The «invisible enemy» and the usual suspects. How Covid-19 re-framed migration in Italian media representations

2021 ◽  
pp. 119-136
Author(s):  
Elena Giacomelli ◽  
Pierluigi Musarò ◽  
Paola Parmiggiani

The last decade has been characterized by an intense inflow of people into borders of what has been called the "Fortress Europe". Italian governments, from Gentiloni-Minniti to Conte-Salvini, have implemented restrictive border management and migration control measures, fueled also by an over mediatization of the issue in and by public discourses. However, from February 2020 public debates and narratives have been dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, a health emergency often described as a war against an invisible enemy. Through a qualitative analysis of Italian media representations, this paper analyses how Covid-19 overshadowed and reframed migration narratives and discourses. Moving within the concept of (in)visibility, this paper explores the two macrodiscourses around migration during the lockdown: on one side, the link between migration and illness (fear of infection) that led to strict border security measures; on the other, the utilitaristic x\regularization of migrants working in informal economy. The conclusion reflects on long-term implications of the pandemic on mobility justice (Sheller 2018) and what Mbembe (2020) has defined the "right to breath".

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu. Petrushenko ◽  
A. Vorontsova ◽  
I. Yarova ◽  
O. Bilotserkivska

The mobility of human resources, which arises under the influence of various reasons, is characteristic of any stage of human development, which in modern conditions under the influence of globalization acquires special proportions. Among the traditional reasons for such spatial movements is not only the search for better living conditions and earnings, but also the desire for new experiences and knowledge. Thus, one of the main forms of mobility is tourism and migration. The growing role of education as one of the main goals of sustainable development ensures its development in the international space, which is associated with such phenomena as educational tourism and educational migration. Despite the existing developments in this topic, their economic essence and differentiation is not fully understood, which determines the relevance of this study and its main purpose. As a result, on the basis of semantic analysis, the essence of tourism and migration as basic categories was studied first, then moving on to educational migration and educational tourism. The theoretical analysis of the economic essence revealed that both terms imply the spatial movement of human resources in order to obtain educational services, which are forms of a broader concept of "academic mobility". In order to distinguish them, the following features are identified: conditional duration, planning, condition of return to the country of residence, condition of employment in the country of travel, obtaining a supporting document of training, voluntary nature, legal status and right to residence. The main difference is identified by the conditional duration, which is short-term for educational tourism and long-term for educational migration. In other respects, they are similar with minor modifications: for example, the condition of employment in the country of travel is fulfilled for educational migration only in the form of part-time study, or the condition of obtaining a certificate confirming training varies for tourism depending on the form of educational service (formal or informal). , which may or may not have a certain diploma, certificate); the legal status of a person is manifested as an emigrant and a tourist with different documentation and the right to reside. The obtained developments are important for further study of this issue and terminological and normative delimitation of educational tourism and educational migration for the proper organization of public policy in these areas.


2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-122
Author(s):  
Yukihiro Yoshida ◽  
Shunzo Osaka ◽  
Yasuaki Tokuhashi

Abstract Background: Total femur replacement is a relatively rarely performed procedure for the reconstruction of an affected limb after resection of a malignant bone tumor. Objective: Report total femur replacement in a 17-year-old male patient after wide resection of the right femur for involvement of the proximal segment of the bone by Ewing’s sarcoma. Results: The complications that often arose from the use of the tumor prostheses after the tumor resection, e.g., infection and migration/dislocation of the artificial bonehead, were overcome successfully. The patient has been under follow-up for a relatively long period of time (16 years) since the surgery. The operated limb function is now rated at 70% according to the rating system by Musculo-Skeletal Tumor Society (MSTS). The patient has almost completely regained his ability to walk and carries on with activities of daily living. Conclusion: If appropriate measures are taken to deal with the complications, favorable function of the operated limb can be expected to be maintained for long periods after reconstruction using this technique.


