scholarly journals Social Psychological Measurements of COVID-19: Coronavirus Perceived Threat, Government Response, Impacts, and Experiences Questionnaires

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucian Gideon Conway ◽  
Shailee R. Woodard ◽  
Alivia Zubrod
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Total N ◽  
Government Response ◽  
The One ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Governmental Response ◽  
Experience Questionnaire ◽  
Three Factor

Major journals have sounded the call for social psychologists to do research on the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Such research is only as good as the measurements used. Across three studies (total n = 984), we developed a battery of social psychology-relevant questionnaires to measure COVID-19 phenomena: (1) Perceived Coronavirus Threat Questionnaire, (2) Governmental Response to Coronavirus Questionnaire, (3) Coronavirus Impacts Questionnaire, and (4) Coronavirus Experience Questionnaire. Exploratory (Study 1) and Confirmatory (Studies 2 and 3) Factor Analyses revealed excellent factor structures for the one-factor Perceived Coronavirus Threat, the six-factor Governmental Response Questionnaires, and the three-factor Coronavirus Impacts Questionnaire. The three-factor Coronavirus Experience Questionnaire yielded poorer psychometric properties overall. Given that brevity is often desired for online studies, we further recommend psychometrically sound short versions of each questionnaire. Taken in total, this work offers social psychology researchers a battery of questionnaires to measure Coronavirus-related phenomena for the duration of the pandemic in U.S. participants.

scholarly journals INDEPENDENT ASSOCIATION OF METEOROLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS WITH INITIAL SPREAD OF COVID-19 IN INDIA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hemant Kulkarni ◽  
Harshwardhan Vinod Khandait ◽  
Uday Wasudeorao Narlawar ◽  
Pragati G Rathod ◽  
Manju Mamtani
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Reproduction Rate ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Total N ◽  
Mobility Data ◽  
Basic Reproduction Rate ◽  
Independent Association ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Whether weather plays a part in the transmissibility of the novel COronaVIrus Disease-19 (COVID-19) is still not established. We tested the hypothesis that meteorological factors (air temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, wind speed and rainfall) are independently associated with transmissibility of COVID-19 quantified using the basic reproduction rate (R0). We used publicly available datasets on daily COVID-19 case counts (total n = 108,308), three-hourly meteorological data and community mobility data over a three-month period. Estimated R0 varied between 1.15-1.28. Mean daily air temperature (inversely) and wind speed (positively) were significantly associated with time dependent R0, but the contribution of countrywide lockdown to variability in R0 was over three times stronger as compared to that of temperature and wind speed combined. Thus, abating temperatures and easing lockdown may concur with increased transmissibility of COVID-19.

scholarly journals Social and Cognitive Psychology Theories in Understanding COVID-19 as the Pandemic of Blame

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayoub Bouguettaya ◽  
Clare E. C. Walsh ◽  
Victoria Team
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

When faced with adverse circumstances, there may be a tendency for individuals, agencies, and governments to search for a target to assign blame. Our focus will be on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, where racial groups, political parties, countries, and minorities have been blamed for spreading, producing or creating the virus. Blame—here defined as attributing causality, responsibility, intent, or foresight to someone/something for a fault or wrong—has already begun to damage modern society and medical practice in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. Evidence from past and current pandemics suggest that this tendency to seek blame affects international relations, promotes unwarranted devaluation of health professionals, and prompts a spike of racism and discrimination. By drawing on social and cognitive psychology theories, we provide a framework that helps to understand (1) the effect of blame in pandemics, (2) when people blame, whom they blame, and (3) how blame detrimentally affects the COVID-19 response. Ultimately, we provide a path to inform health messaging to reduce blaming tendencies, based on social psychological principles for health communication.

scholarly journals Impacts of Social and Economic Factors on the Transmission of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Qiu ◽  
Xi Chen ◽  
Wei Shi
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Factors ◽  
Transmission Rate ◽  
Virus Transmission ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Virus Spread ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Machine Learning Approach ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

AbstractThis paper examines the role of various socioeconomic factors in mediating the local and cross-city transmissions of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in China. We implement a machine learning approach to select instrumental variables that strongly predict virus transmission among the rich exogenous weather characteristics. Our 2SLS estimates show that the stringent quarantine, massive lockdown and other public health measures imposed in late January significantly reduced the transmission rate of COVID-19. By early February, the virus spread had been contained. While many socioeconomic factors mediate the virus spread, a robust government response since late January played a determinant role in the containment of the virus. We also demonstrate that the actual population flow from the outbreak source poses a higher risk to the destination than other factors such as geographic proximity and similarity in economic conditions. The results have rich implications for ongoing global efforts in containment of COVID-19.

