Farmers' willingness to stabilize the land contract relationship facing the upcoming expiry of land contracts

On the verge of the expiry of land contracts, it is theoretically and practically important to explore the willingness and motivations of farmers to stabilize the land contract relationship, with regards to protecting their land contract rights, addressing potential contradictions during the land contract extension, and maintaining the stability of contracted land. Using China Land Economic Survey Data in 2020, this paper explores the impact of differences in areas per capita of household contracted land on farmers' willingness to stabilize land contract relationship. The findings show that most farmers support the stability of land contract relationship;the smaller areas per capita of contracted land are occupied by households than the average in the village, the weaker of the farmers' willingness to stabilize the land contract relationship. The difference between the areas per capita of contracted land ownership of a household and the average in the village has a greater impact on the willingness to stabilize land contract relationship for middle-and low-income farmers, while the development of land transfer market does not increased the willingness. Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the land plays a more important role of employment security, which reduces farmers' willingness to stabilize the land contract relationship. Furthermore, the promotion of socialized agricultural service has also mitigated the willingness of farmers o stabilize the land contract relationship.

The role of social transfers in mitigating families with children from the economic impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic

In this study, we investigated the household income of families with children. Our specific interest was the earned income losses during the COVID‐19 pandemic, and how social transfers have mitigated those losses. We assessed the monthly income levels by comparing the information on the year prior to pandemic to income levels during COVID‐19 pandemic. We found that the pandemic affected all studied subgroups of families with children, with the most negative economic influence in May 2020. In addition, our results indicate that in Finland the social transfers protected fairly well against the negative economic impacts of the pandemic among families with children, especially among vulnerable families (those with lowest income level prior COVID‐19, with low parental education, single‐parent families and families with non‐Finnish‐born parents). The information gained from this analysis can be useful in economic recovery during and after COVID‐19 pandemic, and when preparing for future challenges. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Social Welfare 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.)

A CNN Transfer Learning -Electrocardiogram (ECG) Signal Approach to Predict COVID-19

Deep learning is increasingly gaining traction in cutting-edge medical sciences such as image classification, and genomics due to the high computational performance and accuracy in evaluating medical data. In this study, we investigate the cardiac properties of ECG Images and predict COVID-19 in a binary classification of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 and Normal Persons who tested negative. We analyzed the electrocardiogram (ECG) images by preprocessing the ECG data and building an ECG- Deep Learning- COVID-19 (ECG-DL-COVID) classifier to predict disease. The deep learning models in our experiments constituted CNN, Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), and Transfer Learning. Performance evaluation was done to compare the effectiveness of the proposed methodologies with other COVID-19 deep learning-related works. In the three experiments, we achieved an 87% prediction accuracy for MLP, a 90% prediction for CNN and a 93.8% prediction for Transfer Learning. Experimental results and performance evaluation show that the proposed models outperformed previous deep-learning models in the prediction of COVID-19 by a considerable margin. © 2023 IEEE.

VILLAGE HEAD LEADERSHIP OPTIMIZATION DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN SULA REGENCY: STUDY OF HANDLING DIRECT CASH FUNDS IN FALAHU VILLAGE

The Village Head has the position of Head of Village Government who is in charge of administering Village Government, carrying out development, community development, and community empowerment. The village head as the formal leader of the village acts as a motivator, facilitator and mediator who is very important for the success of each planned development program and plan. The purpose of study is to find out village head leadership optimization during COVID-19 pandemic in sula regency regarding study of handling direct cash funds in Falahu village. This research is a type of descriptive research with qualitative analysis which is a problem-solving procedure investigated by describing and describing the state of an object at the time of research based on the facts that appear as they are. This information is needed to find out the Optimization of Village Head Leadership in Handling Direct Cash Assistance Funds During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Falahu Village, Sanana District, Sula Islands Regency. Research data was collected either through data collection instruments, observation, interview guidelines, documentation. From the results of the research and discussion that has been carried out, it can be concluded that the leadership factor plays an important role because it is the leader who will move and direct the community in achieving goals and at the same time is a task that is not easy because you have to understand the behavior of each subordinate and the different people. In general, and as a whole has optimized his leadership role both starting from the role of responsibility, communication, interpersonal, informational and decision-making. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Devotion: Journal of Research & Community Service is the property of Green Publisher 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.)

