Augmented architectural space system for the creation of casual connections with people

In recent years, the increasing social isolation has become a major problem in Japan because of the growing trend toward nuclear families. In addition, further social isolation is concerned caused by a decrease on face-to-face communication opportunities due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 infection. Therefore, it is necessary to create connections among people. On the other hand, opportunities for people to communicate online have increased rapidly. However, various information obtained the face-to-face is missing online, which degrades the quality of communication and causes physical and mental fatigue to users. To solve these problems, this study aims to minimize the gap that exists between online and the face-to-face, and to propose an Augmented Architectural Space that creates casual connections between people within their living space. By comparing the results of impression evaluation experiments using questionnaires for the face-to-face environment, the video conferencing system environment, and the proposed system environment, we demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed Augmented Architectural Space system for creating casual connections between people. © 2023, Association of American Publishers. All rights reserved.

Lessons of experience: Labor habits of a long-time, contingent online technical communication instructor

The COVID-19 pandemic made nearly every teacher and student online teachers and students in some capacity. This article presents a case study of an experienced, contingent technical and professional communication (TPC) instructor showing how she sets up, presents, and, most importantly, labors in her course for the benefit of her students and herself. This article ends with recommendations for other online TPC teachers and program administrators to support online TPC courses. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Technical Communication Quarterly is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd 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.)

Andalusian Journalists' Opinion about Online Press Conferences as a Public Relations Tool during Covid-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the professional practices in the communication sector. Before a situation of lockdown and extension of the health crisis, organizations and journalists had to adapt themselves to a new reality where online press conferences became a usual tool to get information. This research aims to analyze the opinion of journalists about the way that press offices used this resource in Andalusia. For this purpose, this research follows an exploratory study based on a quantitative methodology with the survey as the main technique, answered by 188 journalists from all Andalusian provinces. Results show that online press conferences are a very useful tool for journalists, although it also outlines certain concern for them mostly about the necessity of accessing to the sources and the possibility of questioning the representatives when it is considered that they have avoided the answer. © 2023 Universidad Complutense de Madrid. All rights reserved.

Factors Associated With Online Patient-Provider Communications Among Cancer Survivors in the United States During COVID-19: Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Online patient-provider communication (OPPC) is crucial in enhancing access to health information, self-care, and related health outcomes among cancer survivors. The necessity of OPPC increased during SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, yet investigations in vulnerable subgroups have been limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the prevalence of OPPC and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with OPPC among cancer survivors and adults without a history of cancer during COVID-19 versus pre-COVID-19. METHODS: Nationally representative cross-sectional survey data (Health Information National Trends Survey 5, 2017-2020) were used among cancer survivors (N=1900) and adults without a history of cancer (N=13,292). COVID-19 data included data from February to June 2020. We calculated the prevalence of 3 types of OPPC, defined as using the email/internet, tablet/smartphone, or electronic health record (EHR) for patient-provider communication, in the past 12 months. To investigate the associations of sociodemographic and clinical factors with OPPC, multivariable-adjusted weighted logistic regression was performed to obtain odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs. RESULTS: The average prevalence of OPPC increased from pre-COVID to COVID among cancer survivors (39.7% vs 49.7%, email/internet; 32.2% vs 37.9%, tablet/smartphone; 19.0% vs 30.0%, EHR). Cancer survivors (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.06-1.63) were slightly more likely to use email/internet communications than adults without a history of cancer prior to COVID-19. Among cancer survivors, the email/internet (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.08-2.40) and EHRs (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.22-3.02) were more likely to be used during COVID-19 than pre-COVID-19. During COVID-19, subgroups of cancer survivors, including Hispanics (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.09-0.71 vs non-Hispanic Whites) or those with the lowest income (US $50,000-

Linking online and offline intergenerational knowledge transfer to younger employees' innovative work behaviors: evidence from Chinese hospitals

