Higher education institutions (HEIs) have faced unprecedented challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic. This dissertation draws on the comparative case study design to examine the institutional response to the Covid-19 pandemic across seventeen HEIs in three urban contexts: Hong Kong, Johannesburg, and New York. Due to the limited knowledge base about the novel coronavirus and its rapid spread, the institutional response to the Covid-19 pandemic was premised on uncertainty and presented a unique challenge to decision-makers. This study is informed by the systems approach in the three strands of literature I draw from – disaster studies, sociology of risk, and higher education governance. The evidence from this study supports the conceptualization of the Covid-19 response as a by-product of social design and socially constructed events. I take a qualitative approach to study the institutional response through semi-structured interviews, documents, and recruitment survey responses. Guided by organized risk sensemaking, I put forth the following research questions: (1) What policies, if any, have been adopted to mitigate the risk of Covid-19? (2) What decision-making structures, if any, have been mobilized to mitigate the risk of Covid-19? (3) How, if at all, institutional managers have rationalized the decisions adopted in response to the Covid-19 pandemic? and (4) How, if at all, has the external environment impacted the institutional response to Covid-19? In the first findings chapter, I examine the Covid-19 policies adopted during the pandemic and conclude that the measures taken to mitigate risks associated with the pandemic have counter-intuitive consequences. The Covid-19 response has strengthened HEIs’ place-based identity and underscored the role universities and colleges play in their immediate communities as anchor institutions. The second analytical chapter shows how decision-making structures were established and mobilized during the Covid-19 pandemic within different HEIs. It typifies decision making structures by their focus (general vs. specific) and temporality (permanent vs. temporary). This chapter discusses the challenges and benefits of different decision-making approaches, including the involvement of faculty and staff, the elimination of organizational silos, and the funneling of decisions to higher levels of authority. Furthermore, I interrogate the institutional managers’ rationalizations of challenges and ethical dilemmas brought on by the pandemic. In this chapter, I present the four emerging attitudes toward the Covid-19 pandemic as a sensemaking framework, illuminating the institutional response as a temporally dynamic phenomenon. Lastly, I focus on the external environment and specifically, the non-state sectoral actors that have played a crucial role in informing and shaping HEIs' responses. The relationships with these actors serve advisory, brokerage, coordination, data collection, material support, lobbying, and translation functions for HEIs. The study contributes to the literature on comparative education by providing empirical evidence on the role of non-state sectoral actors, the decision-making processes of HEIs, and the impact of Covid-19 on higher education. It also highlights the importance of universities and colleges as anchor institutions within their communities.

The purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions of student affairs administrators, working in both public and private higher education institutions, regarding how they learned to use technology and gain insight into how their work would evolve in the future. While the COVID-19 pandemic affected everyone in the higher education landscape—academic faculty, students, and student administrative professionals—this research focused specifically on a segment of administrative professionals within higher education institutions: student affairs professionals. The results of the study provide recommendations to higher education institutions and student affair professionals and how to work in a technologically evolving workplace. The researcher based the study on the three assumptions: (1) informal and incidental learning are key factors in growing the skills to learn the evolving technologies in the workplace; (2) higher-order thinking skills exist in student affairs professionals who went beyond transferring the in-person modality to online; (3) organizational competencies or ethical competencies in digital leadership skills existed in student affairs professionals who went beyond demonstrating technological competencies skills The study population were student affairs professionals who worked during COVID-19. Data sources were primarily through 12 individual interviews, all conducted via Zoom, critical incident reports, and documents. Key findings of the study revealed: (1) A strong majority of participants described the use of technology as having a significant communication platform; (2) A majority of participants indicated that the lack of user engagement was a challenge while using technology; (3) An overwhelming majority learn to overcome the challenge of using technology through peer conversation; and (4) A majority of participants stated that having a supportive leader influenced the use of technology. The main recommendations of the study were the following: (1) Higher education institutions should think of creating the space and opportunities for student affairs professionals to engage in conversation with one another to overcome the challenges of using technology. To develop the space, higher education climate and organizational culture around the perception of technology must be considered. Additionally, higher education institutions should invest in developing supportive leaders who have a positive perception of technology in the workplace; and (2) Student affairs professionals should not only learn to be open about using technology in the workplace, but also develop the inter-personal skills that is critical to overcoming the use of technology. For seasoned student affairs professionals who hope to become a leader within the institution, developing the leadership skills to become a supportive leader who has the technological and inter-personal skills is critical to better manage and lead their team.

