The impact of COVID-19 on employment and income of vocational graduates in China: Evidence from surveys in January and July 2020

COVID-19, income and gender wage gap: Evidence from the China family panel studies (CFPS) 2014 to 2020

COVID-19 has a ubiquitous impact on human society and a significant impact on the labor market. This paper explores the impact of COVID-19 on income and its gender differences based on Generalized Difference-in-Differences using publicly available national micro-tracking survey data (CFPS 2014-2020) for the first time. The main findings are as follows: 1. COVID-19 significantly reduces incomes and affects men more; 2. Telecommuting mitigates income losses and is a significant factor contributing to the smaller impact on women; 3. There is educational heterogeneity in COVID-19 shock, with a significant negative impact on the income of those with lower education and a non-significant impact on those with higher education; 4. Men working in production and transportation, as well as female workers in commerce and services, will suffer the greatest loss of income; 5. For men, the older they are, the more they are affected by COVID-19, while the opposite is true for women; 6. Compared to urban residents, COVID-19 has a greater impact on rural residents. There are some policy implications: 1. the relationship between COVID-19 prevention measures and economic development should be carefully considered. 2. Telecommuting should be promoted during the COVID-19 pandemic. 3. The vulnerable groups should be protected.

The metaverse in education: Definition, framework, features, potential applications, challenges, and future research topics

The declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic forced humanity to rethink how we teach and learn. The metaverse, a 3D digital space mixed with the real world and the virtual world, has been heralded as a trend of future education with great potential. However, as an emerging item, rarely did the existing study discuss the metaverse from the perspective of education. In this paper, we first introduce the visions of the metaverse, including its origin, definitions, and shared features. Then, the metaverse in education is clearly defined, and a detailed framework of the metaverse in education is proposed, along with in-depth discussions of its features. In addition, four potential applications of the metaverse in education are described with reasons and cases: blended learning, language learning, competence-based education, and inclusive education. Moreover, challenges of the metaverse for educational purposes are also presented. Finally, a range of research topics related to the metaverse in education is proposed for future studies. We hope that, via this research paper, researchers with both computer science and educational technology backgrounds could have a clear vision of the metaverse in education and provide a stepping stone for future studies. We also expect more researchers interested in this topic can commence their studies inspired by this paper.