Coronavirus Pandemic and Online Education: Impact on Developing Countries

In this book, eight substantive chapters examine how "developing” countries such as Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Mexico confronted the pandemic-driven online education shift. As local instruments, resources, and preferences of specific universities meshed with global platforms, ideas, and knowledge, the book addresses several questions. Was the mix too flaky to survive increasing competitiveness? Were countries capable enough to absorb mammoth software technological changes? Throwing a "developed” country (the United States) in for contrast, the book elaborates on the inequities between these countries. Some of these inequalities were economic (infrastructural provisions and accesses), others involved gender (the role of women), political (the difference between public and private universities), social (accessibility across social spectrum), and developmental (urban-rural divides). In doing so, new hypotheses on widening global gaps are highlighted in the book for further investigation. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.

Post-fifth assessment report urban climate planning: Lessons from 278 urban climate action plans released from 2015 to 2022

Cities respond to climate concerns mainly through climate action plans (CAPs). The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) was the first report from the international climate body that gave worldwide attention to urban climate change. Yet, a global situation of the content and structure of urban CAPs adopted or published after AR5 is not well represented in the literature. This literature void presents a difficulty in holistically understanding the strengths and weaknesses of existing urban CAPs, hence painting a clearer picture for future urban climate planning. Here, we performed detailed qualitative content analyses on CAPs from 278 cities worldwide. This study sought to achieve two specific objectives;(1) to critically analyse the content and structure of urban CAPs adopted or published from 2015 to 2022, and (2) to examine the extent to which sampled urban CAPs align with selected climate action best practices. There have been variations in the adoption or publication of urban CAPs from 2015 to 2022 across city types and world regions. Our analysis showed a rise in the number of CAPs adopted or published during the global COVID-19 lockdown period as compared to the post and pre-COVID-19 lockdown period. We also observed a transition from developing mainly mitigation-focused CAPs pre-COP21 to both mitigation and adaptation CAPs. About 96% of the sampled urban CAPs are focusing on the transport sector to achieve climate objectives. More than half (55%) of cities with climate change mitigation-related urban CAPs (147 urban CAPs of 267 urban CAPs) do not have deep decarbonization pledges, with less than a quarter of the pledges likely to be achieved by 2030. We found that about 81% of 120 cities with deep decarbonization pledges are more likely to report baseline emission inventory in their urban CAPs. A lack of inclusiveness, transparency and verification, evidence-based climate planning, comprehensiveness, and integration were the most common areas of non-alignment with best practices. The explicit consideration of synergies, trade-offs, or conflicts is significantly low. The evidence is a catalyst for understanding the dynamics in existing urban CAPs to shape future urban climate action planning. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

Understanding immunity: an alternative framework beyond defense and strength.

In this paper we address the issue of how to think about immunity. Many immunological writings suggest a straightforward option: the view that the immune system is primarily a system of defense, which naturally invites the talk of strong immunity and strong immune response. Despite their undisputable positive role in immunology, such metaphors can also pose a risk of establishing a narrow perspective, omitting from consideration phenomena that do not neatly fit those powerful metaphors. Building on this analysis, we argue two things. First, we argue that the immune system is involved not only in defense. Second, by disentangling various possible meanings of 'strength' and 'weakness' in immunology, we also argue that such a construal of immunity generally contributes to the distortion of the overall picture of what the immune system is, what it does, and why it sometimes fails. Instead, we propose to understand the nature of the immune system in terms of contextuality, regulation, and trade-offs. We suggest that our approach provides lessons for a general understanding of the organizing principles of the immune system in health and disease. For all this to work, we discuss a wide range of immunological phenomena.

"Natural Laboratory Complex" for novel primate neuroscience.

We propose novel strategies for primate experimentation that are ethically valuable and pragmatically useful for cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychiatric research. Specifically, we propose Natural Laboratory Complex or Natural Labs, which are a combination of indoor-outdoor structures for studying free moving and socially housed primates in natural or naturalistic environment. We contend that Natural Labs are pivotal to improve primate welfare, and at the same time to implement longitudinal and socio-ecological studies of primate brain and behavior. Currently emerging advanced technologies and social systems (including recent COVID-19 induced "remote" infrastructures) can speed-up cognitive neuroscience approaches in freely behaving animals. Experimental approaches in natural(istic) settings are not in competition with conventional approaches of laboratory investigations, and could establish several benefits at the ethical, experimental, and economic levels.

