Is digital transformation a barrier to export reduction during COVID-19? The case of a developing country

This paper investigates the impact of digital transformation on export reduction during COVID-19 by using unique data from Vietnamese manufacturing firms. Digital transformation reflects whether firms had already introduced digital technology before the COVID-19 outbreak or started using digital technology during the COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, an export reduction is a partial de-internationalization in which firms decrease overseas sales. Estimation results from the instrumental variable probit method show that digital transformation has a negative effect on the probability of export reduction. This effect becomes particularly strong for micro, small and medium enterprises. Our findings have managerial implications for firm managers. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The circle of health©: An interactive tool to guide the process of transformative change and rethinking health promotion

Given the many social and economic inequities that have been magnified globally by the COVID-19 pandemic, new approaches to leadership are required. The author shares her experience as a teacher and learner in Canada, Serbia, Brazil, and Germany, and proposes that the Circle of Health framework has the potential for guiding the transformative change required to rebuild social relationships and structures postpandemic. The Circle of Health was developed in 1996 on Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada, through a unique government-community partnership in response to the need for transparent and multisector, interdisciplinary collaboration on health promotion. Training and development of supplemental materials were undertaken by the author and her colleagues to create a shared understanding of health promotion, to promote partnerships across sectors, and to engage in systematically integrating the many concepts of population health in policy and practice. Since its creation, it has been used globally by educators, policy makers, researchers, and students in many disciplines to holistically address complex societal issues. The innovative ways in which the Circle of Health continues to be embraced provide the foundation for this chapter, challenging the reader to be responsive, creative, and purposeful in rethinking and repositioning health promotion as an approach to global leadership. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022. All rights reserved.

Organizational transformation in crisis: learning from emergent patterns of knowing and organizing

PurposeComplex crises affect tightly coupled systems making them highly unpredictable. This paper aims to determine how organizations learn from their crisis experience shaping their knowledge and transformation trajectory toward and beyond survival. A theoretical framework integrating organizational learning (OL) and knowledge management in organizational transformation (OT) in complex crises is presented.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper presents a systematic literature review on OT in crisis from 2000 to 2021. To achieve integration, the authors searched for studies on OT, knowledge management and OL, each paired with a crisis.FindingsCrises highlight the emergent and decentered nature of knowing and organizing. This study suggests that OT is achieved through various changes in organizational knowledge. Different learning modes enable the transformation of knowledge in a crisis: contextual or situated learning, strategic and collective integration.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors' pandemic experience may have influenced the analysis. This paper does not account for new types of learning emerging due to the influence of digital technologies.Practical implicationsOrganizations may hasten renewal through distributed crisis management facilitated by contextual and strategic learning and collective integration.Originality/valueThis study categorizes learning, based on its function in crisis management, into three types: contextual learning for creative problem-solving, strategic learning for leadership and direction and collective integration to evaluate their crisis journey. Through this classification, this study sheds light on the types of knowledge needed to manage crises effectively, showing that organizations can leverage their crises by transforming and innovating themselves in this turbulent period.

The Impact of Digitalization of the Economy on the Cooperation of Economic Entities in the Post-pandemic Period

According to the authors, the digital transformation of the global economic system, which has affected all areas of business and sectors of the economy, has led to the formation of a new business model aimed at creating a single financial and economic space without borders, contributing to new forms of obtaining added value and "digital dividends” by combining various technologies (for example, cloud technologies, sensors, big data, 3D printing), as well as the development of markets for goods and services, labor reserves and capital through transformations at all social levels. The authors believe that all of the above opens up expanded opportunities for organizing and doing business and allows increasing the potential for creating radically new products, services and innovative business models focused on sustainable business development in the new conditions of digitization of the economic system. In this regard, the paper explores key approaches to the definition of the term "digital transformation of business.” The trends of business digitalization and, accordingly, the factors that are inhibitors and drivers of the development of a new business model of cooperation and cooperation of modern organizations were identified. In the process of analysis, the authors determined the vector of development of business models in the context of the digital transformation of the global economic system. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The Kitchen Table: Mother-Academics Reconfiguring Their Emerging Identities While Aligning Family and Work

Mother-academics are disadvantaged by historical and systemic inequalities situated within academia which have been compounded by the pandemic. Through the analytical lens of the theory of practice architectures, we focus on work practices and women's emotional experiences while reconfiguring their identities as online academics and simultaneously their changing home worlds due to the close proximity of their children at the kitchen table. Findings indicate that pre-COVID-19, boundaries between mothering and academia were delineated by the physicality of settings. In contrast, when forced to work from home during the pandemic, skilful navigation was required to obtain a home/work balance. Empathy was required to realign and locate a form of equilibrium in the merging online and home environment at the kitchen table. We contribute to the growing body of literature that advocates for academia to become a less gendered environment in the future. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.

