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Article
Publication date: 7 July 2023

Imalka Wasana Rathnayaka, Rasheda Khanam and Mohammad Mafizur Rahman

This study aims to explore the efficacy of government policy directions in mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by employing a panel of 22 countries throughout the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the efficacy of government policy directions in mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by employing a panel of 22 countries throughout the 2020-second quarter of 2022.

Design/methodology/approach

The panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model is employed to examine this phenomenon and to investigate the long-run effects of government policy decisions on infection and mortality rates from the pandemic.

Findings

The study reveals the following key findings: (1) Income support and debt relief facilities and stringent standards of governments are associated with reduced infection and death rates. (2) The response of governments has resulted in decreased mortality rates while simultaneously leading to an unexpected increase in infection rates. (3) Containment and healthcare practices have led to a decrease in infection rates but an increase in mortality rates, presenting another counterintuitive outcome. Despite the expectation that robust government responses would decrease infection rates and that healthcare containment practices would reduce mortality, these results highlight a lack of health equity and the challenge of achieving high vaccination rates across countries.

Research limitations/implications

To effectively combat the spread of COVID-19, it is crucial to implement containment health practices in conjunction with tracing and individual-level quarantine. Simply implementing containment health measures without these interconnected strategies would be ineffective. Therefore, policy implications derived from containment health measures should be accompanied by targeted, aggressive, and rapid containment strategies aimed at significantly reducing the number of individuals infected with COVID-19.

Practical implications

This study concludes by suggesting the importance of implementing economic support in terms of income, and debt relief has played a crucial role in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 infections and reducing fatality rates.

Social implications

To effectively combat the spread of COVID-19, it is crucial to implement containment health practices in conjunction with tracing and individual-level quarantine. Simply implementing containment health measures without these interconnected strategies would be ineffective. Therefore, policy implications derived from containment health measures should be accompanied by targeted, aggressive, and rapid containment strategies aimed at significantly reducing the number of individuals infected with COVID-19.

Originality/value

This research makes a unique contribution to the existing literature by investigating the impact of government responses on reducing COVID-19 infections and fatalities, specifically focusing on the period before COVID-19 vaccinations became available.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 44 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Georgy Sunny, S. Lalkrishna, Jerin James and Sreejith Suprasannan

Personal Protective Equipment plays an inevitable part in the current scenario of pandemics in the world. A novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-2…

Abstract

Purpose

Personal Protective Equipment plays an inevitable part in the current scenario of pandemics in the world. A novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-2 (SARS-Cov 2), began as an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019, and quickly spread worldwide. It quickly escalated into an international public health crisis. This opened up the high demand for the innovation and research of new materials in the Personal Protective Equipment industry.

Design/methodology/approach

PubMed, Embase and Google Scholar were searched for relevant literature regarding personal protective equipment and the information was organized in a systematic way.

Findings

There are no adequate number of studies taken up in the field of use of textiles in medical applications especially with PPEs.

Research limitations/implications

This structured review will generate a sense of the significance of using PPE for controlling pandemics and also awaken need for additional research and innovations in this area.

Practical implications

The authorities of the management should take timely intervention in choosing the right material for their PPE in their hospitals. Hence health care professionals teams have an inevitable role in preventing the adverse environmental impact due to the inadvertent disposal of PPEs.

Social implications

There is a lack of systematic way of disposing contaminated single-use face masks in a safe, environmentally acceptable manner. The dumping of single-use PPE in domestic garbage has had an adverse effect on the environment. Mismanaged plastic waste endangers the health of ecosystems by polluting marine and terrestrial environments, posing a significant risk of ingestion or injury to animals and contaminating habitats.

Originality/value

This review article provides an in-depth review of the use of different materials in PPE and challenges regarding its long-term use and implications on the environment.

Details

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, vol. 36 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-6222

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 October 2023

Dheeraj Chandra, Vipul Jain and Felix T.S. Chan

The increasing prevalence of a wide range of infectious diseases, as well as the underwhelming results of vaccination rates that may be traced back to problems with vaccine…

Abstract

Purpose

The increasing prevalence of a wide range of infectious diseases, as well as the underwhelming results of vaccination rates that may be traced back to problems with vaccine procurement and distribution, have brought to the fore the importance of vaccine supply chain (VSC) management in recent years. VSC is the cornerstone of effective vaccination; hence, it is crucial to enhance its performance, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where immunization rates are not satisfactory.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors focus on VSC performance improvement of India by proposing supply contracts under demand uncertainty. The authors propose three contracts – wholesale price (WSP), cost sharing (CS) and incentive mechanism (IM) for the government-operated immunization program of India.

Findings

The authors' findings indicate that IM is capable of coordinating the supply chain, whereas the other two contracts are inefficient for the government. To validate the model, it is applied to a real-world scenario of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in India, and the findings show that an IM contract improves the overall efficiency of the system by 23.72%.

