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Essentializing Labor Before, During, And After The Coronavirus Pandemic, Deepa Das Acevedo

Faculty Articles

In the era of COVID-19, the term essential labor has become part of our daily lexicon. Between March and May 2020, essential labor was not just the only kind of paid labor occurring across most of the United States; it was also, many argued, the only thing preventing utter economic and humanitarian collapse. As a result of this sudden significance, legal scholars, workers’ advocates, and politicians have scrambled to articulate exactly what makes essential labor “essential.” Some commentators have also argued that the rise of essential labor as a conceptual category disrupts—or should disrupt—longstanding patterns in the way the nation …

Library Experiences Of Technical Services And Special Collections During The Covid-19 Pandemic At Edith Garland Dupré Library, University Of Louisiana At Lafayette, Zachary G. Stein, Sheryl Curry, Janelle Zetty, Michael Mitchell, Scott Jordan

Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic put a major strain on everyday life. Academic institutions were forced to close, leaving many employees to resort to teleworking. Academic libraries were put in an unusual position, as they strove to provide access to library materials and services, despite limited to no access to the actual sites. This proved to be especially tricky for technical services and special collections departments, which heavily rely on being present at libraries. Therefore, these departments needed to develop solutions that would allow them to continue performing their duties while adhering to stay-at-home orders. With careful preparation and frequent communication, the …

When Contact Kills: Indigenous Peoples Living In Voluntary Isolation During Covid, Sital Kalantry, Nicholas Koeppen

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

During the global pandemic, people around the world are at risk of serious illness and death from contact and proximity to other people. But Indigenous peoples, particularly those in voluntary isolation, have always faced that risk. International organizations have relied on the right to self-determination as the primary legal grounds to justify the principle of no-contact for Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation. This Essay argues that the right to life and right to health when properly contextualized are stronger bases to push states to prevent outsiders from contacting people living in voluntary isolation.

Organizational Management Of Distance Learning: An Analysis Of Teacher Feedback Throughout Hampton Roads Public High Schools During The Covid-19 Pandemic Response, Cody P. Trudeau

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Public schools throughout the United States experienced closures and transitions to online curriculum in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many of the policies and strategies implemented to manage teaching faculty were hastily designed and employed out of necessity. This study sought to examine organizational management policies and strategies throughout public high schools in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia through teaching faculty perspectives. This cross-sectional study examined descriptive and correlational statistics of survey responses to determine and evaluate how schools managed communication, responsibilities and delegation, and training for distance learning in order to provide policy …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Worksite Wellness Programs, Marilyn S. Campbell

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Introduction: Worksite wellness programs are popular employer offerings as of the last few decades. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major shifts in behavior since these programs have been implemented. The purpose of this study was to see how the pandemic has affected various offerings within a university worksite wellness program.

Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of a university worksite wellness program, and it compares participation in the various offerings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by evaluating 2019 participation (pre-pandemic) to 2020 participation (including onset of the pandemic and after). This worksite wellness program, which is available to …

Policy And Practice Brief 2: English Learners Are A Priority During Covid-19, Melissa J. Cuba

MERC Publications

English learners (ELs) are disproportionately impacted by the health and economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. These students often traverse virtual learning with fewer resources, limited access, additional responsibilities, and increased needs. In addition to this, they represent a significant percentage of the student population in school divisions across the Commonwealth. This policy and practice brief provides additional research and resources on this topic.

The Survival Of Critical Infrastructure: How Do We Stop Ransomware Attacks On Hospitals?, Helena Roland

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Our nation’s infrastructure is under an emerging new threat: ransomware attacks. These attacks can cause anything from individual laptops, to entire cities to shut down for a period of time until the victim pays a ransom to the attacker. Unfortunately, these attacks are on the rise and the attackers have a new target: hospitals. Ransomware attacks on hospitals can temporarily shut down operating room technology and limit physician access to patient files, ultimately threatening the safety of hospital patients and the surrounding community. This paper examines how the threat of ransomware attacks on hospitals is on the rise and what …

Finetuning Pre-Trained Language Models For Sentiment Classification Of Covid19 Tweets, Arjun Dussa

