scholarly journals The COVID-19 Crisis and Complexity in the United States

Author(s):  
K. Basel ◽  
M. Campos ◽  
G. Handley ◽  
D. Hebert ◽  
E. Melendez ◽  
...  

The main objective of this research is to present a transdisciplinary research process which identifies the complexity of the issues surrounding COVID-19 using collective intelligence through transdisciplinarycollaborative effort. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM), a methodology for dealing with complexsystem design and development has been the key component of this research. Building collective intelligence to understand how factors affecting COVID-19 transmission and fatality and their relationships were investigated. The complexity measure of the COVID-19 was investigated by using cyclomatic complexity. The results showed that the complexity of the COVID-19 is difficult to understand and handle.

Author(s):  
Bruce D. Lindsey ◽  
Marian P. Berndt ◽  
Brian G. Katz ◽  
Ann F. Ardis ◽  
Kenneth A. Skach

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3943
Author(s):  
Aurelija Burinskienė ◽  
Edita Leonavičienė ◽  
Virginija Grybaitė ◽  
Olga Lingaitienė ◽  
Juozas Merkevičius

The new phenomenon called sharing or collaborative consumption emerged a decade ago and is continuously growing. It creates new possibilities for society, and especially for business, is beneficial for the environment, makes more efficient use of resources, and presents a new competitive business model. The scientific literature lacks a more in-depth analysis of the factors influencing sharing activity growth; therefore, the paper’s authors attempt to fill this gap. The authors aim to identify the factors affecting the use of sharing platforms. To reach the goal, the authors developed a regression model and constructed a list of 71 variables. The study used monthly United States data from January 2017 to June 2020 from the publicly available Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)and Google trends databases. The comparison to other indexes proves that the proposed index, representing the number of visits to sharing platforms (SEP), is a unique one. The first index allowed us to revise the sharing activity monthly. The authors identified that variables such as wage level, social network users, import level, and personal consumption are critical in affecting the number of visits to sharing platforms. The presented framework could be helpful for practitioners and policymakers analysing the stimulation of sharing or collaborative consumption. It includes indicators representing different areas, such as society, technology, and country, and allows for monthly investigations. Such activity was evident for a long time when online platforms contributed to its wider accessibility. The results help to forecast the number of visits monthly. Sharing is still an emerging area for research; thus, the authors tried to explore the phenomenon of sharing to expand the conceptual level of knowledge.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7245
Author(s):  
Beniamino Murgante ◽  
Mohammad Eskandari Sani ◽  
Sara Pishgahi ◽  
Moslem Zarghamfard ◽  
Fatemeh Kahaki

The Lut desert is one of the largest and most attractive deserts in Iran. The value of desert tourism remains unclear for Iran’s economy and has only recently been taken into consideration by the authorities, although its true national and international value remains unclear. This study was aimed at investigating the factors that influence tourism development in the Lut desert. Data collected through the purposive sampling method was analyzed using Interpretive Structural Modeling and the MICMAC Analysis. According to the results, cost-effective travel expenses, security, and safety provided in the desert, together with appropriate media advertising and illustration of the Lut desert (branding) are the leading factors that influence tourism in the Lut desert in Iran. This paper highlighted the importance of desert tourism, especially in this region.


Plant Disease ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. L. Widmer ◽  
F. Guermache

Yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) is an annual invasive weed in the United States with Mediterranean origins. The expense of chemical control and the vast area of invasion make this weed an appropriate target for classical biological control. Observations of a field site in southern France revealed small orange galls on the leaves of yellow starthistle seedlings caused by the fungus Synchytrium solstitiale. Inoculation of yellow starthistle seedlings with a suspension of zoospores released from infected tissue resulted in infection. Ten days after inoculation, typical orange galls appeared on the exposed tissue. Preliminary host range testing showed up to 100% infection of C. solstitialis seedlings from both France and the United States and infection of Carthamus tinctorius, Centaurea americana, C. diffusa, C. rothrockii, C. squarrosa, and Helianthus annuus seedlings. No symptoms were observed on seedlings of Centaurea calcitrapa, C. maculosa, C. sulfurea, Cirsium californica, C. occidentale, Cynera cardunculus, and Taraxacum officinale. Zoospores were released in a pH range between 4.45 and 8.25 and optimally at temperatures between 5 and 15°C. Infection of yellow starthistle seedlings occurred after a minimum 1-h exposure to a zoospore suspension at 20°C.


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