Need For Social Distancing Research Articles

Multi-user routing algorithm for indoor spaces – Adapted for social distancing

The development of techniques and systems for indicating routes in outdoor and indoor spaces has received a great deal of attention. While outdoor route planning is based on criteria such as the shortest, fastest route, and the least number of turns, indoor route planning is primarily focused on accessibility and safety. Routing systems for indoor spaces have become the focus of many researchers due to significant differences that make indoor routing is more complex than outdoor routing. An indoor environment is complex, which makes it difficult to find a route due to closed corridors, multiple floors, and other indoor features. Because of the present global scenario following the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, indoor routing has become increasingly crucial. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and RFID are among the technologies used for indoor routing. For these technologies to help and guide users to the optimal route to their chosen destinations, they require accurate information, appropriate processing and modeling, and route density monitoring to ensure social distancing. In this paper, a new multi-user routing algorithm for indoor spaces is proposed. It has been adapted to the need for social distancing, and is based on multiple users, allowing more than one user to take the route or separate routes at one time without causing congestion on the same route. Despite the complexity of the system, the evaluation indicated that the proposed algorithm successfully controlled the flow of moving objects while ensuring social distancing and maintaining low costs.

FACULTY PERCEPTION TOWARD ONLINE EDUCATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Background: COVID-19 outbreak has changed the education system from traditional class­room to online education across the world. Due to need for social distancing, countries were bound to close the educational institutions and adapt online learning as the only means available for learning. Although, this has provided teachers an opportunity to work from home, at the same time it has brought many challenges. Therefore, understanding faculty perception is an important aspect for successful implementation of online education. Thus, this study aimed to identify the faculty perception toward online education during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Cross-sectional online survey was conducted from December 2020 to September 2021 during both the 1st and 2nd wave of COVID-19 Pandemic and lockdown in Nepal. Convenience sampling was used to select the faculty members from different universities across different places of Nepal. Self-developed five-point Likert scale was used to assess faculty perception toward on­line education. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16 using statistical tool like frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Results: Total 394 faculty members participated in the study. More than half 271 (68.8%) of the respondents had positive perception, whereas, only 123 (31.2%) had negative perception toward online education. The mean score of perception of was 3.14±0.279. Conclusions: More than half of the faculty had positive perception toward online education, which concludes that, online education can be an effective means of continuing education during the crisis situations like COVID-19 pandemic. However, the finding of this study offers useful sugges­tion for policy makers and stake holders to develop proper strategies and on-going professional development courses and training programs to successfully implement online education program.

The COVID-19 pandemic and maritime telemedicine: 18-month report.

The onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has greatly impacted maritime telemedicine services. The aim of this study is to describe the impact of the pandemic, both quantitatively and qualitatively, by analysing the teleconsultations by doctors from the French Tele-Medical Assistance Service (TMAS). We carried out a descriptive observational study of retrospective data from the TMAS files. The main inclusion criterion for the files was a diagnosis of "influenza due to an unidentified virus". We extracted the following data: type of ship, gender, age, nationality, role on board, reason for the call and symptoms, number of calls, navigation zone, severity, medical decision, whether or not a COVID-19 test had been carried out, and treatments prescribed on board. One hundred and ninety-nine files were included of which 39 (20%) were clusters. We were able to analyse data from 384 patients. The study population comprised 376 suspected COVID-19 patients, of whom 334 (87%) were symptomatic and 42 (10.9%) asymptomatic. Eight (2.1%) patients were not thought to have COVID-19 but their call was related to the pandemic. Of the symptoms presented by the patients, fever was the most frequent (n = 196; 59%), while 129 (39%) presented a cough, 60 (18%) a headache, 41 (12%) non-specific ear, nose, throat signs, and 40 (12%) dyspnoea. Two hundred fifty-two (75%) patients stayed on board, 55 (17%) were disembarked, for 14 (4%) a ship diversion was arranged, and 13 were evacuated including 4 medical evacuations. The most important problem encountered related to managing asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic patients at sea, which was the subject of the majority of calls. The TMAS doctors played an important role in managing the pandemic by emphasising the need for social distancing and quarantine procedures at sea to limit the spread of the virus, while adapting to the sometimes difficult implementation conditions and logistics for medical decision and quarantine.

Challenges to the Digital Transformation of Private Banking and Wealth ManagementPlamen Dzhaparov

The COVID-19 pandemic raises a number of questions for the Private Banking and Wealth Management Industry (PWM). The need for social distancing has created an entirely new situation facing this industry’s business model, traditionally based on continuous personal interaction between financial advisors and wealthy customers. Thus, private banks are facing the difficult task of raising digitalization to the top of their agenda as a matter of urgency. However, investing in digital tools and applications is only one side of the coin. Traditional institutions in the PWM sector have to deal with a number of other problems – the skepticism of some clients, low satisfaction of others, difficulties with advisors, cyber threats, etc.

