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Schools transitioned face-to-face (F2F) classes online in spring 2020 due to COVID-19. This paper reports on changes in study hours of business majors at a public university amid this transition. The analysis by enrollment type of quantitative data collected from 250 students shows an overall significant difference in study hours per class for all students. However, the difference is between students enrolled in online and F2F classes before the transition. F2F-only or online-only students did not significantly have a change in study hours after the transition. This report discusses these results and explores suggestions for helping students transition to online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess public opinion about community pharmacy services in Lebanon during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was conducted between April and August of 2021. A link was shared randomly among the Lebanese population using WhatsApp and Facebook. Public perceptions were explored within 3 different indicators: general services (B) dispensing (C), and storage (D). Chi-square, Student's test and ANOVA tests were used. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of 491 responses, only 9.6% scored above the 75th percentile (19.3% for the general services, 2.4% for dispensing indicator and 12.6% for storage indicator). The main concerns focused on lack of medication and reduced opening hours; however, 67.1% of respondents preferred consulting the community pharmacist instead of visiting primary health care centers, doctor's private clinic and hospitals. Higher mean values of indicators B, C and in the overall indicator were significantly found in the presence of a pharmacist compared to the support pharmacy workforce. Conclusion: The overall public perception was inadequate. Significant difference in terms of quality of services was detected in the presence and absence of a community pharmacist during the crisis. It is recommended that the Order of Pharmacist of Lebanon (OPL) and the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) undergo further steps mainly to enforce the laws concerning dispensing and storage indicators, improve the services in terms of extending the opening hours, ensure the availability of medicines and increase public awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate how the economic consequences of the pandemic and the government-mandated measures to contain its spread affect the self-employed — particularly women — in Germany. For our analysis, we use representative, real-time survey data in which respondents were asked about their situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings indicate that among the self-employed, who generally face a higher likelihood of income losses due to COVID-19 than employees, women are about one-third more likely to experience income losses than their male counterparts. We do not find a comparable gender gap among employees. Our results further suggest that the gender gap among the self-employed is largely explained by the fact that women disproportionately work in industries that are more severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis of potential mechanisms reveals that women are significantly more likely to be impacted by government-imposed restrictions, e.g., the regulation of opening hours. We conclude that future policy measures intending to mitigate the consequences of such shocks should account for this considerable variation in economic hardship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: the spread of the SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) pandemic worldwide has not only impacted the main tourist destinations in the country, buy also local destinations were paralyzed due to the closure of different entrepreneurs linked to the tourist activity. Despite the restrictions imposed by the health authorities in relation to hours of operation and protocols on customer service, micro and small enterprises (MSEs) that have found a variety of ways to adjust to the situation; In other words, they have generated a series of organizational resilience (OR) strategies through which they have been able to face the crisis, guaranteeing their permanence in the market. In this sense, the aim is to describe the organizational resilience strategies adopted by micro and small tourism entrepreneurs in the city of Pachuca de Soto, Hidalgo during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order highlight the capacity for learning and innovation that has allowed them their permanence in the market. Method: This research is an exploratory, descriptive, non-experimental, and cross-sectional work. The methodological design is made up of three phases. Starting from some official databases, in the first phase a database of tourist MSEs located in the municipality of Pachuca de Soto was prepared. In the second phase, an online questionnaire was applied to entrepreneurs, managers of tourist MSEs; The questionnaire sought to identify the OR strategies adopted by tourism companies during the pandemic, focusing on those of an organizational nature: learning capacity, risk taking, openness to change, strategic alliances and labor changes. Finally, third phase consisted of the statistical calculation of the answers given to each of the questions by the entrepreneurs and, also in their graphic representation. Results: 74 % of the MSEs considered in this study considered the incorporation of new methods and forms of marketing of their products and services to face the restrictions imposed of the sales to the customer; In particular, it is the food and beverage and hospitality companies that have mostly adopted these strategies. It was also identified that the use of information technologies, particularly the use of social networks, is the strategy that best reflects the learning capacity of the MSEs during the health crisis. Discussion or conclusion: This research work highlights the capacity of MSEs for change and learning, the formation of alliances and the assumption of risks as the main resilience strategies developed by these organizations to face