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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.)
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When people make travel decisions, they consult their imagination, considering how they would feel in the respective travel situation. Both, researchers who examine this phenomenon and practitioners executing it, commonly hold the vague assumption of an evaluative cognitive process that enables tourists to factor such information into their decision-making process. The nature and functioning of such a process is largely unknown. The authors suggest that travelers, often subconsciously, mentally simulate future hotel stays and predict future feelings to inform their decision-making, a process referred to as affective forecasting. Executing an experimental design, the authors show that actively engaging in episodic future thinking to trigger affective forecasting increases travelers' intentions toward holiday accommodations. This effect is mediated by hotel trust and risk perception, demonstrating that affective forecasting is an effective way for regaining tourists' trust and reducing their perceived risk during a pandemic. Contributions to theory and practical implications are discussed.
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This research examines the Modeling spatial relationships of the mortality of COVID-19 that were tested in 213 countries worldwide. The database used in the research included variables per 1000 population, as follows: the cumulative number of cases, hospital beds, and the unvaccinated population as health variables, the age population over 65 years, population number and population density as demographic variables for interpretation and prediction of mortality around the world. In total, it relied on 7 variables at the level of countries in the world based on the official COVID-19 data of the World Health Organization and World Bank indicators. Therefore, the aim of this research is to study whether the relationships between mortality rates and these variables differ spatially across different countries by means of applying modeling spatial relationships by Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) and Ordinary Least Squares Rregression (OLS) available in statistical tools in a GIS environment. The results showed that there are spatially homogeneous relationships at the level of the countries to the variables of the cumulative number of cases, the number of the population over the age of 65 years, and the number of the unvaccinated population, which are statistically significant and collectively explained 97% of the variation in mortality of COVID-19. In conclusion, spatial information derived from this modeling provides valuable insights regarding the spatially varying relationship of COVID-19 mortality with these potential drivers to help establish preventive measures to reduce mortality around the world.
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INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has propelled a global paradigm shift in how psychological support is delivered. Remote delivery, through phone and video calls, is now commonplace around the world. However, most adoption of remote delivery methods is occurring without any formal training to ensure safe and effective care. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this applied qualitative study was to determine practitioners' experiences of rapidly adapting to deliver psychological support remotely during COVID-19. DESIGN: We used a pragmatic paradigm and applied approach to gain perspectives related to the feasibility and perceived usefulness of synchronous remote psychological support, including views on how practitioners can be prepared. METHODS: Key informant interviews were conducted remotely with 27 specialist and non-specialist practitioners in Nepal, Perú and the USA. Interviewees were identified through purposeful sampling. Data were analysed using framework analysis. RESULTS: Respondents revealed three key themes: (i) Remote delivery of psychological support raises unique safety concerns and interference with care, (ii) Remote delivery enhances skills and expands opportunities for delivery of psychological support to new populations, and (iii) New training approaches are needed to prepare specialist and non-specialist practitioners to deliver psychological support remotely. CONCLUSIONS: Remote psychological support is feasible and useful for practitioners, including non-specialists, in diverse global settings. Simulated remote role plays may be a scalable method for ensuring competency in safe and effective remotely-delivered care.
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Purpose - study aims to investigate the relationships between global value chain (GVC)-and transportation-related determinants and economic performance. Also, moderating effects of COVID-19 on the relationships are theoretically and empirically discussed. A limitation of previous studies includes their over-reliance on the opportunities of GVC participation and larger transportation. This study represents the challenges associated with them. Also, it shows how GVC and logistics can be difficult in case of a market fluctuation such as COVID-19.Design/methodology - The sample for this study includes 828 observations from 138 countries. A semi-panel data set has been used. Six observations for each country are used to empirically test the hypotheses and a Two-way cluster model is conducted.Findings - It is confirmed that GVC forward participation contributes more than the backward participation to enhance performance. Transportation infrastructure is critical, but large scales of marine and air transportations are not positive in terms of economic performance. Stricter government response to COVID-19 negatively moderates economic performance by GVC backward participation and transportation infrastructure.Originality/value - The spread of COVID-19 is causing a severe collapse of GVC and transportation. This study empirically verifies the moderating effects of the government stringency on GVC and transportation. Previous studies usually discuss a positive impact of GVC and transportation size on economic performance. However, this study aims to show various challenges behind GVC participation and large scale transportation.
