How Trust in Authority and Trust in Networks Relates to Verification and Sharing Behaviours: COVID-19 Health Information Sharing on WhatsApp

Messaging platforms like WhatsApp are some of the largest contributors to the spread of Covid-19 health misinformation but they also play a critical role in disseminating credible information and reaching populations at scale. This study explores the relationships between verification behaviours and intention to share information to users that report high trust in their personal network and users that report high trust in authoritative sources. The study was conducted as a survey delivered through WhatsApp to users of the WHO HealthAlert chatbot service. An adapted theoretical model from news verification behaviours was used to determine the correlation between the constructs. Due to an excellent response, 5477 usable responses were obtained, so the adapted research model could be tested by means of a Structural Equation Model (SEM) using the partial least squares algorithm on SmartPLS4. The findings suggest significant correlations between the constructs and suggest that participants that have reported high levels of trust in authoritative sources are less likely to share information due to their increased behaviours to verify information. © 2023 IEEE.

Perspectives of human resource practitioners in two urban local authorities in Zimbabwe

Orientation: This study examines the experiences of human resource (HR) practitioners in two urban local authorities (ULAs) in Zimbabwe. Research purpose: The research aimed to understand the human resource management (HRM)-oriented strategies and the extent to which HR practitioners' experiences could enable effective implementation. Motivation for the study: There is a need to understand the challenges HR practitioners in ULAs in Zimbabwe face in delivering effective HRM. Research approach/design and method: The study adopted a qualitative research approach using semi-structured interviews with 17 purposively selected HR practitioners. Thematic analysis was used to extract themes from the interviews. Main findings: The findings revealed five themes of HRM challenges in Zimbabwean ULAs, including political interference, resource constraints, bureaucracy and the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Human resource management delivery is hindered by stakeholder involvement, performance management gaps, technology gaps and limited interaction with line management. Additionally, traditional HRM approaches committee-focused procedures, and inadequate investment in employee education limit HRM capabilities and procedures. Practical/managerial implications: The study suggests that policymakers and HR practitioners in ULAs in Zimbabwe should pay attention to the identified HRM challenges and proposed solutions to enhance HRM delivery and HR performance. The proposed conceptual model can serve as a guide to overcoming HRM challenges. Contribution/value-add: This study adds to the limited research on public sector HRM in Africa, and stakeholders and HR practitioners can benefit from the conceptual model and recommendations for streamlining HRM procedures in ULAs in Zimbabwe. © 2023. The Authors.

Infodemic Disorder: Covid-19 Coping Strategies in Europe, Canada and Mexico

This contributed volume identifies how the information processes of public institutions and citizens have changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, within a new context that emerged: the infodemic disorder. Public debate is largely characterized today by a crisis of the legitimacy of institutions, accompanied by a crisis of authority in public communication, leading to the emergency of a state of information disorder due specifically to the need to find information related to the coping of the pandemic. This condition is characterized by growing attention to issues related to 'fake news', 'misinformation', and 'media manipulation', that are intertwined in digital platform ecosystems, and the effects of which on democracy, public communication and research, and the sharing of information in the civic sphere are broad and far-reaching. This volume analyzes the links between communication strategies of public institutions, and the resulting citizen communication, in an attempt to tease out how communication processes have changed during the pandemic. It was decided to investigate this infodemic disorder as it appeared in three different geographical contexts: Europe, Canada and Mexico and, at the same time, to bring out the formal and informal coping strategies implemented by public institutions and citizens. Beginning with an introduction to the crisis of information created by the pandemic, the contributors build a theoretical framework, provide contagion data, and subsequently, for each of the geographical contexts analyzed, explore the public communication strategies and those activated by citizens seeking to share information. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023. All rights reserved.

Biologic Standards in the Pharmacopoeias: An Update

[...]ustekinumab concentrated solution and ustekinumab injection are the first IL-12/IL-23 inhibitors to be studied by EDQM for monograph development via the P4 process (13). First "horizontal standard" for biotherapeutic monographs Today, there are several TNF-alpha inhibitor products available, and manufacturers have used a wide variety of methods to assess the potency of these mAbs. Two other horizontal standards are currently being elaborated by EDQM: "Capillary Isoelectric Focusing for Recombinant Therapeutic ~ Monoclonal antibodies (2.5.44)" and "Size Exclusion Chromatography for Recombinant Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies (2.5.43)" (19). The final change to CGT standards is to general chapter "Raw Materials of Biological Origin for the Production of Cell-based Therapy Medicinal Products (5.2.12)."

