Context Of COVID-19 Pandemic Research Articles

How is the COVID-19 pandemic impacting our life, mental health, and well-being? Design and preliminary findings of the pan-Canadian longitudinal COHESION study

BackgroundWith the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person social interactions and opportunities for accessing resources that sustain health and well-being have drastically reduced. We therefore designed the pan-Canadian prospective COVID-19: HEalth and Social Inequities across Neighbourhoods (COHESION) cohort to provide a deeper understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic context affects mental health and well-being, key determinants of health, and health inequities.MethodsThis paper presents the design of the two-phase COHESION Study, and descriptive results from the first phase conducted between May 2020 and September 2021. During that period, the COHESION research platform collected monthly data linked to COVID-19 such as infection and vaccination status, perceptions and attitudes regarding pandemic-related measures, and information on participants’ physical and mental health, well-being, sleep, loneliness, resilience, substances use, living conditions, social interactions, activities, and mobility.ResultsThe 1,268 people enrolled in the Phase 1 COHESION Study are for the most part from Ontario (47%) and Quebec (33%), aged 48 ± 16 years [mean ± standard deviation (SD)], and mainly women (78%), White (85%), with a university degree (63%), and living in large urban centers (70%). According to the 298 ± 68 (mean ± SD) prospective questionnaires completed each month on average, the first year of follow-up reveals significant temporal variations in standardized indexes of well-being, loneliness, anxiety, depression, and psychological distress.ConclusionsThe COHESION Study will allow identifying trajectories of mental health and well-being while investigating their determinants and how these may vary by subgroup, over time, and across different provinces in Canada, in varying context including the pandemic recovery period. Our findings will contribute valuable insights to the urban health field and inform future public health interventions.

Mediterranean diet adherence and nutritional literacy: an observational cross-sectional study of the reality of university students in a COVID-19 pandemic context

AimTo evaluate the adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and the level of nutritional literacy (NL) among university students from different academic fields of study, within the context of the...

The effect of VR on learners' engagement and motivation in K12 English education

This paper examines how virtual reality (VR) technology can be used in K-12 classrooms, specifically focusing on its potential impact on learners' engagement and motivation, with a particular emphasis on English language learning. The paper begins by providing an introduction to VR technology and its relevance in education, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic context. It reviews existing literature on learners' engagement and motivation, emphasizing the importance of these factors in the learning process. The study explores the initial step of VR technology in English instruction, highlighting the challenges faced in traditional language classes and the opportunities that VR presents. A case study on English VR teaching in middle school is presented, followed by a detailed case design for a cutting-edge VR learning platform tailored for young primary school English learners. The case study for K-12 students and design showcase how VR technology can be utilized to create engaging and immersive learning environments that foster comprehensive language skills development. The paper concludes by acknowledging the potential of VR educational games and embodied cognition theory in enhancing language learning outcomes and encourages further research in this area.

Possibilities of the COVID-19 pandemic context for statistics education: some reflections

The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide epidemiological event in which is demonstrated the power of information, science, mathematics, and statistics to understand policies and impacts on citizen’s behavior and public health. People’s access to statistical information related to pandemic demanded the mobilization of technical knowledge and their experiences and contextual knowledge. Also, to critically analyze the dissemination of inaccurate or wrong data and the proliferation of misinformation, the general population needs to develop statistical literacy, which will enable them to identify and avoid being influenced by misleading statistical data. The health crisis resulting from the pandemic is adding to other urgent problems that afflict humanity. In this challenging context, it seems important to rethink the role of mathematics education and statistical education. This paper aims to reflect on statistics education based on the guidelines of the curriculum and teachers’ engagement in implementing projects that involve cross-cutting contemporary themes, can make people more supportive and aware of their role in the post-pandemic world.

