Socioeconomic Decline Research Articles

The Socioeconomic Image of China in the Early Modern Age and the Debate on the Decline of Castile

This article analyzes the socioeconomic image of China developed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by Spanish travelers and historians, differentiating between the idealized “Iberian view” and the more nuanced and critical Jesuit perspective. What were thought to be the main reasons behind China's wealth that impressed Europeans so much is relevant for a better understanding of the seventeenth-century debate on the causes of the decline of Castile, the heart of the Spanish Empire. On the one hand, the contrast between the increasingly battered Hispanic monarchy and the image of prosperity—more or less nuanced—conveyed by both visions of China made clearer the situation of socioeconomic decline of the Spanish Empire. In fact, from both visions could be implicitly derived diverse criticisms of the Spain of the last Habsburgs. On the other hand, it is paradoxical and surprising that the protagonists of the debate on the Castilian decline, the arbitristas, were not aware of the writings on China of their contemporaries, which reduced the potential of their analysis.

Unveiling the impact of second homes on rural development: a scoping review

ABSTRACT To combat rural socio-economic decline, second-home development is seen as a strategy for fostering rural development and mitigating decline across several regions in the Nordic. This scoping review aims to identify key themes in the literature to explore the broader impact of second homes on rural development. A systematic search strategy identified 46 English-language peer-reviewed articles and chapters. The analysis identified four overarching themes: ‘Restructuring rural areas,” “Population distribution,” “Perceptions of rural development,” and “Second-home owners as stakeholders.” Additionally, variables affecting impact were identified, confirming the imperative for context-sensitive studies. The identified gap in understanding how second-home development affects local businesses and their innovative capabilities represents a paradox, given their crucial role in rural development. Addressing this gap requires integrating business-oriented perspectives, exploring themes such as knowledge transfer, linkages, sources for innovation, diversification, and barriers to business development. Recognizing the central role of the municipal level in rural development, this review calls for further research to elaborate on their multifaceted role. However, reliance solely on English-language peer-reviewed sources may overlook significant insights from non-English peer-reviewed literature and other types of literature, potentially limiting the scope of conclusions drawn.

A Comparative Study of Traditional Village Renewal Characteristics Driven by Different Entities from the Perspective of Place-Making

The renewal of traditional villages should not only focus on the protection of cultural heritage but also comprehensively consider the development of social, economic, and environmental aspects. The concept of place-making offers an effective strategy to address the issues faced by traditional villages today, such as the destruction of cultural heritage, socioeconomic decline, and population loss. At the core of place-making is the establishment of harmonious human–land relationships. This study aims to explore the influence of different entities on place-making during the process of traditional village renewal. This research focused on traditional villages in southeastern China. Based on literature reviews and field surveys, this study employed the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to develop evaluation criteria for traditional village renewal based on place-making. By selecting case studies of traditional village renewal driven by three entities, government, artists, and villagers, relevant data were collected through field surveys and expert assessments, followed by a comparative analysis of these villages using the place-making evaluation criteria. The results indicate significant differences in traditional village renewal due to varying entity-driven approaches, leading to diverse impacts on different facets of place-making. In conclusion, establishing a renewal model for traditional villages that involves diverse entities is crucial for achieving comprehensive place-making and ensuring the high-quality, integrated, and sustainable development of traditional villages.

Will the US Survive the Frog? Time and History in the Pandemic and Decline

Abstract This essay examines two books, Jed Esty’s The Future of Decline: Anglo-American Culture at its Limits (2022) and an edited collection, The Long 2020 (2022), in terms of their respective geometries of history, or the ways in which they extrapolate possible futures for the US from contemporary material conditions. It considers the decline of US global hegemony and the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic insofar as they puncture the nationalist fantasies of US exceptionalism. It also makes a case for steering between the alternatives of apocalypse and redemption in favor of a historical materialist reckoning with US socioeconomic decline. Learning from crisis and decline, the essay argues, doesn’t have to mean surrendering radical political or utopian impulses. It can also mean recasting social hope as the collective reclaiming of freedom from exceptionalism. Finally, the essay makes a methodological proposal for bringing together existential and structural approaches to history (or new materialist and Marxist modes of analysis) in literary and cultural studies, as well as critical theory.

