A qualitative life course perspective on covid-lockdowns and couples? division of unpaid labour

Covid-19 lockdowns in many countries were characterised by increases in unpaid labour (e.g. home-schooling), as well as changing working conditions (e.g. remote work). Consequently, a large body of research assesses changes in dual earner couples' gender division of unpaid labour. However, despite the increasingly detailed picture of households' division of labour before and after the onset of the pandemic, it remains unclear how dual earner parents themselves perceive their decision-making regarding labour divisions during lockdowns. Conse-quently, using data from 31 individual in-depth interviews in Belgium, this study adopts a biographical -interpretative method to assess variation in narratives regarding the household division of labour before and during lockdown. Results indicate five ideal type narratives which vary in the extent to which lockdown divisions of unpaid labour exhibit path-dependency or constitute new gender dynamics, but also regarding the balance between individual agency and societal factors as determinants of labour divisions. Taken together, narratives discussing new gender dynamics during lockdowns put forward sector-specific changes in working hours and remote work as external and exogenous determinants. However, most importantly, findings indicate that household decision-making regarding unpaid labour during lockdowns is mostly perceived as path-dependent on pre-covid decision-making (e.g. gender specialisation) in the context of structural (e.g. gendered leave schemes) and normative boundaries (e.g. gendered parenting norms). Such path-dependencies in the decision-making underlying quantitatively identifiable divisions of unpaid labour during lockdowns are likely to be neglected in the absence of a qualitative life course perspective.

"Treat Them Like Human Beings": Black Children's Experiences with Racial Microaggressions in Early Childhood Education During COVID-19.

This study investigated microaggressions Black children experienced in early childhood education during the pandemic. Using racial microaggressions as a framework, we sought to gain insights into these experiences through counter-narratives from parents of Black children. Parents provided unique insights into their children's experiences, giving voice to their daily realities in early learning contexts. This article focuses on how Black children are treated with second-class student status. Black children being positioned with second-class status was the most predominant theme from this work during the pandemic. This is noteworthy, as few studies have considered how the pandemic uniquely shaped Black children's educational realities.

Saving Lives and Minds: Understanding Social Value and the Role of Anchor Institutions in Supporting Community and Public Health before and after COVID-19

There are great disparities in health between places in the UK. People living in poorer areas are dying on average 9 years earlier than in wealthy areas, largely due to regional economic differences, including high unemployment, low wages and social inequality, unrest and injustice that accompany economic disadvantage. Preston in the north-west of England has been developing a community wealth building project known as the Preston Model, which shows signs of successfully increasing and retaining local wealth. The anchor institutions—large local organisations that are ‘anchored' in places, such as hospitals, universities, housing associations and local government—have developed social value policies and policies of cooperation with their communities that attend to a heightened awareness of corporate social responsibility and enhanced working relationships with local communities in order to turn around local fortunes in an allied economic and health initiative. Corporate social responsibility is the essence of cooperation and cooperatives and is a central feature of the Preston Model. Ultimately, CSR within the Preston Model is concerned with quality employment. The pandemic has highlighted the need for CSR and cooperation. This chapter brings together researchers from the University of Central Lancashire, Lancaster University and stakeholders from two of the anchor institutions—the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Community Gateway Association—to combine an academic framework, including local responses to interviews and participatory community groups in Preston, with two major anchor institutions as case studies. The chapter will investigate a broad range of initiatives, from directly focussed health policies, such as social prescribing, to wider, ‘softer' approaches, such as developing participation, cooperation and democracy within and between organisations, groups, teams and communities and the corresponding networking and mutual support systems that may affect greater agency, empowerment and enhanced mental health outcomes among people in Preston and Lancashire, ultimately transferable to other UK regions. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

CoV-Sym: The development of a psychometrically validated patient reported outcome measure for COVID19

Background: Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) provide a standardised method to capture patient perspectives which can be used in comparative effectiveness research to inform the evaluation of treatment. Thus far, PROMs have focussed on the long-term sequelae of COVID-19 rather than the acute illness and initial recovery period. Aim(s): To design a psychometrically validated COVID-19 specific PROM to be used in the acute and recovery phase of illness. Method(s): A review of existing literature, evaluation of existing PROMs, input from local experts (n=15) and in-depth qualitative concept elicitation interviews with patients (n=8) were used to create a conceptual framework which informed the generation of items included in the PROM. Cognitive interviews with patients (n=8) were then used to develop and refine the items for inclusion in the PROM and confirm the content and face validity of the draft tool. A nominal group meeting of the expert panel (n=6) was held to confirm the final items for inclusion. Result(s): The CoV-Sym PROM consists of 19 domains and 44 items which are scored using a five-point Likert scale to enable objective measurement of patients' symptomatic recovery from acute COVID-19 illness. Questions address physical, psychological and social domains. Cognitive interviews revealed acceptable content and face validity. Conclusion(s): With the involvement of both patients and experts in the development and validation process, we have created the first COVID-19 specific PROM to measure patient's symptomatic recovery from acute COVID-19 infection. It is ready for further psychometric testing to confirm reliability and responsiveness, the results of which will be presented.

