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PurposeAmid the COVID-19 contamination, people are bound to use contactless FinTech payment services. Because of restrictions on physical movement and avoidance of touching physical money, people willingly choose mobile payment, resulting in enormous growth in FinTech payment service industries. Because of this, this study aims to examine the effect of factors affecting Gen X and Millennials users to use FinTech payment services.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used 328 responses collected through convenience sampling of Indian users aged between 26 and 57 years in the Delhi-NCR region who are users of FinTech payment services.FindingsThe authors' findings verified that in India, perceived COVID-19 risk, perceived severity for COVID, individual mobility, subjective norms, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness have statistically significant impacts on FinTech payment services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural equation modelling was used to study the proposed research model. Overall, the model predicted 76.9 % of the variation in intention to use FinTech payment services by the abovesaid variables by Indian users during a pandemic.Practical implicationsThis study will provide valuable insight to all FinTech service providers and stakeholders in planning and designing the concerned policy. It will be able to draw the attention of users more.Originality/valueThis research added a valuable theory to the existing technology adoption model (TAM) theory. It demonstrated the utility of the above variables in adopting and using FinTech payment services, which will help service providers to develop future strategies because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Following the rapid scientific and technological development in this new era of global industrial transformation, the tourism industry has overcome the severe challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by taking advantage of new development opportunities. Digital technologies, such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and fifth-generation mobile communications have released the huge potential for promoting the development of the high-quality cultural tourism integration. Scholars have explored the benefits of developing and improving the quality of cultural tourism integration in addition to how the digital economy can promote the development of cultural tourism integration. Most existing research has regarded the digital economy as a means to promote the development of cultural tourism integration;however, there is relatively little systematic research on the logical mechanism, transmission channels, and practical paths that enable the high-quality development of cultural tourism integration. Therefore, this paper systematically explores the logical mechanism, direct effects, and transmission mechanisms in the digital economy that promote the development of high-quality cultural tourism integration. The study findings open up the "black box"of developing high-quality cultural tourism integration and help to establish its scientific basis in the digital economy. Based on a systematic explanation of how the digital economy enables the high-quality development and transmission of cultural tourism integration through organizational, technological, and product innovation channels, this paper conducts empirical testing using 2011-2020 panel data from 30 Chinese provinces (excluding Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan of Chian) and obtains three main findings. First, the digital economy has a positive enabling effect on the development of high-quality cultural tourism integration, which has been verified in benchmark regression, instrumental variable regression, and robustness testing. Second, this enabling effect shows regional differences. For example, East China benefits from its relatively well-developed digital economy and can enjoy the dividends from its high-quality cultural tourism destinations. However, although West China has seen rapid growth in its digital economy, the region also shows a trend of increasing marginal effects from its enabling effect, while the digital economy's enabling trend in Central China still needs to be strengthened. Third, by constructing a transmission channel, that is, "digital economy-organization-technology-product innovation-developmental quality of cultural tourism integration", we find that the digital economy can positively promote the development of high-quality cultural tourism integration by regulating transmission channels for innovation, such as organizational, technological, and product innovation. According to the research conclusions, measures to promote the development of high-quality cultural tourism integration in the digital economy should be taken in the following four areas. First, local governments and cultural tourism departments should deepen their development strategies to integrate the digital economy with the real economy and systematically cultivate new drivers for the development of high-quality cultural tourism integration. Second, a digital cultural tourism platform should be built to optimize the value creation mechanism for the development of high-quality cultural tourism integration. Third, regional heterogeneity characteristics should be combined with the digital economy's enabling effect to implement a differentiated digital cultural tourism development strategy. Fourth, organizational, technological, and product innovation advantages should be cultivated to expand the transmission channels for the development of high-quality cultural tourism integration within the digital economy.
