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Heather MacIntosh's emotionally moving paper describes an intense relation with a patient at a time when Heather herself was traumatized. This analyst-patient relationship inspired Heather to make essential changes in her lifestyle. These changes were curative for both the analyst and the patient. The discussion highlights three main issues. The first is leaps from the analytic frame, Different forms of leaps, starting with those defined by Freud and continuing with current analysts, demonstrate various modifications of the frame. The second issue is the question of who is responsible for the transformation of trauma. When the analyst remains faithful to her ideals, she can be inspired by a vast range of idealized selfobjects, human and nonhuman. The perception of an idealized selfobject is neither dependent on external conditions nor on actual actions. The patient can then expand her mind in a similar way. The third issue focuses on the expansion of the scope of selfobject experiences in times of turbulence and stress. We may consider that in such times the mind can be inspired by the selfobject function of nature, art, imagination and virtual possibilities. In our times, universality and interconnectedness fulfill a major role in informing our lives. Our minds are constituted by a global ecology that shapes our subjectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers, especially in the Global North/developed countries such as the United States of America, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, have been actively involved in implementing social programs to improve the psychosocial, health, and wellbeing of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this is not the case in the Global South/developing countries like Nigeria, Ghana, etc. This concept paper aims to describe the current state of Nigerian social workers' role in developing and implementing social programs for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify action plans for further strengthening their involvement. We systematically reviewed the literature to identify Nigerian social workers' role in developing and implementing social programs for older adults during COVID-19. Our review reflected that social workers are rarely involved in developing and implementing social programs; when involved, their involvement is on a consultation basis, which limits their active involvement in multidisciplinary team of COVID-19 prevention and vaccination ad hoc committees in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrolysis of medical waste components combined via a novel systematic combination approach (sequentially binary, ternary, and quaternary copyrolysis) was conducted at 400°C to investigate the synergy between medical waste components in improving chemical characteristics and yields of pyrolytic oil. Pyrolysis of hydrocarbon-polymer-containing materials such as medical gloves and rubber bands produced more than 30% of liquid products with substantial compositions of saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon polymers. On the other hand, moisture- and carbonyl-rich pyrolytic liquid products with low selectivity were obtained from pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass waste such as HVS paper (houtvrij schrijfpapier, meaning "writing paper made from wood pulp") and garden waste. Binary copyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass and medical gloves exhibited improvement on pyrolytic liquid yield and selectivity toward saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon polymers due to hydrogen donor as the medical glove fraction became dominant. The addition of rubber band to the mixture of HVS paper and medical face masks enhanced the pyrolytic liquid yield. The pyrolysis of the mixture of HVS paper, medical face masks, medical gloves, and either rubber bands or cotton fabrics with mixture ratio of 60:20:10:10 yielded the most optimum pyrolytic liquid yield with significant distribution of alkanes in the pyrolytic liquid products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global reality of the COVID-19/Corona pandemic paradoxically boosted national politics, broadcasting and citizenship. Media coverage, especially initially, praised citizen solidarity and the creative solutions that were pioneered to care for each other. A year later, a lasting social learning curve throughout and after this crisis seems illusory. The pandemic, this paper argues, needs to be understood in a longer timeframe as the working through and coming to terms with neo-liberal governmentality. The (often hilarious) early responses on social media provide a strong entry to do so. Our focus will be on the Netherlands which had a so-called 'intelligent' lockdown during the first wave of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020. Using the authors' own sharing back and forth of toilet paper memes as a starting point, we aim to explore the notion of collective self-reflection and citizen co-education underlying both heated and simply ridiculous posts. Using previous discussion of cultural citizenship, this paper inquires into how pandemic citizenship played out as a vast exercise in disciplining and distinction through jokes and anger. The material suggests a nostalgic turn that might point to an implicitly voiced critique of neoliberal governmentality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative geographical methods have played an important role in COVID-19 research. To complement and extend previous review studies, we conduct a scoping review of COVID-19 studies employing quantitative geographical approaches by focusing on 331 papers published in 45 journals in geography, urban studies, and planning. We identify four major research themes (clusters): (1) how SARS-CoV-2 viruses spread in cities, (2) the COVID-19 mortality (death) rates and their association with socioeconomic variables, (3) how the COVID-19 pandemic changed people's mobilities, and (4) how the COVID-19 pandemic affects air pollution. We conclude that spatial models play a key role in COVID-19 quantitative geographical approaches, and human mobility is an important and widely studied topic. We also reveal a lack of research focusing on environmental pollution (other than air pollution) that potentially worsened during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this academic comic (or acadomic) I reflect on impacts to the creative process when reconceptualizing and recontextualizing a comics-based research (CBR) project as an acadomic for an edited book during the Covid-19 pandemic. The lockdowns intensified computer-mediated-communication (CMC) and I am compelled by two years of virtually exclusive engagement with digital technologies to explore the impact unrestrained online activities have on my creative comics practice, on my conceptions of research, and on my experiences as a teacher. Analysis of this process and its impacts is realized through a mixed research methodology that explores the impacts of conceptualizing and making an earlier acadomic, which in turn documents a comics-based research project between university students and a