Experiences of individuals with blindness or visual impairment during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Hungary

2021 ◽  
pp. 026461962199069
Author(s):  
Judit Gombas ◽  
Judit Csakvari
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Survey Research ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Support Needs ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The Impact

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the measures of social distancing and national lockdown had a significant impact on everyday life. Individuals with BVI (blindness and visual impairment) are assumed to face increased barriers in numerous domains of their lives. This online survey research investigates, among Hungarian adults with BVI ( N = 132), the impact of the lockdown on their access to shopping, daily support needs, access to remote studies of higher education or work, and leisure habits. Respondents accounted for negative impacts of the lockdown on their participation and independence in all research topics. Issues of accessibility were common both concerning shopping for essential goods and access to remote study and work.

scholarly journals Investigating the impact of status and context on workplace incivility.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Irwin ◽  
Charlotte Patricia Irvine ◽  
Barbara Bekes ◽  
Emily Nordmann
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Behavior ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Context Effects ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Staff Retention ◽  
Teaching Context ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Incivility has been reported as having an adverse impact on student learning, faculty staff retention and student commitment within Higher Education. As such this behaviour has the potential to reduce student achievement and could have a financial impact on institutions. The aim of this two-stage study was to examine the impact of teaching context (lecture versus tutorial) and instigator status (staff versus student) on the perception and impact of incivility in academia. Study 1 recruited participants from Scotland and utilised a vignette-based approach to evaluate status and context effects across four fictional teaching scenarios, each illustrating the uncivil behaviour of ignoring someone. Study 2 recruited participants from the UK and Ireland and used an online survey to gather quantitative and qualitative data investigating uncivil behaviours within lectures and tutorials. The combined results indicate that the uncivil behaviours absenteeism, non-participation, ignoring and unrelated behaviours were all more frequent during a lecture in comparison to a tutorial. Uncivil behaviours were associated with a higher emotional impact within tutorials as opposed to lectures and an assertive response to incivility was more likely in a tutorial than a lecture. In terms of status student behavior was perceived as more uncivil than the equivalent staff behavior, yet a higher emotional response was reported for staff as opposed to student incivility, regardless of context. These results indicate the need for a tailored context-specific approach to addressing incivility within Higher Education, with practical implications discussed.

scholarly journals Validating the technology-assisted supplemental work scale (TASW)

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 475-481
Author(s):  
Kajal Kotecha ◽  
Wilfred Isioma Ukpere ◽  
Madelyn Geldenhuys
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Information Communication Technologies ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
The Impact

The traditional advantage of using Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) to enhance work flexibility also has a drawback of enabling academics to continue working even after regular working hours. This phenomenon has been referred to as technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW). Although TASW enhances academics’ work productively, they also have a negative impact on their family-life. The impact TASW has on academics and on higher education institutions can be understood by measuring the phenomenon properly by using a reliable and valid scale. The aim of this study is too validate a newly developed TASW scale by Fenner and Renn (2010). This study adopted a quantitative research approach and used an online survey to gather data. The sample included academic from a higher education in South Africa (n = 216). The results indicate that the TASW is a valid and reliable measure of technology among the sample of South African academics.

Communicating science in higher education and research institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-205
Author(s):  
Thorsten Schwetje ◽  
Christiane Hauser ◽  
Stefan Böschen ◽  
Annette Leßmöllmann
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Internal Stakeholders ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Executive Boards ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe paper reports on a research project exploring the change in the organizational context of communicators and communication units in higher education and research institutions (HERIs), the importance of informal processes within their daily work and the great diversity of expectations communicators have to tackle.Design/methodology/approachBased on a literature review, a mixed-methods study combining expert interviews with 54 German HERI heads of communication units, an online-survey and a document analysis of organizational characteristics was conducted. Findings were validated in four focus groups.FindingsThe study illuminates the impact of organizational and operational structures of HERIs on communicators and their boundary spanning activities. Due to varying expectations of stakeholders, communicators constantly have to switch roles. Members of HERIs' executive boards affect status and working conditions for communicators in the organization.Research limitations/implicationsInterviews with other HERI actors, especially members of the executive board, are proposed to get more thorough insights into the organizational context of HERIs and the mutual expectations of different internal stakeholders.Practical implicationsInsights from the project may help HERI actors to reflect their organizational context and to identify potentially contentious structures or processes.Originality/valueCommunicating science sometimes clashes with complex organizational and operational structures. Despite the “organizational turn” in HERI research, there is a lack of data on the relation between communicators, their communication units and the larger organizational context. The exploratory study addresses this gap.

