The impact of positive thinking on anxiety level of corona virus/ covid-19 infection during the lockdown among UNRWA staff in Jordan.

The current study aimed to identify the impact of positive thinking on the anxiety of Coronavirus infection through the lockdown among UNRWA staff in Jordan. To achieve the objectives of the study, three measures were developed, the Positive Thinking Scale, the anxiety level of Coronavirus Infection Scale, and the lockdown Scale. A sample of (2036) employees responded to the measures. The results showed that the level of anxiety for COVID -19 infection among the sample was high, and statistically significant differences were found in the level of Covid-19 infection anxiety according to the sex variable for females, also statistically differences were found in the level of anxiety in COVID-19 infection according to age in favor of (31-40), and statistically differences for the social status in favor of married couples. Results also showed a direct negative impact of positive thinking variable on the level of anxiety associated with COVID-19 infection, and an effect of positive thinking on the level of anxiety during activating the lockdown. The study recommends designing training programs for employees to help them adapt to different circumstances and enable them to continue performing their assigned work. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of An-Najah University Journal for Research, B: Humanities is the property of An-Najah National University 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.)

Breastfeeding in emergencies with assessment of recent humanitarian crises and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The world is becoming a place where the number of emergencies and humanitarian crises is increasing rapidly due to economic inequality and the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries, as well as climate changes leading to disruption of the natural balance and development of natural disasters. The most vulnerable groups of the population including women and children always are affected by disasters. The younger the child, the more vulnerable he/she is, especially if not naturally fed or having a mother or parents. Various humanitarian organizations have been involved in a number of crises, with the World Health Organization and UNICEF and other United Nations-related organizations leading the way. In the care of mothers, infants and young children, most important is to ensure appropriate nutrition because otherwise it can result in life-threatening health conditions. The lack of protection, support and promotion of natural nutrition (breastfeeding) and its disruption and undermining by uncritical and uncontrolled donations and distribution of infant formula are the biggest challenge due to the lack of information of mothers, those who provide support in emergencies from both governmental and non-governmental sector, without cross-sectoral cooperation, thus causing uncoordinated and sometimes harmful interventions. Therefore, it is recommended that governments issue guidelines on infant and young child nutrition prior to the occurrence of an emergency, and crisis management regulations in which the issue of infant and young child nutrition will be given due consideration.Copyright © 2020 Croatian Paediatric Society. All rights reserved.

The challenge of 'COVID-19 free' Australia: international travel restrictions and stranded citizens

This paper uses Australia as a case study to analyse restrictions on international movement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions on inbound and outbound travel have been a key tool deployed by governments across the globe to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic. We use 'COVID zero' Australia as a case study to assess an extreme response to restricting international movement. We look at the recent complaint launched before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The action was raised with the support of a group of Australian citizens stranded abroad with the assistance of the expert in Australian constitutional law who is the second author of this paper. We argue that the measures implemented by Australian governments to effectively eliminate COVID-19 domestically have provided insufficient consideration of, and alternatives to, the current system's failure to facilitate essential international travel. For this reason, Australia's framework for restricting international movement lacks proportionality and necessity from the perspective of human rights and freedoms. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Human Rights is the property of Routledge 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.)

Fit for purpose? The patents regime, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and sustainable development

This article uses data from several publicly available databases to show that the distribution of intellectual property for frontier technologies, including those useful for sustainable development, is very highly skewed in favor of a handful of developed countries. The intellectual property rights (IPR) regime as it exists does not optimize the global flow of technology and know-how for the attainment of the sustainable development goals and is in need of updating. Some features of the Fourth Industrial Revolution imply that the current system of patents is even more in need of reform than before. COVID-19 vaccines and therapies and the vast inequality in access to these has highlighted the costs of inaction. We recommend several policy changes for the international IPR regime. Broadly, these fall into three categories: allowing greater flexibility for developing countries, reassessing the appropriateness of patents for technologies that may be considered public goods, and closing loopholes that allow for unreasonable intellectual property protections.

