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Similar to many other countries, journalistic production in China during the first half of 2020 was dominated on a thematic level by the COVID-19 pandemic. The trend included the mouthpiece of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Renmin Ribao. Its news and commentary articles, which are widely republished by other media, influence the country’s political life, and contribute to the process of meaning generation in the news discourse and to the CCP’s effort to align Chinese citizens to official narratives. Renmin Ribao can therefore provide a relevant source to investigate the relationship between political power and the COVID-19 pandemic, starting from the hypothesis that the paper’s narrative would aim at discursively turning the international health crisis into a piece of positive propaganda. This study aims to verify whether and how the paper did so, and to question the assumption that the outlet’s media discourse can be equated to the CCP official discourse. The research is developed as a case study and blends quantitative and qualitative tools grounded on Applied Linguistics, Discourse-Historical Approach, and Frame Analysis, in order to analyse a corpus of commentaries that have appeared in the outlet’s online edition in 2020. By applying a Genre Analysis approach, the study also offers insights into the possibility to identify distinguishing characteristics and communicative goals in the different sub-genres of Renmin Ribao commentaries.

The sense of smell has been underestimated for a long time in humans. It has been brought to the fore by its sudden disappearance during the Covid-19 pandemic of which anosmia (complete loss of smell) is one of the major symptoms. However, respiratory viruses have long been associated with smell disorders, 25% of which are linked to a viral infection. Olfaction begins in the nose within the olfactory epithelium which has the particularity of containing neurons in direct contact with the environment. Several respiratory viruses are known for their replicative capacity within this epithelium. This is particularly the case for the flu virus (influenza) and bronchiolitis (respiratory syncytial virus) but their tropism for this tissue is much lower than SARS-CoV-2. The understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 pathophysiology in the nasal cavity makes it possible to reveal part of the links between viral infection and olfactory disorders., (© 2023 médecine/sciences – Inserm.)

Technological advances in synthetic biology have made in vitro modification, or even creation, of viruses easier and more affordable. Several research studies using synthesis of potential pandemic pathogens led to controversies in the 2010's. More recently, the hypothesis that Covid-19 pandemics could originate from a lab escape is still under debate. In France, a legislative vacuum remains concerning the synthesis of modified pathogens. Initiating a collective reflection process towards setting of a legal framework on this type of work is timely so that research continues to provide profit to society rather than hazard., (© 2022 médecine/sciences – Inserm.)

As the effects of COVID-19 have been unfolding, growing attention has been paid to the intersection of COVID-19 and substance use and the related harms. However, there are few theories and little empirical evidence to guide investigations in this area. To advance this emerging area of inquiry, we present a conceptual model that synthesizes evidence, information and knowledge on substance use and related harms in the context of the pandemic. The conceptual model offers a visual representation of the connections between the pandemic and substance use and related harms, and can be used to identify areas for future research., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Rebeira and Nauenberg’s paper presents an exploratory analysis of a challenging question which I paraphrase as: “Were the extraordinarily costly social responses to the COVID-19 pandemic economically justified?” They wade bravely into the always controversial topic of assessing whether what governments spend to achieve health gain – or in this case prevent its loss – are worth it, in economic terms. They apply well-known methods of modelling incremental cost-effectiveness analysis for value of life years gained, balancing that with comparisons to value of statistical life years measures used in different sectors. They encounter and detail many uncertainties in assembling the evidence on the effects and costs of social restrictions to prevent COVID-19 infection and spread, and the economic support programs used to buffer the negative effects of the pandemic. Their conclusion, perhaps not surprisingly, is for the United States – maybe – and for Canada, with more apparent success in epidemic control, perhaps a bit better. Perhaps the greater value of their paper is not its conclusions, but rather its posing of the questions. Here are some things it led me to ponder:

Copyright of Revista Digital de Derecho Administrativo is the property of Universidad Externado de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aim: Assess the impact of stress and Burnout syndrome on health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic., Method: A survey through an online questionnaire was conducted among health personnel, completed with a paper questionnaire collection, Information was collected on demographics, COVID-19 unit activity, the Burnout syndrome calculated by the Maslach Burnout Inventory scale, is defined by high levels of exhaustion and depersonalization when the total score reaches 30 and 12 points respectively and by a low level of professional accomplishment from a total score of 40, the level of stress perception is calculated by the post-traumatic stress scale, whose threshold is equal or greater than 44 points., Results: 345 responses were included concerning doctors, paramedics and technical-administrative staff working in an Algerian health facility between October 2021 and January 2022. Prevalence rates were 44.3% for burnout, 30.1% for depersonalization and 56.2% for low achievement, the prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was 38.6% of study participants. Analysis of risk factors among caregivers (physicians and paramedics) showed that burnout was related to age (p=0.041), the notion of the workplace in a dedicated COVID-19 patient unit (p=0.009) and the occurrence of death in the health professional's entourage (p=0,015). The occurrence of a death event among those around caregivers is a risk factor for post-traumatic stress syndrome with a OR=2.02, IC 95% [1,17-3,47]., Conclusion: Knowledge of the impact of COVID-19 on health professionals is an important element in maintaining their mental health and is a key consideration when managing health crises.

