The CCP after the Zero-Covid Fail

China has two repressive systems that exist simultaneously: the highly coercive and surveilled system in Xinjiang, and the trust-based model of everyday repression prevalent throughout the rest of the country. The trust-based model has undergirded grassroots governance in China and facilitated the routine implementation of Zero-Covid. Drawing on a protest event dataset, I analyze the key characteristics of the covid protests erupted in November and December of 2022, before situating them in the larger context of China's political future under Xi Jinping's rule. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has responded to the protests with a combination of concession and repression. But neither the carrot nor the stick is able to fundamentally address the deep-rooted social problems or halt the tide of dissent. Coupled with structural economic challenges, these protests could be the harbinger of a new era of contentious state-society relations in China, the seeds of which were sown years ago–only precipitated and underscored by the CCP's covid debacle.

Countering Beijing's Media Manipulation

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long sought to influence media coverage about China in other countries. Over the past decade, this campaign has accelerated, reaching new world regions and topics. This article examines how CCP-linked actors seek to manipulate foreign information environments in four key ways: disseminating propaganda, spreading disinformation, censoring critical coverage, and controlling the infrastructure used to convey news. This article considers which efforts have yielded gains for the regime, obstacles that Beijing has encountered, and the response of nongovernmental actors. It concludes by considering how to enhance democratic resilience to the covert and coercive dimensions of the CCP's global media influence.

Reasons for early marriage of Syrian migrant young women: Qualitative study

It is aimed to examine the reasons of Syrian migrant women getting married early. Universe selection has not been made. Participants were reached using the snowball sampling method. In this phenomenological qualitative study, 4 main themes were created with the method of description and examined. It has been determined that poverty, family coercion, love and the losses they suffered during the war are effective in the early marriage of Syrian migrant women. It has been investigated that most of the factors determined in the early marriage of Syrian migrant women are situations that develop against their will and that these women have to marry at an early age.

Intimate partner violence during COVID-19: Demographic and economic correlates of survivor experiences

Objective: To extend our understanding of intimate partner violence (IPV) during the COVID-19 pandemic, we examined socioecological correlates of IPV, as well as rates of victimization. We assessed physical IPV, sexual IPV, psychological IPV, reproductive coercion, coercive labor, and coercive control. Method: A total of 374 recent survivors of IPV were recruited in partnership with IPV and social service agencies in Southeast Texas. Participants were asked about their experiences with IPV, COVID-19, and economic situation during the first year of the pandemic (March 2020-December 2020). Data were collected in December 2020. The sample was racially and ethnically diverse and primarily female-identified (77%). Statistical analyses included descriptive, analysis of variance, t tests, and chi-square test. Results: Among participants, rates of past-year IPV were high, with 77.3% reporting physical victimization and 94.7% reporting psychological abuse victimization. A majority (55.5%) of participants, self-reported violence increases since the pandemic began. Older (46 +) and Black participants reported higher rates of IPV, including coercive control. Reported IPV increases since COVID was significantly associated with homelessness during COVID-19, lower income, and physical IPV, psychological IPV, economic IPV, along with coercive control and coerced labor by a partner. Conclusions: We found that COVID-19-related IPV increases were associated with IPV victimization types and economic factors, including low income and homelessness. Results also confirm a "dual pandemic" perspective, underscoring the heightened risk for IPV for Black, middle age, and older survivors. These findings highlight the need for a strong and sustained community response to address potential outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The Ethical Significance of Post-Vaccination COVID-19 Transmission Dynamics.

The potential for vaccines to prevent the spread of infectious diseases is crucial for vaccination policy and ethics. In this paper, I discuss recent evidence that the current COVID-19 vaccines have only a modest and short-lived effect on reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission and argue that this has at least four important ethical implications. First, getting vaccinated against COVID-19 should be seen primarily as a self-protective choice for individuals. Second, moral condemnation of unvaccinated people for causing direct harm to others is unjustified. Third, the case for a harm-based moral obligation to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is weak. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, coercive COVID-19 vaccination policies (e.g., measures that exclude unvaccinated people from society) cannot be directly justified by the harm principle.

