The Role of Management of Technology (MOT) in Unlocking Nations' Competitiveness in Post Pandemic and Global Crises

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the massive global crisis, such as the COVID-19 outbreak and the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, on the socioeconomic level and revisit the definition of 'Competitiveness'. Furthermore, the paper illustrates a new model and framework for competitiveness in post-global crises and highlights the importance of building competitive connected and traded clusters for increasing the overall competitiveness of the nations, and the role of technology and its management in achieving such objectives. Also, the paper identifies the role of Management of Technology (MOT) in regaining competitiveness and unlocking the nations' capabilities toward establishing a path for resilience and sustainable growth in the era of massive global crises and beyond. © 2022 IEEE.

Driving Paediatric Vaccine Recovery in Europe.

BACKGROUND: Childhood vaccination coverage has increased throughout Europe in recent decades. However, challenges persist in many areas within the European Union (EU), resulting in declining coverage rates in many countries in the period between 2010 and 2021. This general trend requires increased efforts to combat barriers around vaccination uptake. Thus, this article aims to summarise key learnings and trends in paediatric vaccination within the EU, with a focus on current challenges and enablers. METHODS: Methodology is based on analysis of primary data, mainly vaccination coverage rates, as well as review and analysis of the select relevant literature, including peer-reviewed articles, academic research papers, official reports, policies, and other publicly available sources. RESULTS: For all vaccines assessed (DTP 1st dose, DTP 3rd dose, Hib3, HepB3, measles 1st dose, measles 2nd dose, and polio 3rd dose), a high degree of variation and fluctuation in coverage can be observed. There is a general trend of declining coverage in 2019 compared to 2010, with lower performing countries, such as Romania and Austria, showing increasingly severe coverage fluctuations between the years examined across the analysed vaccines. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence suggests that increasing both accessibility and information regarding vaccines are key enablers to vaccination uptake. Moreover, given the current challenges the EU is facing, crisis preparedness plans are pertinent to ensure immunity gaps do not further exacerbate the disruption of vaccination systems.

The Ukraine war and the consequences for Germany’s regions: Challenges and opportunities using the example of small and medium-sized businesses

This article will take a close look at the state of Germany’s small and medium-sized enterprises, focusing on the companies considered to be the winners and losers in the Ukraine crisis. Proceeding in this way will make it possible to draw some initial conclusions from the current crisis and to link them to the next major problem that the EU will have to face: its dependence on China. Looking at how Germany’s small and medium-sized enterprises are currently faring will help us gauge how the EU’s economic area might be hit should an even more severe crisis occur (e.g. in connection with China). In getting started, a comparison is made with the Covid-19 crisis to clarify the severity of the current crisis and to provide a basis for understanding what is yet to come.

Good Practices in Perinatal Mental Health for Women during Wars and Migrations: A Narrative Synthesis from the COST Action Riseup-PPD in the Context of the War in Ukraine

Background: Since February 24th, 2022, the beginning of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, more than 80,000 women were expected to give birth. Therefore, understanding the impact of war on the perinatal health of women is an important requisite to improve perinatal care. This narrative synthesis has two main purposes: on one hand, it aims to summarize the current evidence available based on perinatal health outcomes and care among perinatal women;on the other, it attempts to identify the gaps still present in research in relation to perinatal care. Method: A literature search was completed in diverse databases (e.g., Medline, PsychInfo). Results: Emergent matters related to practice and research in perinatal refugee women have been discussed. Conclusions: In the face of the war in Ukraine, we need to build up further research to provide an evidence-based foundation for preventing and treating the psychological consequences of pregnant women exposed directly to war and those who have been forced into a refugee status during this vulnerable period. Also, it is essential to support not only women transitioning to motherhood, but also supporting midwives and nurses in their work.

Recovery of Slovenian Tourism after Covid-19 and Ukraine Crisis

The profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis 2022 on tourism has rendered forecasts of tourism demand obsolete. Accordingly, scholars have begun to look for the best methods to predict the recovery of tourism. In this study, econometric and judgmental methods were combined in order to to forecast the possible ways to tourism recovery in Slovenia. The goals of this paper are to show and assess the current offerings and potential for the development of tourism in Slovenia, and to point out the advantages and challenges in the development of tourism in this type of destination. Statistical methods were used for benchmark analysis, while Box and Jenkins approach and ARIMA modeling were used for forecasting Slovenian tourism until 2030. The datasets are analyzed using Tableau 2022.1. Our findings show that Slovenian tourism will be slower on the uptake and is not likely to fully recover until 2026, due to COVID-19 related uncertainty. A steep jump in daily COVID-19 infections in China and the Ukraine crisis which is affecting political and economic stability in the world is also slowing down the speed of recovery. In 2019, Chinese, Russian and Ukrainian tourists generated 5% of all tourist arrivals and overnight stays. In particular Russian tourists were well-known for their high consumer expenditure and thus desirable to the destination places. To mitigate the drop in tourist arrivals, Slovenia should do two things, namely concentrate on traditional markets, i.e. Austria, Italy, and Germany, which altogether represent 1/3 of all tourist arrivals and overnight stays, and secondly, it should target new markets, bringing new, innovative products, services, and experiences. © 2022 Predrag Ljubotina et al., published by Sciendo.