Social Work in the Time of a Pandemic: COVID-19 and the Need for Resilience-Critical Thinking

The early effects of COVID-19 are already showing an increase of social inequality and social injustice. If we assume that the social being of humankind is inherent in social work, it should continue to work despite the shock and fundamental changes brought about by COVID-19. Our aim in this chapter is to outline the importance of working with critical assumptions and practices in social work, especially in crisis situations. We base our findings on critical resilience, critical theory, and post-modernism. Our chapter is grounded in the incidents of social work during COVID-19, both in the Global South and Global North. We critically analyze the implementation of social work from the top during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting difficulties for social workers and the clients. We conclude that social work needs to be carried out continuously, even in times of crisis. To achieve social transformation, we call for social work that is visibly connected internationally in solidarity and is implemented at the local level. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Prophets, puppets, and pinheads: Contesting the authority of science in the COVID-19 era.

This article studies resemblances between academic postmodernism and today's popular contestations of the authority of science by means of a qualitative content analysis of 657 critical online comments on a Belgian newspaper article about the COVID-19 crisis that features a prominent Belgian virologist. The comments portray scientists as (1) prophets who pretend their knowledge to be superior to competing understandings of the world; (2) puppets who figure in hidden schemes that cannot stand the light of day; and (3) pinheads who lack the intellectual competence to give solid scientifically informed advice. While the first two critiques do at first sight resemble academic postmodernism, they are in fact informed by the markedly modern understanding that objective and neutral scientific knowledge is as feasible as it is desirable. What we find, then, are not contestations of the authority of science per se, but indeed of practices deemed deviant aberrations of science.

A New Age for Religious Demand: Spiritual Care and Mental Well-Being

Faced with this new need for an enhanced spirituality, it is only natural that religions are called to play a vital role, but the target may be somewhat different from a more traditional emphasis on grand or Big Questions: creation, life and death, sin and atonement, recognition of the Absolute, heaven and hell, and so on. Since the last phase of the 20th century, an opposing philosophy has been advanced under the term "Postmodernism," which is characterized by pluralism and relativism, rejecting the universal validity of stable identity and hierarchy, emphasizing the rights of minor and weaker segments of the population, and calling for social participation of women, for example. Many problems caused by COVID-19 physically and mentally have been handled by medical doctors together with clerics, though of course the situation was unprecedented for all involved. [...]COVID-19 has intensified and highlighted the seriousness of these small and individual questions. Let us start with the development of new fields of academic research, followed by discussion of actual practices on the ground. a.Study of Death and Grief Care Study of Death (thanatology) entails the description or investigation of death and dying and people's psychological coping mechanisms, hence, it aims to contribute to alleviating sorrow and stress experienced by the dying and to the treatment of mental pain of all those who suffer in the last stage of life.

Smartphones as a Platform for Tourism Management Dynamics during Pandemics: A Case Study of the Shiraz Metropolis, Iran

During the past three years and with the spread of the pandemic, smartphones were the most important communication bridge between tourists and organizations;now more than ever, they are intertwined with the lives of tourists and destination management organizations. Although much research has been conducted in this field, the investigation of the effects of the pandemic on the technology and functionality of smartphones is one of the topics that has been less discussed. Therefore, the current research was conducted to determine the role of smartphones in tourism management dynamics during the pandemic. The research method was qualitative (content analysis, theme analysis), and 32 people participated in the interview process as a statistical sample. Then, the oral interviews were transcribed, and a thematic analysis was performed. For the analysis of the interviews, MAXQDA 2020 software was used. The results of the research indicate that smartphones were one of the most important platforms for tourism management dynamics during the pandemic, and in the event of a pandemic in the future, they can help contain the destruction to a great extent in their current position.