Pathogen prospecting of museums: Reconstructing malaria epidemiology

Malaria is a disease of global significance. Ongoing changes to the earth’s climate, antimalarial resistance, insecticide resistance, and socioeconomic decline test the resilience of malaria prevention programs. Museum insect specimens present an untapped resource for studying vector-borne pathogens, spurring the question: Do historical mosquito collections contain Plasmodium DNA, and, if so, can museum specimens be used to reconstruct the historical epidemiology of malaria? In this Perspective, we explore molecular techniques practical to pathogen prospecting, which, more broadly, we define as the science of screening entomological museum specimens for human, animal, or plant pathogens. Historical DNA and pathogen prospecting provide a means of describing the coevolution of human, vector, and parasite, informing the development of insecticides, diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.

Analyzing the narrative context of post-industrial audio-visual works in Northeast China from the absurdity in the documentary Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (2002)

Since 2019, Northeastern post-industrial culture has been a popular topic of discussion; the general public refers to it as the Northeastern Renaissance. Crises of identity, honor, and faith have been recurring themes in several Northeastern films released in recent years. Furthermore, these cinematic narratives frequently generate somber humor by presenting an enormous contrast between ideals and actuality. The article examines how the post-industrial narrative context of Northeast China has influenced audio-visual cultural products and contemporary Chinese popular culture. To elucidate the fundamental aspect of the Northeast narrative, the article’s author employs the absurd theory of Albert Camus. The main structure and viewpoints of the article are as follows: The first is after presenting individuals’ contemplations on the Northeastern Renaissance-instigated post-industrial narrative of the Northeast. In the following sections, the article explores the narrative context of post-industrial audio-visual works in Northeast China, focusing on the absurdity depicted in the documentary Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (2002). The authors’ analysis reveals how the documentary captures the socio-economic decline and the resulting human experiences of absurdity and dislocation. Key findings indicate that the narrative structure and visual style effectively convey the bleak realities of post-industrial life, offering critical insights into the region’s socio-cultural transformation. These findings suggest that future research should explore the intersection of visual media and social change in other post-industrial contexts.

“Envejecer en Cuba”: reflexiones desde la literatura, las artes visuales y la sociología

This research paper explores the portrayal of aging in Cuba through artistic and literary projects driven by social science, operating outside of Cuban official channels. The focus lies on the efforts of the “Cuido60: Observatory of Aging, Care, and Rights,” an initiative led by Cuban sociologist Elaine Acosta. Within this initiative, Acosta has organized literary and photography contests. The primary objective of this study is to analyze how these artistic endeavors capture the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by the elderly in Cuba, offering insights into the socio-economic decline and the disillusionment of a once-utopian aspiration.
 The themes of the body, aging, vulnerability, and illness are intricately woven into a comprehensive framework intertwined with migratory processes, neglect, and abandonment. In this contextual structure, family dynamics and adversities traverse the domains of politics and society. My aim is to underscore the extent to which these artistic projects facilitate discourse that extends beyond the confines of Cuban officialdom. This extension serves as a call for a set of policies that advocate for dignified aging in Cuba. Furthermore, can this intermedial language provide an alternative narrative regarding Alzheimer’s, memory loss, and vulnerability? Can it go beyond merely presenting these corporeal experiences and delve into their deeper implications? Guided by the works of philosophers such as Jean Améry, Simone de Beauvoir, Rita Levi-Montalcini, and Victoria Camps, this research seeks to unveil the multifaceted implications of these artistic expressions for the conversation surrounding aging in Cuba, its representation, and its broader societal significance.

Left behind and left out: Evaluating (dis)connections in the spatially focused migration network of England and Wales

AbstractPrevious research has often linked socioeconomic decline and 'left behind' places with out‐migration and depopulation. Few analyses have reflected on the role of connectivity in the migratory system, and how this varies across groups and places to produce peripheralisation. Using detailed migration in England and Wales, we examine the level of spatial focusing of migration flows between local authority origins and destinations, using the Gini index. The study extends the established spatial focusing literature to consider the role of age and investigates the phenomenon in 'left behind' places. Our findings show the complexity of the role of migration in the production of left behind places, with implications for population redistribution.