The main rationale for wage subsidies is giving job opportunities to workers who would otherwise remain unemployed or take jobs that do not exploit their potential productivity. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the wage subsidy programme in North Macedonia for the period 2018-2019 in order to provide a sound basis for its redesign in the times of Covid-19 crisis. The Propensity score matching is used as a principal estimation method. Moreover, we further explore the impact of the wage subsidies on the outcome variables for particular disadvantaged segments by disaggregation of the average treatment effect on treated individuals. The evaluation reveals improvement of the wage subsidy program in 2019 relative to 2018. However, having in mind the impact of the Covid-19 pandemics, there is a room for redesign of this measure by improving its targeting and conditions for retaining the subsidised jobs in the long run.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2022 7(1), 481-506 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. The case of the ESM: why the Eurozone's governance does not question the unity of the EU institutional framework. - II.1. The establishment of the ESM. - II.2. The institutional functioning of the ESM. - III. The impact of tasks entrusted to the EU institutions under the ESM on the institutional equilibrium within the EU legal order. - III.1. How are new tasks entrusted to the EU institutions? - III.2. What impact do these new tasks produce on the institutional equilibrium within the EU? - IV. The post-Covid institutional set-up: back to a "community" mode of governance? - V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the EU and its Member States had to face very pragmatic issues: how to avoid the economic collapse of Greece, Portugal and Ireland? Decisions had to be taken quickly in any institutional or legal forum that was immediately available. For this specific reason, legal solutions entailing the conclusion of international agreements by some of the EU Member States outside the EU legal framework were taken as a new normal. Due to a close legal relationship between these new international treaties and the EU legal order, a decision was also taken to "borrow" already existing EU institutions and entrust them with new tasks. In this Article, we question the role of EU institutions outside the EU legal framework. We first address the evolution of the EU institutional framework in the context of the euro crisis in relation to art. 13 TEU and recital 7 of the TEU preamble and the requirement of "unity of the institutional framework". Section II shows that "borrowing" the EU institutions outside the EU legal framework does not seem to alter the nature of the single EU institutional setting. Section III questions whether the tasks entrusted to the EU institutions outside the EU legal framework do not undermine the existing institutional equilibrium within the EU legal order. Section IV addresses the EU response to the Covid-19 pandemic from an institutional perspective as raising similar concerns within the EU legal order. The last section concludes.

Copyright of Synergies Afrique des Grands Lacs is the property of GERFLINT (Groupe d'Etudes et de Recherches pour le Francais Langue Internationale) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted limitations in the current public health data infrastructure, and the need for a comprehensive, real-time, centralized, user-friendly data management system suitable for both disease surveillance and outbreak management. To address these issues, the Canadian Forces Health Services Group developed the webbased Canadian Armed Forces Surveillance and Outbreak Management System (CAF SOMS). This paper details the development of the CAF SOMS, provides formative evaluation results and includes a discussion of the lessons learned and intent to use the CAF SOMS in future to enhance the CAF's disease surveillance and outbreak management capability beyond COVID-19., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) deployed 2595 regular and reserve force personnel on Operation (Op) LASER, the CAF's mission to provide support to civilian staff at longterm care facilities in Ontario and in the Centres d'hébergement de soins de longue durée in Quebec. An online longitudinal survey and in-depth virtual discussions were conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers with complementary expertise. This paper highlights the challenges encountered in conducting this research and their impact on the design and implementation of the study, and provides lessons learned that may be useful to researchers responding to similar public health crises in the future., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

The global COVID-19 pandemic caused a severe blow to the world economy, bringing the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression. This economic downturn was accompanied by various controversies regarding the role of the state in the economy. To withstand these shocks, most of the states started to use fiscal stimulus measures. The main purpose of this paper is to present the effects that COVID-19 caused on the world economy, as well as to review Keynes's ideas regarding the need for state intervention in the economy. The results of the study show that many countries have used monetary and fiscal stimulus measures to cope with the negative effects caused by the COVID19 pandemic. Thus, Keynes's ideas for state intervention in the economy are still relevant and necessary in today’s economy, until the number of people infected with COVID-19 decreases and the economy reopens completely as it was before.

