Welfare at a (Social) Distance: accessing social security and employment support during COVID-19 and its aftermath

In this review, we draw attention to the potential for social and systemic changes associated with attempts to contain the spread of COVID-19 to precipitate, maintain and exacerbate pain by increasing the social threats faced by individuals with chronic pain. We also suggest strategies for mitigating the social impact of COVID-19 on those living with chronic pain, for instance by learning from the resilience demonstrated by people in pain who have found ways to deal with social threat. Lastly, we suggest several time-critical, high-impact research questions for further investigation.

Adherence to social distancing and use of personal protective equipment and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a cohort of patients with multiple sclerosis

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feeling of distance of social work practitioners for people living with HIV/AIDS(PLWHA) and to identify related factors. Methods: A total of 409 data were collected as convenience sampling from social welfare service providers. Independent variables were socio-demographic data, AIDS related knowledge, authoritarian personality, prejudice for minority(handicapped, women, foreigner, old aged), cultural competency. Data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, multiple regression analysis were conducted. Results: Multiple regression model was developed by integrating the significant variables from univariate analysis. Significant factors of physical distance were social prejudice against handicapped, knowledge about AIDS and critical awareness/knowledge about other culture. And significant factors of social distance were social prejudice against handicapped, knowledge about AIDS, authoritarian personality, critical awareness/knowledge about other culture. At last, we found that social prejudice against handicapped was the biggest factor for physical distance and authoritarian personality was the biggest factor for social distance of social work practitioners. Conclusions: The area of social services for PLWHA have to be expanded. Physical and social distance of professionals to provide services to PLWHA and factors affecting it is necessary to continue research. In addition, on the basis of these findings, specific training programs is need to be developed.

Purpose: This study aims to analyze a social distance monitoring and contact tracing assistance tool for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in a busy indoor working hospital environment. Method: A camera-based tool was developed. The tool estimates physical distance between multiple individuals in real-time and also tracks individuals and records their contact time when in violation social distance requirements for retrospect review. Both stereo- and monocular-camera tools are implemented and their accuracy and efficiency are evaluated and compared. Video was captured by a ZED M camera which was set close to the ceiling of a lab space. Three people within the field of view of the camera completed various movements. The distance (binary, <6 feet or >6 feet) and contact time between each pair was recorded as ground truth and compared to the video software analysis. Additionally, the contact time between any two individuals was calculated and compared to ground truth. Results: The overall accuracy of social distance detection was 95.1% and 74.4%, with a false-negative rate (when the tool predicts individuals are far enough apart, when they are actually too close) of 7.2% and 23.5% for the stereo and monocular tools, respectively. Conclusions: A stereo-camera social distance monitoring and contact tracing assistance tool can accurately detect social distance among multiple people, and keep an accurate contact record for each individual. While a monocular camera tool provided some level of certainty, a stereo camera tool was shown to be superior.

This paper suggests a computational model which investigates the sustainability of MMORPGs from the social distance perspective by considering the major differences of the virtual world in an MMORPG and the real world. The effects of social distance on the actual playtime are empirically tested. The analysis results suggest that social distance can initiate a positive feedback of abandonment, resulting in the rapid collapse of the number of players. Increasing uncertainty in rewarding players’ effort may have better results for MMORPG managers in the long run, since the managers care about profits, not social welfare. Also, a fine-tuned retirement plan may be vital to MMORPG sustainability, because MMORPG players usually do not retire by natural causes such as growing old. This paper offers a relatively new approach by combining characteristics of MMORPG and social distance with both a computational model and empirical support.

The study aims to clarify social distance of nursing and social welfare university students to persons with mental disorders and its' relations with contact experience and to obtain implications of support for community life of persons with mental disorders. The data of 664 university students in Japan were used for analysis in this survey. The analysis showed a shorter social distance in women than in men. The social distance was larger for students of nursing and social welfare major to persons with schizophrenia than students of the other majors. Social distance was found to vary depending on the contact experience.