Immediate Urgency and Broad Agreement: Early Public COVID-19 Responses of Religiously Affiliated Non-Governmental Organizations

The chapter analyzes official, religiously affiliated constructions of the pandemic at the beginning of the first COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe and North America. More concretely, it looks at the immediate, official, publicized constructions of the pandemic by members of the so-called ‘Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations (CRNGO)' in April 2020. By doing so, the article highlights that the respective constructions of the pandemic by representatives of the CRNGO have been dominated by a sense of broad agreement as well as immediate urgency. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Global inequalities in tuberculosis

The global burden of TB disease is characterised by inequalities throughout the cascade of care. These inequalities are evident across regions and within countries. Indeed, populations with the highest burden of TB disease have the least access for TB health services for prevention, timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment and follow-up. In the face of global health emergencies such as COVID-19, these inequalities increase, resulting in worse outcomes for key populations that are already disproportionately affected by TB disease. Children bear the biggest brunt of the inequalities in the TB cascade of care. There is therefore an urgent need to address these, in line with the United Nations SDGs for improving health and well-being for all.Copyright © ERS 2023.

Peacekeeping Operations: Challenges and Opportunities in the Midst of Health Crises

The COVID-19 crisis has brought about significant challenges to international organizations operating in fragile contexts. Among others, the case of United Nations (UN) and its peacekeeping operations (PKOs) counting more than 80, 000 personnel from 121 countries is certainly prominent. Not only do PKOs rely on international personnel's frequent rotations, but they also rely on freedom of movement to carry out their mandate. How have PKOs adapted and responded to the crisis? How do PKOs balance the need to protect vulnerable civilians with support to governments' responses to the crisis and safeguard legitimacy? This chapter explores the impact of the health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic on PKOs by focusing on two key aspects. First, it evaluates the current PKO efforts in managing the crisis in light of two previous health emergencies occurring in the midst of PKOs, namely Ebola in Western Africa and cholera in Haiti. It will reflect on the legitimacy costs associated with the risk of UN personnel being seen as vector of the disease. Second, it identifies challenges and opportunities created by the emergency. The key challenges stem from the inevitable delay or interruption of ongoing negotiation processes, and the associated risks of armed groups taking advantage of the uncertain situation. But there are some opportunities to consider. Operational adaptation becomes a need as missions have to prioritize civilians' protection without violating governments' policies on movement. Furthermore, halting frequent personnel rotations has likely increased cohesion within missions among soldiers but also between soldiers and missions' leaders. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Protecting the Right to Social Participation of Older Persons in Long-Term Care under Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn public attention to the long-standing issues of social isolation and loneliness of older persons living in residential long-term care (LTC) and has increased awareness of the importance of social participation. This article aims to contribute towards a shift in the understanding of how the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) may be applied in aged-care. It argues that the CRPD, in particular Article 19 (Living independently and being included in the community), has considerable potential to protect the right to social participation. It is also argued that changes in LTC settings and support may assist in protecting this right. Furthermore, the participation of older persons in this process and cultural change within LTC provider organizations and the general community is crucial. However, applying the Convention in the aged-care context raises challenges that require further consideration by human rights mechanisms.

Refugees and Immigration Policies

This article looks at the challenges faced in handling the influx of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees seeking protection, and for others a livelihood. However, at the rate that it had been going in the past, Global North countries found it difficult to handle the sudden influx. Bottlenecks occurred at the borders, and some were kept in detention facilities (US) and others in camps (European Union [EU]). There has been an abject failure in upholding international law, which according to the 1951 Geneva Conventions and 1967 Additional Protocol stipulate, countries are obligated to not conduct refoulement upon those seeking asylum if it is proven that they will not be safe, nor return to any other country where their safety is compromised. What complicates the matter is the current Covid-19 pandemic, as countries are exploiting the circumstances, violating international law in the name of protecting their citizens from the "spread” of Covid-19. A closer look at what America and EU have done to address both issues is done. The article concludes with suggestions on how to reform immigration policy based on the scholarly research found. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Kalakip: A Short Animation Film about Depression in Young Adults during COVID-19 pandemic

This paper highlights the functionality of producing a 2-Dimensional animation as a visual supporting material to raise awareness about depression. The study explored the significance of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good health and well-being, wherein the discussion emphasized the importance of managing the mental health, particularly raising public awareness about depression among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The researcher followed the conceptual framework of multimedia production cycle in creating a short-Animated film. The creation of story line and visual assets described the notion of depressive disorder for audiences to have a sense of urgency, awareness, and learnings on how the young adult students become vulnerable in depression throughout the pandemic. © 2022 IEEE.

