THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL MARKETING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA

The tremendous growth of tourism in Albania in recent decades, made important the understanding of the role that digital marketing and mobile technology is playing in this field. Tourism in Albania is one of the most important economic sectors of the country, and is growing year after year. It is emphasized that digitalization is a new form of communication between producers and consumers of tourism services, becoming a source of competitive advantages for tourism organizations. The main goal of the study is to give us a clear overview of the use of the Internet, information technologies and digital marketing in Albania. For the realization of this study, we used a methodology that combines primary data with secondary ones. The research was conducted through questionnaires that were sent to Albanian travel agencies via email. The questionnaire contains 17 questions, and was sent to 150 travel agencies, of which 102 agencies responded. Regarding the study, digital marketing plays an important role in improving the image of Albanian tourism throughout the world. It has created facilities in the way of doing marketing and reducing the costs of businesses. Through digital marketing, travel agencies have managed to promote our country online, personalize services and, above all, be closer to customers. The research found that the most effective digital marketing tools used by the agencies are Instagram and Facebook.

The Elephant (or Donkey) in the Room

With the United States presidential election merely days away (set to take place on 3 Nov. 2020), the world's gaze has shifted to the race for the White House and whether there will be a Republican or Democrat taking office. [...]if this circumstance were to change, there would be potential consequences for European pharma companies that have a presence in or deal with the US. If the Democrats win the presidency and have control over Congress, it is expected that foreign and generic-drug manufacturers would benefit as a result of lower market entrance barriers.

The Effect of Anticipated Regret on Flu Vaccination Campaigns

The anticipation of regret is known to be a primary motivator of receiving a vaccination. Aim of this study is to evaluate whether the use of messages that leverage the anticipated emotion of regret can increase the intention to get the flu vaccination. The participants (N = 110) randomly received a leaflet containing a standard prevention message (control condition) or message modified to induce the anticipation of regret over not being vaccinated (experimental condition), along with a questionnaire. The experimental condition's participants reported significantly higher levels of regret and higher intention to vaccinate than the participants in the control condition. Anticipated regret resulted to be a significant mediator of the intention to get vaccinated. Manipulating the salience of regret appears to be a simple and inexpensive way of effectively promoting preventive behaviour. The implications of this result for reducing COVID-19 vaccine hesitation are discussed. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Europe's Journal of Psychology is the property of Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

COVID-19 and the View from Africa

In Africa, refusal of COVID-19 and other vaccines is widespread for different reasons, including disbelief in the existence of the virus itself and faith in traditional remedies. In sub-Saharan countries, refusal is often made worse by opposition to vaccines by the religious establishments. This is a pressing problem, as Africa has the highest vaccine-avoidable mortality rate for children under the age of five in the world. Dialogue between those wishing to promote vaccines and those who resist them is essential if the situation is to be improved. This article argues that Western and other aid agencies seeking to promote vaccination programs need to develop a dialogue with resisters, and in this process to embrace and commend the ancient African philosophical tradition of Ubuntu, incorporating it into these programs as a way to overcome such entrenched resistance. The paper concludes with concrete recommendations for how to accomplish this goal.

Machine Learning and Laboratory Values in the Diagnosis, Prognosis and Vaccination Strategy of COVID-19

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic status for COVID-19 disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Early diagnosis undoubtedly plays a fundamental role in the management of emergencies for the treatment of infected patients, whose prognosis may benefit from early treatment and containment of contagions in asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic subjects. To date, the gold-standard technique for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection is the identification of viral genomic material (RNA) by molecular diagnosis. To improve the pandemic management, the need for enhanced diagnostic capacity for SARS-CoV-2 infections soon emerged, with rapid, accurate, and easily accessible methods. Machine learning (ML) models could help define the diagnosis and, in some cases, even the prognosis of COVID-19 patients. This chapter describes ML models based on laboratory tests combined with other biometric parameters;the applications aimed at optimizing diagnosis and prognosis were mainly described. Finally, the vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2. The fields most considered were the heterogeneity in patient selection, laboratory parameters used, the machine learning models and their validation and implementation. Furthermore, we briefly describe artificial intelligence's potentialities in planning different strategies for the vaccination campaigns against SARS-COV-2 through laboratory tests. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Overconfidence at the time of COVID-19:Does it lead to laxer attitudes?

