Digital Commons Network^™

Learning Through Screens During Covid-19 Crisis: Foresee Tomorrow's Education By Analyzing Yesterday's Setbacks And Barriers, Hanen Kooli-Chaabane, Antoine Lanthony, Nicolas Peyret

Research Papers

This paper aims to enrich the state of the art on engineering and management learning and education by shedding light on the barriers encountered during the COVID-19 crisis due to the imposed digital transformation. Our research question is: what were the barriers encountered in remote and hybrid learning during pandemic experiences and what lessons can be drawn for higher education in the context of Problem-Based Learning (PBL)? This paper aims to enrich the debate on how digitalization impacted the learning and teaching experience in teaching modules traditionally achieved face-to-face.

Effectiveness Of Communications In Enhancing Adherence To Public Health Behavioural Interventions: A Covid-19 Evidence Review, Simon N. Williams, Kimberly Dienes, Jemma Jaheed, Jamie K. Wardman, Judith Petts

Professional Services

Health communication has relevance for virtually every aspect of health and well-being, including disease prevention. This review explored the effectiveness of communications in enhancing the adoption of or adherence to behavioural interventions (non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs)) related to COVID-19. The review takes the UK as a case study and focuses on self-reported behaviours (e.g. social distancing). It also reviews the psychosocial determinants of adherence. Searches were conducted using PubMed, Scopus, CINAL, ASSIA and iCite databases. Eleven thousand five hundred records were identified and 13 were included in the final sample. Included studies suggest that NPI adoption or adherence was generally high, …

A Case Study Of Shifting To A Four-Day Student School Week As A Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic And Its Impact On Teacher Job Satisfaction And Retention, Melanie Hyde

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

This study examines the lived experiences of elementary teachers in a rural school district in Northwest Georgia that shifted to a four-day student week, Tuesday-Friday, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. When schools shut down due to COVID-19 in March 2020, it launched a new wave of educators walking out the door nationwide, further impacting an already existing problem of teacher shortages. Situated literature has traditionally pointed to a four-day student schedule due to budget cuts and financial gain. This study provides insight from teacher and school leader perceptions through interviews on how shifting to a modified calendar impacted …

Factors Influencing Students’ Satisfaction With Online Learning Via Blackboard In A Physics Course At King Saud University During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Walid Abdelkarim Sawaftah

Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies

Abstract:The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world has disrupted the education process. Most educational institutions have closed and shifted from traditional classroom instruction to online learning platforms to protect students from viral exposures. Students’ satisfaction with online courses is considered a significant factor in predicting the effectiveness and success of online learning. The resulting wide use of online learning calls for an exploration of the factors influencing student’s satisfaction with this mode of learning. The study aimed to explore factors influencing students’ satisfaction with online learning via Blackboard in a physics course at King Saud University. The Course …

Outbreak Communication: Exploring The Relationships Between Health Information Seeking Behaviors, Vested Interests, And Covid-19 Knowledge In U.S. Midwest Populations, Alicia Mason, Josh Compton, Elizabeth Spencer, Kaitlin Barnett

Faculty Submissions

On February 15, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director, General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated at a Munich Security Conference, “We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic,” (Zarocostas, 2020, p. 676). The term ‘infodemic’ refers to the onslaught of both accurate and inaccurate health information surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The concept of an ‘infodemic’ was quickly integrated into mass media, popular culture (i.e., documentaries, podcasts), and eventually scholarly literature. In response to COVID-19, health communication scholars have centered on understanding specific messaging strategies such as the use of fear appeals (Stolow et al., 2020), nature of advertising …

Gold & Blue Law Edition, Fall 2023, St. Mary's University - San Antonio, Texas

Gold & Blue Law Edition

This is the Fall 2023 edition of Gold & Blue Law Edition which is St. Mary's University's official School of Law publication.

