension of learning contents, engagement and perceived learning outcomes. © 2022 International Association for Computer Information Systems

COVID-19 Challenges to University Information Technology Governance

The purpose of this book is to provide a model that speaks specifically to adopting Information Technology Governance (ITG) and University Governance processes. Utilizing numerous studies, investigations and research on IT and University Governance and adapting previous and future proposed models for the current pandemic, the book speaks specifically to adopting effective ITG and University Governance processes. The book comprises a number of chapters contributed by leading international authors which analyze all aspects of IT and University Governance in relation to their impact on strategies in Finance, Sustainability, Academic, Research, Students and Faculty, Leadership, Campus, Employment and Recruitment, Quality Assurance, External and Industrial Relations, Internationalization, Transformation, and Board and Scholarship. Findings from the research conducted by these leading authors provide solutions for higher education institutions in planning and allocating IT resources, managing the ownership of IT and other business projects while developing strategic committees and providing appropriate governance within the context of institutional objectives. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Food Safety Compliance and Challenges of Micro Food Business Operators: Implications to COVID-19 Pandemic

The food safety compliance and challenges of micro–Food Business Operators (FBOs) that could impact COVID-19 are assessed in this study using the descriptive-comparative research design. The findings reveal that the sanitary conditions of utensils and equipment, the sanitary operations and facilities, the monitoring of time and temperatures, and the maintenance of the sanitary conditions in the facility need major improvement to increase food safety compliance and to contribute in mitigating the transmission of COVID-19. Minor improvements are needed in the handwashing facility, the implementation of the water potability program, Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures, personnel disease control, and hygienic practices. Moreover, the lack of technical knowledge and time to manage and continuously improve food safety system are the challenges experienced by the FBOs. These findings are instrumental to the improvement of the food safety practices, formulation of relevant policies, and conceptualization of research in mitigating COVID-19 relevant to food safety. © 2021, University of San Jose-Recoletos. All rights reserved.

The Economics of Pandemics: Exploring Globally Shared Experiences

This book offers a lively account of the humanitarian, economic, societal, and planetwide impacts of the pandemics, the COVID-19 pandemic included, which are traced back to as early as the 14th century plague pandemic. Placing the pandemics along with other globally shared resources, such as global warming, AI singularity, and high-risk physics experiments, each of the nine chapters of the book discusses the global health crises from a variety of unique standpoints, including infectious diseases, economics, governance, and public health. Based on the historical records of past pandemics and the rich data from the COVID-19 pandemic, a conceptual framework is presented for the economics of pandemics as a globally shared experience. This book aims to critically examine salient features in the global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including global governance, lockdowns, radical movements, and mRNA vaccines. The book will be a valuable resource to students, researchers, and policymakers who are working in the fields of environmental economics, global-scale public goods, and health economics. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Resilience, retention, and return of staff: the case of Stellenbosch University Library

This chapter reflects on some of the strategies used by the Stellenbosch University Library and Information Service to successfully navigate major issues regarding staff retention, the resilience, and return to work of staff, and how the lessons learned can be applied going into the future. Although circumstances differ by country and context, the authors are of the view that the practice at Stellenbosch University can serve as an important benchmark for academic libraries dealing with crises in the future. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A phenomenological investigation of the lived experiences of middle school professional school counselors in addressing student mental health, during the COVID-19 pandemic, after a return to in-person instruction

This study is positioned to contribute to our growing understanding of how COVID-19 has impacted our students and the individuals tasked with promoting their mental health and wellness. The overarching aim was to understand the lived experiences of middle school professional school counselors (PSCs) in addressing student mental health, during the COVID-19 pandemic, after a return to in-person instruction. The study strived to learn, if and how, the PSC's role has changed since returning to in-person instruction and to gauge the kind of support, if any, that they received with their counseling program. The researcher utilized convenience sampling from the Counselor Education and Supervision NETwork-Listserv, the American School Counselor Association listserv and Facebook. The study involved interviews with 10 participants who were employed as a middle school PSC, served in at least the fourth year as a PSC, held a master's degree in counseling, and had internet access. The researcher used Giorgi's descriptive method of phenomenology to analyze the data, which yielded three themes and three subthemes: 1) Awareness and Psychoeducation on the Mental Health Impact of COVID-19, 2) Adapting to Meet the Needs of Students (Utilizing Innovation;Structure and Intention with Direct Service Delivery;Shift to Reactive Services), and 3) Emotional Impact of Being a Helper During the Pandemic. The findings provide stakeholders, PSCs, and school counselor educators with a deeper understanding of factors related to addressing student mental health after a return to in-person instruction and how to better support PSCs in addressing these mental health concerns. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

