Relief Fund Research Articles

New York

The Executive Budget reflects Governor Hochul’s strong commitment to education by providing additional funding and services to meet the needs of students, teachers, and schools amid the pandemic. New York school spending will be pushed to new heights by the latest state budget, which boosts state aid to schools by $2 billion, or 7.2%, including a permanent, phased-in, and multiyear “foundation aid” formula boost. On top of that, New York schools last year were handed another $9 billion in special “emergency relief fund” aid via the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan.

Hawai’i

Budgeting on a biennium basis, Hawai’i has two education budgets with appropriations of more than $2 billion for 2022–2023. A strong budget flush with COVID-19 relief funds and higher-than-expected tax revenues are funding priorities that include recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting pre-pandemic shortfalls, and new advancing education initiatives. Hawai’i uses a weighted student formula with adjustments made at the beginning of each biennium. Weight increases for English learners and homeless students are recent changes to the funding formula. Charter schools serve as one alternative to traditional public schools and students in charter schools receive equalized student funding. Hawai’i is unique among the states because it has a single school system for the entire state and a single university system. The University of Hawai’i system budget is about 6% of the state education budget and P-12 schools, including libraries and charter schools, are about 21% of the state’s budget. One of the most challenging school finance issues facing Hawai’i’s leaders is how to use the excess funds in the current budget to have the maximum impact on schools in a manner that is sustainable in the future.

Hospitals' uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using hospital cost report data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, we examined the changes in hospitals' operating margins and total margins between 2019 and 2021. We found that, as of 2021, hospitals' operating margins had not fully rebounded to 2019 levels, although they had recovered from the 2020 nadirs. Conversely, average total margins increased by 140% during this period across all US hospitals, with the most significant growth occurring among rural hospitals, publicly operated hospitals, and critical access hospitals. Rural hospitals exhibited the largest gains in total margins during this time, experiencing a 1600% increase from 2019 to 2021. Our findings indicate that government relief funding tied to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency significantly bolstered the financial health of the average hospital and had an outsize effect on lifting total margins among smaller hospitals that entered the pandemic in the most financially vulnerable position.

Impact of the First Year of the COVID-19 on Unmet Healthcare Need among New York City Adults: a Universal Healthcare Experiment.

We examined the impact of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic on unmet healthcare need among New Yorkers and potential differences by race/ethnicity and health insurance. Data from the Community Health Survey, collected in 2018, 2019, and 2020, were merged to compare unmet healthcare need within the past 12 months during the pandemic versus the 2 years prior to 2020. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression models evaluated change in unmet healthcare need overall, and we assessed whether race/ethnicity or health insurance status modified the association. Overall, 12% of New Yorkers (N = 27,660) experienced unmet healthcare during the 3-year period. In univariate and multivariable models, the first year of the pandemic (2020) was not associated with change in unmet healthcare need compared with 2018-2019 (OR = 1.04, p = 0.548; OR = 1.03, p = 0.699, respectively). There was no statistically significant interaction between calendar year and race/ethnicity, but there was significant interaction with health insurance status (interaction p = 0.009). Stratifying on health insurance status, those uninsured had borderline significant lower odds of experiencingunmet healthcare need during 2020 compared to the 2 years prior (OR = 0.72, p = 0.051) while those with insurance had a slight increase that was not significant (OR = 1.12, p = 0.143). Unmet healthcare need among New Yorkers during the first year of the pandemic did not differ significantly from 2018-2019. Federal pandemic relief funding, which offered no-cost COVID-19 testing and care to all, irrespective of health insurance or legal status, may have helped equalized access to healthcare.

