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Article
Publication date: 23 October 2020

Ayokunle Olumuyiwa Omobowale, Olufikayo Kunle Oyelade, Mofeyisara Oluwatoyin Omobowale and Olugbenga Samuel Falase

The index case of COVID-19 in Nigeria was reported on 27 February 2020. Subsequently, the exponential increase in cases has brought about the partial and total lockdown of cities…

Abstract

Purpose

The index case of COVID-19 in Nigeria was reported on 27 February 2020. Subsequently, the exponential increase in cases has brought about the partial and total lockdown of cities, the closure of all schools and the shutdown of government offices in order to curtail the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 and its subsequent drastic curtailment policies have implications on vulnerable groups, especially, informal workers who constitute about 70% of the active working population in Nigeria. This reflective discourse critically engages the plight of informal workers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was guided by the epistemology of pandemic interpretationism. It engages contextual reflections of the plight of economically vulnerable informal workers in Nigeria. Data were collected from secondary sources while rapid case studies were conducted with ten informal workers in Lagos and Ibadan. Afterwards, data were contextually analysed.

Findings

Economically vulnerable informal workers in Nigeria have contextually interpreted COVID-19 as an elite disease, imported into Nigeria by the wealthy. In addition, the mass population views COVID-19 containment measures such as lockdowns, movement restrictions and stay-at-home orders as elitist policies, which are aimed at protecting the wealthy and frustrating the poor and economically vulnerable who live on the fringes of poverty. Many informal workers have slipped below the poverty line while struggling to supply livelihood needs, as they were unable to earn daily income and cannot access palliatives. Consequently, they are of the opinion that “Hunger Virus is deadlier than Corona Virus”.

Originality/value

This paper is a contextual reflection on the plight of economically vulnerable informal workers during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and movement restrictions in Nigeria. It presents pandemic interpretationism as an epistemological guide and reflectively examines the poverty impact of COVID-19 on the Nigerian informal sector via contextual analyses of secondary data and rapid case studies. The paper uncovers various COVID-19 livelihood experiences and the responses of the informal workers; furthermore, it provides policy recommendations.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 40 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 July 2022

Ammielou Gaduena, Christopher Ed Caboverde, John Paul Flaminiano and Regina Yvette Romero

This paper aims to explore empirically the interactions between the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, economic mobility and containment policy to test the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore empirically the interactions between the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, economic mobility and containment policy to test the effectiveness of mobility restrictions in controlling the spread of the disease.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used weekly regional data for the 17 Philippine regions and estimated the effect of shocks using a panel vector autoregression (VAR) model.

Findings

The authors conclude that COVID-19 deaths and incidence primarily respond to shocks that affect the lethality and transmissibility of the disease, and mobility restrictions and strict quarantine levels do not seem to have any impact on these outcomes. The movement of people during this pandemic period, on the other hand, seems to respond more to economic factors and government restrictions and less to the presence of and the characteristics of the disease.

Originality/value

Since the pandemic is a public bad, community cooperation is a must to address it. Clear government messaging that dispels doubts on the safety of the newly developed vaccines and that encourages public acceptance and trust might be a better nudge compared to a heavy-handed and threatening approach.

Details

International Journal of Health Governance, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-4631

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2022

Aynaz Lotfata, Ayse Gul Gemci and Bahar Ferah

It is observed that the COVID-19 Pandemic mostly restricts people's movement and walking habits. In this direction, this study aims to highlight how the walking behaviors of…

Abstract

Purpose

It is observed that the COVID-19 Pandemic mostly restricts people's movement and walking habits. In this direction, this study aims to highlight how the walking behaviors of individuals affected in different geographies' neighborhoods before and during the Pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper focuses on the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and the changing walking behavior of 24 sample regions (514 participants) with the highest incidents of COVID-19 infection from American, European, Asian, Western Pacific, African and Middle Eastern cities. The paper's methodology is supported by an /online questionnaire survey conducted in these 24 disparate neighborhoods in December 2020.

Findings

Findings show that “walkable access” varies over geographies during the Pandemic. Urban amenities within 15–20 min of access become more important than ever. The results unravel that either walkable or non-walkable neighborhoods showcased similarities despite that urban amenities were not within 15–20 min of access. Three prominent aspects should be emphasized to plan walkable neighborhoods: providing walkable access, forming spatial proximity and sustaining social cohesion.

Social implications

The availability of daily amenities, such as shopping stores, health care, education services and pharmacies within a 15–20-min walking distance maintain everyday life and increase social interactions. In addition, places with walkable access encourage an active lifestyle and contribute the public health. The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic movement restrictions on the walking behavior of individuals highlights how the qualities of distance-based urban planning need to be supported with time-based practical attributes that can shape neighborhood planning frameworks.

Originality/value

This paper highlights the coexistence of “walkability” and “accessibility” measures in urban practice and research to create resilient and sustainable neighborhoods. The “walkable access” term used in the paper addresses joint measures of walkability and accessibility.