COVID-19 impact on the global neurosurgery resident training course and admission: A scoping review.

Background: This study looks at how COVID-19 affected the admission and training of neurosurgical residents worldwide. Methods: From 2019 to 2021, we reviewed multiple databases (i.e., Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, and Hinari) to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on neurosurgery resident training and admission in low middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs). We then utilized a Wilcoxon signed-rank test to evaluate the difference between the two LMIC/HICs and employed Levene's test to assess the homogeneity of variances. Results: There were 58 studies that met our inclusion criteria; 48 (72.4%) were conducted in HIC and 16 (27.6%) in LMIC. The admission of new residents was mostly canceled in HIC (31.7%; n = 13) and in LMIC (25%; n = 4) from 2019 to 2021 due to COVID-19. Learning modalities changed to include predominantly video conferencing (i.e., 94.7% [n = 54] of cases). Further, neurosurgery was largely restricted to emergency cases alone (79.6% [n = 39]), with only 12.2% (n = 6) elective cases. The result was a marked reduction in resident surgical training (i.e., 66.7% [n = 10] in LMIC and 62.9% [n = 22] in HIC), despite increased workloads in (i.e., LMIC [37.4%; n = 6] and HIC [35.7%; n = 15]). This was attributed to the marked reduction in the number of surgical patients allotted to each resident (i.e., LMIC [87.5%; n = 14] than HIC [83.3%; n = 35]). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic markedly disrupted neurosurgical education globally. Although differences have been found between LMICs and HICs training, the reduction of neurosurgical case-loads and surgical procedures has significantly impacted neurosurgical training. The question remains, how can this "loss of experience" be redressed in the future?

Digitalization in the Global Stock Market in the Post Coronavirus Era

The stock market began to play a significant role in the lives of billions of people over the past decades, including as a result of the arrival of a mass investor. Digitalization and the introduction of new digital technologies into everyday life have played a significant role in this development. Thanks to them, the universal and transparent rules of the game and the openness of most of the national stock markets, international investment and diversification, including by geography, are gaining spread. The coronavirus also had some impact on the global stock market in 2020–2021, but this impact was very limited. The aim of this work is to identify the main factors of digitalization in the global stock market in the post-coronavirus period. As a result of this work, it was concluded that, from a historical point of view, the link between the stock market and the real economy is gradually but steadily weakening. This leads to an increase in the speculative component in the pricing of traded assets, primarily shares. In total, it is precisely this weakening of the connection between the stock market and the activities of the companies behind their own shares, as well as the development of information technologies and the growth in the number of small and private investors, that in the long term are the factors determining the basic trends of digitalization. The paper proposes specific promising directions for the development of digital solutions in the global stock market. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Exploring differences in the subjective well-being of teleworkers prior to and during the pandemic

Purpose: This study aims to find out the differences in the employee well-being of teleworkers in Hungary prior to and during the pandemic restrictions and explores whether the differences stem from (1) the presence of children or (2) the changes in the telework situation (freely chosen or forced by pandemic restrictions). Design/methodology/approach: As the first step of this study of office workers, the authors created a "one working day" measure within the conceptual framework of positive psychology that is suitable for comparing the well-being factors experienced in various work environments. The survey was completed by two independent samples: 52 office workers regarding home office before the appearance of the virus in Europe (Phase 1) and 152 office workers during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary (Phase 2). Findings: This research reveals that teleworking during the pandemic has increased irritability and tension for all teleworkers, but the stress levels, the overall subjective well-being and the level of engagement were significantly affected only in the case of those teleworkers who raise small children. Despite the overlapping responsibilities of parents, their work-related sense of accomplishment did not change during the COVID-19 lockdown. The forced home office setup may, however, entail the strengthening of co-worker relationships in the online space. Originality/value: By understanding the relationship between well-being predictors and the changes in the situation of remote working, the results may help develop intervention programs to promote employee well-being in challenging times. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Preliminary assessment of COVID-19 Waste management scenario during lockdown in Chandigarh & nearby areas