Dissertations

It is a common practice in today’s world for the public to use different micro-blogging and social networking platforms, predominantly Twitter, to share opinions, ideas, news, and information about many things in life. Twitter is also becoming a popular channel for information sharing during pandemic outbreaks and disaster events. The world has been suffering from economic crises ever since COVID-19 cases started to increase rapidly since January 2020. The virus has killed more than 800 thousand people ever since the discovery as per the statistics from Worldometer [1] which is the authorized tracking website. So many researchers around the globe …

The Artificial University: Decision Support For Universities In The Covid-19 Era, Wesley J. Wildman, Saikou Y. Diallo, George Hodulik, Andrew Page, Andreas Tolk, Neha Gondal

VMASC Publications

Operating universities under pandemic conditions is a complex undertaking. The Artificial University (TAU) responds to this need. TAU is a configurable, open-source computer simulation of a university using a contact network based on publicly available information about university classes, residences, and activities. This study evaluates health outcomes for an array of interventions and testing protocols in an artificial university of 6,500 students, faculty, and staff. Findings suggest that physical distancing and centralized contact tracing are most effective at reducing infections, but there is a tipping point for compliance below which physical distancing is less effective. If student compliance is anything …

Protecting The Rights Of People With Disabilities, Elizabeth Pendo

All Faculty Scholarship

One in four Americans — a diverse group of 61 million people — experience some form of disability (Okoro, 2018). On average, people with disabilities experience significant disparities in education, employment, poverty, access to health care, food security, housing, transportation, and exposure to crime and domestic violence (Pendo & Iezzoni, 2019). Intersections with demographic characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, and LGBT status, may intensify certain inequities. For example, women with disability experience greater disparities in income, education, and employment (Nosek, 2016), and members of under-served racial and ethnic groups with disabilities experience greater disparities in health status and access …

Medicaid's Vital Role In Addressing Health And Economic Emergencies, Nicole Huberfeld, Sidney Watson

All Faculty Scholarship

Medicaid plays an essential role in helping states respond to crises. Medicaid guarantees federal matching funds to states, which helps with unanticipated costs associated with public health emergencies, like COVID-19, and increases in enrollment that inevitably occur during times of economic downturn. Medicaid’s joint federal/state structure, called cooperative federalism, gives states significant flexibility within federal rules that allows states to streamline eligibility and expand benefits, which is especially important during emergencies. Federal emergency declarations give the secretary of Health and Human Services temporary authority to exercise regulatory flexibility to ensure that sufficient health care is available to meet the needs …

An Epic Fail, Marsha Griggs

All Faculty Scholarship

All at once, the U.S. found itself embattled with the threat of COVID-19, the new normal of social distancing, and the perennial scourge of racial injustice. While simultaneously battling those ills, the class of 2020 law graduates found themselves also contending with inflexible bar licensing policies that placed at risk their health, safety, and careers. During a global health pandemic, bar licensing authorities made the bar exam a moving target riddled with uncertainty and last-minute cancellations. This costly and unsettling uncertainty surrounding the bar exam administration was unnecessary because multiple alternatives were available to safely license new attorneys. A ball …

'Terroristic Threats' And Covid-19: A Guide For The Perplexed, Chad Flanders, Courtney Federico, Eric Harmon, Lucas Klein

All Faculty Scholarship

The first few months of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States saw the rise of a troubling sort of behavior: people would cough or spit on people or otherwise threaten to spread the COVID-19 virus, resulting in panic and sometimes thousands of dollars’ worth of damages to businesses. Those who have been caught doing this — or have filmed themselves doing it — have been charged under so-called “terroristic threat” statutes. But what is a terroristic threat, and is it an appropriate charge in these cases? Surprisingly little has been written about these statutes given their long history and …

Damn It! A Conversation On Being Black, Female, And Marginalized During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Is The World Listening? A Conversation Between Black Female Law Professors, Patricia A. Broussard

Journal Publications

We are African American women with a combined forty-four years in academia. We are professors of law and have seen firsthand how COVID-19 has ravaged African Americans across this country. As we conversed with one another in the Spring of 2020 about what we were witnessing, we began to look through the spectrum of the law and discrimination, and how this novel Coronavirus is laying bare the inequities and inequalities that have been evident for hundreds of years in the Black community. We felt compelled to put pen to paper and document our conversations in an attempt to give a …

