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People subjectively engage in the production and reproduction of what constitutes “feeling normal.” Objective standards of normalcy for the able-bodied are created and maintained by institutions (e.g., medicine, the state, business, the mass media, and family), and these standards are learned by individuals who socialize the next generation in a continuous cycle. Having a disability does not exempt a person from standards and values of “able-bodied normalcy,” nor does it prevent her/him from reproducing these standards for future generations. Thus, it is possible, if not probable, that persons with disabilities live in and reproduce the able-bodied lifeworld, sustaining, what is for the person with a physical disability, an unattainable standard of normalcy. Approximating and ultimately achieving “normalcy” in this situation or at least the presentation of “normalcy” (Goffman, 1959, 1963) may occupy a sizeable portion of everyday life. More importantly here, “feeling normal” emerges when the social constructions of reality allows the person with a physical disability to be part of a generation and everyday life. There is, in other words, a “frame” for defining normality, and physical disability is a key to changing this frame (Goffman, 1974).

The purpose of the chapter is to find out the current issues and tendencies of the global economy in the context of the term ‘new normal’. The author tries to determine some approaches to the meaning of the ‘new normal’ term under the condition of COVID-19. At the same time, it had been underlined and paid great attention to the countries with the demographic burden such as India.

Tourism and health outbreaks share a symbiotic history (Hall, Scott, & Gössling, 2020; Ozbay, Sariisik, Ceylan, & Çakmak, 2021). Pandemics, epidemics, and endemics have transformed the perception of tourists. Previous outbreaks were geographically limited, resulting in the substitution effect (Prideaux, 2005; van der Veen, 2014). However, the COVID-19 pandemic urged the authorities to cease mobility worldwide. Evidently, mobility-oriented businesses like tourism have received immediate impacts from the pandemic. From shutdown to the minimum clearances, under strict restrictions, the tourism industry suffered atypical outcomes. Heat check-meters, contactless check-ins and check-outs, automotive service trays and counters, and reduced carrying capacity have been introduced to curb the impact of the pandemic on tourism. Tourism requires, throughout its cycle—before, during, and after the trip—the use of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, the internet of things, and geotargeting (Buhalis & Amaranggana, 2015). The usage of technology has been assured to be compatible with the prerequisites of restrictive and compliance measures (Lau, 2020). Moreover, in the supply sector, a competitive environment has also been created to market these new modified products and services. This chapter pursues the investigation of new offerings in a different normal, concerned with health issues, ethical behaviors, and trips with a social purpose to contribute to local development. Secondary data analysis has been performed to achieve this goal. This study implicates the new offerings duly implemented during the new normal.

This chapter explores in-depth the particularities of the luxury travel industry during the coronavirus pandemic. The chapter begins with a literature review on the concept of the experience referred to as luxury travel, followed by a brief overview of the measures adopted globally in the tourism sector for the prevention of COVID-19. Due to the impact of the crisis, high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) have changed their motivations, preferences and behaviour. To meet the new demands prompted by the pandemic, the luxury travel industry has adopted a wide range of strategies that have been classified into three groups: (1) reducing new moments of friction; (2) experiencing protection and (3) building new memorable experiences. A selection of examples from the luxury travel industry illustrates each category. The chapter ends with a case study that describes the strategy adopted by Fiji to respond to the pandemic. The manner in which Fiji has tackled the pandemic may be inspiring for other tourism-dependent destinations as Fiji has been able to protect the health and safety of the inhabitants of its islands while preserving the local economy, which relies on tourism.

This paper builds homogenous series of the rate of surplus value (RSV) for the Chinese economy over the extended period 1956–2014 with a Marxian approach. It finds that the high profitability that stimulated capital accumulation in the decade before the 2008 crisis had relied on the continuous growth in the RSV. Given that the global crisis and changes in the domestic economy undermine all the conditions maintaining the accumulation model (an expanding external market, a relatively large reserve army of labor, and a low debt-income ratio), the RSV has failed to increase and profitability declined since 2008. Thus, this paper interprets the so-called new normal of the Chinese economy as a stage of declining profitability that results mainly from the stagnant RSV and the rising value composition of capital.

COVID-19 arrived in the United States and Canada at a time when the future of sustainable urban travel across the continent looked uncertain. A decade-long trend in transit ridership growth appeared to have stalled in many cities (Boisjoly et al., 2018), while automobile ownership grew. This chapter synthesises unfolding evidence on how COVID-19 disrupted some of these existing trends in North American urban transportation while accelerating others. This synthesis is organised around three themes emerging from COVID-19 in the region: declining transit ridership, increased auto ownership or auto purchase plans, and a possible ‘new normal’ of increased telecommuting. The author evaluates each theme in the context of prior trends and public policy choices feeding those trends. Untangling hype from data, the chapter concludes with recommendations on how to support travellers in the region while calling for clearer thinking from urban thought leaders and researchers on the likely long-term impact of the crisis.

The global pandemic has introduced a new normal as work–life integration (WLI) and work from home (WFH) have become a necessity rather than a nicety. This chapter explores the stories of women globally on WLI issues and offers a strategic framework for WFH that traces theoretical progressions while proposing a new perspective. This chapter is grounded in qualitative and phenomenological research, conducted by the Work–Life Integration Project, comprising findings from over 600 interviews collected from women around the world, including Costa Rica, India, Iran, Nigeria, Norway, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and the United States. These global narratives detail life experiences from childhood and adulthood to future goals using a life course methodology. A new best-practice framework emerged from these findings which provides tools for WLI and WFH: being whole, being innovative, and being real. These mechanisms stem from the evolution of work–life balance theory and practice, starting with Systems Theory, Life Course Framework, Life Stories and Gender Role, and Strategies for Life Balance. This chapter explores a new Life Integration Framework and how it may provide individuals worldwide with the knowledge and strategies necessary towards developing a more personalised ‘ideal’ and therefore increased hope and prosperity for the post-COVID world.