Ecuador and COVID-19: the "Guayaquil Effect" in contrast to Quito

The repercussions of COVID-19 are different throughout the world due to an assortment of aspects that distinguish some countries from others regarding the structure and response of health systems, the socioeconomic conditions of the population, the activation of emergency committees and contingency plans, and the coordination between central and sectional governments. Even among cities, regions and states of the same country, the pandemic presents a different face. In Ecuador, the effects in Guayaquil contributed to its being catalogued as the Wuhan of Latin America. This article sheds light on the social determinants that explain the consequences in Guayaquil, in contrast to what happened in the capital, Quito.

Augmented architectural space system for the creation of casual connections with people

In recent years, the increasing social isolation has become a major problem in Japan because of the growing trend toward nuclear families. In addition, further social isolation is concerned caused by a decrease on face-to-face communication opportunities due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 infection. Therefore, it is necessary to create connections among people. On the other hand, opportunities for people to communicate online have increased rapidly. However, various information obtained the face-to-face is missing online, which degrades the quality of communication and causes physical and mental fatigue to users. To solve these problems, this study aims to minimize the gap that exists between online and the face-to-face, and to propose an Augmented Architectural Space that creates casual connections between people within their living space. By comparing the results of impression evaluation experiments using questionnaires for the face-to-face environment, the video conferencing system environment, and the proposed system environment, we demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed Augmented Architectural Space system for creating casual connections between people. © 2023, Association of American Publishers. All rights reserved.

Learning to combat social isolation in senior living communities during COVID-19 and beyond

Social isolation has been a growing concern since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionately impacting older adults. Social isolation can impact the physical, mental, and emotional health of older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine coping strategies of older adults living in senior living communities, as well as the supportive efforts of the team members working in such communities, to determine best practices for combating social isolation for older adults. This qualitative study was guided by the research question: How do older adults perceive loneliness, social isolation, and social connectedness living in senior living communities? Guided by the theoretical frameworks of socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) and strength and vulnerability integration model (SAVI), this study explored how diminished time horizons impact the prioritization of social connections. This qualitative study collected data through semi-structured interviews from older adults living in senior living communities in the United States. Several themes emerged from the data including Parameters of Social Connection, Dining Room as a Hub of Socialization, Time Horizon Awareness and Compensation, Strategies of Connection, and Loss of Spouse. Several implications for best practices are also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Assessing perceptions of pedestrian-focused intervention in a car-dependent European island

Apart from the numerous social, economic, and environmental impacts of car dependence, the time people spend sitting in motorised vehicles has been identified as a sedentary behaviour that can negatively impact people's physical and psychological health. The climate breakdown and the COVID-19 pandemic have continued to expose the fragility and vulnerability of the urban environment and the imminent need for response, management, and radical re-thinking through innovation, especially within the transport sector. The incidence of the COVID-19 pandemic has also reiterated the need for urban centres to re-establish a sense of community, extend the benefits reaped from reduced motorised transport usage and boost small/medium-size businesses through the provision of active travel spaces. This paper investigates the role of pedestrian-focused intervention to encourage walking rather than car use for short-distance trips, within the context of the car-dependent small island state of Malta. The research includes the use of semi-structured interviews with a broad range of stakeholders to develop a virtual platform for citizen participation. The platform is an interactive space for participants to identify barriers that discourage walking and explore and evaluate options that encourage walking as a mode of transport. A discussion of preliminary findings sheds light on the impact of pedestrian interventions that encourage active travel and contribute policy-relevant outcomes based on the perceptions and direct feedback from citizens and stakeholders alike. © 2023 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.

Stress and coping among elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sulaimanya city in Kurdistan region of Iraq

This study aimed to find out the level of stress and coping methods among elderly in Sulaimanya city during the pandemic COVID-19. Through the snowballing sampling method, 394 elders were included to this study. After validation, two scales were used in this study;stress subscale from Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and a culture-bound scale for determining coping methods. The results of this study showed that participants experienced a mild level of stress. Male participants, elders who live with their family, unvaccinated elders, physically passive elders have had higher stress level than female, elderly home, vaccinated, physical active elders. The findings also indicated that spiritual connection was the most common coping method used by the sample. Results of this study are the first and foremost way to share elder's unexpressed messages;it also can be a way for verbalizing their unspoken feelings. These results may also inform the elder's caregivers that elder's stress level and illness anxiety was not very high, strengthening their social support and spiritual connection may help them to reduce their distress into a lesser degree.