Well-being during the coronavirus pandemic: The effect of big five personality and COVID-19 beliefs and behaviors

This study examined the relationship between personality traits, COVID-specific beliefs and behaviors, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, at the onset of a second major lockdown, Australian adults (n = 1453) completed measures of Big Five personality, COVID beliefs and behaviors (i.e., belief in a rapid recovery, perceived risk, compliance, change in exercise, and change in interpersonal conflict), subjective well-being and COVID-specific well-being. Personality correlates of COVID-specific well-being differed from those with general life satisfaction. The benefits of conscientiousness were elevated whereas the benefits of extraversion and agreeableness were reduced. Neuroticism was related to greater perceived risk from the pandemic, elevated interpersonal conflict during the pandemic, and more pessimistic views about the rate at which society would recover from the pandemic. In contrast, conscientiousness was notably related to greater compliance with directions from public health authorities. While regression models showed that general well-being was largely explained by personality, COVID factors provided incremental prediction, and this was greatest when predicting COVID-specific well-being and lowest for global evaluations of life satisfaction. The observed prediction by beliefs and behaviors on well-being beyond personality, provides potential opportunities for targeted interventions to support the management of future novel stressors. © 2023 The Authors. Social and Personality Psychology Compass published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

COVID-19: Its impact on trade and development in the ASEAN region

Prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus and its spread across China, then Asia and the world, the global economy was well placed to enter 2020 on a relatively strong footing. However, this promising start to the year was very quickly undermined by the rapid spread of COVID-19. Since then, the outbreak of COVID-19 has had a major economic impact on the ASEAN region and the wider global economy through its disruption to supply chains, impact on business and consumer confidence, rapid declines in tourism, trade, and investment, and most significantly through the very tight restrictions that governments have placed on the movement of people in order to contain its spread. This study provides an assessment of COVID-19's impact on the ASEAN region. As part of this, we examine the key literature in the trade and development space for Asia, and ASEAN in particular. We also outline the impact of the pandemic from an economic and social perspective, with a particular emphasis on the issue of poverty. Projections are then drawn as to where the future may lie for ASEAN and how it may engender maximal recovery. From our analysis, we highlight the important role that vaccine management and leadership will play in this process. Moreover, we also note the need for greater transparency in policymaking and improved customs procedures so as to make it easy for countries such as China and the US to make new overseas foreign direct investments in the region. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Jacob Wood, Taha Chaiechi and K Thirumaran;individual chapters, the contributors.

Nursing Perception of Implementation of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Technology in Patients with Hyperglycemia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA began allowing hospitals to use continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) on a "non-objection" basis in the inpatient setting to decrease direct patient contact and preserve personal protective equipment while increasing the availability of glucose date to inform patient management decisions in April of 2020. Our institution deployed CGM technology (Dexcom ™) in 55 patients across four inpatient hospital units beginning September 2020, with a median use of 6.5 days per patient. Objective: To explore perceptions and experience of nursing staff related to the use of CGM technology in patients with hyperglycemia admitted for COVID-19. Methods: A qualitative survey was distributed to 29 critical care nurses who routinely utilized CGM technology to obtain and interpret glucose trends impacting clinical decisions for patients during their admission with COVID-19. The survey included eight questions that used a 1 to 5 scale format, where 1 corresponds to "strongly disagree" and 5 corresponds to "strongly agree", and two open-ended questions (advantages and concerns). Results: 100% of the respondents "agree" or "strongly agree" that CGM technology is useful in glucose management and prefer when their patient has a CGM. 97% "agree" or "strongly agree" that CGM technology is user-friendly and its use minimized direct patient interaction or contact, thereby reducing utilization of personal protective equipment (PPE). 93% "agree" or "strongly agree" that they feel confident operating a CGM device and consider the CGM data reliable and accurate. 90% "agree" or "strongly agree" that the technical aspects of CGM technology are easy to manage and would like to see this technology offered to patients without COVID. The most significant benefits of CGM as rated by the survey participants include: fewer fingersticks, decreased COVID exposure, convenience, PPE preservation, continuous glucose monitoring, and improved glycemic management. Concerns include: calibration time, accuracy, potential malfunction, extended warm-up period, and protocol education. Discussion: This survey demonstrates that CGM technology previously primarily used in the outpatient setting can be easily adapted for inpatient use.Nurses eagerly accepted and competently integrated CGM technology into routine patient care, which, in turn, decreased exposure time in COVID-19 rooms and subsequently decreased PPE use. Proper education related to inpatient use of CGM technology and open communication between the nursing staff, the primary care team, and the endocrine consulting team have been identified as critical elements for a successful deployment and continued utilization.The use of inpatient CGM technology holds promise for improved glycemic control in hospitalized patients while increasing the safety of healthcare workers. Further studies demonstrating decreased exposure times and infection rates among healthcare workers caring patients with COVID-19, and measurable improvements in glycemic control in patients utilizing CGM technology should be explored to further demonstrate the benefits of inpatient CGM use.Presentation: Sunday, June 12, 2022 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

