Outbreak Of COVID-19 Pandemic Research Articles

CovC-ReDRNet: A Deep Learning Model for COVID-19 Classification.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, over 760 million confirmed cases and over 6.8 million deaths have been reported globally, according to the World Health Organization. While the SARS-CoV-2 virus carried by COVID-19 patients can be identified though the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test with high accuracy, clinical misdiagnosis between COVID-19 and pneumonia patients remains a challenge. Therefore, we developed a novel CovC-ReDRNet model to distinguish COVID-19 patients from pneumonia patients as well as normal cases. ResNet-18 was introduced as the backbone model and tailored for the feature representation afterward. In our feature-based randomized neural network (RNN) framework, the feature representation automatically pairs with the deep random vector function link network (dRVFL) as the optimal classifier, producing a CovC-ReDRNet model for the classification task. Results based on five-fold cross-validation reveal that our method achieved 94.94%, 97.01%, 97.56%, 96.81%, and 95.84% MA sensitivity, MA specificity, MA accuracy, MA precision, and MA F1-score, respectively. Ablation studies evidence the superiority of ResNet-18 over different backbone networks, RNNs over traditional classifiers, and deep RNNs over shallow RNNs. Moreover, our proposed model achieved a better MA accuracy than the state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods, the highest score of which was 95.57%. To conclude, our CovC-ReDRNet model could be perceived as an advanced computer-aided diagnostic model with high speed and high accuracy for classifying and predicting COVID-19 diseases.

Gold's hedging and safe haven properties for European stock and bond markets

Most portfolio managers and risk managers strive to pick assets that lead to efficient financial risk mitigation; among them, gold stands out. This paper provides new insights into the role of gold as both a hedge and a safe haven towards European stock and sovereign bond markets. We base the analysis on evidence spanning the Euro's inception to the COVID-19 pandemic spread across Europe. To capture gold's hedge ability, we use the ADCC-GARCH and DCC-GARCH models, while for testing gold's safe haven property we use OLS regressions for different quantiles. Our results show that gold is a hedge for stocks, particularly after the Lehman Brothers collapse. Gold also shows strong safe haven properties for the most extreme negative returns (1% and 2.5% quantiles), and during specific events, such as the Lehman Brothers collapse, the Greek bailout and the Brexit Referendum. Still, for the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the results do not confirm this property. Conversely, for bonds, both hedge and safe haven effects are not strongly evident, with gold characterised, at best, as a weak hedge and safe haven. These findings have portfolio allocation implications for investors in European markets, namely fund and risk managers, by pointing out gold hedging and safe haven attributes.

DYNAMICS AND TYPOLOGY OF QURANIC CONTENT IN TIKTOK

Tik Tok has been considered as an attention grabbing alternative social media platform for the millennial generation as a way to convey and receive religious messages, especially Quranic messages. The use of TikTok as a new medium has also given birth to the current trend of learning the Qur’an. This study attempts to explain the impact of Quranic content on Tiktok on Quran learning. In the academic realm, this research seeks to contribute to discussions on the study of the Qur’an in its relation to social media. Using Ahmad Rafiq’s reception theory of the Qur’an and Gary R. Bunt’s theory of cyber Islamic environments, this qualitative research concludes the following points; first, the Quranic-related contents on TikTok comprise of several typologies, such as; quotes, interpretations, completing Quranic verses, tajwid, tahsin, qira’ah or recitations, lectures, news, stories, daily practices, murattal, rasm or manuscripts, the virtues of Quranic verses, memorization, guessing surahs, tips, and duets. Second, at the beginning of 2020, during the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, there had been an increased use of TikTok among people from various circles, ranging from the general public, celebrities, businessmen, preachers and others. Some preachers had been using TikTok as one of the learning media for the millennial generation. Third, TikTok had enabled creators of Quranic-related content to convey Quranic messages through Quranic content videos to be responded by netizens in the comments column. In this context, they started to turn to TikTok for religious advice and to answer some of their religious questions.

