Spatial Interactions and the Spread of COVID-19: A Network Perspective

We use unique data on the travel history of confirmed patients at a daily frequency across 31 provinces in China to study how spatial interactions influence the geographic spread of pandemic COVID-19. We develop and simultaneously estimate a structural model of dynamic disease transmission network formation and spatial interaction. This allows us to understand what externalities the disease risk associated with a single place may create for the entire country. We find a positive and significant spatial interaction effect that strongly influences the duration and severity of pandemic COVID-19. And there exists heterogeneity in this interaction effect: the spatial spillover effect from the source province is significantly higher than from other provinces. Further counterfactual policy analysis shows that targeting the key province can improve the effectiveness of policy interventions for containing the geographic spread of pandemic COVID-19, and the effect of such targeted policy decreases with an increase in the time of delay.

Large-Scale Analysis of New Employee Network Dynamics

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformations across industries, but also introduced new challenges into workplaces, including the difficulties of effectively socializing with colleagues when working remotely. This challenge is exacerbated for new employees who need to develop workplace networks from the outset. In this paper, by analyzing a large-scale telemetry dataset of more than 10,000 Microsoft employees who joined the company in the first three months of 2022, we describe how new employees interact and telecommute with their colleagues during their "onboarding"period. Our results reveal that although new hires are gradually expanding networks over time, there still exists significant gaps between their network statistics and those of tenured employees even after the six-month onboarding phase. We also observe that heterogeneity exists among new employees in how their networks change over time, where employees whose job tasks do not necessarily require extensive and diverse connections could be at a disadvantaged position in this onboarding process. By investigating how web-based people recommendations in organizational knowledge base facilitate new employees naturally expand their networks, we also demonstrate the potential of web-based applications for addressing the aforementioned socialization challenges. Altogether, our findings provide insights on new employee network dynamics in remote and hybrid work environments, which may help guide organizational leaders and web application developers on quantifying and improving the socialization experiences of new employees in digital workplaces. © 2023 ACM.

Hashtag framing and stakeholder targeting: An affordance perspective on China's digital public diplomacy campaign during COVID-19

Social media platforms such as Twitter provide opportunities for governments to connect to foreign publics and influence global public opinion. In the current study, we used social and semantic network analysis to investigate China's digital public diplomacy campaign during COVID-19. Our results show that Chinese state-affiliated media and diplomatic accounts created hashtag frames and targeted stakeholders to challenge the United States or to cooperate with other countries and international organizations, especially the World Health Organization. Telling China's stories was the central theme of the digital campaign. From the perspective of social media platform affordance, we addressed the lack of attention paid to hashtag framing and stakeholder targeting in the public diplomacy literature. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Information Technology & Politics is the property of Taylor & Francis 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 impact of COVID-19 restrictions on social relationships of forensic psychiatric outpatients with preexisting social network-related problems: A mixed methods study

This study aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on social relationships of forensic psychiatric outpatients with preexisting social network-related problems. Data from 70 participants of an ongoing randomized controlled trial, investigating the effectiveness of a social network intervention among forensic psychiatric outpatients, were examined. Demographic characteristics, quality of social relationships, loneliness, and social support were assessed at baseline. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an additional questionnaire that contained quantitative and qualitative questions regarding the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on social relationships was administered. Participants showed high levels of loneliness and dissatisfaction with social relationships before COVID-19. The majority of forensic outpatients perceived no changes on social relationships due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Qualitative results revealed some participants already lived socially isolated. Negative changes on social relationships were related to deterioration of social contacts, interruption of daytime activities, changed mental health care, and well-being. Emotional loneliness predicted deteriorated general and romantic relationships. These findings suggest that social relationships of forensic patients with preexisting social network-related problems remain of concern throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Forensic Psychology Research & Practice is the property of Taylor & Francis 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.)

