Social Nature Research Articles

Temporary wage subsidies and post-COVID re-employment in Morocco: a regression discontinuity approach

ABSTRACT This paper aims to evaluate the causal effect of a temporary wage subsidy scheme implemented in Morocco during the COVID-19 crisis. It exploits a discontinuity in the eligibility condition of this subsidy, which is the number of days reported before job loss, to identify its causal effect on beneficiaries’ unemployment duration and re-employment probability by using the regression discontinuity method based on administrative data from the National Social Security Fund (CNSS). Our findings indicate that this subsidy has reduced the duration of unemployment and improved the probability of re-employment of beneficiary employees. However, they also show that these positive effects seem to have been less pronounced among those most excluded from the labour market, namely women and young people.

Robust Drone Delivery with Weather Information

Problem definition: Drone delivery has recently garnered significant attention due to its potential for faster delivery at a lower cost than other delivery options. When scheduling drones from a depot for delivery to various destinations, the dispatcher must take into account the uncertain wind conditions, which affect the delivery times of drones to their destinations, leading to late deliveries. Methodology/results: To mitigate the risk of delivery delays caused by wind uncertainty, we propose a two-period drone scheduling model to robustly optimize the delivery schedule. In this framework, the scheduling decisions are made in the morning, with the provision for different delivery schedules in the afternoon that adapt to updated weather information available by midday. Our approach minimizes the essential riskiness index, which can simultaneously account for the probability of tardy delivery and the magnitude of lateness. Using wind observation data, we characterize the uncertain flight times via a cluster-wise ambiguity set, which has the benefit of tractability while avoiding overfitting the empirical distribution. A branch-and-cut (B&C) algorithm is developed for this adaptive distributionally framework to improve its scalability. Our adaptive distributionally robust model can effectively reduce lateness in out-of-sample tests compared with other classical models. The proposed B&C algorithm can solve instances to optimality within a shorter time frame than a general modeling toolbox. Managerial implications: Decision makers can use the adaptive robust model together with the cluster-wise ambiguity set to effectively reduce service lateness at customers for drone delivery systems. Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 72101049 and 72232001], the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province [Grant 2023-BS-091], the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [Grant DUT23RC(3)045], and the Major Project of the National Social Science Foundation [Grant 22&ZD151]. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.0339 .

The liminal (vowel) space of womanhood: Fundamental frequency, formants, and the intersex body in Brazil

Abstract Despite the significance of intersex constituencies for explaining the social nature of sex and gender, intersex linguistic and social practices remain a yet unexplored frontier within sociolinguistics. This article examines fundamental frequency (F0) and vowel formant (F1–F3) production by participants with Turner Syndrome (TS), one of the most common intersex chromosomal conditions, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This analysis demonstrates significant differences in fundamental frequency and F3 among different participant groups. I argue that height, growth hormone, and chromosomes are fundamental in constructing womanhood for TS women. Along with relevant ethnographic data, these results call for a re-examination of the body within linguistic and anthropological understandings of ‘womanhood’ and ‘femaleness’. This article highlights the ways these biological factors intersect with gendered perceptions of age and maturity, which can have real-world effects on linguistic practice and the social life of intersex individuals. (Brazilian Portuguese, fundamental frequency, gender, intersex, Turner Syndrome, vowel formants, critical intersex studies)*

Hans Jonas: The Last German Philosopher and His Jewish Challenge to Modernity: Affirming Life

Abstract Victorio Hosle called Hans Jonas “the last German philosopher.” Jonas’ Memoirs connect changing philosophical priorities with devastating life events. The shock of learning of his former mentor, Heidegger’s, affiliation to National Socialism, his exile from Germany and his mother’s death in Auschwitz, made the conceptual universe of German Idealism, Husserl and Heidegger, seem nihilistic and akin to a Gnostic denigration of worldliness. The brutal wartime realities exposed a callous removal from nature and any meaningful humanism. After soldiering in the war with “Maccabean rage,” he subsequently created his philosophical biology of organism, one which respected the corporeal, metabolic basis of life. His consequent innovations in Environmental and Medical Ethics had an enormous impact on the German scholarly world. Jonas retained a lifelong attachment to German culture and “saved” German philosophy by making critical amendments. Later in life he wrote in German, spent a sabbatical year in Germany, received the medal of honor from the Federal Republic of Germany and honorary doctorates from several German universities. The “German” Jonas brought a respect for ontology and nature to a philosophy that was prone to sterile abstractions. The life-affirming “Jewish” Jonas restored an ethical mandate for responsibility for the future of the planet and humankind to a bereft ethics.

