Ensuring social acceptability of technological tracking in the COVID-19 context

With the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more countries are implementing large-scale technology-based tracking measures to monitor and prevent the propagation of the virus across the population. Yet, despite important efforts made by governments in terms of development and media campaigns, these technology-based tracking applications are globally failing to get the adhesion of the population. Indeed, the social acceptability of these technologies is problematic, since these applications are perceived as presenting a risk on individual liberties, resulting in very low levels of trust from the population. The aim of this paper is thus to analyze how technology-based tracking in the context of a pandemic can answer the needs and requirements of social accountability. We will first describe what kind of technological means can be used in a pandemic management context, from Internet control to implanted devices. We will then present some of the key factors that can impact the social acceptability of technological tracking, as well as some of the long-term challenges associated with massive technological tracking of the population. Finally, we will propose an operational framework to conceptualize social acceptability enforcement and to optimize population adhesion to these measures via specific practical actions that can be undertaken by governments, policymakers, decision leaders, and application developers to ensure that technological tracking is not only socially accepted, but also socially acceptable. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Online Presence of the Funeral Industry: The Example of the Quebec Federation of Funeral Cooperatives.

The digitalization of modern societies has offered new tools for funeral industries to reach the communities they serve, ranging from using technologies in funeral planning, in commemoration of the dead, or to support the bereaved. The COVID-19 pandemic only pushed this need for online presence of the funeral industries further. We explore the digitalization of funeral industries through the example of Quebec (Canada), where many funeral institutions are regrouped under a federation of funeral cooperatives. We analyze how this influences the delivery of funeral services and allows the development of common services answering various needs of the population (e.g., a funding program for youth funerals, an ecological memorialization program, online grief support). Finally, we discuss how the federation's online presence contributes to its mission, and more largely whether it changes the perception of the industry.

Ensuring social acceptability of technological tracking in the COVID-19 context

With the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more countries are implementing large-scale technology-based tracking measures to monitor and prevent the propagation of the virus across the population. Yet, despite important efforts made by governments in terms of development and media campaigns, these technology-based tracking applications are globally failing to get the adhesion of the population. Indeed, the social acceptability of these technologies is problematic, since these applications are perceived as presenting a risk on individual liberties, resulting in very low levels of trust from the population. The aim of this paper is thus to analyze how technology-based tracking in the context of a pandemic can answer the needs and requirements of social accountability. We will first describe what kind of technological means can be used in a pandemic management context, from Internet control to implanted devices. We will then present some of the key factors that can impact the social acceptability of technological tracking, as well as some of the long-term challenges associated with massive technological tracking of the population. Finally, we will propose an operational framework to conceptualize social acceptability enforcement and to optimize population adhesion to these measures via specific practical actions that can be undertaken by governments, policymakers, decision leaders, and application developers to ensure that technological tracking is not only socially accepted, but also socially acceptable.

COVID-19 and digital inequalities: Reciprocal impacts and mitigation strategies.

With more than three billion people in isolation, the status of digital spaces is switching from an amenity to a necessity, as they become not only the main way to access information and services, but also one of the only remaining vectors for economic, educational, and leisure activities as well as for social interactions to take place. However, not all are equals in terms of access to networks or connected devices, or when it comes to the skills required to navigate computerized spaces optimally. Digital inequalities were already existing, yet the COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating them dramatically. On the one hand, the crisis will worsen digital inequalities within the population. On the other hand, digital inequalities represent a major risk factor of vulnerability for exposure to the virus itself, and for the non-sanitary consequences of the crisis. Therefore, this paper aims at exploring the reciprocal impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and digital inequalities, and to propose operative solutions to help fight the nefarious consequences of the crisis. We first describe how digital inequalities are a determinant of health. We then investigate how COVID-19 can potentiate digital inequalities, and how digital inequalities potentiate vulnerability to COVID-19. Finally, in order to contribute to the mitigation of this crisis, we propose a set of multi-layered strategies focusing on actionability that can be implemented at multiple structural levels, ranging from governmental to corporate and community levels.