Public Declaration Research Articles

Vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination in the time of COVID-19: A Google Trends analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced many calls for a vaccine. There is growing concern that vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination presence will dampen the uptake of a coronavirus vaccine. There are many cited reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Mercury content, autism association, and vaccine danger have been commonly found in anti-vaccination messages. It is also mused that the reduced disease burden from infectious diseases has paradoxically reduced the perceived requirement for vaccine uptake. Our analysis using Google Trends has shown that throughout the pandemic the search interest in a coronavirus vaccine has increased and remained high throughout. Peaks are found when public declarations are made, the case number increases significantly, or when vaccine breakthroughs are announced. Anti-vaccine searches, in the context of COVID-19, have had a continued and growing presence during the pandemic. Contrary to what some may believe, the burden of coronavirus has not been enough to dissuade anti-vaccine searches entirely.

Congress Passes Parity, Increases Some MH Funding

Congress Passes Parity, Increases Some MH Funding

Deadly serious: The United Nations, drugs, and capital punishment in the 1980s

BackgroundResearch into capital punishment has focussed on the length of time it will take to abolish. It will take decades or centuries. A key moment in the movement to abolish the death penalty was the 1980s when the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR was developed. This was also the decade that the last significant changes were made to the United Nations drug conventions. At the time, awareness of the issue of capital punishment for drug offences was increasing around the world as more people were getting executed. This article looks at how western countries and the United Nations responded to Malaysia which introduced the mandatory death penalty for drug offences in 1982. MethodsOver 30,000 pages of documents have been accessed through the National Archives of Australia in Canberra. These have been photographed, scanned and converted to OCR. The most relevant folders have then been analysed through NVivo 12 to look for relevant mentions of the research question: capital punishment and Malaysia. All probative data is then presented in the article. ResultsThe data from National Archives suggests that the UN, Australia, and other western countries were happy to continue supporting Malaysia's drug policy and to elect it to high positions at UN meetings despite their public proclamations that they were opposed to the death penalty. ConclusionApplying a critical juncture approach, the article concludes that the 1980s was a critical juncture in the movement to abolish the death penalty but abolitionist countries allowed capital punishment to continue for drug offences. This may have set back the abolition movement by decades.

Managing diversity: is Australia bucking the postmulticulturalist trend or on its way to embrace interculturalism?

At a time when multiculturalism as an approach to managing diversity in society has been declared a failed policy in many western countries, Australia still seems committed to the approach as evidenced in public discourse and government declarations. The concept of interculturalism— promoted as a more appropriate approach to dealing with diversity in other parts of the world such as Europe and Canada—seemingly has no place in the Australian context. However, changes in the understanding of the concept, its application and degrees of commitment to it can also be observed in Australia. Not only has the meaning and execution of multiculturalism changed considerably over the years, there has also been vigorous debate and backlash, embodied in the political arena, by the (re) emergence of parties, and more recently, a variety of groupings with a nationalistic and/or nativist focus. More generally, a hardened attitude in public discourses concerning migration, social cohesion and national identity has developed over the last two decades. In the context of these developments, this article will trace the evolution of the Australian concept of multiculturalism and its concrete application focussing on the changes of the last two decades. A comparison of Australia’s purportedly unique type of multiculturalism and concept(s) of interculturalism to explore whether Australia’s nation-building project is indeed distinct from other countries’ diversity experience, or whether there is a place for interculturalism in Australia in an era of increasing mobility will conclude the article.

For Better or for Worse

I answer two questions: (1) what are people doing when they exchange conventional wedding vows? and (2) under what circumstances are these things morally and rationally permissible to do? I propose that wedding pledges are public proclamations that are simultaneously both private vows and interpersonal promises, and that they are often subject to uncertainty. I argue that the permissibility of uncertain wedding promises depends on whether the uncertainty stems from doubts about one’s own internal weakness of will and susceptibility to temptation or from the expectation that external circumstances might change. I then explain why uncertainty is a prima facie challenge for unconditional wedding vows, and I offer a solution: rational wedding vows are unconditional in their content but implicitly conditional in their structure; the spouse pledges to act in certain ways unconditionally, so long as they remain in the spousal role. I respond to objections to my view (including Elizabeth Brake’s claim that the permissibility of unilateral divorce undermines an understanding of wedding vows as promises), and conclude with some suggestions about what marrying couples should do to ensure permissible pledges.