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Opportunities to participate in physical activities (PA) and fitness exercises in public and private facilities have been reduced or banned due to social distancing regulations during the height of the global pandemic. Though Korea has not experienced lockdown, several venues have been restricted to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Despite the limitations of PA engagement, people have found alternative activities by using online platforms to keep active and fit. Thus, this study focuses on analyzing fitness-related video titles from YouTube. By collecting data through text mining and conducting network analysis, it provides basic knowledge of the fitness trends from pre- and post-Covid-19. As a result, 'exercise' was found to have the highest tendency and had strong connections to keywords that indicated specific methods of working out to become fit, but it also had connections to trendy keywords such as 'hip-up' and 'body-profile' which reflect the fitness culture in Korea.
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Covid-19 pandemic has forced online classes to be conducted mostly without proper introduction and preparation. This shift also made teachers and students gradually accustomed to independent learning. Several mobile applications have been developed for foreign language learning. However, only few Android applications were developed for non-linguistic courses offered by foreign language departments at the university level. The effectiveness of such an application to improve students' learning in universities, therefore, has not been conducted. This article reports the finding of a quasi-experimental research on the effect of using an Android application tailored for Research Method for Applied Linguistics students at an English department on their mastery of the course. The research data were collected through tests and a documentary study and calculated using ANCOVA statistical calculation. With the course mastery as the dependent variable, the use of Android application as the independent variable, and reading skills as covariates, the research revealed that the use of Android Learning Application significantly improves the EFL students' mastery of Research Methods for Applied Linguistics course. Further researchers are suggested to study the effect of the use of Android learning application on EFL students' mastery of a non-language course with significantly different students' levels of reading skills.
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This paper presents a new method to quantify the potential user time savings if the urban bus is given preferential treatment, changing from mixed traffic to an exclusive bus lane, using a big data approach. The main advantage of the proposal is the use of the high amount of information that is automatically collected by sensors and management systems in many different situations with a high degree of spatial and temporal detail. These data allow ready adjustment of calculations to the specific reality measured in each case. In this way, we propose a novel methodology of general application to estimate the potential passenger savings instead of using simulation or analytical methods already present in the literature. For that purpose, in the first place, a travel time prediction model per vehicle trip has been developed. It has been calibrated and validated with a historical series of observations in real-world situations. This model is based on multiple linear regression. The estimated bus delay is obtained by comparing the estimated bus travel time with the bus travel time under free-flow conditions. Finally, estimated bus passenger time savings would be obtained if an exclusive bus lane had been implemented. An estimation of the passenger's route in each vehicle trip is considered to avoid average value simplifications in this calculation. A case study is conducted in A Coruña, Spain, to prove the methodology's applicability. The results showed that 18.7% of the analyzed bus trips underwent a delay exceeding 3 min in a 2,448 m long corridor, and more than 33,000 h per year could have been saved with an exclusive bus lane. Understanding the impact of different factors on transit and the benefits of a priority bus system on passengers can help city councils and transit agencies to know which investments to prioritize given their limited budget.
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Consumption and production of digital goods and services have increased in Indonesia for the past ten years. A fast-growing e-commerce sector and an increase in digital payments supported the strong growth of the digital economy. Although Internet and digital transactions emerged in the late 1980s, the regulatory framework governing digital activities was only introduced in 2008 with the enactment of the Law on Electronic Information and Transactions. The government of Indonesia has relaxed foreign capital restrictions and provided fiscal incentives for digital businesses. Indonesia has also made commitments related to digital business in recent trade agreements in terms of the mutual recognition of consumer protection and cross-border data transfer. To encourage the use of ICT in public service, Indonesia introduced the 100 Smart City programme and has begun the implementation of electronic-based public service and operation (e-government). The government accelerated digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing the budget allocations for ICT in 2020 and 2021. To further accelerate digital transformation, the government needs to focus on digital literacy, nationwide integrated infrastructure, regulatory and institutional mechanisms and the innovation ecosystem.