Yes / A global response to Covid‐19 pandemic has triggered issues related to stress and social restrictions; thus, mental health is seen as a particular area of concern for social well‐being for both policymakers and corporate regulators/companies. Given that mental health intersects with most, if not all, of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), this research brought to light issues surrounding employment of people with mental disabilities (PWMDs) and the financial merits of employing them. An online survey was administered to PWMDs to elicit what possible flexible opportunities could enable them to gain or stay at work. Interviews were also conducted with human resource managers and financial managers. Our results show that there are currently no flexible working opportunities available for PWMDs, which could enable them work effectively to improve both self and general economic growth.

Yes / Purpose - The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to global supply chains (SCs), affecting the production, distribution, and transportation of goods and ser- vices. To mitigate these disruptions, it is essential to identify the barriers that have im- peded the seamless operation of SCs. This study identifies these barriers and assesses their impact on supply chain network (SCN). Design/methodology/approach - To determine the relative importance of different bar- riers and rank the affected industries, a hybrid approach was employed, combining the best-worst method (BWM) and the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS). To accommodate the inherent uncertainties associated with the pan- demic, a triangular fuzzy TOPSIS was used to represent the linguistic variable ratings provided by decision-makers. Findings - The study found that the airlines and hospitality industry was the most affected by the barriers, accounting for 46% of the total, followed by the healthcare industry (23%), the manufacturing industry (19%), and finally the consumer and retail industry (17%). Research limitation/implications - This study is limited to the four critical industries and nine identified barriers. Other industries and barriers may have different weights and rankings. Nevertheless, the findings offer valuable insights for decision-makers in SC management, aiding them in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on their operations and enhancing their resilience against future disruptions. Originality/value - This study enhances our understanding of COVID-19’s impact on SCN and provides a framework for assessing disruptions using multi-criteria decision-making processes. The hybrid approach of BWM and TOPSIS in a fuzzy environment is unique and offers potential applicability in various evaluation contexts.

Yes / The purpose of this study is to determine whether Indian banks were able to weather the COVID-19 storm. We estimate banks’ deposits-generating and operating efficiencies using a two-stage directional distance function-based network data envelopment analysis (DDF- NDEA) approach and seek to capture the immediate impact of COVID-19 on these efficiency measures by comparing their magnitudes in the pre-pandemic (2014/15-2019/20), just 1-year prior to the pandemic (2019/20), and during the pandemic year (2020/21) periods. The study looks at whether the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was uniform across ownership types and size classes. The empirical findings suggest that the Indian banking system was resilient and withstood the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the study period, however, the large and medium-sized banks experienced some effi ciency losses. By and large, regardless of bank group, banks have shown resilience to the shock of the global health pandemic and improvements in efficiency. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 28 Dec 2024.