Factors Influencing Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Among Asian Immigrant College Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Shinhi Han, Hee Sun Kang, Koun Eum, Jin Young Seo, Kathleen Karsten

Publications and Research

Despite strenuous efforts to increase vaccination rates against human papillomavirus (HPV), the rate of vaccination remains low in the U.S. The COVID-19 pandemic poses an additional challenge to HPV vaccination. This study aimed to explore the factors that contribute to HPV vaccination among Asian immigrant college students, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), with HPV vaccine literacy and HPV vaccine hesitancy as additional constructs. This cross-sectional survey used convenience sampling, with133 Asian immigrant college students from New York City as study participants. Data were collected online using self-reported measures of the following study variables: HPV vaccine literacy, attitudes, …

‘We Were Not Allowed To Gather Even For Christmas.’ Impact Of Covid-19 On South African Young People: Exploring Messaging And Support, Gudani Mukoma, Edna Bosire, Polly Hardy-Johnson, Mary Barker, Shane A. Norris

Brain and Mind Institute

COVID-19 prevention measures including lockdowns, school closures, and restricted movement disrupted young people’s lives. This longitudinal qualitative study conducted in Soweto, South Africa aimed to explore young people’s knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19, vaccination, and the impact of infections. A convenience sample of 30 young black people (n = 15 men; n = 15 women, aged 16–21 years) from Soweto participated in 24 focus group discussions (FGDs), conducted in six phases – each phase had four FGDs stratified by gender and age. Young people’s understanding of COVID-19 deepened throughout the study, however, did not always translate into adherence (following the …

Developing Amid Covid-19: Adolescent Meaning Making Across The First Year Of The Pandemic, Gabriel M. Velez, Max Herteen

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was a tumultuous time for adolescents across North America. Social and family lives were upended, schooling was often in flux, activities and milestones were canceled, and the political and medical uncertainties dominated societal discourses. A growing research base demonstrates how the pandemic impacted young people across 2020 and 2021, but there is less work on how they made meaning and incorporated these interpretations into emerging identities. This study integrates surveys in the spring and fall 2020 with interviews in winter 2021 to explore how 18 United States and Canadian adolescents made meaning across …

Crisis Narratives In Crisis? A Comparative Investigation Into National Covid-19 Narratives, Mouse D. Bennett

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

On January 31, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency for only the sixth time in its history. On March 11, 2020, it was stated that COVID-19 constituted a pandemic. How did countries respond? This dissertation traces the evolution of national crisis narratives in four states and assesses their relative success. The findings of this study are that pandemic crisis narratives are not generalizable to all crisis situations but require a high level of compliance to be effective in stopping the crisis. There is no formula for government success, there are no decisive variables determining outcomes. …

Spanish-Language Communication Of Covid-19 Information Across Us Local Health Department Websites, Isabelle S Kusters, Amanda M Gutierrez, Julianna M Dean, Mark Sommer, Anna Klyueva

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new urgency to a longstanding problem: the US health system is not well-equipped to accommodate the country's large limited English proficient (LEP) population in times of national emergency. We examined the landscape of Spanish-language COVID-19 website information compared to information in English provided by health departments of the top 10 cities by population in the USA. For each city, coders evaluated three score measures (amount of information, presentation quality, and ease of navigation) for six content types (general information, symptoms, testing, prevention, vaccines, and live statistics) across six delivery modes (print resources, website text, videos, …

Antibody Response To Sars-Cov-2 Vaccines In Patients With Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Treated With Evobrutinib: A Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor, Amit Bar-Or, Anne H Cross, Anthony L Cunningham, Yann Hyvert, Andrea Seitzinger, Hans Gühring, Elise E Drouin, Nektaria Alexandri, Davorka Tomic, Xavier Montalban

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Evobrutinib is an oral, central nervous system (CNS)-penetrant and highly selective covalent Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor under clinical development for patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS).

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of evobrutinib on immune responses in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccinated patients with RMS from a Phase II trial (NCT02975349).

METHODS: A

RESULTS: In the vaccinated subgroup, mean/minimum evobrutinib exposure pre-vaccination was 105.2/88.7 weeks. In total, 43 of 45 patients developed/increased S1/S2 IgG antibody levels post-vaccination; one patient's antibody response remained negative post-vaccination and the other had antibody levels above the upper limit of detection, …

Exploring A Hispanic Community’S Well-Being During The Early Stage Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Leyla Feize, Michael Machiorlatti, Enedina Enriquez

Research Symposium

Background: A crisis is a serious and stressful situation that brings instability and uncertainty. Although the COVID-19 crisis includes many characteristics of other crisis, it is unique in some respects. It is a worldwide life-threatening and long-term crisis with unknown consequences. The outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic are mostly under exploration and investigation. The effects of the pandemic on mental health are incontrovertible. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities has not been uniform. In the early stage of the pandemic, when the country and the RGV were exhausted with the numbers of those infected with COVID and the …

Does Social Media Matter When It Comes To Rank Lists? A Survey Of Applicants For General Surgery Residency During Covid-19, Justin M. Greco, Alessandra Storino, Priyanka V. Chugh, Tara S. Kent, Donald Hess, Dmitry M. Nepomnayshy, Kimberly M. Ellis, Jonathan S. Abelson

The Lahey Journal

Abstract:

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic greatly disrupted traditional social interactions between residency applicants and General Surgery programs. There is no previous research on the influence of social media in General Surgery residency recruiting.

