How Did Governments Address the Needs of People With Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic? An Analysis of 14 Countries' Policies Based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities

Background: People with disabilities have experienced heightened social risks in the context of the pandemic, resulting in higher rates of infection and mortality. They have also borne elevated burdens associated with public health measures. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) obliges its 184 state parties to eliminate discrimination and ensure equality and inclusion for persons with disabilities, including protection and safety in situations of emergency. It remains unclear to what extent national COVID-19 policies have aligned with these commitments under the UNCRPD. Our objective in this exploratory study was to assess alignment between the UNCRPD indicators and COVID-19 policies from 14 countries with the goal of informing policy development that is inclusive of persons with disabilities and responsive to rights under the UNCRPD. Methods: We identified COVID-19 policy documents from 14 purposively selected countries. Country selection considered diversity based on geographic regions and national income levels, with restriction to those countries that had ratified the UNCRPD and had English or French as an official language. We used a computational text mining approach and developed a complex multilevel dictionary or categorization model based on the UNCRPD Bridging the Gap indicators proposed by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR). This dictionary was used to assess the extent to which indicators across the entirety of the UNCRPD were represented in the selected policies. We analyzed frequency of associations with UNCRPD, as well as conducting ‘key word in context' analyses to identify themes. Results: We identified 764 COVID-19 national policy documents from the period of January 2020 to June 2021. When analyzed in relation to the Articles of the UNCRPD, the most frequently identified were Articles 11 (risk and humanitarian emergencies), 23 (home and family), 24 (education), and 19 (community living). Six countries produced 27 policies that were specifically focused on disability. Common themes within these documents included continuation of services, intersectionality and equity, and disability considerations in regulations and public health measures. Conclusion: Analyzing country policies in light of the UNCRPD offers important insights about how these policies do and do not align with states' commitments. As new policies are developed and existing ones revised, more comprehensive approaches to addressing the rights of persons with disabilities are urgently needed. © 2023 The Author(s);Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Analysis of the Effect of Wages and Reduction of Working Hours on Poverty in Indonesia with Gross Regional Domestic Product as Moderator

Poverty is a multidimensional problem that is influenced by many factors that can change according to the circumstances of each region or country. This study aims to analyze the effect of average wages and reduced working hours on poverty with Gross Domestic Regional Product (GRDP) as a moderator. The researcher explores whether her Covid-19 pandemic will affect the outcome of this study. Secondary data is used, namely wages, reduced working hours, GRDP, and poverty in 34 provinces in Indonesia. The regression analysis shows that wages did not directly affect poverty. This is indicated by a significance value of 0.059. This finding shows that there are differences in results from previous studies, where wages have a direct influence on poverty. Furthermore, the GRDP can moderate and strengthens the relationship between wages and poverty, which is indicated by the significant value of wage interaction of 0.000. While reducing working hours has a positive relationship with poverty, GRDP cannot moderate those relationships. This study contributes to the enrichment of literacy related to the relationship of the variables tested against the Vicious Circle of Poverty theory. This research also contributes as a reference for policy makers in making policies related to poverty eradication. Copyright © 2022 GMP Press and Printing.

A Life of Contradictions: Group Inequality and Socio-economic Rights in the Indian Constitution

The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated that crises exacerbate and are exacerbated by antecedent inequalities associated with group identity. Addressing such inequalities requires adopting a normative principle-which equality law can supply-that places a positive duty upon the state to redress socio-economic disadvantages arising from group identity. However, as this chapter argues, the Indian Supreme Court has failed to engage with questions of socio-economic disadvantage in conjunction with group inequality. On the one hand, while the Court has understood the Constitution's equality code as encompassing a substantive vision of equality, by and large, the Court has not read into these provisions any judicially enforceable positive obligation on the state to redress group-based disadvantages. As such, state failure to secure substantive group equality remains non-justiciable. On the other hand, the Court has read in positive obligations of redistribution into its socio-economic rights jurisprudence;however, it has not engaged with questions of group equality in understanding the scope and content of these rights, the concomitant positive obligations on the state, or in the remedial action ordered by the Court. This gap between the constitutional guarantees of equality and of socio-economic justice leaves unaddressed the group-based material disadvantages that lead to exponential inequalities in times of crisis. An argument for bridging this gap would raise the question: should courts adjudicate and enforce positive state obligations at all? The chapter argues that a focus on group equality can actually address some of the concerns with the Court's extant practices and processes regarding the adjudication of socio-economic rights. © The several contributors 2022. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 infection in kidney transplant recipients during the first versus the second wave-Retrospective Observational study from a single center