Has Demographic Revolution Come to a Halt? An Approximation to Successful Aging and the Need for Socio-Educational Action in the New Normal

En los últimos años ha aumentado el interés por saber cómo se integra el proceso de envejecimiento en las sociedades actuales. El cuerpo de investigación existente sobre el envejecimiento sugiere que la sociedad debe promover el apoyo al envejecimiento exitoso, lo que implica vivir más y vivir mejor. De esta forma, extensas investigaciones muestran que los adultos mayores necesitan involucrarse en la participación social (Raymond y Grenier, 2015), por lo que, en los últimos años, la educación de los adultos mayores se ha convertido en una parte decisiva de las diferentes políticas aplicadas para lograr un envejecimiento exitoso. El objetivo de este trabajo es revisar las diferentes formas en que la sociedad actúa ante el envejecimiento, con especial atención a la situación española. Este estudio examina cómo se ha transformado la demografía en las últimas décadas, considerando el impacto de la reciente pandemia de Covid-19 y las diferentes implicaciones que tiene para la calidad de vida y el envejecimiento exitoso. Se proporciona una revisión de las principales teorías del envejecimiento y recomendaciones para lograr un envejecimiento exitoso. Se presentan acciones socioeducativas vinculadas a la promoción exitosa del envejecimiento, destacando algunos programas universitarios específicamente diseñados para adultos mayores. Este esquema de aprendizaje permanente tiene el potencial de revolucionar la práctica educativa actual para integrar socialmente a los adultos mayores en las sociedades posmodernas.Alternate :In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in how the aging processis integrated into current societies. The existing body of research on aging suggests that society must promote support for successful aging, which implies living more and better. In this way, extensive research shows that older adults need to be engaged in social participation (Raymond and Grenier, 2015). Therefore, in recent years, older adult education has become a decisive part of the different policies applied to achieve successful aging. The purpose of this paper is to review the various ways in which society acts when facing aging, with special attention devoted to the Spanish situation. This study examines how demographics have transformed in the last decades, considering the impact of the recent Covid-19 pandemic and the different implications that it poses for the quality of life and successful aging. A revision of the main aging theories and recommendations to achieve successful aging are provided. Socio-educational actions linked to successful aging promotion are presented, highlighting some university programmes specifically designed for older adults. This lifelong learning scheme has the potential to revolutionize current educational practices to socially integrate older adults in postmodern societies.

TRAMPAS DEL BINARISMO: DICOTOMÍAS DE GÉNERO Y SISTEMA PUBLICITARIO (UN CASO PRÁCTICO DURANTE LA CRISIS DE LA COVID-19) 1

: This paper analyzes the socio-semiotic construction of gender in two highimpact online ads of 2021 for the Mapfre insurance company that featured two elite athletes such as Fernando Alonso and María Vicente. Through the tools of the verbal and visual semiotics and the Saussurean structuralist theory, this study analyzes the symbolic construction and the gender construction of binary concepts such as indoor vs. outdoor, vertical vs. horizontal or reason vs. passion. concepts that form an independence vs. dependence storytelling that is deeply linked to the COVID-19 health crisis. The findings from the research illustrate how, despite the postmodern's attempts of dismantling gender, the gender binarism is still a comforting storytelling. La evolución del marketing a raíz de la popularización de internet y la eclosión de los new media, lejos de reducir esa incidencia de las categorías culturales, no ha hecho más que reforzar un fenómeno que era ya una piedra angular de la comunicación comercial.

IMAGINATION NOW: IN CONVERSATION WITH RICHARD KEARNEY

Powerfully displaying the centrality of imagination in Richard Kearney's thinking, it stimulates us to consider imagination as vital for the opening of the new horizons of our being in the world and for the creative rethinking of the traditional oppositions: between reason and body, faith and atheism, word and touch, philosophy and literature, high and popular culture, cosmopolitanism and nationalism, and more. If we do not, we cannot love." [...]since the narrative mode of selfhood presupposes a self that perdures over time between birth and death, it entails moral responsibility. While all traditions share an understanding of imagination as a specifically human ability to convert "absence into presence," it is the phenomenological-hermeneutical tradition that, by focusing on imagination's creative (and not merely representational) potential, discloses with greatest force that freedom requires the ability to imagine-to surpass the givenness of a situation and envision and anticipate "the world as if" (cf. In his uncompromising analysis, Kearney invites us to overcome this dichotomous understanding and affirms that poetics serves ethics, since the poetic text "invites us to enter into its otherness and recognize ourselves in it, putting ourselves into question, losing ourselves in order to find ourselves" (Kearney 2020h, 42).

