Explanatory Variables of Dropout in Colombian Public Education: Evolution Limited to Coronavirus Disease

<p style="text-align: justify;">Student dropout, defined as the temporary or definitive suspension of the exercise of the right to education, is attributable to multiple variables classified into individual, academic, institutional, and socioeconomic determinants which may be exacerbated in the context of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Consequently, this work aims to synthesize, from the available evidence, the behaviour and influence of the explanatory variables of school dropout in infant school, primary school and, high school in Colombia for the period 2014-2019 compared to the period 2020-2021 under the COVID-19 pandemic conditions. The research methodology consisted of a systematic review of 125 indexed articles for 2014-2019 and 32 reports related to dropout in Colombian Basic education for the 2020-2021 period. The systematic review of the 157 articles revealed that dropout was studied and explained in both time periods, mainly from the academic determinant whose most cited explanatory variables were: ‘teachers’, ‘curriculum’ and ‘methodologies used’. Moreover, it could be perceived that in the period 2014-2019, the socioeconomic variable was the second dropout determinant, considering ‘family income” as the most important indicator, while in 2020-2021 the “infrastructure” and the ‘political environment’ remained as the most dominant. Lastly, in 2020-2021, the variable ‘teachers’ was highly cited showing that their practice made students maintain their interest despite the physical distance.</p>

Interpersonal Affective Touch in a Virtual World: Feeling the Social Presence of Others to Overcome Loneliness

Humans are by nature social beings tuned to communicate and interact from the very beginning of their lives. The sense of touch represents the most direct and intimate channel of communication and a powerful means of connection between the self and the others. In our digital age, the development and diffusion of internet-based technologies and virtual environments offer new opportunities of communication overcoming physical distance. It however, happens that social interactions are often mediated, and the tactile aspects of communication are overlooked, thus diminishing the feeling of social presence, which may contribute to an increased sense of social disconnection and loneliness. The current manuscript aims to review the extant literature about the socio-affective dimension of touch and current advancements in interactive virtual environments in order to provide a new perspective on multisensory virtual communication. Specifically, we suggest that interpersonal affective touch might critically impact virtual social exchanges, promoting a sense of co-presence and social connection between individuals, possibly overcoming feelings of sensory loneliness. This topic of investigation will be of crucial relevance from a theoretical perspective aiming to understand how we integrate multisensory signals in processing and making sense of interpersonal exchanges, this is important in both typical and atypical populations. Moreover, it will pave the way to promising applications by exploring the possibility to use technical innovations to communicate more interactively in the case of people who suffer from social isolation and disconnection from others.

Dance wherever you are: the evolution of multi-modal delivery for social inclusion of rural older adults

Background and Objectives Older adult social inclusion involves meaningful participation that is increasingly mediated by information communication technology (ICT) and in rural areas requires understanding of older adults’ experiences in the context of the digital divide. This paper examines how the multi-modal streaming (live, pre-recorded, blended in-person) of the Sharing Dance Older Adults program developed by Canada's National Ballet School (NBS) and Baycrest, influenced social inclusion processes and outcomes in rural settings. Research Design and Methods Data were collected from on-site observations of dance sessions, research team reflections, focus groups and interviews with older adult participants and their carers in pilot studies in the Peterborough Region of Ontario, and the Westman Region of Manitoba, Canada (2017-2019). There were 289 participants including older adults, people living with dementia, family carers, long-term-care staff, community facilitators, and volunteers. Analytic themes were framed in the context of rural older adult social exclusion. Results Remote delivery addressed barriers of physical distance by providing access to the arts-based program and enhancing opportunities for participation. Constraints were introduced by the use of technology in rural areas and mitigated by in-person facilitators and different streaming options. Meaningful engagement in dynamic interactions in the dance was achieved by involving local staff and volunteers in facilitation of and feedback on the program and its delivery. Different streaming technologies influenced social inclusion in different ways: live-stream enhanced connectedness, but constrained technical challenges; pre-recorded was reliable, but less social; blended delivery provided options, but personalization was unsustainable. Discussion and Implications Understanding different participants’ experiences of different technologies will contribute to more effective remote delivery of arts-based programs with options to use technology in various contexts depending on individual and organizational capacities.

