Holiday Season Research Articles

Assessment of Psychology, Behaviour and Self-Medication Potential Among Indian People During CovID-19 Pandemic

Aim: This research work was done during the Indian festive season of 2020 to assess the attitude, mentality and psychological pattern of Indians. Also, the effect of yoga and meditation in combating the Covid-19 pandemic related stress was analyzed in the present research work. As Paracetamol and Diclofenac are OTC medications which are widely available without doctor’s prescription, the potential of self-medication for these drugs amidst the pandemic need to be studied, this study further attempted to analyze the rate and extent of self-medication of these drugs among Indians. Materials and Methods: An e-questionnaire survey bearing questions on pandemic-related mental stress, sleep duration, yoga, meditation practice, and extent of self-medication in combating the pandemic was floated to the residents of Bengaluru to collect their response. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 17. Results: A mixed response regarding their stress, anxiety, and fear expressed on a higher scale was the same before or during Covid could be perceived. The sleep pattern before and during CoVid had no significant variation (p>0.05) and appeared the same. All the respondents agreed that they spend considerable time with electronic gadgets during the Covid lockdown period. Most of the respondents (60%) practice yoga and meditation occasionally or daily. The high rate of self-medication with Paracetamol and Diclofenac drugs among Indian people in the current pandemic situation shows they are OTC and readily available. The self-medication practice is of real concern as it may cause a long-term impact on the consumers.

Increased Accessibility to Primary Healthcare Due to Nurse Prescribing of Medicines

Since January 2016, nurses and midwives in Poland have had the right, with some restrictions, to prescribe medicines. Consequently, Polish patients received the same opportunity as in other countries worldwide: easier access to certain health services, i.e., medical prescribing. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of structural changes which increased the nurses’ competences on the accessibility to prescription visits for patients receiving primary healthcare on the example of Medical and Diagnostic Centre (MDC), and to discuss the general trend of legal changes in nursing profession regulations. We performed a detailed analysis of the data on the MDC patient population in Siedlce who received at least one prescription written by a general practitioner and/or a nurse/midwife in the years 2017–2019.The largest number of prescription visits made by nurses concerned patients aged 50–70 years, as this age range includes the largest number of patients with chronic diseases who need continued pharmacological treatment originally administered by doctors. An increasing tendency for prescription visits made by nurses was recorded, with a simultaneous downward trend in the same type of visits undertaken by doctors at MDC. Nurses’ involvement in prescribing medications as a continued pharmacotherapy during holiday seasons results in patients having continuous access to medication. An upward trend was also observed in the number of medications prescribed by nurses per patient. Structural changes in the legal regulations of the nursing profession improve patients’ access to prescription visits under primary healthcare. Further research is recommended to evaluate the dynamics of these trends and the impact of newly introduced nursing competences on the accessibility of prescription visits for patients.

The Christmas Period Around the World – An Excellent Moment for Dayketing Strategies

Purpose: This article aims to study in detail, to show examples and analyses about successful marketing strategies of different international companies throughout the years for Christmas time. Design/methodology/approach: The notion of dayketing is new – it has been created 10 years ago by the Spanish professor Sarrias Martí. However, the idea about the creation of special marketing practices for the Christmas holidays in order to attract the client´s attention dates from the beginning of the 20th century. A few of the best of them are made by: Coca-Cola, Lancôme, and other international companies, and this article show and analyses them. To study in detail, the activities of these companies, the author uses three methodological approaches: SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis, and balanced scorecards. Findings: The idea of the author is to show the importance of the Christmas holidays as an inspiration for the development of one of the most successful marketing practices and ideas related to a particular marketing strategy – dayketing: marketing of a company or product for a special occasion. Research limitations/implications: The study has its limitations. The selected companies show examples from all over the world but the only marketing approach intended to be analyzed is the marketing approach for special occasions, the so-called dayketing. Another limitation is the period chosen to be studied, only marketing practices for the Christmas period have been chosen to be analyzed. Practical implications: The study shows, practically, one of the best examples of Christmas marketing campaigns from all over the world. Created in different countries, different years, and different sectors, they show that people all over the world can choose the same products and that is what determines their success, what makes them leaders among the companies. Originality/value: The theory about dayketing is new; it has been created in the last decade, which is why it has not been subject to many studies yet. The author intends to study this new approach by choosing a special period of the year-Christmas time.

