COVID-19 Epidemic Research Articles

Social studies, technology assessment and the pandemic: a comparative analysis of social studies-based policy advice in PTA institutions in France, Germany and the UK during the COVID-19 crisis

Social studies, technology assessment and the pandemic: a comparative analysis of social studies-based policy advice in PTA institutions in France, Germany and the UK during the COVID-19 crisis

Same Word, Different Focuses: A Comparative Study of Health-Related News in the U.S. and Korea

ABSTRACT The news media serves as a significant channel through which stigma can be perpetuated, particularly with linguistic tool that create stigmatizing frames when reporting on health issues. During the COVID-19 crisis that impacted both the U.S. and Korea, we conducted a content analysis to examine how online health news from these two countries addresses the issue of stigma. Our analysis specifically focused on articles that mention the term stigma, comparing the contexts and cues that either perpetuated or challenged stigmatizing narratives. We paid close attention to whether these cues were presented as the main focus or merely as incidental topics within the articles. The findings revealed a notable difference between the two countries; U.S. news primarily focused on stigmatized subjects when referencing the term stigma, while Korean news more incidentally mentioned stigmatized subjects in relation to the term stigma. In conclusion, our findings offer insights for improving digital media reporting and shaping public perception to reduce health-related stigma.

The impact of strategic agility on the strategic orientation during the Covid-19 crisis in Jordanian medical and pharmaceutical industries companies

Purpose This study aims to explore the impact of strategic agility on strategic orientation and its dimensions (retrenchment, perseverance, innovation and exit strategies) in Jordanian medical and pharmaceutical industries companies during the COVID-19 crisis. Design/methodology/approach The researchers relied on a descriptive-analytic methodology. The study population consisted of 23 companies in the medical and pharmaceutical industries in Amman, Jordan. The sampling units were the top managers of these companies, represented by chief executive officers and main department managers. The sample size was 193. Questionnaires were distributed to collect the data, while the valid for analysis were 165 questionnaires. Findings The results showed that strategic agility has a positive effect on strategic orientation, as well as on, perseverance, and innovation strategies, but it has an opposite effect on retrenchment strategy. However, it has no statistically significant effect on the exit strategy. Originality/value This pioneering study is uniquely valuable through filling a gap in the literature by examining the dynamic relationship between strategic agility and strategic orientation, offering practical insights for decision-makers to enhance resilience that contributes to overcoming the COVID-19 and future crises.

Unveiling hr roles: Fostering employee gratitude amidst pandemic like Covid19

Human resource managers are taught the value of acting in a socially responsible manner by COVID-19 and giving employees social assistance and psychological recovery, which can foster a feeling of gratitude for the employers. The body of knowledge on HR roles and employee gratitude is fragmented and a gap still exists in understanding HR roles and employee gratitude in times of crisis. This scientific investigation attempts to trace the relationship between HR roles and employee gratitude during India's peak of the COVID-19 crisis. The sample consists of n=331 employees operating in the NCR of Delhi, India. A causal survey design was adopted to measure employee gratitude through analysis of quantitative data and was subjected to SPSS and AMOS. The results indicate a causal relationship between employee gratitude and four HR roles – HR communication, HR leader-member exchange, HR adaptive capacity & HR networking. This study has industrial implications.

