ABSTRACT
By the beginning of 2020, the illness had been named as COVID-19, which had spread due to its extreme severity affecting multiple industries and sectors throughout the world. To protect the public's health and safety, the Philippine government has established a number of quarantine regulations and travel restrictions in reaction to the current COVID-19 outbreak. Nonetheless, the ILO predicted that the pandemic would initially disrupt the economy and labor markets, affecting 11 million employees, or around 25% of the workforce in the Philippines. Therefore, the government continues to urge employers of local companies and enterprises to use alternative work plans, such as a WFH - work-from-home operation in accordance with the established policies. In line with the concept of telework, several studies have already been carried out, though some were declared inconclusive and require additional study. Hence, in this research, a mobile application was created to evaluate the employee's telework capability assessment using a Fuzzy-based model which utilizes Google AppSheet, Apps Script, and Sheets. The developed mobile application is able to provide capacity evaluation utilizing the four key input variables, which are also reasonably characterized for potential telecommuting cost evaluation. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
By early 2020, COVID-19 has caused a global pandemic which led to an enormous number of challenges worldwide in various sectors. The Philippine government has implemented multiple quarantine guidelines and travel restrictions to ensure the people's health and safety. However, the International Labour Organization projected an initial economic and labor market disruption affecting 11 million workers, or about 25% of the Philippine workforce, due to the pandemic. Therefore, the government, thru the concerned agencies continues to encourage employers to implement alternative work plans such as a work-from-home (WFH) operation in compliance with the established regulations in line with existing laws and policies. In line with the telecommuting concept, various research has already been performed, however, some were regarded inconclusive and require further study. Hence, in this study, a Web application was developed along with an embedded fuzzy model to evaluate the telecommuting capability assessment of employees. The proposed web application with embedded fuzzy model is capable of providing capability assessment using the four main input variables which are also relatively characterized for possible telecommuting cost assessment. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
The tourism sector was among the most affected sector during the COVID-19 pandemic and has lost up to USD 5.87 billion potential revenue. Since many countries closed the borders, including Indonesia, by applying travel restrictions and thus tourists postponed their visits. Whereas vaccine distribution has shown good progress as the vaccination percentage in Jakarta and Bali has shown promising results since the majority of its population has been vaccinated, and it helps many industries, including tourism, recover. However, the pandemic might change tourist behavior. In addition, information about tourist destinations is spread poorly in various sources, and it psychologically affects tourists' decision to visit. Many works have been published to address this issue with the recommendation system. However, it does not provide geopolitical variables such as PPKM in Indonesia to ensure safeness for the tourist. Therefore, this research aims to enhance innovations in the tourism industry by considering the geopolitics factor into the system using Multiple Linear Regression. The result of this research demonstrates the effectiveness of geopolitics added variable on three different cities Jakarta, Java, and Bali. It can be implemented in a wide area in Indonesia. For further research, the proposed model can be used in a wide area in Indonesia and developed for a more comprehensive recommendation system. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
This paper uses Australia as a case study to analyse restrictions on international movement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions on inbound and outbound travel have been a key tool deployed by governments across the globe to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic. We use 'COVID zero' Australia as a case study to assess an extreme response to restricting international movement. We look at the recent complaint launched before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The action was raised with the support of a group of Australian citizens stranded abroad with the assistance of the expert in Australian constitutional law who is the second author of this paper. We argue that the measures implemented by Australian governments to effectively eliminate COVID-19 domestically have provided insufficient consideration of, and alternatives to, the current system's failure to facilitate essential international travel. For this reason, Australia's framework for restricting international movement lacks proportionality and necessity from the perspective of human rights and freedoms. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Human Rights is the property of Routledge 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.)