Changes in market organisation due to exogenous shocks – the case of the transformation of the Swedish fashion industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aims to provide insights into the transformation of retail caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, using the Swedish fashion industry as an example. In an institutional perspective, combined with Actor-network theory, both new actors and the changing role of existing ones were identified as influencing how the market was organised. An empirical field study of the Swedish fashion industry has illustrated the changes caused to retail by the outbreak of COVID-19, and the subsequent actions taken to limit its spread. Interviews with and observations of retailers' actions contributed to a more in-depth understanding of the changes caused to retail. The study finds that the market was subject to two exogenous shocks: Firstly, that a non-human actor, i.e. the COVID-19 virus, influenced the Swedish fashion market in combination with humans and secondly, that new actors entered the market and influenced its organisation. This has led to a situation where digitalisation has accelerated and experience design has stagnated, and there has also been a re-definition of sustainability. Using an institutional perspective, combined with thick descriptions of the empirical material, this study challenges the existing narrow understanding, i.e., that the actors in the field are barely tied together as supply chains or networks, by including non-human actors in its analysis. This allows us to gain a greater understanding of how a virus and its antagonists have had a major impact on the organisation of the field, in turn having consequences on the trends prominent in the fashion retail industry before the outbreak of COVID-19.

Overview of global organ donation and transplantation in 2020

Objective At present, the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) pandemic is still raging in certain regions around the globe, and the prevention and control of the pandemic should be strengthened. Under the challenges of respective social environment and allocation of medical resources, and support from the inertia and inherent productivity of the system on which the industry depends, extensive attempts are being delivered to push forward the work of organ donation and transplantation in each country. Under the guidance of national experts and committee members, Shanxi Provincial Human Organ Procurement and Allocation Service Center was established on August 28, 2018 approved by the former Shanxi Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission. It is the only independent non-profit medical institution in Shanxi Province. In this article, the system construction of citizen's organ donation and transplantation fitting national and provincial conditions was further explored according to the data analysis of organ donation and transplantation in the United States and Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic combined with the implementation of organ donation work in Shanxi Provincial Human Organ Procurement and Allocation Service Center.Copyright © 2021 The authors.

Separation, Loss, Confinement, and Change: How Evagrius Can Speak to the Experience of Lockdown

Separation, loss, confinement, and change have been imposed on entire populations du-ring the Covid-19 pandemic in the form of lockdowns aimed at limiting the spread of the virus. They are also central to Evagrian asceticism, where they establish the conditions for the change at which the monastic life aims, namely to begin to reverse the effects of the fall by restoring the soul to health. This paper examines how they do so in order to gain an understanding of their ascetic function. Following the Introduction, it outlines Evagrius' anthropology in order to lay the groundwork for its main theme, the healing of pathos through the practical life. Separation, loss, and confinement are each considered in turn by referencing Evagrius' descriptions of their ascetic function and his own experience of them. Next, the change at which they aim is described, again drawing upon a range of Evagrian material. The final section of the paper considers how Evagrius can speak to the experience of lockdown by endowing separation, loss, confinement with meaning and purpose in relation to spiritual awakening and growth, highlighting our freedom to choose our attitude to them, and acting as both our guide and our companion. © 2022, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. All rights reserved.