BACKGROUND: Health education campaigns often aim to create awareness by increasing objective knowledge about pathogens, such as COVID-19. However, the present paper proposes that confidence in one's knowledge more than knowledge is a significant factor that leads to a laxer attitude toward COVID-19 and hence lower support for protective measures and reduced intention to comply with preemptive behaviors. METHODS: We tested two hypotheses in three studies conducted between 2020 and 2022. In Study 1, we assessed participants' level of knowledge and confidence, as well as attitudes toward COVID-19. In Study 2, we tested the relation between fear of COVID-19 and protective behaviors. In Study 3, we used an experimental approach to show the causal effect of overconfidence on fear of COVID-19. In addition to manipulating overconfidence and measuring fear of COVID-19, we also measured prophylactic behaviors. RESULTS: In Study 1, more overconfident participants had a laxer attitude toward COVID-19. While knowledge had an increasing effect on worry, confidence in said knowledge significantly decreased worry about COVID-19. In Study 2, participants who were more worried about COVID-19 were more likely to engage in protective behaviors (e.g., wearing masks). In Study 3, we show that when overconfidence was experimentally diminished, fear of COVID-19 increased. The results support our claim that the effect of overconfidence on attitudes toward COVID-19 is causal in nature. Moreover, the results show that people with higher fear of COVID-19 are more likely to wear masks, use hand sanitizers, avoid crowded places or social gatherings, and get vaccinated. CONCLUSIONS: Managing adherence to public health measures is critical when it comes to highly infectious diseases. Our findings suggest that efficient information campaigns to increase adherence to public health measures should focus on calibrating people's confidence in their knowledge about COVID-19 to prevent the spread of the virus.

Attitudes of Egyptian and Saudi University Youth towards the Effectiveness of Media Campaigns on Social Networking Sites in Raising Awareness of the Coronavirus. (Comparative Study)

The research aims to identify the rate of exposure of Egyptian and Saudi university youth to media campaigns on social media sites to raise awareness of the Coronavirus and to monitor the trend of young people towards the information provided about the Coronavirus. The research used the survey method in its field apartment on a sample of Egyptian and Saudi university youth, as well as the comparative approach to identify the similarities and differences in the study sample. The most important results: The (We Are All Responsible) campaign ranked first in terms of media campaigns preferred by Saudi university youth with a relative importance of (97.5%), while the "Protect Yourself, Protect Your Nation” campaign ranked first in terms of media campaigns preferred by Egyptian university youth with relative importance. The amount of (91.83%) and the Egyptian and Saudi university youth agreed to choose because it provides information about the Coronavirus and how to prevent it in the first place with a relative importance of (95.17%) in the motives for following up on media campaigns, and there are no differences between the sample members at the three socio-economic levels on a scale The trend towards the effectiveness of campaigns in raising awareness of the Coronavirus as a total degree, where the value of (t) was not significant at the 0.05. level. © 2023 DSR Publishers/ The University of Jordan.

National Campaigns and Organizations Focused on Gender Equity in Pediatrics

This chapter explores the organizations, campaigns, and movements that advocate for gender equity in medicine, equity in specialties with the highest percentages of individuals who identify as women, and those which support women in pediatrics such as the work of the Federation of Pediatric Organizations (FOPO). It discusses these in the context of disparities in compensation, promotions, and research, the disproportionate effects of COVID on women in medicine, as well as the compounded effects of intersectionality in pediatrics. It also reviews studies that raise awareness of gender-based concerns in pediatrics like the Pediatric Life and Career Experience Study (PLACES) study and delves into one of the most recently launched pediatric advocacy groups, ADVANCE PHM. Through these avenues, there has been an increase in the awareness of gender equity and humanization of a profession that has historically had standards that are difficult to live up to and do not reflect the full potential of women who enter the profession. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Decoding Rahul Gandhi's public deliberation with experts

This is summary of comments on Rahul Gandhi's much publicised discussions with experts on prescriptions to deal with COVID-19 pandemic and its impact. The article questions the purpose of theses deliberations and comments on the political impact of this public spectacle on brand Rahul Gandhi. There is no doubt that perception and symbolism sometimes matter more than reality in politics but then it should be consciously cultivated to portray the right image. The political space is dominated by super human leaders like Prime Minister Modi who claim mastery on everything. Rahul Gandhi needs to understand his key capabilities ensure that the right message effectively reaches his target audience through the offline and online media.

