COVID-19 in Europe: From outbreak to vaccination

Background: COVID-19 is a pandemic of unprecedented proportions in recent human history. To date, the world has paid a high toll in terms of human lives lost, and on economic, financial, and social repercussions. In Europe, countries tried to mobilize all resources available to contain the COVID-19 effects, but the outcomes are diverse across countries. There have also been massive efforts geared towards finding safe and effective vaccines and to distribute them massively to the population. The main objective of this paper is to describe the COVID-19 prevalence in Europe. Secondly, it aims to identify epidemiological typologies allowing to distinguish the countries in terms of their response to the pandemic, and finally assess the effect of vaccination on pandemic control. Methods: The study covers 30 European countries: EU 27 in addition to Norway, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. Four epidemiological variables are analyzed at two distinct moments, at the end of 2020 and at the beginning of 2022: total number of cases per million, total number of deaths per million, total number of tests per thousand, and case fatality rate. In a second step, it uses a fuzzy approach, namely archetypal analysis, to identify epidemiological typologies, and positions countries by their response to the pandemic. Finally, it assesses how vaccination, stringency measures, booster doses and population age affect the case fatality rate, using a multiple regression model. Results: The outcomes unveil four epidemiological typologies for both periods. The clearest sign of change in the two periods concerns the case fatality rate that is found to be low in a single typology in 2020 but occurs in three typologies in 2022, although to different degrees. There is also statistical evidence of the positive impact of the primary vaccination on mortality reduction; however, the same does not hold for the booster dose and stringency measures. Conclusions: The study shows that primary vaccination is the most effective measure to reduce mortality by COVID-19 suggesting that vaccination provides hope for an end to the pandemic. However, a worldwide access to vaccination is needed to make this happen.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Is it more than employability?: Revisiting employers’ perception of graduates’ attributes

Higher education is confronted with two broad missions, either prepare graduates for the world of work, or prepare well-rounded students that combine broad-spectrum qualities of citizenship, responsibility, and professional expertise. The employability skills have been widely studied, while the attributes related to holistic education are still scarcely investigated. This paper examines the skills and other attributes that employers seek when hiring graduates. It confronts the perceptions of employers regarding the skills associated with employability and the abilities and characteristics linked to holistic education. This is an exploratory research based on original and qualitative data collected in 2020 through interviews with employers (n=8) from different sectors in Portugal. Empirical findings indicate that all employers prioritise employability skills, such as communication, teamwork, and learning abilities. We found more dispersion regarding the attributes of holistic education and a large consensus was found for interdisciplinarity, self-reflection, and personal and social responsibility. The data show that the attributes that help to address society’s problems and challenges still seem to be regarded as quite irrelevant in the recruitment process.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Selecting Suitable Sites for Mine Waste Dumps Using GIS Techniques at Goldfields, Damang Mine

AbstractThe selection of optimal sites for mine waste dumps is a significant problem associated with surface mines operations. A number of factors such as financial, environmental and safety requirements must be simultaneously considered to avoid potential losses. This research used the ModelBuilder tool and several GIS spatial analyst tools to select suitable sites for mine waste dump. The weighted overlay technique was adopted by first determining the necessary criteria and constraints and subsequently developing attributes for each criterion. The criteria used were grouped into a binary category of suitable and unsuitable. A total area of 17.01 km2 was determined as suitable, while 66.10 km2 was classified as unsuitable after overlaying and weighting all the criteria. Out of the suitable areas, an area of 13.62 km2 consisting of 21 sites were determined as optimal. Applying further constraints, 2 out of the 21 optimal sites were determined as the best sites. A step-wise model has been developed using ModelBuilder for selecting an economic but effective site for dumping mine waste using suitable constraints and criteria. This has facilitated the production of suitability maps generated from the various datasets being used for mine waste dump site selection. The final output map that best fits the criteria and constraints can be used by decision makers to set out the areas suitable for mine waste dump sites on the mine concession. The model could be applied as the standard model for selecting sites for mine waste dumps, since there is no standard model available at the moment.    Keywords: ModelBuilder, GIS, Constraints, Waste Dumps, Weighted Overla

Index of satisfaction with public transport: a fuzzy clustering approach

Increasing public transport use is recognized by many countries as crucial to the pursuit of a global strategy for environmental sustainability and improving urban mobility. Understanding what users value in a public transport service is essential to carry out this strategy. Using fuzzy clustering, we developed an index that measures individual user satisfaction with the public transport service in the metropolitan area of Lisbon and subsequently identified the possible determinants of satisfaction by means of a regression tree model. The results achieved unveil a hierarchical partition of the data, highlighting the diversified level of satisfaction among public transport users that is reflected in the distribution of the index. The managerial implications of the findings for the public transport service are addressed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Eksistensi Hukum Adat dalam Kompilasi Hukum Islam Indonesia (KHI).