scholarly journals In silico screening of mint leaves compound (Mentha piperita L.) as a potential inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2

2021 ◽  
pp. 81-86
Author(s):  
Diana Serlahwaty ◽  
Cindy Giovani
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Mentha Piperita ◽  
The Novel ◽  
In Silico Screening ◽  
Comparison Results ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Herbal Plants ◽  
The One ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Introduction: The novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China, was identified at the end of December 2019 and resulted in a global outbreak. Therefore, it is necessary to perform screening of compounds in herbal plants with antiviral potential against COVID-19. Mint leaves (Mentha piperita L.) were reported as one of the proposed samples, and this study was performed in silico to evaluate the antiviral activity of the content. Methods: The proposed mechanism of action includes the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 proteins from binding with the receptor. Subsequently, several receptors associated with SARS-CoV-2 were validated, and the one with the code PDB 5R7Y and an RMSD value of 1.9974 Å was obtained using the YASARA application. This study was performed on 15 virtual mint leaves and five previously studied comparison compounds with inhibitory capacity. Therefore, docking started with the PLANTS application, and the results were visualised using PyMol to further identify the amino acids contained in the ligand, while the statistical t-test was used for comparison. Results: The study results showed the existence of active compounds in mint leaves, including rutin, hesperidin, and isorhoifolin.

Disaster Management Preparedness in the Education Sector in Kenya – A Case of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-96
Author(s):  
Prof. Fr. Stephen Mbugua Ngari; Stephen W Ndung’u
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Management ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Middle Level ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The One ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

This study examined the disaster management preparedness in the education sector in Kenya, with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic period. The study adopted destktop literature review for data collection. The collected data pertains e-learning in Kenya and in other countries during the time of  the novel coronavirus pandemic. Notably, the education sector, like in many other countries, seeks to actualise the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in line with the United Nations and the Education for All (EFA) movement lead by UNESCO (MacEwen, et al., 2011). Examples of these events are; accidents such as the one evident in Kakamega Primary School where the school closed for about two weeks (Daily Nation, 2020), attack by militia groups as was the case of Garissa University in 2015, intercommunity wars that lead to displacements, famine, and fires. These disasters and events, whenever they strike, have led to the closure of affected institutions of learning to pave the way for interventions. Garissa University is a leading example since it had to close for about nine months in 2015-2016 (BBC, 2016). In Kenya, disasters and other events disrupt the progress towards achieving MDGs and EFA time to time, and that was the inspiration for this study. The study concludes that disasters like nature patterns, militia groups, electricity faults, and those instigated by learners can derail learning in education and cause loss of lives. As such, online learning comes in handy to lessen such disasters. The possibility of such learning model has been tested and proved during COVID-19 pandemic and it has been successful in many institutions of higher learning and middle level colleges.

Virus as Metaphor

October ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 172 ◽  
pp. 159-162
Author(s):  
David Joselit
Keyword(s):  
Pop Art ◽  
The Novel ◽  
History And Criticism ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Viral Spread ◽  
New Meanings ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The One ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Establishing a connection between the novel coronavirus pandemic and the viral spread of misinformation emanating from the Trump administration, this essay suggests that we are now experiencing a general condition of the de-authorization of information—what Trump calls “fake news—in which the legitimacy of every form of knowledge is rendered questionable. The health crisis, Joselit argues, is equally a crisis of the authorization of information gone viral. This situation heightens a contradiction within the history and criticism of modern and contemporary art, which, on the one hand, has typically valued avant-garde practices for their capacity to challenge authority, and on the other hand, has taken postmodern calls to de-authorize canons to heart. The essay concludes with a call for critics and art historians to risk authorizing new historical narratives, just as artists, since at least the moment of Pop art, have appropriated viral images in order to furnish them with new authors—to author-ize new meanings.

scholarly journals Seasonality and immunity to laboratory-confirmed seasonal coronaviruses (HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43, and HCoV-229E): results from the Flu Watch cohort study

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Aldridge ◽  
Dan Lewer ◽  
Sarah Beale ◽  
Anne M. Johnson ◽  
Maria Zambon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Four Seasons ◽  
2009 H1n1 ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
The Uk

