Observing Human Mobility Internationally During COVID-19

This article analyzes visual data captured from five countries and three U.S. states to evaluate the effectiveness of lockdown policies for reducing the spread of COVID-19. The main challenge is the scale: nearly six million images are analyzed to observe how people respond to the policy changes

COVID-19 what have we learned? The rise of social machines and connected devices in pandemic management following the concepts of predictive, preventive and personalised medicine

A comprehensive bibliographic review with R statistical methods of the COVID pandemic in PubMed literature and Web of Science Core Collection, supported with Google Scholar search. In addition, a case study review of emerging new approaches in different regions, using medical literature, academic literature, news articles and other reliable data sources. Public responses of mistrust about privacy data misuse differ across countries, depending on the chosen public communication strategy

Home-based learning (HBL) in higher education post COVID: an analysis from staff and student perspectives.

The purpose of this work is to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on teaching methods, focusing on the Home-Based Learning approaches (HBL) utilized at short notice to support students at the Robert Gordon University in Scotland. Building on the themes developed by Tay et al. (2021), this paper focuses on: Student engagement; Software applications and Communications; Staff; and Self-directed skills to better understand the teaching decisions taken by staff at the onset of the pandemic and the impact this had on students’ learning. The aim is to then use this data to support how best to go forward in our teaching practices in a post-COVID world. To achieve this, qualitative research is undertaken using an exploratory approach looking at the key areas and antecedents drawn from the literature; it utilizes the views of staff and students to better understand how the post-pandemic use of technology in education can be designed to be fit for purpose. The paper outlines that when addressing the issues described above, the views of staff and students need to be analyzed to better plan for the post-pandemic use of technology in higher education

Higher Education Faculty Members’ Experience Implementing Instructional Technology Tools and Changing Instructional Practices During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Transcendental Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of higher education faculty with implementing instructional technology tools and changing instructional practices at a public university in the western United States during the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic emergency remote teaching. Guiding this study was Bandura’s (1977) theory of self-efficacy pertaining to an individual\u27s belief and confidence in their ability to perform and have control over the necessary motivation, behaviors, and social environment to produce specific outcomes. Additionally, the Technology Pedagogy Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework and andragogical principles provided the theoretical underpinnings of this study. Data were collected from 13 participants through individual interviews, collection of documents and artifacts, and focus groups and analyzed using Moustakas’ (1994) transcendental phenomenological approach. Four themes emerged: (a) teaching experience, (b) student performance, (c) workload, health, and personal responsibilities, and (d) silver linings. Participants reported prior experience teaching online, or mastery experiences, as a major contributing factor in their increased self-efficacy with the transition to emergency remote teaching. Institutional support for online teaching, online teaching and learning training for all faculty and students, and increasing online course offerings were revealed as recommendations to facilitate institutional emergency readiness. The lived experiences described by participants revealed that experience, proper training, a supportive culture with appropriate systems and policies in place were crucial with implementing online instructional technology tools and changing instructional practices during emergency remote teaching. While the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges for participants in a variety of ways such as with student performance, increased workload, teaching style preference issues, health, and personal responsibilities, there were silver linings that emerged such as information gained addressing institutional emergency readiness factors, new skillsets attained, social justice solutions realized such as ways to serve students with disabilities more effectively, and solutions to other diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. Future research could also expand to students to gain a deeper understanding of how emergency remote learning affected them during the pandemic

SIOS’s Earth Observation (EO), Remote Sensing (RS), and operational activities in response to COVID-19

Shridhar D. Jawak, Bo N. Andersen, Veijo Pohjola, Øystein Godøy, Kim Holmén, Agnar Sivertsen, Richard Hann, Hans Tømmervik, Andreas Kääb, Małgorzata Błaszczyk, Roberto Salzano, Bartłomiej Luks, Kjell Arild Høgda, Rune Storvold, Lennart Nilsen, Rosamaria Salvatori, Kottekkatu Padinchati Krishnan, Sourav Chatterjee, Dag A. Lorentzen, Rasmus Erlandsson, Tom Rune Lauknes, Eirik Malnes, Stein Rune Karlsen, Hiroyuki Enomoto, Ann Mari Fjæraa, Jie Zhang, Sabine Marty, Knut Ove Nygård, Heikki LihavainenSvalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS) is an international partnership of research institutions studying the environment and climate in and around Svalbard. SIOS is developing an efficient observing system, where researchers share technology, experience, and data, work together to close knowledge gaps, and decrease the environmental footprint of science. SIOS maintains and facilitates various scientific activities such as the State of the Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESS) report, international access to research infrastructure in Svalbard, Earth observation and remote sensing services, training courses for the Arctic science community, and open access to data. This perspective paper highlights the activities of SIOS Knowledge Centre, the central hub of SIOS, and the SIOS Remote Sensing Working Group (RSWG) in response to the unprecedented situation imposed by the global pandemic coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease 2019 (COVID-19). The pandemic has affected Svalbard research in several ways. When Norway declared a nationwide lockdown to decrease the rate of spread of the COVID-19 in the community, even more strict measures were taken to protect the Svalbard community from the potential spread of the disease. Due to the lockdown, travel restrictions, and quarantine regulations declared by many nations, most physical meetings, training courses, conferences, and workshops worldwide were cancelled by the first week of March 2020. The resumption of physical scientific meetings is still uncertain in the foreseeable future. Additionally, field campaigns to polar regions, including Svalbard, were and remain severely affected. In response to this changing situation, SIOS initiated several operational activities suitable to mitigate the new challenges resulting from the pandemic. This article provides an extensive overview of SIOS’s Earth observation (EO), remote sensing (RS) and other operational activities strengthened and developed in response to COVID-19 to support the Svalbard scientific community in times of cancelled/postponed field campaigns in Svalbard. These include (1) an initiative to patch up field data (in situ) with RS observations, (2) a logistics sharing notice board for effective coordinating field activities in the pandemic times, (3) a monthly webinar series and panel discussion on EO talks, (4) an online conference on EO and RS, (5) the SIOS’s special issue in the Remote Sensing (MDPI) journal, (6) the conversion of a terrestrial remote sensing training course into an online edition, and (7) the announcement of opportunity (AO) in airborne remote sensing for filling the data gaps using aerial imagery and hyperspectral data. As SIOS is a consortium of 24 research institutions from 9 nations, this paper also presents an extensive overview of the activities from a few research institutes in pandemic times and highlights our upcoming activities for the next year 2021. Finally, we provide a critical perspective on our overall response, possible broader impacts, relevance to other observing systems, and future directions. We hope that our practical services, experiences, and activities implemented in these difficult times will motivate other similar monitoring programs and observing systems when responding to future challenging situations. With a broad scientific audience in mind, we present our perspective paper on activities in Svalbard as a case study