Covid - 19 brought about a change in process of working in all the spheres. A change could be seen in the education sector, hospitality, transport, manufacturing, medical sector, etc. The economy and lifestyle were majorly hit at all levels. Even a single-unit family faced the brunt of the pandemic in several ways. The family size increased because members of the family who were away from homes working in different cities other than their native places shifted back. That resulted in variation in the quantity of waste generation at residences and a change in the composition of waste as well. While socialists, scientists, architects, and environmentalists are concerned about fancy topics like sustainability, climate change, environmental awareness, etc., one should not forget about the waste management system to add on points towards sustainability & healthy life. A proper waste management system plays a major role when the world faces such a pandemic situation. The study is aimed to find out the changes in the waste composition and change of mode and frequency of collection in the residential sector during the lockdown period. The need for such a study will help us frame better guidelines for future. It will also help us know the awareness level of public and how much more is required for better segregation of waste. This will further help us for better waste management. The methodology used in the paper is questionnaire based besides self-observation. The questionnaire was floated in tricity of Chandigarh, Mohali and Punchkula and Kharar. The findings of the paper reveal that there was considerable lowering in the frequency of collection of waste from the residential area which caused a lot of inconvenience to the owners. It has been found that the waste composition has changed over a period of time with more usage of plastics which were frequently used in the form sanitizer bottles, surface disinfectant bottles, and vegetable cleaning liquid bottle etc. besides packaging material used because of online shopping and extra usage of placebo medicines. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental-Emotional Wellbeing of Primary Healthcare Professionals: A Descriptive Correlational Study

The present study aimed to examine work environment related factors and frontline primary healthcare profes-sionals' mental-emotional wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic in school communities of Hong Kong. A total of 61 (20%) school health nurses (frontline primary healthcare professionals) participated in a cross-sec-tional online survey from March to June 2020. Outcomes of mental-emotional health were measured using the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (14-item scale with three subscales related to emotional, social and psychological wellbeing);the Perceived Stress Scale (10-item scale with two subscales related to perceived help-lessness and lack of self-efficacy;and the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief COPE), a 28-item inventory with two subscales related to adaptive and maladaptive strategies. Almost half (42.6%) of participants experienced mental health problems. Those employed in government subsidized schools had significantly lower scores in mental health wellbeing than those who worked in private schools. Factors relating to increased mental health problems included lack of emotional support, inadequate training relating to infection prevention and control measures, disengagement and self-blame. A variety of factors influencing school health nurses' social, emotional and psychological wellbeing in their work environment during the COVID-19 pandemic were also reported. The mental-emotional wellbeing of school nurses may relate to their subjective feeling of loneliness as participants were the sole frontline primary healthcare professional working in the school community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study findings provide relevant evidence for management teams to build a culture of psychological and social support into workplace policies and procedures. Continuous staff development and adequate social support are important to promote the mental-emotional wellbeing of primary healthcare professionals in school communities as they play a significant role in safeguarding resources during pandemics. © 2023, Tech Science Press. All rights reserved.

Reporting Issues of Adverse Effect of COVID-19 Vaccine in India: What We Know or Don't Know?

Vaccines for COVID-19 in India have been allowed to be administered among large pool of adult population. In-depth knowledge regarding the adverse effect of vaccine is scarce till date, mainly due to the lack of reporting, analysing and making the data publicly available. Informed choice by the recipients is totally barred and further, compensation associated with the vaccination is also compromised. These important issues need to be highlighted in the public forum for greater awareness and action.

