Interactive Cultural Activities in Virtual Study Abroad during the Pandemic and Beyond

Some of the simplest affordances of study abroad became unavailable when students stayed stateside because of the pandemic-induced disruptions to international travel. These ranged from touring city and historical/cultural landmarks, having spontaneous and chance interactions with locals, participating in the performance of traditions and practices, visiting homes, engaging in "domestic" activities with host families and local peers, and developing a sense of community with other fellow students. This paper reports on three alternate, virtual cultural activities that were launched during the pandemic between a U.S. university and its study abroad partner institution in Morocco in order to help compensate for the health disruption. Survey responses, cultural products, and reflections from 118 participants were collected for this study over two Arabic summer intensive programs at the stateside university. The study explores the effectiveness of these activities in promoting intercultural competence and student engagement during this period and speculates on how they can be integrated into the regular programming post-pandemic in order to further enhance immersion.

The Impact of Embodiment on Training Effectiveness

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and compulsory social distancing, researchers in educational fields started to investigate alternatives to face-To-face (F2F) training methods with greater focus, such as video conferencing (VC) and virtual reality (VR) applications. This study investigated the differences between VC, VR and F2F training conditions by evaluating the level of body ownership and agency perceived by trainees. An electrical circuit repair task and multiple surveys were used to gather data from 106 participants in the form of four dependent variables: A circuit knowledge test, task completion rate, number of the subtasks completed by failing participants, and test phase duration. The study included two visits by each participant to measure knowledge retention while there were no training and surveys in Visit 2. Results showed significantly higher circuit learning and knowledge retention scores in F2F and VR conditions than in VC. Also, regarding the retention of knowledge, participants had significantly better knowledge retention in Visit 1 than Visit 2. The authors hope the results of this study enable training developers to enhance the learning process in computer mediated communications. © 2023 IEEE.

Student-teacher out-of-class communication on engineering courses during the COVID-19 pandemic: from face-to-face to videocalls

Out-of-class communication between teachers and students is essential throughout university engineering courses for in-depth explanations of the concepts covered in class. This study evaluates this aspect throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, a survey that addressed this issue was administered to students at the beginning (March 2020) and at the end (May 2020) of the COVID-19 lockdown in Spain, and at the end of each semester of the 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic years. The results were analyzed with statistical, qualitative, and mixed methods. E-mail usage was widely observed at the beginning of the pandemic, while the use of online videoconferencing tools progressed during that time, thanks to their temporal and spatial flexibility, and the direct and personal nature of student-teacher contact through those channels. Its success was linked to the prior training of teachers in the use of videoconferencing, the establishment of fixed schedules for the meetings, and the use of digital whiteboards that instantaneously display writing when discussing problems. According to the opinions of students, videocalls could be used for questions on theoretical and easy practical aspects despite the resumption of out-of-class face-to-face meetings. Videoconferencing tools for educational communication between engineering students and teachers seem to be here to stay. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Squaring the Schaverien triangle

Supervision in art therapy is a relationship of learning. It provides opportunities for individuals less experienced in the field to reflect about their practicum work under the guidance of someone more experienced. This chapter covers the psychological effects of virtual art therapy interventions, such as through videoconferencing, which increased with the arrival of the COVID pandemic. It examines the complex ideas of virtual art psychotherapy and its virtual healing qualities since "[i]n analytical psychotherapy ... the main pivot of treatment is transference". Just as Schaverien describes the transference of past experiences as being made "live", the chapter describes how virtual art therapy is "live-online". The interaction with clients through virtual means provides the therapists with new opportunities, such as meeting clients in their own space or allowing a digital method, like the Zoom Whiteboard, for clients to create art without having to buy art materials. The use of the Schaverien Talisman and Scapegoat concepts can be applied in a more intimate way by meeting clients virtually at their own home. Thus, with the added virtual element to therapy, we are squaring the Schaverien triangle. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Towards a Metaverse Workspace: Opportunities, Challenges, and Design Implications