Influencers' discourse, authority discourse? The case of two medical influencers on Twitter

In this paper, I would like to demonstrate through a concrete case study, the processes and techno-discursive strategies deployed by two medical influencers to create a discourse of authority in Twitter. First, I will present the theoretical framework through which I understand the notion of authority at the intersection of the conceptions developed by Oger (2021) in discourse analysis, by Origgi in social epistemology (2008), and by Broudoux in information and communication sciences (2007), as well as the case studies conducted by myself (Vicari, 2021, 2021b, 2022) in discourse analysis. This will allow me to identify the elements that form the basis of what can be considered a relationship of authority, which I propose to show in a second phase, on a corpus of tweets borrowed from the accounts of a health nano-influencer (DrMus) and a health micro-influencer (Marine Lorphelin), both of whom are young doctors who have been particularly active on Twitter since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. My aim is to show that far from erasing any type of authority, digital devices, and in particular Twitter, favor the development of trusting relationships based on manifestations of authority that are situated halfway between the technological parameters of the devices and discursive marks.

(Il)legitimacy of international intellectual property regime?

The recent Covid-19 global health crisis not only brings into sharp relief the current problems afflicting the international intellectual property regime (IIPR) but also calls into question its legitimacy as an international authority. Against this backdrop, the article aims to launch an investigation into the legitimacy of the IIPR, as an international co-ordinative authority, designed to protect IP rights without prejudice to international trade norms. Drawing on Raz's service conception of authority, it explores whether the IIPR lives up to its promises by enabling co-ordination between states over IP rights without undermining the initial balance on which it is founded, struck between developing and developed countries, as well as between international protection of IP- cum-trade rights and domestic regulatory autonomy. It does so by classifying the historical evolution of the IIPR under three different phases: (i) its foundation, (ii) before, and (iii) after the TRIPS-plus. Upon showing the legitimacy challenges inherent in its undemocratic foundation, the article points to the success of the regime in finding a balance between conflicting interests before the TRIPS-plus era. Later, it underlines the many challenges that come with linking the IIPR to the investment regime and argues that the FTAs and frequent regime-shifting activities put further pressure on the authority and legitimacy of the regime. Stressing the importance of democratic participation for the legitimacy of any co-ordinative authority, the article casts doubt on the IIPR's legitimacy and concludes by raising some points to overcome the ongoing legitimacy challenges.

Authority of Health Workers in Telemedicine Medical Services: Indonesian Perspective

Introduction: This paper aims at conducting a legal analysis of the health workers' authority in telemedicine service in Indonesia. This article discusses an issue related to the importance of telemedicine usage in health services. That is beneficial to reduce virus transmission. Therefore, government issued regulations regarding telemedicine services by medical personnel. So, there is a change in the legal relationship that previously occurred in health care facilities into a legal relationship between doctors and patients. This case creates legal problems in the form of legal ambiguity regarding the authority of medical personnel through telemedicine services. Methods: Normative legal research implemented in this research and the approach implemented is the state and the conceptual approach. Results: Telemedicine provides medical services and health information. In Indonesia, telemedicine was made mandatory by Law Number 36 on Health in 2009, particularly in terms of medical expertise. Legal basis of telemedicine in Indonesia is the Law on health however the regulation is general. Conclusions: The conclusion is the need for detailed regulation of the limits of authority of health workers in health services through telemedicine. This article suggests that legal reform of the authority of medical personnel in providing services through telemedicine during the pandemic and after it. © 2023 UPM Press. All rights reserved.

The global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines by the public-private partnership COVAX from a public-law perspective

This article examines COVAX, a public private partnership, from a public law perspective. It asks whether COVAX is a legitimate and appropriate instrument with regard to the goal of distributing COVID-19 vaccines in a globally equitable manner and enabling equal access to vaccination worldwide. By developing public-legal legitimacy standards for this purpose, the article critically distances itself from the outset from considering the use of private actors and forms of action in public functions ('privatization') essentially as a release of market economy rationality, which enables efficiency and effectiveness gains and relieves the public sector. With the public law perspective, the article questions precisely whether private-law, market-based action is appropriate with respect to the global distribution of vaccines in the pandemic.

