Experience Of COVID-19 Pandemic Research Articles

Effect of Transformational Leadership Behaviour on Employees’ Career Development in Zenith International Bank (ZIB) Plc, North East 3 Zone, Adamawa State, Nigeria: Post COVID-19 Pandemic Experience

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as a global pandemic. The pandemic has left organisations with a number of challenges, including decreased revenue, decreased consumer spending, poor marketing outcomes, firm closures, reduced staff motivation, virtual working, increasing unemployment, and changes in service delivery and lifestyle. However, due to the rapid growth in global competition, advancements in technology, innovativeness, and growing demands for better customer service, organisational leaders were challenged to devise performance-improvement strategies in order to survive the challenges posed by COVID-19, particularly in Deposit Money Banks (DMBs). Against this backdrop, this study investigates the impact of transformational leadership (TL) behaviours on employee career development (i.e. employee mentoring and coaching). This study conceptualised TL behaviours as idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration, while career development as career coaching and career mentoring. The study used an explanatory survey research approach with a sampl of 130 employees from four (4) branches of Zenith International Bank Plc North East 3 Zone, Adamawa State. This study's data were collected via questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and correlation were used in analysing the data collected, while study's hypotheses were tested using the multiple regression technique. The regression results show that TL behaviours such as inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration have favourable significant effect on career development (Mentoring and coaching). While idealised influence has significant adverse effects on career development in both career mentoring and coaching. Overall, the findings indicate that TL positively and strongly predicts career development (i.e. career mentoring and coaching). As a result, this study concludes that TL actions are critical for organisational development and should be supported by managers since they improve employees' career progression within the organisation and have significant effects on numerous employee outcomes.

Figurativeness and Humour in Covid-19-Related Internet Memes

Figurativeness and Humour in Covid-19-Related Internet Memes

Covid-19 Pandemic Experience and Human Rights Protection in Nigeria

Covid-19 Pandemic Experience and Human Rights Protection in Nigeria

Optimal social distancing in epidemic control: cost prioritization, adherence and insights into preparedness principles

The COVID-19 pandemic experience has highlighted the importance of developing general control principles to inform future pandemic preparedness based on the tension between the different control options, ranging from elimination to mitigation, and related costs. Similarly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing has been confirmed to be the critical response tool until vaccines become available. Open-loop optimal control of a transmission model for COVID-19 in one of its most aggressive outbreaks is used to identify the best social distancing policies aimed at balancing the direct epidemiological costs of a threatening epidemic with its indirect (i.e., societal level) costs arising from enduring control measures. In particular, we analyse how optimal social distancing varies according to three key policy factors, namely, the degree of prioritization of indirect costs, the adherence to control measures, and the timeliness of intervention. As the prioritization of indirect costs increases, (i) the corresponding optimal distancing policy suddenly switches from elimination to suppression and, finally, to mitigation; (ii) the “effective” mitigation region—where hospitals’ overwhelming is prevented—is dramatically narrow and shows multiple control waves; and (iii) a delicate balance emerges, whereby low adherence and lack of timeliness inevitably force ineffective mitigation as the only accessible policy option. The present results show the importance of open-loop optimal control, which is traditionally absent in public health preparedness, for studying the suppression–mitigation trade-off and supplying robust preparedness guidelines.

Applying Earth Observation Technologies to Economic Consequence Modeling: A Case Study of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, California

Earth observation (EO) technologies, such as very high-resolution optical satellite data available from Maxar, can enhance economic consequence modeling of disasters by capturing the fine-grained and real-time behavioral responses of businesses and the public. We investigated this unique approach to economic consequence modeling to determine whether crowd-sourced interpretations of EO data can be used to illuminate key economic behavioral responses that could be used for computable general equilibrium modeling of supply chain repercussions and resilience effects. We applied our methodology to the COVID-19 pandemic experience in Los Angeles County, California as a case study. We also proposed a dynamic adjustment approach to account for the changing character of EO through longer-term disasters in the economic modeling context. We found that despite limitations, EO data can increase sectoral and temporal resolution, which leads to significant differences from other data sources in terms of direct and total impact results. The findings from this analytical approach have important implications for economic consequence modeling of disasters, as well as providing useful information to policymakers and emergency managers, whose goal is to reduce disaster costs and to improve economic resilience.

