Workplace violence and associations with health outcomes in public health administration agencies in Taiwan: a survey during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of workplace violence in public health administration agencies and its effects on health outcomes. Methods: A survey was conducted in March 2022. Staff who had been working for at least one year in the Ministry of Health and Welfare or its subordinate agencies, the Department of Health, or in public health centers were recruited. Data were collected anonymously with a structured, online questionnaire. A total of 492 valid questionnaires were collected. Results: A total of 48.17% participants reported having experienced workplace violence (physical, psychological, verbal, or sexual). The most common type of violence was verbal (43.50%), followed by psychological (31.71%). Supervisors were the primary perpetrators of verbal and psychological violence, followed by clients and colleagues. Staff reported long working hours and high levels of psychological and physical stress. Furthermore, 22.97% of workers reported poor self-rated health, 60.57% had personal burnout levels higher than 50, and 63.41% reported poor mental health. Regression analyses showed that low workplace justice was most strongly associated with internal verbal and psychological violence, whereas routine work requiring interaction with the public was most strongly associated with external verbal violence. Staff who had experienced workplace violence in the past year had significantly higher risks of poor self-rated health, mental health, and personal burnout, and poor health was more strongly associated with workplace violence that originated inside the organization than with workplace violence that originated from outside the organization. Conclusions: This survey was conducted on-line anonymously, so the representativeness of our findings might be limited. However, heavy workloads and workplace violence in public health administration agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic are important issues deserving urgent attention. (Taiwan J Public Health. 2023;42(1) :42-61)

The Study of the Correlation Betweenthe on the Diet, Sleep Quality and Perceived Stress among College Students in Taichung during the COVID-19 Pandemic Distance Learning.

Research indicates the COVID-19 epidemic changes people's health and diet, However, this has not yet been well discussed in Taiwan, especially in college students. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of distance learning on college students' dietary patterns, sleep quality and perception of stress during the COVID-19 epidemic in Taiwan. 265 college students from a university in Taichung were recruited in this study. The self-administered online questionnaire was used to investigate the changes in eating behavior, sleep quality, and perception of stress before and one month after distance learning, and further analyzed the relationship among them. The questionnaire contains demographic information, dietary questionnaires (including six categories of food intake behaviors, convenience food intake frequency), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Perceived Stress Scale (Chinese 14-item PSS). The results showed that the proportion of college students to meet the recommended Taiwan Dietary Guidelines amount in vegetables (21.9%), fruits (27.5%), meats and dairy products (15.8%), and nuts and seeds (11.3%) were lower during distance learning. The frequency of convenient food intake was lower during distance learning (13.31 +/- 6.10 points;never to occasionally). During the distance learning period, there was a significant negative correlation between dietary patterns and sleep quality (r = -0.160, p = 0.009), It shows that college students with higher dietary pattern scores have better sleep quality. During the distance learning period, there was a significant positive correlation between sleep quality and perceived stress (r = 0.320, p < 0.001), It shows that college students with higher levels of stress had poorer sleep quality. This study found that the lower the perceived stress of college students, the better their diet and sleep quality;conversely, the higher the perceived stress, the worse their diet and sleep quality. Studies have shown that a healthy, balanced diet can reduce the risk of getting various diseases. Therefore, in the post-epidemic era, it is recommended that schools increase the accessibility and availability of vegetables, fruits, dairy products, nuts and seeds on campus to make it easier for teachers and students to obtain such healthy food in order to achieve the goal of promoting balanced diet.Copyright © 2022 Nutrition Society in Taipei. All rights reserved.

Learning with Mobile Augmented Reality- and Automatic Speech Recognition-Based Materials for English Listening and Speaking Skills: Effectiveness and Perceptions of Non-English Major English as a Foreign Language Students

Due to the outbreak of COVID 19, an online bilingual curriculum was conducted via "Google Meet." The learning material was developed and implemented by using a smartphone application, STEMUP, based on augmented reality (AR) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) technologies. This study investigated the oral performance and perceptions of learning with STEMUP of ninety non-English major students from several colleges at a technical university in Taiwan. Data were collected from pre- and post-tests and a questionnaire survey. Results indicated that students significantly improved their oral performance and recorded their positive perceptions. Students' oral performance significantly depended on their English proficiency. Their perceptions were not significant related to their English proficiency, gender, or college. Instant feedback and evaluation provided by ASR technology and online "Google" text-to-speech service both embedded in STEMUP helped students notice, modify and improve their listening and speaking skills. They were satisfied with the bilingual curriculum, which helped them increase understanding about content knowledge by the teacher's explanation in Chinese, and improve English listening and speaking skills by learning with STEMUP. This study is a good start in creating an interactive and communicative learning environment where translanguaging is effectively integrated with innovative technologies.