A New Space in the Search for Meaning of Conservative-Pious Elders: Social Media

Population growth, urbanization, differentiations in family structure, Factors such as the diversification of economic activities have produced a new social reality. Elderly individuals face this reality. Individuals aged 65 and over had limited transportation and communication opportunities during their childhood and youth. They had lived a quiet life in their childhood because the change was slow. However, individuals aged 65 and over are trying to keep up with today's digital age, where speed is decisive. Today, internet cables and wireless networks surrounding the world are the driving force of change. Some of the internet users over the age of 65 were also using the internet in the middle age period. However, after age 65, there is a significant increase in the number of people acquainted with the internet. With the spread of smartphones, access to the internet has become more accessible. Therefore, the presence of the elderly in social networks has become visible. The elderly have eased the restrictions and prohibitions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic with social media. In this process, some elderly people became social media members with the influence of their children, grandchildren and friends. Over time, the time spent by the elderly on social networks has increased. Thanks to the internet, people could move without depending on time and space. Social media, which has entered people's lives since the beginning of the 2000s, has allowed people to produce their content. In this way, the elderly have engaged in activities that add meaning to their lives in the digital environment. Searching for life's meaning is as old as human history. People both question the problematic situations such as illness, accident, and helplessness they experience and turn to actions that will alleviate these troubles and give them happiness. In particular, religion guides the elderly in this regard. Religion affects the online and offline lives of the elderly. These people make religious shares on social media. In this regard, social networks are a new subject of analysis for social research. In this context, the research topic is the role of social media in the search for the meaning of individuals aged 65 and over who consider themselves religious and conservative. The problem of our research: how do social networks make up the meaningful world of religious, conservative individuals aged 65 and older? Also, how do the elderly produce solutions to the meaning crises they experience? For this purpose, two focus group interviews of 4 people were conducted. In addition, 23 people were interviewed in depth. Of the people interviewed, 13 are women, and 18 are men. These numbers are determined according to the proportion of men and women using social media in Turkiye. In this context, the research topic is the role of social media in the search for the meaning of individuals aged 65 and over who consider themselves religious and conservative. The problem of our research: how do social networks make up the meaningful world of religious, conservative individuals aged 65 and older? Also, how do the elderly produce solutions to the meaning crises they experience? For this purpose, two focus group interviews of 4 people were conducted. In addition, 23 people were interviewed in depth. Of the people solicited, 13 are women, and 18 are men. These numbers are determined according to the proportion of men and women using social media in Turkiye. Studies on the search for meaning in life are generally studies in psychology. The search for meaning is the product of an individual effort from this perspective. However, our study approaches the issue from a sociological point of view and discovers the connection of meaning with other individuals. In this respect, the social media experiences of the elderly are included in the analysis. Thanks to social networks, the elderly can find their schoolmates and express their thoughts on the agenda. Again, the elderly can express their anger here. For this reason, it has emerged that social media adds meaning to their lives. Using social media in a balanced way, not at the level of addiction, can contribute to the search for purpose of the elderly. For this reason, courses can be organized for the elderly to improve their ability to act in the digital space.

Vulnerability and antimicrobial resistance

It is now well-recognised that antimicrobial resistance (AMR), or the ability of organisms to resist currently available antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs, represents one of the greatest dangers to human health in the 21st Century. As of 2022, AMR is a top-10 global public health threat. Various national and transnational initiatives have been implemented to address accelerating AMR, and the pressure to find local and global solutions is increasing. Despite this urgency, surprisingly limited progress is being made in rolling back or even slowing resistance. A multitude of perspectives exist regarding why this is the case. Key concerns include an enduring dependency on market-driven drug development, the lacklustre governance and habitual over-prescribing of remaining antimicrobial resources, and rampant short-termism across societies. While rarely presented in such terms, these disparate issues all speak to the social production of vulnerability. Yet vulnerability is rarely discussed in the AMR literature, except in terms of 'disproportionate effects' of AMR. In this paper, we offer a reconceptualisation of vulnerability as manifest in the AMR scene, showing that vulnerability is both a predictable consequence of AMR and, critically, productive of AMR to begin with. We underline why comprehending vulnerability as embodied, assembled, multivalent and reproduced through surveillance matters for international efforts to combat resistance.Copyright © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

A social network analysis approach to estimate export disruption spread in the US during the Covid-19 pandemic: how policy response and industry ties relate

We examine how the Covid-19 pandemic led to the propagation of export disruptions on a state-by-state basis using a social network analysis model. We measure the impact of import disruptions, Covid-related hospitalizations, subsequent policy responses, and structural network effects on economic outcomes. In addition to examining contemporaneous effects, we include lagged policy response variables to determine their effect on disruption recovery trends. Findings suggest that disruptions cluster along shared industry connections. The results are consistent with previous work that shows that non-pharmaceutical policy interventions had limited contemporaneous and medium-term effects on trade flows. © 2023, The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale.

Network analysis of eating disorder and depression symptoms among university students in the late stage of COVID-19 pandemic in China.

