Difficulties of Vulnerable Groups in Accessing the Public Information Service During COVID-19 Pandemic in China

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic seriously threatens people's lives and health all over the world. Public information service is an important way for the public to understand the pandemic development and pandemic prevention and control measures. However, more people become vulnerable rather than the typical vulnerable groups due to the pandemic encounter difficulties in accessing public information services. To better help vulnerable people during the emergencies, based on related vulnerable groups theory, this chapter identifies two types of vulnerable groups in China. It collects information from news, journal papers, conference papers and other relevant perspectives to examine the difficulties that vulnerable people have encountered. Moreover, this chapter puts forward some suggestions from the aspect of policies and regulations, technologies and information systems, service content, and operating mechanism of public information services to better meet the information needs of vulnerable people. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Gen Y consumer perceptions of web-based sustainability communications - the case of luxury fashion

Past research has outlined a paradox between sustainability and luxury fashion products, which has changed more recently in that studies highlight the importance of sustainable luxury. Accelerated by COVID-19 sustainability information shown on luxury brands' websites has increased, where they provide analogous information to engage their consumers, yet the impact of which remains unknown. This study utilises sustainability communication as a theoretical underpinning to address this gap. This study is based on a qualitative inquiry into how Gen Y consumers perceive and engage with the information broadcasted on luxury companies' websites. Twenty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted and carefully analysed, thereby highlighting three levels of consumer engagement in communication. Findings thus, contribute to the debates surrounding sustainability communication by looking at information conveyed on companies' websites from consumers' perspective. The results provide novel insights into sustainability communication theory, outlining three unique layers that have different outcomes in terms of awareness and action. The findings also provide some suggections for luxury fashion companies to effectively manage their sustainability communication on their companies' websites.