Contract Testing Services Solidify Their Place in the Manufacturing Value Chain

Contract testing services demonstrate a major increase in the speed and efficiency of testing using new testing methods and technologies. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, providers offering contract testing services have seen various changes and improvements to everyday processes. According to Lara Silverman, PhD, founder and principal consultant at LIS BioConsulting, it became increasingly crucial for contract testing labs to provide seamless services to clients and communicate any issues in a quick, efficient fashion. [...]corresponding services that are contracted with recognized service organizations are needed to solve technically demanding tasks.

COVID-19: Prediction, Prevalence, and the Operations of Vaccine Allocation

Problem definition: Mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic poses a series of unprecedented challenges, including predicting new cases and deaths, understanding true prevalence beyond what tests are able to detect, and allocating different vaccines across various regions. In this paper, we describe our efforts to tackle these issues and explore the impact on combating the pandemic in terms of case and death prediction, true prevalence, and fair vaccine distribution. Methodology/results: We present the methods we developed for predicting cases and deaths using a novel machine-learning-based aggregation method to create a single prediction that we call MIT-Cassandra. We further incorporate COVID-19 case prediction to determine true prevalence and incorporate this prevalence into an optimization model for efficiently and fairly managing the operations of vaccine allocation. We study the trade-offs of vaccine allocation between different regions and age groups, as well as first- and second-dose distribution of different vaccines. This also allows us to provide insights into how prevalence and exposure of the disease in different parts of the population can affect the distribution of different vaccine doses in a fair way. Managerial implications: MIT-Cassandra is currently being used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is consistently among the best-performing methods in terms of accuracy, often ranking at the top. In addition, our work has been helping decision makers by predicting how cases and true prevalence of COVID-19 will progress over the next few months in different regions and utilizing the knowledge for vaccine distribution under various operational constraints. Finally, and very importantly, our work has specifically been used as part of a collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT's) Quest for Intelligence and as part of MIT's process to reopen the institute.

Caregiving for Older Adults With Dementia During the Time of COVID-19: A Multi-State Exploratory Qualitative Study.

This qualitative semi-structured interview study explores how 64 family caregivers for older adults with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias across eight states experienced and executed caregiving decisions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, caregivers experienced challenges communicating with loved ones and healthcare workers in all care settings. Second, caregivers displayed resilient coping strategies in adapting to pandemic restrictions, finding novel strategies to balance risks while preserving communication, oversight, and safety. Third, many caregivers modified care arrangements, with some avoiding and others embracing institutional care. Finally, caregivers reflected on the benefits and challenges of pandemic-related innovations. Certain policy changes reduced caregiver burden and could improve care access if made permanent. Telemedicine's increasing use highlights the need for reliable internet access and accommodations for individuals with cognitive deficits. Public policies must pay greater attention to challenges faced by family caregivers, whose labor is both essential and undervalued.

The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Digital Transformation in the Banking Sector in Portugal

Currently, digital transformation is a process that cuts across different sectors of activity, including banks. One of the examples is the availability of products and services on digital channels. This study aims to identify the changes implemented in the digital channels of banks in Portugal that were driven by the covid-19 pandemic, contributing to the acceleration of digital transformation. 30 Reports and Accounts from 10 banks were selected from 2019 to 2021 and analyzed using the Leximancer software to identify the main themes and concepts. The results allowed the identification of 4 themes and 40 most relevant concepts. It is concluded that banks have reinforced digital channels in terms of products and services with evident concerns associated with security. This study, at an academic level, aims to contribute with a conceptual map of the measures adopted. At the business level, it aims to enable managers to define other initiatives and enhance those already implemented. © 2022 Associacao Portuguesa de Sistemas de Informacao. All rights reserved.

Hierarchical Bayesian hedonic regression analysis of Japanese rice wine: is the price right?