COVID-related environmental concerns and aspirations for a greener, pandemic-proof future: Prospect for civil-society led change for sustainability

The COVID-19 pandemic had an enormous impact in terms of lives lost and socio-economic decline but also highlighted issues regarding environmental sustainability. However, few studies have investigated COVID-19-related environmental perceptions. We thus assessed (i) people's concerns about the pandemic's adverse global environmental impacts and (ii) their aspirations for a greener, pandemic-proof, post-COVID future in a representative survey in New Zealand using two specifically designed measures. We found moderate to high COVID-related environmental concern (mean rating = 6.79 on a 10-point scale) and greener post-COVID world aspirations (mean rating = 7.01 on a 10-point scale). Concern and aspirations were unexpectedly evident even among those with low pro-environmental predispositions (e.g. those with low general environmental concern, low recycling frequency, and zero past-5-year environmental actions) – suggesting a pandemic-induced change among the previously unconcerned. Pre-existing pro-environmental dispositions and behaviours were not consistently associated with higher ratings in our measures as hypothesised. Demographic variables had limited influence, while experiences of financial and mental health impacts due to COVID-19 did not affect our measures – suggesting that the pandemic gave rise to new dimensions of environmental concern and aspirations for change that were experienced by most in society. While these concerns and aspirations offer a platform for society-led change, meaningful change can only occur with political will among governments to minimise the present pandemic's environmental impacts, sustain environmentally beneficial practices that occurred during lockdowns, and prevent future zoonotic epidemics and pandemics by steering and supporting environmental investments that lead to changes to travel behaviour, diet, farming practices, and treatment of animals.

The Coastal Future We Want: Implications of Coastal People’s Perceptions on Satoumi Actions and Sustainable Development in Northeastern Taiwan

Satoumi is advocated for coastal sustainability under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), and has provided a basis for countries around the world to formulate national biodiversity strategies and action plans. Given the significant impact of environmental changes and socio-economic decline, relevant policy directions and practices are urgently required to promote the sustainable development of fishing communities in Taiwan. However, local residents and communities are not sufficiently aware of or involved in this concept to facilitate the development of a holistic Satoumi implementation strategy. Therefore, this study integrates the concepts of Satoumi actions and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has adopted a questionnaire survey to investigate the perceptions of 202 fishing community residents in the Gongliao District of New Taipei City and Yilan County towards these concepts. The standpoint and perception of the fishing community residents regarding Satoumi actions and SDGs provided a valuable reference. The results of the perception of Satoumi actions revealed that all of the respondents recognized Satoumi actions. However, the ranking demonstrated the urgency for some actions (e.g., clear marine litter), and measures that have been implemented in Taiwan but still need improvement (e.g., fish stocking practices). Satoumi actions were associated with two key factors that affect the perception of residents at Satoumi: “Empowerment through community-based industry and environmental education”, and “Conservation of crucial biological resources and habitats”. For the SDGs perceptions, the two factors were “Marine socio-economic sustainability” and “The sustainable use of marine ecological resources”. This study also adopted cluster analysis and identified three characteristically different groups of residents: The Conservation Priority Group, Industry–Society Priority Group, and Balanced Development Group. According to the major research findings, policies implemented in coastal areas of Taiwan have aligned with global sustainability trends. However, the attitude of the Industry–Society Priority Group, which has the largest sample size, should be changed to that held by the Balanced Development Group, in order to formulate a strategy for a balanced development that secures existing livelihoods and aligns with expectations on environmental sustainability. This study suggests that methodologies that encourage stakeholder interactions, dialogues, and consensus-building should be utilized to develop strategies for future work. Furthermore, policy tools related to coastal management should be analyzed to establish a comprehensive toolkit for coastal governance. Finally, Satoumi requires public–private collaboration to achieve both biodiversity conservation and transformative change towards more sustainably and equitably social, environmental, and economic coastal development.

