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With the ongoing catastrophe of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world seems to have come to a standstill. Daily living routines, work, and schools predominantly launched into a state of confusion, and people across the globe excessively find ways to cope with their experiences of this traumatic disaster. Concerning schools, the pandemic has dramatically challenged the education system with teaching and learning processes managed remotely, utilising online platforms. This paper explores university students’ perception of online learning, specifically during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, to uncover how they respond to this ‘new normal’ digital mode of teaching and learning and how they seek to regain control over the sudden shift in their lives. Through interviews with students from Universiti Darussalam (UBD) and Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali UNISSA, this original article reveals students’ transformative behaviours during online learning, and institutional supports that contribute to the shaping of students' online learning experiences in Brunei.

Using a mobile phone is increasingly becoming recognized as very dangerous while driving. With a smartphone, users feel connected and have access to information. The inability to access smartphone has become a phobia, causing anxiety and fear. The present study’s aims are as follows: first, quantify the association between nomophobia and road safety among motorists; second, determine a cut-off value for nomophobia that would identify poor road safety so that interventions can be designed accordingly.

Participants were surveyed online for nomophobia symptoms and a recent history of traffic contraventions. Nomophobia was measured using the nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q).

A total of 1731 participants responded to the survey; the mean age was 33 ± 12, and 43% were male. Overall, 483 (28%) [26–30%] participants received a recent traffic contravention. Participants with severe nomophobia showed a statistically significant increased risk for poor road safety odds ratios and a corresponding 95% CI of 4.64 [3.35-6.38] and 4.54 [3.28-6.29] in crude and adjusted models, respectively. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC)-based analyses revealed that NMP-Q scores of = 90 would be effective for identifying at risk drivers with sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 61%, 75% and 72%, respectively.

Nomophobia symptoms are quite common among adults. Severe nomophobia is associated with poor road safety among motorists. Developing screening and intervention programs aimed at reducing nomophobia may improve road safety among motorists.

Micro and small enterprises (MSE) play a critical role in the Swiss economy but had no meaningfully adopted working from home (WFH) policy before the COVID-19 crisis. The timing of the study’s data collection allowed a unique assessment of Swiss MSEs’ adoption of WFH enabled by the adoption of digital technologies due to the first government-mandated COVID-19 lockdown. The study also set out to assess the permanence of any changes in the adoption of WFH by MSEs after initial government COVID-19 restrictions ended.

The study uses a threefold theoretical framework combining social, technical and spatial dimensions. Data were collected via telephone interviews. The utilised sampling frame included 153,000 small businesses with 4–49 employees, and the realised sample for the study was 503 interviews with MSE owners and managing directors (MDs).

The Swiss government’s COVID-19 crisis lockdown policies accelerated the digital transformation of work by employees in Swiss MSEs by increasing the number of employees WFH. However, the number of MSEs with WFH employees decreased after the first lockdown ended. Small business leadership is an important influence on the persistence of any increases in WFH.

The data collection uniquely captures the effects of externally driven digital transformation of work in small businesses by the adoption of WFH. The findings show that small businesses can rapidly learn new ways of working and support the claim that Swiss MSE MDs play a critical role in the adoption of WFH. They also confirm the importance of digital leadership and culture for realising the potential of WFH in small businesses.

In many countries, schools move toward healthier canteen assortments by limiting the supply of unhealthy foods. The question arises whether this gives any undesirable side effects with students (e.g. compensation in purchases from school to outside retailers, reactance) and how to handle these so that operating school canteens remains financially viable. The purpose of this paper is to identify perspectives toward healthy school food assortments held by vocational education students and professionals within secondary and vocational schools with responsibility for school food policy (e.g. school canteen workers, teachers, school directors) in the Netherlands.