Cutaneous Adverse Drug Reactions of COVID-19 Vaccines: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Largest Healthcare System in Taiwan

Objectives: Potential cutaneous adverse drug reactions (cADRs) associated with COVID-19 vaccinations are well-known. However, comprehensive evaluation including detailed patient characteristics, vaccine types, signs and symptoms, treatments and outcomes from such cADRs are still lacking in Taiwan. Method(s): A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2019 to October 2022 to analyze spontaneous ADR reporting data from Taiwan's largest multi-institutional healthcare system. Physicians and pharmacists initially ensured the data quality and completeness of the reported ADR records. Subsequently, we applied descriptive statistics to analyze the patient cohort based on demographic characteristics, administered COVID-19 vaccines, clinical manifestations, and patient management. Result(s): We identified 242 cADRs from 759 reported COVID-19 vaccine-related ADRs, 88.3% of which were judged as "possible" using the Naranjo Scale. The mean age of patients with cADRs was 48.1+/-17.5 years, with the majority (44.2%) of cADRs reported in the 40-64yr old age group. cADRs were more common in women (68.2%) and most of the patients had no history of allergy to vaccines (99.6%). Oxford/AstraZeneca (58.6%) accounted for the most reported brand of COVID-19 vaccines. Patients developed cADRs within 1 to 198 days (median = 5.5 days), and mostly after first-dose vaccination (77.8%). The most frequently reported cADR was rash/eruption (18.7%), followed by itchiness/pruritus (11.7%) and urticaria (9.2%), mainly affecting the lower limbs (23.8%) and upper limbs (22.6%). Medications were prescribed for 65.1% of the cADRs, and signs and symptoms were resolved within 1 to 167 days (median = 7 days) after treatment with oral antihistamines (23.0%), topical corticosteroids (14.6%) or oral corticosteroids (14.4%). Conclusion(s): Our findings provide comprehensive details regarding COVID-19 vaccine-related cADRs in Taiwan. Certain groups, especially women and the middle-aged, who reported a relatively higher rate of cADRs, may benefit from pre-vaccination counseling about the risks of cADRs and the use of appropriate medications.Copyright © 2023

Attitudes among physicians toward vaccine mandates for emerging infectious disease: the case of the COVID-19 vaccine

Objectives: The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 resulted in a global pandemic. Vaccine mandates were implemented in several countries, including in Taiwan, and often targeted health-care workers in particular. This study investigated attitudes among Taiwanese physicians toward such policies and how ethical beliefs and logic influenced attitudes. Methods: A total of 16 physicians were recruited by using the snowball method from hospitals in northern Taiwan. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Results: Physicians tended not to support mandatory vaccination. Five themes emerged: (1) Individual rights, including violation of autonomy and labor rights;(2) vaccine performance, including safety and efficacy;(3) institutional norms, including the degree of relevancy of the policy-issuing unit and the employment relationship between physicians and institutions;(4) social and workplace stigma resulting from coercive policies in different job categories or departments;and (5) professional ethics of physicians. Conclusions: Autonomy and professional ethics among physicians influence attitudes toward vaccine mandates. Vaccine performance, institutional norms, and stigma also influence attitudes toward vaccine mandates and decision-making. Even with high ethical awareness, the study participants tended not to support vaccine mandates. The government should formulate mandatory vaccination policy means for healthcare workers that can be used by hospitals. Each hospital should assess their unique risks and implement policies that best suit their needs. (Taiwan J Public Health. 2023;42(1):75-87)

Exploring crucial social media marketing factors for improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in bed and breakfast sectors in Taiwan

