How Frauds in Times of Crisis Target People

While there are no new frauds, internet technology provides new opportunities for fraudsters by facilitating volumes of attacks that law enforcement then struggles to address. Moreover, since context can affect how potential victims respond to frauds, crisis context influences how fraudsters design frauds. This article assesses fraudsters' fraud design strategies during two external crisis events that impacted Australia: The Black Summer Bushfires that occurred from September 2019 to March 2020 and the onset and first year of the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred from January 2020 through January 2021. Targets, during these crises, were more likely to be vulnerable according to Steinmetz's model victim for social engineering framework. This study shows that, in both crises, fraudsters deployed the social engineering techniques of "authority” and "scarcity,” techniques that are more likely to be successful based solely on initial contact. Fraudsters designed their requests to be easily actioned and crafted their scams to reference very recent events as the external crisis events evolved. Thus, they targeted broad audiences with minimal personal involvement. Furthermore, this study shows that fraudsters, when disseminating their scams via social media outlets, attempted to build "social proof” to expand their potential victim pool to include the marks' social circles.

Building resilience and sustainable HRM in the visitor economy: An uneasy relationship

This paper draws on small and medium enterprises' (SMEs') experiences of the 2019/2020 Victorian (Australia) bushfires and COVID-19 to explore organizations' capacity to achieve Sustainable Human Resource Management (S-HRM) and organizational resilience outcomes within crisis contexts. The study adopts a qualitative research design. Virtual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 stakeholders across two, contextually different tourism destinations (Bright and Echuca-Moama located in Victoria, Australia). Thematic analysis was undertaken. Findings present a mixed picture. Macro, meso and micro-level factors such as business type, location and workforce management;owner-managers' skill sets and networks;prior experience of crises;individual wellbeing;government crisis management processes;and housing shortages were found to influence SMEs' sustainability and resilience outcomes. Tensions faced by SMEs, such as dilemmas between financial versus social sustainability, and employee versus business owner wellbeing, were revealed. Inspired by the UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 8), the paper brings together literature from sustainable HRM and resilience to discuss how SMEs in the tourism and hospitality sector can nurture social outcomes and organizational resilience. This is a timely conversation given COVID-induced workplace disruptions, and the likelihood of future shocks.

Riding information crises: the performance of far-right Twitter users in Australia during the 2019–2020 bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper focuses on the performance of the far-right community in the Australian Twittersphere during two information crises: the 2019–2020 Australian bushfires and the early months of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Using a mixed method approach to analysing the performance of far-right accounts active in both crises and using an information disorder index to estimate the quality of information being shared on Twitter during the two events, we found that far-right accounts moved from the periphery of these disaster-driven conversations during the Australian bushfires to assume a more central location during the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that an increase in information disorder and overperformance of far-right accounts during COVID-19 is suggestive of an association between the two, which warrants further investigation. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Information, Communication & Society is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The impact of public sector employment on regional economic activity: countering seasonal fluctuations and economic shocks

This research documents multidimensional facets of public value provided by public sector employment in regional Australia. Evidence and estimates of the contribution and impact of public sector employment to regional labour markets and economic activity are documented for the Illawarra, South Coast and Capital regions of New South Wales, Australia. Using a mixed methods approach, results presented illustrate that public sector employment embodies a significantly larger proportion of total employment and economic activity in most regional labour markets compared to Greater Sydney or Australia in general. Other analyses reveal both counter-seasonal and countercyclical contributions of public sector income and spending to regional economic activity. The main finding of this research is that public sector employment provides a stable foundation to regional economies that are otherwise strongly influenced by seasonal patterns associated with tourism and agriculture. The importance of public sector employment to the regional economies has been amplified in recent crisis periods associated with large scale bushfires and COVID-19.

Wellness Warriors: a qualitative exploration of healthcare staff learning to support their colleagues in the aftermath of the Australian bushfires.

PURPOSE: Healthcare staff are on the frontline during disasters despite any personal adversity and vicarious trauma they may be experiencing. Wellness Warrior training is a post-disaster intervention developed in response to the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires to support staff in a rural hospital located on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. METHOD: This study explored the experiences and perspectives of 18 healthcare staff who were trained to provide emotional and peer support to their colleagues in the aftermath of a crisis. All the Wellness Warriors participated in semi-structured interviews between March and April 2020. Data were analysed using the reflexive thematic approach. RESULTS: Healthcare staff reported developing interpersonal skills around deep listening and connecting with others which allowed for hearing the core of their colleagues' concerns. The training also helped staff to feel differently about work and restored their faith in healthcare leadership. CONCLUSION: Wellness Warrior training provided staff with knowledge and skills to support their colleagues in the aftermath of a natural disaster and later during the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, these findings suggest that peer support programs such as Wellness Warriors could be one way healthcare organisations can attempt to alleviate the psychological impact of natural disasters.

