Change in meeting culture over time as a consequence of Covid-19

During the years 2019-2022 the Covid-19 pandemic affected and shifted the day-to-day of the world on a global scale. Nationwide lockdowns forced businesses to change their meeting culture internally and externally, to accommodate new restrictions set in place by the government to reduce the spread of the virus. In this research paper, we are exploring the research question: How did the meeting culture change as a result of Covid-19, and are the changes temporary or permanent? To answer this question we have gathered daily search volume data from Google Trends, globally and nation specific of three major virtual platforms: Teams, Skype and Zoom. As well as supplemented the analysis with two semi-constructed interviews with participants from widely differing businesses and their subjective perception of the meeting culture. Through Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) analysis of Italy with Covid-19-related lockdown as a treatment, we find that search interest in virtual meeting platforms drastically increased after the lockdown. To further solidify our conclusion, we replicated our analysis in the year previous to the introduction of Covid-19, and found no change in search interest of virtual meeting platforms after the placebo lockdown date. RDD analysis was conducted for several countries (Australia, Italy, Sweden, and the UK) with both lockdown and reopening as a treatment. On average, we find that interest in virtual meeting platforms drastically increased after the introduction of a lockdown, and modestly decreased after the lockdown ended. When investigating how search interest in virtual meeting platforms evolves over time, we find that it gradually decreases over the duration of the lockdown but does not return to initial pre-lockdown levels. The supplemented interviews supported the main findings of this paper and gave insight into a larger adaptation of virtual meetings, with a remaining emphasis on physical meetings as a necessity to build relations. Additionally; the financial, social, and environmental consequences of the change in meeting culture were discussed. The implications of this paper suggest that businesses would benefit from having a more open mind and acceptance towards change and new technologies

Change in meeting culture over time as a consequence of Covid-19

During the years 2019-2022 the Covid-19 pandemic affected and shifted the day-to-day of the world on a global scale. Nationwide lockdowns forced businesses to change their meeting culture internally and externally, to accommodate new restrictions set in place by the government to reduce the spread of the virus. In this research paper, we are exploring the research question: How did the meeting culture change as a result of Covid-19, and are the changes temporary or permanent? To answer this question we have gathered daily search volume data from Google Trends, globally and nation specific of three major virtual platforms: Teams, Skype and Zoom. As well as supplemented the analysis with two semiconstructed interviews with participants from widely differing businesses and their subjective perception of the meeting culture. Through Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) analysis of Italy with Covid-19-related lockdown as a treatment, we find that search interest in virtual meeting platforms drastically increased after the lockdown. To further solidify our conclusion, we replicated our analysis in the year previous to the introduction of Covid-19, and found no change in search interest of virtual meeting platforms after the placebo lockdown date. RDD analysis was conducted for several countries (Australia, Italy, Sweden, and the UK) with both lockdown and reopening as a treatment. On average, we find that interest in virtual meeting platforms drastically increased after the introduction of a lockdown, and modestly decreased after the lockdown ended. When investigating how search interest in virtual meeting platforms evolves over time, we find that it gradually decreases over the duration of the lockdown but does not return to initial pre-lockdown levels. The supplemented interviews supported the main findings of this paper and gave insight into a larger adaptation of virtual meetings, with a remaining emphasis on physical meetings as a necessity to build relations. Additionally; the financial, social, and environmental consequences of the change in meeting culture were discussed. The implications of this paper suggest that businesses would benefit from having a more open mind and acceptance towards change and new technologies

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in LCAT may contribute to dyslipidaemia in HIV-infected individuals on HAART in a Ghanaian population

