Complete Standstill Research Articles

An Analysis of the Challenge Facing WTO Panels in the Context of MPIA

Since the Appellate Body came to a complete standstill, the DSB in WTO has been stuck in an intractable situation, where many disputes are still in the appeals process and cannot be appropriately resolved. Whatever the disputing parties chose, the Panels reports could not be adopted by the DSB. As a result, the Appellate Body and the Panel process are facing an unprecedented crisis. As a contingency to preserve the multilateralism of WTO, MPIA was established as an interim replacement by 19 WTO members in 2020. In the context of MPIA, this paper will analyze the necessity of reformation for the dispute settlement system, especially the Panel. Furthermore, this paper will provide workable solutions by examining the ad hoc Panels crisis and shortcomings.

Evaluation of Post-Earthquake Mathematics Education Processes By Mathematics Teachers In The Region: Kahramanmaraş Case

This study aims to examine the post-earthquake mathematics education processes in Kahramanmaraş from the mathematics teachers’ perspective working in the same region. For this purpose, a purposive sampling method was used and six mathematics teachers who volunteered to participate in this study were interviewed among the mathematics teachers who performed educational activities in public schools in the Kahramanmaraş region both before and after the earthquake. A semi-structured interview form was used during the interviews. In the interview form, in addition to the questions about demographic characteristics, the question "How were the education and training processes carried out after the earthquake?" was asked and the teachers shared their experiences and observations. Phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods, was adopted as the research design because it was appropriate for the purpose of this study. Content analysis was employed for data analysis. The analyses were conducted with the MAXQDA Analytical Pro 2022 program. The findings were grouped under six salient themes: starting classes, motivation for the educational process, the process of 8th-grade students, teaching materials and supplies, measurement and evaluation activities, and students' school attendance. Among these themes, there were three sub-themes under the starting classes theme: start dates of classes, feelings when attending classes and activities during classes. Under the theme of motivation for the educational process, there were two sub-themes: difficulty getting motivated and becoming motivated easily. Under the theme of the process of 8th-grade students, there were two sub-themes: came to a complete standstill and continued from where it left off. There were no sub-themes in the other three themes. Teachers mostly made discourses on the themes of opening schools and being motivated for the education process.

Model-Based Investigation of the Interaction of Gas-Consuming Reactions and Internal Circulation Flow within Jet Loop Reactors

Jet loop reactors are standard multiphase reactors used in chemical, biological and environmental processes. The strong liquid jet provided by a nozzle enforces both internal circulation of liquid and gas as well as entrainment and dispersion of the gas phase. We present a one-dimensional compartment model based on a momentum balance that describes the internal circulation of gas and liquid phase in the jet loop reactor. This model considers the influence of local variations of the gas volume fraction on the internal circulation. These local variations can be caused by coalescence of gas bubbles, additional gas-feeding points and gas consumption or production. In this work, we applied the model to study the influence of a gas-consuming reaction on the internal circulation. In a comprehensive sensitivity analysis, the interaction of different parameters such as rate of reaction, power input through the nozzle, gas holdup, reactor geometry, and circulation rate were investigated. The results show that gas consumption can have a significant impact on internal circulation. Industrially relevant operating conditions have even been found where the internal circulation comes to a complete standstill.

Blackness and the Pandemic: Critiquing the Mathematics Curriculum in a Large Urban City

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic brought booming economies, seemingly world-class health care systems, educational infrastructures, and the lives and well-being of nations to a complete standstill. Georgia was one of the few states that released their Shelter-in-Place order early, while reports suggest that Black communities have disproportionally higher rates of deaths and hospitalizations. What mathematics would allow students to critically examine the data shared and other data reported about the COVID-19 pandemic? In this essay, we apply a culturally relevant pedagogical (CRP) lens to examine the mathematics curriculum taught in K-12 schools before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we consider the shortcomings of the curriculum given the impact of the pandemic on Black communities in Atlanta, Georgia, and the barrage of statistics used to inform their lives. We consider how to look at mathematics curriculum through a CRP lens and what that means in terms of the scope of standards that are being addressed and the flexibility for teachers to have autonomy to go beyond the prescribed curriculum. Two concentration areas are addressed, and they highlight how to use a CRP lens for secondary and elementary mathematics relevant to our local context in ways that envision how mathematics curriculum can support Black children moving forward.

Self-Stopping of Light.

