Search

Introduction: We consider the UK Independent Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours' (SPI‐B) support for fear messaging during the global COVID‐19 pandemic, evaluate the consequences and make recommendations for the future. Analysis: Using evidence from published documents, we show that SPI‐B supported the use of fear messaging during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This is inconsistent with the extant psychological literature and contrary to the disaster planning literature. The recommendations regarding fear messaging may have had harmful ramifications and impacts, especially for young people. Conclusion: We recommend that a wider multidisciplinary expertise is employed to deal effectively, ethically and holistically with future crises. Plans for future pandemics must include meaningful engagement with the public, particularly children and young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of professions has been dominated by Anglo-American models, with their focus on a small group of legally licensed occupations. The field has recently shifted, mainly through studies of European experience, to a wider examination of the social management of expert workers. Very little has been written about developments in Africa and their implications for the way in which we might think about professions. This paper presents a case study of the role and practices of the medical profession in Burkina Faso, which has a relatively open market for the supply of healing services and limited regulation of the suppliers, whether physicians or traditional practitioners. The study returns to classic questions about the extent to which practice is shaped by the nature of occupational niches within the division of labor or to the development of a distinctive moral character among the workers within that niche. L'etude des professions a ete dominee par les modeles Anglo-Americains, avec leur emphase sur les petits groupes d'occupations legalement autorisees. Ce champ a change recemment, surtout grace a des etudes d'experiences europeennes, se dirigeant vers un examen plus large de gestion sociale de travailleurs-experts. Peu a ete ecrit sur les developpements en Afrique et leurs effets sur les manieres dont nous reflechissons a propos des professions. Cet article presente une etude de cas sur le role et les pratiques de la profession medicale au Burkina Faso, qui a un marche relativement ouvert pour l'offre de services medicaux et une reglementation limitee pour les prestataires, qu'ils soient medecins ou des 'practiciens' traditionnels. Cette etude revient aux questions classiques liees aux pratiques influencees par la nature des niches occupationnelles a l'interieur de la division du travail ou le developpement d'un caractere moral distinctif entre les travailleurs a l'interieur de ces niches., IT HAS LONG BEEN OBSERVED that the study of professions has been dominated by Anglo-American models, with their focus on a small group of legally licensed occupations (e.g., Rueschemeyer 1983). [...]