The role of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on placebo effect of regulating social pain: A TMS study

Under the influence of the novel coronavirus epidemic, some negative social events, such as separation of family or friends and home isolation have increased. These events can cause negative emotion experiences similar to physical pain, thus they are called social pain. Placebo effect refers to the positive response to the inert treatment with no specific therapeutic properties, which has been shown to be one of the effective ways to alleviate social pain. Studies have shown that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a key role in placebo effect. Therefore, this study aimed to explore whether activating DLPFC by using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) could improve the ability of placebo effects to regulate social pain. Besides, we also combined neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques to provide bidirectional evidence for the role of the DLPFC on placebo effects. We recruited a total of 100 participants to finish the task of negative emotional rating of the social exclusion images. Among them, 50 participants were stimulated by TMS at the right DLPFC (rDLPFC), while the others were assigned to the sham group. This study contained two independent variables. The between-subject variable was TMS group (rDLPFC-activated group or sham group) and the within-subject variable was placebo type (no-placebo and placebo). All participants received nasal spray in two blocks. In the no-placebo condition, participants were instructed that they would receive a saline nasal spray which helped to improve physiological readings;in placebo block, participants were told to administrate an intranasal fluoxetine spray (saline nasal spray in fact) that could reduce unpleasantness within 10 minutes. To strengthen the expectation of intranasal fluoxetine, participants viewed a professional introduction to fluoxetine's clinical and academic usage including downregulating negative emotion, such as fear, anxiety, and disgust. Participants who received the placebo block first would be reminded that fluoxetine's effect was over before the next block to reduce the carry-over for the following block. Self-reported negative emotional and electroencephalogram data were recorded. There was a significant two-way interaction of TMS group and placebo type. Results showed that compared with the sham group, participants in the rDLPFC-activated group reported less negative emotional feeling and had a lower amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) in placebo condition, a component that reflects the emotional intensity, suggesting that activating rDLPFC can improve the ability of placebo effect to regulate social pain. The above finding suggested that activating DLPFC can improve the placebo effect of regulating negative emotion. Moreover, this study is the first attempt to investigate the enhancement of placebo effects by using TMS on emotion regulation. The findings not only support the critical role of DLPFC on placebo effect using neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques, but also provide a potential brain target for treating emotional regulation deficits in patients with psychiatric disorders. © 2023 WANG Mei.

The exclusive countryside post‐pandemic

The processes through which the British countryside has become increasingly socially exclusive have been a theme of rural scholars' research since the 1970s, and these social changes are reflected in experiences of the pandemic. This paper begins by observing the central importance of power relations, and then discusses the pivotal role of housing as a motor of rural social change and exclusivity. Notwithstanding these processes, and indeed largely because of these asymmetric power relations, rural poverty remains. This paper summarises experiences of social exclusion in rural areas during the pandemic and reflects on the social redistribution of risk and the need to rebuild social protection in a continuing ‘permacrisis'. The emergence of the concept of the permacrisis indicates a recognition that the Covid‐19 pandemic is only one of a series of continuing or recurring challenges or potential ‘shocks' that we face, and this paper concludes by suggesting a research agenda for rural scholars as well as a potential rural policy agenda. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Geographical Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

Survey Regarding Changing Food Habits in Wake of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic was caused by the emergence of the new coronavirus (SARS-Cov2) in Wuhan, China, on December 12, 2019, and it has significantly impacted human health. It has also caused abrupt changes in lifestyle that have had social and economic repercussions, including social exclusion and isolation at home. This study aimed to investigate how COVID-19 has affected the food habits and lifestyle of the general population. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Chennai to assess the awareness level of the population regarding the protective measures they take during the pandemic, and 500 participants of all ages were included in the study. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. The study found that over 50% of the participants increased their intake of vegetables and fruits, and about 49.33% decreased their intake of fast food and snacks. Furthermore, more than 40% of the participants added immune-boosting ingredients to their diet. These results suggest that the study population adopted healthier dietary habits and behaviors, including a more nutritious diet with more vegetables, immune-boosting foods, and increased water intake. © 2023 IEEE.

