scholarly journals Does Climate Play Any Role in COVID-19 Spreading?—An Australian Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 9086
Author(s):  
Joji Abraham ◽  
Christopher Turville ◽  
Kim Dowling ◽  
Singarayer Florentine
Keyword(s):  
Health Management ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
The Public ◽  
Solar Exposure ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Future Events ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Positive Effect

Compared to other countries, the COVID-19 pandemic did not severely affect Australia as measured by total deaths until mid-2021. Though a substantial number of daily confirmed cases (up to 698) were reported during the second wave, most of them were from the southern state of Victoria. This study examined the possible correlations between climate variables and the number of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases in Victoria, Australia, from 25 January to 31 October 2020. Appropriate regression models and cross-correlation diagnostics were used to examine the effect of temperature, rainfall, solar exposure, and ultraviolet index (UVI) with the number of daily confirmed cases. Significant positive associations were identified for solar exposure and maximum and average UVI for confirmed cases one and 19 days later. Negative associations for these variables were found for confirmed cases five days later. Minimum temperature had a significant negative correlation one day later and a positive effect 21 days later. No significant correlation was found for maximum temperature and rainfall. The most significant relationships were found for confirmed cases 19 days after changes in the meteorological variables. A 1% increase in solar exposure, maximum UVI, and average UVI was associated with a 0.31% (95% CI: 0.13 to 0.51), 0.71% (95% CI: 0.43 to 0.98), and 0.63% (95%CI: 0.20 to 1.61) increase 19 days later in the number of confirmed cases, respectively. The implications of these results can be used in the public health management of any possible future events in Australia. It also highlights the significance of considering the climatic variables and seasonality in all kinds of epidemics and pandemics.

scholarly journals Epidemiological modelling of the health and economic effects of COVID-19 control in Australia’s second wave

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Quentin Grafton ◽  
John Parslow ◽  
Tom Kompas ◽  
Kathryn Glass ◽  
Emily Banks
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Public ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Community Transmission ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Detection Strategies

Abstract Background We investigated the public health and economy outcomes of different levels of social distancing to control a ‘second wave’ outbreak in Australia and identify implications for public health management of COVID-19. Methods Individual-based and compartment models were used to simulate the effects of different social distancing and detection strategies on Australian COVID-19 infections and the economy from March to July 2020. These models were used to evaluate the effects of different social distancing levels and the early relaxation of suppression measures, in terms of public health and economy outcomes. Results The models, fitted to observations up to July 2020, yielded projections consistent with subsequent cases and showed that better public health outcomes and lower economy costs occur when social distancing measures are more stringent, implemented earlier and implemented for a sufficiently long duration. Early relaxation of suppression results in worse public health outcomes and higher economy costs. Conclusions Better public health outcomes (reduced COVID-19 fatalities) are positively associated with lower economy costs and higher levels of social distancing; achieving zero community transmission lowers both public health and economy costs compared to allowing community transmission to continue; and early relaxation of social distancing increases both public health and economy costs.

scholarly journals Losers get sick? The effects of electoral defeat on perceptions of pandemic risk

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliano Bobba ◽  
Moreno Mancosu ◽  
Franca Roncarolo ◽  
Antonella Seddone ◽  
Federico Vegetti
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Future Expectations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Italian Regions ◽  
Electoral Defeat ◽  
Future Events ◽  
Regional Elections ◽  
Second Wave

Research in political behavior shows that citizens update their past perceptions and future expectations over several phenomena depending on whether their favorite party wins or loses the elections. This bias is explained by different psychological mechanisms triggered by individuals' attachment and trust in political parties. In this paper we investigate whether such a winner-loser effect conditions people's concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic. We leverage the occurrence of regional elections in six Italian regions in September 2020, right at the onset of the second wave of the pandemic in the country, to test whether supporting a candidate who won/lost the elections affects (1) people's fear to get sick with Covid-19, and (2) their expectation about the gravity of the upcoming second wave. Given that the public healthcare system in Italy is managed by the regions, we expect supporters of the losing candidate to lose trust in the region's ability to deal with the pandemic, hence increasing their personal concerns. We test this expectation using pre/post election panel data, and employing respondents from the other regions who voted at a concurrent referendum as a placebo group. Our results show that, while overall concerns tend to decrease from the first to the second wave, for elections losers they remain unchanged. This indicates that losing an election, albeit second-order, can affect citizens' outlook on future events in domains that are largely beyond political control.