Impact of Festivals on Weight Gain

Obesity is on the rise, and the fundamental causes of this development are still a source of debate. The extent of holiday weight gain and its relation to annual weight gain was recently investigated. The study aims to review the literature to ascertain the consequences of holidays on weight gain. In India, holidays during summer vacation and festive show a significant rise in weight gain, whereas in USA UK, the 6-week long winter vacation shows a significant rise in weight gain. The COVID-19 Millions of people's habits were undoubtedly changed by the imposed lockdown to control the pandemic. People of all ages have reduced physical activity and had their food habits influenced by imprisonment, which was marked by the confiscation of most activities. Likewise, during the 6-week holiday season, weight transformation represent 51% of annual weight gain among the total public. Even though the absolute values for weight gain in this study were weaker than anticipated, these findings demonstrate that holiday weight gain may be a critical enabler to the rising epidemic of obesity. To substantiate these findings, greater exploration using representative populations seems needed. The volunteers were weighed four times at six-to-eight-week intervals to ensure weight change for three periods: just before the holiday, during the holiday, then after the holiday. To shield the core concept of interest, the subjects provided data on other vital signs and self-reported health metrics. We highlight the instance of an NHS healthcare worker, which is the first of its kind, in which fasting and other elements have played a hand in shaping substantial weight fluctuations.

Indigenizing the Mainstream: Music Festivals and Indigenous Popular Music

First Nations, Métis, and Inuit music and dance practices have enacted Indigenous survivance since colonization began. Contemporary Indigenous performers within and beyond present-day Canadian borders continue this performative intervention through popular music, building what I call sonic sovereignty. In response to music industry barriers, Indigenous media professionals created performance spaces for First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and international Indigenous musicians. Facing ongoing political changes, Indigenous music professionals navigated multilayered challenges for the 2020 festival season. As uncertainty continues around music festivals in the future, the article addresses how decolonial possibilities are shifting around cultural and political change through music festival performance.

New York City sparkles during the Christmas season with Asian escorts NYC

New York City sparkles during the Christmas season with Asian escorts NYC

Modeling Deception: A Case Study of Email Phishing

Information manipulation for deception continues to evolve at a remarkable rate. Artificial intelligence has greatly reduced the burden of combing through documents for evidence of manipulation; but it has also enabled the development of clever modes of deception. In this study, we modeled deception attacks by examining phishing emails that successfully evaded detection by the Microsoft 365 filtering system. The sample population selected for this study was the University of North Texas students, faculty, staff, alumni and retirees who maintain their university email accounts. The model explains why certain individuals and organizations are selected as targets, and identifies potential counter measures and counter attacks. Over a one-year period, 432 phishing emails with different features, characters, length, context and semantics successfully passed through Microsoft Office 365 filtering system. The targeted population ranged from 18 years old up to those of retirement age; ranged across educational levels from undergraduate through doctoral levels; and ranged across races. The unstructured data was preprocessed by filtering out duplicates to avoid overemphasizing a single attack. The term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) and distribution of words over documents (topic modeling) were analyzed. Results show that staff and students were the main target audience, and the phishing email volume spiked in the summer and holiday season. The TF-IDF analysis showed that the phishing emails could be categorized under six categories: reward, urgency, job, entertainment, fear, and curiosity. Analysis showed that attackers use information gap theory to bait email recipients to open phishing emails with no subject line or very attractive subject line in about thirty percent of cases. Ambiguity remains the main stimulus used by phishing attackers, while the reinforcements used to misinform the targets range from positive reinforcements (prize, reward) to negative reinforcements (blackmail, potential consequences).