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has prompted a global-scale public health response. Social distancing, along with intensive testing and contact tracing, has been considered an effective vehicle to reduce new infections. In this study, we aimed to estimate the effect of South Korean public health measures on behavioral changes with respect to social distancing without a nationwide lockdown. The results of this study may provide insights to countries who are planning to relax their aggressive restrictions though still having an unflattened curve of infections.MethodsTo estimate how the closure of educational and social welfare facilities and the disclosure of confirmed patients’ contact history affected social distancing behaviors, we analyzed public transportation data in Seoul, Korea. For the modeling analysis, we used linear mixed-effects estimation.ResultsOur estimation showed that the average daily number of bus passengers decreased by 21.8% in February 2020 as compared to the previous year with an additional decrease observed in the areas around educational and social welfare facilities. The highest drop in the daily number of passengers was observed in areas with religious facilities. We also found that individuals avoided areas that were proximate to or within the locations that constituted the confirmed patients’ contact history.ConclusionOur results demonstrate that public health measures can lead people to practice social distancing. Among them, the measures that strongly encourage voluntary social distancing behaviors would play a critical role in suppressing the infections as it becomes increasingly difficult to continue imposing aggressive restrictions due to practical and economic reasons.

Social distance toward schizophrenia is a reason for delays in receiving early treatment for the disorder. This study attempted to identify the factors underlying social distance. The participants were 2690 parents of adolescents. Factor analysis using a social distance scale identified two factors: private relationship and social relationship. Regression analysis revealed that gender, age, and participation in welfare activities for people with mental illnesses had independent effects on the factor private relationship (p < 0.05). These results suggest that women aged 40 - 49 years should be targeted for activities that attempt to counteract social distance and that they would benefit from taking part in public welfare activities for individuals with mental illnesses.

A Note on the Role of Cultural, Institutional, and Urbanization Features in the COVID-19 Pandemic*

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is threatening not only health but also life worldwide It is important to encourage citizens to voluntarily practise infection-prevention (IP) behaviours such as social distancing and self-restraint Previous research on social cognition suggested that emphasizing self-identity is key to changing a person's behaviour The present study investigated whether reminders that highlight self-identity would be effective in changing intention and behaviour related to the COVID-19 outbreak, and hypothesized that those who read reminders highlighting self-identity (Don't be a spreader) would change IP intention and behaviour better than those who read 'Don't spread' or no reminder We conducted a two-wave survey of the same participants with a one-week interval, during which we assigned one of three reminder conditions to the participants: 'Don't spread' (spreading condition), 'Don't be a spreader' (spreader condition) and no reminder (control condition) Participants marked their responses to IP intentions and actual behaviours each week based on the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare guidelines While the results did not show significant differences between the conditions, the post hoc analyses showed significant equivalence in either IP intentions or behavioural scores We discussed the results from the perspective of the effect size, ceiling effects and ways of manipulation checks as future methods with more effective persuasive messaging Following in-principle acceptance, the approved Stage 1 version of this manuscript was pre-registered on the OSF at https://doi org/10 17605/OSF IO/KZ5Y4 This pre-registration was performed prior to data collection and analysis © 2020 The Authors

While social relationships play an important role for individuals to cope with missing market institutions, they also limit individuals' range of trading partners. This paper aims at understanding the determinants of trust at various social distances when information asymmetries are present. Among participants from an informal housing area in Cairo we find that the increase in trust following a reduction in social distance comes from the fact that trustors are much more inclined to follow their beliefs when interacting with their friend. When interacting with an ex-ante unknown agent instead, the decision to trust is mainly driven by social preferences. Nevertheless, trustors underestimate their friend's intrinsic motivation to cooperate, leading to a loss in social welfare. We relate this to the agents' inability to signal their trustworthiness in an environment characterized by strong social norms.

While social relationships play an important role for individuals to cope with missing market institutions, they also limit individuals' range of trading partners. This paper aims at understanding the determinants of trust at various social distances when information asymmetries are present. Among participants from an informal housing area in Cairo we find that the increase in trust following a reduction in social distance comes from the fact that trustors are much more inclined to follow their beliefs when interacting with their friend. When interacting with an ex-ante unknown agent instead, the decision to trust is mainly driven by social preferences. Nevertheless, trustors underestimate their friend's intrinsic motivation to cooperate, leading to a loss in social welfare. We relate this to the agents' inability to signal their trustworthiness in an environment characterized by strong social norms.

