Integrating Industry 4.0 in Higher Education Using Challenge-Based Learning: An Intervention in Operations Management

Industry 4.0 is predicted to significantly transform the jobs and skill profiles of workers. Implications for higher education may involve dramatic changes in the demand for knowledge and skills. In response to this, a Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) intervention was designed with the aim of developing working skills for the future of work on undergraduate students by embedding the Industry 4.0 theme in the Operations Management curricula. The CBL intervention was implemented in two different academic terms at a UK university, and views from 302 undergraduate business students were captured using document analysis. The benefits are reported in terms of knowledge acquisition and the application and development of key desirable working abilities for the future. The results suggest that CBL increases students’ understanding of Industry 4.0 issues in real-life settings. It also provides an environment for soft-skills training for skills, including collaboration, communication, planning a problem-solving. This study provides a blueprint for the implementation of CBL in the Operations Management curricula. The study validates existing findings obtained from the application of CBL in other disciplines. Whilst the proposed CBL intervention might be easily replicated in business schools in the UK, the findings on students’ experiences might not be directly generalized to other contexts or disciplines

Challenges and Opportunities of Generative AI for Higher Education as Explained by ChatGPT

ChatGPT is revolutionizing the field of higher education by leveraging deep learning models to generate human-like content. However, its integration into academic settings raises concerns regarding academic integrity, plagiarism detection, and the potential impact on critical thinking skills. This article presents a study that adopts a thing ethnography approach to understand ChatGPT’s perspective on the challenges and opportunities it represents for higher education. The research explores the potential benefits and limitations of ChatGPT, as well as mitigation strategies for addressing the identified challenges. Findings emphasize the urgent need for clear policies, guidelines, and frameworks to responsibly integrate ChatGPT in higher education. It also highlights the need for empirical research to understand user experiences and perceptions. The findings provide insights that can guide future research efforts in understanding the implications of ChatGPT and similar Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems in higher education. The study concludes by highlighting the importance of thing ethnography as an innovative approach for engaging with intelligent AI systems and calls for further research to explore best practices and strategies in utilizing Generative AI for educational purposes

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

System dynamics as a problem structuring method: a teaching/learning approach

System Dynamics (SD) is a discipline helpful to recognize counterintuitive behaviors. By modeling and simulating different scenarios, complex situations can be studied and analyzed. Conceding that these activities may help on improving human action, the difficulty would strive on how to expand its use as it seems difficult to be caught by students, our future professionals. This paper elaborates on this by proposing an approach based on looking at SD as a problem structuring method (PSM), rather than a problem solving tool. Instances of the procedure are provided from a SD course delivered to undergraduate students in a Mexican university

System dynamics as a problem structuring method: a teaching/learning approach

System Dynamics (SD) is a discipline helpful to recognize counterintuitive behaviors. By modeling and simulating different scenarios, complex situations can be studied and analyzed. Conceding that these activities may help on improving human action, the difficulty would strive on how to expand its use as it seems difficult to be caught by students, our future professionals. This paper elaborates on this by proposing an approach based on looking at SD as a problem structuring method (PSM), rather than a problem solving tool. Instances of the procedure are provided from a SD course delivered to undergraduate students in a Mexican university.</p

Role of logistics performance in the achievement of the SDGs

In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by all the United Nations member states as part of the UN Agenda 2030. The SDGs call for collective action by all countries to achieve sustainable development by 2030. The 17 SDGs can be measured with 304 indicators included in the assessment framework to monitor progress, inform policy and ensure accountability of all stakeholders. Based on this framework, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network presented the 2018 SDG Index and Dashboards report which provides an overview of countries’ performance on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals up to date. Their results show that no country is in track to achieve all the SDGs. They also stressed that achieving the SDGs will require deep transformations of education systems, healthcare, energy use, land use, urban planning, and deployment of information technologies. Because logistics is embedded within many of our systems, changes in logistics performance may be necessary to achieve the SDGs. Based on this premise, we conducted research to determine whether correlation exists between the SDGs and logistics performance. To carry out this research, we used secondary data about the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) by the World Bank and SDGs scores. Data was analyzed using Kendall's tau-b (τb) correlation coefficient in SPSS®. Preliminary results show that a significant positive correlation exists between the LPI and goals number 2 (Zero Hunger), 8 (Decent work and economic growth), 9 (Industry, innovation and Infrastructure) and 11 (Sustainable cities and communities). On the other hand, a significant negative correlation was noted between the LPI and goals number 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and 13 (Climate action). This findings suggests that there is a significant relationship between the data analysed. As the LPI increases, some SDGs scores increase as well. Contrarily, as the LPI increases, the scores for SDG12 and SDG12 decrease

Development of a Sustainable Development Division body of knowledge within the industrial engineering universe

The Sustainable Development Division of IIE has been defining and refining its body of knowledge framework since its recent founding. By incorporating frameworks and thoughts from professional and governmental organizations, as well as from research and industry, the leadership team of the Sustainable Development Division proposes a framework to define its body of knowledge within the Industrial Engineering universe. A variety of sustainability constructs including but not limited to triple-bottom-line, circles of sustainability, applications of lean systems methods in environmental improvement, kaizen, etc., are discussed and integrated to create a new proposed body of knowledge framework for the Sustainable Development Division of IIE

Sustainability and competitiveness of the Inter-Oceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec

The project entitled “Corredor Interoceánico del Istmo de Tehuantepec” (Tehuantepec Isthmus Interocean Corridor), aims to take advantage of Mexico's strategic geolocation to serve as another link for international business between Asia and the America East Coast. This is a Mexican government project focused on increasing Mexico’s competitiveness in international trade by reducing the transit time between vessels coming from Asia to the United States East Coast and vice versa. The project explores connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico, through the Tehuantepec Isthmus, using the current railway infrastructure that links the ports of Coatzacoalcos (Veracruz state) and Salina Cruz (Oaxaca state). This paper analyzes the sustainability and competitiveness of the project in terms of its economic, social and environmental impact. Variables (time and cost) will be compared against other major commercial links, such as the Panama Canal (ports of Balboa to Colón), and various ports on the east and west side of the United States. This proposal considers the logistics and capacities/limitations of both maritime and land transportation, since it would connect both Mexican ports with other ports from the United States or other countries bordering Mexico. However, this research paper does not take into consideration the costs or initial investment and capacities of infrastructure for the remodeling of the railways and the ports, or any other investments that may be required to carry out the project