Are e-learning Webinars the future of medical education? An exploratory study of a disruptive innovation in the COVID-19 era

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Colin J. McMahon ◽  
Justin T. Tretter ◽  
Theresa Faulkner ◽  
R. Krishna Kumar ◽  
Andrew N. Redington ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: This study investigated the impact of the Webinar on deep human learning of CHD. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional survey design study used an open and closed-ended questionnaire to assess the impact of the Webinar on deep learning of topical areas within the management of the post-operative tetralogy of Fallot patients. This was a quantitative research methodology using descriptive statistical analyses with a sequential explanatory design. Results: One thousand-three-hundred and seventy-four participants from 100 countries on 6 continents joined the Webinar, 557 (40%) of whom completed the questionnaire. Over 70% of participants reported that they “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the Webinar format promoted deep learning for each of the topics compared to other standard learning methods (textbook and journal learning). Two-thirds expressed a preference for attending a Webinar rather than an international conference. Over 80% of participants highlighted significant barriers to attending conferences including cost (79%), distance to travel (49%), time commitment (51%), and family commitments (35%). Strengths of the Webinar included expertise, concise high-quality presentations often discussing contentious issues, and the platform quality. The main weakness was a limited time for questions. Just over 53% expressed a concern for the carbon footprint involved in attending conferences and preferred to attend a Webinar. Conclusion: E-learning Webinars represent a disruptive innovation, which promotes deep learning, greater multidisciplinary participation, and greater attendee satisfaction with fewer barriers to participation. Although Webinars will never fully replace conferences, a hybrid approach may reduce the need for conferencing, reduce carbon footprint. and promote a “sustainable academia”.

Author(s):  
Alex Anlesinya

Purpose This study examines the factors that hinder employee training and learning in the automotive industry in Ghana, Africa. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts quantitative research methodology and cross-sectional survey design. Eighty-nine usable questionnaires from employees of an automotive organization in Ghana are used. Descriptive statistics and one-sample t-test are used for the analyses. Findings The results indicate that organizational culture, poor management commitment to training, inadequate promotion prospects, and lack of transparency and fairness in trainees’ selection are the most common barriers to employee training and learning. Practical implications Top management should provide opportunities to employees to apply new skills and knowledge they acquired. Fair and transparent procedures should be used to select training beneficiaries. Finally, organizations should develop cultural systems that encourage continuous learning motivation among their employees. Originality/value In this era of knowledge-driven economy, this research highlights factors that inhibit employees’ motivation to learn.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Navin Gazanchand Matookchund ◽  
Renier Steyn

Literature suggests that performance appraisal (PA) contributes to innovation. However, the absolute and relative importance of PA to innovation, the different aspects of PA which drive innovation, as well as PA as a precursor among other antecedents to innovation, has not been adequately described. The aim of the study is to provide clarity on the drivers of innovation, specifically contextualising the impact of PA within the South African context. This study used a cross-sectional survey design, where only quantitative data was collected from full-time employees across private sector, parastatal, and government organisations. The respondents represented a broad cross-section of South African employees. PA and three other known antecedents to innovation, as well as innovation itself, were measured. It was found that PA (as a single variable) was responsible for 5.7% of the variance in innovation. Items in the PA scale with a clear link to innovation were identified, and thematically integrated. It was further found that, when PA was combined with other antecedents of innovation, leading to 26.6% of the variance in innovation being explained, the role of PA was significant, though mostly secondary. Proactive personality was the most dominant predictor of innovation. The importance and relative importance of PA as an antecedent to innovation in the workplace has thus been established. The outcomes of this study may assist managers and human resource practitioners to focus on appropriate, evidence-based information when attempting to enhance innovation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 346-352
Author(s):  
Melody D. Reibel ◽  
Marianne H. Hutti

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder characterized by uncertainty in etiology, symptomatology, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome. The high level of illness uncertainty that results from fibromyalgia is a risk factor for maladjustment to illness. A cross-sectional survey design was used to examine the relationships among illness uncertainty, helplessness, and subjective well-being in 138 women with fibromyalgia. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine a predictive model for mediation. We found illness uncertainty is negatively associated with subjective well-being and that helplessness strongly influences the impact of illness uncertainty on subjective well-being in women with fibromyalgia.


