Increasing the effectiveness of online learning platforms: Some factors that influence employee work engagement

PurposeThis paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design/methodology/approachThis briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.FindingsEffectiveness of online learning requires employees to engage with the digital platforms used. Companies can increase work engagement (WE) among learners by developing a platform that is regarded as easy to use and offers online content that employees believe will enhance their future job performance. Task-based learning that includes game elements and other challenging activities also help create an online environment conducive to interaction, knowledge sharing and quality feedback. Personality traits can also influence learner WE, while careful use of financial incentives has scope to do likewise.Originality/valueThe briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Social Distancing, Vaccination and Evolution of COVID-19 Transmission Rates in Europe

This paper provides estimates of COVID-19 transmission rates and explains their evolution for selected European countries since the start of the pandemic taking account of changes in voluntary and government mandated social distancing, incentives to comply, vaccination and the emergence of new variants. Evidence based on panel data modeling indicates that the diversity of outcomes that we document may have resulted from the nonlinear interaction of mandated and voluntary social distancing and the economic incentives that governments provided to support isolation. The importance of these factors declined over time, with vaccine uptake driving heterogeneity in country experiences in 2021. Our approach also allows us to identify the basic reproduction number, R0, which is precisely estimated around 5, which is much larger than the values in the range of 2.4–3.9 assumed in the extant literature.

Multidimensional value of customers' mobile service experiences in the food service context

PurposeDespite the importance of mobile experiences in the food service industry, extant studies do not empirically examine customers' behavior. Thus, the authors examine this issue by using utility theory to understand the role of multidimensional customers' perceived value in the formation of a positive attitude.Design/methodology/approachCustomers' perceived service, process, and relationship values are hypothesized to affect satisfaction, which in turn affects attitudinal loyalty to food delivery applications. Also, the authors explore whether attitudinal loyalty influences customers' behavioral loyalty. Hypotheses are examined using data from US customers of food delivery applications. Partial least squared structural equation modeling is used.FindingsResults show that customers' perceived service, process, and relationship valuation of mobile experiences influence satisfaction, whereas only the process value influences satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty. Moreover, customers' behavioral loyalty is positively affected by satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty.Research limitations/implicationsService, process, and relationship values have been shown as an important indicator of customers' positive attitude toward food delivery service providers. Thus, this study provides a better understanding of the relationship between customers' mobile service experience and their behavior will allow service providers to design better mobile services.Originality/valueThe study extends utility theory to mobile the food delivery context. Specifically, this research demonstrates why and how customers decide to use mobile food delivery application.

Examining online learning platform characteristics and employee engagement relationship during Covid-19: Very Informal Newsletter on Library Automation

PurposeAs work-from-home policies were being implemented during Covid-19, organizations have been migrating their learning and development programs to digital platforms. This study aims to understand the role of employees' perceptions about four key attributes of online learning platforms (OLPs), namely, online environment, ease of use, online content (OC) and online engagement anchors in their levels of work engagement (WE). Further, it also investigates how the personality attributes of the employees and financial incentives for online learning influence this relationship.Design/methodology/approachUsing the snowball sampling technique, online questionnaires were distributed to about 350 employees in four IT firms in India who were working from home during the Covid-19 period. The total number of valid responses was 306 and consisted of software developers, technical leads, process specialists, testers and managers. The analysis was done using Python software (V.3.7.4) packages and Process Macro (pyprocessmacro V.1.0.8) developed for Python.FindingsPerceived OLP features significantly influence employee WE. OC and ease of use are significant influencers of employee WE. The perception of OLP features indirectly affects WE through the learner's personality characteristics. Moreover, the financial incentive to learn online shares a negative interaction effect with OLP features to influence WE.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the existing literature on virtual knowledge management by identifying the driving factors that reinforce the acceptance of OLPs. Moreover, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first attempt to link online learning management system key characteristics with employee outcome as engagement. Most of the previous work has ignored exploring such a relationship in an organizational setting.

Financial Incentives Are Associated with Lower Likelihood of COVID-19 Vaccination in Northeast Ohio.