Methods: We performed a multi-institutional survey of General Surgery residency applicants from the Northeast United States about the effect social media had on their decision to interview and rank programs, after the results of the 2021 National Resident Matching Program. The survey was sent to 311 e-mail addresses. The 22-question survey consisted of multiple choice, Likert Scale, and free text responses.

Results: 66 applicants completed the survey …

Mixed Method Approach Towards The Life Of University Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Raihan Khan, Andrew White, Tony Jehi

Department of Health Sciences - Faculty Scholarship

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the higher education system. This mixed-methods study aimed to assess COVID-19 fear, anxiety, and stress among Shenandoah Valley college students.

Methods

An online survey was fielded and completed by n=680 students. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 students.

Results

The mean participant age was 22.14±5.48 years, and primarily White (81.9%), women (80.4%), and undergraduate (78.0%) students. Approximately 41% were enrolled in health-related majors (41.4%). Women students had significantly higher anxiety, depression, and fear of contracting COVID-19 than men. Undergraduate students had significantly higher depression than graduate students. Qualitative analysis revealed several major themes: …

Comparative Analysis Of Covid-19 Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention Videos On Facebook: Insights From Nigeria And Benin Republic, Jimme Matyek, Sheba Umbule Tayo-Garbson, Philomena Effiong Umoren Phd, Benmun Paul, Emeka Williams Etumnu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Facebook has been adopted by public health organisations for health promotion, psychoeducation and behaviour change campaigns. Studies have underscored the potential advantages of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in decelerating the transmission of COVID-19 and mitigating its severe health consequences. However, these studies did not content analyse these NPI messages especially on Facebook. This study sought to investigate the phenomenon of NPI COVID-19 videos on Facebook that were viewed by Nigerians and Beninese. This study used quantitative content analysis as the research design and analysed 56 Nigerian videos and 36 Beninese videos totalling 92 on Facebook with an inter-rater reliability of 96%. …

Social Connectedness Between Family Caregivers And Older Adults Living In Long-Term Care Homes In The Context Of Covid-19, Anna Garnett, Hannah Pollock, Natalie Floriancic, Kristin Prentice, Lorie Donelle Phd, Rn, Fcan, Carri Hand, Abe Oudshoorn, Yolanda Babenko-Mould, Cheryl Forchuk

Publications

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and resulting restrictions on physical access to long-term care homes culminated in health declines for older adults living there and their families. Knowledge gaps exist regarding maintaining social connectedness when physically separated. The study aimed to explore family members' perceptions of the impact that restrictions on physical access to long-term care homes had on the experience of social connectedness between family members and older adults living in long-term care. The method used was a qualitative description, using in-depth semi-structured interviews. Themes arising from inductive qualitative content analysis of 21 interviews with family members included: (a) …

The Effect Of Blended Learning And Virtual Learning On Student Performance In High School Physical Education, Frances E. Caulder

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The relationship between blended, virtual, and traditional learning on student performance can significantly affect the future of physical education programs’ curriculum and instructional methods. This causal-comparative research design study examines the difference in student performance measured by FitnessGram® scores between ninth-grade female physical education students who participate in an all-online/virtual learning instructional model, a blended learning instructional model, and a traditional face-to-face learning instructional model. Using a random sample of 143 students from six physical education classes from two high schools in a rural South Carolina school district, a one-way ANOVA was conducted to examine the difference in student performance …

Machine Learning Techniques For The Identification Of Risk Factors Associated With Food Insecurity Among Adults In Arab Countries During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Radwan Qasrawi, Maha Hoteit, Reema Tayyem, Khlood Bookari, Haleama Al Sabbah, Iman Kamel, Somaia Dashti, Sabika Allehdan, Hiba Bawadi, Mostafa Waly, Mohammed O. Ibrahim, Stephanny Vicuna Polo, Diala Abu Al-Halawa