Impact assessment of China?s inter-provincial trade on trade-related sustainable development goals

Assessing progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is among the most pressing areas for sustainability research. Both international and inter-provincial trade has substantial impacts on sustainability. However, little is known about the impacts of inter-provincial trade on progress towards achieving the SDG targets and the relationships among SDG indicators through time and space. Here we, taking Chinese inter-provincial trade as a study case, used a spatiotemporal approach and the multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model to examine changes in six SDG indicators and their relationships within China in the year 2002, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2017. The results showed that (1) Chinese inter-provincial trade improved the trade-related SDG target scores of 16 provinces out of the evaluated 30 provinces but reduced the trade-related SDG target scores of the remaining 14 provinces. (2) Chinese inter-provincial trade and distant trade were more beneficial for achieving the trade-related SDG targets in developed provinces (e.g., Beijing), which thus improved China's overall SDG target scores. In contrast, Chinese inter-provincial trade suppressed the trade-related SDG target scores of developing provinces (e.g., Guangxi). (3) Individual SDG indicators, SDG target bundles, and interactions among SDG indicators changed across both time and space. (4) The no-trade scenario in Hubei province during the COVID-19 pandemic will have a clearly inhibiting effect on China's overall SDG target scores. Besides, trade with adjacent provinces would improve Hubei's SDG target scores, while these trades have more negative effects (approximately 50-83% of provinces suffered from greater reductions in SDG target scores) on Hubei's adjacent provinces. Our study suggests the spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics of SDG indicators and their interactions deserve more attention, which can help identify the drivers behind these changing relationships.

The role of metadehumanization in explaining sacred conflict

Four studies examine the social cognitive mechanisms through which sacred values produce social schisms, focusing on the role of metadehumanization. Using hypothetical scenarios, Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that violators of sacred values feel dehumanized by value holders and reciprocate this dehumanization. Using real sacred values, Studies 3 and 4 show similar effects. Study 3 further controls for the effects of mere disagreement and finds participants felt more dehumanized when family members disagreed with them in discussions of sacred values compared to preferences. Study 4 examined the sacralization of mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that the inflammatory effect of sacralization on hostility was in part explained by metadehumanization, leading to greater reciprocal dehumanization, thus fueling conflict. In conclusion, results suggest metadehumanization may underlie the often explosive nature of sacred conflict.

Impact assessment of China's inter-provincial trade on trade-related sustainable development goals

Assessing progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is among the most pressing areas for sustainability research. Both international and inter–provincial trade has substantial impacts on sustainability. However, little is known about the impacts of inter–provincial trade on progress towards achieving the SDG targets and the relationships among SDG indicators through time and space. Here we, taking Chinese inter–provincial trade as a study case, used a spatiotemporal approach and the multi–regional input–output (MRIO) model to examine changes in six SDG indicators and their relationships within China in the year 2002, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2017. The results showed that (1) Chinese inter–provincial trade improved the trade–related SDG target scores of 16 provinces out of the evaluated 30 provinces but reduced the trade–related SDG target scores of the remaining 14 provinces. (2) Chinese inter–provincial trade and distant trade were more beneficial for achieving the trade–related SDG targets in developed provinces (e.g., Beijing), which thus improved China's overall SDG target scores. In contrast, Chinese inter–provincial trade suppressed the trade–related SDG target scores of developing provinces (e.g., Guangxi). (3) Individual SDG indicators, SDG target bundles, and interactions among SDG indicators changed across both time and space. (4) The no–trade scenario in Hubei province during the COVID–19 pandemic will have a clearly inhibiting effect on China's overall SDG target scores. Besides, trade with adjacent provinces would improve Hubei's SDG target scores, while these trades have more negative effects (approximately 50–83% of provinces suffered from greater reductions in SDG target scores) on Hubei's adjacent provinces. Our study suggests the spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics of SDG indicators and their interactions deserve more attention, which can help identify the drivers behind these changing relationships.