ABSTRACT
This study analysed the spatial and temporal trends and dynamics of COVID-19 to understand their implications on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Zimbabwe. Data on daily cases and mortality rates of COVID-19 were collected from the Worldometer website, whilst data on lockdown measures and travel restrictions were collected from Zimbabwe's Ministry of Health and Child Care. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses were employed on statistical data. COVID-19 statistical data were first tested for normality using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Subsequently, the non-parametric Mann-Kendal (M-K) test was performed to determine the monthly average number of new cases and deaths trend from March 2020 to February 2022 using XLSTAT (2020). The study shows a significant increase (p = 0.00, α= 0.05) in COVID-19 cases between March 2020 and February 2022. The trend is characterised by sharp increases associated with wave periods. Although the results show no correlation between stringency index and COVID-19 cases, periods of high stringency are associated with a slightly lower number of cases. The spatial trends show that highly populated areas have high numbers of patient cases. Indeed, the lockdown measures put in place, among other factors, contributed to controlling the spread of the virus. The trends and dynamics of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe have implications for achieving SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 3 and SDG 6. Thus, there is a need to factor in the temporal and spatial realities of COVID-19 in making a policy framework for effective control of the pandemic and promotion of sustainable development. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.
ABSTRACT
Previous research has shown that there are vast cross-cultural differences in attitudes toward COVID-19 travel restrictions. Yet, pinpointing the specific role of any single factor in explaining cross-cultural variability is difficult when comparing cultural communities that differ along myriad dimensions. Taking a 'just minimal difference' approach that removes the effects of extraneous variables, the present research focuses on how islandness can account for variability in travel intentions during the pandemic. Combining retrospective self-report assessment with a dynamic behavioural choice regarding travel intention during COVID-19, the present research examined travel attitudes and behaviours in Chinese Xiamen islanders and mainlanders that share the same geographic environment, language, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, but vary in their implicit individualism. Results across two studies revealed that Chinese Xiamen islanders were less supportive of travel and mobility restrictions than mainlanders who all lived near the coast. Additionally, it was found that implicit individualism mediated the link between islandness and travel attitudes. Together, this paper not only presents the first empirical evidence for the role of geographic environment in the emergence of attitudes toward restrictive travel limitations, but potentially informs tourism management and revival in the era of COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Piecewise linear regression (PLR) method is applied to study cumulative cases of COVID-19 evolving everyday in England up to 6th February 2022 just before travel restrictions are removed and people started not to get tested anymore in the UK and factors e.g. the lockdowns behind the spread COVID-19 are also investigated. It is clear that different periods exhibit distinct patterns depending on variants and government-imposed restriction. Therefore, the effectiveness of lockdown measures is evaluated by comparing the rate of increase after a certain period (delay effect of measures) and that of time before as well as how new variants take over as a dominant variant. In addition, autoregression function is studied to show strong effect of cases in the past on today's cases since the disease is highly infectious. Most of work is carried out thorough python built-in libraries such as pandas for preprocessing data and matplotlib which allows us to gain more insight and better visualization into the real scenario. Visualization is conducted by Geoda showing the regional level of infections. © 2023 SPIE.
ABSTRACT
With the recent global COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, accreditation delays have become inevitable in lieu of the strict travel restrictions. The usual accreditation inspection process conducted face-To-face was affected. Organizations are shifting to a reliance on technology to adapt to the national emergency. The study aims to bridge the gap by digitalization Professional Regulation Commission's (PRC) monitoring and accreditation system to conduct a virtual inspection and monitoring. With all of these said, the specific objectives of the researchers and developers are to develop an efficient digitized system that captures the original one. In developing the proposed accreditation and monitoring system and document management system (website) for PRC, the group will adapt and take inspiration from the Agile Development Lifecycle methodology, which will help the modification and other functionality of the system by using the iterative style in the development of the system. The proposed digital monitoring system undergoes a cross-browser test, and performance test, i.e., Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM). These tests show that the proposed system passed the compatibility for commonly used browsers like Chrome, Edge, Mozilla, and many more. The Final Test in Performance Testing showed that the system RTM functions had passed all final testing. © 2023 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the effects of the pandemic on population movements, following three human security frames of migration: (1) migration as a threat, (2) migrants as a population of concern, and (3) migration as a means for security. Despite great global efforts to debunk the myth of migration as a threat, the pandemic's nature has once again made the stereotype prominent. Distrust and xenophobia episodes have taken place worldwide, adding a new layer of complexity to the emergency. Moreover, an almost complete halt to migration closed the possibility of moving away from the direct disease threat and ensuing deprivation, not only because governments impeded new movements but also because people on the move found themselves in new precarious situations. The fall in remittances and relapses into poverty across the world are evidence of this trend, so any recovery strategy will have to include migration considerations. Finally, different migrants have fared differently against the pandemic's challenges: while specific vulnerabilities are notorious, contributions covering dangerous jobs during the emergency have also been exalted. Efforts to contain stigma and provide protection without discrimination will be necessary to potentiate the migration contribution to the pandemic recovery. Preventing further disease relapses remains a difficult problem to address. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer 2022.