Fractals as Julia Sets of Complex Sine Function via Fixed Point Iterations

We explore some new variants of the Julia set by developing the escape criteria for a function sin(zn)+az+c, where a,c∈C, n≥2, and z is a complex variable, utilizing four distinct fixed point iterative methods. Furthermore, we examine the impact of parameters on the deviation of dynamics, color, and appearance of fractals. Some of these fractals represent the stunning art on glass, and Rangoli (made in different parts of India, especially during the festive season) which are useful in interior decoration. Some fractals are similar to beautiful objects found in our surroundings like flowers (to be specific Hibiscus and Catharanthus Roseus), and ants.

Attitudes towards migrant workers in South Africa: A critical discourse analysis

Background: The influx of migrants from neighbouring countries has contributed to diversity in South Africa. This has caused on-going clashes between local residents and migrants. This article explores the role of discourse towards enabling a cohesive society. There has been much focus on migrants working in South Africa over the 2020 December festive season as many faced challenges in travelling to their respective countries because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This limelight exposed the underlying discrimination towards migrants in South Africa remain regardless of the South African progressive Constitution that values and respects individuals as well as protecting them from discrimination.Aim: This article adopts threat theory and uses critical discourse analysis to highlight the existing and continued discrimination towards migrant workers. The article exposes the causes of social inequalities, which can assist the government in decision-making towards reducing the inequality gap in service delivery.Setting: Public viewer comments on the news updates on migrants’ travel that were posted on the national news websites over the 2020 festive season were analysed.Methods: Critical Discourse analysis (CDA) was employed as a method of analysis in this article.Results and conclusion: The article intends to add to the existing body of knowledge and to also inform local government towards canvasing agenda that incorporate all human rights and enable a cohesive society by considering the role of discourse as an enabler of the problems experienced in societies. The results show that discourse contributes to negative attitudes, hate speech, discrimination and stereotyping towards migrants in South Africa.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

Citing a goal to raise $1.5 million with consumers, Walgreens and Mental Health America (MHA) have teamed up to turn holiday frustrations into support and services for others, Business Wire reported Dec. 6. Together, Walgreens and MHA are asking people to donate to a virtual “Swear Jar” when they experience the inevitable holiday hiccups that make them want to yell out a “humbug.” MHA is the leading community‐based nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. To show its commitment to support and well‐being for all, Walgreens has made a one‐time $500,000 donation and is matching every dollar donated to MHA via the “Swear Jar,” up to an additional $500,000, through Dec. 31. “Walgreens' initial donation, combined with their matching commitment, will allow MHA to assist thousands of people in taking steps to improve their overall mental health this holiday season — and throughout next year,” said Schroeder Stribling, president and CEO of MHA.

Editorial

Editorial

Diagnostic and age composition of excess mortality associated with the New Year holidays in Russia

Statistics show that in many countries of the world holidays are associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality; this is especially pronounced during the New Year and Christmas period. This article presents an estimate of the excess number of deaths in Russia during the January holidays in 2011–2019 by main classes of causes of death and by age groups. The study relies on the Rosstat dataset of 16.83 million individual non-personalized death records referring to 2011–2019. The authors of the paper estimate excess mortality for each cause and age group as the difference between actually observed mortality and the LOWESS moving average calculated for non-holiday period, extrapolated to the holidays. The calculations showed that the period of excess mortality lasted from January 1 to January 22 with a maximum on January 1. Over 22 days, excess mortality in 2011–2019 amounted to 89.0 thousand cases or 8.4% in relation to mortality on non-holidays; excess mortality on January 1 amounted to 11.4 thousand cases. In contrast to mortality from diseases of the circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems, the contribution of which to excess mortality was proportional to their prevalence on non-holidays, proportion of excess mortality from external causes almost doubled (23.6% versus 12.7 % on weekdays). January 1 saw the highest excess mortality from external causes, including that of alcohol poisoning, homicide, and suicide, in all age groups; on January 2 the highest increase was observed in mortality from diseases of the circulatory system; on January 9 and 10 — from the pathologies of the respiratory and digestive systems. January holidays in Russia are associated with significant excess mortality, primarily as a result of the abuse of strong alcoholic beverages. Informing the population about the fatal consequences of such a consumption regime and a decrease in the availability of strong alcohol, the maximum sales of which falls on December, can reduce the damage during the January holidays.