Comparison of Three Different Companies in the US. Retail Industry Based on Beta (-risk) Analysis and Financial Statement Analysis: Costco vs. Walmart vs. Target

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the capital structure, business risk (levered vs. unlevered beta ), and financial statements in the U.S. grocery retailers to determine how their unique capital structure, risks, and financial characteristics explain the differences in their performance and investment returns. We chose three U.S. grocery stores: Costco, Walmart, and Target, each with a unique business structure. We conducted a detailed beta () analysis, both leveraged and unleveraged, as well as a dedicate financial statement analysis focused on ratio analysis. Liquidity, profitability, and solvency abilities were examined to determine if they depend on each retailers specific capital structure, risks, and characteristics, and how they would affect investors investment decisions. Our results reveal that the capital structure, or the level of financial leverage, and size of market capitalization play key roles in determining a companys levered and unlevered beta (). In addition, we found that Target has the highest investment return but exhibits substantially weaker sales and has a high liquidity risk. Costco exhibits significant low margins in both gross and operating, but has a lower level of debt and a greater ability to generate free cash flow. Walmart has the largest market capitalization, the lowest business risk () and return, but the large amount of debts it currently holds limits its free cash flow and ability to grow rapidly. Above all, it is advisable to invest in Costco rather than Target and Walmart under todays unprecedented (post) Covid-19 pandemic context.

Coping strategies adopted by students and professors in the COVID-19 pandemic context: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: In face of the COVID-19 crisis, classroom activities at universities were interrupted in Brazil, following the guidelines of health agencies to minimize coronavirus contamination levels, with implications for students’ and professors’ mental health. Objective: To identify the coping strategies used by students and professors of a Brazilian university during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the associated sociodemographic and institutional/academic variables. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out using an online questionnaire with questions on socioeconomic aspects and applying the Ways of Coping Scale. Results: 671 students and 231 professors from a public university in the south of Brazil enrolled in the study. Students and professors used more problem-focused coping strategies followed by searching for social support. Regarding the professors, the variables frequency of leaving home and gender were positively associated with the problem and emotion-focused strategies and religion/fanciful thought strategies, respectively. Regarding the students, women used predominantly emotion-focused and religious/fanciful thought strategies. Students aged 27 or more used more problem-focused and 18-20 and 21-26 years old used predominantly emotion-focused strategies. Living with family and leaving home for 8 days or more were associated with the religious/fanciful thought strategy. Conclusion: Attention should be given to gender, age, and frequency of leaving home, when planning mental health actions to foster the use of a wider range of coping strategies adopted by university students and professors throughout moments of developmental crisis, such as the ones that emerged across pandemics.

Microtransit adoption in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a choice experiment with transit and car commuters

On-demand mobility platforms play an increasingly important role in urban mobility systems. Impacts are still debated, as these platforms supply personalized and optimized services while also potentially exacerbating sustainability challenges. To alleviate these concerns, microtransit projects have emerged, promising to combine the advantages of pooled on-demand rides with more sustainable fixed-route public transit services. Specifically, microtransit provides, dynamic rider-driver matching to serve demand with fewer vehicles and design optimal routes if riders accept to wait to board vehicles at curbside boarding locations. The shift to microtransit calls for new research on user behavior, motivations, and acceptability to understand demand and its role in existing mobility systems. The COVID-19 pandemic context adds an additional layer of complexity. This study investigates the potential demand for microtransit options against the background of the pandemic. We use a pivoted efficient choice experiment to study the decision-making of Israeli public transit and car commuters when offered to use novel microtransit options (sedan vs. passenger van). By estimating commuter group-specific Integrated Choice and Latent Variable models with error component terms for the microtransit alternatives, we investigate the tradeoffs related to traditional fare and travel time attributes, along with microtransit features: walking time to the pickup location, vehicle sharing, waiting time, minimum advanced reservation time, and shelter at designated boarding locations. We analyzed two latent constructs: the attitudes toward sharing and the experiences and risk perceptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results reveal three key takeaways. (1) New modal attributes significantly affect the utility of the microtransit alternatives, with a notable aversion to walking and waiting among drivers; (2) car and transit commuters have structural differences in attribute elasticities; (3) significant differences are noted for the magnitude of the latent variable effects. Sharing experience and COVID Comfort play a key role for drivers evaluating the choice of microtransit.

Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) Global during a Pandemic: A New Learning Ecology Perspective

Building on new learning ecology theory and situated in the COVID-19 pandemic context, a qualitative research design was used to examine student and teacher perspectives on Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) Global. Drawing on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Project-Based Learning (PjBL), PBI Global supports participants toward engaging in inquiry-to-action aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Data sources for this study included transcripts from student and teacher focus groups conducted before, during, and after the PBI Global process. Three themes emerged (1) creating global awareness of water issues, (2) learning to collaborate in remote and hybrid contexts, and (3) enhancing self-efficacy through iterative learning. The discussion focuses on the affordances and challenges of engaging in PBL during non-voluntary online learning, as well as study limitations and directions for future research.

Psychological Stress and Coping Strategy Profiles Among Frontline Medical Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study aimed to explore coping strategy profiles used by frontline medical workers and the psychological stress reactions associated with each category, in the COVID-19 pandemic context. Participants were 651 frontline medical workers recruited between February and March 2020. Psychological stress reactions (e.g., anxiety, depression) and coping strategies were assessed and analyzed using latent profile analysis and linear regression. Participants had three coping strategy profiles: coping inadequately (28.9%), coping appropriately (64.4%), and coping excessively (6.7%). Compared with coping appropriately, those who coped inadequately and excessively had higher psychological stress reactions levels. Levels of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder in excessive-coping individuals were higher than those who coped inadequately. Our findings elucidate the effectiveness of different coping strategy profiles and provide insights for developing targeted interventions to mitigate stress among medical workers. In light of these results, we recommend implementing stress management programs tailored to specific coping strategy profiles.

Rethinking sustainable substitution between domestic and international tourism: a policy thought experiment

ABSTRACT The role of domestic tourism as a substitute for international tourism has not received adequate attention in the literature. However, the potential for substitution has become particularly important in the COVID-19 pandemic context which has significantly impacted travel flows as well as the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Drawing upon data on major tourism destinations and generating markets, a tourism policy thought experiment is conducted to explore the substitutability of domestic for international tourism in selected countries in light of COVID-19 and other situations, such as the climate crisis and the urgent need for low carbon tourism. The analysis and discussion highlight the complexities in achieving sustainable substitution in rescaling international mobilities to domestic. It is argued that without careful changes to overall tourism provision and consumption behaviours in the international-domestic tourism division, a (partial) shift may provide short gains but is likely to fail in the long term. The paper concludes with a critical analysis of contemporary debates on COVID-19 related tourism transformation in relation to substitution between domestic and international tourism and sustainable tourism futures.

Perfect Pretext: Populist Authoritarian Seizure of Pandemic Emergency Powers in India and the Philippines

Using Frankfurt School Critical Theory, we examine the political outcomes of how Asian populist authoritarian regimes seized the COVID-19 pandemic context for regime maintenance and power consolidation. The pandemic revealed interesting India-Philippines parallels highlighting three inter-connected political-economic development patterns contextualising analogous state responses to COVID-19. First, how neo-liberal economic policies pursued through old and new technologies of domination accompanied phenomenal economic growth rates without addressing structural socio-economic inequalities. Second, how parallel predisposing conditions of failed political promises, increased rent-seeking opportunities, and corruption under constricted neo-liberal democracies, gave rise to populist authoritarian leaders. Third, how combined neo-liberalism and populist authoritarianism conditioned conflictual and contested government responses to the pandemic, bolstering power consolidation and regime maintenance, on the one hand, and ensuing political contestations on the other. Populist authoritarianism persists during pandemics through three significant connected elements of ideological domination propagated through mass media, the hetero-patriarchal family, and educational system.

Relationship between cash holding and capital structure of Vietnamese public companies in the COVID-19 pandemic context

Determining the capital and cash holdings pattern is among the most critical decisions of firm executives. This study investigates the link between cash holdings and capital structure to help executives consider the best pattern of capital and cash. The study collected a sample of 5,747 observations from public companies in Vietnam during 2019–2022 and employed the panel data regression method for analysis. The findings demonstrate a correlation between capital structure and cash holding ratio that is statistically significant. However, these relationships are inconsistent between the cash holdings and each component of the capital structure. Current debt and total debt ratios have a positive and linear association with cash holdings, while non-current debt ratio has a negative and nonlinear association. The study highlights a heterogeneous association of the cash holding ratio with three proxies of debt structure. The results reveal that, during COVID-19, the effects of the non-current debt ratio on cash holding and of cash holding on the current debt ratio have no statistical significance.