PurposeThis paper aims to formulate a hedonic pricing model for Japanese rice wine, sake, via hierarchical Bayesian modeling estimated using an efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. Using the estimated model, the authors examine how producing regions, rice breeds and taste characteristics affect sake prices.Design/methodology/approachThe datasets in the estimation consist of cross-sectional observations of 403 sake brands, which include sake prices, taste indicators, premium categories, rice breeds and regional dummy variables. Data were retrieved from Rakuten, Japan's largest online shopping site. The authors used the Bayesian estimation of the hedonic pricing model and used an ancillarity–sufficiency interweaving strategy to improve the sampling efficiency of MCMC.FindingsThe estimation results indicate that Japanese consumers value sweeter sake more, and the price of sake reflects the cost of rice preprocessing only for the most-expensive category of sake. No distinctive differences were identified among rice breeds or producing regions in the hedonic pricing model.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to estimate a hedonic pricing model of sake, despite the rich literature on alcoholic beverages. The findings may contribute new insights into consumer preference and proper pricing for sake breweries and distributors venturing into the e-commerce market.

Mobile Integrated Health Interventions for Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

Background and Objectives: Mobile integrated health (MIH) interventions have not been well described in older adult populations. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the characteristics and effectiveness of MIH programs on health-related outcomes among older adults. Research Design and Methods: We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, CINAHL, AgeLine, Social Work Abstracts, and The Cochrane Library through June 2021 for randomized controlled trials or cohort studies evaluating MIH among adults aged 65 and older in the general community. Studies were screened for eligibility against predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Using at least 2 independent reviewers, quality was appraised using the Downs and Black checklist and study characteristics and findings were synthesized and evaluated for potential bias. Results: Screening of 2,160 records identified 15 studies. The mean age of participants was 67 years. The MIH interventions varied in their focus, community paramedic training, types of assessments and interventions delivered, physician oversight, use of telemedicine, and post-visit follow-up. Studies reported significant reductions in emergency call volume (5 studies) and immediate emergency department (ED) transports (3 studies). The 3 studies examining subsequent ED visits and 4 studies examining readmission rates reported mixed results. Studies reported low adverse event rates (5 studies), high patient and provider satisfaction (5 studies), and costs equivalent to or less than usual paramedic care (3 studies). Discussion and Implications: There is wide variability in MIH provider training, program coordination, and quality-based metrics, creating heterogeneity that make definitive conclusions challenging. Nonetheless, studies suggest MIH reduces emergency call volume and ED transport rates while improving patient experience and reducing overall health care costs.

Adding to Agile Software Development

How integrating DFSS into agile software development can help address the human aspects of these processes A German university of applied sciences with about 5,500 students needed new software due to COVID-19-related laws and decrees that required universities to perform contact tracking in case of potential COVID-19 exposure. Agile is a software development philosophy based on using self-organized teams.2 The goal of agile is to develop a basic working version of the software quickly, and continuously improve the software and add more features in accordance with customer or stakeholder wishes.3 Unlike many other software development methods, agile does not have predefined stages or documents4 and is ideally suited to coping with evolving and changing stakeholder requirements.5 One advantage of agile is discovering software design flaws quicker than classic stage-based software development models.6 Finding design flaws quickly is advantageous because fixing the software design late in the project is costly and time consuming. The problem statement was a verbal "digitize contact tracking," and there were frequent attempts to expand the project to include additional objectives such as ensuring people maintained social distancing, registering students for study spaces and improving carbon dioxide monitoring. Leveraging DFSS While agile is well suited to software development, it is less suited to dealing with many of the organizational problems that were encountered. [...]future projects would benefit from integrating a DFSS framework into such projects.

Consumer Response Model for Luxury Brands

Even though the Covid-19 epidemic has affected the marketing of goods and services, this has not deterred people from purchasing luxury brands. Brand owners that wish to reach a large number of customers via social media marketing, including engaging and transacting on virtual platforms, have also discovered this. Social media marketing will assist customers in selecting things without their needing to physically visit the business. It must be acknowledged that purchasing things, particularly luxury items, demands accuracy hence, brand-owning corporations require their own marketing strategies. For instance, product photographs must be realistic so that they resemble actual items. Product specifics must be expanded upon and, most significantly, brand involvement must be increased. If customer participation in the brand is correctly achieved, then consumer reaction will be good and luxury brand sales will grow. This research is to assess marketing efforts on social media and luxury brand participation in relation to customer reactions when engaging and transacting on virtual platforms. A content analysis is used to draw the conceptual framework in this study. It is anticipated that the empirical contribution of this study will contribute to the advancement of science, particularly on the issue of consumer responses to marketing activities on social media. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Do South Africa's e-commerce VAT rules measure up to international trends and OECD guidelines?