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OBJECTIVE: To identify potential barriers to care, this study examined the general psychiatry outpatient new appointment availability in the US, including in-person and telepsychiatry appointments, comparing results between insurance types (Medicaid vs. private insurance), states, and urbanization levels. METHOD: This mystery shopper study investigated 5 US states selected according to Mental Health America Adult Ranking and geography to represent the US mental health care system. Clinics across five selected states were stratified sampled by county urbanization levels. Calls were made during 05/2022-07/2022. Collected data included contact information accuracy, appointment availability, wait time (days), and related information. RESULTS: Altogether, 948 psychiatrists were sampled in New York, California, North Dakota, Virginia, and Wyoming. Overall contact information accuracy averaged 85.3%. Altogether, 18.5% of psychiatrists were available to see new patients with a significantly longer wait time for in-person than telepsychiatry appointments (median = 67.0 days vs median = 43.0 days, p < 0.01). The most frequent reason for unavailability was provider not taking new patients (53.9%). Mental health resources were unevenly distributed, favoring urban areas. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric care has been severely restricted in the US with low accessibility and long wait times. Transitioning to telepsychiatry represents a potential solution for rural disparities in access.
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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.)
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This survey of parents (N = 260) investigated children's access to library materials prior to (T-1), during (T-2), and predicted after (T-3) the COVID-19 pandemic. Preferred formats and resources used to access reading materials were compared by demographic and other factors. Results demonstrate substantial changes in access to print books and ebooks during the pandemic and overall increase in access to audiobooks;supersubstantial change in access to print books from libraries and retailers during the pandemic;overall supersubstantial decrease in access to school library books;and substantial increase in access to print books purchased from retailers. Findings suggest that library closures and limited hours during the pandemic may transform children's preferred formats and resources used to access reading materials.
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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to severe shortages of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs). As a result, extended use, limited reuse, and FFR decontamination have been utilized to extend the life of single-use FFRs. Although some studies have raised concerns that reuse could affect the FFR's ability to form a seal, no comprehensive literature review of the effect of extended use or limited reuse on FFR seal exists. Objective: The goal of this review was to assess the effect of extended use and reuse on respirator fit, with and without decontamination. Methods: Searches of PubMed and Medrxiv yielded 24 papers that included assessment of fit after extended use or limited reuse on a human. One additional handpicked paper was added. Results: Studies report a wide variation in the number of donnings and doffings before fit failure between different models of respirators. Additionally, while seal checks lack sufficient sensitivity to reliably detect fit failures, individuals who failed fit testing were often able to pass subsequent tests by re-positioning the respirator. Even with failure, respirators often maintained a substantially higher level of fit than a surgical mask, so they may still provide a level of protection in crisis settings. Conclusion: Based on currently available data, this literature review was unable to establish a consensus regarding the amount of time a respirator can be worn or the number of uses before fit failure will occur. Furthermore, variations in reuses before fit failure between different models of N95 respirators limit the ability to offer a comprehensive recommendation of greater than one reuse or a specific amount of wear time.
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OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of certified peer specialists (CPSs) in delivering telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Fourteen semistructured interviews with CPSs were conducted from August to November 2020. Data were analyzed by using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Helpful support from employers during the transition to telehealth included clear communication and access to training on telehealth technologies. Main barriers and facilitators were related to interpersonal relationships and logistical factors. CPSs reported that telehealth allowed them to continue to support the peers they serve but that the quality of interactions was not as good as with in-person services. Logistical challenges included inadequate equipment and Internet access. CONCLUSIONS: To support CPSs in delivering telehealth, employers can engage them in open and transparent communication about guidelines for service delivery, provide training and equipment, and allow them the flexibility to tailor service delivery modalities to the peers they serve.
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As the advancement in technology continues to increase, systems also need to be upgraded to meet new trends and solve developing problems. Existing systems of home automation generally focus on energy management, security, and comfort These smart homes would he more efficient if they can also perform health diagnoses. In this paper, a cost-effective IoT-based home automation system that performs the function of energy conservation, smart security, and disease detection is designed. The system uses the NodeMCU ESP8266 IoT board with its in-built Wi-Fi shield, eliminating the need to acquire a separate Wi-Fi module. The NodeMCU is interfaced with the user's android device where the connected loads on the relay modules are controlled thus enabling the system to control home appliances via an android application. The ESP8266 is also connected to a PIR sensor that checks for motion and triggers an alarm when motion is detected and connected to a contactless temperature sensor that measures the body temperature of anyone and sends the readings to the display while also triggering an alarm if the temperature is above normal indicating the sign of illness or diseases such as coronavirus, high fever, influenza. This paper presents a design of a simple system that not only assists the user to control his home appliances, conserve energy, and improve home security but also helps to protect the user from allowing covid-19-infected persons into their home.