The effectiveness of secondary prevention of malignant neoplasms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of the detection of malignant neoplasms (MNPs) when implementing secondary preventive measures against cancer in municipal healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods. The model of the Volga Federal District (VFD) of Russia was used to conduct analytical and statistical studies of the rates of active detection of MNPs in the municipal healthcare facilities in 2019-2020. The demographic indicators and state statistics data, which were publicly available on the Internet, on the official websites of the territorial health authorities, oncology dispensaries of the VFD subjects, were comparatively analyzed. A database (State Registration Certificate of the Russian Federation under No. 2021621834/01.09.21) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of secondary preventive measures against cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Results. Compared to 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a 2.1% expansion in the network of patients' examination rooms mainly due to an increase in the number of male rooms by 5.6% and mixed-type rooms by 6.3%. The number of mid-level healthcare workers that provided the functioning of patients' examination rooms rose by 5.2%;the proportion of specialists trained in the area of oncology decreased by 20% (85% in 2019 and 68.1% in 2020). The introduction of restrictive measures determined a statistically significant (p<0.05) decline in the proportion of people who had undergone a primary medical examination in the male (32.9%), female (35.6%), and general (34.7%) populations. The mean frequency of detected MNPs in 2019 and 2020 was 0.91 and 0.76, respectively (a 16.5% decrease). There was an increase in the incidence of lung cancer (LC) (a 4.2% increase) and a reduction in that of breast cancer (BC) (a 56.6% decrease). A comparative assessment of changes in the rate of active detection of MNPs in healthcare facilities at all health levels revealed a negative increase in its mean value in 2020 versus 2019 for colorectal cancer (CRC) (-25.6%), LC (-25.0% ), BC (-11.6%), cervical cancer (CC) (-12.4%), and prostate cancer (PC) (-2.1%). The prognosis of the number of actively detected MNP cases during the pandemic shows that, provided that the effectiveness of MNP detection rates remains the same as in 2019;there were no CRC (n = about 1100 cases), LC (n=1050), BC (n=1470), CC (n=300), and PC (n=300) cases in the VFD in 2020. An analysis of the effectiveness of secondary preventive measures against LC and BC in the VFD showed that among the number of newly diagnosed cases of a disease in 2019, there were LC (92.3%) and BC (75.1%) cases in the municipal healthcare facilities;there were LC (100%) and BC (60.9%) cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in the number of participants in preventive activities. Considering the uneven territorial spread of COVID-19, the development of a methodology for the preventive measures adapted to a pandemic, mainly in the municipal healthcare facilities, is an extremely important area of preventive healthcare activities.Copyright © 2022, Media Sphera Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 and the Authority of Science.

In an attempt to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic, policy makers and scientific experts who advise them have aspired to present a unified front. Leveraging the authority of science, they have at times portrayed politically favored COVID interventions, such as lockdowns, as strongly grounded in scientific evidence-even to the point of claiming that enacting such interventions is simply a matter of "following the science." Strictly speaking, all such claims are false, since facts alone never yield moral-political conclusions. More importantly, attempts to present a unified front have led to a number of other actions and statements by scientists and policy makers that erode the authority of science. These include actions and statements that: (1) mislead the public about epidemiological matters such as mortality rates, cause of death determinations, and computerized modeling, or fail to correct mainstream media sources that interpret such concepts in misleading ways; (2) incorporate moral-political opinions into ostensible statements of fact; and (3) misrepresent or misuse scientific expertise. The fundamental thesis of the paper is not primarily that such actions and statements have proliferated during the COVID-19 epidemic (though I think they have), but rather that they are unscientific and that presenting them as science undermines the authority of science. In the moral-political realm, the great power of science and the source of its authority derives from its agnosticism about fundamental moral-political claims. Science, for instance, has no built-in presumption that we should respect life, promote freedom, or practice toleration; nor does it tell us which of these values to prioritize when values conflict. Because of this agnosticism, science is recognized across a broad diversity perspectives as morally and politically impartial, and authoritative within its proper sphere. When it is infused with partisan bias, it loses that authority.

