scholarly journals The Vindication of Decoloniality and the Reality of COVID-19 as an Emergency of Unknown in Rural Universities

Author(s):  
Bunmi Isaiah Omodan

Coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19, was adjudged as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2020. This deadly, contagious, and easy-to-spread virus has plunged the world into a tentative cul-de-sac, inclusive of the university education system. By implication, the abrupt national lockdown in South Africa cut universities unaware as an insurgence against its operationalisation, teaching, and learning process. In my argument, it further confirms the need to decolonise rural universities, to be able to respond to every unforeseen emergency, as an underside of coloniality, which is currently experienced in the system. Evidence indicates that the rural universities in South Africa are battling with enabling pedestal of alternatives to teaching and learning. This study is lensed through Transformative Paradigm (TP), Participatory Research (PR) was used as a research design. The participants consisted of 15 people, 5 management staff such as the deans, head of schools, head of teaching and learning and ICT members, 5 lecturers and 5 students in a selected rural university in South Africa. The participants were selected using the snowballing selection technique with the use of calls, email and other social media platforms as a medium of participants’ recruitment. Online and phone interviews were used to collect data from the participants because the participants are under national lockdown, and the data was analysed using thematic analysis. Low technology and innovative space in rural universities and students, lecturers and university’s disadvantage background were found as the major challenges vindicating the quest for decoloniality in rural universities. Also, the compulsory used of technological innovation within the university and contingency plan for/by the stakeholders are concluded to be achievable with the use of Assets-Based Approach.

JAMIA Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srikar Chamala ◽  
Sherri Flax ◽  
Petr Starostik ◽  
Kartikeya Cherabuddi ◽  
Nicole M Iovine ◽  
...  

Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019, first reported in China in late 2019, has quickly spread across the world. The outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Here, we describe our initial efforts at the University of Florida Health for processing of large numbers of tests, streamlining data collection, and reporting data for optimizing testing capabilities and superior clinical management. Specifically, we discuss clinical and pathology informatics workflows and informatics instruments which we designed to meet the unique challenges of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing. We hope these results benefit institutions preparing to implement SARS-CoV-2 testing.


Author(s):  
Irene Calvente ◽  
María Isabel Núñez ◽  
Rachid Chahboun Karimi ◽  
Juan Villalba-Moreno

The objective of this pilot study was to gather and analyze data on radon concentrations in workplaces in three buildings of Granada University (Southern Spain) constructed in different centuries. All measurements were made at basement or ground floor level under normal use conditions except for one space (mineral store), in which measurements were compared between the door closed and open. Measurements were conducted during different time periods between October 2013 and March 2019 with a Radon-Scout PLUS portable Radonmonitor. The duration of continuous recordings at different sites ranged between 42 and 1104 h. Mean accumulated radon concentrations ranged between 12 and 95 Bq/m3, below the maximal level of 300 Bq/m3 set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Relatively high values were recorded in the oldest building (15th century), which was also poorly ventilated. Ventilation appeared to be an important factor in reducing radon levels, especially in areas less exposed to radon, such as Southern Spain.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-197
Author(s):  
Alan Glasper

In light of the emergence in China of COVID-19, the novel corona virus, emeritus professor Alan Glasper, from the University of Southampton discusses the role of the World Health Organization and other public health institutions in responding to potential new global pandemics and deliberates on the role of NHS staff in coping with infectious disease in clinical environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-124
Author(s):  
Lilian J. Canamo ◽  
Jessica P. Bejar ◽  
Judy E. Davidson

University of California San Diego Health was set to launch its 13th annual Nursing and Inquiry Innovation Conference event in June 2020. However, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic placed a barrier to large gatherings throughout the world. Because the World Health Organization designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, the University committed to continuing the large-scale conference, converting to a virtual event. This article reviews the methodologies behind the delivery of the virtual event and implications for user engagement and learning on the blended electronic platform.