All Works

BACKGROUND: A direct consequence of global warming, and strongly correlated with poor physical and mental health, food insecurity is a rising global concern associated with low dietary intake. The Coronavirus pandemic has further aggravated food insecurity among vulnerable communities, and thus has sparked the global conversation of equal food access, food distribution, and improvement of food support programs. This research was designed to identify the key features associated with food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic using Machine learning techniques. Seven machine learning algorithms were used in the model, which used a dataset of 32 features. The model was designed to …

Perception Of Crisis Management, Service Quality, And Loyalty Programs On Airline Travel Intention: What Roles Do Fear Of Covid-19 And Risk Attitude Play?, Sohel M. Imroz, Tamilla Curtis, Scott C. Ambrose

Publications

This research investigates the antecedents of airline travel intention, including the effects of crisis management, service quality perceptions, and loyalty programs, along with the fear of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and risk attitude among individuals from different parts of the world during the peak of the pandemic. Its main objective is to assess how these variables impact passenger airline travel intention. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to assess the measurement model and test the hypothesized relationships on the sample of 944 travelers. Results indicated strong positive associations between fear of COVID-19, risk-averse attitudes, and service quality with respect …

An Investigation Into The Effect Of Screen Time On Sleep Quality Amongst Third Level Students, Emma Kelly, Sarah Williams, Cliona Sutton

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

This paper aimed to research the effect of screen time on sleep quality based on the opinions of 356 third-level students from various Irish Universities. This study considers factors such as sleep duration, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic concerning online college and its effect on sleep quality and screen time duration. This study was conducted using an anonymous Google Forms survey consisting of 10 questions and gained ethical approval before distribution.

Most participants (56.1%) slept between 7-9 hours, which is within the recommended guidelines of sleep duration by the Health Service Executive (HSE, 2022). When asked about the effect …

Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal Of Health Sciences, Volume 3, Issue 1, September 2023, Sword Mtu

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences, Volume 3, Issue 1, September 2023

Reduced Maternal Immunity And Vertical Transfer Of Immunity Against Sars-Cov-2 Variants Of Concern With Covid-19 Exposure Or Initial Vaccination In Pregnancy., Rupsa Boelig, Sidhartha Chaudhury, Gregory D Gromowski, Sandra Mayer, Jocelyn King, Zubair H Aghai, Elke Bergmann-Leitner

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to evolve, we face new variants of concern with a concurrent decline in vaccine booster uptake. We aimed to evaluate the difference in immunity gained from the original SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine series in pregnancy versus SARS-CoV-2 exposure during pregnancy against recent variants of concern.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective analysis of previously collected samples from 192 patients who delivered between February 2021 and August 2021. Participants were categorized as 1) COVID vaccine: mRNA vaccine in pregnancy, 2) COVID-exposed, and 3) controls. The primary outcome was neutralizing capacity against wild-type, Delta, and Omicron-B1 between …

The Covid Games: Resilience In The Shadow Of A Global Pandemic, Taylor D. Bunn

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This paper explores the student experience in North Texas through current research and interviews with students, parents, educators, and nonprofit leaders who leaned into the work of meeting basic needs in an extremely challenging time. The chapter begins with data on COVID-19 infection rates in the community and publicly available data from school districts and Texas Education Agency on academic achievement, grounding the chapter in quantitative facts. Next, findings from interviews provide context on the human impact of the pandemic. Parents and educators share their perspectives on the challenges students faced, unpacking what they wish they had known early in …

Youssra Jabeen, Oral History Interview, 2023, You Li

Collective Memory of Women Journalists in COVID-19

Youssra Jabeen from Pakistan is a video journalist with Arab News Pakistan. She was a development communications manager at the United Nations Development Program's Merged Areas Governance Program (MAGP) from March 2021 to November 2023. Before working for UNDP, Jabeen was a multimedia journalist with over 10 years of experience. She's interested in covering art and culture news, especially when they intersect with social issues such as women's rights and vulnerable communities. Her work has been published in major Pakistani news outlets such as BBC Urdu, Independent Urdu Dawn, and the Express Tribune. She also worked for the Dallas Morning …

