They Learn from Home: Deschooled Learning, Preventive Behavior, and Mental Health of Students during COVID-19 Lockdown in Bangladesh

Background: In the age of extreme importance of schooling education, deschooled learning has received less importance. The purpose of this study is to explore deschooled learning and its effectiveness on preventive behaviors and mental health conditions of students in Bangladesh.Methods: This study was designed following the quantitative method, and 1,085 responses were collected from social media platforms, using the snowball sampling technique. Binary logistic regression was used to measure and infer the proposed association.Results: As per fully-adjusted regression models, the individuals who had more deschooled learning were 1.667 times (95% CI= 1.191, 2.332; P= 0.01) and 1.426 times (95% CI= 1.038, 1.958; P= 0.05) more likely to prevent contact from symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers, respectively. Moreover, the persons with higher deschooled learning were more likely to have better mental health conditions including less fear (B= -0.462; 95% CI= -0.955, 0.030; P= 0.1), lower anxiety (B= -0.482; 95% CI= -0.844, -0.119; P= 0.01), and more perceived vulnerability (B= 1.292; 95% CI= 0.497, 2.087; P= 0.01). Conclusion: This study adds that policymakers may formulate health plans and policies for initiating informal health literacy (IHL) that may help increase deschooled learning and informal knowledge among individuals especially during a pandemic situation (like COVID-19) and help them to be safe by adopting preventive behaviors and maintaining better mental health conditions in low-income settings like Bangladesh.

‘I wouldn’t want to be a cow’: An ethnographic exploration of more-than-human relational praxis on a New Zealand dairy farm

<p>This thesis aims to understand how industrial farmers perceive and relate to the nonhuman world. A small-scale ethnographic focus of a 250-cow dairy farm in New Zealand’s Rangitikei district is presented as a proxy for approaching the underexamined field of farming ontologies. A common narrative exists that western ontology is characterised by human exceptionalism, a belief in humanity as singularly subjective beings amid a mute and objective world. Contrary to this discourse, this thesis finds that farmer relations to the nonhuman world are multiple, complex and contingent. This thesis employs Annemarie Mol’s (2002) understanding of ontology as established through practice, and thereby multiple, in conjunction with a material analysis of the farm as a composite ecology of human and nonhuman agents. I argue that industrial agricultural practice is informed both by transcendent, objectivist logics, and by co-constituted, informal knowledge formed through co-habitation of multispecies lifeworlds. The unruly agency of lively materials, and the affective and intersubjective qualities of interspecies interactions, are shown to figure conditionally in farming practice. These components are managed within the bounds of industrial agriculture’s outwardly utilitarian and anthropocentric systems through responsive practices of care and attentiveness, revealing that an attribution of nonhuman agency and subjectivity is essential to industrial farming practice.</p>

‘I wouldn’t want to be a cow’: An ethnographic exploration of more-than-human relational praxis on a New Zealand dairy farm

<p>This thesis aims to understand how industrial farmers perceive and relate to the nonhuman world. A small-scale ethnographic focus of a 250-cow dairy farm in New Zealand’s Rangitikei district is presented as a proxy for approaching the underexamined field of farming ontologies. A common narrative exists that western ontology is characterised by human exceptionalism, a belief in humanity as singularly subjective beings amid a mute and objective world. Contrary to this discourse, this thesis finds that farmer relations to the nonhuman world are multiple, complex and contingent. This thesis employs Annemarie Mol’s (2002) understanding of ontology as established through practice, and thereby multiple, in conjunction with a material analysis of the farm as a composite ecology of human and nonhuman agents. I argue that industrial agricultural practice is informed both by transcendent, objectivist logics, and by co-constituted, informal knowledge formed through co-habitation of multispecies lifeworlds. The unruly agency of lively materials, and the affective and intersubjective qualities of interspecies interactions, are shown to figure conditionally in farming practice. These components are managed within the bounds of industrial agriculture’s outwardly utilitarian and anthropocentric systems through responsive practices of care and attentiveness, revealing that an attribution of nonhuman agency and subjectivity is essential to industrial farming practice.</p>

Does knowledge structure matter? Key factors influencing formal and informal knowledge sharing in manufacturing

