International Trade Fairs and Initial Impacts of COVID-19 on International Fairs

2022 ◽  
pp. 176-190
Author(s):  
Muharrem Can ◽  
Ahmet Canlı

In ITFs, participating companies introduce their products to potential buyers, perceive their reactions, communicate face-to-face with them, and closely observe their competitors. Moreover, there are other benefits of ITFs such as export and market share increase effect, problem-solving effect with the costumers, so it is one of the critical tasks of commercial diplomacy. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 affected the exhibition sector. So the number of fairs held in Dubai decreased dramatically compared to the previous years and also the number of participators and visitors in the fairs, including Turkish companies. Nevertheless, fair activities have adapted quickly and started to be organized in the virtual world. This study examined the literature and analyzed the Dubai exhibitions' statistics thoroughly both before and after COVID-19. The authors' goal is to find out if physical exhibitions maintain their importance despite technological developments.

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 359-372
Author(s):  
Young-Ju Hur ◽  
Eun Sook Park

This study was conducted to derive implications on how educational activities should be organized and operated for improving creative competency in online class situations by analyzing how it has changed in classes before and after COVID-19. These classes were taken by science and engineering students who took the ‘Creative Thinking and Problem Solving’ subject operated by N University. In order to achieve the goals of this study, a pre-post test related to creative competency was administered at the beginning and end of the semester to 92 students who took the face-to-face class in the second semester of 2019, and to 120 students who took the on-line class in the second semester of 2020. The research results are as follows: Creative competency was significantly improved in the face-to-face class, but not in the online class. Looking at each sub-competency of creative competency, both the challenge spirit and problem solving ability were significantly improved in the face-to-face class. Moreover, the student’s challenge spirit ability was significantly improved in the online class, but their problem solving ability was not significantly improved. These results were similar regardless of whether the instructor changed, or if the students’ grades changed. Also, the students’ gender had no bearing on these results either. Based on these research results, as well as on our educational goals and the content of the classes, the project activities involved in the ‘Creative Thinking and Problem Solving’ subject can be used in online classes in their current form. But this study suggested that strategies for improving students' problem-solving abilities need to be supplemented. Specifically, instructors should increase communication opportunities through the parallel use of the real-time remote video system, and should guide their students to become faithful to the team-based project activities through the sub-session function of the real-time remote video system. To this end, the university may consider changing two credits of two hours into two credits of three hours, or three credits of three hours. Universities also need to operate this subject in connection with extra-activities. It is also necessary for instructors to provide a support environment where students can freely meet using the real-time remote video system, and can engage in solving problems through their own initiative.


2008 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolanda A. Métrailler ◽  
Ester Reijnen ◽  
Cornelia Kneser ◽  
Klaus Opwis

This study compared individuals with pairs in a scientific problem-solving task. Participants interacted with a virtual psychological laboratory called Virtue to reason about a visual search theory. To this end, they created hypotheses, designed experiments, and analyzed and interpreted the results of their experiments in order to discover which of five possible factors affected the visual search process. Before and after their interaction with Virtue, participants took a test measuring theoretical and methodological knowledge. In addition, process data reflecting participants’ experimental activities and verbal data were collected. The results showed a significant but equal increase in knowledge for both groups. We found differences between individuals and pairs in the evaluation of hypotheses in the process data, and in descriptive and explanatory statements in the verbal data. Interacting with Virtue helped all students improve their domain-specific and domain-general psychological knowledge.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1289.1-1290
Author(s):  
S. De Souza ◽  
R. Williams ◽  
E. Johansson ◽  
C. Zabalan ◽  
T. Esterine ◽  
...  