DIGITAL PAYMENT ECOSYSTEM IN INDIA: A STUDY ON INTEROPERABILITY DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS

The Prime Minister's plan, the "Digital India Program," will spur innovation across all industries. The COVID-19 period increase the use of digital payment system because of the social distancing rules and lockdown situation. During COVID-19 period, there is a need to quickly transform traditional payment mode to digital payment mode. The world need to adapt new ways of life and work. Since 2016, government has made a concerted effort to promote online payments, beginning with demonetization. Many digital and Indian economic actions were motivated by "Digital India" campaign., unstructured support data (USSD), the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS), integrated payments, Bank car bank prepaid cards, and other ways of digital payment are available in India. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated the adoption of digital payment systems across India, highlighting the critical role of interoperability in the digital payment ecosystem. This research explores the interoperability of various digital payment platforms in India during the COVID-19 crisis, examining how seamless integration between different payment systems, such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI), mobile wallets, and traditional banking channels, contributed to the broader acceptance and usage of digital payments. The study investigates the role of government initiatives and policies in enhancing system compatibility. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative data, the research highlights the lessons learned during the pandemic, provides insights into the strengths and weaknesses of India’s digital payment infrastructure, and proposes recommendations for future improvements to ensure a more inclusive and efficient digital payment ecosystem. Here, we explore scenarios of increase in the amount of digital payment system pre and post COVID-19 period in India.

Sociology of Pandemics A Sociological Approach to Understanding the Social Impacts of COVID- 19

There is no doubt that there is a social and ethical necessity to monitor the various aspects of this pandemic, and to reveal its effects on the social reality in its various aspects, and thus the results of the study can be used to develop a scientific plan to limit the spread of the pandemic, and there is no doubt that This contributes to creating a safe social environment capable of responding to all social and economic development programs. The Sane Society is the society that is most capable of change and development in all fields. The study problem is determined in revealing the sociological approach to the Corona pandemic, identifying its various dimensions, and monitoring the sociological effort in revealing its most prominent results and its various effects on some social systems. The study uses the Discourse Analysis method, where the study aspires to analyze an aspect of the Arab and Western sociological discourse related to the Corona virus, and to identify the extent to which this discourse monitors the effects of that epidemic.

Impact of Indices on Stock Price Volatility of BRICS Countries During Crises: Comparative Study

This study aims to identify the common indices having an impact on the SPV of BRICS countries during crises. To address this, the monthly data retrieved from the database of the Global Economic Monitor (GEM), World Bank, IMF International Financial Statistics data, and OECD in the period of January 2000 to December 2023 are analyzed in two phases. In the first phase, DM classification techniques are applied to the data to identify the best common classification technique in order to use this technique in the second phase to compare the results with Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) results. In the second phase, to account for the global financial crisis and COVID-19 crisis, the sample period is divided into two sub-periods. For those sub-periods, MLR and the best classification technique that was found in the first phase are utilized to find the common indices that have an impact on the stock price volatility during individual and both crises. The findings indicate that the Random Tree method commonly classified the data among the seven classification techniques. Regarding MLR results, no common indices were identified during the global financial crisis or the COVID-19 crisis. However, based on Random Tree classifications, the CPI price percent, National Currency, and CPI index for all items were common during the global financial crisis, whereas only the CPI price percent was common during the COVID-19 crisis. While some common indices were observed in individual crises for specific countries, no indices were consistently found across both crises. This variation is attributed to the unique nature of each crisis and the diverse economic and socio-political structures of different countries. These findings provide valuable insights for financial institutions and investors to refine financial and policy decisions based on the specific characteristics of each crisis and the indices affecting each country.

The COVID-19 Crisis and State Administration Authorities

In this article, we present findings of a systematic review and qualitative analysis of legal documents adopted by national bodies in Czechia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal was to fill the gap in existing research that focused mainly on restrictive and coercive measures that have impacted the society as a whole until now and paid less attention to changes expected in public administration by laws adopted during the pandemic. Our research showed that the executive branch took the leading role in solving the COVID-19 crisis in Czechia, as in other countries. However, the difference can be seen in that the key executive organs that shaped the organization of state administration were the government and the Ministry of Health, which participated in creating documents focused on health protection. The secondary law was used as the key format for the regulation of issues related to the functioning of the state administration and specifically to the reduction of personal contacts and service provision, ensuring protective equipment and the use of electronic communication channels needed for work from home (for which a new, not yet existing regulation was created). Moreover, the systematic review of the national legal documents showed that while the elements “People” and “Processes” were significantly affected by them, the element “Technology” was minimally affected, even though the level of digitalisation in Czechia has been below the average of EU countries in recent years. The prevalence of work from home was carried out both by the relaxation of existing administrative processes and by extensions of deadlines for various administrative tasks.

