ABSTRACT
Previous studies have demonstrated that low-intensity intervention is effective in improving mental health in young people. Whilst interventions have majorly been offered online during COVID-19 pandemic, it is not known whether low-intensity interventions delivered online can also help reduce the level of distress experienced by young people. The study aimed to determine whether a low-intensity online intervention (LiON) can reduce levels of distress in young people greater than those in similar initial distress levels but received no intervention. Young people aged 15 to 24 were recruited for the 4-weekly LiON intervention consisting of three modules namely sleep and relaxation, stress-coping and problem-solving. The reductions in distress level after intervention were compared to those that occurred over a period of 3 months among community young people with similar baseline K6 distress levels. Seventy-four young people (mean age 20.24 [SD 2.26] years, 71.6% female) received the LiON intervention from December 2021 to July 2022. We observed a greater improvement in their distress levels after receiving the intervention than those with no intervention in the community (beta -4.13, 95%CI -5.12, -3.07, p < .001, Cohen's f2 0.027). The findings offered evidence that the LiON intervention significantly reduced young people's distress level in addition to the improvement that may occur naturally. The use of LiON is adaptable to a wider variety of frontline community organizations. Future evaluation of its cost-effectiveness is warranted.
ABSTRACT
Consider the optimal allocation between money market account and corporate bond fund. While the money market account is free of credit risk, corporate bonds are defaultable and exhibit long-range dependence (LRD) in credit risk. We propose a Volterra default intensity model to capture the LRD in credit risk. Using utility maximization, we derive the novel optimal investment strategy for a corporate bond fund. As empirical study shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has lowered the level of LRD in credit risk, we conduct sensitivity analysis and empirically investigate the changes in demand for corporate bonds before and during the pandemic period.
ABSTRACT
College students' food situations may have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have affected their health and well-being. However, little is known about how the pandemic impacted students' food experiences and how students coped with food-related disruptions, particularly from the student's own perspective. This study reviews data from 571 undergraduates who attended public colleges during Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 and wrote a narrative about the pandemic's impact on their food experiences. Most students indicated they experienced a wide range of food difficulties and adapted new food practices. Despite these challenges, students emphasized proactive coping strategies and positive pandemic outcomes rather than difficulties and negative outcomes. These findings have implications for students' long-term health and well-being. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity increased across the United States, with college students being particularly vulnerable. This study surveyed 1989 undergraduates attending three public colleges before and during the first year of the pandemic. At all times, students' food insecurity was related to worse academic performance, greater housing insecurity, poorer psychological and physical health, and less access to healthcare. Compared to pre-pandemic students, during-pandemic students reported greater use of and fewer barriers to food programs, spending more on and and receiving more government aid for food, experiencing more academic difficulties due to food insecurity, having greater housing insecurity, and enduring less access to healthcare. © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
ABSTRACT
Small businesses are the largest private-sector employment provider in Australia but suffered twice more than any other business in Australia during the COVID-19 lockdown. This chapter examines the factors influencing the key managers’ decision to revive the declining small businesses in Australia and their turnaround success in recent years. Evidence has been collected from 25 severely troubled small businesses in Australia between 2006 and 2018. Findings reveal that managerial factors such as cognition of decline, the extent of a personal and professional network, capabilities, motivation and leadership of the key managers and their access to critical resources considerably influence the successful revival of a declining small business in Australia. Moreover, organisational factors such as the composition of the top management team, stakeholder management and firm’s breadth, depth, and lifecycle along with some external factors may also influence the key manager’s decision to revive the business and their selection of turnaround responses. Implications are drawn for the entrepreneurs and managers of small businesses in Australia. © (2022), (Taylor and Francis).
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan in December 2019 and has rapidly spread across different cities within and outside China. Hong Kong started to prepare for COVID-19 on 31st December 2019 and infection control measures in public hospitals were tightened to limit nosocomial transmission within healthcare facilities. However, the recommendations on the transmission-based precautions required for COVID-19 in hospital settings vary from droplet and contact precautions, to contact and airborne precautions with placement of patients in airborne infection isolation rooms. AIM: To describe an outbreak investigation of a patient with COVID-19 who was nursed in an open cubicle of a general ward before the diagnosis was made. METHOD: Contacts were identified and risk categorized as 'close' or 'casual' for decisions on quarantine and/or medical surveillance. Respiratory specimens were collected from contacts who developed fever, and/or respiratory symptoms during the surveillance period and were tested for SARS-CoV-2. FINDINGS: A total of 71 staff and 49 patients were identified from contact tracing, seven staff and 10 patients fulfilled the criteria of 'close contact'. At the end of 28-day surveillance, 76 tests were performed on 52 contacts and all were negative, including all patient close contacts and six of the seven staff close contacts. The remaining contacts were asymptomatic throughout the surveillance period. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is not spread by an airborne route, and nosocomial transmissions can be prevented through vigilant basic infection control measures, including wearing of surgical masks, hand and environmental hygiene.