Assessment of the building ventilation and filtration using veriDART method

Adequate and efficient building ventilation and filtration are key factors that play an important part in controlling the spread of airborne pathogens like SARS-CoV2 virus (Allen and Ibrahim, 2021). However, most public buildings lack the ability to test and verify performance of their HVAC and mechanical systems for airborne pathogens due to limitations in existing diagnostic assessment tools. Carleton University performed air sampling campaigns in 24 different spaces to assist in the assessment of our HVAC systems performance across campus. The sampling campaign collected over 600 aerosol samples using veriDART's patented DNA-tagged tracer particles that simulate airborne pathogen mobility and exposure within and between rooms. The primary goal of the survey was to assess aerosol migration at the floor level as well as the potential dilution rate of COVID-19 aerosols. © 2022 17th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2022. All rights reserved.

DATA ANALYTIC TOOLS RELATING TO SELECTED COVID-19 PANDEMIC FRAUDS

This research provides information related to the use of data analytic tools for preventing and detecting COVID-19 pandemic frauds. The IRS-CI (Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation) Agency continues to conduct investigations involving billions with these frauds. With the data analytic tools, people can be stopped from fraudulently taking advantage the government during critical life or death times.

Analysis of vaccination strategies against COVID-19 in Spain and the scientific bases on which they have been based (May 2022)

After about a year and a half (at the moment these lines are being written) since the start of the massive vaccination campaign in which, thanks to the high coverage achieved in all groups eligible for vaccination, it has been possible to significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19, it is important to review the scientific basics that have supported the recommendations implemented to date and those that could be adopted in the near future taking into consideration the epidemiological situation. The objective of this article is, therefore, to address the foundations of some of the technical decisions proposed by the Committee on Programme and Registry of Vaccinations (National Immunization Technical Advisory Group in Spain) and the Technical Working Group on Vaccination against COVID-19. Throughout the eleven updates of the Vaccination Strategy against COVID-19 in Spain, several issues pose intense debate as the vaccination intervals between doses, the convenience of using different types of vaccines, the use of heterologous schemes of vaccination, the benefits of hybrid immunity and the use of a fourth dose (second booster dose) for selected populations. All this without forgetting essential aspects of safety of vaccines. This article is divided into the following sections: Vaccination intervals;Heterologous or mixed scheme;Hybrid immunity (vaccination after infection and infection after vaccination [breakthrough]);Second booster dose.

COVID-19 prevention campaigns in a digital context: the case of the "Let's practice citizenship" government campaign in Argentina

This exploratory-analytical work focuses on official government campaigns promoting COVID-19 prevention in Argentina. More specifically, it looks at the "Let's practice citizenship" campaign, which called on Argentine citizens to prevent a second surge in COVID cases. We observed the publication of these announcements on digital platforms, analyzing their content and their repercussions on Twitter. In doing so, we hoped to determine the role played by "care" and "citizenship," as theoretical and political categories, in the context of these communications. For our case study, we evaluated the public health narrative told by the national government as well as user reactions in the selected digital platform. As a theoretical framework, this article reviews the main terms used in the government campaign, so as to settle on the intended meanings of "care" and "citizenship." We then continue with our methodological strategy, which we carried out entirely within digital media. This strategy followed two steps: first, we identified the campaign videos on YouTube, so as to closely describe them;and then, through a web scraping technique, we recovered the tweets responding to the government campaign. Our analysis identified the most common terms used in both government videos and user tweets, via word clouds generated from the results of our previous review. We conclude that users largely responded negatively to the government strategy and its narrative contradictions, as the official discourse promoted "care" and "safety" while mass mobilizations on the streets were still permitted. These user responses were typically aggressive and complained about the behavior of the country's president and vice president, demanding that they "set an example" for citizens.

A textual analysis of pathemic effects in educational advertising campaigns

The coronavirus pandemic context has driven the creation of many educational advertising campaigns that, among their communicative purposes, aim to guide the population regarding the ways to prevent Covid-19. These campaigns have sometimes invested in appealing to the emotions in order to sensitize the population to the subject. This paper, based on a theoretical articulation between Patrick Charaudeau's Semiolinguistic Theory , Textual Linguistics, develops a textual analysis of pathemic effects. For this, it assumes Charaudeau's (2010a) reflections on patemization, but defends, in line with Oliveira specialIntscript that, besides being analyzed by the communication contract, pathemization strategies should be seen under the prism of textualization strategies, especially the referential processes (CAVALCANTE;MARTINS, 2020). The analysis points to the decisive role of the introduction and mainly of the recategorization of the references negotiated in the text in the construction of a pathemic staging, in addition to the deictic focus, which fulfills the function of engaging the interlocutor in this staging. For this, the speaker strategically arranges the referents based on the beliefs he supposes are assumed by the interlocutor.

