Biometrics in Tourism: Issues and Challenges

In tourism, biometrics have become a major technology application for user authentication in premises such as hotels and airports. The main reasons of utilizing biometrics for access control are convenience, high security, and reliability. Biometrics refer to any human trait, for instance, fingerprint, retina, palm print, and voice, which is used to establish an identity. It is already used extensively in many airports worldwide to facilitate automated identity verification, while the backbone is linked to police criminal databases, which enables identification of possible terrorists, victims of human trafficking, or tourists with past convictions. Additionally, many hotels have substituted traditional door locks or card access with biometrics for its convenience. However, there are some concerns associated with biometric applications, for instance, information privacy, physical privacy, and contamination fears. Tourists worry whether the storage mechanism of biometric data is safe from hacking and leakage to terrorist organizations. If biometric data were compromised, tourists would have to surrender different biometric identifiers because biometric features are irrevocable (permanent). Further, fear of contamination can be much more apparent on touch-based biometric applications such as fingerprint scanners. This concern is aggravated especially during pandemic outbreaks such as COVID-19, Ebola, and SARS. In a nutshell, this chapter aims to provide a holistic perspective on potential issues of biometrics in the tourism industry. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Policy measures, information technology, and people's collective behavior in Taiwan's COVID-19 response

COVID-19 has rampaged globally with devastating consequences on human lives and livelihoods. Taiwan, a democratic island-country with 23.5 million population, was predicted to have the second highest risk of imported cases at the outset and instead registered among the lowest COVID-19 prevalence and mortality rates during year one. This chapter describes Taiwan's emergency response policies, including the Communicable Disease Control Act (CDCA), pandemic measures in different segments of the population, the role of national health insurance and accessible healthcare, innovative integrations of information technology, and amendments to laws and regulations adapted to the evolving situation. Taiwan's CDCA was introduced in 1944. In addition to posting travel advisories, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) enhanced border control, as required by the CDCA. Taiwan CDC officers stationed at airports implemented health screening of passengers and provided healthcare advice. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Canada's fight against COVID-19: Constitutionalism, laws, and the global pandemic

Canada consists of a federal system, with a unique separation of powers. For example, the federal government's role in health has been traditionally to fund and support the provincial and territorial health services, among other things. However, there is also centralization of particular policies, such as during public health crises, consisting of collaboration with provincial governments, whereas the federal government maintains control over things such as travel, entry and exit, and border control. From the perspective of the separation of powers, there is a clear tendency for provincial governments to be enumerated authority in many areas in health and social policy, together with local authority, although for the most part, it is greatly restricted. For example, Toronto Public Health often follows the mandates of the province of Ontario. Decisions of local restrictions, such as the closure of retail spaces, cinemas/movie theaters, malls, and other facilities, as well as the push against mass gatherings in local parks during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were, at times, advocated by the local governments and municipalities to the provincial government, in which the former claimed some power and authority. At another point in time, the province of Ontario had expressed that the police would have powers to ask motorists questions about where they were going;however, the Toronto Police Services refused to follow this mandate as it could lead to bias and adverse racial tensions or experiences. It led to the provincial government to formally issue an apology. Meanwhile, many different approaches to public health that were implemented by the federal government also affected local governments, which had resulted in restrictions, such as in travel, yet they resulted in positive changes in terms of epidemic containment. While Canada's case count was low compared to the United States and other countries, Canada was slow in its approach to immunizations during the first half of 2021. As of writing this chapter, the number of cases of COVID-19 was 1,460,175, with total deaths of 26,761 (Government of Canada). © 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Kiwis and COVID-19: The Aotearoa New Zealand Response to the Global Pandemic

This fast-moving global COVID-19 pandemic caught many nations unprepared and has exposed numerous flaws in global health, public health, and economic and social welfare infrastructures. It may seem premature to write about responses, but there are lessons to be learned from the response of Aotearoa New Zealand. Although its geopolitical situation as an island nation meant that it had late exposure to COVID-19, NZ has been commended because it closed its borders (to non-nationals);lockdown;traced;tested contacts;told people to pick a ‘bubble' (immediate and usual family or household) and stay within that bubble;and promoted clear public messages. Government assistance was available for employers to retain staff, and additional support was provided for businesses and individuals. A strong and empathetic prime minister communicated regularly with the public and developed a sense of common national purpose. However, COVID-19 still exposed the impact of social inequalities. Implications for the next steps of recovery are considered in the paper.

Patch model for border reopening and control to prevent new outbreaks of COVID-19.