Ethics on Compulsion of Vaccinations in the Age of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic broke out at the end of 2019 and throughout 2020 there were intensive international efforts to find a vaccine for the disease, which has already led to the deaths of a few million people. In December 2020, several pharmaceutical companies announced that they had succeeded in producing effective vaccines and after approval by the various regulatory bodies, countries started to vaccinate their citizens. With the start of the global campaign to vaccinate the world's population against COVID-19, there was a strong renewal of the debate about the possibility of enforcing vaccination, either directly or indirectly, in particular on account of the rapid spread of the pandemic. This article presents the stand that Jewish ethics takes on this issue. According to the norms of Jewish ethics, a moral person has an obligation toward his fellows and G-d to be vaccinated. Notwithstanding the importance of vaccination, Jewish ethics does not allow direct coercion but recognizes that someone who does not get vaccinated presents a danger to the public and so can be prevented from circulating freely. Thus, Jewish ethics permits indirect compulsion by keeping children and adults who are not vaccinated away from educational institutions and public places, respectively. Only occasionally and in special circumstances would it be permitted to resort to shaming of a person who refuses to be vaccinated and only if he/she is deemed a particular danger to the public health.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC). Usage and distribution for commercial purposes requires written permission.

Behavior change during COVID-19: A matter of life and death? [References]

During the COVID pandemic, the human race has experienced the world unlike ever before. There have been instances of great success as well as instances of profound failure. The examination of how threat and anxiety manifest to contribute to either success or failure has revealed two distinct strategies. To mitigate existential anxiety, some individuals resort to prejudice, violence, and the pro-authoritarian orientation. Other individuals deploy intuitive strategies that enable them to continue life constructively. The sensitivity to incentivization and coercion by individuals who lack the self-regulation ability to deal with their anxiety effectively suggests that de-radicalization at the system level is needed to limit the impact of extreme views on society. Second, the development of social policy that condemns anxiety-provoking behaviors, such violence and discrimination, can restore social cohesion. This chapter notes that behavior change is challenging even under peaceful conditions. It emphasizes the existential dimension of the current crisis. The chapter discusses the importance of reducing a sense of threat, both psychologically and socially, so that responses to anxiety and fear are not channeled toward common but maladaptive reactions such as aggression and xenophobia. It points out that these aims require insightful social policies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The interplay of home visitors' personal and professional identities in effectively screening and supporting women around sensitive topics

Home visiting programs provide information, support, resources, and tools that empower new parents to promote positive maternal and child health outcomes. During home visits, there is a unique opportunity to screen for intimate partner violence (IPV), reproductive coercion, and unintended pregnancy with women in unguarded settings (i.e., the women's homes) while providing ongoing services via a therapeutic relationship. Using individual interviews and a deliberative discussion focus group, the current study examined the research question, to what degree do home visiting staff members' personal and professional identities impact their ability to effectively screen and support pregnant women and new mothers around the topics of unintended pregnancy and intimate partner violence including reproductive coercion? Interviews and a deliberative discussion focus group were conducted virtually with staff members from Healthy Families America (HFA) programs in Maryland. Six major themes emerged from the interviews and focus group: personal versus professional experience, therapeutic alliance building, keeping families engaged, use of supervision, addressing intimate partner violence/reproductive coercion in families, and home visiting in the time of a health pandemic. Participants shared how their personal and professional identities helped shape their perceptions of their roles within the home visiting field including the terms, its meaning, and the expectations of that role. The findings suggest that home visitors need additional training around reproductive health since they routinely interact with pregnant women and new mothers who are at-risk for poor pregnancy-related health outcomes that may be due to the lack of control or intention related to reproduction. Participants expressed general knowledge, comfort, safety plan creation, and resource linking around the issue of IPV. Participants had received extensive training on administering the Relationship Assessment Tool (RAT), which is the IPV screener for HFA. However, relatively few program recipients endorsed that their HFA program recipients are experiencing IPV using the RAT. Therefore, HFA staff would benefit from advanced level training utilizing more clinical skills around the topic of IPV including advanced screening skills. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Surveillance and the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic for formerly incarcerated individuals