Disability, workplace inclusion and organizational citizenship behavior: an exploratory study of the legal profession

PurposeMany workers with disabilities face cultures of exclusion in the workplace, which can affect their participation in decisions, workplace engagement, job attitudes and performance. The authors explore a key indicator of engagement—perceptions of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)—as it relates to disability and other marginalized identities in the workplace.Design/methodology/approachUsing an online survey, legal professionals answered questions about their workplace experiences. Ordinary least squares (OLS) multivariate regression analysis with progressive adjustment was used to investigate the effect of demographic and organizational factors on perceptions of OCB.FindingsThe authors find that employees with disabilities have lower perceptions of OCB, both before and after controlling for other personal and job variables. The disability gap is cut nearly in half, however, when controlling for workplace culture measures of co-worker support and the presence of an effective diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy. Disability does not appear to interact with gender, race/ethnicity and LGBTQ + status in affecting perceptions of OCB.Originality/valueThe results point to the workplace barriers faced by people with disabilities that affect their perceptions of engagement, and the potential for supportive cultures to change these perceptions.

Feminist Governance in the European Parliament: The Political Struggle over the Inclusion of Gender in the EU's COVID-19 Response

The research objective of this article is to analyze the European Parliament's response to the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of feminist governance. Feminist governance can either play a role in ensuring the inclusion of a gender perspective in crisis responses, or, quite the opposite, crises may weaken or sideline feminist governance. The empirical analysis focuses on two aspects of feminist governance: (1) a dedicated gender equality body and (2) gender mainstreaming. In addition to assessing the effectiveness of feminist governance, the analysis sheds light on the political struggles behind the policy positions. The article argues that feminist governance in the European Parliament was successful in inserting a gender perspective into the COVID-19 response. The article pinpoints the effects of the achievements of the European Parliament's Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee and gender mainstreaming on gendering the pandemic crisis response.

Locked down by inequality: Older people and the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper develops the argument that post-COVID-19 recovery strategies need to focus on building back fairer cities and communities, and that this requires a strong embedding of 'age-friendly' principles to support marginalised groups of older people, especially those living in deprived urban neighbourhoods, trapped in poor quality housing. It shows that older people living in such areas are likely to experience a 'double lockdown' as a result of restrictions imposed by social distancing combined with the intensification of social and spatial inequalities. This argument is presented as follows: first, the paper examines the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on older people, highlighting how the pandemic is both creating new and reinforcing existing inequalities in ageing along the lines of gender, class, ethnicity, race, ability and sexuality. Second, the paper explores the role of spatial inequalities in the context of COVID-19, highlighting how the pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on deprived urban areas already affected by cuts to public services, the loss of social infrastructure and pressures on the voluntary sector. Finally, the paper examines how interrelated social inequalities at both the individual and spatial level are affecting the lives of older people living in deprived urban neighbourhoods during the pandemic. The paper concludes by developing six principles for 'age-friendly' community recovery planning aimed at maintaining and improving the quality of life and wellbeing of older residents in the post-pandemic city.

The political field of the youths in Colombia in time of pandemic

This investigation has as main objective to describe to the political field of the youths of Colombia in times of the pandemic of the Covid-19, based on the social-legal study of the issue of the omission of the youths as political subjects for part of the legislator and the executive, in the decision making of general interest that directly affects them during the states of exception and that demonstrate faults of the political representation and the abuse of the administrative power in the management of the adopted measures in this conjuncture. The investigation apply a qualitative, reflexive, and of socio-legal carácter, through which it defends that the recognize of the youths as politics sujets and their paper in the politic are a social field in dispute. In the perspective of Pierre Bourdieu, the youths are excluded of the politic. In this orden, exist a reproduction of the inequality between adults and youths as also between the same youths. The originals results of this research allows to demonstrate the thesis bourdiana in the colombian case. In this sense, the investigation concludes that low the exceptional juvenile legal system impost with the exception state during the pandemic, the political treatment of the youths have been given of form vertical, universal and homogenizing with base in the absolute power of police of the state;while low this oppressor regimen exist a rule of the political structural inequiality. © 2022 Centro Universitario de Brasilia. All rights reserved.