The Next Infodemic: Abortion Misinformation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines an infodemic as the proliferation of false or misleading information that leads to confusion, mistrust in health authorities, and the rejection of public health recommendations. The devastating impacts of an infodemic on public health were felt during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are now on the precipice of another infodemic, this one regarding abortion. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization resulted in the reversal of Roe v. Wade, which had protected a woman's right to have an abortion for nearly 50 years. The reversal of Roe v. Wade has given way to an abortion infodemic that is being exacerbated by a confusing and rapidly changing legislative landscape, the proliferation of abortion disinformants on the web, lax efforts by social media companies to abate abortion misinformation, and proposed legislation that threatens to prohibit the distribution of evidence-based abortion information. The abortion infodemic threatens to worsen the detrimental effects of the Roe v. Wade reversal on maternal morbidity and mortality. It also comes with unique barriers to traditional abatement efforts. In this piece, we lay out these challenges and urgently call for a public health research agenda on the abortion infodemic to stimulate the development of evidence-based public health efforts to mitigate the impact of misinformation on the increased maternal morbidity and mortality that is expected to result from abortion restrictions, particularly among marginalized populations.

"You're not my nanny!” Responses to racialized women leaders during COVID-19

In the early days of the pandemic, public health officials and politicians across the globe relied on Twitter to rapidly communicate COVID-19 information. Although the majority of these authority figures continue to be privileged white men, the number of women and racialized leaders is increasing. We analyze how users responded to public health tweets by Canada's top public health official Dr. Theresa Tam and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Examining responses to these two racialized women through a critical discourse analysis, we uncover a pattern of users mobilizing gendered and racialized discourses to undermine the message, sow public distrust, and challenge the authority of Tam and Lujan Grisham. This paper documents hostility in the digital public square that, we argue, constitutes intersectional harassing backlash which could have implications for the efficacy of public health messaging on and offline.

Populism and Its Definitions: Interpretations and Perspectives of a Multifaceted Political Model

This chapter deals with some of the many definitions of populism, starting with the first event in which a community of researchers came together for this purpose: the 1967 London Conference ‘To Define Populism'. The text follows the evolution of the central themes to the present day and explores, in particular, the tools produced by populism studies that help to understand two contemporary challenges: first, the emergence of new forms of populism fragmented into antagonistic groups during the SarsCoV2 Pandemic, but linked to broader authoritarian visions, and second, the new reflection on the principle of nationality and international solidarity that arose after the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. Both are challenges to the principles, intelligence and strength of democracies. This text focuses on two aspects in particular: first, the logic with which to construct definitions, so as to avoid errors of setting (unclear and ill-defined choice of subject to be studied), elaboration (conceptual stretching) and evaluation (researcher bias), and second, the understanding of the different identities with which the ‘people' presents itself and acts historically: populace, mob, civil society and revolutionary people;they cannot be confused within the same ‘populism'. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The European Health Union and the protection of public health in the European Union: Is the European Union prepared for future cross-border health threats?

The Covid 19 pandemic has cast traditional health protection issues in a new light due to their cross-border significance with far-reaching consequences for almost all areas of social life and places health protection in the European Union in a broader context that goes beyond the national consideration of necessary measures at EU Member State level. The pandemic has made it clear that the responsibility for public health remains in principle with the EU Member States and that the competences of the European Union under Article 168 TFEU are – with a few exceptions – generally limited to supporting, coordinating and assisting tasks. This article examines whether the European Union is adequately prepared for future pandemics and other cross-border health threats based on its responsibilities under the current system of competences between the EU and its Member States in the area of health policy under article 168. The article concludes with some suggestions for discussion and consideration. © 2023, The Author(s).