Background:Patient and public involvement (PPI) is gaining increasing recognition as important in ensuring research is relevant and acceptable to participants. Rheuma Tolerance for Cure (RTCure) is a 5 year international collaboration between academia and industry; focusing on earlier detection and prevention of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) through the use of immune-tolerising treatments.Objectives:To bring lived experience and insight into scientific discussions; and to evolve collaboration between lay representatives and academia/industry.Methods:9 Patient Research Partners (PRPs) from 5 European countries were recruited via the EULAR PARE Network and institutions within the RTCure Consortium (8 PRPs with RA and 1 ‘at risk’). They were asked to enter into a legal agreement with the Consortium. PRPs participated in teleconferences (TCs) and were invited to attend face-to-face (F2F) meetings at least annually. Requests for input/feedback were sent from researchers to PRPs via the project’s Patient Engagement Expert [SK].Results:PRP involvement has given researchers and industry partners a new perspective on patient priorities, and focused thought on the ethics of recruitment for and participation in clinical trials of people ‘at risk’ of developing RA. PRPs have helped define the target populations, given their thoughts on what types of treatments are acceptable to people ‘at risk’ and have aided the development of a survey (sent to EULAR PARE members) regarding the use of animal models in biomedical research. Positive informal feedback has been received from researchers and industry regarding the contribution of PRPs to the ongoing project (formal evaluation of PPI in RTCure will be carried out in 2020 and at the project end in 2022).Challenges:Legal agreements- Many PRPs refused to sign the Consortium’s complex PRP Agreement; feeling it unnecessary, incomprehensible and inequitable. After extensive consultation with various parties (including EULAR and the Innovative Medicines Initiative) no similar contract was found. Views for its requirement even varied between legal experts. After 2 years of intense discussion, a simple non-disclosure agreement was agreed upon. Ideally any contract, if required, should be approved prior to project onset.Meeting logistics- Other improvements identified were to locate the meeting venue and accommodation on the same site to minimise travel, and to make it easier for PRPs to take breaks when required. This also facilitates informal discussions and patient inclusivity. We now have agreed a policy to fund PRPs extra nights before and after meetings, and to bring a carer if needed.Enabling understanding– Future annual meetings will start with a F2F meeting between PRPs and Work Package Leads. Researchers will be encouraged to start presentations with a summary slide in lay language. Additionally, an RTCure Glossary is in development.Enabling participation– SK will provide monthly project updates and PRP TCs will be held in the evening (as some PRPs remain employed). PRPs will be invited to all project TCs and F2F meetings. Recruitment is underway to increase the number of ‘at risk’ PRPs as their viewpoint is vital to this study.Conclusion:Currently PPI in RTCure is an ongoing mutual learning process. Universal guidance regarding what types of contracts are needed for PPI would be useful. Communication, trust and fruitful discussions have evolved through F2F meetings (both formal and informal) between PRPs, academia and industry. It is important that all parties can be open with each other in order to make PPI more meaningful.Acknowledgments:This work has received support from the EU/EFPIA Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking RTCure grant number 777357.Disclosure of Interests:Savia de Souza: None declared, Ruth Williams: None declared, Eva Johansson: None declared, Codruta Zabalan: None declared, Tom Esterine: None declared, Margôt Bakkers: None declared, Wolfgang Roth: None declared, Neil Mc Carthy: None declared, Meryll Blake: None declared, Susanne Karlfeldt: None declared, Martina Johannesson: None declared, Karim Raza Grant/research support from: KR has received research funding from AbbVie and Pfizer, Consultant of: KR has received honoraria and/or consultancy fees from AbbVie, Sanofi, Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, UCB, Pfizer, Janssen and Roche Chugai, Speakers bureau: KR has received honoraria and/or consultancy fees from AbbVie, Sanofi, Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, UCB, Pfizer, Janssen and Roche Chugai


2021 ◽  
pp. 105566562110217
Author(s):  
Alexis C. Wood ◽  
C. Alejandra Garcia de Mitchell ◽  
Ruchi Kaushik