Bakgrund: Den 11 mars 2020 tillkännagav världshälsoorganisationen covid-19 som en pandemi. Röntgenavdelningen är en central del i patientflödet på ett sjukhus inte minst under pandemin. Till röntgenavdelningen kommer misstänkta eller bekräftade covid-19 patienter. Detta gör att röntgensjuksköterskor utsätts för en stor risk att bli smittade på sitt arbete. Syfte: Syftet med enkätstudien var att undersöka röntgensjuksköterskors upplevelser av sin arbetsmiljö under covid-19 pandemin. Metod: Kvantitativ enkätstudie med 197 deltagande röntgensjuksköterskor från Sverige. Resultat: Över hälften av de svarande kände oro för att smittas av covid-19 på arbetsplatsen. Majoriteten ansåg att deras kollegor tog covid-19 på allvar samtidigt som över hälften svarade att deras kollegor inte tog emot covid-19 patienter, den vanligaste orsaken var att de tillhörde en riskgrupp. Mer än tre fjärdedelar uppgav att patienter med misstänkt covid-19 hade anlänt till röntgenavdelningen utan förvarning. Gällande skyddsutrustning ansåg nästan alla att det fanns helt eller delvis tillgång till på arbetsplatsen och endast en bråkdel valde att själva införskaffa egen. Mer än hälften upplevde att det fanns klara rutiner för omhändertagande av covid-19 patienter och en tiondel upplevde att det inte fanns några klara hygienrutiner för covid-19 patienter. Slutsats: Enkätstudien visar på betydelsen av tydliga riktlinjer för hur arbetet ska bedrivas under en pandemi. Det visar även på betydelsen av att det finns adekvat skyddsutrustning vilket de allra flesta uppgav att det fanns. Vanligt förekommande var att patienter med misstänkt covid-19 anlände till röntgenavdelningen utan förvarning. Bristfälliga remisser var också förekommande, detta är något som måste förbättras. För att få mer kunskap om röntgensjuksköterskors upplevelse av att arbeta under covid-19 pandemin ser vi ett framtida behov av forskning i form av kvalitativa intervjustudier. / Background: On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced covid-19 as a pandemic. The radiology department is a central part of the patient flow in a hospital, not least during the pandemic. Suspected or confirmed covid-19 patients arrive daily to the radiology department. This exposes radiographers for a great risk of becoming infected at work.Aim: The aim of the survey study was to investigate radiographers' experiences of their work environment during the covid-19 pandemic.Method: Quantitative survey study with 197 participating radiographers from Sweden.Results: More than half of the respondents felt anxious about being infected with covid-19 in their work. The majority considered that their colleagues took covid-19 seriously, while more than half answered that their colleagues did not receive covid-19 patients, mainly because they belonged to a risk group. More than three quarters stated that patients with suspected covid-19 had arrived in the radiology department without warning. Regarding personal protective equipment (PPE), almost everyone considered that there was full or partial access to PPE and only a fraction chose to acquire their own PPE. More than half felt that there were clear routines for the care of covid-19 patients and a tenth felt that there were no clear hygiene routines for covid-19 patients.Conclusion: The survey study shows the importance of clear guidelines for how the work should be conducted during a pandemic. It also shows the importance of having adequate PPE, which the vast majority stated was sufficient. It was common that patients with suspected covid-19 arrived in the radiology department without warning. Inadequate referrals were also common, which is something that needs to be improved. To gain more knowledge about radiographers' experience of working during the covid-19 pandemic, we see a future need to investigate this with qualitative interview studies.

Determining whether great crises in donor countries, such as the contemporary COVID-19 pandemic, alter foreign aid allotment represents an urgent research problem. This thesis aims to disentangle if and how aid is increased, reduced or remained the same during crises. The work conducted is a case study of three donor countries: Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. Their aid is scrutinized in relation to three crises, the Nordic crisis, the global crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic. An identified disagreement in the previous research helps create the theoretical framework guiding this study. A hypothesis is drawn from said framework, that aid allotment is to decrease during crises in donor countries. The findings of this thesis can neither confirm nor reject the hypothesis. Case-specific patterns emerge, implying a relationship between crises and alterations of aid. Seemingly, crises affect foreign aid allotment both positively and negatively, opening up for further research to verify the relationship.