In this paper, we propose a two-patch model with border control to investigate the effect of border control measures and local non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) on the transmission of COVID-19. The basic reproduction number of the model is calculated, and the existence and stability of the boundary equilibria and the existence of the coexistence equilibrium of the model are obtained. Through numerical simulation, when there are no unquarantined virus carriers in the patch-2, it can be concluded that the reopening of the border with strict border control measures to allow people in patch-1 to move into patch-2 will not lead to disease outbreaks. Also, when there are unquarantined virus carriers in patch-2 (or lax border control causes people carrying the virus to flow into patch-2), the border control is more strict, and the slower the growth of number of new infectious in patch-2, but the strength of border control does not affect the final state of the disease, which is still dependent on local NPIs. Finally, when the border reopens during an outbreak of disease in patch-2, then a second outbreak will happen.

Cost benefit analysis of alternative testing and quarantine policies for travelers for infection control: A case study of Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Border control mitigates local infections but bears a heavy economic cost, especially for tourism-reliant countries. While studies have supported the efficacy of border control in suppressing cross-border transmission, the trade-off between costs from imported and secondary cases and from lost economic activities has not been studied. This case study of Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic aims to understand the impacts of varying quarantine length and testing strategies on the economy and health system. Additionally, we explored the impact of permitting unvaccinated travelers to address emerging equity concerns. We assumed that community transmission is stable and vaccination rates are high enough that inbound travelers are not dissuaded from traveling. Methods: The number of travelers was predicted considering that longer quarantine reduces willingness to travel. A micro-simulation model predicted the number of COVID-19 cases among travelers, the resultant secondary cases, and the probability of being symptomatic in each group. The incremental net monetary benefit (INB) of Singapore was quantified under each border-opening policy compared to pre-opening status, based on tourism receipts, cost/profit from testing and quarantine, and cost and health loss due to COVID-19 cases. Results: Compared to polymerase chain reaction (PCR), rapid antigen test (ART) detects fewer imported cases but results in fewer secondary cases. Longer quarantine results in fewer cases but lower INB due to reduced tourism receipts. Assuming the proportion of unvaccinated travelers is small (8% locally and 24% globally), allowing unvaccinated travelers will accrue higher INB without exceeding the intensive care unit (ICU) capacity. The highest monthly INB from all travelers is $2,236.24 m, with 46.69 ICU cases per month, achieved with ARTs at pre-departure and on arrival without quarantine. The optimal policy in terms of highest INB is robust under changes to various model assumptions. Among all cost-benefit components, the top driver for INB is tourism receipts. Conclusions: With high vaccination rates locally and globally alongside stable community transmission, opening borders to travelers regardless of vaccination status will increase economic growth in the destination country. The caseloads remain manageable without exceeding ICU capacity, and costs of cases are offset by the economic value generated from travelers.

Post-Pandemic Follow-Up Audit of Security Checkpoints

This paper provides a follow-up audit of security checkpoints (or simply checkpoints) for mass transportation hubs such as airports and seaports aiming at the post-pandemic R&D adjustments. The goal of our study is to determine biometric-enabled resources of checkpoints for a counter-epidemic response. To achieve the follow-up audit goals, we embedded the checkpoint into the Emergency Management Cycle (EMC) –the core of any doctrine that challenges disaster. This embedding helps to identify the technology-societal gaps between contemporary and post-pandemic checkpoints. Our study advocates a conceptual exploration of the problem using EMC profiling and formulates new tasks for checkpoints based on the COVID-19 pandemic lessons learned. In order to increase practical value, we chose a case study of face biometrics for an experimental post-pandemic follow-up audit. Author

Implementation of a successful infection prevention and control governance structure and capacity building strategies during COVID-19 pandemic - A brief report.

An analysis of the Clinical Excellence Commissions response to COVID-19 prevention and protection measures identified the need to build on the existing governance process to achieve a more structured and methodical approach. The infection prevention and control measures and strategies implemented within health and nonhealth care, proved to be effective and sustainable with the ability to build additional clinician capacity even during an ongoing pandemic.

Defensive integration through cooperative re-bordering? How member states use internal border controls in Schengen

Following the refugee crisis in 2015 and the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the use of internal border controls within the EU expanded considerably. This change seems to be at odds with the freedom of movement within the Schengen Area, a cornerstone of European integration. Previous research has been inconclusive as to whether this re-bordering signals a move towards renationalisation and disintegration or if it should be understood as a reconfiguration of European cooperation. This article takes a long-term perspective on the use of internal border controls and compares, through content analysis, the prevalence of renationalisation and European integration themes in member states' notifications of internal border controls from 2006 to 2020. While controls have become more extensive in duration and scope over time, the results show that, contrary to expectations, increased focus on national security was not accompanied by less commitment to European integration in these notifications. Thus, rather than a sign of disintegration, it is argued that internal border controls can be understood as a reconfiguration of the European border regime towards cooperative but defensive integration.