To date, most criminal justice research on COVID-19 has examined the rapid spread within prisons. We shift the focus to reentry via in-depth interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals in central Ohio, specifically focusing on how criminal justice contact affected the pandemic experience. In doing so, we use the experience of the pandemic to build upon criminological theories regarding surveillance, including both classic theories on surveillance during incarceration as well as more recent scholarship on community surveillance, carceral citizenship, and institutional avoidance. Three findings emerged. First, participants felt that the total institution of prison "prepared” them for similar experiences such as pandemic-related isolation. Second, shifts in community supervision formatting, such as those forced by the pandemic, lessened the coercive nature of community supervision, expressed by participants as an increase in autonomy. Third, establishment of institutional connections while incarcerated alleviated institutional avoidance resulting from hyper-surveillance, specifically in the domain of healthcare, which is critical when a public health crisis strikes. While the COVID-19 pandemic affected all, this article highlights how theories of surveillance inform unique aspects of the pandemic for formerly incarcerated individuals, while providing pathways forward for reducing the impact of surveillance.

Good reasons to vaccinate: mandatory or payment for risk?

Mandatory vaccination, including for COVID-19, can be ethically justified if the threat to public health is grave, the confidence in safety and effectiveness is high, the expected utility of mandatory vaccination is greater than the alternatives, and the penalties or costs for non-compliance are proportionate. I describe an algorithm for justified mandatory vaccination. Penalties or costs could include withholding of benefits, imposition of fines, provision of community service or loss of freedoms. I argue that under conditions of risk or perceived risk of a novel vaccination, a system of payment for risk in vaccination may be superior. I defend a payment model against various objections, including that it constitutes coercion and undermines solidarity. I argue that payment can be in cash or in kind, and opportunity for altruistic vaccinations can be preserved by offering people who have been vaccinated the opportunity to donate any cash payment back to the health service.

Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence Victimization during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Behaviors and Attitudes

Despite the growing attention to Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence (TFSV) experienced by adults, this is still an underexplored topic. This study involved a sample of 289 adults (aged 18 to 56), focusing on reported indicators of TFSV in a year dominated by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Reports of TFSV victimization were analyzed using an existing 21-item scale that encompassed four TFSV dimensions: i) digital sexual harassment;ii) image-based sexual abuse (IBSA);iii) sexual aggression and/or coercion;and iv) gender and/or sexuality-based harassment. While examining the experience of one or more TFSV behaviors by independent socio-demographic variables (e.g., gender, age, or sexuality), the results showed that women were significantly more likely than men to report several forms of sexual harassment victimization. LGB+-identifying adults were significantly more likely than heterosexual-identifying respondents to report 11 behaviors from the used TFSV victimization scale. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, many types of violence against women and the LGBT+ community have been intensified, and this study indicates TFSV as no exception to that. The results show gendered patterns in online sexual victimization, as well as in the nature of TFSV. These findings indicate the importance of considering additional institutional measures to prevent this phenomenon.Copyright © 2022 Taylor & Francis.

Ethical Challenges Involved in COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates for Children: A Systematic Review.

The new COVID-19 pandemic has affected day-to-day life, creating various ethical dilemmas. COVID-19 vaccination is seen as an effective way to halt the pandemic. Ethical challenges can arise when the vaccines are mandated for all ages, but more so when mandated for children. This systematic review discusses the pros and cons of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for children. The primary objective of this study is to summarize exclusively the various ethical conflicts, impacts, and requirements that arise as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate laws on children. The secondary objective is to analyze the reasons for parents refusing to allow their children to be given the COVID-19 vaccine sand the effective strategies to increase vaccine uptake among children. The study involved a systematic review, identification of relevant literature and reviews following the PRISMA-ScR recommendations. The keywords 'COVID-19 vaccine mandates on children' were used to mine the literature from PubMed and WHO COVID-19 Research Database. Limitations placed on the original searches were: English language, humans, ethics, and children. Out of 529 studies, only 13 satisfied the selection criteria. The sample included studies with a wide, diverse range of methods, settings, research, authors, and journals. COVID-19 vaccine mandates on children need to be scrutinized. Implementing the COVID-19 vaccination drive in a scientific way is acceptable. As children are the fastest-growing population and have the highest life expectancy, it is important to take into account that the vaccines do not disturb their growth and development.