PurposeLittle is known about when younger employees' intergenerational knowledge transfer (IGKT) – behaviors of acquiring knowledge from older employees – improves their innovative work behaviors (IWB), especially in hospitals. Taking into consideration the moderating roles of individual absorptive capacity (AC) and organization size, this study aims to develop a theoretical model to account for the associations of both online and offline IGKT with younger employees' IWB.Design/methodology/approachThe model was tested with a survey of 202 Chinese younger doctors (40 years old and below). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data.FindingsThe results showed that both online IGKT and offline IGKT have significant positive relationships with younger doctors' IWB. Individual AC can strengthen the relationship between offline IGKT and IWB, and organization size can weaken the relationship. However, both individual AC and organization size do not significantly moderate the relationship between online IGKT and IWB.Originality/valueThe findings extend the understanding and application of individual-level knowledge-based view and media synchronicity theory by exploring the relationship of knowledge acquisition from older doctors through both online and offline communication channels with younger doctors' IWB.

Adolescent psychological well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown: the role of leisure activities and online peer communication.

The present study investigated the effects of leisure activities and online peer relationships on the development of psychological difficulties in adolescents during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. Data were collected in April and May 2020. The parents of 1,020 Italian adolescents aged 14-18 (51.9% girls) completed questionnaires about the experiences and behaviors of their children before and during the lockdown. A moderation regression analysis was applied to test the research hypotheses. The findings indicated that adolescents who were more active in sports and social activities prior to the COVID-19 pandemic showed greater psychological distress during the lockdown. Moreover, increased reading, game playing, and exercise during the lockdown effectively compensated for the interruption of pre-pandemic sports and social activities, and represented a protective factor for adolescents' mental health. Finally, increased online contact with peers during the lockdown protected against the development of psychological difficulties, regardless of adolescents' engagement in sports and social activities prior to the pandemic. The findings provide new and useful information about the role of leisure activities and online contact with peers in protecting against psychological difficulties in adolescents, especially during situations of isolation and social distancing, as in the COVID-19 national lockdown.

Video call and depression among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: The JAGES one-year longitudinal study.

Evidence of video call on preventing late-life depression during the COVID-19 pandemic is limited. We examined the associations of social contact (in-person, voice call, and video call) with incidence of depressive symptoms and evaluated whether specific factors (particularly, age and change in the frequency of in-person contact) affect these associations. We used longitudinal data from the 2019 and 2020 waves of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, including 10,523 participants aged ≥65 years in 10 municipalities. Depressive symptoms were measured by the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) score ≥5 in main analysis, and GDS-15 score ≥4, 10, or continuous variable in sensitivity analyses. Social contact represented frequency changes before and during the pandemic: non-contact (reference), decreased-contact, maintained-contact, and increased-contact. We employed modified Poisson regression analysis. Compared to non-contact of video call, the association of increased-contact of video call with depressive symptoms was insignificant in main analysis (GDS-15 ≥ 5: risk ratio (RR) = 0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.79-1.01), whereas significant in sensitivity analyses (GDS-15 ≥ 4: RR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.82-0.98; GDS-15 ≥ 10: RR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.53-0.97; GDS-15 = continuous variable: Β = -0.17, 95% CI: -0.33 to -0.002). In-person contact was significantly associated with lower incidence of depressive symptoms (non-contact: reference; maintained-contact: RR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85-0.99; increased-contact: RR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.77-0.91), whereas voice call was not. Age and change in the frequency of in-person contact did not show significant effect modifications on the associations of video call with incidence of depressive symptoms after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. In conclusion, this study suggests that the evidence supporting video call as a way to protect against depressive symptoms among older adults during the pandemic appears weak compared to the evidence for in-person contact.

Differences in Stress Perception of Medical Students Depending on In-Person Communication and Online Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Japanese Cross-Sectional Survey.

