Booster Dose of COVID 19 and Ethical Issues

COVID 19 is a recent and global pandemic. Preventive medicine is not very popular in Pakistan. With the limited resources, an average Pakistani would spend on a medical treatment rather than on a preventive drug. In Pakistan, booster shots are recently made available only to those who can pay for the cost of the vaccine. A Utilitarian approach has been adopted at various levels since the pandemic emerged by health care organizations and the government. The purpose was to maximize the benefits and minimize the risk of harm. It is the need of the hour to think about health equity and justice in a pluralistic way and refrain from initiating booster shots for elite of a resource-poor country. This pandemic will never end if a maximum number of people are not vaccinated in each country. This is only possible if there is an equitable distribution of vaccines.

Behind the Korean Media Strength

Korean Media have reached a wide range of Asian audience, including Malaysian audience. The rising popularity of Korean entertainment content in Asia has created Korean pop culture in the entertainment industry. There seemed to be a gap in previous research concerning the strength of Korean media. This research is an attempt to explore Korean media strength behind the scene that continuously getting the attention and maintaining the popularity. The research uses qualitative methods to address the Korean drama phenomenon. Four (4) informants from selected Korean Broadcasters were identified to participate in the in-depth interviews. Based on the findings, it shows that the Korean Broadcasting Media are not born to the real strategy. The experience of hardship to survive, economically poor country, and challenges from other developed countries has made them compete and creatively work to improve their lives. The findings are significant in explaining the global success of Korean media.

Teacher Professional Development: Mobile and Limited Technology-enhanced Pedagogy

This qualitative case study seeks to document and understand the influence of technology integrated/supported professional development (PD) on preK-12 grade teachers in Nepal. The study focuses on the value of collaborative, university-school relationships to foster buy-in among teachers to integrate technology for increased student learning. We used the TPACK framework and sociocultural theory of learning to understand how and why technology integration at a rural school in a poor country would support more engaged pedagogy for learning. The PDs were co-designed by the researchers with teachers’ input, and further supported in its implementation when teachers tried out the new strategies in their classrooms. Data was collected utilizing methods of observations, self-reflective fieldnotes, informal interviews, and artifacts. Data analysis indicated that effective and locally suitable technology integration relies on building relationships with the teachers and school community; technology integration needs to be focused on the local needs of students and teachers based on their resources and curricular demands; and while limited (mobile) technology integration can support better learning, student-centered inquiry-based pedagogy needs to guide technology use in class. Furthermore, the study argues that recognizing and valuing local cultural and school contexts are central to successful PD in technology integration.

1513Foodborne Outbreak in the Central Prison, Amanat Al-Asimah, Yemen-October, 2020

Background Foodborne diseases continuous to be one of important health problem in Yemen. On October 9, 2020, the surveillance officer in Amanat Al-Asimah reported increased number of diarrhea cases in the prison. On October 10, 2020, team from Y-FETP was sent to determine the magnitude of the outbreak, identify risk factors and recommend control measures. Methods Descriptive and case control study with a ratio of (1: 1) was conducted. Case defined as any person in prison developed of diarrhea or vomiting/nausea or abdominal cramps from 1st-15th October. Control defined as: any person in prison not developed of diarrhea or vomiting or any symptoms. Data was collected by using prepared line list and multivariable logistic analysis used for identifying risk factors. Results A total of fifty-one cases met the case definition. All cases were males with the mean of age (31.3±3.06). Al-Qala’ah ward was the most affected area (AR 5.7/100) and none of the cases died. The implicated food items were: tomato sauce (OR 4.92: CI 2.11-11.49) and potato sauce (OR 5.68: CI 2.29-14.07). Tanks were open and in bad condition and handling of food were poor. Laboratory results of examined food and water samples revealed Shigella flxneri sero type II and coliform growth and Staph. aurous were isolated from nasal of 3 cookers. Conclusions The foodborne outbreak in prison was associated with eating contaminated food in main restaurants. Monitoring of food consumed, rigorous implementation of food handling instructions and health education of handlers, and periodic inspection of water tanks in prisons are recommended. Key messages Highlight the importance of foodborne illness which leads to a negative impact on affected people loss of work, medical costs, long-term disability, and even death.in addition to bad impact on the economy especially in a poor country such as Yemen which has lacked awareness of the foodborne illness and doesn't have any surveillance system and regulation

How the World Economy revolves round Entrepreneurial University Model: Cases from India

