Moments, spaces and temporalities in the virtual interview: reflections from the study of social policies

The aim of this paper is to revisit some aspects of the virtual interview on the Facebook platform, carried out within the framework of two research projects that investigate social programs recipients who organize and manage soup kitchens and picnic areas, in the pandemic context by COVID-19 during 2020 and 2021. This work is based on the review and reflection of the field notes that accompanied the virtual interviews. The systematization of the virtual interview experience makes it possible to delineate that the "opening moment" of the interview involves negotiations around the rhythm of the conversation and the platform for conducting it, while distrust emerges from the interviewees. In the "meantime", the intermittence of communication and its development in different temporalities is observed. "The closure" can occur in an agreed or untimely manner due to the fatigue or mistrust of the interviewed. It is concluded that the different forms of digitalization of life imply observing the locations where interactions take shape, regardless of whether they are physical or virtual media.

COVID-19 Pandemic, Crisis Responses and the Changing World: Perspectives in Humanities and Social Sciences

This book comprehensively analyzes COVID-19 and its impact as well as the response from the perspectives of humanities and social sciences. This book covers topics ranging from geopolitical relations to regional integration, public health governance and even the evolution of professional practices in the time of COVID-19. It constitutes a precious and timely interdisciplinary reference for anyone aspiring not only to grasp the origins and dynamics of the present challenge, but also to identify future opportunities for further growth and holistic progress for humanity. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.

Challenges of the Unemployment Pressure and the Employment Policies in Romania During Covid-19 Pandemic

The most important labour market challenge in Romania before 2020, was the shortage of 600,000 workers. This affected the efficiency of the country's economic activity. However, the Covid-19 pandemic turned this shortage into an oversupply of workers the hospitality industry, due to quarantine restrictions. Moreover, in the post-industrial society there has been a marked increase in the importance of the knowledge economy and the need for a better-educated workforce. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the mismatch between the supply and demand of skilled workers. In addition, the crisis accelerated the digitization of many economic activity. In 2020, the Romanian government introduced support programmes, that included benefits for employees, who were paid by the state at 75% of their basic salary. © 2023 The Association for Social Economics.

COVID-19 Cases are Associated with Food Insufficiency in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This research examined the association between COVID-19 cases and food insufficiency in the United States using repeated cross-sectional data from the Household Pulse Survey (April 23, 2020-May 24, 2021, n = 2,618,027). New daily cases averaged 65,160.93 throughout the study period. A 70,000-unit increase in COVID-19 cases was associated with a 13% higher odds of food insufficiency (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.12-1.15). Participants with mild (OR = 2.72, 95% CI: 2.61-2.84), moderate (OR = 4.58, 95% CI: 4.36-4.81), or severe (OR = 8.75, 95% CI: 8.42-9.09) anxiety/depression and Black participants (OR = 2.36, 95% CI: 2.29-2.44) had the highest odds of reporting food insufficiency during the pandemic.Copyright © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

[Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health inequalities and mental health: effective public policies]. / Gli effetti della pandemia COVID-19 sulle disuguaglianze di salute e salute mentale: politiche pubbliche efficaci.

The aim of this article is to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health inequalities and mental disorders and to analyse the most effective public policies in containing them. COVID-19, in addition to causing the worst health crisis since World War II, has generated a severe economic recession and a rise in unemployment. The poorer socioeconomic classes have been most affected by infections and deaths caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus due to inequalities in working, housing and area of ​​residence conditions, psychosocial factors, and unequal access to health care. The pandemic crisis, in addition to causing psychiatric and neurological problems in people who have been hospitalized, appears to have increased the risk of psychological problems through various mechanisms such as social distancing, loss of a loved one, unemployment, and economic difficulties. In many countries, however, there was no significant increase in suicides in 2020 and there have even been decreasing temporal trends. It is possible that the crisis, in addition to creating stress and social isolation, may have promoted reciprocity, interpersonal help, and greater motivation to take care of one's health.The most effective policies in reducing COVID-19 mortality have the potential to limit the most adverse effects of the pandemic on health inequalities and mental health. Thanks to vigorous preventive interventions on the territory, based on testing, tracing, isolating, timely, countries who managed best the pandemic avoided prolonged and repeated lockdowns, protected public health and the economy. However, more vigorous social protection measures are needed in favour of those populations most affected by the health crisis and its socioeconomic effects. This pandemic offers the opportunity to learn lessons on the protection of public health and stress the need to adopt a syndemic model oriented towards prevention.

