post-COVID World Research Articles

Supporting Online Community College Students With Trained Tutors in a Post-COVID World

Supporting Online Community College Students With Trained Tutors in a Post-COVID World

Emissions of future conventional aircrafts adopting evolutionary technologies

The current aviation sector has been shaken by COVID-19, but a few years prior, the industry was experiencing a time of prosperity never seen before. These years were marked by the introduction of new models and record sales. In particular, two cases stood out from the rest: the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320neo. Such overwhelming success in sales was partly because in essence, these are quite traditional and familiar aircrafts that featured improvements in some critical systems, notably in the use of newer engines. Current projections suggest that the pre-COVID growth rate of aviation will resume in a few years, which raises global concerns regarding the ecological burden of conventional aircraft and their resulting limitations. By reviewing the green technologies likely to be incorporated into conventional aviation over the next 30 years, we explore the limits of the industry's current approach. To this end, we reconstruct an already validated life cycle analysis model to assess a fleet of aircraft and analyze the impacts of these new technologies on emissions. Based on data from the literature, predictions are made for optimistic and pessimistic scenarios in a post-COVID world. The results are compared with the globally established targets set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Simulations show that a future based solely on conventional aircrafts using evolutionary technologies is of great concern. There is a need to promote a radical departure from the current aviation models to accommodate the growing demand for aviation with a green future.

Revolutionising the Reproductive World (Vol. 26, No. 03n04, Full Issue)

For the months of March and April 2022, APBN looks at how we can improve and support women's reproductive health. In Features, we have Dr Samuel Prien and Dr Linsay Penrose from Texas Tech University Health Sciences on how we may select the best embryos that will provide the best chances for pregnancy; Dr Alok Javali and Dr Nicolas Rivron from IMBA-Institute of Molecular Biology in Vienna, Austria on how blastoids can be used as a drug discovery tool to improve IVF procedures; and Michelle Tan Min Shuen on reproductive genetic technology. In Columns, Sumir Bhatia, President, Asia Pacific, Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group talks about the future of genome sequencing and Justin Loh, Country Director for Singapore, Veritas Technologies tells us how we may protect patient data from data breaches. In Spotlights, we recap the highlights from the Future of Healthcare Week, discussing the path forward in a post-COVID world.

Work experience from home : Hybrid work and the future of distributed work locations — a comparative empirical analysis between the US and Germany

Already two decades ago it was claimed that ‘work is no longer a place — it is an activity that can be conducted anywhere’. This quote is equally true and false. While COVID-19 demonstrated in a large-scale experiment that a significant proportion of work activities can be performed flexibly and in the home office, the importance of place has come to the forefront of employees’ minds. Although work is not necessarily tied to a place, the location determines the efficiency of work performance to a significant extent. This paper shows how work satisfaction and productivity depend on space and elaborates on future distributed work locations and spatial split where the different activities will ideally be performed. Future work will be multilocal, divided between the ‘first’, ‘second’ and ‘third’ place. Whereas the first place — the home office — is ideal for concentrated tasks with high work autonomy, the second place — the corporate office — becomes more and more a place for social interactions and face-to-face tasks. If employees have no ideal work conditions at home, third places — such as coworking spaces — can serve as the ‘first’ place for employees and take over its function, but third places can also serve as a substitute for the second place. Empirical data shows that these alternative work environments will gain traction in the post-COVID world, especially in the US.

The Need for Modernization of Biosecurity in the Post-COVID World.

ABSTRACTAt present, there are two hypotheses about the emergence of SARS-CoV-2; the first is that it was due to a naturally occurring zoonotic jump, and the second contends that it spread due to an accidental dispersion of a laboratory-acquired infection in Wuhan, China. While the pandemic’s actual origins remain occluded, it is useful to examine the latter possibility as a paradigm for evaluating biosecurity policy in the post-COVID world. While the pandemic may not have emerged from a research lab, this is possible with research on dangerous pathogens and prompts questions for biosecurity. How might biosecurity protections for such research be modernized while still enabling important, necessary public health research that utilizes dual-use or gain-of-function capabilities? As the world takes urgent action to mitigate shortcomings in the response to COVID-19, such questions and their potential solutions are vital to inform and direct future life science and technology endeavors.

Post-COVID World

On November 26, 2021, Dr. Patrick Walsh presented on Post-COVID World: Dealing with Future Health Crises and the Role of the National Intelligence Community at the 2021 CASIS West Coast Security Conference. The presentation was followed by a question and answer period with questions from the audience and CASIS Vancouver executives. The key points discussed by Dr. Walsh were the emerging health security threats and risks and the role of the intelligence community in managing these threats and risks.