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Mobile live commerce is emerging as a new distribution channel as connectivity and information sharing become easier due to the increase in the use of SNS and mobile phones. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research in this field, and it is meaningful to look at how this new technology-based commerce leads to purchase intention in terms of the value of shopping perceived by consumers. This study aims to (1) analyze the characteristic factors of mobile live commerce, which is rapidly emerging due to brisk changes in the distribution industry in the non-contact era;and (2) verify the relationship between shopping value and purchase intention. We analyzed 283 surveys using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SM) with statistical product and service solutions (SPSS) and R-programming. We inferred that convenience, ubiquity, social presence, attractiveness, and vividness were the characteristics of mobile live commerce that had a positive effect on the pleasure value, and that social presence, attractiveness, vividness, professionalism, information quality, and compatibility had positive effects on the perceived value. The hedonic value also had a positive effect on the perceived value, and both pleasure and perceived values had strong positive effects on the purchase intention. However, the professionalism of the sources did not affect the hedonic value, and the convenience and ubiquity did not affect the perceived value.
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The study analyzes the learning environment before and after the Covid-19 pandemic based on a survey among parents. The parents were asked to give their perceptions of the changes in their childrens learning behavior and the mode of teaching-learning due to the pandemic. The findings indicate that there is a significant change in the learning environment and that the post-pandemic situation is perceived unfavorably by parents.
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We developed a pandemic telephone outreach protocol to identify risk for social isolation, health destabilization, medication issues, inadequate services and supports, and caregiver stress among older adults at high risk of destabilization. Screening, conducted between April 1, 2020, and May 8, 2020, was targeted to those who had previously been screened as frail or who were identified as vulnerable by their family physician. This study describes the implementation and results of this risk screening protocol and describes patient, caregiver, and health professional perceptions of this outreach initiative. Mixed methods included satisfaction surveys and interviews completed by patients/caregivers (N = 300 and N = 26, respectively) and health professionals (N = 18 and N = 9, respectively). A medical record audit collected information on patient characteristics and screening outcomes. A total of 335 patients were screened in the early weeks of the pandemic, of whom 23% were identified with at least one risk factor, most commonly related to the potential for health destabilization and medication risk. Follow-up referrals were made most frequently to physicians, a pharmacist, and a social worker. The outreach calls were very well received by patients and caregivers who described feeling cared for and valued at a time when they were socially isolated and lonely. The outreach calls provided access to trusted COVID-19 information and reassurance that health care was still available. The majority of health professionals (>86%) were "very" or "extremely" satisfied with the ease of completing the screening via telephone and value for time spent;for 79% the protocol was "very" or "extremely" feasible to implement. Health professional interviews revealed that patients were unaware they could access care during the pandemic lockdown but were reassured that care was available, potential crises were averted, and they supported future implementation. Risk screening provides a significant opportunity to provide information, support, and mitigate potential risks and is an important and feasible component of pandemic planning in primary care.
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A new approach to learning is mobile learning (m-learning), which makes use of special features of mobile devices in the education sector. M-learning is becoming increasingly common in higher education institutions all around the world. The use of mobile devices for education and learning has also gained popularity in Jordan. Unlike studies about Jordan, there are many studies that thoroughly analyze the situation of m-learning in other countries. Thus, it is important to understand the current situation of m-learning at Jordanian universities, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. While there have been some studies conducted prior to COVID-19 and a few studies after COVID-19, there is a need for a comprehensive study that provides an in-depth exploration of the current situation, student adoption, benefits, disadvantages, and challenges, particularly following COVID-19. Therefore, this study utilizes a sequential exploratory mixed research method to investigate the current state of the art of m-learning in Jordanian higher education with a particular focus on student adoption, benefits, disadvantages, and challenges. Firstly, the study explores the existing literature on m-learning and conducts 15 interviews with educators and learners in three Jordanian universities to gain insights into their experiences with m-learning. The study then distributes a survey to students at four Jordanian universities, representing both public and private universities, to generalize the results from the qualitative study. Additionally, the study investigates the relationship between student enrollment in public/private universities and the adoption of m-learning. The study came to the conclusion that students have a positive opinion of m-learning and are also willing to use it. However, there are a number of disadvantages and challenges to its adoption. Additionally, there is a relationship between student enrolment in public/private universities and the adoption of m-learning. These findings have important implications for institutions that want to incorporate m-learning into their undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as they aid decision-makers in these universities in creating frameworks that may be able to meet the needs of m-learning.