Social Policy and Health: Deterioration of Informal Work Due to Covid-19, the Case of Taxi Drivers in Mexico

The objective of this work is to describe the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on informal workers, such as taxi drivers, in the second Mexican entity with the most infections;and indicate the public policies directed to this sector. It is a work with a qualitative approach, which uses the techniques of documentary research, the semistructured interview and observation in the field. The results show a 50% reduction in income, negative emotional effects, and the absence of policies directed at this sector during this health crisis. The need to redefine the characteristics of so-called informal work is concluded, since not all workers in this sector are completely outside the legal framework.

Welfare state support during the COVID-19 pandemic: Change and continuity in public attitudes towards social policies in Germany.

Our analysis asks whether the pandemic situation affects welfare state support in Germany. The pandemic has increased the health and income risks calling for welfare state intervention. While increased needs, more deservingness, and higher state responsibility during such a crisis would suggest augmented support generally and among those at risk, this might be a short-term effect and cost considerations could reverse this trend. We study public attitudes towards four key social policy areas based on the German Internet Panel (GIP). We use three waves prior and further three waves since the pandemic had been declared in March 2020. The analysis shows both continuity in the popularity of social policies, in particular health and pensions, and some short-term increase in support for unemployment and family policies. The results after nearly 2 years suggest rather continuation with some thermostatic short-term boosts in support instead of any long-lasting change.

Nuestro análisis investiga si la situación de la pandemia afecta al apoyo del estado de bienestar en Alemania. La pandemia ha aumentado los riesgos para la salud y los ingresos, lo que requiere una mayor intervención del estado de bienestar. Si bien una mayor necesidad, más merecimiento y una mayor responsabilidad del estado durante una crisis de este tipo sugerirían un mayor apoyo en general y entre aquellos en riesgo, esto podría ser un efecto a corto plazo y las consideraciones de costos podrían revertir esta tendencia. Estudiamos las actitudes públicas hacia cuatro áreas clave de política social basadas en el Panel de Internet alemán, utilizando tres encuestas GIP anteriores y tres oleadas posteriores desde que se declaró la pandemia en marzo de 2020. El análisis muestra tanto la continuidad en la popularidad de las políticas sociales, en en particular, salud y pensiones, y algún aumento a corto plazo en el apoyo al desempleo y las políticas familiares. Nuestros resultados después de casi dos años sugieren más bien una continuación con algunos aumentos termostáticos a corto plazo en el soporte en lugar de un cambio duradero.

Implications of Covid 19 Lockdown on Migrant Workers and Their Children

Prior experience of both thefinancial crisis and the first signs of the social and labour market consequences during the present pandemic give idea that the COVID 19 crisis is going to have a diverse impact on migrants and the children of them.This reviewexplores the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on migration. The speedy spread of the pandemic has captured shocked nations around the world, leading to widespread lockdowns that limit mobility, business activity and social interaction. In India, pandemics have created a serious "mobility crisis" and migrant workers in many major cities are returning to their places of origin. Thiers is desperate endeavours to come back to home by available means invalidated the blockade in some areas, leading to clashes with authorities and ultimately transportation arrangements. This article is aimed to point out on the vulnerabilities of Indian migrants and their children in terms of gender, and mental health. Apart from this, it critically analyses the impediments of public policies in bargaining with immigrants and implies future recommendations.