This paper aims to analyze former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s thirty speeches on COVID-19 delivered between February 2, 2020 and April 27, 2020. We apply Laclau and Mouffe’s theory of discourse analysis to investigate and analyze Rouhani’s rhetorical and discursive strategies in making meaning of COVID-19. Findings showed that COVID-19 discourse in Rouhani’s speeches has mainly revolved around three nodal points: “the country”, “the enemy”, and “the state of exception”. Thus, the structural articulation of COVID-19 discourse resembles the hegemonic discourse in Iran. Our results also explain how Rouhani used COVID-19 as an empty signifier to reinforce the hegemonic discourse in Iran while trying to redefine his relations with the state-leaning organizations. Furthermore, we analyzed the rhetorical practices that Rouhani employed to articulate the COVID-19 discourse. This paper contributes to a growing body of literature into discursive aspects and implications of a global pandemic by providing empirical evidence form an understudied context: Iran.

Inflationary pressures, but also the uncertainty regarding the duration and severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, have significantly increased in the last year. Moreover, the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, further called into question the upward trend in the inflation rate. In this sense, the sudden and continuous increase in energy, fuel, and food prices constitute new challenges for decision-makers. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of inflation in Romania from the period 1990-2022 because this constitutes a topical macroeconomic challenge. Compared to the way of presenting the information from the bibliography used and found at the end of the paper, in this paper only the essential aspects, the particularities of the chosen research topic, which finally provide an overview, can be found.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2021 6(1), 189-198 | European Forum Insight of 7 June 2021 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Diversity in Member States' approach to COVID-19 related travel restrictions. - III. The EU institutions' response to the implications of Member States imposing differing COVID-19 travel restrictions. - IV. Council Recommendation on a coordinated approach to measures restricting free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. - V. Striking a balance between respect for Member States competence in protecting public health at national level and combating the risks to European unity and freedoms from Member States imposing differing restrictive measures. - VI. The Council Recommendation's timely and useful guidance and recommendations. - VII. The Recommendation's lack of consideration of other international public health bodies. - VIII. Final remarks. | (Abstract) The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many EU Member States to introduce unilateral and diverse travel restriction measures and border controls. European Treaties do allow the Member States to derogate from free movements on the grounds of public health, however, the imposition of inconsistent and diverse restrictions threaten the integrity of the Union. The European Commission and Council have an important role to play promoting cooperation and solidarity amongst the EU Member States and safeguarding the Union. A recent Council Recommendation for a coordinated approach to measures restricting free movement is an example of the EU's response, but does it go far enough? For it is important to acknowledge that a Recommendation is not a legally binding instrument. This Insight analyses the Council Recommendation and its role in promoting a coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic by the EU Member States.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but the right metaphor is worthy of a thousand pictures. As pictures are the main design element in the advertising message, Whenever it comes to Advertising, “Creativity” is the most important aspect to be looked upon. That magical force is the foundation upon which the advertising business is built. Advertisers all over the world are continually working on eye-catching visual elements to implement to grab the attention and appeal to the largest audience possible. In 2020, Covid19 pandemic has shocked the world, it led it to go through a phenomenal transmission, many countries in lockdown. Advertising messages across the world reoriented their messages, adapted their adverts to the concepts of staying home and keeping a social distance. The key-visual is the hero image among other design elements. Metaphorical thinking is a creative thinking technique using metaphors to create concepts & ideas . This paper attempts to explore& understand the skillful application of Metaphorical thinking techniques to create eye catching key visuals during the Covid 19 pandemic.This paper discusses the concept of Key-visual & Metaphorical thinking and how could it be utilized as a creative approach in key-visual design. It looks closely at selected samples of the most inspiring creative adverts around the world, where key-visual designs were based on Metaphorical thinking creative techniques.Finding that thinking with metaphors aid in solving design problems, crafting a successful visual metaphor is done through pinpointing two or more key traits behind an idea, then combine forms that symbolize these traits. Traits can be physical ,conceptual or through using just words.Metaphors are not only literary strategies, but also strategies for thinking to solve design problems resourcefully. Thinking with metaphors creates unusual key visuals in the audience’s minds , they reshape and apprise common mental images of many issues. When we use well crafted key visuals using metaphorical thinking we can amplify the adverts impact on the target audience.Keywords: Key- visual, Metaphorical Thinking, Pandemic Advertising, Covid-19