Formation of Digital Skills of Personnel in the Cooperative Sector of the Economy in the Face of New Challenges

Industry 4.0 is the central topic of numerous publications by foreign and Russian scientists, most of which are conceptual in nature. The current labor market requires the formation of new competencies and skills demanded in the digital economy. Digital reality dictates the need to develop new competencies—digital skills. Knowledge of computer technology, the use of software, and programming have become essential. For most organizations worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalization and adoption of digital ways of working. The development of new forms of employment (remote and combined) using digital technology will contribute to positive changes in the labor market. Based on these trends in the digital transformation of current society, the research aims to examine the digital skills of employees in the cooperative sector of the economy and their demand in the labor market in the context of Industry 4.0. The authors use descriptive statistical methods to process official data from the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation and the Higher School of Economics. The research indicates that the transformation of the labor market and forms of employment requires the development of new competencies demanded in Industry 4.0. In the digital economy, employment opportunities increasingly depend on a person's digital skills and competencies. This paper is one of the first comprehensive studies of the changing labor conditions, working environment, and the emergence of new competencies in Industry 4.0. This research contributes to the problem of studying digital skills as a component of human capital and can be the basis for further research in this subject area. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Virtual Ecclesiology on the Rise: Considering the Challenges Posed by COVID-19 in South Africa

Times of trouble provide opportunities for innovation within religion. The current pandemic opens opportunities to create a new, global, inclusive ecclesiology by connecting Christians from all over the world and all walks of life, with the sole purpose of focusing on the Christian faith and mission of the church to the world. Although the term "virtual ecclesiology” can be attenuated to mean "not real”, it is also a strong, virtuous way of structuring the church in technology-driven societies. It can provide a new church model, and allows for open, inclusive, and diverse technology-based options to communicate God's love both inside the global church and to the world. The African Pentecostalisation process serves as an example of a possible first step towards developing a virtual ecclesiology. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Health promotion teaching and learning at the university of the Western Cape, South Africa: Thinking global, acting local

The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is well-known for its struggle against apartheid and continued fight against inequality. The School of Public Health was established in 1993 and the first institution to offer postgraduate education in public health using distance education which allows health and associated service providers to work and study simultaneously and at their own pace. The program consists of three qualifications and attracts people from all over the continent. The health promotion module is compulsory, and optional Winter and Summer Schools are offered where the module is taught as a short course to students and the public. The course is known for its practice-oriented approach and for strengthening health promotion competencies. Principles of the Ottawa Charter are used to inform teaching and learning, and adult and authentic learning principles used to facilitate application of theoretical concepts in real work life. The distance learning program is supported by an integrated online Learning Management System, which offers a platform for engagement using synchronous and asynchronous methods. The impact of COVID-19 on remote teaching and learning has further accelerated the transition to digital literacy and will hopefully transform other African universities into active role players in digital transformation. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022. All rights reserved.

Digi-cultural mindset

With this chapter, we want to provide a reading experience on how digitalization not only evokes a technical transformation but is also strongly related to a company's culture. Talking about digital transformation, there is more to consider than alignment between IT and business functions. We want to arouse interest in the reader to discover their organization's value system and provide triggers toward the development of a digi-cultural mindset. We will dive deeper into the stages of change and provide a target vision with ideas on how to master a transformation journey. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.

Exploring the effects of sudden institutional coercive pressure on digital transformation in colleges from teachers' perspective

While past technology acceptance studies focus on organization readiness, little is known about the acceptance behavior under sudden institutional coercive pressure. Against COVID-19 and distance teaching, this study explores the relationship between digital transformation readiness, adoption intention, digital transformation success, and sudden institutional coercive pressure based on the readiness research model and institutional theory. Surveying 233 college teachers who participated in distance teaching under COVID-19 in Taiwan for model and hypothesis validation using the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach. This result shows that (1) Teacher, social/public, and content readiness are crucial to distance teaching. Individuals, organizational resources, and external stakeholders influence distance teaching success and adoption;and (2) Sudden institutional coercive pressure has a negative moderated effect on teachers' readiness and adoption intention. When teachers are unprepared to implement distance teaching, this unanticipated epidemic and sudden institutional coercive pressure will accelerate and enhance their intention. The study provides government, educational policymakers, and teachers with a better understanding of distance teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Traffic Flow Forecasting in the COVID-19: A Deep Spatial-temporal Model Based on DiscreteWavelet Transformation