Author(s):  
Atul Kumar ◽  
Sanchita Pugazhendi ◽  
Chandan Kumar ◽  
John Davidson ◽  
Jyoti Rawat

Background: In South Asia region, India is the biggest country manufacturing pesticides for agricultural production and ranks10th in world where farmers use pesticides in agricultural area. In India, farmers have less knowledge regarding pesticide application and very rarely they get opportunity to attend formal training program regarding handling of hazardous pesticides. In developing countries, farmers have unsafe pesticide application and handling practices due to which pesticide poisoning has a major health problems among famers. Indian farmers who practice unsafe use of pesticides also experience different health problems. Hence there is a necessity to find out knowledge and practices of farmers while handling dangerous pesticides in day to day life.Methods: A quantitative research approach and cross sectional survey design was used in present study. Total of 302 farmers residing in rural area of Doiwala block were selected by using purposive sampling technique. Ethical permission was obtained from institutional ethical committee and informed consent was taken from study participants. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results: A total of 125 (41.5%) farmers were using pesticide two times in a year and 180(59.8%) farmers used it for protection of crops. It was expressed by 223 (73.8%) farmers that they read the labels on the pesticide containers before using it but only 182(60.3%) farmers followed the instructions on the label.Conclusions: Farmers did not have adequate knowledge about frequency and reasons of using pesticide in farming. Majority of the farmers did not have adequate knowledge and practices regarding use of pesticide in agricultural area. 


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekpenyong Ekpenyong Udofia ◽  
Bimbo Onaolapo Adejare ◽  
Gbemi Oladipo Olaore ◽  
Etete Ekpenyong Udofia

Purpose This study aims to test the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on large firms, with regard to a supply disruption, productivity, customer satisfaction and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey design and stratified sampling technique were implemented for employee selection and data gathering. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the data and model fitness, while the structural equation model was used for hypotheses testing. Findings The pandemic triggered supply disruptions, but did not significantly impact the productivity of manufacturing firms directly. However, supply disruption positively and significantly impacted productivity. Organisational productivity had no significant impact on customer satisfaction, however, when mediating the relationship between Covid-19 and customer satisfaction, it produces a positive indirect effect. Finally, Covid-19 and supply disruption when mediated by organisational productivity both had negative significant relationships on performance. Research limitations/implications Having a unique model, it creates a trail for future researchers to explore further. Though customer satisfaction was expected to be affected by the pandemic, it is interesting to find out that customer satisfaction when mediated by organisational productivity was positively influenced. Practical implications Disruptions are inevitable, managers must balance the pursuit of customer satisfaction and productivity so that one does not erode the other. Emphasis must be channelled towards managing the productivity of the firm to maintain customer satisfaction during these uncertain times. Deliberate steps like manufacturing flexibility investments should be initiated. Originality/value The first study to examine Covid-19, supply disruption, customer satisfaction, organisational productivity and performance in the Nigerian manufacturing sector.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-222
Author(s):  
Hansani Chathurika Dassanayake ◽  
Asanka Senevirathne

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of design of e-servicescapes on student engagement in distance education (DE), and examine whether this impact is mediated by student experience quality. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative research approach based on cross-sectional survey design was adapted where data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Sample consisted of 252 undergraduates registered in the DE platform in Sri Lanka and was drawn using a simple random sampling technique. Collected data were analysed using the structural equation modelling. Findings Data analysis revealed that there is a direct significant impact of e-servicescapes on student engagement while this impact is partially mediated by student experience quality in the Sri Lankan context. Meantime, the social presence feature of e-servicescapes has the highest impact on student engagement. Practical implications Findings of the study provide an empirically validated model to boost up the student engagement and significantly contribute to the designing of the e-servicescapes of the DE institutes in order to offer a superior service to a wide array of stakeholders. Originality/value Even though e-servicescapes have been recognised as a driver of customer behaviour, the concept is fairly unexplored in the educational context. Due to its practical applicability in the DE context, this study contributes to the existing knowledge by presenting a novel conceptual model developed based on multiple theories to identify its impact on student behaviour.