Mattering in allied youth fields: Summoning the call of Black Lives Matter to radically affirm youth through programming

Few rallying cries have rung out louder and more effectively for social transformation than Black Lives Matter. The irrefutable power and popularity of "those three words" have catapulted the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront of global-wide discussions and action for overturning racist social policies that keep Black life at the margins. Black Lives Matter movement projects emerged as community responses to extra-legal, unwarranted violence primarily against Black youth, which was captured typically on bystanders' cellphone videos and dispersed via social media outlets. Yet, what exactly is Black Lives Matter? How do the tragedies of COVID-19 and extrajudicial anti-Black violence-referenced as "dual pandemics"-shape the experiences of already marginalized youth? What lessons does Black Lives Matter offer for our work with youth in ways that are responsive to the Science of Learning and Development? And, how can those within the allied youth fields center mattering in programming to radically affirm the lives of racially and ethnically marginalized community members across the learning ecosystem? This chapter discusses these questions and poses insights based on what has started to glean during a school-based youth program called The Black Boy Mattering Project. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Legitimacy and Policy during Crises: Subnational COVID-19 Responses in Bolivia

Why did some Bolivian departments have more success containing COVID-19 than others? We argue that low government legitimacy hampers coordinated responses to national crises, particularly where political polarization is severe and the crisis response becomes politicized. Low legitimacy can intensify the challenges of poverty and poor infrastructure. An original dataset of daily observations on subnational coronavirus policy and cell phone mobility data, paired with administrative data on cases and deaths, suggests that political divisions influenced governors' policy implementation and citizens' compliance. In departments that opposed the president, policies were more likely to deviate from the stricter national policy while mobility and protest activity were high. In departments aligned with the president, local policy followed national policy and citizens complied with policy and quarantine restrictions for a longer period of time.

Socioeconomic inequalities and the Covid-19 pandemic

The aim of this review is to examine the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on health inequalities and discuss effective public policies in containing them. The Covid-19 pandemic has generated not only an unprecedented health crisis, but also a severe economic recession and rapid increase in unemployment and economic difficulties. The poorer socioeconomic classes have been most affected by SARS-CoV-2 infections and deaths due to inequalities in working, housing and area of residence conditions, psychosocial factors, as well as unequal access to health care. However, the effects of the pandemic on health inequalities can be tackled by effective policies of Covid-19 containment based on testing, tracing and isolate timely and stronger social protection measures on behalf of the most disadvantaged populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Italian) Lo scopo di questa review e esaminare gli effetti della pandemia di Covid-19 sulle disuguaglianze sanitarie e discutere politiche pubbliche efficaci per contenerle. La pandemia di Covid-19 ha generato non solo una crisi sanitaria senza precedenti, ma anche una grave recessione economica e un rapido aumento della disoccupazione e delle difficolta economiche. Le classi socioeconomiche piu povere sono state le piu colpite dalle infezioni e dai decessi da SARS-CoV-2 a causa delle disuguaglianze nelle condizioni di lavoro, abitative e dell'area di residenza, fattori psicosociali e disuguale accesso all'assistenza sanitaria. Tuttavia, gli effetti della pandemia sulle disuguaglianze sanitarie possono essere affrontati con efficaci politiche di contenimento del Covid-19 basate su test, tracciamento e isolamento di misure di protezione sociale tempestive e piu forti a favore delle popolazioni piu svantaggiate. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Fears and Hopes

COVID-19 has been on every human’s mind and lips for the past year, as it has undeniably transformed health care and social living, and disturbed the economy on a planetary scale. This novel disease, the product of a relative of SARS-CoV, saw the light in Wuhan, China and, with fulgurant speed, reached all continents in a matter of weeks. “Unprecedented” is a word that saw a revival with COVID-19. The 21st-century virus has brought death, unemployment, and social isolation to an extent unparalleled by any other pandemic. It has crippled health-care systems worldwide, overwhelming all tiers of hospital resources, from personnel to equipment, therapies, and beds. Yet despite the mayhem, a formidable international mobilization of researchers, pharmaceutical companies, policy makers, health officials, and health-care workers has been tirelessly working to contain the spread and eradicate the virus. New vaccines, some with novel, never-marketed-before mechanisms yield the promise of better days ahead and are paving the way to a new era in vaccine development. © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Socioeconomic Effects of COVID-19 in Mexico: A Multisectoral Approach and