Taking Class Seriously

This article critically analyzes the human rights perspective upon what has emerged as one of the most significant socioeconomic and political challenges confronting many millions of people residing within high-income, liberal-democratic societies: rising poverty and socioeconomic inequality. This article argues that international and domestic human rights law and the social and political imaginaries of the wider human rights community largely fail to adequately diagnose and effectively respond to poverty and inequality within high-income, liberal-democratic societies. As a political and ethical doctrine founded upon a normative commitment to social justice, human rights should be taking the lead in efforts to condemn, understand, and develop responses to the poverty and inequality which blight the lives of many millions of people within many of the world's most affluent and, allegedly, most "liberal” societies. Human rights law has historically not done so. We, as a community, have not done so. This article offers a specific explanation for this continuing failure, by focusing upon the absence of any concerted recognition of or engagement with social class as it contributes to and compounds our exposure to poverty and inequality. Human rights remain largely blind to the many ways in which social class is intricately connected to poverty and inequality. The human rights community within high-income, liberal-democratic societies characteristically fails to take class seriously. Building upon previous writing in this area, this article explains why class is rarely recognized or engaged with by the human rights community. This article also sets out the basis for how we might begin the task of overcoming this highly damaging class blindness, to set the stage for what the author asserts as an urgent need if human rights is to provide the kind of political and ethical leadership required to effectively engage with poverty and inequality in affluent societies: the degentrification of human rights.

Social exclusion and pandemic: the experiences of homeless people

Homelessness is an extreme form of social exclusion which, although universally present in contemporary societies, has tended to be invisible. This lack of visibility has once again been highlighted by the measures put in place to tackle COVID-19. Although since the onset of the health emergency there have been various research studies that have examined the impact of COVID-19 on the Spanish population, few proposals have been devoted to analysing the specific impact of the pandemic on homeless people. In this sense, the aim of this paper is to analyse the experiences of homeless people during the confinement and pandemic, delving into the specific impact that the COVID-19 crisis has had on the reality of these citizens. The research is based on a mixed methodological design using a questionnaire survey and a semi-structured in-depth interview. On the one hand, the questionnaire was administered to a sample of 641 homeless people. On the other hand, 18 homeless people participated in the interviews. The results confirm that the place where they were confined is fundamental to understanding the experiences of the participants. Furthermore, it is noted that the negative experiences of homeless people were a consequence of the measures put in place to cope with the pandemic and prevent contagion, especially those related to the closure of services where their basic needs were met. This is especially significant considering the transformations that the responses to the health emergency have imposed on some dimensions of their lives. The results also allow us to conclude that pre-existing social inequalities have played a significant role in the impact of the pandemic on citizens, with particularly severe consequences for people affected by extreme social exclusion. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] El sinhogarismo constituye una forma extrema de exclusión social que, aunque presente de manera universal en el seno de las sociedades contemporáneas, ha tendido a ser invisibilizada. Esta falta de visibilidad quedó de nuevo en evidencia ante las medidas puestas en marcha para hacer frente a la COVID-19. Aunque desde el inicio de la situación de emergencia sanitaria surgieron diferentes investigaciones que profundizaban en el impacto de la COVID-19 sobre la población española, son escasas las propuestas que se han dedicado a analizar el impacto específico de la pandemia entre las personas en situación de sinhogarismo. En este sentido, el presente trabajo tiene como objeto analizar las experiencias vividas por las personas en situación de sinhogarismo durante el confinamiento y pandemia, profundizando en el impacto específico que la crisis de la COVID-19 ha tenido en la realidad de esta ciudadanía. La investigación parte de un diseño metodológico mixto mediante el uso de la encuesta a través de cuestionario y la entrevista en profundidad semiestructurada. Por un lado, el cuestionario ha sido administrado a una muestra de 641 personas en situación "sin hogar". Por otro lado, 18 personas en situación de sinhogarismo han participado en las entrevistas. Los resultados confirman que el lugar en el que pasaron el confinamiento resulta fundamental para entender las experiencias de las personas participantes. Además, se apunta que las experiencias negativas vividas por las personas en situación de sinhogarismo fueron consecuencia de las medidas desarrolladas para hacer frente a la pandemia y evitar los contagios, especialmente aquellas relacionadas con el cierre de servicios donde atendían a sus necesidades básicas. Esto es especialmente significativo considerando las transformaciones que las respuestas a la emergencia sanitaria han impuesto en algunas dimensiones de sus vidas. Asimismo, los resultados permiten concluir que las desigualdades sociales preexistentes han tenido un papel central en el impacto de la pandemia en la ciudadanía, con consecuencias especialmente severas para las personas afectadas por la exclusión social extrema. (Spanish) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of EMPIRIA: Revista de Metodología de Ciencias Sociales is the property of Editorial UNED 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.)

