Over recent years, the research community has been increasingly using preprint servers to share manuscripts that are not yet peer-reviewed. Even if it enables quick dissemination of research findings, this practice raises several challenges in publication ethics and integrity. In particular, preprints have become an important source of information for stakeholders interested in COVID19 research developments, including traditional media, social media, and policy makers. Despite caveats about their nature, many users can still confuse pre-prints with peer-reviewed manuscripts. If unconfirmed (...) but already widely shared first-draft results later prove wrong or misinterpreted, it can be very difficult to “unlearn” what we thought was true. Complexity further increases if unconfirmed findings have been used to inform guidelines. To help achieve a balance between early access to research findings and its negative consequences, we formulated five recommendations: (a) consensus should be sought on a term clearer than ‘pre-print’, such as ‘Unrefereed manuscript’, “Manuscript awaiting peer review” or ‘’Non-reviewed manuscript”; (b) Caveats about unrefereed manuscripts should be prominent on their first page, and each page should include a red watermark stating ‘Caution—Not Peer Reviewed’; (c) pre-print authors should certify that their manuscript will be submitted to a peer-review journal, and should regularly update the manuscript status; (d) high level consultations should be convened, to formulate clear principles and policies for the publication and dissemination of non-peer reviewed research results; (e) in the longer term, an international initiative to certify servers that comply with good practices could be envisaged. (shrink)

Exposición realizada por Silvia Hernández, Doctora en Ciencias Sociales, en la segunda ronda del ciclo de conversaciones “Crítica a la Epidemiología Política. Prácticas y racionalidad neoliberales en tiempos de pandemia”, organizado por el equipo editorial de la Revista de Filosofía Otrosiglo, enero 2021. Disponible en Youtube, canal Revista Otrosiglo. _Palabras Clave: _Pandemia – Ideología – Neoliberalismo – Covid19.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented acceleration of research. Thousands of papers have been published in a very short time across a wide range of academic disciplines. This has already led to instances of research misconduct and articles have been withdrawn from prominent journals very soon after being published. It has also led to calls for the relaxation of generally accepted research ethics rules and rules concerning the protection of personal data during what is claimed to be an (...) exceptional time of crisis where research need to be speeded up and not hampered by rules more suitable to normal times. This chapter will outline some areas of research where there have been calls for the relaxation of research ethics rules, e.g. challenge studies in vaccine development, use of personal health data in epidemiology and the use of data from contact tracing apps. It will explicate and analyse the arguments presented for allowing such relaxation in exceptional times of crisis from a philosophical point of view. And it will ask to what extent the Covid-19 pandemic is an exceptional time of crisis in comparison with other important historical moments in medical research, and how the calls for exception relaxation of general rules fit with the history of research ethics and regulation. It will be argued that (1) the Covid-19 pandemic is far less exceptional than it initially appears, (2) the arguments for a relaxation of research ethics and data protection rules are less than convincing, and (3) the lesson we should really learn from Covid-19 is that adherence to a well justified set of rules can act as a protection against false exceptionalism and a counter to the temptation to bend the rules in crises. (shrink)

COVID19 이후 대면에서 비대면 사회로 생활 공간이 옮겨가는 과정에서 다양한 사회적 문제가 발생했다. 그 가운데 하나가 메타버스 플랫폼에 관한 부모 자녀 사이의 가치충돌 및 정체성에 관한 문제이다. 21세기는 지금껏 한 번도 경험해보지 못한 다양한 세대가 공존하는 시대이다. 기성세대, M-세대, Z-세대 그리고 α-세대에 이르기까지 기술의 발달과 그에 따른 사회의 변화는 짧은 시간 동안 급격한 변화를 가져왔고 그 과정에서 문화 지체가 발생했다. 세대 간에는 보이지 않는 벽이 생겨났으며 그것은 사회적 문제로 거론되기까지 했다. 특히 α-세대 자녀와 부모 사이에서 발생하는 가치충돌의 문제는 부모와 (...) 자식이란 특수성으로 인해 자녀의 가치관 및 정체성 형성에 부모의 그것이 강요될 여지가 있다. 특히 메터버스 플랫폼의 경우 눈에 띌 만큼의 변화와 발전을 가져왔다. 그리고 그것은 메타버스 플랫폼에 관한 부모와 자녀의 경험 세계 및 인식의 차이를 가져왔다. 문제는 다수의 부모가 메타버스 플랫폼에 대한 α-세대 자녀의 경험과 그에 따른 정체성을 제대로 이해하지 못하는 점에서 생겨난다. 그것의 주된 이유 가운데 하나는 메타버스에 관한 부모 세대의 정체성이 과거에만 머물러 있기 때문이다. 이 연구는 곽상의 철학을 빌려와 α-세대 자녀를 둔 부모가 메타버스를 어떻게 이해하고 접근해야 하는지를 이야기하고자 했다. 그리고 문제의 해결 방법으로 곽상의 철학을 활용했다. 그리고 주요 개념으로 곽상의 자연(自然), 성(性), 적(迹), 명(冥)을 사용했다. (shrink)