national charity as they successfully collaborate on the creation of a graphic novel. I probe the boundaries of academic writing by visualizing and performing Baudrillard's theoretical violence to critique digital intensification through metaphor, semiotics, and comics. The work for this article was undertaken during the rolling pandemic lockdowns in the UK and around the world from 2020 to 2022. Academic theory and the medium of comics problematize the digital simulacrum as I action a utopian pedagogy that supports balance between traditional and digital techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-pandemic has meant that we, as therapists, go through the same experiences as our patients. Bass's paper enables us to digest these last months' experience, not only from a professional perspective, but from both emotional and practical perspectives as well. In this paper, we zoom into the new opportunities frame alterations have brought, such as more intimacy and openness, both for patients and therapists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both Harris and Howard in their thoughtful papers examine the intersection of the psyche and the social in the context of COVID-19 and racial unrest. The combination of these events has brought into sharp focus the impact of the social on intrapsychic functions. Especially in relation to African Americans and low-income persons, we observe the varied impact of racist and capitalistic driven systemic inequities and the conflicts and resistances that they generate. Psychoanalytic perspectives offer the possibility through reflection, education, and atonement to inform attempts to promote self-care, enlightened interventions, and system change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus pandemic is challenging the existing global economic order and the risk of infection is reordering the way people interact. Communication technologies have provided new ways of managing social activities and maintaining social order. The digital health code is a technology developed to digitize health and mobility via mobile devices; its objective is to restore the flow and control of the physical body in a post-pandemic society. This paper examines the digital health code in post-pandemic China. Through analysis of its technical structure, government policies and the use of the digital health code, the paper explores how this social biotechnology reconstructs the notion of health, how it restores mobility and in doing so how it strikes a balance between biosecurity and capital accumulation in post-pandemic societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered new research areas in supply chain resilience. One of these new areas is viability. Viability extends the resilience understanding from performance-based assessment of firm’s responses to disruptions towards survivability of both supply chains and associated ecosystems not only during some short-term disruptions but also under conditions of long-term crises. To explore the state-of-the-art knowledge on methods, models, capabilities, and technologies of supply chain viability, we edited this important IJPR special issue. To introduce the special issue, we review the existing literature on supply chain viability, conceptualise seven major pillars of supply chain viability theory (i.e. viable supply chain design, viability in process planning and control, ripple effect, intertwined and reconfigurable supply networks, ecosystems, digital supply chain, and Industry 5.0), and establish some associated future research directions. The findings of this editorial paper, as well as the articles in the special issue, can be used by researchers and practitioners alike to consolidate recent advances and practices of viability in supply chain networks and lay the solid foundation for further developments in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critiques recent developments in educational discourse through an analysis of two UK Government White Papers and three specific problems. We argue that the latter herald forms of 'biocreep'. Echoing the analysis of such phenomena in the work of Michel Foucault, this gradual extension of 'biopolitics' into the field of education is a tendency which has accelerated with the Coronavirus pandemic and raises many questions for policy analysis. First, we show how the White Papers' approach to life and its related assumptions embody an attempt to further entrench the techniques of biopolitical population management in secondary and further education settings. Second, our analysis of the two Papers shows not just a deepening discursive shift towards ways of instrumentalising educational processes, but also identifies a triple problem of political assemblage: primo, this shift relies on the assemblage of a 'problematic subject'; secondo, it simultaneously assembles the problem of value extraction; and tertio, it obscures the problem of desire or unruliness of the assemblages created. Just as discursive practices of instrumentation, administration and evacuation try to manage these assemblages, they remain unable to contain the three problems they enshrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper used a preregistered set of language dimensions to indicate how scientists psychologically managed the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects. Study 1 evaluated over 1.8 million preprints from arXiv.org and assessed how papers written during the COVID-19 pandemic reflected patterns of psychological trauma and emotional upheaval compared to those written before the pandemic. The data suggest papers written during the pandemic contained more affect and more cognitive processing terms to indicate writers working through a crisis than papers written before the pandemic. Study 2 (N = 74,744 published PLoS One papers) observed consistent emotion results, though cognitive processing patterns were inconsistent. Papers written specifically about COVID-19 contained more emotion than those not written about COVID-19. Finally, Study 3 (N = 361,189 published papers) replicated the Study 2 emotion results across more diverse journals and observed papers written during the pandemic contained a greater rate of cognitive processing terms, but a lower rate of analytic thinking, than papers written before the pandemic. These data suggest emotional upheavals are associated with psychological correlates reflected in the language of scientists at scale. Implications for psychology of language research and trauma are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Call for papers for a special issue on economic policy in an era of crises and uncertainty - tackling global inequality and financial instability, building forward post-covid, and securing net zero Papers for this Special Issue are invited to address the complexity of economic policy formation given the multiplicity of policy objectives along with the uncertainty over the global economy. The I International Review of Applied Economics i invites papers for a Special Issue on 'Economic policy in an era of crises and uncertainty - tackling global inequality and financial instability, building forward post-covid, and securing net zero'. [Extracted from the article]

