Stéphanie Baggio, Simon Guillaume-Gentil, Patrick Heller, Komal Chacowry Pala, Hans Wolff and Laurent Gétaz
Body-packing means concealing packets of illicit psychoactive substances in the digestive or genital system. The purpose of this paper is to investigate profiles of body-packers…
Abstract
Purpose
Body-packing means concealing packets of illicit psychoactive substances in the digestive or genital system. The purpose of this paper is to investigate profiles of body-packers and comorbidities associated with body-packing.
Design/methodology/approach
A retrospective study (2005–2016) was conducted among all patients hospitalized for suspicion of body-packing in the Geneva hospital prison unit (n=287). Data were extracted from medical records and included demographics, somatic/psychiatric diseases, suicidal ideation and psychological distress.
Findings
Body-packers were mostly young men (mean age=33.4). A total of 42.2 percent of the participants had at least one psychiatric or somatic comorbidity reported during incarceration (somatic: 28.2 percent, psychiatric: 18.8 percent). The most frequent somatic diseases were infectious (10.5 percent), cardiovascular (10.1 percent), and endocrinological (4.2 percent) diseases, and more precisely HIV (4.5 percent), hepatitis B (3.5 percent), hepatitis C (1.4 percent), high blood pressure (8.0 percent) and diabetes (4.2 percent). The most frequent psychiatric conditions were substance use disorders (10.5 percent) and mood disorders (8.0 percent). Depressed mood/psychological distress and suicidal ideation were frequently reported during hospitalization (27.2/6.6 percent). Comorbidities were associated with demographics: Females were more likely to have somatic and psychiatric diseases detected during hospitalization in detention and participants from Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic countries were more likely to report diseases known before detention.
Originality/value
Body-packers bear a heavy burden of disease and psychological distress. This vulnerable subgroup of incarcerated people has been overlooked in previous research and their health needs are not correctly understood. This study was a first step to improve their health care and reintegration.
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Laurent Gétaz, Hans Wolff, Leonel Gonçalves, Giuseppe Togni, Silvia Stringhini, Komal Chacowry Pala, Anne Iten, Idris Guessous, Laurent Kaiser, Francois Chappuis and Stéphanie Baggio
Prisons can be epicentres of infectious diseases. However, empirical evidence on the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in prison…
Abstract
Purpose
Prisons can be epicentres of infectious diseases. However, empirical evidence on the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in prison is still scarce. This study aims to estimate the seroprevalence rates of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in the largest and most crowded Swiss prison and compare them with the seroprevalence rate in the general population.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2020, one month after the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 in Switzerland. Groups included: people living in detention (PLDs) detained before the beginning of the pandemic (n = 116), PLDs incarcerated after the beginning of the pandemic (n = 61), prison staff and prison healthcare workers (n = 227) and a sample from the general population in the same time period (n = 3,404). The authors assessed anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies.
Findings
PLDs who were incarcerated before the beginning of the pandemic had a significantly lower seroprevalence rate [0.9%, confidence interval (CI)95%: 0.1%–5.9%] compared to the general population (6.3%, CI 95%: 5.6–7.3%) (p = 0.041). The differences between PLDs who were incarcerated before and other groups were marginally significant (PLDs incarcerated after the beginning of the pandemic: 6.6%, CI 95%: 2.5%–16.6%, p = 0.063; prison staff CI 95%: 4.8%, 2.7%–8.6%, p = 0.093). The seroprevalence of prison staff was only slightly and non-significantly lower than that of the general population.
Originality/value
During the first wave, despite overcrowding and interaction with the community, the prison was not a hotspot of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Preventive measures probably helped avoiding clusters of infection. The authors suggest that preventive measures that impact social welfare could be relaxed when overall circulation in the community is low to prevent the negative impact of isolation.
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Marc Dupuis, Stéphanie Baggio, Marion Emilie Accard, Meichun Mohler-Kuo and Gerhard Gmel
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between alcohol abstinence and illicit drug use during early adulthood, and compares abstinence to moderate drinking…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between alcohol abstinence and illicit drug use during early adulthood, and compares abstinence to moderate drinking and binge drinking, regrouped in different frequencies.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 5,968 young male adults who completed the questionnaires were selected for the analyses. Alcohol abstinent participants were compared to moderate drinkers (who did not experience binge drinking during the previous 12 months), and casual, monthly, weekly and daily binge drinkers in terms of prevalence of drug use during early adulthood.
Findings
Alcohol abstinence was associated with higher risks of drug use than moderate drinking (odds ratio (OR)>3) for most of drugs, especially last-stage drugs: crystal meth, solvents, spice and heroin (6.50<OR<13.50). Such findings encourage rethinking prevention among alcohol abstainers who were so far considered at low risk of drug use.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitations of the study are the fact that it is cross-sectional, gender-blind and focussing on Swiss native who are less vulnerable than migrants.