Technological Innovation and Performance of MSMEs in Panama: Study in Times of Covid-19

This paper presents the results of an empirical study, conducted during the months of February to March 2021, with the objective of analyzing innovative activity in product, process and organizational innovation and its impact on the performance of MSMEs. An online survey was conducted with the participation of 430 companies stratified according to sector (Industry, Construction, Commerce and Services) and size (micro, small and medium enterprises). The model used was multiple linear regression, whose response variable was company performance and the explanatory variables were product, process and organizational innovations. The results showed that process and organizational innovations were statistically significant, while product innovations were not significant. The coefficients were positive, implying that the higher the degree of process and organizational innovation, the higher the company's performance is expected to be. These innovations included changes in production processes, acquisition of new equipment, improvements in management, new procurement and purchasing processes, and changes in sales and commercial management. All these innovations were made during the pandemic period. © 2022 IEEE.

‘Creativity Is Good for You': Responding to the needs of our communities after COVID-19

This article explores how the pandemic has caused Arts Well, a small United Kingdom arts and health organization, to reflect on its future activities in order to be most useful in the space where arts and creativity meets health and well-being. It highlights the need for training, professional development and support for creative practitioners delivering participatory creative opportunities, recognizing the precarious work environment and emotionally demanding contexts in which they often work. Arts Well is also developing a campaign to raise awareness of the value of engaging in the arts and well-making to protect and improve health and well-being. © 2022 Intellect Ltd Notes from the Field. English language.

Intimate partner violence, food insecurity and COVID-19 among newly married women in Nawalparasi district of Nepal: a longitudinal study.

This paper examines factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) among newly married women in Nepal, and how IPV was affected by food insecurity and COVID-19. Given evidence that food insecurity is associated with IPV and COVID-19, we explored whether increased food insecurity during COVID-19 is associated with changes in IPV. We used data from a cohort study of 200 newly married women aged 18-25 years, interviewed five times over two years at 6-month intervals (02/2018-07/2020), including after COVID-19-associated lockdowns. Bivariate analysis and mixed-effects logistic regression models were used to examine the association between selected risk factors and recent IPV. IPV increased from 24.5% at baseline to 49.2% before COVID-19 and to 80.4% after COVID-19. After adjusting for covariates, we find that both COVID-19 (OR = 2.93, 95% CI 1.07-8.02) and food insecurity (OR = 7.12, 95% CI 4.04-12.56) are associated with increased odds of IPV, and IPV increased more for food-insecure women post COVID-19 (compared to non-food insecure), but this was not statistically significant (confidence interval 0.76-8.69, p-value = 0.131). Young, newly married women experience high rates of IPV that increase with time in marriage, and COVID-19 has exacerbated this, especially for food-insecure women in the present sample. Along with enforcement of laws against IPV, our results suggest that special attention needs to be paid to women during a crisis time like the current COVID-19 pandemic, especially those who experience other household stressors.

Humanitarian management strategy for interstate movement of migrant workers in India during COVID-19 pandemic: an optimization based approach.

India faced a unique situation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic when millions of migrant workers, in different states had to be transported to their home states as workplaces shut down. The governments in respective states faced challenges of minimizing economic impact while ensuring that the risk of infection was also kept under control. This paper develops models based on various secondary data from governmental and relevant non-governmental sources, trying to minimize the economic impact while keeping the rate of infection low and determining whether the migrant workforce should be allowed to stay in their workplace state or allowed to return to their home state. We found that the number of days of lockdown had a significant impact on the results. Fewer days of lockdown resulted in workers remaining in their work state as the preferred outcome, while a higher number of days of lockdown implied that people traveled to their home state and remain there. The proportion of workers who were willing to return to their work state played an important role on the results too. Beyond the threshold percentages of migrant workers returning to their work state, it became optimal for the government to encourage the workers to travel to their home state. However, this was mostly visible for moderate number of lockdown days as the effects on results were dominated by the impact from the number of lockdown days for too high or too low number of lockdown days. There is also an important trade-off between the budget and infection rate 'R' for the governments to consider. Minimizing the risk of infection requires an additional budget.