In response to crises, people sometimes prioritize fewer specific identifiable victims over many unspecified statistical victims. How other factors can explain this bias remains unclear. So two experiments investigated how complying with public health recommendations during the COVID19 pandemic depended on victim portrayal, reflection, and philosophical beliefs (Total N = 998). Only one experiment found that messaging about individual victims increased compliance compared to messaging about statistical victims—i.e., "flatten the curve" graphs—an effect that was undetected after controlling for other (...) factors. However, messaging about flu (vs. COVID19) indirectly reduced compliance by reducing perceived threat of the pandemic. Nevertheless, moral beliefs predicted compliance better than messaging and reflection in both experiments. The second experiment’s additional measures revealed that religiosity, political preferences, and beliefs about science also predicted compliance. This suggests that flouting public health recommendations may be less about ineffective messaging or reasoning than philosophical differences. (shrink)

Desde el comienzo de la pandemia causada por la enfermedad COVID19, los gobiernos del Norte Global han demandado políticas dirigidas a “aplanar la curva”, principalmente a través del distanciamiento social, utili-zando pruebas y rastreo donde fuese factible y, en algunos casos, imponiendo confinamientos casi totales e indiscriminados. Este fue el caso de España, donde desde el 15 de marzo hasta el 21 de junio se impuso una cuarentena que hizo que la mayor parte de la ciudadanía se viese confinada (...) en su casa. En este texto intenta-mos reflexionar acerca de esta experiencia y de las implicaciones quepudiera tener para el futuro. Para ello realizamos un análisis sobre las distintas funciones del hogar —como refugio, lugar de resistencia y lugar de acogida—, y los cambios a los que la experiencia del COVID19, entendido en relación con el nuevo régimen climático, puede originar en ellas. Para ello nos basaremos en las reflexiones de Judith Butler, Sarah Ahmed, bellhooks e IsabelleStengers. (shrink)

Field practices are ideal for the acquisition of specific competencies and for students to get a first-hand experience of the real environment of their profession. The COVID19 pandemic stopped them, forcing a move to online teaching. This research aims to define a new teaching approach to adapt them to the online environment, ensuring that the competencies are acquired in the same way as traditionally. It was decided to use various available audio-visual materials (documentaries, video reports, interactive web resources) from (...) different sources. The results obtained were very positive, as the advantages provided by ICT resources outweigh the disadvantages. (shrink)

In this article we will give an account of the precariousness in its relationship and expression in the reproduction of contemporary societies, through a brief review of some references in the literature on this subject and its discussion in work studies. We refer to some data regarding job insecurity in Chile in relation to some dimensions of employment. Next, we consider the relationship between precariousness, the precariousness process and the emergence of the COVID19 pandemic, considering the specific case of (...) Chilean society. Finally, we close with some reflections on the complexity that precariousness takes on in the present and future of post-pandemic societies. (shrink)

COVID19 pandemic has clarified that public health policies are central for the future of human societies from several perspectives. As a matter of fact, they are based on certain premises that are practical-political (e.g., ensuring the health of citizens), moral (e.g., health is a value), or epistemological (e.g., certain ideas concerning expertise and shared knowledge). Indeed, effective policies require first and foremost not only to be based on reliable data and models (i.e., so-called evidence-based policy) but also to ensure (...) that these policies are democratically accepted, shared (e.g., considering both cognitive and social dimensions), and hopefully formed after a deliberative process involving experts from various fields alongside citizens. (shrink)

COVID19 pandemic is pushing business organizations to cope in newer, more resilient ways. In this study, in-depth qualitative research was conducted using Weick's sensemaking framework (1995) to give organizational leaders a snapshot of how individuals grappled with sensemaking during this time. The enactment of sensemaking for individuals occurred based on four major COVIDian realities: life during the lockdown, work from home, moments of reflection, and struggles and emotions. The implications of the findings are two folds. First, the dynamic nature (...) of extracted cues coupled with greater technology use increased enactment frequency amongst individuals leading to a collapse in sensemaking. Secondly, we propose that this collapse has a significant impact on human cognition, which will further affect the nature of work as well as the meaning of work in life. (shrink)

La pandemia del Covid19 es un acontecimiento entendido en la forma fenomenológica de su llegada y de su permanencia, pues irrumpe, cambia, afecta a la humanidad en su totalidad. No es un acontecimiento personal o territorial que se convierte en objeto de alguna disciplina en especial o responsabilidad de ciertos actores sociales. Más allá de la búsqueda de su origen o de las causas de su aparición, hay en ella una característica revelatoria que convoca, llama y pide una respuesta. (...) Escuchar la llamada y dar el responsorio es tarea obligada de la humanidad actual por encima de visiones sesgadas, parciales, culpabilizantes o escapistas. La enseñanza social de la Iglesia aporta, en este momento, una visión integral para afrontar el momento difícil mediante la acción y agencia de todos los seres humanos. La propuesta es una ética ecológica integral que reconozca la interconexión entre toda la realidad y proponga una acción de cuidado integral de la creación. (shrink)