Adolescents’ Perception About the Relationship Between Self-Reported Smartphone Addiction and Emotional and Behavioral Problems During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aimed to understand adolescents’ perception about the relationship between Self-Reported Smartphone Addiction and Emotional and Behavioral Problems in the COVID-19 pandemic context. The qualitative research was conducted in Brazil with 16 adolescents aged from 15 to 18 years old classified with smartphone addiction by Smartphone Addiction Inventory scale. Data were collected through focus group meetings and prepared by means of Bardin’s content analysis. The findings resulted in two categories that describe how adolescents escape from the reality imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic using smartphones and how they perceive the emotional and behavioral changes caused by this addiction. They develop this behavior seeking to alleviate negative emotions and to escape from reality, but this relief is momentary and ineffective, as this addictive relationship proves to accentuate emotional distress.

Emergent literacy: effects of a multi-tier intervention in a COVID-19 pandemic context

ABSTRACT Emergent literacy (EL) interventions are effective at fostering foundational skills for reading and writing. During the COVID-19 pandemic schools faced several challenges to maintain these interventions, namely changing face-to-face to remote modalities. In this study, the effects of a multi-tier emergent literacy intervention are examined, delivered both in face-to-face and remote modalities, during the second COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The intervention was delivered to 102 preschool Portuguese children (aged 5–6 years) according to the Multi-Tier Systems of Support (MTSS) framework and evaluated using a pre and post-test design and a single group. The results showed significant gains after the intervention in all emergent literacy skills evaluated: phonological awareness, vocabulary, print concepts, alphabet knowledge, and emergent writing. These findings highlight the relevance of systematic interventions that implement universal screenings, progress monitoring and decision-making processes based on children’s performance, and the potentialities of using mixed modalities (face-to-face and remote) to deliver such interventions in uncertain times.

Vulnerable narcissistic leadership meets Covid-19: the relationship between vulnerable narcissistic leader behaviour and subsequent follower irritation

ABSTRACT Leaders’ vulnerable narcissism may cause followers irritation due to its antagonistic and neurotic nature. Based on conservation of resources theory, we propose and test a model of between-person and reciprocal within-person relations between weekly experiences of vulnerable narcissistic leader behaviours (VNLB) and followers’ irritation in subsequent weeks. We argue that in time of crisis and uncertainty, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns related to it, VNLB adds to follower irritation. We drew a sample from a population affected by workplace uncertainty, that is, the UK education sector during the first weeks of the Covid pandemic (N = 159). Five weeks of longitudinal data were collected. We conducted a random intercepts cross-lagged panel model and separated within- from between-person sources of variance in VNLB and follower irritation. Our findings show that VNLB positively related to follower irritation at the between-person level. The relationships at the within-person level of analysis were less clear. Experiences of VNLB resulted in follower irritation in subsequent weeks for some of the time lags, but not for others. We find limited indicators for a reciprocal relationship between VNLB and irritation. We discuss implications and link our findings to the study context of COVID-19 pandemic.

Barriers to mental health treatment in primary care practice in low- and middle-income countries in a post-covid era: A systematic review.

General primary care workers and family physicians are a crucial work force in managing the mental health of people in any given region. However, the barriers they face in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) may be worsened by the pandemic. This review aims to bring together evidence about mental health treatment challenges experienced by people in LMICs in primary care settings. The review focuses on the shortage of essential mental healthcare services, stigma and lack of competent primary care professionals in establishing these services and their importance in the COVID-19 pandemic context. The systematic review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and the search strategy included keyword search terms (MeSH) to perform a search across three electronic databases - Critical Appraisal Skills Program assessed PubMed, SpringerLink, and Cochrane and quality of the articles. The articles selected were analyzed through thematic analysis to identify the main themes and conclude our findings. Findings indicate that out of 1792 publications found, 14 studies matched the desired criteria for the studies. Endnotes, database search filters, and Covidence data extraction tools were used to generate the relevant articles in this study. This study shows that primary care institutions have financial and management issues in providing mental health services and a shortage of competent mental health experts in primary care, especially mental health-trained family physicians. The study also identifies community stigma as the most prevalent barrier to seeking mental health therapy, reflecting the lack of community health education in LMICs.

