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Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effects of memorable dining experiences (MDEs) in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 530 valid survey responses were collected in the USA. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to estimate inner and outer models. A two-stage approach was applied to test the moderating effects of restaurant safety measures. Additional analyses were conducted to compare electronic word of mouth (eWOM) intention and actual eWOM behavior. Findings: All five dimensions contributed to the overall memorability of a dining experience, with affect being the primary factor. Overall memorability was positively related to subjective well-being and actual eWOM behavior. Restaurant safety measures were positively related to the overall experience but did not moderate the relationship between any dimension and overall memorability. Research limitations/implications: Findings provide empirical support for the conceptualization of MDEs during a pandemic and underscore the importance of actual eWOM behavior in restaurant research. Practical implications: Results offer guidance for restaurant managers in designing MDEs. Originality/value: The restaurant industry is evolving from simply providing products and services to creating experiences. Yet the impacts of crafting MDEs are not well understood, especially during a pandemic. This study filled this gap by investigating MDEs and their effects on subjective well-being and eWOM behavior.
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Background: Young to middle-aged U.S. adults are burdened by the obesity, opioid, and COVID-19 epidemics. However, the ability to detect cardiovascular disease (CVD) manifestations of population-wide changes in risk factors within contemporary cohorts in young to middle adulthood is unknown. Objective(s): To assess inter-rater reliability of death certificate (DC), obituary, coroner/medical examiner (CME) autopsy report, and hospital record ion in young to middle adulthood. Setting(s): The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a nationally representative school-based sample of 20,745 U.S. adolescents in grades 7-12 (1994-1995) followed for the last 26 years and aged 37-45 years in 2020. Method(s): We traced all participants, identified decedents, then collected DCs, obituaries, CME autopsy reports, and hospital records = 1 month before death dates. Among a random sample of 28 decedents and an oversample of 28 hospitalized decedents enriched 3:1 for CVD, two trained and certified staff used an electronic data entry system to data needed for outcome classification from the four information sources following standardized, item-by-item instructions. We measured item-specific reliability of categorical data ion as the agreement between ors (%) and prevalence- and bias-adjusted kappa coefficient (PABAK). We measured reliability of interval-scale data (e.g. creatinine;troponin;creatinine kinase;CK-MB;pro-BNP concentrations) as an intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Result(s): We identified 578 (2.8%) participants who were deceased through December 2020. Of those, 577 (99.8%) had high scoring National Death Index matches uniquely identifying decedents in 44 U.S. states. We collected and ed 531 (92%), 445 (77%), 178 (66%), and 95 (39%) of their DCs, obituaries, CME autopsy reports, and hospital records. CVD was the underlying cause of death in 10% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8%-13%) of decedents. Mean, item-specific agreement (95% CI) was 0.86 (0.84-0.89), 0.90 (0.87-0.93), 0.93 (0.92-0.95), and 0.94 (0.92-0.95) for each source. The corresponding mean, item-specific PABAK (95% CI) was 0.83 (0.80-0.86), 0.86 (0.83-0.90), 0.92 (0.90-0.94) and 0.91 (0.89-0.93). The mean, biomarker-specific ICC (95% CI) was 0.96 (0.95-0.98). Conclusion(s): Overall, CVD was a major cause of mortality and reliability of ion was excellent across a range of measures. Ongoing investigation of deaths, and as needed, targeted staff retraining and improvement of ion protocol will enable high quality studies of CVD emergence within this large, nationally representative U.S. cohort. Such studies will provide generalizable insight into the biological mechanisms underlying cardiovascular manifestations and thereby inform understanding of changing CVD burden in the U.S. population.
