ABSTRACT
Dismantling structures that impede social work professional and organizational growth begins with social work educational institutions. In 2020, the convergence of three pandemics – COVID-19, economic injustice, and, notably, structural racism, catalyzed a group of social work staff and faculty at a public Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the Southern U.S.. The group relied on community organizing and organizational change strategies to form the antiracism collective (ARC). We employed a participatory evaluative case study (Merriam, 1998) methodology to answer two questions: 1) How has ARC accelerated one social work department's integration of antiracist praxis (theory, reflection, action) into all aspects of the department to support the department's mission?;and 2) How can ARC dismantle structures which impede social workers' ability to confront racism? We find that ARC 1) catalyzed department transformation as evidenced by the increased sense of critical consciousness, struggle, integrity, and community;and 2) achieved primarily individual impact, with small but potentially significant department impact, and small but potentially significant structural impact. We highlight strengths and limitations of antiracism collectives as a pathway to confront racism in other social work educational institutions. © 2022 Authors,.
ABSTRACT
In this chapter, international media coverage of Sweden’s infamous “light touch” COVID-19 strategy is connected to another subject that dominated coverage of Sweden: immigrants and immigration. For years, immigrants were framed—by both right-wing and supposedly “progressive” outlets—as the central issue facing Swedish society, and as a problem and threat. Stockholm has been the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, and it is parts of the city with the highest percentage of residents with immigrant backgrounds that have been hit hardest. In other words, the very people vilified by the media when arriving as refugees are the ones now bearing the brunt of COVID-19. Coverage of this element of the impact of COVID-19 on Sweden has been striking by its absence. Ignoring this part of Sweden’s COVID-19 story erases the place of immigrants in Swedish society. This erasure, in turn, reinforces vague, stereotypical notions of Swedish social, economic, political, and ethnic homogeneity that makes real analysis impossible. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Irene Gammel and Jason Wang;individual chapters, the contributors.
ABSTRACT
Governments and industry continue to expand activities beyond existing space sectors to architect and construct a future where burgeoning in-space activities may flourish, as is evidenced by efforts to facilitate the commercialization of LEO and the development of commercial lunar activities, as well as by the ongoing expansion of on-orbit servicing, assembly, and manufacturing services. In the context of this potential new “off-world future”, a firm understanding of the current size of the satellite industry, revenue drivers within the industry, and changes in industry dynamics are critical. Given the prospect of future economic activity generated from emerging and maturing in-space business concepts, this paper characterizes and provides objective context on the current size of the industry to which emerging concepts and prospective revenues can be compared. The companies within the satellite industry, whose business performance results are used to generate indicators comprising the size of the space economy, are key stakeholders with the ability to shape the direction of emerging space activities. Established satellite manufacturers, for example, may build satellites or components for commercial satellite operators and construct the spacecraft and platforms needed to support market growth in LEO and lunar business activities, highlighting the potential complementary supply chains. Success or stagnation in certain satellite industry sectors may impact the performance of others within the broader space economy. Understanding the satellite industry’s gross economic performance and performance of key existing satellite industry sectors is imperative for conceptualizing how emerging markets in an “off-world future” will eventually be integrated within the space industry at large. BryceTech conducts an annual study of the satellite industry’s economic performance for the Satellite Industry Association (SIA). The study is derived from surveys of nearly 100 companies, including 54 SIA members, supplemented with unique data sets, in-depth public information, and independent analysis. Key satellite industry sectors are assessed, including satellite services (television, radio, broadband, fixed and mobile satellite communication services, and remote sensing), manufacturing, ground equipment, and launch services. The study is the most accurate available assessment of the satellite industry in the United States and internationally. The study provides objective measures of the satellite industry to aid communication with policy makers, regulators, legislators, investors, and other industry stakeholders. The study’s findings on the satellite industry’s economic performance and industry dynamics provide metrics to illustrate the influence of the satellite industry on society compared to other industry sectors. The study results revealed global satellite industry revenue of about $271 billion in 2020. The study results present the satellite sector revenues in the context of the broader space economy and across the industry value chain. In each sector, overall revenue, growth rates, and international geographic distribution are analyzed, and trends are discussed. Additional analysis of revenue and contract data offers valuable insight into domestic and international market dynamics. The paper covers the period from 2016 through 2020. Analysis includes assessments of the dynamics and trends regarding the growth of active on-orbit satcom capacity (high-throughput capacity in GEO and new LEO broadband capacity), the diverse heritage of and new emerging start-ups in remote sensing systems and services, and the continuing growth of smallsat activity. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the satellite industry, including an abrupt drop in demand for some services, such as in-flight and on-the-move connectivity and broadcasting of sport and entertainment events, and a satellite production slow-down, are given additional attention. The paper also considers how changes in overall industry long-term dynamics are driving ncr ased productivity and new capabilities across all four key satellite industry sectors. © 2021, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The temporary decrease of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in many parts of the world due to the COVID-19 lockdown spurred discussions on urban air pollution and health. However there has been little focus on sub-Saharan Africa, as few African cities have air quality monitors and if they do, these data are often not publicly available. Spatial differentials of changes in PM2.5 concentrations as a result of COVID also remain largely unstudied. To address this gap, we use a serendipitous mobile air quality monitoring deployment of eight Sensirion SPS 30 sensors on motorbikes in the city of Nairobi starting on 16 March 2020, before a COVID-19 curfew was imposed on 25 March and continuing until 5 May 2020. We developed a random-forest model to estimate PM2.5 surfaces for the entire city of Nairobi before and during the COVID-19 curfew. The highest PM2.5 concentrations during both periods were observed in the poor neighborhoods of Kariobangi, Mathare, Umoja, and Dandora, located to the east of the city center. Changes in PM2.5 were heterogeneous over space. PM2.5 concentrations increased during the curfew in rapidly urbanizing, the lower-middle-class neighborhoods of Kahawa, Kasarani, and Ruaraka, likely because residents switched from LPG to biomass fuels due to loss of income. Our results indicate that COVID-19 and policies to address it may have exacerbated existing air pollution inequalities in the city of Nairobi. The quantitative results are preliminary, due to sampling limitations and measurement uncertainties, as the available data came exclusively from low-cost sensors. This research serves to highlight that spatial data that is essential for understanding structural inequalities reflected in uneven air pollution burdens and differential impacts of events like the COVID pandemic. With the help of carefully deployed low-cost sensors with improved spatial sampling and at least one reference-quality monitor for calibration, we can collect data that is critical for developing targeted interventions that address environmental injustice in the African context.
ABSTRACT
The international economic upheaval that began in early 2020 with the spread of COVID-19 throughout the world has generated more profound and longer-term shocks than those included in the USDA's Economic Research Service's (ERS) report International Food Security Assessment 2020-30 published in August 2020 (hereafter, the 2020 IFSA report). A fresh set of macroeconomic projections from ERS, reflecting the world's changing economic conditions and possible path through 2030, became available in September 2020. These projections were used to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on food insecurity in the 76 countries covered by the 2020 IFSA report. The new macroeconomic projections show a deeper-than-expected contraction in economic activity in the IFSA countries. Gross domestic product (GDP) in the IFSA countries as a group is estimated to decline by 5.1 percent in 2020, 5.2 percentage points lower than the 2020 IFSA report estimate. As a result, this updated analysis estimates that in 2020 there will be 921 million food-insecure people, an increase of 160 million from the pre-pandemic estimate and almost double the COVID-19 estimate published in the 2020 IFSA report. The prevalence of food insecurity for 2020 is now estimated at 24 percent, an increase of 4.2 percentage points from the pre-pandemic level and double the figure in the 2020 IFSA report. However, food insecurity is expected to decline by 2030, with the prevalence of food-insecurity dropping to 11.6 percent and the number of food-insecure people falling to 513 million.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19 relies on transfer of anti-viral antibody from donors to recipients via plasma transfusion. The relationship between clinical characteristics and antibody response to COVID-19 is not well defined. We investigated predictors of convalescent antibody production and quantified recipient antibody response in a convalescent plasma therapy clinical trial. METHODS: Multivariable analysis of clinical and serological parameters in 103 confirmed COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors 28 days or more following symptom resolution was performed. Mixed-effects regression models with piecewise linear trends were used to characterize serial antibody responses in 10 convalescent plasma recipients with severe COVID-19. RESULTS: Donor antibody titres ranged from 0 to 1 : 3892 (anti-receptor binding domain (RBD)) and 0 to 1 : 3289 (anti-spike). Higher anti-RBD and anti-spike titres were associated with increased age, hospitalization for COVID-19, fever and absence of myalgia (all P < 0.05). Fatigue was significantly associated with anti-RBD (P = 0.03). In pairwise comparison amongst ABO blood types, AB donors had higher anti-RBD and anti-spike than O donors (P < 0.05). No toxicity was associated with plasma transfusion. Non-ECMO recipient anti-RBD antibody titre increased on average 31% per day during the first three days post-transfusion (P = 0.01) and anti-spike antibody titre by 40.3% (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Advanced age, fever, absence of myalgia, fatigue, blood type and hospitalization were associated with higher convalescent antibody titre to COVID-19. Despite variability in donor titre, 80% of convalescent plasma recipients showed significant increase in antibody levels post-transfusion. A more complete understanding of the dose-response effect of plasma transfusion amongst COVID-19-infected patients is needed.