Digital Commons Network^™

Recovery Agenda For Sustainable Development Post Covid-19 At The Country Level: Developing A Fuzzy Action Priority Surface, Meisam Ranjbari, Zahra S. Esfandabadi, Simone D. Scagnelli, Peer O. Siebers, Francesco Quatraro

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

As a response to the urgent call for recovery actions against the COVID-19 crisis, this research aims to identify action priority areas post COVID-19 toward achieving the targets of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development launched by the United Nations (UN). This paper applies a mixed-method approach to map the post-COVID-19 SDGs targets on a fuzzy action priority surface at the country level in Iran, as a developing country, by taking the following four main steps: (1) using a modified Delphi method to make a list of the SDGs targets influenced by COVID-19; (2) …

Editorial: Covid-19, Corporate Governance, Sustainability, And The Post-Neoliberal World, Marie Dela Rama, Julie Crews

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Welcome to this special issue of Corporate Governance and Sustainability Review focusing on the impact of thecoronavirus (COVID-19) on societies and economies worldwide. The five papers in this special issue reflect the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,in its first year,on corporate governance and sustainability. What is common throughout these papers is how the pandemic has created disequilibria for many organisations. The question continues to be posed as to the new forms of organising and managing as the world reorientates or pivots in a pandemic and post-pandemic world.

Fantasy Sports And Esports: Is Unconventional Becoming Conventional? A Case Analysis, Arne Baruca, Ebru Ulusoy

Marketing Faculty Publications (Archived)

Fantasy sports and esports are relatively recent phenomena that are growing in popularity and their importance in today's society. Per their nature, they are also tightly connected with sports. In this chapter, the authors present these two phenomena and explain their importance in today's sports industry. Furthermore, the chapter analyzes fantasy sports and esports consumption patterns and discusses how the Covid-19 pandemic affected them. To conclude, the chapter suggests the possible implications for fantasy sports and esports in the future.

Mental Health And The Covid-19 Pandemic: Analysis Of Twitter Discourse, Omar El-Gayar, Abdullah Wahbeh, Tareq Nasralah, Ahmed El Noshokaty, Mohammad A. Al-Ramahi

Computer Information Systems Faculty Publications (Archived)

This study analyzed Twitter discourse to understand the association of the COVID-19 pandemic with mental health. The study compared tweets’ volume over time, tweets’ volume per mental health category, emotions, and the top hashtags on mental health before and after November 2019, the month on which the first COVID-19 case was reported. We analyzed a total of 273 million English tweets on mental health collected from 56 million unique users. Results and analysis showed a significant shift in trend for the volume of tweets on mental health over time. There was also a notable increase in the volume of tweets …

Bursting The Auto Loan Bubble In The Wake Of Covid-19, Pamela Foohey

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, auto loans outstanding in the United States had soared to record highs. The boom in lending spanned new and used cars and traditional and subprime loans. With loan delinquencies also hitting new highs almost every quarter, predictions that the auto lending market could burst soon abounded. When the economy came to a grinding halt and unemployment skyrocketed in the wake of the pandemic, auto lenders knew they were facing a crisis. Throughout 2020, auto lenders granted more payment forbearances to consumers, while slashing interest rates on new loans. Auto manufacturers similarly made promises to buyers, such …

The Biopolitics Of Maskless Police, India Thusi

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Despite the recent movement against police violence, police officers have been endangering their communities by engaging in a new form of violence— policing while refusing to wear facial coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Many states advise people to wear masks and to socially distance when in public spaces. However, police officers have frequently failed to comply with these guidelines as they interact with the public to enforce these COVID-19 laws. Police enforcement of COVID-19 laws is problematic for two reasons: (1) it provides a method for pathologizing marginalized communities as biological threats; (2) it creates a racialized pathway …

Audit Of Waste Collected Over One Week From Superior Dental Health Of Lincoln, Bryclin Alstrom