Practical implications
High-risk subjects should be identified among young people who do not drink in order to develop specific preventive interventions.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first that compare alcohol abstinence, moderate drinking and binge drinking. Separate results covering 15 different drugs are presented.
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Najla Arfaoui, Mahrane Hofaidhllaoui and Ginni Chawla
The notion of social performance of the company (SPC) is a fundamental concept of the research on ethics of business and work on company-society relationships. The study raises…
Abstract
Purpose
The notion of social performance of the company (SPC) is a fundamental concept of the research on ethics of business and work on company-society relationships. The study raises several debates concerning SPC’s determinants. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework of SPC along with its social and technological determinants. After identification of the determinants, the authors have searched through a managerial perspective to recognize the effects of these determinants on SPC.
Design/methodology/approach
Content analysis of 18 semi-structured interviews with the HR managers, and statistical analysis of data collected from Managers/HR Managers (n=250) working in private and public sector banks of Tunisia was undertaken. Structural equation modeling (SEM), has been used to test the hypotheses and statistically validate the proposed relationships. Data for the study were collected online.
Findings
Results indicate a strong interrelationship between SPC and its determinants. Such an interrelation aims to enrich the framework of analysis of the SPC by considering the action of social responsibility of the company, organizational commitment and managers’ characteristics on one hand, and human resources information system, the practices of knowledge management, and facilitating conditions for the use of the information and communication technologies on the other.
Originality/value
The study reconciles various perspectives in the SPC literature and presents a comprehensive model of SPC by identifying its determinants – social and technological, which could stimulate the SPC in Tunisian context.
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Kanapot Kalnaovakul, Kandappan Balasubramanian and Stephanie Hui-Wen Chuah
This study investigates the service quality dimensions of hotel resorts in renowned beach destinations of Thailand. It also explores the relationship between review text sentiment…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the service quality dimensions of hotel resorts in renowned beach destinations of Thailand. It also explores the relationship between review text sentiment expressed in online platforms and the satisfaction ratings provided for those reviews.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a two-step analysis approach: first, supervised and unsupervised machine learning via support vector machine (SVM) and latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) are used to identify service quality dimensions, and second, SmartPLS with PROCESS macro is applied to analyze the moderating roles of quality signals and reviewer’s experience on the relationship between sentiment and satisfaction rating. The dataset comprises 102,179 online reviews from TripAdvisor, focusing on 187 selected hotels rated from 3 to 5 stars.
Findings
Eight service quality dimensions were identified, including leisure activities, tangibles and surroundings, reliability, responsiveness, service process, food, empathy and ambience. The study underscores that the service process stands as the sole dimension exhibiting negative sentiment. Furthermore, the analysis revealed a robust positive association between sentiment of review texts and satisfaction, and reviewers’ experience and brand affiliation influenced the relationship between customer sentiment and satisfaction.
Practical implications
Hotel managers should focus efforts on maintaining tangible aspects while enhancing existing service quality level of other dimensions, particularly those related to intangible elements. Independent hotels might implement quality audit to ensure that service quality gaps are monitored.
Originality/value
This study contributes an examination of the moderating roles of quality signals and reviewer’s experience on the relationship between review sentiment and satisfaction rating in online reviews.
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Marcello Mariani, Rodolfo Baggio, Matthias Fuchs and Wolfram Höepken
This paper aims to examine the extent to which Business Intelligence and Big Data feature within academic research in hospitality and tourism published until 2016, by identifying…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the extent to which Business Intelligence and Big Data feature within academic research in hospitality and tourism published until 2016, by identifying research gaps and future developments and designing an agenda for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The study consists of a systematic quantitative literature review of academic articles indexed on the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The articles were reviewed based on the following features: research topic; conceptual and theoretical characterization; sources of data; type of data and size; data collection methods; data analysis techniques; and data reporting and visualization.
Findings
Findings indicate an increase in hospitality and tourism management literature applying analytical techniques to large quantities of data. However, this research field is fairly fragmented in scope and limited in methodologies and displays several gaps. A conceptual framework that helps to identify critical business problems and links the domains of business intelligence and big data to tourism and hospitality management and development is missing. Moreover, epistemological dilemmas and consequences for theory development of big data-driven knowledge are still a terra incognita. Last, despite calls for more integration of management and data science, cross-disciplinary collaborations with computer and data scientists are rather episodic and related to specific types of work and research.
Research limitations/implications
This work is based on academic articles published before 2017; hence, scientific outputs published after the moment of writing have not been included. A rich research agenda is designed.
