ABSTRACT
This article examines the role of pandemics and viruses in cultural perceptions of Antarctica over the past century. In the popular imagination, Antarctica has often been framed as a place of purity, refuge, and isolation. In a series of fiction and screen texts from the nine-teenth century to the present, viruses feature prominently. The texts fall into two categories: narratives in which Antarctica is the sole source of safety in a pandemic-ravaged world and those in which a virus (or another form of contagion) is discovered within the continent itself and needs to be contained. Viruses in these texts are not only literal but also metaphorical, tak-ing the form of any kind of threatening infection, and as such are linked to texts in which Ant-arctic purity is discursively connected to racial and gendered exclusivity. Based on this compar-ison, the article argues that ideas of containment and contagion can have political connotations in an Antarctic context, to the extent that they are applied to particular groups of people in order to position them as "alien" to the Antarctic environment. The authors show that the re-cent media construction of Antarctica during COVID-19 needs to be understood against this dis-turbing aspect of the Antarctic imaginary, and also that narratives of Antarctic purity are imag-inatively linked to both geopolitical exclusions and the melting of Antarctic ice.
ABSTRACT
This article examines the role of pandemics and viruses in cultural perceptions of Antarctica over the past century. In the popular imagination, Antarctica has often been framed as a place of purity, refuge, and isolation. In a series of fiction and screen texts from the nineteenth century to the present, viruses feature prominently. The texts fall into two categories: narratives in which Antarctica is the sole source of safety in a pandemic-ravaged world and those in which a virus (or another form of contagion) is discovered within the continent itself and needs to be contained. Viruses in these texts are not only literal but also metaphorical, taking the form of any kind of threatening infection, and as such are linked to texts in which Antarctic purity is discursively connected to racial and gendered exclusivity. Based on this comparison, the article argues that ideas of containment and contagion can have political connotations in an Antarctic context, to the extent that they are applied to particular groups of people in order to position them as "alien"to the Antarctic environment. The authors show that the recent media construction of Antarctica during COVID-19 needs to be understood against this disturbing aspect of the Antarctic imaginary, and also that narratives of Antarctic purity are imaginatively linked to both geopolitical exclusions and the melting of Antarctic ice. © 2023 Elizabeth Leane, Charne Lavery, and Meredith Nash.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic-related measures have impacted the lives and work-related activities of Antarctic researchers. To explore these impacts, we designed, piloted and disseminated an online survey in English, Russian, Spanish and Chinese in late 2020 and early 2021. The survey explored how the pandemic affected the productivity of Antarctic researchers, their career prospects and their mental wellbeing. Findings exposed patterns of inequities. For instance, of the 406 unique responses to the survey, women appeared to have been affected more adversely than men, especially in relation to mental health, and early-career researchers were disadvantaged more than their mid- or late-career colleagues. Overall, a third of the research participants reported at least one major negative impact from the pandemic on their mental health. Approximately half of the participants also mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic had some positive effects, especially in terms of the advantages that working from home brought and opportunities to attend events, network or benefit from training workshops online. We conclude with a series of recommendations for science administrators and policymakers to mitigate the most serious adverse impacts of the pandemic on Antarctic research communities, with implications for other contexts where scientific activities are conducted under extreme circumstances.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations into rapid transition to virtual workplace settings. Librarians at the University of South Florida conducted a study to discover trends in team communication dynamics among academic librarians working remotely during this period. This study was motivated by a desire to gauge the perceived degree of positive or negative impact on group communication dynamics and connectedness before and after the transition, with attention paid to factors that inform team communication. This study used a quantitative approach employing a cross-sectional survey administered to the population of professional academic librarians in the United States. Survey findings exhibited small shifts in dynamics, opening a path for more nuanced examination. Effects on librarianship due to the pandemic are still being felt;it is a topic with long reach and impact, which merits examination. © 2022, Association of College and Research Libraries. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Patients with non-muscleinvasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) that recurs after treatment with intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) must weigh the risk of progression of bladder cancer and loss of a window of potential cure with medical therapy against the risk of morbidity and loss of quality of life (QOL) with radical cystectomy. The CISTO Study (NCT03933826) is a pragmatic, prospective observational cohort study comparing medical therapy (i.e., intravesical therapy or systemic immunotherapy) with radical cystectomy for recurrent highrisk NMIBC. Here we report on the design and progress of the CISTO Study. METHODS: 900 patients with recurrent high-risk NMIBC that has failed first-line BCG and who have chosen to undergo standard of care treatment will be enrolled. Patient stakeholders helped determine the primary outcome: 12-month patient-reported QOL using the EORTC QLQ-C30. Secondary outcomes include urinary and sexual function, decisional regret, financial distress, healthcare utilization, return to work/normal activities, progression, and recurrence-free, metastasis-free, and overall survival. Participants will be followed for up to 3 years. RESULTS: Enrollment is active at 32 sites across the US, including 23 university-based centers and 9 community sites. As of November 1, 2021, 173 participants have been enrolled, 104 of whom chose medical therapy and 69 of whom chose radical cystectomy. The completion rate for the primary outcome of QOL at 12 months is 94% (15 out of 16 participants to date). The inclusion of electronic consent and collection of PROs allowed recruitment and follow-up to continue remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant pandemic-related challenges have included slow study start-up at sites, staffing, periods of suspension, and delays in patients obtaining care. Strategies to address these challenges include improved methods for onboarding and training sites, all-site communication, confirming study eligibility, ing EHR data, and remote monitoring while adhering to the highest study standards. CONCLUSIONS: The CISTO Study will compare patient reported outcomes for those undergoing medical therapy with radical cystectomy for recurrent high-risk NMIBC. The CISTO Study has the potential to fill critical evidence gaps and provide for personalized, patient-centered care.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted various clinical and research processes in urologic care. As part of a pragmatic clinical trial in bladder cancer, we collected information regarding the impact of COVID-19 at participating sites, which provides insight into how the pandemic has imposed constraints on clinical bladder cancer care and research. METHODS: Starting in May 2020, we distributed a monthly survey to sites participating in CISTO (Comparison of Intravesical Therapy and Surgery as Treatment Options for Bladder Cancer, NCT0393382). The survey included questions about interruptions in routine clinical bladder cancer care, specifically assessing elective surgery restrictions, impact on radical cystectomy, TURBT, office cystoscopies, intravesical therapy, and intravesical bacillus Calmette- Guerin (BCG) supply. We report survey responses for sites that responded to > 50% of the monthly surveys from May 2020 to October 2021. RESULTS: From May 2020 through October 2021, 21 sites (66%) had > 50% monthly response rate. The time periods of greatest limitations on bladder cancer procedures (Figure 1) were May-July 2020, Dec-Jan 2020/2021, and Sept-Oct 2021, corresponding to the peak waves of COVID-19 infections. Elective surgery was most affected, with limitations or holds in those time periods at up to 76%, 38%, and 28% of CISTO sites, respectively. Most of the restrictions involved surgeries that required inpatient stays, potential intensive care unit admission, and staffing shortages. 9 sites (28%) experienced transient BCG shortages during the survey period. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical activity was most limited during the initial COVID-19 surge in Spring/Summer 2020. Despite higher COVID- 19 infection rates in subsequent waves, bladder cancer clinical activity has been maintained at CISTO sites throughout the COVID pandemic. Periodic BCG shortages continue to affect bladder cancer care across the US. (Figure Presented).