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Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence the development of service robots, and to apply a service innovation strategic mindset to the hotel industry in Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach, combining an expert panel and semi-structured interviews using a SMART SWOT ranking survey, was applied to understand the perspectives of hotel owners and robotics experts. Findings Fifty-three items were collected regarding the demand side of the hospitality market, showing that the Taiwan hospitality industry has good potential to implement service robots. Sixty-one items on the supply side of business were collected, showing that this robotics service can help hotels handle seasonal employment and labor utilization. The SWOT analysis identifies “The fun and curiosity aroused in consumers can enhance the promotion of service robots”, “Lack of talent in system integration”, “Taiwan’s aging society can increase the demand for service robots” and “China and South-east countries have aggressively poached talent in the global robotics market” as key issues. Originality/value Few studies have investigated robotics service for hotels using the six-dimensional service innovation model. This model helps identify six factors and implies that this new service concept can position hotels to better compete by using IT and relationship marketing strategies.

Every day, acts of violence injure more than 6000 people in the United States. Despite decades of social science arguing that joblessness among disadvantaged youth is a key cause of violent offending, programs to remedy youth unemployment do not consistently reduce delinquency. This study tests whether summer jobs, which shift focus from remediation to prevention, can reduce crime. In a randomized controlled trial among 1634 disadvantaged high school youth in Chicago, assignment to a summer jobs program decreases violence by 43% over 16 months (3.95 fewer violent-crime arrests per 100 youth). The decline occurs largely after the 8-week intervention ends. The results suggest the promise of using low-cost, well-targeted programs to generate meaningful behavioral change, even with a problem as complex as youth violence.

To estimate treatment heterogeneity in two randomized controlled trials of a youth summer jobs program, we implement Wager and Athey's (2015) causal forest algorithm. We provide a step-by-step explanation targeted at applied researchers of how the algorithm predicts treatment effects based on observables. We then explore how useful the predicted heterogeneity is in practice by testing whether youth with larger predicted treatment effects actually respond more in a hold-out sample. Our application highlights some limitations of the causal forest, but it also suggests that the method can identify treatment heterogeneity for some outcomes that more standard interaction approaches would have missed.

The article is devoted to presenting the topic of migration of Ukrainian nationals to Poland. The work makes use of a survey under a project carried out in Polish rural areas and small towns. Seven hundred interviews were held in total. We conducted a quantitative analysis of its results here. The employed methods involve variable frequency distribution. The independence of the features was tested with the non-parametric chi-square test of independence. The association of the investigated variables was determined with Cramér’s V. The research shows that the most numerous foreign nationals in the Polish labour market in 2021 were Ukrainians. The positive trend started in 2017. The respondents perceived the migration of Ukrainian nationals to Poland mostly positively, especially regarding seasonal work. They also emphasized that the Ukrainians performed work at variance with their qualifications. Only every fifth participant agreed that migrants took away jobs from Poles. Most of the respondents pointed out that small business owners benefited from employing Ukrainians. The overwhelming majority of the respondents noted an increase in migration from Ukraine after the full-scale invasion and that entire families of Ukrainians were coming to Poland. Nearly half of them agreed that the support system for Ukrainian migrants was a burden on municipal budgets.

PurposeThe paper aims at assessing the role of the different stages of the employment process in gauging workers' willingness to upskill themselves at the end of a seasonal employment contract by investing in further training.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyses data from a dedicated survey administered to a sample of seasonal employees. Through a regression analysis it explores the different stages of the employment process (job search, selection on the job activities), making a distinction between monetary and nonmonetary components of the investment in training.FindingsResults show that all stages matter, but they do not have the same importance. Ex-ante motivations and work experience, notably the level of perceived workload and organizational commitment, are the main factors affecting workers' willingness to acquire industry-specific skills through training.Originality/valueSo far, the literature has extensively dealt with the poor levels of training in seasonal employers, but it did not analyse worker’s willingness to invest in training over the different stages of the worker experience. This paper fills this gap by separately testing the relative importance of such stages and identifying the most important phases of the employment process.