인간은 육체적인 측면에서뿐만 아니라 인지적, 감정적 측면에서도 취약한 존재이다. 인간의 삶은 그야말로 취약성에 의해 조건화되었다고 해도 과언이 아니다. 바로 이러한 특성 때문에 고대 그리스인들은 인간 존재들을 ‘ephemeroi(짧은 삶을 사는 존재)’, 혹은 ’epihemera(단지 하루를 살아가는 존재)‘라 불렀다. 현재 전 지구적인 팬데믹으로 인류를 2년 이상 괴롭히고 있는 눈에 보이지조차 않는 COVID19 바이러스에 의한 공격만 보아도 인간존재의 취약성을 우리는 실감할 수 있다.BR 취약성은 그동안 생명윤리와 페미니즘 윤리 그리고 돌봄의 윤리와 같은 영역에서 다루어져 왔지만, 오늘날 트랜스휴머니스트들의 담론과 관련해 철학적 검토를 필요로 하는 중요한 (...) 개념으로 부각되고 있다. 본 논문에서는 체현된(embodied) 인간 조건인 취약성에 관해 존재론적인 그리고 사회적(상황적)인 측면에서 제시되고 있는 그 개념적 의미들을 검토할 것이다(1장). 그런 다음 이러한 취약성으로 인해 인간 존재에게는 세계와 혹은 타인들과 의 관계에서 상호의존성이 매우 중요한 역할을 하고 있음을 드러내고(2장), 인간 존재의 취약성을 극복하고자 과학기술에 의한 인간 향상을 꿈꾸는 트랜스휴머니스트들의 이상적 기획과 그 한계들을 검토할 것이다(3장), 그리고 논의의 마무리로 인간의 취약성이 제기하는 도덕적 의무와 책무들을 살펴본 후, 취약성이 인간 삶의 가치에서 차지하는 의미들을 고찰하고 연구를 마무리할 것이다(4장). (shrink)

The initial surge of COVID19 patients in New York, created a surge of unprecedented numbers in the largest integrated hospital system of the New York City and surrounding Long Island region. Due to innovation and clinician ingenuity ventilator allocation was going to have an easier solution than alleviating the moral distress of overworked and understaffed clinicians. Through the innovative work of clinicians, leadership and the leadership of Governor Cuomo and hospital executives, the need for triaging ventilators did not become (...) a reality. Yet the need for ethicists to support and aid clinicians in the discernment and need for escalation for scarce ICU resources and personnel was key. The transition from an allocation strategy of ventilators organically occurred as rapidly as the surge of COVID19 as it became clear that addressing clinician distress was imperative to maintain the level of human capital. An allocation strategy was envisioned that would assess the urgency of need for intensive care resources utilizing established decision aid calculators. In a mixed method quantitative and qualitative review, this article utilizes descriptive data to illustrate the lessons learned from utilizing ethics consultants to review pandemic decision making and alleviate clinician moral distress. (shrink)

Selected by the Economist as one of the best books of 2020. -/- Privacy Is Power argues that people should protect their personal data because privacy is a kind of power. If we give too much of our data to corporations, the wealthy will rule. If we give too much personal data to governments, we risk sliding into authoritarianism. For democracy to be strong, the bulk of power needs to be with the citizenry, and whoever has the data will have (...) the power. Privacy, I argue, is not a personal preference; it is a political concern. I also argue that personal data is a toxic asset, and should be regulated as if it were a toxic substance, similar to asbestos. I call for a complete ban to the trade in personal data. The book is at once philosophical and political, and extremely practical and accessible. It discusses liberal democracy, equality, justice, and autonomy. It includes a chapter for policymakers, and one that addresses what ordinary citizens can do to protect privacy. Finally, the book covers the tension between privacy and public health in the context of covid19. -/- . (shrink)

"We are curious about our social behavior in a post COVID-19 future. A future where the social can’t be taken for granted; a future where we humans hope to reclaim some sense of control over the world currently ruled by a virus.".

I examine the role played by the emotions of envy and resentment in interpersonal online dynamics during the COVID19 pandemic. I start by reviewing what we know about the interplay of social media use, social comparison and well-being, and by applying this knowledge to current circumstances. Then, I introduce some philosophical distinctions that complicate the already complex empirical evidence, differentiating, in particular, between envy and resentment, and between different kinds of envy. I argue that we can use the knowledge (...) of these distinctions to better cope with these painful, but sometimes productive and always informative, emotions. (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic poses extraordinary public health challenges. In order to respond to such challenges, most democracies have relied on so-called ‘evidence-based’ policies, which supposedly devolve to science the burden of their justification. However, the biomedical sciences can only provide a theory-laden evidential basis, while reliable statistical data for policy support is often scarce. Therefore, scientific evidence alone cannot legitimise COVID-19 public health policies, which are ultimately based on political decisions. Given this inevitable input on policy-making, the risk of arbitrariness (...) is ubiquitous and democratic scrutiny becomes essential to counter it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the standards of scientific and democratic scrutiny have been, as a matter of fact, substantially lowered. This erosion potentially damages democracy. (shrink)

O ano de 2020 será lembrando como um período de profundas transformações nas sociedades no mundo. A pandemia causada pelo novo coronavírus interrompeu o fluxo normal das atividades humanas. Isolados em suas casas, professores e pesquisadores de diferentes áreas e países tiveram de reinventar seu modo de produzir e transmitir o conhecimento científico. O uso de ferramentas tecnológicas foi fundamental nesse sentido; por meio de plataformas como Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, entre outras, esses profissionais conseguiram dar continuidade às aulas, reuniões, (...) pesquisas, bancas, reuniões cientificas etc., mantendo universidades e instituições de ensino e pesquisa em pleno funcionamento. A equipe da revista Circumscribere também manteve seu ritmo de trabalho, logrando dar andamento à produção de dois volumes este ano. Ao nos darmos conta de que o mundo acadêmico apoiava-se cada vez mais nas plataformas digitais, decidimos expandir nossas atividades e lançar um ciclo de debates para congregar professores, pesquisadores e interessados em assuntos relacionado à História da Ciência. Assim, nasceu o ciclo CIÊNCIA VIVA, com o objetivo de debater temas fundamentais da área e refletir a própria pandemia do ponto de vista da história da ciência. Neste volume da revista Circumscribere, apresentamos alguns dos resultados desses debates. Os textos resultam de apresentações realizadas virtualmente durante a pandemia e de debates com professores e pesquisadores de vários centros de ensino e pesquisa do país. Outros volumes deverão ser lançados nos próximos semestres com base em novos temas abordados no Ciclo. Com iniciativas como essas, esperamos poder ampliar a presença de professores e pesquisadores nas redes sociais, de modo a contribuir para o combate das chamadas Fake news, bem como do pensamento anticiência que ganha força no mundo. Boa leitura. (shrink)