Both enterprises and their employees have globally experienced remote work at an unprecedented scale since the outbreak of COVID-19. As the pandemic becomes less of a threat, some companies have called their employees back to a physical office, citing issues related to working remotely, but many employees have refused to return. Thus, working in the metaverse has gained much attention as an alternative that could complement the weaknesses of completely remote work or even offline work. However, we do not know yet what benefits and drawbacks the metaverse has as a legitimate workspace, because there are few real cases of 1) working in the metaverse and 2) working remotely at such an unprecedented scale. Thus, this paper aims to identify real challenges and opportunities the metaverse workspace presents when compared to remote work by conducting semi-structured interviews and participatory workshops with various employees and company stakeholders (e.g., HR managers and CEOs) who have experienced at least two of three work types: working in a physical office, remotely, or in the metaverse. Consequently, we identified 1) advantages and disadvantages of remote work and 2) opportunities and challenges of the metaverse. We further discuss design implications that may overcome the identified challenges of working in the metaverse. © 2023 Owner/Author.

Online Threats vs. Mitigation Efforts: Keeping Children Safe in the Era of Online Learning

As the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in school closures since early 2020, children have spent more time online through virtual classrooms using educational technology (EdTech) and videoconferencing applications. This increased presence of children online exposes them to more risk of cyber threats. Here, we present a review of the current research and policies to protect children while online. We seek to answer four key questions: what are the online threats against children when learning online, what is known about children's cybersecurity awareness, what government policies and recommendations are implemented and proposed to protect children online, and what are the proposed and existing efforts to teach cybersecurity to childrenƒ Our study emphasizes the online risks to children and the importance of protective government policies and educational initiatives that give kids the knowledge and empowerment to protect themselves online. © 2023 IEEE.

ID: 213412 Comparison of Remote Programming and On-Site Programming in Patients With SCS and DRG Stimulation

Introduction: Spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion stimulation (SCS and DRG) are standard of care in chronic neuropathic pain. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was critical to arrange postoperative care. Furthermore, the disparity between travel times and transportation options could influence the decision on seeking healthcare. Lacking financial resources could enhance this issue. Telehealth is usually restricted to video conferences, without interfering with implanted medical devices. Now, there exists a platform for remote programming of those devices. It is accessible via smartphones and allows direct contact between a patient and their doctor. Method(s): We initiated a pilot study for evaluating the performance of remote care in patients with SCS or DRG stimulation. We plan the enrollment of 20 patients, 10 each in the retrospective and the prospective group. Retrospective data has been collected from on-site programmed patients in our outpatient clinic in a large registry study. Prospective data is being collected under the new standard of care in the remotely programmed patients. We assess ten scores and categories to evaluate the status preoperatively, at implantation, and the postoperative course. The postoperative data are assessed in the context of video conferences for remote programming. 12 months after implantation, a final video conference is scheduled. In both groups, the same stimulation systems are used. Result(s): The study is ongoing. In the retrospective group (n=8), the mean duration of the programming appointment including waiting time was 43 minutes and the mean travel time 71 minutes (mean travel distance 106km with corresponding costs). So far, 5 patients have been enrolled for remote programming. Measured with the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire, their overall satisfaction with the system is high. In the Patient Global Impression of Change Scale 6 months after implantation, the retrospective group has a mean of 5 and the prospective group of 6 points. Considering the Visual Analog Scale, there was an improvement in both groups between the baseline and follow-up (in the retrospective group from mean 8 to 5 and in the prospective group from mean 8 to 2). Conclusion(s): The general convenience with the remote programming is high. Compared to the retrospective group, the patients do not experience a lack of efficacy of their stimulation. The use of remote programming offers various advantages, e.g., no travel times nor costs that allow simplified and more frequent programming. Especially in a pandemic or in case of travel limitations it is a very helpful tool. Disclosure: Mareike Mueller, MD: None, Andrea Dreyer: None, Phyllis McPhillips, RN: None, Guilherme Santos Piedade, MD: None, Sebastian Gillner, MD: ABBOTT: Consulting Fee:, Boston Scientific: Consulting Fee:, Philipp Slotty, MD: None, Jan Vesper, MD,PhD: Abbott: Consulting Fee:, Abbott: Fees for Non-CME/CE Services (e.g. advisor):, Medtronic: Fees for Non-CME/CE Services (e.g. advisor):, Boston Scientific: Consulting Fee:, Medtronic: Consulting Fee:, UniQure: Fees for Non-CME/CE Services (e.g. advisor):, ABBOTT: Consulting Fee:, Abbott: Speakers Bureau:, ABBOTT: Consulting Fee: Self, ABBOTT: Speakers Bureau: Self, ABBOTT: Contracted Research: Self, Boston Scientific: Consulting Fee: Self, Boston Scientific: Contracted Research: SelfCopyright © 2023