This study aims to evaluate medical students' impressions and attitudes toward scientific journal articles, and their accessibility to them in one of the developing countries, Jordan. Fourteen questions were asked to medical students to assess their knowledge and accessibility to papers, and to discover the impact of low interest in scientific papers on students' dealing with COVID-19. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. The study found that there is an unsatisfactory reading for scientific journal articles among medical students, with only 47.2% of students reading them. Furthermore, there are unsatisfactory results regarding students' knowledge about journal types from the trust perspective (i.e., predatory and reliable journals). This was mainly because of a lack of adequate universal teaching about scientific journal articles, as 86.7% of medical students reported that their universities do not teach them about scientific journal articles. The absence of comprehensive learning about scientific journal articles had a potential negative impact on the medical student's handling of COVID-19 socially (i.e., advising people in the community about vaccination importance, social distancing, and other preventive measures). Librarians should be involved primarily in undergraduate education related to scientific journal articles, and their role in providing subscription-based journals free of charge, as well as protecting students from predatory journals through suitable library instructions, is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Editorial Board of Economy and Society has assembled a virtual collection of 12 free access papers to mark a very significant anniversary – Volume 50 of the journal is being published during 2021. This overview explains the rationale for the collection in the context of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and briefly details why we want to encourage the re-reading of these particular papers. Each paper has the potential to contribute to critical understandings and progressive political engagements with economy and society in COVID times. Read together, the collection also signals the kind of work which is likely to shape the immediate future of the journal. Economy and Society has long been a key venue for the publication of social science research into public health, disease and the life sciences, and this is at the core of the collection. But the global pandemic has wrought severe disruptions throughout economy and society, forcing a host of latent tendencies, tensions and divisions to the surface of public consciousness and political debate. Around half of the papers have therefore been selected because they cast a revealing light on some of the wider-ranging dynamics of economy and society that have become all too apparent in COVID times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the application of force majeure, the principle of change of circumstances, and the doctrine of frustration in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand and China. The paper will first outline the general legal test and legal consequences of the three doctrines. Secondly, the paper will discuss the legal tests and legal consequences of the three doctrines specifically in New Zealand and China and in the context of COVID-19. Thirdly, the paper will discuss the similarities and differences between the three doctrines. In the second part of this paper, the paper will discuss how the three doctrines apply to commercial lease cases in the context of COVID-19. The paper will select two commercial lease cases in New Zealand and China to analyse the robustness of all three legal doctrines in providing practical workable solutions for tenants and landlords during government-imposed lockdowns and enforced closures of leased premises. The paper illustrates how the differences in the legal tests, legal consequences and underlying rationales of the doctrines result in different outcomes of a case. The paper concludes that the doctrines each have their strengths and weaknesses and other civil and common law countries can learn from the experiences of China and New Zealand. Furthermore, the paper suggests that courts should carefully consider the relevant facts and circumstances of a case when applying legal doctrines. Moreover, courts need to strike the right balance between doing the victims of unforeseen circumstances and upholding the principle of the sanctity of contract. The analysis of the three doctrines is particularly useful in this day and age where there is a high likelihood of the occurrence of another pandemic-level event and causing unprecedented disruptions to the commercial world. Moreover, the research has provided tenants and landlords with a good starting point as to how to protect themselves in the event of an unforeseen event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An epidemic outbreak largely disrupts supply chains (SCs) worldwide through plummeting business confidence, especially when it becomes a pandemic; its unpredictable re-emergence and spreadability may lead to inappropriate decision-making, in turn causing severe economic shocks. In March 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak attained a pandemic level, and many millions of cases were confirmed globally. Many countries reported an increasing number of active cases and formulated long-term lockdown guidelines, which resulted in an unexpected disruption of SCs. A key challenge in this scenario is that the rising number of confirmed COVID-19 cases does not necessarily reflect the already infected or asymptomatic cases. It is thus critical to understand the impact of asymptomatic carriers on the SC, as they may be the key driver of the novel virus spread, disrupting long-term SCs. This paper generalised the susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered (S-E-I-R) approach to create a mathematical model for which the impact of a proposed asymptomatic situation on the SC is evaluated through the basic reproduction number (R0), considered the main driver of SC disruption and the equilibrium status of infection over time. This paper presents an action plan for reducing disruption in the SC based on the R0 of the model. Overall, the current study as validated through a case study suggests that the asymptomatic-situation-based model is more convenient for critically understanding as well as forecasting the outbreak’s impact on SCs. This study also highlights different perspectives of SCs for managing such types of pandemics using modelling approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the brutal tactics used by security forces in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa. Key questions raised relate to the philosophical (dis)connectedness of their actions. The paper posits that the way in which some police and soldiers conducted themselves in black communities is reminiscent of colonial-apartheid hermeneutics. Their conduct, devoid of Ubuntu, relegates the culprits to "mere symbols with no substance," in a deeply conditioned state of mental subjugation. Though black, the culprits remain largely unAfrikan in