Introduction

Individualised employment relations formed a key pillar of the shift to neoliberal economic policy in the 1980s, complementing other dimensions of orthodoxy deployed across governments, public administrations and central banks in the same time. In the neoliberal narrative, market forces would ‘naturally' and justly compensate labour for its contribution to productivity, like any other input to production. Consequently, redistributive institutions empowering workers to win more adequate wages and conditions (through minimum wages, Awards, unionisation, and collective bargaining) were dramatically eroded, or discarded entirely. Combined with welfare state retrenchment, this restructuring of labour market policy increased the pressure on people to sell their labour, and under terms over which workers wielded little influence. Since then, forms of insecure, non-standard work have proliferated globally, and employment relations have been increasingly individualised. Now, most workers in Anglo-Saxon market economies, and a growing proportion of workers in European and Nordic nations, rely on individual contract instruments (underpinned only by minimum wage floors typically far below living wage benchmarks) to set the terms and conditions of employment. Wages have stagnated, the share of GDP going to workers has declined, and inequality and poverty (even among employed people) has intensified. More recently, after years of this employer-friendly hegemony in workplace relations, successive crises (first the GFC and then the COVID-19 pandemic) have more obviously shattered traditional expectations of a natural linkage between economic growth and workers' living standards.After a generation of experience with this individualised model of employment relations, and with the human costs of that approach becoming ever-more obvious, there is renewed concern with reimagining policies and structures which could support improvements in job quality, stability, and compensation. Important policy dialogue and innovation is now occurring in many industrial countries, in response to the negative consequences of neoliberal labour market policies. In those conversations, institutions like collective bargaining have returned to centre stage.

Confinement with No Rights. Perceptions of Inmates' Relatives Regarding Measures for COVID-19 Control Implemented in Mexican Prisons

Based on a participatory study design, this article describes how a group of family members of people deprived of liberty (PDL) experienced the COVID-19 control measures implemented in Mexico's prisons. We conducted 28 in-depth interviews and analyzed them using ATLAS.ti. We found that the measures implemented in Mexican prisons to avoid the spread of COVID-19 focused mainly on suspension of visitation and PDL confinement. The isolation imposed on PDL impacted their living conditions, making them more vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 due to lack of access to essential services, food, and hygiene supplies. Visit restrictions and PDL isolation also impacted PDL relatives' health and socioeconomic conditions. Our findings indicate that the consequences of COVID-19 control actions in Mexican prisons differ according to the gender and jurisdiction of PDL. Women in federal prisons were more isolated, while those in local ones were more deprived of basic supplies. Imprisoned women's isolation has especially severe effects on the mental and physical health of their elderly parents and children. The results show how the measures adopted to control COVID-19 outbreaks in Mexican prisons have exacerbated the preexisting systemic violence experienced by PDL and their families and how they have failed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in these settings. These findings provide support for the health-informed penal reform of Mexican prisons.

The Post-COVID Home. How Confinement Altered Domestic Space Use and Living Modes, in Lisbon

Not only is space use a result of spatial configuration, but it is also greatly determined by social patterns and society's living modes. The COVID-19 pandemic and confinement resulted, worldwide, in a 24/7 use of the domestic setting, which had to be adapted to the emergence of new needs and functions in the domestic space. The paper aims at understanding how COVID confinement altered domestic space use in Lisbon and how current society has maintained some of those changes, a reflection of new social patterns. The analysis is supported by an inquiry, carried out during the first confinement of 2020, in the city of Lisbon. Results show that domestic space use had to be adjusted to a new context, gaining new functions, and bringing into evidence the need for additional spaces. In light of the proven changes in living modes, the research concludes that the post-COVID home needs to be rethought and new housing programs should take into consideration the new social patterns and living modes. © 2023 by the authors.