PEM Physicians' Perceptions of Colleagues' Clinical Competencies over Four Age Categories

Background: The US physician workforce is aging, prompting concerns regarding clinical performance of senior physicians. Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) is a high acuity, multitasking, diagnostically complex and procedurally demanding pediatric specialty. The impact of aging on clinical competence in PEM has not been previously examined;our aim was to assess peer ratings of the clinical competency of four age groups of PEM physician colleagues using an electronic survey instrument Methods: We invited all 478 PEM physicians who were members of the AAP Section on Emergency Medicine survey study list-serve in June 2020 to participate anonymously. The survey was designed by the investigators with iterative input from institutional colleagues. Respondents were asked to rate, using a 5-point Likert scale, the average competency of four age categories of PEM physicians in performing 9 clinical tasks. Additional items included concerns about de-identified colleague's clinical competence, preferences for age of physician managing a hypothetical critically ill child family member of the respondent, self-ratings of clinical competencies, late career transition plans and impact of COVID-19 on personal practice pattern. This analysis focuses on respondents' rating of colleagues' clinical competencies and age preference for physician managing a child relative. Our study was exempted from IRB review. Results: We received 256 survey responses;24 failed to answer at least one question central to our hypotheses and were excluded, leaving 232 for analysis (adjusted response rate of 48.9%). Most respondents were 36-49 years old (yo) (34.9%) or 50-64 yo (47.0%), with 45.8% female and 40.9% male. The majority of respondents (53%) reported some concern about a colleague's competence. A lower percentage of the senior PEM physician age group (≥ 65 yo) was rated as very good or excellent for critical care-related competencies when compared to midcareer physicians (36-49 yo or 50-64 yo) (Table). The performance ratings for effective communication to hostile or anxious families and delivery of bad news found the senior group rated better than the youngest group (≤ 35 yo). Among the 129 of 224 (57.6%) respondents who ranked an age category for a colleague managing a critically ill child relative, almost all indicated preference for a 36-49 yo (69%), followed by a 50-64 yo (27.9%) colleague (Figure). Conclusion: In this exploratory study, PEM physicians' perceptions of their peers' clinical competencies demonstrated significant differences by peer age group. For competence domains posing procedural and multitasking challenges, PEM physicians ≥ 65 yo were generally perceived as less competent than those aged 36-64 yo. However, for those practice domains that required considerable “clinical wisdom” such as demanding communication skills, senior PEM physicians were perceived as performing as well if not better than younger peers. Further study of age-related PEM competencies with more objective measures may be warranted.

Assessing Craniofacial Team Functioning During Virtual Multidisciplinary Team Meetings