Growing Divides between Establishment and Climate Justice Proponents: A View from the Extremes of South Africa

The failure of elites negotiating global public goods - e.g., ending COVID-19 "vaccine apartheid,"forging geopolitical stability, reducing inequality, regulating international financial flows, and avoiding world recession - is nowhere more dangerous than the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's refusal to cut greenhouse gas emissions deeply and fairly. "Climate Justice"principles are ignored, so divisions grow between what ruling elites consider possible, and what activists demand. This is evident in a South Africa suffering among the world's highest emissions levels, extreme weather events, the worst inequality, and a neoliberal, carbon-addicted corporate power bloc determining most of the policy terrain. But activists are forcefully resisting. © Patrick Bond, 2023.

Global Inequality and the Fracture of (Proactive) Solidarity

In this paper, I wish to examine what is meant by this new concept of "international solidarity”. The study will be presented in a number of sections, beginning with a general introduction that sets out the problem and emphasizes the importance of the document produced by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. I will then detail certain general characteristics of the normative concept of solidarity and clarify a number of methodological assumptions and historical data. Thirdly, I will forward an in-depth discussion on the analysis of and debate around the concept of solidarity in its bioethical context, both prior to and during the pandemic. Finally, I will attempt to analyze what I call the ‘rhetoric of solidarity', as set forth by international organizations and political leaders of the Global North during the pandemic, understanding it as aid in the face of the morally objectionable global inequality and injustice caused by a number of factors, the principal one being the current system of patents imposed by the WTO and the conversion of vaccines into commodities and even ‘positional goods'.

Of Peacekeepers and Pandemics

Little is known about the role social media can play in support of peacekeeping missions, especially in times of crisis. Looking at the use of Facebook by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, this article reconstructs social media practices of a peacekeeping mission in a global crisis. To assess how UNMISS used Facebook, it first connects research on discursive legitimation efforts by international organizations with work on strategic communication. Second, it provides a content analysis on Facebook posts published by UNMISS between 2018 and 2022 to determine how the mission engaged with its audience, how it framed its engagement, what topics were being addressed, and how the Covid-19 pandemic changed these communication patterns. Results show a conscious "propaganda for peace"strategy of the peacekeeping mission as UNMISS framed itself as a positive force for the peace process, using tailored communication strategies that rarely engaged in two-way communication, even in times of crisis. © 2023 Brill Academic Publishers. All rights reserved.

Universal human rights instruments and digital literacy of older persons

The clash of global ageing with the ICT development appears a new challenge to the international community. Transferring many life activities to the global network during the 2020 pandemic has clearly proved that low digital literacy may result in social exclusion and limit enjoying various human rights. Therefore, the author of this study examines the universal human rights instruments' capability to compel States to take steps towards the inclusion of older generations into the information society, mainly through improving their digital skills. Since a worldwide convention protecting older persons' rights is still in pre – negotiations on the UN forum, she picks out provisions scattered among human rights treaties, potentially referring to digital literacy in older adults, and tries to establish their contemporary interpretation and effectiveness. The author takes the view that international human rights law and its mechanisms have the potential to affect the so-called grey digital divide. However, the provisions adopted in previous decades require a modern and inclusive interpretation corresponding to the contemporary demographic situation and the 'digital reality'. The States' obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to education, information, access to scientific achievements, and an adequate standard of living need to be overhauled and updated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Human Rights is the property of Routledge 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 abstract 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 abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Water Disconnection and Vital Flow Policies: International Practices in Medium- and High-Income Countries

Water access is recognized as a human right by the United Nations since 2010. However, even when piped water is available, the economic crisis has limited poorer households to afford those services on a regular basis. Users become debtors as utilities face growing service costs and shrinking national public funds, pushing tariffs as the main source of revenue for cost recovery. The COVID-19 pandemic lit up affordability issues and health consequences of disconnection policies. Countries worldwide banned water shutoffs during the last year, ensuring water and wastewater service access for all citizens. Although disconnection is a way to reduce the number of debtors, it is, at the same time, considered a threat to human rights statements. This study gathered information on water subsidies, disconnection and vital flow policies applied among several medium- and high-income countries, in order to analyze how utilities have dealt with default rates and if there is any difference between the approaches between medium- and high-income countries. Through case studies, this paper also aims to inspire other practitioners facing the same issues. Based on the eleven case studies presented here, we concluded that high-income countries use assistance programs over water disconnection policies when compared to medium-income ones. Water shutoffs are explicitly forbidden in the United Kingdom, Australia, and France. Although a humane alternative, water flow restrictors have limited application, especially considering the technical issues involved. © 2023 by the authors.