Symptom Management And Supportive Care Of Serious Covid-19 Patients And Their Families In India, Naveen Salins, Raj Kumar Mani, Roop Gursahani, Srinagesh Simha

Open Access archive

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic is causing a worldwide humanitarian crisis. Old age, comorbid conditions, end-stage organ impairment, and advanced cancer, increase the risk of mortality in serious COVID-19. A subset of serious COVID-19 patients with serious acute respiratory illness may be triaged not to receive aggressive intensive care unit (ICU) treatment and ventilation or may be discontinued from ventilation due to their underlying conditions. Those not eligible for aggressive ICU measures should receive appropriate symptom management. Early warning scores (EWS), oxygen saturation, and respiratory rate, can facilitate categorizing COVID-19 patients as stable, unstable, and end of life. Breathlessness, delirium, respiratory …

Municipal Power And Democratic Legitimacy In The Time Of Covid-19, Alexandra Flynn

All Faculty Publications

As COVID-19 swept through Canada, cities were at the front lines in curbing its spread. From March 2020, municipalities introduced such measures as restricting park access, ticketing those lingering in public places, and enforcing physical distancing requirements. Local governments have also supplemented housing for the vulnerable and given support to local “main street” businesses. Citizens expected their local governments to respond to the pandemic, but few people know how constrained the powers of municipalities are in Canadian law. Municipalities are a curious legal construct in Canadian federalism. Under the constitution, they are considered to be nothing more than “creatures of …

Intimate Partner Violence And Covid-19 In Rural, Remote, And Northern Canada: Relationship, Vulnerability And Risk, Pertice Pertice Moffitt, Wendy Aujla, Crystal J. Giesbrecht, Isabel Grant, Anna-Lee Straatman

All Faculty Publications

In rural, remote, and northern parts of Canada, the pre-existing vulnerability and risk for intimate partner violence has been exacerbated by COVID-19. The purpose of this commentary is to identify the unique impact of COVID-19 on intimate partner violence both in terms of the bearing on those experiencing abuse and on the service sector in rural, remote and northern communities where the rates of intimate partner violence and intimate partner femicide pre-pandemic are higher than in larger cities. The recommendations offered in this paper include enhanced safety planning, alternate housing for victims fleeing violence, and suggestions for service providers. We …

Covid-19, Equity, And The Future Of Education: A Conversation Between Teacher Candidates, Shayna Glenn, Kadee Kall, Kate Ruebenson

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

When public schools closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19, A1, A2, and A3 were headed into the full-time student teaching segment of their year-long teacher preparation practicum experience. While everyone has faced uncertainty during the pandemic, these beginning teachers also shared unique challenges. In April they came together for a conversation with a NWJTE editor to talk about their experiences, the obstacles and opportunities facing schools right now, and their hopes for their students and themselves. All three envision a 2020-2021 school year focused on equity, inclusivity, and the importance of access for all children.

Responding To Student Teachers' Fears: How We're Adjusting During The Covid-19 Shutdowns, Jeremy Delamarter, Mary Ewart

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The COVID-19 epidemic has wrought havoc on both K-12 education and teacher preparation, to say nothing of society in general. For many of our candidates, the normal fears and anxieties that surround student teaching have been magnified to the point of that even our most promising student teachers feel overwhelmed and panicked. In this article, we reflect on the need for teacher educators to acknowledge and respond to their candidates' fears. We outline some of the individual, pedagogical, and programmatic adjustments that we have made in wake of the COVID shutdowns. We conclude by acknowledging that these adjustments are part …

The Immigrant Population Amid Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis: A Compiled Project For Nurs 518, Maureen S. Reyes

Population Health

Immigrants has been part of the United States (US) historical society ever since this country has long been discovered. They say that this nation is built by immigrants. Some people would strongly disagree; but to be fair that is a reality. The American economy has long thrive and sustained, and has been strengthened by the contributions made by immigrants. Immigrants come from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds; each with their own stories to tell and traditions to share.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made an impact on the socioeconomic and health care inequities of vulnerable and undeserved communities in …

Mindfulness And Engagement In Covid-19 Preventive Behavior, Ilana Haliwa, Jerin Lee, Natalie J. Shook