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2020 5(3), 1143-1170 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction: border closures as a source of symbolic capital. - II. Reintroduction and termination of internal border controls. - II.1. Legality of the initial suspension of border-free travel. - II.2. Alternatives to systematic internal border controls. - II.3. Return to normality: intergovernmental cooperation. - II.4. Institutional implications: limited sway of legal supranationalism. - III. "A Europe that protects": closure of the external Schengen border. - III.1. "Fortress Europe" as an affirmative narrative. - III.2. Individualised assessment and proportionality. - III.3. Exemption of travellers with an "essential function or need". - IV. Restricting the free movement of Union citizens. - IV.1. The principle of proportionality: between individual cases and abstract considerations. - IV.2. Distinguishing different categories of free movement. - IV.3. Graded approaches towards quarantine and other alternatives. - IV.4. Practical implications of travel restrictions. - IV.5. Coherence of domestic and border restrictions. - V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) Initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic capitalised on symbolism of national belonging. Against this background, borders soon took centre stage in the effort to tackle the spread of the virus during the spring of 2020 with Member States enforcing drastic restrictions to inter-state mobility, both at internal and external Schengen borders. As the second wave rolled in, restrictions gained momentum again, even though Member States by and large, did not revert to symbolically relevant border controls and travel bans. This Article revisits the measures taken by the Member States and EU institutions at the internal and external borders of the Schengen area until late-October 2020 and draws lessons regarding the interaction of symbolism, law and politics in times of crisis. It focuses on shifts in the perception of borders and the role of different actors in the closure and the subsequent re-opening thereof. We illustrate that the supranational institutions struggled to support the rule of law without the political support of the Member States, even though the rich case law of the Court of Justice on the internal market provides critical doctrinal arguments that can be employed in times of crises.

The coronavirus crisis has unquestionably been a challenge globally and felt like an economic and psychological shock caused by the high number of illnesses and deaths caused by the virus. The drastic measures of physical distance and isolation have led to major economic effects. In this regard, our paper is trying to answer to the question if the unconventional methods would be effective in saving the economy burdened by the pandemic crisis and especially if "launching money from the helicopter" strategy is viable for the economy. We presented a series of government measures taken by countries affected and the analysis of the literature of the concept of "helicopter money". At the same time, the article reveals the exposure of the economic consequences resulting from the application of this unconventional solution, meant to restart afflicted economies.

Since December 2019, there has been a global explosion of research on COVID-19. In Canada, the six National Collaborating Centres (NCCs) for Public Health form one of the central pillars supporting evidence-informed decision making by gathering, synthesizing and translating emerging findings. Funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and located across Canada, the six NCCs promote and support the use of scientific research and other knowledges to strengthen public health practice, programs and policies. This paper offers an overview of the NCCs as an example of public health knowledge mobilization in Canada and showcases the NCCs' contribution to the COVID-19 response while reflecting on the numerous challenges encountered., Competing Interests: None

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RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: Governments across the world were forced to impose social distancing and lockdown measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that emerged in December 2019. Following the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, the disruptions, including restrictive measures such as school closures had severe impacts on the physical, emotional and mental health of all people, especially children with special needs. There was also scant data, particularly in low-to-middle-income countries. Existing literature stems mostly from western countries, thus the need to perform a comprehensive review on this topic. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The primary objective of the systematic review is to understand the impact of COVID-19 and restrictive measures such as school closures on the educational outcomes and physical and mental health of school-going children with special needs. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: This systematic review used the PRISMA 2020 checklist where four databases and grey literature were searched for full text articles, peer reviewed publications in the English language that were published during January 2019–December 2021. RESEARCH RESULTS: The literature search identified 1294 publications, of which 25 key papers were selected. These studies investigate the impact on children with special needs across the globe, with a majority of papers from Europe. We found that COVID-19 and the digitalization of schooling had severe impacts on the physical and mental health of children with special needs and their parents/caregivers. CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND APPLICABLE VALUE OF RESEARCH: These studies highlight the need for an inclusive school environment to ensure that the learning outcomes for children everywhere are achieved. Further, a hybrid model that includes classroom learning with novel inventive methods would be beneficial for children with special needs.

The spread of Covid-19 worldwide has caused significant changes in all fields. Many businesses had to stop operating with their business-as-usual norms and transferred their employees to an online mode. The design of the workplace had to evolve to accommodate those changes. Many firms and offices have reverted to unusual measures to operate and to also maintain the required safety for their employees. This research investigates the impact of COVID-19 on the office space design, with special focus on the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The research engages stakeholders through surveys & analysis to reflect the different approaches and measures taken by firms and office-owners in order to guarantee a safe return to their employees to the office, and in order to generate the required lessons learned. The paper adopts both a qualitative and quantitative methodology. The quantitative part of the study provides primary data related to the workspace environment, assessing its post status and highlighting the modifications made in order to comply with the new norms and requirements. On the other hand, the quantitative part of the study offers an in-depth study involving tailored interviews with business owners, in order to reflect on different adopted approaches and to create a better understanding of the post COVID emerging requirements. From the data analysis, the paper concludes with lessons learned that would improve the office workspace design, and to provide employees with a better and healthier working environment that can sustain any similar arousing situation and make the office design more efficient in the long run.

