Tipping: African American Perceptions and Practices

Of late, tipping has become a topic of great debate. This pilot study attempted to capture tipping perceptions and practices in a largely minority population. The study found that respondents perceived the need to tip restaurant servers more regularly than other hospitality service providers such guest service employees and shuttle drivers. The study indicated that the respondents were inconsistent with their perceptions regarding the importance of tipping and practices for two out of the three service providers (guest service employees and hotel shuttle drivers) regarding tipping in the restaurant establishments. The results also indicated that prompt service, attentiveness, a warm welcome, a positive deposition, attire, skills and knowledge and being proactive about the service experience were justifications for tipping in general

COVID-19: Impact on Business Students\u27 Transition from Face-to-Face to Online Instructional Delivery

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world to its proverbial core with institutions for higher learning caught in the crosshairs. Consequently, every facet of higher education has been indelibly affected. Traditional classroom instruction immediately changed, and a nontraditional delivery method emerged inclusive of both hybrid and online instruction. This delivery method was new to many students as all instruction shifted from face-to-face to virtual. To mitigate the spread of the virus, immediate action was required and campuses had to determine the probability of closing. This was a challenge for many reasons, some students did not have the resources to attend classes virtually. Many students had housing on campus that had been paid for the entire semester and were not prepared to suddenly switch to a new way of instruction and learning. Students depended on work-study on campus and library and computer resources to facilitate their course success. Administrators and educators realized that change is the constant we live within, and understood the need for strategies that were adaptive, agile, and would continue to meet the needs of all students. This change also signaled the need for innovative, contingent, and servant leadership strategies by administrators, faculty, and staff that reduced uncertainty and promoted care and stability for the students. This research paper aims to identify and share the experiences of business students enrolled in two institutions of higher education in meeting this challenge. It will also reveal how students dealt with the sudden transition from traditional learning environments to fully online and hybrid instruction. The complexity was intensified by the need to ensure that faculty members were prepared to give instruction virtually. Many were thrust into e-learning training which by most standards is a great way to demonstrate continuous improvement efforts, a major accreditation mandate for business schools. A Likert-scale survey was administered seeking responses to the processes of curriculum delivery; impact, problems, and issues experienced to the immediate shift to online instruction. Perceptions of support from faculty, advisors, administrators, and methods utilized to establish a sense of urgency to meet the educational needs of the students during COVID 19 were also assessed. Two-hundred and seventy-four students consented to complete the survey. Survey results provide benchmark experiences and challenges that business students encountered while completing their academic semesters. The results will assist business schools in developing best practices for virtual instruction, communication, and student engagement plans and strategies for facilitating student and faculty success during current waves of the pandemic and new pandemics of the future

Consumer Bankruptcy Update

Materials from the Consumer Bankruptcy Update presentations held by UK/CLE in December 2000

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Disparities from bedside to “webside”: barriers to achieving equity in telemedicine in obstetrics

Given the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth was swiftly implemented in the United States and shifted from an optional to an essential modality of care. This was important in both maintaining continuity of care, especially for those with chronic illnesses, and in evaluating individuals presenting with illness or acute needs. One of the primary benefits of telemedicine is convenience; however, this is juxtaposed with the various downsides that result from a lack of physical appointments and accessible technology. Notably, there are large barriers to achieving equity for certain communities, of which the most apparent is the “digital divide” that results from a lack of adequate broadband infrastructure and lower technology literacy among members of certain communities and those in rural areas. Without attention to factors that can improve availability, uptake, and experience, disparities will increase with telemedicine. As this technology becomes common practice, it will be important to provide equal reimbursement for in-person and telehealth visits, center patient design and cultural competency in telemedicine programs, and improve broadband and technology access, ensuring that the highest-quality care is delivered to all patients