The present study sought to develop a conceptual framework to explain the influence of protective measures adopted by the retail enterprises against the COVID-19 virus on customers’ attitudes toward ...these measures, and the safety during the shopping experience, as well as the satisfaction with these types of protective measures and behavioral intentions. A structural equation modeling and metric invariance test were used as the data analysis technique. Our results revealed that the protective measures against the COVID-19 virus significantly and positively influenced customer safety during shopping, the attitudes and satisfaction, which contribute to an increase of their behavioral intentions as a result. The mediating role of attitudes and safety was also uncovered. In addition, our findings from the metric invariance test indicated that gender, age, education, and income significantly moderated the relationships among the studied constructs. Our results can help retail practitioners and researchers develop a strategy to effectively implement protective measures against COVID-19 in the retail enterprises.
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•We explored the impact of the COVID-19 protective measures on customer behaviors.•Attitudes, safety, and satisfaction were crucial mediators.•Gender, age, education, and income act as important moderators.
•Pesticides and pure N were overused by 45.2% and 37.2%, respectively.•Pesticide exposure caused dizziness, nausea, diarrhoea, skin, and eye irritation.•Farmers had little knowledge of recommended ...and safe use of pesticides.•Majority of farmers not used protective measures during pesticide application.•Limited or no use of protective measures caused unacceptable human health damages.
The indiscriminate use of agrochemicals for the maximization of the crop yield has adverse effects on the air, water, soil, non-target organisms, and human health. Reducing the impacts of agrochemicals on the environment and human health is instrumental for agricultural sustainability and cleaner production. To date, limited studies have focused on the issues of rice intensification, realistic agrochemical-saving targets, human health concerns associated with agrochemical use, and protective measures that may help to reduce occupational exposure during pesticide application. Cross-sectional data of 360 rice growers were collected from September to October 2017 from 9 districts of Punjab, Pakistan using multistage sampling technique. A combination of descriptive statistics and econometric methods was used in this study. The results found a 60% rice efficiency, which is evidence that farm resources were not utilized at the optimal level. An artificial neural network method (ANN) was suggested to reduce the quantity of pesticides and pure N by 45.2 and 37.2%, respectively, at a given level of rice yield. However, pure P, pure K, zinc, and farm yard manure (FYM) were recommended to increase by 490.9, 18.4, 64.7, and 32.6%, respectively than existing level. The results of the Cobb-Douglas (CD) production function found positive significant impacts of pure P, pure K, zinc, and FYM on the rice yield. According to a Tobit regression model, the rice efficiency significantly increased with education and farming experience, while it decreased with increasing crop area under rice cultivation and the distance among rice plots. Pesticide application caused skin irritation, eye irritation, cough, dizziness, nausea, and diarrhoea in 33, 41.7, 38, 30.5, 27.5, and 12% of the population, respectively. A few cases of death (3%) and serious illness (10%) due to drinking pesticides intentionally or unintentionally were also discovered. A Poisson regression model confirmed that pesticide poisoning significantly increased the incidence of eye irritation, skin irritation, dizziness, cough, and nausea during pesticide application. Moreover, cases of occupational health exposure were significantly higher among those who did not adopt protective measures. A negative binomial regression suggested that the use of protective measures, such as protective clothes, goggles, mask, gloves and boots, during chemical application significantly reduced the risk to human health. A lack of education and awareness about the appropriate and safe use of agrochemicals are the main reasons for the overutilization of pesticides and for the negative consequences on human health. This study stresses the importance of using agrochemicals at the recommended level and instead using bio-chemicals for agricultural sustainability and to protect human health. Moreover, the use of pesticide protective measures is highly recommended to avoid respiratory and dermal exposure to pesticides.
This article analyses the conditions for the application of interim measures in civil proceedings. With regard to the first condition for interim measures, the probable validity of the claim, it ...seeks answers as to what kind of judicial certainty is required to establish the probable validity of an action. It also analyses the concept of threat to the enforcement of the judgment as the second prerequisite and distinguishes between the concepts of threat to the rights of the applicant and threat to the actual enforcement of the judgment. Finally, the impact of the principle of proportionality in the application of interim measures is assessed and the question of whether proportionality can be considered as a third cumulative condition for the application of interim measures is analyzed, taking into account the good practice of foreign countries and sources of soft law. Both the relevant Lithuanian and foreign legal doctrine and case law are analysed.
From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, psychologists are theorizing that, as compared to introverts, extraverts experience more profound negative social consequences from protective measures (e.g., ...travel restrictions and bans on public gatherings). As the empirical evidence for this claim is lacking, this study tested the hypothesis that extraversion moderates the relationship between the stringency of COVID-19 protective measures and depressive symptoms. Our results were based on survey data from 93,125 respondents collected in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 20-April 6, 2020) across 47 countries and publicly available data on measure stringency. Findings demonstrate that extraversion moderates the relationship between measure stringency in the early days of the pandemic and depressive symptoms. For introverts, measure stringency has a negative effect on depressive symptoms, while for extraverts, it has a positive, but non-significant effect on depressive symptoms. This study suggests that, although stringent measures generally help people to worry less and feel safer, the lifestyle associated with such measures feels more natural to introverts than to extraverts.
