Public health awareness: knowledge, attitude and behaviors of the public on health risks during COVID-19 pandemic in sultanate of Oman

Reviewing the critical challenges that influence the adoption of the e-learning system in higher educational institutions in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose

This paper aims to review the critical challenges and factors influencing the successful adoption of electronic learning (e-learning) systems in higher educational institutions before and during the current propagation of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

This study undertook a literature review concerning the in-depth revision of previous studies published in 2020 and 2021. A total of 100 out of 170 selected research papers were adopted to identify and recognise the factors restricting the application of e-learning systems.

Findings

The findings determine and illuminate the most challenging factors that impact the successful application of online learning, particularly during the wide propagation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The review of the literature provides evidence that technological, organisational and behavioural issues constitute significant drivers that frontier the facilitation of the e-learning process in higher educational institutions.

Practical implications

The current paper suggests a guide for managers and scholars in educational institutions and acts as a roadmap for practitioners and academics in the educational field and policymakers as this research spotlights the significant factors challenging the e-learning process before and during the pandemic crisis.

Originality/value

The provided in-depth literature review in this research will support the researchers and system designers with a comprehensive review and recent studies conducted before and during the COVID-19 pandemic considering the factors limiting the e-learning process. This paper formulates a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge that will assist the stakeholders in the higher educational institutions' context.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-02-2022-0085.

Does Fear of COVID-19 Prolongation Lead to Future Career Anxiety Among Adolescents? The Mediating Role of Depressive Symptoms

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the lives of individuals from all different age groups. In particular, the prolongation of COVID-19 and the emergence of virus variants, such as Omicron, Delta and Alpha, have caused trauma to university students amid expectations that the associated economic, social, and psychological outcomes could affect their future careers. The current study, therefore, examines how the fear of COVID-19 prolongation may affect future career anxiety (FCA) among adolescents and to what extent depressive symptoms may determine such a relationship. Using a cross-sectional design, a survey was conducted to assess depressive symptoms, FCA, and fear of COVID-19 prolongation among 605 university students in Oman, an Arabic-speaking country located in the Gulf region. Using structural equation modeling, the results showed that there were significant standardized direct effects (unmediated) of fear of COVID-19 on depression from COVID-19 and of depression from COVID-19 on FCA. Additionally, depression from COVID-19 mediated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and FCA. The results are discussed within the Omani context of mental health service accessibility challenges and the dominant culture of perceiving mental health services with social stigma.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40653-022-00506-w.

How knowledge sharing encourages innovative work behavior through occupational self-efficacy? The moderating role of entrepreneurial leadership

Purpose

Innovation has become a necessity for the information technology (IT) sector, especially during COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how knowledge sharing affects employees’ innovative work behavior (IWB). Specifically, the study examined occupational self-efficacy (as mediating mechanism) and entrepreneurial leadership (as boundary condition) to encourage IWB.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used social media platforms to collect data from 270 employees working in the IT sector through “google forms” on convenience basis between March and August, 2021. The study applied structural equation modeling in two stages to examine the measurement model (for uni-dimensionality) and the structural model (for hypotheses testing).

Findings

The study noted that knowledge sharing positively affects employees’ IWB and occupational self-efficacy positively explains this association. In addition, employees’ perception of entrepreneurial leadership strengthens the association between knowledge sharing and IWB.

Research limitations/implications

The study collected data from a developing country during COVID-19 by using a cross-sectional design that may restrict causality. However, the findings suggest the management not only encourages knowledge sharing environment but also engages employees in various training that motivate them to experiment with new ideas and techniques.

Originality/value

This study extends the existing literature on knowledge sharing and IWB by exploring occupational self-efficacy as mediating mechanism and entrepreneurial leadership as a boundary condition.

Construct and Priority Ranking of Factors Affecting Crowdfunding for Green Products

This article aims to target the key factors that could positively affect crowdfunding success for green products in order to promote crowdfunding efficiency and green supply chain management. Methods: Data were collected through expert interviews and questionnaires and then processed through analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis. Statistical tool: This study used Expert Choice as the software for AHP analysis. Sampling: There were 20 participants (20 effective) in pretesting and 30 (23 effective) in formal testing. Participants were followers of green products in Taiwan. Results: (1) Twenty-four factors were abstracted to form the final construct; (2) the 24 key factors could be divided into 2 hierarchies, with 5 primary factors and 19 secondary factors; (3) among the 5 primary factors, “green diversified context” was the most influential; (4) among the 19 secondary factors, “product material is safe and non-toxic” was the most important. Conclusions: Funders would be likely to finance green products on crowdfunding platforms if these products fit the 24 key factors in orders. Implications: This research contributes to product life cycle theory and crowdfunding theory and practically improves the sustainability of green products.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards the spread of COVID-19: a health counseling initiative among potential entrepreneurs of FUUAST

Purpose

The present study examines the knowledge, attitude and practice towards the reduction of COVID-19 spread among entrepreneurs of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology (FUUAST), Karachi Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employed cross-sectional data to infer the results. The data are collected through an online survey questionnaire. To target the respondents; a convenience sampling technique is adopted. In total, 222 usable answers proceed with final results. The structural equation model (SEM) is applied for the data analysis.

Findings

The study outcomes found a significant and positive role of knowledge about COVID-19, attitudes towards a stay at home and practices against COVID-19 in reducing the spread of the pandemic.

Practical implications

The study provides coherent knowledge about the factors that fight against the pandemic's further spread. The findings would provide the guidelines to policymakers to think about such factors and boost them enormously. Further, the results would contribute to the literature of COVID-19.

Originality/value

This study is original, which empirically confirmed the effect of knowledge about COVID-19, attitudes towards a stay at home and practices against COVID-19 in an academic institute.