scholarly journals Contextualising COVID-19 as a Digital Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Charalambos Tsekeris ◽  
Yannis Mastrogeorgiou
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Cascading Failure ◽  
Societal Impact ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Concise Overview ◽  
The World ◽  
Digital Landscape

Growing systemic complexity and interdependence have made a large variety of systems (economic, public health, cyber, etc.) susceptible to irreversible and cascading failure. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is indicative of such complexity and currently causing vast human suffering all around the world, but also triggers a global online revolution with new opportunities, risks, threats and dangers. Starting from its description as the world's first digital pandemic, the central aim of this editorial is to contextualise Homo Virtualis's special issue on the COVID-19 disruption to the digital landscape and its societal impact. A concise overview of such disruption is presented and a few examples are given, along with a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives on mediatisation and globalisation, with special emphasis on Globalisation 4.0 and the transition to Artificial Intelligence Society.

scholarly journals Special Issue: Preterm Birth: Research, Intervention and Developmental Outcomes

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 3169
Author(s):  
Annalisa Guarini ◽  
Miguel Pérez Pereira ◽  
Anneloes van Baar ◽  
Alessandra Sansavini
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Preterm Birth ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Developmental Outcomes ◽  
World Health ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

As indicated by the World Health Organization, preterm birth is a relevant public health issue, being one of the leading causes of death in children under five years of age [...]

scholarly journals 1995 Special Issue

1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-594
Author(s):  
Abdel Wahab Elmesseri
Keyword(s):  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Full Understanding ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Private Lives ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
Definition Of

The definition of secularism as the separation of church and statehas gained currency and has become more or less universallyaccepted, probably because of its tameness. It confines the secularizingprocesses to the political and economic realms. Although it couldbe extended to cover what is commonly called the realm of "publiclife," it never goes beyond that. The term suggests that processes ofsecularization are explicit and quite identifiable, and that an individual'sprivate life (i.e., dreams and nightmares, tastes and aestheticsensibilities) can be hermetically sealed off and thus remain free ofthe ravages of secularism.One glance at life in the modern West demonstrates the fallacy ofthis assumption. The state, far from staying out of the realm of publiclife, has penetrated deeper and deeper and into to the farthest comersof our private lives. The corporations and pleasure industries haveinfiltrated our dreams, have shaped our images of ourselves, and havecontrolled the very direction of our libidos.Like most, or probably all, world outlooks, secularism revolvesaround three elements: God, humanity, and nature (nature is hereafterreferred to as "nature-matter" in order to emphasize the philosophicaldimension of the concept and to dispel the romantic aura that hassurrounded it and weakened its analytical and explanatory power).The attitude of God-is He transcendent or immanent; is He abovenature and humanity and history or immanent in (namely reducibleto) them-is what defines the status of a human being in the universeand hisher relationship to nature-matter.Secularism declares that it is immaterial whether or not God exists,for He has very little to do with the formulation of our epistemological,ethical, aesthetic, and signifying systems. If God exists, Hetakes two extreme forms: a) He could be too transcendent and removedfrom humanity and nature, indifferent to human suffering, orb) He could be seen as completely immanent in both humanity andnature (or in either) and as having no existence separate from them.This view, which is the more common of the two, is known as immanence.Immanence implies that a) the world as given has within it allthat is necessary for its full understanding and utilization, and b) thatthe human mind is so equipped that it could acquire all of the knowledgenecessary for a full understanding of, and dominance over,nature. If nature is autonomous and self-sufficient, then so is thehuman mind. This duality (or dualism) produced two orientationswithin the same secular outlook: ...

scholarly journals Risk Perception and COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 3114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliana Cori ◽  
Fabrizio Bianchi ◽  
Ennio Cadum ◽  
Carmen Anthonj
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Health Governance ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Health Governance ◽  
Practical Implications