상황의 위기는 정보의 위기이다. 왜냐하면 위기는 사건에 대한 정보의 부족이나 공백을 발생시키기 때문이다. 따라서 그런 결함들을 처리하고 불확실성을 제거하기 위해서 위기 상황에서는 사회적 메시지가 발화된다. 그러므로 ‘어떤 메시지가 그리고 어떻게 소통되어야 하는지’는 위기를 극복하는데 있어서 매우 중요한 요소이다. 현재 인류는 코로나19 팬데믹으로 인해서 경제적이고, 사회적이고, 심리적인 심각한 위기에 봉착해 있다. 신종 전염병인 코로나 19에는 예방 백신이 없을 뿐더러 치료제를 개발하는 데도 상당한 기간이 소요될 것으로 예상된다. 그리고 단지 시점이 언제이냐의 문제일 뿐이지 인류는 새로운 감염병인 이른바 “질병 X”를 겪을 것으로 예상된다. (...) 따라서 본 논문은 이러한 장기적이고 반복될 수 있는 위기를 극복하기 위한 방안의 일환으로 ‘메시지의 소통’ 문제를 논의하고자 한다.BR코로나19 사태에서 대중이 매일 듣는 가장 중요한 메시지는 ‘사회적 거리두기’이다. 그리고 자가격리 대상자에게는 ‘자가격리’라는 메시지가 전달된다. 그런데 이 두 메시지는 과연 적합한 또는 최선의 메시지인가? 필자는 코로나19 팬데믹 상황에서 메시지가 갖추어야 할 요건들을 검토한다. 이 요건들에 의거해서 ‘자가격리’와 ‘사회적 거리두기’라는 메시지를 비판적으로 고찰했을 때에, ‘격리 중 자기돌봄’과 ‘감염확산방지를 위한 거리두기’라는 메시지가 더 바람직하다. 뿐만 아니라 효과적일 수도 있다고 필자는 주장한다. 코로나19처럼 신종감염병이 창궐하는 상황에서 사전예방과 사후치료를 위한 의료적 수단이 부재할 경우에, 사회적 메시지는 최대한 의료적인 성격의 메시지여야 한다. (shrink)

The use of virtual learning environments has been introduced to schools for a long time, however, in recent years due to the confinement due to the COVID19 pandemic in 2020, higher education (and at all levels educational) suffered a change too fast and therefore the use of these virtual platforms was accelerated to comply with the confinement regulations implemented by the governments of the world. For this reason, the implementation of the online preparatory course to enter engineering and level (...) their knowledge, considering the previous situation, becomes significant as it impacts the training of the engineer. To apply the online propaedeutic course, a survey was carried out before and after it in Google Form with the aim of knowing the perception of the use of this modality of the course. What led to relate what was specified in other studies where it is expressed that today's youth are digital natives, but without a doubt we are also sociable by nature, so we need to interact to learn and relate, which requires the intervention and guidance of a teacher. (shrink)

This study examined the influence of 7 high school esports developmental programs on student self-regulation, growth mindset, positive youth development, perceived general health and physical activity, and sport behaviour. A total of 188 students originally participated, with 58 participants completing both pre- and post-program information. At baseline, no significant differences were found between youth e-athletes and their aged-matched controls. The analysis for the observation period showed a significant interaction effect for the PYD confidence scale, with post-hoc comparisons showing a significant (...) decrease in the control group from pre- to post assessment whereas the esports group remained the same. Time main effects showed a decrease in the self-regulation motivation factor, PYD connection factor and PA for all participants. Overall, this study showed that students enrolled in their respective school esports program did not differ from those who did not in self-regulation, growth mindset, PYD, perceived health and PA, and sport behaviour. It was likely that all participants showed a decrease in motivation, connection, and PA due to COVID19 lockdown during the study period. This study is the first to investigate the longitudinal impact of student involvement in high school esports and showed that esports participation did not have a negative impact on any health or psychological factors. (shrink)

Human infection challenge studies (HCS) involve intentionally infecting research participants with pathogens (or other micro-organisms). There have been recent calls for more HCS to be conducted in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where many relevant diseases are endemic. HCS in general, and HCS in LMICs in particular, raise numerous ethical issues. This paper summarises the findings of a project that explored ethical and regulatory issues related to LMIC HCS via (i) a review of relevant literature and (ii) 45 qualitative interviews (...) with scientists and ethicists. Among other areas of consensus, we found that there was widespread agreement that LMIC HCS can be ethically acceptable, provided that they have a sound scientific rationale, are accepted by local communities and meet usual research ethics requirements. Unresolved issues include those related to (i) acceptable approaches to trade-offs between the scientific aim to produce generalisable results and the protection of participants, (iii) the sharing of benefits with LMIC populations, (iii) the acceptable limits to risks and burdens for participants, (iv) the potential for third-party risk and whether the degree of acceptable third-party risk is different in endemic settings, (v) the conditions under which (if any) it would be appropriate to recruit children for disease-causing HCS, (v) appropriate levels of payment to participants and (vi) appropriate governance of (LMIC) HCS. This paper provides preliminary analyses of these ethical considerations in order to (i) inform scientists and policymakers involved in the planning, conduct and/or governance of LMIC HCS and (ii) highlight areas warranting future research. Insofar as this article focuses on HCS in (endemic) settings where diseases are present and/or widespread, much of the analysis provided is relevant to HCS (in HICs or LMICs) involving pandemic diseases including COVID19. (shrink)