Background: Eating disorders (EDs) and depression are common in university students, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to elucidate characteristics of EDs and depression symptoms networks among Chinese university students in the later stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Methods: A total of 929 university students completed the SCOFF questionnaire measuring EDs and Patient Health Questionnaire with 9 items (PHQ-9) measuring depression in Guangzhou, China. The network model was applied to identify central symptoms, bridge symptoms, and important connections between SCOFF and PHQ-9 using R studio. The subgroup analyses of both genders in medical and non-medical students were further explored. Results: In the networks of the whole sample, central symptoms included "Loss of control over eating" (EDs) and "Appetite changes" (depression). The bridge connections were between "Loss of control over eating" (EDs) and "Appetite changes" (depression), between "Deliberate vomiting" (EDs) and "Thoughts of death" (depression). "Appetite changes" (depression) and "Feeling of worthlessness" (depression) were central symptoms in both subgroups of medical and non-medical students. "Fatigue" (depression) was the central symptom in the female and medical students group. The edge between "Loss of control over eating" (EDs) and "Appetite changes" (depression) acted as a bridge in all subgroups. Conclusion: Social network approaches offered promising ways of further understanding the association between EDs and depression among university students during the pandemic of COVID-19 in China. Investigations targeting central and bridge symptoms would help to develop effective treatments for both EDs and depression for this population.

Understanding Changes in Social Cannabis Use among Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Social Network Analysis.

Introduction: As the COVID-19 pandemic has caused historic morbidity and mortality and disrupted young people's social relationships, little is known regarding change in young adults' social cannabis use following social distancing orders, or other factors associated with such changes before and during the pandemic. Methods: 108 young adult cannabis users in Los Angeles reported on their personal (egocentric) social network characteristics, cannabis use, and pandemic-related variables before (July 2019 - March 2020) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (August 2020 - August 2021). Multinomial logistic regression identified factors associated with increasing or maintaining the number of network members (alters) participants used cannabis with before and during the pandemic. Multilevel modeling identified ego- and alter-level factors associated with dyadic cannabis use between each ego and alter during the pandemic. Results: Most participants (61%) decreased the number of alters they used cannabis with, 14% maintained, and 25% increased. Larger networks were associated with a lower risk of increasing (vs. decreasing); more supportive cannabis-using alters was associated with a lower risk of maintaining (vs. decreasing); relationship duration was associated with a greater risk of maintaining and increasing (vs. decreasing). During the COVID-19 pandemic (August 2020 - August 2021), participants were more likely to use cannabis with alters they also used alcohol with and alters who were perceived to have more positive attitudes towards cannabis. Conclusions: The present study identifies significant factors associated with changes in young adults' social cannabis use following pandemic-related social distancing. These findings may inform social network interventions for young adults who use cannabis with their network members amid such social restrictions.

It is not enough to register the field. Steps in the ethnomethodology that uses computational devices, social networks and the Internet to investigate the popular economy

The article describes the use of computing devices, social networks, and the Internet in the procedures to understand the supply of masks manufactured by the Ecolety cooperative and foundation. This methodology is part of a study that sought to know the characteristics of the interactions between the groups that create, adapt, and use artifacts to prevent COVID-19, in Coquimbo-Valparaiso and the Metropolitan Region of Santiago de Chile. The procedures were based on the digital ethnomethodology described by Hine, Kozinets and Pink, the data is in digital spaces of public access, and they were considered as results of intersubjectivity that expresses what is observable and accountable. At a theoretical level, the creative community category dealt with the case, the notion of bricoleur defined the researchers, and that of symmetry named the social control that produced reliability in the elaboration of interpretations. One result obtained is that the data are contingent results of the textual interactions that allow the existence of an intersectoral space of links between online and offline life.

Influence Mechanism Analysis of the Spatial Evolution of Inter-Provincial Population Flow in China Based on Epidemic Prevention and Control.

Based on big data on migration from the Baidu Map platform, this paper divides China's epidemic prevention and control efforts into four stages. Then, the characteristics and spatial patterns of daily population flows are studied by social network analysis. Subsequently, the exponential random graph model is used to investigate the influence of dynamic characteristics of changes in the spatial structure of the interprovincial population flow network during the postepidemic period. The spatial structure of the population flow network before, during, and after the epidemic shows significantly different characteristics, with epidemic prevention and control measures playing a significant role in restricting population flows. Interprovincial population flows have a certain degree of transmissibility, but two-way flows are not obvious. In addition, for regions with a larger resident population and a higher unemployment rate, a larger population tends to flow out. For regions with higher per capita GDP, the secondary and tertiary industries account for a relatively larger proportion, and the public environment is better. The more attractive a region is to the population, the higher is the tendency towards population inflows. Moreover, the level of medical care and epidemic prevention and control have become the main influencing factors of population movement.

FCMCPS-COVID: AI propelled fog-cloud inspired scalable medical cyber-physical system, specific to coronavirus disease.