Sticking to My Guns: Managing Firearm Ownership in Older Adults Through Sociocultural Context

Psychiatrists are increasingly aware of the broad need for cultural competency, even within cultures in which they may be more familiar. Important examples of this have increasingly come to light in the context of firearm ownership, conversations surrounding gun legislation, and the role of individual autonomy balanced against social responsibility. Included within this understanding are themes of the American identity, including exceptionalism, individualism, democratic autonomy, and hard work, all serving a pivotal role in the development of political anti-establishmentarianism. Within this framework, characteristics of gun culture must be examined within the context of the individual domains which make it up, including the social, political, and individual factors which lead to an individual's personal valence toward firearms and rates of ownership and use of firearms within the United States.Older adults make up an increasing segment of the population, and geriatric psychiatrists play an ever-important role in the provision of mental health services within the United States. A question perpetually present within geriatrics is whether specific characteristics or factors of individuals within the same age group represent a generational cohort effect as consequence of social, economic, or cultural factors or an age-related developmental effect as consequence of universal age-related factors. Such questions include, but are not limited to, whether gun ownership may be best be contributed to by survival during eras of conflict or socioeconomic decline vs. loss of physical abilities of protection or external social support. Within this context, rates of gun ownership among older adults will be examined across time and across specific age groups, with specific examination of potential contributors.Evidence-based research guides development of a framework for lethal means counseling in older adults, which considers all of the aforementioned influences within a cultural context. Specific clinical guidance will be offered which seeks to establish a foundation for safety assessment and treatment planning. Specific discussion of lethal means counseling as it applies to patients with neurocognitive disorders will also be conducted.

Shot by both sides: the War in Ukraine, Italy, and NATO’s Strategic Communications Challenges

The war in Ukraine has sparked an intense public debate in Italy over NATO’s objectives and activities. A significant minority of the Italian public considers the alliance at least partially responsible for the conflict. Early analyses of the public debate over the conflict focused on the influence projected by the Russian state and state-adjacent actors in Italian media and politics. This study shifts the focus towards the interests and agency of Italian actors critical of NATO. It frames criticism of the alliance in mass media and social media as the result of deeply rooted resentment against an organisation perceived—both on the left and on the right of the political spectrum—as a sinew of a network of ‘foreign’ institutions considered responsible for Italy’s socio-economic decline. From these premises it examines how pacifist and ‘geopolitical’ critiques of NATO have affected the alliance’s capability to perform strategic communications in the country. These findings, in turn, suggest the need for renewed attention to how NATO strategic communications could engage domestic audiences of member states.

Great Replacement or Slow White Suicide?

The belief that White people are targeted victims of dispossession, displacement, and genocide has spread with shocking intensity since Donald Trump’s 2016 electoral college victory. Although this Great Replacement myth may seem absurd and irrational, its destructive real-world consequences force the question: what explains its efficacy and appeal? Drawing on White nationalists Greg Johnson and Tucker Carlson, I argue that the Great Replacement myth functions as an explanation for the real socioeconomic decline that has culminated in deaths of despair. I then explore this decline’s sociohistorical context to argue that deaths of despair are consequences of political-economic domination reinforced by White supremacy. Put otherwise, these deaths result from socioeconomic violence that White people have inflicted on each other. I conclude that the real problem “the White race” faces today is not a Great Replacement but a Slow White Suicide.

Street-Level Workers and the Construction of Social Infrastructure in Suburban Neighbourhoods

The article examines the provision of social infrastructures in suburban neighbourhoods from the perspective of street-level workers. The concept of infrastructure is usually related to material and structural conditions but can equally apply to social infrastructures that are continuously constructed and maintained in social practices. These social infrastructures are embedded in structures and social arrangements and are related to past decisions. Our research focuses on the social infrastructures of two high-rise suburbs in Finland, built in the 1960s and 1970s. Since the 1990s, these neighbourhoods have experienced socioeconomic decline and transformation into a multicultural milieu. While suburbs have often been overlooked in urban politics and public discourses, a wide range of social infrastructures have also evolved in these districts and are continuously maintained. The main research data consists of interviews with street-level workers who participate in the production of such local social infrastructures. The article identifies and analyses the essential factors and preconditions as well as the challenges and contradictions of the provision of social infrastructure in these suburban contexts. This understanding is needed in order to foster an extensive social infrastructure and to deter counterforces from exacerbating socio-spatial inequalities and social polarisation in cities.