Orientation: The taxability of e-commerce transactions have been the subject of many studies to protect governments from Value-Added Tax (VAT) erosion, illegal recovery and fraud. Research purpose: This study critically analyses the challenges posed by e-commerce transactions in South Africa's VAT Act . Recommendations are made for amendments to the VAT Act to improve rules to effectively tax e-commerce transactions occurring in South Africa. Motivation for the study: Globally, including in South Africa, enforcing relevant VAT legislation to target output tax collections and input tax credits from e-commerce transactions aptly remains a challenge. Research approach/design and method: By integrating qualitative literature reviews and comparative synthesis, this study employed a comparative legal methodology. VAT levied on e-commerce transactions in South Africa is compared to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's guidelines as well as New Zealand's and Australia's Goods and Services Tax legislations. Main Findings: While the South African VAT Act aligns with international best practices on the use of intermediaries, there are some differences as detailed in the study. Practical/managerial implications: To align with international trade counterparts, the South African VAT Act should differentiate between business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales. A provision concerning the place of consumption for bundled goods should be included in the VAT Act . The VAT Act should contain a provision that allows bad debts to be claimed on cash sales made instead of total sales made. Contribution/value-add: This study harmonises South African VAT legislation with international best practices within the context of continual advancement of e-commerce transactions.

A Study on Effect of Coronavirus Outbreak on India's Goods and Service Tax Revenue: An Analysis

The Coronavirus Outbreak is on a seeming drop in India, the effect of the epidemic on the economy is still mounting, as fresh waves of COVID-19 contagion are nodding nearby. Any projected-on income influence, thus, might be allowed meanwhile inadequacy and restrictions. Yet, as per GDP statistics of the previous two quarters it currently exists, and as per Goods and service tax illustrates the positive indication of regaining amongst all return's channels. The study emphasizes the problem of reimbursement to states in the case of a revenue deficit protected in the existing rule, and the states In India will have to experience the revenue deficit, which may be helped in the evaluation of goods and service tax. The study subsidizes the current discussion on Goods and Service tax compensation provisions of states by allocating another set of budgets for the financial year 2021. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

SAFER framework for moving forward on the medical device right to repair

Across various industries, the right to repair (RTR) movement has gained momentum as more than 20 states have proposed RTR laws to expand access to repair of consumer products. Medical device equipment shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that stronger repair mechanisms are necessary for the US health system to become more efficient, affordable and sustainable. We propose a 5-point SAFER framework including safety and security, adaptability, fiscal, environmental and regulatory factors for consideration in implementing medical device RTR. The healthcare community can help advance RTR legislation in a manner that serves our patients and healthcare system best.Copyright © 2023 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Wellness tourism sector in India: A critical perspective

The chapter aims to empirically explore trends and issues concerning Indian wellness services being taken internationally for commercial use by wellness service providers and tourists. The text also highlights how their authenticity gets compromised in place of profitability. The enquiry is approached through a conceptual framework of wellness tourism and subsequent tourism concerns. While scholars have recently turned their attention to tourism challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, the perspective of digitalization within tourism can help to nuance this area of concern. Some recommendations for the Indian wellness tourism sector include digital solutions, screen-induced tourism, measures towards tourists' safety, regulations concerning certifications and targeting new client segments. Furthermore, raising greater awareness about the philosophical backdrop of Indian wellness services amongst international tourists would contribute to practice and theory while resurrecting the wellness tourism industry in India. © 2022 Bindiya Dutt.

Health Care Use among Medicare Beneficiaries with HIV and Depression during the COVID-19 Pandemic-United States, 2020.