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is shaking the foundations of public health governance all over the world. Researchers are challenged by informing and supporting authorities on acquired knowledge and practical implications. This Editorial applies established theories of risk perception research to COVID-19 pandemic, and reflects on the role of risk perceptions in these unprecedented times, and specifically in the framework of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Special Issue “Research about risk perception in the Environmental Health domain”.

scholarly journals Dis/connection Matters: Natural, Synthetic, and Digital

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 7-17
Author(s):  
Filipe Calvão ◽  
Matthieu Bolay ◽  
Lindsay Bell
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Natural Sounds ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The World

The world is experiencing new relations and transformations between natural, synthetic, and digital substances. Rather than considering these as materially distinct or ontologically separate, this Special Issue of TSANTSA interrogates how they are interlocked in socio-material processes of mediation, transmutation, and valuation. By conceptualizing the specificity of their separateness, the special issue makes possible the comparison and commensuration of their relationship, and to move beyond their essential qualities. What are the boundaries, leakages, or dis/connections between human and digital, natural and artificial, the organic and synthetic matters? Based on ethnographic research in laboratories, gold refineries, bio-tech microbial seeds and digitally-produced natural sounds, human-machine apps and cellular agriculture, each contribution theorizes the mediation, transmutation, and valuation of natural synthetics, the humanness of artificial intelligence, or the materiality of digital elements.

Artificial Intelligence in Government: Taking Stock and Moving Forward

2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110340
Author(s):  
Rony Medaglia ◽  
J. Ramon Gil-Garcia ◽  
Theresa A. Pardo
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Data Governance ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in government is receiving increasing attention from global research and practice communities. This article, introducing a Special Issue on Artificial Intelligence in Government published in the Social Science Computer Review, presents an overview of some of the main policy initiatives across the world in relation to AI in government and discusses the state of the art of existing research. Based on an analysis of current trends in research and practice, we highlight four areas to be the focus of future research on AI in government: governance of AI, trustworthy AI, impact assessment methodologies, and data governance.

Linguistic Data Model for Natural Languages and Artificial Intelligence. Part 5. Introduction to Logic

Discourse ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-117
Author(s):  
O. M. Polyakov
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Mathematical Logic ◽  
Natural Language ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
General View ◽  
World Model ◽  
Semantic Approach ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
The World ◽  
Linguistic Aspect

Introduction. The article continues the series of publications on the linguistics of relations (hereinafter R–linguistics) and is devoted to an introduction to the logic of natural language in relation to the approach considered in the series. The problem of natural language logic still remains relevant, since this logic differs significantly from traditional mathematical logic. Moreover, with the appearance of artificial intelligence systems, the importance of this problem only increases. The article analyzes logical problems that prevent the application of classical logic methods to natural languages. This is possible because R-linguistics forms the semantics of a language in the form of world model structures in which language sentences are interpreted.Methodology and sources. The results obtained in the previous parts of the series are used as research tools. To develop the necessary mathematical representations in the field of logic and semantics, the formulated concept of the interpretation operator is used.Results and discussion. The problems that arise when studying the logic of natural language in the framework of R–linguistics are analyzed. These issues are discussed in three aspects: the logical aspect itself; the linguistic aspect; the aspect of correlation with reality. A very General approach to language semantics is considered and semantic axioms of the language are formulated. The problems of the language and its logic related to the most General view of semantics are shown.Conclusion. It is shown that the application of mathematical logic, regardless of its type, to the study of natural language logic faces significant problems. This is a consequence of the inconsistency of existing approaches with the world model. But it is the coherence with the world model that allows us to build a new logical approach. Matching with the model means a semantic approach to logic. Even the most General view of semantics allows to formulate important results about the properties of languages that lack meaning. The simplest examples of semantic interpretation of traditional logic demonstrate its semantic problems (primarily related to negation).