THE VOICE OF OLDER ADULTS ON DIGITAL INCLUSION FOR HEALTHY COMMUNITY IN SINGAPORE

Abstract With the rapid ageing population and the experience of Covid-19 pandemic, there is an urgent need to create a digitally inclusive healthy society. Singapore, as a smart nation, has been at the forefront of promoting digital inclusion to all age groups, including older adults. According to the Statista (2022), 88.5% of the population in Singapore are using internet and 56% of those over 60 are smartphone users. The use of digital technology for health promotion holds enormous potential to empower individuals and communities, particularly in the context of healthy and active ageing. The older adults in this study are adept at using the basic function of the smart phone rather than a computer. Some have even attended the national program, “Seniors Go Digital,” to learn about basic communication tools, file messaging, video calling, accessing government digital services, using e-payment tools, etc. They have also shared the barriers they face in using the internet, such as declines in vision, cognitive ability, and hearing, as well as the opportunities they have found, such as arrange telemedicine and access to the e-health systems. Besides, they found that the peer support and social networks are very important to support their digital learning journey. Though fear of encountering cheats and scams is common, they can be overcome by building confidence through peer support and self-efficacy. During the presentation, the authors will identify the contextual influences of digital inclusion and its impacts on healthy ageing in Singapore.

Sustainable Adaptation To Human Organism Through Regular Yoga Practicing During Covid-19 Pandemic Situation-a Review

Recently our world have faced and gained experience of Covid-19 pandemic. This is a deadly communicable disease and spread in all the countries with a very speed. Mainly it affects the respiratory system first and from there the other systems start damaging. On that time, the ancient yoga: a body-mind-soul practice techniques has received an incredible response to fight against that pandemic. Especially the yogasana, pranayama and meditation practice was become more popular than ever. For physical body yogasana, for mental body pranayama and for spiritual body meditation was widely used all over the world in this time. Here, in this article the author discussed with the support of various internet sources about the sustainable adaptation of human organism due to the regular practice of yoga during Covid-19.

Clinical risk associated with COVID-19 among 86000 patients with congenital heart disease

ObjectiveTo determine the magnitude of any excess risk of mortality and hospitalisation due to COVID-19 infection in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) in the UK healthcare system.MethodsMatched case–control study...

Academic clinician frontline-worker wellbeing and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic experience: Were there gender differences?

Prior research suggests COVID-19 has amplified stress on Academic Clinician Frontline-Workers (ACFW). The aim of this paper is: (1) to better understand the experiences of ACFW during the COVID-19 pandemic including their mental-emotional wellbeing, academic productivity, clinical experiences, and (2) to examine any gender differences. A cross-sectional survey was administered to University of Minnesota/M Health Fairview systems’ faculty February-June 2021. Of the 291 respondents, 156 were clinicians, with 91 (58 %) identifying as Frontline-Workers (ACFW). Faculty wellbeing was assessed using validated measures in addition to measures of productivity and sociodemographics. For example, ACFW reported a higher Work-Family Conflict (WFC) scores compared to non-ACFW (26.5 vs. 24.1, p = 0.057) but did not report higher Family-Work Conflict (FWC) scores (17.7 vs. 16.3, p = 0.302). Gender sub-analyses, revealed that women ACFW compared to men ACFW reported higher WFC scores (27.7 vs. 24.1, p = 0.021) and FWC (19.3 vs. 14.3, p = 0.004). Academically, ACFW reported submitting fewer grants and anticipated delays in promotion and tenure due to the COVID-19 (p = 0.035). Results suggest COVID-19 has exacerbated ACFW stress and gender inequities. Reports of anticipated delay in promotion for ACFW may pose a challenge for the long-term academic success of ACFW, especially women ACFW. In addition, women may experience higher FWC and WFC as compared to men. Schools of academic medicine should consider re-evaluating promotion/tenure processes and creating resources to support women ACFW as well as ACFW caregivers.

COVID-19 pandemic experience of the management of outpatient rural population from the Sierra Sur de Oaxaca, Mexico

COVID-19 pandemic experience of the management of outpatient rural population from the Sierra Sur de Oaxaca, Mexico

Interprofessional Teamwork: A Qualitative Study on Adapting Central Policies to Local Conditions in a Labour and Delivery Unit

