Emotional risk work during the pandemic: Healthcare professionals' perceptions from a COVID-19 ward

In March 2020, COVID-19 wards were established in hospitals in Denmark. Healthcare professionals from a variety of specialities and wards were transferred to these new wards to care for patients admitted with severe COVID-19 infections. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a COVID-19 ward at a hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, including focus group interviews with nursing staff, we intended to explore practices in a COVID-19 ward by seeking insight into the relation between the work carried out and the professionals' ways of talking about it. We used a performative approach of studying how the institutional ways of handling pandemic risk work comes into being and relates to the health professionals' emerging responses. The empirical analysis pointed at emotional responses by the nursing staff providing COVID-19 care as central. To explore these emotional responses we draw on the work of Mary Douglas and Deborah Lupton's concept of the ‘emotion-risk-assemblage'. Our analysis provides insight into how emotions are contextually produced and linked to institutional risk understandings. We show that work in the COVID-19 ward was based on an institutional order that was disrupted during the pandemic, producing significant emotions of insecurity. Although these emotions are structurally produced, they are simultaneously internalised as feelings of incompetence and shame.

Sadness, Negativity, and Uncertainty in Education During COVID-19 on Social Media

The global COVID-19 pandemic increased social media usage to obtain information and to share concerns, feelings, and emotions, turning it into a prolific field of research through which it is possible to understand how audiences are coping with the multitude of recent challenges. This paper presents results from a social media analysis of 61532 education-related news headlines posted by the major daily news provider in Portugal, Sic Notícias, on Facebook, from January to December 2020. We focus on how the news impacted on audiences' emotional response and discourse, and we analyze the key issues of the most commented news content. The results show a prevailing sadness among audiences and a very negative discourse all throughout 2020, with a high degree uncertainty being expressed. The main concerns revolved around parents supporting children in their first remote learning endeavors, financial sustainability, the lack of devices, the disinfection of schools, and the students' mobility, particularly in the non-higher education context.

The hidden part of the iceberg: The impact of social and emotional factors on the links between digital divide and online learning in times of crisis

The COVID 19 crisis has been a sudden, unexpected, and globally encompassing crisis, which had led to a shut-down of all face-to-face teaching, making online learning the only route for continuing with academic studies. Digital resources have therefore become a critical element in learning, deepening the digital divide between students and impacting academic learning and achievements. However, while social-emotional factors have been acknowledged to play a role in learning, including in online learning, coping with the digital divide is still typically viewed as a technological problem, and the role emotions and social resources play in coping with the digital divide, in particular within a global crisis is relatively unexplored. This chapter presents research conducted among 375 undergraduate students from different colleges and universities in Israel during the first COVID outbreak. The research purpose was to examine the impact of emotions, social support and lecturer perception on the links between the digital divide and online learning. The findings indicated that online learning involves technological, social, and emotional aspects that interact in complex ways. Therefore, higher education institutes should consider those aspects and become engaged in finding ways to address them as part of online learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Social pressure in the stadiums: Do agents change behavior without crowd support?

Social pressure may have relevant consequences in many contexts but it is hard to evaluate it empirically. In this paper we exploit a natural experiment in soccer to provide clear evidence of its effects. We aim to study how social pressure from the crowd in a stadium affects both players and referees. While in normal matches crowd support may be correlated to a host of variables affecting the outcome of interest, we exploit the fact that after the health emergency for the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, soccer matches in top European Leagues have been allowed only behind closed doors, that is, without spectators in the stadiums. We use data of first and second division of five major European Leagues (Germany, Spain, England, Italy and Portugal) for the last 10 seasons and compare - using a differences-in-differences analysis - several outcomes (determined by players' performance and referees' decisions) of matches played with crowd support to the same outcomes when matches were played without crowd. We find considerable effects of the pressure from the crowd: while with the support of the crowd a considerable home advantage emerges in various measures of performance (points, goals, shots, etc.), this advantage is almost halved when matches are played behind closed doors. Similar effects are found for the behavior of referees: decisions of fouls, yellow cards, red cards and penalties that tend to favor home teams in normal matches, are much more balanced without the crowd pressing on referees. The evidence we provide strongly supports the idea that social pressure has intense effects on agents' behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Remote Teaching and School Refusal Behavior - Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

When the Norwegian government closed down schools and kindergartens in response to the increased spread of COVID-19, the use of homeschooling raised concerns about students with school refusal behavior and the school system's ability to address their special needs in these circumstances. Six students referred to the school absenteeism team were interviewed about their circumstances, using an author-developed interview. The results indicate that the students rated homeschooling as very satisfactory. Students with school refusal behavior participated in homeschooling and their attendance continued during the initial reopening of schools.