thought. The paper concludes that training for security forces needs to inculcate philosophies of Afrikanism. Furthermore, the paper highlights key lessons to be embraced. Recommendations made include the professionalisation of the security forces, enabling public dialogue, and bringing the culprits to book faster to restore the image of the country, the government, and the security agencies. This paper used a qualitative desktop design that applied inductive analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chains constantly face new problems that go way beyond the traditional issues of supply and demand uncertainty, particularly due to the impact of worldwide disruptive events. This paper aims at mapping academic literature examining so far issues related to the impact on supply chains of the COVID-19 outbreak based on a thorough literature review of peer-reviewed papers published in 2020. Following criteria established by the systematic approach, we build a framework based on the most recent papers of the discipline to address major disruptions that challenge SCM operations. We consider features from individual organisations, characteristics of the whole supply chain, performance metrics for long-term sustainability, and attributes from external disruptions. We derive a list of topics that deserve further investigation such as collaboration, technology adoption and knowledge creation together with their diffusion, strategies to shape and promote awareness along supply chain stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 lockdown, cultural heritage institutions responded promptly to this difficult time by launching a series of digital collections of traces of this historical moment. Due to the limitations of the lockdown, such collections have generally focused on the intimate dimension of the pandemic, representing represented the outside world (streets, shops, cultural venues, etc.) as a site of emptiness. This paper examines the 'Windows in lockdown' initiative, which aimed to collect photographs of the messages displayed in physical locations during the lockdown period. The collection was carried out through an action research approach based on a participatory platform and social media. A collection of 1,224 photos taken in France between March and May 2020 was built. This paper analyses this collection through a social semiotics approach. The analysis highlights the role played by the outside world as a generator of an alternative collective memory during COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental disorders negatively affect employee well-being and organizational performance. Organizations face a challenge in terms of how to manage mental health. This paper clarifies three issues (underlying patterns, trends, and impact of COVID-19) regarding the scientific study of mental health in organizations from a healthcare analytics framework. The framework comprises eight stages considering a text-driven approach with scientific corpora assisted by linguistic/computational and statistical resources. This study discovers a new taxonomic model comprising five patterns in the scientific discourse on the topic. Trend analyses reveal imbalances and concerns regarding the interests associated with the patterns, which is reinforced by examining patterns "before" and "during" COVID-19. This paper complements psychological/epidemiological studies on mental health in organizations from a healthcare analytics perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper briefly introduces the Special Issue "The Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic." In doing so, it first outlines the initial call for papers and some of the general contours of the issue before then offering a terse summary of the larger themes offered in each of the six papers included in this volume. Some final summary remarks and larger suggestions for additional work in this area are also noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In late 2019 the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) led to a pandemic in 2020 and continues in 2021 and came to be known as the COVID-19 pandemic (Ciotti et al. [3]). Data from this survey are used in the paper with title I Exploring the Factors Affecting Travel Behaviors During the Second Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United State i s by Jiao and Azimian ([8]). This paper reports on findings from a survey questionnaire collected from approximately 480 respondents throughout India about their before the pandemic and during the pandemic long-distance travel. In addition to dramatic decreases in the use of public transportation they find habits before the pandemic play a significant role in the after the pandemic changes in travel behavior. [Extracted from the article]

The economic landscape of the UK has been significantly shaped by the intertwined issues of Brexit, COVID, and their interconnected impacts. The disruptions caused by Brexit and the COVID pandemic have created uncertainty and upheaval for both businesses and individuals. Whilst the effects of COVID are now receding, Brexit is still dominating headlines seven years after the referendum and is likely to do so for the foreseeable future. In this introduction, we provide an overview of the literature on Brexit. We review the reasons for leaving the European Union, as well examine the consequences of Brexit, with a focus on investment, economic growth, trade, unemployment, and financial markets. We then introduce the seven papers selected from the 'Post Brexit: Uncertainty, Risk Measurement and Coronavirus Challenges Conference' held at Birmingham Business School in June 2021, that advance the current literature on the effects of Brexit and COVID on the UK economy. Evidence in these papers suggests that Brexit and COVID are still clearly posing a severe strain on the UK's economy. However, some papers suggest that not everything about Brexit has been detrimental, or at least certain sectors of the UK economy are displaying a marked resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unprecedented pandemic, named COVID-19, impacts the entire world and has been experienced in 2020. Due to the lack of treatment, all the researchers in each and every field concentrated to deal with it. Primarily in computer science, the contribution involves the development of approaches for detection, diagnosis and prediction of COVID-19 scenarios. In this field, Deep Learning (DL) and Data Science are the most extensively exploited approaches. This review outlines 50 research papers and also presents different approaches to identifying COVID-19. Here, these papers are classified and analysed into various categories and this survey presents details, like software tools employed, utilised datasets, published years and performance metrics, exploited in those papers. Moreover, the collected information is reviewed and graphical information regarding the result and analysis is presented. The research gaps and problems raised in conventional COVID-19 approaches are explained. For this review, the future work is on the basis of the research gaps and issues identified from the research strategies. Additionally, the