Sudipa Sarker
Sudipa Sarker is an educator, researcher, and advisor in the field of supply chain management.
Location United Kingdom
Activity
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You are very right. The pace of the situation changes during a disaster and is, unfortunately, an overlooked area. In many disruptions day to day, situations and needs can change so drastically that a solution that was "good" yesterday may not be relevant tomorrow. Training healthcare workers in coping with the situation is indeed a preparedness activity for...
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You have asked a very relevant question - who will be responsible for damages made by drones? I would say it depends - it can be the supplier (those using drones to deliver goods), drone manufacturer, a third-party insurance company, or a customer. Yes, in congested cities, drone delivery will surely remain a challenge. Despite that, many commercial companies...
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Catherine Nambandi
@CatherineNambandi Welcome to the course! I hope you will enjoy the course. Please do share your thoughts and experiences with us along the way.
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Try the link at the bottom of the page name misinfoME.
Here is the link again https://misinfo.me/frontend-v2/home. Unfortunately, the exercise link only works with Firefox. -
@EmilieTallberg, great points were raised. The EU had conducted a joint procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. The distribution strategy by the EU considered purchasing not only the power of a country but also the population size or how many dosages are required. Here you can learn more about EU Vaccine Strategy...
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Thanks for your suggestion Anna. We are a bunch of social scientists and not public health and/or infectious disease experts and that's why we should not attempt to define something that falls out of our scope and expertise.
If you are interested to learn about the difference between epidemic and pandemic here is a very good source:...
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@PetrSvoboda, sorry to know that you couldn't hear the video well. For us, the sound level is just fine. Maybe you can try using a headphone? If not, you can keep the caption on the video while playing it or follow the transcript.
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Sandra Ahtinen
Welcome Sandra! If you are into medical supply chains, you should be enjoying the contents of week 3. Please do take part in discussions of different weeks.
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Yes, framework agreements would help immensely in such a case. Any thoughts on why it may be difficult to have framework agreements with several suppliers for an organisation such as PCPM to purchase PPEs in times of crisis such as the pandemic?
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@JennikaVainio, yes, a limited number of suppliers was a real challenge faced by not only PCPM but many organisations and governments responding to the pandemic. And you are right that having different established contracts and collaborations with different suppliers from different regions could have solved the issue for PCPM. Note also that these...
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Thanks for letting us know about Vietnam's response. I do believe every country did the best that it could do. Surprisingly, the non-reporting of cases happened in the developed part too. Because not every country had free testing, many who had symptoms did not get tested. Those who tested positive at home with a rapid testing kit, their statistics never made...
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Think back to week 2. Remember crisis governance approaches that suggest having a collective sense-making? Yes, partnering with any local NGOs is crucial because they have the field knowledge and a community of people who trust them. Building resilience is also about building relationships with both formal and informal players during and, most time, even...
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You are right about known and recurring diseases vaccines. It is fairly straightforward. However, the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain wasn't that simple. This is because the procurement of such a vaccine followed a completely different route than that of a flu vaccine. For instance, many governments procured COVID-19 vaccines directly from the manufacturer....
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Sudipa Sarker made a comment
Welcome to Week 3. Please do keep flooding us with your comments. The more the merrier! Hope you will have a fantastic week of learning! We are here until the 16th of April to hear your thoughts and suggestions!
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Robert Obulejo Ballu
I am happy that you have found this week useful. Do comment on other weeks too :).
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Anna Rahikainen
Exactly, and if you now think of visual ethnography as a methodology, you can understand why it is so rich. Such data or "facts" will not be revealed in a survey or any type of desk or secondary research. You need to be in the field, talk, and interact with what you are researching. Yes, a researcher's point of view is significant but not necessarily, biased...
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@AnnaRahikainen nicely put :)
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I also believe that education industry suffered the most during pandemic. And I am talking about education at primary and secondary levels. Especially, in developing countries where there are no infrastructure for online classes. And you are right when you say that teaching suited for in-person education may not be well suit for online education. Having said...
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Thanks for sharing your experience with sense making during COVID.
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Right you are! Often we fail to see the big picture, especially, in times of crises.
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Aychiluhim Mitiku
@AychiluhimMitiku Wow! Great to have you here. Please do share your journey with us and participate actively in the discussion. We all can learn a lot from your field experience.
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Petr Svoboda
Great to have you here @PetrSvoboda. I hope you will really enjoy your time taking this course. Please do share your opinions and take an active part in the discussions - that too is part of the learning process.
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Jamile Hamideh
Hello Jamile, congrats on your PhD position at Hanken! Nice to have you here. I hope you will have a great experience taking this course with us. Please take an active part in the discussions. Your views as a future PhD student can be invaluable to others!
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@SofiaPortin, you must understand any methodology as a lens to analyse data. The methodology we choose to analyse data must depend on the problem at hand. The chosen methodology will also determine the findings (or story) you want to tell the world. So, the chosen methodology does not have to be field-specific but problem specific. Of course, in some fields,...
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Yasmin Merse
Great to have you hear, Yasmin! Thanks for joining the course. We hope you will gain a lot of insight into the medical supply chain with this course :).
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You are right that some food items also require a cold chain for preservation and quality control. In the next article, you will learn that some vaccines require an ultra-cold supply chain (e.g., -70 degrees). This greatly differs from the traditional cold chain required for food items. In a developing country context (e.g., Bangladesh), maintaining an...
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Thanks for portraying the Finnish elderly care! It will help learners from other parts of the world to compare and contrast with theirs!
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@AnnaRahikainen, great :). Looks like you have nailed it.
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Sofia Portin
@SoileKulmala, there were some great data collection efforts during COVID times. For instance, you can check this initiative by the University of Oxford. https://ourworldindata.org/. They used publicly available sources and official channels to fill out the data. It would be hard to ask each country to use a same format. However, anyone can collect same data...
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Anna Rahikainen
@AnnaRahikainen, great point; citizens can indeed use the data. For instance, where can they go if they are in critical condition and in need of ICU beds?
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Elina Nieminen
@ElinaNieminen, good point on the dynamic nature of the information. Yes, you are absolutely spot on that during any disaster, the pace at which information is generated is quite high, and hence, we need efforts to keep us updated.
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Sofia Portin
@SofiaPortin data accuracy is indeed a challenge and extremely important. Thanks for raising it. However, remember, something is always better than nothing. Accuracy is measured by calculating the errors, and then we can provide feedback on the errors to generate more accurate results. The important thing is to create a habit of collecting data, calculating...
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Nicole Nguyen
A good caveat, Nicole. Indeed, human trafficking can be a challenge. However, as we have seen and experienced during COVID-19, sharing critical resources is essential to saving lives. These are the moments when we should surpass the boundaries (or borders) and treat everyone as a part of "one world". Crises do make us united. We have seen it during the...
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Sudipa Sarker replied to Hanna Laakso
Great points Hanna and good to have you here :). Though, in this particular instance, we are talking about healthcare capacity but we can generalise it for other disruptions as well. For instance, if we are facing a flood the capacity information about shelters and their resources would be quite useful. In the midst of a refugee crisis, capacity information...