Public Manifestos: Brazilian Civil Society Alliances and Resistances in the Face of the Covid-19 Crisis

Public Manifestos: Brazilian Civil Society Alliances and Resistances in the Face of the Covid-19 Crisis

Navigating the COVID-19 crisis: astudy of healthcare leadership response in India and the USA.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reignited the debate on effective leadership during a crisis. The study examined healthcare leaders' experiences, challenges and responses amid the COVID-19 crisis in India and the USA. Thematic analysis culminated in developing a thematic framework that encapsulates the behavior of operational healthcare leaders in India and the USA to illustrate how they responded to the global pandemic. Twelve hospital leadership experiences were collected through in-depth Interviews. The study highlighted comparable experiences and leadership responses from the USA and India. Thematic framework induced from three themes and eight sub-themes to illustrate how leaders handled unknown challenges of the pandemic, which they countered with increased accountability as a leader, extended need-based networking with inevitable experience of self-role distance, leading to their pragmatic approach and reinforcement of self-belief. The study findings provide a way forward for revisiting existing crisis management frameworks and cross-cultural leadership theories in terms of behavioral aspects integration with the technical or operational aspects of crisis management. Healthcare leaders aiming to rebuild hospital systems would benefit from the study by incorporating identified skills such as coping with emotional labor, self-role distance, perseverance, pragmatic approach, networking with extended stakeholders, and extra-role behaviors into training and mentoring programs. Using a thematic analysis approach, the study's two-country research design identified a homogeneous leadership response despite a distinct countrywide context.

Influence of SARS-CoV2 Pandemic on Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis, Presentation, and Surgical Management in a Tertiary Center: A Retrospective Study

Influence of SARS-CoV2 Pandemic on Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis, Presentation, and Surgical Management in a Tertiary Center: A Retrospective Study

How accurate did financial analysts anticipate impact and recovery from the COVID-19 crisis

How accurate did financial analysts anticipate impact and recovery from the COVID-19 crisis

Nurses’ Experiences at the Intensive Care Unit for COVID-19 in Indonesia: A Study of Hermeneutic Phenomenology

Background: Nurses working in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for COVID-19 are more at risk as they interact more with infected patients. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experience of Indonesian nurses who work in ICU for COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: A qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used. A total of 20 nurses working in the respective ICUs of eight COVID-19 referral tertiary hospitals in Indonesia were recruited using purposive sampling. Semistructured individual video call interviews were conducted in June–September 2021; then, Diekelmann’s hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to analyze and interpret the data. Results: Thirteen subthemes describing the following four themes, namely, the pleasing and bad feelings, new challenges of working, nursing professional growth, and nurse resource management for COVID-19 . Conclusions: This study describes nurses’ experiences working in ICUs during the COVID-19 crisis, such as their feelings, perceived challenges, and received support. Nurse leaders play a significant role in providing adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), flexible work shifts, and a caring and healing work environment. However, being aware of the limit of pressure that an individual can manage and providing adequate allowance as rewards for work in risky areas are essential to avoid burnout.

Factors and mechanisms influencing the resilience of peer-to-peer accommodation hosts during the COVID-19 crisis: insights from a qualitative study

Factors and mechanisms influencing the resilience of peer-to-peer accommodation hosts during the COVID-19 crisis: insights from a qualitative study

Housing stability for households with LTSS needs in America: Contrasting pre-pandemic housing data from 2017 with data from 2021.