result and analysis exhibit that the MATLAB software tool is extensively used for detection of COVID-19 and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model is the frequently utilised approach for COVID-19 detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses micro-level data from the 2013 official Kuwait Household expenditure survey covering 2961 households; and three 2020 COVID-19 shock-related CEO, labor force and household surveys to juxtapose the consumption profiles of foreign workers in Kuwait. The paper contributes to a growing literature on foreign workers by focusing on foreign workers' employment and earnings and consumption profiles following the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper compares differential consumption responses of 250 foreign and Kuwaiti households during the COVID-19 shock with profiles that existed during 2013, which was a shock-free year. Moreover, since foreigners represent nearly 70% of the population, OLS regressions were applied to the 2013 microdata and the 2020 household survey to inquire if standard consumption functions deployed in the economic literature hold in the case of foreign households in Kuwait and vets how their consumption responded to income shocks. Our data and empirical analysis corroborate that Kuwait's foreign community bore the brunt of COVID-19 in terms of employment, earnings and living conditions. Moreover, our results broadly indicate congruence with Friedman's permanent income hypothesis, and that for given income levels, consumption heterogeneity holds for foreign workers according to age cohorts, giving support to the life cycle hypothesis. The findings carry significant implications to Kuwait's dichotomous labor markets, and to households' income and consumption policies especially to Kuwait's transformative policy to realize sustainable growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores my first hand experience of illness during the first weeks of the pandemic, as a PhD student. Through an auto ethnographic lens, I narrate events which occurred during the month of March 2020. My memories, and their interpretation, continued to transform in the subsequent months, coinciding with the analysis of an earlier set of participants data and writing of the thesis. This paper draws upon such experiences to raise methodological and existential questions in relation to design research and healthcare. The short paper is structured in two parts; the first describes a few memory fragments to help the reader connect with that initial experience, whilst the second discusses the methodological and existential implications alongside a personal reflection, as an invitation for further dialogue within our research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a highly infectious respiratory disease which spread can be effectively curbed by wearing facial masks, especially N95 and surgical masks. In this paper, we develop a stylised game-theoretical model to evaluate the impacts of producing and selling masks on supply chain profits, safety index and consumer and social welfare. Firstly, we find that as the infection probability without protection (IPWP) increases, both the retail price and demand for these masks will increase. When the IPWP is sufficiently low, those consumers who want to purchase masks are more likely to purchase N95 masks, but when the IPWP increases, surgical masks are more popular amongst consumers. Secondly, we develop a safety index that indicates the effectiveness of using masks in preventing respiratory disease infection. This index is especially crucial in cases where the IPWP is moderate; in other words, recommending to wear masks is particularly important when the IPWP is moderate. We also examine the impacts of government involvement in handling the outbreak of respiratory diseases. Providing consumer subsidies and promoting the social mask enterprise can effectively combat respiratory diseases under different conditions. Our results can be used for combating COVID-19 and preparing for future health crisess. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the Caribbean, the number of students pursuing postgraduate studies in higher education institutions (HEIs) has increased over the years. Consequently, locally contextualised epistemologies and empowering methods are needed to help adult learners in Caribbean higher education (HE) navigate their studies. This paper presents findings from a photovoice study undertaken with postgraduate adult learners at an HEI in Jamaica. Participants used photographs, written reflections and group discussions to explore their HE journey. Given the intervening nature of the pandemic in the immediate period after the study was conceptualised and participants engaged, this paper focuses on the ways in which photovoice offered participants opportunities to make meaning of their HE journey. Findings demonstrate that the use of photovoice was transformative in how it empowered participants through the opportunity to engage in self-discovery and discuss their thoughts and emotions, facilitated peer support, and how it enabled adult learners to forge resilience as they undertook their studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, early childhood educators (ECEs) made a rapid pivot to remote instruction. Much of this instruction was facilitated by digital learning resources, but the nature and quality of these resources for children's language and literacy learning is an open question. This paper draws on a national U.S. survey of ECEs during the second pandemic school year (2020–2021), which asked them to report on the apps and websites they asked children to use during remote learning. We then engaged in a content analysis of the apps/websites used most frequently, evaluating their quality along several dimensions, including support for a full range of literacy competencies, equity, and accessibility. Survey results indicated that preschool children were asked to use a wide range of apps, but six were used most frequently: YouTube, Seesaw, Starfall, Epic, Boom Cards, and ABC Mouse. The content analysis indicated that most apps supported code-focused literacy skills, but had less capacity to foster oral language and comprehension. Apps also presented few opportunities to approximate the active, hands-on learning characteristic of in-person preschool. Our analysis points to the pressing need for teacher guidance in the selection and use of apps that provide comprehensive support for language and literacy. Prior State of Knowledge: Prior studies have investigated the quality of apps for young children's literacy learning, and several studies have investigated the nature and frequency of remote instruction for children attending preschool during COVID-19. Novel Contributions: The present study reports valuable information about which language and literacy apps early childhood educators asked children to use during remote learning and provides a comprehensive evaluation of those apps, including dimensions such as equity and accessibility that have been previously under-researched. Practical Implications: One important implication for administrators is that teachers need