Scaling law of COVID-19 cases and city size and its evolution over time

Urban scaling law quantifies the disproportional growth of urban indicators with urban population size, which is one of the simple rules behind the complex urban system. Infectious diseases are closely related to social interactions that intensify in large cities, resulting in a faster speed of transmission in large cities. However, how this scaling relationship varies in an evolving pandemic is rarely investigated and remains unclear. Here, taking the COVID- 19 epidemic in the United States as an example, we collected daily added cases and deaths from January 2020 to June 2022 in more than three thousand counties to explore the scaling law of COVID- 19 cases and city size and its evolution over time. Results show that COVID- 19 cases super- linearly scaled with population size, which means cases increased faster than population size from a small city to a large city, resulting in a higher morbidity rate of COVID- 19 in large cities. Temporally, the scaling exponent that reflects the scaling relationship stabilized at around 1.25 after a fast increase from less than one. The scaling exponent gradually decreased until it was close to one. In comparison, deaths caused by the epidemic did not show a super-linear scaling relationship with population size, which revealed that the fatality rate of COVID-19 in large cities was not higher than that in small or medium-sized cities. The scaling exponent of COVID- 19 deaths shared a similar trend with that of COVID- 19 cases but with a lag in time. We further estimated scaling exponents in each wave of the epidemic, respectively, which experienced the common evolution process of first rising, then stabilizing, and then decreasing. We also analyzed the evolution of scaling exponents over time from regional and provincial perspectives. The northeast, where New York State is located, had the highest scaling exponent, and the scaling exponent of COVID- 19 deaths was higher than that of COVID-19 cases, which indicates that large cities in this region were more prominently affected by the epidemic. This study reveals the size effect of infectious diseases based on the urban scaling law, and the evolution process of scaling exponents over time also promotes the understanding of the urban scaling law. The mechanism behind temporal variations of scaling exponents is worthy of further exploration. © 2023 Science Press. All rights reserved.

Tailoring dyadic coping strategies to attachment style: Emotion-focused and problem-focused dyadic coping differentially buffer anxiously and avoidantly attached partners

Attachment insecurity is associated with lower satisfaction and lower felt security in romantic relationships, especially during times of stress such as coping with a global pandemic. Heightened external stressors for couples are associated with poorer relationship quality, but how couples cope with stress together, or their dyadic coping strategies, is associated with the maintenance of relationship satisfaction. In the current study, we followed 184 couples living together during the COVID-19 pandemic to test whether specific coping strategies buffered people higher in attachment anxiety and avoidance from lower satisfaction and felt security in the early weeks and ensuing months of the pandemic. Our findings demonstrate that perceiving more emotion-focused dyadic coping—being affectionate and using intimacy—buffered the negative association between attachment anxiety and relationship satisfaction and felt security, both concurrently and over several months of the pandemic. In addition, problem-focused perceived dyadic coping backfired for people higher in attachment anxiety;they felt less satisfied when they perceived more problem-focused coping—which involves being solution-focused and using instrumental support—in their relationship. In contrast, people higher in attachment avoidance were buffered against lower relationship satisfaction when they perceived more problem-focused dyadic coping and were not buffered by emotion-focused coping. The current findings suggest the importance of tailoring coping strategies to a partner's attachment style for relationship quality and felt security during times of stress.

A quantitative study on how covid-19 has impacted the relationship between employees and the hybrid employment model in the information technology field

The purpose of this case study was to provide a better understanding on how COVID-19 has impacted the relationship between employees and the hybrid employment model in the Information Technology (IT) field. A review of the literature regarding the general background of a hybrid employment model and the relationship it has with employees in the IT field and related technologies is provided. Hypotheses were tested using a research model. Data was collected through a survey that was conducted on individuals that worked in the IT field. A total of 102 participants completed the survey. The findings indicated that before COVID-19, individuals of an older age who worked in the Information Technology industry perceived that working remotely is not a better place for them to be productive while in a post COVID-19 society, individuals of an older age who worked from home did not perceive a negative impact on their career due to a lack of face-to-face interaction with colleagues and managers. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.