Background/Purpose: The craniofacial team meeting represents a critical timepoint at which a diverse group of disciplines assemble in quorum to discuss the complex medical and psychosocial issues facing their patients and create treatment plans to address them. Professionals from not only different disciplines but from entirely different fields must efficiently amalgamate their expertise to create one intricate plan for their unique patient population. It is this diversity of disciplines represented and the complexity of subject matter that makes craniofacial team meetings ideal for studying team functioning during multidisciplinary meetings. The global pandemic necessitated a shift of these complex meetings to the virtual setting. While providing direct patient care (i.e. tele-health) has been studied extensively, the literature on virtual team meetings is lacking. The authors of this study evaluated the team functioning of one craniofacial team by studying their virtual team meetings. Methods/Description: Ten virtual team meetings, including 94 patient case discussions, from a 3-month period in late 2020 were recorded and scored individually by three members of the research team using modified versions of the standardized multidisciplinary team Meeting Observational Tool (MOT) and the Metric of Decision-Making (MODe). The mean score amongst the three observers for each category of team functioning was used for analysis. Participants' subjective assessments of team meetings were elicited through monthly Qualtrics surveys. Results: Our results indicate that team functioning during virtual team meetings was high for providing case history, exhibiting optimal team behavior, and providing a treatment plan for individual case discussions. Patient-centered and psychosocial categories received lower scores. Survey respondents generally regarded their team as highly functioning during team meetings, with lower marks given only for decision-making efficiency and full participation from all disciplines. The meeting technology and equipment received a high score on average. Additionally, participants indicated that the virtual format did not enhance or hinder team functioning during team meetings. Conclusions: Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic it is important to study the effectiveness of multidisciplinary team meetings held in a virtual format. Our findings suggest that virtual setting allows for high team functioning as measured by both objective and subjective assessments and should therefore be considered a viable alternative to in-person meetings. The team performed best in discussing clinical topics, generating treatment plans, and team behavior, including equality among disciplines. Psychosocial matters and patient perspectives were not discussed as extensively as clinical topics and the team overestimated their coverage of both psychosocial matters and patient perspectives, consistent with previous studies on team functioning.

RAMPVIS: Answering the challenges of building visualisation capabilities for large-scale emergency responses.

The effort for combating the COVID-19 pandemic around the world has resulted in a huge amount of data, e.g., from testing, contact tracing, modelling, treatment, vaccine trials, and more. In addition to numerous challenges in epidemiology, healthcare, biosciences, and social sciences, there has been an urgent need to develop and provide visualisation and visual analytics (VIS) capacities to support emergency responses under difficult operational conditions. In this paper, we report the experience of a group of VIS volunteers who have been working in a large research and development consortium and providing VIS support to various observational, analytical, model-developmental, and disseminative tasks. In particular, we describe our approaches to the challenges that we have encountered in requirements analysis, data acquisition, visual design, software design, system development, team organisation, and resource planning. By reflecting on our experience, we propose a set of recommendations as the first step towards a methodology for developing and providing rapid VIS capacities to support emergency responses.

Perceived impact of COVID-19 on sexual health and access to sexual health services among university students in Canada

We examined the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual health, sexual behaviour, well-being, and access to sexual health services among university students in Canada. Between December 2020 and January 2021, 1504 university students across Canada completed an online survey focused on overall sexual health, well-being, solitary sexual behaviours, partnered sexual interactions, and access to sexual health services. The survey was designed by the Sex Information & Education Council of Canada and administered by the Leger polling company. Reported levels of overall sexual health were high. Cisgender women reported significantly greater scores of COVID-19-related stress compared to cisgender men;LGBQ+ students had higher levels of stress compared to heterosexual participants. Overall, solitary sexual behaviours (i.e., masturbation, porn use, vibrator use) remained unchanged or were perceived to increase compared to the time before the pandemic. Cisgender men reported higher scores (i.e., greater perceived increases) on masturbation and porn use than cisgender women. Frequency of sex with casual partners was perceived as similar or lower than what was usual before the pandemic, and most participants did not engage in sex where the close personal contact put them or their partner at risk for COVID-19. Declines in access were reported for all sexual health care services surveyed, with cisgender women and students of colour more likely to report decreased access to services. Results highlight the need for targeted public health messaging regarding sexual behaviour, investment in sexual health services, and supports tailored to the needs of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of colour.

HIV-1 and SARS-CoV2 both cause protein s, but through different mechanisms

Background : The anticoagulant protein S (PS) circulates in two plasma pools: free (functional) or bound to complement factor 4-binding protein (c4bp). PS deficiency commonly occurs in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1)+ patients and is associated with thrombosis. We hypothesized a similar process contributes to thrombosis in COVID-19. Aims : To assess the regulation of PS in viral coagulopathies. Methods : This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board. Citrated plasma was collected from consenting HIV-1+ (19 naïve, 11 on antiretroviral therapy, ART) or SARS-CoV-2+ (28 inpatients, 49 outpatients) and healthy controls for both populations (10, 31, respectively). Results : HIV-1+ patients had lower total PS than controls (94.12 ± 8.71% vs 133.77 ± 10.45%, P = 0.008), in both naïve (42%) and ART-treated (27%) patients. Total PS negatively correlated with endogenous thrombin potential ( P = 0.01), suggesting PS deficiency contributes to increased thrombin generation in these patients. Total PS was not reduced in SARS-CoV-2+ patients, but free PS was (Table). To determine the cause of free PS deficiency, we measured known PS-binding proteins C4bp, protein C (PC), and Mer, and found no differences between patients and controls. By native gel, we identified PS bound to C4bp, Mer, PC, tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), and von Willebrand Factor (VWF). VWF was markedly elevated in inpatients. Purified VWF dose-dependently decreased free, but not total, PS when added to control plasma, and blocked the TFPI cofactor activity of PS. PS was also identified as a plasma binding partner of VWF by mass spectrometry, and this interaction increased 10-million-fold with shearing. Finally, despite anticoagulation, plasma thrombin generation in inpatient samples was comparable to controls, suggesting a profound hypercoagulability, possibly exacerbated by PS deficiency. Conclusions : In HIV-1, PS consumption leads to total PS deficiency. In SARS-CoV-2, VWF increases and binds PS, reducing the free pool. Thus, viruses can cause PS deficiency through multiple mechanisms, promoting thrombosis by shifting the procoagulant-anticoagulant balance.

