scholarly journals “It has worked well despite the circumstances” – a study on student social relations and well-being during the pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Annika Fjelkner ◽  
Torgny Roxå ◽  
Per Warfvinge
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Inner Circle ◽  
Study Context

Students’ possibilities to interact with peers have reduced drastically during the emergency transition to online teaching due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Students report on decreased motivation and other study related issues; hence, there is a need to better understand the effects of decreased interaction. The aim of the present exploratory study was to document changes in student networks, in relation to perceptions of connectedness, study outcome and well-being in two different settings. An ad hoc online survey (n = 97) was distributed among students from one research-intensive and one teaching-intensive university where many students commute. Results showed that student social networks defoliated from the outside-in and left students with an inner circle of students they shared multiplex relations with. Students who had lost more working and multiplex relations also reported a decline in well-being. The main contribution of this study is the visualization of how networks became fragmented, and how the experience of this differed depending on type of study context. These findings may have implications for a post-Covid organisation of higher education.

scholarly journals COUNTRY MATTERS: WELL-BEING AND EMIGRATION PLANS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN SLOVAKIA AND BULGARIA: THE MEDIATION EFFECT OF ROOTEDNESS

2020 ◽  
pp. 107-119
Author(s):  
Frederika Lučanská ◽  
◽  
Oľga Orosová ◽  
Vihra Naydenova ◽  
Jozef Benka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
One Dimension ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
The Relationship

The objective of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between well-being, rootedness and emigration plans (EP) among university students in Slovakia and Bulgaria. It also explored the mediation effect of rootedness in the relationship between well-being and EP. The data were collected throughan online survey (SLiCE 2016). The research sample consisted of 361 university students (M=22.4 years, SD=3.8) from Slovakia (141, 86.5% female) and Bulgaria (220, 69.1% female). Based on their emigration plans, the respondentswere dividedinto two groups;those who do not plan to leave (n=218, 60.4%) and those who plan to leave in the long term (n=143, 39.6%) after they finish university. ForSlovakia, all factors were significantly related toEP. Furthermore, the association between well-being and EP was fully mediated by two dimensions of rootedness with different psychological mechanisms. For Bulgaria, only well-being and onedimension of rootedness,desire for change,were significantly related to EP. It was also found that the association between well-being and EP was partially mediated by only one dimension of rootedness –desire for change. This study highlightsthat rootedness hasa different relationship with other examined factorsin different countries and also that it is necessary to respect the cultural and socio-economic featuresof acountry.

scholarly journals PRESIDENTIAL SYMPOSIUM: HARNESSING SOCIAL NETWORKS TO OPTIMIZE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXTS FOR DIVERSE AGING EXPERIENCES

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S583-S583
Author(s):  
Philip A Rozario ◽  
Emily Greenfield ◽  
Nancy Kusmaul
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Senior Housing

Abstract Social networks provide opportunities for engagement with others and structure the receipt and provision of emotional, instrumental, informational and appraisal support. Indeed scholars in this field have documented the importance of having strong social networks in influencing older adults’ well-being and quality of life. The three papers in this symposium draw on the convoy model of social relations and ecological model to examine and better understand the micro, mezzo, macro contexts that shape and influence how older people engage with and benefit from their networks in three areas: low-income senior housing communities, urban areas specifically targeting older Latinos with dementia, and disaster preparedness in micropolitan counties in eastern Iowa. The first paper, a cross-sectional study focusing on social connections in senior housing communities, examines levels of social networks, engagement, support and loneliness and their relationship with well-being outcomes. The second paper, a community-based participatory research project, reports an intervention that seeks to train natural helpers in a predominantly Latino urban neighborhood to identify and refer older Latinos with dementia to bilingual assessment services. The third paper, synthesizing findings from interventions targeting network building at the individual and state levels as well as a community-based network analysis, presents ways to strengthen networks at the mezzo and macro levels as well as environmental contexts that enable better disaster preparedness for community-based older adults. These papers will consider practice, policy and research implications in strengthening social networks and engagement to optimize older adults’ well-being in various settings.

scholarly journals Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education during the Coronavirus Pandemic: Students’ Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10367
Author(s):  
Claudiu Coman ◽  
Laurențiu Gabriel Țîru ◽  
Luiza Meseșan-Schmitz ◽  
Carmen Stanciu ◽  
Maria Cristina Bularca
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Teaching Style ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Platforms