Originality/value
This study contributes to explore in depth and systematically to what extent hospitality and tourism scholars are aware of and working intendedly on business intelligence and big data. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first systematic literature review within hospitality and tourism research dealing with business intelligence and big data.
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Hsien-Cheng Lin, Xiao Han, Tu Lyu, Wen-Hsien Ho, Yunbao Xu, Tien-Chih Hsieh, Lihua Zhu and Liang Zhang
Research in tourism and hospitality industry marketing has identified many highly effective applications of social media. However, studies in the existing literature do not enable…
Abstract
Purpose
Research in tourism and hospitality industry marketing has identified many highly effective applications of social media. However, studies in the existing literature do not enable a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon because they lack a theoretical foundation. Therefore, this study systematically reviewed the literature from the perspective of the task-technology fit (TTF) theory. The purpose of this paper is to map out what is known about social media use in tourism and hospitality marketing and what areas need further exploration.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive cumulative review of the literature obtained 99 articles published in tourism and hospitality journals from 2010 to 2019.
Findings
The analysis suggests that to understand social media use in tourism marketing, researchers and practitioners in the industry must clarify the following four issues: the control variables, longitudinal analyzes and TTF concepts that should be used in future studies; the fitness of social media platforms for tourism marketing; how various social media platforms differ in terms of performance outcome; and the digital divide in the use of social media for tourism.
Originality/value
An integrated framework was developed to identify constructs and to understand their relationships. Recent studies in this domain are discussed; theoretical and practical suggestions and implications for future research are given.
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Qudsia Enayat, Kate Yorke, Dolores Mullen, Alireza Talebi, Steve Willner, Jon Dunn, Sum Yee Chan, Joseph Heskin, Katy Sinka, Stephanie J. Migchelsen, Hamish Mohammed and Chantal Edge
People in prison face a disproportionate risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), but there is a paucity of evidence on trends in STIs in prisons in England. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
People in prison face a disproportionate risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), but there is a paucity of evidence on trends in STIs in prisons in England. This study aims to describe trends in chlamydia test-positivity and syphilis prevalence by using two different methodologies in prison settings.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used routinely collected chlamydia surveillance data reported by all primary diagnostic laboratories in England from 2018 to 2022 to identify tests undertaken in prisons. Separately, this study used data from a pilot syphilis serology pilot study of four prisons in England. A descriptive analysis was undertaken to describe chlamydia test-positivity and syphilis seroprevalence by demographic characteristics.
Findings
Between 2018 and 2022, the number of chlamydia tests carried out in prisons increased by 2.0% (17,177–17,514) whilst the number of positive diagnoses decreased by 12.0% (957–840). The overall test-positivity in 2022 was 4.8% (840/17,514) which was marginally lower than that of the community; test-positivity was highest in 15–19 year-olds. Overall, syphilis prevalence was 3.9% (43/1064). Prevalence was highest in the women’s prison site at 6.4% 27/398). The range in male prison sites was between 0.5% and 3.5%.
Originality/value
Use of two methods enabled us to better understand the burden of STIs in a vulnerable population. Chlamydia test positivity was marginally lower than community levels but still indicated a high burden of infection, in particular for the 15–24 age group. Syphilis prevalence was high across all age groups in prisons, highlighting the need for more systematic assessment of STIs in prisons to allow for earlier identification and treatment of infections.
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Nirupama Dharmavaram Sreenivasan, Chei Sian Lee and Dion Hoe‐Lian Goh
The purpose of this study is to investigate airline users' microblog postings pertaining to their travel‐related information exchange so as to assess their wants, preferences and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate airline users' microblog postings pertaining to their travel‐related information exchange so as to assess their wants, preferences and feedback about airline products and services. Examining such real‐time information exchange is important as users rely on this for various purposes such as seeking help and evaluating the airline services before purchasing.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses Twitter, a popular microblog service. An analysis of 8,978 postings that mention three specific airlines – i.e. Malaysia Airlines, Jet Blue and Southwest – as well as 260 airline postings on their official Twitter accounts is undertaken. The types of postings were ascertained via content analysis. Additionally, the postings were also analyzed to uncover types of communication exchanges between airlines and their users.
Findings
The findings suggest that microblogs were primarily used to share compliments, while airlines used microblogs mainly for marketing. Other uses such as sharing general information, asking questions and providing personal updates were also uncovered. Additionally, a high number of attention‐seeking postings were found that highlighted user issues and concerns. Further, the airlines being studied did not appear to be as responsive to users' postings as expected.
Originality/value
The findings broaden the understanding of what users frequently discuss on microblogs when they communicate about airlines. Next, this study indicates that users adopt microblogs to offer recommendations and share their concerns so that their communication can reach airlines in near real‐time. Moreover, this study also suggests that airlines could incorporate this medium for customer relationship management to better meet the needs of their customers.