ABSTRACT
PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous changes in society. Universities were among the few organisations with some previous knowledge of online education, being able to rapidly adapt by transferring already known best practices to the new context. As teaching moved to online, students encountered less sustainable implementation by their universities. This allowed the development of previously planned sustainable strategies so that when face-to-face teaching resumed, universities could be even more sustainable. This paper aims to explore loyalty to the sustainable university during the later COVID-19 pandemic based on the university's efforts to manage a green campus. Design/methodology/approachTo investigate loyalty towards the sustainable university during the later COVID-19 pandemic, a conceptual model is proposed. This research is grounded in an empirical investigation using a quantitative online survey implemented with online interviews, the relations between all latent constructs being analysed with SmartPLS. FindingsThe results show that university sustainability reflects student loyalty, outlining the image developed under the influence of green campus management. The results show that universities must intensify their efforts to support the sustainable agenda and create a sustainable academic brand, inducing student loyalty. The findings may attract the attention of other universities wishing to gain knowledge about the factors that students consider important in generating their loyalty. Research limitations/implicationsAs this research was carried out in the later COVID-19 pandemic context from 2021, the students already had experience of online teaching, so their assessment of the sustainability strategies implemented could be quite different from their perceptions in the first months of the pandemic. This research provides a comprehensive insight into the overall strategy that a sustainable university might apply in a crisis context. Social implicationsResearch has shown that green campus management has a positive impact on the sustainability of a university's image, on how students perceive the university at which they study and on the university's efforts to ensure efficient campus management. These factors contribute to the development of a strong and sustainable image of the university within the community. Originality/valueThe originality of this paper lies in the research questions designed to conceptualise and operationalise the generation of students' loyalty towards their university by encouraging and implementing sustainable strategies on campus. This paper highlights a structural model that combines strategic practices to determine students' loyalty towards a sustainable university during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Operation of the coworking spaces (CSs) all over the world was strongly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including those in Slovakia. The capital city's CSs and coworking spaces localised in non-metropolitan eastern part confirmed decline in co-worker presence that have also influenced financial aspect of the coworking spaces stability and resilience. Even though there have been several possibilities of national and local grants from public authorities, this support was not widely used and no CSs decided to contact the owners of premises in order to get rent deferrals and/or rent discounts. The pandemic also caused switch of physical events into online activities and activate those spaces located in the eastern part of the country as the number of the events in these spaces overall increased. Even the community spirit inside the CSs transformed to community events decreased due to the adaptation of government measures, cooperation outside individual CSs have strengthen and lead to establishing of formalised coworking association in Slovakia. In spite of the difficult situation the CSs have to face, many of them realised the need of adaptation and invested in ICT devices, change of already not sufficient marketing strategies but also see business opportunities as several new coworking spaces have started to operate. All these aspects point at the fact that flexible work arrangement coworking spaces offer could help to solve global economic crisis. © 2023, The Author(s).
ABSTRACT
The present study examined the preparations made by 14 mothers to ensure that their children's education was unhampered during the COVID-19 crisis and ready for face-to-face classes when permitted. The study used a reflexive thematic analysis of the face-to-face interviews with participants belonging to low-income families living in the central Philippines whose children used printed modules as teaching materials provided by the school. The study generated three themes: "realizing the gaps” (realizing that in-person campus-based instruction is better because distant learning is not effective);"filling in the gaps” (taking the lead in teaching the child at home and assisted by family and community members) and "getting back on track” (preparing children for face-to-face classes against the COVID-19). The study showed how Filipino parents particularly mothers kept their children in school despite pandemic-induced uncertainties, economic scarcities and social inequalities. The desire driven by the perceived benefits derived from education brought out the pathways to resourcefulness. This study draws attention to equal opportunities for learning across socio-economic statuses and a more inclusive delivery of instruction during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2023 by the authors;licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group.
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PurposeThis paper aims to explore challenges and opportunities of shifting from physical to virtual employment support delivery prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It investigates associated changes in the nature and balance of support and implications for beneficiary engagement with programmes and job search.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on longitudinal interviews conducted with beneficiaries and delivery providers from a neighbourhood-based employment support initiative in an English region with a strong manufacturing heritage between 2019 and 2021. The initiative established prior to the Covid-19 pandemic involved a strong physical presence locally but switched to virtual delivery during Covid-19 lockdowns.FindingsMoving long-term to an entirely virtual model would likely benefit some beneficiaries closer to or already in employment. Conversely, others, particularly lone parents, those further from employment, some older people and those without computer/Internet access and/or digital skills are likely to struggle to navigate virtual systems. The study emphasises the importance of blending the benefits of virtual delivery with aspects of place-based physical support.Originality/valuePrevious studies of neighbourhood-based employment policies indicate the benefits of localised face-to-face support for transforming communities. These were conducted prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the more widespread growth of virtual employment support. This study fills a gap regarding understanding the challenges and opportunities for different groups of beneficiaries when opportunities for physical encounters decline abruptly and support moves virtually.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 pandemic has caused havoc worldwide. India is also facing challenging circumstances as the figure of infected/positive cases is rising day by day. This study deals with the development of education: Post COVID-19. This paper will help to understand "Digital Education: Opportunities and Threats". The Corona virus has exposed emerging vulnerabilities in learning systems all over the world. A lot of relevant literature was explored to confine the essence of continued learning during these exceptional times. Educational organizations all over the world are moving towards online/Digital learning. This paper also proposes digital education as an urgent need in this lock downs times and social distancing due to COVID-19 pandemic. It also provides a powerful stage for further research. The use of digital technology in education is experiencing a tremendous boom in education sector with cost effectiveness. Although it is unclear whether technology will plug all of the holes in the Indian Education system but it seems that technology is playing a major role in education interventions. Due to advancements in technology, accessibility of low-priced laptops/mobiles, wireless equipments, and related communications setups signs both opportunities and challenges for learning organizations and their faculty and students. Digital Education has potential that can produce knowledge workers. The government has analyzed that ICT sector has important role in education due to that many programmes such as NEOR, NMEICT, NKN, Eklavya, NPTEL, and NROER has been launched. Digital Education has bring success in the field of education but still there area number of challenges in most of Indian institutes like shortage of quality teachers, deprived quality of research, and deprived quality of training etc. Digital Education is overall very beneficial for the students of country like India.Copyright © 2020 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The emergency department (ED) is one of the most critical and high-risk sections of the health system. Providing quality services at a fast pace is vital in this ward since it directly affects people's lives. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned into a serious challenge for physicians and emergency departments (EDs). The growing number of patients who refer to EDs creates congestion, which will reduce the quality of services. Consequently, managing and operating EDs will be more urgent during this pandemic. Considering this problem, we first used data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the performance of EDs in the central provinces of Iran. Then, sensitivity analysis was used to determine the main factors affecting the efficiency of this ward. Accordingly, the high number of admitted patients, the congestion of the ward, and the long time required to report the COVID-19 test results were found to be the most influential factors. Finally, drawing on the results of sensitivity analysis, we advance a number of measures to improve these three and other related indicators. Furthermore, appropriate strategies were presented for improving health, COVID-19 management, key performance indicators, and safety indicators in accordance with the results of strengths-weaknesses-opportunity-threat (SWOT) analysis.