Four focus groups were conducted with students at a vocational school (n=25 in total). A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct discussions. The interview guide also included three school canteen scenario’s (A: 100 percent healthy food, B: 50 percent healthy/50 percent unhealthy foods and C: 100 percent unhealthy food) and a set of nine intervention strategies. A brief survey included questions on the same three scenario’s and nine intervention strategies. A web-based survey was conducted among 68 professionals responsible for school food policy and included their evaluation of the same canteen scenarios and interventions. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Content analysis was done on the qualitative data.

School food professionals were highly supportive of Scenario A (100 percent healthy food), as this formed a better fit with their policies and was believed to stronger encourage healthy eating. They did worry about financial feasibility given lower affordability and student reluctance to accept the assortment. Students were less in favor of Scenario A. Students discussed getting value for money and remaining freedom to make unhealthy choices. The authors discuss implications for policy makers who aim to implement measures to improve young people’s eating habits.

This study contributes to the literature on creating healthier school food environments. This study uniquely examines a healthier school canteen from a viability perspective, including the views of students as primary customers. Given the need to progressively increase the number of foods complying to dietary guidelines in canteen assortments, this study provides insights into how and why assortment changes best can be implemented.

Evaluating emergency preparedness exercises is crucial for assessing enhanced knowledge, facilitating learning and implementing knowledge in organizations. The cognitive process of motivation for action is a precursor for action, coping behavior and individual learning. This study aims to focus on how guided evaluation of emergency preparedness exercises can enhance cognitive motivation and influence the mental readiness of exercise participants.

This is a conceptual paper with a model approach design. The main conceptual contribution is suggesting a model for guided evaluation in emergency preparedness exercises. We present a theoretical background for understanding the increase in motivation based on social cognitive learning theory. In particular, this study discusses how different evaluation steps contribute to enhanced motivation and learning for exercise participants.

Increased motivation and enhanced personal performance standards could be achieved through using processes that lead to self-efficacy in guided exercise evaluation. Specifically, sources of enhanced motivation, such as repeated coping experiences, self-regulation processes, mastery motivation and performance motivation, would proliferate the readiness of individual crisis managers and teams.

This article suggests an evaluation model for use in emergency preparedness exercises. This approach combines bottom-up and top-down processes for debriefing, reflection and feedback, both individually and in teams. This approach aims to enhance exercise participants’ motivation and utilize exercise evaluation for organizational learning.

The conceptual discussion leads to developing implications for evaluation practice, suggesting how to structure evaluation and why. This study is novel for its explanation of how to use evaluation in the learning process.

This study examines learner readiness and satisfaction with blended learning systems in India’s post-vaccine classrooms, focusing on the relationship between face-to-face (F2F), online learning (OL), and blended learning (BL) indicators and identifying which predictors within these systems most significantly affect learners’ satisfaction (LS).

An online survey was conducted with 451 students from both public and private universities in India. The data were analyzed using factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, followed by multiple regression to test the hypotheses.

The findings reveal a significant positive correlation between learners’ satisfaction and online learning and blended learning, with β values of 28.3 and 27.2, bearing a p-value of 0.000. In contrast, face-to-face (F2F) learning was insignificant, with a β value of 0.070 and a p-value of 0.119. These insights underscore the effectiveness of online and blended learning formats in enhancing learner satisfaction in higher education while also suggesting a re-evaluation of the role of traditional F2F learning methods. The research supports the integration of online learning in higher education due to its balanced mix of teacher-led and student-centered instruction, alongside the practical benefits of reduced travel costs and access to independent study resources.

This study provides insights into student perceptions and attitudes towards blended learning in India’s post-vaccine classrooms. It highlights the importance of tailoring blended learning strategies to meet colleges’ and universities’ diverse learning needs and goals in this evolving context. The findings serve as a valuable resource for educators and administrators, aiding in designing effective blended learning frameworks suited explicitly for higher education in India.

While there is extensive literature on F2F, OL, and BL, limited research compares these learning approaches and their impact on learner satisfaction within the Indian higher education context. This study fills this gap by providing valuable insights for shaping educational strategies in India’s post-vaccine classrooms.