How the driving behaviors and customer handling of public transportation operators have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: the perspective of protection motivation theory?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on every aspect of human life and economic sectors such as transportation operations around the world. This paper tries to investigate how COVID-19 pandemic factors influenced the driving and customer handling behaviors of urban public transportation operators in Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia. To that end, a framework of mixed research, pre/post study design, and protection motivation theory (PMT) was used to guide the development, quantification, and analysis of the causal relationships of pandemic-related constructs on driving and customer handling behaviors. The examined driving behavior variables included harsh speeding, harsh braking, and drink-drive events concerning the time period before and during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Customer handling was also operationalized in terms of the level of friendly handling and care provided to customers. As a result, primary data were collected through transport surveys on 143 randomly selected public transit operators, including city buses, midsize buses, minibuses, bajajs, and light rail transits. Furthermore, contingency indexes, likert scales, and binary logistic regression models were used to estimate and predict the most significant factors that affected driving and customer handling behavior. Findings showed that the new COVID-19 pandemic and response measure-related factors were the most significant factors impacting driving behavior during the pandemic. Driving frequencies and intentions, as well as driving decisions or choices, were significantly influenced and reduced. Due to the pandemic-related factors, harsh driving behaviors such as harsh speeding and braking became more frequent during the pandemic compared to the pre-COVID period. Additionally, the correlation between harsh driving behavior and other factors, mainly trip distance traveled, driving during risky nighttime hours, and driving requests, was significant. Furthermore, due to the impacts of COVID-19, government measures, and changes in driving behavior, customer handling and care behaviors were predominantly unfriendly. Findings revealed that the performance of PMT was relevant, and it could inform and guide studies to understand such an impact analysis. Thus, policymakers must learn from the harsh lessons of COVID-19 and make bold investments in preparedness, prevention, and response, including pandemic-sensitive strategies and customer-oriented strategies.

The Communication Challenge in Archaeological Museums in Puglia: Insights into the Contribution of Social Media and ICTs to Small-Scale Institutions

Archaeological museums play a vital role in regions with ancient roots, holding a millennial image as the cradle of civilization. In the South of Italy (former “Magna Graecia”) and particularly in Puglia—a melting pot of cultures where ancient Messapian, Byzantine, Roman, and Greek civilizations followed one another in ages, bequeathing a wealth of testimonies—institutions are disseminated across the region, and almost every small municipality has its own archaeological museum hosting a wealth of valuable objects and remains. The gradual structural changes in the role of museums over the last decades and the recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, with the sudden closing and subsequent re-opening of facilities, forced institutions to re-think and re-develop their communication practices everywhere. Museums across the world have since been conceiving original and effective strategies based on social media and ICTs. After framing the problem background, the article introduces an overview of good practice and virtuous examples in the museum field and a questionnaire-based focus survey on a sample of archaeological museums in Puglia in order to assess the status of local communication strategies’ implementation against the potential of modern technologies. The survey results allowed identifying a peculiar mix of “emergency” and evolutional approaches in the sample analyzed, main concerns and barriers to the adoption of digital strategies, but also specific strategic drivers for innovation in the very nature of local small institutions. The study’s outcomes offer a potential contribution to the alignment of institutions to current standards through informed policies that can be usefully shared in other similar contexts across Europe.

Increase of Prevalence of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Children and Adolescents in Korea during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study Using the KNHANES.

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak utilizing representative data on youth aged 2-18 years from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) conducted in 2019-2020. (2) Methods: The survey consists of three parts: health interviews, health examinations, and nutrition surveys. From the 2019 and 2020 surveys, 1371 (2-9 years = 702 and 10-18 years = 669) and 1124 (2-9 years = 543 and 10-18 years = 581) individuals were included in the analysis. (3) Results: The mean body mass index (BMI) increased significantly among youth aged 2-9 years from 16.53 kg/m2 in 2019 to 17.1 kg/m2 in 2020 (p < 0.01). In youth aged 10-18 years, the BMI was found to increase slightly from 21.25 kg/m2 in 2019 to 21.41 kg/m2 in 2020 (p = 0.64). The increasing prevalence of extreme obesity was significant in girls, especially those aged 2-9 years (p < 0.01). However, extreme obesity had increased in 10-18-year-old boys (p = 0.08). The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome in adolescents increased from 3.79% to 7.79% during the COVID-19 pandemic (p = 0.01). (4) Conclusions: We observed that the prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome among children and adolescents has increased after the COVID-19 outbreak. This is believed to be associated with an increase in the rate of early comorbidities in adulthood. The prevention of the progression of pediatric obesity has recently become an urgent public health concern in Korea.

