Search results

This paper aims to present the findings from a European study on the digital skills gaps in tourism and hospitality companies.

Mixed methods research was adopted. The sample includes 1,668 respondents (1,404 survey respondents and 264 interviewees) in 5 tourism sectors (accommodation establishments, tour operators and travel agents, food and beverage, visitor attractions and destination management organisations) in 8 European countries (UK, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands and Bulgaria).

The most important future digital skills include online marketing and communication skills, social media skills, MS Office skills, operating systems use skills and skills to monitor online reviews. The largest gaps between the current and the future skill levels were identified for artificial intelligence and robotics skills and augmented reality and virtual reality skills, but these skills, together with computer programming skills, were considered also as the least important digital skills. Three clusters were identified on the basis of their reported gaps between the current level and the future needs of digital skills. The country of registration, sector and size shape respondents’ answers regarding the current and future skills levels and the skills gap between them.

The paper discusses the digital skills gap of tourism and hospitality employees and identifies the most important digital skills they would need in the future.

Introduction: Regional economies are significantly shaped by the new developments in technology, digital transformations, as well as by the demographic processes (the ageing population and international migration), all of these being amplified by the Covid-19 pandemics and requiring tailored strategies to bridge regional welfare gaps and enhance sustainable economic development.

Aim: This research provides a review of the interplay between the regional economic welfare and digitalisation, with a keen focus on digital transformations, education, digital skills and risk management strategies in filling development gaps and enhancing regional economic growth in a sustainable development framework, with a keen focus on Romania. In this approach, the study undertakes several essential research questions and designs an advanced theoretical and empirical research to inforce the knowledge in this scientific field.

Method: The methodological framework consists of robust regression models and spatial analysis with two types of spatial models, namely spatial lag-autoregressive and spatial error. National data compiled for Romania during the 2010–2019 lapse of time were exploited.

Findings: Main results encompass that digitalisation coordinates, education and digital skills are essential for enhancing the economic development and labour market performance of various regions in Romania, with beneficial spill-overs on sustainable economic welfare and poverty reduction. These advances bring to the fore important shifts in both demand and supply sides across regional economies that affect the equilibrium and overall performance, while public discourse, regulatory authorities, policy-makers and business representatives render global the keen need to strengthen the understandings in this scientific field.

Digital inequality is considered one of the leading causes of socioeconomic disparities nowadays and a barrier to sustainable development. However, a dearth of empirical research has examined the impact of digital inequality in attaining sustainable development. This study aims to systematically review the scientific publications on the impact of digital inequality in achieving sustainable development.

The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA, 2020) guidelines were followed to carry out the systematic literature review (SLR) using Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest and Google Scholar electronic databases. Numerous inclusion/exclusion criteria were employed to obtain the most relevant literature. Finally, 54 articles were included to prepare the final database and qualitative synthesis was performed using 12 variables.

While the findings show that there has been a substantial expansion of scientific publications on the focused area in recent years, there is still a lack of empirical and comparative studies; less focus on the offline benefits of online activities were also demonstrated by the results. Moreover, SDGs 04 and 05 were identified as the predominant goals in the literature. Findings further highlighted the importance of an accurate conceptualization of digital inequality.

In general, this study investigates the level of impact of digital inequality on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, it shows the evolution of scientific publications on digital inequality in terms of its contribution when achieving sustainable development.

The purpose of this paper is to (a) examine the current state of the digital economy in Southeast Asia (SEA), the challenges and opportunities derived from digital transformation and the digital economy, and the impact of the digital economy on SEA, especially human and physical capital development, and (b) propose policy recommendations for SEA countries to better manage digital transformation.

This is a conceptual paper. The theoretical framework has been built from the three-sector governance approach to identify the issues of the digital economy and propose solutions to address the issues. Specifically, it examines the role and activities of the public sector, the private sector and the third sector to address the challenges posed by the digital economy, especially human and physical capital development.

This paper revealed challenges and opportunities derived from the experience of Southeast Asian countries and proposed several policies recommendations, including a common data policy and payment platform for the Asian region, a good training and development policy to equip the workforce with digital skills, and digital mindset as well as build cybersecurity capability and capacity at the regional level.

This paper is significant as it examines the development of the digital economy from an interdisciplinary perspective – including economics, digitalisation, governance, management, public policy, technology and human resource development. It also provides better insights into how SEA's digital economic development can be further improved to contribute to a sustainable regional economy.

Research suggests there are at least three challenges to Black male interest and success in STEM careers: increasing access to STEM resources and curriculum, increasing Black and male inclusiveness in STEM initiatives, and increasing cultural and technical competency in STEM fields. African American schools typically do not have equitable STEM resources or instruction. In addition, there is limited research on supporting Black males' success in STEM in the culturally responsive computing (CRC) literature. Most STEM initiatives prioritize increasing the number of girls in STEM fields. STEM field employers are not active recruiters of Black male hires and have little experience with diversity and cultural inclusiveness. Research also suggests that Black students may not be interested working in White corporate America that undervalues their unique cultural perspectives and are more concerned with schooling that improves their communities. This chapter utilized CRC as a lens to examine the complexity of engaging Black males in STEM. As a result, the authors suggest adopting an equity ethic to help teachers help Black males connect themselves and their communities to STEM technology by utilizing smartphones and smartphone technology to engage Black males who may not have access to computers. We end with an example of CRC called barbershop computing, which combines computing, engineering, and innovation as a method to attract and retain Black males in STEM classes and help them persist in STEM careers.

This paper aims to analyze the financial implications associated with Ugandan universities employing e-learning techniques and to suggest sound policy solutions to the problems the investigation found.

To illustrate how e-learning is used in Uganda, the study used a descriptive research design. The study used a quantitative methodology to highlight the various experiences associated with utilizing e-learning platforms from various universities. A questionnaire survey was distributed to university students, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in order to understand the usage of e-learning and Persons correlation to understand the degree of the relationship between the study variables.

The study findings reveal that e-learning approaches in universities are favorably correlated with their financial implications (r = 0.598; p-value 0.05). It was excruciatingly difficult to access online learning resources and platforms, and there was a severe lack of power. Some academic staff members lacked adequate e-learning platform training, and students noted that e-learning eased communication between students and lecturers, whereas Internet subscription and acquisition of mobile devices were expensive.

The research was limited to three districts in western Uganda, and thus, it may not be possible to extrapolate the results to the entire nation.

Universities are open to these changes since the digital world is moving more quickly, overall, and this trend has crept into education as well. Policymakers and other universities may utilize the study's findings to inform their decisions.

The study offers useful insights into how e-learning systems have altered university teaching methods.