Executive Summary Turkey hosts the world’s largest population to Syrians under temporary protection (TP). TP grants access to basic services but offers neither a pathway to citizenship nor long‑term legal certainty. In this context, host-community attitudes are crucial to social cohesion and the effectiveness of policy. This study analyzes how occupational status shapes Turkish citizens’ views of Syrians under TP. Using a cross‑sectional survey of 1,666 adults in six occupational groups in 11 provinces, we assess three domains — social distance, cultural tolerance, and willingness to live and work together — and treat occupation as an everyday social position that structures contact and perceptions. Key Findings: Variation by occupation. Professionals and public‑sector employees tend to hold more inclusive views, whereas tradespeople, the self‑employed and informal‑sector workers, express greater social distance. Gaps are largest in high‑trust contexts (e.g., renting a home, entering a business partnership, and marriage) and smaller in routine interactions. Income does not explain these gaps. Differences persist after adjusting for household income, indicating occupation is an independent correlate. Workplaces matter. Work settings shape opportunities for contact and perceptions of threat, helping to explain the differences. Policy Recommendations: Tailor integration by occupation. The Ministry of Interior (Presidency of Migration Management) and municipalities should design local plans that reflect sector‑specific concerns and opportunities. Engage inclusive institutions. The Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Health should provide in-service intercultural training and support teachers and healthcare staff as facilitators. Engage more exclusionary sectors. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security, along with chambers of commerce/tradesmen’s unions, should expand lawful employment channels, enforce fair work standards, and support small joint Turkish Syrian initiatives. Improve contact quality at work. Public employers and private HR departments should utilize mixed teams, mentoring, and clear anti-discrimination procedures. Support neighborhood‑level collaboration. Municipalities — together with non‑governmental organizations (NGOs) and government‑organized NGOs (GONGOs), such as the Turkish Red Crescent — should convene small‑business roundtables and community projects. Recognizing the occupation’s role highlights practical, context-sensitive steps to strengthen inclusion during prolonged displacement.

The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a feeling of acute anxiety and mass paranoia among the population. Drawing examples from newspaper reports and secondary literature, this paper examines the diverse forms of stigmatization of individuals as well as specific communities during the pandemic, that has its roots entrenched in the social inequalities in Indian society. Racism, casteism, and communalism (Islamophobia to be more specific) found heightened expression during the pandemic. It explores how frontline warriors like healthcare professionals, or those whose job requires presence in person, has been subjected to a ‘negative social gaze’, which nonetheless has repercussions for their physical as well as psychological wellbeing. It critically enquires into the role of diverse media platforms in exacerbating or extinguishing the humanitarian crisis at stake. It tries to explicate how discriminatory practices have been given a new lease of life behind the veil of the mandated ‘social distancing’, that has been manifested through the insidious process of ‘otherization’. Epidemics and pandemics raise the question of moral responsibilities of people to the community in which they reside, with much emphasis on the difficulties in balancing private interests and public welfare. Moreover, ‘touch’ has become more than just a ‘sense’. It has become a privilege, which was once based on one’s socio-economic position in the hierarchy; but now during the pandemic, it is also compounded with one’s travel history and COVID report status. Finally, this paper attempts to advocate that fighting COVID-19 is not just about fighting the virus. It also entails tackling the inequalities, stigmatisation, and discrimination that it leaves behind in its wake.

The COVID-19 pandemic is becoming an international threat. In order to overcome this, the Indonesian government has implemented a social distancing policy. However, the realization of the policies that exist to date has not run uniformly in relation to social distancing and social assistance that has not been received directly by the community. Therefore it is necessary to control the implementation process of policies that have been issued by the Government. This research is a normative legal research and empirical law with a normative juridical approach. The data obtained in this research is in the form of literature study and interviews. The data that has been collected is then presented in the form of descriptions which are arranged systematically following the flow of systematic discussion.