During the Covid-19 pandemic, considerable scholarly attention has been paid to the proliferation of conspiracy theories and their potential impacts. How and why digital media has facilitated the production, consumption, and distribution of such discourses as ‘truth’ remains largely neglected in the literature though. This paper explores this process through a transdisciplinary methodology designed to investigate legitimation in digital spaces. Based on a theoretical bridge between Beetham’s theory of legitimation and KhosraviNik’s principle that visibility-equals-legitimacy, the Multimodal Critical Affect-Discourse Analysis of (...) an audio-visual performance of the 5G conspiracy theory exposes how it has been simultaneously legitimized through authoritative performance and visibility. An interview given by the notorious conspiracy theorist David Icke, in which he associates the pandemic with 5G technology, was used as a case study because it was widely consumed and reproduced as ‘truth’, leading media companies to take unprecedented action against conspiracy theories. Besides contributing to existing debates on conspiracy theories, this paper offers new directions for the critical analysis of legitimation and power, acknowledging the fluid and diffuse nature of power in network societies and illuminating how meanings, beliefs, and affects have been manipulated by multiple actors to achieve consent and motivate collaborative authorship. (shrink)

Several studies have lately revealed that social media conceal at least three dangerous pitfalls. Firstly, social media can negatively impact sociopolitical processes in advanced liberal democracies by becoming vehicles for the spread of false information that augments political polarization (Lee et al. 2017; Ostillio 2018). Secondly, as a result of the first point, social mediacan rapidly become a source of incorrect beliefs for those subjects with low digital literacy (Guess et al. 2019). Thirdly, because of the first and second points, (...) intentionally deceitful manipulations of social media content are potent generators of information cascades that increase group polarizations across groups of vulnerable social media users (Jang and Kim2018, Wang et al. 2018, Colliander 2019). These findings support the claim that the circulation of biased content on social media potentially threatens sociopolitical stability in liberal Western democracies (Duffy 2018; Sunstein 2018). Although this claim is far from being speculative, as shown by the FacebookFile investigations (Wall Street Journal 2019) and the center for humane technology’s recen tresearch, it introduces a thorny dilemma regarding the founding principles of liberal Western democracies. Namely, should Western legislators limit free speech by introducing severe penalties for those who spread fake news and the likes on social media? Or should they let the free market autonomously produce efficient technology allowing people to identify biased social media content?In other words, is a libertarian solution to the plight of online fake news and the like preferable to adequate legislation that punishes those who spread such content? Though appealing, it is unrealistic to believe that the free market can resolve this problem. On the other hand, it is realistic to suppose that Western governments should engage in a merciless battle against biased social media content. For instance, following the publication of the Report of the independent High level Group on fake news and online disinformation in 2018, the European Union introduced new directives to limit the spread of fake news online in 2021, when the Covid19 pandemic started fading. Although initiatives as such might look like limitations of free speech, there is solid philosophical ground to defend such initiatives. To prove this contention, we resort to Hobbes’s (1651, Part II, §18 and §29) argument that humans can avoid falling back into the Hobbesian state of war only if they stipulate a covenant. Specifically, we appeal to Hobbes’s (1651) argument in favor of bestowing the sovereign the right to ban those seditious doctrines that might undermine peace and sociopolitical stability in the Hobbesian Commonwealth. In this regard, we show that the Hobbesian covenant resolves conflict among humans in the same way a correlated equilibrium limits noncooperation in game theory. Namely, like game theory players, citizens enjoy greater welfare whenever they observe rules that mitigate conflict (Slomp 2010). Accordingly, we argue that citizens would be better off only if Western governments introduced severe penalties for those who intentionally spread fake news. Notably, we argue that effective regulation would create disincentives for spreading biased content and incentives for spreading truthful content. Furthermore, we argue that effective regulation against online fake news would assuage the polarizing effects of online availability cascades on social networks. Importantly, we provide empirical evidence supporting these claims by showing that the lack of effective regulation led the American government to miserably fail to contain the devasting effects of the online infodemic (i.e., the epidemic of false online information)that took place during the first two waves of the Covid19 pandemic (Evanega et al. 2020, Milosh et al. 2020). (shrink)

