Organizational Identification and Alternative Job Opportunities of Hotel Internship Students During COVID-19

This study highlights the major challenges faced by hotel interns in their career development and the human resource management of hotels in the current macroeconomic environment, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper developed a conceptual model for organizational identification, turnover intention, and perceived alternative job opportunities in the context of hotel internships. A total of 350 samples were collected from hotel internships in Macau. The presented results indicate that organizational identification has a significant negative impact on turnover intention. In addition, alternative job opportunities do not moderate the relationship between organizational identification and turnover intention. The results also showed that females had a higher level of evaluative identification for hotel internships compared to males. In addition, interns from high-income families had a higher level of evaluative identification compared to those from low- and middle-income families. The theoretical contribution extends the concept of organizational socialization to include internship stages in the field of hospitality management. Finally, this paper proposes measures for managing hotel internships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Student Perspective of Online Pedagogy Post COVID-19. A Missed Opportunity?

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed education and caused unprecedented disruptions. These changes may disappear once the schools resume face-to-face classes in full force. Likewise, a positive change may not be necessarily what we want in education. This may be due to the existence of digital divide among students which cannot be ignored. During the COVID-19 pandemic, OneNote Class Notebook is used as an interactive digital whiteboard and has been evident as one of the best alternatives to the traditional whiteboard in the teaching and learning process. In this study, we aim to analyze students' perceptions of OneNote Class Notebook and the level of their continuous intention to use OneNote Class Notebook as an interactive digital whiteboard to replace the traditional whiteboard when school reopens with face-to-face lessons in the classroom in full force. The findings show that the students perceived that OneNote Class Notebook is indeed a useful tool to be used for calculus learning. But, it cannot be perceived as suitability to continue to be used during post COVID-19 period, when school reopens with physical classes in full force. In this regard, it reminds educators of the importance of rethinking education in the new normal post COVID-19 era from the perspective of curriculum studies. © 2023 IEEE.

Blending Academic Writing: The Use of Technology to teach amid Covid-19 Pandemic

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, teachers have to hesitantly switch to the virtual world of teaching, known as enriched virtual blended learning in which technology, surely plays a significant role in material delivery and discussion. Studies related to blended learning in English language classes, especially in academic writing classes, have been done in many countries, but they are still lacking in the Indonesian setting. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of technology utilization in enriched blended learning to teach academic writing and the students' perspectives towards the use of technology in blended learning. This study involving forty-five students in a university in Jakarta applied both quantitative and qualitative methods. A pre-test and a post-test were assigned before and after the blended learning period to study the effectiveness of blended learning. In addition, surveys and interviews were conducted to investigate the students' perspectives. The results indicated that the use of technology in blended learning effectively helped students develop their academic writing skills despite being a new experience. Furthermore, despite some limitations, this strategy of using technology in teaching-learning was accepted with optimism as they started to get accustomed to it. Hence, the use of technology is promising for the future of learning. © 2023 IEEE.

Exploring crucial social media marketing factors for improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in bed and breakfast sectors in Taiwan

PurposeThe Bed and Breakfast (B&B) enterprises generally lack sufficient human resources and time to conduct research on important social media marketing factors for visitors' satisfaction and visitors' intentions. Therefore, this study aims to provide crucial social media marketing and factors and service quality elements for improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in B&B sectors. This study also provides some recommendations for attracting more visitors and increasing customer satisfaction and customer loyalty through social media.Design/methodology/approachFirst, social media marketing factors and service quality elements were identified through the systematic literature review. Then these identified factors and elements were used to design a survey questionnaire for collecting data. The research data included responses of 64 B&B enterprises and 625 customers. The collected data was analyzed by feature selection approaches including Decision Tree algorithm and Information Gain to identify the key factors for improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.FindingsThe findings of this study determined that featured choice is an important social media marketing factor, and assurance is the common service quality element for both B&B enterprises and their customers in terms of satisfaction and loyalty.Originality/valueThis study adds a value to the growing literature on customer satisfaction and loyalty in B&B sectors by exploring key social media marketing factors and service quality elements. The study reveals several implications for theories and practices. The findings hopefully help B&B enterprises better social media marketing with less workforce and budget.