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Teaching geology under COVID-19 pandemic conditions led to teaching limitations for educators and learning difficulties for students. The lockdown obstructed face-to-face teaching, laboratory work, and fieldtrips. To minimize the impact of this situation, new distance learning teaching methods and tools were developed. The current study presents the results of an empirical study, where distance learning teaching tools were constructed and used to teach geology to university students. A mineralogical mobile phone application was used to replace laboratory mineral identification and a flow chart to replace laboratory rock identification. Additionally, exercises on faults and maps were developed to fill the gap that was created as field work was impossible. A university course on geology was designed on the basis of the constructed distance learning teaching tools, and more than 100 students from the Department of Civil Engineering attended the course. The results show that the proposed tools helped the students to considerably understand scientific information on geology and supported the learning outcomes. Thus, it is suggested that the teaching tools, constructed for the purposes of the study, could be used in conditions when distance learning is required, or even under typical learning conditions after laboratories, as well as before or after fieldtrips, for better learning outcomes.
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With the emergence of a number of food ordering applications in the market, it has become equally challenging for customers to choose from the available applications. The objective of this study is to determine the level of awareness about online food ordering applications among customers. Further, the study evaluates the factors affecting customer perception towards online food ordering applications in Punjab. The study also determines the influence of demographic variables on the buying behavior of customers on online food ordering apps. The primary research data was collected through a structured questionnaire from 485 respondents who prefer ordering food through virtual applications, and SPSS software was used for analysis. Factor analysis was employed to find out the behavior of respondents towards food delivery applications. ANOVA was applied to check the impact of demographics on customer perception. The study identified eight factors affecting customer perception towards food ordering applications, i.e., discounts and offers, perceived ease of use, customer support, convenient operating hours, reliability, restaurant choice and variety, alternative mode of payment and serviceability of which 'discounts and offers' was found to be the most important factor. Further, the findings of the study revealed a significant role of demographic variables such as age, education, occupation and income in affecting customers buying behavior towards food ordering applications.
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Around the world, mobile phones have been used for quite some years now to put healthcare systems into interactive action through various mobile health applications. The results regarding efficiency, access, greater social equality, and interconnectivity are proven, and they promise to mitigate economic and educational gaps. All this is increasingly the case in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where the technological prerequisites are quickly evolving. About 500 million people in SSA--more than 46 percent of the region's population--were subscribing to mobile services in 2020, and their numbers are forecast to reach 615 million in 2025. In the meantime, coverage works also in the structurally poorest areas. In 2020, 2G mobile network coverage in Burkina Faso was 81 percent for the territory and 92.4 percent for the population. The high penetration rate of mobile phones and the increasing coverage of the mobile network has created a vast variety of opportunities for health provision. Mobile devices can no longer be ignored in practical health delivery and disease prevention workflows.
