A new book, Nurses' Extraordinary Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic: There was Something in the Air, offers a poignant and firsthand account of the challenges and triumphs faced by nurses during the most devastating pandemic of our generation.

A new book, Nurses' Extraordinary Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic: There was Something in the Air, offers a poignant and firsthand account of the challenges and triumphs faced by nurses during the most devastating pandemic of our generation.

By Don Thompson, KFF

California public health officials are dipping into state and federal stockpiles to equip up to 10,000 farmworkers with masks, gloves, goggles, and other safety gear as the state confirms at least 21 human cases of bird flu as of early November. It’s the latest reminder of the state’s struggle to remain prepared amid multibillion-dollar deficits.

Officials said they began distributing more than 2 million pieces of personal protective equipment in late May, four months before the first human case was confirmed in the state. They said they began ramping up coordination with local health officials in April after bird flu was first detected in cattle in the U.S. Bird flu has now been confirmed at more than 270 dairies in central California, and traces were recently detected at a wastewater sampling site in Los Angeles County. Bird flu was also recently detected in a flock of commercial turkeys in Sacramento County.

California is putting a number of lessons from the covid-19 pandemic to use, such as coordinating emergency response with local health officials and tracking infectious diseases through wastewater surveillance, as the state tries to limit the spread of bird flu to humans. It’s striving to maintain an adequate emergency stockpile to withstand the first wave of any new public health disaster without hemorrhaging the state budget.

“We are far better prepared to respond to a pandemic than we were in 2020,” said Amy Palmer, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

For instance, before the coronavirus struck in 2020, the state’s emergency supplies stockpile was barely big enough to crowd two basketball courts.

By the time California ramped up its pandemic response, it had enough personal protective equipment and other disaster supplies to fill 52 football fields. California spent $15.6 billion on direct pandemic response during the covid crisis years, much of it provided by the federal government.

Today, the stockpile fits into about 12½ football fields, though it can seesaw from month to month.

According to the state, the current stockpile includes 101 million face masks, 26 million more than the 90-day supply recommended by the state’s pandemic preparedness guideline.

That includes 88 million N95 masks, more than the emergency services agency said was needed last year. The high-efficiency masks are considered crucial to protect against airborne viruses such as covid-19.

Although the state is building up its stockpile, Palmer could not say if the additional masks are related to fears of bird flu, only that planners are always working “to keep pace with the current risk environment.”

The state’s goal, Palmer said, is to have “an initial supply during emergencies to allow us the time to secure resources,” whether through the federal government or by buying more.

There is no indication of spread between humans in the recent California bird flu cases, and health officials say public risk remains low. Human transmission of bird flu is among several worst-case scenarios for a new pandemic, alongside the possibility of a resurgent mutant coronavirus; wider international spread of mpox, Marburg virus, or Ebola; or an entirely new virus for which there initially is no immunity or vaccine.

Yet, health officials nationwide have struggled to track bird flu transmission. And California has a history of swinging back and forth on preparedness.

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered an increase in California’s pandemic preparedness in 2006 in response to an earlier threat from bird flu. That included three mobile hospitals that could immediately be deployed during disasters.

Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, ended the program in 2011 as state finances went bust. By the time covid struck, the state released 21 million N95 masks, some so old they were past their expiration date.

Now hospitals are required to maintain their own three-month supply of masks, gowns, and other personal protective equipment under a state law passed in 2020. California’s aerosol transmissible disease standard also uniquely requires hospitals and other high-risk workplaces to follow precautions such as using negative pressure isolation rooms and the highest level of protective equipment until more is known about a new pathogen.

“It is difficult to overstate the level of unpreparedness exhibited by hospitals both in and outside of California in dealing with the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19,” according to a legislative analysis. “Harrowing images of nurses walking the corridors of hospitals in makeshift masks and garbage bags became commonplace.”