Indian Act Philanthropy: Why are Community Foundations Missing from Native Communities in Manitoba, Canada?: Revue Canadienne de Recherche sur les OSBL et l'Économie Sociale (ANSERJ)

Un modèle philanthropique axé sur le développement communautaire serait-il en train de renforcer les politiques coloniales plutôt que d'offrir des bénéfices économiques équitables? Cette étude analyse les transcriptions de vingt webinaires publics sur la philanthropie et la Loi sur les Indiens et évalue les 54 fondations communautaires établis au Manitoba, Canada. Ces 54 fondations servent seulement les villes et municipalités des colons-il n'y en a pas une seule dans les communautés autochtones. Comme elles ne desservent que leurs régions géographiques spécifiques, les fondations communautaires au Manitoba concentrent la richesse dans les villes et municipalités dominées par les colons, accaparant des ressources qui pourraient aider les communautés autochtones. Ce modèle philanthropique, en excluant les communautés les plus pauvres du Manitoba, renforce la marginalisation, la pauvreté et les risques de santé dans les communautés autochtones.Alternate :Could a philanthropic model aimed at community development enforce colonial policy rather than providing equitable economic opportunity? This research analyzes the transcripts of 20 public webinars on philanthropy and the Indian Act and maps the 54 community foundations in Manitoba, Canada. All 54 community foundations in Manitoba service only settler-dominated cities and municipalities, with none on Native communities. As community foundations serve only their specific geographical areas, the community foundations in Manitoba effectively concentrate wealth in settler-dominated cities and municipalities, taking away needed resources from Native communities. In excluding the poorest communities in Manitoba, this philanthropic model further entrenches marginalization, poverty, and health risks for Native people on Native communities.

[Les personnes âgées immigrantes et leurs proches à Montréal : des vies oubliées durant la pandémie].

Malgré l'attention renouvelée de plusieurs médias sur la question des risques liés à la COVID-19 au sein de diverses communautés marginalisées au Québec, nous entendons encore très peu parler des personnes âgées immigrantes et de leurs proches. Dans cette note sur les politiques et pratiques, nous aborderons l'expérience du contexte pandémique chez les personnes âgées immigrantes montréalaises et leurs réseaux. Nous présenterons d'abord quelques données sociodémographiques sur les immigrants âgés montréalais. Nous exposerons ensuite nos constats sur les impacts de la COVID-19 sur les personnes âgées immigrantes, en particulier en ce qui concerne l'accès aux soins de la santé et aux services sociaux, la proche-aidance, l'emploi et le logement, à partir de nos travaux et de la littérature en gérontologie sociale. Nous terminerons en proposant quelques recommandations qui permettraient d'améliorer l'inclusion sociale des personnes âgées immigrantes et de leurs proches, autant en matière de politiques publiques que de pratiques sur le terrain.

Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous Peoples in Latin America: Towards Effective Post-Pandemic Policies

[...]a broad and inclusive approach to post-pandemic policy-making—one that considers Indigenous forms of knowledge whilst fostering appreciation for their cultures and lives—is needed to adequately assist Indigenous peoples in repairing the harm they have suffered as a result of COVID-19.3 COVID-19 and its deadly impact on Indigenous communities There are no less than eight hundred distinct Indigenous communities across Latin America, each with its own unique identity, culture, and [End Page 169] history. In Bolivia, for example, where Indigenous groups comprise a significant portion of the electorate (between 41 and 62 percent of the population), Latin America's first Indigenous political executive was elected in 2006.4 In most instances, however, Indigenous peoples make up only a small proportion of Latin American country populations (generally ranging from 0.5–15 percent), one factor ensuring limited political influence and the widespread marginalization of their interests.5 As a consequence, Indigenous peoples across the region entered the pandemic whilst already suffering from a range of serious economic and socio-cultural inequalities.6 Inadequate access to medical care, chronic poverty and economic marginalization, racism and prejudice, and inadequate access to education are common issues that exacerbated the impact of the pandemic.7 The World Health Organization confirmed the arrival of the pandemic in the region on February 26, 2020. [...]Indigenous mortality rates were 4.03 percent in Brazil and 19.9 percent in Mexico—significantly higher than 2.2 percent and 5.7 percent overall mortality rates in each country respectively.9 Unfortunately, the lack of regional data on, and deliberate under-reporting of, Indigenous mortality rates across much of Latin America has problematized many of the available datasets.10 In Brazil, for example, organizations such as The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples (APIB), have shown that the total number of recognized Indigenous deaths (902 persons as of April 7, 2022), undercounts the actual figure by at least 31 percent.11 Other sources, such as the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (SESAI), which is responsible for Indigenous medical care, also provides incomplete data on Brazilian Indigenous mortality by failing to count Indigenous urban dwellers or those who live outside of recognized government-controlled territories in their data sets.12 Such groups are among some of the most vulnerable Indigenous communities in the country, receiving little, if any, support from government agencies charged with supporting Indigenous communities.13 As a result, the scale and scope of COVID-19's impact on Indigenous Brazilians is, and for the foreseeable future will likely remain, unknowable.14 Despite a lack of adequate data across much of Latin America, a growing body of evidence indicates that Indigenous peoples were particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, and that they likely died or suffered long-term health issues in disproportionate numbers.15 In a study of Indigenous peoples in Chile, for instance, regions with larger Indigenous populations recorded a noticeable increase in overall mortality.16 Where direct data do not exist, emerging studies suggest that the medical impact of COVID-19 was likely compounded by a range of structural inequalities and environmental factors.17 Many Indigenous peoples lack access to adequate medical care. [...]disproportionate exposure to pesticides—used extensively in agricultural industries in which many Indigenous people find employment, as well as exposure to smoke inhalation—caused by out-of-control forest fires across Latin America—likely exacerbated the repertory symptoms caused by COVID-19.18 As a consequence, Indigenous peoples had to face COVID-19 not only with fewer resources, but with greater exposure to the types of pre-existing conditions known to aggravate the impact of the disease.19 Particularly high mortality rates among Indigenous elders, who act as stores of traditional knowledge, affected cultural continuity and community cohesion.20 To better understand this we spoke with a representative of the Indigenous Kaingang people, Duko Vãgfy, who explained that "[t]he worst losses [we suffered] were the elders, because they held so much knowledge about [our] people.