Covid-19 pandemic had an impact on many day-to-day activities but one of the biggest collateral impacts was felt by the education sector. The nature and the complexity of higher education is such that no matter how prepared we are as faculty, how planned our teaching and assessments, faculty are all too aware of the adjustments that have to be made to course plans, assessments designed, content delivery strategies and so on once classes begin. Faculties find themselves changing, modifying and deviating (...) from original plans to ensure accessibility and inclusiveness, this may be due to a variety of reasons such as student abilities, behaviour, disturbances and even outside factors that may be political, environmental, social etc. Majority of the time, faculty are prepared for the change that needs to be incorporated and are quick to adjust. However, no one expected the disruption to education that was caused by COVID19 pandemic. The world came to a standstill while schools and universities scrambled to push learning to the digital space. It was important to try to ensure continuity of learning for students, but the issue of integrity came to the forefront by summertime. Faculties were suddenly expected to restructure their lessons, delivery, teaching and assessing digitally, at the same time ensuring and upholding integrity of the concepts taught and assessed. This has neither been easy or straightforward because the situation was unprecedented with little or no prior documentation or guidelines to help. Recognising this gap, this paper is an attempt at providing exploratory findings from authors’ experiences in their respective institutions over the ensuing months. The paper attempts to record the changes made by the faculty and colleagues to lessons and assessments with particular focus on how technology has been used to help restructure classes, deliver lessons and assess students which have aided in minimizing the likelihood of students cheating. The paper further narrates the reflective changes that were made in response to experience, student/external examiners feedback etc. (shrink)

Over the recent years, some authors have questioned the hegemony of mankind (Anthropocene) over nature. The recent virus outbreak known as COVID19 starts a new period known as “violence” where humans are forced to recede to the private sphere. The COVID19 pandemic not only alerted the health authorities but also disposed of extreme measures which included the close of borders, airspaces, as well as the imposition of lockdown and social distancing. Not only global commerce but also the tourism (...) industry was placed on the brink of collapse. In this grim landscape, the problem of climate change is far from being solved. While steps to reverse the greenhouse gas emission should be taken globally coordinating efforts among nations, the current climate of tension without mentioning the geopolitical discrepancies (among countries) impedes the formation of global sustainable institutions to monitor and regulate the effects of climate change. The present article centers on a visual ethnography on the film Contagion, to lay the foundations towards a new understanding of ideology and its effects on ecological justice. (shrink)

Emergency has two areas of meaning the one derived from the Anglism emergen-cy, the other that includes all meanings connectable to what emerges. COVID19 emergency is exemplary of both areas. A semiotics of emergence observes the process of explosion, veridification and normalization of phenomena that burst into cultural systems. The analysis of social discourses on the pandemic has pro-vided elements to identify semantic oppositions, through which we have outlined a system of meaning relations.

Nicht erst im Zuge der CoVid19-Pandemie und ihrer Auswirkungen auf die Lebens- und Arbeitswirklichkeit vieler Menschen wird in der Öffentlichkeit die Idee eines bedingungslosen Grundeinkommens diskutiert. Begründungen sind vielfältig und reichen von Ideen zur Armutsprävention über Entwürfe eines guten Lebens und feministische Gesellschaftskritiken bis zu wirtschaftsliberalen Verweisen auf die zunehmende Digitalisierung der Arbeitswelt. Ebenso pointiert ist die Kritik, die vor der Unmöglichkeit der Finanzierbarkeit oder – gerade auch aus Sicht theologischer Sozialethik – vor dem Ende des Wohlfahrtsstaats warnt. Ist (...) das bedingungslose Grundeinkommen also problematische Utopie, sozialpolitisch begründbares Instrument oder sogar moralisch begrüßenswerte Forderung? Interdisziplinäre Beiträge diskutieren im Gespräch mit der theologischen Sozialethik Konzepte, Chancen und Grenzen der Idee eines Bedingungslosen Grundeinkommens. (shrink)

This article answers the question raised by the special issue of this journal in a positive way: managerial practices do need philosophy. In particular, it argues for a more concrete claim: managerial practices have needed philosophy in the past to develop some important intellectual tools, and today they still need to be open to the continuous conceptual and methodological innovations introduced by competing philosophical research programmes, because loyalty to just one favourite philosophical paradigm can hinder the ability of managerial practices (...) to express their full potential, whereas openness to philosophical innovation can help managers keep their conceptual tools up to their tasks. The authors argue for this thesis in concreto: they discuss a specific branch of managerial practice—marketing—and illustrate that a preeminent form thereof, i.e. Experiential Marketing, has needed philosophy, and still needs it nowadays, in order to achieve its goals and overcome certain problems. They also point out that Experiential Marketing needs to renew and integrate some of its philosophical assumptions and conceptual tools in the light of innovations brought about by a recent philosophical turn. In particular, the authors argue that philosophy has provided essential conceptual tools for the articulation of the notions of experience and authenticity used in Experiential Marketing; they claim that the excessive reliance of Experiential Marketing upon a problematic and somewhat outdated ontology produces paradoxes with important repercussions upon managerial practice; and they show that those problems can be overcome by integrating and partially renewing its assumptions and conceptual tools, in the light of a fresher philosophical framework. Shortcomings and solutions are discussed with reference to a specific case study: Venice as an experientially rewarding and authentic tourist destination during the Covid19 crisis, but also as a World Heritage property whose management entails difficult choices. The fruitfulness of the paradigm revision is shown also by integrating the conceptual toolkit of Experiential Marketing with three relatively new notions, deriving from a new realist framework: independence, attrition and perception. (shrink)

The late Robert Veatch, one of the United States’ founders of bioethics, never tired of reminding us that the paradigm-shifting contribution that bioethics made to patient care was to liberate patients out of the hands of doctors, who were traditionally seen to know best, even when they decidedly did not know best. It seems to us that with the advent of COVID-19, health policy has come full-circle on this. COVID-19 gave rise to a large number of purportedly “ethical” guidance documents (...) aiming to assist health care providers and practitioners with responding to the ethical challenges that might arise in their response to the pandemic. Ethics has two primary functions: provide clear action guidance, and provide clear action justification. The documents in question arguably reflect the ultimate policy triumph of bioethical “principlism”, and, perhaps surprisingly, as a corollary, the ultimate triumph of “doctor-knows-best”. (shrink)