ABSTRACT
The impact of Covid around the globe is imperative all around the world. Though the pandemic had glaring effects on the market, sectors have been showing a reviving trend post-covid. This is possible with the right mapping and affective forecasting. The majorly hit sector was the hotel industry, and situations showed a positive surge with potential sales incrementing post covid. Hospitality industry in particular is much prone to act post covid after easing of travel restrictions and social distancing. Sustainability seems to be the difficult arena with many hotels having low profile financial conditions. The aim of the research is to understand the potential indicators in hotels in India which are expected to boost the sales and sustain the sector. The authors have used a combination of literature review to identify the potential indicators through past studies. Further the qualitative opinion polls, focus group and interviews were conducted to evaluate the indicators and their comparative ranking in the industry. Data were gathered through hotel employees representing various domains like Front office, F & B, Marketing, and promotions department of the premium leisure hotel properties. Further the analysis has been employed for classifying the potential indicators with their relative impact, examining their cause-and-effect phenomena. The study has been validated by expert opinion poll supporting the hypothesis tested. Mapping such inclusive indicators;the hotel industry may be well prepared for the coming future. The most significant indicators have been identified and the mutual interdependence between the potential indicators have been seen through the analysis. will be highly beneficial for the hotel industry to have strong strategic preparation post covid. It also shows that estimating the critical elements at the right time can lead to vowing revenues, saving the industry. The study has practical application for promoting the hotel industry. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
This study analyzes the effect of the restrictions in traffic movement enforced in order to combat the spread of coronavirus on air quality and travel time reliability under heterogeneous and laneless traffic conditions. A comparative analysis was conducted to examine quantity of pollutants, average travel time distributions (TTD), and their associated travel time reliability (TTR) metrics during the COVID-19 pandemic, postpandemic, and during partial restrictions. Pollutants data (PM2.5, NO2, and NOX) and travel time data for selected locations from Chennai City in India were collected for a sample period of one week using Wi-Fi sensors and state-run air quality monitoring stations. It was observed that the average quantity of PM2.5, NO2, and NOX were increased by 433.1%, 681.4%, and 99.2%, respectively, during the postlockdown period. Correlation analysis also indicated that all considered air pollutants are moderately correlated to Wi-Fi hits, albeit to varied degrees. From the analysis, it was also found that average TTD mean and interquartile range values were increased by 47.2% and 105.2%. In addition, the buffer time index, planning time index, travel index, and capacity buffer index associated with these TTD metrics were increased by 148.1%, 63.7%, 42.8%, and 202.9%, respectively, soon after relaxing travel restrictions. © 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
ABSTRACT
This empirical study aims to study the seismic shift in the post-COVID travel behaviour of Indian tourists due to demographic variables. Secondly, it analyzes the effects of travel restrictions on tourists' travel plans. This study is based on primary data, a systematic literature review, and experts' opinions on the tourism area. A web-based and offline survey was done using the purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Furthermore, the data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis, an independent t-test, and the analysis of variance technique. The data analysis revealed stunning results, where no significant difference was found in the travellers' behaviours according to their gender and marital status. However, the travellers' age, education, occupation, annual family income, and purpose of travel greatly influence their travel behaviour. It was found that travel restrictions significantly impacted the travel plans of the travellers, and travellers did not want to resume travelling for at least six months. Travellers postponed and sometimes cancelled their travel plans till they could find some safe options for travel. To overcome this situation, travel suppliers can customize their products to tourists' "new " behaviour, focusing on respective demographic variables and the effects of travel restrictions on their travel plans following the age of acceleration. Yet, the small sample size of the study would limit the generalization of this research. Further, this study may be conducted in other industries, such as retail, to identify consumer post-COVID purchasing behaviour changes.