scholarly journals The potential dangers of not understanding COVID-19 public health restrictions in dementia: “It’s a groundhog day – every single day she does not understand why she can’t go out for a walk”

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarissa Giebel ◽  
Kerry Hanna ◽  
Manoj Rajagopal ◽  
Aravind Komuravelli ◽  
Jacqueline Cannon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Third Sector Organisations ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Second Wave

Abstract Background Sudden public health restrictions can be difficult to comprehend for people with cognitive deficits. However, these are even more important for them to adhere to due to their increased levels of vulnerability, particularly to COVID-19. With a lack of previous evidence, we explored the understanding and changes in adherence to COVID-19 public health restrictions over time in people living with dementia (PLWD). Methods Unpaid carers and PLWD were interviewed over the phone in April 2020, shortly after the nationwide UK lockdown, with a proportion followed up from 24th June to 10th July. Participants were recruited via social care and third sector organisations across the UK, and via social media. Findings A total of 70 interviews (50 baseline, 20 follow-up) were completed with unpaid carers and PLWD. Five themes emerged: Confusion and limited comprehension; Frustration and burden; Putting oneself in danger; Adherence to restrictions in wider society; (Un) changed perceptions. Most carers reported limited to no understanding of the public health measures in PLWD, causing distress and frustration for both the carer and the PLWD. Due to the lack of understanding, some PLWD put themselves in dangerous situations without adhering to the restrictions. PLWD with cognitive capacity who participated understood the measures and adhered to these. Discussion In light of the new second wave of the pandemic, public health measures need to be simpler for PLWD to avoid unwilful non-adherence. Society also needs to be more adaptive to the needs of people with cognitive disabilities more widely, as blanket rules cause distress to the lives of those affected by dementia.

scholarly journals Detection and characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.526 in New York

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony P. West ◽  
Joel O. Wertheim ◽  
Jade C. Wang ◽  
Tetyana I. Vasylyeva ◽  
Jennifer L. Havens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Viral Evolution ◽  
Software Tool ◽  
Neutralization Titer ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
Health Relevance ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Variant Database

AbstractWide-scale SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing is critical to tracking viral evolution during the ongoing pandemic. We develop the software tool, Variant Database (VDB), for quickly examining the changing landscape of spike mutations. Using VDB, we detect an emerging lineage of SARS-CoV-2 in the New York region that shares mutations with previously reported variants. The most common sets of spike mutations in this lineage (now designated as B.1.526) are L5F, T95I, D253G, E484K or S477N, D614G, and A701V. This lineage was first sequenced in late November 2020. Phylodynamic inference confirmed the rapid growth of the B.1.526 lineage. In concert with other variants, like B.1.1.7, the rise of B.1.526 appears to have extended the duration of the second wave of COVID-19 cases in NYC in early 2021. Pseudovirus neutralization experiments demonstrated that B.1.526 spike mutations adversely affect the neutralization titer of convalescent and vaccinee plasma, supporting the public health relevance of this lineage.

Will Nurses’ Work Still be Valued after the COVID-19 Pandemic?

