The relationship between psychological distress and well-being among nurses in Türkiye during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: Nurses were among the healthcare professionals at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus 2019 pandemic and faced very stressful conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the level of psychological distress and well-being among nurses in Türkiye during this exceptionally challenging time. Methods: A total of 351 nurses participated in this cross-sectional study. The data were collected early in the pandemic during the period of April through June 2020 using a personal information form, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and the World Health Organization (Five) Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Results: Among the study participants, 69.2% of the nurses worked as an essential frontline caregiver (emergency/in-tensive care units and pandemic wards). The mean WHO-5 score was 9.15±4.77 and the mean GHQ-28 score reflecting psychological distress was 10.17±7.02. In all, 86% of the nurses reported an increased level of work-related stress. A low level of well-being was a predictor of psychological distress (R2=.284). The WHO-5 scores were negatively correlated with psychological distress scores (p<0.01;r=-0.535). Conclusion: Nurses working on the frontline during a pandemic are at great risk of developing adverse mental health outcomes. The study findings showed that the nurses' level of well-being was associated with the level of psychological distress. It is important to provide nurses with adequate psychological support to increase their sense of well-being and reduce psychological distress in order to ensure quality of care and maintain job satisfaction. © 2022 by Journal of Psychiatric Nursing.

Redesigning global supply chains during compounding geopolitical disruptions: the role of supply chain logics

Purpose Why do managers redesign global supply chains in a particular manner when faced with compounding geopolitical disruptions? In answering this research question, this study identifies a constrained system of reasoning (decision-making logic) employed by managers when they redesign their supply chains in situations of heightened uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted 40 elite interviews with senior supply chain executives in 28 companies across nine industries from November 2019 to June 2020, when the UK was preparing to leave the European Union, the US-China trade war was escalating, and Covid-19 was spreading rapidly around the globe. Findings When redesigning global supply chains, the authors find that managerial decision-making logic is constrained by three distinct environmental ecosystem conditions: (1) the perceived intensity of institutional pressures;(2) the relative mobility of suppliers and supply chain assets;and (3) the perceived severity of the potential disruption risk. Intense government pressure and persistent geopolitical risk tend to impact firms in the same industry, resulting in similar approaches to decision-making regarding supply chain design. However, where suppliers are relatively immobile and supply chain assets are relatively fixed, a dominant logic is consistently present. Originality/value Building on an institutional logics perspective, this study finds that managerial decision-making under heightened uncertainty is not solely guided by institutional pressures but also by perceptions of the severity of risk related to potential supply chain disruption and the immobility of supply chain assets. These findings support the theoretical development of a novel construct that the authors term 'supply chain logics'. Finally, this study provides a decision-making framework for Senior Executives competing in an increasingly complex and unstable business environment.

Cold Chain Logistics: The Case of Turkish Airlines Vaccine Distribution

Purpose: The world is going through unprecedented times since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Billions of people will be vaccinated in the next few years. This mass vaccination effort requires setting up complex cold chain organizations and meticulous coordination of distribution networks. Keeping coronavirus vaccines at appropriate temperatures during the distribution process is not easy;however, it is one of the key factors battling against COVID-19. The purpose of this paper is to discuss and identify the essential logistics capabilities of cold storage and logistics service providers during the COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Methodology: First, we identify the prominent risks that cold chain distributors encounter during vaccine transportation by conducting an in-depth literature review and an interview with the vice president of one of the largest air cargo companies in the world. Then we discuss logistics capabilities for the mitigation of these risks. Finally, we explore the Turkish Cargo's cold chain footprint enlargement strategy during the pandemic. Findings: Cold chain logistics requires special attention to specific capabilities due to the nature of the cargoes being transported. On-time delivery time, special storage and transport equipment, and process monitoring ability are among the core capabilities for cold chain logistics service providers. Ensuring the reliable and effective distribution of temperature-sensitive vaccines is crucial since millions of lives depend on them. Originality: This study is one of the first papers investigating the cold chain capabilities of air cargo distributors during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2021 Proceedings of the Hamburg International Conference of Logistics. All rights reserved.