The health crisis caused by the spread of COVID-19 has caused a profound social and economic disruption in Mexico. Our purpose in this paper is to contribute to the knowledge about the economic impact of the pandemic in Mexico and to evaluate social policy options to mitigate its effects. We do so based on a multisectoral-multiplier model and the most recent Social Accounting Matrix for Mexico, with which we estimate the direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 as well the likely effects of two alternatives for mitigating them: an uncondition- al cash transfer scheme for households living in poverty, and the establishment of an unemployment insurance program for workers who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. We find that the first alternative alleviates more value added and loss of income, and thus has a greater effect in reducing inequality and the incidence of poverty.

Anti-Ageism Social Actions: Lights and Shadows

Ageism refers to the stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination towards others or oneself due to age, and it is the most prevalent type of social disadvantage, even more so than those due to gender and race, with negative effects worldwide. Ageism is an evidently real social problem that needs to be addressed and fought. Our study has two main objectives: firstly, to study to what extent programmes, projects or actions have been developed to combat ageism around the world;and secondly, to what extent they have been evaluated via the positive outcomes registered by the participants. Two different information sources were used: (a) a literature review of ageism programmes or interventions;and (b) an online questionnaire sent to international and national institutions surveying their policies or programmes against ageism. Our results show a relatively high number of actions combating ageism but a lack of a systematic evaluation of the outcomes of those actions. In conclusion, first, it is necessary to develop programmes and actions combating ageism, and the evaluation of these programmes is urgently needed in order to identify strategies that truly and effectively tackle ageism. There is a need to urge institutions to perform external evaluations of their anti-ageism social policies and to encourage scientists to conduct randomized and controlled studies.

Social Exclusion, Pandemic and Social Policies in Spain: An Analysis from Social Work

This reflection article offers a framework for analytical reflection, from the perspective of social work, on the measures implemented to curb the impact of the pandemic in Spain. Starting from the situation prior to its arrival, we evaluated and examined its incidence and effects. The results show that the social policies implemented to improve the socio-economic and health conditions of the population play a decisive role. In this sense, it is essential to recognize the efforts of the group of social workers who carry out their professional practice with the aim of empowering the Spanish population in times of pandemic.

BETWEEN SETTINGS AND ADVANCES: PUBLIC POLICIES TO COMBAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC 19 IN BRAZIL AND PORTUGAL

This article presents some reflections taken from a broader research, still under development, and whose objective is to contribute to the debate about the social, economic and political effects of COVID-19, in Brazil and Portugal. The focus of this examination focuses on the violent relationships experienced by women in the context of their intimacy, conjugality and in their domestic space, as well as the consequences of measures to control the pandemic for these dimensions. To this end, in addition to an interdisciplinary approach, data were collected from local news, open interviews with representatives of institutions (private and public) that support and serve women, as well as reports issued by national and international institutions that examine the results of public policies. adopted (or not), from March 2020 to May 2021, in both countries.

Managing the economy during a pandemic Interviews with Nadine Levratto and Michael Zemmour

As a continuation of the first part of this special issue, Politix wanted to look at the transformations in economic policy brought about by the Covid crisis and the ways in which they have affected the definition of the economic role of the State. For this first attempt to take a step back from current events, Politix has interviewed the economists Nadine Levratto and Michael Zemmour. Nadine Levratto, a specialist in industrial economics, analyzes in particular the business support measures put in place during the health crisis, by reinscribing them in the longer history of French industrial policy since the 1960s. Michael Zemmour questions the employment protection measures adopted during the pandemic, based on his research on socio-fiscal policies.