ABSTRACT
Although artisanal gold mining is known for human rights violations and environmental degradation, it is an increasingly important economic activity in many African countries, with a high potential to alleviate poverty. Due to increased demand for gold investment during the COVID-19 pandemic, the monthly international gold price has increased by 20% from January to May 2020. To understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced gold miners, we analyse a panel survey of about 170 artisanal gold miners interviewed 2 months before the first case of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso. Follow-up surveys were done early in the pandemic and about 1 year after baseline. Various pre-existing local market failures caused local gold prices to decrease by 20%-30% from January to May 2020, when international gold prices noticeably increased. Market failures include oligopsonistic market conditions on the mines, which worsened due to travel restrictions that disrupted trading routes, reduced local traders' liquidity and made it difficult for traders to reach mines. Moreover, we find that miners have very little knowledge of international gold prices, and due to insecurity and credit constraints, they are unable to wait for local prices to recover. Once travel restrictions were lifted, the local gold price recovered close to the global gold price. To make local markets more competitive and ensure that miners benefit from rising international gold prices, governments could broadcast world gold prices on local radio, increase trading opportunities and provide access to credits for miners.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a substantial impact on the tourism and hospitality sector. Public policies such as travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders had significantly affected tourist activities and service businesses' operations and profitability. It is essential to develop interpretable forecasting models to support managerial and organizational decision-making. We developed DemandNet, a novel deep learning framework for predicting time series data under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The DemandNet framework has the following unique characteristics. First, it selects the top static and dynamic features embedded in the time series data. Second, it includes a nonlinear model which can provide interpretable insight into the previously seen data. Third, a novel prediction model is developed to leverage the above characteristics to make robust long-term forecasts. We evaluated DemandNet using daily hotel demand and revenue data from eight cities in the US between 2013 and 2020. Our findings reveal that DemandNet outperforms the state-of-art models and can accurately predict the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on hotel demand and revenue. © 2022 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable changes in our lives. It has influenced our society, education, economy, and environment as well as our lifestyle. We have got used to wearing face masks daily. Working or studying from home is not an unusual thing anymore. On the other hand, some that we used to regard as normal, such as travelling abroad, have become less normal in this era. These changes subsequently influenced the acoustic environment in our community. Countries have closed their borders, set travel restrictions, and ordered their residents to stay home. Due to the reduced number of travelling, recent studies have noticed changes in traffic noise exposure. In addition, people gather less (e.g. at pubs or social events) during the pandemic, which also has an impact on the acoustic environment in our community. This paper provides a review of the literature on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on community noise. Based on the review, this paper concludes with suggestions for future research directions to create a better acoustic environment in the post-COVID era. © 2022 Internoise 2022 - 51st International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The paper uses daily data from Google to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's mobility around the world regarding three types of leisure and travel activity: retail shopping and recreation;participation in open spaces, such as parks, beaches, gardens, and marinas;and food and medicine. These types of activity reflect important leisure and travel choices of people under conditions of epidemiological risk. We use the daily mortality rate as a key predictor. The results show that higher rates of mortality are associated with a lower mobility in shopping and recreation activities, higher mobility in open space activities, and rather insignificant changes in mobility regarding necessities. The effect depends on the stringency of the lockdown policies. The results remain robust after applying endogeneity analysis and country-level controls.
