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Comparing the countries’ level of preparedness and response to the Covid-19 pandemic involves the assessment of human development, health, connectivity and death rate indicators. In this study, information published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) was used to assess the performance of 148 countries classified as either of the Global South (Africa, Latin America and Asia-Oceania) or the Global North, describing how the unequal social and health conditions between regions are reflected in terms of contagion and death figures at year-end 2020. The HJ-Biplot multivariate technique was used to simultaneously represent both the countries and the indicators, providing a descriptive and exploratory analysis of how the countries’ level of preparedness to face the pandemic in terms of health and human development did not determine their success in reducing Covid-19 contagion and death rates, because success also depends on efficient and quick government action and reaction strategies. © 2022 Universidad Nacional de Colombia. All rights reserved. Medina-Hernández, E. J., Barco-Llerena, E., & Villalba-Acevedo, J. L. (2022). Preparação e reação dos países globais do sul e do norte contra a COVID-19: uma análise comparativa. HiSTOReLo. Revista de Historia Regional y Local, 14(30), 251-292.

Cosmic rays measured through neutron monitors on Earth’s surface have a strong correlation with the number of sunspots on the solar photosphere. Other indices that affect the dynamics of the heliosphere and distortions in the Earth’s geomagnetic field also exhibit significant correlations. Typically, studies focus on these indices individually or combine some into a smaller set of estimators. This study uses Structural Equation Modeling to examine relationships between a broad range of parameters of solar dynamics and cosmic ray intensity (measured by the Moscow neutron monitor) across several solar cycles from 1976 to present day. The study also classifies these indices into three distinct contributions: Photosphere, Solar Wind and Terrestrial Geomagnetic Field Distortions. Regression models were built for all solar cycles and the complete cosmic ray series from 1976 to the present, resulting in good estimators with calculated p-values below 0.05 (95% confidence). Relationships among all contributions were determined using their estimators.

The purpose of this article was to design and validate an instrument to determine relevant variables of the business environment, demeanor, and organizational behaviors linked to the Organizational Configuration Model and its relevance in these tumultuous times driven by the pandemic. From the literature, fifty-nine organizational attributes were extracted and administered to a random sample of 160 managers. Using a combined approach, i.e., exploratory factor analysis and construct validity, a structure of eight factors were extracted that explained 66.3 percent of the total variance with an exhibited satisfactory sample adequacy for the factor analysis (KMO = 0.63). An instrument was designed with these eight factors that provided a focused and valid perspective capable of assessing the impact and continued viability of a business’s organizational configuration under unsettled economic times. © Common Ground Research Networks, Ronald R. Rojas, Oriana Susana Martinez Palomino, Jorge Luis Villalba Acevedo, Alberto Emilio Gómez Torres, All Rights Reserved.