Existency of the Elements of Traditional Law in Indonesia Islamic Law Compilation (KHI). This paper reviews the accommodative attitude of the Indonesia Islamic Law Compilation (KHI) towards customary law. Such a positive attitude is indicated by the provisions concerning joint property and mutual inherit between adopted child and the adoptive parents through the institution of wasiyat wajibah. (compulsory wish). Both provisions adopted from customary law is purely the result of ijtihad (legal initiative) of Indonesia Muslim scholars because the issues are not found in Islamic Jurisprudence. The Indonesian cleric\u27s innovative creations, aside of being a manifestation of the dynamic and creative characteristics of Islamic law, are also becoming an identity of Islamic Archipelago (Islam Nusantara) in the field of law. Viewed from this aspect, KHI Indonesia may be named as the Indonesian Muslim Jurisprudence (Fikih Indonesia)

New research and trends in higher education

New methodologies, contexts, and technologies are generating a lot of interest in the field of higher education, and this Special Issue intends to address the current research and trends in all dimensions of higher education. It will serve as a global focal point for the examination and reporting of a wide range of issues affecting higher education learning processes: innovations in learning, new pedagogical methods and new learning contexts. The Special Issue includes original research contributions, such as research papers, case studies and demonstrations with original scientific results, methodological aspects, concepts and educational technologies on the following topics: (a) Technological Developments in Higher Education: mobile technology, virtual environments, augmented reality, automation and robotics and other tools for universal learning, focusing on issues that are not addressed by existing research. (b) Digital Higher Education: mobile learning, eLearning, Game-based Learning, social media in education, new learning models and technologies and wearable technologies for education. (c) Case Studies in Higher Education: empirical studies in higher education regarding digital technologies, new methodologies, new evaluation techniques and tools, perceptions of learning processes efficiency and digital learning best practices.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring Topic-Language Preferences in Multilingual Swahili Information Retrieval in Tanzania

Habitual switching of languages is a common behaviour among polyglots when searching for information on the Web. Studies in information retrieval (IR) and multilingual information retrieval (MLIR) suggest that part of the reason for such regular switching of languages is the topic of search. Unlike survey-based studies, this study uses query and click-through logs. It exploits the querying and results selection behaviour of Swahili MLIR system users to explore how topic of search (query) is associated with language preferences - topic-language preferences. This paper is based on a carefully controlled study using Swahili speaking Web users in Tanzania who interacted with a guided multilingual search engine. From the statistical analysis of queries and click-through logs, it was revealed that language preferences may be associated with the topics of search. The results also suggest that language preferences are not static; they vary along the course of Web search from query to results selection. In most of the topics, users either had significantly no language preference or preferred to query in Kiswahili and changed their preference to either English or no preference for language when selecting/clicking on the results. The findings of this study might provide researchers with more insights in developing better MLIR systems that support certain types of users and in certain scenarios

Induced fibrillation is equally effective as crystalloid cardioplegia in the protection of fetal myocardial function

AbstractBackgroundFetal cardiac intervention represents a potential advance in the treatment of congenital cardiac lesions that increase in complexity during development. Prenatal repair of a primary defect might prevent pathologic blood-flow patterns that can result in hypoplasia of a cardiac chamber or great vessel. However, strategies to optimize fetal myocardial protection have not been studied. A biventricular working fetal heart preparation was used to evaluate the cardioprotective properties of induced fibrillation and crystalloid cardioplegia.MethodsHearts from 16 fetal lambs at 115 to 125 days’ gestation were harvested and perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution. The descending aorta was ligated distal to the ductal insertion and the branch pulmonary arteries were ligated to simulate the parallel circulation of the fetus. Hearts were arrested with normothermic fibrillation (n = 8) or hypothermic crystalloid cardioplegia (n = 8) before reperfusion with Krebs-Henseleit solution. Baseline and postarrest myocardial function measurements were obtained from analysis of pressure-dimension relationships.ResultsFibrillatory and cardioplegic arrest were equally effective at preserving postarrest systolic function (left ventricle, 70% ± 5% vs 68% ± 15%, P = .52; right ventricle, 68% ± 4.5% vs 65% ± 4.5%, P = .26) and preventing increased diastolic stiffness (left ventricle, 32% ± 5.3% vs 38% ± 11%, P = .24; right ventricle, 25% ± 3.3% vs 27% ± 2.1%, P = .46). Myocardial water content was unchanged in hearts arrested with fibrillation and cardioplegia (84% ± 1.5% vs 83.7% ± 0.9%, P = .71).ConclusionsNormothermic fibrillation and hypothermic crystalloid cardioplegia provide equal protection of the fetal myocardium. In the setting of diminished fetal myocardial reserve and because of the limited ability to manipulate the surrounding temperature in the fetus, normothermic fibrillation may be preferable for in utero repairs of selected congenital heart defects