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BACKGROUND: Barriers to rapid return of sequencing results can affect the utility of sequence data for infection prevention and control decisions. AIM: To undertake a mixed-methods analysis to identify challenges that sites faced in achieving a rapid turnaround time (TAT) in the COVID-19 Genomics UK Hospital-Onset COVID-19 Infection (COG-UK HOCI) study. METHODS: For the quantitative analysis, timepoints relating to different stages of the sequencing process were extracted from both the COG-UK HOCI study dataset and surveys of study sites. Qualitative data relating to the barriers and facilitators to achieving rapid TATs were included from thematic analysis. FINDINGS: The overall TAT, from sample collection to receipt of sequence report by infection control teams, varied between sites (median 5.1 days, range 3.0-29.0 days). Most variation was seen between reporting of a positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result to sequence report generation (median 4.0 days, range 2.3-27.0 days). On deeper analysis, most of this variability was accounted for by differences in the delay between the COVID-19 PCR result and arrival of the sample at the sequencing laboratory (median 20.8 h, range 16.0-88.7 h). Qualitative analyses suggest that closer proximity of sequencing laboratories to diagnostic laboratories, increased staff flexibility and regular transport times facilitated a shorter TAT. CONCLUSION: Integration of pathogen sequencing into diagnostic laboratories may help to improve sequencing TAT to allow sequence data to be of tangible value to infection control practice. Adding a quality control step upstream to increase capacity further down the workflow may also optimize TAT if lower quality samples are removed at an earlier stage.
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Peer mentoring is a learning process wherein a more experienced student provides advice and support to a less experienced student during their academic career. At the graduate level, peer mentoring has been shown to increase social support, career readiness, retention, and graduation rates among first-year students. In spring 2021, the Exercise Science graduate program at Texas State University initiated a peer mentoring program. The participants reported that they felt more integrated in the graduate program.Meeting and socializing with mentor/mentee have enhanced their sense of belonging and relatedness, especially during COVID, when students felt more isolated. The professional relationship made them more prone to return and strive for academic success. This article describes a peer mentoring program that has been successfully implemented in a kinesiology graduate program and makes recommendations for universities to study the impact of peer mentoring on marginalized student well-being, retention, career readiness, and academic success in future research. © 2022 American Kinesiology Association.
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BackgroundPulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a core component of COPD treatment. An alternative to traditional face-to-face PR is online PR, also known as tele-rehabilitation. Despite lack of delivery standardisation there has been recent progression towards an online platform with myCOPD (NICE, 2022)1. The British Thoracic Society advising face-to-face PR suspension and COVID-19 restrictions may have encouraged services to develop tele-rehabilitation.MethodsA questionnaire survey of PR services in England explored the availability and practice of tele-rehabilitation in England. Additional aims were the investigation of recent development of tele-rehabilitation including changes following the COVID-19 pandemic, and potential barriers to and predictors of success for tele-rehabilitation delivery. The questionnaire used closed and open-ended questions and free text-boxes. Data was collected between 30th March 2022 and 19th April 2022.Results61 responses (33%) were received. 11 PR services (18%) stated that they had used a form of tele-rehabilitation prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and 59 (97%) services described using a form of tele-rehabilitation during COVID-19 restrictions. Common remote methods during COVID-19 restrictions included telephone (27%), videoconferencing with patients in groups (23%) and individual patient videoconferencing (21%).15 (25%) PR services strongly agreed, and 23 (38%) agreed, that inability to use tele-rehabilitation due to unfamiliarity with digital equipment or lack of access to the internet prevented many service users from using remote PR. 31 (51%) PR services strongly agreed, and 14 (23%) agreed, that face-to-face PR was preferred by users.31 (51%) PR services disagreed, and 13 (21%) strongly disagreed that tele-rehabilitation would be too costly whilst 7 (11%) strongly agreed, and 45 (74%) agreed that tele-rehabilitation would be beneficial to users.ConclusionTele-rehabilitation became widespread following COVID-19 restrictions, most commonly through telephone and videoconferencing. Most service users were thought to be unable to access tele-rehabilitation due to inability to access the internet and prefer face-to-face PR. Most services reported that cost was not an obstacle to tele-rehabilitation and would be beneficial to users.ReferencesNICE. (2022). Recommendations ;myCOPD for managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. [online] Available at: <https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/MTG68/chapter/1-Recommendations> [Accessed 30 June 2022].
