Virtual Workshops Research Articles

Abstract PO-032: Virtually SPARCC-ing clinical cancer careers among URM students during a global pandemic

Abstract Amidst the COVID-19 global health pandemic and safer-at-home orders, Student- centered Pipeline to Advance Cancer Careers (SPARCC) was redesigned to immerse undergraduate underrepresented minority (URM) students in an intensive 8-week virtual summer program to address cancer-specific disparities and advance clinical research careers. Medical mistrust affects cancer screening frequency, adherence to treatments, and ultimately, rates of cancer mortality. Racial and ethnic concordance or a shared identity between patient and healthcare professionals positively impacts patient outcomes. Recruitment and retention of URM researchers and physicians has posed challenging due to the ‘leaky pipeline’ at the undergraduate level. More than a third of Black and Latinx students change away from STEM majors or drop out of college all together. The lack of URM representation in healthcare has significant implications on research, clinical trials recruitment and ultimately, the wellness of diverse patients. By sealing the ‘leaks’, SPARCC addresses cancer-related health disparities and equips URM students to enter the field of clinical cancer research. Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, face-to-face learning opportunities were restricted and SPARCC was redesigned utilizing Microsoft Teams, a video conferencing/learning platform. Maintaining authenticity of the original SPARCC curriculum, workshops and clinical practicums synchronously engaged Scholars in content framed by the Joint Task Force for Clinical Trial Competency with emphasis on cancer-related health disparities. A holistic evaluation of SPARCC includes pre- post- and retention assessments of knowledge, attitudes, satisfaction and practice. Data from the first and second cohort will be analyzed with stepwise multivariate regression analysis, Spearman rho correlations and inter-item reliability via Cronbach alpha using IBM® SPSS® 24.0. Consensual qualitative research methods identified themes distilled from the Scholar’s experiences. From fall 2019 to winter 2020, 41 undergraduate URM students submitted a complete application. A structured rubric was used to evaluate and rank applicants. Eight Scholars were accepted and participated from June to August 2020. Daily virtual workshops were facilitated by 100 faculty from 32 departments and institutional affiliations. Six clinical practicum rotations provided a virtual shadowing experience of various specialties. Scholars led weekly journal clubs, participated in institutional tumor boards and formally presented a culminating cancer-focused research project. Upon the conclusion of SPARCC 2020, data will be compared from the 2020 virtual experience and the 2019 in-person program. SPARCC builds and sustains a diverse and inclusive network of professionals who engage burgeoning leaders in clinical cancer careers. Regardless of physical location, Scholars acquire knowledge, skills, and mentors for immediate employment and advanced degrees in clinical research. Citation Format: Kristina Kaljo, Robert Treat, Janet S. Rader. Virtually SPARCC-ing clinical cancer careers among URM students during a global pandemic [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: Thirteenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2020 Oct 2-4. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(12 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-032.

Choosing the optimal order within reconfigurable manufacturing systems based on the Earning Power value

In this paper will be presented the method of choosing an optimal order within a Reconfigurable Manufacturing System (RMS). The reconfigurable manufacturing systems for which we perform the analysis of optimal management belong to make-to-order (MTO) production companies. These companies start the manufacturing process based on the needs of the customers. After the content of the customers orders has been known and accepted they will deliver personalized products, provided that the cost of the production is minimum. A Virtual Workshop will be created associated with each manufacturing order with well-specified requirements (DD - DeadDate, TTF - TimeToFinish, EP - Earning Power). The workshops and orders will be transposed into a Petri net based on the new created three-dimensional model RPD3D [2]. The 3D network will be used to simulate the products manufacturing included in the orders in the virtual workshops and then the optimal order that will actually be produced on RMS from several possible orders based on the evaluation of the indicator called specific profit rate “earning power”-EP will be choosen. In this paper, we aim also to calculate the EP value of the RMS, as the most important evaluation criterion, if a certain command or a combination of commands is accepted. A study case is presented.

Stakeholder Generated Ideas for Alternative School Food Provision Models in Australia Using the Nominal Group Technique.