Politically Affiliated Analysts

Government ownership of financial intermediaries is pervasive around the world. In this study, we examine the impact of common government ownership between the brokerage and listed firms on the information production role of brokerage firms. We show that affiliated analysts tend to issue more optimistic recommendations for stocks of firms controlled by the same government entity that controls their brokerage firms. This optimistic bias is particularly pronounced during periods of economic shocks. Our study demonstrates this by utilizing additional tariff impositions and tariff exemptions during the U.S.–China trade war as exogenous negative and positive shocks, respectively. Additionally, our study indicates that stocks recommended by politically affiliated analysts tend to underperform those recommended by independent analysts, implying that the optimism stems from conflicts of interest rather than superior information. Furthermore, our research highlights that sophisticated investors perceive the potential bias and incorporate it into their trading. Consistent with an exchange of favors story, politically affiliated brokerage firms receive a larger allocation during the issuance of local government debt, whereas governments subscribe for more shares during seasoned equity offerings by these affiliated brokerage firms. This paper was accepted by Kay Giesecke, finance. Funding: The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 71972088, 72132002, and 71991473], the National Social Science Foundation of China [Grants 21ZDA010 and 22VRC145], and the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance [Grant B21038]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.00579 .

Transformation of Soviet State Policy in the Field of Motherhood and Childhood Protection at the Turn of 1980–1990s

The scientific relevance of the article is related to the importance of identifying the prerequisites for the transition from protecting motherhood and childhood to protecting the rights of women and children in the state policy in the 1990s. Such prerequisites were of a social nature and marked the beginning of the transformation of Soviet state policy at the turn of the 1980–1990s. Accordingly, the aim of the article is to highlight the social reasons for the transformation of Soviet state policy regarding the protection of motherhood and childhood at the turn of 1980–1990s. To achieve the aim, the article uses historical, logical and cause-and-effect methods. The scientific novelty of the research is defined by a number of documents that have not been previously introduced into scientific circulation. These include paperwork documents of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR and documents related to the implementation of a set of resolutions which are stored in the State Archive of the Russian Federation. The study also includes documents reflecting statistical data, such as report of the USSR on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and documents from the collection of modern political documents of the State Public Historical Library of Russia (GPIB of Russia). Data from periodicals of the indicated years were also used. The study shows that in the context of political changes in 1980–1990s the social issue, due to many political and economic reasons, required a new solution. This entailed, among other things, a change in ideas in society about the tasks of the state in the field of motherhood and childhood. As a result, there was a need to transform policy regarding the protection of motherhood and childhood, which was most fully expressed in the 1990s.

Implementation of Indonesian Government Regulations Concerning the Job Loss Guarantee Program in the Special Capital Region of Jakarta

The Indonesian government expanded social security for the community, especially those who experienced layoffs or lost their jobs by issuing a Government Regulation to expand social security as amended and adding several provisions to articles in Law Number 40 of 2004 concerning the National Social Security System after the enactment of the Law. Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation. The background to the policy is because during the COVID-19 pandemic many companies laid off employment. In Jakarta, the number of people who have lost their jobs has increased. The Central Statistics Agency of Indonesia report released that the number of unemployed people in the Special Capital Region of Jakarta in February 2022 was 410.59 thousand people. This research aims to legally analyze the decisions or beschikking issued by the Jakarta provincial government in implementing the job loss guarantee (JKP) program and analyze the implementation of the job loss guarantee program in the Jakarta. The research method used is a juridical-empirical research method using statutory and case approaches. The results of this research: 1) Decree (beschikking) of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government in implementing the job loss guarantee program by issuing: Regional Regulation Number 27 of 2012 concerning the Implementation of Employment and Governor's Regulation of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta Province Number 15 of 2023 concerning Amendments to Governor's Regulation Number 55 of 2016 concerning the Implementation of Social Security for Workers through the Employment Social Security Administering Agency. 2) Implementation of PP 37/2021 in the DKI Jakarta Province area, based on employment conditions in February 2023, the working population in Jakarta area was recorded at 4.86 million people and a survey of 135 random respondents related to the dissemination of information about JKP concluded that the implementation JKP, especially in terms of socialization, is still lacking, because as many as 77% admitted that they had never been socialized about the JKP program which has implications for respondents' knowledge of the benefits of the JKP program itself, not many respondents fully know that the benefits of the JKP program are in the form of cash benefits. , benefits of access to job information, and benefits of job training. Of the respondents who knew about the benefits of the JKP program, generally they only knew about the cash benefits, while other respondents admitted that they did not know at all about the benefits of the JKP program. This number of respondents is not small, namely 53 respondents or around 55.8%. The benefits of the JKP program that were known to respondents were benefits in the form of cash as much as 32.7%, benefits from access to job market information as much as 14.7% and benefits from job training as much as 17% and the remaining 55.8% of respondents did not know what the benefits of the JKP program were.

