关键词： Gender-diverse boards   Cash holdings   Female directors   COVID-19   Board compensation   Cash dividends   FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY   CORPORATE-FINANCE   WOMEN DIRECTORS   AGENCY COSTS   PERFORMANCE   FLOW   DETERMINANTS   INVESTMENT   EXECUTIVES  

摘要： This study examines the role of gender-diverse boards in preserving cash holdings during crises. Using a sample of UK firms during the COVID-19 period, we find that firms with more female directors had higher cash holdings. This increase in cash reserves is primarily driven by reduced board compensation, reflecting the careful stewardship associated with gender-diverse boards. Interestingly, we find no evidence of female directors reducing acquisition activity or capital expenditures, suggesting that these firms did not compromise on growth prospects while building their cash buffer. Our study underscores the value of gender-diverse boards in navigating firms through crises without sacrificing shareholder value. Our results remain robust even after controlling for endogeneity and alternative estimation techniques. The findings hold significant implications for investors, policymakers, and advocates of gender diversity in boardrooms, emphasizing the financial prudence that gender diversity can bring in crisis management.

关键词： Night-time economy   Resilience   COVID-19   Mobile phone data   Space-time clustering   NIGHTTIME ECONOMY  

摘要： City nightlife supports a significant part of our social interactions, enhancing social wellbeing and communitybuilding dynamics. COVID-19 impact on nightlife has been particularly dramatic and expanded over time. Few studies have analyzed this impact, and nightlife recovery remains even less explored. This study examines the post-COVID-19 recovery of nightlife using mobile phone data in Kyoto (Japan) and Madrid (Spain), two cities with different culture and whose urban nightlife was heavily impacted. A detailed spatiotemporal analysis of the nightlife activity in both cities is conducted. The methodology is based on the estimation of the hourly presence of people over the course of the day, with a particular focus on evening and night hours. Kyoto, heavily dependent on tourism, faced a more pronounced and lasting impact, experiencing a decrease in the average presence of people in tourist areas by 51.9 % during COVID-19 and by 19.8 % after COVID-19. Despite fewer constraints, revitalizing nightlife in Kyoto proves challenging compared to other sectors. Madrid reveals a shift in urban dynamics following the pandemic, influencing the utilization of different areas within the city, increasing the average presence of people by 15.5 % in the weekend activity area, from Monday to Thursday.

关键词： Information bias   Misclassification   COVID-19   Vaccination   Vaccine effectiveness   Registry data   Key findings   MULTIPLE-IMPUTATION   MAXIMUM-LIKELIHOOD   MISCLASSIFICATION   REGRESSION  

摘要： Objectives: Registration in the Dutch national COVID-19 vaccination register requires consent from the vaccinee. This causes misclassification of nonconsenting vaccinated persons as being unvaccinated. We quantified and corrected the resulting information bias in vaccine effecStudy Design and Setting: National data were used for the period dominated by the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant (July 11 to November 15, 2021). VE ((1-relative risk)*100%) against COVID-19 hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) admission was estimated for individuals 12 to 49, 50 to 69, and >= 70 years of age using negative binomial regression. Anonymous data on vaccinations administered by the Municipal Health Services were used to determine informed consent percentages and estimate corrected VEs by iteratively imputing corrected vaccination status. Absolute bias was calculated as the absolute change in VE; relative bias as uncorrected/corrected relative risk. Results: A total of 8804 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 1692 COVID-19 ICU admissions were observed. The bias was largest in the 70+ age group where the nonconsent proportion was 7.0% and observed vaccination coverage was 87%: VE of primary vaccination against hospitalization changed from 75.5% (95% CI 73.5-77.4) before to 85.9% (95% CI 84.7-87.1) after correction (absolute bias -10.4 percentage point, relative bias 1.74). VE against ICU admission in this group was 88.7% (95% CI 86.2-90.8) before and 93.7% (95% CI 92.2-94.9) after correction (absolute bias 5.0 percentage point, relative bias 1.79). Conclusion: VE estimates can be substantially biased with modest nonconsent percentages for vaccination data registration. Data on covariate-specific nonconsent percentages should be available to correct this bias. (c) 2024 Published by Elsevier Inc.