In the COVID-19 Pandemic Situation Effect of Youths Emotional Factors on School Maladjustment

The purpose of this study is to verify the mediating effect of individual factors and friend factors in the process of influencing youths' emotional factors on school maladjustment in the COVID-19 pandemic situation. To this end, a survey was conducted on 495 youths living in South Korea. The data were analyzed with SPSS 22.0 and PROCESS macro ver. 3.5 programs. The research results were derived as follows. First, it was found that there was a significant correlation between emotional risk factors, school maladjustment, personal protection factors, and friend protection factors of adolescents. Second, emotional risk factors, personal protection factors, and friend protection. Phosphorus was found to have a significant effect on school maladjustment. Third, it was found that personal protection factors and friend protection factors were multi-mediated in the process of adolescents' emotional risk affecting school maladjustment. Through these research results, the significance and limitations of this study were presented, and discussions for subsequent studies were presented © 2022 IEEE.

The hidden part of the iceberg: The impact of social and emotional factors on the links between digital divide and online learning in times of crisis

The COVID 19 crisis has been a sudden, unexpected, and globally encompassing crisis, which had led to a shut-down of all face-to-face teaching, making online learning the only route for continuing with academic studies. Digital resources have therefore become a critical element in learning, deepening the digital divide between students and impacting academic learning and achievements. However, while social-emotional factors have been acknowledged to play a role in learning, including in online learning, coping with the digital divide is still typically viewed as a technological problem, and the role emotions and social resources play in coping with the digital divide, in particular within a global crisis is relatively unexplored. This chapter presents research conducted among 375 undergraduate students from different colleges and universities in Israel during the first COVID outbreak. The research purpose was to examine the impact of emotions, social support and lecturer perception on the links between the digital divide and online learning. The findings indicated that online learning involves technological, social, and emotional aspects that interact in complex ways. Therefore, higher education institutes should consider those aspects and become engaged in finding ways to address them as part of online learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Analysis of Learning Losses of Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak has wreaked havoc on educational systems on a scale never seen before in history. The closure of schools and other institutions of learning has impacted 94% of the world’s student population. Even school closures, such as those that occur during the summer, have a significant effect on children’s academic ability. The word “learning loss” refers to any loss of information and abilities, whether specific or generic. By Fall 2020, extended absences from school will have a detrimental effect on student achievement. Learning loss is commonly addressed when schools close for extended periods of time during the summer, natural catastrophes, or epidemics. Even brief school closures might result in significant loss of learning. Due to the global nature of the COVID-19 epidemic, special attention was devoted to learning losses. During the pandemic, learning loss occurs as a result of kids studying at home due to school closures. School closures do not have to result in an equal loss of learning for all students. The variables that contribute to learning loss include “change in teaching methods”, “opportunities to reach education”, “less time for learning”, and “emotional factors”. Reduced instructional time–provided by teachers in accordance with the national curriculum–is likely to result in loss of learning. Due to the disparate scales used in the studies, it is hard to compare the magnitudes of learning losses. However, based on the data from the studies, it is reasonable to assume that these nations are investigating learning losses and that they exist. As a result, there is convincing evidence that students lose more information during lockdown than they do over the course of a normal school year. The elements causing learning losses differ according to context. With the reopening of schools, it is important to establish the actual magnitude of learning losses and to implement remedial measures in order to avoid the emergence of medium- and long-term educational difficulties.

Linking the Sensory Taste Properties of Chocolate-Based Biscuits to Consumers’ Emotions: A Cross-Cultural Study

This research measured consumers’ emotions and change in emotion to the specific sensory taste properties and attitudes of chocolate-based biscuits. The sample size involved 216 respondents from South Africa (n = 106) and Switzerland (n = 110). Respondents tasted chocolate-based biscuits and completed an online questionnaire. The increase in consumers’ levels of guilt after chocolate-based biscuit consumption and the contribution of a chocolate taste and craving attitude to consumers’ subsequent positive emotions and change in positive emotions could help food and consumer scientists to understand the link between emotions and the sensory descriptors of chocolate-based biscuits. Investigating the association between the emotional responses and sensory attributes of sweet baked products could benefit product developers when formulating food products for specific target markets and aid in the understanding of the emotional profile of food products.