Under år 2020 drabbades världen av en pandemi, ett omfattande virus vid namn Covid-19 som har påverkat både organisationer och individer runt om i världen negativt, vilket har krävt att värdet av en lyckad kriskommunikation varit stor för organisationer. På grund av detta är det viktigt att organisationen har kunskap i hur de ska anpassa sin kriskommunikation i sociala medier efter den typen av kris som Covid-19-pandemin är. Därför fokuserar denna uppsats på kriskommunikation i sociala medier för yrkesgruppen kommunikatörer under en pandemi som Covid-19. Syftet är att undersöka och identifiera faktorer som är viktiga för yrkesgruppen kommunikatörer när de ska kriskommunicera på sociala medier, samt undersöka och identifiera sociala mediers viktigaste egenskaper att använda som verktyg under en pandemi som Covid-19.  Uppsatsen grundas av empiriskt material i form av intervjuer och metoden som används är en kvalitativ metodansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer, med avsikt att studera den kunskap och de erfarenheter som respondenterna besitter. Uppsatsen underbyggs även av forskning inom användandet av sociala medier under en pandemi och kommunikatörens roll under en pandemi som tillsammans bygger en förförståelse för ämnet. Uppsatsen resulterar i sex viktiga egenskaper hos sociala medier som kan nyttjas i en kris som Covid-19-pandemin och fem teoretiska och praktiska faktorer som är viktiga för kommunikatören att utgå från i kriskommunikationen under en pandemi. De sex viktiga egenskaperna hos sociala medier är spridning, mätbarhet, ägandeskap, omvärldsbevakning, källa till information och dialog. De fem faktorer som uppsatsen resulterat i är situationen, resurser, saklig och faktabaserad information, snabb kommunikationsprocess och interaktion. Faktorerna kan generera i en lyckad kriskommunikation under Covid-19 och liknande kriser. / In 2020, the world was hit by a pandemic, a widespread virus called Covid-19 that has negatively affected both organizations and individuals around the world, which has shown that successful crisis communication is important for organizations. Because of this, it is important that the organization has knowledge of how to adapt its crisis communication in social media to the type of crisis that Covid-19 is. Therefore, this essay focuses on crisis communication in social media for the professional group of communicators during a pandemic like Covid-19. The purpose is to investigate and identify factors that are important for the professional group of communicators when they are to communicate in crisis on social media, as well as to investigate and identify the most important characteristics of social media to use during a pandemic such as Covid-19.  The essay is based on empirical material in the form of interviews and the method used is a qualitative methodological approach with semi-structured interviews, with the intention of studying the knowledge and experiences that the respondents possess. The thesis is also supported by research in the use of social media during a pandemic and the role of the communicator during a pandemic that together builds a pre-understanding of the subject.  The essay results in six important features of social media that can be used in a crisis such as Covid-19 and five theoretical and practical factors that are important for the communicator to start from in crisis communication during a pandemic. The six important characteristics of social media are dissemination, measurability, ownership, external monitoring, source of information and dialogue. The five factors that the essay resulted in are the situation, resources, factual and fact-based information, fast communication process and interaction. The factors can generate a successful crisis communication during Covid-19 and similar crises.

Flertalet studier har visat att grönområden främjar människors fysiska och psykiska hälsa. I takt med en ökad urbanisering och stadsutbyggnad ersätts naturliga miljöer med bebyggelse vilket påverkar befolkningen i urbana miljöer negativt, eftersom urbana grönområden genererar viktiga ekosystemtjänster. En urban livsstil kan dessutom medföra hälsorisker som psykisk ohälsa, hjärt-kärlsjukdomar och fysisk inaktivitet. Syftet med uppsatsen var att genom en kvalitativ ansats undersöka vilken betydelse urbana grönområden har haft för enskilda invånare i Helsingborg under covid-19-pandemin. Tio kvalitativa e-postintervjuer genomfördes och empirin analyserades med en induktiv ansats. Uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk bestod av Attention restoration theory samt Stress recovery theory och den insamlade empirin gav upphov till följande teman: lugn och ro, hämta energi, samt miljöombyte. Resultatet visar att urbana grönområden har betydelse för informanternas hälsa, eftersom urbana grönområden bidrar till återhämtning och stressminskning, vilket är betydande faktorer för en god fysisk och psykisk hälsa. Utifrån studiens resultat kan slutsatsen dras att genom att bevara urbana grönområden kanmänniskors livskvalitet öka eftersom urbana grönområden bidrar till bättre fysisk och psykisk hälsa i samhället. / Former studies have shown that urban green spaces improve physical and mental health.Urbanisation and urban development result in green environments being replaced by buildings. This has a negative effect on urban residents as urban green spaces provide important ecosystem services. An urban lifestyle can involve health risks such as mental illness, cardiovascular disease, and physical inactivity. This study aimed to investigate through a qualitative approach, the importance of urban green spaces for individual residents of Helsingborg during the covid-19 pandemic. Ten qualitative e-mail interviews were conducted, and the empirical findings were analyzed with an inductive approach. The collected empirics resulted in the following themes: peace and quiet, gain energy, and change of scenery. The results were analyzed through the theoretical framework Attention restoration theory and Stress recovery theory. The results showed that urban green spacesare essential for the informant’s health, as they contribute to recovery and stress reduction, which are significant factors for good physical and mental health. The main conclusion of this study shows that by preserving urban green spaces, people’s quality of life can increase as urban green spaces contribute to better physical and mental health in society.