Reducing Health Disparities with Audio-Only Telemedicine Post-COVID-19

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional telehealth visits required video capability in order to qualify for reimbursement by Medicaid. The 2020 public health emergency declaration temporarily waived this requirement, allowing patients to participate in audio-only telehealth visits. From a public health perspective, telehealth visits reduce crowding at hospitals and health centers, preventing transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Audio-only telehealth also increases access to healthcare by reducing barriers to both video- and in-person care across different patient populations (varying by age, rurality, availability of safe transportation, and income), and may be the only telehealth option available to patients due to economic or geographic constraints. This paper highlights how access to audio-only telehealth can reduce disparities, and increase patient satisfaction, safety, time-savings, and reduce cost. Significant stakeholder benefits can be realized by continuing Medicaid reimbursement of audio-only telehealth during and beyond the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

The role of self-construal in romantic gift posting across Social Networking Sites

For romantic couples, posting romantic gift pictures on social network sites has become a tool for public declarations of love. This research investigates how self-construal influences recipients’ romantic gift-posting behavior across three popular social network sites (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) at the country and individual levels. In the first two of three studies, we demonstrate that interdependent self-construal participants are more likely to post romantic gift pictures on Facebook and Instagram, but not on Twitter, than independent self-construal participants because the former group feels that the gifts represent themselves (on Facebook) and they want to flaunt their status (on Instagram). The third study reveals the moderating effects of gift types (experiential vs. material) on the romantic gift-posting behavior between independent and interdependent self-construals across SNSs. This research highlights the need to develop a better understanding of information sharing behavior on social network sites among romantic couples from different cultures as well as those within a culture. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

Review

Review

Lear, Land and Expropriation without Compensation

King Lear has been extensively used by Shakespearean critics in South Africa for the discussion of land ownership issues. This essay alludes to the work of Martin Orkin and Nicholas Visser, who brought postcolonial and materialistic critiques to bear upon the play in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The essay itself carries the investigation forward to present times, when the text asks to be read in relation to expropriation without compensation: a land proposal being ventilated at the highest political level. The issues which emerge are diverse and unexpected. King Lear’s gifts of land to his daughters are actually ‘deals’ requiring the compensation of their public declarations of love for him. For various reasons this strategy fails. The reader is then invited by the play’s imagery to see the body of the old king as a piece of ‘real estate’ that is incrementally expropriated by the ageing process and the onset of dementia. Spenser’s allegory of the House of Temperance in Book II of The Faerie Queene is discussed as a likely influence here. By the end of the play, Lear is divested of his own bodily health and cognitive ability by the arch expropriator, ‘time’, and its subaltern, the fallible human cell. With regard to critical reception, this essay argues that King Lear has complexity and substance enough to engage the interest of postcolonialists, materialists and universalists alike – even in relation to a topic as specific as land.

Why Now: The Ethical Act of Architectural Declaration

2019 was the year of the declaration – from Culture Declares to Architects Declare to Architecture Education Declares – a landmark moment when architects pledged to confront climate emergency. In this paper I step back to reflect on the ethical dimensions of public declarations in architecture, from the institutional to individual, to consider their role in negotiating ethical concerns. This is explored through three paths: reviewing the ethical know-what of contemporary codes of conduct of built environment professional bodies, examining the ethical know-how required to negotiate ethical dilemmas in practice, and reconsidering the history of architectural manifestoes that explicate an ethical why-now. I draw from the work of Jane Rendell’s Bartlett Ethics Commission and draw inspiration from Sumayya Vally and Huda Tayob et al.’s An Inventory of Feminist Upheaval to illustrate how, at a time of climate breakdown and systemic social injustices, architects must practice collectivity and intersectionality to unsettle conventions and complacencies.

COVID-19 hospital designation: Effect on emergency department patient self-selection and volume

Objective: Combating Coronavirus 2019 has stretched hospital resources to the extreme. In an effort to cohort personnel and equipment, NorthShore University HealthSystem (NSUHS) designated Glenbrook Hospital (GBH) as our “COVID hospital”, which became public knowledge on April 6, 2020. We hypothesize that with this public declaration our emergency department (ED) total volumes and COVID-19 related visits would be affected.Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of our total ED volumes and COVID-19 related ED visits from March 12, 2020 until April 30, 2020. The pre public declaration timeframe of March 12-April 5, 2020 acted as our control whereas the post-public declaration acted as the testing group (April 6-April 30, 2020). NSUHS four primary hospitals were included in the analysis. We ran a chi-squared analysis on both groups to determine if there was statistical significance.Results: Both total ED volumes and COVID-19 related ED visits, when comparing pre VS post-public declaration of GBH as the “COVID hospital”, showed statistical significance (p < .001). Three of the four hospitals had a decrease in total ED volumes, whereas the COVID-19 related ED visits increased at two hospitals and decreased at the others.Conclusions: Our results support our hypothesis that after the public declaration of Glenbrook Hospital as the “COVID hospital”, patients’ decision making regarding which ED to visit was significantly affected. Certain limitations, including socioeconomic status and a small geographical footprint of NSUHS, may have affected our results. Further work should be done to reproduce these results to ensure replication.

