An exploratory study of organisational and industry drivers for the implementation of emerging technologies in logistics

Purpose: Emerging technologies have the capacity to transform industries offering substantial benefits to users. Given the increasing demand for advanced logistics services, third-party logistic service providers (LSPs) face greater pressure to deploy and realise these technologies, especially given the demands and operational challenges created during the COVID-19 crisis. Drawing upon the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory and technology–organisation–environment (TOE) framework, this paper goes beyond just identifying drivers and barriers to technology adoption to understanding how LSPs and industry experts perceive these drivers and barriers and simultaneously confront and undertake actions to implement them. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory study was conducted in three phases: (1) in-depth interviews with twelve stakeholders in the Australian logistics industry;(2) five in-depth interviews conducted with stakeholders during the COVID-19 crisis and (3) a focus group discussion session. All interviews were analysed using content analysis and revealed several drivers for the deployment of emerging technologies, including internal organisational factors that drive supply chain (SC) network optimisation. Findings: The analysis of the three phases identified several drivers for the deployment of emerging technologies in logistics, including internal organisational factors that drive SC network optimisation. Also identified were external drivers including the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, along with barriers and specific actions that were considered and implemented by LSPs for sustainable operations, particularly in a post-COVID-19 environment. Originality/value: This study explores organisational and industry drivers for the implementation of emerging technologies. Explicitly, it extends the extant research by highlighting organisational and industry drivers and enablers that influence adoption and deployment of emerging technologies. Second, it advances the existing perspectives on LSPs in the Australian context on the development and implementation of technology strategies. The paper offers insights around implementation of technologies, directly obtained from industrial application for managers and practitioners. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The ARTEST project: the future of digital humanities teaching and learning

The ARTEST project aimed at improving teaching and learning in Digital Humanities. However, all planned project activities had to be altered due to COVID 19 and the first project training workshop had to shift to an online mode. This shift allowed project partners and workshop participants to reconsider the present and future of teaching and learning under the light of the pandemic and the possibility of having hybrid modes of learning in the future even after the end of the pandemic. The present work shows results from the 2-day workshop, as well as conclusions on the future of the field.

PRE-PANDEMIC CIRCADIAN PHASE PREDICTS PANDEMIC SLEEP, DEPRESSION, AND ALCOHOL USE AMONG ADOLESCENTS

Growing evidence links later circadian rhythm timing during adolescence to worse sleep, more symptoms of depression, and greater alcohol involvement, perhaps due to circadian misalignment and sleep restriction imposed by early school start times. School schedules shifted later during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, which hypothetically should reduce circadian misalignment and sleep restriction for adolescents with later circadian timing, and thus may mitigate any problems with sleep, depression, and alcohol. Here we used the pandemic as a natural experiment to test whether adolescent drinkers with later circadian timing, relative to those with earlier circadian timing, showed improved sleep, depressive symptoms, and alcohol involvement. We studied 42 high school juniors and seniors reporting alcohol use (aged 16-18;27 female participants), assessing circadian phase via the dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) during pre-pandemic conditions, and then following them over four remote assessments every 3 months during the pandemic. Sleep characteristics were assessed via the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire, depressive symptoms were assessed via the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, and alcohol use was assessed via a 90-day Timeline Followback. Mixed-effect models focused on the pre-pandemic baseline, COVID baseline (Apr/ May 2020), and COVID-9-mo (Jan/Feb 2021) timepoints, and covaried for age, time between prepandemic and COVID baselines, and whether or not individuals were currently in school or working. In the pre-pandemic period, compared with those with earlier circadian timing, individuals with later circadian timing (later DLMO) got relatively less sleep (shorter total sleep time) on school nights. During the pandemic, earlier and later groups no longer differed on school night sleep. Over the course of the pandemic, compared with the earlier group, individuals with later circadian timing also reported larger increases in alcohol use (number of drinks, drinking days, and maximum drinks). Individuals with later circadian timing reported relatively greater depressive symptoms both pre-pandemic and 9-months into the pandemic. While individuals with later circadian timing benefitted in terms of more school night sleep during the pandemic, this did not translate to mitigating depression or alcohol use. These findings suggest that later circadian timing may contribute to risk for depression and alcohol use over and above effects due to insufficient sleep.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PRE-PANDEMIC TRAUMA AND STRESS WITH SLEEP DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN YOUNG ADULTS