A Food-Led Recovery? Kangaroo Island, Fire and an Ambivalent Future for Tourism

In January 2020, Kangaroo Island burned. This island at the base of South Australia was ravaged by bushfires. From this tragic event, how can regional development be enabled through a realignment of foodscape and landscape? Food and food tourism activate an intricate bundling of texts and resultant literacies. This article layers an analysis, and builds a textured theoretical surface on a specific landscape. To assemble a project nestled in Kangaroo Island, post-disciplinary knowledge is accessed from food tourism, gastronomic tourism, popular cultural studies, claustropolitan sociology, cultural geography, regional development and creative industries. This article is not a case study. Instead, post-disciplinary theory is frontloaded, to shape and construct a frame for food tourism beyond cliches of regional development.

The impact of public sector employment on regional economic activity: countering seasonal fluctuations and economic shocks

This research documents multidimensional facets of public value provided by public sector employment in regional Australia. Evidence and estimates of the contribution and impact of public sector employment to regional labour markets and economic activity are documented for the Illawarra, South Coast and Capital regions of New South Wales, Australia. Using a mixed methods approach, results presented illustrate that public sector employment embodies a significantly larger proportion of total employment and economic activity in most regional labour markets compared to Greater Sydney or Australia in general. Other analyses reveal both counter-seasonal and countercyclical contributions of public sector income and spending to regional economic activity. The main finding of this research is that public sector employment provides a stable foundation to regional economies that are otherwise strongly influenced by seasonal patterns associated with tourism and agriculture. The importance of public sector employment to the regional economies has been amplified in recent crisis periods associated with large scale bushfires and COVID-19.

A Narrative Inquiry into the Practices of Healthcare Workers' Wellness Program: The SEED Experience in New South Wales, Australia.

The 2019-2020 Australian bushfires followed by the COVID-19 pandemic brought the significant mental health implications of working in healthcare to the fore. The importance of appropriate support services to ensure the resilience and recovery of healthcare workers has been highlighted. In response to healthcare staff experiences during the bushfires, the SEED Wellness Program was created in 2020 in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District in New South Wales, Australia. SEED used a participant-led design to engage healthcare staff in workplace-based restorative activities. Guided by practice theory, this study aimed to identify and describe SEED wellness practices that supported healthcare staff. Thirty-three healthcare workers participated in focus groups or individual interviews between June 2021 and March 2022. The analysis involved inductive thematic individual and collective exploration of SEED practices, including co-analysis with participants. Eight core practices that supported participants' wellbeing were identified, including responsive and compassionate leading, engaging staff at every stage of the recovery process, creating a sense of connection with others, and collective caring. The study found that workplace wellness initiatives are optimised when they are place-based and grounded in local knowledge, needs, and resources incorporating a collective and supportive team approach. Moreover, to ensure engagement in, and sustainability of these initiatives, both bottom-up and top-down commitment is required.

The need for multifaceted approaches when dealing with the differing impacts of natural disasters and anthropocentric events on air quality

Air pollution associated health issues are increasing globally. This is due to both anthropogenic sources, such as traffic, and natural sources, such as bushfires. Natural disasters, such as bushfires, impact air quality by releasing large concentrations of pollutants affecting respiratory health. However, another recent global event has also had severe impacts on the environment and health, the global COVID-19 pandemic. Global pandemics, such as COVID-19, can also influence air quality by altering human activity, resulting in its own associated health impacts. This study aimed to investigate the impact of a natural disaster and global pandemic on outdoor ambient air pollution by quantifying and comparing the spatial distribution of two air pollutants, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10), during the different periods across the Greater Sydney region, Australia, while correcting for anthropogenic sources and meteorological influences such as temperature and rain. COVID-19 and bushfire affected periods were compared to a control period when both of these influences were absent. We found that NO2 was significantly higher during the COVID-19 pandemic than during the control period and the recent 2019 bushfires. Conversely, PM10 was significantly lower during the COVID-19 pandemic than the bushfire and control periods. The spatial distribution of both pollutants and influencers also varied across the study site. These results suggest that both events markedly impacted air quality, although they impacted the air pollutants differently. These findings further demonstrate a greater need to understand the impact of natural disasters and anthropocentric events on air pollution as multifaceted, spatially relevant policies are required to address these events, particularly if they increase in frequency or severity in the future.

Factors influencing business recovery from compound disasters: Evidence from Australian micro and small tourism businesses

This study examines the factors affecting the recovery of micro and small tourism businesses in the context of the Australian bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic. An ordered probit model is employed to analyse survey data from 223 tourism businesses in Victoria, Australia. The results reveal that planned resilience, risk management and connectedness have a positive impact, whereas business age and size and compound disasters have a negative impact on the recovery speed of micro and small businesses. Findings from the study contribute to the empirical literature on micro and small tourism business recovery in the events of compound disasters and provide implications to assist businesses in building resilience to future shocks.

Bushfires, COVID-19 and Young People's Climate Action in Australia.

Australia's summer bushfires of 2020-2021 were catastrophic, negatively impacting people, and the natural environment. This climate change-related event exacerbated the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health. Young people are a priority population whose health and livelihoods are significantly impacted by these events. At the same time, young people are active agents for climate action. This exploratory mixed-method study draws on descriptive analyses of survey data (n = 46) and thematic analyses of interview data (n = 6) which demonstrated that some young people, whilst concerned about existential and real impacts of climate change, use contact with nature to cope and as motivation for taking climate actions.