Role of telemedicine in anesthesia: Are we ready yet?

Telemedicine is a modality which utilizes technology to provide and support health care across large distances. It has redefined the practices of medicine in many specialties and continues to be a boon for clinicians on many frontiers. Its role in the branch of anesthesia remains largely unexplored but has shown to be beneficial in all the three phases: pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative. Now time has come that anesthesiologists across the globe reassess their strategies and utilize the telemedicine facilities in the field of anesthesia.Copyright © 2021 EDP Sciences. All rights reserved.

Art therapists and digital community

Digital community for art therapists retains lasting principles grounded in a rich history of connection and innovation. Virtual engagement within the field continues to forge strong bonds that unite our professional need for belonging, support, and knowledge online. As technology grows and develops so art therapy's use of its tools, platforms, and applications for community, engagement, and practice. Art therapists have come a long way from the field's small beginnings and activity online. This chapter begins with an overview of the importance of digital communities for the field of art therapy and touch upon past, present, and an imagining of future developments. It presents examples that highlight the sustaining impact and implications of digital community for emerging and practicing art therapists, including how the COVID pandemic shed new light and considerations about the necessity of online connection for the field. A time capsule experiment explores what digital community might look like for art therapists by 2030. With time capsule responses having been collected at the beginning of 2020, some of the predictions have already become reality through the necessities imposed by the COVID pandemic, such as extensive use of videoconferencing to deliver art therapy in a time of social distancing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

"We Speak Visually": User-Generated Icons for Better Video-Mediated Mixed-Group Communications Between Deaf and Hearing Participants

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, videoconferencing technology has been widely adopted as a convenient, powerful, and fundamental tool that has simplified many day-to-day tasks. However, video communication is dependent on audible conversation and can be strenuous for those who are Hard of Hearing. Communication methods used by the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community differ significantly from those used by the hearing community, and a distinct language gap is evident in workspaces that accommodate workers from both groups. Therefore, we integrated users in both groups to explore ways to alleviate obstacles in mixed-group videoconferencing by implementing user-generated icons. A participatory design methodology was employed to investigate how the users overcome language differences. We observed that individuals utilized icons within video-mediated meetings as a universal language to reinforce comprehension. Herein, we present design implications from these findings, along with recommendations for future icon systems to enhance and support mixed-group conversations. © 2023 ACM.

"I Won't Go Speechless": Design Exploration on a Real-Time Text-To-Speech Speaking Tool for Videoconferencing

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted many business activities to non-face-to-face activities, and videoconferencing has become a new paradigm. However, conference spaces isolated from surrounding interferences are not always readily available. People frequently participate in public places with unexpected crowds or acquaintances, such as cafés, living rooms, and shared offices. These environments have surrounding limitations that potentially cause challenges in speaking up during videoconferencing. To alleviate these issues and support the users in speaking-restrained spatial contexts, we propose a text-to-speech (TTS) speaking tool as a new speaking method to support active videoconferencing participation. We derived the possibility of a TTS speaking tool and investigated the empirical challenges and user expectations of a TTS speaking tool using a technology probe and participatory design methodology. Based on our findings, we discuss the need for a TTS speaking tool and suggest design considerations for its application in videoconferencing. © 2023 ACM.