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The current quantitative research examine how the leadership of a teacher training college in an Israeli Higher Education Institiostion (HEI) have dealt with the Covid19 crisis in an agile manner. This Perspectives presents a case study of agile leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic from the viewpoint of the college lecturers'. The Covid-19 outbreak was a ‘Black swan' events for educational institutions in Israel. Following the unprecedented transition to distance learning. The pandemic forced higher education institutions to adopt agile leadership behaviors. Previous research has given scant attention to the relationship between running an academic institution and application of an agile leadership during a crisis. The Research Goals were: 1. To analyze key processes undertaken by the leadership of the College following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, to ensure the HEI continued functioning during the crisis. 2. To examine the evaluation (degree of approval) of the lecturers regarding the steps taken by the colleges leadership. As seen from the findings: The lecturers were persistent in the remote teaching process. Their contact with the students was positive. They perceived the college's leadership as maintaining teaching processes in a highly positive way. They were aware of the ongoing training processes. They felt comfortable contacting those in official roles. The conclusions suggest that ensuring the continued functioning of an organization during a crisis requires agile leadership with skills and competencies multifaceted and direct channels of communication. If we want to sum it up in one word, it can be expressed as Agilication = agility + education + action in higher education. © 2023 by Cherkas Global University All rights reserved. Published in the USA
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Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychiatric distress, including stress, anxiety, and depression levels, among COVID-19 positive patients who were admitted between 01 July 2020 to 31 August 2020 to the COVID-19 isolation ward of the Uttar Pradesh University of Medical Sciences, Saifai, Etawah India. Participants included 100 patients, with 55 males and 45 females. The majority of admitted patients (81%) were illiterate. Out of 100 patients, 83 were married, 16 were unmarried, and only 1 was a widow. Method(s): Levels of anxiety, depression, and stress level were noted in admitted patients using Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression assessment, and Perceived Stress Scale 4 (PSS-4) assessment techniques, respectively. Result(s): Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression assessment results showed minimal, mild, and moderate depression in 9, 25, and 66 patients, respectively, with a 10.6 median score of PHQ-9. Mild, moderate, and severe anxiety (GAD-7 score) was present in 22, 28, and 50 of the patients surveyed. The mean Perceived Stress Scale 4 (PSS-4) was also analyzed, and it reported 6.1 values. The results of the study demonstrated that the patients had a high label of psychiatric distress, but still, admitted patients believe that they will come out from this pandemic condition. Conclusion(s): Although patients claimed psychiatric distress and mental health illness, they still denied the requirement of any mental health professionals to minimize stress levels and were satisfied with the medical facilities available in a hospital located in a rural area.Copyright © 2022 Bentham Science Publishers.
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Purpose: This study sought to analyze the correlation between artificial intelligence (AI) and libraries and examine whether there were any shifts in research trends related to these two topics during the coronavirus pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The study gathered secondary data from the Scopus website using the keywords "AI,” "library” and "repository,” from 1993 to 2022. Data were re-analyzed using the bibliometric software VOSviewer to examine the trending country's keyword relations and appearance and Biblioshiny to study the publication metadata. Findings: Index keywords, such as "human,” "deep learning,” "machine learning,” "surveys” and "open-source software,” became popular during 2020, being closely related to digital libraries. Additionally, the annual scientific production of papers increased significantly in 2021. Words related to data mining also had the most significant growth from 2019 to 2022 because of the importance of data mining for library services during the pandemic. Practical implications: This study provides insight for librarians for the implementation of AI to support repositories during the pandemic. Librarians can learn how to maximize the AI-based repository services in academic libraries during the pandemic. Furthermore, academic libraries can create policies for repository services using AI. Social implications: This study can lead researchers, academicians and practitioners in conducting research on AI in library repositories. Originality/value: As research on AI and digital repositories remains limited, the study identifies themes and highlights the knowledge gap existing in the field. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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This chapter critiques Western development paradigms that have been utilised by African countries for decades in their quest to develop themselves in the post-colonial era. The former have been touted by Western development institutions and theorists for many years as the most effective modalities for advancing the continent. The discussion argues that Western development paradigms failed to extricate Africa from its inherited underdevelopment, stemming from colonial rule and antecedent imperialistic forays into Africa. In many respects, ‘development' was introduced to Africans as a non-African construct that was superimposed on the continent's superstructures and its various sociopolitical and economic systems. If there is anything that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed to the world, it is how ineffectual Western development tools are for Africa's advancement. The pandemic has also shown that Western development paradigms failed to provide solutions to a plethora of challenges that African countries have encountered for decades and which have been compounded by COVID-19. Furthermore, the neo-liberal economic model that has been promoted by Western development institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, which, inter alia, eschews universal social service provision, has been called into question by COVID-19 as tens of thousands of people died from the virus in the West. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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In this manuscript, the mathematical model of COVID-19 is considered with eight different classes under the fractional-order derivative in Caputo sense. A couple of results regarding the existence and uniqueness of the solution for the proposed model is presented. Furthermore, the fractional-order Taylor's method is used for the approximation of the solution of the concerned problem. Finally, we simulate the results for 50 days with the help of some available data for fractional differential order to display the excellency of the proposed model.