An Implausible Virtual Interview: Conversations with a Professional Research Subject

The author explores interactions with one research subject who feigns credentials and invents stories in order to participate in social science research interviews online. The possibility of intentional deception among interviewees in virtually mediated fieldwork is a critical consideration in the context of the recent extensive pivot to online-based fieldwork during the need for social distancing associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Following this rapid shift in what is generally accepted as the “gold standard” for social science research interviews, widespread use of online-based interviewing methods will likely endure as equivalent to in-person methods. A methodological case study with implications for virtually mediated fieldwork, this article highlights some of the advantages and disadvantages of virtually mediated interviews and provides practical suggestions.

Addiction and COVID: Issues, Challenges, and New Telehealth Approaches

In recent decades, the United States has seen a substantial increase in the number of people diagnosed with substance use disorder (SUD). Both SUDs and COVID-19 separately have had, and continue to have, a widespread impact on our society. While they are two distinct entities, they are intricately related and have been shown to influence one another. Lockdown mandates intended to enhance public safety produced unintended consequences for people with SUDs by decreasing access to treatment and disrupting their current care. Telehealth could offer a solution to this disruption as its utilization expands the provider’s reach and increases access to treatment in underserved populations, including those with SUDs. The use of telemedicine seems to result in higher rates of patient satisfaction, compliance, and treatment retention rates while maintaining the need for social distancing. Even when pandemic restrictions resolve, telehealth can continue to provide invaluable benefits to individuals with addiction, particularly those in rural America. In summary, ongoing research regarding telehealth delivery and the expansion of telehealth is a byproduct of the pandemic and can advance the American healthcare system beyond the days of COVID-19. This manuscript will review studies regarding the use of telehealth in SUD with the hope that further research within and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to the increased use of telehealth by those involved in and those receiving care for SUDs.

Challenges of Virtual education During the Pandemic of COVID-19: A Qualitative Research

Background & Aims: Coronavirus epidemic, along with other countries around the world, in Iran, also raised the need for social distancing and home quarantine. As a result, the continuation of face-to-face education was disrupted and virtual education was chosen as a strategy for not stopping education in schools and universities. Alternatively, virtual education was adopted in order not to stop education, thereby causing new challenges for students and universities. This qualitative study aimed at investigating the experiences of university professors of the problems of virtual education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials & Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis. The aim of this study was to answer the question “What is the experience of university teachers about the challenges of virtual education during covid-19 pandemic?”. Participants were 24 university teachers in different fields whom were selected with purposeful sampling. Teachers of different disciplines at the university with a master’s degree or higher who also had at least three years of teaching experience were included in the study. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were used to collect data. Analyzing data was done through conventional content analysis with Lundman and Graneheim methods with Maxqda. Results: The descriptive results of the study revealed that the age range of the participants was from 30 to 50 years old. 62.5 percent of the teachers were female. Their teaching experience varied from 3 to 26 years. In terms of academic degree, 58 percent were assistant professor, 20 percent were instructor, 16 percent were associate professor, and 6 percent were full professor. Additionally, 66 percent of them were teaching at state universities. The results obtained from the qualitative part of the study included Technology-related problems with 3 subcategory, Problems with the teaching process with 5 subcategory and Poor interaction with 3 subcategory. Conclusion: Due to the long closure of universities and the long-term use of e-learning Managers and policymakers in the education system need to design programs to address these issues.

Queuing safely for elevator systems amidst a pandemic

The requirement of social distancing during the COVID‐19 pandemic has presented significant challenges for high‐rise buildings, which heavily rely on elevators for vertical transportation. In particular, the need for social distancing has reduced elevator capacity typically by at least two‐thirds or as much as over [Formula: see text] of the normal amount. This reduction is a serious concern, as reduced elevator capacities cause large queues to build up in lobbies, which makes social distancing difficult and results in large wait times. The objective of this study is to safely manage the elevator queues by proposing simple, technology‐free interventions that drastically reduce the waiting time and length of lobby queues. We use mathematical modeling, epidemiological expertise, and simulation to design and evaluate our interventions. The key idea is to explicitly or implicitly group passengers that are going to the same floor into the same elevator as much as possible. In the Cohorting intervention, we attempt to find passengers going to the same floor as the first person in the queue. In the Queue Splitting intervention, we create a different queue for different groups of floors. Based on simulation and analytical findings, Cohorting and Queue Splitting can significantly reduce queue length and wait time, while also maintaining safety from viral transmission in otherwise crowded elevators, building lobbies, and entrances. These interventions are generally accessible for many buildings since they do not require programming the elevators, and rely on only using signage and/or a queue manager to guide passengers.