support in finding and learning to use apps that align more closely with early learning standards. Teachers can use the QuELLA rubric in this paper as a tool for evaluating apps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 shock resulted in a large number of people becoming newly poor in Bangladesh, for whom recovery was slow and difficult. In response, BRAC implemented a nationwide program – credit, business planning support, and mentoring – targeting the economic recovery of the new poor. This paper estimates its impact using a mixed method and finds that the program had a significant positive effect on employment, income, and assets, indicating a faster economic recovery of program participants. The learnings from this program can have major policy implications for future disaster responses targeting livelihood recovery, specifically during the time-sensitive transitory phase from relief to long-term development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the dynamics of peer support and companionship among older adults on a social networking site during the COVID-19 lockdown. Drawing from the authors' five-month experience as volunteer facilitators and a qualitative study involving users, social workers, and managers, the paper examines two modes of online peer support and companionship: one based on voice messages, the other on visual messages. Guided by critical media and data studies, and incorporating concepts from cultural studies of mobile media and information infrastructure studies, the analysis highlights the interplay of relational/emotional and infrastructural work and uncovers intricate gendered and age-related configurations. Our conclusion emphasises, first, the need to comprehend how socio-technical systems shape emotional, relational, and infrastructural work during emergency digital interventions, and second, the importance of examining how specific notions of support and older people's agency and response-ability are embedded in the socio-technical organisation of these digital interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on 26 semi-structured in-depth interviews with disabled employees, this paper explores the work environment of disabled individuals in Egyptian public organizations and how it affects their feelings of emancipation. The findings show that institutional limitations translated into poor public policy implementation by the state and discriminatory organizational practices constitute major hurdles to the inclusiveness and empowerment of disabled employees. Particularly, we find that the weak law enforcement capacity of the state has led to poor policy implementation, and to a lack of institutional infrastructure that can support law implementation. Furthermore, poor organizational practices, such as the unavailability of health and education resources, fair selection and/or merit-based recruiting, and speech-related harassment have further amplified the negative experiences that people with disability encounter in the workplace. All of these factors limited the emancipatory feelings of disabled employees. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed at the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with the serious threat of the deadly coronavirus, governments of different nations were swift to respond to the pandemic by declaring national lockdowns. Having confirmed fewer than ten cases of coronavirus that had tested positive, Zimbabwe called for a national lockdown which initially lasted three weeks before declaring it 'indefinite'. Despite the fact that the lockdown declared in Zimbabwe was in the interest of public health, anecdotal evidence indicates that there has been an inextricable nexus between the lockdown and increased corrupt tendencies. This paper, which is a product of qualitative research, utilised a narrative research approach and documentary analysis to explicate the relationship between Zimbabwe's coronavirus lockdown and corruption. The paper looks at the different forms of corruption that occurred during the coronavirus lockdown in Zimbabwe and the implication of these on the well-being and welfare of economically vulnerable groups. In conclusion, the paper indicates the role that can be played by pro-human rights professionals such as social workers in the fight against corruption during emergency times to ensure transparency and accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical education has historically relied on high stakes knowledge tests sat in examination centres with invigilators monitoring academic malpractice. The COVID-19 pandemic has made such examination formats impossible, and medical educators have explored the use of online assessments as a potential replacement. This shift has in turn led to fears that the change in format or academic malpractice might lead to considerably higher attainment scores on online assessment with no underlying improvement in student competence. Here, we present an analysis of 8092 sittings of the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA), an assessment designed to test the prescribing skills of final year medical students in the UK. In-person assessments for the PSA were cancelled partway through the academic year 2020, with 6048 sittings delivered in an offline, traditionally invigilated format, and then 2044 sittings delivered in an online, webcam invigilated format. A comparison (able to detect very small effects) showed no attainment gap between online (M = 0.762, SD = 0.34) and offline (M = 0.761, SD = 0.34) performance. The finding suggests that the transition to online assessment does not affect student performance. The findings should increase confidence in the use of online testing in high-stakes assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to help practitioners and researchers understand the impact of COVID-19 on the service business industry through bibliometric analysis. For this purpose, our study collects 671 publications from Web of Science and Scopus. The bibliometric choices in this paper rely on two techniques: performance analysis and science mapping. The performance analysis is organized by the contribution analysis of research constituents. The science mapping uncovers the cooperative network between research constituents, as well as the co-occurrence analysis of keywords. This paper further explores the research topic with content analysis to summarize some findings and discussions. We find that most service business industries have been negatively affected by COVID-19, especially the aviation and tourism industry. Information technology services are a response driver to the negative pandemic impact. Given the current research status of COVID-19 impact on the service business industry, this paper finally concludes the potential directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws attention to the current and possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the (im)mobility trajectories of international students (IS) and the global higher education landscape. From the perspective of migration infrastructure, this paper specifically focuses on the immobility experiences amongst Chinese international students (CIS) who