Access and use of health care services are essential to health and well-being for people with HIV and HIV-related comorbidities. Health care use during the COVID-19 pandemic among Medicare beneficiaries (MBs) with concurrent HIV and depression has not been investigated. We used 2020 Medicare data to assess the percentage of MBs with claims for HIV and depression who also received hospitalization, outpatient diagnostic services, drug treatment, and outpatient procedures. We assessed person-level association between service receipt and HIV and depression, adjusting for known risk factors. MBs with claims for HIV and depression were more likely than those with neither claim to have claims for short-stay hospitalization, long-stay hospitalization, outpatient diagnostic services, prescription drugs, or outpatient procedures, supplies, and products. Non-White beneficiaries were more likely than White beneficiaries to be hospitalized but were less likely to receive drug treatment, outpatient diagnostic services, or outpatient procedures, supplies, and products during the pandemic. Significant disparities in health care use by race/ethnicity existed among MBs. Policymakers and practitioners can use these findings to implement public health policies and programs that reduce disparities in health care access and optimize use among vulnerable populations during a public health emergency.

Determinants of panic buying during COVID-19: causes and consequences

PurposeDespite the abundant literature on panic buying during COVID-19 pandemic, the several causes and consequences of panic buying have been enormously ignored. The purpose of this study is to emphasize the consumer's behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and illustrate the comprehensive theoretical model of consumers' panic buying to investigate its causes and consequences in a developing country empirically to uncover this gap.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data from 419 households of all socioeconomic classes of Bangladesh. A hierarchical regression model analyzed the data.FindingsThis study finds that internal and external factors such as rumors, government strategies, fear and anxiety and health security significantly affect consumers' panic buying behaviors. This finding supports some theories of human behavior. This study also finds that panic buying has internal and external consequences such as price hike, shortage of supply of products, dissatisfaction of consumers and increase in utility (benefit) of the products but not on consumer's budget. This finding supports as well as contradicts some established theories of human and consumer behavior.Originality/valueThis study proves that panic buying cannot help the consumers and they are the ultimate sufferers of this. The findings of this study will help the government, media, suppliers and consumers to interact properly to maintain panic buying during a pandemic crisis. Giving a holistic explanation of the causes and consequences of panic buying by introducing some novel variables is a momentous strength of this study.

Application of Artificial Intelligence in Computer Gaming and Game Content

The paper focuses on the tools for applying artificial intelligence in the implementation of game content. The development of productive forces led to digitalization, further leading to the emergence of various goods and services via the Internet. New goods and services include computer games, music services, online cinemas, mobile applications, social services, etc. The COVID-19 pandemic and the self-isolation regime have expanded human needs for the benefits of digitalization in terms of the consumption of various Internet content, including gaming. The expansion of remote interaction under the pandemic comes into contact with objective economic realities—the introduction of elements of artificial intelligence and the spread of automation processes in the economy. Thus, science is updating the issue of studying the economic laws of the development of the game content market in the context of the introduction of artificial intelligence. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Guest editorial: Evolutions and disruptions in retailing service through digital transformation

Technology-empowered investigation into corporate social responsibility story Emerging technologies transform not only the way customers and firms interact, but also the way researchers can study such interactions. The STM analysis enabled the investigation of a large volume of company created communications, press releases, media articles and consumer-generated tweets over three years and generated underlying CSR themes frequently argued in the sources and address discrepancies between company's communications about their CSR efforts and new media and consumers' communications about the issue. [...]while this special section has a clear set theme, each article takes a different perspective and addresses a cutting-edge matter. [...]we believe that each of the articles helps us to be attentive to the current rapid evolution of the retail industry in connection with retailers' implications of various digital innovative technologies.

Digitalization processes in small professional service firms: drivers, barriers and emerging organisational tensions

PurposeThis study aimed to provide an exploratory analysis of digitalization processes in small professional service firms (SPSFs) by examining their main drivers and barriers and their impact on customer management practices, considering the intra-organizational, inter-organizational and service offering dimensions.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a qualitative, exploratory and inductive research methodology based on in-depth interviews with 19 owners or consultants of small tax/accounting firms, focusing on the role of digitalization in their internal and external processes.FindingsThe findings reveal external and internal barriers to and drivers of digitalization, as well as its effects on customer management practices. They also reveal the emergence of tensions related to the intra-organizational, inter-organizational and service offering dimensions.Originality/valueThis work contributes to the research on the role of digital technologies in the professional service sector, with a focus on SPSFs, which has thus far received limited attention. This research highlights the complexity of combining increasingly standardized processes and services with the need to maintain flexibility and informality in internal and external interactions.