Remote care for chronic pain: A qualitative evaluation with managers, practitioners, and patients

The Covid-19 pandemic obliged many healthcare providers to transition rapidly to a remote-only model of care. Concerns have been expressed about patient access to remote services, their appropriateness for sensitive consultations and physical examinations. Pre-pandemic research into telemedicine showed evidence of its effectiveness, but patient, staff and service user perspectives on remote care approaches remain unclear. This study explored the experiences and perceptions of care among patients, practitioners and managers in a single United Kingdom chronic pain organisation whose services were delivered remotely (telephone and online) during the pandemic. Nineteen participants (seven patients, seven practitioners, five managers) took part in in-depth qualitative interviews, conducted via telephone or online. Transcripts were analysed thematically. Five service provider and four service user themes were generated. Service provider themes comprised "The change process," "Accessibility and efficiency," "Effective when remote: Contact, support and education," "Concerns about communication, connection and disembodied work," and "Supporting and sustaining the team." Patients' themes comprised "Preferences, expectations and acceptance of remote care," "Convenience and accessibility," "Sense of support" and "Delivery modality matters." The study provides evidence from the qualitative evaluation of a single remote only service of its benefits and limitations as perceived by stakeholders. Findings suggest that service providers could address limitations, and progress to a blended care package, based on for patient need and choice. Further attention could be paid to services delivered by telephone, and to staff communication skills, resources, time management and wellbeing needs.Copyright © Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

PERSPECTIVES ON ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FOR A LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN POST-COVID-19

Latin America and the Caribbean is between regions the world with the highest number of Covid-19 deaths. What is certain is that some factors allow the continent to suffer more damage and have greater difficulty in facing the pandemic, the objective of this research situated in the field of Fundamentals of Environmental Education is to understand this situation at first, and then seek to point out alternatives for the region. These alternatives are found from the horizon of environmental justice for the post-Covid-19. The study follows a methodological approach of Philosophical Hermeneutics. as perspectives the study points to: adoption of Eco socialism, change in the energy mix;change in consumption practices;change in human-nature relations, new ways of bringing nations together, overcoming the colonialist model;strengthening of potential and overcoming the discourse of poverty;Latin American solidarity as a possibility to overcome social exclusion;the reinvention of more democratic political systems with the effective participation of the population;appreciation of Latin American identity, based on the recognition of Traditional Peoples;and facing the postponement of the discussion on climate change. © 2023, University of Cienfuegos, Carlos Rafael Rodriguez. All rights reserved.

Telemedicine in Spine Surgery: Global Perspectives and Practices.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional, anonymous, international survey. OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the rapid adoption of telemedicine in spine surgery. This study sought to determine the extent of adoption and global perspectives on telemedicine in spine surgery. METHODS: All members of AO Spine International were emailed an anonymous survey covering the participant's experiences with and perceptions of telemedicine. Descriptive statistics were used to depict responses. Responses were compared among regions. RESULTS: 485 spine surgeons participated in the survey. Telemedicine usage rose from <10.0% to >39.0% of all visits. A majority of providers (60.5%) performed at least one telemedicine visit. The format of "telemedicine" varied widely by region: European (50.0%) and African (45.2%) surgeons were more likely to use phone calls, whereas North (66.7%) and South American (77.0%) surgeons more commonly used video (P < 0.001). North American providers used telemedicine the most during COVID-19 (>60.0% of all visits). 81.9% of all providers "agreed/strongly agreed" telemedicine was easy to use. Respondents tended to "agree" that imaging review, the initial appointment, and postoperative care could be performed using telemedicine. Almost all (95.4%) surgeons preferred at least one in-person visit prior to the day of surgery. CONCLUSION: Our study noted significant geographical differences in the rate of telemedicine adoption and the platform of telemedicine utilized. The results suggest a significant increase in telemedicine utilization, particularly in North America. Spine surgeons found telemedicine feasible for imaging review, initial visits, and follow-up visits although the vast majority still preferred at least one in-person preoperative visit.

What did nursing home residents think about COVID-19 prevention practices in the era of vaccination and treatment?

We surveyed 57 nursing home residents to assess the subjective impact of COVID-19 prevention practices. Residents were mostly accepting of testing and symptom screening; however, many would like more choices. Sixty-nine percent want to have some say in when or where to mask. Most (87%) residents want to return to group activities. Residents on long-stay units (58%) are more likely than residents on short-stay units (27%) to accept additional risk of COVID-19 transmission to increase their quality of life.