Background: Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) are deemed to be at a high risk of severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Herein, we describe the clinical, laboratory profiles, management, and outcomes of 26 KTRs who developed COVID-19 during the first and second waves of the pandemic from a tertiary care center in northern India. Methods: This retrospective observational study included KTRs detected with COVID-19 infection during the first wave (March-November 2020) and the second wave (March-July 2021). Their clinical and laboratory investigations, management aspects, and outcomes were compared, using data retrieved from clinical and telenephrology records, and the hospital information system. Results: Of the 23 KTRs, 20 were male (86%), 20 patients had fever (86%), and cough and breathlessness were seen in 19 (82%) and 12 (52%), respectively. Acute graft dysfunction was seen in 6 (26%) patients, and the need for renal replacement was seen in 4 (17%) patients. Supplemental oxygen by reservoir mask was utilized in 10 (43%) patients, high-flow nasal cannula in 3 (13%), noninvasive mechanical ventilation in 4 (17%), and invasive mechanical ventilation in 6 (26%) patients. All the KTRs with moderate and severe COVID illness and 6/7 nonsurvivors were infected during the second wave. Overall mortality in this group of patients was very high at 27%, and the mortality in the group on mechanical ventilation was 100%. Conclusions: The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with greater severity of illness and high mortality in KTRs.

The Effectiveness of Using the Alquran Integrated Basic Physics Student Worksheet with a Scaffolding Approach to Students Learning Outcomes

The low student learning outcomes, coupled with the necessity of students to study independently at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, added to the list of problems for basic physics lectures and the Vision of IAIN Batusangkar to integrate the Qur’an in lectures. So, learning media is needed in the form of Basic Physics Student Worksheets integrated with the Qur’an with the Scaffolding Approach. This Student Worksheet contains material that guides students to learn to achieve independence. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the use of basic physics student worksheets integrated with the Alqur’an with a scaffolding approach to student learning outcomes and to see student responses to the use of student worksheets. The type of research is pre-experimental with one group pretest and posttest design. Sampling used a total sampling technique, with a sample of students from the Department of Chemistry for the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 years, that is 15 and 14 students. The research instrument was in the form of learning outcomes test questions and student response questionnaires. Based on the data analysis, the following results were obtained: 1) Both research phase 1 and research phase 2, all students gave a positive response to learning using Student Worksheets. 2) The use of basic physics student worksheets was not effective in phase 1 research, and in phase 2 research it was quite effective in improving student learning outcomes. So it was concluded that the Basic Physics Student Worksheet integrated with the Qur'an with the Scaffolding approach was quite effective in improving student learning outcomes. © 2022 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.

In the Zone: An Analysis of the Music Practices of Remote Software Developers

Background: Listening to music is a common practice among software developers. Music listening after work can help release work-related stress;while listening to music at work can improve work efficiency and make tedious work more enjoyable. The working environment of developers in the past few years has changed dramatically due to the vast adoption of remote and hybrid work policies. Aims: We aim to understand how listening to music at work affects remote developers' perceived productivity and creativity. Method: We investigated 130 software developers and collected their music listening habits during remote work in a questionnaire. We studied the impact of listening to music on developers' creativity and productivity while working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Our survey data suggests that developers generally feel more productive and creative when listening to music during remote working conditions. Conclusion: We found that developers who listen to music feel more productive and creative while working remotely due to reducing environment distractions. © 2022 Association for Computing Machinery.

Evaluation of hand hygiene practices among patients visiting dental college of purvanchal region - A cross-sectional study

Background: Effective hand hygiene is one of the most cost-efficient means of preventing infectious diseases in the community. Studies conducted to assess the hand hygiene practices of the general population in India are relatively limited. The present study was conducted with the aim to assess hand hygiene practices among the participants visiting the outpatient department (OPD) of a dental institute in the Purvanchal region in India. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 880 participants visiting the OPD of a dental college in the Purvanchal region. The data were collected using a pretested questionnaire focusing on the hand hygiene practices of the participants. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square test and the level of significance was set at 5%. Results: Results showed that 98.5% of the respondents used soap/antiseptic liquid soap or hand sanitizer. The frequency of handwashing increased with the improvement in socioeconomic status, with almost 70% of upper-class participants washing their hands daily 5-6 times or more (P = 0.001). A significant association was seen between education and extension of handwashing (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Majority of the population were using soap and water for handwashing which shows that people are aware that proper hand hygiene is necessary to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, especially COVID-19. However, more work is needed to educate people from lower socioeconomic status about good hand hygiene practices.