On the Benefits of Plague: Polish Fringe Theatre in 2020

The aim of this essay is to demonstrate the significant function played by theatres during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. It examines three pandemic projects created by fringe theatre companies and individual performers in Poland that address political and social questions, such as women's reproductive rights, excessive government control over private lives, and the social exclusion of disabled and immigrant communities: Arti Grabowski's Improvised Lecture, Usta Usta Republika Theatre's Embassy 2.0, and Adam Ziajski and Scena Robocza's Don't Tell Anyone: The Quarantine. The essay traces how these artists rediscovered the new relevance of earlier work and explored the potential of multimedia practices to reach larger or different audiences. Its discussion is grounded in Antonin Artaud's concept of theatre as the plague and Susan Neiman's perspective of "corona as chance," whereby emphasizing the major alteration of perspective and commitment to change brought about or facilitated by the pandemic.

A/Moral Divide: Questions for an Asian American Studies Research Paradigm

Research for the community ultimately aims to effect social change. Transpacific studies offers an analysis about global power, war and colonial presence, and unequal exchanges between nations that explores the transnational ties of Asian Americans.11 For instance, Laura Kina and Wei Ming Dariotis's work examines the intersection of American empire and the racialized/gendered representations of mixed-race Amerasians. The promise of transpacific studies and critical refugee studies is that they not only assess the traumas, needs, and conditions of Asian American communities, but they also examine the subjectivities, hopes, and futures of migrants and refugees as active, creative agents themselves.14 For example, transpacific scholar Wesley Ueunten writes about resistance to the construction of an American military base in Okinawa: Old people, as old and tiny as my Baban [grandmother] in my memories of her, have come to sit on the beach every day in quiet but unrelenting resistance to American Manifest Destiny and Japanese fatalistic dependency on that Destiny. In theory then, the genealogical and discursive analyses of transpacific studies and critical refugee studies would shed light on how we view social realities, and illuminate what's often missing in the analysis of these concepts.

Preparation of Two Participatory Social Housing Interventions in a Marginalised Roma Community in Romania

The first desegregation efforts in the marginalised and segregated communities in the Pata-Rât area were carried out within the frames of two social housing projects (between 2014–2017 and 2020–2023). Although a housing first methodology would have been more adequate in the context of a marginalised community, given the shortcomings of the Romanian social assistance system, implementation was impossible. In this context, it was necessary to develop a system to access social housing but also to create a reasonably ‘fair process' at the community level. Thus, in both interventions, the starting point for developing the social housing criteria was to survey the community in order to explore the community members' preferences regarding the criteria to be considered in the selection of the beneficiary families for the social houses. The surveys covered all the inhabitants of the Pata-Rât area, that is 219 households in the first survey and 282 households in the second. The survey results served as the basis for the development of the criteria for accessing social housing. In this article, we present and discuss the results of the community surveys from 2016 and from 2020, the year of the pandemic outbreak. Differences were found in the prioritisation of criteria, with an increasing preference for those reflecting vulnerability/needs (e.g., number of children, years spent in the community, disability) and decreasing preference for the ones indicating family resources (e.g., employment, income, education). These differences reflect the increase in poverty and loss of resources occurring in the community during this period, due both to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to the relocation of the 35 better-off families in the first Pata-Cluj project.