Global representations of international students in a time of crisis: A qualitative analysis of Twitter data during COVID-19

ABSTRACT International students have been historically valued by universities for their contributions to their host countries. Yet, representations of international students in the general public have become increasingly mixed, an issue likely exacerbated by COVID-19, which has shown increased hostility towards international students. Given the increased reports of discrimination during this period, there is ongoing need to understand how international students have been represented in this specific time of crisis. Our study analysed public representations of international students through Twitter data and qualitative analysis of 6,501 posts made during the immediate COVID-19 crisis (January-April 2020). Our findings confirm competing public representations of international students that changed over time: initially through stereotyping and depictions as assumed disease carriers, shifting to empathy and support after university campus closures. We also outline themes of racism and discrimination, which are of importance for the global higher education sector as we move into a post-COVID world.

Young people and general practice: in a post-COVID world, have they been forgotten again?

Young people and general practice: in a post-COVID world, have they been forgotten again?

Physical education in a post-COVID world: A blended-gamified approach

How does the education sector recover following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic? Much enthusiasm exists to imagine how teaching practices can be enriched within the so-called ‘new normal.’ The physical and mental health benefits associated with school physical education have attracted considerable attention during the pandemic. Capitalizing on the raised awareness of the many positive contributions of school physical education, a pressing priority is to now reengage children with physical activity in a manner that promotes enjoyable experiences and adaptive engagement with movement. In this paper, we draw from self-determination theory, physical literacy theory and socioecological perspectives to present the case for blended-gamified approaches as a means of reimagining physical education in a post-pandemic world. To support all young people to lead healthy and active lifestyles, we propose the use of a systematic and evidence-based approach to programme development, evaluation and implementation. Such an approach will aid in establishing what works, when, for whom and in which context.

A review of lecture capture research in business education

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of empirical lecture capture (LC) research in business education from the last ten years. Lecture capture was selected as it is a common delivery tool in both online and blended learning courses. By summarizing extant empirical LC research in business education, we lay the foundation for future (post-COVID-19) research in online and blended learning. We believe it is important for future research to meaningfully integrate past empirical results in order to fully assess, understand, and predict the learning modalities that will best serve business education stakeholders in a post-COVID world. To that end, we provide a compilation of empirical lecture capture results by theme that is useful for both research and teaching purposes. We also provide a condensed summary of empirical findings and recommendations that can be easily disseminated to faculty in order to facilitate instructor preparedness for teaching in this modality and as well as inform pedagogical decision-making.

‘Why now’ for AFLW? Providing a new affirmative narrative for women’s football in the post-Covid world

As with many other male-dominated sports, for over a century of its history, Australian Rules Football organizations resisted and undermined women’s participation in the game. The first league for women footballers commenced in Victoria in 1981. Since then, the growth in women’s participation has been substantial, and in 2017, a professional women’s Australian Football League (AFLW) commenced. The next phase of the participation of women in football is approaching, and heralds an opportunity for women to (re)gain power within the sport. In October 2019, thirty percent of women players rejected the proposed Collective Bargaining Agreement from the Australian Football League (AFL), with the underlying sentiment of wanting a stronger voice in the vision for the future of their game. This paper examines how changing participation rates in community football can transform the narrative of women’s football from one of subsidized welfare to women players being necessary for the survival of football.

Exploring the perspectives of healthcare providers that care for non-insured individuals utilizing emergency departments in Toronto.

Non-insured individuals have different healthcare needs from the general Canadian population and face unique barriers when accessing emergency department (ED) care. This qualitative study aims to better understand the system of emergency care for non-insured individuals from the perspective of healthcare providers. The study uses a critical realist framework to explore structural factors that facilitate or impede access to care for non-insured individuals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 interdisciplinary healthcare professionals with experience working with non-insured populations in the ED and in community health centres. Data were analyzed with the use of Braun and Clark's thematic analysis framework and organized into themes through an iterative process until thematic saturation was reached. Healthcare providers face distinct challenges when providing care for non-insured patients including patients presenting with increased illness complexity and providers having to navigate systemic barriers. Interview participants noted stigma and bias, lack of privacy, unclear care pathways, and access to post-ED care as challenges facing non-insured patients. Suggestions to improve the ED experience for non-insured patients include improved staff training, clearer policies, and consistency between hospitals. Most of all, healthcare providers believed that the most effective way to improve the care of non-insured patients would be to make permanent the temporary extension of health coverage to non-insured patients enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews with healthcare professionals have highlighted that marginalized populations, including non-insured individuals, face multiple barriers when accessing the ED, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the temporary extension of health coverage to non-insured patients enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic has likely improved patients' healthcare experience, which we will explore directlywith non-insuredpatients in a future study. In this post-COVID world, we now have an opportunity to learn from our experiences and build a more equitable ED system together.