关键词： Risk factors   Severity   COVID-19   Multiple sclerosis   Disease-modifying therapies   IMPAIRMENT  

摘要： Background: There is a lack information regarding risk factors associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the MENA region. Methods: This is a multicenter, retrospective cohort study that included all MS patients with a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection using the MENACTRIMS registry. The association of demographics, disease characteristics, and use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) with outcomes and severity of COVID-19 were evaluated by multivariate logistic model. Results: A total of 600 MS patients with confirmed (n = 542) or highly suspected (n = 58) COVID-19 were analyzed. Seventy-three patients (12.2 %) had a COVID-19 severity score of >= 3 on a 7-point ordinal scale (ranging from 1 [not hospitalized with no limitations on activities] to 7 [death] with a cutoff at 3 [hospitalized and not requiring supplemental oxygen]), and 15 patients (2.5 %) died. Out of 73 patients with a severity score >= 3, 90.4 % were on DMTs; 50.6 % of them were on anti-CD20, including ocrelizumab and rituximab. Multivariate logistic regression showed that older age (odds ratio per 10 years, 1.4 [95 %CI, 1.0-1.8]), disability (OR for EDSS 3.0-5.5, 2.9 [95 %CI. 1.5-5.7], OR for EDSS >= 6.0, 2.3 [95 %CI. 1.0-5.1]), obesity (OR, 3.0 [95 %CI, 1.5-6.0]), and treatment with rituximab (OR, 9.0 [95 %CI, 3.1-25.3]) or off-label immunosuppressive medications (OR, 5.6 [95 %CI. 1.1-27.8]) were risk factors for moderate or severe COVID-19. Conclusion: In this registry-based study of MS patients, age, sex, EDSS, obesity, progressive MS were risk factors for severe COVID-19. Moreover, there was an association found between exposure to anti-CD20 DMTs and COVID-19 severity.

关键词： Bicycle-sharing demand   COVID-19 pandemic   Spatiotemporal factors   Multilevel modelling   Geographically weighted regression   NEW-YORK   BUILT ENVIRONMENT   HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL   SYSTEM   IMPACT   BIKESHARE   PREFERENCES   AUSTRALIA   RIDERSHIP   INSIGHTS  

摘要： This study investigates the roles of the socio-economic, land use, built environment, and weather factors in shaping up the demand for bicycle-sharing trips during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto. It uses "Bike Share Toronto" ridership data of 2019 and 2020 and a two-stage methodology. First, multilevel modelling is used to analyze how the factors affect monthly station-level trip generation during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic period. Then, a geographically weighted regression analysis is performed to better understand how the relationships vary by communities and regions. The study results indicate that the demand of the service for commuting decreased, and the demand for recreational and maintenance trips increased significantly during the pandemic. In addition, higher-income neighborhoods are found to generate fewer weekday trips, whereas neighbourhoods with more immigrants experienced an increase in bike-share ridership during the pandemic. Moreover, the pandemic trip generation rates are more sensitive to the availability of bicycle facilities within station buffers than pre-pandemic rates. The results also suggest significant spatial heterogeneity in terms of the level of influence of the explanatory factors on the demand for bicycle-sharing during the pandemic. Based on the findings, some neighbourhood-specific policy recommendations are made, which inform decisions regarding the locations and capacity of new stations and the management of existing stations so that equity concerns about the usage of the system are adequately accounted for.

关键词： Equity funded companies   Investor type   Industry sector   Exit strategy   Covid-19 crisis  

摘要： Using a sample of UK equity funded companies, we examine differences in the exit strategy of companies funded by distinct investor types and operating in various technology intensive sectors during a period of crisis. Our results corroborate the hypothesis that investor involvement through oversight and imparting expertise augments the likelihood of favourable outcomes. This is particularly evident in high technology sectors. We observe increased exit activity amidst the crisis and notable disparities, contingent upon investor type, concerning chosen exit pathways.

关键词： Internet usage   Life satisfaction   Mediating mechanism   Heterogeneity analysis   COVID-19 pandemic   JOB-SATISFACTION   SOCIAL MEDIA   WORK   TECHNOLOGY   CONSUMERS   BEHAVIOR   ADOPTION   PARADOX   UTILITY   HEALTH  

摘要： Digitalization has profoundly reshaped work modes and lifestyles and impacted individuals' life satisfaction. However, there has been limited research exploring this issue while comparing the effects before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, investigating heterogeneity across different socio-economic groups is crucial. This study uses data from the latest three waves of the European Social Survey in 2016, 2018, and 2020 to examine the influence of Internet usage on life satisfaction, unravel its underlying mechanisms, and conduct heterogeneity analysis with the fixed-effects ordered logit model and propensity score matching method. The empirical findings reveal the following: (a) Internet usage has significant and positive effects on life satisfaction, although the marginal effects of Internet usage decreases as respondents' life satisfaction increases; (b) respondents with a "right" political tendency, higher levels of social interaction and trust, females, older individuals, higher income earners, those with lower education levels, better health conditions, and stronger religious beliefs tend to report higher life satisfaction; (c) work flexibility, work-life balance, and team engagement are identified as essential mediating factors in the relationship between Internet usage and life satisfaction; (d) Internet usage has had a significant and positive effect on life satisfaction since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas this was not the case before the pandemic; and (e) the influence of Internet usage on life satisfaction is more pronounced among young, affluent communities, well-educated individuals, Eastern and Central Europeans, non-managers, and employees of central/local governments and private firms. This study underscores the rapid socio-economic transformation induced by digitalization in Europe and provides valuable insights on leveraging the Internet to improve individual life satisfaction in the post-pandemic era.