Coping with COVID-19 shocks in rural Nepal

We examine shocks experienced by rural Nepali households during the COVID-19 pandemic. Households primarily experienced income and price shocks during a government-imposed lockdown. During this time, households managed to effectively protect consumption, and mostly relied on credit (26%), asset sales (10%) and savings (8%). Debt levels nearly doubled, with limited changes to savings. We then leverage a long-term randomized control trial (RCT) to assess whether beneficiaries of a livestock livelihood program are more resilient. Program beneficiaries are 6 percentage points less likely to take out new loans.

Revisiting Poverty Trends and the Role of Social Protection Systems in Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Quantifying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty in Africa has been as difficult as predicting the path of the pandemic, mainly due to data limitations. The advent of new data sources, including national accounts and phone survey data, provides an opportunity for a thorough reassessment of the impact of the pandemic and the subsequent expansion of social protection systems on the evolution of poverty in Africa. In this paper, we combine per capita GDP growth from national accounts with data from High-Frequency Phone Surveys for several countries to estimate the net impact of the pandemic on poverty. We find that the pandemic has increased poverty in Africa by 1.5 to 1.7 percentage points in 2020, relatively smaller than early estimates and projections. We also find that countries affected by Fragility, Conflict and Violence experienced the greatest increases in poverty, about 2.1 percentage points in 2020. Furthermore, we assess and synthesize empirical evidence on the role that social protection systems played in mitigating the adverse impact of the COVID-19 crisis in Africa. We review social protection responses in various African countries, mainly focusing on the impact of these programs and effectiveness of targeting systems. Although the evidence base on the protective role of social protection programs during the pandemic remains scarce, we highlight important findings on the impacts of these programs while also uncovering some vulnerabilities in social protection programming in Africa. We finally draw important lessons related to the delivery, targeting and impact of various social protection programs launched in Africa in response to the pandemic.

Private transfers, public transfers, and food insecurity during the time of COVID-19: Evidence from Bangladesh

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, interest has grown in what kinds of assistance protect household food security during shocks. We study rural and urban Bangladesh from 2018 to 2019 to late 2021, assessing how pre-pandemic access to social safety net programs and private remittances relate to household food insecurity during the pandemic. Using longitudinal data and estimating differences-in-differences models with household fixed effects, we find that pre-pandemic access to social protection is associated with significant reductions in food insecurity in all rounds collected during the pandemic, particularly in our urban sample. However, pre-pandemic access to remittances shows no similar protective effect.

Unconditional Cash Transfers and Association With Clinical Outcomes Among U.S. Veterans With Psychosis or Recent Homelessness.

OBJECTIVE: Three rounds of stimulus checks were distributed to middle- and low-income U.S. adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. This 15-month longitudinal study examined rates of receipt of these stimulus checks, planned expenses, and associations with clinical outcomes among three veteran groups. METHODS: In total, 158 veterans, consisting of 59 with a psychotic disorder, 49 recently homeless veterans, and a comparison group of 50 veterans without a history of psychosis or homelessness, were assessed five times between May 2020 and July 2021. Bivariate analyses were used to compare receipt of stimulus checks and planned expenses among the groups, and multivariable analyses examined how receipt of checks was related to mental health and substance use over time. RESULTS: No group difference was found in receipt of stimulus checks, and 74%-84% of veterans reported receipt of more than one check. Most participants reported plans to use their stimulus checks to pay for bills, groceries, credit card debt, and rent or mortgage or to save the money. Over time, participants who received a greater number of stimulus checks reported significantly decreased symptoms of depression (B=-0.48) and anxiety (B=-0.84) and improved social functioning (B=0.24). For the recently homeless group, a greater number of stimulus checks received was associated with decreases in days of alcohol intoxication and drug use, but the reverse was found for the psychosis group. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple short-term unconditional government cash transfers may improve mental and social functioning among vulnerable populations during major crises, a finding that contributes to the research literature and has policy implications for pandemic and emergency preparedness.