Informal payments in the public health care system represent one of the most sensitive topics in the medical world. It is also a subject of interest for many researchers. As evidenced by reports from various European institutions, a catalyst for their use was the COVID-19 pandemic. Among all the countries of the European Union, Romania was reported with the highest rate of use of these payments. With the support of parallel marketing research, carried out both among patients in Romania and among medical staff, it is demonstrated that they do not consider such practices natural. However, following the conclusions, in order to stop this trend, it is recommended, among other things, to reduce the institutional asymmetry, to tighten the penalties for the medical staff who accept such payments or to stimulate the medical staff, by increasing their salaries.

The context of CORONAVIRUS 2019 epidemic and the policy of social distancing encouraged by the World Health Organization (WHO) have pushed consumers to turn to online shopping. Indeed, to avoid contracting the virus by using cash or by going to crowded places, consumers are starting to favor e-commerce. This craze for e-commerce has led to an acceleration electronic payments usage. In order to understand the reasons for the high use of this type of payment during the pandemic, this study tries to determine the factors that drove the adoption of electronic payments (E-payments) during this period. The study is based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which examines the intention to adopt e-payments by focusing on the role of important factors in the acceptance of new technologies and particularly online payments. Thus, this paper contributes to the literature by examining the influence of social distancing, perceived risk, perceived security, and trust on behavioral intention to adopt electronic payment in the context of COVID 19 epidemic in Morocco. The data was collected using an online survey administered to 265 individuals. The results revealed that perceived risk, social distancing, perceived security, and trust predicted perceived usefulness, while perceived usefulness in turn had positive effects on behavioral intention to use online payment. This research examined for the first time the influence of a new variable "social distancing", which is considered an important factor in the epidemic context, and showed its positive influence on perceived usefulness of mobile payment. It also revealed that, in this particular context, perceived risk positively influences perceived usefulness, contrary to the results of several previous studies, as the risk studied is related to the risk of contracting a dangerous virus. This paper also provides interesting empirical results that allow e-services providers improve their marketing plans by highlighting the main factors that promote the adoption of electronic payments, namely, trust, perceived security, avoidance of physical contact and handling of cash, which are the main sources of contamination by CORONAVIRUS. Nevertheless, it has some limitations, such as studying intention to use instead of actual behavior. This limitation may constitute a new perspective for future research.

The current study investigates how attitudes towards digital transformation and personal innovativeness affect the acceptance of emergency remote learning in the COVID-19 pandemic environment. The pandemic has affected all aspects of societies across the globe, including higher education that was also a significant push-up factor for the digital transformation of higher education. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting emergency remote learning acceptance among the higher education students in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The results presented in this paper gained from a study carried out among higher education students in BiH cover the period of April – July 2020 via the open-source platform. The study focused on the students’ attitude towards a digital transformation is a significant factor in accepting emergency remote learning. Also, the personal innovativeness score has proven to be a crucial factor for adopting this new learning setting, i.e., more innovative students have a greater emergency remote learning acceptance than students with a lower personal innovativeness score. Hence, this study pinpoints the necessity of changing the attitudes towards technology applications in education. It would increase the usage of remote learning services and provide students with knowledge and skills for the new labour market.

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An introduction to the special issue for Rethinking the Structures of Academic Writing in the Times of Exacerbated Inequity. This paper presents a discussion of the inspiration for this special call for papers, an analysis of the genre presentation of the typical critical examination of problems emerging from social inequities, and a summary of each of the papers contained within the special issue.

This paper examines a tension in the time of a pandemic between governmental representations of death as an anomaly and techniques for normalising death as an inevitable outcome of life. It contends that the technology of registering a death during the COVID-19 pandemic is conditioned upon differentiating between the normal and the pathological, standards and variations, and average and excess. Indeed, death registration depends on the creation of a new universal nomenclature for ascertaining death causation, which excludes various circumstances of a person’s life in order to stabilise SARS-CoV-2 as a normative category for classification. The paper thus reveals how during a pandemic, registration can been utilised to pathologise specific kinds of death, while unproblematically reifying the concept of a normal death. It argues that what the COVID-19 pandemic exposes, particularly though the productive tension between the rhetoric of death as both an anomaly and inevitable, is that normalising technologies are inextricable from how a panoply of institutions determine what deaths should be counted at all. Este artículo examina la tensión que se produjo en el primer año de pandemia de la COVID-19 entre discursos sobre la muerte como anomalía y las técnicas para normalizar la muerte como resultado inevitable de la vida. Afirma que la tecnología de registro de muertes en el norte global en 2020 estaba condicionada por diferenciar entre lo normal y lo patológico, lo normal y la variación, y la media y el exceso. De hecho, el registro de un fallecimiento dependía de la creación de una nueva nomenclatura universal para comprobar la causa, lo cual excluía diversas circunstancias de la vida de una persona a fin de estabilizar el SARS-CoV-2 como una categoría normativa de clasificación. Por tanto, el artículo revela como, en época de pandemia, la tecnología de registro se puede usar para patologizar determinados tipos de muertes. Se argumenta que la fase inicial de la COVID-19 deja al descubierto, sobre todo a través de la tensión productiva entre discursos de la muerte como anomalía e inevitabilidad, que las tecnologías normalizadoras son inextricables de la forma en que un entramado de instituciones deciden qué muertes se deben contabilizar. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1232