Feature extraction and prediction of Dengue Outbreaks

2020 ◽  
pp. 216-222
Author(s):  
Kunal Parikh ◽  
Tanvi Makadia ◽  
Harshil Patel
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Machine Learning ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Feature Extraction ◽  
Predictive Analytics ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithm ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
The World ◽  
Dengue Outbreaks

Dengue is unquestionably one of the biggest health concerns in India and for many other developing countries. Unfortunately, many people have lost their lives because of it. Every year, approximately 390 million dengue infections occur around the world among which 500,000 people are seriously infected and 25,000 people have died annually. Many factors could cause dengue such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, inadequate public health, and many others. In this paper, we are proposing a method to perform predictive analytics on dengue’s dataset using KNN: a machine-learning algorithm. This analysis would help in the prediction of future cases and we could save the lives of many.

Exploring the World Trade Organisation's Trade and Environment/Public Health Jurisprudence as a Model for Incorporating a Trade–Labour Linkage into the Organisation's Multilateral Trade Regime: Should African Countries Accept a Policy Shift?

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-65
Author(s):  
Tapiwa V. Warikandwa ◽  
Patrick C. Osode
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Trade Regime ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
The Impact

The incorporation of a trade-labour (standards) linkage into the multilateral trade regime of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been persistently opposed by developing countries, including those in Africa, on the grounds that it has the potential to weaken their competitive advantage. For that reason, low levels of compliance with core labour standards have been viewed as acceptable by African countries. However, with the impact of WTO agreements growing increasingly broader and deeper for the weaker and vulnerable economies of developing countries, the jurisprudence developed by the WTO Panels and Appellate Body regarding a trade-environment/public health linkage has the potential to address the concerns of developing countries regarding the potential negative effects of a trade-labour linkage. This article argues that the pertinent WTO Panel and Appellate Body decisions could advance the prospects of establishing a linkage of global trade participation to labour standards without any harm befalling developing countries.

Eating NAFTA

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyshia Gálvez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Food System ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The North ◽  
The World

In the two decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, Mexico has seen an epidemic of diet-related illness. While globalization has been associated with an increase in chronic disease around the world, in Mexico, the speed and scope of the rise has been called a public health emergency. The shift in Mexican foodways is happening at a moment when the country’s ancestral cuisine is now more popular and appreciated around the world than ever. What does it mean for their health and well-being when many Mexicans eat fewer tortillas and more instant noodles, while global elites demand tacos made with handmade corn tortillas? This book examines the transformation of the Mexican food system since NAFTA and how it has made it harder for people to eat as they once did. The book contextualizes NAFTA within Mexico’s approach to economic development since the Revolution, noticing the role envisioned for rural and low-income people in the path to modernization. Examination of anti-poverty and public health policies in Mexico reveal how it has become easier for people to consume processed foods and beverages, even when to do so can be harmful to health. The book critiques Mexico’s strategy for addressing the public health crisis generated by rising rates of chronic disease for blaming the dietary habits of those whose lives have been upended by the economic and political shifts of NAFTA.

ADDRESSING THE ISSUE OF СOVID-19, SARS-COV-2 VIRUS AND THE DISEASE

2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (6) ◽  
pp. 15-31
Author(s):  
A.A. Korenkova ◽  
◽  
E.M. Mayorova ◽  
V.V. Bahmetjev ◽  
M.V. Tretyak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Significant Problem ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Optimal Therapy ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Health Challenge ◽  
Coronavirus Infection

The new coronavirus infection has posed a major public health challenge around the world, but new data on the disease raises more questions than answers. The lack of optimal therapy is a significant problem. The article examines the molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the pathogenesis of COVID-19, special attention is paid to features of pathological processes and immune responses in children. COVID-19 leads to a wide diversity of negative outcomes, many of which can persist for at least months. Many of the consequences have yet to be identified. SARS-CoV-2 may provoke autoimmune reactions. Reinfection, herd immunity, vaccines and other prevention measures are also discussed in this review.

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