Good nutrition is important for children’s learning, growth, and development, yet food intake during school hours does not align with recommendations. In Australia, most school children currently bring a packed lunch from home, but what if there was a different way? This project aimed to engage a diverse range of stakeholders to (1) generate, refine and prioritize ideas for novel models of food provision to Australian children within school hours, and (2) to determine and rank the potential barriers and facilitators to changing the school food provision system. This study used nominal group technique virtual workshops—three idea generation workshops (n = 21 participants) and one consensus workshop (n = 11 participants). School lunch prepared onsite was the top ranked food provision model option based on impact and achievability. Potential barriers (n = 26) and facilitators (n = 28) to changing the school food system were generated. The top ranked barrier and facilitator related to government support. This study highlights that there is an opportunity to explore partnerships and utilize existing skills and infrastructure to introduce a universal school-provided lunch model in Australia. The next steps should focus on building the business case capturing the social value of investing in school lunches, including considering parent-paid and subsidized options.

Experience of e-learning and online assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic at the College of Medicine, Qassim University

ObjectivesDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, academic institutions are promptly shifting all educational activities to the e-learning format. The present work describes concurrent procedures for online teaching and assessment performed at the College of Medicine, Qassim University, KSA. We also explored the impact of e-learning and assessment on the performance of students and faculty, and the challenges to their sustainability. MethodsIn this descriptive cross-sectional study, we recorded the number and duration of different online educational activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Training sessions for various procedures of virtual classrooms and online assessments were organised for teachers and students. A newly established e-assessment committee arranged different online assessments. A comparison between the mean problem-based learning (PBL) grades of the same students was conducted either face-to-face or online. A student satisfaction survey and online staff focus group about the online learning experiences were conducted, and weekly staff perception reports were prepared. The results obtained were then analysed. ResultsA total of 620 virtual classrooms were successfully implemented over 994 h including theoretical lectures, PBL sessions, seminars, and tutorials. A significant increase in the mean PBL grades was observed for female students during the online sessions. Out of the basic year students and staff, 58.82% reflected their high satisfaction towards virtual classrooms, online assessment, and online workshops. ConclusionThe present study elaborates on the benefits of e-learning and assessment. We observed higher student achievements and promising staff perceptions with obvious improvement in their technological skills. These findings support the shift towards future implementation of more online medical courses.

Rewriting the HR Playbook for the Future

As organisations deal with the evolving nature of the new normal, the role of the human resources (HR) is getting redefined to meet the ongoing needs of its workforce. Designing employee–HR experiences in an uncertain and ambiguous work world emerges as one of the top challenges for HR leaders. On the one hand, employee well-being initiatives like employee mentoring, virtual mindfulness workshops, health tips and free consulting and counselling services are becoming the norm. On the other hand, the HR function is itself being re-crafted for the emergent workplace. Technology plays a pivotal role, fuelling the need for scaling HR activities to provide next-gen employee experiences. As the war for high-tech talent increases, organisations are re-crafting an all new HR playbook to differentiate themselves as preferred employers. Within the transforming work and workplace context, the worker continues to be in the eye of the storm and demands both attention and action.

Genetic Improvement @ ICSE 2020

Following Prof. Mark Harman of Facebook's keynote and formal presentations (which are recorded in the proceed- ings) there was a wide ranging discussion at the eighth inter- national Genetic Improvement workshop, GI-2020 @ ICSE (held as part of the International Conference on Software En- gineering on Friday 3rd July 2020). Topics included industry take up, human factors, explainabiloity (explainability, jus- tifyability, exploitability) and GI benchmarks. We also con- trast various recent online approaches (e.g. SBST 2020) to holding virtual computer science conferences and workshops via the WWW on the Internet without face to face interac- tion. Finally we speculate on how the Coronavirus Covid-19 Pandemic will a ect research next year and into the future.