The paper considers a problem at the intersection of sociology, anthropology, law and multidisciplinary public health research - health care accessibility during a sudden social crisis. The authors test the theoretical assumptions on the example of the covid-19 pandemic in Serbia, trying to understand the specific position of non-covid patients suffering from chronic non-communicable diseases and their perceptions regarding health care accessibility during the period of the pandemic. The empirical data on which the analysis was performed was collected with the help of focus group interviews. The sample consisted of interviewees - representatives of the association of patients suffering from chronic non-communicable diseases that burden the population of Serbia the most, who live on the territory of the Republic of Serbia without Kosovo and Metohija. The analysis shows that access to health care during the pandemic was limited and that the protocols that the state and the health care system were setting up in the process did not take into account the specific needs of this socially vulnerable group of patients. This, due to the impossibility for them to go through certain diagnostic procedures in time, receive adequate therapy and/or rehabilitation, in a large number of cases resulted in the deterioration of the clinical picture of the chronic disease from which they suffer. The paper presents theoretical and practical conclusions, which aim to show how important it is to incorporate theoretical and empirical insights from the social sciences and humanities in the conceptualization and future implementation of public health protocols for future social crises in order to reduce their potential syndemic effect.

This paper is a critical reflection on Covid-19 management strategies adopted in Odisha, a state on India’s east coast. The unprecedented scale and magnitude with which the pandemic affected the entire world was the cause of great uncertainty and collective anxiety. Managing it at the level of the entire nation state with great diversity of race, language, ethnicity, class, caste and culture has posed a great challenge for policy makers and administrators. Policy ethnographies have often relied on the Foucauldian idea of biopower and biopolitics to elucidate the governance practices in nation states with different rationalities. The present paper is an attempt to examine various policy measures adopted by the government of Odisha and how they have been affecting various institutions and everyday life. Using an ethnographical approach, the paper attempts to examine various policy initiatives and the way they get operationalized on the ground giving rise to a kind of governance practice indicative of affirmative biopolitics in the way power is exercised to direct human life and engage citizens for a secure future.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the impact of a systemic crisis depends very much on the prevailing level of inequality in the society concerned. This paper shows how the affordability of food was reduced dramatically for millions of people due to income loss in the wake of the pandemic, and the consequences this had. An analysis of the political economy of crisis then illustrates how economic inequality acts as a massive amplifier of disaster impacts on disadvantaged individuals and populations. Environmental degradation, across a broad spectrum from climate change to biodiversity loss, acts similarly as an impact amplifier in this and most other crises. Economically disadvantaged people are more immediately exposed to the impact of ecological degradation or may be forced to disregard the need for nature protection, which means the two factors are also mutually reinforcing. Inequality literally kills people, the more so in this century of worsening multidimensional crises. The paper argues that inequality on this scale is not just immoral but undermines human security, even for relatively privileged population groups, as well as threatening the stability of international relations. Addressing inequality, and especially inequitable policies in the food producing rural sector which acted as a major safety net for the poor during lockdowns, is thus the best pathway to mitigate future crises and their impact on food security.

This paper investigates the way pragmatics and corpus linguistics can benefit from each other through tackling metaphorical language. The metaphors of COVID-19 and how they can be analyzed both qualitatively and quantitively in the realm of corpus pragmatics analysis will be focused on. Significantly, the basic aim of the paper is to shed light on the very nature and use of metaphorical concepts, particularly their pragmatic functions. Moreover, the paper seeks to uncover the fundamental similarities between pragmatics as a linguistic discipline and metaphor as a linguistic tool, since both represent the essence of a hidden or implied meaning. Pragmatic theory views metaphor as a speech act. In other words, a speaker is using signs with a literal meaning to create a new intentional structure which has no literal meaning. To answer the research questions set by the paper, the study adopts a corpus pragmatic analysis in order to trace the recent spread of metaphorical language concerning COVID-19. The combination of pragmatics and corpus linguistics in this study led to the use of methodologies from both fields. Regarding metaphorical concepts, the corpus analysis proves that there is no one-to-one relation between form and function. The speech acts as well as the politeness strategies are in constant change in accordance with their context. Yet, the metaphors expressed are most frequently based on the choice of words and their accompanying referential meaning. Most notably, the ‘War Metaphors’ and the ‘Fire Metaphors’ have been particularly appropriate and versatile in reference to the pandemic and the process of combatting it. Therefore, this research also attempts to discuss the different types of metaphors used referring to the pandemic from a corpus pragmatics perspective