Identifying interlinkages between urbanization and Sustainable Development Goals

Urbanization and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are important global issues in the current “Anthropocene”. Climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated global urban problems and hindered the ability to meet SDGs on time, while the broad interlinkages between urbanization and the SDGs remain poorly understood. This study shows that among the interlinkages of urbanization with 17 SDGs, synergies are observed with 151 targets (89%), among which 67 (40%) have stronger synergies, and trade-offs are observed with 66 targets (39%), among which 31 (18%) have stronger trade-offs. Furthermore, the synergies and trade-offs between urbanization and the achievement of SDGs are specifically analyzed based on four fundamental interaction fields: (a) public health and social welfare equality;(b) energy consumption and economic growth;(c) natural resource use and ecological/environmental impacts;and (d) international cooperation for development. Finally, based on these analyses, we propose four recommendations for sustainable urbanization, including (a) shared well-being and spatial justice for urban and rural residents;(b) guiding green and low-carbon urban development;(c) building resilient cities;and (d) promoting multilateral cooperation in cities, which can contribute to the achievement of SDGs by 2030. © 2022

The Association between Food Insecurity and Making Hunger-Coping Trade-Offs during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Sources of Food and Easiness in Food Access.

Many individuals make financial, health and food related trade-offs to cope with the challenges of food insecurity and to meet their household needs for healthy, affordable food. A survey (n = 652) was conducted in nine rural counties in South Carolina, USA, during the COVID-19 pandemic from August 2020 to July 2021. We examine if level of food insecurity predicts hunger-coping trade-offs, and whether this relationship is moderated by easiness in food access and dependence on different food source types. Nearly one-third of the respondents experienced food insecurity. Making trade-offs between paying for food and other household expenses was common among the rural residents as on average they made nearly one type of trade-off in the past three months. The number of trade-offs was the highest among highly food insecure respondents (mean = 2.64), followed by moderately food insecure respondents (mean = 1.66); low food insecure respondents had the lowest number of trade-offs (mean = 0.39). The moderating effects of easiness in food access and dependence on food sources varied by level of food insecurity. The results show that individuals at different levels of food insecurity use different strategies to fulfill their food needs and social programs are more often utilized than personal food sources. We conclude with implications for addressing food insecurity in order to reduce the possibility of making trade-offs.

Modeling pandemics and vaccine and equity issues

We present some recent activity in Ontario on the mathematical modeling of COVID-19 and the development of optimal strategies for vaccine distribution that take into account equity issues.

The role of environmental, social, and governance responsibilities and economic development on achieving the SDGs: evidence from BRICS countries

Sustainable development goal (SDG) achievement has gained increasing trend due to the current economic uncertainty that demands the attention of scholars, practitioners, and regulators. Hence, the study examines the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) responsibilities and economic development such as economic growth, net national income and FDI on the SDG achievements in BRICS countries. The secondary data is considered for the study which was collected from various resources like SDG reports published by the united nation and World Bank Indicators (WDI) from 1991 to 2020. The current research has checked them without structural breaks stationarity using Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test, Phillips-Perron (PP) test, and Kwiatkowski-Phillips-Schmidt-Shin (KPSS), while stationarity with structural breaks has been examined using the 'zivot-andrews' test. The study also employed the ARDL technique to verify the association among the constructs. The findings revealed that ESG responsibilities, economic growth, net national income, FDI, and inflation positively correlate with SDG achievements in BRICS countries. This article provides help to the regulators while making policies related the SDG achievement.

The Future of Liberal Democracies, Pandemic Trade-Offs, and the Role of Social Sciences

The article is written in the form of an essay (for Dahrendorf Symposium), speculative in essence, yet based on the new selected evidence concerning peoples' opinions and attitudes disclosed during the pandemic. It starts with remarks about predictions in social sciences and the complex problems in studying the shocks created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Second part is devoted to major challenges and trade-offs states, governments and citizens have to face currently, focusing on one particular which is crucial for the future quality of liberal democracies, that is a trade-off between democratic norms and values and surveillance practices. The article concludes with a discussion of several issues, which have become more salient during the pandemic, challenging our previous knowledge about them. © 2020 The authors.

The limited power of monetary policy in a pandemic

We embed an extension of the canonical epidemiology model in a New Keynesian model and analyze the role of monetary policy as a virus spreads and triggers a sizable recession. In our framework, consumption is less sensitive to real interest changes in a pandemic than in normal times because individuals have to balance the benefits of taking advantage of intertemporal substitution opportunities with the risk of becoming sick. Accommodative monetary policies such as forward guidance result in large increases in inflation but have only limited effects on real economic activity as long as the risk of infection is large. The optimal design of monetary policy hinges on how other tools used to limit virus spread, such as lockdowns, are deployed. If the lockdown policy is conducted optimally, monetary policy should focus on keeping inflation on target. However, if the lockdown policy is not optimal, the central bank faces a trade-off between its objective of stabilizing inflation and the necessity to minimize the inefficiencies associated with virus spread.