Sveriges regering införde år 2020 ett statligt hyresrabattsstöd för ekonomiskt utsatta branscher som avsåg årets andra kvartal, och infördes som en snabb åtgärd för att begränsa oron som pandemikrisen medförde på marknaden. Stödet har kritiserats av både lokalhyresgäster och fastighetsägare. Frågan har varit kontroversiell med blandade åsikter om hur fördelningen av statens subventioner ska konstrueras för att uppnå bästa resultat i rådande situation.Syftet med studien är att belysa hur den statligt subventionerade hyresrabatten under coronapandemin har använts i praktiken. För att besvara studiens olika frågeställningar och för att uppnå syftet med studien, har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod använts. Avsikten med den kvalitativa forskningsintervjun är att förstå det utforskade ämnet ur de intervjuade fastighetsbolagens perspektiv och erfarenhet.Resultatet visar på att de främsta grunderna till varför bolagen tilldelat hyresrabatt till sina hyresgäster, har grundats i att fungera som en hjälpande hand och samtidigt undvika vakanser genom att värna om relationen mellan bolag och kund. Hyresrabatten har medfört en ekonomisk fördel för både fastighetsägare och hyresgäster där majoriteten av hyresgästerna har kunnat fortsatt bedriva sin verksamhet. För fastighetsägarna har det inneburit minimerade ombyggnadskostnader för att anpassa lokaler till nya hyresgäster. Det har framförts kritik mot själva upplägget av hyresrabattstödet, den administrativa delen har varit mycket invecklad och komplicerad. Man har dels fått agera som mellanhand och som ensam bransch behövt axla ansvaret, men även inneha rollen av en vågmästare vad avser tilldelning av hyresrabattstödet. / The Swedish government introduced a state rent rebate support for vulnerable industries in the first quarter of 2020, as a quick solution to dampen market turmoil. The support has been criticized by both tenants and property owners. It has been a controversial issue with various opinions on how the distribution of state subsidies should be constructed to best fit the current situation.The study is based on examining the state subsidized rent rebate that was distributed to the most affected industries. The purpose of the study is to clarify how the state-subsidized rent rebate during the corona pandemic has been used in practice.To answer the study's questions and to achieve the purpose of the study, a qualitative research method has been used. The purpose of the qualitative research interview is to understand the topic explored from the interviewee's own perspective and experience.The results show that the main reasons to why a rent discount was given to tenants, was to act as a helping hand to those most effected by the pandemic, but also to avoid vacancies. The rent discount resulted in a clear financial advantage for both the property owners and the tenants, where the majority of the tenants have been able to continue their business. The property owners have avoided high renovation costs to adapt premises for new tenants.Criticism has been leveled at the very structure of the rent rebate support, as the administrative part was complicated. The propery owners have partly been acting as an intermediary and solely shoulder the responsibility in terms of allocating the rent rebate.