Vaccine mandates for healthcare workers beyond COVID-19.

We provide ethical criteria to establish when vaccine mandates for healthcare workers are ethically justifiable. The relevant criteria are the utility of the vaccine for healthcare workers, the utility for patients (both in terms of prevention of transmission of infection and reduction in staff shortage), and the existence of less restrictive alternatives that can achieve comparable benefits. Healthcare workers have professional obligations to promote the interests of patients that entail exposure to greater risks or infringement of autonomy than ordinary members of the public. Thus, we argue that when vaccine mandates are justified on the basis of these criteria, they are not unfairly discriminatory and the level of coercion they involve is ethically acceptable-and indeed comparable to that already accepted in healthcare employment contracts. Such mandates might be justified even when general population mandates are not. Our conclusion is that, given current evidence, those ethical criteria justify mandates for influenza vaccination, but not COVID-19 vaccination, for healthcare workers. We extend our arguments to other vaccines.

Toward Evidence-Based Practice

Experts suggest how 6 research articles can be used in nursing practice.

94. Implementing Online Public Deliberations on Minor Consent for Biomedical HIV Prevention Research in Diverse Cities

Purpose: Adolescents/young adults (AYA) from racial/ethnic communities have high rates of HIV but little access to biomedical research, due to complexities around consent. Requirement of parental consent for participation in biomedical research is protective and strongly supported by parents, but in biomedical HIV prevention, minors are less likely to participate in research because of concerns about disclosure. Public deliberation (PD) is a process to obtain community input on complex policy issues, by bringing together AYA and adults, who have an investment in an issue, but with potentially opposing views, to provide education, clarify values, and facilitate discussion, reflection, and recommendations. To inform institutional review boards, institutions, and investigators, PDs were held with the goal of obtaining community perspectives and recommendations on minor consent for biomedical HIV prevention research from communities affected by youth HIV. Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, we used an online format and conducted PDs across four evenings. We then conducted post-deliberation interviews to describe participants' experiences in the online PD. Methods: As part of an IRB approved PD, we conducted semi-structured interviews with youth and adult community members who had participated in the deliberations, held in Tampa and Baltimore. The interviews, which were conducted over Zoom, queried deliberants about their experiences voicing their perspectives, their comfort level, their degree of trust in the deliberation process, and ideas for how to better engage future deliberants. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and field notes were generated. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: We interviewed 13 community members: seven from Tampa (African American=3, White=3, Latinax=1;AYA=2) and six from Baltimore (African American=6;AYA=1). Facilitators: Deliberants from both communities indicated that personal connections were important for building consensus and understanding. When other participants shared personal stories and perspectives, deliberants were more receptive to hearing and accepting new ideas and opinions that differed from their own. Challenges: Tampa deliberants reported that they preferred an online deliberation because it helped overcome practical barriers to in-person deliberations, such as access to transportation and long commutes. Baltimore participants indicated they would have preferred in-person interactions to build trust, increase comfort, and augment engagement. Participants from both communities discussed distrust in research due to the historical legacy of racism in research and medicine. Due to this legacy, they reported that distrust influenced their views of minor-self-consent and impacted the deliberation process around building consensus. For example, concerns about coercion of minor human subjects influenced their views on minor consent. Recommendations: Participants recommend that strategies be developed to increase engagement in the virtual space. These strategies include use of (a) breakout sessions to increase comfort with sharing;(b) personal storytelling and reviewing group agreements to increase trust, (c) early polling activities to ensure engagement, (d) and asking adults to provide space for youth to voice their perspectives. Conclusions: While online public deliberation on sensitive topics with a vulnerable population is possible, it is important for researchers to focus on providing a safe environment, to acknowledge historical racism in research, and to use methods to maximally engage participants. Sources of Support: PCORI.