A New Logic of Multilateralism on Demand

In the twenty-first century, against the background of changing geopolitics, multilateralism has been emphasized even during the U.S. Donald Trump administration, which asserted "America first” and turned his back on alliances and partnerships. Denial of multilateralism by some has been rescued by other willing powers. This chapter reflects on a logic of multilateralism developed over the years, examines what multilateralism can cater to, and analyzes new trends. Beyond the immediate crisis, this chapter also examines a new logic of multilateralism on demand that will be effective for peace, stability, and prosperity in the twenty-first century, responding to the demands of today. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Global Diplomacy and Multi-stakeholderism: Does the Promise of the 2030 Agenda Hold?

The inclusion of non-state actors such as civil society, businesses, and research institutes as well as the establishment of partnerships as implementation mechanisms have become an integral part of global governance and intergovernmental diplomacy for sustainable development. This chapter assesses in how far the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals have held their promises for introducing innovative reforms in global diplomatic practices related to multi-stakeholderism, by making it more inclusive, integrative, and accountable. A mixed picture emerges, which is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This chapter also discusses the voluminous literature about multi-stakeholderism, and offers recommendations on strengthening the role of diplomats and international bureaucrats, and for making the UN system more fit for this purpose. Global diplomacy has a crucial role to play in leveraging innovative forms of multi-stakeholderism, and substantive shifts are needed. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The reshaping of the future by the Covid 19 pandemic: an assessment of the impact on population and resources

The WHO declared Covid 19 as a pandemic on the eleventh of March, 2020. This led to individuals, governments, institutions and businesses asking what impact this pandemic would have on the future. What imprint would this outbreak leave on human civilisation? Pandemics can alter the course of history. Pandemics impact people, governments, policies and economies. The pandemic has broken out at a time of significant demographic transition. 2020 was the first year in documented human history where the global population of people over the age of 60 is more than the population of children younger than 5 years of age. The richer countries have high concentrations of aging populations. Historically, pandemics have had significant impacts on cities and urban areas. Public health institutions, garbage collection, sanitation, scientific drainage and hospitals all developed to varying extents in urban responses to epidemics. The covid 19 pandemic has also brought about changes. In 2019, the United Nations reported that there had been a 33 percent increase in the population of migrants across the world. The international migrant population was put at 270 million. The previous forecast was for this population level to be attained in 2050. But the pandemic has slowed the growth of migration. The impact of the pandemic on energy markets was immediate and cataclysmic. Large parts of the global economy were forced to close down. The demand for petroleum fell by 25 percent in the United States. The demand for public transport fell by 70 percent in San Francisco, 60 percent in London and 80 percent in Italy and France between March and May 2020. Pandemics and changes in climate are inextricably linked. As humans encroach further into the wild, the United Nations expects more animal viruses to infect and affect humans. 75 percent of all emerging infectious diseases originate in animals. 60 percent of viruses infecting humans come from wildlife and livestock. Zoonotic epidemics are triggered by flooding, climate variability and other extreme weather events linked to climate change. Climate change has also expanded the span of geographies susceptible to zoonoses. Even though this pandemic has brought to the fore these dangers, steps to effectively tackle climate change and to implement practices in agriculture that are more sustainable have halted. The global food system is responsible for fulfilling the nutrition requirements of 80 percent of the world's population. This system has been greatly disturbed by the pandemic. 4 shocks account for this great disturbance: 1. The movement of agricultural goods has been disturbed by restrictions on transport. 2. Supply chains have been seriously damaged by borders being sealed and bans on exports. 3. Overall production has been reduced because of major disruptions in the supply of agricultural raw material, labor and services. 4. Food purchasing power has reduced dramatically because of job losses, especially among the socioeconomically disadvantaged sections of society.Copyright © 2020 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.