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A waste audit of Superior Dental Health of Lincoln was conducted in order to propagate the implementation of sustainable waste management practices within the company. Differentiating between hazardous waste and solid waste is necessary for environmentally friendly waste management and ceasing the spread of infectious pathogens. The audit identified nine different materials contributing to the biomedical waste stream of the company. Of which, personal protective equipment (PPE) is of major concern due to the financial commitment necessary to acquire / dispose of these products, as well as the strain in supply due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The results of …

At A Covid Crossroads : Public Health, Patient Privacy, And Health Information Confidentiality, Stacey A. Tovino

Faculty Articles

This essay summarizes and assesses the various bulletins, guidance documents, and notices of enforcement discretion released by the federal Department of Health and Human Services regarding the application of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other topics and actions, these authorities address the application of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to the use and disclosure of protected health information for public health activities, waive the application of certain HIPAA Privacy Rule requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, and announce enforcement discretion regarding certain covered entities’ non-compliance with particular provisions within the HIPAA Privacy Rule. These authorities overwhelmingly, and appropriately, …

Teleneurology Based Management Of Infantile Spasms During Covid-19 Pandemic: A Consensus Report By The South Asia Allied West Syndrome Research Group, Priyanka Madaan, Jitendra Kumar Sahu, Jithangi Wanigasinghe, Kanij Fatema, Kyaw Linn, Mimi Lhamu Mynak, Nicolás Garófalo Gómez, Pauline Samia, Prakash Poudel, Prem Chand

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

With telehealth services rescuing patients with chronic neurological disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need for simplified teleneurology protocols for neurological disorders in children. Infantile spasms is an epileptic encephalopathy where treatment lag is a significant predictor of outcome. It is one such condition where telemedicine can make a remarkable difference when in-person consultations are delayed or are not possible. However, the adverse effect profile of the first-line therapeutic options, the need for frequent follow-up, underdeveloped telemedicine services, lack of a rational protocol, poor awareness about infantile spasms, a lesser level of parental understanding, and scarcity of pediatric …

Second Thoughts On Fda's Covid-Era Mental Health App Policy, Michael Mattioli

Articles by Maurer Faculty

As the coronavirus pandemic swept across the globe in April 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made an unusual decision. The agency announced that it would relax its enforcement of compliance rules for “digital therapeutics”—smartphone apps designed to address mental health disorders. The measure was a response to widely reported upticks in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse brought on by the pandemic. As an added benefit, the agency explained, digital therapeutics could promote social distancing by removing patients’ need to visit health care providers.

This essay explores the possible lasting effects of the FDA’s temporary suspension …

"Who Can Help Me?'': Knowledge Infused Matching Of Support Seekers And Support Providers During Covid-19 On Reddit, Manas Gaur, Kaushik Roy, Aditya Sharma, Biplav Srivastava, Amit Sheth

Publications

During the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, subreddits on Reddit, such as r/Coronavirus saw a rapid growth in user's requests for help (support seekers - SSs) including individuals with varying professions and experiences with diverse perspectives on care (support providers - SPs). Currently, knowledgeable human moderators match an SS with a user with relevant experience, i.e, an SP on these subreddits. This unscalable process defers timely care. We present a medical knowledge-infused approach to efficient matching of SS and SPs validated by experts for the users affected by anxiety and depression, in the context of with COVID-19. After matching, each SP to …

Short-Range Forecasting Of Covid-19 During Early Onset At County, Health District, And State Geographic Levels Using Seven Methods: Comparative Forecasting Study, Christopher Lynch, Ross Gore

VMASC Publications

BACKGROUND:

Forecasting methods rely on trends and averages of prior observations to forecast COVID-19 case counts. COVID-19 forecasts have received much media attention, and numerous platforms have been created to inform the public. However, forecasting effectiveness varies by geographic scope and is affected by changing assumptions in behaviors and preventative measures in response to the pandemic. Due to time requirements for developing a COVID-19 vaccine, evidence is needed to inform short-term forecasting method selection at county, health district, and state levels.

