Factors Affecting Online Teaching and Learning Amidst Covid-19 in College of Science and Technology

COVID-19 had an enormous influence on students, teachers, and educational institutions all over the world, as it did on so many other aspects of everyday life. Schools and colleges were closed across the world to comply with social distancing initiatives. In order to ensure education continuity, the traditional mode of face-to-face learning has been replaced by online learning. This paper sets out to determine the factors affecting online teaching and learning amidst COVID-19 in College of Science and Technology. The research is based on a mixed methodology consisting both qualitative & quantitative approach which is used mainly to gain more in-depth understanding of the factors that affect online teaching and learning for both tutors and students. Firstly, the quantitative approach is applied whereby an online survey will be carried out in order to see the   core factors in the bigger picture. The survey was conducted via Google form for the students and collected the data from 297 respondents. It was then followed by the qualitative approach whereby four teachers and nine students were interviewed (semi-structured interview) to validate the findings collected from the survey and consequently find the recurring factors. Then, to get a true integration of data and the relations between the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the data sets, the Dedoose software is used to analyze as a whole rather than two different components that must be pieced together. It was found that network connectivity, equipment availability for practical classes, nature of student and tutors, data insufficiency, favorable environment, module content and how adaptive student and tutor were to online platform were the factors identified affecting online teaching and learning at CST during Covid-19. Keywords:Online teaching and learning, Factors, Equipment availability, Network connectivity, Student characteristics, Tutors characteristics, Data insufficiency, Favorable environment, Module content DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-20-03 Publication date:July 31st 202

Dog Bites in Humans and Estimating Human Rabies Mortality in Rabies Endemic Areas of Bhutan

Dog bites in humans are a public health problem worldwide. We conducted a hospital based questionnaire survey and described the incidence and risk factors for human dog bites in Bhutan. We also estimated the human death rate attributable to rabies in two rabies endemic areas of south Bhutan. Our study shows that dog bites incidents in humans are common in the survey areas. There were significant gender and age differences in bite incidents; males and the children are affected the most. The majority of the victims were bitten by stray dogs, increasing the risk of rabies infection if not treated in time. Our decision tree model predicted 2.23 (95% CI: 1.20–3.59) human deaths from rabies/year, equivalent to an annual incidence of 4.67 (95% CI: 2.53–7.53) deaths/100,000 in the two rabies endemic areas of south Bhutan. In the absence of post exposure prophylaxis, the model predicted 19.24 (95% CI: 13.69–25.14) deaths/year in these two areas. The public should be encouraged to visit hospitals for post exposure prophylaxis following dog bite injury in south Bhutan

More than one bridge is built: Building ECCD in Bhutan

I vividly remember my childhood days in Bhutan, my muddy hands and feet soaked in water, tirelessly engaging in nature play. One of our favourite games was to build bridges over a creek near my house. We would collect wood and rocks and spend hours creating stronger and stronger bridges. We went back the next day to try again using bigger planks and rocks to strengthen the bridge. We would cross it on our way before and after school and it became a very important place for me and my friends . During the winter, the frozen creek fascinated us. We were proud that: our little bridge covered with ice remained strong. We would take our homemade dolls and boats and slide them down the creek

Design Opportunities to Enhance Children's Engagement with Nature in Bhutan: A Working Field Theory

Bhutan is known to the world for its rich natural biodiversity. However, with urbanization, children living in urban areas are increasingly spending their time indoors. There is potential to understand how children engage with nature and explore the design of suitable technologies to motivate children to be outdoors. We conducted an exploratory study with 11 parents and 12 children (7-8 years old) living in urban Bhutan to understand how children with their family engage with nature. We found that children experience nature physically with adults’ presence and design elements such as fantasy, sensory, curiosity, and game play with friends and siblings can enhance nature engagement. Concurrently, we found that technologies can be disruptive when children are outdoors with their friends. The contribution of this paper is a deeper understanding of how children experience nature, which is visualized through a working field theory, and a discussion of design opportunities to enhance nature interactions

Rethinking the Development of Computational Thinking Skills in Young Children through Nature Play