Hematological Markers in the Assessment of Severity of COVID-19 Infection - A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Patients with COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) present varying disease severity;with such heterogeneity in clinical presentations, it can be challenging to assess the severity and progression of the disease. In addition, no specific markers have been identified that would indicate the diagnosis or prognosis of the disease. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine whether a panel of hematological and inflammatory biomarkers were indicative of disease severity in the assessment and the prognosis of COVID-19. Methods: The retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out in a university hospital in South India between May 2020 and September 2020. The participants were 997 patients with COVID-19, confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Information regarding demographics and laboratory tests was obtained from medical records. Association analysis was conducted using SPSS, version 16, and a P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer, calculated inflammatory ratios, and hemoglobin were significantly increased in cases of severe COVID-19. Leucocytosis with increased absolute neutrophil count and decreased absolute lymphocyte count were observed. Conclusion: Haematological and inflammatory markers may indicate the severity of the disease. The severity of COVID-19 was indicated by elevated total white cells, increased neutrophillymphocyte, and platelet-lymphocyte ratios. Increasing levels of CRP indicated a severe prognosis of the disease. D-dimer elevations may indicate the incidence of thromboembolic episodes. Therefore, hematological indices were considered applicable in assessing the progression of the disease and for the risk stratification of the disease. © 2022 Shriaz University of Medical Sciences

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF SIMULATION EDUCATION FOR UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MASTER OF MEDICAL DEVICE INNOVATION STUDENTS IN A POST-COVID WORLD

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered the pedagogical approach to education at every level of training, including at the undergraduate level and graduate or professional level. These unprecedented times have tested academic resilience, agility, creativity, and adaptability in all aspects, including inventive alternative teaching methods. With an increasing reliance on virtual instruction, self-directed learning, and hybrid models of instruction, certain approaches of hands-on training, practice-based learning, and evaluation have had to evolve. The University of Minnesota's Master of Medical Device Innovation students are typically immersed in clinical environments through physician shadowing in the operating room, evaluating unmet needs and untapped areas of potential innovation. Engineers who can immerse themselves in surgical education, shadowing, and frontline medical experience can better appreciate, recognize, and enhance current medical technologies and processes. With the OR case restrictions in the era of COVID-19, these learners were faced with limited clinical exposure and thus limited familiarity with the dynamics and processes of clinical practice. As such not only education, but the functioning of the entire industry is stunted. From an instructive perspective, this creates a challenge for students attempting to generate relevant and feasible practicum ideas, accurate prototypes, and offers fewer opportunities to develop these ideas alongside the experts and medical professionals - the target audience. Simulation education provides a means for students to engage with clinical practice in a meaningful way that bridges the gap between clinical exposure and virtual learning. A hands-on approach in which students were able to practice fundamental surgical skills of suturing, knot-tying, and the basics of laparoscopy. Learners were offered three didactic workshop sessions that introduced these skills and then were given opportunities to perform with supervision from expert educators. Low-cost, low-fidelity models of pertinent anatomy and physiology provided students an immersive experience that allowed them to develop a deeper understanding of interventional skills. Three two hour-long sessions of guided skills practice on low-cost simulators were attended by the 2022 Masters of Medical Device Innovation cohort and subjective measures of their understanding of the fundamental concepts were evaluated. High-level findings of these workshops suggest that simulation education is an effective tool in advancing the baseline understanding of surgical principles as opposed to virtual instruction and may offer some further benefit, not possible even through clinical shadowing itself. © 2022 by ASME

Assessing the Impacts of IT Usage, IT Adoption, and Innovation Capabilities in Increasing the Hybrid Learning Process Performance

The disruptive changes of technological advancements and the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed the education sector to leap into a new learning model, known as hybrid learning. Hybrid learning implements both onsite and online learning to students simultaneously. This research aims to display the impacts of information technology (IT) usage, IT adoption, and innovation capabilities to increase learning process performance during hybrid learning. This research has used a quantitative approach by gathering survey data from 1,160 college students during a hybrid learning process. Hybrid learning had been conducted for four months before the survey was taken in December 2021. The findings show that IT usage, IT adoption, and innovation capabilities significantly affect the hybrid learning process performance. Moreover, IT adoption has the most robust beta coefficient, followed by innovation capabilities and IT usage. Therefore, this research posits that the hybrid learning process performance greatly depends on the adoption of IT, followed by the innovation capabilities of the lecturers. IT usage also supports the hybrid learning process performance. Thus, the three variables are essential in successfully maintaining the hybrid learning process. © 2022 Society for Research and Knowledge Management. All rights reserved.