The objective of this paper is to investigate the hybridization dynamics of the Third sector at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. The progressive contamination between the State, market, family and Third sector spheres has long been subject of interest of the scholars. This paper aim at analysing these dynamics through the case study of Fondazione Banco Alimentare (Italian Food Bank Foundation). The case helps in investigating the impact of the pandemic on the role, logics and actors that make up the Third sector (both organizations and people) and its relation with the other subsystems. The empirical analysis shows that the pandemic and its consequences has enhanced the role of Fondazione Banco Alimentare, thanks to its relevance during the food emergency that also increased its visibility in the media. There are more institutional and non-institutional donors, more beneficiaries and help requests that resulted also in an accelerated professionalization and training of volunteers and employers. In conclusion, the Italian Food Bank and its network dealt with processes of digitalization, institutionalization and professionalization. These transformations resulted in a new positioning of the organization in the public sphere and redefined its relationship between local, national and European institutions.

Paper provides for a systematic overview of the EU scheme for the State aid rules applicable to the air transport sector during Covid-19 crisis. The COVID-19 outbreak is having a major impact on European air transport sector. In order to help air transport undertakings in Europe to overcome the financial troubles, to preserve jobs, to secure supply of essential food, medicals or other items, etc., the EU Commission adopted set of legislative measures enabling the EU Commission and Member States to authorise hundreds of State aid measures, not only to air transport sector, but also to other economic sectors, which were mostly affected by the pandemic. Since in normal circumstances member states State aid to national undertakings are subject to extremely stringent EU competition law regime, the intention of this paper is, firstly, to analyse to what extent and under what conditions that has changed during pandemic. Secondly, the intention of the paper is to explore to what extent and for what purposes different Member States granted State aid to their airline industries with special respect to the French, Austrian, Swedish and Croatian State aid policy. Lastly, the authors will raise question whether massive capital injection to air transport companies being made only by certain, wealthier, member states are going, in long term, to cause negative impacts on the competition in the air transport sector in the internal market.

Abstract The spread of COVID-19 in early 2020 has prompted governments to impose travel and mobility restrictions ranging from increased border controls to limitations to internal movement, and border closures. These measures significantly influenced migration trends and patterns, leaving thousands of migrants and refugees with nowhere to go. Therefore, this paper examines the influence of the COVID-19 on the lives of migrants and refugees in three Maghreb states (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) and studies the policies implemented to assist in areas such as health, shelter, and economic relief. This paper also considers the legal and material practices through which migrants and refugees were governed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The paper finds that as the pandemic develops and waves of infection continue in the region, local governments face crumbling healthcare infrastructure and long-term financial consequences that directly affect nationals and non-nationals.

The Korean government’s public health responses to the COVID-19 epidemic have achieved a remarkable outcome in terms of the measured number of infected patients and the overall mortality rate. Nonetheless, the public health authority’s various mitigation strategies and vaccination efforts have faced several challenges primarily posed by politically motivated Christian fundamentalists and ultraconservative media’s distorted news framing in Korea. This paper examines how these conservative forces – both religious and political – have undermined the Korean public health authority’s various mitigation efforts and discusses how to address the problems from a public policy point of view. The paper argues that a comprehensive legal reform including the introduction of effective punitive damages in the media market is a necessary minimum to address some of these problems.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the Chinese political leadership has devoted substantial efforts to shape, through media and institutional discourses, a specific narrative of its response to the crisis, framing it as a fight in which the Chinese people, under the leadership of Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, promptly came together to defeat the virus. The present paper examines this dominant narrative focusing on the Chinese language section on the fight against COVID-19 of the multilingual online platform China Keywords, a project run by State and Party-affiliated institutions. Drawing on the theoretical background and analytical tools from Critical Discourse Studies, the paper provides an analysis of the discursive representation of social actors constructed by this tool. The analysis shows how different discursive strategies employed to represent specific social actors contribute to reinforce the constitutive elements of the Chinese leadership’s dominant narrative of the events of early 2020. Moreover, the paper argues that the section of China Keywords on the topic should be understood as one of the products of the multifaceted institutional efforts to “tell China’s Covid-19 story well,” both domestically and internationally.