ObjectivesWe record the experiences of staff in a labour, delivery, and obstetric services (LD-OBS) unit in Alberta’s largest quaternary medical centre—the Foothills Medical Centre (FMC)—as they navigated hospital policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine how unit leadership applied these policies to better align with care delivery realities while staying true to the interprofessional nature of the unit. MethodsA total of 12 semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with LD-OBS unit staff. Snowball and purposive sampling strategies were used to capture experiences from key informants. Interview transcripts underwent inductive coding. The themes identified through this process were discussed with members of the authorial team until a consensus was reached. ResultsFMC LD-OBS team members used ‘interprofessional’ as a value through which to interpret, adapt, and implement centrally developed COVID-19 policies. These were applied at 3 key moments: reconfiguring the unit, triaging, and rerouting patients, and contesting central personal protective equipment policies. LD-OBS leaders championed the importance of interprofessional collaboration and teamwork in the unit and worked to uphold it as a practice and value. ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic experience of the FMC LD-OBS unit illustrates the importance of considering interprofessionalism as a core value as policy was developed and implemented. Health authorities, hospitals, and other LD-OBS units may wish to consider how interprofessional work affects policy interpretation among health care teams, and how this may be leveraged to successfully adapt policies to local units, under both pandemic and ‘normal’ conditions.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Experience for Families of Young Children with Autism

The COVID-19 Pandemic Experience for Families of Young Children with Autism

Precise and insufficient scientific endeavour: COVID-19 pandemic experience from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Precise and insufficient scientific endeavour: COVID-19 pandemic experience from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

COVID-19 pandemic and language development in children at 18 months: a repeated cross-sectional study over a 6-year period in Japan

ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic experience on language development among children, we compared language development at 18 months of age, before and during the pandemic in Japan,...

Prevalence of Psychological Stress Among Women Attending the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Unit at King Abdulaziz Medical City: A COVID-19 Pandemic Experience.

Aim The present study aimed to measure the prevalence of psychological stress among women attending the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) unit in King Abdulaziz Medical City during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional design and was conducted between January 2020 and December 2022. A sample of 104 women attending the ART unit were recruited in this study. To collect data, the researchers developed a study questionnaire that consisted of 26 items. Nine items were designed to measure the participants' demographic characteristics, and 17 items were designed to depict their responses related to psychological stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) (v. 26l; IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY). Chi-square and t-tests were used to assess the association between stress and sociodemographics. Results The findings of the study showed an overall prevalence of 86.53% (n=90).Levels of psychological stress were moderate (34.62%, n=36), severe (39.42%, n=41), and extremely severe (12.50%, n=13). The study found that there is a significant statistical interaction between the number of previous ART attempts and psychological stress (p=0.0019). Conclusion The study concluded that women attending the ART unit at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were experiencing high levels of psychological stress, and these levels were affected by the number of previous ART attempts.

Health impacts reported in the Spinal Cord Injury COVID-19 Pandemic Experience Survey (SCI-CPES)

Context In people with spinal cord injury (SCI), infections are a leading cause of death, and there is a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus, obesity, and hypertension, which are all comorbidities associated with worse outcomes after COVID-19 infection. Objective To characterize self-reported health impacts of COVID-19 on people with SCI related to exposure to virus, diagnosis, symptoms, complications of infection, and vaccination. Methods The Spinal Cord Injury COVID-19 Pandemic Experience Survey (SCI-CPES) study was administered to ask people with SCI about their health and other experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results 223 community-living people with SCI (male = 71%; age = 52±15 years [mean±SD]; paraplegia = 55%) completed the SCI-CPES. Comorbidities first identified in the general population as associated with poor outcomes after COVID-19 infection were commonly reported in this SCI sample: hypertension (30%) and diabetes (13%). 23.5% of respondents reported a known infection exposure from someone who visited (13.5%) or lived in their home (10%). During the study, which included a timeframe when testing was either unavailable or scarce, 61% of respondents were tested for COVID-19; 14% tested or were presumed positive. Fever, fatigue, and chills were the most common symptoms reported. Of the 152 respondents surveyed after COVID-19 vaccines became available, 82% reported being vaccinated. Race and age were significantly associated with positive vaccination status: most (78%) individuals who were vaccinated identified as Non-Hispanic White and were older than those who reported being unvaccinated (57±14 vs. 43±13 years, mean±SD). Conclusions Self-reported COVID-19 symptoms were relatively uncommon and not severe in this sample of people with SCI. Potential confounders and limitations include responder, recruitment and self-reporting biases and changing pandemic conditions. Future studies on this topic should query social distancing and other behavioral strategies. Large retrospective chart review studies may provide additional data on incidence and prevalence of COVID-19 infections, symptoms, and severities in the SCI population.