A Holistic Approach for Healing in a Multicultural Society: A Qualitative Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread awareness and helped people realise the importance of mental health such that psychiatrists have had a 60% - 70% surge in the consultations. It has also been noticed that cultural diversity is playing an increasingly important role in the treatment and its impact on mental health. Along with the rising rates, various practices as per different cultures are increasing, especially in India being a multicultural society which show different ways of handling mental health issues. Considering the rising rates of mental health consultations, the objectives of this study were to understand the perspective of mental health professionals on multicultural practices and to explore their experiences working with holistic practices. For the present research study, an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach which is qualitative in nature was employed. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with mental health professionals to collect the data. Different superordinate themes (changes in attitudes towards consultation post pandemic, psychosocial & cultural factors, acceptance, effective skills for multicultural counselling, tuning cultural factors into mental health practice, & existing limitations in mental health practice) and subordinate themes emerged in the findings of this study. The implications of this study is to address the stigma against mental health related concerns as well as tap different local psychosocial and cultural factors which will help to understand mental health issues more effectively. This study will also help to develop treatment plans and diagnostic plans to treat mental ailments using holistic approach.

Australia Has Never Felt As Far Away As Now: Australians in Finland, Experiences of Social Exclusion During the COVID-19 Era

Through critical theories of social exclusion and alienation, this chapter seeks to outline the difficulties that Australian citizens have faced on the subject of returning to their home country after Australia closed their borders in March 2020 as a reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak. I will investigate, analyse, and discuss both the Finnish and Australian responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data collected from a focus group interview with five Australian residents in Finland, I employ phenomenology methods to analyse the data with reference to my research question: Do Australians feel as if they are incomplete citizens due to the Australian border restrictions? This chapter argues that Australians, who were not able to return before the national border closure in Australia and the cancellation of international flights, suffer from social exclusion in the form of incomplete citizenship and alienation from their homeland. Such alienation and exclusion can prevail and further distance and isolate Australian individuals overseas from their partners/family within Australia. Australian border forces limit the capacity of Australian citizens returning from overseas. Expenses of flights and self-financed quarantine in Australia are causing further difficulties for them to be able to return. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

Successful Role of Data Science In Managing Covid-19 Battle

The corona pandemic's wild and unchecked spread over more than a few months around the world is a worldwide problem. To solve this worldwide issue, information technology innovation is employed along with medicine, biotechnology, and medical equipment. The fight against COVID-19 is greatly aided by Machine-Learning (ML), Artificial-Intelligence (AI), and data science (DS). By utilising such technologies, there is a good chance that the pandemic may be stopped, and that life can return to normal, as it did before the pandemic. In this essay, many technologies are analysed in relation to various situations, including social exclusion and prevention, confinement and isolation, corona virus testing and detection, management of the hospital, patient care, and therapy. This study provides transparent planning, technological techniques, digital procedures, together with the most recent smart technology in a number of disciplines, to battle the severity of the coronavirus. © 2023 IEEE.

The language of suppression: Muslims, migrant workers, and India's response to COVID-19

When a society faces a moment of crisis, its language can mirror, expose, and reinforce societal chaos and fault lines. As India came to terms with COVID-19, the coronavirus' impacts on different populations exposed and widened India's deep social, economic, and religious divides. This article studies the language of India's response to COVID-19 surrounding three major events that occurred in the early months of the pandemic: the janta curfew, the Tablighi Jamaat incident, and the migrant worker crisis. Through an analysis of media reports, speeches made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and representations on social media, we see how forms of linguistic trickery—silence, presuppositions, accommodations, othering, dog whistling, and povertyism—were used to suppress, harm, and marginalize two minority groups: Muslims and migrant workers. This article demonstrates how those in power use language to reflect, shape, and reinforce meaning, social hierarchies, and marginalization in a time of crisis. (Linguistic trickery, othering, silence, presupposition, accommodation, dog whistling, povertyism)