BACKGROUND: Excessive psychological stress in medical students affects their mental health and causes problems such as burnout and depression. Furthermore, changes in the learning environment to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic have had a psychological effect on medical students. However, the relationships between medical students' perceived stress and different methods of communication, including in-person and online communication, remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in stress perception of medical students depending on in-person communication and online communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional study conducted from September to October in 2020. All of the students of Okayama University School of Medicine were asked to participate in a questionnaire survey. The explanatory variables were the frequency and length of communications with others (by in-person or online communication), empathy, and lifestyle. The main outcome measure was perceived stress. Subgroup analysis was conducted for students who preferred to be by themselves and students who preferred to study together and interact with other people. Univariate analysis and multivariate multiple regression analysis were conducted. Gender and grade, which have been shown to be associated with stress in previous studies, were used as covariates for multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Valid responses to the questionnaire survey were received from 211 (29.4%) of the 717 students. There was no significant association between perceived stress and online communication, but the number of people with which students had in-person communication (1-2 people compared to 0 as a control, regression coefficient [B] = -4.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]; -7.8, -1.1, more than 10 people, B = -12, 95% CI: -18, -5.8) and the length of communication (more than 120 min, B = -4.5, 95% CI: -8.1, -0.92) were associated with a reduction in perceived stress. In subgroup analysis, the number of people with in-person communication and the length of communication had significant associations with stress reduction even in the group of students who had a preference for being by themselves. CONCLUSION: In-person communications rather than online communications were associated with a lower level of perceived stress. In subgroup analysis, this trend was statistically significant in the group of students who had a preference for being by themselves.

The digital Transformation of the Great Brands of Spanish Gastronomy in Times of Crisis

Gastronomy is a key pillar of Spain's intangible cultural heritage, with excellent international outreach and a high economic impact on the country's gross domestic product. This study aims to explore the communication strategies for branding purposes of haute cuisine restaurants during the COVID-19 crisis. In-depth interviews were conducted with the heads of communication of five two-and three-Michelin star restaurants in Spain, and their Instagram posts were analyzed throughout the pandemic (268 posts total) using a content analysis. Among the results, the chefs' interest in enhancing digital communication during the period, their confidence in Instagram channels as a tool for branding, and the recurrence of certain types of posts that are successful in times of crisis are noteworthy. In view of the results obtained, restaurants have confirmed their intention to keep implementing these new digital communication approaches in the long term. © 2023, Universidad del Rosario. All rights reserved.

Online Learning Readiness and Satisfaction Among Undergraduate Students

Online learning has become a crucial part of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, but it is still less explored by past researchers. The aspect of online learning readiness is associated with the student's satisfaction with the entire experience in the e-learning environment. Readiness can be referred to as the student's competencies in managing online learning while satisfaction is referred to the learner's perception of the whole experience of the learning program. In order to further explore the relationship between both crucial aspects of online learning, the goal of this study is to determine the degree and the correlation between e-learning readiness and online learning satisfaction. The study involved 376 undergraduate students from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). The Student Satisfaction Survey and the Online Learning Readiness Scale (OLRS) were the instruments employed in this study. The descriptive analysis results show that undergraduate UTM students' overall level of online learning readiness and online learning satisfaction is at high level. Meanwhile, the Pearson correlation results showed a strong correlation between e-learning readiness and satisfaction with that learning among undergraduate UTM students. This indicates that both variables are positively correlated with the strength of the correlation being on a moderate level. Overall, this study supports the Model of Online Learning Readiness and Self-Determination theory, which states that the student's basic needs must be well met, which is their readiness. Hence, they will achieve self-determination that influences their overall satisfaction with e-learning. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

FORMING 'BA' FOR ENHANCING ONLINE COMMUNICATION SKILLS BY CDIO APPROACH

This paper aims to examine the applicability of the CDIO approach to online Project-Based Learning (PBL). Particularly, focusing on students' online communication skills, we examine the effectiveness of forming 'ba' for enhancing online communication skills. Due to COVID-19, our education has been forced to change a lot. Many classes were held online from 2020 to 2021. This paper introduces two examples of online PBL activities to discuss how those activities helped students to enhance online communication skills. To consider students' online communication skills, we will introduce the concept of 'ba', a concept that has been studied in organizational science. 'Ba' is a kind of space in which relationships are forged and human interactions take place. We also discuss the effects of applying the CDIO framework to those activities. By considering these activities conducted using the CDIO framework and considering from the perspective of the concept of 'ba', it was revealed that the CDIO approach helped students improve their online communication skills. © CDIO 2022.All rights reserved.