Special Issue: Tourism in crisis: global threats to sustainable tourism futures. (Special Issue: Tourism in crisis: global threats to sustainable tourism futures.)

This special issue summarizes the crises in sustainable tourism and provides solutions that can mitigate crises. Containing 13 articles, topics in this issue include: a context and viewpoint on the possible implications of post COVID 19 reflection for wildlife tourism operations in the future;the role of service robots in gastronomic and dining experiences in a post coronavirus disease (COVID) world;the conflict of logics between private sector interests and public initiatives related to crisis management in tourism;the stringency of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) countermeasures in Japan;the perception of tourists as actors disconnected from citizens' necessities, safety and wellbeing;Twitter content analysis of the Australian bushfires disaster 2019 to 2020 relative to the country's tourism industry;the relevance of Cuba's medical system, its health tourism and related diplomacy in the context of the recent COVID 19 pandemic;post crisis (COVID) futures for live entertainment and tourism dependent destinations;antagonistic coexistence of different tourism imaginaries in global postviral social landscapes;how Fukushima's sake breweries challenged negative stereotypes and rebuilt its regional brand;and three book reviews on "Wildlife Tourism Futures: Encounters with Wild, Captive and Artificial Animals", "Tourismus NEXT (German)" and " Sustainable and Collaborative Tourism in a Digital World".

Air pollution and cardiovascular disease: Can the Australian bushfires and global COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 convince us to change our ways?

Air pollution is a major global challenge for a multitude of reasons. As a specific concern, there is now compelling evidence demonstrating a causal relationship between exposure to airborne pollutants and the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD). As such, reducing air pollution as a means to decrease cardiovascular morbidity and mortality should be a global health priority. This review provides an overview of the cardiovascular effects of air pollution and uses two major events of 2020-the Australian bushfires and COVID-19 pandemic lockdown-to illustrate the relationship between air pollution and CVD. The bushfires highlight the substantial human and economic costs associated with elevations in air pollution. Conversely, the COVID-19-related lockdowns demonstrated that stringent measures are effective at reducing airborne pollutants, which in turn resulted in a potential reduction in cardiovascular events. Perhaps one positive to come out of 2020 will be the recognition that tough measures are effective at reducing air pollution and that these measures have the potential to stop thousands of deaths from CVD.

Pregnant Women Who Smoke May Be at Greater Risk of Adverse Effects from Bushfires.

Bushfires substantially increase the environmental health risks for people living in affected areas, especially the disadvantaged (e.g., those experiencing health inequities due to their socio-economic status, racial/ethnic backgrounds, geographic location and/or sexual orientation) and those with pre-existing health conditions. Pregnant women exposed to bushfire smoke are at a greater risk of adverse pregnancy and foetal outcomes, especially if they smoke tobacco, which may compound the toxic impacts. Bushfires may also exacerbate mental stress, leading to an increase in smoking. There are gaps in the evidence and more research is required on the combined effect of bushfire smoke and tobacco smoke on pregnant populations.

When Natural Hazards Intersect with Public Health: A Preliminary Exploration of the Impact of Bushfires and the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Coastal Drowning Fatalities.

Natural hazards combined with the COVID-19 pandemic have had significant global impacts to the community and the environment. This study explores the impact of the Australian 2019/20 bushfires followed by the COVID-19 pandemic on unintentional coastal drowning fatalities. Fatality data were collated using triangulation methodology. Percentage change in coastal drowning fatalities between 2019/20 financial year (FY) and the 15FY annual average (2004/5-2018/19) were calculated for the dominant bushfire period (August 2019-February 2020 inclusive) and COVID-19 restrictions in place for 2019/20FY (March-June 2020 inclusive). Relative risk (RR; with 95% confidence intervals [CI]) of coastal drowning was calculated against the average for overall, bushfire and COVID-19 periods, using coastal participation data as the denominator, weighted for the predicted decrease in the use of outdoor coastal areas due to these widespread events. Coastal drowning fatalities increased in 2019/20FY by 9% overall (bushfires: 6%; COVID-19: 9%). Swimming/wading drowning fatalities increased during the bushfire period (RR = 2.02; 95% CI: 1.13-3.63), while boating and personal watercraft (PWC)-related fatalities increased during both the bushfire (RR = 2.92; 95% CI: 1.41-6.05) and COVID-19 period (RR = 3.86; 95% CI: 1.64-9.11). Rock fishing fatalities also increased across both the bushfire (RR = 4.19; 95% CI: 1.45-12.07; p = 0.008) and COVID-19 (RR = 3.8;95% CI: 1.24-11.62; p = 0.027) periods. Findings indicate the activity patterns leading to coastal drowning fatalities changed despite significant public health events impacting freedom of movement and thus opportunity for coastal participation. Understanding, and preparing for, the impacts of natural hazards on drowning risk is vital for future preventive efforts.