STRATEGIC DIRECTION OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL TOURIST UKRAINE

Development of Ukraine as an abstractive destination of tourism flows is modern and urgent task. The implementation of priority involves a number of strategic of development of local tourism.
 The importance of international tourism as a type of business that has a multiplier effect on all sectors of the economy is determined. The main factors influencing the development of the tourism industry are analyze. Two periods of tourism development of the XXI century have been established: pre-covid (pre-pandemic) and post- covid (and post-pandemic). The peculiarities of the functioning of the world tourism sector in the reference period are clarify, indicating all the factors influencing the tourism sector. The tourism sector in world and domestic practice attracts significant investment funds that solve a number of problems of unemployment, income growth, replenishment of the revenue side of the budget. The available national tourist resources make it possible to consider Ukraine as an important tourist destination in Europe and to state its strong competitive potential. However, the available UNWTO statistics are striking for the mismatch between economic revenues from tourism and the volume of tourism flow. This suggests that the tourism potential of Ukraine is not fully disclosed, indicative of the weight of the tourism sector of Ukraine at 2% of GDP.
 It should be noted that until 2013 y. inclusive, the entry rate of foreigners and stateless persons in Ukraine had a clear upward trend, and since 2014-2015 years, it has decreased by 1.9 times. This is partly due to the end of Euro 2012 y. football and the events of the Revolution of Dignity (Euromaidan) and the beginning of the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine, which led to the loss of territories. In 2016-2018 years, there is a growing trend in the segment of entry of foreigners and stateless persons. In 2019 y, the signs of the COVID-19 pandemic are noticeable, and there is a decrease in this indicator of tourist flows. Thus, if we briefly analyze the state of international tourism in Ukraine, we can conclude that it has stable growth rates in terms of travel abroad, and a decrease since 2014 in terms of entry. There are some restrictive requirements for the growth of inbound and domestic tourism flows. As already mentioned, this is primarily due to improper development of transport infrastructure and insufficient service, short holiday season, high transport tariffs and inflated prices for domestic services and hotels. Thus, the success of the country and its regions depends on the global environment in which drastic changes are possible only with a sharp external factor of natural or anthropogenic nature. The presence of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine creates additional problems. Creating new business models of tourism in which all these prerequisites are laid down is a strategic task of the country.
 The article point out the need for active promotion of domestic tourism, the structuring of image components of tourist areas, the expansion of promising kinds of tourist services and improving their and urban tourism.
 Key words. strategic directions, international tourism, Ukraine.

Current Evaluation on Generation, Storage, And Disposal of Solid Waste from Tourist Lodging Places in Mokokchung Town : A Case Study of Metsuben, Whispering Wind and Marvel Guest House

Rapid urbanization, population growth and changing consumption patterns in Mokokchung Town contribute significantly to the growing volumes of solid waste. The rate of tourist inflow in Mokokchung Town increases especially during the festive season owing to its culture, religion, history and aesthetic character of the town. Growth in the tourism industry along with ineffective solid waste management practises in the accommodation places and the town has resulted in increasing rates of solid waste production. The present study aims to analyse the inflow rate of tourists and to evaluate the current rate of generation, storage, and disposal of solid waste through empirical study. The study finds out that Mokokchung Town generates 14600 metric tons per year out of this, solid waste generated from tourist accommodation in town accounted for 4088 kg per year i.e., 4.08 Metric tons per year. The study suggests alternative storage and disposal options for tourist accommodation places.

Winter wonder worlds

The winter holiday season comes but once a year – on Earth. Eleanor Spring takes a tour through some of the seasonal extremities experienced on distant worlds. A chilly Earth winter never looked so inviting!