Author(s):  
Jyoti Tandon

Educational institutions (schools, colleges, and universities) in India have always followed traditional modes of teaching and learning wherein the teachers impart the lectures and the students undertake the instructions and guidance in a face-to-face medium. But, with the advent of covid-19, educational institutions in India were left with no choice but to switch to online mediums for imparting instructions. The sudden outbreak of Covid-19 impacted the entire world in an unparalleled manner and had put us all to witness a never seen before deadly virus Corona Virus (SARS-CoV-2) that shook us all. World Health Organization recognized the devastating effects of Covid and declared it as a global pandemic. One of the major challenges faced by the institutions around the world was in continuing learning in traditional set-up; thus the educators around the world shifted to online modes of teaching and learning. This article incorporates the learning and significance of e-learning and Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities of e-learning modes in the wake of a crisis situation. This article also additionally puts some light on the challenges faced by the institution with reference to imparting education through online learning modes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 3783-3791
Author(s):  
Hala Alrumaih ◽  
Mohammed Alawairdhi

A great wave of diabetes is sweeping the world and it does not exclude continent, country or society and this has led international organizations such as the World Health Organization to sound the alarm after the high rates of deaths from complications of this epidemic. In this regard, the University Diabetes Center (UDC) was established in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide medical care for people with diabetes among other medical issues. As part of UDC, an ontology center has been constructed to explain the domain of the UDC using Protégé. The discussion herein will center on how emerging diabetes centers can benefit from the UDC experiment in diabetes treatment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (01) ◽  
pp. 001-007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elie K Barbour ◽  
Danielle B Ayyash ◽  
Wafa Alturkistni ◽  
Areej Alyahiby ◽  
Soonham Yaghmoor ◽  
...  

This review documents the sporadic reporting of poultry Salmonella serovars in South Africa, Egypt, Indonesia, India, and Romania, five countries selected based on the importance of their distribution in different regions of the world and their cumulative significant population size of 1.6 billion. South Africa reported contamination of its poultry carcasses by S. Hadar, S. Blockley, S. Irumu, and S. Anatum. Results from Egypt showed that S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium were predominant in poultry along with other non-typhoid strains, namely S. Infantis, S. Kentucky, S. Tsevie, S. Chiredzi, and S. Heidelberg. In Indonesia, the isolation of Salmonella Typhi was the main focus, while other serovars included S. Kentucky, S. Typhimurium, and S. Paratyhi C. In India, S. Bareilly was predominant compared to S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium, S. Paratyphi B, S. Cerro, S. Mbandaka, S. Molade, S. Kottbus, and S. Gallinarum. Romania reported two Salmonella serovars in poultry that affect humans, namely S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium, and other non-typhoid strains including S. Infantis, S. Derby, S. Colindale, S. Rissen, S. Ruzizi, S. Virchow, S. Brandenburg, S. Bredeney, S. Muenchen, S. Kortrijk, and S. Calabar. The results showed the spread of different serovars of Salmonella in those five developing countries, which is alarming and emphasizes the urgent need for the World Health Organization Global Foodborne Infections Network (WHO-GFN) to expand its activities to include more strategic participation and partnership with most developing countries in order to protect poultry and humans from the serious health impact of salmonellosis.


Author(s):  
Prahlad Kadambi

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is currently spreading globally rapidly. The World Health Organization (WHO) named the virus as the 2019 novel corona virus (2019-nCoV) on January 7, 2020. On February 11th 2020, the illness associated was named as 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Subsequently, the WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. The first case of COVID-19 was reported in India on 30 January 2020 in Thrissur, Kerala. This was the index case in India who tested positive after coming for a vacation. This individual was a student of the University of Wuhan. Subsequent cases were reported in Kerala. Subsequently, the number of cases in India increased to 519 as on 24th March 2020 with mortality in 7 patients as on 22nd March 2020 and 10 patients on 24th March 2020.


Author(s):  
Nicole Askin ◽  
Maureen Babb ◽  
Pamela Darling ◽  
Orvie Dingwall ◽  
Lenore Finlay ◽  
...  

As part of the University of Manitoba Libraries Outreach Services, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) Virtual Library provides library services to hospitals, health centres, community health agencies, and personal care homes throughout the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. All services of the WRHA Virtual Library, including the collection, are entirely virtual, though staff are physically located in the University’s health library.  In March 2020, shortly after the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, libraries around the world started closing their doors and staff were required to work from home.  The virtual infrastructure of our services and collections required no changes in how our patrons accessed the Virtual Library and a smooth transition was expected, but the sudden shift to working from home revealed gaps. This article discusses the unique experience of the WRHA Virtual Library transitioning to a completely virtual environment, the previous reliance on the University’s physical infrastructure, and the inequities identified between librarians and library technicians.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document