Die Wiederaufnahme unterbrochener Handlungen nach der Aussetzung der Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung von CoVid19 veranschaulicht Unveränderlichkeit und Unvergänglichkeit regressives Zustandes, in dem sich weite Teile der Bevölkerung befinden. Nach kurzer Unterbrechung kommt alles in gewöhnten Kreis alltäglicher Routine und Gedankenlosigkeit, mit denen solche Aufgaben erledigt werden. Nichts, aber gar nichts änderte sich nach dem Unglück, das eigentlich, wie in meisten solchen Fällen, die Gelegenheit bietet, über sich selbst und die Welt nachzudenken.

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 many families experience the threat of the COVID-19. This study aims to explore the lived experiences, challenges, and coping mechanisms of COVID-19 Family Survivors. The study employed the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis with ten (10) participants. Based on the findings, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) Most of the participants consulted health professionals for their medications and advised herbal medicines in boosting their immune system. (2) Family survivors had to make adaptations to their daily routines (...) and established stringent health standards in their homes, such as separating the parents' and children's rooms, using disposable utensils, and ensuring that every surface of their homes was clean. (3) They were able to meet their necessities due to the generosity of their neighbors. These people were helped financially by their employers, neighbors, churchmates, and loved ones. Similarly, the government offered a different forum for the COVID-19 Family survivors to receive help and assistance. (4) Despite the hardships they faced, COVID-19 family survivors did not lose hope that they would be cured of COVID-19. These people tried their hardest to maintain their health by eating good meals, sleeping early, obtaining enough sunlight in the morning, and carefully selecting the vitamins they took. (5) Finally, despite the difficult battle against COVID19, these individuals grew resilient by building their spiritual lives, exercising their faith, and being brave for the sake of their loved ones. (shrink)

Moving education to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and the many alternatives during the COVID19-pandemic raised the question of pedagogical form. In a sense, pandemic education in its two-dimensionality was a frictionless, sanitized reduction of education to pure form; it offered a more efficient transfer of knowledge and was marked by a heightened means-to-an-end logic. This has made the informal, unforming and deformational activity that Stefano Harney and Fred Moten call study even more difficult, if not impossible during pandemic education. In (...) this article, we consider the pitfalls of thinking in terms of pedagogical form and the formalization of education by engaging with Emile Bojesen’s work on education as (de)formation. Via Harney and Moten, we reflect on what the concept/practice of study by way of formless formation teaches us about (pre-)pandemic education and about pedagogical forms that might be in keeping with study in post-pandemic education. (shrink)

A partir da obra fotográfica “Colunas Infinitas”, do artista e ativista Daniel Lima, este artigo percebe o conceito de ‘entreligar’ de Homi Bhabha em diálogo com as teorias de cultura contemporânea de Stuart Hall, em contraponto à dissonância dos encontros culturais e artísticos desde nada menos que a ‘Semana de 22’ e sua celebração da arte brasileira restrita aos modernistas europeizados, mas que perdura aos dias de hoje, quer seja na ausência de outras manifestações estéticas nos currículos de arte contemporânea, (...) quer seja em consonância com as restrições sanitárias da COVID19, que une os acadêmicos em redes virtuais, colunas eletrônicas, mas interrompe os diálogos escolares aos despossuídos de aparelhos e redes virtuais. (shrink)

Through this contribution I aim to show how the role of language and metaphors is fundamental to our understanding of reality, affecting the way we ordinarily act and live, and particularly important in facing fears and anguish. This is more evident in these times of the COVID-19 pandemic, where our experiences of language and of the world seem to be characterised mainly by war terminology. Politicians declare themselves at war fighting an invisible enemy and health care workers, who are in (...) direct contact with COVID-19 positive patients, are said to be “fighting” on the “frontlines”. Starting from a philosophical account of the relationship between language, fear and anguish, I aim to show how this narrative is unhelpful, both for society at large and especially for patients and health care workers. While war narratives instil fear, it seems to me that new forms of solidarity and new models of coexistence are required. Since language shapes the way in which we think, live and act, it is important to choose words that encourage people to act responsibly, to cooperate and to overcome the hardships of the COVID19 pandemic together. (shrink)

Using theories in medical anthropology, especially the ideas inspired by Hector Avalos and George Foster, the study explains three activities associated with the early Christian healthcare system: (1) touching infectious people, (2) hospitality towards possibly infectious people and (3) the practice of itinerary evangelism as an activity that earned Christianity the dubious role of being a carrier of infectious diseases. Discussed alongside the issues associated with the advent of COVID-19, the study aims at (1) reflecting that early Christian healthcare system, (...) which was an offshoot of Jewish healthcare systems, had practices that were perceived to exacerbate infection. In addition, (2) in view of the advent of COVID-19 pandemic, although of lesser catastrophe to ancient plagues, the study proposes that such epidemics call upon the collective actions of mercy and kindness, as Jesus did towards the infected. Theoretically, Victor Turner’s concepts of liminality and communitas assist in imagining the discursive ideas concerning labelling and marginalisation of the Jesus movement, with comparative implication towards those suspected to have contracted the deadly COVID-19 virus. The study concludes with a warning against Christian practices that may further inflame infection by suggesting alternative practices for love and empathy towards others. Contribution: Using ideas concerning infectious diseases in antiquity, the study reinterprets the Jesus movement as a movement that was perceived as carriers of infectious disease. Due to fear of infectious diseases, the rituals associated with hospitality towards the outsiders, the touch and laying of hands and iternary lifestyle were seen as promoting infection. Taking this perspective, the Jesus movement whose modus operandi is mostly associated with the periphery of the villages and cities created alternative rituals for the outcast. In view of the spread of COVID19, such stance by the Jesus movement provides lessons for the church and society to reach out to people who are considered infectious and burden to main society. (shrink)