Effectiveness Of A Messenger Rna Vaccine Booster Dose Against Coronavirus Disease 2019 Among Us Healthcare Personnel, October 2021-July 2022, Ian D. Plumb, Nicholas M. Mohr, Melissa Hagen, Ryan Wiegand, Ghinwa Dumyati, Karisa K. Harland, Anusha Krishnadasan, Jade James Gist, Glen Abedi, Katherine E Fleming-Dutra, Nora Chea, Jane Lee, Devra Barter, Monica Brackney, Scott K. Fridkin, Lucy E. Wilson, Sara A. Lovett, Valerie Ocampo, Erin C. Phipps, Tiffanie M. Marcus, Howard A. Smithline, Peter C. Hou, Lilly C. Lee, Gregory J. Moran, Elizabeth Krebs, Mark T. Steele, Stephen C. Lim, Walter A. Schrading, Brian Chinnock, David G. Beiser, Brett Faine, John P. Haran, Utsav Nandi, Anne K. Chipman, Frank Lovecchio, David A. Talan, Tamara Pilishvili

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Protection against symptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) can limit transmission and the risk of post-COVID conditions, and is particularly important among healthcare personnel. However, lower vaccine effectiveness (VE) has been reported since predominance of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant.

METHODS: We evaluated the VE of a monovalent messenger RNA (mRNA) booster dose against COVID-19 from October 2021 to June 2022 among US healthcare personnel. After matching case-participants with COVID-19 to control-participants by 2-week period and site, we used conditional logistic regression to estimate the VE of a booster dose compared with completing …

The Public Health Impact Of Paxlovid Covid-19 Treatment In The United States, Yuan Bai, Zhanwei Du, Lin Wang, Eric H. Y. Lau, Isaac Fung, Petter Holme, Ben Cowling, Alison Galvani, Robert Krug, Lauren Ancel Meyers

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

The antiviral drug Paxlovid has been shown to rapidly reduce viral load. Coupled with vaccination, timely administration of safe and effective antivirals could provide a path towards managing COVID-19 without restrictive non-pharmaceutical measures. Here, we estimate the population-level impacts of expanding treatment with Paxlovid in the US using a multi-scale mathematical model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission that incorporates the within-host viral load dynamics of the Omicron variant. We find that, under a low transmission scenario (Re∼1.2) treating 20% of symptomatic cases would be life and cost saving, leading to an estimated 0.26 (95% CrI: 0.03, 0.59) million hospitalizations averted, 30.61 (95% …

How Propaganda Affects Public Opinion In China: Evidence From The First Phase Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Dan Chen

Political Science Faculty Publications

During a national crisis, can state propaganda shift public opinion, and if so, in what direction? Existing studies show that the effects of state propaganda on public opinion in China are mixed. Analysing data from an online survey experiment conducted during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, this article finds that the Chinese public responded positively to propaganda that promoted Xi Jinping’s leadership, when these messages included text as well as images that showed Xi being compassionate during his visit to Wuhan. However, when textual propaganda focused on familiar narratives, such as Xi’s leadership, international praise …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Carotid-Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Iwona Jannasz, Michal Pruc, Mansur Rahnama-Hezavah, Tomasz Targowski, Robert Olszewski, Stepan Feduniw, Karolina Petryka, Lukasz Szarpak

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

COVID-19 is a complex multisystemic disease that can result in long-term complications and, in severe cases, death. This study investigated the effect of COVID-19 on carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) as a measurement to evaluate its impact on arterial stiffness and might help predict COVID-19-related cardiovascular (CV) complications. PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies, and meta-analysis was performed. The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO (nr. CRD42023434326). The Newcastle–Ottawa Quality Scale was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Nine studies reported cfPWV among COVID-19 patients and control groups. The …

Covid- 19 Vaccine-Induced Myocarditis, Jaskaran Singh Munjal, Sergio Mellado Flores, Hamza Yousuf, Vasu Gupta, Ripudaman Singh Munjal, Fnu Anamika, Vaidehi Mendpara, Priyanshi Shah, Rohit Jain

Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives

Myocarditis and pericarditis are rare adverse reactions, more commonly seen in young males after receiving the second dose of an mRNA vaccine. However, the benefits of vaccination heavily outweigh the risk of these side effects. In addition, vaccination boosters are effective against the newest, more infective variants. Therefore we expect more vaccines to be administered in the following years. The objective of this study is to review the current understanding of the mechanism, diagnosis, and treatment of myocarditis and pericarditis. Proposed mechanisms include molecular mimicry against the S protein and hypersensitivity reactions with mRNA vaccines and platelet aggregation and thrombus …