Introduction: Young adults, particularly those with histories of interpersonal trauma or stress, are more likely to experience to adverse psychosocial outcomes (e.g., depression) during the COVID- 19 pandemic, compared to those without these histories. However, few studies have examined sleep and most rely on retrospectivelyreported pre-pandemic experiences. We tested whether prepandemic trauma and stress were prospectively related to worse ecological momentary assessment (EMA)-reported sleep during the pandemic. Methods: The sample includes 114 regular drinkers aged 21-30 years from two ongoing studies of alcohol use and sleep who completed a shared assessment battery and a 10-17-day EMA protocol before and during the pandemic (conducted July- November 2020;M=13.9 months after baseline). Participants reported past-month perceived stress (10-item Perceived Stress Scale) and interpersonal traumas (e.g., abuse, conflict), via scores on the Current Partner and Personal (persons other than spouse/ partner) subscales of the Difficult Life Circumstances Scale. The EMA protocol measured daily sleep (total sleep time [TST];sleep efficiency [SE]), relational stress (1-5 ratings for family, spouse/ partner, friends), and alcohol use. Paired t-tests compared prepandemic vs. pandemic sleep. Separate linear regressions tested associations between pre-pandemic trauma and stress with average pandemic TST and SE, adjusted for baseline age and sleep, racial identity, assigned sex at birth, time between assessments, and drinking days (averaged across timepoints). Results: Participants were on average 23.8 years old (61% female;7% Asian;39% Black;1.8% Mixed race;0.9% Other race;0.9% Pacific Islander;55% White). Average TST increased from baseline to pandemic (7.5 vs. 7.8;t(113)=-2.57, p=.01);no change was observed in SE (95% vs. 94%;t(113)=1.01, p=.31). Pre-pandemic perceived stress (B[SE]=-.003[.001], p=.02) and average EMAreported family stress (B[SE]=-.04[.02], p=.05) predicted worse pandemic SE. No associations emerged with friend or partner stress, trauma, or TST (ps>.11). Conclusion: Pre-pandemic perceived stress (but not trauma nor relational stress) predicted worse sleep during the pandemic. Perceived stress reflects feeling overwhelmed and difficulty coping, which is relevant given dramatic pandemic-related impacts on daily life. The overall accumulation of stress, versus day-to-day stress in specific relationships, may be most detrimental for sleep during the pandemic. Perceived stress is amenable to evidence-based (and remotely-delivered) interventions, including mindfulness-based stress reduction.