OBJECTIVE:

COVID-19 forecasts keep the public informed and contribute to public policy. As such, proper understanding of forecasting purposes …

“Portability Of The Ube: Where Is It When You Need It And Do You Need It At All?”, Suzanne Darrow- Kleinhaus

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of A Program For Sars-Cov-2 Screening And Environmental Monitoring In An Urban Public School District, John Crowe, Andy T. Schnaubelt, Scott Schmidtbonne, Kathleen Angell, Julia Bai, Teresa Eske, Molly Nicklin, Catherine Pratt, Bailey White, Brodie Crotts-Hannibal, Nicholas Staffend, Vicki L. Herrera, Jeramie Cobb, Jennifer Conner, Julie Carstens, Jonell Tempero, Lori Bouda, Matthew Ray, James V. Lawler, Walter S. Campbell, John-Martin Lowe, Joshua L. Santarpia, Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, Michael R. Wiley, David Brett-Major, Cheryl Logan, M. Jana Broadhurst

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Importance: Scalable programs for school-based SARS-CoV-2 testing and surveillance are needed to guide in-person learning practices and inform risk assessments in kindergarten through 12th grade settings.

Objectives: To characterize SARS-CoV-2 infections in staff and students in an urban public school setting and evaluate test-based strategies to support ongoing risk assessment and mitigation for kindergarten through 12th grade in-person learning.

Design, Setting, and Participants: This pilot quality improvement program engaged 3 schools in Omaha, Nebraska, for weekly saliva polymerase chain reaction testing of staff and students participating in in-person learning over a 5-week period from November 9 to December 11, 2020. …

Overlapping But Disparate Inflammatory And Immunosuppressive Responses To Sars-Cov-2 And Bacterial Sepsis: An Immunological Time Course Analysis, Tyler J Loftus, Ricardo Ungaro, Marvin Dirain, Philip A Efron, Monty B Mazer, Kenneth E Remy, Richard S Hotchkiss, Luer Zhong, Rhonda Bacher, Petr Starostik, Lyle L Moldawer, Scott C Brakenridge

Open Access Publications

Both severe SARS-CoV-2 infections and bacterial sepsis exhibit an immunological dyscrasia and propensity for secondary infections. The nature of the immunological dyscrasias for these differing etiologies and their time course remain unclear. In this study, thirty hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were compared with ten critically ill patients with bacterial sepsis over 21 days, as well as ten healthy control subjects. Blood was sampled between days 1 and 21 after admission for targeted plasma biomarker analysis, cellular phenotyping, and leukocyte functional analysis

Lessons From Our Living Rooms: Illuminating Lockdowns With Technology Domestication Insights, Sun Sun Lim, Yang Wang

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

With at least half of humanity under lockdown to arrest the spread of COVID-19 (Sandford, 2020), adults have been working from home and children engaging in home schooling for months on end. Competing for scarce resources such as digital devices, bandwidth, as well as physical and personal space, families have had to contend with rising tensions around the quality of digital engagement, children’s learning abilities, parent-child relationships and overall familial wellbeing. This fraught situation shone the spotlight on the household context of technology use but also enabled us to marshal academic insights to advance advocacy and public education. The pandemic …

Applying An Ecological Perspective To Interprofessional Education: Attitude Changes In Students Of The Tri-Alliance, Angela M. Cecil

Health Sciences Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In spring 2020, three partnering academic programs of the "tri-alliance"—occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology—immediately transitioned from hybrid interprofessional education(IPE) to uniprofessional, online learning experiences due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This transition presented opportunity to compare attitude changes and understand student perceptions about interprofessionalcollaboration between two tri-alliance student groups: Case 2018, N = 119 and Case 2020, N = 95. By incorporating the Bioecological Theory of Human Development (BTHD) and the Ecology of Human Performance (EHP), a comparative mixed methods case study merged quantitative results from a natural experiment and qualitative findings from a case study to learn about …

Campus Recreation And Fitness Center Utilization During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Keagan Kiely, William A. Mase, Bridget F. Melton, Haresh Rochani

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has far reaching effects for college students' health and physical activity behaviors. This analysis focuses on university student fitness center usage pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers hypothesized a reduction in fitness center utilization when comparing Fall 2019 to Fall 2020 utilization rates.