Teachers' perspectives on the purposes of social studies education: A critical analysis

Throughout the relatively short history of American social studies education, its purposes have shifted in response to social and educational changes. The contest for the American social studies curriculum has continued since its inception, influenced by various stakeholders and educational theorists. Given widespread socio-political turbulence, particularly in the years following the 2016 election, this dissertation takes place at an opportune time to revisit the purposes of social studies.This dissertation explores the perceptions of 21 pre-service and in-service teachers and asks the question, "how do teachers perceive the purposes of social studies education?" To approach this question I adopted a constructivist grounded theory methodology. I conducted 21 interviews and allowed theory to emerge from the data to answer two sub-research questions: "How do pre-service and in-service teachers perceive the purposes of social studies education?", and "How do teachers make sense of complex internal and external pressures and relate to the purposes of social studies education?"Several notable findings emerged from the results. I found teachers adhered to no singular, unifying purpose of social studies education. I argue for a fluid approach to purpose that allows for greater teacher professionalism and autonomy. When faced with pressures such as state policy, teachers exhibited varying degrees of resistance and prioritized their autonomy and the needs of their students. Teachers that resisted state policy were most commonly experienced in-service teachers. Notably, teachers perceived a debate between the importance of skills versus content in social studies education which I framed within existing educational sociology debates on the various dichotomies underpinning educational purpose;between neoconservatism and postmodernism, between instrumentalism and intrinsic meaning, between top-down policy and bottom-up context-driven instruction, between teacher alienation and self-actualization. The majority of teachers believed that developing specific social studies related skills was more important than content knowledge which highlighted a trend away from the intrinsic value of social studies knowledge and towards the instrumentalization of education. Social studies was increasingly defined by its utility. Finally, teachers noted the changing ontology of teaching itself given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and rapid technological change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Professional Notes is a quarterly feature that lists recent books published in media studies, as well as articles on film and TV published in non-media journals

Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 33:3 (2021): 126-137 [http://muse.jhu.edu/article/838042] Blackwell, Anna and Marina Gerzie. The French Review 95:2 (2021): 99-110 [https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/46949] Blutinger, Jeffrey C, "'I Know One Day a Miracle Will Happen': Bruno Balz and the Position of the Gay Artist In Nazi Germany." "Trendy Monsters: The Nazis, the Perpetrator Turn, and Popular Culture." "Cross-Species Kinship Dilemmas: Adoption and Dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park Franchise."

Taking stock of oral history archives in a village in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa: Are preservation and publishing feasible?

In South Africa, the way oral history archives of rural villagers are managed calls for attention as it can limit the inclusivity, visibility, accessibility and socio-economic development of rural communities, especially the younger generation. This article reports on a study that aimed to unpack some of the opportunities and challenges regarding the preservation and publishing of oral history archives faced by a village community in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province. In addition, the study aimed to determine what the community knew about the South African legislative requirements regarding the management of oral history archives. The study adopted a qualitative research approach, grounded theory design and a constructivist paradigm. The postmodernist theory helped in gaining insight into how the principle of provenance is central when trying to understand the importance of inclusivity in the management of archives in this digital era. The 21st century is haunted by many socioeconomic challenges such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), poverty, unemployment, inequality and social exclusion and giving space to the long-neglected oral history archives and counter archives or identity archives cannot be over-emphasised. In this context, such an initiative is viewed as critical in curbing the scourges of inequality, social exclusion and unemployment, particularly among the younger generation. Contribution: This article calls for the reimagining of the way oral history archives of a village are managed, preserved and published. In doing so, the use of a postmodernist approach and the provenance principle are viewed as critical in helping promote inclusivity and visibility of the long-neglected archives. The article argues that this approach may also help improve some of the socioeconomic challenges faced by a village community when managing their oral history archives. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Hervormde Teologiese Studies is the property of African Online Scientific Information System PTY LTD 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.)

