Coworking Places in Hungary During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A global pandemic affected the type and place of work in several ways. For coworking places it caused disruptions according to direct (e.g. measures) and indirect (e.g. urban outmigration) reasons. The present chapter focuses on how coworking places in Hungary choose different adaptation strategies to deal with the unprecedented challenge that COVID-19 accounted for. It gives insight into the Hungarian pandemic situation between 2020 and 2022, identifying restrictions and no state financial aid whatsoever which determined the playing field for coworking places. The chapter contains different sections related to the outbreak and the Hungarian coworking landscape as well as coping strategies these alternative workspaces relied on to survive the first two years of the pandemic: location change, size reduction, change of function, and relying on informal networks are the identified ones. © 2023, The Author(s).

Re-evaluating cleaning

This article explains how cleaning of recreation, entertainment and sport venues in Australia faces a new array of challenges because of COVID-19.

Football must not forget its inclusive responsibilities in the rush to get fans back into stadiums. (Special Issue: Managing sport and leisure in the era of Covid-19.)

It is imperative that the English Premier League and the Football League clubs consider disabled supporters when planning for the return of fans in stadiums. While it is understandable that the English football clubs are eager to welcome fans back as soon as possible, I argue this must not be at the expense of disabled supporters. Utilising the theory of ableism, I highlight the inequitable matchday experiences of disabled football fans at the English Premier League and the Football League clubs pre-COVID-19, a situation I argue cannot be exacerbated by neglecting disabled fans as part of the return of fans to stadiums. This commentary emphasises the importance of English football clubs grasping the opportunity to positively change how disabled football fans are treated. The piece concludes by calling for sustained lobbying for inclusion, and the need for future research to focus and explicate the experiences of disabled football fans.

Leveling the Playing Field: A Virtual Summer Camp for Women of Color

People of color are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines (STEM). The number is even smaller for women of color who enter into STEM fields. Based on current projections, it is estimated that by the year 2044, underrepresented minorities (Black, Hispanic, LatinX and American Indian) will comprise over 50% of the overall population in the U.S. However, underrepresented minority (URM) youth lag significantly behind their white and Asian American counterparts in their interest in STEM. Lower representation of URMs in STEM can be attributed to a variety of factors including, a lack of institutional commitment, a lack of representation throughout students' upbringing, ineffective cultural recruitment/outreach efforts, educational discrepancies throughout PK-12, and social expectations, among others. A large portion of government efforts to address this problem focuses on initiatives and training to overcome negative perceptions and attitudes towards STEM and entice more URM youth into STEM pathways. For the United States to maintain a competitive position in innovation and technology, the disparity must be reduced. The Women of Color Summer Engineering Camp (WOCSEC) was developed to address the disparity. The camp was composed of six outreach components to provide engaging, critical thinking and uplifting experiences for all its participants. The components include: Engineer Spotlight Interview;Engineering Design Challenge;Empowerment Session;Design Lab;Interactive Forum and Panel;and College Readiness. Due to Covid-19 the camp was transformed from an in-person face to face experience to a virtual experience. Online learning is an effective method of instruction, provided that devices and technology platforms are accessible and screen time is monitored and limited. WOCSEC includes workshops for standardized testing, the college application process, scholarship resources, shadowing opportunities, summer internships and the required high school courses required of most collegiate engineering programs. Students were given a pre-survey the first day of the camp to assess their attitudes and perceptions towards entering STEM fields. In an effort to measure student's change in perception, students completed a post survey. In addition to the pre-post survey, a semi-annual quantitative and qualitative inquiry tool will be administered to camp participants throughout high school to measure their interest in engineering, intent to major in STEM and overall college readiness. In this paper we will describe how the program was implemented, the experience of the participants and share the data from the pre-post survey. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021