ABSTRACT
Nursing homes in Norway have carried a heavy burden during the Covid-19 pandemic. They had the most virus related deaths, and strict rules for visits, testing and isolation. They had to follow a clear priority to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions in order to not overburden the hospitals. This study explores the ethical dilemmas as experienced by doctors working at nursing homes during the first half of the pandemic. Method Qualitative analysis of nine in-depth interviews with doctors working at five different nursing homes in Bergen, Norway. Analysed by Attride-Stirling thematic network analysis. Results Our study found that ethical dilemmas at nursing homes were enhanced by the pandemic. Admitting a sick resident to the hospital became a trade-off between what doctors were capable of handling versus the priority guidelines to prevent unnecessary admissions. End-of-life care for Covid-19 residents was a balance between administrating a high enough doses of morphine to alleviate suffering though making sure the dose was not lethal. Since dying residents were allowed visitors, it became a dilemma to define when a patient was dying. Strict rules regarding visits were challenging as the risk of getting the virus into the nursing home had to be weighed against residents wellbeing. Coercive measures for testing and isolating residents had to be assessed against the real need for doing such tests. Discussion Dealing with ethical dilemmas at nursing homes during the pandemic has been challenging. Are we doing more harm than good when enforcing strict rules for visits in an effort to prevent the virus from entering nursing homes? Is it okay to do coercive testing and isolation in order to curb the spread of the virus? Are we doing good if the only way to alleviate suffering at end-of-life treatment for Covid-19 residents is through a lethal dose of morphine?.
ABSTRACT
IT spending levels are returning from the Covid-induced highs of 2020. This is consistent with many other findings in 2021, including the percentage of organizations increasing both IT headcount and salaries. The top five IT management issues for organizations in 2021 were Cybersecurity, Alignment, Analytics, Digital Transformation and Compliance;the top five largest IT investments were Cloud, Analytics, Cybersecurity, Application Development and ERP;while the five hardest to find IT technical skills were Cybersecurity, Analytics, AI, Functional Knowledge and Cloud. The most common criteria for assessing CIO performance were User Satisfaction (Internal), Value of IT to the Business, Strategic Contribution of IT, IT Availability and Cybersecurity. The average tenure of CIOs is six years (median four) with almost 47% reporting to their CEO. A ten-year low of 22.6% report to their CFO. CIOs continue to come from outside organizations at record levels (again over 80%) and 24.1% came from prior non-IT positions, down significantly from the 2019 high of 31.1%.(1)
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The cruise industry has been significantly impacted as a result of Covid-19. Some cruise lines have downsized, and many have cancelled ship orders while some vessels have been put on retainers. It is still uncertain how long this situation will continue. Even when cruise lines resume their services, the uptake is likely to be gradual because many traditional and potential cruisers may still be reluctant to travel because of the fear of contracting the disease. In addition, an enormous amount of money and time will be required to overhaul ships, re-plan service processes, re-certify crew and develop a new normal for how cruise businesses operate. An analysis of these issues forms the primary purpose of this study. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was used to gather data and this was augmented by the personal industry experiences of the authors. Findings: Steady growth in the cruise industry came to an end during the last two years due to the unanticipated impact of the pandemic. SARS, Ebola and other diseases were much less significant in comparison. Many Caribbean islands have recently upgraded their ports to accommodate mega cruise ships as tourism is the main source of income for these islands. These investments run to millions of US dollars and as yet, there are no indications as to when the industry will recover. Research limitations/implications: Access to industry experts was not as broad-ranging as anticipated due to time pressures and the fact that it is difficult to schedule interviews by telephone or webinar with busy practitioners. Social implications: The pandemic will continue to impact the people of the Caribbean economically and socially, because of their dependence on tourism and especially cruise businesses. Originality/value: The gradual re-entry of cruise operations represents a fourth phase in the development of the industry. This juncture is the most critical phase because of the many opinions surrounding vaccination. Cruising is unlike land-based tourism assets where a rapid reactive response is easier to facilitate. A health crisis at sea can have disastrous consequences, especially for small islands with limited facilities to deal with critical Covid-19 infections.
ABSTRACT
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore if Jamaican authorities can improve revenue earnings from cruise tourism in the post Covid-19 period by improving the standards of current attractions, adding new ones and allowing more citizens to participate. Design/methodology/approach A literature review was undertaken, supported by discussions with other authors who have written and published previous work on cruise tourism, and conversations with prominent tourism industry representatives. Findings All cruise lines operating in the Caribbean have islands to exclusively entertain their guests and yet, Caribbean islands need more integration. Each island currently negotiates separately with cruise lines to determine the "head tax" payable. Cruise lines could give guests a more authentic experience by employing more workers from the region and tourism workers could improve their earnings by working more closely with cruise lines. Caribbean governments can expand access to more attractions by improving their road network across the islands. Research limitations/implications Further investigation could include: ways to integrate more Caribbean islands, negotiations between cruise lines and the Caribbean islands as a group, making Caribbean workers more attractive to the cruise industry and, the cruise lines' appetite for more diversified attractions within the Caribbean region. Practical implications This study should raise the consciousness of the Jamaican government and tourism administrators about the fact that Jamaica has far more attractions than that of those present in the market. More Jamaicans could receive training to provide direct or indirect service within the cruise industry. Increased engagement of Jamaican workers would lead to improved economic wellbeing for them and their families and the country as a whole. Social implications Jamaicans might take better care of their environment if they stood a chance of benefiting more from cruise tourism. They might see clearly how cruise tourism impacts their communities. Further, citizens might take better care of their environment and keep it healthier and attractive. They might be even more self-disciplined in their behaviour and reduce crime and violence to acceptable levels. Originality/value This paper provided a simple perspective on how disconnected Caribbean islands are reflected in the wide variance in head tax charged by each island. Caribbean Governments should examine the various ways in which lack of integration has affected the region as a whole and agree on a framework for wider cooperation. If the Caribbean islands negotiate with cruise lines as one group, they may enhance their negotiating power. Each government within the region can conduct a comprehensive audit of attractions and include them in their development plan. Governments could involve their citizens more as providers of service to the cruise tourism business. Cruise operators could also see that there is wisdom and economic benefit arising from engaging more workers from the Caribbean.