The impact of military expenditures on out of pocket healthcare payments: international evidence based on a dynamic panel data analysis

Purpose The empirical analysis dealt in this paper emphasizes on the impact of military expenditures on out of pocket (OOP) healthcare payments. A sizeable body of defence economics literature has investigated the trade-off between military and public health expenditure, by testing the crowding-out or growth-stimulating hypothesis;does military expenditure scaling up crowd-out or promote governmental resources for social and welfare programs, including also state health financing? Design/methodology/approach In this study, panel data from 2000 to 2018 for 129 countries is used to examine the impact of military expenditure on OOP healthcare payments. The dataset of countries is categorized into four income-groups based on World Bank's income-group classification. Dynamic panel data methodology is applied to meet study objectives. Findings The findings of this study indicate that military expenditure positively affects OOP payments in all the selected groups of countries, strongly supporting in this way the crowding-out hypothesis whereby increased military expenditure reduces the public financing on health. Study econometric results are robust since different and alternative changes in specifications and samples are applied in our analysis. Practical implications Under the economic downturn backdrop for several economies in the previous decade and on the foreground of a potential limited governmental fiscal space related to the Covid-19 pandemic adverse economic effects, this study provides evidence that policy-makers have to adjust their government policy initiatives and prioritize Universal Health Coverage objectives. Consequently, the findings of this study reflect the necessity of governments as far as possible to moderate military expenditures and increase public financing on health in order to strengthen health care systems efficiency against households OOP spending for necessary healthcare utilization. Originality/value Despite the fact that a sizeable body of defence economics literature has extensively examined the impact of military spending on total and public health expenditures, nevertheless to the best of our knowledge there is no empirical evidence of any direct effect of national defence spending on the main private financing component of health systems globally;the OOP healthcare payments.

Ethical reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic in the global seafood industry: navigating diverse scales and contexts of marine values and identities.

The global crisis instantiated by the COVID-19 pandemic opens a unique governance window to transform the sustainability, resilience, and ethics of the global seafood industry. Simultaneously crippling public health, civil liberties, and national economies, the global pandemic has exposed the diverse values and identities of actors upon which global food systems pivot, as well as their interconnectivity with other economic sectors and spheres of human activity. In the wake of COVID-19, ethics offers a timely conceptual reframing and methodological approach to navigate these diverse values and identities and to reconcile their ensuing policy trade-offs and conflicts. Values and identities denote complex concepts and realities, characterized by plurality, fluidity and dynamics, ambiguity, and implicitness, which often hamper responsive policy-setting and effective governance. Rather than adopt a static characterization of specific value or identity types, I introduce a novel hierarchical conceptualization of values and identities made salient by scale and context. I illustrate how salient values and identities emerge at multiple scales through three seafood COVID-19 contextual examples in India, Canada, and New Zealand, where diverse seafood actors interact within local, domestic (regional/national), and global seafood value chains, respectively. These examples highlight the differential values and identities, and hence differential vulnerabilities, resilience, and impacts on seafood actors with the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitate differentiated policy interventions if they are to be responsive to those affected. An ethical governance framework that integrates diverse marine values and identities, buttressed by concrete deliberation and decision-support protocols and tools, can transform the modus operandi of global seafood systems toward both sustainable and ethical development.

MASSIFICATION OF SILVOPASTORAL SYSTEMS: A LONG AND WINDING ROAD

Background: The global community has recognized silvopastoral systems (SPS) as an alternative to contribute to the resolution of various socio-environmental problems derived from extensive livestock farming, deforestation, climate change and the current pandemic derived from SARS-CoV-2. Its technical and social viability has motivated various sectors of society to promote its massification or scaling. However, although there are important advances in agroforestry and silvopastoral scientific research in southeastern Mexico, there are no works that address the experiences of massification of silvopastoral systems. Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the experiences of massification of various projects of SSP, the participation of social actors and the barriers and tradeoffs in their implementation in the state of Chiapas (Mexico). Methodology: The study considered an analysis period from 2000 to 2020. A review of scientific and technical documents was made, various social actors were interviewed (livestock producers, technicians from international and national development agencies, technicians and advisers from peasant organizations, technicians from non-governmental organizations, academics from research centers and universities) who have promoted SPS and good livestock practices in Chiapas. Two participatory workshops were held. Results. A timeline was built and five relevant experiences of massification of SPS in various agroecological regions of Chiapas were analyzed: A) Scolel Té Project, b) Puyacatengo Agreement (Red Selva), c) Sustainable Rural Development Project in Biological Corridors , d) Innovative mechanisms for a cooperation program towards adaptation to climate change in the Sierra Madre and Costa de Chiapas, e) Early Action Initiatives for Mitigation in livestock areas (IAT-REDD +) and e) Agrosilvopastoral Biodiversity and Livestock Landscapes Project Sustainable (BioPaSOS). Various socio-environmental barriers and alliances between multiple social actors are shown. Implications: The work makes a contribution to the historicity of the massification processes of SPS and to the process of change in livestock. It is necessary to continue with an in-depth analysis of the social and technological impact that the various massification initiatives shown have had. Conclusions: The massification process that occurred between the years of study has shown the importance of alliances between various social sectors (producers-development agencies-academia-Governments), which has allowed the transition from local projects to projects with broad territorial coverage. © 2021 Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan. All rights reserved.