Reactivity of 4,6-dimethoxy activated benzimidazoles

4,6-Dimethoxy-2-substituted-benzimidazoles undergo formylation, acylation, nitration and bromination at C7. The 7-carbaldehydes can be reduced to the corresponding hydroxymethyl compounds. Benzimidazole-2-carbaldehydes can be prepared by oxidation of 2-methyl- and 2-styryl-benzimidazoles. N-Methylation and N-allylation have also been investigated and lead to isomeric mixtures of 4,6- and 5,7-dimethoxybenzimidazoles. In general the nucleophilic capacity of the activated benzimidazoles is weaker than that of the related activated indoles, but still provides synthetic routes to a range of new heterocyclic structures.

Art school futures

The late Sir Ken Robinson attracted great interest for noting the education system's lack of support for imaginative and creative skills. This omission has important ramifications throughout society as a whole, especially given the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, not to mention environmental emergencies that threaten our very survival as a species. Although our predicament calls for a co-creative and transformative response, this amounts to a paradigm change that is beyond the capacity of our current systems of governance. The article therefore calls for a review of education policy that would include some deep reflections on the ecological purpose of learning. It suggests that, in order to augment the scholastic and analytical traditions underpinning the modern university, policy-makers should invest in the modernization and development of the traditional art school. This should cater for a much larger spectrum of human needs and capabilities. These might support ethical, co-creative thinking at all levels, including feeling, acting and experiencing at many simultaneous levels, including head, heart, hand and what the article calls 'humour'. © 2021 Intellect Ltd Article. English language.

A dialogic technology-mediated model of feedback uptake and literacy

Despite the importance of feedback uptake in higher education, there is still much to be learned about supporting it. Recent perspectives hold that guiding learners through feedback uptake-oriented activities may also help them to develop feedback literacy. However, due to the acceleration of digitisation trends in higher education, there is an increasing need to explore feedback uptake and literacy development exploiting opportunities offered by digital environments. This need constitutes a significant gap that is of immediate importance to practitioners teaching online and will also be crucial in the post-COVID-19 context in which the use of blended and online learning is only expected to increase. This conceptual article draws on a synthesis of existing feedback uptake, formative assessment and technology literature to offer a technology-mediated dialogic model of feedback uptake and literacy. Focused on how technological mediation can enrich opportunities for co-regulation of the processes involved in feedback uptake, the model is intended for use in designing classroom feedback practices that can be embedded in standard curricula. The model serves to inform the discussion of feedback uptake and the nascent discussion of teacher feedback literacy in the digital settings in which feedback practices in higher education now frequently take place. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Delay-adjusted age- and sex-specific case fatality rates for COVID-19 in South Korea: Evolution in the estimated risk of mortality throughout the epidemic.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to estimate delay-adjusted case fatality rates (CFRs) for COVID-19 in South Korea, and evaluate how these estimates have evolved over time throughout the epidemic. METHODS: Public data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) were used to estimate age- and sex-specific CFRs for COVID-19 in South Korea up to June 12, 2020. We applied statistical methods previously developed to adjust for the delay between diagnosis and death, and presented both delay-adjusted and crude (unadjusted) CFRs throughout the epidemic. RESULTS: The overall estimated delay-adjusted CFR was 2.39% (3.05% for males and 1.92% for females). Within each age strata where deaths were reported, males were found to have significantly higher CFRs than females. The estimated CFRs increased substantially from age 60 years in males and from 70 years in females. Both the delay-adjusted and crude CFRs were found to have evolved substantially, particularly early in the epidemic, converging only from mid-April 2020. CONCLUSIONS: The CFRs for South Korea provide an estimate of mortality risk in a setting where case ascertainment is likely to be more complete. The evolution in CFRs throughout the epidemic highlights the need for caution when interpreting CFRs calculated at a given time point.