Impact of Social Networking Sites on Student Academic Performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youssef Harrath ◽  
Hadeel Alobaidy
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Student Academic Performance ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
University Of Bahrain ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this research is to study the impact of Social Networking Sites on student academic performance. An online survey was conducted and 628 students of University of Bahrain replied. This research studies and explores the relationships between the use of SNS and students' academic performance. The survey questions (21) were grouped into 8 variables that identify the interest that the students draw from SNS. Furthermore, these variables aim to show the effects of SNS on students' academic performance and the futuristic online and offline paradigms that can enhance teaching methodology. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the collected data and find correlations between SNS and the students' academic performance. From this research it was found that the SNS have positive and negative impacts on student academic performance. At the end, the authors came up with fruitful recommendations on how to get benefit from the SNS to improve the learning process.

scholarly journals Educational Services for Intellectual Capital Growth or Transmission of Culture for Transfer of Knowledge—Consumer Satisfaction at St. Petersburg Universities

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadezhda N. Pokrovskaia ◽  
Marianna Yu. Ababkova ◽  
Denis A. Fedorov
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Consumer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Training Techniques ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
The Impact

Higher education has complex roles in society, the economy, and politics; it helps to transmit culture, transfer knowledge, and develop the personality of citizens. This diversity of roles is confronted with the limited resources that are related to the sources of financing, that is, students and their families, the national government, and local authorities, among others. The discussions related to the role of universities concern the economy of knowledge and the digital tools influencing education. The specific case of St. Petersburg universities simultaneously represents the impact of the deep socio-political transition from Soviet society to the liberal principles of a market economy, including the perception of higher education institutions as service sector companies. The services allowed by universities include research and training; however, from the consumer point of view, universities should create specific value: the increase of the intellectual components of human capital. These complex functions are interconnected. During 2017–2018, a survey in St. Petersburg was organised to ascertain the opinion of students, professors, and employers on the quality of education. The results of the survey demonstrate the impact of the exaggerated implementation of the liberal principles on education, both positive and negative. The positive effect is the renewing of content and innovative training techniques due to competition among universities. The negative impacts include the preference for popular disciplines and the opportunistic behavior of students that lose their passion for acquiring knowledge and choose instead the passive attitude of consumers of a competitive service. They are less interested in the sphere of their studies, in searching for a job, in the interaction with other social and economic actors, and even in the research and education options presented by the universities.

Impact of COVID-19 on the system of higher education

2020 ◽  
pp. 12-22
Author(s):  
S.L. Talanov ◽  
◽  
F.Yu. Kushnarev ◽  
D.T. Berezin ◽  
E.S. Rumyantseva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Economic Capital ◽  
Sociological Study ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Low Resource ◽  
High Resource ◽  
Coronavirus Infection ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Analyzed is the impact of restrictions on higher educational system introduced by the Government of the Russian Federation in connection with spread of coronavirus infection COVID-19. Sociological study (online survey) was conducted among students, enrolled in budgetary and extra-budgetary forms of education, as well as among graduates of secondary schools (11th classes), located in small, medium and large cities of Yaroslavl region. In addition, video interviews were conducted, using Zoom service among number of applicants, parents of applicants, teachers, positional experts. It was established, that emergence and spread of COVID-19 and limitations, associated with it, made certain adjustments to strategies of applicants and students. Despite all changes that have arisen due to coronavirus infection, only a small part of applicants and students studying on extrabudgetary basis, decided to change their plans. It is concluded, that for significant part of applicants, obtaining higher education is an attempt to continue to remain in a familiar comfortable environment (continuation of “childhood”). Despite constant stresses at school, expectation from prospect of losing a measured, familiar, predictable life is even more stressful. Parents from families, belonging to medium-resource and high-resource groups, as a rule, support decision of their children to keep on studying. In this case, decision to enter university is made long before graduation. Parents from low-resource groups, as a rule, try to give profession, not a higher education. At the same time, it was revealed, that children from families, belonging to low-resource groups, for the most part, anyway note that if they had necessary resources, they would try to get higher education. In addition, the authors conclude, that decision on admission to university is greatly influenced by not at all economic capital of family, how much family’s value, as well as influence of the reference person.

scholarly journals What’s in a Prerequisite? A Mixed-Methods Approach to Identifying the Impact of a Prerequisite Course

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. ar16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian K. Sato ◽  
Amanda K. Lee ◽  
Usman Alam ◽  
Jennifer V. Dang ◽  
Samantha J. Dacanay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Course Performance ◽  
Time To Degree ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Mathematics Curricula ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
The Impact

Despite the ubiquity of prerequisites in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula, there has been minimal effort to assess their value in a data-driven manner. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, we examined the impact of prerequisites in the context of a microbiology lecture and lab course pairing. Through interviews and an online survey, students highlighted a number of positive attributes of prerequisites, including their role in knowledge acquisition, along with negative impacts, such as perhaps needlessly increasing time to degree and adding to the cost of education. We also identified a number of reasons why individuals do or do not enroll in prerequisite courses, many of which were not related to student learning. In our particular curriculum, students did not believe the microbiology lecture course impacted success in the lab, which agrees with our analysis of lab course performance using a previously established “familiarity” scale. These conclusions highlight the importance of soliciting and analyzing student feedback, and triangulating these data with quantitative performance metrics to assess the state of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula.