Purpose This study aims to investigate the factors from four dimensions that have an effect both on formal and informal knowledge sharing (FKS and IKS) and the relationship between knowledge sharing (KS) and task performance in Chinese manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach The structural equation modeling approach was applied to hypothesis testing according to the data collected from employees of manufacturing companies through the online questionnaire. A total of 530 valid responses were obtained. Findings The results indicate that level of knowledge structure, self-efficacy, leadership support and KS culture all have a significant positive effect on both FKS and IKS while trust only positively affects FKS and information technology support positively affects IKS. Both FKS and IKS positively contribute to the task performance of manufacturing companies. Research limitations/implications This study merely considered the impact of six factors on KS from four perspectives. Consequently, the relationship between some important other factors and KS is not revealed. In addition, the results of this study indicate that there might be a more complicated relationship between these factors and KS than the model constructed by this study. Therefore, in future research, more influencing factors could be considered in the research framework, and a multilevel model, such as a model considering the mediation effect, could be further explored. Practical implications According to the results, both FKS and IKS play a significant role in promoting organizational task performance, which is worthy of attention by the managers of manufacturing companies. In addition, the relationship between the different factors and the FKS and IKS found in this study provides specific guidance for improving the organizational KS practice. Originality/value First, previous studies considered the construction of explicit KS and tacit KS models based on the content of KS while this study considered FKS and IKS from the perspective of the process and approach of KS. Second, this research has clearly defined the level of knowledge structure from the perspective of knowledge ontology and verifies the positive effect of this factor on KS, providing a new theoretical perspective for exploring KS factors.

Gridshells: integrating design with structural performance in early design stages, using formal and informal knowledge

Gridshell has long interested the enthusiast of lightweight construction. The most popular examples date back to the 1960s; gridshell development requires mathematical, technical and material resources. These requirements limit gridshell development to special buildings, and their design to specialists requiring considerable time and budget to construct them. Digital processes of design, fabrication and assembly offer renewed possibilities to tackle these difficulties and to deepen the interaction among form, material and structural performance. This article documents a didactic experience regarding architectural and engineering gridshell design aimed at relative beginners, considering structural behaviour from early design stages. The research is included in a broader research about gridshells that seeks to gradually integrate formal and informal knowledge about form-finding, including empirical and theoretical research. The didactic experience is framed in a series of empirical constructions we are developing, and contributing to the collective debate about how to expand gridshell construction further.

Informality, innovation, and knowledge co-creation: characterising collaborative creativity and adaptation in rural development

This article characterises informal knowledge creation and co-creation between development and pastoralist actors, drawing on qualitative data gathered during an in-depth case study in Northern Kenya. Using thematic analysis, this article identifies three intersecting narratives: knowledge and exchange, barriers and drivers, and risk and uncertainty. These concepts are interpreted using wider literature on knowledge dynamics and co-creation to evaluate the suitability of existing analytical frameworks for further research on pastoralist development. The study results highlight the value of cross-cultural informal knowledge co-creation for pastoralist development, and the need for more robust future research.

Promoting inter-organisational knowledge sharing: A qualitative evaluation of England’s Global Digital Exemplar and Fast Follower Programme