Intimate Partner Violence During COVID-19 Restrictions: A Study of 30 Countries From the I-SHARE Consortium.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) causes substantial physical and psychological trauma. Restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including lockdowns and movement restrictions, may exacerbate IPV risk and reduce access to IPV support services. This cross-sectional study examines IPV during COVID-19 restrictions in 30 countries from the International Sexual HeAlth and REproductive Health (I-SHARE) study conducted from July 20th, 2020, to February, 15th, 2021. IPV was a primary outcome measure adapted from a World Health Organization multicountry survey. Mixed-effects modeling was used to determine IPV correlates among participants stratified by cohabitation status. The sample included 23,067 participants from 30 countries. A total of 1,070/15,336 (7.0%) participants stated that they experienced IPV during COVID-19 restrictions. A total of 1,486/15,336 (9.2%) participants stated that they had experienced either physical or sexual partner violence before the restrictions, which then decreased to 1,070 (7.0%) after the restrictions. In general, identifying as a sexual minority and experiencing greater economic vulnerability were associated with higher odds of experiencing IPV during COVID-19 restrictions, which were accentuated among participants who were living with their partners. Greater stringency of COVID-19 restrictions and living in urban or semi-urban areas were associated with lower odds of experiencing IPV in some settings. The I-SHARE data suggest a substantial burden of IPV during COVID-19 restrictions. However, the restrictions were correlated with reduced IPV in some settings. There is a need for investing in specific support systems for survivors of IPV during the implementation of restrictions designed to contain infectious disease outbreaks.

Principle of Freedom to Decide of own Person, Threat to National Security and Safety

In light of the major danger generated by SARSCOV-2 infection, both the internal and international legal order is conditioned and substantialized by the observance of the general principles of law recognized by the international society. A major problem was the need to limit the individual freedom of citizens in order to protect other fundamental rights, for example, the right to life, to quality medical care. Most of the time, these coercive measures were severely contested and a great controversy arose: „respect for individual freedom by accepting refusal of vaccination represents or not a threat to national safety and security?”

Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry

The proceedings contain 2254 papers. The topics discussed include: implementing alternatives to coercion in mental health care;transcultural aspect of mental health care;early intervention programs in psychosis;a once malignant malady: the story of schizophrenia and the path to prevention;45 years of research on psychotherapy for depression: lessons for the future;digital mental health: towards personalized care in psychiatry;standard units for cannabis dose: why is it important to standardize cannabis dose for drug policy and how can we enhance its place on the public health agenda?;Covid-19: lessons for mental and brain health;resilience and wellbeing in mental health workforce: why it matters and how to develop it;resilience factors preventing schizophrenia in ultra-high risk patients: lessons from genetics;practicing psychiatry in the transitional period: lessons learnt and issues of the steps towards the new normal;and education and training in psychiatry: challenges and consequences of the last two years, future perspectives and actions needed.

COVID-19 vaccine boosters for young adults: a risk benefit assessment and ethical analysis of mandate policies at universities.

In 2022, students at North American universities with third-dose COVID-19 vaccine mandates risk disenrolment if unvaccinated. To assess the appropriateness of booster mandates in this age group, we combine empirical risk-benefit assessment and ethical analysis. To prevent one COVID-19 hospitalisation over a 6-month period, we estimate that 31 207-42 836 young adults aged 18-29 years must receive a third mRNA vaccine. Booster mandates in young adults are expected to cause a net harm: per COVID-19 hospitalisation prevented, we anticipate at least 18.5 serious adverse events from mRNA vaccines, including 1.5-4.6 booster-associated myopericarditis cases in males (typically requiring hospitalisation). We also anticipate 1430-4626 cases of grade ≥3 reactogenicity interfering with daily activities (although typically not requiring hospitalisation). University booster mandates are unethical because they: (1) are not based on an updated (Omicron era) stratified risk-benefit assessment for this age group; (2) may result in a net harm to healthy young adults; (3) are not proportionate: expected harms are not outweighed by public health benefits given modest and transient effectiveness of vaccines against transmission; (4) violate the reciprocity principle because serious vaccine-related harms are not reliably compensated due to gaps in vaccine injury schemes; and (5) may result in wider social harms. We consider counterarguments including efforts to increase safety on campus but find these are fraught with limitations and little scientific support. Finally, we discuss the policy relevance of our analysis for primary series COVID-19 vaccine mandates.