Here, we show that light can bring itself to a complete standstill (self-stop) via self-interaction mediated by the resonant nonlinearity in a fully homogeneous medium. An intense few-cycle pulse, entering the medium, may reshape to form a strongly coupled light-matter bundle, in which the energy is transferred from light to the medium and back periodically on the single-cycle scale. Such oscillating structure can decelerate, alter its propagation direction, and even completely stop, depending on the state of its internal degrees of freedom. This phenomenon is expected to occur in the few-cycle strong-field regime when the Rabi oscillation frequency becomes comparable with the frequency of the incoming light.

Lockdown imposition due to COVID-19 and its effect on orthopedic emergency department in level 1 trauma center in South Asia

BackgroundThe coronavirus pandemic brought the entire world to a standstill. One of the most stringent lockdowns in the world was implemented in India. With the entire healthcare system being stretched, emergency orthopaedic services also take a hit. We studied the trends in patient presentation, testing, management, and restructuring of doctors at a tertiary care orthopaedic centre and compared them with the data from the same time period the previous year (2019). MethodData was collected separately for all the 5 different phases of lockdown and unlock, as well as for the same duration of months in 2019, and was analysed for epidemiological trends. ResultsA rapid fall in the total number of cases was seen during the lockdown, followed by a skewed rise during the unlock. Forearm, wrist, and hip fractures were the most common fractures. Once nucleic acid testing of all patients intended to be admitted was started, a steep rise in coronavirus positivity was seen. There was a reduction in the total number of cases compared to 2019, but it was not as significant as would have been expected due to the complete standstill of activity during the lockdown. ConclusionDuring a pandemic, with the healthcare system under a crisis of workforce and infrastructure, there needs to be a separate task force for catering to orthopaedic emergencies since all fractures cannot be managed conservatively and the numbers of trauma-related patients did not show a stark fall as compared to normal months of last year. Level of evidenceLevel 3 Retrospective Case Series

Sustainable and digital education during and beyond the Covid-19 crisis.

Abstract The pandemic crisis has coincided with a time of global economic crisis. The education system has suffered from this double impact: the simultaneous closure of schools and universities and a significant worsening of the business and productivity system. Digitalisation in the education process started in the far past, but it has become a priority with the pandemic. The use of digital tools in the educational process ensured that the latter did not come to a complete standstill during the pandemic. Although digitalisation is seen as a possible solution to the problems facing schools, it can also be seen as a factor in widening the gap between rich and developing countries. The article proposes a reflection about education during the pandemic and the digitalisation process of schools in all its facets and at alle education level.

The COVID-19 pandemic and guesthouses in South Africa: Economic impacts and recovery measures

ABSTRACT The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly spread throughout the globe, and recovering from the pandemic will be a massive test on economic systems. The pandemic has severely affected the accommodation sector as global travel has come to an almost complete standstill as of April 2020. This paper provides a preliminary assessment of the economic impacts of the pandemic on guesthouses in South Africa and the response measures adopted by this sector. Through online surveys, the empirical results show that guesthouse operations were severely disrupted by the pandemic, leading to a critical decline in revenue and a pronounced threat to job security. Despite implementing various response measures and strategies, guesthouses were somewhat concerned about the future of their businesses due to the uncertainty of the pandemic. This research can assist in developing intervention measures to support guesthouses in addressing the economic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

How the Covid-19 Pandemic Influenced the Approach to Risk Management in Cycling Events

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us to live in social isolation and has brought an important element of social life, the events industry, to a complete standstill. In resurrecting the events industry, the most urgent focus is on managing the risk of any crowd-control measures with a view to reducing to zero the danger of the virus spreading. This research focuses on the main issue of the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the organization of sports events (SEs), and in particular, cycling competitions. This study, therefore, aims to provide deeper insights into (a) the measures introduced to face the health emergency situation in cycling events, (b) the comparison of these measures with previous experiences in similar SE contexts, and (c) the possible evolution of organizational models for cycling events in the post-pandemic era. Fifteen semi-structured interviews with cycling athletes, managers, and officials constitute the methodological basis for this study. The results show that countermeasures have been taken that are effective in dealing with pandemic characteristics and are likely to be applied in the future, while others will be phased out or used again only when necessary. This study enhances scientific knowledge by analyzing a renewed approach to risk management for SEs, with a specific focus on pandemics and medical risks. Finally, the study shows that cycling events need to adapt the specifics of such a new approach to the standards projected on future scenarios for which the COVID-19 pandemic has paved the way.