PRE-PANDEMIC CIRCADIAN PHASE PREDICTS PANDEMIC SLEEP, DEPRESSION, AND ALCOHOL USE AMONG ADOLESCENTS

Introduction: Growing evidence links later circadian timing during adolescence to worse sleep, more severe depression, and greater alcohol involvement, perhaps due to circadian misalignment and sleep restriction imposed by early school start times. School schedules initially shifted later during the COVID-19 pandemic, which hypothetically should reduce circadian misalignment and sleep restriction for adolescents with later circadian timing, and thus may mitigate any problems with sleep, depression, and alcohol. Here we used the pandemic as a natural experiment to test whether adolescent drinkers with later circadian timing, relative to those with earlier circadian timing, showed improved sleep, depressive symptoms, and alcohol involvement. Methods: We studied 42 high school students reporting alcohol use (aged 16-18;27 female participants), assessing circadian phase via the dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) during prepandemic conditions, and then following them over four remote assessments every 3 months during the pandemic. Sleep characteristics were assessed via the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire, depressive symptoms were assessed via the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, and alcohol use was assessed via a 90-day Timeline Followback. Mixed-effect models focused on the pre-pandemic baseline, COVID baseline (Apr/May 2020), and COVID-9-mo (Jan/Feb 2021) timepoints, and covaried for age, time between pre-pandemic and COVID baselines, and current school/work status. Results: In the pre-pandemic period, compared to those with earlier circadian timing, individuals with later circadian timing (later DLMO) got relatively less sleep (shorter total sleep time) on school nights. During the pandemic, earlier and later groups no longer differed on school night sleep. Over the course of the pandemic, compared to the earlier group, individuals with later circadian timing also reported larger increases in alcohol use (number of drinks, drinking days, and maximum drinks). Individuals with later circadian timing reported relatively greater depressive symptoms both pre-pandemic and 9-months into the pandemic. Conclusion: While individuals with later circadian timing benefitted in terms of more school night sleep during the pandemic, this did not translate to mitigating depression or alcohol use. These findings suggest that later circadian timing may contribute to risk for depression and alcohol use over and above effects due to insufficient sleep.

SARS-CoV-2 Viral Viability Culture and Sequencing from Immunocompromised Patients with Persistently Positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR Results

Background. Immunocompromised (IC) patients (pts) can have prolonged SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity, even after resolution of COVID-19 symptoms. This study aimed to determine if viable virus could be detected in samples collected > 21 days after an initial positive (pos) SARS-CoV-2 PCR in IC pts. Methods. We obtained 20 remnant SARS-CoV-2 PCR pos nasopharyngeal swabs from IC pts (bone marrow or solid organ transplant, high dose steroids, immunosuppressive medications) with a pos repeat PCR within the previous 30 days. The repeat specimens were cultured on Vero-hACE2-TMPRSS2 cells and incubated for 96 hours to assess viral viability. Viable RNA and infectious virus in the cultured cells were measured by qPCR and infectious plaque assays. RNA sequencing was performed on a HiSeq platform (Illumina). Samples also underwent SARS-CoV-2 antigen (Ag) testing (BD Veritor). Clinical data were extracted from the electronic health record by chart review. Results. Pt characteristics are in Table 1. Viral cultures from the repeat specimen were negative (neg) for 18 pts and pos for 2 (Table 2). Pt 1 is a 60M treated with obinatuzumab 19 days prior to his first pos PCR test, with repeat specimen collected 21 days later (cycle threshold (Ct) not available). Pt 1 had a low viral titer (27 PFU/mL) & a D614G mutation on sequencing. Pt 2 is a 75M treated with rituximab 10 days prior to his first pos PCR test, with repeat specimen collected 23 days later (Ct 27.56/27.74). Pt 2 had a high viral titer (2e6 PFU/mL) and D614G, S98F, and S813I mutations. Demographics of Study Population (N=20) Characteristics of patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 viral culture Conclusion. 90% of specimens collected > 21 days after an initial pos SARS-CoV-2 PCR did not have viable virus detected on their repeat specimen. The 2 pts with pos viral cultures had active hematologic malignancies treated with an anti-CD20 mAb at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis. One pt had a high concentration of active, viable virus. No known variants of concern were noted in this cohort, collected in Q2 2020, though prolonged replication is a risk for variant development. Further data are needed about risk factors for persistent viable viral shedding & methods to prevent transmission of viable virus from IC hosts.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' ethical principles for allocating initial supplies of COVID-19 vaccine - United States, 2020

During the period when the U.S. supply of COVID-19 vaccines is limited, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has been mandated to make vaccine allocation recommendations. In addition to scientific data and implementation feasibility, four ethical principles assist ACIP in formulating recommendations for the initial allocation of COVID-19 vaccine: (1) maximizing benefits and minimizing harms;(2) promoting justice;(3) mitigating health inequities;and (4) promoting transparency. Ethical principles aid ACIP in making vaccine allocation recommendations and state, tribal, local, and territorial public health authorities in developing vaccine implementation strategies based on ACIP's recommendations.