Lockdown fatigue: The diminishing effects of quarantines on the spread of COVID-19

Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) have been for most countries the key policy instrument utilized to contain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we conduct an empirical analysis of the impact of these policies on the virus’ transmission and death toll, for a panel of 152 countries, from the start of the pandemic through December 31, 2020. We find that lockdowns tend to significantly reduce the spread of the virus and the number of related deaths. We also show that this benign impact declines over time: after four months of strict lockdown, NPIs have a significantly weaker contribution in terms of their effect in reducing COVID-19 related fatalities. Part of the fading effect of quarantines could be attributed to an increasing non-compliance with mobility restrictions, as reflected in our estimates of a declining effect of lockdowns on measures of actual mobility. However, we additionally find that a reduction in de facto mobility also exhibits a diminishing effect on health outcomes, which suggests that lockdown fatigues may have introduce broader hurdles to containment policies.

Investigating user perspectives on mixed-reality games for people who drive mobility devices.

Video games are not being designed to address the needs of the disabled user. As a result, people with mobility disabilities are being left out of game play experiences. As the population ages, more and more people will require mobility devices such as powered wheelchairs and scooters to support their mobility needs. This thesis explores the types of games mobility device users would like to play using their input to influence game development. Past gaming and play experiences are explored as a component useful to the production of a new game design. A Crowdsourcing technique called, an Idea Jam, is used to collect the data relevant to the game design. The Idea Jam for mobility games explores the type of game genres and functionality (game objectives, characters, input/output, audience integration and rewards) mobility device users would be willing to consider in a game and why. It also explores the impact of having users participate at early stages of game design on the actual functionality and development of an actual mobility game. The main findings show that Crowdsourcing is a viable method for collecting data on game development that mobility device embodiment plays a role in the way people view games and that people with mobility devices can impact game design at the beginning stages of development.

Investigating user perspectives on mixed-reality games for people who drive mobility devices.

Video games are not being designed to address the needs of the disabled user. As a result, people with mobility disabilities are being left out of game play experiences. As the population ages, more and more people will require mobility devices such as powered wheelchairs and scooters to support their mobility needs. This thesis explores the types of games mobility device users would like to play using their input to influence game development. Past gaming and play experiences are explored as a component useful to the production of a new game design. A Crowdsourcing technique called, an Idea Jam, is used to collect the data relevant to the game design. The Idea Jam for mobility games explores the type of game genres and functionality (game objectives, characters, input/output, audience integration and rewards) mobility device users would be willing to consider in a game and why. It also explores the impact of having users participate at early stages of game design on the actual functionality and development of an actual mobility game. The main findings show that Crowdsourcing is a viable method for collecting data on game development that mobility device embodiment plays a role in the way people view games and that people with mobility devices can impact game design at the beginning stages of development.

Critical Mobility, a practical criterion and early indicator for regional COVID-19 resurgence

The sharp reduction of human mobility in March 2020, as observed by anonymized cellphone data, has played an important role in thwarting a runaway COVID-19 pandemic. As the world is reopening, the risks of new flare-ups are rising. We report a data-driven approach, grounded in strong correlation between mobility and growth in COVID-19 cases two weeks later, to establish a spatial-temporal model of "critical mobility" maps that separate relatively safe mobility levels from dangerous ones. The normalized difference between the current and critical mobility has predictive power for case trajectories during the "opening-up" phases. For instance, actual mobility has risen above critical mobility in many southern US counties by the end of May, foreshadowing the latest virus resurgence. Encouragingly, critical mobility has been rising throughout the USA, likely due to face mask-wearing and social distancing measures. However, critical mobility is still well below pre-COVID mobility levels in most of the country suggesting continued mobility-reduction is still necessary.