The Impacts and Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Global Response to Climate Change

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has posed the most severe impact on the global economy and society since World War II. The pandemic has brought into focus how climate change is related with virus transmission and health, and has made the global transition toward low-carbon development more difficult and challenged the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Although the pandemic has significantly reduced carbon emissions and improved the environmental quality in the short term, it is still an unwanted event in the process of pursuing sustainable development; although objectively the pandemic has weakened countries’ efforts in terms of policies and actions to address climate change, the restructuring of global value chains in the post-COVID era has also brought new opportunities for a transition toward green and low-carbon development; although the pandemic has warned people of how important resilient governance and international cooperation is to addressing the crisis, the global climate governance process has come to a complete standstill since the outbreak of COVID-19, attenuating the mutual trust among countries and disabling the leadership in climate governance. The pandemic is a preview of the climate crisis, and it is important to learn from it for a better response. China quickly contained the pandemic within the country, actively resumed work and production, and gained a first-mover advantage in economic recovery. China should maintain strategic focus when pursuing ecological development, enhance the resilience of the socio-economic system, seize the opportunity of transitioning toward low-carbon development by turning the crisis into opportunities, and promote high-quality development within the country while fully engaging in global climate governance to seek ecological progress with other countries.

Assessing the economic impact of COVID-19 on the private wildlife industry of South Africa

The world of travel and tourism have perhaps changed forever as a result of COVID-19; considered the worst global pandemic to affect the world, post World War II. The spread of the Coronavirus diseases was considerably attributed to the travel and tourism industry, and with the attempt to curb the spread of the virus, the industry experienced calamitous effects and suffered staggering financial losses. The same accounts for wildlife tourism (Southern Africa’s largest product) – bringing the hunting and ecotourism sector of South Africa to a complete standstill. The pandemic accompanied concerning and devastating effects, not only from a financial point of view, but also in terms of the conservation of these sectors within the industry. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis using the data obtained from the members of Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA) to quantify the actual and potential financial losses in the private wildlife industry due to cancellations of hunters and ecotourists, live game sales and finally, game meat sales in the industry. From the results, the estimated financial impact of COVID-19 on the private wildlife industry is R6.694 billion (ZAR). The study made the following three contributions: Firstly, it determined the economic impact of COVID-19 on the private wildlife industry. Secondly, it provides the industry with a tangible document that can be used in securing funding and assistance from government and other non-profit organisations. Thirdly, it shows the importance of this industry to the South African economy and employment, although only applicable to private-owned reserves

Aviation world rethinking strategies after COVID-19 crises

The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to trigger a global economic crisis of significant dimensions, affecting all industries and activity sectors. One of the industry sectors in the eye of the coronavirus storm is aerospace. As governments all over the world have closed the boarders and imposed quarantine to their citizens, global air traffic has been brought to an almost complete standstill by the COVID-19 outbreak. Aviation leaders all over the world think that “this is still the worst crisis that this industry has ever been faced with. There’s a huge amount of uncertainty going forward.” In Europe and all over the world, governments are taking action adopting measures in support of their national airlines, but besides the grounded planes and canceled flights, a whole aviation and aeronautics industry is suffering from this crises. The big manufacturing companies are suffering and have to let go thousands of employees. There is an enormous pressure also on the aviation research to cope with the new situation. The immediate impact of the crisis is a severe economic downturn of the whole industry, starting with airlines postponing or stopping orders and deliveries, creating a snowball effect on the complete value chain, with a drastic lack of cash to finance research projects. In this challenging times of unprecedented uncertainties, aeronautics research community is trying to answer to two pressing questions: (1) How does this crisis affect research in the European aviation sector? and (2) What needs to be done to face the consequences caused by COVID-19 and boost aviation research in Europe?

Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on air quality in the Delhi Metropolitan Region

With the rapid spread of COVID-19 related cases globally, national governments took different lockdown approaches to limit the spread of the virus. Among them, the Government of India imposed a complete nationwide lockdown starting on March 25, 2020. This presented a unique opportunity to explore how a complete standstill in regular daily activities might impact the local environment. In this study, we have analyzed the change in the air quality levels stemming from the reduced anthropogenic activities in one of the most polluted cities in the world, the Delhi Metropolitan Region (DMR). We analyzed station-level changes in particulate matter, PM10 and PM2.5, across the DMR between April 2019 and 2020. The results of our study showed widespread reduction in the levels of both pollutants, with substantial spatial variations. The largest decreases in particulate matter were associated with industrial and commercial areas. Highest levels of PM10 and PM2.5 were observed near sunrise with little change in the time of maximum between 2019 and 2020. The results of our study highlight the role of anthropogenic activities on the air quality at the local level.