ABSTRACT
Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effects of memorable dining experiences (MDEs) in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 530 valid survey responses were collected in the USA. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM) was used to estimate inner and outer models. A two-stage approach was applied to test the moderating effects of restaurant safety measures. Additional analyses were conducted to compare electronic word of mouth (eWOM) intention and actual eWOM behavior. Findings: All five dimensions contributed to the overall memorability of a dining experience, with affect being the primary factor. Overall memorability was positively related to subjective well-being and actual eWOM behavior. Restaurant safety measures were positively related to the overall experience but did not moderate the relationship between any dimension and overall memorability. Research limitations/implications: Findings provide empirical support for the conceptualization of MDEs during a pandemic and underscore the importance of actual eWOM behavior in restaurant research. Practical implications: Results offer guidance for restaurant managers in designing MDEs. Originality/value: The restaurant industry is evolving from simply providing products and services to creating experiences. Yet the impacts of crafting MDEs are not well understood, especially during a pandemic. This study filled this gap by investigating MDEs and their effects on subjective well-being and eWOM behavior. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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Policymaking is not linear or neutral, nor is it ever made or enacted in isolation, especially not during a crisis. Framed by theories on the contextual, interactive nature of policy enactment, this year-long, ethnographic study examined how an urban elementary school and nonprofit organization worked to address challenges made visible by the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyses explored how negotiations among the school, its nonprofit partner, and district shaped pandemic policy responses. Data included 35 transcriptions and eight field notes from stakeholder interviews and principal–partner meetings, and 128 external stakeholder artifacts. Findings showcase the policy enactment of family–school communication and access to remote learning, and limitations of the partnership due to structural and racialized processes. The discussion presents implications for educational policymaking in response to crises, highlighting the need to understand the external contexts and racialized discourses that are part of shaping those responses to be dynamic and “nonlinear.” © The Author(s) 2022.
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Research into problematic smartphone use is growing as people are increasingly dependent on technological connections – a situation highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, current research has been limited by measurement validity issues and a lack of construct clarity. In response, this study developed and validated the Smartphone Connectivity Stress Scale (SCSS) for adolescents and adults. An online survey included an item pool, based on previous research and existing scales, as well as several psychosocial measures (N = 814;aged 14–80 years;59% female). Iterative exploratory factor analyses, classical test theory and item response theory (IRT) analyses produced a unidimensional six-item scale of smartphone connectivity stress – from a perceived obligation to be constantly connected with others. Two-week test-retest reliability was assessed through a follow up survey (n = 190). SCSS factor structure and reliability were strong for adolescents (aged 14–18) and adults (aged 19–80). The SCSS demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0.87, ωt = 0.91);test-retest reliability, r = 0.82;and all items captured significant information across the latent trait. The SCSS demonstrated no differential item functioning by sex, age, ethnicity or urban/rural residence. The SCSS was positively correlated (ps < .001) with anxious attachment style and psychopathology symptoms (stress, anxiety, depression, suicidality). This is the first measure of smartphone connectivity stress and included valuable IRT analyses. The brief public domain SCSS provides reliable measurement, with reduced error, of a validated construct, and is suitable for use with adolescents and adults. © 2021
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Objective: During fall 2020, schools used a variety of learning modes based on anticipated risk of viral transmission within schools. Methods: De-identified SARS-CoV-2 data from 11 school districts in the Wichita, Kansas metropolitan area from August 1 to November 15, 2020, was col-lated for analysis. The Sedgwick County Health Department (SCHD) and Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) databases were accessed for community-level and contact tracing data. Results: Altogether, 13,573 staff and 54,479 students receiving full or partial on-site (hybrid) education were included. Few students (1.4%) or staff (4.7%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. District rates varied from 0.1% to 3.3% in students and 0.7% to 8.7% in staff. Students in grades 9-12 had a higher rate of positive tests and cases were more likely linked to school-based exposure. Staff rate by grade level did not show an identifiable trend;staff rates were higher in non-attendance centers. Conclusions: Low SARS-CoV-2 student case rates suggests on-site learning formats may be appropriate. School trends reflected community rate reinforcing that community-level interventions are necessary to decrease transmission. As new variants arise, transmission char-acteristics must be studied. Health and education partnership is important to ensure the greatest well-being for students and staff. © 2021, Paris Scholar Publishing. All rights reserved.