Estado emocional de cuidadores y de niños preescolares: antes y durante la cuarentena por COVID-19

At present it is going through a global pandemic that forced the human being to adopt different ways of relating and doing their daily tasks, for that reason we wanted to make a comparison of the depressive symptoms of caregivers, the perception of the function family and internalized and externalized problems in children aged two to five years, in three groups interviewed at three times: 1) before quarantine by COVID-19 in Colombia, 2) during the first three weeks of quarantine and 3 ) from the fourth to the sixth week of quarantine. The questionnaires used measured: sociodemographic characteristics, the perception of the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of individuals, the perception of family-function, depressive symptoms of caregivers, and the behavior and emotional state of children. Aggressive behavior (Mean = 8,79;p = 0,000), anxiety (3,85;p = 0,025) and attention problems (2,53;p = 0,023) were found to be higher in the third group studied. The perception of family function was more positive in the third group (Average: 14,06;p = 0,006).Alternate :La cuarentena por la pandemia de COVID-19, trajo consigo diversos retos para las familias con niños pequeños. Muchos niños dejaron de ir al parque, a los centros de desarrollo infantil, a donde los abuelos. Por esa razón, el objetivo de este estudio fue comparar los síntomas depresivos de cuidadores(as), la percepción de la función familiar y los problemas internalizados y externalizados en niños(as) de dos a cinco años, en tres grupos entrevistados en tres momentos: 1) antes de la cuarentena por COVID-19 en Colombia, 2) durante las tres primeras semanas de cuarentena y 3) de la cuarta a la sexta semana de cuarentena. Los cuestionarios usados midieron: características sociodemográficas, la percepción del impacto del COVID-19 en la vida de los individuos, la percepción de la función-familiar, los síntomas depresivos de cuidadores, y el comportamiento y estado emocional de los niños. Se halló que el comportamiento agresivo (Media= 8,79;p=0,000), la ansiedad (3,85;p=0,025) y los problemas de atención (2,53;p=0,023) fueron más altos en el tercer grupo estudiado. La percepción de la función familiar fue más positiva en el tercer grupo (Media: 14,06;p=0,006).

Analysis of Emotional Aspect of Twitter Postings about Large Scale Social Limitations in Suppressing the Spread of COVID-19

The spread of COVID-19 has recently become a public concern. There are many public emotions regarding implementing the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB), which was especially implemented in Jakarta, first implemented in Indonesia. People have various emotions mirroring their tweets in making statements on social media, especially Twitter. Emotional expressions can be joy, sadness, anger, and fear. This study aims to determine the impact of the implementation of PSBB in reducing the spread of COVID-19 on people's emotional factors on Twitter. The method used in this research is the SentiStrength method and Support Vector Machine. Furthermore, the comparison between the two methods is completed to determine which one is better. The tweet data used were 12,735 lines from 10 April 2020 to 21 August 2020. The highest accuracy achieved of SentiStrength and SVM is 88.33% and 73.33%, respectively. Similarly, f-measure of SentiStrength (88.14%) outperforms SVM (75%). This research shows that the implementation of PSBB on public emotional factors on Twitter is that happy emotions with the highest sentiment are positive sentiments, reaching 5246 sentiments. © 2022. All Rights Reserved.

The Effect of Sleep–Wake Routines on the Negative Emotional States and Aggressive Behaviors in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) during the COVID-19 Outbreak

Disruption in routine may be related to experiencing negative emotional states and to aggressive behaviors in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The lockdown because of COVID-19 contributed to the disruption of individuals’ routines, including the sleep–wake cycle. The current study tested a relationship between the adherence to the sleep–wake routine and aggressive behaviors via the mediation role of negative emotional states (i.e., anxiety and anger). Forty-three parents of adults with ASD completed a web-based questionnaire about their life condition during the first lockdown (April–May 2020). Preliminary analyses showed a worsening in the adults’ aggressive behaviors during the lockdown in comparison to before it (Z = −3.130;p = 0.002). In the mediation models, the relationship between the adherence to the sleep–wake routines and aggressive behaviors was significant. The models showed the hypothesized mediated relationships among the adherence to the sleep–wake routines, negative emotional states, and aggressive behaviors (Model 1: F (1, 41) = 10.478, p < 0.001;Model 2: F(1, 41) = 9.826, p = 0.003). The findings confirmed the potential protective role of the adherence to the sleep–wake routines for the emotional and behavioral adjustment of adults with autism. Theoretical and practical contributions of the study were discussed;indeed, our results may inform parent-coaching as well as intervention programs for individuals with ASD given that adequate sleep hygiene may contribute to improvements in internalizing/externalizing behaviors.

