Changes in Tropospheric Nitrogen Dioxide Vertical Column Densities over Japan and Korea during the COVID-19 Using Pandora and MAX-DOAS

We investigated the impact of human activity during COVID-19 on the tropospheric nitrogen dioxide vertical column density (NO2 TropVCD) at three urban sites (Gwangju and Busan in Korea and Yokosuka in Japan) and one remote site (Cape Hedo in Japan) from Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) and Pandora. Compared to the monthly mean NO2 TropVCD from 2015 to 2018 and in 2019, the values were lower in 2020 due to social distancing in Korea and Japan. High negative relative changes were observed from May to September (-30% to -18%) at the three urban sites;Cape Hedo, a remote site, did not show a significant difference in relative changes between previous years and 2020, suggesting that only anthropogenic emission sources decreased dramatically. In the case of Yokosuka, the 15-day moving average of the NO2 TropVCD exhibited a good relationship with transportation (R = 0.48) and industry (R = 0.54) mobility data. In contrast, the NO2 TropVCD at the Korean sites showed a moderate to low correlation with the industrial sector and insignificant correlations with transportation. The differences in correlations might be caused by the different social distancing policies in Korea (voluntary) and Japan (mandatory). By applying generalized boosted models to exclude meteorological and seasonal effects associated with NO2 TropVCD variations, we revealed that the decreasing trend from 2019 to 2020 was much steeper than that from 2015 to 2020 (a factor of two), and a significant change was identified in January 2020, when the first cases of COVID-19 were observed in both Korea and Japan. This result confirmed that the reduction in NO2 can be largely explained by the NOx emission reduction resulting from social distancing for COVID-19 rather than annual meteorological differences;however, in December 2020, NO2 recovered suddenly to its previous level due to an increase in human activities.

Using social mobile learning to stimulate idea generation for collective intelligence among higher education students

The importance of social networks has increased in recent decades, yet the use of social learning in higher education is nascent. Little is known how to foster high levels of social learning discourse among students in higher education classrooms. To address this gap, the present study analyses the use of a mobile application (Soqqle) for sharing student-generated content and peer to-peer communication. Students from Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia uploaded videos linked to assessments and received feedback from their instructors and peers through social engagement features (e.g., comments, likes). The majority of students reported that the social learning experience promoted idea generation, increased creativity, and improved attention. These results indicate that integrating online platforms and mobile applications can promote social learning. The findings have important implications for educational practice because many educational institutions have adopted online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022 Hong Kong Bao Long Accounting And Secretarial Limited. All rights reserved.

VR Karaoke Using Expressive 3D Avatars

Because of COVID-19’s social isolation, it’s difficult to go to karaoke. Singing songs with other people in a karaoke room is prohibited. As a result of these circumstances, we created a virtual reality (VR) platform that allows users to enjoy karaoke at home or in a private setting. The platform is designed to analyze and score users’ singing performances in real time, as well as incorporate emotional 3D avatar reactions to give users the impression of being in a karaoke room with other people. Our platform assesses the user’s singing voice based on the beat, notes, and lyrics. We were successful in achieving the desired outcome. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Riding on the waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in re-thinking organizational design: a contingency-based approach

Purpose: This paper aims to explore what organizational structural designs and strategies that organizations can seek to adopt so as to enable them to respond effectively to the post-COVID-19 environment conditions. It adopts the contingency theory, which asserts that organizational survival is dependent on the fit between organizational structures and contingencies. Furthermore, the paper applies Miles et al. (1978) typology of business strategy to study four strategic orientations that organizations can adopt in achieving better organizational performances. Design/methodology/approach: A framework of six strategic orientation archetypes is proposed that can support organizations in re-thinking their organizational structural designs for building up and strengthening resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors explore the influence of transactional leadership and transformational leadership and organizational culture on the adoption of strategic orientation. In addition, the authors developed six propositions. Findings: Organizations that have a prospector orientation tend to focus on creativity and innovation. Organizations that have a defender orientation tend to focus on reducing manufacturing and distribution costs and maintaining or improving product quality. Analyzers tend to be second-movers after prospectors making slower and fewer changes to their products. Originality/value: To the authors’ best understanding, this study is one of the first to explore the interrelationship between organizational structures, situational factors and strategic orientation. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