"I Won't Go Speechless": Design Exploration on a Real-Time Text-To-Speech Speaking Tool for Videoconferencing

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted many business activities to non-face-to-face activities, and videoconferencing has become a new paradigm. However, conference spaces isolated from surrounding interferences are not always readily available. People frequently participate in public places with unexpected crowds or acquaintances, such as cafés, living rooms, and shared offices. These environments have surrounding limitations that potentially cause challenges in speaking up during videoconferencing. To alleviate these issues and support the users in speaking-restrained spatial contexts, we propose a text-to-speech (TTS) speaking tool as a new speaking method to support active videoconferencing participation. We derived the possibility of a TTS speaking tool and investigated the empirical challenges and user expectations of a TTS speaking tool using a technology probe and participatory design methodology. Based on our findings, we discuss the need for a TTS speaking tool and suggest design considerations for its application in videoconferencing. © 2023 ACM.

The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on depression and suicidal ideation in Korean community dwelling elderly

Aims: The impacts of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on mental health have been relatively severe. This study examined the influence of the COVID-19 especially on depression and suicidal ideation in community-dwelling elderly in Korea. Method(s): Data were employed from a survey on elderly mental health in Jeollanam-do (southwest province in Korea). A total of 2423 elderlies were recruited from 22 counties in Jeollanam-do between April and October 2021. We used self-reported questionnaires, including sociodemographic factors, COVID-19 related stress, suicidal ideation, Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form Korean Version (GDS-SF). Logistic regression was performed to examine the factors on depression and suicidal ideation. Result(s): Of the 2423 subjects, 622 (25.7%) reported depressive symptoms and 518 (21.4%) reported suicidal ideation. The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that living alone, poor perceived health status, the worry of COVID-19 infection and restriction of daily activity due to COVID-19 pandemic were significantly associated with depression. Male sex, poor perceived health status, disability in house chores and depressive symptom are risk factors for suicidal ideation. Conclusion(s): These findings showed that increased risk factor for depression and suicidal ideation in community dwelling elderly during COVID-19 pandemic. We confirmed that feelings of isolation and negative perception of health were risk factors on depression in community dwelling elderly in the context of the COVID -19 pandemic. Also male, poor self-perceived health status, difficulty of independent living and worry and depression are increased the risk of suicidal ideation among the elderly.

25 ready-to-use sustainable living programs for libraries: by Elyssa Kroski, Chicago, ALA Editions, 2022, 208 pp., US$59.99 (softcover), ISBN 978-0-8389-3649-8

Library patrons have become more interested in sustainability and self-reliance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The programs in this book are written by librarians and sustainability experts who have run these programs themselves. I would recommend this book to library staff who organise events, are interested in sustainable living programs, and who would like to help their communities to learn more sustainable and self-reliance skills. [Extracted from the article] Copyright of Journal of the Australian Library & Information Association is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Autonomy, identity, and design in the COVID-19 era

This chapter examines the state of response and likely long-term implications across the continuum of place types for older adults, from independent housing to skilled nursing, with a focus on how physical settings and technological systems can empower autonomy and identity. It does so by adopting a person-environment (P-E) exchange framework as articulated by Chaudhury and Oswald (J Aging Stud 51:100821, 2019) This framework is structured in three sections: components of P-E interaction, P-E processes, and environment-related outcomes. Components of P-E interaction include individual characteristics, social factors, physical/built environments, and technological systems with this chapter focusing on the last two. These components form a milieu within which the dialectic interaction between agency and belonging occurs and ultimately informs assessments regarding autonomy and identity. Emergent themes discussed in this chapter include a heightened emphasis on inclusive housing models, age-friendly integration of technology, environmental flexibility in design and programming, and enhanced support for the needs of caregivers. Examining place change through an integrative P-E framework offers a lens to understanding what implications to agency and belonging might be tied to modifications in the physical and technological environment in response to COVID-19 and how that might inform outcomes related to autonomy and identity among older adults. The environmental responses to COVID-19 will accelerate the ability of independent housing to serve individuals longer in their homes and should promote a radical embrace of small house approaches to skilled care, thereby challenging assisted living as a place type altogether. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Low back pain, lower physical activity, and loneliness associated with decreased frequency of going out during COVID-19 in Japanese older adults