Spatial Assessment of Elevation-based Flood Risk Level of Communities and Mitigation Measures in the Wetlands Areas of Rivers and Bayelsa States, Niger Delta Region, Nigeria

The study examined the spatial assessment elevation-based flood risk level of communities and mitigation measures in the wetlands areas of Rivers and Bayelsa States, Niger Delta Region, Nigeria. The study made use of the elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission, flood height and tidal inundation data to determine the flood risk levels of communities in the study location. Similarly, 400 copies of questionnaire were administered to the residents from the wetland communities using random sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the analysis. Findings revealed that majority of the coastal region in the study area is generally low lying and highly exposed to flood event. Results also showed that most communities in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas are very highly exposed which included Ahoada, Azagbene, Eben, Kpopkie, Owenegbene, Bisagbene, Ekeni among others while the very risk exposed communities included Okpogo, Ebubu, Aboigbene among other. Findings showed that damage compensation and government relief funds were the major ways used to tackle the negative impact of flood. The popular methods of flood abatement in the study area were restoring meanders in brooks and rivers and coastal wetlands protection. The study concluded that many communities in the coastal parts of Rivers and Bayelsa States in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria are highly prone to flood risk. The study recommended among others that the use of dam for flood abatement and prevention should be adequately established in the study area; and apart from embankment, other flood defense and control measures such as flood barrier, mobile flood wall, coastal sand supply, bypasses to safeguard wetlands, connect rivers to existing lake, dredging rivers, and river bed widening should be adequately put in place to reduce the levels of flood impact in the study area.

Terra Incognita: California Transit Agency Perspectives on Demand, Service, and Finance in the Age of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic upended transit use, finance, and management. To investigate these effects two years into the pandemic, we conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with senior managers at transit agencies in the most populous U.S. state, California. We found that the pandemic generated many operational and managerial challenges for transit agencies. Ridership plummeted, then slowly recovered, but is still well below pre-pandemic levels at most agencies. Commuter trips to and from major job centers were especially slow to return. In response to decreased demand, public health concerns, and uncertain finances, many agencies cut services and spending early on. As a result, fare revenues declined, in some cases precipitously. However, federal pandemic relief funds proved essential in filling budgetary gaps, stabilizing finances, preventing layoffs, and maintaining services. Other transit subsidies mostly bounced back robustly. Our interviews suggest that, though California transit agencies experimented with free fares, few fareless programs were made permanent. Their challenges include considerable uncertainty associated with future travel demand, looming financial shortfalls at systems that formerly had high farebox recovery and are still drawing on federal pandemic funds to backfill their fare revenue losses, and protracted labor shortages of drivers and mechanics that are preventing many systems from providing desired levels of service.

COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund Payments Were Appropriately Targeted And Did Not Boost Selected Hospitals' Profits.

To help mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic's financial effects on health care providers, Congress allocated $178billion to the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) beginning in 2020. Using monthly data from January 2018 through June 2022 from a nationally representative sample of US hospitals, we used a difference-in-differences approach to examine whether hospitals receiving medium and high PRF support intensity had higher average monthly operating margins (measured separately with and without accounting for PRF payments) than those that received low PRF support intensity. We also assessed the impact of PRF payments by hospitals' prepandemic financial vulnerability status, measured by whether their average operating margins in 2018 and 2019 were above or below the national median. Our findings indicate that PRF distributions to hospitals were appropriately targeted and did not make some hospitals significantly more profitable than others; rather, PRF payments helped offset financial losses associated with the pandemic. The effects of PRF support intensity were concentrated among hospitals that were financially vulnerable before the pandemic and thus in need of support to remain financially viable during the crisis.