Examining the Longitudinal Relationship Between Olfactory Dysfunction and Frailty in Community-Dwelling, older US Adults.

Olfactory dysfunction is a "canary in the coalmine" for aging conditions. We evaluated olfactory dysfunction as a biomarker of early frailty in older adults living in the United States. Prospective, longitudinal, nationally representative study. National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP). We examined data from 1061 community-dwelling older US adults. Odor identification (5-item Sniffin' Stick) and frailty scores were measured at baseline and 5-year follow-up. Multivariate logistic regressions evaluated the association between olfactory dysfunction and frailty at baseline in cross-section and over time in the transition from robust to prefrail to frail, adjusting for confounding factors measured at baseline. Older US adults who were anosmic at baseline were more likely to be frail 5 years later compared to normosmic peers (odds ratio [OR]: 3.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10-13.31, P = .035). Examining changes in frailty stage over time, we found that anosmics were more likely to transition from prefrail to frail over 5 years (OR: 3.25, 95% CI: 1.31-8.08, P = .011). Interestingly, hyposmics did not show a similar trajectory toward frailty (P > .05). In contrast, olfactory dysfunction was not associated with frailty in cross-section (OR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.43-1.89, P = .787, hyposmia; OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.15-3.35, P = .673, anosmia). Older US adults with anosmia face higher odds of becoming frail over 5 years, especially those in the prefrail stage. Olfactory dysfunction may serve as a surrogate marker for early-stage neurodegenerative diseases, which are strong contributors to frailty.

Preventing Electoral Fraud in Indonesia: Protecting the Social Security of Election Management Personnel

Indonesia’s Election Management Bodies (EMBs), constitutionally mandated to manage legislative and presidential elections, face substantial risks, including accidents and fatalities. However, their social security rights are often overshadowed by the focus on civil servants and private-sector workers. This study, employing normative legal research, urges the need for state protection of EMBs’ social security rights, drawing on secondary data sources. EMBs should receive comprehensive work-related accident benefits, death benefit programs, and old-age protection schemes from the Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan). The legal basis for these social security rights can be found in several legislative provisions, including the Indonesian 1945 Constitution, the National Social Security System Law, and other related regulations. Recognizing EMBs as state-serving workers is a crucial step in safeguarding their social security rights. This recognition is not merely a matter of legal interpretation; it is a necessity to ensure a fair and secure electoral environment. By ensuring that EMBs are accorded the same rights and protections as other workers, the state can create a more equitable electoral process and reinforce the integrity of its democratic institutions.

The Perception of Fascist and National Socialist Ideologies During the Second World War in Albania

