Analysis of non-pharmaceutical interventions and their impacts on COVID-19 in Kerala

In the absence of an effective vaccine or drug therapy, non-pharmaceutical interventions are the only option for control of the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019, a pandemic with global implications. Each of the over 200 countries affected has followed its own path in dealing with the crisis, making it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of measures implemented, either individually, or collectively. In this paper we analyse the case of the south Indian state of Kerala, which received much attention in the international media for its actions in containing the spread of the disease in the early months of the pandemic, but later succumbed to a second wave. We use a model to study the trajectory of the disease in the state during the first four months of the outbreak. We then use the model for a retrospective analysis of measures taken to combat the spread of the disease, to evaluate their impact. Because of the differences in the trajectory of the outbreak in Kerala, we argue that it is a model worthy of a place in the discussion on how the world might best handle this and other, future, pandemics.

Impact of COVID-19 on Indian Migrant Workers and the Informal Sector

The Indian and the international media presented the Indian migrant workforce's troubles during the COVID-19 crisis. The unprecedented circumstances opened a Pandora's box of years of neglect and sidelining of the welfare and wellness of the migrant workers of the informal sector. The literature was sourced from the workforce migration literature of India, newspapers, government and private agency reports, population census of 2011, and research papers published during the period. This exploratory research has the objective to explore the informal sector's background and the migrant workers of India before the pandemic to understand the immediate short-term implications and the long-term impact of the pandemic across all sections of the informal workers. Finally, the research concludes with a discussion on the policy imperatives deemed to have a beneficial effect on the migrant workers in future years, once the COVID-19 crisis is over.

Astronomical Analysis: Viral Video of the Sun Rising from the North in Jeneponto

This study aims to conduct an astronomical analysis of the viral video of the Sunrise from the north on Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Jeneponto Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The video shows a man testifying to the Sun's position in the north and associating this phenomenon as one of the signs of the Day of Judgment. It attracts much attention to become a trending topic, both of social, national, and international media. This research is descriptive with a qualitative approach using library research methods and content analysis of location, calculations, and images. Primary data was obtained through the interview, while secondary data came from related articles and books. Data collection techniques used documentations and relevant data or theories to the research question. Furthermore, the collected data were analyzed inductively and comparatively. Location analysis was carried out using the Google Maps application, and it was found that the coordinates of MAN Binamu Jeneponto were at 5.67o South (S) and 119.73 East (E). Through calculation analysis, it is known that day the Sun rose in Jeneponto at 06.08 WITA with an azimuth of 66° 35' 23". The comparative analysis between the video displays and google maps was then applied and found that the north direction shown in the video was not the actual one. The confirmation process concluded that the Sun did not rise from the north but the east (towards the northeast). The misunderstanding of Qiblah leading the west causes the observer's misidentification of the Sun's position.

The Reproduction of “Petro-Nationalism” in Ethnic Media: A Case Study of WeChat Public Accounts’ Coverage of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Controversy

Over the past 2 decades, Alberta’s bitumen industry has emerged as a major point of contention in Canadian politics, with the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) project being a recent controversy that has attracted both domestic and international media attention. This brief research report focuses on news coverage of TMX in a rarely studied form of ethnic media: WeChat newsfeeds (known as “public accounts”) targeting Chinese diasporas across Canadian metropolises. A thematic analysis of TMX-related WeChat articles published between January 2016 and May 2021 reveals an overall negative attitude toward the project’s opponents. This stance is mainly due to WeChat public accounts’ heavy reliance on the Canadian mainstream media’s framing of TMX. As a result, the Canadian mainstream media’s downplay of the climate emergency and decarbonization sets the news agendas of the surveyed WeChat public accounts. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to develop non-English alternative media to engage ethnic minority groups in broader public conversations on climate change mitigation.

Unveiling China's digital diplomacy: A comparative analysis of CGTN Africa and BBC News Africa on Facebook

This study explored social media use by CGTN Africa and BBC Africa under the concept of digital diplomacy. Digital diplomacy has been seen recently as an important component that international media adapt to set agendas, expand their online presence and create, engage and sustain relationships with their foreign audience. A content analysis was employed to analyse 1200 posts from Facebook accounts of the media. The study's findings show that the media set an agenda through actively posting stories that promote African values and culture to generate interaction among their readership. Also, findings indicate that foreign media prioritized reporting on specific issues in Uganda, Sudan, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia over others. The audience engaged more with reports on sports and less with those on tourism and wildlife. CGTN Africa rarely engages in conversation with its audience. Thus, there is a need to build the capacity of its staff, which might help China's media perform better on social media.