Background The Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) Programme was designed to promote the digitisation of hospital services in England. Selected provider organisations that were reasonably digitally-mature were funded with the expectation that they would achieve internationally recognised levels of excellence and act as exemplars (‘GDE sites’) and share their learning with somewhat less digitally-mature Fast Follower (FF) sites. Aims This paper explores how partnerships between GDE and FF sites have promoted knowledge sharing and learning between organisations. Methods We conducted an independent qualitative longitudinal evaluation of the GDE Programme, collecting data across 36 provider organisations (including acute, mental health and speciality), 12 of which we studied as in-depth ethnographic case studies. We used a combination of semi-structured interviews with programme leads, vendors and national policy leads, non-participant observations of meetings and workshops, and analysed national and local documents. This allowed us to explore both how inter-organisational learning and knowledge sharing was planned, and how it played out in practice. Thematic qualitative analysis, combining findings from diverse data sources, was facilitated by NVivo 11 and drew on sociotechnical systems theory. Results Formally established GDE and FF partnerships were perceived to enhance learning and accelerate adoption of technologies in most pairings. They were seen to be most successful where they had encouraged, and were supported by, informal knowledge networking, driven by the mutual benefits of information sharing. Informal networking was enhanced where the benefits were maximised (for example where paired sites had implemented the same technological system) and networking costs minimised (for example by geographical proximity, prior links and institutional alignment). Although the intervention anticipated uni-directional learning between exemplar sites and ‘followers’, in most cases we observed a two-way flow of information, with GDEs also learning from FFs, through informal networking which also extended to other health service providers outside the Programme. The efforts of the GDE Programme to establish a learning ecosystem has enhanced the profile of shared learning within the NHS. Conclusions Inter-organisational partnerships have produced significant gains for both follower (FF) and exemplar (GDE) sites. Formal linkages were most effective where they had facilitated, and were supported by, informal networking. Informal networking was driven by the mutual benefits of information sharing and was optimised where sites were well aligned in terms of technology, geography and culture. Misalignments that created barriers to networking between organisations in a few cases were attributed to inappropriate choice of partners. Policy makers seeking to promote learning through centrally directed mechanisms need to create a framework that enables networking and informal knowledge transfer, allowing local organisations to develop bottom-up collaboration and exchanges, where they are productive, in an organic manner.

Providing a framework for knowledge sharing in knowledge-based organizations according to social capital indicators

Purpose: This study aimed to provide a framework for examining knowledge sharing from the perspective of social capital in knowledge-based organizations. For this purpose, the social capital and knowledge sharing literature has been reviewed and appropriate dimensions and components have been selected for use in the proposed framework. Research methodology: The number of experts participating in this study was 12. Kendall’s W Ranks is a statistical index for assessing the degree of agreement in a group. This statistical index, which is related to non-parametric statistics, is used to assess the degree to which a number of evaluators agree on the ranking of several factors. Result: This research's proposed framework shows that the main bottleneck in the knowledge sharing process is the sender. Numerous factors affect the motivation, quantity and quality of knowledge shared by him. The proposed conceptual model shows the factors in the field of social capital well. This means that the organization's managers should pay special attention to people with knowledge to activate the process of knowledge sharing in the organization as a driving force. Limitations: This research only described knowledge-based organizations. Contribution: The proposed conceptual framework makes a good distinction between formal and informal knowledge-sharing channels in a knowledge-based organization. Formal channels are controlled and manageable channels. Although the main burden of knowledge sharing in organizations lies with informal channels, the more managers can shift the organization's knowledge to formal channels, the more they can manage the process. This is a part of the job that social capital, in particular, helps to achieve. The proposed framework discusses the acceptance of the use of formal frameworks. Keywords: Social capital, Knowledge management, Knowledge sharing, Expertise method

Knowledge Transfer, Knowledge Acquisition and Qualifications in the Context of Rural Development in Poland

The aim of this study is to analyse the knowledge acquisition and transfer system in rural Poland, in comparison with nonrural areas. In addition, to determine the importance of market qualifications and the effects that the Integrated Qualification System can have in the rural areas. This study shows that life in the countryside is becoming more diverse and agriculture is no longer the main source of income because the share of income from non-agricultural activities is increasing. This is linked to the fact that rural areas have become more attractive for the development of non-agricultural jobs, which in turn is associated with the need not only to raise, but also to confirm qualifications acquired in everyday activities. The conducted analysis shows that acquisition and transfer of knowledge can come from two different platforms, individual and supralocal. These platforms work in two totally different ways. Our analysis also shows a gap between formal and non-formal or informal education in relation to the rural areas´ needs. This gap can be bridged by using the Integrated Qualification System. Like a bidirectional tool, this system works on the one hand confirming acquired skills and knowledge, and on the other hand incorporating and updating the formal education system with non-formal or informal knowledge. The recognition of informal or non-formal qualifications has an important role in sustainable development and improving quality of life of rural areas. The article refers to the issue of qualifications of rural population, it is difficult to consider this issue in isolation from rural areas. The aim of the authors was to focus on the analysis of the issue of qualifications among people directly related to the countryside. The authors do not refer only to farmers, nevertheless, the reference to this social group finds its justification in the studies that are cited.