Cascading dominates large-scale disruptions in transport over complex networks

The core functionality of many socio-technical systems, such as supply chains, (inter)national trade and human mobility, concern transport over large geographically-spread complex networks. The dynamical intertwining of many heterogeneous operational elements, agents and locations are oft-cited generic factors to make these systems prone to large-scale disruptions: initially localised perturbations amplify and spread over the network, leading to a complete standstill of transport. Our level of understanding of such phenomena, let alone the ability to anticipate or predict their evolution in time, remains rudimentary. We approach the problem with a prime example: railways. Analysing spreading of train delays on the network by building a physical model, supported by data, reveals that the emergence of large-scale disruptions rests on the dynamic interdependencies among multiple ‘layers’ of operational elements (resources and services). The interdependencies provide pathways for the so-called delay cascading mechanism, which gets activated when, constrained by local unavailability of on-time resources, already-delayed ones are used to operate new services. Cascading locally amplifies delays, which in turn get transported over the network to give rise to new constraints elsewhere. This mechanism is a rich addition to some well-understood ones in, e.g., epidemiological spreading, or the spreading of rumours and opinions over (contact) networks, and stimulates rethinking spreading dynamics on complex networks. Having these concepts built into the model provides it with the ability to predict the evolution of large-scale disruptions in the railways up to 30-60 minutes up front. For transport systems, our work suggests that possible alleviation of constraints as well as a modular operational approach would arrest cascading, and therefore be effective measures against large-scale disruptions.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cybersecurity Perspective

Inspite of the world being at a complete standstill in the wake of unprecedented health emergency of COVID-19 pandemic, people have managed to retain their digital interactions through Information Technology. Cloud networks, departmental servers, data centres, and the digital devices have ensured that businesses and industries as well as workers across the world remain associated with each other and are connected to the organizations’ data. In such a scenario, the requirements placed on digital frames have increased rapidly. While this has proved to be a boon in the combat against the spread of Coronavirus, alarming increase in the instances of cyber attacks has become a major bane today. To prevent an emergence of second crisis, cybersecurity needs to be upgraded to protect the data of the users and contain the rising cyber crimes. This upgradation will be done when the impact of COVID-19 on security will be estimated. Hence this research is an attempt to gauge and analyse the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on cybersecurity. Various aspects of cybersecurity that have been affected by the pandemic have then been ranked in the descending order of severity quantitatively by the help of multi-criteria decision-making problem solving technique. Such a thorough and conclusive analysis will add to the experts’ efforts in estimating the extent of the effects of COVID-19 on cybersecurity. The findings of this study will be an effective reference for designing, developing and implementing more secure mechanisms to protect the users from cyber invasions.

The Survival of Travel and Tourism Industry amidst the Covid 19 Pandemic

The Covid 19 pandemic has impacted the world and almost brought the entire world to a complete standstill. Most of the industries have been affected adversely as countries across the world went on lockdowns and imposed restrictions on travel, trade, and businesses. The tourism, Aviation, and Hospitality industry are among the few that have been most affected due to the pandemic, as pleasure travel had almost ceased to zero and many countries worldwide had closed their borders restricting international tourists. In order to survive this, the travel industry players had to cut down their employees and their pay. Many tourism professionals have lost their jobs or have their jobs at stake. This paper focuses on analyzing the overall impacts of the pandemic on the travel and tourism industry of India. The study aims at understanding the challenges faced by the different players in the tourism industry to survive the pandemic. The study also sheds light on the opportunities that await in the future on a post-Covid scenario and some of the methods adopted by the industry players to manage the future demand in the most sustainable and safe manner. The paper is conceptual and purely based on literature reviews of various research papers focusing on the Covid pandemic on a global scale.