Patient and Public Involvement Online in National Whole-genome Sequencing Project in Japan

The Japanese government developed a national-level whole genome sequencing project in December 2020, which is expected to promote precision medical care for cancer and rare disease patients. Since this is a nationwide project, there is a need for implementing patient and public involvement (PPI). Considering the current COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted online PPI to formulate the contents of the project's informed consent form (ICF) for participation. This online PPI aimed at gaining insights from cancer patients and their family members regarding the ICF. A one-day seminar was conducted online in September 2021, which included three lectures related to the national project, followed by discussion among the attendees divided into two groups based on their age and types of cancer. We had eight attendees who were cancer patients and/or their family members. They discussed the ICF's contents based on the draft developed by the project's research team. Online PPI has its merits and drawbacks. It allows for easier participation and is beneficial for patients who are unable to physically attend either because of their medical condition or geographical location. For the researcher also, it becomes easier to recruit a diverse variety of people who wish to join the PPI activities. In contrast, at times, participants find it difficult to use online devices. Moreover, the attendees may not feel comfortable with the online discussions owing to the lack of nonverbal expression and interactions when compared with personal interaction. For promoting PPIs in the future, we recommend considering the following three crucial aspects:practicing online PPI in a variety of situations, constructing a framework that enables PPI quickly, and promoting diversity in the attendees participating in such PPI activities. Copyright:©2022 the Japanese Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (JSCPT)

Giving Moral Support in the Time of the Pandemic: Discourse-Interactive Strategies Used in Comments Addressed to People with Covid-19

The aim of this article is to analyse the discourse-interactive strategies applied by Spanish speakers in YouTube comments addressed to people infected by COVID-19. We are especially interested in the mechanisms that reflect support and solidarity. Our main assumption is that the comments that accompany YouTube videos constitute a special type of communication which, though not fulfilling the prototypical principle of "interactive reciprocity", demonstrates a considerable level of interpersonal and interactive mutual influence. The strategies analysed (including greetings, expressive vocative forms, verbal empathy and signals of interest, compliments and praise, religious invocations, etc.) seem to indicate that the "pandemic reality" has contributed to the creation of a certain type of virtual community of practice that, in its own way, fulfils the interactive principle of solidarity, whilst simultaneously evaluating the time of the coronavirus epidemic.

Description of a telephone and Internet-based intervention to improve community responses to COVID-19 spread.

BACKGROUND: This paper describes the process and results of a health promotion intervention to engage lay communities using telephone and online communication, to improve their current responses to the spread of COVID-19. METHODS: An intervention was conducted from March to July 2020 in three districts of Sri Lanka. Seven 'trigger' stories were shared through telephone or online communication to stimulate brainstorming and to engage selected community members. Determinants were identified and prioritised through discussions, and potentially beneficial actions were implemented as agreed by participants. The process was monitored, outcomes were evaluated monthly, and activities were modified according to ongoing observations. RESULTS: A total of 638 families (both adults and children) involved actively in implementing useful actions and reported an increased sense of personal control. Potential risk groups, best feasible community safety precautions and preparation to face challenges in the event of infection reaching their community were identified during brainstorming sessions with community mobilisers. A majority reported that they felt more confident, united and less anxious about handling potential risks and problems. Other beneficial outcomes include lifestyle changes leading to healthier behaviours and a sense of greater control over the conditions that govern their lives. CONCLUSION: Use of telephone and online communication was effective in generating desirable community changes.