the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to investigate the impact, responses and demands for support, in the face of the crisis caused by Covid 19, by entrepreneurs and organizations in the economic sectors, as well as the strategies considered to have the greatest impact on their business and that could consider necessary. The study took information from a survey that obtained a total of 138 responses, mainly located in the province of San José (50%), more than half (84.7%) include micro and small businesses and a (9, 3%) medium and large companies mostly located in a development stage in which the company achieves a degree of positioning in the market that guarantees its sustainability over time, the rest are located in the beginning and maturity stages mostly, they cover a wide range of sectors of activity. The largest number of participating entrepreneurs was found in the age range of 30 to 40 years (38%). Thus, it is found that the direct and indirect effects of covid 19 in the entrepreneurial sector of various sectors of the Costa Rican economy caused (55.7%) cuts in working hours as a practice in their businesses to face the crisis and a decrease in (67%) in the price of their products or services, experiencing a transformation in the management of business models that until before this date were usual. It is evident that the effects of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 had a strong impact on the Costa Rican productive sector, and the need for support from the businesspersons who have been affected is evident. Furthermore, for a country of 5.5 million inhabitants, the pandemic leaves more than 400 thousand people unemployed (16.4% + 11.1% underemployed), that is, 92 thousand more than before COVID 19. The worst hit groups are those of women and youth, leading them and the other unemployed to migrate to informality. 1,455 micro (1-5 employees), small (6-30 employees) and medium (31-100) closed. These companies have little chance of reopening, having to increase the figures of informality and in many cases, 2% of GDP in smuggling and illicit trade. The Costa Rican government must work to support new ventures that allow the insertion of new businesses in the formal sector, leading innovation, and competitive proposals to face new challenges. Access to soft loans, improvements in social security rates and differentiated fees for taxation should be part of the solutions. In addition, ensure that the minimum contributory rate of social security is modified for the payment for part-time work, so that the same companies hire personnel based on the hours worked and not for a single rate. It should be considered that Costa Rica is already part of the OCDE and that is going through a historic electoral process (26 presidential candidates), to put this problem in the sights of the candidates. The joint work between private sector, government, financial and educational institutions is a must. Costa Rica is walking at the edge of falling into an economic default and helping these initiatives could be a magic recipe for the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of COVID-19 in 2020 has brought changes worldwide in every aspect of our life. Consumer purchase behavior is no exception from it. With the ongoing lockdowns and restricted business hours, online platforms for purchasing have become a boon to the consumers. Millennials and Gen Z are already a stakeholder of online platforms, as they have grown up with technology. But the situation has forced Gen X consumers to involve in online purchase though were considered as laggards as far as adoption to technology is concerned. This is an empirical study which tries to throw some light on changing consumer behavior of Gen X towards online purchase in India as it is a real challenge where the literacy rate and penetration of technology is less. This study also tries to identify some factors which could make online retailing more successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the case of 'drive-thru' services newly introduced and tried in libraries in Korea under the influence of COVID-19, and to develop and propose a service model so that this service can be continuously applied to all libraries in the future. Therefore, the method of study was selected and analyzed by selecting one of the representative libraries that provide related services in Seoul Special City, Incheon Metropolitan City, and Anyang City of Gyeonggi Province. In addition, a focus group interview was conducted with twelve people in charge to find a way to apply the drive-thru service to the library. As a result, the library's drive-thru service is a way to fulfill the library's original purpose of providing information materials while minimizing faceto-face contact with users. It was concluded that it is a suitable method for a library of complex buildings, where there is a lack of parking space. In addition, it was deduced that it may be one of the ways to use the library efficiently for office workers who are unable to use library services during the opening hours. Therefore, if the drive-thru service is implemented according to the developed model, it is expected to increase the library visit rate and data utilization rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the first outbreak of COVID-19, various interventions have been implemented to prevent the global spread of the virus. Using an agent-based model that describes the attributes and mobility of the Japanese population, the present research evaluates the effectiveness of mobility control, shortening of restaurants' opening hours, and working from home. Results show that early and severe mobility control that restricts 90% of domestic travel decreases the peak cases by 40%, compared to no intervention implementation. Mobility control that only limits movement to and from highly populated regions is as effective as nationwide travel restrictions. Furthermore, shortening of restaurants' opening hours is the most effective intervention in a state of emergency; it should be utilized even after the emergency. However, working from home has comparatively limited effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]