Interactive videoconferencing in the redesign of a health-care quality improvement workshop for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Introduction: The Blended Quality Improvement (QI) Workshop is a programme designed to provide learners with basic tools and techniques in QI using a combination of e-learning and face-to-face classroom interactions. To adapt to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation for safe social distancing since the end of January 2020, SingHealth Duke-NUS Institute for Patient Safety & Quality (IPSQ) suspended all face-to-face workshops. However, the need for effective QI training remains. Objective: The aim was to develop an effective virtual interactive Blended QI Workshop through videoconferencing. Methods: The workshop was redesigned by reviewing the curriculum and incorporating the use of interactive functions. The new workshop took place virtually via a video conferencing platform and incorporated the use of interactive polling, game, videos and case study. A total of 23 learners attended the two pilot runs that took place on 28 April 2020 and 22 May 2020. A survey assessed learners’ reactions and satisfaction with the training and preference in using video conferencing tools during disease and non-disease outbreak situations, while the quizzes assessed learners’ learning in QI knowledge. The results on the improvement in QI knowledge were compared to the original blended e-learning and face-to-face workshop ( n=63) that took place before the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The gain in QI knowledge from virtual and from face-to-face Blended QI Workshops was statistically significant ( p<0.01, n=86). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the gain in QI knowledge with both content delivery approaches ( p=0.13). All 23 learners agreed that the video conferencing platform was convenient, 20 (87.0%) felt that the platform was effective in delivering content and 18 (78.3%) were keen to use video conferencing tools for QI workshops during disease outbreak situations. Remarkably, a substantial number of learners ( n=11; 47.8%) preferred the use of interactive video conferencing to supplement face-to-face classroom-based Blended QI Workshops for non-disease outbreak situations. Conclusion: The virtual interactive Blended QI Workshop was as effective as the face-to-face Blended QI Workshop based on learners’ views and gains in QI knowledge post workshop. The success of virtual QI workshops makes them a new norm in the post-COVID-19 environment.

The Responses of Biobanks to COVID-19.

The Responses of Biobanks to COVID-19.

Virtual workshops to preserve interprofessional collaboration when physical distancing.

With this issue we begin print publishing the responses received in our call for Medical Education Adaptations: Lessons learned from educators' experiences rapidly transforming practice on account of COVID‐19 related disruption.

Letter of Editor

We are pleased to announce a new addition to the international medical information space - the Journal of Internal Medicine: Science & Art (JIMSA). This new online medical journal opened its pages to physicians and scientists around the globe to reflect the essence of their world views and professional views on diverse aspects of internal medicine practice and knowledge.
 
 It is critically important to understand that the meaning of "health" has changed dramatically. Prophylactics and treatments have improved with the focus directed toward quality of life and survival for generations living in the era of co- and multiple morbidity "monsters." In addition, environmental impacts of ongoing pandemics, technical pollution, and disasters have a dramatic impact on the health of the population. At the forefront, internal medicine integrates advanced discoveries of biomedical scientists and physicians from the different subspecialty fields including cardiology, pulmonary, gastroenterology, rheumatology, neurology, dietary science, and other related disciplines. It is important to combine medical knowledge and find a consensus in the global understanding of health problems based on gender and age differences, while focusing on the quality of life and cognitive health of our society. Internists have the qualifications to focus on this high-quality science.
 
 The concept of this new journal is to publish up to date discoveries in the fields of epidemiology, prevention, and treatment of different medical conditions; it will address the results of new medical research and international clinical trials. The scientific platform of JIMSA is international, as the whole of medicine is now without borders. We are inviting all internal medicine physicians and scientists working around the world to contribute to the journal.
 
 The main direction of the publication will be original research including, but not limited to, pharmacotherapy, new diagnostics, results of clinical studies, experts' opinion and consensus, meta-analyses, registers, and innovations. We hope that among the most attractive aspects of the journal will be our invitations to leading experts in the field of internal medicine to discuss new views and opinions, the organization of virtual workshops and round tables, and the exchange of knowledge, clinical reports, reviews, and comments. Practicing physicians will have the opportunity to publish special clinical cases, participate in interdisciplinary discussions, familiarize themselves with international protocols and recommendations, and actively participate in practice-based learning.
 
 We anticipate that JIMSA’s professional platform will open new opportunities to internal medicine specialists from different countries to learn and share their knowledge. The journal will help unite clinicians according to their goals and interests, and facilitate international partnerships that will produce patients' benefits. Please join us in the search for concurring people in the global international information space! Free yourself in time and space to find new professional contacts!
 
 The editorial board of JIMSA is open to a new progressive and convenient form of communication with a professional audience, and international integration of knowledge and skills to the medical community for educational and professional development. That's why our motto is "Superbi progressu aspiramus ad maximum" (the proud aspire to great promise).