Gizmo: Macro & Micro

Hot consumer tech is hard to snag this holiday season. Get used to it. New-car shoppers in the United States, China, and everywhere else face slim inventory and dealers unwilling to budge on price. It's all because of the global chip shortage, which has prompted the Biden administration to support legislation that includes US $52 billion in subsidies for U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.

We Look With Hope Toward the New Year! [Editor’s Comments

In these last days of 2021, I want to thank you, the readers, for your support of and faithfulness to our Society’s <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine</i> ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">APM</i> ) and, together with the Editorial Board and the publishing team of <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">APM</i> , I would like to wish you a great holiday season and wonderful 2022. I am sure we all hope that the upcoming new year will represent a further step toward worldwide healing and recovery. To celebrate the season, this end-of-year issue of <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">APM</i> will be particularly thick and rich with many feature articles and column contributions. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Another Year of Growth and Excellence Amidst Virtual Events [President’s Message

By the time you read this article, it would be almost the year end. I wish all members of our Power Electronics Society (PELS) and their loved ones a joyful holiday season, gathering with families and friends in celebrating a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Self Assessment System : Upaya Edukatif Badan Pengelola Keuangan dalam Meningkatkan Penerimaan Pajak Perhotelan di Aceh Tengah

Hotel tax is a promising source of Regional Original Revenue (PAD) for Central Aceh district. Central Aceh as a tourist destination area that is always crowded with tourists makes hotels always full, especially during the holiday season. Until now, the hotel and lodging business in Central Aceh is growing and continuing to grow. If managed properly, this opportunity can certainly be utilized by the Central Aceh district government in increasing hotel tax revenue. However, based on the initial data collected, there are obstacles in hotel tax collection and there are significant fluctuations in hotel tax revenue. The purpose of this study was to find out how the efforts of the Central Aceh District Financial Management Agency increased hotel tax revenue and how hotel taxes contributed to Central Aceh District PAD. This research is a qualitative research with descriptive method. Source of data in this research is primary and secondary data. This research was conducted at the Central Aceh Regency Financial Management Board, Bunda hotel and Jeddah hotel. The results of this study indicate that the "self assessment system" tax collection system implemented by the Central Aceh District Financial Management Agency is not optimal in increasing hotel tax revenues. The facts found actually hotel tax revenue fluctuated and did not reach the target. The amount of tax deposited by the taxpayer is not in accordance with what it should be. This has an impact on the contribution of hotel taxes to Central Aceh district PAD for the past five years, which is included in the very low criteria. For this reason, the Central Aceh District Financial Management Agency continues to educate taxpayers by building awareness of paying taxes according to actual conditions. In addition, the financial management agency also made improvements to the hotel tax revenue management system, improved monitoring systems and improved law enforcement for non-compliant taxpayers.

Novel Approach for Fare Prediction Using Machine Learning Techniques

A survey suggests that the Flight and Cab fares vary according to various factors like location, time of the day, etc. The airline companies put into effect dynamic pricing for the flight tickets. Also, it changes with the festival, holiday season and weekends. So, what’s an excellent time to buy a flight ticket? The same can be seen with cabs as well, where the fare depends upon the number of passengers, traffic, etc. The seller has information about all of the factors, but the buyers are able to access the information that is limited through which we cannot predict the tariffs. Considering the characteristics like time of departure, the number of days left for departure and time of the day, it’ll give the prime time to purchase the ticket. Likewise, the cab companies like Uber and Ola use factors like traffic in a particular location, demand and supply factors, for example when the demand for cabs is high there is a hike in prices but when the demand for cabs is not high the prices are calculated normally according to their algorithm. Availability of drivers and type of car to travel in are also crucial factors in determining the cab fares. The motive of the paper is to analyse the factors that influence the deviation within the tariffs and the way they’re associated with the change within the prices. The impetus for the research paper is to inspect the elements which have an impact on the deviations in the tariffs and how they could be related to the variation within the prices. Using this data, build an algorithm that can assist buyers to buy a ticket at an optimal time when they get the maximum benefits and minimum fares.