Review of the Literature on Ramadan Fasting and Health in 2022

Objectives The literature on health and disease during Ramadan fasting (RF) is widely spread in many journals making it not readily accessible to those interested in the subject. Here, we provide an overview of the research on the interplay of RF with various aspects of well-being published in 2022.Materials and Methods A narrative, nonsystematic review of the international literature from a single major medical online database, PubMed, in one calendar year (2022) was conducted. The search term "Ramadan fasting" was used to retrieve the appropriate records. The relevant literature with substantial data-based content was presented in a concise thematic account, excluding those concerned with diabetes.Results Themes that emerged from the review included the pathophysiology of metabolic changes during RF, nutritional aspects including body composition and energy metabolism, cardiovascular disease and risk factors, renal function and structure, endocrinology (mainly thyroid), neurological disorders, mental health, pregnancy and fetal life, and infections (including COVID). Some miscellaneous clinical themes were identified, such as patients' and professional perspectives.Conclusions In 2022, the medical interest in RF was again widely spread across specialties. Cardiovascular disease and risk factors attract the most interest in terms of original articles and professional guidelines. We hope with this review to present a concise summary of the scholarly work on the subject in this year.

Patient perspectives of telehealth for fertility care: a national survey.

PURPOSE: To evaluate patient satisfaction using telehealth for fertility care. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey using the validated telehealth usability questionnaire (TUQ) distributed nationally via fertility advocacy groups of fertility patients aged ≥ 18 years with self-reported use of telehealth for care. Patient satisfaction of telehealth for fertility care as determined by the TUQ questionnaire. The survey also included questions about telehealth related to usefulness, ease of use, effectiveness, reliability, and the option for patients to add open-ended comments related to their experiences using telehealth for fertility care. RESULTS: A total of 81 fertility patients completed the survey. Patients reported high rates of satisfaction (81.4%) with telehealth in areas of usefulness, ease of use, effectiveness, reliability, and satisfaction. However, many patients (60.5%) expressed a preference for in-person visits for their initial visit while the acceptability of telehealth increased for follow-up visits. Negative themes from respondent comments address that telehealth visits felt more impersonal and rushed. CONCLUSION: Fertility patients reported high satisfaction using telehealth for care. Patients still preferred in-person visits for initial consultations. For follow-up visits, most respondents favored telehealth or had no preference. Incorporation of telehealth in fertility practices should continue though it may be helpful for patients to be given options for visit types.

Childhoodnature: Applying a Sympoietic Approach to Child-Outdoor-Nature Encounters

Childhoodnature encounters can flourish in the Anthropocene. Assembled theories supporting childhoodnature can produce sparks when knocked together. The chemical composition of all living things is composed of the shared building blocks of all life: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulphur. Indeed, even beyond our own planet, recent research has demonstrated that humans and our galaxy share 97% of the same atoms. Indeed, we are all merely matter circulating with and through bodies, places, and time. This entanglement of matter can be known as sympoiesis. Making together or making with, sympoiesis is a philosophical, ontological, and epistemological concept that rejects notions of human exceptionalism. Rather it supports an entangled and relational view;beings forever adapting, changing, and evolving in relation with one another. Boundaries are blurred between bodies, what is being human and what is being nonhuman is no longer clear. Applying a sympoietic approach to outdoor encounters this chapter explores the doing of childhoodnature and its relationship with outdoor environment education (OEE). Childhoodnature as a concept explicitly recognises children as ecologically congruent to all entities who are currently manifesting liveability on a dying planet. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Ishq-the Sufi Way of leadership

This paper studies three types of leadership theories - value-based leadership, indigenous leadership, and leadership theories with traces of mysticism. The author shows how Sufism can be viewed as a framework of leadership (Spiller and Watson, 2021) that holds a sustained relevance in enduring turbulent times. The paper is timely because of increased interest in positive leadership, values-based leadership and culturally rooted leadership. This paper extends leadership literature in multiple ways. First, it brings to light the relevance of a mystic critique of Sufism built on love in the contemporary situation and is the first work to present Sufism as a different way of leadership. Second, it synchronises with the rising voice of scholars who suggest that leadership studies, devoid of context, are incomplete and that non-western models of leadership must emerge (Sudhakar, 2021;Mango, 2018). Third, it addresses the concern of scholars who have been imploring for taking leadership beyond the realms of logic and including more elements of mysticism (van Lingen, 2019). Finally, future possible research directions are discussed.