Originality/value

Previous studies focused mainly on the influenza VSC industry within developed nations. Nonetheless, there exists a dearth of literature pertaining to the examination of supply contracts and their feasibility for immunization programs that are administered by the government and aimed at optimizing societal benefits. The authors' findings can be beneficial to the immunization program of India to optimize their VSC cost.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 124 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Content available

Abstract

Details

Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4179

Article
Publication date: 27 February 2023

Ujjwal Kanti Paul

This study aims to examine the technical efficiency of the chemical-free farming system in India using a hybrid combination of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and machine learning…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the technical efficiency of the chemical-free farming system in India using a hybrid combination of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and machine learning (ML) approaches.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a two-stage approach. In the first stage, the efficiency scores of decision-making units’ efficiency (DMUs) are obtained using an input-oriented DEA model under the assumption of a variable return to scale. Based on these scores, the DMUs are classified into efficient and inefficient categories. The 2nd stage of analysis involves the identification of the most important predictors of efficiency using a random forest model and a generalized logistic regression model.

Findings

The results show that by using their resources efficiently, growers can reduce their inputs by 34 percent without affecting the output. Orchard's size, the proportion of land, grower's age, orchard's age and family labor are the most important determinants of efficiency. Besides, growers' main occupation and footfall of intermediaries at the farm gate also demonstrate significant influence on efficiency.

Research limitations/implications

The study used only one output and a limited set of input variables. Incorporating additional variables or dimensions like fertility of the land, climatic conditions, altitude of the land, output quality (size/taste/appearance) and per acre profitability could yield more robust results. Although pineapple is cultivated in all eight northeastern states, the data for the study has been collected from only two states. The production and marketing practices followed by the growers in the remaining six northeastern states and other parts of the country might be different. As the growers do not maintain farm records, their data might suffer from selective retrieval bias.

Practical implications

Given the rising demand for organic food, improving the efficiency of chemical-free growers will be a win-win situation for both growers and consumers. The results will aid policymakers in bringing necessary interventions to make chemical-free farming more remunerative for the growers. The business managers can act as a bridge to connect these remote growers with the market by sharing customer feedback and global best practices.

Social implications

Although many developments have happened to the DEA technique, the present study used a traditional form of DEA. Therefore, future research should combine ML techniques with more advanced versions like bootstrap and fuzzy DEA. Upcoming research should include more input and output variables to predict the efficiency of the chemical-free farming system. For instance, environmental variables, like climatic conditions, degree of competition, government support and consumers' attitude towards chemical-free food, can be examined along with farm and grower-specific variables. Future studies should also incorporate chemical-free growers from a wider geographic area. Lastly, future studies can also undertake a longitudinal estimation of efficiency and its determinants for the chemical-free farming system.

Originality/value

No prior study has used a hybrid framework to examine the performance of a chemical-free farming system.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 January 2024

Nasser Abdali, Saeideh Heidari, Mohammad Alipour-Vaezi, Fariborz Jolai and Amir Aghsami

Nowadays, in many organizations, products are not delivered instantly. So, the customers should wait to receive their needed products, which will form a queueing-inventory model…

Abstract

Purpose

Nowadays, in many organizations, products are not delivered instantly. So, the customers should wait to receive their needed products, which will form a queueing-inventory model. Waiting a long time in the queue to receive products may cause dissatisfaction and churn of loyal customers, which can be a significant loss for organizations. Although many studies have been done on queueing-inventory models, more practical models in this area are needed, such as considering customer prioritization. Moreover, in many models, minimizing the total cost for the organization has been overlooked.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper will compare several machine learning (ML) algorithms to prioritize customers. Moreover, benefiting from the best ML algorithm, customers will be categorized into different classes based on their value and importance. Finally, a mathematical model will be developed to determine the allocation policy of on-hand products to each group of customers through multi-channel service retailing to minimize the organization’s total costs and increase the loyal customers' satisfaction level.

Findings

To investigate the application of the proposed method, a real-life case study on vaccine distribution at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran has been addressed to ensure model validation. The proposed model’s accuracy was assessed as excellent based on the results generated by the ML algorithms, problem modeling and case study.

Originality/value

Prioritizing customers based on their value with the help of ML algorithms and optimizing the waiting queues to reduce customers' waiting time based on a mathematical model could lead to an increase in satisfaction levels among loyal customers and prevent their churn. This study’s uniqueness lies in its focus on determining the policy in which customers receive products based on their value in the queue, which is a relatively rare topic of research in queueing management systems. Additionally, the results obtained from the study provide strong validation for the model’s functionality.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2024

Reasmy Raj, Amirul Syafiq, Vengadaesvaran Balakrishnan, Shakeel Ahmad, Nasrudin Abd Rahim, Pouya Hassandarvish, Sazaly Abu Bakar and A.K. Pandey

This paper aims to fabricate a polymer-based polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating with acrylic resin as a binder that can show antiviral activity against the feline coronavirus…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to fabricate a polymer-based polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating with acrylic resin as a binder that can show antiviral activity against the feline coronavirus (FCov) on the glass substrate.