The Sense of Safety and Active Leisure in Gated Enclaves: Evidence from Fuzhou University Campus

Scientific interest in how residential patterns affect both people’s subjective sense of safety and their behavior is increasing. The surge of gated communities in the world has changed the way we live to a great extent. Research on the gated development trend in postmodern cities is still limited;therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between residents’ attitudes toward gated enclaves and their sense of safety. At the same time, the relationship between a sense of security and active leisure behavior was also investigated. Using data collected from 350 college students in Fuzhou University Town, this study introduces a conceptual model to test the relationship between closed enclaves, campus security, and active leisure behavior while controlling population and community characteristics. The results of structural equation model analysis show that gated enclaves positively correlate with campus safety and positively correlate with active leisure behavior, and a safe campus positively correlates with active leisure behavior. The results of this study focus on the importance of gated enclaves as a living environment, and the discovery of functional characteristics of gated enclaves supports future interventions. In other words, when promoting active leisure behavior and increasing the sense of safety in the neighborhood environment, attention must be paid to the characteristics of these gated enclaves. In addition, the simultaneous measurement of these structures provides a dynamic observation of the existing environment, as well as information for future research and construction. Decision makers and urban planners can use these results to promote interaction and healthy behavior in the community under the multi-angle development of the existing access control, thereby improving residents’ sense of security, and increasing leisure participation.

Vaccine Hesitancy Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from a Focus Group Study in Croatia

Even though vaccination has been regarded as historically one of the most successful public health interventions, vaccine hesitancy still remains an important health issue. In order to explore this issue, the authors conducted four asynchronous online focus groups with the total of 40 Croatian citizens. Drawing on iterative thematic analysis, three emerging overarching reasons of vaccine hesitancy were determined: risk perception (cost-benefit ratio), belief in natural immunity and institutional distrust. In addition, three possible cross-cutting topics emerged: communication with healthcare workers, influence of media, social media and the Internet, and COVID-19 pandemic. A widespread dissatisfaction with healthcare workers is tentatively explained by proposing the concept of 'false autonomy' of patients when making vaccination decisions. As for the COVID-19 context, the participants often cited their awareness of the profit-driven healthcare system in conjunction with the development of COVID-19 vaccines. The authors conclude by framing the study results into the wider social context of individualistic consumerism, postmodern health beliefs and the characteristics of Croatian healthcare system, as well by calling for more in-depth studies of vaccine hesitancy.

Social Consequences of the Pandemic in the Context of Modern Education Problems

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the main trends of evolution of the educational sphere of society and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on it. There are four basic trends in the development of education. The first is the audiovisual turn in modern culture accompanied by a crisis of "book culture". New learning technologies, making the material extremely accessible, do not developing the basic cognitive abilities of the individual. The "will to know" is not formed», as well as the desire and willingness to overcome the inevitable difficulties that arise in its course. The next factor is the total commercialization and consumerization of educational activities. Education is increasingly understood not as a selfless transfer of the accumulated experience of civilization, but as the provision of paid services. This gives its consumer additional rights and it creates unreasonable expectations. The third circumstance is devaluation of the classical interpretation of education as a unity of teaching and upbringing. There was a clear bias towards the first one. Education, understood as the process of forming a harmonious personality, it was in the background. The final trend in the development of education is the spreading of postmodern theories and related practices into it («postmodernization»). The pandemic is proving to be the most important factor in accelerating it. Due to the distance learning format the educational space is fragmented, atomized – both physically and intellectually. Its universal principles, goals, and content are being eroded. The social experiment launched by the pandemic proved that mostly distance education is technically possible, economically profitable, increases the emphasis on the pragmatic component of education to the detriment of the axiological one and contributes to the progressive postmodernization of education. In conclusion, it is pointed out that Western philosophy in the works of its most prominent representatives repeatedly played with the metaphor of death of God (Nietzsche), subject (Foucault), author (Barthes). By analogy, the thesis is put forward (accelerated witch pandemic) about «the death of a Teacher», manifested primarily in loss by the pedagogical community and society as a whole a view of the importance of the Teacher's social mission.Alternate : Статья посвящена анализу основных современных тенденций эволюции образовательной сферы общества и влиянию на нее пандемии COVID-19. Указанные тенденции имеют собственные глубинные причины, вызревавшие в течение длительного времени. Пандемия лишь ускорила их наступление. Выделяются четыре базовых тренда развития образования. Первый из них – аудиовизуальный поворот в современной культуре, сопровождающийся кризисом «культуры книжной». Новые технологии обучения, делая материал предельно доступным, не развивают базовые познавательные способности личности. Не формируется «воля к познанию», стремление и готовность преодолевать возникающие в его ходе неизбежные трудности. Следующий фактор – тотальная коммерциализация и консьюмеризация образовательной деятельности. Образование все чаще понимается не как бескорыстная передача накопленного цивилизацией опыта, но как оказание возмездной услуги, что дает ее потребителю Ð´Ð¾Ð¿Ð¾Ð»Ð½Ð¸Ñ ÐµÐ»ÑŒÐ½Ñ‹Ðµ права и порождает необоснованные ожидания. Третье обстоятельство заключается в девальвации классической трактовки образования как единства обучения и воспитания. Произошел явный перекос в сторону первого. Воспитание, понимаемое как процесс формирования гармоничной личности, оказалось на заднем плане. Завершающим трендом в развитии образования выступает проникновение в него постмодернистских теорий и связанных с ними практик («постмодернизация»). Пандемия оказывается важнейшим фактором ее ускорения. Вследствие дистанционного формата обучения образовательное пространство дробится, атомизируется – как в физическом, так и в интеллектуальном плане. Размываются его универсальные принципы, цели и содержание. Запущенный пандемией социальный эксперимент доказал, что преимущественно дистанционное образование возможно технически, выгодно экономически, усиливает акцент на прагматический компонент образования в ущерб аксиологическому и способствует прогрессирующей постмодернизации образования. Ð’ заключение указывается, что западная философия в работах виднейших своих представителейнеоднократно обыгрывала метафору смерти Бога (Ницше), субъекта (Фуко), автора (Барт). По аналогии выдвигается тезис об (ускоренной пандемией) «смерти Учителя», проявляющейся прежде всего в утрате и педагогическим сообществом, и обществом в целом представления о важности выполняемой Учителем социальной миссии.