Assessment considerations during lockdown in Norway: An exploratory case study with focus on misconducts in university mathematics

The present paper raises a discussion about assessment formats in mathematics courses at Norwegian universities during the Covid lockdown. This proved to be challenging since the European GDPR regulations are strictly interpreted in Norway, making proctoring at home difficult. Based on analyses of nine university teachers' feedback on how exams were carried out at their university during lockdown, a discussion is raised about assessment modes and misconducts. The result shows how a framework from another research field can be adjusted to analyze data about the assessment situations. Next, by utilizing the different components (themes) of the adjusted framework, we shed light on perspectives on misconducts in un-proctored home exams. In doing so, the paper informs the discussion on challenges related to assessing students in mathematics at home. Results are relevant for future educational settings since change in the demographic profile of students increase topicality of online assessment. © 2023 UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

A SWOT Analysis of Pharmacy Students' Perspectives on e-Learning Based on a Narrative Review.

BACKGROUND: Online education became the new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the number of studies exploring the potential advantages/disadvantages of e-learning in pharmacy courses is limited. STUDY AIM: to propose a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of e-learning according to pharmacy students' perspectives. METHODS: A narrative review was conducted to examine student pharmacist perspectives on e-learning. RESULTS: Diverse strengths and weaknesses (internal environment) and opportunities and threats (external environment) were identified, which were grouped into categories, such as (1) students' well-being (e.g., access to classes anywhere vs. students' psychological or physical disorders); (2) teachers and materials (e.g., more diverse/interesting audiovisual materials vs. too challenging materials); (3) technologies (e.g., new education strategies, such as gamification vs. barriers in the access to the internet); (4) classes/training (e.g., more versatile/immediate classes vs. eventual presence of other persons during online classes); and (5) faculty/school of pharmacy (e.g., availability of technical support). CONCLUSION: Overall, online education seems to be suitable for pharmacy students, although diverse challenges should be addressed, such as the well-being of students or lack of standards. Pharmacy schools should regularly identify/define and implement measures to reinforce opportunities and strengths as well as to solve threats and weaknesses.

Community partner perspectives on the implementation of a novel safer supply program in Canada: a qualitative study of the MySafe Project.

BACKGROUND: The adulteration of the illicit drug supply with fentanyl and its analogues is driving the ongoing overdose crisis in North America. While various harm reduction interventions address overdose-related risks, there is growing interest in safer supply programs, including the MySafe Project which utilizes a biometric dispensing machine that provides pharmaceutical opioid alternatives to the toxic drug supply. However, the experiences and perspectives of professional community partners on program implementation remain unexplored. This study aims to examine professional community partner perspectives on the feasibility, as well as barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the MySafe program. METHODS: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 17 professional community partners involved in program implementation across four pilot locations in Canada. Thematic analysis of interviews focused on perspectives on safer supply, barriers and facilitators faced during program implementation, and recommendations to inform future scale-up of low-barrier safer supply models across Canada. RESULTS: Participants identified a variety of barriers, including the dependence on clinician buy-in, coupled with regulatory and logistical constraints. In addition, some participants perceived hydromorphone to be an inadequate substitute to the increasingly toxic street opioid supply. Lastly, technical difficulties were described as barriers to service uptake and delivery. Conversely, having political and community buy-in, availability of wrap-around services, and collaborative communication from the MySafe team served as facilitators to program implementation. Though community partners preferred establishing MySafe machines into existing community organizations, they also discussed benefits of housing-based MySafe programs. The potential role of this program in mid-sized to rural cities was also emphasized. CONCLUSIONS: To address the overdose crisis, there is an urgent need to implement and evaluate novel solutions that address supply drivers of crisis. Community partner-informed research plays an integral role in ensuring program acceptability and proper implementation. Our findings identify current gaps and facilitators underlying the efficacy of one such model, together with future directions for improvement. Participant recommendations included a diversification of medications offered and types of locations for MySafe programs, a streamlined national approach to prescribing guidelines coupled with more robust training for healthcare professionals, and an emphasis on service delivery within an integrated services model. Our findings underscore a potential gap between the goals of healthcare providers in ensuring comprehensive care and the necessity for low-barrier models such as MySafe that can function both within and outside of integrated service models.