Unconditional cash transfers and mental health symptoms among parents with low incomes: Evidence from the 2021 child tax credit.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased anxiety and depression in the U.S. population, particularly among low-income households, parents, and Black and Hispanic adults. To address the negative impacts of the pandemic, Congress temporarily expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in 2021, providing a near-universal, unconditional cash transfer to families with children. Using a quasi-experimental, parameterized difference-in-differences research design, we examine the effects of the 2021 monthly CTC on symptoms of anxiety and depression in a large, national sample of parents with low incomes (N∼15,000). We study potential differences in the associations by race/ethnicity and consider whether CTC effects were stronger after a longer treatment period (for instance, due to greater dosage or delayed effects). We find some evidence that the monthly credit reduced parental anxiety and depression symptoms, although the results were not robust throughout all model specifications. Analyses stratified by race/ethnicity show stronger associations for non-Hispanic Black parents than for non-Hispanic White parents or Hispanic parents, although differences were small. We also find the credit reduced anxiety (but not depression) symptoms after three months of payments, suggesting that it took some time for the CTC to affect mental health symptoms. Overall, this study suggests that recurring cash transfers to families in poverty in the U.S. may have small beneficial effects on parental mental health.

Inflation and wage growth since the pandemic.

Following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation surged to levels last seen in the 1980s. Motivated by vast differences in pandemic support across countries, we investigate the subsequent response of inflation and its feedback to wages. We exploit the differences in pandemic support to identify the effect that these programs had on inflation and the passthrough to wages. Our empirical approach focuses on a novel dynamic difference-in-differences method based on local projections. Our estimates suggest that an increase of 5 percentage points in direct transfers (relative to trend) translates into about a peak 3 percentage points boost to inflation and wage growth. Moreover, higher inflation accentuates the role of inflation expectations on wage-setting dynamics.

Various charging Methods in Electric Vehicle Application: A Review

During the covid pandemic, air quality has improved due to prolonged lockdown conditions. Hence according to the international energy agency, about 22% of environmental pollution is contributed by the transportation sector. Electric vehicles help in reducing the contribution towards carbon emission and help in mitigating the fossil fuel crisis and also promotes sustainable transportation. To enhance the growth of electric vehicle, charging infrastructure and range anxiety issues in the long drive has to be resolved. This paper reviews the various charging methods available for an electric vehicle. Some charging methods are wired and wireless charging, solar-powered, battery-swapping, vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-vehicle charging. A comparative study of these methods is tabulated. Based on the limitation of each method the optimum charging method for a vehicle is adapted for a particular application. © 2023 IEEE.

Higher inequality in Latin America: a collateral effect of the pandemic

This study explores the evolution of inequality in Latin America during the COVID-19 pandemic by using primary data from household and employment surveys collected in 2020. First, we discuss the trends in inequality in the region from 1992 to 2020. Next, we estimate regression models to examine how the changes in demographics and education levels might be correlated with changes in income distribution. Finally, we use a panel regression model with fixed effects for 16 countries in the region to identify how the socioeconomic context might help explain the changes in income inequality. The empirical findings suggest that inequality increased by a statistically significant 2% between 2019 and 2020. We obtained significantly heterogeneous results when disaggregating by gender, urban/rural location, and sector of economic activity. Remittances had a modest effect, while government transfers helped to prevent more significant disparities in half the countries studied. Our estimations show that the decline in employment levels–due to the economic contraction caused by COVID-19— is associated with increases in income inequality that might gradually diminish with the recovery. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Lessons from Brazil's unsuccessful fiscal decentralization policy to fight COVID-19.