Modelling extreme risks for green bond and clean energy.

Value at Risk and Expected Shortfall are two traditional tools used to measure extreme risk in financial markets. However, there is little research on measuring extreme risk in emerging markets such as green bonds and clean energy. This paper uses both semi-parametric models with simultaneous excitation functions and traditional models to estimate extreme risk in SP500 Green Bond (GB) and Global Clean Energy (GCE), selecting Expected Shortfall (ES) and Value at Risk (VaR) as the indices of extreme risk. Then, the paper uses a breakpoint scan of the predictions of the different types of models. The results find that the green bond market was relatively stable while the global clean energy market experienced sharp fluctuations after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Representative models in GCE have at least two breakpoints, but those for GB have no breakpoints. The GARCH model with normal innovations performs the best among all target models, and the GARCH-FZ model fits the best among all semi-parametric candidates. Our research could help governments, companies, and investors with risk management and improve model accuracy and mechanisms for measuring extreme risks.

Investigating The Determinant of Indonesian Citizens' “Mudik” Intention Post Covid-19 Pandemic

The pandemic outbreak of Covid-19 made individuals and society adjusted their social activities and behavior, following the social distancing regulations to slow the spread of the virus. Over 2 years, the regulation has been followed by vaccination programs that could help citizens build better immunity against the virus. In Indonesia, the social distancing regulations restricted several activities and customs by the citizens, one of which is the “Mudik” customs. Following the social distancing regulations that have been slowly adjusted by the improvement of the individual immune system toward the virus, some of the restrictions have been lifted by the Indonesian Government which includes the adjustment of the Mudik restrictions. This opens opportunities to identify the factors that could affect Indonesian Citizens' intention to return to their old Mudik customs post the Covid-19 Pandemic. The current research follows the suggestion that perceived knowledge could become an important construct in determining individual future behavior. To prove the suggestion, we adopt the Theory of Planned (TPB) model to examine the relationship of perceived knowledge toward individual future intention, in the case of Mudik behavior by the Indonesian Citizen post the Covid-19 pandemic. 238 Indonesian citizens participated in the current research as research respondents, and we used the Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis to examine the suitability of our proposed conceptual framework to explain the relationship between perceived Covid-19 knowledge toward the main construct of the TPB Model. The research findings showed that perceived Covid-19 knowledge is one of the factors that could determine Indonesian Citizens' Mudik behavior. A comprehensive discussion of current research results and their theoretical and practical implication are presented within the article.

Socially responsible consumers and stockpiling during crises: the intersection of personal norms and fear

PurposeUrging people to avoid stockpiling was a common declaration made by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, yet empty supermarket shelves and supply shortages of basic products were observed worldwide. This study aims to (a) identify the factors that activate consumer personal norms towards socially responsible behaviours, specifically resisting stockpiling, and (b) examine how fear moderates the link between personal norms and consumer engagement in stockpiling during public crises.Design/methodology/approachThe study recruited a sample of US consumers who were responsible for household grocery shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 593 individuals participated in the study, and the collected data were analysed using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe results show that awareness of the negative consequences of stockpiling and a sense of personal responsibility for those consequences activate personal norms towards responsible shopping during public crises. However, perceived fear has the opposite effect, encouraging stockpiling. In addition, fear weakens the negative relationship between personal norms and stockpiling.Originality/valueThis study extends the norm activation model and indicates that personal norms may not always promote responsible behaviours when fear is high. It is unique in that it sheds light on non-mainstream responsible consumption behaviours (e.g. resisting stockpiling), and the interaction between consumption and social responsibility.

An Analysis of Covid-19 Pandemic Outbreak on Economy using Neural Network and Random Forest

An Analysis of Covid-19 Pandemic Outbreak on Economy using Neural Network and Random Forest