Author(s):  
Petra Molnar

This chapter focuses on how technologies used in the management of migration—such as automated decision-making in immigration and refugee applications and artificial intelligence (AI) lie detectors—impinge on human rights with little international regulation, arguing that this lack of regulation is deliberate, as states single out the migrant population as a viable testing ground for new technologies. Making migrants more trackable and intelligible justifies the use of more technology and data collection under the guide of national security, or even under tropes of humanitarianism and development. Technology is not inherently democratic, and human rights impacts are particularly important to consider in humanitarian and forced migration contexts. An international human rights law framework is particularly useful for codifying and recognizing potential harms, because technology and its development are inherently global and transnational. Ultimately, more oversight and issue specific accountability mechanisms are needed to safeguard fundamental rights of migrants, such as freedom from discrimination, privacy rights, and procedural justice safeguards, such as the right to a fair decision maker and the rights of appeal.


2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1928) ◽  
pp. 20200538
Author(s):  
Warren S. D. Tennant ◽  
Mike J. Tildesley ◽  
Simon E. F. Spencer ◽  
Matt J. Keeling

Plague, caused by Yersinia pestis infection, continues to threaten low- and middle-income countries throughout the world. The complex interactions between rodents and fleas with their respective environments challenge our understanding of human plague epidemiology. Historical long-term datasets of reported plague cases offer a unique opportunity to elucidate the effects of climate on plague outbreaks in detail. Here, we analyse monthly plague deaths and climate data from 25 provinces in British India from 1898 to 1949 to generate insights into the influence of temperature, rainfall and humidity on the occurrence, severity and timing of plague outbreaks. We find that moderate relative humidity levels of between 60% and 80% were strongly associated with outbreaks. Using wavelet analysis, we determine that the nationwide spread of plague was driven by changes in humidity, where, on average, a one-month delay in the onset of rising humidity translated into a one-month delay in the timing of plague outbreaks. This work can inform modern spatio-temporal predictive models for the disease and aid in the development of early-warning strategies for the deployment of prophylactic treatments and other control measures.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 248
Author(s):  
Noemi Messmer ◽  
Patricia Bohnert ◽  
Stefan Schumacher ◽  
René Fuchs

Viral diseases in viticulture lead to annual losses in the quantity and quality of grape production. Since no direct control measures are available in practice, preventive measures are taken to keep the vines healthy. These include, for example, the testing of propagation material for viruses such as Arabis mosaic virus (ArMV), Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV) or Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 1 (GLRaV-1) and 3 (GLRaV-3). As long-term investigations have shown, GLRaV-1 (2.1%) occurs most frequently in southwestern German wine-growing regions, whereas GLRaV-3 (<0.1%) is almost never found. However, tests conducted over 12 years indicate that there is no general decline in virus-infected planting material. Thus, it can be assumed that a spread of the viruses via corresponding vectors still takes place unhindered. Beyond the examinations regulated within the German Wine Growing Ordinance, one-time tests were carried out on Grapevine Pinot gris virus (GPGV). This analysis showed that GPGV was found in 17.2% of the samples.


Author(s):  
Robert Stojanov ◽  
Sarah Rosengaertner ◽  
Alex de Sherbinin ◽  
Raphael Nawrotzki