The escalating global problem of accidental human-mediated transport of alien species: A case study using alien herpetofauna interceptions in New Zealand

The global problem of biological invasions will continue escalating, given inadequate biosecurity worldwide. Developing stringent biosecurity is hindered by the lacking essential information on the global flows of alien species, especially alien species accidentally transported and neglected by biosecurity due to inapparent economic significance. We provide evidence and new perspectives on the temporal, geographical, taxonomic, and transport sub-pathway dimensions of the global flows of neglected alien species, using alien amphibians and reptiles ("herpetofauna”) accidentally transported to New Zealand as a case study (2610 records from 1929 to 2021). We decomposed and forecasted the alien herpetofauna transport frequency using locally-weighted smoothing and dynamic regression modelling. We explored geographical patterns of the alien herpetofauna origins and destinations, and explored temporal trends in species diversity. Finally, we analysed a species×transport sub-pathway network to elucidate the diversity of sub-pathways used by alien herpetofauna. Alien herpetofauna transport frequency is generally increasing, with fluctuations coinciding with changes in biosecurity and economic expansion and recessions. The most recent decline was during the COVID-19 recession, but we forecast transport to recover. Two hundred and forty-three alien herpetofauna worldwide arrived at ports of entry across New Zealand. Alien herpetofauna were accidentally transported through 13 sub-pathways, primarily as stowaways in 'personal effects and household goods', and in 'machinery, vehicles, and equipment'. Our study illuminates that neglected alien species' transport frequency, spatial extent of origins and destinations, species diversity, and accidental transport sub-pathways are hugely underestimated and dynamic. These crucial oversights in the global flows of alien species significantly impede biosecurity worldwide.

A Crisis of Japanese Studies: How Japan’s Border Restrictions Have Affected Research in the Field

How did Japan’s border restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic affect Japanese studies? To answer this question, this essay discusses the results of a survey conducted in August 2022. © 2022, Asia-Pacific Journal, Inc.. All rights reserved.

Shifting borders and migrant workers’ im/mobility: The case of Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified border control and disrupted international labor migration, but the complex consequences for migrant workers, including deepened marginalization and countervailing opportunities, have yet to receive sufficient scrutiny. Drawing on the case of Taiwan, this article examines how a host country reorganizes the multiple layers of physical and social borders for the purpose of sanitization, leading to an entanglement of mobilities and immobilities in migrant workers' lives. I illustrate how bordering practices have had uneven impacts on Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers across different circumstances of risk management. The findings highlight the geographic scales and temporal changes of shifting borders, which involve the negotiation of social membership for migrant workers in relation to the public health crisis and labor market shortage.

Perspectives of public health professionals on border control practices for COVID-19 management in Europe.

OBJECTIVES: During the COVID-19 pandemic, internal European borders were temporarily re-established to mitigate the outbreak. Much research on pandemic border control measures has focused on quantifying their effectiveness for infectious disease control as well as on their social consequences for cross-border life in the European Union. However, little attention has been paid to the impacts for the practice and organisation of cross-border public health. To address this gap, the present study analysed the experiences and perspectives of public health professionals working in European border regions regarding border control measures in the pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative interview-based study. METHODS: In total, 27 semistructured interviews with public health professionals were conducted in the border regions between Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Participants were asked about their perspectives on border control and the spread of COVID-19 in the region. Interviews were performed between December 2020 and April 2021 and carried out in German, English, Dutch and French. RESULTS: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, borders had become largely invisible with extensive cross-border social life and mobility. Participants were sceptical about the role of cross-border mobility as a pandemic driver and consequently the effectiveness of enforcing border control for reducing the spread of COVID-19 in their border regions. At the same time, participants raised concerns about the negative consequences for the social fabric and provision of cross-border public health. CONCLUSIONS: Public health professionals highlighted the uncertain role of border control measures for regional infectious disease control in border regions. Rather than border control, sustainable cross-border communication and collaboration is crucial to ensure effective pandemic management in border regions.