Traffic flowprediction has always been the focus of research in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems, which is conducive to the more reasonable allocation of basic transportation resources and formulation of transportation policies. The spread of COVID-19 has seriously affected the normal order in the transportation sector. With the increase in the number of infected people and the government's anti-epidemic policy, human outgoing activities have gradually decreased, resulting in increasingly obvious discreteness and irregularities in traffic flow data. This article proposes a deep-space time traffic flow prediction model based on discrete wavelet transform (DSTM-DWT) to overcome the highly discrete and irregular nature of the new crown epidemic. First, DSTM-DWT decomposes traffic flow into discrete attributes, such as flow trend, discrete amplitude, and discrete baseline. Second, we design the spatial relationship of the transportation network as a graph and integrate the new crown pneumonia epidemic data into the characteristics of each transportation node. Then, we use the graph convolutional network to calculate the spatial correlation of each node, and the temporal convolutional network to calculate the temporal correlation of the data. In order to solve the problem of high discreteness of traffic flow data during the epidemic, this article proposes a graph memory network (GMN), which is used to convert discrete magnitudes separated by discrete wavelet transform into highdimensional discrete features. Finally, use DWT to segment the predicted traffic data, and then perform the inverse discrete wavelet transform between the newly segmented traffic trend and discrete baseline and the discrete model predicted by GMN to obtain the final traffic flow prediction result. In simulation experiments, this work was compared with the existing advanced baselines to verify the superiority of DSTM-DWT.

The role of digital transformation in the socio-economic recovery post COVID-19

Several measures have been taken to reduce the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. One of these measures is the broad digital transformation that has rapidly and unexpectedly forced the deployment of digital technologies into corporations' business models and organizational structures. This digital transformation has affected all the socio-economic aspects. In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, this paper explores the impact of the implementation of digital transformation on the socio-economic recovery by employing cross-sectional regression analysis on 99 countries in year 2020. The paper analyzes the impact of digital transformation on each of economic growth, health care, and income inequality. The results reveal that the digital transformation has a positive and significant impact on the GDP per capita in which a 1% increase in digital transformation results in 1.52% increase in GDP per capita, a positive and significant impact on income equality in which a 1% increase in digital transformation leads to 0.05% increase in income equality, and a negative and significant impact on infant mortality rate, in which a 1% increase in digital transformation results in 0.85% decrease in infant mortality rate which reflects its positive impact on the health care. Hence, the digital transformation has a positive and significant effects on different socio-economic aspects.

A Rare Case of Congenital Choledochal Cyst (CCC) Resulting in Recurrent Acute Pancreatitis in an Otherwise Healthy Young Woman

Introduction: Congenital choledochal cyst (CCC) is a rare cystic dilatation of intrahepatic or extrahepatic biliary ducts. We present a case of a type IVb choledochal cyst presenting as recurrent acute pancreatitis in a young healthy female with initial negative screenings. Case Description/Methods: An 18-year-old-female with a history of COVID-19 presented to the emergency department with one month of persistent abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. She was hospitalized once prior for similar symptoms and was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. This admission, blood work showed elevated lipase, elevated liver enzymes, mild bilirubinemia with a normal lipid panel and urine was significant for infection. She received fluids, antiemetics and was started on prophylactic antibiotics for ascending cholangitis. A right upper quadrant ultrasound ruled out cholelithiasis or acute cholecystitis, but showed dilation of the common bile duct. MRCP confirmed dilation with bulbous termination in the periampullary region diagnosed as type IVb choledochal cyst. Discussion(s): CCCs are rare in Western countries with an incidence between 1 in 100,000 to 150,000. 80% of these cysts are diagnosed in patients under the age of 10. They are difficult to diagnose due to variable clinical presentations. A study of 214 CCC patients demonstrated the most common symptom was abdominal pain, followed by jaundice and fever. When cysts are found in adults, symptoms resemble atypical acute biliary tract disease. Surgical cyst removal may be needed for patients with significant risk factors such as older age and age of symptom onset, due to increased risk of malignant transformation. Longer periods of observation have been documented to be associated with an increased chance of developing late complications, such as anastomotic stricture, biliary calculi and recurrent cholangitis. Type IVb CCCs, as seen in this case, consist of multiple extrahepatic cysts and hepaticojejunostomy is the treatment. This patient's young age and recurrent acute pancreatitis combined with her lab and imaging findings strongly suggest the diagnosis of CCC. The anatomical location of the CCC impeded flow of pancreatic enzymes through the ampulla of vater, leading to recurrent pancreatitis in an otherwise healthy young female. CCC, although very rare, should be considered in the differential of acute pancreatitis when other causes such as gallstones and heavy alcohol consumption cannot be identified, as prompt diagnosis and surgical removal is imperative.