Manuscript Culture and Medieval Devotional Traditions: Essays in Honour of Michael G. Sargent

Stephen Kelly, in "Cargo in the Arbor: On the Metaphysics of Books and Scholarly Editions," responds to Sargent's search for "a postmodern critical edition" through an exploration of the metaphysics of the book, with particular attention to Giorgio Agamben's essay "From the Book to the Screen: The Before and After of the Book" (2017). Michigan State University MS 1, also known as the Lyrical Meditations;the Meditations on the Supper of Our Lord, and the Hours of the Passion;and Nicholas Love's Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ. Fiona Somerset, in "How Canon Lawyers Read the Bible: Hilton Scale II and the Wordes of Poule" offers a comparative reading of two texts, Walter Hilton's Scale II and the anonymous Wordes of Poule, in order to demonstrate how a "congruence between these texts emerges from similarities in reading matter and disciplinary formation" (223).

FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING PRACTICES: ONLINE PROJECTION

The research results are an innovative classification of educational practices recommended for teaching foreign languages in a digital environment followed by recommendations for the development of new teaching technologies that can ensure the quality of development of foreign language communicative competence of students. [...]the educational system is permeated with subjectivity. Practice demonstrates the students' will to improve their educational level, demostrating their desire to influence the system of foreign language training and education. [...]educational practice is designed to remove a certain kind of 'anonymity' or 'namelessness' of positive (productive) educational achievements. In other words, the development of objectively new experiences is evidenced by its 'living' or its implementation in life (professional) practice. [...]this category of educational practices would exclude anything that failed to 'influence the masses' or that failed to amass admirers, consumers or followers.

The Philosophy of Design in the Innovation Space of the Postmodern World: Consciousness of Cultural Practices

The design ideas of the postmodern era reflect the general trends of socio-cultural reality, namely the loss of traditional moral guidelines, disharmony and destructiveness combined with absurdity, a sense of crisis, abyss and uncertainty conveyed in signs and in spatial coordinates. Design products become installations in which the viewer is a direct participant, sometimes even the creator. Postmodern design denies finitude, noting the plurality, uncertainty and fluidity of the world. The paradox of postmodern design culture is expressed in a combination of diametrically opposite things, sometimes even mutually exclusive. The era of postmodern design culture has recorded the fusion of "high" and "low" art, the emergence of new trends - neo-conceptual art, art installation, lowbrow art, performance art, digital art, telematic art - has affected. It should be noted the immersion in virtual reality in particular, as a result of the perception of the concept of postmodernism. After all, the purpose of designer items and their perception has already been changed in accordance with the needs of a person in the postmodern world. A striking example is the coronavirus epidemic, which has become the central theme of successful design projects. After all, a protective mask as a medical device becomes the object of design solutions that transform it into a means of selfexpression (fabric masks, masks with pictures), or the manifestation of social characteristics (inscriptions about social distancing, calls for certain actions), or the result of digital achievements. (the ability to measure temperature and monitor body indicators). [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Postmodern Openings / Deschideri Postmoderne is the property of Lumen Publishing House 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.)