ABSTRACT
Determinados elementos diferenciales de la arquitectura política-institucional interna de la Unión Europea (UE) y su propia naturaleza jurídica condicionan y determinan su comportamiento y la eficacia de sus decisiones, convirtiendo a esta organización internacional sui generis en un actor internacional de primer nivel. Esta condición ha hecho que, en el marco de las Relaciones Internacionales y, en concreto, tras la pandemia, deba estudiarse de manera diferenciada su impacto sobre conceptos de las Relaciones Internacionales como la interdependencia. Todas las restricciones a la movilidad durante la pandemia se adoptaron a nivel nacional, sin ser acordadas ni coordinadas previamente a nivel de las instituciones de la UE. En el marco institucional, la Comisión Europea se limitó a adoptar un conjunto de medidas de derecho indicativo o softlaw destinadas a coordinar las medidas nacionales y a subrayar la importancia de la no discriminación y la proporcionalidad en su aplicación que, en muchos casos, no se respetó. La UE es una entidad compleja y dividida que implica a muchos actores -sociales, regionales, Estados miembros, instituciones supranacionales- y por tanto los modelos que adopta en situaciones de crisis repercuten no solo en los Estados miembros, sino que muestra la importancia de la complejidad en la era de la globalización. Un estudio de estos modelos, en cierta medida, nos facilita la posibilidad de establecer patrones que, a pesar de la complejidad de la sociedad (internacional) y las relaciones internacionales, nos permitirían ofrecer múltiples canales que faciliten la colaboración global en la solución de fenómenos específicos. La presente propuesta pretende contribuir a esclarecer esos patrones y consecuentemente establecer nuevas líneas de desarrollo en la investigación sobre el concepto de la interdependencia tras la pandemia ocasionada por la covid-19 en el espacio Schengen. Este nuevo marco de interpretación de la interdependencia contribuirá a la comprensión de algunos aspectos actuales de las Relaciones Internacionales contemporáneas. Así, la interdependencia que se genera en uno u otro modelo de convivencia entre estados determina en última instancia la respuesta de estos a mutaciones tan excepcionales como la generada por la covid-19 en 2020 y su impacto en lo que siempre se ha considerado uno de los logros más notables de la integración europea, el mercado único.Alternate :This research starts from the situation generated by the pandemic in 2022 in the Schengen area. Paradoxically, a few days before the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Schengen area, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of Coronavirus, a global pandemic which forced the closure of most European borders. What seemed to be a guaranteed right, freedom of movement, was suspended in order to control the pandemic. The decisions taken by states unilaterally generated complex derivations in the framework of complex interdependence within which the European Union operates. National measures, far from guaranteeing the four fundamental freedoms, highlighted the discrepancies and lack of integration in this area. The temporary restrictions on free movement indirectly signified the proclamation that public health and those freedoms cannot coexist in critical situations, eliminating any pretense of EU leadership. Transnational relations, which on the one hand led to the increasing interconnectedness of societies, on the other hand also resulted in the restriction of states' foreign policy spaces for action. This has led to the emergence of international governance, a model that has a strong influence on the development and functioning of the EU. Most EU Member States reacted quickly to the risk of the exponential spread of the coronavirus and adopted stringent preventive measures that culminated in unprecedented restrictions on the free movement of persons within the EU, with important consequences for the functioning of the internal market. The narrative of Europe as a ma ket power emerges as an alternative. The normative approach to European identity assumes that the very nature of the EU as a market predisposes it to use its economic capabilities as a foreign policy tool. Thus, an approach that emphasizes this fact will be analytically more appropriate than an approach based on the normative identity of the Union. This points to the gestation of a new form of global governance and the design of new mechanisms for cooperation between states in the framework of interdependence and could be seen as a starting point for the debate on whether interfering in the internal market with restrictions and prohibitions on mobility was a reasonable alternative for member states to take, considering other competing interests. That is, whether the situation generated by the pandemic justified the degree of interference with free movement within the EU. The European system of governance, the most developed in contemporary international relations, showed many weaknesses and even a regression during the pandemic;that is, to a pre-eminently intergovernmental process, led by the most powerful EU countries. The EU's international cooperation systems, mechanisms and instruments must