Relationships to knowledge and (self)educative experiences in Physical Education

Although new forms of media and technology have contributed to teaching and learning in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) since the turn of this century, an abrupt expansion in the use of interactive technologies occurred more recently due to the need for social distancing on a global scale because of the Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. In the Brazilian context, pedagogical relationships became mediated synchronously and asynchronously via online platforms. This reconfiguration restricted movement-related experiences in Physical Education, which affected the diversity of students’ embodiment of knowledge and their relationships to knowledge as “subject-bodies”. We understand that there is an anthropological foundation in the theory of the relationship to knowledge — pointed out by Charlot (2020) — that comes close to the anthropological demands explained by Daolio (2001) in Physical Education.

New frontiers in e-health. Policies and the Doctor@Home case study.

In recent years, and even more following the need for social distancing generated by the global COVID-19 pandemic, e-health has become an increasingly widespread reality in clinical practice, especially for those clinicians operating in the front-line, like nurses. Its growing importance has been followed by increasing attention both by the literature as well as in the generation of specific rules aimed at regulating the phenomenon. A regulatory review of the literature aims to outline the current regulatory framework relating to telemedicine. Telemedicine, especially in a pandemic context, calls for regulation that runs parallel to the rapid evolution of the phenomenon itself. The paper traces the European, Italian, and Regional legislation, focusing then on a practical experience of telemedicine, called Doctor @ Home, active at the IRCCS National Cancer Center in Aviano (Italy). First, the need for regulatory harmonization emerges. Secondly, the potential of co-production and co-learning processes for healthcare professionals and patients arises to adapt to the outpatient needs of patients in a post-pandemic "new normal," exploiting the new technological tools made available by the National Health Service.

Validity of range of motion, muscle strength, sensitivity, and Tinel sign tele-assessment in adults with traumatic brachial plexus injury.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing created challenges for accessing and providing health services. Telemedicine enables prompt evaluation of patients with traumatic brachial plexus injury, even at a distance, without prejudice to the prognosis. The present study aimed to verify the validity of range of motion, muscle strength, sensitivity, and Tinel sign tele-assessment in adults with traumatic brachial plexus injury (TBPI).MethodsA cross-sectional study of twenty-one men and women with TBPI admitted for treatment at a Rehabilitation Hospital Network was conducted. The participants were assessed for range of motion, muscle strength, sensitivity, and Tinel sign at two moments: in-person assessment (IPA) and tele-assessment (TA).ResultsThe TA muscle strength tests presented significant and excellent correlations with the IPA (the intra-rater intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC ranged between 0.79 and 1.00 depending on the muscle tested). The agreement between the TA and IPA range of motion tests ranged from substantial to moderate (weighted kappa coefficient of 0.47–0.76 (p < 0.05) depending on the joint), and the kappa coefficient did not indicate a statistically significant agreement in the range of motion tests of supination, wrist flexors, shoulder flexors, and shoulder external rotators. The agreement between the IPA andTA sensitivity tests of all innervations ranged from substantial to almost perfect (weighted kappa coefficient 0.61–0.83, p < 0.05) except for the C5 innervation, where the kappa coefficient did not indicate a statistically significant agreement. The IPA versus TA Tinel sign test showed a moderate agreement (weighted kappa coefficient of 0.57, p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe present study demonstrated that muscle strength tele-assessment is valid in adults with TBPI and presented a strong agreement for many components of TA range of motion, sensitivity, and Tinel sign tests.

The Effect of Mental Pressure Due To Covid-19 on Students’ Educational Performance: A Study from Karachi, Pakistan

Coronavirus pandemic had not only affected the physical health of people but also the mental health of people globally. It has developed a fear in the minds of people regarding their selves as well as their loved ones. The essential change in the lifestyles of people and the need for social distancing has stopped the normal activities of people which caused mental disturbance among them. The present quantitative survey-based research has been led to know the impression of COVID 19 on the mental pressure of the students regarding their academic progress. The hypothesis were developed from which one was a null hypothesis; H1, was to find that whether there is a positive relationship between mental stress and COVID and third, H2, was to find whether there is any negative relationship between mental stress and academic progress. Both, H1 and H2, were accepted through conducting quantitative research by circulating an online survey that consists of 14 close-ended questions regarding the 2 research questions made. Respondents were taken from 5 universities of Karachi, Iqra university, Jinnah university for women, NED university of Engineering and Technology, University of Karach, and ZABIST university. The samples was consist of 90 students (54) were females and (36) were male selected by simple random sampling. The statistical method used to analyze the results was the simple percentage method as it clearly defines what percentages of the students were affected by COVID and how it impacted their mental pressure. It was found that there was a positive relationship of COVID on mental pressure that means the complex spread of COVID 19, higher the mental pressure and there was a negative relationship between COVID 19 and academic performance that means that high mental pressure was the cause of the lower performance.