Diffusion of the utopias. The academy and the media in times of pandemic

At the end of the 20th century, the disappearance of the great utopias occurs. Crises are favorable moments to imagine better worlds. Social scientists and humanists - because of their knowledge of reality and its possibilities for change - are privileged to visualize the Covid-19 crisis as an opportunity for change and transfer the orientation of change to all of society. This is a transcendental translation for the consolidation of utopia in the social imaginary. This work explores the rehabilitation of utopia in the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic's start by academics. Doing this identifies, classifies, and analyzes the specific proposals that these thinkers have published in the press to move towards a happy world. We note that the pandemic has not managed to rehabilitate the utopia and that the community's proposals for change are fragmented. We consider that this fragmentation is a symptom of micro-stories, which implies a shift towards micro-routes. However, medium-range utopias proliferate in which messages appear insistently and, in that sense, may be reflected in the social imaginary.

Exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perceptions and sentiments of tourism employees: evidence from a small island tourism economy in the Caribbean

PurposeBuilding on tourism crisis studies and behavioral economics, this study describes a national survey conducted among 439 Aruban tourism and nontourism employees.Design/methodology/approachRegression analysis was subsequently conducted to analyze the relationship between experienced well-being, crisis duration and tourism and nontourism employee sentiments.FindingsThe findings indicate that tourism employee sentiments are generally, and significantly, more negative and their concerns about the future are significantly more pessimistic than nontourism employees. The results show that the experienced well-being and expected duration of the COVID-19 crisis have a significant negative effect on tourism employees' sentiments. The paper provides several policies and industry recommendations for strengthening tourism employee well-being and economic resilience. Several avenues for future research are presented.Originality/valueThe current study contributes to this literature by showing that the increased pessimism and negativity of the tourism employees as compared to nontourism employees during the current pandemic influence their thoughts about future income and earnings as well as future purchases.

The New Totalitarians: The Swedish COVID-19 strategy and the implications of consensus culture and media policy for public health.

AIMS: The aim is to discuss implications of consensus culture in combination with media policy in Sweden with regard to the Swedish COVID-19 strategy in the spring of 2020. METHODS: Investigation of prerequisites for scrutiny by the Swedish mass media of the Swedish strategy in the spring of 2020 based on discussion regarding consensus culture, media structure and postmodernism in science, politics and administration. RESULTS: The Swedish strategy entailed strong initial confidence in herd immunity (although not officially stated), individual responsibility, evidence based medicine and substantial neglect to cooperate internationally. The strategy may be regarded partly as a result of the postmodern view of science and society predominant in Sweden. A tradition of top down consensus culture combined with mass media's financial and partly structural dependence of the state may help explain the comparative lack of critical questions regarding the strategy at the press conferences in the spring of 2020. CONCLUSIONS: Mass media in Sweden should become more financially and structurally independent of the state. The reporting by Swedish media in the spring of 2020 should be subject to peer-reviewed research.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the Swedish strategy: Epidemiology and postmodernism.

The aim is to outline the underlying epidemiological thinking and mentality in post-materialist and postmodern Sweden behind the Swedish strategy. The aim is not to investigate the handling of the pandemic in Sweden in the long-run. Overconfidence in herd immunity, overconfidence in individual responsibility in a pandemic needing community-centered approaches, overconfidence in evidence-based medicine and neglect to coordinate with the WHO and other countries may be associated with post-materialist values and postmodernism including opposition against modern authority, rationality and science, and also an anti-traditionalist stance towards older generations. COVID-19 epidemiology and postmodernism may be a dangerous combination.