PurposeThe Bed and Breakfast (B&B) enterprises generally lack sufficient human resources and time to conduct research on important social media marketing factors for visitors' satisfaction and visitors' intentions. Therefore, this study aims to provide crucial social media marketing and factors and service quality elements for improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in B&B sectors. This study also provides some recommendations for attracting more visitors and increasing customer satisfaction and customer loyalty through social media.Design/methodology/approachFirst, social media marketing factors and service quality elements were identified through the systematic literature review. Then these identified factors and elements were used to design a survey questionnaire for collecting data. The research data included responses of 64 B&B enterprises and 625 customers. The collected data was analyzed by feature selection approaches including Decision Tree algorithm and Information Gain to identify the key factors for improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.FindingsThe findings of this study determined that featured choice is an important social media marketing factor, and assurance is the common service quality element for both B&B enterprises and their customers in terms of satisfaction and loyalty.Originality/valueThis study adds a value to the growing literature on customer satisfaction and loyalty in B&B sectors by exploring key social media marketing factors and service quality elements. The study reveals several implications for theories and practices. The findings hopefully help B&B enterprises better social media marketing with less workforce and budget.

Quality and Inequality: Students' Online Learning Experiences Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan

Under the raging pandemic, all stakeholders in higher education were forced to respond to unexpected educational changes. Universities shut down suddenly, students had no choice but studied online, and faculty members were forced to teach online without adequate preparation. Under these circumstances, students' actual learning experiences and the quality of online education become a major concern worldwide. This study adopts a quantitative approach to investigate Taiwanese students' perceptions of their online learning experiences during the breakout of the pandemic to discuss the challenges as well as the inequality issues in terms of online learning. A total of 517 valid responses were analyzed in this study. There are two major findings. First, nearly half of the respondents deemed online learning to be less effective than the traditional face-to-face mode. Second, students' educational background and family income significantly impact online learning effectiveness. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

China's Perceptions of Russia during the Ukraine Conflict

The ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine since February 2022 has presented significant challenges to China's foreign and security policies, as well as its economic and technological ties with the West. Initially, China refrained from criticizing Russia's military actions and adopted a "neutral" or "independent" stance in response to Western criticism. However, China was taken aback by the protracted nature of the conflict and Russia's inability to successfully conclude its military operation. This raised concerns within China, considering its own situation of potentially reunifying with Taiwan through military means if necessary. While there are distinctions between the situations in Ukraine and Taiwan, the initial speculation of China conducting military operations against Taiwan has gradually diminished, although military pressure on Taiwan remains. The conflict in Ukraine has also caused internal divisions within China and has had an impact on its relations with the West, which are crucial for China's rise on the global stage. This article aims to examine China's interests and positions regarding the ongoing Ukrainian conflict, the implications for its relations with Russia, and the opportunities and challenges that China faces in the current situation. The article employs an inductive approach, analyzing China's predicaments at four levels: perceptions within the decision-making bodies of the Communist Party, the foreign ministry, think-tanks, and the media community. It argues that in conjunction with China's economic contraction resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian military operation has prompted China to seriously contemplate how to safeguard its national interests, particularly with regard to Taiwan and its strategic objectives of attaining a prominent global position. These considerations carry medium to long-term implications for the evolving regional and global orders. In conclusion, the article briefly discusses the implications of these developments on India, shedding light on the broader regional dynamics influenced by China's response to the Ukrainian conflict. © 2023, MGIMO Universty Press. All rights reserved.

Emerging technology as an essential factor in changing lifestyles and reshaping exercise behaviour in Taiwan. (Special issue on 2023 Asia Pacific sport and social science.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced various aspects of people's lives;for instance, restrictions during the pandemic have forced people to think about sports participation and physical activity in new ways. There has been growing interest in technological interventions to support exercise-related behavioural changes in daily life;in particular, exergames designed to induce full-body movement offer alternatives to physical activity. Since Taiwan has a high rate of ownership of exergame-related equipment, it is worth examining players' perceptions of using exergames for exercise. This study utilised a Means-End Chain analysis with in-depth laddering interviews to investigate Taiwanese perceptions of certain attributes of exergames as most likely to produce desired consequences in accordance with their values. The findings provide researchers and practitioners interested in the use of technology for exercise with valuable implications of Means-End Chain theory and structuration theory and suggestions for exergame design and promotion.

The development of Taiwanese non-profit food banks during the world pandemic: Crisis and opportunities

The world has been affected badly by Covid-19 in 2020. Taiwan, fortunately, has not been that badly affected by the virus. However, there are questions surrounding how the pandemic has impacted Taiwanese food banks so far and whether Taiwanese food banks have experienced any crisis caused by the pandemic or gained momentum owing to the relatively safer circumstances. Based on practices, interviews, and questionnaires, this research aims to answer them. The results show most food banks were more or less impacted by the coronavirus between February and early May. The majority of food banks reported an increase in the recipients of their help and did not report a shortage of volunteers. In 2020, more food banks have been established and many existing food banks have expanded their services. Food Banking is gaining popularity and recognition in Taiwan. © 2023 Author(s).