Objective: Identify factors contributing to time a family spends in a Multidisciplinary Craniofacial Team Clinic (MDCT) and implement an intervention to reduce this time. Design: Interventional: a restructuring of clinics to serve those patients requiring fewer provider encounters separately. Setting: An American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association-accredited MDCT in an academic children’s hospital. Patients/Participants: One hundred sixty-seven patients with craniofacial diagnoses. Interventions: Time data were tabulated over ∼2 years. Following 9 months of data collection, patients requiring fewer provider encounters were scheduled to a separate clinic serving children with craniosynostosis, and data were collected in the same fashion for another 14 months. Main Outcome Measures: Principal outcome measures included total visit time and proportion of the visit spent without a provider in the room before and after clinic restructuring. Results: The average time spent by family in a clinic session was 161.53 minutes, of which 64.3% was spent without a provider in the room. Prior to clinic restructuring, a greater number of provider encounters was inversely associated with percentage of time spent without a provider ( P < .001). Upon identifying this predictor, scheduling patients who needed fewer provider encounters to a Craniosynostosis Clinic session resulted in reduction in absolute and percentage of time spent without a provider ( P < .001). Conclusions: The number of provider encounters is a significant predictor of the proportion of a clinic visit spent without a provider. Clinic restructuring to remove patient visits that comprise fewer provider encounters resulted in a greater percentage of time spent with a provider in an MDCT.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1128
Author(s):  
Laura Triviño-Cabrera ◽  
Elisa Isabel Chaves-Guerrero ◽  
Laura Alejo-Lozano

Studies on the adaptation from face-to-face to online teaching during lockdown show the before and after in education that faces the double challenge of promoting digital skills and public access to connectivity and electronic devices in the post-COVID-19 era. Therefore, this article contributes to these new emerging lines of educational research by presenting an educational innovation project called “Teachers Versus COVID-19”. This project aimed to verify whether the figure of teacher-prosumer, that is, consumers of media culture and creators of their own educational resources, favors the initial training of teachers during the pandemic. To this end, the following objectives were proposed: firstly, test whether the figure of the teacher-prosumer contributes to improving the adaptation of face-to-face teaching to the virtual modality of the Didactics of Social Sciences in the Degree in Primary Education during lockdown; secondly, analyze the production of content on social networks by the students in the Degree in Primary Education, according to the objectives of sustainable development. To validate our teacher-prosumer proposal, we chose the design-based research (DBR) qualitative methodology. For this, 240 students from the course in Didactics of Social Sciences of the Degree in Primary Education at the University of Malaga created 37 educational videos that teach the social sciences curriculum to children between 6 and 12 years of age from the perspective of relevant social problems and the Sustainable Development Goals. These videos were disseminated through the project’s YouTube channel. The results of this study corroborate the effectiveness of turning students into teachers-prosumers, generating the development of critical, creative, digital, and socio-emotional skills so that they feel committed to playing an active role in social changes for a sustainable world.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. e001024
Author(s):  
Xavier Losfeld ◽  
Laure Istas ◽  
Quentin Schoonvaere ◽  
Michel Vergnion ◽  
Jochen Bergs

Context and objectiveThe negative consequences of inadequate nursing handovers on patient safety are widely acknowledged, both within the literature as in practice. Evidence regarding strategies to improve nursing handover is, however, lacking. This study investigates the effect of a tailored, blended curriculum on nurses’ perception of handover quality.MethodsWe used a pre-test/post-test design within four units of a Belgian general hospital. Our educational intervention consisted of an e-learning module on professional communication and a face-to-face session on the use of a structured method for handovers. All nurses completed this blended curriculum (n=87). We used the Handover Evaluation Scale (HES) to evaluate nurses’ perception of handover quality before and after the intervention. The HES was answered by 87.4% of the nurses (n=76 of 87) before and 50.6% (n=44 of 87) after the intervention. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the validity of the HES.ResultsThe original factor structure did not fit with our data. We identified a new HES structure with acceptable or good fit indices. The overall internal consistency of our HES structure was considered adequate. Perception of nurses on Relevance of information showed a significant improvement (M=53.19±4.33 vs M=61.03±6.01; p=0.04). Nurses also felt that the timely provision of patient information improved significantly (M=4.50±0.34 vs M=5.16±0.40; p=0.01).ConclusionThe applied intervention resulted in an improved awareness on the importance of Relevance of information during handovers. After our intervention, the nurses’ perception of the HES item ‘Patient information is provided in a timely manner’ also improved significantly. We are aware that the educational intervention is only the first step to achieve the long-term implementation of a culture of professional communication based on mutual support.