Learning from sustainability practice: case examples from Accor, Scandic and Atlantica

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the importance of trade-offs between the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and creating a holistic, integrated approach.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses secondary data including official reports from three companies: Accor Hotels, Scandic Hotels and Atlantica Hotels. Third party references from research sources are included.FindingsThis study concludes that companies are adopting corporate social responsibility practices focussed on stakeholders’ needs. Additionally, the general trend in the case study hotel companies is towards similar sustainability approaches though less progress is reported in addressing the more complex issues relating to SDG 8 and SDG 10 because sustainability targets are more difficult to determine, implement and measure.Originality/valueThe three selected companies were chosen based on location criteria. Accor has a worldwide presence whereas the other two companies could be considered as multinational companies. Scandic is a Swedish company operating in Scandinavian countries whereas Atlantica is a Cyprus-based company operating in Greece and Egypt. The contrast among the selected companies displays different considerations regarding their commitment to SDGs.

Lives and livelihoods trade-offs: Which COVID-19 strategies for which countries?

Are COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) at the expense of economic outcomes? Furthermore, given the heterogeneities in macroeconomic conditions, should countries follow a unified COVID-19 strategy such as “No-COVID”? This study provides cross-country evidence that attempts to address these critical questions during the pandemic era. Given the substantial heterogeneity in unemployment rates of OECD countries, it is necessary to understand the effects of NPIs’ implementation, which could vary widely across conditional quantiles of unemployment rates. Using monthly data from OECD countries from February 2020 to June 2021 and quantile regression analysis for panel data (QRPD), we explore the impacts of NPIs on economic outcomes. The results indicate that NPIs effectively contained the pandemic and had substantial positive impacts on low quantiles of unemployment rates. However, at high quantiles of unemployment rates, the trade-off is viable and significant. In addition, countries’ vaccination policies and scales also predict their economic outlooks, especially when combined with non-pharmaceutical interventions. Based on these findings, this study suggests different COVID-19 strategies for different groups of countries according to their macroeconomic settings. The trade-off between lives and livelihoods is much more troublesome and prevalent in countries with unfavorable macroeconomic conditions and hinders them from pursuing strategies such as “No-COVID”. © 2022 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

Evolutionary selection for travel agencies under COVID-19 adversity through the lens of life history theory

This study draws on life history theory to rationalize how tourism enterprises make decisions and evolve during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a case study approach, the current work improvises the house of trade-off paradox as a visual metaphoric framework that integrates three major dyadic trade-off pairs along with four organizational resource configuration aspects. This inquiry further synthesizes the wheel of selection strategy to pinpoint a mechanism in which tourism agencies mutate to adapt to a new normal based on acute environmental shocks. We further provide practical implications for operators with valuable insights germane to post-pandemic recovery.

HEALTH VERSUS WEALTH DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC SAVING LIVES OR SAVING THE ECONOMY?

Efforts to combat the COVID-19 crisis were characterized by a difficult trade-off: the stringency of the lockdowns decreased the spread of the virus, but amplified the damage to the economy. In this study, we analyze public attitude toward this trade-off using a survey-embedded experiment conducted with a quota sample of more than 7,000 respondents from Southeast Europe, collected in April and May 2020. The results show that public opinion generally favored saving lives even at a steep economic cost. However, the willingness to trade lives for the economy was greater when the heterogeneous health and economic consequences of lockdown policies for the young and the elderly were emphasized. Free-market views also make people more accepting of higher casualties, as do fears that the instituted measures will lead to a permanent expansion of government control over society.