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Too Close for Comfort? The Social Health of Geriatric Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany
No full textBackground: The first COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020 had detrimental effects on both the residents and staff of long-term care facilities in Germany. Regulations to prevent the spread of the virus closed off facilities to visitors, creating social and physical distancing of residents and changing the daily routines of residents and nursing staff alike. Using a grounded theory approach, this study explores the impact of COVID-19 regulations on the social health of geriatric nurses in long-term care facilities in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews after the first lockdown (June/July 2020) and during the second lock¬down (November 2020–March 2021) with 13 nurses, primarily those in management positions. Results: We found that COVID-19 regulations changed the relationship between nurses and residents in important ways. First, nurses became primary caregivers and proxies for the relatives and professionals (e.g. hairdressers, physiotherapists) with whom residents typically interact. Second, strict regulations regarding hygiene, physi-cal and social distancing, and visitors contrasted sharply with nursing as a holistic practice and profession. Third, although nurses had to remain distanced from residents, they simultaneously developed greater emotional closeness. This dynamic affected the social health of both groups, raising important ethical questions about nursing responsibilities and emotional capacities in geriatric care during times of extended crisis such as the pandemic
“uniMatchUp!”: An application for promoting academic help-seeking and group development
No full textThis paper describes the conception, development, and evaluation of a peer support web application for university students. The main goal of uniMatchUp! is to help students in finding appropriate academic support and learning groups by providing Group Awareness (GA) information about various aspects of fellow students that are useful for online learning. The study contributes to a better understanding of the use of GA tools in the university context and reveals that active engagement with the application, in the form of contributed questions and answers, is positively associated with study satisfaction. During the interaction with uniMatchUp!, cognitive GA information (contribution quality) was considered more relevant than behavioral (amount of participation), and emotional (well-being) GA information about other students. The findings also provide potentials for improvement, which can shape the further development of uniMatchUp! and future applications
Metaphors of Ed Tech
No full textThe criticisms leveled at online education during the Covid-19 pandemic revealed not only a lack of understanding about how educational technology can be deployed effectively, but a lack of imagination. By using metaphors as a mental model, Weller enables educators to move beyond pragmatic concerns into more imaginative and playful uses of technology and to critically examine the appropriate implementation and adoption of ed tech.
Martin Weller is professor of educational technology, in the Institute of Educational Technology at the UK Open University. He is the chair of the Open University's multidisciplinary degree, the Open Programme, which is the largest degree in the UK. He is the author of The Battle For Open (2014), The Digital Scholar (2011), and 25 Years of Ed Tech (2020)
Pallet Shuttle Systems: Dynamics and Interaction with the Rack
No full textIn diesem Beitrag wird, nach einem kurzen Rückblick auf die im Vorgänger-Artikel von 2021 [AA21] beschriebenen Grundlagen zur Erfassung und Erforschung des dynamischen Verhaltens von Paletten-Shuttle-Regallagern, die Vorgehensweise zur Bestimmung des dynamischen Verhaltens des Regalbaus bei Paletten-Shuttle-Systemen vorgestellt. Neben den individuellen Modellierungen für Regalbau, Shuttle-Fahrzeuge und Satelliten-Fahrzeuge werden die Referenzmodelle mit den für die Simulation genutzten Parametern präsentiert. Mit Unterstützung durch Eigenfrequenzstudien werden Lastfälle für diverse Worst-Case-Szenarien erarbeitet und numerisch simuliert sowie die Ergebnisse analysiert und vorgestellt. Eine Studie zu Potenzialen der Querschnittsoptimierung bei den Regalprofilen ergänzt die Betrachtungen. Abschließend erfolgt ein Ausblick auf weitere Arbeitsschritte, um letztendlich mit den erzielten Ergebnissen eine Handreichung zur belastungsoptimierten Auslegung von Regalbauten anbieten zu können. Diese soll die dynamischen Wechselwirkungen zwischen im leeren oder voll beladenen Regal (gleichzeitig oder gestaffelt) beschleunigten bzw. gebremsten Shuttles und Satelliten beschreiben. Entsprechende Empfehlungen für die Dimensionierung des Regals aber auch Steuerungsstrategien der Shuttle- bzw. Satelliten-Fahrzeuge in Bezug auf Beschleunigungsvorgänge und deren Gleichzeitigkeit bzw. Staffelung sollen Eingang in die Hinweise finden – im Sinne einer optimalen, ressourcenschonenden Auslegung des Stahlbaus der Regale.After a short review of the basics described in the previous article of 2021 for the acquisition and investigation of the dynamic behaviour of pallet shuttle racking systems, in this article, the procedure for the determination of the dynamic behaviour of the racking structure in pallet shuttle systems is presented. In addition to the individual