COVID-19 and Central European Tourism: The Competitiveness of Slovak Tourist Guides

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the Central European region in March 2020, one of the hardest-hit economic sectors was the tourism industry which virtually came to a complete standstill. The present paper uses licensed tourist guides from Slovakia as a case study of how significant the financial impact of the crisis was and what effect it might have on the future competitiveness of the industry, as perceived by the tourist guides themselves. The research is based on a questionnaire which was distributed among licensed tourist guides in Slovakia in July 2020. It is shown that the guiding income of more than four-fifths of the respondents decreased by at least 80% between March and June 2020, and the profession's outlook for the future is pessimistic. The main concerns are a decline in the number of visitors, a decline in demand for guided tours and lower market prices for guiding services. The lower share of group travel, faster development of proximity tourism, partial de-professionalisation of the tourist guide profession and higher emphasis on tour hygiene are the expected impacts of the pandemic. A wave of consolidation is almost guaranteed to influence the tourism industry, though its extent is hard to predict. Implications for Central European audience: The article deals with tourism, which represents an important part of Central European countries' economies. Its results constitute the first preview of impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector in the region and as such are valuable for stakeholders in the Central European tourism industry. Even though the research is based on data obtained only from one tourism-related profession, tourist guides, given their unique position between travel agencies and travellers, their insights are applicable and interpretable much more broadly.

Transform or Perish: Preparing the Business for a Postpandemic Future

The Coronavirus outbreak presents a significant threat to public health and is profoundly distresses the global economy. There are no sectors left affected by the outbreak on a local, national, and global scale. Some sectors have come to a complete standstill, whereas others have received high demands. All known business models came under question. The crisis served as a check-up, allowing executives to question existing systems, the company, and its management capacities. Nonetheless, crises have enabled businesses to adopt innovative approaches such as new ways of working and the use of modern technology quickly. It will be challenging for businesses to adapt to these innovations that are coming very fast in the postcrisis uncertainty. This article aims to inform managers, decision-makers, and team leaders about the changes they will face in the post-Covid-19 world, based on the example of the agriculture and food sector, and to provide them with a road map.

Simulation modeling of the assembly process

In the article the models allowing one to simulate performance of assembly process in terms of conveyor production are developed. The technological process of assembly production is a complex system depending on a number of production factors, such as the parameters and modes of equipment operation, the level of work skills, the type of production, etc. The relevance of the study is to identify bottlenecks in the organization of the production process and answer the question "what if" when considering different models of the assembly process. The purpose of the work is to assess the impact of production factors (number of operators, operating parameters and type of conveyor, failures in the conveyor operation) on the implementation of the assembly process and to justify the effectiveness of each model of the assembly process economically. For modeling the operating technological process of assembly was considered. The obtained results showed that, depending on production factors, productivity can vary by 4.5 times. The best of the considered options is the use of the accumulation conveyor, where the profit would be 13485.26 $. The worst one is the accumulation conveyor with failures on one of the operations and complete standstill of the assembly line to fix them. On implementing such a scenario, production profit would be 2981.15 $.

Complete and incomplete recurrent laryngeal nerve injury after thyroid and parathyroid surgery: Characterizing paralysis and paresis

BackgroundInjury of the recurrent laryngeal nerve and consequent disorder of vocal fold movement is a typical complication in thyroid and parathyroid surgery. During postoperative laryngoscopy we observed not only a complete standstill (vocal fold paralysis), but also a hypomobility (paresis). In this prospective study, we investigated the difference in incidence and prognosis as well as risk-factors, intraoperative neuromonitoring, and symptoms between vocal fold paralysis and vocal fold paresis. MethodsData were prospectively collected and analyzed in a single high-volume thyroid center between 2012 and 2016. Vocal fold paresis was defined as hypomobility in abduction or adduction, a reduction in range and speed of vocal fold movement. Vocal fold paralysis was defined as asymmetry and missing purposeful vocal fold movement. ResultsThe study included 4,707 surgeries and 7,992 at-risk nerves at risk. Vocal fold paralysis was diagnosed in 374 patients (4.68% of 7,992 nerves at risk) and vocal fold paresis in 114 patients (1.43%). Exclusively in the paralysis group, 36 patients (0.45%) developed permanent loss of vocal fold function (P < .001). In follow-up, vocal fold paresis patients regain normal vocal fold function significantly earlier than vocal fold paralysis (mean duration: 6.96 ± 6.506 vs 10.77 ± 7,827 weeks) and presented with significantly less symptoms like hoarseness, diplophonia, dysphagia, and dyspnea (68.8% vs 95.9 %). In intraoperative neuromonitoring, vocal fold paresis showed a significantly higher postresectional N. vagus amplitude than vocal fold paralysis patients (0.349 mV vs 0.114 mV, P < .001). ConclusionAfter thyroidectomy, vocal fold paresis must be distinguished from vocal fold paralysis and should be implemented as a separate outcome parameter in the postoperative quality assessment.