Online communication of the Spanish Sports Federations: corporate website and RRSS since the appearance of Covid-19

The arrival of Covid-19 has changed the communication strategies of all organizations. The Spanish sports federations are not immune to this fact and have had to adapt their communication policies to the new social needs. To achieve this, they have opted for online technologies and temporarily stopped using other traditional tools in the field of communication, such as public events. This article aims to reflect on the use that these institutions have made of the corporate web and social networks during the outbreak of the pandemic. To address this issue, a survey has been carried out among the communication directors of the sports federations collected by the Higher Sports Council (CSD) and an analysis of their websites has been made. It has been verified that 100% of the institutions analyzed have a corporate website and the vast majority bet on the use of social networks, mainly Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Communication officials say that these tools have taken on greater weight in the mix of communication with the health crisis. On the other hand, the research reveals that, in just a decade, the Federations that use RRSS have gone from 39% to 97%, which shows the commitment to these communication tools.

A Qualitative Research on Usage Intention and Platform Swinging Behavior of Anonymous Social Applications "Soul".

By iheriting online natural properties, anonymous social media (ASM) applications have become popular and have attracted large amounts of mobile users (e.g., the youth) who can construct new identities for role-play and show themselves in anonymous ways. In order to investigate the influencing factors toward usage intention (UI) and platform swinging (PS) behavior among anonymous social applications, we choose one of the most active ASM App "Soul" as the example in China and then conducte a semi-structured interview with 23 valid Soul users using qualitative methods. The results show that the factors, i.e., perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived privacy riskiness, perceived anonymity, subjective norms, emotional attachments, and perceived interactivity, indeed affect UI among Soul users via online communication. Moreover, we find that PS behavior is ubiquitous among interviewees and mainly depends on diversified needs, which consist of nine dimensions including different position and function among apps, usage comparison, friend migration, etc. Nearly 80% of interviewees believe that there exists a relationship between UI and PS, which can be described as a inverted U-shaped curve, i.e., the higher or lower UI, the less probability of PS. For the individuals' social media usage behavior, a closed loop "Attitude-Intention-Behavior" is summarized. By conducting qualitative research, we intend to provide some insights and deepen the understanding of UI among ASM users in daily life.

‘WAIT’ … A Mobile App to Navigate and Assist Towards Polite and Effective Online Communication

This study illustrates the innovation of a mobile app named ‘WAIT’ developed for Android-based applications. Increasingly, most communication in current times is online, and this characteristic has been heightened due to restrictions caused by the Covid19 pandemic. During online communication, the art and etiquette of communication are often omitted. The researchers observed that online interactions tend to be careless and too quick with expressions of anger or just communication that is quick, resulting in sometimes inadvertent rude, abrupt and ambiguous communication. Hence, this app is designed to address this problem and assist users to use polite expressions in their online communication. The objectives of this app are to enable users to “wait”, think and refer to alternative ways how to begin, end and use specific keywords in response to various general situations, using polite expressions. This app is an easy-to-use mobile app. The researchers conducted a preliminary study with school and college students, whereby they were given an online survey with situations requiring a response before and after using the app. Additionally, online questionnaires were given to the participants after using the app. After using the app, the results showed positive feedback in polite and effective communication, leading to more harmony in online interactions and online society © 2022. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies.All Rights Reserved.

The Role of Physical Education and Sports in Modern Society Supported by IoT-A Student Perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic in recent years and the massive presence of information technology generate one of the biggest challenges facing humanity, namely the technological challenge. In this context, educational technologies have a positive impact on the correct and effective teaching and learning of physical education and sports (PES), with a great positive impact on future sustainable higher education (HE). Thus, various innovative techniques could be of interest, such as the use of social networks and fitness sites, e-learning platforms, computer games, and telephone applications involving video analysis and age-specific images of students and the skills taught. This study aims to establish the main means used by technology, through which it can improve the teaching, learning, and practice of PES. This paper demonstrates the positive effects of technology on the PES field in modern society through a regression model, applied to data collected from 260 students from 2 Romanian PES Universities. The pedagogical and educational elements of our model also highlight the role of technology as a facilitator of knowledge, functioning as a tool that comes to the aid of specialists in the PES field.