BACKGROUND: Declining COVID-19 vaccination rates have led to implementation of monetary incentives to increase vaccine uptake. The Ohio Vax-a-Million lottery and subsequent $100 incentives were created to encourage individuals to become vaccinated. The purpose of this survey was to determine the efficacy of these monetary incentives on vaccination rates. METHODS: A 38-item questionnaire was given to outpatients at MetroHealth and Cleveland Veteran Affairs Hospitals between August 2021 and February 2022 who either waited 2 or more months to receive the COVID-19 vaccination or have not yet been vaccinated. The survey contained questions regarding demographics and perceptions of COVID-19 monetary incentives on vaccination likelihood. RESULTS: Of the 471 participants surveyed, 0.95% reported that the Ohio Vax-a-Million lottery increased their vaccination likelihood, while 29.7% reported that it decreased their likelihood. 6.8% of respondents reported the $100 incentive increased their vaccination likelihood while 17.4% reported it decreased their vaccination chances. 20.6% of participants stated news of the Delta (δ) variant increased their vaccination likelihood. CONCLUSION: Our study results suggest that monetary incentives were not associated with increased COVID-19 vaccination rates. Instead, more participants believed that these incentives decreased their vaccination likelihood. Expansion of the survey across a wider sociodemographic range can provide further evidence of the efficacy of these programs before reimplementation.

Reflections on Total Rewards around the Globe

[...]the articles in this issue do not focus on narrow topics that are of interest only to a select few, but grand challenges that organizations and societies are trying desperately to solve. [...]certain articles in this issue engage with long-standing debates in the compensation and rewards literature, namely, how do pay-for-performance practices and the use of incentives relate to individuals' motivation and performance? [...]this issue is consistent with the recent, important directions taken by WorldatWork and the editors of JTR - toward a broader global perspective on rewards.

Needle Fears and Phobias: The "Last Mile" Problem in Medical Organizations

As many as 1 in 20 people and 1 in 10 healthcare workers may suffer from needle fears and phobias. This affects millions every single year. The problem is too large to ignore, yet it is widely underrecognized. Each individual who would "rather die than get a shot" places others at risk. The key is to implement evidence-based approaches to addressing needle fears and phobias by doing so in a way that is empathetic and compassionate. This article offers several recommendations using a stages of change model to increase vaccination uptake by addressing needle fears and phobias directly.

Measures aimed at supporting families during the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy: A focus on disability and smart working

The article provides an overview of the main measures adopted by the Italian government to support families during the period of pandemic. The package of measures included the extension of the possibilities to take paid or unpaid parental leave, monetary allowances and incentives to use remote work, in primis smart working. Moreover, particular attention is paid to the issue of disability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Italian) L'articolo fornisce un'analisi della evoluzione delle principali misure adottate dal governo italiano per aiutare le famiglie durante il periodo della pandemia. Il pacchetto delle misure include l'estensione delle possibilita di usufruire dei congedi parentali pagati e non pagati, incentivi finanziari e possibilita di utilizzo del lavoro agile. Una particolare attenzione e riservata alle problematiche legate alla disabilita. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Vaccine hesitancy and monetary incentives

Vaccine hesitancy is a significant barrier to reaching herd immunity and exiting the Covid-19 pandemic. This study examines the potential effectiveness of monetary incentives in conjunction with informational treatments about vaccine efficacy, lack of side effects, and zero costs. We elicit monetary valuations (both positive and negative) for the coronavirus vaccine by conducting an online randomized experiment on a representative sample of 2461 individuals across the US. The study elicits vaccination uptake, then participants’ valuations (willingness to pay (WTP) or the willingness to accept (WTA)) for the vaccine based upon the stated choice of participants to accept or reject the vaccine. We find that a $1000 incentive increases vaccination uptake up to 86.9%. We identify two distinct segments among the vaccine hesitants—“Reluctants” and “Unwillings”. Reluctants can be persuaded to vaccinate for some level of monetary incentive, whereas Unwillings indicate that no amount of monetary incentive will persuade them to vaccinate. The Unwillings are more likely to (a) think that the disease is insufficiently severe, (b) have less faith in the public health system, (c) be older, compared to the Reluctants.