modelling for racking, shuttles and satellites, the reference models with the parameters used for the simulation are presented. With the support of eigenfrequency studies, load cases for various worst-case scenarios are developed and numerically simulated, and the results are analyzed and presented. A study on the potentials of cross-section optimization of the rack profiles completes the considerations. Finally, there is an outlook on further work steps, in order to finally be able to offer a handbook for the load-optimized design of racking structures with the results obtained. This should describe the dynamic interactions between accelerated, braked shuttles and satellites in empty or fully loaded racking (simultaneously or staggered). Corresponding recommendations for the dimensioning of the racking, but also control strategies of the shuttle or satellite vehicles with regard to acceleration processes and their simultaneity or staggering, should find their way into the information in the sense of an optimal, resource-saving design of the steel construction of the racking
The (Missing) Parody Exception in Italy and its Inconsistency with EU Law
No full textThe Italian Copyright Statute does not contain a general exception for ‘parody, caricature and pastiche’ pursuant to Article 5(3k) of the InfoSoc Directive. In spite of this, commentators believe that the case law prior to the Directive sufficiently safeguards parodies against infringement, by granting them the status of autonomous, ‘transformative’ creations and leveraging on the fundamental freedoms of speech and artistic expression as enshrined in the Italian Constitution. In addition, they have lauded this approach for avoiding downgrading parody from an ‘overarching principle’ to a narrowly defined ‘exception’ to copyright protection. The present article criticizes this construct by dissecting and rebuking the related arguments. It emphasizes its inconsistency with the InfoSoc Directive and the recent case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and submits that, paradoxically, framing parody as a principle leads to more restrictive outcomes than an ad verbum implementation of Article 5(3)(k)
Zen and the Art of Repair Manuals: Enabling a participatory Right to Repair through an autonomous concept of EU Copyright Law
No full textRepair manuals are an essential resource for repairing today’s modern and computerised devices. Though these manuals may contain purely utilitarian and uncopyrightable facts, they often receive copyright protection in their entirety as literary works. This protection can impede community-based efforts toward fostering a culture of participatory repair throughout the EU, including repair cafés and tool libraries. Participatory repair activities provide numerous environmental, social, and economic benefits. This article explores whether directive 2001/29/EC’s exception for “uses in connection with the repair or demonstration of equipment” at Article 5(3)(l) (the “Repair Exception”) may offer an avenue for enabling such non-profit activities. Following an examination of the shortcomings of recent EU-wide policy measures and industry-led commitments aimed at providing access to repair information, the article looks to the Repair Exception’s origins, member state implementation, and its interpretive scope as an autonomous concept of EU law. Considering the strong public interest in participatory repair and dissemination of technical knowledge, the article calls for a robust autonomous interpretation of the Repair Exception in line with Article 11 TFEU. This interpretation should enable non-profit repair activities throughout the EU while accounting for and balancing the legitimate economic interests of rightsholders
The Prohibition of General Monitoring Obligation for Video-Sharing Platforms under Article 15 of the E-Commerce Directive in light of Recent Developments: Is it still necessary to maintain it?
No full textThe absence of a uniform notion of general monitoring, introduced under the E-Commerce Directive 2000/31/EC, leads to different interpretations of the scope and the role of the prohibition on general monitoring obligations by the EU legislators and by the Court of Justice of the European Union. While the Court of Justice of the European Union balances freedom of expression and information, right to privacy and protection of personal data and right to property on the same level of importance in determining the scope of general monitoring, this article shows that special protections attributed to the interests that are fundamental to human life and to our modern democracies under primary EU laws are ignored. Unfortunately, this further deepens the segregation in the different interpretations of general monitoring and creates an inconsistency among the recent EU legislations. The article notes that this inconsistency eventually causes a legal uncertainty for the video-sharing platforms regarding their content moderation practices and thus turning the prohibition into an empty shell. At the current stage, the article reveals the need for a clear distinction for VSPs between vertically applicable content moderation measures arising from content or sector specific regulations and the prohibition on general monitoring obligations. However, for future regulation in the EU, it is suggested to find an alternative solution to online monitoring which can suppress the impact of online illegal activities without restricting fundamental rights of individuals