CULTURE TRANSFORMATION - ENCULTURATION TO ACCULTURATION

Enculturation is learning the culture you grow up in and Acculturation is learning a culture different from that in which you grew up. The situation becomes more challenging when you are doing business in a developing country having low literacy rate and high cultural & language barriers. This paper describes the cultural transformation, behavioral systems and improvement initiatives Fatima Fertilizers Limited (FFL) has successfully implemented in past 9 years to improve the safety culture dimensions and to ensure compliance with standards. This resulted in improvement of FFL safety records to world class level. It will also describe the details of implementation process and maturing steps of systems on Behavioral/Cultural aspects and elements such as Process Safety Leadership & Engagement Program, Management Safety Audit Program, Perception Surveys, Operational Discipline & Excellence, Field vigilance & Area audits Program, Line Management Responsibility, Observation Reporting, Analysis & Action Plans and Contractor Safety Management Program etc which resulted in achievement of such remarkable results. The paper also includes the Organizations' vision & future plans on sustaining and further improving process safety culture as per changing & challenging scenarios across the globe especially post COVID-19. © 2022 AIChE Spring Meeting and 18th Global Congress on Process Safety, GCPS 2022. All rights reserved.

Application of interactive technologies to promote tourism services

The issue of using interactive technologies to promote tourism services plays a key role for tourism enterprises. This is due to the transformation of the market due to global challenges such as the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The problem of studying the quality of interactive technologies is to analyze the necessary infrastructure and tools for implementation in the work of a corporate institution aimed at attracting new customers. The use of interactive technologies provides the tourism market with many advantages. First of all, it makes it possible to enter the international market and strengthens the brand's presence in the digital environment. Furthermore, interactive technologies with the help of digital infrastructure can create video materials and any media files used in an advertising campaign. The article aims to analyze the application, structural components, and effective methodology for implementing interactive technologies for activities in the tourism market. Moreover, key trends in the use of interactive technologies and popular mechanisms for their implementation are outlined in the article. Attention is paid to the variability of the digital environment and both theoretical and practical means of implementing a tourism promotion campaign are considered. An important issue is the further prospects for the development of digital technologies for their gradual integration into the practice of tourism enterprises. The results of the study may be useful for tourism enterprises planning to conduct commercial activities based on the use of interactive technologies.

COVID-19 and Religion

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced a social drama in which churches, government, and individual actors have played prominent roles. While neo-conservative evangelicals have resisted governmental and scientific overreach in the name of "faith over fear”, liberal religious groups have joined in government and medical efforts for the good of the commons, offered comfort and assurance to those suffering, and called for support of the poor at home and abroad. Religions have turned right and left, from apocalyptic "resets” of global order to new calls for social justice. In this context, the root metaphor of the epidemic has been called up as a historical construct that helps to conceptualize, analyze, and act upon the COVID-19 crisis. Searching the past helps us see that not everything about COVID-19 as a social drama is a new or unheard-of challenge. For example, there are new evocations of the black death of 14th-century Europe that became a crisis in the church, as well as the great Lisbon earthquake in 1755, which upended the confidence of the European Enlightenment. Another way to appraise the dimensions of the COVID-19 outbreak is to call on the varied approaches characteristic of the sociology of religion, that is, to consider how ideology and belief are socially constructed in order to account for new intellectual responses to societal challenges. Does religion always produce the "collective effervescence” Durkheim posited? Does religious change always arrive downstream of cultural change, or can it also become an independent variable? This article attends primarily to the sharp responses of conservative religious expression in the face of attention-getting upheaval, which has readily translated into right-wing political action and electioneering. But the social uplift and altruism of liberal religion is not neglected either. Thus, this article provides an account of how science and governmental action have both been challenged and embraced in response to COVID-19. As such, it is not an empirical study stemming from new Pew-like social polling. Rather, it is a wide overview rooted in sociological methods and theory for tracking religion historically and presently in America in a manner that aims to inform a discussion of how COVID-19 has impacted religion and religious expression, and vice versa.