The Relational Domains of Adolescence: Changes and Possibilities During Covid Era

The COVID-19 pandemic experience had a major impact on adolescents’ relational lives. The abrupt change in habits led adolescents to revise their relationships with respect to family, friends, and school; they suffered greatly because of this but, at the same time, were able to discover new resources and possibilities. The present paper aims to give adolescents a voice by exploring their experiences of the change that the pandemic period brought about in their life and significant relationships as well as by examining whether quarantine and social isolation provided opportunities for personal growth and transformation. The participants were 66 adolescents (between 16 and 19 years old). A qualitative method was adopted with a semi-structured interview that investigated changes in the main relational areas. The results offer an insight into the lives of adolescents during the lockdown in Italy, allowing us to “hear their voice.” The results highlight the adolescents’ struggle to cope with the change, suffering from the many limitations but also experiencing increased self-awareness, reflectivity, and responsibility.

The Contribution of Digital Portfolios to Higher Education Students’ Autonomy and Digital Competence

Education is continuously evolving, even more with rapid technological advances and the needs and possibilities detected from the COVID-19 pandemic experience. In the current social context for higher education students, their need to have skills and competences related to autonomy, is increasingly acknowledged, and they must be capable of conducting better self-regulated learning. Digital competence is another elementary value to tackle with quality education: not only for online and hybrid modalities, also in face-to-face teaching and learning, the use of digital tools is proven to enrich the process and make learning more efficient. Among the resources explored in education, one of the most valuable are e-portfolios or reflexive digital portfolios. Thus, this study intends to give response to the following two questions in the context of students in higher education: is the experience of the use of a digital portfolio related to the promotion of autonomous competence? How is the use of digital portfolios related to digital competence? The sample is gathered within a European project; 355 students from six universities of five countries responded to a questionnaire. The main results confirm that students that have used e-portfolios appear more likely to be autonomous and also show remarkable differences in some items of their digital competence, compared with those that have not used e-portfolios. Not all responses point at significant differences, but at least for given aspects, we affirmatively conclude that e-portfolios may ease the learning process in terms of digital and autonomous competences.

Development of the Spinal Cord Injury COVID-19 Pandemic Experience Survey (SCI-CPES)

Context Early during the COVID-19 pandemic, rehabilitation providers received reports from people with spinal cord injury (SCI) of considerable disruptions in caregiver services, medical and nursing care, and access to equipment and supplies; concomitantly, the medical community raised concerns related to the elevated risk of acquiring the infection due to SCI-specific medical conditions. Due to the novel nature of the pandemic, few tools existed to systematically investigate the outcomes and needs of people with SCI during this emergency. Objective To develop a multidimensional assessment tool for surveying the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical and psychological health, employment, caregiving services, medical supplies and equipment, and the delivery of medical care for people with SCI. Methods The Spinal Cord Injury COVID-19 Pandemic Experience Survey (SCI-CPES) study, conducted between July 2020 through August 2021, surveyed people with SCI about their experiences during the early COVID-19 pandemic. The SCI-CPES was developed by a SCI care and research consortium using an iterative process. Results Two hundred and twenty-three people completed the survey. Most respondents resided in the consortium catchment area. As the survey progressed, online informed consent became available allowing dissemination of the SCI-CPES nationally. Conclusions The consortium rapidly implemented the capture of experiences with COVID-19 pandemic directly from people with SCI, including survey creation, institutional approvals, distribution, online e-consenting, and data collection. In the future, the SCI-CPES is adaptable for use in other types of emergencies and disasters.

EFL Teachers’ and Experts’ Perspectives Toward Assessment Literacy in Digital Environments

Despite a large number of studies on teachers’ assessment literacy (AL) and the increasing interest in digital assessment, there is a paucity of research on teachers’ AL in digital environments (TALiDE). To bridge this gap, the current study explored the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on TALiDE, the roles, and competencies underlying TALiDE, and whether technology needs to be considered in the conceptualization of AL. The data were collected from an open-ended questionnaire and a set of interviews investigating the perspectives of 27 participants (12 experts and 15 EFL teachers). The findings, inferred from content and thematic analyses of data, reflected teachers’ raised awareness as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic experience, which resulted in an understanding of new approaches to assessment and increased value of TALiDE. Furthermore, compared to the existing literature on AL, roles and competencies underlying TALiDE corresponded to five main subthemes: teacher as a knower, implementer, confident technology user, moral agent, and learner. Finally, findings speculated a potential role for technology in the AL concept. This study can provide teacher trainers, educational policymakers, and course designers with implications for designing teacher development courses and programs to integrate TALiDE into their training practices.