Analysis of maritime-based MICE tourism development during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Sulawesi

The purpose of the research that the author wants to achieve is to find out the development of maritime-based MICE tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Sulawesi. The type of research used is descriptive qualitative. The results of this study indicate that the potential in the Malino tourist area is very much both from Nature Tourism, Cultural Tourism and Artificial Tourism so that if it is developed to the maximum it will make the Malino tourist area more popular and tourists visiting can increase with the availability of adequate facilities.

The great unequalizer: initial health effects of COVID-19 in the United States

We measure inequities from the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality and hospitalizations in the United States during the early months of the outbreak. We discuss challenges in measuring health outcomes and health inequality, some of which are specific to COVID-19 and others that complicate attribution during most large health shocks. As in past epidemics, pre-existing biological and social vulnerabilities profoundly influenced the distribution of disease. In addition to the elderly, Hispanic, Black and Native American communities were disproportionately affected by the virus, particularly when assessed using the years of potential life lost metric. For example, Hispanic and Black Americans in 2020 saw 39.5 and 25 percent increases in excess mortality relative to trend, compared to a less than 15 percent increase for Whites;we find losses in potential years of life three to four times larger among Hispanic and Black compared to White Americans. Individual-level data from a commercially insured population show that otherwise similar Black and Hispanic enrollees were hospitalized due to COVID-19 at a higher rate than White enrollees. We provide a conceptual framework and initial empirical analysis which seek to shed light on contributors to pandemic-related health inequality, and suggest areas for future research.

Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome in a patient with COVID-19

COVID-19 infection is well-known to produce different neurological complications, including cerebrovascular diseases. Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is characterized by transient segmental vasoconstriction of the cerebral vasculature, has been rarely reported in association with COVID-19 infection. The causative agent, the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), binds to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptors for its entry into the host cell. This leads to downregulation of the ACE-2 and increased activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAAS) axis resulting in sympathetic overactivity and vasoconstriction. This might be the possible mechanism of RCVS in COVID-19. We hereby report a case of RCVS occurring in a SARS-CoV-2infected patient. This was a 38-year-old male without any comorbidities or risk factors, who presented with headache and confusion. His SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR was positive. MRI of the brain was normal but cerebral angiography revealed segmental vasoconstriction in bilateral middle cerebral arteries and the terminal part of the internal carotid arteries, which resolved almost completely after 2 weeks. He was treated with oral nimodipine 60 mg every 6 hourly. A database search revealed 2 previous cases of RCVS associated with COVID-19. In conclusion, RCVS is a rare complication of COVID-19. It is possibly under-recognized as only a few COVID-19 patients with headaches undergo cerebral angiography especially when parenchymal brain imaging is normal.

A Bibliometric Analysis of COVID-19 Across Economics and Business Research Landscape

The Coronavirus disease which generated the unique virus appeared first in Port city of Hubei, China at the close of 2019, which significantly changed the whole humankind around the globe. Because of it's rapid outspread, it taken into consideration as a global issue such as health, wellness, social and economic, eventually it ended up being a significant global health as a result of its pathogenicity. In spite of an expanding rate, modest is investigated about the present state, The lack of understanding on this has motivated academic element for detailed check out, This bibliometric examined the peer scientific literary works to figure out the procedure of noesis on COVID-19, The research study is based upon bibliometric researches on Coronavirus, published data were collected from Scopus data source, quantitative assessment was carried out to evaluate the features of the present learning and generate visualizations for understanding, 668 documents were preserved. Web of writers, as well as nations were picturized in maps. However, COVID-19 search discloses special archeozoic use knowledge, spot a spaciotemporal as well as extensive introduction continues to be untended. The precise knowledge on n-Cov is helpful for evidence-based policymakers in direction to avert and also resolve the pandemic. © 2021. Transnational Press London. All Rights Reserved.

Predicting the determinants of continuance intention to use e-wallet in indonesia post-covid-19 pandemic

Digital payment, such as e-wallet, is not unfamiliar in Indonesia;the number of e-wallet usage has constantly been growing in these past years and is expected to overtake bank transfers in the future. With the increasing usage of e-wallet, the payment method trend is slowly shifting, leaving the cash method behind. Nevertheless, since the COVID-19 pandemic starts in the year 2020, it shifts to accelerate the circumstances of e-wallet usage differ from the typical situations. This study dwells on predicting determinants of continuous intention to use e-wallet post-COVID-19 pandemic by using PLS-SEM. With the purposive sampling method, data was gathered via an online questionnaire from 483 respondents in October-November 2020, consisting of e-wallet users located in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bandung. In this model, Attitude, Inertia, Subjective Norm, and Trust are variables influencing continuance intention, while Satisfaction is the variable affecting Inertia. All hypotheses are found to be significant. © 2021 IEEE.