ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on many dimensions of living and working conditions, and uncertainties about the developments that we shall still face in the near future. This paper analyses the implications of a forced overnight push to online teaching. Drawing upon an online survey conducted during the 2020 lockdown by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, this article describes students’ living and studying conditions revealed by a large set of open and closed questions. The survey provides significant information on the students’ real off-campus conditions, crucial data for the multidimensional analysis by combining non-parametric multivariate analysis of closed questions with textual analyses. It offers important indications about the most useful tools for inclusive teaching across thematic areas and highlights the main difficulties that emerged during the lockdown. Reflections on advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses in the innovative learning environment set up overnight are offered at a policy level. © 2022, ASA Associazione per la Statistica Applicata. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The paper develops a systematic reflection about the future of smart cites at the time of Covid-19, starting from an original periodization about the evolution of the concept of smartness, declined through a four fold analytical tool (technological, human-social, institutional and spatial-environmental dimensions). Focusing on the role of smart citizens and on the “right to the city” concept, we list and critically appraise the emerging trends made visible by the worldwide sanitary crisis. © 2021 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The present study aimed to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental care procedures in the Public Health System in Brazil. A retrospective, ecological study was carried out, comprising 5,564 Brazilian municipalities. The number of dental procedures (per 100,000 inhabitants) performed in the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS) was the outcome. The impact of the pandemic was estimated by comparing the rate of procedures for each month of 2020 with the rates observed in the equivalent months in 2019, considering the period from March to August. Regulatory legislation regarding restrictions on dental care, issued by the state governments of 27 Brazilian federative units, was used for mediation analysis. A 55% reduction was observed in March for all procedures (IRR = 0.45, 95%CI 0.39-0.51), while in the other months, the rate of reduction remained >= 88%. The biggest decrease was observed in collective preventive procedures (reduction >=99%) between April and August. Procedures that were less likely to generate aerosols (tooth extraction and prosthetic) and emergencies showed the smallest reduction. The reduction was not mediated by the restrictions imposed by state governments (p>0.05). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was noteworthy in terms of the decrease in the number of dental procedures carried out in the Brazilian Public Dental Service. The lack of access, the delay of elective procedures and the lack of preventive collective procedures could result in an overburdened system, post-Pandemic.