"The Stories We Tell Ourselves Shape Our Identities": Journals in a Plague Year

The author--in the role of one teacher observing another--documented a spring 2021 remote introductory art history course during the COVID-19 pandemic when graduate student teaching assistants called a campus-wide strike. Forced to improvise, the professor replaced formal analysis papers and exams with an ungraded journal. Drawing from the content of these journals, notes from the Zoom classes, and email correspondence with the professor, the author explicates how students took this journal assignment as an invitation to respond personally to the course content, and as an opportunity to grapple with their own identities. These journals allowed students to use art to explore similarities and differences freely across culture, space, and time. With the traditional requirement for an academic argument temporarily on pause, the author raises questions that characterize our present day: how to encourage a world that accepts different identities without hostility.

Dr.'s Eye: The Design and Evaluation of a Video Conferencing System to Support Doctor Appointments in Home Settings

The spread of COVID-19 has encouraged the practice of using video conferencing for family doctor appointments. Existing applications and off-the-shelf devices face challenges in dealing with capturing the correct view of patients' bodies and supporting ease of use. We created Dr.'s Eye, a video conferencing prototype to support varying types of body exams in home settings. With our prototype, we conducted a study with participants using mock appointments to understand the simultaneous use of the camera and display and to get insights into the issues that might arise in real doctor appointments. Results show the benefits of providing more flexibility with a decoupled camera and display, and privacy protection by limiting the camera view. Yet, challenges remain in maneuvering two devices, presenting feedback for the camera view, coordinating camera work between the participant and the examiner, and reluctance towards showing private body regions. This inspires future research on how to design a video system for doctor appointments. © 2023 ACM.

Still Muted: The Limited Participatory Democracy of Zoom Public Meetings

Recent research has demonstrated that participants in public meetings are unrepresentative of their broader communities. Some suggest that reducing barriers to meeting attendance can improve participation, while others believe doing so will produce minimal changes. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted public meetings online, potentially reducing the time costs associated with participating. We match participants at online public meetings with administrative data to learn whether: (1) online participants are representative of their broader communities and (2) representativeness improves relative to in-person meetings. We find that participants in online forums are quite similar to those in in-person ones. They are similarly unrepresentative of residents in their broader communities and similarly overwhelmingly opposed to the construction of new housing. These results suggest important limitations to public meeting reform. Future research should continue to unpack whether reforms might prove more effective at redressing inequalities in an improved economic and public health context. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Urban Affairs Review is the property of Sage Publications Inc. 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.)

VRChoir: Exploring Remote Choir Rehearsals via Virtual Reality

Choral singing is a creative process that involves continuous, organized, nonverbal communication between conductors and singers. Since the COVID pandemic, choirs are moved to videoconferencing systems for rehearsals. However, the limitation of 2D video interfaces restricts the nonverbal communication, spatial awareness, and sense of presence in choral rehearsal. We designed, implemented, and evaluated VRChoir, a VR-based platform for choir rehearsals to improve these pain points. We evaluated VRChoir with conductors and singers with experience rehearsing in a remote environment. Our findings reveal that VR can be a starting point for improving the sense of presence and quality of non-verbal communication in remote music rehearsals. © 2023 IEEE.

THE PRINCIPLE OF IMMEDIACY IN PORTUGUESE CIVIL PROCEDURE IN TIMES OF PANDEMIC: THE USE OF VIDEOCONFERENCING HEARINGS IN JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS

The article aims to investigate how the use of videoconferencing hearings in Portuguese judicial proceedings, established by Law 1-A/2020 of March 19th, affected the principle of immediacy. To achieve it goals, this paper will analyze the meaning and definition of the mentioned principle. In addition to that, it will be highlighted the conduction of the hearings during the pandemic scenario. Last but not least, it will be evaluated whether or not there has been an effective violation of the principle. © 2022, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved.

