The Pandemic Within

COVID-19 has exposed defects in our current political–economic order: extreme wealth inequality, an ideology-driven government, a greedy corporate sector, a precarious labour force and a looming climate catastrophe. This accessible book offers a unique blend of moral imagination and social–political analysis to overcome these defects. It focuses on two characteristics of contemporary societies – hegemony and complexity – that have inhibited our ability to imagine, and take seriously, better practices and institutions. Considering housing, work, governance, finance, climate change and more, this book presents feasible and pragmatic solutions which are informed by a comprehensive vision of a flourishing, sustainable and richly democratic society.

This guidance is an update of WHO global influenza preparedness plan: the role of WHO and recommendations for national measures before and during pandemics, published March 2005 (WHO/CDS/CSR/GIP/2005.5).

This open access edited volume is a comparative effort to discern the short-term educational impact of the covid-19 pandemic on students, teachers and systems in Brazil, Chile, Finland, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. One of the first academic comparative studies of the educational impact of the pandemic, the book explains how the interruption of in person instruction and the variable efficacy of alternative forms of education caused learning loss and disengagement with learning, especially for disadvantaged students. Other direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic diminished the ability of families to support children and youth in their education. For students, as well as for teachers and school staff, these included the economic shocks experienced by families, in some cases leading to food insecurity and in many more causing stress and anxiety and impacting mental health. Opportunity to learn was also diminished by the shocks and trauma experienced by those with a close relative infected by the virus, and by the constrains on learning resulting from students having to learn at home, where the demands of schoolwork had to be negotiated with other family necessities, often sharing limited space. Furthermore, the prolonged stress caused by the uncertainty over the resolution of the pandemic and resulting from the knowledge that anyone could be infected and potentially lose their lives, created a traumatic context for many that undermined the necessary focus and dedication to schoolwork. These individual effects were reinforced by community effects, particularly for students and teachers living in communities where the multifaceted negative impacts resulting from the pandemic were pervasive. This is an open access book.

Patty loves playing with her pals. But now, the bad bug is trying to make them sick! How will Patty fight back to save her friends and herself from the bad bug? Join Patty as she learns all about the bad bug's tricks, and makes some tricks of her own that you and the rest of her friends can use to defeat the bad bug! Written by medical student, Nicole Crimi, and peer reviewed by public health specialist Dr. Joanne Kearon, and Dr. Peter Adamson, Patty and the Pandemic aims to educate and empower children 3-8 years old about COVID-19 in a fun and relatable way. Full of fun, rhyming verses and original watercolour paintings, children can giggle as they learn all about what COVID-19 is, how it is spread, what to expect if they are sick and the key tricks to staying safe. 100% of profits from book sales are being donated to Face the Future Foundation - so with the purchase of this book, you are supporting the health of children in your community, as well as those around the world.

This open access book offers unique insights into how governments and governing systems, particularly in advanced economies, have responded to the immense challenges of managing the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing disease COVID-19. Written by three eminent scholars in the field of the politics and policy of crisis management, it offers a unique ‘bird’s eye’ view of the immense logistical and political challenges of addressing a worst-case scenario that would prove the ultimate stress test for societies, governments, governing institutions and political leaders. It examines how governments and governing systems have (i) made sense of emerging transboundary threats that have spilled across health, economic, political and social systems (ii) mobilised systems of governance and often fearful and sceptical citizens (iii) crafted narratives amid high uncertainty about the virus and its impact and (iv) are working towards closure and a return to ‘normal’ when things can never quite be the same again. The book also offers the building blocks of pathways to future resilience. Succeeding and failing in all these realms is tied in with governance structures, experts, trust, leadership capabilities and political ideologies. The book appeals to anyone seeking to understand ‘what’s going on?’, but particularly academics and students across multiple disciplines, journalists, public officials, politicians, non-governmental organisations and citizen groups.

Drawing upon the empirical scholarship and research expertise of contributors from all settled continents and from diverse life settings and economies, Viral Loads illustrates how the COVID-19 pandemic, and responses to it, lay bare and load onto people’s lived realities in countries around the world. A crosscutting theme pertains to how social unevenness and gross economic disparities are shaping global and local responses to the pandemic, and illustrate the effects of both the virus and efforts to contain it in ways that amplify these inequalities. At the same time, the contributions highlight the nature of contemporary social life, including virtual communication, the nature of communities, neoliberalism and contemporary political economies, and the shifting nature of nation states and the role of government. Over half of the world’s population has been affected by restrictions of movement, with physical distancing requirements and self-isolation recommendations impacting profoundly on everyday life but also on the economy, resulting also, in turn, with dramatic shifts in the economy and in mass unemployment. By reflecting on how the pandemic has interrupted daily lives, state infrastructures and healthcare systems, the contributing authors in this volume mobilise anthropological theories and concepts to locate the pandemic in a highly connected and exceedingly unequal world. The book is ambitious in its scope – spanning the entire globe – and daring in its insistence that medical anthropology must be a part of the growing calls to build a new world.

This book explores the benefits to online teaching incorporating extended reality technologies both from a teacher’s and from a students’ perspective. As we are all aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a worldwide lock down which is clearly visible in individuals’ shifting behaviour as they are keeping away from public contact, large events, weddings, places of worship, public transportation, restaurant, flights, shopping malls, etc. People across the world have adopted to Work From Home (WFH) concept using digital technology. They are teaching, learning, conducting meetings, seminars, etc., using digital medium. As people were not allowed to go out and buy things, online shopping was in demand and extensible reality helped in marketing the products and customers could also have a better shopping experience. Gaming industry has always brought in many new games for children and adults. Healthcare sector also leveraged the benefits of this technology to the fullest extent. The use of augmented and virtual reality in art and museum is also highlighted. Our book presents the different sectors that have benefitted using this technology during this time of crisis. This book will be very useful for students, professionals and researchers working in the area of virtual, augmented or mixed reality. Our aim is to bring out the use of this technology during the COVID-19 pandemic so that the readers are exposed to the various applications of this technology.

This book presents a sociological study of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of India. It invites readers to understand disasters and crises as triggers of radical transformations in society, changing the very nature of every day and the meaning of normal. It discusses the processes through which society accepts, internalizes and reinvents a new way of life. It provides insights into its impact on the individual, family, economy and the state and the relationships not only between them but also within them. The chapters draw attention to the concerns of the vulnerable sections of the population – the aged, children, women, the disabled, migrant labour and the economically backward classes. The chapters are written in an engaging style, and each chapter investigates the way societies think about the risk, threat and harm and the ways to navigate crises of all kinds. As such, the book provides a key read for academics, students and administrators, as well as general readers confronted by an existential crisis caused by the pandemic.