This paper examines the moratorium on loan repayments, which was intended to relieve debtors in a difficult situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, various aspects of such moratoria are critically discussed and compared from an international perspective. Some debtors were significantly hit hard by the pandemic, whereas others were no. But should the moratoria apply to all of them? The free-rider problem, or even harm to some clients, are among the unintended results of the moratorium. Moreover, the loan repayment moratorium has different effects on the traditional banking sector and on P2P lending platforms. Such differences were not discussed sufficiently before adopting the moratoria. The different effects might have a negative impact on some debtors, on some creditors, or on the market and society in general. Along with using some traditional legal research methods, this paper takes a comparative perspective on loan repayment moratoria in different EU countries among. The conclusions of the paper may help regulators and lawmakers prepare more balanced regulations of loan repayments in the next crisis. Future regulations should reflect the perspectives of both debtors and creditors.

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This paper presents the findings of a South African pilot study based on the Global Capability Framework (GCF) and aimed to explore the perceptions of senior Public Relations and Strategic Communication academics and industry leaders of the influence COVID-19 had on their personal capabilities to practice communication; determine their assumptions about the Global Capability Framework and its application within given contexts; and reflect on the future of the communication profession in South Africa. The focus was on the role of the individual Public Relations and Strategic Communication professional as leader and influencer in their respective context. The participants consisted of 10 senior academic and industry leaders who engaged in qualitative interviews. Data was analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis as identified by Braun and Clarke (2006, p.82) which include “identifying, analysing, and reporting patterns [themes] within data.” The findings of this paper contribute to the current understanding of Strategic Communication practice and the influence that COVID-19 had on personal practice of both industry and academic participants. This pilot study revealed a limited awareness of the GCF but unequivocally confirmed the relevance and value of the framework and its contribution to both the academic and industry practice. Although many of the participants indicated an awareness of GCF, it was evident that a Strategic Communication mindset is required when the principles of the framework are applied within their respective contexts. Participants reflected on the various crises they encountered but one industry participant specifically reported on the need to implement a transformational approach to address the strategic change required to deal with such disruptive events. Both the academic and industry participants also highlighted the detrimental effects the pandemic had on the mental health of practitioners, academics and students. However, the adoption and effective use of technology in navigating the disruptive influence of COVID-19 was explicit in portraying its advantage to industry.

This study examines the effects of epidemics like H1N1, MERS and EBOLA on the volatility of capital markets through the case of Borsa Istanbul. The data set covers the period from 1/2/2009 – 8/11/2020 and consists of daily frequency observations. In the study, first, the appropriate volatility model for BIST 100 Index, which is the main market index of Borsa Istanbul, was determined. ARCH, GARCH, T-GARCH and E-GARCH models were tested to estimate the appropriate volatility model. According to the findings, E-GARCH (1,1) is more suitable for modelling the BIST 100 Index volatility. It was found that the H1N1 pandemic caused an increase in BIST 100 Index volatility, and negative news rather than positive news was effective on BIST 100 volatility. In addition, the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on BIST in the current situation were evaluated. During the pandemic period, the excessive increase in volatility and the negative trend in the return series are remarkable compared to previous periods.

The ethnic kinship of communities living on the borders of Gabon and Congo and their socioeconomic needs are the main drivers of cross-border mobility between the two countries. While these proximity cross-border flows have been responsible for the spread of HIV/AIDS from the Congolese driving territory to the Gabonese periphery, Ebola outbreaks have not spread beyond their original foci on the borders of the two countries. After retrospectively examining the impact of the health crises that confronted the Gabonese border margins during the years 1990-2000, this paper analyzes how the experience gained from the management of these previous outbreaks helped to control the spread of the EVD-19 pandemic in Gabon. From a methodological point of view, this paper is based on scientific and journalistic publications, institutional documents, epidemiological data made available by the Steering Committee of the Plan for Surveillance and Control of the Coronavirus Pandemic in Gabon (COPIL), as well as on field observations. Based on these investigations, and after two years of viral activity, it appears that the response strategy to the COVID-19 pandemic implemented by the Gabonese authorities has led to mixed results.

The current research tends to investigate the effect of online learning on students’ achievement and performance in classrooms. The pandemic has disrupted teaching and learning system around the world, in general, and Morocco in particular. Electronic learning (e-learning) has become the core method of teaching curriculum during the lockdown. This paper investigates the impact of online learning on students’ achievement during the lockdown; Moroccan vocational institutions as a case study. This research attempts to shed light on the perceptions and attitudes toward students’ experiences regarding online learning, capacity to assimilate information, targeted skills, and the use of e-learning platforms. The paper also discusses some key challenges of online teaching for instructors and teachers followed by a discussion of the results to enhance the effectiveness of online learning.