‘The Future of Taiwan Studies in the Post-covid World’: Online Series on ‘covid and Governance: Global and Social Solidarity’, 31 July 2020

Abstract The covid-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted research communities and agendas worldwide, including Taiwan studies. Consequently, the largest conferences for Taiwan studies in both North America and Europe were cancelled in 2020. In response, the North American Taiwan Studies Association, the European Association of Taiwan Studies, the Japan Association for Taiwan Studies, and the International Journal of Taiwan Studies jointly organised a series of online forums that aimed to encompass transnational and interdisciplinary approaches to Taiwan studies in the context of envisioning a post-covid world. This report summarises the first event, on ‘covid and Governance: Global and Social Solidarity’, which speaks directly to a moment of chaos, frustration, and yet hopefulness for Taiwan. It presents the papers of three discussants—Drs Ya-Wen Yang, Harry Yi-Jui Wu, and Wen Liu—who identified and explored the theoretical potential and limits of different ‘keywords’ popularised during the pandemic period.

Musculoskeletal service transformation in a post-Covid world as part of the creation of a new city-wide single hospital service

Musculoskeletal service transformation in a post-Covid world as part of the creation of a new city-wide single hospital service

No More Kidding about iKids

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that even students born in the 21st century are not quite the digital natives we give them credit for being. Whilst the overarching concept of the digital native as proposed by Prensky in 2001 has been hotly contested for many of its generational assumptions over the last 20 years, it’s clear anecdotally that until recently, many still believed that students of the 21st century are very comfortable with technology and how it is used.
 It’s only in the last few years, as the pandemic has forced learning online, that we’ve realized that perhaps students digital skillset might not be what we think it is. What’s more, stories abound of students turning cameras off, or behaving inappropriately in chat, that suggest that the problem is wider than skills, and a more holistic view of what it means to be a digital citizen is needed.
 This presentation will take time to understand this trend towards digital citizenship, and what it means for us as scholars of technology enhanced learning. Looking back on past practices, it will make the argument the digital citizenship going forwards need to encompass more than just skills and needs to be more holistic in focus. In doing so, we can really understand how we might construct our curriculum into the future.
 First, this presentation will break down the way we’ve traditionally thought about digital skills (Sturgess, Cowling, & Gray, 2016). Building on recent research, it will help understand what competencies need consideration in this space going forward, and how skills such as social networking or messaging might translate into our classroom.
 It will then discuss screen time, and how students approach this aspect of digital citizenship (Orlando, 2021). Rather than talking about banning technology and removing it from classrooms, we will discuss how technology can be used to enhance the classroom experience, whilst also ensuring that students do not get addicted to using it inappropriately. Thoughts on how best to build balanced digital citizens will also be shared.
 Concepts of digital safety will also be discussed (Walsh & Pink, 2021), and how this idea compares to our traditional ideas of student safety. Work by the Australian Federal government on cyber safety will be visited to understand how we might enhance this concept with a more holistic mindset.
 Finally, student self-control will be touched on (Cowling, 2015). Students of the 21st century face a venerable plethora of possible resources that they can access, with little in the way of age restrictions, or clear indicators of their quality. We will discuss fake news and information overload, understanding how these concepts might fit into the broader narrative.
 Through interrogating each of these ‘four S’s’: Skills; Screen Time; Safety; and Self-Control, we will propose a new way to look at the digital native that will set a trend going forward, moving us from digital natives to a clearer, more specific model that suits the iKids emerging out of the post-COVID world.

Single-use plastic and COVID-19 in the NHS: Barriers and opportunities.

Background: Single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) has been essential to protect healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, intensified use of PPE could counteract the previous efforts made by the UK NHS Trusts to reduce their plastic footprint.Design and methods: In this study, we conducted an in-depth case study in the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust to investigate plastic-related issues in a typical NHS Trust before, during and after the pandemic. We first collected hospital routine data on both procurement and usage of single-use PPE (including face masks, aprons, and gowns) for the time period between April 2019 and August 2020. We then interviewed 12 hospital staff across a wide remit, from senior managers to consultants, nurses and catering staff, to gather qualitative evidence on the overall impact of COVID-19 on the Trust regarding plastic use.Results:We found that although COVID-19 had increased the procurement and the use of single-use plastic substantially during the pandemic, it did not appear to have changed the focus of the hospital on implementing measures to reduce single-use plastic in the long term. We then discussed the barriers and opportunities to tackle plastic issues within the NHS in the post-COVID world, for example, a circular healthcare model.Conclusion: Investment is needed in technologies and processes that can recycle and reuse a wider range of single-use plastics, and innovate sustainable alternatives to replace singleuse consumables used in the NHS to construct a fully operational closed material loop healthcare system. Significance for public health This study provides novel empirical evidence on the procurement and use of single-use plastic before and during COVID-19 pandemic from a typical UK publicly funded healthcare provider. Through the interviews which we conducted with the frontline workers, we elicited both antecedent and concurrent attitudes towards single-use plastics to investigate the impact of COVID-19. In the face of both climate change and pandemic crises, we argue that a closed-loop system, also known as the circular economy, must be implemented in our healthcare.