Despite efforts to make virtue-acquisition more accessible, neo-Aristotelian accounts of virtue currently exclude those who occasionally experience depressive episodes from potentially possessing moral virtue. This problem of accessibility is especially relevant given the increased prevalence of depression due to, e.g., the COVID19 pandemic. Through an interdisciplinary analysis, I argue that one’s ability to adequately recognise and respond to virtuous possibilities for action is impoverished during a depressive episode. This is illustrated through the depressed agent’s field of affordances: the collection (...) of possible actions an agent perceives. As moral virtues are conceptualised as stable dispositions, even a temporary yet significant decrease in moral competence excludes the agent from possessing the relevant virtue. To solve this problem of accessibility, I argue that, similar to Aristotle’s discussion of sleep, depressive episodes can be conceptualised as temporary states that cause one’s virtues to be inactive, rather than absent. (shrink)

There is a growing trend of refusal of blood transfusions from COVID-19 vaccinated donors. We highlight three cases where parents have refused blood transfusions from COVID-19 vaccinated donors on behalf of their children in the setting of congenital cardiac surgery. These families have also requested accommodations such as explicit identification of blood from COVID-19 vaccinated donors, directed donation from a COVID19 unvaccinated family member, or use of a non-standard blood supplier. We address the ethical challenges posed by these issues. (...) We describe the current screening and safety processes for standard blood donation and explore the importance of donor anonymity and challenges with directed donation and non-standard blood suppliers. We present an ethical framework using the Best Interest Standard, the Zone of Parental Discretion, and the Harm Principle when considering these refusals. Finally, we provide recommendations for how to approach these requests as they potentially become more commonplace in pediatrics. (shrink)

As the world has been left reeling by the large and continuous loss of human lives due to the current pandemic, Pope Francis offered "Urbi et Orbi" (To the City and the World) in his blessings. He led a recitation of the Lord's Prayer on the feast of the Annunciation which was live streamed around the world, renewing his invitation to pray incessantly for the cure of the sick as well for the medical caregivers. As places of worship across the (...) world are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people of faith need to either offer prayers within the restricted walls of their homes or make use of the virtual platforms available. One way to sustain communal worship is to rely on technology and that is how some of the temples and Gurudwaras in India are engaging with their communities. They have resorted to audio kirtan (call and response chanting) and songs through which they are delivering sermons and messages to their devotees. Whilst many temples have remained closed, some temples and Gurudwaras are still not ready to follow the restrictions implemented against gatherings. Flouting lockdown, several devotees have assembled outside the local temples of West Bengal and Patna on the occasion of Ram Navami and to offer Pujas (prayer rituals) seeking relief from COVID19. However, the annual festivals to honour Lord Ram at Ayodhya – where thousands gather – have been called off. (shrink)

La situación de pandemia del COVID19 brindó la adopción de nuevas estrategias educativas en la educación superior, y un desafío en el desempeño de docentes y estudiantes.Identificaremos así las estrategias adoptadas en la disciplina Diseño de la Comunicación IV, de la carrera de Diseño de la Comunicación de la Universidad del Algarve. Para la realización del trabajo se utilizó una metodología cualitativa, análisis intensivo y estudio de casos, análisis documental, observación y entrevistas.Verificamos que el mayor enfoque estaba en las (...) necesidades de los estudiantes, brindándoles más autonomía y la adquisición de nuevas habilidades, en el ámbito profesional. (shrink)

Especialmente tras la crisis sanitaria del COVID19, y luego económica y social, se ha manifestado como una realidad ineludible, la de la precariedad laboral en el ámbito de los trabajos de cuidado. Que, se ha de considerar innecesaria, si se atiende a la centralidad que se ha evidenciado que tiene en las nuevas construcciones sociales de la igualdad. La regulación jurídico laboral, de origen legal, pero también convencional, son causa y efecto de una infravaloración de este tipo de trabajos, (...) eminentemente desarrollados por mujeres, con efectos positivos directos en la empleabilidad de otras mujeres. (shrink)

Michel Foucault’s modes of power have dominated both our understanding of power and norm. It is pretty impossible to think of the organisation of life outside his thinking. Here I argue that the idea and practice of mutual aid, articulated by Peter Kropotkin in his 1902 book Mutual Aid stirs us towards a different understanding of the management of life, bereft of hierarchies and bestowed with co-operation and care. Moreover, as I argue, the existence of mutual aid groups and practices (...) challenges the very idea of the norm. This has become even more apparent during the Covid19 pandemic with the surfacing of mutual aid groups globally. It is therefore rather misleading to understand our present as generator of the ‘new normal’; such claims are mere rhetorical devices aiming at keeping us in our place. (shrink)