lay the foundations for a new agenda adapted to the reality of a post-Covid multipolar and interdependent world. This article is organized in three parts. The first part focuses on situating the concept of interdependence in both traditional and contemporary International Relations. This interdependence is generated for different reasons, each of which specifically defines the model to be followed by states in their transnational relations. The progressive redistribution of global power towards multipolarity and the deepening of interdependence between states have given rise to a transition towards interpolarity in which cooperation/integration, multilateralism and the role of the great powers or polarity occupy a prominent place. This is due to the increase in the number, quality and nature of the different interconnections that, at the international level, take place between different types of actors. Once the concept of interdependence has been placed in a global framework, the impact of this phenomenon on the Schengen area will be studied as an element common to all Member States, but for which different solutions were offered. The temporary suspension of the Schengen area affected the four fundamental freedoms and, although some were affected more than others, there is no doubt about its impact on European systems. This impact, far from being gauged by the European Union as an organization, was managed unilaterally by the states that persisted in their isolationist attitude, reinforcing the scarce integration that the Schengen area has always experienced but which was necessary in this context. The difference in scope and rigidity of national travel restrictions and bans resulted in a spectrum of diverse and sometimes inconsistent restrictions across the Union. As an example, most entry bans to national territories contained exceptions for domestic nationals and residents: some provided exceptions for nationals, residents, and persons confirmed negative for Covid-19, whereas others offered exceptions to nationals, residents, and persons entering the national territory for valid reasons. The second part of our research focuses on a qualitative analysis of the restrictions in the Schengen area and whether the interdependence experienced in this area and its lack of integration favour or harm the EU's behaviour on the international stage. Member States justified all travel restrictions -including entry and exit bans to and from national territories- on public health grounds. In this sense, the removal of multilevel governance elements in different EU policy areas elevated issues originally from the European framework to the international level without considering their long-term impact. Thus, some EU covid-19 measures, such as the severe restrictions on free movement that affected refugee and asylum rights during the pandemic s owed that the terms of solidarity underpinning the framework for the implementation of refugee and asylum rights in the EU, which does not go beyond the national level, are not commensurate with the real need for concrete solutions in this area. The human rights implications of all these border closures are alarming and put at serious risk vulnerable populations that should be protected by these national and international legal obligations. With regards to the internal aspect, the Schengen area is a space where interdependence between states is clearly visible in such obvious and important areas as global trade in goods and services, capital transfers, and information connectivity, thanks to the Internet and social networks. For example, we see that during the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a direct link between, for example, the suspension of the Schengen area, the health systems of the Member States, and the health systems of the EU Member States.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 sparked a public health crisis and created a series of public policy challenges. This article examines how COVID-19 interventions played out at the state level given the absence of guidance and coordinated national response. We focus on how the level of policy rigidness and enforcement of behavioral interventions helps us understand the success and failures of reducing the number of positive test rates over a 20-week period (March–July 2020). Specifically, we examine how four specific interventions (masking, school closures, restaurant closures, and travel restrictions) moved through the policy creation and implementation process as outlined by a modified version of Kingdon's multiple streams approach. We leverage a pooled-OLS approach to identify the agenda-setting and decision-making windows to verify the narrative derived from applying a modified multiple streams approach to the initial wave of policy making around COVID-19 interventions. Using this technique, we find evidence of two distinct agenda-setting windows and a decision-making window. Using these windows, we ascertain that highly restrictive policies are effective in controlling the spread of COVID-19. We find that governors acting as political entrepreneurs may not play as large of a role in the policy-making process, but they are responsive to constituent policy preferences.