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Background: Telemedicine is the delivery of Health Care Services using information and communication technologies. Most models of Telemedicine in developed countries involve high-cost infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic imposed lockdowns and travel restrictions have highlighted the importance and the necessity of an economically viable model of telemedicine for resource-poor countries like India. Methods: We conducted a prospective study to assess the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of low-cost model of Telemedicine services for regular follow-up as well as for triaging. A combination of WhatsApp/email using smartphones and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system was used to provide Telemedicine services. At the end of the e-consult, the patient/ parents were asked to rate their experience on a scale of 0 to 10. Results: A total of 155 children and 865 consults were included. The mean age of the children was 8.5 years. Forty-four consultations were given to 12 (7.7%) International patients. Thirty-eight (24.5%) patients were seen for the first time via Teleconsultation and the remaining 117 (75.5%) were follow-up patients. The most common diagnosis was Nephrotic Syndrome (51.6%) followed by Chronic Kidney Disease (21.9%), Urinary Tract Infection (10.3%), Kidney-transplant follow-up (6.4%), Acute Glomerulonephritis (3.8%), and Acute Kidney Injury (2.6%). Twenty-three patients were advised admission after the Teleconsultation and the remaining 122 children were advised follow-up e-consults. The mean satisfaction score reported for e-consults was 9.4. Conclusion: Our low-cost Telemedicine model offered a viable modality for delivery of Paediatric Nephrology Services during lockdown period and can be replicated by pediatricians practicing other subspecialties as well.
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Résumé. La pandémie de la COVID-19 et la crise sanitaire et sociale qui en a découlé ont encouragé la conduite d'entretiens semi-directifs par téléphone ou par visioconférence. À partir de trois enquêtes réalisées par des jeunes femmes portant sur l'intime et ayant recours aux entretiens biographiques, cette note méthodologique examine les façons dont l'entretien à distance transforme la nature des matériaux collectés et recompose ce taisant le mode de production de connaissances sociologiques. Elle montre que le distanciel renouvelle les profils sociaux accessibles en ouvrant la voie à des configurations inédites. Elle donne également à voir les atouts de ce dispositif pour accéder à l'intériorité du sujet et souligne son potentiel dans les cas où des positions asymétrlques entre enquêteur/rice et enquêté·e dans les rapports de pouvolr (en particulier de genre) sont susceptibles d'entraver la relation d'enquête, risquant dès lors d'appauvrir les connaissances produites.Alternate :The COVID-19 pandemic and the health and social crisis it caused led researchers to conduct semi-directive interviews either by telephone or videoconferencing. On the basis of three surveys on intimate personal matters conducted by young women and requiring life history interviews, this methodological assessment examines the ways in which remote interviewing of these kinds changes the nature of the material collected and in so doing rearranges the sociological knowledge production mode. It shows how remote interviewing renews accessible social profiles by opening a path to previously unknown configurations. It also shows the advantages of this arrangement for accessing the subject's inner thoughts, feelings, and processes, and highlights its potential for cases where asymmetrical interviewer/respondent power positions (particularly gender positions) are likely to hinder interviewer-respondent rapport, risking an impoverishment of the knowledge produced.Alternate :Die COVID-19-Pandemie und die damit entstandene Sanitäts- und Sozialkrise haben die Leitfadengespräche über Telefon oder Videokonferenz gefördert. Ausgehend von drei von jungen Frauen durchgeführten Untersuchungen zur Intimsphäre anhand von biographischen Gesprächen prüft diese methodologische Notiz, wie das Ferngespräch die Art der gesammelten Materialen verändert und dabei den Produktionsmodus von soziologischen Kenntnissen neugestaltet. Sie zeigt, dass das Distanzgespräch die erreichbaren Sozialprofile erneuert, indem der Weg zu bisher nicht vorhandenen Konfigurationen geöffnet wird. Sie zeigt außerdem alle Pluspunkte dieser Vorgangsweise zur Erreichung der Interiorität des Subjekts und unterstreicht ihr Potential in den Fällen, in denen die asymmetrischen Positionen zwischen Befrager und Befragten innerhalb der Machtbeziehungen (besonders Gender) möglicherweise die Befragungsbeziehung einschränken und somit die produzierten Kenntnisse verringern könnten.Alternate :La pandemia de COVID-19 y la crisis sanitaria y social que ha derivado de ella han llevado a la realización de entrevistas semi-directivas por teléfono o por cia. A partir de encuestas que llevaron très mujeres jóvenes acerca de lo íntimo y que se basaban en entrevistas biográficas, nuestra nota metodológica observa de qué manera la entrevista a distancia transforma la naturaleza del material colectado y por lo tanto reorganiza el modo de producción de conocimientos sociológicos. Muestra que la comunicación a distancia renueva los perfiles sociales accesibles al posibilitar configuraciones inéditas. También revela las ventajas del dispositivo para acceder a la interioridad del sujeto y subraya su potencial en los casos en los que posiciones asimétricas entre investigador a y encuestado a en las relaciones de poder (en particular de género) podrían frenar la relación de investigación y así empobrecer los saberes producidos.