The specific period of the start of a new working season and a return to work after the off-season seems to be a critical moment for the musculoskeletal health of seasonal workers. This study aims to identify the difficulties and working conditions encountered by seasonal workers in this particular period of the working season which may increase the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). An in-depth ergonomic work activity study, combined with a multiple case study of eight seasonal workers from a meat processing facility, was conducted. Various interviews (n = 24) and observations of work activity, organization, and production (n = 96 h) were held at different moments (off-season, return to work at the start of the season, and during the season). Critical work situations exposing workers to WMSD risks emerged and highlighted a diversity of difficulties, such as accomplishing work activity involving strong physical strain and a significant and underestimated mental load, and having to rapidly develop new skills or re-learn working strategies after a long off-period. The study findings have implications for developing actions to prevent WMSDs that target working conditions and support a return to work for returning seasonal workers and a start of work for new seasonal workers, and to address work disability in this context.

Central Asia is an important center of origin for many globally valued fruit and nut tree species. Forest degradation and deforestation are cause for concern for the conservation of these valuable species, now confined to small remnant populations. Home gardens have the important function of sustaining household food consumption and income generation, and can potentially play a critical role in conserving diversity of fruit and nut trees. These systems have been very poorly documented in the scientific literature. This study contributes to filling this gap by describing the diversity of fruit and nut trees in home gardens of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, examining their dynamic flow of planting material and its sources, understanding their future prospects, and looking at significant differences between the three countries. Home gardens show a similar portfolio of the most abundant tree species (apple, apricot, walnut, pear, and plum). Although the diversity of tree species and varieties recorded is significant, small population sizes can limit future possibilities for this diversity to thrive, given the pressure on natural stands and on habitats where the preferred species are found. Furthermore, the selection of species and varieties to be planted in home gardens is increasingly influenced by market opportunities and availability of exotic material. Some of the most abundant tree species recorded are represented largely by exotic varieties (apple, pear), while others (e.g., apricot, walnut, plum) are still mainly characterized by traditional local varieties that are not formally registered. Home gardens continue to play a critical role in rural livelihoods and in national economies, and many rural inhabitants still aspire to maintain them. Thus, home gardens should be integrated in national research and extension systems and closely linked to national conservation efforts. Changes and possible declines in the diversity they host, their health status, and resilience should be carefully monitored.

In Spain, the agricultural sector relies heavily on migrant workers, especially during seasonal seasons. However, these workers face significant challenges related to precarious working conditions and structural vulnerability, which have become more acute since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This descriptive qualitative study was based on 87 personal interviews with health and social professionals from sectors such as NGOs, social services, trade unions, local institutions, and health services to promote compliance with these measures in four Spanish regions. It explored the difficulties faced by migrant agricultural workers in complying with prevention measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, the measures taken by organizations and public institutions and the health consequences of the pandemic on this group. After a reflexive thematic analysis, the results show how to mitigate the pandemic’s impact, both local authorities and NGOs implemented extraordinary measures to care for migrant farm workers. Responses to the pandemic included temporary housing, mass testing, and stricter labor regulations. Working conditions, constant mobility, precarious housing, and language barriers contributed to the difficulty of implementing preventive measures. Covid-19 intensified inequalities and highlighted the lack of preparedness of institutions to deal with this group. The conclusions suggest that intercultural competence in health professional training and the creation of inclusive approaches to health and social care are critical to addressing health disparities and ensuring the well-being of all migrant farm workers, regardless of their migration status or mobility.

Decades later, Barbara demonstrated the Berkley organ during the OHS 2005 Southeastern Massachusetts Convention, when it was awarded OHS Historic Organ Citation No. 333. [...]late in 1960, I enrolled at Boston University for a graduate degree in musicology. 3 In June of that year, the Tabernacle and its organ were used for the opening concert of the OHS 1966 Cape Cod Convention in \"A Program of Victorian Anthems\" sung by the Dudley Buck Quartett (see program). Matthew M. Bellocchio first met Barbara Owen on a bus ride during the 1973 OHS Convention.