Artificial Intelligence in Emergency Medicine: Viewpoint of Current Applications and Foreseeable Opportunities and Challenges.

Emergency medicine and its services have reached a breaking point during the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has highlighted the failures of a system that needs to be reconsidered, and novel approaches need to be considered. Artificial intelligence (AI) has matured to the point where it is poised to fundamentally transform health care, and applications within the emergency field are particularly promising. In this viewpoint, we first attempt to depict the landscape of AI-based applications currently in use in the daily emergency field. We review the existing AI systems; their algorithms; and their derivation, validation, and impact studies. We also propose future directions and perspectives. Second, we examine the ethics and risk specificities of the use of AI in the emergency field.

Modeling key enablers influencing FinTechs offering SME credit services: A multi-stakeholder perspective.

The study models inter-relationship among key enablers that influence the growth of FinTechs that offer credit services to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It focuses on emerging market of India, which is the world's third-largest FinTech centre. It employs Grey DEMATEL method to measure the cause-effect relationship based on the assessment given by FinTech practitioners, experts, policymakers, and investors. The results show that credit demand by SME borrowers, availability of alternate data sources, and Covid-19 are the critical enablers that exercise strong impact on FinTech system. Collaboration between FinTechs and traditional financial institutions, end-to-end financial solutions, and scalability of business operations are recognized as critical dependents that are hugely affected by others. The study recommends policymakers to foster collaborative environment, strengthen digital data landscape, and improve financial literacy to develop FinTech sector. It recommends practitioners to focus on data security and to offer end-to-end financial solutions to its SME borrowers.

Educators by proxy: Emergency remote teaching and learning in the voice of parents

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic led educational systems worldwide to transpose activities planned for face-to-face education to mediated contexts - through what is known as Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL). This posed unprecedented challenges to schools, teachers, families, and students. In this context, it was relevant to describe and understand how parents perceived this process, including what challenges to themselves and their children they faced and what advantages they acknowledged in the process. The present study focuses on Portuguese parents' views on this process. Methods: Data were gathered in April and May 2020 through an online questionnaire answered by 184 parents of preschool, basic, and secondary education students (ages 3–18). The present paper presents data from open questions analyzed by deductive and inductive content analysis using MaxQDA. Results and discussion: Results evidence three overarching themes: equity, parental labor, and the meaning of school. Parents reveal substantial difficulties juggling the role of proxy educator and parent and point to inequalities - including those concerning very young children, children with disabilities or learning difficulties, students enrolled in professional education, families with insufficient access to technologies, and parents working from home. The school is portrayed as a crucial environment for development, a designated space for learning and caretaking, but also a relational and emotional context. Despite this scenario, parents acknowledge ERTL as having positive aspects and as the possible outlet to keep education going even in extreme situations. Copyright © 2023 Seabra, Abelha, Aires and Teixeira.

Industry 4.0 Perspectives: Global Trends and Future Developments

All the countries of the world are experiencing a process of business transformation and innovation through the use of digital technologies. COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation, but to fully grasp the possibility offered by this crisis, concrete actions are needed to achieve the digital transformation. The effect of new technologies, in the digital first perspective, will lead not only to a more efficient system but above all to relaunch the economy, in particular of some strategic production sectors. The intent of this chapter is to outline global trends and future developments of digitalization in the perspective of Industry 4.0. Thus, a survey and a literature analysis based on structural and conceptual frameworks are developed. The result is the definition of understanding current state of knowledge and to propose future research opportunities in the field of manufacturing digitalization. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Maximizing Writing Interventions for Individuals Receiving Special Education Services Through Technological Applications in the Elementary Classroom

Since its inception, special education has historically been an underfunded federal mandate leaving states and school districts unable to offer more than a basic level of support for individuals with disabilities. The amount and frequency of time allotted for special services including Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy is not sufficient for making significant and lasting progress, and many parents have expressed dissatisfaction with the current service delivery model. In this paper, we explore the issue of accessibility and how technology may play a role in leveling the playing field for students who, prior to this COVID-19 pandemic, were receiving inadequate levels of intervention to make progress on goals outlined within their Individualized Education Program. We explore one teacher's experience implementing a new application in her classroom aimed at increasing writing accuracy, while addressing the need for platforms that are engaging and promote parent participation.