Medical cyber-physical systems (MCPS) firmly integrate a network of medical objects. These systems are highly efficacious and have been progressively used in the Healthcare 4.0 to achieve continuous high-quality services. Healthcare 4.0 encompasses numerous emerging technologies and their applications have been realized in the monitoring of a variety of virus outbreaks. As a growing healthcare trend, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) can be cured and its spread can be prevented using MCPS. This virus spreads from human to human and can have devastating consequences. Moreover, with the alarmingly rising death rate and new cases across the world, there is an urgent need for continuous identification and screening of infected patients to mitigate their spread. Motivated by the facts, we propose a framework for early detection, prevention, and control of the COVID-19 outbreak by using novel Industry 5.0 technologies. The proposed framework uses a dimensionality reduction technique in the fog layer, allowing high-quality data to be used for classification purposes. The fog layer also uses the ensemble learning-based data classification technique for the detection of COVID-19 patients based on the symptomatic dataset. In addition, in the cloud layer, social network analysis (SNA) has been performed to control the spread of COVID-19. The experimental results reveal that compared with state-of-the-art methods, the proposed framework achieves better results in terms of accuracy (82.28 %), specificity (91.42 %), sensitivity (90 %) and stability with effective response time. Furthermore, the utilization of CVI-based alert generation at the fog layer improves the novelty aspects of the proposed system.

WHAT WE WISH WE KNEW BEFORE GOING ONLINE: Lessons Learned From Implementing an Online MBA

Montclair State University (MSU) is New Jerseys second-largest public institution. As online education continues its rapid-paced growth, MBA programs have been some of the most common online degrees. In 2016, Montclairs Feliciano School of Business entered this crowded online MBA market. After a false start and sometimes rocky development, the online MBA was successfully launched in the fall of 2016. The program grew so fast that the leadership team needed to find innovative ways to handle the number of students. The lessons learned by the online MBA leadership team are detailed below.

Characterizing the nature of trust & misinformation on Twitter

We analyze a dataset from Twitter of misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We consider this dataset from the intersection of two important but, heretofore, largely separate perspectives: misinformation and trust. We apply existing direct trust measures to the dataset to understand their topology, and to better understand if and how trust relates to spread of misinformation online. We find evidence for small worldness in the misinformation trust network;outsized influence from broker nodes;a digital fingerprint that may indicate when a misinformation trust network is forming;and, a positive relationship between greater trust and spread of misinformation. © 2022 IEEE.

Reexamining the Echo Chamber Effect of COVID-19 Vaccine Videos on YouTube

The COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for more than two years. Vaccination is believed to be one of the most efficient ways to achieve herd immunity and end pandemic. However, the contents about COVID-19 vaccines on social media have impacts on personal attitude towards vaccination. The present study aims to examine the current scenario and the echo chamber effect of COVID-19 vaccine videos on YouTube. A total of 1,646 videos with comments and replies were identified. An approach combining topic modeling, sentiment analysis, and social network analysis was employed to explore users' attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines and whether the echo chamber effect existed. The results indicate that, even if the misleading and anti-vaccination videos were removed by the platform, "anti-vaccination"contents still widely appear in the comments. Moreover, the community of "anti-vaccination"users was more homogeneous compared with that of "pro-vaccination"users. The findings of this study advanced theories of echo chamber effect and the network perspective to examine echo chambers. We propose that should be paid more attention ideology echo chamber, compared with exposure echo chamber. © 2022 IEEE.

From Yellow Peril to Model Minority: Asian stereotypes in social media during the COVID-19 pandemic

Heightened racial tensions during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the increase and rapid propagation of online hate speech towards Asians. In this work, we study the relationship between the racist narratives and conspiracy theories that emerged related to COVID-19 and historical stereotypes underpinning Asian hate and counter-hate speech on Twitter, in particular the Yellow Peril and model minority tropes. We find that the pandemic catalyzed a broad increase in discourse engaging with racist stereotypes extending beyond COVID-19 specifically. We also find that racist narratives and conspiracy theories which emerged during the pandemic and gained widespread attention were rooted in deeply-embedded Asian stereotypes. In alignment with theories of idea habitat and processing fluency, our work suggests that historical stereotypes provided an environment vulnerable to the racist narratives and conspiracy theories which emerged during the pandemic. Our work offers insight for ongoing and future anti-racist efforts. © 2023 ACM.