Women’s Support Shaken: A Study of Women’s Political Trust after Natural Disasters

AbstractWomen have unique experiences during natural disasters, including higher risks of death, violence, and socioeconomic decline and an increase in specific reproductive health needs. However, government responses often do not directly address these women-specific needs, which can decrease women’s political trust. I investigate women’s trust in government institutions when natural disasters have recently occurred and argue that because of their unique experiences and typical government responses, women’s political trust will decline when there is a natural disaster more than men’s. I find that when there is a high number of disasters and when a larger percentage of the population is affected by disasters, women’s political trust decreases significantly, especially institutional trust. These findings are distinct from previous studies that cluster different types of political trust and support the idea that women’s experiences in a disaster may influence their relationship with institutions differently than men’s.

The ‘blemish of the past': (un)usual paths of gentrification in a Mediterranean city throughout history

Contemporary gentrification challenges long-entrenched conceptualizations. In particular, in ‘peripheral’ urban contexts of the Global North, the phenomenon is often interwoven with variegated processes stemming from the specific evolution of their historical centers. This paper scrutinizes the transformations of a marginal central district in a Southern Europe ‘peripheral’ city, Catania, named San Berillo. A series of postwar demolitions and reconstructions, followed by the local community’s forced displacement, fueled socio-economic decline and growing rates of territorial stigmatization. Since the early 2000s, some transformations partially modified narratives about the district. By retracing the evolution of San Berillo I deconstructed the role of the ‘blemish of the past’ in (re)shaping old and current imaginaries upon which the district’s identity is built. The aim is to understand, from an historical perspective, to what extent the Haussmann-like postwar demolition and eviction programme can be judged through the lens of gentrification and urban stigmatization, and if contemporary transformations have been shaping a context at risk of being gentrified (or re-gentrified). In so doing, the paper provides novel theoretical insights about gentrification in Southern Europe by mobilizing the concept of intersection to explain the phantom-like gentrification emerging as a (in)visible repertoire of past memories that loom over the district at different levels: as an operational framework for community-led and/or tourism-based initiatives, as a heterotopic discursive practice, as a buzzword for anti-gentrification counter-narratives.

The janus-faced nature of radical voting: Subjective social decline at the roots of radical right and radical left support

This study advances the decline of Parent-Relative Subjective Social Status (PRSSS) as a reconciling factor among radical right and radical left supporters. While self-employed workers, men and rural residents perceive socioeconomic decline relative to their parents and support the radical right, the well-educated, urbanites and low-income individuals are likely to feel similar decline given the rising levels of unemployment and social inequality. These structural changes may push the latter to support a party which stresses income inequality, a catchcry of the radical left. Using a 2017 Eurobarometer Survey, logistic regressions show positive associations between low PRSSS (versus equal or high PRSSS) and support for right- and left-wing radicalism in 28 European countries. The traditional attitudes of each group magnify the PRSSS effects on radical support: these are reinforced by anti-immigrant support for the radical right and by preference for redistribution for the radical left.