The Albanian Communist Party was born as a Bolshevik-style party, endowed with a non-Bolshevik but social democratic program, such as popular democracy. To shed light on the factors that determined the arrival of the communist regime in Albania, it is necessary to start the analysis from its roots, that is, since the establishment of the communist regime in Albania. For his part, although the communist regime was established in Albania immediately after the end of World War II, the roots of the phenomenon must be sought from the beginning of the war, even a few months earlier when Albania was invaded on April 7, 1939, by fascist Italy. When Albania was invaded by fascist Italy, no one inside or outside the country predicted, nor could have predicted, that at the end of World War II, the Albanian Communist Party would take power into its own hands. There were subjective and objective reasons for this. First of all, when World War II broke out, Albania was the only country in the Balkans that did not have a Communist Party. However, the absence of the Communist Party was largely a subjective factor. The establishment of the communist regime in Albania was for objective reasons a completely paradoxical phenomenon. Albania, the youngest state in Europe, at the same time its most backward state, with a population of one million and forty thousand inhabitants, had no developed industry, ie no working class in the eyes of the proletariat, as conceived by Marxist doctrine. According to Marxist definitions, Albania was a micro-bourgeois country, that is, without capitalist owners and capitalist institutions, to the extent that they justified the socialist revolution. In addition, the Albanian population was overwhelmingly still illiterate. There were only a few isolated nuclei or communist groups with few members composed mainly of artisans and students, who were further characterized by ideological perversion and worse still by political rivalries between them. The question before historians is this: How can it be explained that despite all these disadvantages, the Albanian Communist Party, which was founded two and a half years after the occupation of the country by fascist Italy, on November 8, 1941, managed to face the war against the occupiers within three years. Nazi fascists and against internal nationalist factors, to take political power in Albania at the end of the Second World War? In addition, how is it that the Albanian Communist Party, unlike its Eastern European counterparts, seized political power on its own, without the presence of Soviet armies, which are not known to have invaded Albania? Albania's position during the Second World War and especially the National Liberation War must be judged by ourselves, regardless of who led it. We must judge it as we do in every historical event. The communist dictatorship that was established in Albania should not blind us to the judgment we give in the national liberation war. The communist regime is not a necessary offspring of the National Liberation War. In my opinion, the establishment of the communist regime is the result of mistakes made during the national liberation war, it is a consequence of the poverty of the political culture of the Albanian people, the lack of traditional political parties, the naivety of the Communist Party leaders, the illusions of united nationalists with the National Liberation Front, of myopia, of the leaders of the National Front, which were used by Enver Hoxha to realize under the umbrella of patriotic war his dictatorial ambitions.   Received: 25 December 2023 / Accepted: 25 February 2024 / Published: 23 April 2024

From disagreement to rupture: the Soviet-Albanian conflict of 1960-1961

The Soviet-Albanian conflict epitomized centrifugal tendencies within the global socialist system. This article draws on a diverse array of sources, including previously unpublished materials, such as documents from the State Archive of the Russian Federation and the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, as well as memoirs of key leaders (N. Khrushchev, E. Hoxha, R. Alia), and various official records. Notably, the TASS bureau in Tirana provided invaluable insights, collaborating with diplomats and journalists from other socialist nations to produce analytical reports, some of which were directed to the upper echelons of the CPSU. The article explores the evolution of discord between Moscow and Tirana, its culmination in open conflict, and the subsequent severance of party and state relations. Key findings include: 1) The conflict's primary catalysts were the divergent socialist models adopted by the USSR and Albania, coupled with the disparity in interests between the superpower and the bloc's smallest member; 2) The PLA's reluctance to conform to Soviet-style reforms was construed in Moscow as a challenge to the CPSU's hegemony within the global communist movement, while the PLA leadership viewed them as encroachments on its authority; 3) Disagreements pervaded all spheres, with ideology assuming heightened significance compared to conflicts with Yugoslavia; 4) External influences on the conflict's trajectory were marginal, with developments driven by internal dynamics, including Tirana's increasing alienation from the CPSU and the catalytic effect of deteriorating Soviet-Chinese relations; Western powers monitored events closely but refrained from direct intervention; 5) While objective factors underpinned the Soviet-Albanian discord, subjective elements were of secondary importance, yet pivotal in precipitating the conflict's acrimonious turn.

How Could Digital Transformation Help Medium-Sized Enterprises Access Thailand’s New Capital Market Financing (LiVEx) to Support Sustainable Growth in the Digital Economy Era?