Design/methodology/approach

The PEG/acrylic coating systems of different weight percentages were coated on the glass substrates using the spray-coating method and cured at room temperature for 24 h.

Findings

The coating system containing 20 Wt.% of PEG exhibits the highest antiviral activities as high as 99.9% against FCov compared with other samples.

Research limitations/implications

Findings will be useful in the development of antiviral coating for PPE fabrics by using the simple synthesis method.

Originality/value

Application of PEG as an antiviral agent in the antiviral coating system with high antiviral activities about 99.9%.

Details

Pigment & Resin Technology, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0369-9420

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 28 March 2024

Margarethe Born Steinberger-Elias

In times of crisis, such as the Covid-19 global pandemic, journalists who write about biomedical information must have the strategic aim to be clearly and easily understood by…

Abstract

In times of crisis, such as the Covid-19 global pandemic, journalists who write about biomedical information must have the strategic aim to be clearly and easily understood by everyone. In this study, we assume that journalistic discourse could benefit from language redundancy to improve clarity and simplicity aimed at science popularization. The concept of language redundancy is theoretically discussed with the support of discourse analysis and information theory. The methodology adopted is a corpus-based qualitative approach. Two corpora samples with Brazilian Portuguese (BP) texts on Covid-19 were collected. One with texts from a monthly science digital magazine called Pesquisa FAPESP aimed at students and researchers for scientific information dissemination and the other with popular language texts from a news Portal G1 (Rede Globo) aimed at unspecified and/or non-specialized readers. The materials were filtered with two descriptors: “vaccine” and “test.” Preliminary analysis of examples from these materials revealed two categories of redundancy: paraphrastic and polysemic. Paraphrastic redundancy is based on concomitant language reformulation of words, sentences, text excerpts, or even larger units. Polysemic redundancy does not easily show material evidence, but is based on cognitively predictable semantic association in socio-cultural domains. Both kinds of redundancy contribute, each in their own way, to improving text readability for science popularization in Brazil.

Details

Geo Spaces of Communication Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-606-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 7 February 2024

Elveta D. Smith

The years following the 9/11/2001 terrorists attacks saw a marked increase in community and hospital emergency preparedness, from communications across community networks…

Abstract

Purpose

The years following the 9/11/2001 terrorists attacks saw a marked increase in community and hospital emergency preparedness, from communications across community networks, development of policies and procedures, to attainment and training in the use of biological warfare resources. Regular drills ensured emergency and health care personnel were trained and prepared to address the next large-scale crisis, especially from terrorist and bioterrorist attacks. This chapter looks at some of the more familiar global health issues over the past two decades and the lessons learned from hospital responses to inform hospital management in preparation for future incidents.

Search Methods

This study is a narrative review of the literature related to lessons learned from four major events in the time period from 2002 to 2023 – SARS, MERS, Ebola, and COVID-19.

Search Results

The initial search yielded 25,913 articles; 57 articles were selected for inclusion in the study.

Discussion and Conclusions

Comparison of key issues and lessons learned among the four major events described in this article – SARS, MERS, Ebola, and COVID-19 – highlight that several lessons are “relearned” with each event. Other key issues, such as supply shortages, staffing availability, and hospital capacity to simultaneously provide care to noninfectious patients came to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic. A primary, ongoing concern for hospitals is how to maintain their preparedness given competing priorities, resources, and staff time. This concern remains post-COVID-19.

Details

Research and Theory to Foster Change in the Face of Grand Health Care Challenges
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83797-655-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2023

Domenico Morrone, Annunziata Tarulli, Raffaele Silvestri and Savino Santovito

As Generation Z (Gen Z) represents one of the most important segments in the travel and tourism sector, the present work aims to analyse Gen Z's behaviour in a post-pandemic…

Abstract

Purpose

As Generation Z (Gen Z) represents one of the most important segments in the travel and tourism sector, the present work aims to analyse Gen Z's behaviour in a post-pandemic scenario. In particular, the present work deepens the factors that may influence future accommodation choices.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses data from a web-based questionnaire targeting Italian tourists belonging to Generation Z, reaching 221 complete responses. After the statistical analysis of the sample, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was then carried out.

Findings

Data provided evidence about the main factors affecting Gen Z tourist choices. In particular, these young consumers are positively influenced by the information (especially from institutional and verifiable sources), more flexible purchase terms (e.g. full refund in case of cancellation due to contagion of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and digital payments) and structure features (e.g. cleanliness, sanitisation, digitalisation and sustainability).

Originality/value

This work attempts to contribute to the academic literature by looking at the tourism experience from Gen Z's perspective. From this angle, this work underlines the influence some factors exert on the final accommodation choice, especially in the presence of exogenous events. Moreover, as this study focusses on a post-pandemic scenario, the study seeks to provide valuable indications, both at the theoretical and managerial level, for the tourism sector to boost the sector's recovery and prepare the sector to face similar events.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 126 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

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