关键词： case management   complex care   Covid-19 vaccination   Medicaid   social needs   survival analysis   vaccine uptake   CARE   SERVICES   LOTTERY  

摘要： ObjectiveTo investigate Covid-19 vaccination as a potential secondary public health benefit of case management for Medicaid beneficiaries with health and social *** Sources and Study SettingThe CommunityConnect case management program for Medicaid beneficiaries is run by Contra Costa Health, a county safety net health system in California. Program enrollment data were merged with comprehensive county vaccination *** DesignIndividuals with elevated risk of hospital and emergency department use were randomized each month to a case management intervention or usual care. Interdisciplinary case managers offered coaching, community referrals, healthcare connections, and other support based on enrollee interest and need. Using survival analysis with intent-to-treat assignment, we assessed rates of first-dose Covid-19 vaccination from December 2020 to September 2021. In exploratory sub-analyses we also examined effect heterogeneity by gender, race/ethnicity, age, and primary *** Collection and Extraction MethodsData were extracted from county and program records as of September 2021, totaling 12,866 interventions and 25,761 control *** FindingsApproximately 58% of enrollees were female and 41% were under age 35. Enrollees were 23% White, 12% Asian/Pacific Islander, 20% Black/African American, and 36% Hispanic/Latino, and 10% other/unknown. Approximately 35% of the intervention group engaged with their case manager. Approximately 56% of all intervention and control enrollees were vaccinated after 9 months of analysis time. Intervention enrollees had a higher vaccination rate compared to control enrollees (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-1.10). In sub-analyses, the intervention was associated with stronger likelihood of vaccination among males and individuals under age *** management infrastructure modestly improved Covid-19 vaccine uptake in a population of Medicaid beneficiarie

关键词： Privacy concerns   Individual-level georeferenced data   Multi-cultural contexts   Network analysis   COVID-19 control measures   DISCRIMINATION  

摘要： Individual-level georeferenced data have been widely used in COVID-19 control measures around the world. Recent research observed that there is a trade-off relationship between people's privacy concerns and their acceptance of these control measures. However, whether this trade-off relationship exists across different cultural contexts is still unaddressed. Using data we collected via an international survey (n = 4260) and network analysis, our study found a substantial trade-off inter-relationship among people's privacy concerns, perceived social benefits, and acceptance across different control measures and study areas. People's privacy concerns in culturally tight societies (e.g., Japan) have the smallest negative impacts on their acceptance of pandemic control measures. The results also identify people's key views of specific control measures that can influence their views of other control measures. The impacts of these key views are heightened among participants with a conservative political view, high levels of perceived social tightness, and vertical individualism. Our results indicate that cultural factors are a key mechanism that mediate people's privacy concerns and their acceptance of pandemic control measures. These close inter-relationships lead to a double-edged sword effect: the increased positive impacts of people's acceptance and perceived social benefits also lead to increased negative impacts of privacy concerns in different combinations of control strategies. The findings highlight the importance of cultural factors as key determinants that affect people's acceptance or rejection of specific pandemic control measures.

关键词： Vaccination   Implementation   Immunization programs   COVID-19   RESEARCH PRIORITIES   STRATEGIES   REDUCE  

摘要： Objective: To analyze the experiences regarding the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination strategies, emphasizing the opportunities and challenges identified during its implementation. Design: A systematic review of the literature published between 2020 and 2022. Data sources: The study was conducted across four databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scielo, and Lilacs. Selection of studies: Publications selection followed the PRISMA methodology (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis). Data extraction: A database was created where key elements of the selected study were identified and recorded, such as results, discussion, and conclusions. In addition, analysis categories were created such as: stages of the implementation plan, challenges identified and opportunity areas. Results and conclusions: 292 publications were found, of which 25 were selected for analysis. Of these, 64% came from high-income countries and 32% from upper-middle-income countries. According to the stages of the implementation plan, 20% of the studies focused on regulations, planning and coordination; 28% in prioritization of the population to be vaccinated; 16% in acceptance, demand, and risk communication; and 16% in administration and information systems. Reflection on the response to the pandemic invites us to consider various aspects, such as the organization and function of health systems, the importance of collaborative work, efforts to achieve equity, communication strategies, as well as ethical dilemmas when seeking preserve health. (c) 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Espa & ntilde;a, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://***/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).