When and how digital platforms empower professional services firms: an agility perspective

PurposeDrawing on a strategic agility perspective, the authors develop a theoretical framework and empirically examine how digital platform adoption and capability impact business performance via digital-enabled strategic agility in the context of professional service firms.Design/methodology/approachThe authors propose and examine a conceptual framework based on survey data from 127 professional service firms in New Zealand.FindingsThis study reveals the impact of digital platform capability on the business performance of professional service firms that employ digital platform technologies. The results suggest that organizational innovation and managers' creative efficacy will be used as distal antecedents and contribute to digital platform capabilities. In addition, digital strategic agility can mediate the link between digital platform capabilities and business performance.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to investigate when and how digital platforms empower professional service firms. This study reveals the role of digital strategic agility and digital platform capabilities in knowledge-intensive enterprises. This research advances the development of knowledge-based economy in the information age by applying and extending strategic agility to the uncertain and volatile business environment. The authors' new conceptualization provides a deeper understanding of how and why professional services business and organizations can adapt to the post-COVID era smoothly and successfully.

Reflections and predictions on effects of COVID-19 pandemic on retailing

PurposeThe Covid-19 pandemic has a strong effect on societies, business and consumers. Governments have taken measures to reduce the spread of the pandemic, such as social distancing and lockdowns. The latter has also resulted in a temporary closure of physical stores for "non-essential” retailing. Covid-19 thus has a profound impact on how people live. The period of relative isolation, social distancing and economic uncertainty changes the way we behave. New consumer behaviors span all areas of life, from how we work to how we shop to how we entertain ourselves. These shifts have important implications for retailers. This paper aims to discuss the potential structural effect on shopping behavior and retailing when Covid-19 measures are no longer needed and society moves back to a normal situation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper synthesizes empirical and conceptual literature on the consequences of COVID-19 and introduces a conceptual framework along with a set of predictions that can be investigated with empirical data.FindingsThis study suggests that Covid-19 shapes both consumer needs and behavior and how retailers respond to these changes. Moreover, it suggests that this will not only affect market outcomes (i.e. retail sales and market share online) but also firm outcomes (i.e. customer experience, firm sales) and importantly the competition between online and offline retailers.Originality/valueIn the conceptual framework, this study aims to advance knowledge on longer-term outcomes (vs immediate outcomes such as panic buying) and how COVID-19 is changing the competitive landscape of retail.

Post-COVID-19 Organizational Resilience in the Manufacturing and Service Industries

COVID-19 has shaken the business industry and forced a revisit of the resilience literature. Though organizations' management have adopted measures prescribed by the literature, these measures have been unable to provide a fit-for-all solution. This has motivated this study to re-examine the organizational resilience factors driving operational performance in the post-pandemic era, specifically in consideration of the role of firm industry orientation and firm size. Thus, the preset study aims it to identify to what extent the organizational resilience (ability, adaptability, agility and flexibility) effects the operational performance;and, to determine how the firm size influence the relationship between organizational resilience and the operational performance of the manufacturing and service sectors. Data was collected from 85 organizations in the Malaysian manufacturing and services industries and analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results show that the agility and flexibility dimensions of resilience have a significant positive effect on operational performance, while the ability and adaptability dimensions have no such effect. Additionally, firm size was found to be insignificant in the relationship between organizational resilience and operational performance. The findings reveal that resilience is vital for the sustainability of an organization in this turbulent and complex business climate. Therefore, managers should thus consider incorporating appropriate resilience strategies in both opportunities and operations to embrace different strategies to leverage organizational resilience post COVID. Ultimately, the government should utilize these findings for policymaking when leading post-COVID-19 projects and initiatives. © 2022 Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. All rights reserved.