The scope of COVID-19 vaccine insurance coverage and possible disputes

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have implemented large-scale vaccination programs. In Taiwan, COVID-19 vaccine insurance is available. However, as the COVID-19 vaccine is a new vaccine, there is limited research assessing its safety, and many physicians are not fully informed about its potential risks. Additionally, there is limited recognition of the risks associated with the COVID-19 vaccine by the government and insurance companies, making it difficult for individuals to prove that an injury is a result of the vaccine. This study examined legal elements, insurance coverage, and potential disputes related to COVID-19 vaccine insurance in Taiwan. This study proposed three ways to resolve vaccine insurance disputes: 1. Insurance companies should clarify the scope of insurance policies and the difference between adverse events following vaccination and adverse reactions. 2. The government should proactively update and supplement the information available on the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines. 3. The courts should reduce the burden of proof for individuals with vaccine injuries by interpreting insurance contracts and evidence law. (Taiwan J Public Health. 2023;42(2):153-164)

Taiwan's Food Resiliency - or Not - in a Conflict with China

The US military, intelligence, and diplomatic communities have overlooked a key vulnerability in their assessment of a potential military conflict between China and Taiwan- Taiwan's growing reliance on agricultural imports and its food stocks (except for rice) that could endure trade disruptions for only six months. This article assesses Taiwan's agricultural sector and its ability to feed the country's population if food imports and production are disrupted;identifies the food products that should be prioritized in resupply operations, based on Taiwan's nutritional needs and domestic food production;and outlines the required logistical assets. These findings underscore the urgency for US military planners to develop long-term logistical solutions for this complex strategic issue.

'There will be no law, or people to protect us': Irregular Southeast Asian seasonal workers in Taiwan before and during the pandemic

This paper investigates the everyday lived realities of Southeast Asian migrant workers who left the formal sector of the labour market and entered the informal agricultural sector before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. Drawing on observations of migrants' daily lives and farm work and 19 in-depth interviews, it delves into migrants' subjective experiences of vulnerability, paternalism, exploitation, and control at work due to a lack of legal protection and the illegality of their employment. Although the literature has identified a link between 'running away' from formal employment and seeking freedom, this research suggests a continuum between experiences of work in the formal and informal economic sectors. The paper sheds new light on mobility, work, illegality, and informality and how these have constantly shaped 'runaway' workers' subjective experiences of freedom and unfreedom during the pandemic.

Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage Show: Exploring the Sustainable Development of Taiwan's Religious Tourism from the Perspectives of Attraction, Happiness, and Revisit Intention

The Dajia Mazu pilgrimage is one of the most well-known events in the world. It not only satisfies tourists' spiritual desires for religious beliefs but also drives the development of destination tourism. In recent years, the tourism industry has been severely impacted by COVID-19. However, tourists participating in the Dajia Mazu pilgrimage continue to do so without fear of the pandemic. Therefore, understanding the relationship between tourists' attraction to religious tourism, perception of happiness, and willingness to revisit can contribute to the sustainable development of religious tourism, especially in the context of COVID-19. Accordingly, this study explored the sustainable development of Taiwan's religious tourism from the perspectives of tourism attraction, experiential value, happiness, and revisit intention. The study conducted quantitative research to address the research issue. Three hundred and fifty valid questionnaires were collected through on-site questionnaire distribution, and the data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and the structural equation partial least squares method. According to the results, the tourism attraction of the Dajia Mazu pilgrimage and the experiential value of tourists significantly impact happiness and revisit intention. Happiness is part of the intermediary variables of tourism attraction, experiential value, and revisit intention. Notably, the attraction of the Dajia Mazu pilgrimage and the experiential value pursued by tourists have not diminished despite the pandemic. Instead, the attraction has become an opportunity for tourists to seek spiritual comfort and support sustainable religious tourism development. Accordingly, spiritual comfort and maintaining their health and safety can be considered strategies to promote the sustainability of religious tourism in Taiwan.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the performativity of sport nationalism: Taiwanese identity and online mobilization