5G-based smart healthcare system designing and field trial in hospitals

With the 5G worldwide deployment, the scale of vertical applications is innovated benefit from 5G technologies including MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing), network slicing, etc. Especially for healthcare, 5G had been used for COVID-19 protection and intelligent medical processing. However, limited by the hospital's traditional information infrastructures, those 5G-based healthcare applications are hard to be deployed and most only for demonstration, also isolated from the existing medical systems. So what is the next generation of smart healthcare information infrastructures is the key issue for the long-term development of 5G healthcare applications. Even though the standardized 5G MEC framework has been widely used in many vertical scenarios, it is also hard to satisfy hospital-specific requirements such as hospital-dedicated deployment, medical data security, and various network connections, etc. This paper proposes a 5G-based architecture for smart healthcare information infrastructure, a new network element iGW (industry gateway) is defined, and the smart healthcare dedicated cloud platform iMEP (industry multi-access edge platform) is also introduced here, making it possible to satisfy both the hospital-specific requirements and the long-term evolution. Meanwhile, the implementation methodology and the corresponding field test results are presented, which show the significant network performance gain achieved by the proposed new system structure.

Utilising 360 live streaming to deliver immersive urology education in the COVID-19 era with virtual reality in medicine and surgery (VRIMS)

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 has disrupted traditional training and education, requiring a shift to remote learning. Video conferencing has limitations in surgical education, but more immersive techniques, such as 360 virtual reality (360VR), may have a greater role in demonstrating surgical anatomy and techniques. In person cadaveric courses and online VR resources have independently been proven to be effective educational tools. By combining both elements, we ran the first live VR cadaveric course in Urology which aimed to bridge the current educational gaps. METHODS: A combination of lectures, live surgery and recordings were made of Urological operations using multiple cameras superimposed onto 360VR view. The candidates watch using headsets that hold their smartphones and adjust their view by turning their head. 4K videos could also be watched without VR. The course, run for regional trainees, covered procedures including ureteric reimplantation, glansectomy, perineal urostomy, penile fracture and open approach to bladder with SPC insertion. Videos were either pre-recorded and supplemented with step-by-step lectures or live streamed allowing simultaneous questions and answers. Feedback was sent to candidates via an online survey. RESULTS: 15 people attended, with 100% survey completion rate. Of the attendees, 72% had little or no prior VR experience, 100%thought VR was valuable with 91% saying it was very or extremely useful. 55% have attended postgraduate cadaveric courses, with 100% reporting it would be useful. 100% thought VR added to their learning experience and 100% would attend again. Qualitative feedback highlighted 70% benefited specifically from observing procedures that they would otherwise not experience. Improvements include obtaining higher quality VR headsets and more live stream sessions. CONCLUSIONS: Utilising VR technology in the context of live cadaveric teaching allows an immersive innovative experience which is easily accessible, low cost to participants and integrates the fundamentals of education. We are planning a national course with further live content later this year.

Utilising 360 live streaming to deliver immersive urology education in the COVID-19 era with Virtual Reality in Medicine and Surgery (VRiMS)

Introduction: COVID-19 has disrupted traditional training and education, requiring a shift to remote learning. Videoconferencing has limitations in surgical education, but more immersive techniques, such as 360 Virtual Reality (360VR), may have a greater role in demonstrating surgical anatomy and techniques. In person cadaveric courses and online VR resources have independently been proven to be effective educational tools. By combining both elements, we ran the first live VR cadaveric course in Urology which aimed to bridge the current educational gaps. Methods: Urological operations were recorded using multiple cameras superimposed onto 360VR view. The candidates watch using headsets that hold their smartphones. The course, run for regional trainees, covered procedures including ureteric reimplantation, glansectomy, penile fracture and open cystostomy. Feedback was sent to candidates via an online survey. Results: 15 people attended, with 100% survey completion rate. Of the attendees, 72% had little or no prior VR experience, 100% thought VR was valuable with 91% saying it was very or extremely useful. 55% have attended postgraduate cadaveric courses, with 100% reporting it would be useful. 100% would attend again. Qualitative feedback highlighted 70% benefited specifically from observing procedures that they would otherwise not experience. Improvements include obtaining higher quality VR headsets and more live stream sessions. Conclusion: Utilising VR technology in the context of live cadaveric teaching allows an innovative immersive experience which is easily accessible, low cost to participants and integrates the fundamentals of education. A national course with further live content is being planned for later this year.