Assessing Customer Preferences for Shopping Centers: Effects of Functional and Communication Factors

Retail companies operating in Lithuania are very important for the national economy. Domestic consumption has remained one of the most important drivers of Lithuania’s economic development. The objective of this article is to investigate the customer preferences and to identify selected factors of shopping centers in Vilnius, Lithuania. The study of Vilnius shopping centers is based on a complex model that integrates the following factors: shopping center goods and services, customer service, image factors, physical factors, situational factors and demographic characteristics of target consumers. Expert interviews aimed to determine the customer preference factors by perception of professional experts in relation to the phenomenon under study. The consumer survey questionnaire focuses on all the identified factors that determine the choice of a shopping center. This article identifies theoretical factors for the selection of retail shopping centers, reviews the market trends and peculiarities of Vilnius shopping centers, evaluates the factors for the selection and assess functional, emotional and communicational consumer preferences for the choice of Vilnius shopping centers.

Research on public emotional polarization and public opinion evolution of OTC and learning during the COVID-19 epidemic: taking the topic of OTC on Zhihu as an example

Purpose>The outbreak and continuation of COVID-19 have spawned the transformation of traditional teaching models to a certain extent. The Chinese Ministry of Education’s guidance on “keep learning and teaching during class suspension” has made OTC and learning (OTC) become routinized, and the public’s emotional attitudes toward OTC have also evolved over time. The purpose of this study is to segment the emotional text data and introduce it into the topic model to reveal the evolution process and stage characteristics of public emotional polarity and public opinion of OTC topics during public health emergencies in the context of social media participation. The research has important guiding significance for the development of OTC and can influence and improve the efficiency and effect of OTC to a certain extent. The analysis of online public opinion can provide suggestions for the government and media to guide the trend of public opinion and optimize the OTC model.Design/methodology/approach>This paper takes the topic of “OTC” on Zhihu during the COVID-19 epidemic as an example, combined with the characteristics of public opinion changes, chooses Boson emotional dictionary and time series analysis method to build an OTC network public opinion theme evolution analysis framework that integrates emotional analysis and topic mining. Finally, an empirical analysis of the dynamic evolution of the communication network for each stage of the life cycle of a specific topic is realized.Findings>This paper draws the following conclusions: (1) Through the emotional value table and the change trend chart of the number of comments, the analysis found that the number of positive comments is greater than the number of negative comments, which can be inferred that the public gradually accepts “OTC” and presents a positive emotional state. (2) By observing the changing trend of the average daily emotional value of the public, it is found that the overall emotional value shows a stable development trend after a large fluctuation. From the actual emotional value and the fitted emotional value curve, it can be seen that the overall curve fit is good, so ARIMA (12, 1, 6) can accurately predict the dynamic trend of the daily average emotional value in this paper. Therefore, based on the above-mentioned public opinion, emotional analysis research, relevant countermeasures and suggestions are put forward, which is conducive to guiding the development direction of public opinion in a positive way.Originality/value>Taking the topic of “OTC” in Zhihu as an example, this paper combines Boson emotional dictionary and time series to conduct a series of research analyses. Boson emotional dictionary can analyze the public’s emotional tendency, and time series can well analyze the intrinsic structure and complex features of the data to predict the future values. The combination of the two research methods allows for an adequate and unique study of public emotional polarization and the evolution of public opinion.

Attention and Emotional States during Horticultural Activities of Adults in 20s Using Electroencephalography: A Pilot Study

Since indoor, sedentary lifestyles became prevalent in society, humans have lost a sustainable connection to nature. An intervention utilizing outdoor horticultural activities could address such a challenge, but their beneficial effects on the brain and emotions have not been characterized in a quantitative approach. We aimed to investigate brain activity and emotional changes in adults in their 20s during horticultural activity to confirm feasibility of horticultural activity to improve cognitive and emotional states. Sixty university students participated in 11 outdoor horticultural activities at 2-min intervals. We measured brain waves of participants’ prefrontal cortex using a wireless electroencephalography device while performing horticultural activities. Between activities, we evaluated emotional states of participants using questionnaires. Results showed that each horticultural activity showed promotion of brain activity and emotional changes at varying degrees. The participants during physically intensive horticultural activities—digging, raking, and pruning—showed the highest attention level. For emotional states, the participants showed the highest fatigue, tension, and vigor during digging and raking. Plant-based activities—harvesting and transplanting plants—made participants feel natural and relaxed the most. Therefore, this pilot study confirmed the possibility of horticultural activity as a short-term physical intervention to improve attention levels and emotional stability in adults.