О необходимости использования виртуальных практикумов для оценивания степени сформированности компетенций студентов по направлению подготовки «Юриспруденция»

О необходимости использования виртуальных практикумов для оценивания степени сформированности компетенций студентов по направлению подготовки «Юриспруденция»

The 13th International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology (SysMus20)

Held entirely online, the 13th International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology (SysMus20) saw early stage researchers sharing ideas at the intersection of musicology and empirical scientific research. At this student-led conference, presenters were able to showcase exciting research projects, disseminate findings from recent studies, and learn valuable skills from virtual workshops. Keynote addresses were held by Dr Freya Bailes (University of Leeds) and Prof. Ian Cross (University of Cambridge). A summary of the sessions and an overview the conference is here presented by this report.

Reflections from five years of Sonic Interactions in Virtual Environments workshops

For the past five years, the authors have been running at the IEEE Virtual Reality Conference a Workshop called Sonic Interactions in Virtual Environments (SIVE). The main goal of the workshop series has been to increase among the virtual reality community awareness of the importance of sonic elements when designing multimodal and immersive virtual environments. Starting from this experience, this paper presents a survey of the main active research topics related to sound in virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), ranging from basic research in spatial audio rendering and sonic interaction design to applications in interactive environments for training, health, rehabilitation, entertainment, and art. Looking at the different research topics emerging from laboratories worldwide, the paper discusses how different research communities can collaborate and benefit from each other in order to increase sound awareness in VR and AR.

Medical Student Education for Abdominal Radiographs in a 3D Virtual Classroom Versus Traditional Classroom: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to compare the effectiveness of practical radiology learning by medical students in a 3D virtual world versus the real world. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Two hundred fifteen 3rd-year medical students were randomized into two groups to attend the same workshop on abdominal radiography interpretation in a virtual world classroom (VW group) and in real life (RL group). Pre- and post-training knowledge tests consisting of 12 multiple choice questions were performed at the beginning of the workshop and 2 months later. RESULTS. Fifty-four of 107 and five of 108 students refused to attend their respective group, resulting in the participation of 53 students (VW group) and 103 students (RL group) in this study. No significant differences were found between groups in the tests taken before (VW group, mean [± SD], 4.5 ± 1.8 points; RL group, 4.0 ± 1.3 points) and after (VW group, 6.2 ± 1.2; RL group, 6.0 ± 1.7 points) training. CONCLUSION. Radiology education in a 3D virtual classroom fosters participatory learning and results in similar acquisition of interpretive skills as a traditional face-to-face classroom. Virtual worlds allow the performance of online activities to learn interpretive skills with guaranteed success in learning similar to that of conventional activities. Additionally, the relative lack of identity in the virtual workshops makes students less afraid to speak and more participatory.

A new approach to mentoring for research careers: the National Research Mentoring Network

Background and purposeEffective mentorship is critical to the success of early stage investigators, and has been linked to enhanced mentee productivity, self-efficacy, and career satisfaction. The mission of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) is to provide all trainees across the biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences with evidence-based mentorship and professional development programming that emphasizes the benefits and challenges of diversity, inclusivity, and culture within mentoring relationships, and more broadly the research workforce. The purpose of this paper is to describe the structure and activities of NRMN.Key highlightsNRMN serves as a national training hub for mentors and mentees striving to improve their relationships by better aligning expectations, promoting professional development, maintaining effective communication, addressing equity and inclusion, assessing understanding, fostering independence, and cultivating ethical behavior. Training is offered in-person at institutions, regional training, or national meetings, as well as via synchronous and asynchronous platforms; the growing training demand is being met by a cadre of NRMN Master Facilitators. NRMN offers career stage-focused coaching models for grant writing, and other professional development programs. NRMN partners with diverse stakeholders from the NIH-sponsored Diversity Program Consortium (DPC), as well as organizations outside the DPC to work synergistically towards common diversity goals. NRMN offers a virtual portal to the Network and all NRMN program offerings for mentees and mentors across career development stages. NRMNet provides access to a wide array of mentoring experiences and resources including MyNRMN, Guided Virtual Mentorship Program, news, training calendar, videos, and workshops. National scale and sustainability are being addressed by NRMN “Coaches-in-Training” offerings for more senior researchers to implement coaching models across the nation. “Shark Tanks” provide intensive review and coaching for early career health disparities investigators, focusing on grant writing for graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, and junior faculty.ImplicationsPartners from diverse perspectives are building the national capacity and sparking the institutional changes necessary to truly diversify and transform the biomedical research workforce. NRMN works to leverage resources towards the goals of sustainability, scalability, and expanded reach.