Exploring the Differential Impacts on Student Equity Following Rapid & Disruptive Changes in Classroom Modality for Higher Education

In the past 3 years, the world has seen the largest disruption in the worldwide education system in history (United Nations, 2020). The introduction of COVID-19 has stopped the world as we knew it. With rapid technological advancements spanning the last few decades, the world was more prepared for this disruption than it could have been when work and education shifted from the traditional, in-person experience to, online, distanced interactions. In a report by the International Association of Universities (IAU), a survey that included over 400 higher educational institutions across over 100 countries, at least 2/3 of the institutions shifted to fully distanced education (Marinoni et al., 2020). Observing the diverse history of educational equity within higher education institutes working in tandem with a global pandemic, this research aims to address the new impact on student equity following the transition to remote learning. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, personal experiences related to higher education at the time of the initial switch to distanced education and the following semesters were recorded and used in comparison. During this process, general, overarching commonalities were established and grouped into broader themes with two final aggregate dimensions becoming apparent: stress points and coping mechanisms

Is the US 3PL industry overcoming paradoxes amid the pandemic?

Purpose: Third-party logistics (3PL) companies have experienced an explosion of volume during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Special tiers have been introduced to provide differentiated levels of service to the customers. However, such changes in an organization reveal and intensify tensions known as paradoxes. The purpose of this research is to identify what paradoxes emerged or have become more salient specifically due to COVID-19 in 3PLs\u27 ground operations and how they are dealt with by ground operation managers. Design/methodology/approach: This is a qualitative study conducted in two phases. Phase one utilizes a questionnaire approach to identify the paradoxes within the 3PLs operating in the USA. Phase two, conducted six months after phase one, follows an in-depth one-on-one interview approach. NVivo 12 is employed to analyze the interview data. Findings: The results show that new paradoxes did in fact emerge due to the COVID-19 and are mostly related to the performing paradox category. Findings from in-depth interviews show that the 3PL managers focus on keeping safety as priority to manage COVID-19 related paradoxes, along with modifying operational plans, improving communication, investing in training, optimizing hub network, introducing modified/new methods and adapting modified human resource policies. Originality/value: This paper is among the first known to identify paradoxes within the 3PL operations during the COVID-19 and provides insights into how these paradoxes are dealt with at mid-management level. Findings of this study provide foundations for the development of a theoretical framework on handling paradoxes within 3PLs

Cyberbullying Perpetration: Children and Youth at Risk of Victimization during Covid-19 Lockdown

The Covid-19 is believed to have emerged in Wuhan, China, and has affected many countries across the globe. In response to this pandemic, governments in different countries have implemented social distancing measures to stop the spread of the virus. The closure of schools and switch to remote learning of universities to protect youth and children from exposure to the virus might also open opportunities for certain crimes such as cyberbullying. The study aimed at exploring the risks of victimization of children and youth through cyberbullying during the lockdown. A qualitative approach, non-participant observation was utilised. Data was collected from three social media platforms which include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram from posts since the beginning of lockdown. Keywords such as “ama2000s”, “2000s” and “90s vs 2000s” were used to search for content. Facebook groups for “2000s” where most young people engage were also used. The study found that with the increase of the use of social media among children and youth during the lockdown, most have been victims of cyberbullying. In these platforms where young people engage, most posts and comments carried content which includes sexting, sexual comments on young girls’ pictures, trending of videos of school children fighting, and insulting each other. A significant finding was the use of fake accounts to perpetrate cyberbullying. The study recommends that addressing cyberbullying through educating children and youth about acceptable online behaviour, signs of cyberbullying, responses to it, and cybersecurity should be prioritised

“What the Hell Just Happened?”: a Phenomenological Case Study of Teaching in the Covid Era

This is a phenomenological case study of teachers at an independent high school in New England during the COVID era. It includes analysis of their recollections of their experiences during the emergency remote shutdown in 2020, and also of their experiences during the 2020-2021 school year, in which they worked under a difficult and complicated hybrid model. It examines their experiences adapting to the pandemic and their perspectives on how it has changed them and their teaching practices. Through interviews with teachers and analysis of documents, this study uncovers positive and negative effects of the school’s organizational responses to pandemic guidelines. The differential experiences of faculty members caused fractures in the school’s sense of community that teachers were hopeful would heal in the post-pandemic era. This study also includes the impact on the administrator who led the school (and conducted the study). The study reveals the importance of communication between administrators and teachers. It also has important implications for research methods for scholarly practitioners