Building Emergent Cycling Infrastructure During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Zapopan, México

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to strict measures intended to limit people's movement and slow viral spread. The subsequent need for social distancing when traveling has driven many cities to reduce public transport services, as urban residents simultaneously stay at home and avoid crowded spaces. As a result, cities are turning to cycling to meet the mobility needs of their inhabitants, particularly those who lack access to a private vehicle. Infrastructure plays a critical role in encouraging cycling by protecting cyclists and providing safe and comfortable conditions for users of various confidence levels. Due to the pandemic, this infrastructure has been rapidly constructed, in many cases, as pop-up or temporary installations. In this article, we present and examine the design methods and community response to an emergent bike lane along Avenida Guadalupe in Zapopan, México during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this examination, the paper distills and highlights the key features of a successful emergent bike lane in the urban Global South and identifies gaps in need of filling. The emergent intervention is 4.2 km and includes a number of traffic calming elements such as bollards and markings, connecting the peripheral part of the city to the existing cycle infrastructure. This case study shall contribute to a greater understanding of emergency mobility planning practices during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as future directions for the expansion of cycling infrastructure and networks, especially in Latin America and the broader Global South.

Digital Economy and Work-from-Home: The Rise of Home Offices Amidst the COVID-19 Outbreak in India

The coronavirus pandemic that marked its presence with the need for social distancing, mandatory self-isolations, quarantines and administrative regulatory lockdowns, has, in turn, ushered in a major transition into an all-consuming digital realm, from the physical, material world. The significance of the virtual interactions on digital platforms have increased manifold with tele-mediated interrelationships occurring at work (within the work-from-home mode), education (with stay-at-home schooling), in consumption patterns (online shopping and delivery of products) and political undertakings (such as mailed in polling). As a direct outcome, the idea of space — both physical and social — are undergoing transformations in the way they are being perceived today, more so, within the economic sectors and labour processes. Remote working in India skyrocketed under the influence of COVID-19 and set newer trends in motion making it intriguing to understand how work patterns have changed under this modus operandi. Adopting a primary survey method, conducted online, among IT sector employees of India, results have been generated across various socio-demographic categories to answer questions of efficiency and productivity, availability of infrastructure and work environment, major challenges and benefits encountered and the desired continuity of work-from-home. Through this, the study seeks to highlight whether changing work practices is leading to an overarching sense of digitality over space.

First Person: How the pandemic helped one school embrace its green identity

Eastwood Elementary School is a LEED Gold Certified facility and a National Green Ribbons Schools winner in suburban Morgantown, West Virginia. Over the course of the school’s eight-year existence, the faculty has worked to become green not only in name and in terms of its facility, but also in its instructional practice. The school made many efforts to reach this goal, yet the staff worried that fully embracing environmental education would take too much time away from core content. Teacher Jennifer Potts describes how the need for social distancing and increased ventilation during the COVID-19 pandemic led the staff to spend more time outdoors and see opportunities to more fully integrate environmental education and outdoor learning into regular lessons.

Visions of the Future of Post-Industrial and Post-Pandemic Housing Architecture

The article is devoted to the visions and problems of the future of post-industrial and post-pandemic housing architecture. Architecture always strives for society and trends in it, sometimes anticipating, sometimes lagging behind in its expressions. Now there is another industrial revolution, which should lead to a transition from an industrial to a post-industrial society. The main directions in the change of modern society affecting the architectural design of the living environment are analyzed. It is also alleged that the pandemic was Covid-19 a catalyst that identified serious gaps in the organization of the residential environment. Outbreaks of viruses have occurred and will occur, especially in megacities. The need for social distancing, restrictions on their stay in their own home called into question the accepted principles of designing a residential environment. In the context of the ongoing global socioeconomic changes, there is an urgent need for prudent modernization of traditional residential design models. Experimental housing architecture is a long tradition of finding new forms of housing, supported by the desire of society to find answers to the challenges of time, where the architect has a significant role. The article considers the recommendations of students of architects of the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering on the design of a residential environment with promising proposals for solving existing housing problems, which they carried out during architectural design.