The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on social relationships of forensic psychiatric outpatients with preexisting social network-related problems: A mixed methods study

This study aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on social relationships of forensic psychiatric outpatients with preexisting social network-related problems. Data from 70 participants of an ongoing randomized controlled trial, investigating the effectiveness of a social network intervention among forensic psychiatric outpatients, were examined. Demographic characteristics, quality of social relationships, loneliness, and social support were assessed at baseline. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an additional questionnaire that contained quantitative and qualitative questions regarding the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on social relationships was administered. Participants showed high levels of loneliness and dissatisfaction with social relationships before COVID-19. The majority of forensic outpatients perceived no changes on social relationships due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Qualitative results revealed some participants already lived socially isolated. Negative changes on social relationships were related to deterioration of social contacts, interruption of daytime activities, changed mental health care, and well-being. Emotional loneliness predicted deteriorated general and romantic relationships. These findings suggest that social relationships of forensic patients with preexisting social network-related problems remain of concern throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Forensic Psychology Research & Practice is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd 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.)

The influence of COVID-19 pandemic on consumer–brand relationships: evidence of brand evangelism behaviors

The paper reports findings from a two-stage study of consumer–brand relationships conducted between April 2021 and June 2021, at a time the COVID-19 pandemic had forced consumers to live through social distancing mandates and school/office closures. Initial exploration via focus groups began in April 2021 for the purpose of generating grounded theory, hypotheses, and measurement scales relevant to their experiences of brand consumption during this period. The second study tested the grounded hypotheses based on a nationwide sample of consumers in June 2021. The study finds evidence of three distinct brand-related behaviors in response to the COVID-19-induced stresses;i.e., heightened intentionality about brand choices, heightened concern for brand sponsors' ethical behaviors toward their employees, and engagement in brand evangelism behaviors.

Helen Salisbury: Practising in the dark

After careful screening to exclude coronavirus symptoms we invite some patients into the practice to be examined. With longstanding patients I hope that this will be just a brief interruption to our normal relationship, but when I haven't previously met the patient it poses a significant challenge to building a rapport. In the past week the number of new patients reporting coronavirus symptoms has fallen, as has the death rate at our local hospital.

Data from the German Family Panel pairfam: The supplementary COVID-19 survey

The COVID-19 pandemic had major implications for private and family lives. The German Family Panel pairfam conducted an online survey regarding the experiences during the pandemic. The survey was conducted from May to July 2020. It includes instruments introduced in previous pairfam waves as well as new modules on topics that proved particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting dataset encompasses a sample of 3,182 respondents from all German federal states ranging in age from 17-47 years. The data has already been used in a variety of scientific publications and is available for research and teaching purposes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

How attachment styles predict changes in sexual desire: A study of sexual dynamics in COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching impacts on many aspects of life, including sexual behaviours and preferences. In this longitudinal study, the authors used attachment theory to investigate changes in an individual's sexual desire for their partner as well as changes in their sexual desire for someone other than their primary romantic partner (extradyadic desire) over the first wave of the pandemic in Canada. Based on past research that has shown that avoidant individuals tend to avoid intimacy, the authors reasoned that increased contact with their romantic partner due to physical distancing guidelines and lockdown rules would contribute to avoidant individuals' experiencing less sexual desire for their partner and greater extradyadic desire over time. In contrast, individuals high on attachment anxiety tend to seek proximity, especially during times of stress. The authors predicted that individuals' sexual desire for their partner would increase and their extradyadic desire would decrease. They tested these hypotheses using a cohabiting, dyadic sample (N = 308 individuals);study participants were contacted at 1-month intervals for three successive months and asked to complete an online survey. Our hypotheses were partially supported. As predicted, individuals high on attachment avoidance experienced higher levels of extradyadic desire, and individuals high on attachment anxiety reported lower extradyadic desire over time. Contrary to predictions, however, neither attachment pattern was associated with changes in sexual desire for the partner. The authors examine the theoretical implications of these findings, highlighting the need for a more fine-grained assessment of stress and the interaction between stress and attachment orientations in future research.Copyright © Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, 2023.