Details

Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2020

Stuart Roper and Eman S. Alkhalifah

Western consumers are able to take shopping for granted, their major restriction being financial. This study aims to understand motivations to buy fashion items online in the…

Abstract

Purpose

Western consumers are able to take shopping for granted, their major restriction being financial. This study aims to understand motivations to buy fashion items online in the culturally restrictive environment of Saudi Arabia, which imposes considerable fashion and behavioural restrictions, particularly on women.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative research was conducted with a sample of 34 Saudi women in their home country providing a deep insight into the restrictions that women face when shopping and how they react to these restrictions. Two theoretical lenses, psychological reactance and system justification theories are invoked to understand and explain consumer behaviour.

Findings

Motives for online shopping are quite different in a restrictive society. The definition of utilitarian motivations in online shopping is developed to reflect the drivers to overcome cultural restrictions or to align one’s shopping behaviour with them. Similarly, hedonic reasons for online purchases are expanded to incorporate nuances found only in such societies, where hedonic motivations include enjoying the breaking of societal restrictions.

Originality/value

This study is conducted is focussed on a country in which little academic marketing research has taken place due to considerable restrictions on movement and access. Western texts on consumer behaviour are not fully appropriate for understanding such a society.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 24 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 October 2022

Matthew Burke, Yiping Yan, Benjamin Kaufman and Pan Haixiao

This chapter focusses on the use of immobility policies and practices in the Asia-Pacific nations of East and South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand to respond to COVID-19

Abstract

This chapter focusses on the use of immobility policies and practices in the Asia-Pacific nations of East and South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand to respond to COVID-19 across 2020–2021. Concepts from the field of mobilities studies are adopted for analysis. Transport system managers in the region have increasingly played roles either limiting movement, adjusting transport supply, creating proscribed ‘mobilities passageways’ for travellers that present COVID-risk, and encouraging or mandating passenger compliance with other pandemic measures. The series of immobility policies and practices used at the international, intra-national and local scales are analysed. Transport agency responses differed greatly including whether to retain levels of public transport supply or reduce them in line with falling patronage. A summary of known travel behaviour impacts is then discussed, using available data from government travel portals, and, for Shanghai, Brisbane and Hong Kong, a range of road volumes, public transport boardings, micro-mobility, bicycle and pedestrian counts. There are indications that a series of socio-technical transitions have occurred, such as increased work-from-home, new social practices around walking, increased demands for roads to provide place functions (as opposed to movement functions) and the role of cycling and micro-mobility as liberating technologies in a world of increased control and fear of contagion. Transport agencies have harnessed some of these changes in attitudes and societal needs, using radical institutional responses such as pop-up bike lane trials and other ‘tactical urbanism’ approaches, to adapt their cities to life during and after the pandemic.

Article
Publication date: 23 September 2022

Ibrahim Kabir and Yazid Abdullahi Abubakar

The global economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused the closure of countless ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) worldwide, partly due to the…

Abstract

Purpose

The global economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused the closure of countless ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) worldwide, partly due to the public policy responses. This paper investigates whether EMBs’ entrepreneurial orientation (EO) mediates the impact of public policy responses to COVID-19 on their survival.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing institutional theory, the authors developed a novel conceptual framework that divides policy responses to COVID-19 into aggressive (imposing restrictions on movement, e.g. lockdowns) and less aggressive policy responses (not imposing restrictions on movement, e.g. social distancing). The authors then surveyed intra-regional EMBs, specifically businesses owned by ethnic minorities in the Kano and Katsina provinces of Nigeria, and analysed the data using structural equation modelling and analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Findings

The authors found that intra-regional EMBs in developing countries are very vulnerable to the public policy responses imposed by governments to curb COVID-19. Aggressive policy responses have a more significant negative effect on the survival of intra-regional EMBs than their less aggressive counterparts. Furthermore, the authors found that EO as a crisis response strategy significantly supports intra-regional EMBs in managing their vulnerability to the hostile institutional environment, reduces the adverse effect of public policy responses and stimulates their survival during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the institutional theory of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)/entrepreneurship and the literature on EMBs by showing the role of EO in mediating the effects of COVID-19 institutional policies on the survival of intra-regional EMBs.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 February 2021

David Mandiyanike and Onthatile Olerile Moeti

COVID-19 is one of the greatest public health challenges in the 21st century. The World Health Organisation recommended physical distancing to halt the upward trajectory of the…

Abstract

Purpose

COVID-19 is one of the greatest public health challenges in the 21st century. The World Health Organisation recommended physical distancing to halt the upward trajectory of the infections. Countries including Botswana imposed lockdown for non-essential workers. This paper aims to argue that lockdown as imposed by the Government of Botswana was a necessary measure given the nature of transmission of COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses exploratory research to unpack impacts of the novel COVID-19 regulations or be responsive to new concerns by breaking new ground through delving into new problem areas. The paper used a use case to explain a single outcome for a single case.

Findings

The restriction on the freedom of movement is necessary to protect citizens, particularly, those with chronic illness from contracting the deadly virus. The paper further observes that while the legislative intent of the GOB was to protect those with chronic illnesses from COVID-19, the lockdown resulted in near death experiences for some chronic ailment patients. These experiences result from unfettered discretion of functionaries who were policing and manning the streets and those who are conferred with authority to issue travel permits to seek and obtain medical assistance, lack of public transport and the processes of applications for the permits, which exposed citizens to COVID-19.