Author(s):  
Jennifer L Cole ◽  
Sarah E Smith

Abstract Disclaimer In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. Purpose Corticosteroid overprescribing is well documented in real-world practice. There is currently no evidence to guide best practices for steroid stewardship. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a 3-part stewardship intervention strategy on inpatient steroid prescribing in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). Summary Investigators implemented a 3-part stewardship initiative consisting of (1) an anonymous survey for providers on steroid prescribing in a simplified case of AECOPD, (2) face-to-face education and review of survey results, and (3) prospective audit and feedback from a clinical pharmacist. This was a quasi-experimental before-and-after study evaluating hospitalized adults diagnosed with AECOPD in two 12-month study periods before (April 2019-March 2020) and after (May 2020-April 2021) implementation. The primary outcome was mean inpatient steroid dosing. Secondary outcomes were duration of therapy, length of stay (LOS), 30-day readmissions, 30-day mortality, and incidence of hyperglycemia. Per power analysis, there were 27 patients per cohort. The interventions resulted in a significant reduction in prednisone equivalents during hospitalization: 118 mg vs 53 mg (P = 0.0003). This decrease was similar in ICU (160 mg vs 61 mg, P = 0.008) and non-ICU (102 mg vs 49 mg, P = 0.004) locations. There was no significant difference in duration of therapy (8 days vs 7 days, P = 0.44), length of stay (3.3 days vs 3.9 days, P = 0.21), 30-day mortality (4% vs 7%, P = 0.55), 30-day readmissions (15% vs 7%, P = 0.39), or rate of hyperglycemia (48% vs 44%, P = 0.78). Conclusion A multifaceted stewardship intervention significantly reduced steroid dosing in hospitalized AECOPD patients. This reduction was not associated with known deleterious effects.


Vulcan ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Ansani

This article examines technological developments in the production of weapons, especially firearms, during the Florentine Quattrocento, from the early conflicts against the Visconti (1423–1433) until the first years of the Pisan War (1494–1499). The aim is an analysis of the qualitative standards achieved by gunmakers and gunpowder makers before and after the appearance and the assimilation of the most efficient French ordnance into Italian warfare. Data have been collected from the State Archive of Florence. Fiscal sources (catasto, decima) and the documentation of guilds (fabbri and speziali) provided the information on craftsmen and their workshops. The registers of military officers (Dieci di Balìa and Otto di Pratica) show the leading role that public demand played in the introduction of technical changes and innovative tools such as new furnaces, bronze cannons, cast iron shot, and corned powder. The same records provide information about the spread of innovations and the migration of artisans. The results of the research demonstrate that the commune actually enhanced its management of war production, fostering improvements in the fabrication of firearms and a significant growth in the weapons market. Numerous artisans were employed in manufacturing munitions and in supplying soldiers and fortresses, and some famous artists, such as Andrea del Verrocchio, may have been involved in casting beautiful firearms for the Florentine Republic in this period.


2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 499-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Chami Batista

Chami's method for calculating how much of an exporter's market share change can be attributed to each competitor has regularly been applied in the literature, but it has not been related to any theory yet. Here, an attempt is made to examine the trade models that can provide the theoretical foundations for the method, clarifying the assumptions underlying its results. It is shown that the method is consistent with most of the main trade models found in the literature.


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