Containment, Health, and Social Policies in the Time of COVID-19 - Determinants and Outcomes of Initial Responses across 120 Countries.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered an unprecedented number of policy responses around the world across multiple policy domains. While governments have combined containment and health policies with social policies (CHSPs) during the initial phase of the pandemic in various ways, the current literature offers little knowledge of the patterns of these combinations and their determinants and outcomes. This paper fills this gap by investigating CHSP combinations across ≥120 countries. We further examined whether the CHSP response was determined by political regimes or compensation hypotheses-serving the purposes of responding to pre-existing economic downturns, inequality or social unrest. We also investigated the associations between CHSP responses and mobility, virus infection and unemployment. Using policy data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, results from sequence analysis indicated that governments' CHSP responses could be clustered into five categories: high social policies (SPs), middle SPs, containment and health (CH) leading SPs, low SPs and gradual high SPs. We used multinomial regression models to investigate determinants of CHSP responses. We found that CHSP responses did not differ by political regimes, and CHSP combinations were not driven by compensation hypotheses. Instead, gross domestic product per capita and government effectiveness were the key drivers for high levels of policy responses. We also found that low SP responses were associated with fewer mobility changes. Taken together, our findings suggest that lower-income countries required more support and resources in order for them to adopt necessary CH and SP responses.

A New Normal or Business-as-Usual? Lessons for COVID-19 from Financial Crises in East and Southeast Asia.

Crises and dislocations home in on social, economic, and political weaknesses that are often sidestepped or pushed to the backburner in the interests of master plans of growth or development. Recovery from crises, then, provides the opportunity to address these underlying issues that preceded and, likely, contributed to the crises or dislocation; meanwhile, a return to the previous normalcy following such crises generally means exacerbation of these weaknesses that erode and threaten to fracture social, economic and political foundations. This paper documents social and economic policies across two financial crises, the Asian Financial Crisis and the Global Financial Crisis, for South Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia, to reveal the problems from growth-centric recovery focus on economic fragilities, social cohesion, and political stability. Further, using evidence from the ground and survey data, we also show how recovery to a new normal with a reprioritization of social policies invigorates the social, political, and economic foundations. We round off the study with an examination of social policy changes under COVID-19 to assess how the efforts track against a recovery to business-as-usual economic normalcy or a new normal that reprioritizes social policies and the economy. The scope of change is high; as we show in the paper, it is also necessary.

Les crises et les bouleversements renvoient à des faiblesses sociales, économiques et politiques qui sont souvent évitées ou mises en sourdine afin de suivre les grands plans de croissance ou de développement. Le fait de se relever après une crise offre donc la possibilité de s'attaquer à ces problèmes sous-jacents qui ont précédé et, vraisemblablement, contribué aux crises ou aux bouleversements; en attendant, suite à de telles crises, un retour à la normalité d'avant signifie généralement une exacerbation de ces faiblesses qui érodent et menacent de fracturer les fondations sociales, économiques et politiques. Cet article documente les politiques sociales et économiques à travers deux crises financières, la crise financière asiatique et la crise financière mondiale, pour la Corée du Sud, les Philippines et l'Indonésie, afin de révéler les problèmes d'une reprise axée sur la croissance et de se concentrer sur les fragilités économiques, la cohésion sociale et la stabilité politique. De plus, en utilisant des preuves sur le terrain et des données d'enquête, nous montrons également comment la relance de l'économie sur la base d'une nouvelle norme, avec une redéfinition des priorités des politiques sociales, revigore les fondements sociaux, politiques et économiques. Nous terminons l'étude par un examen des changements de politique sociale dans le cadre de la COVID-19 pour évaluer de quelle façon les efforts s'opposent à une reprise du statu quo de la normalité économique ou à une nouvelle normalité qui redéfinit les priorités des politiques sociales et de l'économie. L'ampleur du changement est élevée; comme nous le montrons dans cet article, elle est également nécessaire.