Online survey results among social network users in terms of the COVID-19 problem

Aim. An online survey among social network users was conducted to assess the frequency of COVID-19 cases, the spectrum of medications used for treatment, and the subjective assessment of clinical manifestations of the disease. Material and methods. An anonymous online survey was conducted among users of various social networks using a questionnaire created on the SurveyMonkey survey and research platform. During the first month of December 2021, the survey included 23 questions regarding the clinical and demographic characteristics of respondents, the number of COVID-19 cases, clinical manifestations, and severity, as well as the need for medical help and medication. Results. 752 respondents took part in the online survey, more than 70% of them are under 50 years old. Among the respondents 59.73% had a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). More than 40% of the participants had COVID-19 in the period from September 2020 to April 2021 (2nd wave in Russia). In 79.2% of people, the presence of a new coronavirus infection was confirmed by one of the diagnostic methods: polymerase chain reaction (PCR test), radiography, the presence of antibodies to Ig G/M, and took into account the presence of contact with infected SARS-CoV-2. 411 participants observed any clinical manifestations of the disease. Most often respondents who had COVID-19 indicated weakness, cough, dyspnea, disappearance or decrease in the acuity of smell and taste. The volume of lung tissue damage in 36.5% of cases was less than 25%. The disappearance of any clinical manifestations of the disease immediately after recovery was noted by 32.0% of respondents. Most of the patients (59.2%) sought medical help at the polyclinic, 38.9% had to self-medicate. 71.9% respondents indicated they had been vaccinated against COVID-19, but without specifying the timing and completeness of the course. Side effects after immunization (fever, weakness, soreness, and redness at the injection site) were subjectively assessed by 41.9% of respondents. Conclusion. Among the surveyed respondents, 62.7% of the disease symptoms were mild. The highest number of cases occurred in the 2nd and 4th waves of COVID-19 morbidity in Russia. Most often respondents indicated symptoms of acute respiratory infection. The complete disappearance of clinical manifestations of the disease immediately after recovery was noted by 32.0 % of respondents, and the persistence of symptoms for up to a year - 7.5. More than 70% of the participants in the online survey reported vaccination against COVID-19, but the questionnaire did not include questions about the timing of vaccinations (before or after COVID-19) and the completeness of the course.Copyright © Eco-Vector, 2023. All rights reserved.

Exploring the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science

PurposeThis study aims to reveal the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science.Design/methodology/approachUsing publications in Web of Science core collection, this study combines informetrics and content analysis to reveal the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science. The analyses are conducted by Pajek, VOSviewer and Gephi.FindingsThe health informatics research in library and information science can be divided into five subcommunities: health information needs and seeking behavior, application of bibliometrics in medicine, health information literacy, health information in social media and electronic health records. Research on health information literacy and health information in social media is the core of research. Most topics had a clear and continuous evolutionary venation. In the future, health information literacy and health information in social media will tend to be the mainstream. There is room for systematic development of research on health information needs and seeking behavior.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research based on the perspective of library and information science. This study helps identify the concerns and contributions of library and information science to health informatics research and provides compelling evidence for researchers to understand the current state of research.

Attitudes, Practices and Knowledge of Honduran Physicians in the Prescription of Antibiotics in Covid-19

Intro: Antimicrobial resistance has been considered a global health problem, being one of the 10 most important public health problems worldwide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of antibiotics were used without any control, both on an outpatient basis and in hospitalization, which can have serious consequences. Method(s): Prior informed consent, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with a sample of 322 physicians. A survey was carried out in Google forms, and it was shared by telephone messages and social networks. Finding(s): 322 physicians, 60.9% women and 39.1% men, mean age 33.4 years, 85.9% general practitioners, 11.5% specialist physicians. 47.2% work in private institutions, 36% in public centers. Antibiotic policies in institutions: 50.3% do not have regulations for the use of antibiotics in COVID-19, only 29.5% work with policies to control the use of antibiotics and control measures against antibiotic resistance, 73.9% lack a committee for infection control and prevention of antibiotic resistance. Use of antibiotics: only 20.8% never used antibiotics in COVID-19, 45.6% used antibiotics in severe COVID-19, 40.4% hospitalized patients, and 33.5% outpatients. The most used antibiotics were azithromycin (67.1%), levofloxacin (53.4%), ceftriaxone (53.4%), and amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid (34.8%). 43.2% consider that using antibiotics can reduce mortality in moderate and severe COVID-19, 50.3% believe antibiotics should be suspended if there is clinical improvement, 96.3% believe there is an increase in self-medication of antibiotics, 59.8% consider that they used antibiotics inconrrectly at some point, 58.1% consider antibiotic resistance to be a problem in their workplace. 86.3% currently make less use of antibiotics in patients with COVID-19. Conclusion(s): In Honduras, there are deficiencies in policies for the use of antibiotics and control of antimicrobial resistance. Most doctors consider that they have used antibiotics incorrectly, including antibiotics that can generate resistance.Copyright © 2023