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents a significant risk to population health. Health organizations worldwide have recommended numerous preventive health behaviors to slow the spread of COVID-19. Yet, considerable variability exists in individual-level adherence to these recommendations. Mindfulness has been associated with greater engagement in health promotive behavior (e.g., physical activity, healthy eating), and may serve as an individual difference factor that encourages adherence. However, no study to date has examined the extent to which mindfulness is associated with preventive health behaviors during a global pandemic. The purpose of the present study was to assess the relations between …

Covid-19-Related Anxiety In People Living With Hiv: An Online Cross-Sectional Study, Özlem Kuman Tunçel, Hüsnü Pullukçu, Hüseyi̇n Aytaç Erdem, Behi̇ce Kurtaran, Seli̇n Ece Taşbakan, Meltem Taşbakan

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has had an enormous emotional impact on some vulnerable groups, such as people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLHIV). This study was planned with the aim of assessing the anxiety levels of PLHIV and the sources of their anxiety. Materials and methods: A web-based questionnaire was sent to PLHIV using the virtual snowball sampling method. The questionnaire included questions about sociodemographic status, information about HIV infection, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Additionally, some opinions of the participants about COVID-19 were asked. Results: A total of 307 respondents, with …

Covid-19 Experience Of The Major Pandemic Response Center In The Capital: Results Ofthe Pandemic's First Month In Turkey, Hati̇ce Rahmet Güner, İmran Hasanoğlu, Bi̇rcan Kayaaslan, Adalet Aypak, Ayşe Kaya Kalem, Fatma Eser, Burcu Özdemi̇r, Eli̇f Muki̇me Saricaoğlu, Müge Ayhan, Yeşi̇m Aybar Bi̇li̇r, Işil Özkoçak Turan, Deni̇z Erdem, Nevzat Mehmet Mutlu, Turan Buzğan, Bedi̇a Di̇nç

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and parameters that determined the clinical course and prognosis of the COVID-19 patients admitted to Ankara City Hospital during the first month of the pandemic in Turkey. Materials and methods: SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive patients who were hospitalized between March 10 and April 10, 2020 were included. Results: Among 222 patients, mean age was higher in severe acute respiratory illness (SARI)/critical disease group (P < 0.001). Median time from illness onset to admission and presence of comorbidity, especially coronary artery disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, were significantly higher in the SARI/critical disease group (P < 0.05). Cough and fever were the most common symptoms, while anosmia and loss of taste were observed in 8.6% and 7.7% patients, respectively. The mortality rate was 5.4%. A high neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio; low lymphocyte, monocyte, and platelet count; elevated liver enzymes; low GFR; and high levels of muscle enzymes, ferritin, and IL-6 on admission were found to be associated with SARI/critical disease (P < 0.05). Bilateral ground-glass opacity and patchy infiltration were more frequently seen in the SARI/critical disease group (P < 0.001). Patients older than 65 years had an 8-fold increased risk for development of SARI/critical disease. Conclusion: This cohort study regarding COVID-19 cases in Turkey reveals that older age, presence of comorbidity, bilateral infiltration on CT, high neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, low monocyte and platelet count, elevated liver enzymes, low GFR, high levels of muscle enzymes, and high levels of ferritin and IL-6 on admission are predictors of SARI and severe disease.

Protective Measures For Covid-19 For Healthcare Providers And Laboratory Personnel, Canan Ağalar, Derya Öztürk Engi̇n

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

In the COVID-19 pandemic, which affects the whole world, healthcare professionals (HCP) are at high risk of transmission due to their direct contact with patients with COVID-19. Therefore, how to ensure the triage of the patient with acute respiratory symptoms should be determined in advance, the contact distance should be arranged to be at least 2 m, COVID-19 suspect or diagnosed patient should be instructed to wear a surgical mask. During the care of these patients, HCP should wear their personal protective equipment (PPE) in accordance with the procedure and should not neglect hand hygiene. The samples of the patient …

Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Anaesthesia Trainees And Their Training, John R. Sneyd, Sophie E. Mathoulin, Ellen P. O'Sullivan, Vincent C. So, Fiona R. Roberts, Aaron A. Paul, Luis I. Cortinez, Russell S. Ampofo, Caitlynn J. Miller, Maxine A. Balkisson