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In Bangladesh, app-based online food delivery services are gaining popularity. The increased use of mobile phones and the affordability of the internet aided businesses in meeting new customer demands such as food delivery to the customers' homes. Thus, the primary goal of this research is to identify the factors influencing customer intention to use food delivery apps (FDAs) during COVID-19. Data are collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed quantitatively using partial least square structured equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results show that price value and convenience are the most influential factors affecting the intention to use FDAs during COVID-19. There is, however, insufficient evidence to demonstrate the influence of the other three factors (e.g., service quality, delivery experience, ease of use) on FDA use intention. A better understanding of emerging student consumers will assist management in leveraging the factors that must be considered when providing services to this market.
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Does channeling government-to-person (G2P) payments through bank accounts encourage financial inclusion and use? This paper explores the factors that have driven the adoption of digital payments in India by beneficiaries of PMGKY, the large-scale COVID-19 relief program launched in May 2020. India's 2013 move to pay social benefits through direct transfers into bank accounts significantly increased account ownership, but uptake of digital payments has been slower, although it has accelerated more recently through smartphone-based apps. Recipient survey data shows that personal and household attributes influence the likelihood of adopting digital payments. Smartphone ownership and digital literacy improve the odds while being a woman reduces them. The strength of the local digital payments ecosystem also exerts significant influence on household adoption;favorable personal and ecosystem factors are needed for widespread use. The historical progression shows that G2P transfers create an entry point but that widespread access to low-cost mobile telecommunications, interoperability, and the entry of new players offering convenient payments interfaces have been vital to the growth of digital payments.
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This article offers some advice on how veterinary practices can effectively use mobile apps and digital technology to improve the client experience.
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The spread of novel coronavirus Covid-19 at the beginning of March 2020 significantly squeezed agri sector, especially fruits and vegetables. The closure of schools, restaurants, offices, and others has shifted supplies of agribusiness to retail channels. One of the prevailing issues faced by farmers in managing crops and finding a conducive place to market their products. In this view, the farmers' marketplace needs to evolve to continuously supply farmers' products to consumers. Agriculture itself is undergoing a fourth revolution activated by the use of information and communication technology (ICT). This paper provides insights into how mobile app technologies can promote in solving the agri and allied sector related glitches like soil degradation, excessive water, emissions, pollution, the market place, etc. We find mobile app features have widely developed for farmers, distributors, and producers together valuable data, observe fields, and manage crops to optimize the processes. Mobile apps and cloud computing become a hub of solutions. In this global pandemic, providing support to farmers with useful and practical agricultural information can improve their economic development and eventually give a good impact on the country.
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[5] Longer usage of mobile phones resulted in poorer sleep quality (delayed sleep phase, sleep duration, altered sleeping patterns, chronotype, and sleep quality), increased fatigue, and insomnia which, in turn, results in several mental health issues. [...]melatonin offers an alternative treatment to the currently available pharmaceutical therapies for sleep disorders with fewer side effects. The individuals who were undergoing medical treatment for any mental health disorders were excluded from the study. [...]sleep in multiple ways restores both normal levels of brain activity and normal "balance" among the different functions of the central nervous system.