This manuscript investigates the unsuccessful case of the fiscal decentralization policy implemented by the Brazilian central government to help municipalities fight COVID-19. Based on quantitative analyses of data available on governmental websites, we identified that the transfer policy had ignored municipalities' risk patterns and income changes. It benefited municipalities regardless of their vulnerability and population infection risks, and many municipalities reduced healthcare expenditures funded by their revenues during the pandemic. Hence, some municipalities made a "pandemic surplus" in 2020 - a municipal electoral year. Indeed, COVID-19 killed 663,694 people in Brazil until 4 May 2022. Lessons from an unsuccessful case of response to COVID-19 help develop resilience for other crises by emerging market economies and developing countries. The findings have implications for policymakers and literature since they represent inadequate vertical coordination that followed a path dependence on traditional decentralization policies and took place in a year of municipal elections without clear spending and accountability rules.

Argentine social policy during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: non-contributory cash transfers, household incomes and poverty

With a focus on the emergency measures taken by the federal government, this article discusses Argentine social policy during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Permanent Household Survey microdata, the essay studies the main noncontributory cash transfer programs and their effects on household income, broken down by household characteristics. Data shows an expansion in the coverage and sum of social transfers, which had moderate effects on the increase in poverty and extreme poverty caused by the pandemic-related crisis. © 2022 Grupo Editor Yocavil. All rights reserved.

Digital Requirement Development: Three Years of Using Digital Methods to Improve Standardization of Procurement Specifications

Joint Industry Program 33 (JIP33) was established through IOGP with backing from the World Economic Forum to drive industry level standardization for procurement of equipment and packages. During Phases 1 and 2 of JIP33 the traditional business applications Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and e-mail were used to develop, collaborate and publish 14 specifications. For phase 3 a digital requirements management platform was implemented to enhance capacity, efficiency and auditability of specification development and maintenance. This platform has subsequently been used to develop and publish 27 ‘exception' style specifications and 4 ‘narrative' style specifications, bringing the JIP33 published specification library to 45 since the program's commencement in 2016. JIP33 proposed that the adoption of a digital requirements management platform would reduce the cost and time of development, simplify collaboration and improve the quality and maintainability of output. The platform's original configuration and work processes have evolved to enhance collaboration and improve traceability. Natural language processing technology has been integrated into the platform to support JIP33 writing protocols and reduce user dependence on external tools. Document production is automated using customised data transformations to output the specifications in a publishable form. Requirement Interchange Format (ReqIF) data exports are being piloted in collaboration with the IOGP Standards committee to test the digital transfer of JIP33 specifications into user databases. Changes to JIP33 work processes aimed at improving user engagement also provided resilience to the Covid pandemic and the sudden shift globally to virtual working. However, notwithstanding improvements in the tools and process, timely engagement of collaborators in content development and reviews remains a significant area for improvement. Resistance to ‘sentence centric' requirement writing should decline as familiarity and culture change programs take effect. Improvements to JIP33 data transformations are predicted to streamline extraction of publishable specification documents from the platform. Digital transfer of JIP33 specifications has also been piloted and advances in the standardisation of data attributes across the industry will drive the future evolution of the JIP33 program's use of these tools. This paper will present an update of the JIP33 program's sustained use of a requirement management platform and other digital tools for specification development and future digital integration of JIP33 specifications by users. © 2022, Offshore Technology Conference. All rights reserved.

Making UBI radical: On the potential for a universal basic income to underwrite transformative and anti-kyriarchal change

Cash transfers as a response to poverty and unemployment have moved to mainstream political practice. From global south developmental policy to pandemic payments, there is growing concern with relying on employment for income. Many on the left have been sceptical of, and at times opposed to, such transfers, instead urging direct state provisioning, improved employment, or economic transformation beyond the state. Here, we develop an alternative position, rooted in cautious optimism about the open-ended implications of cash transfers. We consider the possibility that providing a durable, redistributive universal basic income might enable escape from unjust economic relations, underwrite diverse economies, and free time to expand democratic practice. We frame this not as an assured outcome but as a possibility, one those concerned with radical, anti-kyriarchal politics might engage in creating. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Covid-19 : les transferts internationaux de patients de réanimation, une solution pour les départements frontaliers