Social Live Streaming tools for the development of Virtual Workshops

<p class="Textoindependiente21">The increase of Social Media on the Internet has brought an unprecedented revolution which has changed the existing social communication systems to date. Currently, a high percentage of population in the developed world has a smartphone with Internet connection that allows being permanently connected. This enables new ways of approaching some types of tasks that have traditionally required of simultaneity in space and time, such as the development of creative proposals by a large number of people.</p><p class="Textoindependiente21">Technological advances have allowed, in a few years, the size reduction of a computer to today's mobile devices. Among the multitude of specifications offered by next-generation devices, the continuous evolution of the imaging capture systems is a highlight. The existence of both front-facing and rear cameras, both capable for taking pictures or record video has become widespread in the majority of mobile devices.</p>This paper proposes the use of Social Live Streaming Tools in mobile devices in order to facilitate the development of creative workshops, using the virtual territory as co-creation area with the aim of promoting one-to-many communications, so that a lecturer can perform a mass communication, in real time and delocalized, without losing the possibility of interact with the audience. These tools also allow the possibility for each member of a creative team to swap between different roles (viewer at some times or lecturer at others), thus stimulating the creative process through social participation.

086 Guidelines adaptation in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC): Results and lessons learnt from an 8-year-capacity building (CB) experience in Argentina (2005–2012)

BackgroundCapacity building (CB) is an essential element for guideline adaptation in the context of LMIC.ObjectivesTo describe the approach and results from a CB process for guidelines adaptation implemented by the...

Integrated environmental modeling: A vision and roadmap for the future

Integrated environmental modeling (IEM) is inspired by modern environmental problems, decisions, and policies and enabled by transdisciplinary science and computer capabilities that allow the environment to be considered in a holistic way. The problems are characterized by the extent of the environmental system involved, dynamic and interdependent nature of stressors and their impacts, diversity of stakeholders, and integration of social, economic, and environmental considerations. IEM provides a science-based structure to develop and organize relevant knowledge and information and apply it to explain, explore, and predict the behavior of environmental systems in response to human and natural sources of stress. During the past several years a number of workshops were held that brought IEM practitioners together to share experiences and discuss future needs and directions. In this paper we organize and present the results of these discussions. IEM is presented as a landscape containing four interdependent elements: applications, science, technology, and community. The elements are described from the perspective of their role in the landscape, current practices, and challenges that must be addressed. Workshop participants envision a global scale IEM community that leverages modern technologies to streamline the movement of science-based knowledge from its sources in research, through its organization into databases and models, to its integration and application for problem solving purposes. Achieving this vision will require that the global community of IEM stakeholders transcend social, and organizational boundaries and pursue greater levels of collaboration. Among the highest priorities for community action are the development of standards for publishing IEM data and models in forms suitable for automated discovery, access, and integration; education of the next generation of environmental stakeholders, with a focus on transdisciplinary research, development, and decision making; and providing a web-based platform for community interactions (e.g., continuous virtual workshops).

Teaching & Learning Guide for ‘Can a Knowledge Sanctuary also be an Economic Engine? The Marketing of Higher Education as Institutional Boundary Work’

Teaching & Learning Guide for ‘Can a Knowledge Sanctuary also be an Economic Engine? The Marketing of Higher Education as Institutional Boundary Work’

Distributed simulation of virtual workshops for the multi-site scheduling feasibility evaluation

In this article, a distributed simulation tool for the feasibility evaluation of multi-site scheduling is proposed. The application areas concern supply chains (SCs) or networks of distributed workshops. The distributed simulation of workshops, called virtual workshops, generates various problems of causality and of tasks execution coordination. These problems are addressed in the proposed distributed architecture by the use of High Level Architecture protocol guaranteeing the synchronisation and the chronology of events occurring in the distributed simulations. An application to a simple case of the SC organising the flow between three workshops shows the effectiveness of the distributed simulation tool.