The effect of COVID-19 on revenue cycle staff.

42 Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused a public health emergency declaration in March 2020. A safer at home order was issued by the Tennessee governor on March 12 urging non-essential employees to stay at home. The decision was made to offer telecommuting to employees at Tennessee Oncology (TO) who could effectively work from home. 90% of the revenue cycle staff (RCS) began working remotely within a week of the decision. Methods: TO had been conducting a telecommuting pilot involving 20 RCS. This pilot was expanded within a week to accommodate 130 RCS including billing, credentialing, collections, financial counseling, analysts, authorization and benefit specialists. Employees signed telecommuting agreements and provided equipment based on IT recommendations. IT installed software which allowed secure connection through a Citrix gateway. Surveys were later conducted to measure work-from-home satisfaction. Less than 10 RCS remained onsite to perform essential duties. Results: Compared to the prior year there was an 80% reduction in turnover and an 82% reduction in unscheduled absences for telecommuting employees vs in-office employees. 92% reported an improved work/life balance. Productivity metrics by team are displayed below: Key financial metrics including payer turnaround, days in AR and patient payments improved over prior months. Payer turnaround dropped by 3 days and days in AR decreased by 3.9 compared to February. Patient payments were up 14% compared to the prior year. Conclusions: COVID-19 has been a challenging time in healthcare but it has taught us some valuable lessons. Telecommuting could be the wave of the future showing positive financial return in the form of employee retention, reduction of non-productive time (including unplanned absences) and increased employee satisfaction. Data shows these factors lead to higher producing team members who yield superior results. [Table: see text]

Adaptations to jail-based buprenorphine treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic

Correctional facilities are among the highest-risk settings for the spread of COVID-19. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis, Minnesota, offered short-term methadone maintenance, buprenorphine initiation and maintenance, and naltrexone initiation and maintenance to all jail residents with moderate to severe opioid use disorder (OUD). In response to the pandemic, the jail reduced its population by 43%. The reduced jail census and relaxed federal telemedicine regulations in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration allowed the jail to institute modifications that permitted individuals to start buprenorphine without an initial in-person visit with a clinician. The jail also instituted a buprenorphine taper to bridge individuals to maintenance or provide withdrawal management, depending on patient preference. With a decreased jail census, the use of remote visits, and modifications to the buprenorphine treatment program, clinicians are able to meet the OUD treatment demand. Some jails may need additional funding streams to offset pandemic-related health treatment costs.

Light Art, Street Art, and the Art of Preaching: Sound-and-Light Shows as Public Proclamation

This article examines how the phenomenon of sound-and-light shows fulfills the purposes of preaching and, as such, can be perceived as a form of public proclamation. Originating in France but now offered all over the world, these shows use large-scale video projection to display images on the facades of historic buildings, many of which are religious in nature, set to sound effects and music. The author begins by addressing three purposes of preaching that arise within homiletical discourse: testimony of God’s story, empowering transformation, and engendering encounters with God. Drawing from recent qualitative research into spectators’ experiences at sound-and-light shows, the author then examines how three specific shows serve as case studies that demonstrate that, while not sermons, they can indeed fulfill each of the purposes of preaching. As such, these spectacles can be seen as a vibrant form of proclamation amidst contemporary public settings.

The Niger Delta Amnesty – An Amnesty in Search of a Legal Legitimacy

On the 6 th of August 2009, the former President of Nigeria, Umaru Musa Yar’adua, (now late), declared amnesty for militants of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria (here in after called “the Niger Delta Amnesty”) based on the recommendation of the Presidential Technical Committee on the Niger Delta. The paper uses doctrinaire approach to appraise the Niger Delta Amnesty touted as a “home grown” amnesty. Based on statutes, case laws, opinions of legal text writers, newspaper comments and internet sources, it disappointedly finds out that the Niger Delta Amnesty, unlike many other amnesties, is not anchor on any known Nigeria law. It is the contention of the paper that such an important public proclamation should be anchored on a constitutional provision or an Act of the National Assembly. In the absence of such a legal validity, the paper recommends that the President of Nigeria should, as a matter of public importance and urgency, package the Niger Delta Amnesty Program in form of Executive bill and forward the same to the National Assembly for enactment as a law. This, the paper believes will guarantee its longevity and secure it from being used as a political tool. Keywords: amnesty, pardon, clemency, militants, militancy, impunity, legitimacy DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/101-06 Publication date: September 30 th 2020

Visualizing strategy: a conceptual framework for the analysis and teaching of the conduct of war

ABSTRACT Few researchers have suggested models for visualising particular strategies applied during wartime. The authors present a new analytical, visual methodology for the conduct of war. It refines Arthur F. Lykke Jr.’s definition of strategy, which emphasises the interaction of three components: ends, ways and means. Moreover, the framework introduced distinguishes between military and civilian components, public declaration and action as well as use and reserve. Thus, a conceptual framework is offered to the scholarly community that aims to both analyse and visualise a party’s true strategy during an armed conflict and that is, moreover, applicable to both regular and irregular parties in a specific operational theatre. Furthermore, this methodology supports the teaching of strategic dimensions in an academic setting.