Data-Driven Optimal Design of a CHP Plant for a Hospital Building: Highlights on the Role of Biogas and Energy Storages on the Performance

Combined heat and power (CHP) generation plants are an assessed valuable solution to significantly reduce primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Nevertheless, the primary energy saving (PES) and CO2 reduction potentials of this solution are strictly related to the accurate definition and management of thermal and electric loads. Data-driven analysis could represent a significant contribution for optimizing the CHP plant design and operation and then to fully deploy this potential. In this paper, the use of a bi-level optimization approach for the design of a CHP is applied to a real application (a large Italian hospital in Rome). Based on historical data of the hospital thermal and electric demand, clustering analysis is applied to identify a limited number of load patterns representative of the annual load. These selected patterns are then used as input data in the design procedure. A Mixed Integer Linear Programming coupled with a Genetic Algorithm is implemented to optimize the energy dispatch and size of the CHP plant, respectively, with the aim of maximizing the PES while minimizing total costs and carbon emissions. Finally, the effects of integrating biogas from the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) of the Spent Coffee Ground (SCG) and Energy Storage (ES) technologies are investigated. The results achieved provide a benchmark for the application of these technologies in this specific field, highlighting performances and benefits with respect to traditional approaches. The effective design of the CHP unit allows for achieving CO2 reduction in the order of 10%, ensuring economic savings (up to 40%), when compared with a baseline configuration where no CHP is installed. Further environmental benefits can be achieved by means of the integration of AD and ES pushing the CO2 savings up to 20%, still keeping the economical convenience of the capital investment.

The economic marine tourism based on cleanliness health safety and environment (CHSE) protocol as covid-19 outbreak responses at Derawan Island, Indonesia

Popular tourism activities at Derawan Island are snorkelling and diving. The Covid-19 outbreak led these activities down and reduced visitors and income for restaurant, lodging, and diving center business units. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economic of Indonesia (KEMENPAREKRAFT) issued a new regulation to suppress the pandemic’s adverse impact specifically designed for New Normal Tourism with CHSE. They created new trouble in business units’ cash flow. It requires financial incentives and stimuli for its stability. This study assessed the tourists’ WTP, evaluation using the CVM, which covered the cash flow with three schemes. The value of the WTP substituted to financial analysis and looked at the number of BEP. WTP value for each person was US\( 2.97, or about US\) 190,636.28 - 288,677.80 in a year. If the cash flow did not reach the BEP, it would have proposed the financial stimuli to be submitted to related stakeholders. The restaurant was the most business unit that needed several financial incentives. Restaurants faced difficulties to reach BEP in three schemes, and they needed around US$ 170,422.54 - 247,323.94 in a year for over 20 restaurants.

INCENTIVIZING FAIR HOUSING

Restrictive land use regulation has thwarted the upward mobility of many Americans, particularly Americans of color. Local restrictions imposed by affluent municipalities have limited access to safe neighborhoods, better housing, and good schools. Racism and economic self-interest have both played a role in exclusionary practices which have contributed to high housing costs that place a strain on the entire economy. Fair Housing Act litigation has been one weapon in the fight against these practices. Despite the Supreme Court's decision in Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., disparate impact litigation faces significant obstacles that limit its value as a tool to fight exclusionary zoning. First, because restrictive zoning ordinances have such widespread economic effect, it will generally be difficult to prove that their impact on members of protected classes is disparate. Second, municipalities are likely to have successful defenses against disparate impact claims arising from restrictive zoning-including the "business necessity" defense that zoning restrictions are necessary to minimize the tax burden on local residents. Third, litigation sets up an adversarial dynamic that leads municipalities to resist housing initiatives rather than embracing them. By contrast, incentives are better calculated to induce local cooperation in the development of fair housing. The Department of Housing and Urban Development made some use of incentives during the Obama Administration, but those efforts were not ideally designed to promote buy-in by recalcitrant municipalities and were abandoned during the Trump Administration. States, however, are well positioned to use the real property tax system to create substantial incentives for municipalities to abandon exclusionary practices. Using tax incentives rather than mandates would enlist municipal self-interest as a weapon against exclusion.