The effects of COVID-19 on cognitive performance in a community-based cohort: a COVID symptom study biobank prospective cohort study

Cognitive impairment has been reported after many types of infection, including SARS-CoV-2. Whether deficits following SARS-CoV-2 improve over time is unclear. Studies to date have focused on hospitalised individuals with up to a year follow-up. The presence, magnitude, persistence and correlations of effects in community-based cases remain relatively unexplored. Cognitive performance (working memory, attention, reasoning, motor control) was assessed in a prospective cohort study of participants from the United Kingdom COVID Symptom Study Biobank between July 12, 2021 and August 27, 2021 (Round 1), and between April 28, 2022 and June 21, 2022 (Round 2). Participants, recruited from the COVID Symptom Study smartphone app, comprised individuals with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection and varying symptom duration. Effects of COVID-19 exposures on cognitive accuracy and reaction time scores were estimated using multivariable ordinary least squares linear regression models weighted for inverse probability of participation, adjusting for potential confounders and mediators. The role of ongoing symptoms after COVID-19 infection was examined stratifying for self-perceived recovery. Longitudinal analysis assessed change in cognitive performance between rounds. 3335 individuals completed Round 1, of whom 1768 also completed Round 2. At Round 1, individuals with previous positive SARS-CoV-2 tests had lower cognitive accuracy (N=1737, β=-0.14 standard deviations, SDs, 95% confidence intervals, CI:-0.21,-0.07) than negative controls. Deficits were largest for positive individuals with ≥12 weeks of symptoms (N=495, β=-0.22 SDs, 95% CI:-0.35,-0.09). Effects were comparable to hospital presentation during illness (N=281, β=-0.31 SDs, 95% CI:-0.44,-0.18), and 10 years age difference (60-70 years vs. 50-60 years, β=-0.21 SDs, 95% CI:-0.30,-0.13) in the whole study population. Stratification by self-reported recovery revealed that deficits were only detectable in SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals who did not feel recovered from COVID-19, whereas individuals who reported full recovery showed no deficits. Longitudinal analysis showed no evidence of cognitive change over time, suggesting that cognitive deficits for affected individuals persisted at almost 2 years since initial infection. Cognitive deficits following SARS-CoV-2 infection were detectable nearly two years post infection, and largest for individuals with longer symptom durations, ongoing symptoms, and/or more severe infection. However, no such deficits were detected in individuals who reported full recovery from COVID-19. Further work is needed to monitor and develop understanding of recovery mechanisms for those with ongoing symptoms. Chronic Disease Research Foundation, Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer's Society, European Union, COVID-19 Driver Relief Fund, French National Research Agency.

Changes in US Hospital Financial Performance During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

The COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) caused substantial changes in hospital operations. The net effect of these changes on hospital financial performance is unclear. To evaluate changes in hospital financial performance before and during the COVID-19 PHE. This longitudinal within-hospital cohort analysis from 2017 to 2021 used national RAND hospital data merged with American Community Survey data. A total of 4223 short-term acute care or critical access hospitals in the US with financial data spanning 2017 to 2021 were evaluated. Financial performance during the first 2 years of the PHE. The main outcome was PHE financial distress calculated based on net operating income (operating revenue minus operating expenses). Within-hospital changes in net operating income over time were evaluated with and without COVID-19 relief funding. From henceforth, 2020/2021 means the weighted average financial performance for both calendar year 2020 and 2021. Hospitals were characterized as having new financial distress if (1) their average 2020/2021 net operating income was negative and (2) the average 2020/2021 net operating income was less than that hospital's pre-2020 net operating income. Predictors of new financial distress were evaluated using logistic regression and predictors of COVID-19 relief using 2-part models. In this sample of 4423 hospitals, 3529 (80.0%) received PHE funds during 2020/2021. A total of 846 (19.1%) were located in a census tract with more than 20% Hispanic residents. Of the total number of hospitals, 720 (16.3%) of hospitals had PHE financial distress, whereas 2047 (46.3%) had PHE financial distress after excluding COVID-19 relief funding from net operating income. The majority of hospitals (n = 3337; 74.8%) had a positive net operating income across 2020/2021, with 785 (17.8%) hospitals moving from a negative pre-2020 to a positive 2020/2021 net operating income. In adjusted analyses, hospitals treating a higher proportion of Hispanic populations were more likely to have PHE distress (adjusted odds ratio, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6; P = .02). Median (IQR) operating margins from 2020/2021 were at an all-time high of 6.5% (0.2%-13.3%) compared with pre-2020 operating margins of 2.8% (-2.8% to 9.3%). In this cohort study of US hospitals, the large majority had positive financial performance during 2020/2021, partly due to COVID-19 relief funds. However, hospitals serving Hispanic populations had substantially worsened financial performance during 2020/2021, even after accounting for COVID-19 relief. That COVID-19 relief funding aided in operating margins reaching all-time highs indicates funding amounts may have been larger than was necessary for many hospitals. With COVID-19 relief funding ending yet COVID-19 related continuing to affect hospital expenses, ongoing monitoring of hospital financial performance is vital to ensure patients retain access to care.