Economically insecure people with disabilities are often forced to choose between health and housing. Housing instability in the form of mortgage, rent delinquency, or missing utility payments can adversely affect the health and well-being of people with disabilities and, specifically, people with LTSS needs. Our study investigates the disparity in housing stability for LTSS households and non-LTSS disability households in comparison to non-disability households. We also investigate the differences in housing stability indicators between 2017 and 2021 (during COVID-19) to assess the potential impact of the COVID-19 crisis on housing instability. Finally, we conducted a stratified analysis to investigate the intricate relationship between LTSS needs and aging. We used data from the American Housing Survey (AHS) from 2017 to 2021 to conduct a logistic regression analysis to examine housing instability for households with members with LTSS needs. We also conducted a stratified logistic regression analysis, with data stratified by age groups, to investigate whether this relationship varied across different age groups. LTSS households faced housing instability in 2017 and 2021, with higher odds of missing mortgage, rent, and utility payments. Compared to 2017, LTSS households in 2021 face marginally lower odds of missing mortgage and utility payments but higher odds of missing rent. We need sustained policy intervention to reduce housing instability for LTSS and non-LTSS households. Some policies employed during the COVID-19 crisis at both federal and state levels may have reduced housing instability for the LTSS and non-LTSS disability households.

Exploring mental health symptoms in elite athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis on sex differences.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected elite athletes, leading to increased mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression. Sex differences in mental health may exist among athletes during the COVID-19 crisis. This study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine sex differences in mental health symptoms among elite athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. We systematically searched the databases including Pubmed, EMBASE, and manually checked previous systematic reviews for relevant studies in March 2024. Authors were also contacted for sex-specific data. Studies were included if they compared mental health symptoms between male and female elite athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a random-effects model to summarize the rate ratio (RR) between female and male athletes across studies. Risk of bias in studies was assessed using a 9-item tool. We included 18 studies in this review. The results indicated that female athletes reported higher levels of anxiety (RR 1.24, 95% CI = 1.08 to 1.43) and depression (RR 1.36, 95% CI = 1.15 to 1.61) than male athletes during the pandemic. They also had a higher risk of stress or distress (RR 1.27, 95% CI = 0.99 to 1.63) than their male counterparts. No significant differences were found regarding alcohol use or misuse between female and male athletes (RR 1.01, 95% CI = 0.75 to 1.37). Limited evidence was available for eating disorders, gambling, substance use, and sleep problems. In conclusion, female and male athletes differed in mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Female athletes were more likely to report anxiety, depression, and distress. Incorporating mental health resources may be particularly important for women's sports, which have smaller financial margins and greater career uncertainty than men's sports.

Inter- and intra-connectedness between energy, gold, Bitcoin, and Gulf Cooperation Council stock markets: New evidence from various financial crises

This study analyzes the inter-dependence of the oil, gold, Bitcoin (BTC), and Gulf Cooperation Council stock markets during the recent Russia–Ukraine and Israel–Palestine conflicts. The study found that these markets were less inter-connected during oil battles and the Russia–Ukraine conflict but more inter-connected during the COVID-19 crisis. Findings indicated that Oman, Kuwait, gold, and Qatar are the most significant spillover receivers, whereas the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and West Texas Intermediate are the primary risk spillover transmitters in the Israel–Palestine conflict. Additionally, BTC and the UAE are significant transmitters, whereas Kuwait and Qatar are the highest-risk spillover receivers in the Russia–Ukraine war. Portfolio estimates revealed that gold, BTC, and/or oil are useful in various equity markets for portfolio diversification and hedging under different market conditions and time horizons. These data can guide managers in portfolio construction and risk diversification.

Navigating through and beyond the COVID-19 crisis: Evaluating the resilience of Chinese international air freighter networks

Navigating through and beyond the COVID-19 crisis: Evaluating the resilience of Chinese international air freighter networks

Entrepreneurial orientation in joint projects during the COVID-19 crisis: A fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis approach for Brazilian cases

Entrepreneurial orientation in joint projects during the COVID-19 crisis: A fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis approach for Brazilian cases

Rural livelihoods and the COVID-19 crisis: A study of Kolhapur district

Rural livelihoods and the COVID-19 crisis: A study of Kolhapur district