Digital audiovisual content in marketing and distributing cultural products during the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece

PurposeThe aim of the present study is to reflect upon the use of digital audiovisual content for the marketing of cultural events in the relative organisations and foundations during the turbulent times of the COVID-19 pandemic by conveying experts' interviews. The main question that the study seeks to touch upon is whether the digital audiovisual techniques implemented by cultural foundations and festivals in Greece during the COVID-19 pandemic were efficient in promoting artwork and stressing on social presence and whether their marketing and distributing processes of the artistic and cultural products manage to attract audience engagement and further enhance the foundations' brand. What the research seeks to examine is issues such as digital content creation, arts marketing, use of digital media and new technologies, brand identity and strategy building. Particular digital campaigns of foundations will be reviewed from a closer focus.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative research is based on experts' interviews. The primary foundations that are in focus are the organisations of Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF), Dimitria Festival in Thessaloniki, Greece and a major cultural foundation in Athens, Greece the Onassis Foundation.FindingsA proper combination of interesting audiovisual content and precise brand aspirations in terms of identity and vision are what will lead a foundation to the audience it desires. Adaptability is the element that defined the foundations in the turbulence of the times of a pandemic, and creativity is what made some foundations differentiate themselves from others. The digitization that the pandemic brought can be considered as a positive dimension as well, since foundations can combine digital and physical spectacles in the near future so that they can always be relevant.Research limitations/implicationsThis study identifies certain limitations that could be investigated by future research, the main one being the small number of the organisations and foundations under research and the limited number of interviewees. Furthermore, the fact that the research was performed in cultural institutions and that audiovisual features were integral in the artwork they serve could be considered as a limitation.Originality/valueThe originality of this research lies in the examination and registration of the implementation of innovative digital audiovisual techniques by cultural foundations in Greece to reach their audience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Knowledge, attitudes and adherence towards influenza and other vaccinations among healthcare workers at the University Hospital of Palermo, Italy, during the first COVID-19 pandemic season (2020/2021).

Background: Increasing adherence to influenza vaccination among healthcare workers is a public health priority, stated that actually remains far below than international recommendations. During the 2020/2021 pandemic season, COVID-19 vaccines were not yet available until the end of December 2020, and influenza vaccines were the only one available to protect against seasonal respiratory diseases. The main objective of the present study was to assess knowledge, attitudes and adherence to influenza and other vaccinations recommended by the National Immunization Plan 2017-2021 for healthcare workers. Methods: Enrollment lasted from October and December 2020 at the vaccination unit of the University Hospital of Palermo. Data were collected through an anonymous and self-administered questionnaire, divided into 5 sections and 31 items. Results: Among 734 healthcare professionals that completed the survey, a significantly higher adherence to influenza vaccination was observed among healthcare workers that were more prone to receive COVID-19 vaccination (OR=4.02; 95% CI: 1.63-9.91). Moreover, higher influenza vaccination rates were observed among healthcare professionals that received influenza vaccination during previous 2019/2020 season (OR=15.3; 95% CI: 5.17-45.1) and that were favorable to the possible impact on increasing adherence of influenza mandatory vaccination (OR=4.88; 95% CI: 2.43-9.80). Conclusions: Propensity of healthcare workers to undergo vaccinations recommended in the National Immunization Plan increased during the first pandemic season. At the end of the vaccination season, flu vaccination coverage reached highest rates ever at the University Hospital of Palermo (around 60%), remaining anyway below the recommended minimum value of 75%. During next seasonal flu vaccination campaigns, it becomes essential to promote communication and information strategies to increase flu vaccination among healthcare workers, also focusing on co-administration with the anti-COVID-19 booster/seasonal doses.

Viktor Mikhailovich Zhdanov and the eradication of smallpox

Considering current epidemiological and social phenomena such as CoVid-19 pandemic, re-occurrence of monkeypox and vaccine hesitancy, the authors chose to delineate an historical, human, and scientific profile of Dr. Viktor Mikhailovich Zhdanov, as a key figure related not only to smallpox eradication, but also to the building up of worldwide vaccination strategies. The authors present some of Zhdanov main life and scientific experiences and awards in virology, epidemiology, and public health. The authors highlight the need for international commitment to cooperate in the fields of vaccine research and vaccine hesitancy. © Mattioli 1885