Author(s):  
Eugenie Byukusenge ◽  
John C. Munene ◽  
Laura Orobia

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether knowledge management under its three dimensions of knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and responsiveness to knowledge lead to innovation in Rwandan SMEs. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design to collect data used to examine that relationship. The results revealed that only knowledge sharing was found positive and significant predictor of innovation. This implies that effective knowledge management through knowledge sharing may lead to innovation.This study used a cross-sectional research design combined with a quantitative research approach. Future researchers could employ a longitudinal method to investigate any possibility of variations in the results. Qualitative studies could equally be used to supplement the quantitative findings. Lastly, this study focused on manufacturing SMEs only. Future research might focus on other types of businesses. Owners-managers of SMEs may sustain their competitive position and survive longer when knowledge is effectively and efficiently shared in order to increase their innovation capability. The study generated empirical evidence on less studied phenomena in the SMEs sector. The evidence highlighted the powerful influence of knowledge sharing in predicting innovation in SMEs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-157
Author(s):  
Asma’u Muhammad Yusuf

This paper examines the librarians’ awareness of social media, types of social media used by librarians, perception and readiness of librarians towards the use of social media, the level of use of social media and factors facilitating the use of social media in higher institutions library in Bauchi state. The rationale behind the subject matter (social media) was to expose librarians to the potentials of the use of social media in the library, particularly with regards to effective and efficient information service delivery to meet the ever growing demands and needs of sophisticated users. In doing this, quantitative research methodology using cross-sectional survey design was used which helped the researcher gather large amount of data that can be easily organised and manipulated into reports for analysis. A well developed and structured questionnaire was used to generate data from the respondents.


2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Serafini ◽  
Caitlin Coyer ◽  
Joedrecka Brown Speights ◽  
Dennis Donovan ◽  
Jessica Guh ◽  
...  

Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of racism experienced by physicians of color in the workplace. Methods: We utilized a mixed-methods, cross-sectional, survey design. Seventy-one participants provided qualitative responses describing instances of racism from patients, colleagues, and their institutions. These responses were then coded in order to identify key domains and categories. Participants also completed quantitative measures of their professional quality of life and the incidence of microaggressions experienced while at work. Results: We found that physicians of color were routinely exposed to instances of racism and discrimination while at work. Twenty-three percent of participants reported that a patient had directly refused their care specifically due to their race. Microaggressions experienced at work and symptoms of secondary traumatic stress were significantly correlated. The qualitative data revealed that a majority of participants experienced significant racism from their patients, colleagues, and institutions. Their ideas for improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace included providing spaces to openly discuss diversity work, constructing institutional policies that promote diversity, and creating intentional hiring practices that emphasize a more diverse workforce. Conclusions: Physicians of color are likely to experience significant racism while providing health care in their workplace settings, and they are likely to feel unsupported by their institutions when these experiences occur. Institutions seeking a more equitable workplace environment should intentionally include diversity and inclusion as part of their effort.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanife Akar ◽  
Derya Şen

This study attempted to examine the impact of interregional and urban–rural population movements on schools located in areas subjected to high in-migration and out-migration flows in Turkey based on data collected from primary school supervisors (N=150). A cross-sectional survey design was utilized to examine the most pressing problems confronted  in those schools, and possible actions that could be taken by various stakeholders were sought. Overall data suggest that those schools  serve mostly disadvantaged populations with poor households. Among the main challenges revealed are lack of adequate school resources and poor facilities, problems caused due to ineffective and untimely implementation of the program, high personnel turnover and recruitment of largely inexperienced and relatively less qualified educational staff, and lower levels of parental involvement in children’s schooling. Accordingly, proposed recommendations focused on measures to eliminate capacity and resource constraints, improve hiring practices, and secure adequate supervision and support for educational staff, meet academic and socio-emotional needs of students and facilitate parental involvement in the education of children. 


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