The Origin–Destination Matrix Development

Transport studies are conducted for a better understanding of the actual mobility and for developing transport forecasting models to predict the future transport demand and the changes in travel patterns. Transport planning involves the decision-making process for potential improvements to a community’ s roadway infrastructure. The first transport models used to analyze globally the transport system requirements while nowadays models were rethought as a demand – supply interaction reflecting the correlation between transport and socio-economic development. The transport forecasting methodology use a four stage structure consisting of: trip generation, trip distribution, modal split, traffic assignment. In the second stage of the model, the generated trips for each zone are distributed to all other zones based on the choice of destination. The trip pattern is represented by means of an origin-destination (O-D) matrix. The Growth Factor Model and the Gravity Model are two methods to distribute trips among destinations. The two methods for developing the O-D Matrix are presented and criticized in this paper, showing the similarities and differences between them and highlighting the implications for rigorous determination of future transport demand. A case study is done to emphasize the differences between these models and their implications in carrying out transport studies.

The relevance of motility in language shift research

Motility (sometimes referred to as ‘mobility capital’ or ‘mobility potential’) is a still understudied and underutilised concept in both migration and sociolinguistic literature. Perhaps even more than actual mobility, it can shed an important light on the possible connection between language and migration. In this theoretical article, it will be argued that motility can both be a potential catalyst for language shift, but can in other instances also contribute to language maintenance. Inspired by Fishman’s Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS) and Simon and Lewis’ Expanded Graded Intergenerational Scale (EGIDS), it is assumed that the most important factor in processes of language shift is the attitude of parents, in particular their willingness to transmit their heritage language to their children. This willingness is connected with the perception of the value of the heritage language, which might be, in addition to other factors, influenced by the mobility capital the heritage language might give future generations. The interplay between migrant networks in different countries and the country of origin is key in understanding the parents’ decision-making process. Furthermore, the three main features of motility (access, competence and appropriation) fit quite logically in the already existing EGIDS scale. This article thus argues that motility is a valuable and necessary concept for sociolinguistic research and migration scholars alike.

Neighborhood Structure, Community Social Organization, and Residential Mobility

This article expands on classic models of residential mobility by investigating how neighborhood features influence mobility thoughts and actual mobility, with a particular focus on the role of neighborhood disorder and several indicators of community social organization. Using longitudinal data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, the authors find that actual mobility is more susceptible to neighborhood structural conditions than are mobility thoughts. Specifically, neighborhood physical disorder and residential turnover affect the likelihood of moving, and disorder operates through the extent that residents are socially isolated and fearful in their neighborhoods. Mobility thoughts are directly affected by resident perceptions of social cohesion, but a lack of local kinship ties and social engagement within the neighborhood increases the chances of moving. For both mobility outcomes, being satisfied with one’s neighborhood is a strong deterrent to thinking about moving as well as relocating to a new neighborhood.

The Persistent Black-White Gap in and Weakening Link between Expecting to Move and Actually Moving

This paper leverages four decades of longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to document Black-White gaps in the translation of mobility expectations into actual mobility, track those racial gaps over time in the context of declining mobility among all Americans, and identify a substantial weakening in the ability of both Black and White householders to move when they expect to. Results show a substantial racial gap in the realization of mobility expectations with foundations in the relative inability of Black householders to leverage socioeconomic resources in segmented housing markets. There is no indication of significant improvement or growth in this gap over time. While householders’ expressed expectations are the best predictor of future mobility, this predictive relationship has weakened significantly since 1970, primarily because of a decline in mobility among expectant householders. Trends in the expectation of mobility offer support for the notion that declining mobility is indicative of voluntary “rootedness” among Whites but also suggest that a substantial share of Americans (and Blacks in particular) are increasingly likely to be “stuck” expecting to move but unable to do so.

Introduction

This special section considers the interconnections of print culture and mobility across the Pacific in the early twentieth century. The contributors explore how print culture was part of the practices, experiences, mediations, and representations of travel and mobility, and understand mobility in a number of ways: from the movement of people and texts across space and the mobility of ideas to the opportunities of social mobility through travel. The special section moves beyond studies of travel writing and the literary analysis of travel narratives by discussing a range of genres, by paying attention to readers and reception, and by focusing on actual mobility and its representation as well as the mediation between the two.