Репродуктивні втрати в Україні: сучасна ситуація

During the transformation of society, accompanied not only by socio-economic decline, but also by unfavorable indicators of population reproduction, the issue of reducing reproductive losses and maintaining the viability of offspring at all stages of ontogenesis. Purpose - to investigate the condition and dynamics of the main components of reproductive losses in Ukraine. Materials and methods. A comprehensive retrospective analysis and assessment of the dynamics of reproductive losses and their main components in Ukraine for the period 2000-2021 according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine and the State Institution «Center for Medical Statistics of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine». Methods of system approach, bibliographic, structural-logical, epidemiological analysis of statistical data processing, graphic image are applied. Results. A continuous study of the dynamics of reproductive loss at the population level showed a positive trend in the number of total reproductive losses - 86.1 per 1,000 live births in 2000 and 57.0‰ in 2021, OR with 95% CI 0.63 (0.62-0.65), p<0.0001, in violation of the trend of gradual decline of this indicator by its growth in 2005 up to 72.1‰, in connection with the preparation of perinatal facilities for the transition to the WHO criteria for perinatal period, live births and stillbirths. The downward trend was characteristic of prenatal losses - spontaneous (spontaneous) abortions, and medical legal abortions in the period from 12 to 22 weeks of pregnancy, the number of which decreased from 68.8 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 43.2‰ in 2021, OR with 95% CI 0.63 (0.59-0.67), p<0.0001, and deaths in the first year of life - from 11.9‰ to 7.2‰, respectively, OR with 95% CI 0.7 (0.66-0.74), p<0.0001. At the same time, the stillbirth rate tended to increase - from 5.4‰ to 6.6‰, OR with 95% CI 1.23 (0.9-1,3), p<0.0001, against the background of a steady increase in the share of antenatal fetal death from 85.3% in the structure of stillbirth in 2001 up to 94.5% in 2021. It is established that in Ukraine in the structure of registered total reproductive losses during the entire observation period prenatal losses up to 22 weeks of gestation amounted to a total of 74.1%, of which spontaneous abortions 57.9%, medical legal abortions from 12 to 22 weeks 16.2% of pregnancies and 25.9% of feto-infantile losses, of which 15.7% died in the first year of life and 10.2% were stillborn. In the dynamics of the XXI century, the share of medical legal abortions in the period from 12 to 22 weeks of pregnancy decreased 3 times and those who died in the first year of life by 7.3%. The trend to increase the proportion was stillborn by 87.1% and spontaneous abortions by 29.6%. Conclusions. The situation with the state and dynamics of the main components of reproductive losses in Ukraine in the XXI makes it appropriate to further develop the family planning service, the formation of a comprehensive medical and social program to correct reproductive behavior and improve women’s reproductive health. No conflict of interests was declared by the authors. Key words: reproductive losses, forced abortions, stillbirth, infant mortality.

Infrastructural Support of Socio-Economic Development of Rural Territories of Ukraine

Rural territories of Ukraine are locked in a “circle of decline” by two mutually reinforcing trends: firstly, the lack of jobs and sustainable business activity, and secondly, the lack of positive changes in the service sector for the rural population. This is often conditioned upon the low development of infrastructural facilities. This causes the need to finance modern, efficient and environmentally friendly rural infrastructure, which will increase the comfort and quality of living, stop the outflow of the working-age population to cities, improve the demographic situation in rural areas, and contribute to the development of the rural economy. Therefore, the research is aimed at diagnosing the current state of infrastructure support for rural areas and finding effective tools to eliminate the causes of their socio-economic decline. The research methodology is based on the use of such general scientific research methods as economic analysis and synthesis in the interpretation of statistical data sets, comparison in determining dynamic changes in the socio-demographic characteristics of rural areas, logical method in making generalisations and conclusions, graphical and computational-constructive for constructing a Lorentz curve, etc. The essence, definition and types of infrastructure are established. The current level of socio-economic development of rural areas of Ukraine is clarified and its interdependence with infrastructure support is discovered. The level of transport, housing and communal services, medical, cultural and educational, trade, and business infrastructure development is described. The paper highlights the experience of stimulating rural development in the EU countries, in particular, outlines financial instruments and the scope of support and comprehensive assistance to rural businesses, environmental protection, competitiveness, and social integration. European investment funds and their role in the development of EU rural infrastructure are described

Creative Revitalization in Rural Japan

Different disasters throughout history have prompted Japan to develop diverse approaches to recovery, revitalization, and local resilience. The current global COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. In this paper, we argue the need to study the impacts of COVID-19 on outside major cities such as Tokyo as such areas were already experiencing socioeconomic decline. Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture is a city that has also been undergoing extensive post-disaster reconstruction after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), notably through various bottom-up approaches, often initiated by volunteers and migrants bringing new, creative ideas to community revitalization. These efforts continue to shape the social life of its residents during COVID-19, making Ishinomaki an important case study in both disaster reconstruction and rural revitalization. This paper examines examples in which creativity played a key role in revitalization, recovery, and community resilience in Ishinomaki over the last decade to shed light on current creative revitalization initiatives at the grassroots level, initiated and carried out by citizens. Drawing on an ethnographic approach conducted remotely in the form of semi-structured interviews, the paper presents the personal narratives of a diverse range of residents and social networks committed to rebuilding the soft infrastructure that is often overlooked compared to hard infrastructure. The paper proposes suggestions for the future based on lessons learned from the past decade, and hopes to illuminate how Japan’s rural areas are adapting to a new normal in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.