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This chapter serves as the conclusion to the whole book, which covers different regions around the globe. In this regard, it proffers global perspectives to social development's responses to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and how the world was impacted by this virus. In essence, it examines a multiplicity of issues pertaining to COVID-19. It must be noted that the issues raised in this book's chapters are not exhaustive. Nevertheless, they encompass the following: social issues, social work strategies and responses at the local and global level, responses of social work educators and students, and a focus on a post-pandemic global scenario. In arriving at the book's conclusion, the editors also reflect on their personal journeys, which they had embarked upon when they started writing this book, in dire and perilous circumstances. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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COVID-19 has been a global pandemic. Flattening the curve requires intensive testing, and the world has been facing a shortage of testing equipment and medical personnel with expertise. There is a need to automate and aid the detection process. Several diagnostic tools are currently being used for COVID-19, including X-Rays and CT-scans. This study focuses on detecting COVID-19 from X-Rays. We pursue two types of problems: binary classification (COVID-19 and No COVID-19) and multi-class classification (COVID-19, No COVID-19 and Pneumonia). We examine and evaluate several classic models, namely VGG19, ResNet50, MobileNetV2, InceptionV3, Xception, DenseNet121, and specialized models such as DarkCOVIDNet and COVID-Net and prove that ResNet50 models perform best. We also propose a simple modification to the ResNet50 model, which gives a binary classification accuracy of 99.20% and a multi-class classification accuracy of 86.13%, hence cementing the ResNet50's abilities for COVID-19 detection and ability to differentiate pneumonia and COVID-19. The proposed model's explanations were interpreted via LIME which provides contours, and Grad-CAM, which provides heat-maps over the area(s) of interest of the classifier, i.e., COVID-19 concentrated regions in the lungs, and realize that LIME explains the results better. These explanations support our model's ability to generalize. The proposed model is intended to be deployed for free use.
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Background: COVID-19, a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2), was first diagnosed in the patients from Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Within a cou-ple of months of infection, it was declared as pandemic by the World health organization. COVID-19 has become the most contagious infection with a serious threat to global health. In this review, we aimed to discuss the pathogenesis, diagnostics, current treatments and potential vaccines for COVID-19. Method(s): An extensive literature search was conducted using keywords "COVID-19";"Coron-avirus";"SARS-Cov-2";"SARS" in public domains of Google, Google scholar, PubMed, and Sci-enceDirect. Selected articles were used to construct this review. Result(s): SARS-Cov-2 uses the Spike (S) protein on its surface to recognize the receptor on an-giotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and bind with 10-folds greater affinity than SARS-Cov-1. Molecular assays and immunoassays are the most frequently used tests, whereas computed tomog-raphy (CT) scans and artificial intelligence enabled diagnostic tools were also used in patients. In therapeutic treatment, few drugs were repurposed and about 23 therapeutic molecules, including the repurposed drugs are at different stages of the clinical trial. Similarly, the development of vaccines is also in the pipeline. Few countries have managed well to contain the spread by rapid testing and identifying the clusters. Conclusion(s): Till now, the acute complications and mortality of COVID-19 have been linked to pre-existing comorbid conditions or age. Besides the development of therapeutic strategies that include drugs and vaccine, the long term implication of COVID-19 infection in terms of the disor-der/disability in the cured/discharged patients is a new area to investigate.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.