scholarly journals Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Minerals Sector: A Real Time Survey

SEG Discovery ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 26-33
Author(s):  
Murray Hitzman ◽  
David Kaeter ◽  
Aileen Doran ◽  
Maeve Boland ◽  
Lingli Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Mineral Exploration ◽  
Precious Metals ◽  
World Health ◽  
Government Employees ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Crucial Point ◽  
Level Of Concern ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Through the implementation of an online survey, run at the end of April 2020, researchers at the Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG) explored the immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the minerals sector workforce. With more than 1,000 respondents, the survey provides insights into the impact of an unprecedented global event at a crucial point in its development. Seven weeks after the World Health Organization’s declaration of the pandemic, 65% of survey respondents agreed that COVID-19 had a significant impact on their work. Overall, 32% of respondents had experienced negative impacts on their employment, having either lost their jobs or been furloughed/temporarily laid off, or were working reduced hours. Geographically, the greatest impact on employment was in Africa, where 45% of respondents suffered negative effects. More often, younger respondents (ages 18–30) reported lost jobs (14%) whereas older survey participants reported working reduced hours (21%, ages 46–60). Respondents working in mineral exploration were most affected (40% suffered negative job impacts), but the impact across base, industrial, and precious metals was broadly similar for all participants; government employees were least affected but were not immune (10% on reduced hours). The level of concern about future job security due to the COVID-19 crisis varied, with 35% of respondents being more or very concerned or having already lost their jobs, 43% had little or no concern, and 22% were moderately concerned. The survey captured the experiences and perceptions of individual workers, providing a perspective different from information available in corporate statements and official statistics.

scholarly journals The Long-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness in People Living With Disability and Visual Impairment

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikki Heinze ◽  
Syeda F. Hussain ◽  
Claire L. Castle ◽  
Lauren R. Godier-McBard ◽  
Theofilos Kempapidis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
State Anxiety ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Anxiety State ◽  
Longitudinal Impact ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Individuals With Disabilities ◽  
The Impact

Background: There has been growing concern about the impact of restrictions put in place to contain the coronavirus pandemic on loneliness, particularly in individuals with disabilities. This study explored the longitudinal impact of the pandemic on loneliness in these individuals, with a focus on those living with visual impairment (VI).Methods: An online survey was conducted in April-2020 and repeated in March 2021 to explore current life circumstances, health-related behaviours, sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and social well-being, including state anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Index) and loneliness (UCLA Loneliness scale). A convenience sample of 602 participants completed the first survey. Participants who agreed to be re-contacted were invited to take part in the follow-up survey.Results: Data is presented for the 160 participants who completed both timepoints. At both timepoints, median loneliness was significantly higher in participants with disabilities and those with VI than in participants with no disabilities. While there was no significant change in loneliness in any of the three subgroups, participants with VI experienced the largest increase in median loneliness. Loneliness was associated with having a mental health condition and higher levels of state anxiety at both timepoints.Conclusions: Individuals with disabilities such as VI experienced consistently higher levels of loneliness than those with no disabilities throughout the pandemic. While loneliness remained relatively stable in individuals with no disabilities, it increased, albeit to a non-significant level, in those with disabilities and particularly those with VI. Interventions designed to alleviate loneliness may benefit from addressing state anxiety.

scholarly journals The Structure of Social Networks and Its Link to Higher Education Students' Socio-Emotional Loneliness During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel D.S. Hopp ◽  
Marion Händel ◽  
Svenja Bedenlier ◽  
Michaela Gläser-Zikuda ◽  
Rudolf Kammerl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Education Student ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Egocentric Networks ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Emotional Loneliness ◽  
Digital Skills ◽  
The Impact

Lonely students typically underperform academically. According to several studies, the COVID-19 pandemic is an important risk factor for increases in loneliness, as the contact restrictions and the switch to mainly online classes potentially burden the students. The previously familiar academic environment (campus) as well as the exchange with peers and lecturers on site were no longer made available. In our study, we examine factors that could potentially counteract the development of higher education student loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic from a social network perspective. During the semester, N = 283 students from across all institutional faculties of a German comprehensive university took part in an online survey. We surveyed their social and emotional experiences of loneliness, their self-reported digital skills, and their current egocentric networks. We distinguished between close online contacts (i.e., mainly online exchanges) and close offline contacts (i.e., mainly in situ exchanges). In addition, we derived the interconnectedness (i.e., the densities of the egocentric networks) and diversity (operationalized with the entropy) of students’ contacts. The results of correlation analyses and hierarchical linear regressions indicate that strong digital skills are related to both a higher number of online contacts and to lower social and emotional experiences of loneliness. Regardless of whether offline or online, the number of reported contacts is indicative of a lower experience of social loneliness. A well-connected network related to lower experiences of social but not emotional loneliness. Finally, findings suggest that homogenous networks tend to be related with lower experiences of both social and emotional loneliness. Overall, our study indicates that barriers to online communication might be mitigating factors to consider when assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student loneliness.

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