THE NEOREALISM AND NEOLIBERALISM BEHIND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DURING COVID-19

The literature contains much discussion on the contemporary differences between neorealism and neoliberalism, especially in the context of international relations. However there have, as yet, been limited attempts to investigate how these international relations theories fare in explaining state responses to the COVID-19 outbreak. This study reviews the conceptual frameworks underpinning neorealism and neoliberalism and applies them to key state behaviors during the COVID-19 outbreak. Some examples of neorealism attached to the current pandemic include: criticism of the role of the World Health Organization, the closure of international borders, international competition to collect pharmaceutical products, bans on exports, richer states protecting their national interests, the international misuse of power during emergency orders, restrictions placed on the international media, and the deployment of military forces. By contrast, neoliberalism's focus on international cooperation is noted in U.S., Chinese, and other countries’ attempts to distribute knowledge and aid internationally, as well as in the efforts of key international organizations like the World Health Organization and the global Covax initiative. I offer an evidence-based conceptual framework using neorealism and neoliberalism to show how both have informed international behavior during the COVID-19 outbreak—although continued emphasis on the former shows few signs of abating as the pandemic approaches its third year.

Fight against Disinformation in Ukraine: Challenges and Prospects

The material presents the analysis of the draft law of Ukraine On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Ensuring National Information Security and the Right of Access to Reliable Information . This law can for the first time in the history of the country criminalize journalists for disseminating false information and set up new forms of control over information in the future. This is not the first attempt by the countrys leadership to bring all actors into a legal and civilized channel (the draft law On the Media No. 2693, which is also under consideration by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, stands for the systematic policy of reforming the media sector of Ukraine). The research is aimed at defining the place of the draft law in the reformed system of legal regulation of the Ukrainian media, from the position of the academic community neutral to the process. For this purpose, a detailed content analysis was conducted, which showed that, in the long run, the ambiguous wording of the adopted document at the stage of its enforcement, leaves the regulatory authorities free to interpret it depending on the interests of the parties, rather than on the language of the law. Considering the risks associated with the entry into force of this draft, one should also take into account the ambiguous reaction of the local and international media community. The article may be considered as a contribution to the development of criteria for a comprehensive scientific analysis of the legislation regulating the activity of media structures.

An Analysis of Historical and Political Evolution of Kashmir State

The innocent people of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) continuously struggled for the protection of their lives. In most of the areas which are under the administrative control of Indian Military, the survival of Kashmiris is becoming more challenging due to the imposed social, political and economic sanctions posed by the Indian government. The first part of this paper examines the historical legacy of Kashmir and the middle of the paper attempts to highlight how the people are demanding their rights as well as freedom from the Indian troops. Even thou, the international media has highlighted and unveiled the true picture of Indian brutality and the open murder of Kashmiri public. But, unfortunately the world community is still salient and watching the cruel actions taken by the Indian forces in the valley. Overall, this paper attempts to highlight the analytical approach about the history, status, equity and struggle of freedom of the Kashmiris.

Resistance

esistance features a selection of overtly non-conformist positions in the contemporary visual art scene of Albania vis-à-vis the most recent social, political, and economic turmoils in the Western Balkans – a region marked by the dark side of political governances that have remained “democratic” in their outward appearance (especially toward the European Union), while dramatically leaning toward autocratic regimes in the eyes of their own citizens. Regardless of their citizens’ primary interests, and despite some positive signals surfacing in the international media, almost every attempt to establish lasting conditions for democratic governance in the Western Balkans has been shrouded in the veil of profit-driven political scandals, personal greed for more and more power over the people’s rights, and the extinction of public property in pursuit of social elite’s corporate and private interests. Additionally, and more specifically related to Tirana, artists and citizens have, over the years, been involved in various types of revolt, expressing their disagreements with the ongoing destruction of public property in the name of “modernization and development”: a movement led by local political powers through financially and strategically motivated processes of architectural cannibalism – not only at the expense of erasing Albanian cultural heritage or long-term residents’ habitats, but also at the expense of taking human lives under the pretext of “urbanization.” The most obvious instance of this economy of destruction was the complex of buildings linked to the National Theater of Albania in downtown Tirana that has served as a symbolic and material place of citizens’ resistance: for more than two years, together with local artists, they have been opposing the government’s plans to demolish the old complex in order to build a new one – until this finally happened in Spring 2020, in the midst of the ongoing COVID19 pandemic. Rooted in the atmosphere of the National Theater Protests in Tirana, RESISTANCE was conceived in Summer 2019 by ZETA Center for Contemporary Art as the International Artists-in-Residence Program, in cooperation with three partner organizations from Kosovo, Serbia and North Macedonia (Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art in Prishtina; Ilija & Mangelos Foundation in Novi Sad; and Faculty of Things That Can’t Be Learned in Bitola) and supported by Swiss Cultural Fund in Albania, a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Gradually, the project expanded into an exhibition (Heterotopias of Resistance, curated by Blerta Hoçia and featuring works by Lori Lako, Fatlum Doçi, Edona Kryeziu, Nina Galiç, Darko Vukiç, Nikola Slavevski, and Natasha Nedelkova) and a series of interviews and panel discussions (with contributions by Lindita Komani, Edmond Budina, Ervin Goci, Ergin Zaloshnja, Pleurad Xhafa, Gentian Shkurti, Stefano Romano, Luçjan Bedeni, HAVEIT, Leonard Qylafi, Jonida Gashi, and Fatmira Nikolli). The results of both have been collected and presented in the format of a publication that, besides serving as an indispensable reading material concerning visual arts and politics in contemporary Albania, especially to those abroad, functions by itself as a form of resistance against contagious cultural policies in weak post-socialist “democracies” in Southeastern Europe.