TeleNGAGE: Enhancing Collaboration between Families and Schools

Findings in the literature strongly support the importance of family engagement in education. However, effective partnerships between families and schools are rare, especially in ethnically diverse communities where families may lack efficacy or face structural challenges for engagement. Additionally, educator perspectives toward engagement are often framed by White, middle-class paradigms. Educators often fail to acknowledge structural challenges faced by low-income families or the cultural contributions low-income and/or minoritized families can bring. To facilitate engagement between families and schools, a new ECHO® line, TeleNGAGE, was developed at Oklahoma State University, Educational Leadership program. ECHO®, traditionally used in the field of medicine, has utility for professional development for educators because it offers a platform for case-based learning where real problems are addressed in real-time. Additionally, didactic presentations provide professional development for collaborative learning. Through the lens of Communities of Practice (CoP), this qualitative case study explores how relationships between families and schools changed as a result of participation in TeleNGAGE. Tenets of CoP, negotiated meaning, mutual engagement, and a shared repertoire, support a collaborative approach to addressing complex problems. Findings suggest that a CoP has emerged through TeleNGAGE and has resulted in changes in perspectives across families and educational leaders about "what it means to be engaged," enhanced family efficacy for engagement, and changes in engagement practice as family voice has expanded through sharing of concerns/perspectives. These findings have important implications for equitable engagement in a convenient, cost-free environment where educators and families can communicate and develop mutually supportive understandings and practices.

'Keeping our Faith Alive': Investigating Buddhism Practice during COVID-19 to Inform Design for the Online Community Practice of Faith

Supportive digital technologies for the community practice of Faith remain relatively under-explored in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). We report on interviews with 12 members of a Buddhist community in the UK who self-organized and used video-conferencing tools to remain connected to their faith community during the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to understand how they adopted online tools for their practice while shaping new collective experiences. Findings from Reflexive Thematic Analysis were combined with autoethnographic insights from the first author, also a community member. We evidence qualities of the practice that were valued by participants before and during the pandemic, and the limitations of existing tools and screen-based interactions. We contribute empirical insights on mediated religious and spiritual practice, advancing HCI discourses on Techno-Spirituality, Tangible Embodied Interaction, Soma Design and More-than-Human Worlds. We further develop design considerations for enriching spiritual experiences that are meaningful to practitioners in communities of faith. © 2023 Owner/Author.

Online multidisciplinary integrated rural healthcare education programs during the COVID-19 pandemic for students from different universities: Experiences and guidelines

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to "forced innovation" in the health education industry. High-quality training of the future rural health workforce is crucial to ensure a pipeline of rural health practitioners to meet the needs of rural communities. This paper describes the implementation of an online multidisciplinary teaching program focusing on integrated care and the needs of rural communities. Design/methodology/approach: A multidisciplinary teaching program was adapted to allow students from various disciplines and universities to learn together during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contemporary issues such as the National Aged Care Advocacy Program for Residential Aged Care COVID-19 Project were explored during the program. Findings: This case study describes how the program was adopted, how learning needs were met, practical examples (e.g. the Hand Hygiene Advocacy within a Rural School Setting Project), the challenges faced and solutions developed to address these challenges. Guidelines are proposed for remote multidisciplinary learning among health professional students, including those in medical, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and allied health disciplines. Originality/value: The originality of this program centers around students from multiple universities and disciplines and various year levels learning together in a rural area over an extended period of time. Collaboration among universities assists educators in rural areas to achieve critical mass to teach students. In addition it provides experiences and guidance for the work integrated learning sector, rural health workforce practitioners, rural clinical schools, universities, policy makers, and educators who wish to expand rural online multidisciplinary learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Teachers' Perceptions of Videoconferencing and Smartphones in a Retrospective Analysis 2009-2020: An Educational Social Internet of Things Framework

Schools have become increasingly influenced by what has been called the Social Internet of Things (SIoT). As many schools transitioned to online teaching and learning in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to analyze data on technology adoption in schools for changes and continuity since the inception of increasingly popular smartphones since 2007 that has affected videoconferencing, blended learning, and the flipped classroom concept. In this study, videoconference technology is the main factor analyzed in relation to IoT and schools in which handheld devices are considered gateways to further integration of schools into an IoT framework. The researchers analyze a selection of a 2009 dataset and a 2019 dataset from the National Center for Education Statistics (United States) to discuss teachers' perceptions of technology, especially the use of handheld devices and videoconference technology. Recommendations for educator preparation programs (EPPs) are made based on the discussion of the results of this analysis in context with the events of 2020 for why EPPs could emphasize flipped classroom design models within an SIoT framework. © 2023 IEEE.