The research focuses on identifying the way in which Romanian universities managed to provide knowledge during the Coronavirus pandemic, when, in a very short time, universities had to adapt the educational process for exclusively online teaching and learning. In this regard, we analyzed students’ perception regarding online learning, their capacity to assimilate information, and the use of E-learning platforms. An online survey based on a semi-structured questionnaire was conducted. Data was collected from 762 students from two of the largest Romanian universities. The results of the research revealed that higher education institutions in Romania were not prepared for exclusively online learning. Thus, the advantages of online learning identified in other studies seem to diminish in value, while disadvantages become more prominent. The hierarchy of problems that arise in online learning changes in the context of the crisis caused by the pandemic. Technical issues are the most important, followed by teachers’ lack of technical skills and their teaching style improperly adapted to the online environment. However, the last place was assigned by students to the lack of interaction with teachers or poor communication with them. Based on these findings, research implications for universities and researchers are discussed.

scholarly journals Going through the lockdown: a longitudinal study on the psychological consequences of the coronavirus pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvatore Gullo ◽  
Ilaria Misici ◽  
Arianna Teti ◽  
Michele Liuzzi ◽  
Enrico Chiara
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Normative Data ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Data Points

Coronavirus 2019 pandemic lockdown in Italy lasted for 2 months, 1 week and 2 days. During this long period, one of the longest in Europe, the restrictions produced effects on people’s psychological well-being, with consequences that also continued after lockdown. The purpose of the study is to investigate these effects and how they changed in the general population over a period of time. We are also interested in exploring people’s post-lockdown anxiety and concerns. We conducted an online survey using snowball sampling techniques. The longitudinal study consisted of four administrations covering a period of 10 weeks between April (baseline) and June (last follow-up). Levels of anxiety and depression were assessed by GAD-7 and PHQ-9, coping strategies were assessed by Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) and social support was assessed by MSPSS. Post-lockdown anxiety was explored by developing a set of ad-hoc questions. PCA was used to determine the principal categories of post-lockdown anxiety/concern resulting from the ad-hoc questions. Longitudinal data, given their nested structure, were analyzed through mixed modeling. Of the 411 responders at baseline, 169 had at least 3 out of 4 data points; the analysis was therefore conducted on this sample. Levels of depression and anxiety were found to be significantly higher in the study sample in comparison with normative samples for each of the fourtime points; levels of coping showed that scores from the study sample were significantly lower than normative data at all-time points. Levels of perceived social support were significantly lower than normative data at the baseline and the first follow-up. The results of the study suggest that the lockdown experience had enduring consequences on the mental health of individuals. Prevention and support interventions to limit the psychological distress caused by COVID-19 should be taken into consideration in countries experiencing a second wave of the pandemic.

scholarly journals Features of Formation of Russian Legislation on Higher Education of the XVII-XVIII Centuries

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 388-397
Author(s):  
A. G. Bykova ◽  
I. V. Kiselev
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
University Education ◽  
Educational Institutions

The article discusses the formation of legislation on higher education in Russia. The sphere of education is the most important condition for the spiritual, professional formation and development of the individual, the social well-being of society, political and economic formation of the state. An analysis of the historical and legal experience of regulating public relations is a prerequisite for building modern legislation in the field of education. The relevance of the study of the Russian features of legislation on higher education of the XVII-XVIII centuries is that modern social relations in the field of education are not fully regulated. This is evidenced by a range of legal problems. Particular attention should be paid to the legislative regulation of certain powers of participants in public relations in the field of higher education, by-law legal regulation, as well as the implementation of certain legal norms of the Federal Law of 29.12.2012 № 273-FZ. The need to resolve these problems updates the relevance of theoretical problems. The answer to the above questions is an analysis of the historical foundations of Russian legislation on higher education. In the pre-revolutionary Russia, sufficient experience in managing higher education, as well as regulating relevant social relations was in place. The completeness of the study of the subject of public relations in the field of education in the historical context is closely related to the analysis of the activities of Russian universities. The article considers the reasons for the appearance of educational institutions in Russia. The first domestic educational institutions appeared at the end of the 18th century - at a historical moment when the expansion of Western European ideas for organizing university education reached the Russian state. Russia had an urgent need to train specialists in the field of public administration - officials, theologians - to strengthen the Orthodox faith, teachers - to educate and promote morality. The authorization of the first regulatory and legal sources in the field of higher education was associated with attempts to create the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy in Moscow. The revival of the ideas of education in Russia objec'tively accelerated the process of creating domestic educational institutions. The further development of legislation on higher education is associated with the implementation of new ideas about the establishment of universities under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine the Great . In the final part of the work, it is noted that in connection with the creation of the first educational institution in Russia, the first normative legal act regulating legal relations in the field of higher education is published - "Privilege for the Academy." During the XVII-XVIII centuries Russian legislation on higher education contained personal regulatory legal acts. They were strictly targeted and regulated the activities of the educational institution, its officials, teachers, students, as well as other participants in academic social relations.

scholarly journals Faculty Perception toward Online Education in a State College in the Philippines during the Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rome B. Moralista ◽  
Ryan Michael Flores Oducado
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Academic Dishonesty ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Academic Rank ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
State College ◽  
Research Findings