Mitigating the impacts of pandemics on the supply chain using Earth Observation Data

With sudden changes in demand for certain goods, strict border control, and movement restrictions, pandemics can cause an immense disruption of the supply chain especially as it pertains to sustenance goods and job security. The most important recommendations on how this disruption can be mitigated by applying Remote Sensing have been outlined. Earth Observation (EO) and ground data can be used to mitigate the effects of pandemics on the interconnected global and local supply chain;with the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study. The scope of effects by COVID-19 includes issues in the supply chain, operational logistics, and goods production. EO data can be used to track goods like foods, medical kits, hand sanitizers, etc. which in turn aids the reallocation of high-demand goods to areas with limited supply. Satellite-based communication channels will be useful for more remote areas. The supply chain deals with adequate production, the food security issues faced by a significant part of the world's population, can be tackled with an integrated approach. An integrated application of Remote Sensing, (IoT), and Machine Learning is proposed for food security. EO can be used for agricultural monitoring using GNSS coupled with available tools to assess and predict produce status. This is useful in disaster management during restrictions of pandemics;machine learning models can be deployed in conjunction with IoT systems to help with farm monitoring watering of crops using weather data, environment monitoring and fertilizer requirement reminders, and triggering of risk management protocols during disasters. Copyright © 2021 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). All rights reserved.

A COVID-19 globális humán pandémia és a schengeni határellenőrzés rendje

Cél: A tanulmány célja a 2020 márciusában Európában megjelent COVID-19 járvány schengeni határellenőrzési szabályokra gyakorolt hatásának elemzése a megállapodásban részes országok, különösképpen Magyarország tekintetében. A tanulmány azt kívánja bemutatni, hogyan vált egyre gyakoribbá a belső határokon a schengeni határ ellenőrzésének visszaállítása mint a közrendet vagy a belső biztonságot fenyegető komoly veszély ellen való védekezés eszköze. Módszertan: A cikk elkészítése során a COVID-19 járvány elleni védekezés érdekében hozott hazai és uniós jogszabályokat tanulmányoztam át, valamint a határforgalomi és irreguláris migrációs statisztikai adatokat elemeztem. Megállapítások: A schengeni belső határokon a határforgalom ellenőrzésének visszaállítását a tagállamok egyre gyakrabban alkalmazzák a belső biztonságot fenyegető veszély elhárítása érdekében. A COVID-19 járvány terjedésének megállítása érdekében több tagállam számára is kézenfekvő megoldásnak látszott a belső határokon a határellenőrzés visszaállítása. A korlátozó intézkedések hozzájárultak az irreguláris migráció volumenének csökkentéséhez és a járványgörbe ellaposításához is, ugyanakkor szükséges a szabad mozgás lehetőségének visszaállítása is. Érték: A cikk a COVID-19 járvány első két hullámának idején a tagállamok által a járvány terjedésének megakadályozása érdekében hozott intézkedéseket elemzi. A későbbi járványhullámok idején hozott intézkedések vizsgálata és ezek hatása az irreguláris migráció alakulására képzi a következő kutatások egyik lehetséges témáját.Alternate : Aim: The aim of the study is to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe in March 2020 on the Schengen border control rules for the countries party to the agreement, in particular Hungary. The study aims to show how the reintroduction of Schengen border controls at internal borders has become increasingly common as a means of protecting against a serious threat to public policy or internal security. Methodology: In preparing this article, I reviewed national and EU legislation to combat the COVID-19 epidemic, and analysed statistical data on border movements and irregular migration. Findings: The reintroduction of border controls at the Schengen internal borders is increasingly used by Member States to counter threats to internal security. The reintroduction of border controls at internal borders seemed to be an obvious solution for several Member States to stop the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. Restrictive measures have also contributed to reducing the volume of irregular migration and flattening the epidemic curve, but it is also necessary to restore freedom of movement. Value: This article analyses the measures taken by Member States during the first two waves of the COVID-19 epidemic to prevent the spread of the epidemic. The measures taken during subsequent waves and their impact on the development of irregular migration are a possible topic for future research.

Kiwis and COVID-19: The Aotearoa New Zealand Response to the Global Pandemic

This fast-moving global COVID-19 pandemic caught many nations unprepared and has exposed numerous flaws in global health, public health, and economic and social welfare infrastructures. It may seem premature to write about responses, but there are lessons to be learned from the response of Aotearoa New Zealand. Although its geopolitical situation as an island nation meant that it had late exposure to COVID-19, NZ has been commended because it closed its borders (to non-nationals);lockdown;traced;tested contacts;told people to pick a ‘bubble’ (immediate and usual family or household) and stay within that bubble;and promoted clear public messages. Government assistance was available for employers to retain staff, and additional support was provided for businesses and individuals. A strong and empathetic prime minister communicated regularly with the public and developed a sense of common national purpose. However, COVID-19 still exposed the impact of social inequalities. Implications for the next steps of recovery are considered in the paper. © 2020 SAGE Publications.