Methods

Patterns of the recreation center and fitness center utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic are compared to pre-pandemic patterns of a matched time period in the previous academic year in an observational study. Overall utilization was evaluated using secondary data from the university’s recreation center data system. Six weeks …

Strategic Implications Of Covid-19: Considerations For Georgia’S Rural Health Providers, Bettye A. Apenteng, Linda G. Kimsey, Charles F. Owens, Samuel T. Opoku, Angela Peden, William A. Mase

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Whether rural hospitals and providers have seen a surge in COVID-19 cases or a reduction in patients seeking care since the pandemic began, their financial condition has been negatively impacted. Many providers have now received some emergency funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the Payroll Protection Program but these are likely only short-term fixes. For many, the crisis has exacerbated already existing problems. Notable among these problems are volume declines, supply chain disruptions, and workforce concerns. While these problems require immediate action, two longer-term systemic changes to rural healthcare delivery are needed to address them. …

The Interplay Of Policy, Behavior, And Socioeconomic Conditions In Early Covid-19 Epidemiology In Georgia, Mallory J. Harris, Ella Tessier-Lavigne, Erin Mordecai

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Publishing Note: This article has been published in its peer-reviewed and accepted form as a post-print version. The fully formatted version of the article will be published on this record when it is available.

ABSTRACT

Background: As COVID-19 began to spread worldwide, local socioeconomic and health factors and nonpharmaceutical interventions may have affected epidemiological outcomes. To investigate the associations between public health orders, behavior, and population factors, and early epidemic dynamics, we investigated variation among counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. There, a large early outbreak occurred in March 2020 with varying levels of local nonpharmaceutical interventions prior to …

Understanding And Promoting Racial Diversity In Healthcare Settings To Address Disparities In Pandemic Crisis Management, Azza Sarfraz, Zouina Sarfraz, Alanna Barrios, Kuchalambal Agadi, Sindhu Thevuthasan, Krunal Pandav, Manish Kc, Muzna Sarfraz, Pedram Rad, George Michel

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Health disparities have become apparent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. When observing racial discrimination in healthcare, self-reported incidences, and perceptions among minority groups in the United States suggest that, the most socioeconomically underrepresented groups will suffer disproportionately in COVID-19 due to synergistic mechanisms. This study reports racially-stratified data regarding the experiences and impacts of different groups availing the healthcare system to identify disparities in outcomes of minority and majority groups in the United States.
Methods: Studies were identified utilizing PubMed, Embase, CINAHL Plus, and PsycINFO search engines without date and language restrictions. The following keywords were used: …

Covid-19 And Comparative Corporate Governance, Martin Gelter, Julia M. Puaschunder

Faculty Scholarship

With the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 raging around the world, many countries’ economies are at a crucial juncture. The COVID-19 external shock to the economy has the potential to affect corporate governance profoundly. This Article explores its possible impact on comparative corporate governance. For an economy to operate successfully, a society must first find a politically sustainable social equilibrium. In many countries, historical crises—such as the Great Depression and World War II—have resulted in a reconfiguration of corporate governance institutions that set the course for generations. While it is not yet clear whether COVID-19 will have a …

Discourse Of Renewal: A Qualitative Analysis Of The University Of Montana’S Covid-19 Crisis Communication, Haley Renae Gabel

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a public health crisis that has affected lives and impacted organizations across the world. The pandemic has interrupted student learning and threatened universities nationwide. Crises are trying times for organizations, and when faced with a crisis, an organization has an obligation to keep its members informed; therefore, it must carefully choose how to respond and communicate about the crisis. This study uses discourse of renewal theory as a lens to analyze the University of Montana’s communication about COVID-19, studying 37 pages of university emails and documents on the university website. Results indicate that …

Caution Fatigue: Group Identification And Disgust Provide Protection In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Logan F. Ashworth

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The current Coronavirus pandemic has yielded an abundance of concerns regarding the psychological effects of isolating a highly social species through widespread lockdowns and enhanced social distancing. Research show that many are suffering from mental health crises, while also refusing to isolate (Brooks et al., 2020; Czeiler, et al., 2020). These behaviors combine to increase risk of viral infection. An emerging term to explain this paradox is “Caution Fatigue”. Yet, there is no research that outlines its specific underlying mechanisms. The goal of this paper is to propose a series of models that delineate caution fatigue through the effects a) …