Characteristics of mental health interventions in a cohort of Italian PLWH over the last five years: impact of HIV disease and outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT Evidence accumulated during past years confirm that people living with HIV (PLWH) still have to deal with comorbidities and chronic complications that can increase physical and psychological issues and can affect daily functioning, quality of life and mental health. Moreover, during the COVID-19 pandemic PLWH proved to be a population at increased risk of psychological distress. We explored the ongoing issues and the characteristics of the mental health interventions for which a cohort of Italian PLWH interacted with a psychologist over the past five years. We analysed a dataset that included 61 PLWH who underwent a psychological intervention between 2018 and 2022. We compared different frequencies in characteristics of mental health interventions according to different demographic and clinical variables, psychopathological symptoms and time of the request for intervention. We showed that psychopathological symptoms most frequently reported by patients were anxiety (55.7%), and depression (49.2%). Furthermore, we reported that most our patients undertook occasional psychological support meetings (31%), sought an intervention after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (62.3%) and complained about disclosure issues (48.5%). Disclosure issues were mainly reported by younger PLWH (p = 0.002) with a shorter disease (p = 0.031) and treatment history (p = 0.032), and higher interpersonal sensitivity (p = 0.042). It seems fundamental to integrate psychological interventions into the care of PLWH, to give particular attention to PLWH with risky demographic, clinical and mental health factors and to pay special attention to emergency conditions (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) and the most widespread issues to create ad hoc interventions.

Dealing with Diverse Cultures and Needs: How Have Higher Education Institutions in Portugal Responded to COVID-19?

This article seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of the strategies implemented by Portuguese higher education institutions in addressing cultural diversity and meeting the demands of international students, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. In methodological terms, this is a qualitative study in which more than 40 in-depth interviews were conducted with degree mobility students from Brazil, Portuguese-speaking African Countries, China and Syria, who were already in Portugal when the pandemic was declared in the country in March 2020. Through the lens of multiculturalism, which understands that higher education should be inclusive and equal for all, we found that higher education institutions in Portugal did not provide adequate support to its international student body at a time of so many challenges and uncertainties. Our data indicate that higher education institutions in Portugal need to make more efforts towards fostering a diverse and inclusive environment, whilst taking into account the complex needs of international students.

Comparison of construction project risks before and during COVID-19 in Singapore: criticality and management strategies

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has caused worldwide disruption in construction industry. Although an increasing number of construction projects have been resumed, construction industry still faces significant risks due to the pandemic. The comparison of risk factors faced by construction industry before and during the pandemic helps us understand the dynamic risk transformation brought by the pandemic; however, few efforts have been made to understand the risk changes in construction sector. This study assessed the likelihood, impact, and criticality of risks brought by the pandemic in construction industry through a comparative analysis using Singapore as an example and proposed an innovative risk management solution to manage these risks accordingly. Survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were adopted. The finding indicated effective relief measures from the government to relieve the contractors’ liability in Singapore. Due to the pandemic, prioritized likelihood of risk occurrence changed from financial risk to labour shortage. Moreover, the finding highlighted that safety and health risks required significant attention, as they were ranked top in both periods. This study aids the understanding of how prioritized risks shifted during the pandemic and enlightens a promising and scalable risk management solution for industry stakeholders to establish better recovery from similar pandemics.

The development of Chinese air express integrators

Despite the significance of the China e-commerce economy and the rapidly increasing air express service, there are few publications on the development of Chinese integrators that are significant contributors to the e-commerce boom. This research explores the network development of China’s three integrators, namely, SF Express, TYO Express and China Post, and assesses the evolution of the networks during the pandemic period with the assistance of the complex network theory. It has been found that their networks underwent great development one year after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Their domestic networks are compared with the networks of the world-class integrators in the EU. It appears that the Chinese integrators operate networks with both hub-and-spoke and point-to-point features at their principal hubs (Hangzhou and Shenzhen of SF express, and Nanjing of China Post). SF Express' network in the Chinese domestic market demonstrates different topological features from the ones of its Chinese counterparts and the foreign integrators in Europe, with fewer one-way flights and at a higher density.

Post-COVID remote working and its impact on people, productivity, and the planet: an exploratory scoping review

Since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, there has been a wealth of studies and reports published on the impacts of remote working (or work-from-home) due to pandemic lockdown measures. The primary aim of this article is to synthesise this work and conduct an exploratory scoping review of both scholarly and grey literature on the impacts of the pandemic on people, productivity, and the planet, with a focus on remote working (or work-from-home) and the post-pandemic workplace. Further, in light of the wide range of terms such as work-from-home, remote working, hybrid working, teleworking, telecommuting, and work-from-anywhere, a secondary but necessary aim of this scoping review is to clarify these terms before reviewing the extant literature on the multi-level impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. A review of this literature revealed that most of the scholarly research and industry reports published since the pandemic outbreak are data-driven and some anecdotal rather than theory-driven. The common themes and findings backed by evidence include the gendered division of labour, organisational trust and managerial trust in employees, changes in workforce management, virtual communication and collaboration, reduced carbon emissions, and increased plastic consumption. The scoping review concludes by discussing the post-pandemic workplace and a brief research agenda.