Chapter 7 Start the Presses? John Alden Mason as Mesoamericanist and a Reluctant New Deal Archaeologist in the 1930s

ABSTRACTDuring the 1930s, J. Alden Mason was a curator at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia. He was best known during this time for his work at the site of Piedras Negras in northwestern Guatemala. Yet, the 1930s excavations at Piedras Negras were not published until 2005. This delayed publication prevented other scholars from building on this work. Also, during the 1930s, Mason led lesser‐known excavations around the Philadelphia area with federal work relief funding. No field records exist for these investigations, the whereabouts of artifacts are unknown, and only a single short article was ever published on the scant archaeological findings. Exactly what archaeology was done and where through these New Deal investigations is unknown and may be unknowable. Mason struggled with the overly bureaucratic nature of New Deal archaeology, and this might help explain his lack of due diligence with archiving his records, or with completing a properly detailed report. Today's archaeologists deal with similar constraints. But we are also ethically bound to publish our results in a reasonable time frame, rather than hoard our data the way a dragon hoards a mountain of gold. If we fail to meet these ethical principles, we really are little more than well‐educated looters.

The Political Embeddedness of Voluntary Action: The Case of Local Philanthropic COVID-19 Relief Funds.

Scholars and policymakers have long been interested in the complex relationships between political institutions and voluntary collective action. However, the reciprocal nature of their relationships complicates empirical analysis: voluntary action supports democratic institutions and political institutions enable voluntary action. This article examines the relationship between political institutions and the activation of local voluntary action in the context of COVID-19 funds managed by community philanthropic organizations. We find that political engagement, policy signaling, and political competition all support the emergence of a COVID-19 fund. The findings advance our understanding of the significant role that political institutions play in activating voluntary action.

ASURANSI DALAM PERSPEKTIF ISLAM

In life no one can predict what will happen in the future perfectly, even by using various analytical tools. Risks in the future may occur to a person's life, for example, death, illness or the risk of being fired from his job. In the business world, risks that can be faced can be in the form of risk of loss due to fire, damage or loss or other risks. Every risk that will be faced must be handled so as not to cause even greater losses. To overcome unwanted risks in the future, it is necessary to have a company that is willing to bear the risk, such as an insurance company. As we know, insurance is a mutual agreement between members of the community to guarantee and guarantee each other by raising money and creating a joint financial savings fund that is used as a relief fund for someone who is overwritten by difficulties. This is done as an effort to deal with events that might happen to someone and lead to losses. Apart from that , the community is insured and the large number of Muslims involved in it , makes this problem urgent to know its position from an Islamic perspective . However, because this insurance issue is not explicitly explained in the text, the problem is seen as ijtihadi. Departing from these problems , the study of insurance in Islamic perspective is very interesting . In addition to seeing the pros and cons as well as the " middle way " to these problems . And also see how the development of insurance in Indonesia whether insurance is permissible under Islamic law

Business Responses Towards Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Goals During Covid-19 Pandemic

Objective: In India, incorporating structural transformation in corporate social responsibility for achieving sustainable development goals in the Covid-19 Pandemic has become a priority. Therefore, the present article aims to review the corporate social responsibility activities conducted by Nine Indian companies (two public sector organizations and seven private sector organizations) towards attaining Sustainable Development Goals in times of global pandemic.
 