planned to enrol overseas in 2020 but instead chose to take online courses in China due to the COVID-19. It asks how online courses are both facilitated and constrained by a set of institutional and technological infrastructural forces. Particularly it also explores how some CIS exercise agency to mobilise their infrastructural surroundings and overcome certain infrastructural deficiencies they encounter, with the aim of improving studying/living quality while inhabiting immobilities in a transnational context. As such, this paper challenges the oppositional nature of mobility and immobility, arguing that immobility is not the 'flip side' to mobility or an outcome by default, and that being immobile can be affirming and empowering. Essentially, the paper brings this infrastructurally sensitive theoretical approach into international student mobility (ISM) studies, shifting the focus from examining how infrastructures move people to how they enable people to stay, and to how they are lived and reconstructed at an everyday level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We started to develop the idea for this special issue based on a shared sense of familiarity in the early days of the pandemic. However, both HIV and COVID-19 are deeply implicated in global as well as identity-based health inequalities, as evidenced in vaccine distribution and morbidity and mortality rates. Ally Day's paper explores the making, in the midst of COVID-19, of a documentary film about a long-closed HIV hospice. [Extracted from the article]

In times of crisis, interpersonal and group solidarity often emerge as people face critical challenges that threaten their survival. However, it remains unclear whether spontaneous solidarity practices are enough to effectively face such crisis situations. In this paper, we argue that to be fully effective, solidarity must be deployed through all its political tiers, from interpersonal and group relationships to institutional and legal normativity. We contend that solidarity relations can only reach an enduring goal if they solidify into stable principles that can be acknowledged and enacted at the institutional level. Through an examination of recent literature and concrete case studies, the paper investigates the linkages and mutual dependencies between the various levels of solidarity developed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis may allow us to answer the question of whether a "Multilevel European Solidarity" is a realistic goal, and what is required to achieve it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper merges three textual models to construct a series of indicators, which can yield more refined proxies for financial media coverage, to measure the impacts of COVID-19 on Chinese financial markets. Results show that the basic indicator Granger causes the volatilities of bond and stock markets and contributes more to the stock market after the outbreak of COVID-19. Next, four specific market-related indicators have significant effects on the corresponding financial market after the outbreak. Finally, the policy-related indicator has a significant effect on four financial markets after the outbreak, and it causes greater volatility in the stock market. This paper can help the government to stabilize the financial market by managing financial media attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates trade firms’ dynamics in the Via Padova neighbourhood at the end of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed local economies and it has resulted in economic downturns, income inequalities and increased unemployment. While the current literature analyses widely its impacts on international trade, little attention has been given to the resilience of trade firms at the urban level. The containment measures to limit the pandemic have caused temporary closings of non-essential goods firms, while forcing other firms offering essential goods to stay open, albeit the many difficulties encountered. Since the Via Padova neighbourhood has one of the highest densities of trade firms in Milan, this makes it an interesting study area to test the effects associated with the containment measures. Exploring the data about trade firms’ survival rates related to the period 2019–20 demonstrates a certain resilience of local firms. The number of firms closing down decreases in 2020, while the variation in the active ones tends to become insignificant compared with the previous year. The negative effects on non-essential goods firms persist during the first wave of the pandemic, whereas during the second wave essential goods firms are especially affected. These dynamics of resilience towards hostile economic and social conditions caused by the pandemic are a useful clue for reconsidering and developing new recovery policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unrealistic optimism bias appears when a person perceives oneself – in comparison to peers – as less at risk from threats. This bias has been widely reported and the consequences are clear: it puts one's health in danger. The existing body of literature proposes egocentrism as a mechanism leading to a reduction in this bias. The present paper tests a novel mechanism orienting a person toward others – thus linked with egocentrism – i.e., mimicry. Results showed directly opposing effects: mimicry induced a stronger tendency to perceive oneself as less threatened. This result is not only surprising but especially alarming since mimicry may be used in patient-doctor dialogue which may backfire, leading to resistance to medical recommendations provided by the doctor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, COVID-19 is attracting people's attention worldwide. The rapid spread of the epidemic has had a very large impact on the education sector. Many countries have organized students to engage in online learning and study at home. As a country was seriously affected in the early stage of the epidemic, after a period of hard work, China has developed nationwide online education. Compared with that in many developed countries, the emergence of information technology in China did not occur early. However, the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 forced Chinese schools to carry out large-scale online teaching. Based on the theoretical framework of the interaction between online education policy and public response, this paper combs the change trend of online education policy focus in China in recent 20 years and the change of public response direction in microblog hot search comments after the online education policy was introduced during the epidemic period through a variety of text statistical analysis methods, and discusses the interaction between social public response and online education policy. This paper explains the reasons for China's successful implementation of nationwide online education in primary and secondary schools in early 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indonesian government has issued hundreds of regulations and policies to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These various policies and regulations assess how a government responds, mitigates, and