Learning experiences in a virtual exchange project: the University of California, Davis’ and the Federal University of Acre's first partnership

This experience report presents an overview of the first experience of virtual exchange (O'DOWD, 2018, 2021) between students from the Federal University of Acre and the University of California, Davis, which occurred during the first semester of 2021. The project’s participants were experiencing emergency remote instruction and had to use their electronic devices to interact with their partners. The virtual exchange was a Teletandem partnership (TELLES, 2006, 2015; COSTA; SALOMÃO; ZAKIR, 2018; FERNANDES; TELLES, 2015). We describe how the partnership was established, the challenges, and the rewards for the interactants, the mediators and the professors involved in the project. Teletandem at UFAC is the first initiative of the project Intercultural Interchange Online Laboratory. The interactions took place from January to May, during which seven to eight interactions occurred, depending on the pedagogical scenario (FOUCHER, 2010). The data collected during the period followed a similar protocol established in Multec - Multimodal Teletandem Corpus (LOPES, 2019; ARANHA; LOPES, 2019). Considering the need for social distancing, interactants overcame their limitations with the lack of an institutional language laboratory by using their devices and internet connection to participate during the web conference meetings in order to develop interactional competence in English and Portuguese.

Sustainable and Robust Home Healthcare Logistics: A Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Today, research on healthcare logistics is an important challenge in developing and developed countries, especially when a pandemic such as COVID-19 occurs. The responses required during such a pandemic would benefit from an efficiently designed model for robust and sustainable healthcare logistics. In this study, we focus on home healthcare logistics and services for planning the routing and scheduling of caregivers to visit patients’ homes. Due to the need for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, these services are highly applicable for reducing the growth of the epidemic. In addition to this challenge, home healthcare logistics and services must be redesigned to meet the standards of a triple bottom line approach based on sustainable development goals. A triple bottom line approach finds a balance between economic, environmental, and social criteria for making a sustainable decision. Although, recently, the concept of green home healthcare has been studied based on the total cost and green emissions of home healthcare logistics and services, as far as we know, no research has been conducted on the formulation of a triple bottom line approach for home healthcare logistics and services. To achieve social justice for caregivers, the goal of balancing working time is to find a balance between unemployment time and overtime. Another contribution of this research is to develop a scenario-based robust optimization approach to address the uncertainty of home healthcare logistics and services and to assist with making robust decisions for home healthcare planning. Since our multi-objective optimization model for sustainable and robust home healthcare logistics and services is more complex than other studies, the last novel contribution of this research is to establish an efficient heuristic algorithm based on the Lagrangian relaxation theory. An initial solution is found by defining three heuristic algorithms. Our heuristic algorithms use a symmetric pattern for allocating patients to pharmacies and planning the routing of caregivers. Then, a combination of the epsilon constraint method and the Lagrangian relaxation theory is proposed to generate high-quality Pareto-based solutions in a reasonable time period. Finally, an extensive analysis is done to show that our multi-objective optimization model and proposed heuristic algorithm are efficient and practical, as well as some sensitivities are studied to provide some managerial insights for achieving sustainable and robust home healthcare services in practice.

Perceptions of teachers towards COVID appropriate behaviors for school children in coastal South India

COVID appropriate behavioral measures need to be followed once school reopens. School teachers being in the forefront could substantiate the feasibility of suggested safety measures. This study aimed to assess teachers’ perceptions towards COVID appropriate behaviors for children with school reopening and compare their mean scores between public versus private schools and across school boards. We conducted an observational school-based study of teachers over two months. Perceptions were scored using a five-point Likert symmetric agree to disagree scale. Results were expressed as proportions and analyzed using an independent sample t-test. Of the 547 teachers surveyed, most (> 90%) agreed to the suggested social distancing and hygiene measures. There was a significant difference in perception scores between private versus public schools and across boards regarding i) reducing the academic syllabus, ii) adopting a cloud-based system to integrate online-offline learning, and iii) conducting meetings online. In addition, measures such as i) teaching classes on alternate days with a limited number of children, ii) arranging benches/desks to maintain six feet distance between students, iii) dealing with psychological stress by counselors, and iv) arrangement with local hospitals for medical services were significant statistically across school boards. To conclude, most schoolteachers agreed with the need for social distancing and hygiene measures for children. There was a significant difference in perceptions between public versus private schools and across boards regarding academic syllabus, integration of online-offline student learning, number of children per class, the timing of classes, student seating arrangement, and medical/psychological guidance availability.

Survival strategies of producers involved in short food supply chains following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic: A Hungarian case-study.

Survival strategies of producers involved in short food supply chains following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic: A Hungarian case-study.