No abstract

The novel Coronavirus has led to devastating tragedies, creating a worldwide crisis upon economy and society. Starting from people suffering from illness, deaths, unemployment up until poverty, the COVID-19 pandemic can be considered one of the darkest periods of the world’s history. More broadly, the virus has transformed our everyday lifestyles, inter-human interactions, dynamics of life and last but not least, perceptions upon travelling. The tourism sector has been tremendously affected by the expansion of the virus, with hundreds of countries closing borders, introduction of numerous travel restrictions and suspended flights. Restrictions, regulations and the fear of not getting infected with the new virus have created chaos and considerably changed the way individuals currently perceive travelling. Our study takes a demand-side perspective in order to determine changes in travelling behaviours of individuals, by focusing on students, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study acts as a pilot test and aims at offering guidance for the tourism sector in elaborating and adapting to changing demands on the market. For this purpose, we have collected primary data by distributing a survey among students studying at Universities in Romania. Results have been analysed and compared with relevant literature research. Findings reveal the importance of rate of infection, possible occurring restrictions and costs as being critical when choosing travel destinations during pandemic. Conclusions demonstrate that there is a high need for strong collaboration and cooperation between governments and tourism agencies and businesses. We propose tourism organisations to direct their promotions upon relaxing and safe destinations, at a domestic level in a first phase, followed by international alternatives. We consider that competition can take a backseat during these tough periods and make room for collaborative behaviours and partnerships for the industry to survive.

Technology and its influence upon society have turned into a controversial topic in today’s fast-developing world, where advances in innovation are continuous, fast, and complex. The relationship between technology and society has become an increasing interest for many researchers, trying to explore and clarify this connection. This article focuses on the psychological impact of technology, expressed through activity tracking devices, upon user’s attitudes towards pursuing an active lifestyle. To conduct the analysis, users’ registered behavioral changes after engaging with technological devices are explored, by examining academic literature reports studies, supplemented by experimental material written by the users themselves on publicly available websites. The study proposes a deductive research design, by constructing its analysis on a relevant theoretical framework, that of Technological Determinism theory, which advocates that technology can influence society, however without being affected by humans. Nevertheless, the results of the research show that the relationship between technology and society is not that linear, as influences coming from the social environment usually interact and impact the way technology is used. This determines the consideration of an additional theoretical concept to the analysis, that of Social Shaping of Technology, and changes the dynamics of exploring the topic. Conclusions demonstrate that the relationship between user and technology can be characterized as a double-way approach, with complex and ambiguous attributes, where both forces interact and can lead to positive and constructive behavioral outcomes but also to critical and hard to control mental conditions.

The current research paper is purposed to evaluate the upcoming Urban Air Mobility trend as a logistics alternative for the modern organisation design, as industrial complexes are directing resources to the development of these concepts. Our qualitative analysis relies on secondary data, due to scarce information available. Starting with a descriptive analysis of the technological evolutions, the study undertakes a thorough market evaluation based on key criteria that are meant to determine if the efforts to initiate this new entrepreneurial avenue will be met by a successful adoption into organisational design. With technological and regulatory limitations in the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) segment, nearing a century of helicopter operations, it is unlikely that electrical flight aircraft will take charge of the skies above crowded cities anytime soon. Human error and technological failures still present a high risk to urban operations. The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) concept has far greater potential, considering remote work and the adoption of the Work from Anywhere concept. This research effort aims to clarify aspects regarding eVTOL, probing the potential of a market that is to rely on this solution. This pragmatic approach is meant to define transition milestones, relying on current rules and regulations, as well on technological hurdles that are still to be overcome. By means of qualitative research and a thorough market evaluation, with a predictive analysis, this study reveals that organisations can now pivot their design to expand their workforce needs into wider regions, having the ability to fly their key employees into their offices periodically from the remote locations they opt to live in and/or work from. Including eVTOL aircraft into the employer branding strategy, business processes should be beneficial for organisations that wish to be looked at as pioneers by their workforce and targeted market.

No abstract