Academic capitalism is quite different in perspective when speaking about the triple helix model or the entrepreneurial dimensions of University-Industry-academic nexus which gained prominence quite late in few countries as other so called developed countries had such a build up quite early when it left the gilded innovation structure to a more liberal perspective of academics and knowledge management. Research has shown that crisis and disasters have made innovation thoughts easier with greater transition potential across borders in the form of tacit knowledge via trade exchanges. Previously earlier to the 1980s emerging or the underdeveloped countries rarely witnessed autonomy in state owned academic institutions where universities were merely a place for teaching. With greater liberalization and moving towards free markets, emerging economies like India realized the importance of autonomy in institutions and got rid of the license raj which was destroying the foundations of economy. This paper scrutinizes the research gap in Entrepreneurial university concept applications in India firstly which can be applied to other developing countries were the nexus between industry and academic pursuits are gaining momentum and very little literature is available which can put forth policy grounds for government and national agenda holders to create sustainable paths leading to successful innovation products which can contribute to economic growth and development of society at large. The paper primarily is build on case studies which analyses and answers global thoughts hovered around Why Academic Capitalism was late in developing countries? Can the world too learn from Triple Helix applied to innovation system nationally in relatively poor country like India which is still a agrarian economy at large?

Facilitation activities for change response: a qualitative study on infection prevention and control professionals during a pandemic in Brazil

PurposeFacilitation activities support implementation of evidence-based interventions within healthcare organizations. Few studies have attempted to understand how facilitation activities are performed to promote the uptake of evidence-based interventions in hospitals from resource-poor countries during crises such as pandemics. This paper aims to explore facilitation activities by infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals in 16 hospitals from 9 states in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachPrimary and secondary data were collected between March and December 2020. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 IPC professionals in Brazilian hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public and internal documents were used for data triangulation. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis technique.FindingsBuilding on the change response theory, this study explores the facilitation activities from the cognitive, behavioral and affective aspects. The facilitation activities are grouped in three overarching dimensions: (1) creating and sustaining legitimacy to continuous and rapid changes, (2) fostering capabilities for continuous changes and (3) accelerating individual commitment.Practical implicationsDuring crises such as pandemics, facilitation activities by IPC professionals need to embrace all the cognitive, behavioral and affective aspects to stimulate positive attitudes of frontline workers toward continuous and urgent changes.Originality/valueThis study provides unique and timely empirical evidence on the facilitation activities that support the implementation of evidence-based interventions by IPC professionals during crises in hospitals in a resource-poor country.

Climate Change and Possible Impacts on Travel and Tourism Sector

Nepal is a diverse country with lowlands of Terai to the highest mountains attracting many tourists and visitors to make visits. So, the tourism in Nepal is primarily nature-based as tourists are mostly attracted by the spectacular landscapes, majestic mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers and biodiversity across its diverse ecological gradient. Mountaineering, trekking, whitewater rafting and jungle safari tours are the main forms of nature-based tourism activities in our country. Climate change is affecting Nepal in a number of ways and the travel and tourism sector cannot remain untouched. Various studies on climate change shows increased weather uncertainties and extremities resulting into long dry period and intense rain during monsoon leading to increased water induced disasters like floods, inundation, landslides, cloudburst floods, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) which are projected to continue in future as well. This has affected natural landscapes, and Himalayas influencing every walk of life and livelihood options. Though the impacts of climate change can be observed in the whole world, poor country like Nepal is likely to suffer most due to limited resources to cope with and adapt to the effects of climate change. In this paper, an effort has been made to review the impact of climate change on the travel and tourism sector in Nepal through the study of previous literatures on climate changes.

South Korea’s Nuclear Power Phase-Out and the Role of Media

South Korea is a resource-poor country, which heavily relies on importing energy from outside. Therefore, the South Korean government tried to develop the technologies of producing nuclear power energy, which was succeeded in the 90s. Furthermore, based on the advanced technology of nuclear power, in 2009, the government celebrated winning a contract to build nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates. Since then, in South Korea, nuclear power energy was considered a leading economy for the country’s future. However, there were countless social-environmental conflicts related to using nuclear power energy. Furthermore, with the ‘unexpected’ Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, the nuclear power phase-out debate has initiated in South Korea. As a consequence, nuclear power phase-out was included in the energy transition policy when the newly elected government took presidential office in May 2017. In fact, nuclear phase-out was a presidential pledge during the presidential election. However, this policy of nuclear power phase-out became one of the most intense social-political conflicts of the society, and the mass media played a key role to intensify the conflict.