Nature connection fosters children's healthy development, and long-term sustainable behaviours. Most research into children-nature connection has focused on positive experiences. However, theories of constructive hope suggest that as well as imbuing a love of nature we should also help children understand environmental challenges. Computational thinking is a skillset that might help young children frame and address complex problems. This skillset is currently exclusively developed indoors using technological devices and indoor activities. Our research explored an opportunity to develop young children's computational thinking skills through nature play. An observation and contextual inquiry study was conducted with young children in an Early Childhood Education Centre. We found that computational thinking is evident in children's outdoor nature play and that HCI research could undertake design to further enhance their computational thinking skills outdoors. This can add value to their learning by harnessing their interest, understanding and connection, and by introducing children to environmental problem-solving

Wired, wild, wonderful: A scoping review of early childhood nature connections fostered by digital technologies

Nature connections in early childhood are being lost due to increasingly urban and managed lives. Yet, emerging research is signalling the usefulness of digital technologies in reconnecting children with the natural world. This review scopes the last ten years of research reporting child-nature-technology interactions to identify: (1) methods, (2) approaches to children's agency in research and design, (3) technologies used and the experiences they produced. After screening, a search of seven databases produced 24 papers that were analysed across these three dimensions. We describe the current research and make recommendations including more granular reporting of participation, increased engagement with theory and nature connection frameworks, and consideration of methods that encourage children's agency at earlier stages in design work. We also suggest novel directions when designing for nature experiences that encourage personal meaning-making, relationality, and build child competencies for a rapidly changing world

Occurrence of Echinococcusgranulosussensulato and other Taeniids in Bhutan

The present research shows the results of a national study documenting the occurrence and genetic diversity of Echinococcus and Taenia species across Bhutan. Environmental dog faecal samples (n = 953) were collected from 2016 to 2018 in all 20 Bhutanese districts, mainly in urbanised areas. Cystic echinococcosis cysts were isolated from 13 humans and one mithun (Bos frontalis). Isolation of taeniid eggs from faeces was performed by sieving/flotation technique, followed by DNA isolation, PCR and sequence analyses for species identification (gene target: small subunit of ribosomal RNA). Genetic diversity of E. granulosuss.s. was based on the sequence (1609 bp) of the cox1 gene. A total of 67 out of 953 (7%) dog faecal samples were positive for at least one taeniid species. From the 670 free-roaming dog faecal samples, 40 (5.9%) were positive for taeniid DNA, 22 (3.2%) of them were identified as E. granulosuss.s. and four (0.5%) as E. ortleppi (G5). From the 283 faecal samples originating from yak-grazing areas, 27 (9.5%) were taeniid positive, including eight (2.8%) infected with E. granulosuss.s. and four (1.4%) with E. ortleppi. E. granulosuss.s. was identified in all isolates from human and the cyst from mithun. A haplotype network (cox1 gene) from E. granulosuss.s, including isolates from 12 dogs, two human and one mithun, revealed eight different haplotypes. The most common cox1 haplotype was the globally distributed Eg01, followed by Eg40 and Eg37 (previously described in China). Five new cox1 haplotypes (EgBhu1–5) originated from human, dogs, and a mithun were identified. The study indicated the contamination of urban areas and pastures with Echinococcus eggs in seven districts in Bhutan. The molecular characterisation of E. granulosuss.l. revealed different E. granulosuss.s. haplotypes as well as E. ortleppi. The transmission of T. multiceps was documented only in the western part of the country. Considering the zoonotic feature of E. granulosus s.s. and E. ortleppi and the economic impact of coenurosis caused by T. multiceps (also known as gid) in Bhutan, the findings of this study represent a significant contribution towards an epidemiological baseline for the establishment of a national control programme

Model parameters, probability distributions and data sources used in the prediction of human deaths from rabies in Phuentsholing and Gelephu areas of south Bhutan from dog bite survey data.

<p>Model parameters, probability distributions and data sources used in the prediction of human deaths from rabies in Phuentsholing and Gelephu areas of south Bhutan from dog bite survey data.</p

Distribution of bite injuries on the body according to age group of dog bite patients in Phuentsholing and Gelephu hospital areas of south Bhutan.

<p>In the case of multiple bites, the site of the most severe bite is given. The row proportions (point estimate) are calculated for each group.</p