Toxicological effects of hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine diphosphate substances on the early-life stages of fish in the COVID-19 pandemic context.

Hydroxychloroquine sulfate (HCQ) and chloroquine diphosphate (CQ) have been used at increased rates to treat COVID-19 but can constitute a potential environmental risk. The objective was to evaluate the toxicity of sublethal concentrations of HCQ and CQ in zebrafish embryos/larvae. The 50% lethal concentrations (LC50) of HCQ and CQ at 96 h post-fertilization (hpf) were calculated by testing various concentrations on 2,160 embryos. The LC50 obtained were 560 and 800 µM for HCQ and CQ, respectively. Next, the embryotoxicity assay was performed, where 1,200 embryos were subjected to sublethal concentrations of HCQ and CQ. The hatching and heart rates were recorded. After euthanasia, photomicrographs of all larvae were taken to measure the total length, pericardial and yolk sac areas. The embryos exposed to sublethal concentrations of HCQ and CQ showed delayed hatching at 72 hpf, as well as an increase in the heart rate, larger pericardial and yolk sac areas, and body malformations at 96 hpf. The findings show that HCQ and CQ are toxic to fish in the early development phases. Understanding the mechanisms of toxicity will help extrapolate the effects of 4-aminoquinoline derivatives when they reach the aquatic environment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Individual Adaptability to Work: Scale Validation on the Romanian Population

Abstract This study aimed to validate the I-ADAPT scale to assess the individual adaptability to work within the Romanian population. Both a pilot study and a main study were conducted on a total sample of 966 Romanians. Following the application of standard scale validation procedures, the results of our study indicated that the I-ADAPT measure of work adaptability has good psychometric properties on the Romanian population. Our findings provide evidence that I-ADAPT continues to explain the unique variance in adaptability to work even if work patterns in the Covid-19 pandemic context moved more and more from a traditional to a virtual work environment. ROa I-ADAPT measure has excellent properties concerning convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity. One main finding was that the “Physical” dimension of adaptability to work had no empirical support in the Romanian population. Moreover, our results indicate that the “interpersonal adaptability” and the “cultural adaptability” dimensions cannot be empirically separated in the Romanian population. To our knowledge, this is the first validated instrument that can be used to assess the individual adaptability of Romanians in the context of work. Our study is relevant for decision-makers in Romania and such actors in other EU-member countries where Romanians represent the largest group of working-age EU citizens.

Scale-Up of Academic Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Production

Background: Many clinical trials have reported the use of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) following the indication of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, in the COVID19 pandemic context, academic laboratories had to adapt a production process to obtain MSCs in a very short time. Production processes, especially freezing/thawing cycles, or culture medium have impacts on MSC properties. We evaluated the impact of an intermediate cryopreservation state during MSC culture to increase production yields. Methods: Seven Wharton’s jelly (WJ)-MSC batches generated from seven different umbilical cords with only one cryopreservation step and 13 WJ-MSC batches produced with intermediate freezing were formed according to good manufacturing practices. The identity (phenotype and clonogenic capacities), safety (karyotype, telomerase activity, sterility, and donor qualification), and functionality (viability, mixed lymphocyte reaction) were analyzed. Results: No significant differences between MSC production processes were observed, except for the clonogenic capacity, which was decreased, although it always remained above our specifications. Conclusions: Intermediate cryopreservation allows an increase in the production yield and has little impact on the basic characteristics of MSCs.

Virtual Reality for the Creation of Stories and Scenarios for Construction Safety: Social Distancing in the COVID-19 Pandemic Context

Virtual Reality for the Creation of Stories and Scenarios for Construction Safety: Social Distancing in the COVID-19 Pandemic Context