Fiscal Success: Creating Quality Infrastructure in a Post-COVID World

Governments are engaged in unprecedented fiscal support, particularly regarding public infrastructure, as stimulus to economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a necessary response to increased unemployment and the collateral damage to consumer confidence and spending. Keeping people employed via nation-building projects, especially involving transport infrastructure, and their supply chains is a key objective and has the potential to deliver assets that support long-term productive capacity. Nevertheless, it is critical that public infrastructure is of appropriate quality to ensure projects are progressive, governments manage long-term benefits realization and critical resources are not wasted through hidden future liabilities. This research explores and discusses the extent of agreement between the G20 policy framework on quality infrastructure investment (process theory) against a leading project success evaluation method (process practice) by mapping both artefacts using qualitative content analysis. It is found that project success evaluation offers a ‘high’ thematic match against G20 policy ideals and therefore provides an opportunity for project managers to ensure investments in quality infrastructure are indeed realized. This contributes to progressive infrastructure outcomes that take into consideration financial, social, ethical and environmental consequences. Fiscal success is equated to project success in this context.

COVID-19, policy change, and post-pandemic data governance: a case analysis of contact tracing applications in East Asia

Abstract In an era of digitalization, governments often turn to digital solutions for pressing policy issues, and the use of digital contact tracing and quarantine enforcement for COVID-19 is no exception. The long-term impacts of the digital solutions, however, cannot be taken for granted. The development and use of data tools for pandemic control, for example, may have potentially detrimental and irreversible impacts on data governance and, more broadly, society, in the long run. In this paper, we aim to explore the extent to which COVID-19 and digital contact tracing have led to policy change in data governance, if at all, and what the implications of such change would be for a post-COVID world. We compare the use of contact tracing and monitoring applications across mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore to illustrate both the enormous benefits and potential risks arising from the design of contact tracing applications and the involvement of stakeholders in the various stages of the policy cycle to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that, while COVID-19 has not changed the nature of issues, such as public trust in data governance, the increasing involvement of big tech in data policies, and data privacy risks, it has exacerbated those issues through the accelerated adoption of data technologies.

Academic accommodations for university students living with disability and the potential of universal design to address their needs.

This paper reports on a faculty-wide investigation into the experiences of students requiring academic accommodations due to disability. Underpinned by the social model of disability and acceptance that universal design benefits the entire community, this study was conducted at a leading Australian university. A mixed methods approach was used to examine each of the three standard accommodations available: assignment extension, special consideration, and academic adjustment plans. Students living with disability were able to self-identify and to share their experiences relating to these procedures. As a result, data from 493 student survey responses and 9 subsequent follow-on interviews were analysed. At the same time, 10 disability support staff were asked about barriers and enablers faced by students. It was found that most students requiring assistance due to disability, identified as having a ‘hidden’ disability (learning, cognition or psychiatric conditions). It was also found that accommodations most often related to assessment. While students were most satisfied with academic adjustment plans developed with the support staff, self-perceived notions of stigma associated with disability negatively impacted upon interactions with peers and teaching staff. This study contributes to an emerging body of literature which considers the potential impact universal design might have on the student experience. It is argued that findings are particularly relevant as educators re-imagine university learning and teaching for a post-COVID world.

“New normal” at work in a post-COVID world: work–life balance and labor markets

Abstract The coronavirus pandemic has interrupted labor markets, triggering massive and instant series of experimentations with flexible work arrangements, and new relationships to centralized working environments. These approaches have laid the basis for the “new normal,” likely extending into the organization of work in the post-pandemic era. These new arrangements, especially flexible work arrangements, have challenged traditional relationships with employees and employers, work time and working hours, the work–life balance (WLB), and the relationship of individuals to work. This paper investigates how labor markets have been interrupted due to the pandemic, focusing especially on manual (blue-collar) and nonmanual (white-collar) work and the future of the WLB, along with exploring the projected deviations that are driving a foreseeable future policy revolution in work and employment. This paper argues that although hybrid and remote working would be more popular in the post-pandemic for nonmanual work, it will not be “one size fits all” solution. Traditional work practices will remain, and offices will not completely disappear. Manual labor will continue current work practices with increased demands. Employers’ attention to employees’ WLB in the new normal will target employees’ motivation and achieving better WLB. These trends for the labor market and WLB are classified into three categories—those that are predicated on changes that were already underway but were accelerated with arrival of the pandemic (“acceleration”); those that represent normalization of what were once considered avant-garde ways of work (“normalization”); and those that represent modification or alteration of pre-pandemic set-up (“remodelling”).