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasquot L ◽  
◽  
Giorgetta S ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infection Rate ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Public Places ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Infection ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Second Wave

Many are the aspects we should ponder on, after 17 months from the burst of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as nurses. Due to the numerous cuts to the public health sector in the last decades in Italy, the sanitary emergency has been a great sacrifice for health professionals, as public health was completely unprepared to withstand it. The Italian government reacted to this lack of preparation with exceptionally urgent measures. Although, these measures were implemented long after the initial state of confusion and of inappropriate management, they brought about stability and led to a containment strategy for the spread of the virus across the nation [1]. The reduction in the number of COVID-19 diagnoses was mainly achieved through social distancing. At first this was only required to a small number of communities affected by high infection rates, but was eventually extended to the rest of the country from March 2020 [2]. The national lockdown during the first COVID-19 wave (from March to May 2020), was replaced by regional lockdowns in the second wave (from November 2020). As of now, regional lockdowns are integrated by the vaccine campaign and Green Pass enforcement. In November 2020 the Italian Prime Minister at the time, issued legislative measures to enforce regional lockdowns, limiting nonessential movements, cafes, restaurants and other public places opening hours. This legislation established to classify the national territory in different levels of restriction based on the infection rate: red zones - highest risk of infection, orange zones - medium high risk and yellow zones with a minor risk of infection. A later legislation introduced the white zone for territories with the lowest risk of infection (DPCM-14th January 2021). The infection rate has been important to establish a region’s tier status; however, it is not the defining parameter anymore. A new legislation from July 2021 (n.105 - 23rd July 2021), opted to classify a region’s tier status according to the hospital bed’s occupancy rate for COVID-19 patients in intensive care and other medical areas.

COVID’s Effect on India’s Health Services: A Commentary

Social Change ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-492
Author(s):  
Imrana Qadeer
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
State Authority ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second Wave

Using a comprehensive framework (the state’s will to deliver, its institutional strength and its legitimacy), this article assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public sector healthcare services in India. The power to deliver was explicit when the interventions were harsh, increasing the burden of death and disease on health services. But when it came to healthcare by the public sector we find a worsening of achievements of non-COVID ailments during the pandemic and an inability to tackle the second wave due to gaps in the nation's infrastructure, a centralised control undermining state authority; and visible results of a flawed policy that pushed further the agenda of making healthcare a profitable business.

scholarly journals Using Virtual Soundwalk Approach for Assessing Sound Art Soundscape Interventions in Public Spaces

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2102
Author(s):  
Tin Oberman ◽  
Kristian Jambrošić ◽  
Marko Horvat ◽  
Bojana Bojanić Obad Šćitaroci
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Sound Art ◽  
Subjective Responses ◽  
The Public ◽  
First Order ◽  
Sound Source Identification ◽  
Acoustic Environments ◽  
Positive Effect

This paper discusses the soundscape assessment approaches to soundscape interventions with musical features introduced to public spaces as permanent sound art, with a focus on the ISO 12913 series, Method A for data collection applied in a laboratory study. Three soundscape interventions in three cities are investigated. The virtual soundwalk is used to combine the benefits of the on-site and laboratory settings. Two measurement points per location were recorded—one at a position where the intervention was clearly perceptible, the other further away to serve as a baseline condition. The participants (N = 44) were exposed to acoustic environments (N = 6) recorded using the first-order Ambisonics microphone on-site and then reproduced via the second-order Ambisonics system in laboratory. A series of rank-based Kruskal–Wallis tests were performed on the results of the subjective responses. Results revealed a statistically significant positive effect on soundscape at two locations, and limitations related to sound source identification due to cultural factors and geometrical configuration of the public space at one location.

scholarly journals PENGARUH PERSEPSI MASYARAKAT PADA KINERJA KEPOLISIAN TERHADAP KEPERCAYAAN PADA KEPOLISIAN

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-71
Author(s):  
Lina Febrianti ◽  
Herdiyan Maulana
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Quantitative Method ◽  
School Education ◽  
High School Education ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sample Data ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Effective Contribution

This study aims to look at the effect on the public perception of trust in the police. The research was conducted in December 2012. The design of this this study is a quantitative method. Subjects in this research were 124 citizen in the Jabodetabek area with an age range of 18 years and minimum of High School education/equivalent. It’s using the incidental technique sampling to get the sample. Data of this research was collected by the instrument which has 27 aitem perception and trust instrument which has 37 items. These results show that there is a significant effect between perceptions of trust in the police. Perceptions positive effect on confidence. So Ho is rejected and Ha accepted perceptions of the effective contribution of 37.5% confidence.