Background: This study investigated the association of frequency of going out with physical activity, low back pain, and loneliness among urban Japanese community-dwelling older adults affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited older adults aged 65 and over residing in apartment buildings in an urban area of Japan as participants. The questionnaire comprised items on participants' frequency of going out, musculoskeletal pain, physical activity, mobility, loneliness, and sociodemographic characteristics. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the associations of decreased frequency of going out (less than once a week) during the pandemic with musculoskeletal pain, physical activity, and loneliness after controlling for age, sex, living alone, comorbidity, and social activity as confounding factors. Results: This study analyzed 236 older adults (mean age: 75.5 years;females 54.2%) whowent out more than two to three days a week before the pandemic. Participants who went out less than once a week during the pandemic (14%) had more arthritis than those who went out more. They also had a higher prevalence of reduced physical activity, low back pain, gait disability, and loneliness. Additionally, decreased frequency of going out was associated with lower physical activity [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 3.91, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.78-8.61], low back pain (OR = 2.79, 95% CI: 1.08-7.24), and loneliness (OR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.14-1.98). Conclusions: This study indicated that reduced physical activity, loneliness, and low back pain are associated with a decreased frequency of going out during the pandemic among older adults.

(Re)designing the continuum of care for older adults: The future of long-term care settings

This book broadens the visioning on new care environments that are designed to be inclusive, progressive, and convergent with the needs of an aging population. The contents cover a range of long-term care (LTC) settings in a single collection to address the needs of a wide audience. Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, rethinking the spatial design of care facilities in order to prepare for future respiratory and contagious pathogens is one of the prime concerns across the globe, along with social connectedness and autonomy in care settings. This book contributes to the next generation of knowledge and understanding of the growing field of the design of technology, programs, and environments for LTC that are more effective in infection prevention and control as well as social connectedness. To address these issues, the chapters are organized in four sections: Part I: Home- and community-based care;Part II: Facility-based care;Part III: Memory care and end-of-life care;and Part IV: Evidence-based applied projects and next steps. (Re)designing the Continuum of Care for Older Adults is an essential resource for researchers, practitioners, educators, policymakers, and students associated with LTC home and healthcare settings. With diverse topics in theory, substantive issues, and methods, the contributions from notable researchers and scholars cover a range of innovative programming, environments, and technologies which can impact the changing needs and support for older adults and their families across the continuum of care. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Quality of living in the aftermath of a pandemic

The present study explored the impact of COVID-19 on general health, quality of life, and resilience among adults, essentially COVID-19 survivors in India. We conducted a cross-sectional study from March 2021 to August 2021 in Kolkata, India. The data was collected through the snowball sampling method. Participants' consent was taken before they filled up the questionnaires. The participants were presented with five questionnaires. The total sample (N = 120) was divided into two groups, one group consisted of the COVID-19 survivors (n = 60), and the other group consisted of individuals who had not contracted COVID-19 (n = 60). Participants in the COVID-19 group were selected keeping in mind the following inclusion criteria. The participants had to be aged between 20 and 50 years with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 in the past year. In the case of the non- COVID-19 group, participants between the ages of 20 and 50 years without any medical history of COVID-19 symptoms were selected. Individuals who displayed symptoms of COVID-19 in the past year but had not received a clinical diagnosis of the same were excluded from the present study. The present study found a significant association of general health with the impact of event and quality of life in the COVID-19 survivors. Additionally, the impact of event is significantly associated with quality of life, and resilience is significantly associated with the psychological aspect of quality of life among COVID-19 survivors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Domestic Space Connections, Relationships and Overcrowding in Affordable Housing