In today’s modern era, digital transformation serves as a crucial element for organizations to gain a competitive edge and optimize their operating systems. However, medium-sized enterprises in Thailand face difficulties in accessing capital market financing, despite its significance in promoting the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises according to the 13th National Economic and Social Development Plan. One potential solution to this issue is digital transformation, which can help these enterprises achieve their strategic business objectives and find a reliable source of funding while enhancing their reputation and credibility, thereby contributing to the growth of the economy as a whole. This study utilized a mixed-methods approach to explore how digital transformation can assist medium-sized enterprises in accessing LiVEx, a new capital market for Thai SMEs. We conducted extensive research and interviewed 12 senior executives across three groups, government agencies, LiVEx-listed companies, and social associations, to develop a questionnaire and conceptual model. Data collected from 360 individuals working in medium-sized enterprises in Thailand collected using an online questionnaire were then analyzed, using CFA and SEM techniques to validate the model. Our study emphasizes the importance of digital literacy, digital usage, and digital advocacy in the success of digital transformation in accessing Thai capital market financing. These findings serve as a valuable knowledge repository for future research.

Space and place in the German-Jewish experience of the 1930s – introduction

ABSTRACT This introduction offers the theoretical and historical framework of the volume’s articles. In highlighting aspects of the German-Jewish experience during the 1930s, in Germany and in transit, it provides a starting point for the ensuing chapters’ discussions of the relationships between ‘place,’ ‘space,’ history and identity. It underscores the significance of ‘space’ as a category for the study of Jewish life during National Socialist persecution. It argues that the divergent interests and processes which constitute (the notions of) places, and the intricacies between places and identities, facilitate a reconsideration of German-Jewish experiences and self-perceptions in a time of extreme uncertainty.

Das Deutsche Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung im Zweiten Weltkrieg

Abstract The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), the largest institute of its kind in Germany, will celebrate its centenary in 2025. It was founded as the Institute for Business Cycle Research (IfK) on July 16 1925 by Ernst Wagemann, then President of the German Statistical Office. The Institute’s research on the war economy 1939 to 1945 has not yet been examined in a well-founded manner. As the DIW itself does not possess the necessary archival records, the secret studies had first to be made accessible from various archives of the authorities which had requested this research. Only then could the studies and reports which the IfK/DIW had done on the war economy be presented here. With Wagemann losing his dual function as head of the Institute and as President of the German Statistical Office in 1933, the IfK/DIW had no longer a smooth direct access to internal statistics of the Statistical Office. In order to be able to work in an expert capacity, the Institute and its President had to secure their clients’ trust through convincing professional competence. The article elaborates on the Institute’s struggle for the status of vital importance for the war, which awarded a special position compared with other institutes, e.g. in the Reich’s Research Council (Reichsforschungsrat). Wagemann’s skill in presenting his Institute as an indispensable economic research institute certainly contributed to its prominent status. He also asserted and made himself indispensable to the National Socialist system.

Adopting Third-party Bots for Managing Online Communities

Bots have become critical for managing online communities on platforms, especially to match the increasing technical sophistication of online harms. However, community leaders often adoptthird-party bots, creating room for misalignment in their assumptions, expectations, and understandings (i.e., their technological frames) about them. On platforms where sharing bots can be extremely valuable, how community leaders can revise their frames about bots to more effectively adopt them is unclear. In this work, we conducted a qualitative interview study with 16 community leaders on Discord examining how they adopt third-party bots. We found that participants addressed challenges stemming from uncertainties about a bot's security, reliability, and fit through emergent social ecosystems. Formal and informal opportunities to discuss bots with others across communities enabled participants to revise their technological frames over time, closing gaps in bot-specific skills and knowledge. This social process of learning shifted participants' perspectives of the labor of bot adoption into something that was satisfying and fun, underscoring the value of collaborative and communal approaches to adopting bots. Finally, by shaping participants' mental models of the nature, value, and use of bots, social ecosystems also raise some practical tensions in how they support user creativity and customization in third-party bot use. Together, the social nature of adopting third-party bots in our interviews offers insight into how we can better support the sharing of valuable user-facing tools across online communities.

Inequalities in women's health insurance coverage before and after the implementation of universal health insurance in Indonesia.