Folic acid supplementation and the complexities of blame

kabbasi@bmj.com 
Follow Kamran on Twitter @KamranAbbasi In 1999 we published a letter by Nicholas Wald and others that estimated that 45% of pregnant women had taken folic acid supplements “immediately before becoming pregnant” (doi:10.1136/bmj.319.7223.1499).1 A Medical Research Council study from 1991 had shown a “lower risk of pregnancy affected by neural tube defects” with periconceptional supplements. [...]the evidence for the benefits of breast cancer screening is disputed, and money would be better spent on promoting informed choice on the balance of benefits and harms (doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-065726).3 Is overpromoting an intervention, for instance, a form of negligence? What if you wrongly advise millions of people, on national television, about the efficacy of vaccines (https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-a-doctor-challenging-the-health-secretary-sajid-javid-on-compulsory-vaccination-at-kings-college-hospital)?4 Or fail to stay up to date with the latest research on vaccines and myocarditis (doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-068665)?5 Perhaps you need an update on management of chronic anal fissures (doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-066834) and extreme preterm birth (doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-055924)?67 How about the company executives refusing scrutiny of their trial data while profiting by the billion (doi:10.1136/bmj.o102)?8 Or the editors, journalists, and politicians unwilling to cover the growing concern about China’s human rights abuses (doi:10.1136/bmj.o44)?9 What of Facebook’s responsibility in trying to censor legitimate concerns about the conduct of clinical trials (doi:10.1136/bmj.o95)?10 This is before we start asking about the people turning a blind eye to the crises in social care and the NHS (doi:10.1136/bmj.o107;doi:10.1136/bmj.o103;doi:10.1136/bmj.o125;doi:10.1136/bmj.o118;doi:10.1136/bmj.o99) and the impact of covid on other illnesses and death (doi:10.1136/bmj.o100).111213141516 In each and every one of these instances somebody is making decisions that could be suboptimal or placing people at risk;somebody may be found “responsible” in a court of law.

Monetary incentives and peer referral in promoting digital network-based secondary distribution of HIV self-testing among men who have sex with men in China: study protocol for a three-arm randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing is a crucial strategy for HIV prevention. HIV testing rates remain low among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. Digital network-based secondary distribution is considered as an effective model to enhance HIV self-testing (HIVST) among key populations. Digital platforms provide opportunities for testers to apply for HIVST kits by themselves, and secondary distribution allows them to apply for multiple kits to deliver to their sexual partners or members within their social network. We describe a three-arm randomized controlled trial to examine the effect of monetary incentives and peer referral in promoting digital network-based secondary distribution of HIVST among MSM in China. METHODS: Three hundred MSM in China will be enrolled through a digital platform for data collection. The eligibility criteria include being biological male, 18 years of age or over, ever having had sex with another man, being able to apply for kits via the online platform, and being willing to provide personal telephone number for follow-up. Eligible participants will be randomly allocated into one of the three arms: standard secondary distribution arm, secondary distribution with monetary incentives arm, and secondary distribution with monetary incentives plus peer referral arm. Participants (defined as "index") will distribute actual HIV self-test kits to members within their social network (defined as "alter") or share referral links to encourage alters to apply HIV self-test kits by themselves. All index participants will be requested to complete a baseline survey and a 3-month follow-up survey. Both indexes and alters will complete a survey upon returning the results by taking a photo of the used kits with the unique identification number. DISCUSSION: HIV testing rates remain suboptimal among MSM in China. Innovative interventions are needed to further expand the uptake of HIV testing among key populations. The findings of the trial can provide scientific evidence and experience on promoting secondary distribution of HIVST to reach key populations who have not yet been covered by existing testing services. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1900025433) on 26, August 2019, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=42001. Prospectively registered.