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In conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath, Russian aggression on Ukraine has wide-ranging consequences for the EU, including high inflation, an immense energy cost increase, and a shortage of critical resources. All of these have pronounced effects on the sustainability and operations of research infrastructures (RIs), several of which face difficulties in providing continuous service. To address these topics, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) has established a dedicated drafting group to look into the energy and supply challenges, also responding to a call by Competitiveness Council to do so. This report highlights the significant impact of the Russian aggression on Ukraine on the sustainability and operations of research infrastructures (RIs) in the EU. The energy crisis resulting from the Russian aggression poses a severe challenge to the RIs, predominantly analytical RIs, with energy-intensive RIs such as synchrotrons, computing centres, accelerator-driven particle sources, neutron facilities, research reactors, and lasers being the most affected. The shortage of critical resources and materials, such as some gases, rare isotopes, and permanent magnets, also presents a significant challenge to RIs, although they may not be a consequence of the war. The report presents recommendations to ESFRI, Member States, and the European Commission based on good practices from ESFRI member countries and the discussion within the drafting group to address these challenges and enhance the future resilience of RIs. The recommendations include allocating additional funds and energy price capping for the most energy-intensive RIs, developing response plans that include actions aimed at greening the operations of RIs, considering the needs of the RI communities in the activities linked to the Critical Raw Materials Regulation, and setting up specific measures to support the Ukrainian research community. The report emphasizes the importance of preparing for future crises, increasing the resilience and preparedness of European society to cope with any present and future crisis.

The aim was to examine mental health and burnout among frontline and critical care healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients. A cohort study was conducted among frontline and critical care healthcare workers in hospitals with COVID-19 patients. Burnout of healthcare workers was high, and mental health was median. Differences in emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, depersonalization, satisfaction, and mental health were found during the COVID-19 pandemic. A positive correlation between emotional exhaustion with a higher number of patients, higher workload, higher concern for health, and workplace stress was established. At the end of the third wave, the number of healthcare workers with high emotional exhaustion and depersonalization had decreased by one-third. When emotional exhaustion and occupational stress levels are high, psychologically supporting healthcare workers is essential to preserving their health and well-being.

The study of urban resilience (UR) in the context of sustainable development (SD) is a relatively new chapter, so we give it our full attention in this article. We seek to link UR and SD by understanding the complexity of current anthropogenic hazards—more precisely, global consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine. In our study, we go a step further and create a hypothetical model based on hazards that links the key factors of UR and SD. We set the following two objectives: whether and how research incorporates newly perceived conceptual hazards (pandemic, war) and whether all groups of factors are explored equally and simultaneously. As these two hazards have only recently emerged and research on the subject is still well underway, we have opted for a systematic review method. We focused on articles from 2019 to 2022. The study showed that newly perceived conceptual tensions (pandemic, war) related to UR and SD have not been adequately explored. The study confirmed the lack of existing research in the broader context of understanding resilience of the built environment, and thus the lack of studies that provide a foundation and perspective for SD of the built environment. Therefore, we believe that further research should specifically focus on the plurality of approaches to understand the complex interactions, their impacts, and feedbacks in the context of multidimensional urbanization to understand UR as a perspective for SD.

The COVID-19 era is bringing changes to different parts of everyday life, redefining what people used to consider normal. As the world deals with this highly contagious disease, the issue of the built environment, buildings, their architecture and possible relations among their characteristics and the spread of the virus remains unclear. Preschool and school education is an essential part of society. However, with the spread of COVID-19, kindergartens and schools keep on partly or fully closing and reopening, trying to provide a safe and healthy environment for children. Instructions and recommendations from different experts and organisations worldwide were announced in terms of how to adjust the functioning of kindergartens in conditions of the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19. The measures include organisational and hygiene measures. Organisational measures are closely related to the architectural design of a building. At this point, the main question of this research was raised: is there any relation between the architectural characteristics of kindergartens and the spread of the new coronavirus in them? The research examined the architectural characteristics of kindergartens in Slovenia with reported COVID-19 cases among staff or children.