 To explore CSR activities performed by the Indian companies (both public and private) in recent times of crisis of covid-19.
 To assess the impact of Covid-19 on the economic, social, and technological environment of Indian Companies in recent times.
 
 
 Method: For our research, we chose India since it was one of the earliest and worst-hit countries during the recent pandemic. Even though huge Asian corporations are a minority, It is a good fit for our study goal for various reasons. Less and medium-sized businesses, on the other hand, have a far smaller influence on society, Due to their prominence in the press, clients or consumers are more likely to provide feedback if they are proactive. As a second point, major companies have greater resources (e.g., human and financial) to spend on reporting and distributing social and environmental information. The existing study applied bibliometric analysis in the exploratory research. The data collection done through secondary sources in which articles extracted with the use of PRISMA flowchart.
 
 Result: The study's findings state that most selected Indian Companies spend Rupees 50-1000 crores as corporate social responsibility activities and contribute to the Pradhan Mantri Relief Fund as a business response to face challenges in times of pandemic. Moreover, private companies spend more on CSR activities than public companies in India. The study provides suggestions to the government to make the corporate social responsibility activities compulsory for all the profitable companies so that country can maintain a corporate pool of contingent funds that can utilize to meet such times of critical circumstances.
 
 Conclusion: Companies are taking steps to ensure the safety and protection of their personnel. This has been reflected in corporate social responsibility initiatives as well. Corporate social responsibility efforts must include pushing for and facilitating access to health insurance programmes and other equity indicators as a result.

Practical Technological Tools for Teaching and Connecting with Adolescent English Learners in the Post-Pandemic Age

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new era of technological tools that were used by language teachers to develop their students’ English language skills. As a result of the sudden shift to online instruction, teachers at the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Academy middle school had little time to prepare and had limited resources to deliver an innovative curriculum. However, when schools returned to in-person learning and when COVID-19 relief funds were allocated to the school site to purchase new technology, these teachers gained access to more technology in their classrooms than ever before. This paper describes how teachers at this site leveraged the technological tools to achieve two goals: making the curriculum comprehensible and engaging for English learners to raise assessment scores; and using the technology to connect with their students. To achieve these goals, teachers were taught how to coalesce their tools in three ways: translating texts; digitizing their paper-based lessons; and “mirroring” input from their tablet computers to a larger screen. During an eight-week training, teachers implemented these innovations in their classrooms, reported their successes and reflected on their practice. This paper describes how four teachers used these tools inside their classrooms for innovative English language instruction.

Differential Fiscal Performances of Plausible Disaster Events: A Storyline Approach for the Caribbean and Central American Governments under CCRIF

Fiscal resilience against disasters is vital for the recovery in the aftermath of climate hazards. Without swift access to available funds for disaster relief, damages to human and the economy would be further exacerbated. How insurance may influence fiscal performance over time and can increase fiscal resilience for today and under a future climate has not been looked at yet in detail. Focusing on the Caribbean region and on the fiscal performance of governments after disaster events, we empirically analyze the effectiveness of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) regarding the reduction of short-term fiscal effects. We embed this analysis within a novel climate impact storyline approach where we produce past plausible events and investigate the usefulness of insurance under such events. The storylines were modified according to global and climate change related boundary conditions to address the issue whether the CCRIF is fit for purpose or will need to be adapted in the future. We found that both hurricane strikes and the CCRIF affect fiscal outcomes of Caribbean countries. Furthermore, there are indications that CCRIF can counteract the negative fiscal consequences over the short term period induced by the disaster. Our analysis should shed some light on the current discussions on how development related assistance can be structured to enhance climate resilience in highly exposed countries for both direct and fiscal impacts of disasters.