Beyond the crisis: fertility variations and the family policies in the Portuguese municipalities

In a profound ageing context, such as the Portuguese, fertility becomes a key variable for the analysis of population dynamics, with increased importance given the very low levels recorded in the country. According to INE [2020], Portugal has a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.40 children per woman, one of the lowest in the EU [Eurostat, 2022]. The economic and financial crisis of 2008 and the Troika intervention (European Commission, European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, the three authorities that monitored international bailout programs) in 2011, had impacted on the socioeconomic conditions of the Portuguese population, with repercussions in other behaviors as well as in fertility. Thus, the childbearing postponement led the TFR to fall to its lowest levels on record, reaching 1.21 children per woman in 2013. Although the economic recovery has allowed a slight recovery in fertility levels, the new crisis caused by COVID-19 was reflected in a new historic decline in births in the country in 2021, when the number of live births fell below 80 000, a decrease of 8% compared to 2019 [INE, 2022]. Although this downward trend is common to almost all developed European countries [Aassve et al., 2020;Aassve et al., 2021], for Portuguese society it is a new wake-up call and a cause for concern given the population decline confirmed in the provisional data release from the 2021 Population Census (-2.1% compared to 2011). However, fertility patterns are not uniform, as they involve regional heterogeneity, which highlights a multiplicity of factors and behavioral patterns. This paper aims to approach fertility from a regional perspective to distinguish the diversity of patterns across the territory in the last two decades, and to discuss the extent to which the crises were a point of change or reinforcement of the transformations that were taking place. In the analysis, in addition to the framework and contextualisation of fertility trends by NUTS 3, the policy responses that have emerged at a local/municipal scale will be analysed. Although the crisis has contributed to the fertility decline in Portugal, its decline goes beyond the crisis reflecting changes in behavioral patterns and social and economic constraints. Thus, there persist constraints in the population dynamics that have prevented the reversal or mitigation of the decline in the inland territories that currently are also felt at the country level. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.

Statistical analysis of crash data and impact of COVID-19 on road crashes in Maharashtra, India

This study analyzes crash data from 2016 to 2020 on a National Highway in Maharashtra, India. The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the road crashes of the study area is presented, and recommendations to improve road safety are proposed. The crash data is collected from the "National Highways Authority of India, Kolhapur” from 2016 to 2020, and the information is classified into three scenarios: Before Lockdown, After Lockdown, and Strict Lockdown. The crash data is analyzed under three scenarios for seven different classifications followed by their sub-classifications. The time-wise analysis of crash data is performed in four-time slots, namely 00:00–05:59 AM, 06:00–11:59 AM, 12:00–17:59 PM, and 18:00–23:59 PM. The season-wise analysis of crash data is performed in three seasons: Summer, Monsoon, and Winter. The crashes that occurred on 2-lane-straight roads having T-junction are more than 90% in all three scenarios. The significant factors responsible for crashes are "Head-on collision,” "Vehicle out of control,” and "Overspeeding.” Most crashes (more than 36%) occurred between 12:00 and 17:59 PM and in the Summer season (more than 42%) in all three scenarios. The crashes in the COVID-19 "Strict Lockdown” scenario witnessed a fall of 254.55% compared to 2019 and 2018. Surprisingly, there was a rise of 137.5% and a fall of 127.27% in crashes of the COVID-19 2020 "Strict Lockdown” scenario, compared to 2017 and 2016, respectively. The crashes under the sub-classifications "Right angle collision” and "Fatal” increased in 2020 compared to the previous 4 years due to the impact of COVID-19. © 2023, The Author(s).

A Secure Blockchain-Assisted Access Control Scheme for Smart Healthcare System in Fog Computing

IoT-based smart healthcare system allows doctors to monitor and diagnose patients remotely, which can greatly ease overcrowding in the hospitals and disequilibrium of medical resources, especially during the rage of COVID-19. However, the smart healthcare system generates enormous data which contains sensitive personal information. To protect patients’privacy, we propose a secure blockchain-assisted access control scheme for smart healthcare system in fog computing. All the operations of users are recorded on the blockchain by smart contract in order to ensure transparency and reliability of the system. We present a blockchain-assisted Multi-Authority Attribute-Based Encryption (MA-ABE) scheme with keyword search to ensure the confidentiality of the data, avoid single point of failure and implement fine-grained access control of the system. IoT devices are limited in resources, therefore it is not practical to apply the blockchain-assisted MA-ABE scheme directly. To reduce the burdens of IoT devices, We outsource most of the computational tasks to fog nodes. Finally, the security and performance analysis demonstrate that the proposed system is reliable, practical, and efficient. IEEE