The shift to using renewable materials is essential to help create a sustainable future on a planet with limited resources. Research and innovations in wood science are greatly improving, but findings need to reach the widest possible audience so they can be used in practice and benefit us all. Learning through watching online videos has become ubiquitous both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it is important to understand how it affects viewers and to study guidelines to make educational videos more effective, both for learners and educators. Over the years, extensive research has been conducted on designing effective multimedia lessons based on the cognitive multimedia learning theory and cognitive load theory – theories that aim to inform educators on how to design learning materials in accordance with the way the human cognition works. Recently, researchers and practitioners alike have also focused on ways to engage learners and affect the emotions that could promote learning with an approach called emotional design. However, the principles of learning with video may differ depending on the subject covered and the characteristics of the learners, making it imperative to test different approaches on different populations. Deeper knowledge about renewable materials and how to work with them is vital not only for various industries, but also among the general public, who are the final users and investors in these innovations. For this reason, we developed five educational videos, with a total length of 24 minutes, with the goal of teaching people with little or no previous knowledge about wood as a building material. The videos introduced them to concepts like advantages and disadvantages of using wood-based materials in construction, service life and performance limits, wood degradation processes like weathering, wood decay, and insect damage, and how to combat them with choosing the right materials, protective design measures and maintenance. In a series of studies, we tested what effect do several instructional design interventions like the narrator’s emotional tone and the addition of same language subtitles have on learners who are learning from watching videos in their non-native language. In a globalized world with open online learning opportunities, many people who consume English learning materials are not native speakers. However, the vast majority of research of this type involves instructional materials in the native language of learners. After viewing the videos, participants completed a knowledge test on the content of the videos, asking them questions related to recognizing the presented material or retention, and to the ability to use the newly gained knowledge in novel situations, or transfer. The presentation will introduce evidence-based principles of designing effective learning materials and reveal the results of the studies. An interesting observation following one of the studies is that despite presenting the wood as a sustainable construction material, participants still held on to their presumption about using wood for construction being harmful to the environment.

The paper presents the most comprehensive and large-scale study to date on how students perceive the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on various aspects of their lives on a global level. With a sample of 30,383 students from 62 countries, the study reveals that amid the worldwide lockdown and transition to online learning students were most satisfied with the support provided by teaching staff and their universities’ public relations. Still, deficient computer skills and the perception of a higher workload prevented them from perceiving their own improved performance in the new teaching environment. Students were mainly concerned about issues to do with their future professional career and studies, and experienced boredom, anxiety and frustration. The pandemic has led to the adoption of particular hygienic behaviours (e.g. wearing masks, washing hands) and discouraged certain daily practices (e.g. leaving home, shaking hands). Students were also more satisfied with the role played by hospitals and universities during the epidemic compared to the government and banks. The findings also show that students with selected socio-demographic characteristics (male, part-time, first level, applied sciences, lower living standard, from Africa or Asia) were generally more strongly affected by the pandemic since they were significantly less satisfied with their academic work/life. Key factors influencing students' satisfaction with the role of their university are also identified. Policymakers and higher education institutions around the world may benefit from these findings while formulating policy recommendations and strategies to support students during this and any future pandemics.

Emerging trends such as digitalization, globalization, and the COVID-19 pandemic are forcing higher education institutions to undergo constant organizational and technological changes and to introduce innovative pedagogical approaches suitable for teaching a new generation of students—the so-called digital natives. The goal of this paper is to engage in the ongoing debate in higher education about new teaching methods, i.e., game-based learning methods, which meet the needs of digital natives. They have grown up in a fast-paced, technology-driven society, which has affected how they absorb information, their ability to concentrate for extended periods, and their motivation and engagement in the learning process. Existing research suggests that implementing the game-based learning method can be very difficult and costly, as it often requires adapting the freely available game to the requirements of the particular course and additional investment in purchasing appropriate equipment. In this paper, we develop a comprehensive procedure for introducing a cost-effective game-based learning method in higher education, which includes thirteen steps to help lecturers introduce game-based activities straightforwardly into their teaching processes. In addition, we also present security, cultural, and quality assurance issues that need to be considered when implementing game-based learning in higher education.

The COVID-19 virus in a short time has caused a terrible crisis that has been spread around the world. This crisis has affected human life in several dimensions, one of which is a sharp increase in urban waste. This increase in waste volume during the pandemic, in addition to the intense increase in costs associated with the risks of virus contagion through infectious waste. In this study, a hybrid mathematical modelling approach including a Bi-level programming model for infectious waste management has been proposed. At the higher level of the model, government decisions regarding the total costs related to infectious waste must be minimized. At this level, the collected infectious waste is converted into energy, the revenue of which is returned to the system. The lower level relates to the risks of virus contagion through infectious waste, which can be catastrophic if ignored. This study has considered the low, medium, high and very high prevalence scenarios as key parameters for the production of waste. In addition, the uncertainty in citizens' demand for waste collection was also included in the proposed model. The results showed that by energy production from waste during the COVID-19 pandemic, 34% of the total cost of collecting and transporting waste can be compensated. Finally, this paper obtained useful managerial insights using the data of Kermanshah city as a real case.