Factors associated with people's satisfaction with their sex life: a survey conducted in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: COVID-19's restrictive measures have significantly affected our health, work and social relationships. As yet, less attention has been given to the changes in sex life. Aim: This study investigates people's satisfaction with sex life in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Methods: A cross-sectional survey of the general population (18 years and over) was conducted, from 1st to 18th July 2020, in 17 municipalities in Kinshasa and several measures were used: Quality of life MANSA, EQ-5D-3L, UCLA Loneliness;PHQ-9;GAD-7. Prior to conducting data analysis, diagnostic tests for our data were performed to assess distribution, variance and multicollinearity. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation and multiple regression analysis were used. Results: Sex life satisfaction increases from young adults aged 18- 35 to those aged 36-55 and then there is a decrease from ages 56-69. After controlling for socio-demographic factors, sex life satisfaction was positively associated with the number and quality of people's friendships (B=0.30, p=0.01) and people's relationships with their families (B=0.32, p=0.03). People who feel lonely have lower sex life satisfaction (B=-0.15, p=0.01). Conclusion: People's quality of their friendships and family relationships are important for their sexual well-being. Healthcare providers and policymakers should consider people's quality of friendships and family relationships when planning to improve the sexual well-being of people in DRC.

Relatedness and relationships in the time of Covid-19

This chapter describes about the experiences of the pandemic and lockdown. The memories of these experiences in the present moment, are a recollection of these experiences. These recollections represent with more or less accuracy how they related to these events and experiences. All is about relatedness. The fundamental principle of relatedness is at the heart of what people try to 'attend to' as existential therapists and supervisors. Recently, there have been some challenges to this emphasis on relatedness, with the suggestion that this has become dogmatic and somehow covers over the experience of difference, individuality and aloneness. The very existence of the virus and its manner of spread arises from the relatedness to others and the relatedness to nature and the world. However, the pandemic, and the imposition of repeated 'lockdowns' and 'social distancing', if anything seems to highlight the existential dilemmas of relation-separation, connection-withdrawal in a highly stark, anxiety-provoking fashion. The pandemic and lockdowns have also affected couple relationships in myriad ways. Other couples have entered therapy due to the direct impact of the pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Labour Reforms and Economic Justice: Inequality, the COVID-19 Pandemic and Regionalism

Analysing the patterns of inequality in India, this paper argues that those at the bottom of the income pyramid lack the enabling conditions of access to good healthcare and education to break out of the cycle of poverty. Addressing extreme inequalities would require not just the redistribution of wealth but also a transformation in the structure of the economy so that the processes of income generation become more equitable. A beginning in this direction would require a fundamental change in the relationship between labour and capital. Analysing recent legislations to reform labour laws within India, the author observes that while they provided some benefits to the unprivileged working classes, the overall effect has been to weaken labour unions and relax labour laws making it easier for them to be exploited. Enduring change will require new development models based on strong normative frameworks for ensuring equity and sustainability. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.

Social distancing and workplace relationships in South Korea: exploring changes in negative and positive affective exchanges at work before and during COVID-19

Many organisations introduced social distancing to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. However, since social distancing is designed to reduce personal interactions, it can impact workplace relationships. This paper explores how and when social distancing influences workplace relationships. Drawing on the affect theory of social exchange and the social cognition literature, we argue that when employees have more negative affective relationships with their co-workers (before COVID-19), social distancing helps improve such negative affective relationships (during COVID-19), especially when the co-worker is warm and competent. We collected data on relationships that individual employees in South Korea have with their co-workers before and during COVID-19. Our hierarchical linear modelling results show that social distancing indeed reduces the negative affective relationships that employees have with their co-workers when those co-workers are viewed as warm and competent. Conversely, social distancing does not hurt employees' positive affective relationships. These findings suggest that contrary to view that social distancing and remote work causes misunderstanding and conflict, social distancing helps to improve employees' workplace relationships. We therefore draw implications for human resource development professionals in facilitating high-quality relationships in remote settings.

Grandparent-grandchild relationships and ethnic identity in asian and asian american undergraduate students

This study examined how Asian and Asian American grandparent-grandchild relationships related to ethnic identity in the context of COVID-19-related racial discrimination. Asian and Asian American grandchildren (N = 102) answered questions about discrimination, ethnic identification, grandparent-grandchild relationships, and ethnic behaviors. There was no significant relationship between exposure to discrimination and strength of ethnic identity, but strength of ethnic identity was a significant predictor of frequency of synchronous contact with grandparents and ethnic behaviors. Findings suggest that stronger ethnic identities in Asian and Asian American undergraduate students could be related to better relationships with their grandparents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Workplace attachment: Perceived employee support and commitment: A qualitative, descriptive, phenomenological study