AbstractDevelopment cooperation actors have been addressing climate change as a cross-cutting issue and investing in climate adaptation projects since the early 2000s. More recently, as concern has risen about the potential impacts of climate variability and change on human mobility, development cooperation actors have begun to design projects that intentionally address the drivers of migration, including climate impacts on livelihoods. However, to date, we know little about the development cooperation’s role and function in responding to climate related mobility and migration. As such, the main aim of this paper is to outline the policy frameworks and approaches shaping development cooperation actors’ engagement and to identify areas for further exploration and investment. First, we frame the concept of climate mobility and migration and discuss some applicable policy frameworks that govern the issue from various perspectives; secondly, we review the toolbox of approaches that development cooperation actors bring to climate mobility; and third, we discuss the implications of the current Covid-19 pandemic and identify avenues for the way forward. We conclude that ensuring safe and orderly mobility and the decent reception and long-term inclusion of migrants and displaced persons under conditions of more severe climate hazards, and in the context of rising nationalism and xenophobia, poses significant challenges. Integrated approaches across multiple policy sectors and levels of governance are needed. In addition to resources, development cooperation actors can bring data to help empower the most affected communities and regions and leverage their convening power to foster more coordinated approaches within and across countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitch van Hensbergen ◽  
Casper D. J. den Heijer ◽  
Petra Wolffs ◽  
Volker Hackert ◽  
Henriëtte L. G. ter Waarbeek ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The Dutch province of Limburg borders the German district of Heinsberg, which had a large cluster of COVID-19 cases linked to local carnival activities before any cases were reported in the Netherlands. However, Heinsberg was not included as an area reporting local or community transmission per the national case definition at the time. In early March, two residents from a long-term care facility (LTCF) in Sittard, a Dutch town located in close vicinity to the district of Heinsberg, tested positive for COVID-19. In this study we aimed to determine whether cross-border introduction of the virus took place by analysing the LTCF outbreak in Sittard, both epidemiologically and microbiologically. Methods Surveys and semi-structured oral interviews were conducted with all present LTCF residents by health care workers during regular points of care for information on new or unusual signs and symptoms of disease. Both throat and nasopharyngeal swabs were taken from residents suspect of COVID-19, based on regional criteria, for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 by Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction. Additionally, whole genome sequencing was performed using a SARS-CoV-2 specific amplicon-based Nanopore sequencing approach. Moreover, twelve random residents were sampled for possible asymptomatic infections. Results Out of 99 residents, 46 got tested for COVID-19. Out of the 46 tested residents, nineteen (41%) tested positive for COVID-19, including 3 asymptomatic residents. CT-values for asymptomatic residents seemed higher compared to symptomatic residents. Eleven samples were sequenced, along with three random samples from COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the regional hospital at the time of the LTCF outbreak. All samples were linked to COVID-19 cases from the cross-border region of Heinsberg, Germany. Conclusions Sequencing combined with epidemiological data was able to virtually prove cross-border transmission at the start of the Dutch COVID-19 epidemic. Our results highlight the need for cross-border collaboration and adjustment of national policy to emerging region-specific needs along borders in order to establish coordinated implementation of infection control measures to limit the spread of COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Vol 04 (01) ◽  
pp. e11-e16
Author(s):  
Risa Wakisaka ◽  
Takumi Kumai ◽  
Kan Kishibe ◽  
Miki Takahara ◽  
Akihiro Katada ◽  
...  

AbstractWe conducted a retrospective analysis of the data of 107 cases of peritonsillar abscess treated at our hospital between January 2014 and December 2018. Data on age, sex, affected site, duration of hospitalization, method of drainage, presence/absence of laryngeal edema, antibacterial drugs used, and isolated bacteria were analyzed. Of the 107 patients, 71 were males and 36 were females; the median age was 44 years (range: 18–88 years).The left side was affected in 55 patients, the right side in 50 patients, and both sides in two patients. The abscess was localized in the superior pole in 71 patients, and in the inferior pole in 36 patients. Thirty-five patients had laryngeal edema, of which three underwent tracheotomy. Recurrence of the abscess was observed in 15 cases, with the recurrence developing within 3 months in 7 cases, and over a period of 3 years in 4 cases. As for the sensitivity of the causative bacteria to antibacterial drugs, 17% of the causative bacteria showed resistance to clindamycin, while none showed resistance to ampicillin/sulbactam (ABPC/SBT). We concluded that ABPC/SBT might be suitable for the initial treatment of peritonsillar abscess, and that we need to bear in mind the possibility of long-term recurrence.


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