ABSTRACT
The sustainable development goals, adopted in 2015, include achievement of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns as the 12th goal. To achieve SCP patterns, it is necessary not only to reduce environmental load caused by production and manufacturing but also to improve the sufficiency of fundamental human needs and the quality of life of consumers. The living-sphere approach aims to design products for a target living sphere by determining the sufficiency of fundamental human needs among local residents through products using the fundamental human needs framework proposed by Max-Neef. This framework consists of fundamental human needs and satisfiers. Max-Neef argued that fundamental human needs are universal, but satisfiers fulfilling these fundamental human needs depend on region, culture and time. The satisfiers have previously been extracted by needs-based participatory workshops, but during the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, these in-person workshops can no longer be held. In this study, we developed an online needs-based workshop (NBW) support system to replace the in-person NBW. The developed system consists of digital applications such as an online whiteboard service, video meeting service and original software to support facilitation. We applied the developed system to online NBWs held in Japan to verify the developed system and to validate whether the online NBW can replace the in-person NBW. The results verified that the developed system was working as designed. Comparison of the results between online and in-person sessions validated that replacing the in-person NBW with an online NBW using the developed system was highly possible. Copyright © 2021 Murata, Horio and Kobayashi.
ABSTRACT
The GHPP BloodTrain team developed an e-learning concept in response to the COVID-19 travel restrictions, providing training formats with virtual stages that can be completed during the pandemic (and beyond) and on-site stages, where practical exercises and case reports in smaller groups can lead to a deeper understanding of the content. The virtual training workshop on "Authorisation and Licensing of Blood Establishments", hosted by the PEI GHPP BloodTrain from the 5th to the 8th of July 2021, was the first application of this concept. The number of participants could be substantially increased compared to an on-site event thanks to the virtual setting. Participants came mainly from national regulatory authorities and national blood transfusion services. There were also some Ministry of Health representatives from 19 countries from the WHO regions of AFRO, EMRO, and from Indonesia in attendance. The virtual workshop focused on reviewing and evaluating the quality documentation required for approval of processes used by blood establishments to prepare blood components. Presentations were given by members of the GHPP BloodTrain team as well as by representatives of the German Red Cross. The program was complemented by contributions from the WHO HQ and presentations on country-specific experiences from Ghana and Zimbabwe.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , Pandemics , Licensure , Documentation , GhanaABSTRACT
Introduction: Viva voce or oral examination is widely used to assess the cognitive domain along with attitude and communication skills of students. However, the role of traditional viva voce examinations has always been challenged for high stakes exams due to its poor reliability of assessment. Therefore, it is imperative to train faculty members in the correct procedures and assessment practices in viva voce examinations. Given the challenges faced due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an online faculty training program was conducted and evaluated. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of an online faculty development programme in improving the knowledge of the good practices for the conduct of viva voce among faculty members. Methods: This intervention-based study was carried out among 32 faculty members who were participants of an online workshop on viva voce. It was held at a private medical college in November 2020. Relevant knowledge of the participants before and after the workshop was assessed using multiple choice questions designed in Google Doc. Paired and Unpaired t-tests were used to test associations. Results: The majority of the participants were faculties of clinical science subjects [17(53.1%)]. Their median years of teaching experience was 12.5(4, 25.7). Half of the participants attended this workshop to learn the recommended procedure for conducting a viva voce. The mean pre-test score among participants was 6.3±2.2, and the mean post-test score was 8.8±2.7 (t=4.381, p<0.001). Most participants gave a positive feedback about the workshop. Conclusion: Based on the performance scores and the positive feedback given by the participants, this online workshop was found to improve their knowledge regarding good practice for conducting a viva voce. The training of teachers in the proper conduct of viva voce is essential at every teaching institution and can be effectively delivered using online platforms, as confirmed by this study. © 2022, Kazan Federal University. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The rapid outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption process of digital online tools for social communication across disciplines regardless of cultural backgrounds. Design to had to quickly migrate a considerable portion of its activities to the Internet, making it the preeminent platform in which a large portion of workshops take place nowadays. This swift change from a ‘face-to-face’ to ‘online’ reality is by no means without problems and hurdles, a significant one among these, is the scarcity of academic documentation that deals with the workshops from a communication point of view (beyond the technical aspects). This study aims to identify communication problems within ‘Online Design Workshops’ allowing the organizers to reroute efforts, from a technical and administrative point of view to the quality of the design output itself. The research method adopted was participatory research praxis based on the comparison of survey outputs taken during ‘face-to-face’ and ‘online’ workshops conducted between years 2012 ~ 2019, and 2020, respectively. Using the SMCR model as a framework of communication analysis it was discovered that the most critical aspects are those related to ‘understanding’ (between participants, of the online tools, and of the contents). Accordingly, a first attempt at optimal heuristic paths to the improvement of design stages within online workshops with focus on communication are proposed. Further design workshops can be approached using the process outlined in this paper, adding to the robustness of the heuristics. © PDE 2021.