Digital Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research in the Transformation of Higher Education

The Covid-19 pandemic evidenced the need to carry out educational research with a vision of transformation. At the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM), a public higher education institution in Mexico, a group of professors used digital technologies to research and systematize their educational practice and that of their students and colleagues. This was relevant to identify effective educational practices and areas for improvement that could inform about the premises that must be considered to promote meaningful educational innovations within their local context. The concepts that guided this process were: change in educational practices [1] and systematization of experiences [2]. Thus, the objective of this text is to systematize the qualitative and mixed methods research processes carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic and how they informed the transformation of educational practices at UAM Cuajimalpa. Among the main results are the following: (a) The practice of qualitative and mixed research in digital environments allowed a deeper understanding of the teaching-learning process during the Covid-19 pandemic, (b) The systematization of experiences derived in the organization and reflection of professors' innovations, and (c) From the work of qualitative research and mixed methods, educational actors have become aware of the imperative for pedagogical change. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Personalized and research-led teaching as building blocks to success during pandemic times in Austria's higher education sector

Problem: 35 years after signing the Ottawa Charter, the field of health promotion is undergoing a dynamic development. This also applies to the tertiary education sector. There is still no law in Austria that regulates occupations in health promotion. Another challenge is that students within a specific cohort have different interests, goals and prior knowledge. This requires flexibility and openness. Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the need for digital, flexible and personalized teaching and learning opportunities at universities. Concept: In this paper the didactic framework of a full-time bachelors' programme as well as a part-time masters' programme at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland is described. The CompHP framework and the outlines of a new health education policy in the DACH region formed the basis for defining study goals. Principles: In order to achieve the study goals, two didactic principles are combined: personalized teaching and learning and linking teaching and research. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, using a variety of didactic principles and creating a concept for the implementation of distance learning methods can help meet the challenges during the knowledge transformation process. Results may be referred to a wide range of study programmes in various academic fields. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022. All rights reserved.

Improving Barrett's Diagnosis and Surveillance Service at a District General Hospital in the United Kingdom

Introduction: Barrett's oesophagus is a well identified precursor for oesophageal adenocarcinoma, with the risk of malignant transformation being 0.5% annually. It is therefore crucial that diagnosis and surveillance standards meet national guidelines. This audit was carried out to assess if our District General Hospital was meeting the standards set by the British Society of Gastroenterology with regards to Barrett's diagnosis and surveillance. Method(s): Data was collected looking at 143 OGDs carried out for Barrett's diagnosis and surveillance at a District General Hospital in the United Kingdom from 01/01/2018 to 30/06/2018. The OGD reports were compared against recommended national standards set by the British Society of Gastroenterology. A proforma was created and was put into use from August 2020. It was utilized by all endoscopists when carrying out OGDs for Barrett's diagnosis and surveillance. The proforma was added to the end of the hospital's standard endoscopy report. Following the intervention and use of the proforma, the second cycle of the audit was carried out looking at 58 OGDs completed between 05/08/2020-27/02/2021 to see if they met the standards set out by the British Society of Gastroenterology. The Barrett's surveillance service and the volume of OGDs carried out following the introduction of the proforma was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Result(s): The first cycle of the audit found that only 34% of OGDs had a Prague classification documented correctly. 0% of OGDs had the correct biopsy protocol followed and 12.6% of endoscopies did not have any biopsies taken. 26% of patients had no follow up or surveillance endoscopy interval documented or organised. Following the intervention, it was found that 96% of endoscopies now had a Prague classification documented, an increase of 62%. There was a 65% increase in correct biopsy technique being followed and 100% of OGD reports now had surveillance interval documented if deemed appropriate. Conclusion(s): The audit clearly displays that following our intervention there was a significant improvement in the quality of Barrett's diagnostic and surveillance endoscopies, when compared to national guidelines. Given its potential for malignant transformation, correct surveillance is exceptionally important to improve patient care and reduce mortality. The introduction of a proforma drastically improved the standard of the service provided at our District General Hospital and is one that can be transferable to other hospitals.

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

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