More Faculty of Health Research

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2] has dislocated clinical services and postgraduate training. To better understand and to document these impacts, we contacted anaesthesia trainees and trainers across six continents and collated their experiences during the pandemic. All aspects of training programmes have been affected. Trainees report that reduced caseload, sub-specialty experience, and supervised procedures are impairing learning. Cancelled educational activities, postponed examinations, and altered rotations threaten progression through training. Job prospects and international opportunities are downgraded. Work-related anxieties about provision of personal protective equipment, and risks to self and to colleagues are superimposed on …

Advanced Preparation Makes Research In Emergencies And Isolation Care Possible: The Case Of Novel Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19), David Brett-Major, Elizabeth R. Schnaubelt, Hannah M. Creager, Abigail Lowe, Theodore J. Cieslak, Jacob M. Dahlke, Daniel W. Johnson, Paul D. Fey, Keith F. Hansen, Angela L. Hewlett, Bruce G. Gordon, Andre C. Kalil, Ali S. Khan, Mark G. Kortepeter, Christopher J. Kratochvil, Luann Larson, Deborah A. Levy, James Linder, Sharon J. Medcalf, Mark E. Rupp, Michelle M. Schwedhelm, James N. Sullivan Md, Angela M. Vasa, Michael C. Wadman, Rachel E. Lookadoo, John-Martin J. Lowe, James V. Lawler, M. Jana Broadhurst

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

The optimal time to initiate research on emergencies is before they occur. However, timely initiation of high-quality research may launch during an emergency under the right conditions. These include an appropriate context, clarity in scientific aims, preexisting resources, strong operational and research structures that are facile, and good governance. Here, Nebraskan rapid research efforts early during the 2020 coronavirus disease pandemic, while participating in the first use of U.S. federal quarantine in 50 years, are described from these aspects, as the global experience with this severe emerging infection grew apace. The experience has lessons in purpose, structure, function, and performance …

Bankruptcy Courts Ill-Prepared For Tsunami Of People Going Broke From Coronavirus Shutdown, Paige Marta Skiba, Dalié Jiménez, Michelle Miller, Pamela Foohey, Sara Sternberg Green

Economics Faculty Works

As more Americans lose all or part of their incomes and struggle with mounting debts, another crisis looms: a wave of personal bankruptcies. Bankruptcy can discharge or erase many types of debts and stop foreclosures, repossessions and wage garnishments. But our research shows the bankruptcy system is difficult to navigate even in normal times, particularly for minorities, the elderly and those in rural areas.

An Examination Of Covid-19 Statistical Modeling, Shane Vaughan

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The 2019 novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is an infectious disease which was first reported in late 2019 and soon spread to become a global pandemic, prompting major action from world governments. Soon after, many institutions began attempts to analyze and predict the spread and severity of the disease via statistical modeling. Some information is not available for public consumption; however, a number of institutions have published the results of their analyses and some have made public repositories of the code used to build the models. This research paper attempts use these and other resources to examine the modeling …

Responding To The "Unknown Assailant": A Qualitative Exploration With Australian Health And Aged Care Chaplains On The Impact Of Covid-19, Kate Fiona Jones, Jennifer Washington, Matthew Kearney, Megan C. Best

IES Papers and Journal Articles

The global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has brought about physical, psychological and spiritual challenges within health and aged care services across Australia. The aim of this study was to consider the impact of COVID-19 from the perspective of Australian chaplains. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 chaplains. A grounded theory analysis identified three overarching themes: (1) a changing healthcare environment; (2) the impact of the virus; and (3) chaplains responding to the crisis. Increased healthcare restrictions in response to COVID-19 raised levels of fear and anxiety among patients, residents, family members and staff, and generated feelings of isolation and disconnection. Chaplains …

Evaluating Academia During A Pandemic, The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute At Virginia Commonwealth University, Mary Fain, Nicholas Georges, Janina Golob Deeb, Lisa Mathews-Ailsworth, Rita Shiang, Patrick Smith

GEHLI - 2026 VCUL Team Project Publications

COVID-19 disrupted educational instruction which transitioned into remote learning and testing modes. Faculty adopted various platforms of remote learning, however, the students' perception of efficacy and adequacy remains unclear. Curriculum delivery transformation should be based on student feedback to align it with their needs and expectations. As remote learning evolves, it is important to identify perceptions from faculty and students. Our project might help improve and potentially enhance remote teaching and learning techniques.