© 2020, The Author(s). Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is known to cause lipid abnormalities such as dyslipidaemia in HIV-infected individuals. Yet, dyslipidaemia may not independently occur as it may be worsened by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL). This case–control study was conducted in three-selected hospitals in the Northern part of Ghana. The study constituted a total of 118 HIV-infected participants aged 19–71 years, who had been on HAART for 6–24 months. Dyslipidaemia was defined based on the NCEP-ATP III criteria. HIV-infected individuals on HAART with dyslipidaemia were classified as cases while those without dyslipidaemia were grouped as controls. Lipid profile was measured using an automatic clinical chemistry analyzer and genomic DNA was extracted for PCR (GeneAmp PCR System 2700). Overall, the prevalence of dyslipidaemia was 39.0% (46/118). High levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), and reduced levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were observed in all cases. A total of 256 selected PCR amplicons comprising 137 LPL (exons 3, 5 and 6) and 119 LCAT (exons 1, 4, and 6) were sequenced in 46 samples (Inqaba Biotech). Six (6) clinically significant SNPs were identified in exons 1 and 4 for LCAT whereas 25 non-clinically significant SNPs were identified for LPL in exons 5 and 6. At position 97 for LCAT exon 1, there was a deletion of the nucleotide, ‘A’ in 32.5% (13/40) of the sampled population while 67.5% (27/40) of the sample population retained the nucleotide, ‘A’ which was significantly associated with dyslipidaemic outcomes in the study population (p = 0.0004). A total of 25 SNPs were identified in exons 5 and 6 of LPL; 22 were substitutions, and 3 were insertions. However, none of the 25 SNPs identified in LPL exon 5 and 6 were statistically significant. SNPs in LCAT may independently contribute to dyslipidaemia among Ghanaian HIV-infected individuals on HAART, thus, allowing genetic and/or functional differential diagnosis of dyslipidaemia and creating an opportunity for potentially preventive options

Comparative Abilities of Body Mass Index, Waist Circumference, Abdominal Volume Index, Body Adiposity Index, and Conicity Index as Predictive Screening Tools for Metabolic Syndrome among Apparently Healthy Ghanaian Adults

The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) continues to increase. There is therefore the need for early detection to avert possible adverse outcomes. Several anthropometric methods have been suggested to predict MetS, but no consensus has been reached on which is best. The aim of the study was to explore the comparative abilities of conicity index, body adiposity index, abdominal volume index, body mass index, and waist circumference in predicting cardiometabolic risk among apparently healthy adults in the Tamale metropolis. This study was a cross sectional study conducted from September 2017 to January 2018, among one hundred sixty (160) apparently healthy normoglycemic normotensive adults. A self-designed questionnaire was administered to gather sociodemographic data. Anthropometric and haemodynamic measurements were also taken. Blood samples were collected for fasting blood glucose (FBG) and lipid profile. MetS was classified using the harmonised criteria as indicated by the joint interim statement (JIS). Of 160 participants, 42.5% were male and 57.5% were female. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) associated better with MetS and other cardiovascular risk factors. Generally, BMI and WC showed largest area under curves (AUCs) than abdominal volume index (AVI), body adiposity index (BAI), and conicity index (CI) in predicting MetS and its components. Upon gender stratification, AVI and CI had the larger AUCs in females whiles BMI remained the superior index in males. Whiles BMI and WC remained useful parameters, they were not useful in predicting MetS and its components in the female population in this study

Customer heterogeneity in the development of e-loyalty

This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear in http://www.unavarra.es/academica-e. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify customer-specific differences in a general model of e-loyalty taking into account the existence of unobserved heterogeneity. Specifically, we aim to 1) test for the presence of customer heterogeneity 2) assess the impact of potential bias when there is no control for heterogeneity; 3) analyze the distinct customer segments that emerge from the empirical estimation of the model, and 4) describe the segments by their demographic and psychological characteristics. Design/methodology/approach: Panel data from a survey of online shoppers is used in a post hoc segmentation method, which will enable us to identify segments, while estimating the parameters by means of structural equation models; Findings. Three distinct consumer segments emerge. The relative importance of e-loyalty and e-satisfaction is significantly determined by consumers’ shopping styles. Originality/value This study highlights the need to consider unobserved customer heterogeneity when attempting to explain satisfaction and loyalty development processes in the retail context in general, and e-commerce in particular. To our knowledge, this is the first time this approach has been used to analyze the impact of customer heterogeneity on e-satisfaction and e-loyalty.This research has been partly financed by Gobierno de Navarra (Spain) through GN 228/2008