La crise sanitaire de la Covid-19 a imposé une adaptabilité jamais réalisée de notre système de santé. Les services de réanimation et les structures de médecine d'urgence ont dû innover et développer des stratégies novatrices pour garantir des soins de qualité à tous les patients relevant de réanimation. La région Grand-Est, et plus particulièrement les départements de Moselle, du Bas-Rhin et du Haut-Rhin, a été particulièrement touchée. Parmi les 349 patients transférés hors de la région, 164 l'ont été vers des pays européens (Allemagne, Autriche, Luxembourg et Suisse) entre le 14 mars et le 4 avril 2020. Ces transferts internationaux, organisés par l'Agence régionale de santé et les Samu-Centre 15, ont essentiellement fait appel à des moyens aériens des hôpitaux, de l'armée et de la protection civile. L'accompagnement des patients, soigneusement sélectionnés, était assuré par un binôme médecin‒ infirmier spécialisés. Le choix de cette stratégie a permis d'éviter la saturation des services de réanimation et d'avoir à faire un choix entre les patients pouvant ou non bénéficier de soins aigus. L'adaptabilité des professionnels de santé et une organisation au plus près du terrain ont permis de réaliser ces transferts dans de bonnes conditions. Cet épisode témoigne de l'importance de laisser la gestion des crises sanitaires aux professionnels de la santé. Cet article présente l'organisation mise en place en région Grand-Est pour préparer et réaliser ces transferts internationaux.Alternate : The COVID-19 health crisis has imposed an unprecedented adaptability of our health system. Intensive care units and emergency departments had to innovate and develop new strategies to guarantee quality care for patients needing intensive care. The "Grand-Est” region and particularly the counties of Moselle, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin, were strongly impacted. Among the 349 patients transferred out of region, 164 were transferred to European countries (Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland) between March 14 and April 4, 2020. These international transfers, organized by the regional health agency and the emergency medical call centers, mainly use flying ambulances belonging to hospitals, army, and civil protection. The support of these patients was provided by a specialized physiciannurse team. The choice of this strategy made it possible to avoid saturation of intensive care units and to make a choice between patients admitted or not in intensive care. Adaptability of health care providers and an organization as close as possible to the field allowed these transfers to be carried out under good conditions. This episode demonstrates the importance of leaving the management of health crisis to health professionals. This article presents the organization set up to prepare and carry out these international transfers.

The impact of Covid-19 on electronic payment system: Lesson learned from Indonesian banking

The Indonesian economy suffered a recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first case of which was announced on March 3, 2020. In response to this disaster, various economic sectors carried out digital transformation, including the banking sector. This research is a case study of how Indonesian banking responded to the pandemic through various central bank policies complemented by literature review on the impact of the pandemic on the banking sector in the world, as well as the development of electronic payment systems before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The central bank issued several regulations of relaxation to reduce the impact of the pandemic on the banking sector. From the perspective of society, the pandemic has actually accelerated the use of digital payment systems in Indonesia. The most widely used electronic payment instrument is electronic money, followed by RTGS transactions with data periods ranging from 2016 to 2021. ATM/Debit card transactions show relatively no fluctuating increases, while credit card transactions show a decline during the same observation period. The trend of increasing electronic transactions is expected to continue after the pandemic and will become a necessity in the Indonesian economy onwards. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Technium Social Sciences Journal is the property of Technium Press Constanta 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.)

A politicized ecology of resilience: Redistributive land reform and distributive justice in the COVID-19 pandemic

Brazil has endured multiple political, economic, and environmental crises—and now the COVID-19 pandemic—which have drawn social inequalities into razor sharp relief. This contribution analyzes the resilience of rural families facing these crises in southern Bahia. These families have benefited from various redistributive policies over the years, including redistributive land reforms (RLRs), conditional cash transfers (CCTs), and recent emergency aid (EA) payments related to the pandemic. Each (re)distributive approach involves different notions of distributive justice informed by competing background theories of "the good," which hold implications for concepts of resilience. Drawing on long-term research with RLR communities in Bahia, this article considers the gains achieved by different redistributive programs. Families who acquired land through RLR projects appear more resilient, especially in the face of crisis. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Focaal is the property of Berghahn Books 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.)