Between division and connection: a qualitative study of the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on social relationships in the United Kingdom

Background: The first national COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom between March to July 2020 resulted in sudden and unprecedented disruptions to daily life. This study sought to understand the impact of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as social distancing and quarantine, on people’s lived experiences, focusing on social connections and relationships. Methods: Data were generated through 20 in-depth online and telephone interviews, conducted between May and July 2020, and analysed using thematic analysis informed by an ecological framework. Results: Findings show that the use of NPIs impacted social relationships and sociality at every level, disrupting participant’s sense of self; relationships with their partners, household members, neighbours, and communities; and polarising social and political views. However, experiences of personal meaning-making and reflection, and greater social connectedness, solidarity, and compassion – despite physical distance – were also common. Conclusions: Participant’s lived experiences of the first UK lockdown underscore the interconnectedness of relationships at the individual, community and societal level and point towards the important role of trust, social cohesion, and connectedness in coping with pandemic stress and adversity. Where infectious disease prevention measures rupture sociality, support for social connection at every relational level is likely to help build resilience in light of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

Severity of COVID-19 reinfection and associated risk factors: findings of a cross-sectional study in Bangladesh

Background: COVID-19 reinfected patients suffer from diverse health consequences. Information on the severity of COVID-19 reinfection is scarce. The current study aimed to determine the proportion of COVID-19 reinfection and risk factors associated with its severity. Methods: This cross-sectional study targeted all COVID-19 patients reported in May 2021 at the Health Information Unit (HIU) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of Bangladesh. We identified 473 (1.14%) reinfected patients out of 41408 diagnosed cases by reviewing their medical records. Considering the selection criteria and informed consent, we enrolled 404 reinfected patients. Data were collected through telephone interviews and reviewing medical records using a semi-structured questionnaire and a checklist. Results: The majority of the reinfected patients were urban residents (98.0%). Around 13.0% of reinfected patients had <90% oxygen saturation, and 64.0% had an interval of 3-6 months between two attacks. The severity of reinfection included asymptomatic (12.9%), mild (8.9%), moderate (66.3%), and severe (11.9%) forms of infection. An interval of 3-6 months between two attacks had less chance of having mild (AOR=0.031, ρ=0.000), moderate (AOR=0.132, ρ=0.017), and severe (AOR=0.059, ρ=0.002) infections. Patients who maintained physical distance had less chance of moderate-intensity reinfection (AOR=0.137, ρ=0.013), while the vaccinated patients had a higher chance of moderate (AOR=16.127, ρ=0.001) and severe (AOR=3.894, ρ=0.047) intensity reinfection. Conclusion: To avert COVID-19 reinfection and its severity, patients should be vigilant about preventive practices even after recovery. The study suggests vibrant interventions aligned with exposure, physical distancing, vaccination, and comorbidities for mitigating reinfection.

Physical Distancing Device with Edge Computing for COVID-19 (PADDIE-C19)

The most effective methods of preventing COVID-19 infection include maintaining physical distancing and wearing a face mask while in close contact with people in public places. However, densely populated areas have a greater incidence of COVID-19 dissemination, which is caused by people who do not comply with standard operating procedures (SOPs). This paper presents a prototype called PADDIE-C19 (Physical Distancing Device with Edge Computing for COVID-19) to implement the physical distancing monitoring based on a low-cost edge computing device. The PADDIE-C19 provides real-time results and responses, as well as notifications and warnings to anyone who violates the 1-m physical distance rule. In addition, PADDIE-C19 includes temperature screening using an MLX90614 thermometer and ultrasonic sensors to restrict the number of people on specified premises. The Neural Network Processor (KPU) in Grove Artificial Intelligence Hardware Attached on Top (AI HAT), an edge computing unit, is used to accelerate the neural network model on person detection and achieve up to 18 frames per second (FPS). The results show that the accuracy of person detection with Grove AI HAT could achieve 74.65% and the average absolute error between measured and actual physical distance is 8.95 cm. Furthermore, the accuracy of the MLX90614 thermometer is guaranteed to have less than 0.5 °C value difference from the more common Fluke 59 thermometer. Experimental results also proved that when cloud computing is compared to edge computing, the Grove AI HAT achieves the average performance of 18 FPS for a person detector (kmodel) with an average 56 ms execution time in different networks, regardless of the network connection type or speed.