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological descriptive study was to understand how employees perceive the level of support received from their employers in the workplace. The study encompassed employees with both secure and insecure attachment style types from across the entire State of Maryland. The study collected data via interviews from the participants, taking note of their perceptions of how they felt supported in the workplace. Twelve participants with varying occupations were selected and completed the following: a qualifying questionnaire, a workplace attachment questionnaire (Self-Reliance Inventory), and a personal semistructured, open audio interview with the researcher. Data was analyzed using the Braun & Clarke 6 Step Thematic Analysis Approach. As a result of the analysis, five themes emerged: Workplace, Work, Agency, Job & Organization;Management;Colleagues & Coworkers;Support & Commitment;and COVID-19. There is a research gap on this topic in workplace studies and employee attachment. By conducting this study, future researchers would be able to build upon this research to continue improving relationships in the workplace. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Exhausted by social distancing at work: understanding the effects of COVID-19 pandemic in workgroups

PurposeIn the new post-COVID-19 work order, this study aims to examine whether and how individual-level social distancing interacts with workgroup-level socio-affective support to influence employee exhaustion and performance.Design/methodology/approachMulti-level analyses of time-lagged multi-source data from 231 employees nested in 34 workgroups were conducted to test our hypothesized relationships.FindingsAnalyses revealed a significant relationship between social distancing and employee performance via emotional exhaustion. Further, the positive relationship between social distancing and emotional exhaustion was attenuated by workgroup team orientation and support for innovation, and the indirect effect of social distancing on employee performance was weaker in workgroups with a high team orientation and high support for innovation.Originality/valueThis study extends the job demands-resources theory to the new work order and examines the impact of workplace social distancing on employee outcomes in the context of workgroup membership.

COVID-19-Related Stress and Resilience Resources: A Comparison Between Adoptive and non-Adoptive Mothers

Despite an increasing interest in how adoptive parents deal with situations appraised as stressful, there is a lack of research regarding adoptive parents' adjustment to the challenges posed by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The current study explores similarities and differences between adoptive and non-adoptive mothers in terms of risks (i.e., COVID-19-related stress) and individual (i.e., sense of coherence [SOC]), couple (i.e., partner's support), parent–child (i.e., parent–child relationship satisfaction), and social (i.e., friends' support) resources in the face of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the present study was aimed at predicting which variables discriminate more effectively between the two groups. Participants were 445 Italian mothers (40.9% adoptive mothers), who were asked to fill in an anonymous online survey between May 2021 and October 2021. Results showed that adoptive and non-adoptive mothers reported different resilience resources to face the stressors posed by the health emergency. Specifically, COVID-19 traumatic stress symptoms, parent–child relationship satisfaction, and SOC were found to contribute most in discriminating between the two groups. Findings are discussed in relation to future research developments and practical implications. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Family Journal is the property of Sage Publications Inc. 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.)

Collaborative responses within a school community: Reflections from the COVID-19 experience

This chapter begins by presenting Xavier Educational Academy (XEA) and its mission, vision, and practices before the lockdown. It continues by sharing the challenges that the author and his community faced once in lockdown and the steps they took to create a community of care and belonging as they thought and worked together regarding finances;teaching;relationships with parents, teachers, and students;evaluations;and the preparation for the new school year. A very important component of the values at Xavier is the understanding of a relational approach to learning based on many of the underlying tenets of collaborative-dialogic practices. Graduation would be one of these challenging moments that provided the Xavier community an opportunity to think and create together. Teaching online via Zoom was one way in which one successfully responded to the needs of the students. A very important component of our values at Xavier is the understanding of a relational approach to learning based on many of the underlying tenets of collaborative-dialogic practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

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.

Cultivating social well-being: (Re)discovering the impact of positive relationships

[...]the social dimension of well-being, which includes our experiences of positive relationships and positive interactions, is the strongest predictor of our overall perception of wellbeing (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Virtual collaborations have also added new opportunities for creativity and information sharing in that Zoom allows us to work with colleagues to add ideas to a shared whiteboard or to synchronously annotate a text, for example, during interactive workshops and breakout group sessions at online/hybrid conferences. Another example is one of the author's participation in a new collaborative project with a European research group on the representation of hunting in German literature and art. Other instructional practices we have implemented to foreground social connectedness and students' sense of belonging include frequent check-ins (Stanton et al., 2016;Simon Fraser University, 2023) with students, for example, by using memes such as "Welche Katze bist du heute?," explicit conversations about resources and sense of belonging (a module with local resources added to our Learning Management System [Canvas]), and more intentional focus on integrating students' lived experiences and self-reflections into assignments.