This research determined the perception toward online education among faculty in a State College in the Philippines. This study used a descriptive online survey involving a sample of 27 faculty members. Statistical tools employed were descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test. Research findings indicated that the majority of faculty had intermediate computer competency and had no training in online teaching with only a few having a very stable internet connection. Faculty considered that online education will result to more academic dishonesty, will be impersonal and lack feeling compared to face-to-face classes, and will be difficult to manage in terms of technology. Additionally, faculty were undecided if they are in favor of online education. The faculty significantly differed whether they are in favor of online education based on age, sex, college, educational attainment, years in teaching, academic rank, level taught and employment status. Faculty of Higher Education Institutions must be provided with continued support and training as they adapt into the new normal in the higher education landscape and as they embrace the instructional challenges brought by the Coronavirus disease 19 pandemic.

Understanding the knowledge and engagement of facilities management with dementia-friendly design in Irish hospitals: an exploratory study

Facilities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitra Xidous ◽  
Tom Grey ◽  
Sean P. Kennelly ◽  
Desmond O’Neill
Keyword(s):  
Acute Care ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Acute Care Hospitals ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This exploratory study stems from research conducted between 2015–2018 focussing on dementia-friendly design (DFD) in hospitals (Grey T et al. 2018). Specifically, this study focusses on facilities management (FM) staff in Irish hospitals to gain a preliminary understanding of the level of knowledge and engagement of FM in the implementation of dementia-friendly hospital (DFH) design. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach based on a series of ad hoc semi-structured interviews, and an online survey. The aims were, namely, assess the extent of FM engagement in hospital works; measure the level of awareness regarding DFD; and identify facilitators and barriers to DFD in hospital settings. Participants (74) comprised FM staff in 35 Irish acute care hospitals. The research findings are based on thematic analysis of ad hoc semi-structured interviews (participants, n = 4) and survey responses (participants, n = 13). Findings While FM staff reported to possess important knowledge for building DFH, they also mentioned a lack of engagement of FM in design processes and hospital works. Practical implications The research has gained insight into the role of FM in promoting a dementia-friendly approach. Lack of or poor engagement of FM in design processes and hospital works means not fully tapping into rich expertise that would be invaluable in the development, implementation and maintenance of DFH. Universal design is a key driver for facilitating their engagement in the design, implementation and maintenance of DFH environments. Originality/value This is the first study exploring the role of FM in supporting a DFD approach in acute care hospitals.

CHALLENGES AND BENEFITS OF ONLINE TEACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuldeep Kaur Juneja
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Virtual Classroom ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Teaching Innovation ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Teaching Learning

The present study highlights the challenges and benefits influencing the acceptance, and use of e-learning as tool for teaching within higher education. It will help to develop a strategic plan for the successful implementation of e-learning and view technology as a positive step towards evolution and change. An attempt has been made to find the effectiveness of online teaching-learning methods in Higher Education. A questionnaire has been specially designed and deployed among college faculties and students. About 200 faculties from university and Education colleges in Ujjain have taken part in the online survey and submitted responses. It was found that multimedia, digital collaboration with peers, video lectures delivered by faculty handling the subject, online quiz having multiple choice questions, interaction by the faculties during lecture and online materials provided by the faculty promoted effective online learning. Virtual classroom unlike traditional classroom, give unlimited scope for introducing teaching innovation strategies. The use of ICT tools promotes technological innovations and advances in learning and knowledge management. This paper explores the online teaching - learning tools, methods, and a survey on the innovative practices in teaching and learning. Challenges and benefits of online teaching, various components on the effective use of online tools, team- based collaborative learning, simulation and animation - based learning are discussed and explained in detail.

Who Succeeds In The Murky Middle?

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timm L. Kainen ◽  
David P. Boyd
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Technical Knowledge ◽  
Technical Expertise ◽  
Key Staff ◽  
Type 3

This exploratory study examines technically educated middle managers performing ad hoc projects in flat organizations and develops a typology for examining the behavioral patterns associated with their effectiveness. Initial findings indicate the greatest success was achieved by “Type 1” managers (the Leaders) who were able to integrate collaborative selling skills and technical expertise within a web of both formal and informal interactions. Moderate success accrued to “Type 2” managers (the Learners) who used collaborative selling skills to develop social networks that allowed them to expand their own technical expertise. “Type 3” managers (the Leapers) primarily relied upon technical expertise as the tool for interacting with others and enjoyed only modest success. Although “Type 4” managers (the Laggards) had the requisite technical knowledge base, they were the least successful because their lack of collaborative selling skills made it difficult to utilize a compensatory social network. Suggestions are provided for leaders seeking to leverage and direct the abilities of key staff.

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