Background: There is currently a pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The intensity and duration of this first and second waves in the UK may be dependent on whether SARS-CoV-2 transmits more effectively in the winter than the summer and the UK Government response is partially built upon the assumption that those infected will develop immunity to reinfection in the short term. In this paper we examine evidence for seasonality and immunity to laboratory-confirmed seasonal coronavirus (HCoV) from a prospective cohort study in England. Methods: In this analysis of the Flu Watch cohort, we examine seasonal trends for PCR-confirmed coronavirus infections (HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43, and HCoV-229E) in all participants during winter seasons (2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009) and during the first wave of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic (May-Sep 2009). We also included data from the pandemic and ‘post-pandemic’ winter seasons (2009-2010 and 2010-2011) to identify individuals with two confirmed HCoV infections and examine evidence for immunity against homologous reinfection. Results: We tested 1,104 swabs taken during respiratory illness and detected HCoV in 199 during the first four seasons. The rate of confirmed HCoV infection across all seasons was 390 (95% CI 338-448) per 100,000 person-weeks; highest in the Nov-Mar 2008/9 season at 674 (95%CI 537-835) per 100,000 person-weeks. The highest rate was in February at 759 (95% CI 580-975) per 100,000 person-weeks. Data collected during May-Sep 2009 showed there was small amounts of ongoing transmission, with four cases detected during this period. Eight participants had two confirmed infections, of which none had the same strain twice. Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that HCoV infection in England is most intense in winter, but that there is a small amount of ongoing transmission during summer periods. We found some evidence of immunity against homologous reinfection.

COVID -19 Pandemic as an Existential Problem: An African Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-112
Author(s):  
Anthony Uzochukwu Ufearoh
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Novel ◽  
African Culture ◽  
African Identity ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
African Perspective ◽  
Cultural Traits ◽  
The One ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease and the efforts to contain the raging pandemic raise not only health, but also existential concerns. The present work sets out to examine how the pandemic impacts on the African socio-cultural life. The approach is analytical, phenomenological and above all conversational. For the African, the pandemic has two-pronged, positive and negative existential implications. On the one hand, the search for a possible cure and a vaccine for the novel coronavirus disease, when interpreted from the anthropological point of view, present an opportunity for cultural creativity in the areas of medicine and therapeutics. African traditional medicine as a cultural element is, here, referenced.On the other hand, it is discovered that the isolationist tendency of the pandemic, aggravated by another ‘virus of disinformation’ ─ an infodemics, threatens the social relations within the African world that is largely interdependent. The work argues that a fruitful utilization of the good cultural traits the pandemic brings can serve to boost the African self-confidence and cultural pride. The positive cultural traits that trail the pandemic can be absorbed to enrich the African culture whereas the negative traits should be jettisoned. Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, African identity, equality, anthropology, medicine, and cultural pride.

scholarly journals Seasonality and immunity to laboratory-confirmed seasonal coronaviruses (HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43, and HCoV-229E): results from the Flu Watch cohort study

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Aldridge ◽  
Dan Lewer ◽  
Sarah Beale ◽  
Anne M. Johnson ◽  
Maria Zambon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Four Seasons ◽  
2009 H1n1 ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
The Uk

Background: There is currently a pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The intensity and duration of this first wave in the UK may be dependent on whether SARS-CoV-2 transmits more effectively in the winter than the summer and the UK Government response is partially built upon the assumption that those infected will develop immunity to reinfection in the short term. In this paper we examine evidence for seasonality and immunity to laboratory-confirmed seasonal coronavirus (HCoV) from a prospective cohort study in England. Methods: In this analysis of the Flu Watch cohort, we examine seasonal trends for PCR-confirmed coronavirus infections (HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43, and HCoV-229E) in all participants during winter seasons (2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009) and during the first wave of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic (May-Sep 2009). We also included data from the pandemic and ‘post-pandemic’ winter seasons (2009-2010 and 2010-2011) to identify individuals with two confirmed HCoV infections and examine evidence for immunity against homologous reinfection. Results: We tested 1,104 swabs taken during respiratory illness and detected HCoV in 199 during the first four seasons. The rate of confirmed HCoV infection across all seasons was 390 (95% CI 338-448) per 100,000 person-weeks; highest in the Nov-Mar 2008/9 season at 674 (95%CI 537-835). The highest rate was in February at 759 (95% CI 580-975). Data collected during May-Sep 2009 showed there was small amounts of ongoing transmission, with four cases detected during this period. Eight participants had two confirmed infections, of which none had the same strain twice. Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that HCoV infection in England is most intense in winter, but that there is a small amount of ongoing transmission during summer periods. We found some evidence of immunity against homologous reinfection.

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