Analysis of Imported Cases of COVID-19 in Taiwan: A Nationwide Study.

In the early stages of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, containment of disease importation from epidemic areas was essential for outbreak control. This study is based on publicly accessible data on confirmed COVID-19 cases in Taiwan extracted from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control website. We analysed the characteristics, infection source, symptom presentation, and route of identification of the 321 imported cases that were identified from 21 January to 6 April 2020. They were mostly returned Taiwanese citizens who had travelled to one or more of 37 countries for tourism, business, work, or study. Half of these cases developed symptoms before arrival, most of the remainder developed symptoms 1-13 days (mean 4.0 days) after arrival, and 3.4% never developed symptoms. Three-quarters of the cases had respiratory symptoms, 44.9% had fever, 13.1% lost smell or taste, and 7.2% had diarrhoea. Body temperature and symptom screening at airports identified 32.7% of the cases. Of the remainder, 27.7% were identified during home quarantining, 16.2% were identified via contact tracing, and 23.4% were reported by hospitals. Under the strict enforcement of these measures, the incidence of locally acquired COVID-19 cases in Taiwan remains sporadic. In conclusion, proactive border control measures are effective for preventing community transmission of this disease.

‘The Future of Taiwan Studies in the Post-covid World’: Online Series on ‘covid and Governance: Global and Social Solidarity’, 31 July 2020

The covid-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted research communities and agendas worldwide, including Taiwan studies. Consequently, the largest conferences for Taiwan studies in both North America and Europe were cancelled in 2020. In response, the North American Taiwan Studies Association, the European Association of Taiwan Studies, the Japan Association for Taiwan Studies, and the International Journal of Taiwan Studies jointly organised a series of online forums that aimed to encompass transnational and interdisciplinary approaches to Taiwan studies in the context of envisioning a post-covid world. This report summarises the first event, on ‘covid and Governance: Global and Social Solidarity’, which speaks directly to a moment of chaos, frustration, and yet hopefulness for Taiwan. It presents the papers of three discussants—Drs Ya-Wen Yang, Harry Yi-Jui Wu, and Wen Liu—who identified and explored the theoretical potential and limits of different ‘keywords’ popularised during the pandemic period. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2022

A Three-Level Health Inspection Queue Based on Risk Screening Management Mechanism for Post-COVID Global Economic Recovery.

Due to the serious impact of border control measures during the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, new difficulties and challenges have been brought to the border lines of most countries and regions. Focusing on the post-COVID global economic recovery, we develop a computing method for studying the health inspection process based on a three-color risk screening management mechanism at border crossing checkpoints. In this article, to manage the cross-border risk efficiently during the epidemic prevention and control, we formulate a queueing model with hierarchical health inspection channels. The structural characteristics and properties of this three-level queueing model are also analyzed by studying the health inspection process with risk classification. Furthermore, we conduct a series of sensitivity analysis on several performance measures for the studied queueing system. In the numerical results, we figure out the monotonicity, convexity and complicated patterns of the derived formulas.

Models to assess imported cases on the rebound of COVID-19 and design a long-term border control strategy in Heilongjiang Province, China.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China in December 2019, it has spread quickly and become a global pandemic. While the epidemic has been contained well in China due to unprecedented public health interventions, it is still raging or not yet been restrained in some neighboring countries. Chinese government adopted a strict policy of immigration diversion in major entry ports, and it makes Suifenhe port in Heilongjiang Province undertook more importing population. It is essential to understand how imported cases and other key factors of screening affect the epidemic rebound and its mitigation in Heilongjiang Province. Thus we proposed a time switching dynamical system to explore and mimic the disease transmission in three time stages considering importation and control. Cross validation of parameter estimations was carried out to improve the credibility of estimations by fitting the model with eight time series of cumulative numbers simultaneous. Simulation of the dynamics shows that illegal imported cases and imperfect protection in hospitals are the main reasons for the second epidemic wave, the actual border control intensities in the province are relatively effective in early stage. However, a long-term border closure may cause a paradox phenomenon such that it is much harder to restrain the epidemic. Hence it is essential to design an effective border reopening strategy for long-term border control by balancing the limited resources on hotel rooms for quarantine and hospital beds. Our results can be helpful for public health to design border control strategies to suppress COVID-19 transmission.