Teaching English by using E-learning during COVID-19 Pandemic Time

COVID-19 a public health crisis of worldwide importance was announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) in January 2020 as a new corona virus disease outbreak and was reported as a pandemic in March 2020. Mr. Joko Widodo, the President of Republic of Indonesia, has instructed all Indonesian citizens to practice social and physical distance. To reduce the spread of COVID-19, the Indonesian government implemented certain preventive measures. Mr. Nadiem Anwar Makarim, Indonesia’s Minister of Education and Culture, has instructed all students, including University students to study from home. A descriptive qualitative research was used to conduct this study. The study’s findings show that in the event in the event of a pandemic, the E-learning system is the only possible teaching learning approach. Teachers and students simply connected to the internet from their homes and were connected to an approved E-learning program by the institutions or lecturers. However, there were undeniable challenges in implementing E-learning, such as a lack of internet access or WIFI, learners getting unmotivated and insufficient levels of student engagement. Affective domains appeared to be minimized in E-learning systems due to a lack of actual social and psychological interactions between teacher and students. The interactive teacher-student discussion is not as productive as it would be in a conventional teaching.

Sex, Digital Devices, Social Media, and Social Isolation: A Study on Sexual Behavioral During COVID -19 Pandemic

Introduction: Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused social and economic damages. People have adapted to a new reality of physical distance. Objective: The study aimed to assess the use of digital devices and social media, focusing on psychosocial and demographic factors of people´s sexual behavior during the pandemic. Methods: A total of 1,357 Brazilian adults participated in a cross-sectional online survey. They were recruited through social media to obtain information regarding sexual behavior and the use of digital devices and social media. Results: Digital devices and social media were used by 38.8% of the participants. Among the group that used technological devices, most claimed to have changed their sexual behavior, with 76.9% consuming more sexual content through movies or series. Conclusion: In a smaller group, technological resources appeared as an alternative for safer sex, reducing the risks of COVID-19 transmission.

“COVID 19- Two Waves & More” What Have We Learnt?

The first case of SARS-CoV2 admitted on 26th December 2019 in Central Hospital, Wuhan, China. Broncho-alveolar lavage and Polymerase chain reaction of the aspirate showed high abundance of a viral RNA which has 89.1 % nucleotide identity with bat coronavirus previously isolated in China. Soon human to human transmission was observed and the outbreak started spreading. World Health Organisation on 11th March 2020 declared it as pandemic. COVID 19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, a disease we are still struggling to contain. With vaccination drive throughout the world, though the severity in re-infection has come down, but there is still threat by the various variants which are arising from time to time in various countries. The most effective way of preventing the spread of the virus is to keep physical distance from others of at least 1 meter, wearing a well fitted mask, keep hands clean and use hand sanitizer frequently, stay in well ventilated place, avoid crowded place and cough into bent elbow or tissue paper and get vaccinated when once’s turn comes. Therefore, we urge people to follow COVID appropriate behaviour properly. Keywords: COVID 19, SARS-CoV2, COVID appropriate behaviour, Social Distancing

Equal Opportunities to Access the University in Chile? An Application with a Spatial Heckman Probit Model

This study contributes to the debate on accessibility of higher education in Chile, focusing on both socioeconomic and geospatial dimensions of access to university study. The central question we address in this paper is the following: Does geography (physical distance and neighborhood effects) play a significant role in determining accessibility of higher education in Chile? We use Heckman probit-type (Heckit) models to adjust for selection in the process of completing the trajectory towards higher education &ndash; that is, pre-selection, application to study at university, and ultimately admission (or denial) to a higher education institution. The results shows that the geospatial elements have a significant local effect on the student&rsquo;s application and access to Chilean universities.