Understanding the purpose of benefit corporations: an empirical study on the Italian case

Rethinking the traditional understanding of organizational purpose appears to be necessary. A teleological paradigm shift seems to be on its way, changing the focus of attention from considering business organizations as instruments used to generate profits toward a more comprehensive understanding of their purpose and of the benefit they can create for society. Recently, new organizational entities have emerged, accompanied by the renewal of institutional frameworks, among them are benefit corporations. Italy was the first European country to introduce a legal framework to define the benefit corporation as a particular legal entity. The Italian law on the benefit corporations proposes the promotion of firms that pursue the generation of benefit in a responsible, sustainable, and transparent way and considering diverse stakeholders. This paper explores and describes the multidimensional understanding of benefit and purpose of Italian benefit corporations, utilizing qualitative and quantitative content analysis of 94 Italian benefit corporations’ purpose declarations, and providing a deep insight into the purpose declared by benefit corporations. The research highlights a certain vagueness in public declarations of the purpose of benefit corporations, even though it is clear that they attempt to differentiate themselves from traditional businesses by focusing on social objectives more than on economic ones. Furthermore, normative compliance emerged, but further normative requirements seem to be needed to make more effective the transformative potentiality of benefit corporations and to avoid risks of opportunistic behaviors.

What can we learn from wildlife sightings during the COVID-19 global shutdown?

During the worldwide shutdown in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, many reports emerged of urban wildlife sightings. While these images garnered public interest and declarations of wildlife reclaiming cities, it is unclear whether wildlife truly reoccupied urban areas or whether there were simply increased detections of urban wildlife during this time. Here, we detail key questions and needs for monitoring wildlife during the COVID‐19 shutdown and then link these with future needs and actions with the intent of improving conservation within urban ecosystems. We discuss the tools ecologists and conservation scientists can use to safely and effectively study urban wildlife during the shutdown. With a coordinated, multicity effort, researchers and community scientists can rigorously investigate the responses of wildlife to changes in human activities, which can help us address long‐standing questions in urban ecology, inspire conservation of wildlife, and inform the design of sustainable cities.

Access to Care for Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder

The United States is currently facing two severe public health emergencies: COVID-19 and the continuing epidemic of preventable opioid-related harm. While these epidemics share some similarities, there is one key difference: while there are currently no approved pharmaceutical treatments for the novel coronavirus, highly effective medications to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) have existed for decades. Despite their proven efficacy, access to these medications has long been limited by federal and state laws, limitations that disproportionately impact those who are made particularly vulnerable by structural factors including economic injustice and structural racism. In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies have taken steps to temporarily remove some legal and regulatory barriers to these medications. These changes are not comprehensive, and most are tied to the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration. The epidemic of opioid-related harm will not end when the new coronavirus is controlled or the related emergency declaration expires. Indeed, it seems likely that steps taken to attempt to control the virus’ spread may result in an even more unhealthy risk environment for people with OUD, with a resulting increase in treatment need. This Chapter briefly highlights the potential positive impact of increased access to OUD treatment, current changes to increase access to that treatment, and recommendations for making those changes permanent.This paper was prepared as part of Assessing Legal Responses to COVID-19, a comprehensive report published by Public Health Law Watch in partnership with the de Beaumont Foundation and the American Public Health Association.

The Troika in its own words: responding to the politicisation of the southern European crises

ABSTRACT The ‘post-functionalist’ view that growing politicisation constrains further integration (‘constraining dissensus’) occupies a prominent place in contemporary European studies. However, in the case of the euro crisis, we observe a rise in contentious politics concomitant with a deepening of EU integration, namely in the areas of economic governance. This paper argues that the intervention of the ‘Troika’ in the struggles over the framing of the southern European crises is a key to this puzzle. The analysis of over 1200 public declarations produced by the three institutions from 2009 to 2016 shows that the Troika actively ‘responded’ to processes of heightened politicisation, reproducing the dominant crisis narrative of the southern European periphery and making the case for the adequacy and inevitability of austerity. The Troika’s success in framing the euro crisis as a result of domestic failure and moral hazard contributed to the legitimation of further integration of European economic governance.