This essay examines how Taiwanese national identity was performed on social media during the postponed Tokyo Olympics 2020. Taiwan achieved its best-ever medal tally, leading to the emergence of a new form of sport nationalism. Athletes' off-field behaviors, including diverse gender expressions, distinguished them not only from their Chinese counterparts but also from previous generations of Taiwanese athletes. Badminton, weightlifting, and table tennis athletes became the "proxy warriors” of Taiwan, showcasing the democratic and diverse nature of Taiwanese society. The Tokyo Olympics, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions, became a battleground for ideologies, with the complex relationships among Taiwan, China, and Japan setting the backdrop for narratives. To depart from traditional research on official national discourses, this essay employs critical discourse analysis (CDA) by examining Facebook content and comments on news reports related to Taiwanese Olympians. This essays argues that Taiwan's cyber civil society has developed a flexible strategy to counter China's aggression on the internet. Taiwanese online mobilization demonstrated self-control, creativity, and adaptability, establishing a unique Taiwanese identity during the Tokyo Olympics in the midst of the pandemic. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of National Identities is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Lt Gen Kamal Davar says... India and the new geopolitical churnings

According to the WHO, this virus still exists in many parts of the globe in some form or the other. After the end of the Cold War in the early 90s, the global geopolitical and geo-economic divide, consequent to the ongoing Russo-Ukraine War, has never been so harshly polarised. [...]it is pertinent to note what President Xi had spoken recently in the National People's Congress stating that he will endeavour to "more quickly elevating the armed forces to world-class standards-and make it a great wall of steel." Importantly, for decades, India does carry some moral authority with itself with its foreign policy based on the Nehruvian concept of nonalignment now aptly called 'strategic autonomy' which has been long respected by the 'third world' now referred to as the 'global south'.

Facing social crises: A research exploring on the impact of COVID-19 to the Taiwan cinema industry

This research presents an overview of the film distribution changes caused by the COVID-19 impact on Taiwan's cinema market and shows a preliminary comparison between numbers of film released, the number of theaters, screening days, tickets sold and box office and film production countries during the period. The goal of this study is to address the factors that affect the strategy to engage the present film distribution market in Taiwan. The result indicates there are significant differences between film release stage and box office. It is proposed for applying an appropriate reduction in Hollywood films' release, such as total quantity control. The result provides domestic films with opportunities to arrange a movie release schedule. This study explores further film distribution policymaking research. © 2023 Author(s).

Emerging Key Elements of a Business Model for Sustaining the Cultural and Creative Industries in the Post-Pandemic Era

In this article, the challenges that cultural and creative industry (CCI) firms face in forming sustainable business models—issues heightened by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the evolving consumer patterns that it has triggered—are addressed. The goal of this study was to identify a set of unique key elements crucial for the construction of a business model that aligns with the distinct characteristics of CCIs. To achieve this goal, an in-depth, long-term study using semi-structured interviews with proprietors in Eastern Taiwan was conducted. This region is home to unique, small-scale cultural and creative businesses and represents less than 5% of Taiwan's population. The semi-structured, in-depth interviews served as the data collection method, while content analysis was used for data interpretation. This approach allowed the current study to encapsulate a set of key elements that could inform the creation of a business model for CCI firms. The insights gathered by the study provide a robust framework for the development of sustainable CCI business models, offering valuable guidance for both existing businesses seeking to adapt and grow and new entrepreneurs entering the industry. This research also aims to stimulate further scholarly debate on the importance of a tailored, multidisciplinary business model for CCIs, given their unique needs and characteristics.