In people's imagination, the dwelling represents a fundamental part of life. The house has forever been not only a shelter, but it also occupies the majority of people's economic and temporal resources. The matter of housing has become however noticeably more complex following the COVID-19 pandemic, since it has imposed a different relationship between the dwelling and the way of living the population was used to, as well as working, entertaining and conducting their own lives. Therefore, in addition to the energetic matters, already highlighted for some time, also problems related to the general welfare have been added, with particular attention to the quality of the space in which the daily life takes place. The paper reports some initial considerations of a piece of research which intends to investigate the domestic space and its relations with the users in the new house-hold configurations and in possible evolutionary scenarios of the concept of house and domestic space. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Relationships, technology and the role of living arrangements during social lockdown related to COVID-19

COVID-19-related social lockdowns had profound consequences in all aspects of social life, yet technology's role in mediating relationships during lockdown has received little attention. Drawing on a survey of 565 young adults in the UK, we used mixed methods to explore (a) differences in technology use by people in serious romantic relationships (cohabiting vs. living apart together), casual relationships or single;and (b) how COVID-19 influenced long-term, serious relationships. For participants in a serious relationship, technology was used as a strategy to facilitate ongoing communication, enabling partners to achieve 'intimacy from afar'. Qualitative analysis revealed five reasons (more free time, navigating lockdown restrictions, greater boredom, desire for love and miscellaneous) for online dating profile usage changes. People in serious relationships perceived deeper intimate bonds, boundary issues, less physical intimacy, difficulty with lockdown separation and greater negative impact because of COVID-19. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Ready-to-wear products preferred by individuals who are regular sports

Living conditions in today's metropolitan cities shorten the time it takes for individuals to do sports. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of the home office environment has increased, causing physical activities to be moved to the indoor environment. The home environment has brought people's desire for socialization, physical activity, reduction of anxiety levels, and psychological relaxation to the fore even more. The epidemic, which still continues after the closure of more than two years, has expanded the use of casual clothes in the field of formal wear. Employees at the global level have turned to the use of leisure clothing, which provides more comfort than in the past. Depending on this demand, production has also gained momentum in the global sports ready-to-wear industry. This study aims to determine the ready-made clothing products preferred by individuals who regularly do sports and compare them with global data. The data of the research, in which the descriptive method was selected, was collected from structured questionnaires and literature data. The study group consisted of 208 people who volunteered to participate in the research and whose answers were accepted as valid, among the people who regularly do sports in the four big cities of Turkey (Bursa, Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir). Some of the data were collected over the internet due to the epidemic, and some of the data were collected through face-to-face interviews in gyms. Descriptive statistics applied data show similarities with global-based apparel market data. Individuals do sports to stay physically and mentally healthy and socialize. Indoor sports halls and houses are the most preferred places for sports activities, and the most preferred clothing products are t-shirts, tracksuits, and undershirt/singlet. The findings have been interpreted comparatively with the global data. It has been tried to reveal the future-oriented data for the product groups and market segments of the companies.

VCA waiting list and transplant trends in the US

Introduction: VCA transplantation is progressing despite challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic. Method(s): The OPTN cohort includes 108 VCA candidates listed and 66 recipients transplanted between 7/3/2014 - 4/30/2022. Result(s): Seven VCA candidates were listed in 2021: 3 abdominal wall (AW) and 4 uterus. One AW and 2 uterus candidates were listed in the first 4 months of 2022. AW registrations became the predominant registration type on the VCA waiting list in 2022, surpassing uterus registrations. As of 4/30/2022, the waiting list included 17 candidates: 6 AW, 5 uterus, 4 upper limb (UL;1 bilateral, 3 unilateral), 1 face, and 1 face/scalp. Since 7/3/2014, 66 recipients received 67 VCA transplants, including 14 UL (9 bilateral, 5 unilateral), 9 face, 1 bilateral UL and face, 1 scalp, 1 trachea, 2 AW, 36 uterus (14 deceased donor, 22 living donor), and 2 penis recipients. In 2021, 1 bilateral UL, 1 trachea, and 2 living donor uterus transplants were performed. In the first 4 months of 2022, 3 uterus transplants (2 deceased donor, 1 living donor) were performed. Discussion and Conclusion(s): The composition of the VCA waiting list is changing. VCA transplantation continues to advance despite the COVID-19 pandemic.