Assessing California Commercial Fishing Community Well-Being In The Context Of Marine Protected Area (Mpa) Formation, Samantha Cook

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Marine protected areas (MPAs)—defined geographic areas where fishing and harvesting activity is limited or restricted—have emerged as a popular marine biodiversity and climate resilience strategy worldwide. MPA monitoring efforts often follow MPA designation to help inform the adaptive management of MPAs and MPA networks. In 2012, California completed the largest statewide system of MPAs to date, consisting of 124 MPAs covering 16% of state waters. Following MPA implementation, the state initiated a long-term monitoring program (2019-2022) to help inform the 10-year MPA management review. This two-chapter thesis presents findings from a state-funded project to conduct long-term socioeconomic monitoring for human …

Emotional Dissonance And Exhaustion Among Library Professionals During Covid-19, Mubashir Majid Baba

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a dramatic impact on societies and economies around the world. The virus is affecting millions of lives worldwide, not only physically but also emotionally in the form of panic attacks, obsessional behavior, anxiety, stress and fear. Library professionals are also exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and are facing high levels of stress and anxiety. The aim of this exploratory study was to analyze the association between emotional dissonance and emotional exhaustion among library professionals during COVID-19 and to study the impact of demographics on the variables under study. The data collected were analyzed using …

Towards An Innovative Approach In Libraries And Information Niche During Covid-19: A Rapid Review Of Various Exercises And Endeavors By Contemporary Library Professionals, Shipra Awasthi, Shiva Kanaujia Sukula, Amar Singh Yadav, Moveen Kumar, Babar Raees, Sonam Rigzin

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Purpose: The study aims to review the literature published on the effects of COVID-19 on libraries and library professionals. It provides a glimpse of the actions taken by various kinds of libraries and associations in India and western regions. Research Methodology: The rapid review method is adopted for the study as it provides information rapidly and timely. The information obtained through this method is beneficial for the professionals and the stakeholders. It gives an insight to the libraries to follow the practices adopted by the academic libraries in western regions and India. Findings: The findings revealed that libraries …

Availability And Remote Accessibility Of Academic Library Services In Nigerian Universities During The Covid-19 Lockdown, Helen U. Emasealu Dr. (Mrs)., Susan N. Umeozor Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the state of operations of academic library services in the Nigerian Federal Universities by assessing the existence of functional library websites and remote availability and remote access to library services during the COVID-19 lockdown. All the academic libraries in the 43 Federal Universities form the population of the study. A purposive sampling technique was used to sample all the 43 academic libraries. Results indicated that 10 (23.3%) of the libraries had no functional websites while 33 (76.7%) of the libraries had websites and subscribed to various e-resources some of which were library …

Covid-19 And Pakistani Academic Libraries: Documenting The Realities, Challenges And State Of Services., Faiz Ahmed, Nooruddin Merchant

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The sudden rise of global pandemic has disrupted almost each and every segment of the society. On March, 2020, educational institutions in Pakistan including Libraries were forced to shift to online teaching, learning and provision of services. The need of the time is not only to document the systems, processes and procedures being implemented in Higher Educational Institutions including libraries, but learn from and build on these experiences. This survey is first of its kind effort to understand how Academic Libraries in Pakistan paved their way towards online transition, the challenges faced by them, the inclusion of library staff in …

Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Education In Nigeria: Implications For Policy And Practice Of E-Learning, Uchenna N. Eze, Maximus M. Sefotho, Charity N. Onyishi, Chiedu Eseadi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Education is among the sectors with devastating impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, the Nigerian education system has adopted purely, face-to-face approached to teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools. Primary and secondary school learners were not allowed to own any digital gadget such as phone or computer, neither were they allowed to be seen with such in the schools. With the emergence of the lockdown condition and school closure, following the COVID-19 pandemic, both teachers and learners were helpless about how to continue learning in the face of the pandemic. This study investigated the challenges posed by, …