Research limitations/implications

The study was desk based. It may have yielded different results. Lockdowns limited mobility for non-essential services. The full impact of the restrictions and the attendant defaulting was yet to be fully realised. Observing the COVID-19 protocols and bureaucratic requirements for obtaining information from the government offices were major challenges.

Practical implications

Achieving total lockdown as an end in itself may amount to a pyrrhic victory – the authorities may successfully achieve total lockdown but with heavy costs on gains made in combating ailments. Botswana has fought many other pandemics and chronic illnesses still subsist and need to be catered for. For patients, there is not only the complexity of dealing with one chronic condition but also the work of trying to live “normal” lives in the face of co-morbidity, which can be overwhelming. The COVID-19 pandemic adds to the “work” that patients must do to manage and live with such health conditions and the psychological distress.

Social implications

Authorities need to be fully aware of the consequences of their actions. Abrasive actions may lead to a higher constituency of discontent. Botswana has had a good track record of being democratic, and this needs to be strengthened.

Originality/value

The implementation of the COVID-19 regulations particularly the requirement for a travel permit to seek health-care services may hinder access to essential health services and ultimately increase the pressure on emergency services or, at worst, increase mortality. Clear guidelines and sober interpretation of the regulations are necessary. This will also make it easier for the frontline security officers manning the streets to correctly understand the prevailing circumstances. In view of the massive gains garnered in combating chronic illnesses, it is important that such gains are not reversed, while the GOB fights COVID-19. People living with HIV/AIDS, the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions are known to be at significantly higher risk of developing severe illness when contracting COVID-19. Achieving total lockdown as an end in itself may amount to a pyrrhic victory – the authorities may successfully achieve total lockdown but with heavy costs on gains made in combating other chronic ailments.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2020

Walter Matli

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected most organisations' workplaces and productivity. Organisations have had to make provision for staff to operate remotely following the…

16606

Abstract

Purpose

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected most organisations' workplaces and productivity. Organisations have had to make provision for staff to operate remotely following the implementation of lockdown regulations around the world, because the pandemic has led to restrictions on movement and the temporary closure of workplace premises. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights from remote workers' experiences in South Africa about immediate conversion from the normal workplace environment to working remotely from home. The structuration theory was adopted to understand the social structural challenges experienced by staff working from home.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using a Web-based survey, administered when the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in movement restrictions, using the judgemental sampling technique.

Findings

The results are presented using both external and internal features that are linked to the social structures experienced by remote workers who participated in the survey. The key findings indicate that despite the positive aspects of remote working using advances in technology, there are also negative aspects and risks attached to remote working such as work overload and pressures to perform timeously. This can pose severe threats to workers' routines and lifestyle, and the lack of interaction can impinge on their health and general well-being.

Research limitations/implications

The online survey was carried out with first-time remote workers who were the target for the study. Some respondents may have had an affinity for remote working because of the novelty. The sample size may not be generalised, as the collected sample is moderately small, although the purpose of the paper was to report on a small sample size, given the rapidity of the study.

Practical implications

The paper seeks to highlight social structures that exist in South Africa, which accentuate the resource divide for remote workers. Also, the paper aims to encourage organisations (employers) to better understand challenges that workers encountered while working from their homes during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions.

Originality/value

The relevance of this paper is in its contribution to the structuration theory and remote working literature, as well as to the study of these topics in the context of South Africa.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 40 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Freight Transport Modelling
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-286-8

Article
Publication date: 17 June 2022

Astha Sanjeev Gupta and Jaydeep Mukherjee

COVID-19 pandemic-related Government restrictions on the movement of people resulted in consumers moving away from retail outlets. However, sporadic instances of an unexpected…

Abstract

Purpose

COVID-19 pandemic-related Government restrictions on the movement of people resulted in consumers moving away from retail outlets. However, sporadic instances of an unexpected surge in retail buying happened across the world immediately after the lifting of such restrictions. This uncommon phenomenon, termed revenge buying, offered an opportunity to revive retail businesses. This paper applies Reactance Theory (RCT) and Self-determination Theory (SDT) to model consumers' revenge buying intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected from 384 respondents in India using validated scales. The study used structural equation modelling for model testing.

Findings

COVID-19 restrictions resulted in autonomy need frustration in consumers, which induced psychological reactance and perceived stress. Psychological reactance positively impacted, while perceived stress negatively impacted revenge buying intentions. Thus, revenge buying was observed only when the psychological reactance was more than perceived stress.

Research limitations/implications

This study, conducted in only one country with a limited convenience sample, limits the generalizability of findings.

Originality/value

This research model the psychological consequences of need frustration to explain the sporadic incidences of revenge buying in retail outlets. Further, it proposes sales recovery strategies for retailers in the immediate post-pandemic market scenarios. Retailers' strategies should focus on alleviating stress and anxiety because of health concerns, highlighting the retail buying experience to stimulate the need to visit the outlet and positioning retail buying as a potential reactance response by consumers.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 50 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

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