We investigate a model of the early stage of the COVID-19 epidemic comprising undetected infected individuals as well as behavioural change towards the use of self-protection measures. The model is ...fitted to China data reported between 22 January and 29 June 2020. Using fitting results, we then consider model responses to varying screening intensities.
The development of free trade of the Eurasian Economic Union with third countries does not exclude the creation of a mechanism to protect the domestic market for sensitive goods and maintaining the ...necessary balance of trade balances of the parties involved. The article analyzes the foreign trade cooperation between Russia and Vietnam in the development of the concluded Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states, on the one hand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, on the other hand. The data presented indicate the need for regulatory influence aimed at protecting the domestic market of Russia maintaining appropriate proportions between domestic and imported goods. Certain measures for protecting the domestic market by the Eurasian Economic Commission in the context of preferential trade and national export stimulation measures are considered. The results can be used in the Eurasian Economic Union when building preferential relations with a number of states that have concluded or are ready in the near future to conclude such free trade agreements
•A unified fire-induced concrete spalling theory is proposed.•Fire-induced spalling is categorised into three types according to their distinct governing mechanisms, viz., thermo-hygral, ...thermo-mechanical and thermo-chemical spalling.•The spalling temperature range, influencing factors and the protective measures for each type of spalling are discussed.•A design concept of ‘multiple defense line against fire-induced concrete spalling’ is introduced based on the unified fire-induced concrete spalling theory.
Spalling of concrete is a great potential threat to fire resistance of concrete structures. Understanding the underlying mechanism is important to predict and mitigate this unfavorable phenomenon. Currently, there are two main mechanisms to explain the fire-induced concrete spalling: viz. spalling due to (a) pore pressure buildup or (b) thermal stress. The relative importance of these two mechanisms has been a subject of intense debate in the research community over the past few decades. This paper presents a critical review of conflicting and concordant points on concrete spalling at high temperature and proposes a unified and coherent fire-induced concrete spalling theory. Therein, the authors propose three types of thermal spalling depending on the governing mechanisms: thermo-hygral spalling, thermo-mechanical spalling and thermo-chemical spalling. The criteria to forecast each type of spalling are established and the spalling temperature range for each of them is analysed. The spalling pattern, influencing factors and preventive measures for each type of spalling are also discussed in this paper.
The COVID-19 pandemic has lead authorities from many countries to adopt crucial protective measures such as wearing face masks, lockdowns and social distancing. The purpose of the present study was ...to explore the relationships among the protective measures against virus handled by hotels with financial risk perception, customer attitude, satisfaction and behavioral intention. The study also calculates the mean comparison across the demographic variables of hotel customer satisfaction and behavioral intention. Results reported a significant contribution of the protective measures implemented by Chinese hotels against COVID-19 on financial risk perception, and a customer attitude. It also demonstrates significant and positive interaction with customer satisfaction and behavioral intention. However, financial risk perception and customer attitude did not show effects on satisfaction, while they had effects on behavioral intention. The results suggest that protective measures are an important aspect of encouraging people to visit hotels safely and continually.
•Protective measures and its role are explored in the hotel context.•Financial risk perception and attitude are considerably influenced by protective measures against COVID-19.•Demographic characteristics are of importance in explicating customer approach responses to a hotel.
Protection motivation theory (PMT) is a theoretical framework informative for understanding behavioral intentions and choices during exceptional and uncommon circumstances, such as a pandemic of ...respiratory infectious disease. PMT postulates both the threat appraisal and the coping appraisal as predictors of health behaviors. Recent advances in the field of behavioral immune system (BIS) research suggest that humans are equipped with a set of psychological adaptations enabling them to detect the disease-threat and activate behavioral avoidance of pathogens. The present study, set within PMT framework and informed by the BIS research, aimed to explain and predict voluntary adherence to COVID-19 guidelines by perceived personal risk and vulnerability to disease as threat appraisal variables, and trust in science as the response efficacy element of coping appraisal. Gender, age, belief in the second wave, perceived personal risk, germ aversion, and trust in science were all found to be significant positive predictors of the intent to adhere to non-pharmacological COVID-19 recommendations, with the belief in the second wave, germ aversion, and trust in science being the most important ones. On the other hand, only the belief in the second wave and trust in science were significant positive predictors of the intent to adhere to pharmacological COVID-19 recommendations (i.e., to vaccinate). Interventions aimed at enhancing preventative measures adherence should take into account that the psychological mechanisms underlying adherence to these two types of recommendations are not identical.
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