Academic Experiences of “Zoom-Fatigue” as a Virtual Streaming Phenomenon During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This phenomenological exploratory multiple-case study design was conducted at an open distance e-learning university and a traditional contact residential university and it was found that the participants viewed video conferencing under the COVID-19 lockdown period as an exhausting experience. A second major finding revealed that the participants were empowered with digital literacy skills to use video conferencing effectively. The current findings add to a growing body of literature on video conferencing with a focus on Zoom fatigue. Further research might explore the lived zoom experiences of administrators, students and a larger group of faculties over a longer period. The study findings must be considered when planning and implementing video conferencing for academics and students in open distance e-learning contexts. This study showed that video conferencing is one tool in the emergence of a digital zoom revolution that has radically changed the workspace. The evidence from this study suggests that zoom fatigue is a reality check for work-related health management.

The Null Piece and Reality Check

Two frameworks are described, within the larger framework of Pure Data, that aim to facilitate the creation and preservation of electronic music that is performed live in real time. These are not part of Pd itself, because they are more directly tailored to a specific application space than Pd should be. They are nonetheless designed, like Pd, to minimize any unnecessary stylistic imposition on creators of electronic music. The Null Piece is a starting point for building live performance patches. It provides basic audio routing and parameter control while leaving other choices as free as possible. Reality Check is an attempt to aid in the long-term maintenance of a musical realization by verifying whether a piece still runs as intended despite the inevitable evolution of hardware and software.

Virtual Dream Reality Check: A Case of Interactive Digital Theatre from the Royal Shakespeare Company

The proliferation of digital theatre signals a new era of theatrical experiences. The Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) Dream is a recent example of how theatre companies are integrating cutting-edge technology to revolutionise their performances. Emerging from the Audience of the Future (AF) program, Dream combined gaming and theatre technology to create a virtual world for audiences to inhabit and explore digitally. The production incorporated motion-capture technology and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, allowing seven actors to perform live from a purpose-built studio while audiences simultaneously accessed their performance from a compatible device via a bespoke website (https://dream.online). The resulting experience combined live and virtual performance elements to connect global audiences.This venture into technologically enhanced theatre, however, raises questions about the potential implications of audience engagement with digital productions. In this paper, we question how RSC's Dream combined both live and virtual theatre experiences to offer a more interactive viewing experience. We argue that while Dream signalled an exciting step in the development of digital theatre, the interactive features revealed some discrepancies between RSC's goals and the degree of involvement delivered. We thus contend that for theatre organisations to incorporate digital technologies, they must tend to the nuances of technological interventions and weave them seamlessly with theatrical elements to retain the fidelity of the theatre experience.

EU dialogue with Russian society: A reality check

Engagement with Russian civil society is the least contested part of the EU’s current and expected future approach to Russia. There is broad agreement on the need to conduct a dialogue with Russian citizens and to facilitate people-to-people contacts, as well as to support civil society as such. However, this general goal is not fully matched by a clear understanding of what the basic features and sentiments of Russian society are today. This article seeks to sketch an unvarnished picture of Russian society, knowledge of which is essential for the effective design and successful conduct of any engagement activities (their formats, channels of communication and content). The key problems include the lack of enthusiasm among ordinary Russians for the European project, and their growing confusion—fuelled by authoritarian control and disinformation—about European institutions and norms.

Adapting despite “walls coming down”: Healthcare providers’ experiences of Covid-19 as an implosive adaptation

Background The Covid-19 pandemic has been a daunting exercise in adaptation for healthcare providers. While we are beginning to learn about the challenges faced by teams during the Covid-19 pandemic, what remains underexplored are the ways team members identified and adapted to these challenges. This is the goal of this study. Methods We interviewed 20 healthcare workers at various hospitals in Ontario, who provided care as part of clinical teams during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data was collected and analyzed following Constructivist Grounded Theory principles including iteration, constant comparison and theoretical sampling. Results Participants’ accounts of their experiences revealed the process of ‘implosive adaptation’. The ‘reality check’, the ‘scramble’, and the ‘pivot’ comprised this process. The reality check described the triggers, the scramble detailed the challenges they went through, and the pivot prescribed the shifting of mindset as they responded to challenges. These stages were iterative, rather than linear, with blurred boundaries. Conclusion That not all adaptations have to be successful during a crisis was the major insight gained by our participants. The language of Reality Check, Scramble, and Pivot provides a framework for teams to talk about and make sense of their approaches to crisis, even beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.