Attitude of People Towards Relief Fund as Human-Wildlife Conflict Management Strategy: A Case Study of Shivapuri-Nagarjun National Park, Nepal

Attitude of People Towards Relief Fund as Human-Wildlife Conflict Management Strategy: A Case Study of Shivapuri-Nagarjun National Park, Nepal

Commensal-specific CD4 T cells can promote inflammation in the central nervous system via molecular mimicry

Abstract Commensal bacteria are critical regulators of both tissue homeostasis and the development and exacerbation of autoimmunity. However, it remains unclear how the intestinal microbiota contributes to inflammation in tissues such as the central nervous system (CNS) where these microbes are typically absent and whether T cell receptor (TCR) specificity for commensal-derived antigens is important to the development of tissue inflammation-related outcomes. Here, we found that ileum- and cecum-colonizing segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB)-specific T cells (clone TCR 7B8) can infiltrate the CNS wherein they can be reactivated and produce high levels of inflammatory cytokines including IFNγ, IL-17A, TNFα, and GM-CSF in the absence of regulatory T cells. In contrast, other SFB-specific T cells (clone TCR 1A2) recognizing an epitope in which 8/9 amino acids overlap with those recognized by TCR 7B8failed to induce such neuroinflammation. Despite their similar SFB-derived peptide antigen targets, TCR 7B8was found to recognize peptides derived from host proteins including receptor tyrosine-protein kinase ErbB2, trophinin 1, and anaphase-promoting complex subunit 2 in vitro, whereas TCR 1A2did not, indicating that TCR 7B8induces CNS inflammation via molecular mimicry. Immune checkpoint blockade accelerated TCR 7B8-mediated CNS inflammation. Together, our findings reveal a potential mechanism whereby gut commensal-specific T cells are dysregulated, infiltrate into the CNS, and contribute to extraintestinal inflammation. Supported by grants from UIC start-up funds and UIC COVID Relief Funding.

Beyond headcount statistics: Exploring the utility of energy poverty gap indices in policy design

Recent energy price spikes have led to increased energy poverty among low-income households living in inefficient homes. Accurate statistics on energy poverty help inform resource allocation and better target relief schemes and retrofit funds. Existing indicators are predominantly defined in terms of a headcount ratio – the share of population living below a certain threshold or poverty line. In this paper we draw from the literature on income poverty evaluation to argue that the use of more elaborate energy poverty gap indices can substantiate the design and monitoring of energy poverty policies, by not only considering incidence but also intensity and inequality of energy poverty across households. We demonstrate that the choice for a particular energy poverty (gap) indicator makes the implicit welfare choices of energy poverty policies explicit. We illustrate our arguments for the case of the Netherlands, using recently developed microdata statistics on energy poverty, and an imposed energy price shock. We show that spatial targeting of relief funds based on incidence would neglect the full depth of energy poverty deprivation. Finally, we argue that visualisation techniques from the income poverty literature help to comprehend different poverty orderings and draw comparisons between time periods, regions, and subgroups.

The politics of Catholic humanitarian aid: missionaries and American relief in Algeria (1942–47)

Abstract This article examines the politics of the Catholic American aid delivered in French-controlled Algeria between 1942 and 1947. Using the archives of the White Fathers (Missionnaires d’Afrique), the Archives Nationales d’Outre Mer and the archives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at the Catholic University of America in Washington this article traces how humanitarian relief funds sent in support of missionaries in Algeria altered their status in the colonial order. The article focuses on the transformative aspects of this American intervention in a complex colonial environment. It argues that the American Catholic intervention, with its focus on indigenous patients rather than colonial settlers, renewed older and broader provisions of missionary relief in Algeria. American aid funded missionary work and resourced social work and later aligned Catholic relief with anti-communist activities in France.

A Latter-day Saint Apostle's Perception of the Southern Bazaar of Liverpool, October 1864

A Latter-day Saint Apostle's Perception of the Southern Bazaar of Liverpool, October 1864