A NEW FLOW-BASED MODEL OF END-TO-END INTEGRATION IN PREMIUM PRODUCT SUPPLY CHAINS

Gedryf deur die totale koste van eienaarskap, handel en tegnologiemededinging tussen die Verenigde State van Amerika en China, en die COVID-19-pandemie, ondergaan wereldwye voorsieningskettings 'n groot herstrukturering wat binnekort die besigheid en ekonomie oor die hele wereld sal transformeer. Onlangs het voorsieningskettings met end-totend-integrasie vir premium landbouvoedselprodukte as 'n nuwe sakemodel na vore gekom. Hierdie artikel ondersoek hoe hulle moet funksioneer, en identifiseer die voorsieningskettingstruktuur / - produksie / - besigheids toestande wat nodig is vir hul ontwikkeling. Ons bestudeer 'n premium voorsieningsketting wat bestaan uit baie klein plase wat piesangs van topgehalte produseer, een integreerfirma en duisende kleinhandelwinkels. Ons gebruik industrie- en besigheidsdata om 'n meervoudige roete-vloei-gebaseerde model te kalibreer van plase tot integreerder tot kleinhandelaars/markte. Ons gebruik dan sensitiwiteitsanalise om die belanghebbendes se besluitgedrag te analiseer, en identifiseer en bespreek drie hoofbesluitkwessies: kontrakboerdery, kapasiteitstrategie en besigheidsrobuustheid. Vir kontrakspesifikasie is kontraktering op prys, eerder as hoeveelheid, bevorderlik om die belange van die belanghebbendes te koördineer. Vir die kapasiteitstrategie moet die integreerder rou produkte van baie klein plase verkry eerder as minder groot plase. Vir besigheid se robuustheid kan die integreerder steeds robuuste winste verseker deur sy produkaanbod te reguleer wanneer nuwe mededingers ontstaan of vraag verander. Hierdie resultate word onder verskeie scenario's getoets om die impak van insetparameters of voorsieningskettingstruktuur te bepaal, en word geverifieer met 'n bedryfspraktisyn wat ondervinding het met veelvuldige premium agri-voedselprodukte. Die resultate, tesame met die vloeimodel en sy berekeningsprosedure, kan deur voorsieningskettingbeplanners gebruik word om nuwe besighede te begin of om kleinhandelaars se premium produkaanbiedinge in mededingende besigheidsomgewings te onderskei.Alternate :Driven by the total cost of ownership, US-China trade and technology competition, and the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chains are undergoing a major restructuring that will soon transform business and economics all over the world. Recently, supply chains with end-to-end integration for premium agri-food products have emerged as a new business model. This paper examines how they should function, and identifies the supply chain structure/production/business conditions necessary for their development. We study a premium supply chain consisting of many small farms that produce top-quality bananas, one integrator firm, and thousands of retail stores. We use industry and business data to calibrate a multiple-route flow-based model from farms to integrator to retailers/markets. We then use sensitivity analysis to illuminate the stakeholders' decision behaviour, and identify and discuss three main decision issues: contract farming, capacity strategy, and business robustness. For contract specification, contracting on price rather than quantity is conducive to coordinating the interests of the stakeholders. For the capacity strategy, the integrator should source raw products from many small farms rather than fewer large farms. For business robustness, the integrator could still ensure robust profits by regulating its product supply when new competitors arise or demand changes. These results are tested under various scenarios to determine the impact of input parameters or supply chain structure, and are verified with an industry practitioner who has experience with multiple premium agri-food products. The results, along with the flow model and its computation procedure, could be used by supply chain planners to start new businesses or to differentiate retailers' premium product offerings in competitive business environments.

Asian perspective of capital market performance amid the COVID 19 pandemic

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to investigate the short-term capital markets' reactions to the public announcement first local detection of novel corona virus (COVID 19) cases in 12 major Asian capital markets.Design/methodology/approachUsing the constant mean return model and the market model, an event study methodology has been implied to determine the cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) of 10 pre and post-event trading days. The statistical significance of the data was assessed using both parametric and nonparametric test statistics.FindingsFirst discovery of local COVID 19 cases had a substantial impact on all 12 Asian markets on the event day, as shown by statistically significant negative average abnormal return (AAR) and cumulative average abnormal return (CAAR). The single factor ANOVA result has also demonstrated that there is no variability among 12 regional markets in terms of short-term market responses. Furthermore, there is little evidence that these major Asian stock market indices differ significantly from the FTSE All-World Index which might suggest possible spillover impact and co-integration among the major Asian capital markets. The study further discovers that market capitalization and liquidity did not have any significant impact on market reaction to announcement.Research limitations/implicationsThe study's contribution might have been compromised by the absence of socio-demographic, technical, financial and other significant policy factors from the analysis.Practical implicationsThese findings will be considerably helpful in tackling this unprecedented epidemic issue for personal and institutional investors, industrial and economic experts, government and policymakers in assessing the market in special circumstances, diversifying risk and developing financial and monetary policy proposals.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to examine the effects of local COVID 19 detection announcement on major Asian capital markets. This study will add to the literature by investigating unusual market returns generated by infectious illness outbreaks and the overall market efficiency and investors' behavioral pattern of major Asian capital markets.