Indonesia implemented a National Social Security System (Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional, JKN) in 2014. To examine the changes in the magnitude of socioeconomic inequity in women's health insurance coverage among those of reproductive age, we conducted a repeated cross-sectional study design using data from the Indonesia Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 2012 and 2017, before and after the implementation of JKN. Results showed that while the JKN program helped to increase health insurance coverage among Indonesian women of childbearing age, low education level and household wealth status were associated with an increase in inequalities in health insurance coverage. The findings highlight the need to sustain coverage for citizens and to extend the JKN program to informal workers to reduce health coverage disparities. Further research is required to explore the mechanisms responsible for health coverage inequality based on socioeconomic indicators.

It Had to Be You: Carl Schmitt on Exclusion and Political Reasoning

In this paper, I would like to tackle first Schmitt’s defence of the role of exclusion in political reasoning and his attendant rejection of extreme political pluralism. I shall then move on to explain not only why there is nothing Nazi—or even antisemitic—about Schmitt’s concept of the political, but rather the other way around: Schmitt’s concept of the political not only must have been used against National Socialism but it did not fail to have his fair share of Jewish, or at the very least Zionist, enthusiasts.

Epistemic networks and the social nature of public engagement with science

AbstractThis theoretical paper focuses on the social processes of public engagement with science and their implications for science education. The core of our argument is that science education should help people become better at evaluating, using, and curating their epistemic networks to make personal and civic decisions and to understand the natural world. In this context, an epistemic network is a set of people who support sensemaking by providing new information and aiding in the interpretation and reconstruction of scientific knowledge in context. We believe epistemic networks are an important consideration for science education, particularly when misinformation plays an outsized role in the cultural landscape. Understanding when epistemic networks are useful and how science education should incorporate them requires a clear sense of how they work in different contexts. We start by contrasting the inevitably social nature of all public engagement with science with the particularly social or interpersonal nature of some public engagement with science. We draw on research from education, communication, and science and technology studies to develop the idea of an epistemic network and to describe two basic types: the individual resource network and the collective action network. We illustrate each type with an extended example that is hypothetical but informed by both research and experience. Finally, we discuss how science education can incorporate epistemic networks, as well as the challenges inherent in that educational strategy.

Race/ethnicity and the measurement of cognition in NSHAP: Recommendations for robustness.

In this study, we examine the measurement of cognition in different racial/ethnic groups to move towards a less biased and more inclusive set of measures for capturing cognitive change and decline in older adulthood. We use data from Round 2 (N=3377) and Round 3 (N=4777) of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) and examine the study's Survey Adjusted version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-SA). We employ exploratory factor analyses to explore configural invariance by racial/ethnic group. Using modification indexes, two-parameter item response theory models, and split-sample testing, we identify items that seem robust to bias by race. We test the predictive validity of the full (18-item) and short (4-item) MoCA-SAs using self-reported dementia diagnosis, instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), proxy reports of dementia, proxy reports of dementia-related death, and National Death Index reports of dementia-related death. We found that four measures out of the 18 used in NSHAP's MoCA-SA formed a scale that was more robust to racial bias. The shortened form predicted consequential outcomes as well as NSHAP's full MoCA-SA. The short form was also moderately correlated with the full form. Although sophisticated structural equation modeling techniques would be preferrable for assuaging measurement invariance by race in NSHAP, the shortened form of the MoCA-SA provides a quick way for researchers to carry out robustness checks and to see if the disparities and associations by race they document are "real" or the product of artifactual bias.

Public Health Response to SARS-CoV-2 in Assisted Living Facilities in New York State: March 2020-December 2022.

Assisted living facility (ALF) residents are especially vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection due to the age and comorbidities of the resident population and the social nature of these facilities. To collate all New York State Department of Health guidance and regulations to control transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection within ALFs from March 2020 through December 2022 and to include US Food and Drug Administration COVID-19 testing and vaccine authorizations. A narrative chronological review of all New York State Department of Health guidance. Documents and associated guidance and regulations are divided into 4 sections: (1) lockdown until COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorization; (2) COVID-19 vaccine authorization until phased reopening; (3) phased reopening, vaccination requirements, and booster vaccination; (4) the period of the bivalent booster. Controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2 within ALFs required a multifactorial approach that included stringent infection control measures, testing, and vaccination and careful attention to the social structure and support systems within ALFs. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic highlighted the complexity of controlling spread of an easily transmissible respiratory pathogen in assisted living communities and the need to structure infection control programs within the diverse ALFs that provide care for our aging population.