Validating Social Service Robot Interaction Trust (SSRIT) Scale in Measuring Consumers’ Trust Toward Interaction With Artificially Intelligent (AI) Social Robots With a Chinese Sample of Adults

Research on consumers’ trust toward interaction with Artificially Intelligent (AI) social robots in service delivery has gained much more interest due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. However, this topic has not been widely invesgiated in China. To provide a psychometrically sound instrument in diverse cultural contexts, this study was to validate a scale of Social Service Robot Interaction Trust (SSRIT) that measures consumers’ trust toward interaction with AI social robots in service delivery in a Chinese sample of adults. The results showed that the Chinese version of the SSRIT was validated with reliability and validity, suggesting that the Chinese version of the SSRIT could be used as an effective tool to assess trust in AI social robots in service delivery within the Chinese context. The implications of the findings were also discussed.

Barriers and facilitators to accessing and using sexual and reproductive health services during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Africa: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

IntroductionAccess and utilisation of sexual and reproductive health services remain an important component in averting adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes. However, the unprecedented emergence of the 2019 coronavirus disease...

12th EASN International Conference

The 12th EASN International Conference on Innovation in Aviation & Space was successfully held in Barcelona - Spain, from October 18th to October 21st, 2022. It was the first EASN in-person gathering after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in March 2020.The EASN Association and the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya – Barcelona Tech (UPC) would like to cordially thank all the participants of the 12th EASN International Conference. Many thanks are also due to the Keynote Speakers, Session Chairs, Authors and Presenters, the International Scientific Committee, and the local Organizing Committee for making this Conference a big success.The event included 8 Keynote Speeches, more than 400 technical presentations and feedback slots distributed in 75 sessions and workshops. Moreover, 85 Aviation & Space Projects disseminated their latest research results as well as the future trends in the respective technological fields. In total, more than 470 participants from 39 countries joined the 12th EASN International Conference, making this year’s gathering the most successful in the EASN Conference series so far.List of The EASN Conference Co-Chairmen, International Scientific Committee of the 12th EASN International Conference and Logos are available in this pdf.

Data-driven Decisions of Higher Education Instructors in an Era of a Global Pandemic

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the higher education sector has been overwhelming, with emergency responses that have affected decision-making processes. Yet, our understanding of higher education instructors’ perspectives regarding the process of data-driven decisions, especially in times of emergency, is still limited. We aimed at characterizing the types of data-driven decisions that higher education instructors have made in their courses. This was done while asking the instructors to reflect upon a face-to-face (F2F) course that was suddenly shifted to emergency remote teaching (ERT), due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Taking a qualitative approach, data were collected via an open-ended online questionnaire distributed among 109 higher education instructors from different countries. The findings suggest that the instructors mentioned a wider range of data sources, and a wider range of data-driven decisions while referring to the ERT mode, compared with their F2F instruction. In F2F teaching, the instructors mostly provided students with real-time educational assistance. In ERT, the instructors mostly adjusted the course requirements, promoted collaboration among students, and offered them social and emotional support.

Reviewing Teachers’ Competency for Distance Learning during COVID-19: Inferences for Policy and Practice

Following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in March 2020, distance learning has gained more attention from national and international education policies. This timely paper aimed to review the literature about digital competencies that K-12 and pre-service teachers require in order to succeed in supporting online learners during and post COVID-19. A critical question in this review pertained to how contemporary teacher education programs and teacher professional development can respond to the evolving needs of online learners. The findings showed that currently practicing K-12 teachers need more support around the technical, pedagogical, and content development associated with distance learning. In contrast, teacher education programs are urged to ensure that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) knowledge is well integrated into their curricular courses. Further, teacher educators must have the necessary ICT skills and experience to prepare competent K-12 teachers for distance learning. Conclusion and recommendations for teacher education policy and practice for distance learning are offered.