Business education in Australia: COVID-19 and beyond

COVID-19 has significantly impacted Australia’s attractiveness as an international study destination and affected public university budgets, which have increasingly relied on attracting international students through business education. The notion of business schools as an onshore export business has long been a constraint to business schools’ claims of public legitimacy. COVID-19 has effectively removed the ‘cash cow’ status, meaning business schools must turn to other sources of support and legitimacy to secure their future. A Delphi of expert panel members was conducted to determine how this and other key drivers of change will impact business education in Australia over the next 10 years. It is clear from the findings that public business education is now irrevocably changed and that, without dramatic shifts in policy and strategy, it will confront even more significant challenges to its legitimacy into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Factors indicating intention to vaccinate with a COVID-19 vaccine among older U.S. Adults (preprint)

AO_SCPLOWBSTRACTC_SCPLOWO_ST_ABSBACKGROUNDC_ST_ABSThe success of vaccination efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic will require broad public uptake of immunization and highlights the importance of understanding factors associated with willingness to receive a vaccine. METHODSAdults enrolled in the Heartline clinical study were invited to complete a COVID-19 vaccine assessment through the Heartline mobile application between November 6-20, 2020. Factors associated with willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine were evaluated using an ordered logistic regression as well as a Random Forest classification algorithm. RESULTSAmong 9,106 study participants, 81.3% (n=7402) responded and had available demographic data. The majority (91.3%) reported a willingness to be vaccinated. Factors most strongly associated with vaccine willingness were beliefs about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccines in general. Women and Black or African American respondents reported lower willingness to vaccinate. Among those less willing to get vaccinated, 66.2% said that they would talk with their health provider before making a decision. During the study, positive results from the first COVID-19 vaccine outcome study were released; vaccine willingness increased after this report. CONCLUSIONSEven among older adults at high-risk for COVID-19 complications who are participating in a longitudinal clinical study, 1 in 11 reported lack of willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine in November 2020. Variability in vaccine willingness by gender, race, education, and income suggests the potential for uneven vaccine uptake. Education by health providers directed toward assuaging concerns about vaccine safety and efficacy can help improve vaccine acceptance among those less willing. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT04276441