scholarly journals Heritales 2017 - Beyond the academia. Re-thinking Heritage trough cinema and others art forms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Zozaya-Montes ◽  
Nicola Schiavottiello
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Positive Feedbacks ◽  
The Public ◽  
Intangible Heritage ◽  
Future Events ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The University

The UNESCO World Heritage city of Évora (Portugal) hosted the second Heritales – International Heritage Film Festival in September 2017. In this edition the festival focused on current and past sustainable communities, selecting works that explored and problematized the relationship and coexistence of modernity and sustainability when applied to human groups and societies. The films presented the everyday life, knowledge, crafts and know-how of ordinary people highlighting the changes and challenges that the expansion of consumer-based economies, globalization and world politics have brought. As organizers, by focusing on sustainability in heritage context, we wanted to go beyond current preservation strategies of the tangible and intangible heritage, to promote a reflection on the “culture of sustainability” itself, looking at how sustainable ways-of-existence have characterized various communities and cultural practices worldwide. Since its first edition, the festival has been a space for the promotion of a critical understanding of cultural heritage, aimed to the broader public. By using emblematic historical places as stage, Heritales has challenged the mainstream cultural heritage scientific communication. Its proposal is to approach heritage’s issues through multiple types of media and artistic work such as films and documentaries but also cultural heritage’s games, exhibitions, theatre and performance, with talks and several communication strategies to facilitate the encounter between the authors and the public. Although the festival has received many positive feedbacks and the support of various entities such as the UNESCO Chair of the University of Évora (Portugal) and the FCT (Science and Technology Foundation, Portugal) it is still at its early stage of action. In this paper we would like to present the results of our experiment and analyse its concept and results, so that more collaborative and sustainable methodologies can also become a part of our plan of actionfor the organization of future events.

scholarly journals Analisis Pengaruh PPn, PPnBM, dan PKB dengan Tarif Progresif Terhadap Daya Beli Konsumen Kendaraan Bermotor Roda Empat Di Makassar.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-101
Author(s):  
Nurul Arfiah Hasibullah ◽  
Mursalim Mursalim ◽  
Muhammad Su'un
Keyword(s):  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Multiple Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Purchasing Power ◽  
The Public ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
The Government ◽  
Positive Effect

Pajak adalah kewajiban yang harus dibayar oleh masyarakat pada pemerintah untuk kegiatan pembangunan di segala bidang, Pajak dapat dikatakan keharusan atau kewajiban yang dibayar oleh masyarakat pribadi maupund badan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisa pengaruh pengenaan pajak pertambahan nilai, pajak penjualan atas barang mewah dan Pajak kendaraan bermotor tarif progresif terhadap daya beli konsumen. Populasi penelitian ini adalah konsumen kendaraan bermotor roda empat yang ditemui di kantor Badan Pendapatan Daerah Sulawesi Selatan,Pengumpulan data menggunakan data primer yang diperoleh dari kuesioner dengan menggunakan sample Slovin,Teknik analisis data yakni analisis regresi linier berganda.Hasil peneltian  yaitu pengenaan PPN tidak berpengaruh terhadap daya beli konsumen, PPnBM mempunyai pengaruh positif signifikan, serta PKB tarif progresif berpengaruh positif pada daya beli konsumen kendaraan bermotor roda empat. Taxes are obligations that must be paid by the public to the government for development activities in all fields. Taxes can be said to be imperatives or obligations paid by private and maupund bodies of society. This study aims to analyze the effect of the imposition of value added tax, sales tax on luxury goods and progressive motor vehicle tax on consumer purchasing power. The population of this study is four-wheeled motor vehicle consumers found in the office of the South Sulawesi Regional Revenue Agency. Collecting data using primary data obtained from a questionnaire using the Slovin sample, the data analysis technique is multiple linear regression analysis. consumer purchasing power, PPnBM has a significant positive effect, and PKB progressive tariffs have a positive effect on the purchasing power of consumers of four-wheeled vehicles.  

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