prevents systemic crises in its country. These decisions- and policy-making processes are largely determined by the country's unique socioeconomic and political landscape. This paper reviewed 875 regulations issued by the Indonesian government at the national level in 2020–2022 to determine which policies have the most direct social, economic, and health impact on the Indonesian population. We highlight social protection to explore the challenges and opportunities to respond future risk by taking benefit from progressive effort of the Indonesian government to protect all Indonesian populations with the priority of the most vulnerable groups. This paper aims to map out government policies and regulations in handling the pandemic and exploring the potential opportunities for adaptation to respond future risk. The study is based on expert group discussion and policy mapping. As one of the findings of the investigation, this paper discusses the interaction between large-scale and micro-scale social restriction and social protection policies, which are considered the foremost solutions for handling Indonesia's more severe economic crisis and facing current and future risks, including climate change impact. While social protection is one of the massive strategies to relieve economic impact to the most affected group, effectiveness and success are still challenges concerning data. This paper also provides important notes regarding climate change adaptation and how the government must respond to future risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to enhance the knowledge base for simulation modelling techniques that have been used extensively in the literature to tackle the epidemic outbreak. In this paper, 79 articles are identified and reviewed between 2005 and 2020 to understand many problems related to the spread of the disease, scarce resource management, and the influence of mitigation strategies to contain the epidemic outbreak. The objective is to recognise the importance of simulation modelling techniques to effectively handle these problems and discuss how and when a particular technique can be used to provide satisfactory solutions for difficulties posed by an epidemic outbreak. This paper presents a literature review, classification schemes, and a simple meta-analysis to help decision-makers make informed decisions to curtail the epidemic outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper utilises a Teaching and Learning Regime (TLR) approach to analyse the student experience (SE) in the COVID-19 setting. Using mixedmethods methodology, the research uses interviews and survey responses from current students at a UK university to identify the multidimensional and immersive relationship with their institution. TLR moments were used to thematically analyse the findings. They illustrated a nuanced and often divided SE that, in a COVID-19 environment, bring in extensive external influences from home-life, mental health levels and socio-economic standing. The analysis reveals COVID-19 mixed responses to online learning and the relationship between students and staff members, and the perceived value of online learning. It highlights the importance of spaces and buildings in the SE, and the significant impact friendships and flatmates have had on sustaining university routines and activities. It will also show the intense powerlessness and sadness that has impacted this cohort of students, and how this has manifested through distrust of higher management structures and health implications. The paper highlights ways in which the TLR approach can be used to identify enhancements to the SE in COVID-19 times. These include understanding the value students place on materiality and personal connections, and in maintaining accessibility and flexible learning that have had a positive impact on their studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 inflicted worldwide heavy losses and exposed the vulnerability of the global supply chain. Since then, the number of research works exploring the supply chain-related issues raised by this terrible pandemic steadily increases, making a structured review a necessity. To this end, this paper figured out three major tasks: (1) 166 relevant articles are identified, along with a macro-level analysis in terms of general information of the literature; (2) through mapping the relevant research works from the problem-oriented and methodology-driven perspective, the present research hotspots and methodologies/theories used in these studies are revealed; and (3) a research agenda with the consideration of supply chain disruptions and 3Rs in the supply chain is proposed. Research findings may shed more light on the discussion of the COVID-19's impacts on supply chains, and providing academical guides for researchers and managerial insights for decision-makers to develop appropriate responses to the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through combining a diversity perspective and intersectionality approach, this paper contributes to the conceptualization of inclusive leadership for addressing diversity in schools. Drawing on literature from business and management studies as well as that of educational management and leadership, the paper first theorizes inclusive school leadership and outlines the tenets of inclusive school leaders. It then highlights some of the challenges facing school leaders as they strive to build inclusive schools and practices. The paper then identifies and illustrates the traits, profiles and competencies of inclusive school leaders and explicates a number of promising approaches to leading inclusive schools. It also outlines an agenda to underpin the development of inclusive leadership capabilities and how leaders might nurture positive school cultures which not only respect but celebrate diversity and inclusion. The paper concludes by discussing strategies inclusive school leaders can use to meet the challenges accompanying disruptive times and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers reflections on an organic turn to the arts as a means of connecting and working with children and young people online during the Covid-19 pandemic. Lockdowns during the pandemic required social work practitioners, students, and social care staff to find innovative and creative ways of engaging with people. Online delivery of services presents both challenges and opportunities for communicating and building relationships. The arts, currently underutilised in social work, is one way to open up opportunities, and provide a 'way in' to the lives of people who use services. This paper draws on reflections from a student social worker based in Scotland, UK, on how a turn to the arts provided an effective means to connect with and understand the children and young people she was supporting. The paper first explores some of the benefits of using the arts in social work practice; second, it introduces online arts-based approaches used during the Covid-19 pandemic; and concludes by encouraging readers to adopt and adapt the approaches introduced in the paper to integrate arts-based approaches into social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]