Organizational Flexibility of Airlines during COVID-19: A Study on the Airline Companies in Turkey

Purpose: COVID-19 caused a highly uncertain environment and introduced a radical change in the airline industry. In that time, idle capacity due to drastic decline in passenger traffic, change in travel rules, and increases in air cargo demand have emerged as the main challenges. Effective responses to these issues became a fundamental requirement for airlines' survival and sustainability of supply chains. Organizational flexibility plays a vital role in dealing with those situations. Flexibility allows airline companies to adapt to changing environmental conditions and take advantage of opportunities. This study aims to explain the strategies of airline companies in Turkey to the COVID-19 crisis based on organizational flexibility. Methodology: This study is structured on the qualitative research method. We interviewed five experts and compiled information by reviewing various publications on COVID-19. We analyzed obtained information within the framework of organizational flexibility. Findings: The results indicated that airlines mitigate the effects of COVID-19, mostly through protective and exploitative maneuvers of organizational flexibility. Airlines focus more on cost reduction and saving strategies as protective maneuvers, while exploitative maneuvers focus more on the cargo market. Originality: This study is novel in that it examined airlines' responses to COVID-19 within the framework of organizational flexibility. © 2021 Proceedings of the Hamburg International Conference of Logistics. All rights reserved.

Psychological Well-Being and Mental Health in Migrant Job-Seekers with Disabilities

Introduction: Migrant workers seeking employment in a host country often face a variety of stressors that affect their mental health. Studies have shown that depression, insomnia and fear are more likely reported in migrant workers during Sars-Cov-19 pandemic and lockdown process. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a 10-week job-coaching programme for migrant job-seekers with disabilities related to their psychological well-being or mental health. Materials and Methods: A single-group pre-test and-post-test research design type was used. The preliminary baseline results included 21 migrant job seekers with disabilities. The following reliable, validated and internationally accepted scales were used: Short Form Survey Instrument, WHO Well-Being Index (WHO-5), and Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression and Anxiety (PHQ-9). Results: The mean age of the participants was 49 ± 9. The participants were unemployed for an average of 2.5 ± 0.8 years and lived in Belgium for a total of 17.9 ± 6.5 years. The majority of the participants experienced language barrier problems (85.7%);57.1% of the participants had worked as cleaners in the past. A statistically significant negative and high correlation was found between WHO-5 quality of life scores and PHQ-9 depression scores (p < 0.01;r = 0.715). Conclusion: In the baseline measurements, migrant job seekers had moderate depression levels and negative quality of life and well-being. We now will investigate whether psychological health problems of migrant job seekers will increase during the Sars-Cov-19 pandemic period.

Bioinformatic analysis reveals that some bacteria may aid SARS-CoV-2 spread and entry into host cells

It is known that there are direct and indirect interactions between bacteria and viruses. Like some other viruses, we hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) may induce bacteria growth to aid its proliferation or may cooperate with bacteria to facilitate its activities in host cells. To verify this hypothesis, some bioinformatic tools and databases were employed. Complete genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 was used to predict the bacteria with the required features. Results reveal that > 2000 bacteria were found to possess the required features using SMART tool. In addition, we compared different genome sequence of ACE-2 (belonging to different species) with some bacteria. Surprisingly, some bacteria were predicted and many predicted proteins are obtained. Finally, we compared some sequences of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins with the predicted bacteria using BLAST tool. Results reveal many predicted proteins. These possible connections and similarities may be important for the virus enter the host cell. Until the virus finds the appropriate ACE-2 receptor to enter the host cell, bacteria may support the virus in this process. Perhaps even a virus attached to the bacterial surface which may be predicted to be a carrier for inter-host transmission. With the experimental demonstration of these hypotheses, the way to obtain new data on the reasons for the reproduction of the virus in the human body and the easy transmission of the virus in the population will be opens up. More than 10 different epitopes are found with signal peptide Therefore, focusing on bacteria-virus interactions opens up the window to exploit new future therapeutic targets.

Food Exports from Brazil to the United Kingdom: An Exploratory Analysis of COVID-19 Impact on Trade

Brazil and the UK have been strategic partners throughout the years. While the former has traded minerals and food products – mainly agricultural commodities – the latter has been critical to infrastructure development in the South American country. However, the Crisis of COVID-19 Pandemic altered the scenario of international food production and distribution. This article aims to analyse Brazilian food exports to the UK in 2019 and 2020 to identify the impact of COVID-19 on the trade flows. To do so, we collected data from the Brazilian Ministry of Economy regarding the exports between the two nations and performed an exploratory investigation using graphical and quantitative analysis. The results suggest that the Pandemic crisis rose Brazilian exports of cereal and grains to the UK by around 50%, and the shortage of these items in the internal market has increased consumer prices by more than 60% during 2020. © 2021, IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.