California Hospital Association spokesperson Jan Emerson-Shea said hospitals “continuously prepare to respond to all types of disasters, including outbreaks of transmissible viruses.”

In addition, Palmer said California has five mobile hospitals acquired from the federal government, though they got little use during the pandemic. She said they have to be maintained, such as making sure pulse oximeters have working batteries.

But, once again, the current deficit has the state trying to strike a balance.

While lawmakers rejected most of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $300 million proposed cut to public health funding, the state slashed funding for its stockpile of personal protective equipment by one-third a year ago after it determined that no additional covid-related purchases were necessary, according to the Department of Finance. California eliminated funding this year for eight 53-foot-long trailers that would have moved stockpiled items between warehouses. It’s also cutting nearly $40 million over the next four years from its $175 million disaster stockpile budget.

The state’s preparedness wasn’t good enough for Californians Against Pandemics, which gathered more than 1 million signatures to put a ballot measure before voters in November. The measure would have increased taxes on people with incomes over $5 million and used that money for pandemic prevention and response.

But that effort collapsed after one of its key financial supporters, former cryptocurrency executive Sam Bankman-Fried, was convicted of defrauding customers and investors. In exchange for initiative backers dropping the measure, state officials agreed to broaden the scope of the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine, which was created in 2015 to focus on developing new medicines and therapies, to include technologies for preventing another pandemic.

“By harnessing the power of precision medicine, California is moving to the forefront of pandemic preparedness and prevention,” Newsom said at the time.

Rodger Butler, a spokesperson for the state Health and Human Services Agency, said it’s unclear if the precision medicine initiative will receive additional funding.

A startup called Wonder is now the new owner of Grubhub. The food delivery app announced its acceptance of the deal on its website earlier today.

Wonder acquired Grubhub from the Dutch food company Just Eat Takeaway for $650 million. Pending regulatory approval, the deal will close early next year. Wonder also announced it has raised an additional $250 million in venture capital funding “to further its mission and growth.”

Chicago software engineers Matt Maloney and Mike Evens founded Grubhub in 2004 as an online restaurant ordering service and an alternative to those paper menus that showed up on doorsteps and in junk mailings. The company merged with the automated food ordering and delivery company Seamless in 2013. Just Eat Takeaway bought Grubhub in 2020 for $7.3 billion at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The numbers for restaurant delivery apps started to drop once the pandemic became part of history and people started going out again. Legal troubles started in 2021 when Chicago took Grubhub and some of its competitors to court for alleged unfair business practices and fees. Companies like DoorDash eventually settled but Grubhub’s legal battle with Chicago is still raging in court, according to the Chicago Business Journal.

The District of Columbia won a similar lawsuit against Grubhub in 2021 that ended with a $3.5 million settlement. The following year, Grubhub announced it would lay off 15 percent of its corporate staff.

Wonder is a new fooddelivery company started by Marc Lore, a former Walmart executive who owns two professional basketball teams. Lowe previously founded Diapers.com and Jet.com. The New York Times published a profile on Lore and his newest venture Wonder, which he said “could be the Amazon of food and beverage.”

Wonder’s original focus was to get “its own restaurants up and running” and create a delivery service that offers “cheaper, quicker build-outs.” Maybe that’s because third-party food delivery services like Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber have seen their prices jump in the last couple of years, according to CNBC.

Just in New York City, food delivery prices increased by 58 percent in just under a year, according to Bloomberg. A new law that went into effect at the end of last year raised the minimum wage for New York delivery drivers to $17.96 an hour. The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection reported that food delivery workers saw their wages increase by 64 percent and their tips decreased by 60 percent in just eight months.

The survey, conducted in mid-April by Leger on behalf of RATESDOTCA in conjunction with the brand's 10th annual Best of Finance report, finds Canadians are especially eager to resume spending on restaurants and travel once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, though still shy of pre-pandemic levels.

For small businesses, resources can be tight. Especially right now.
Limited budgets can present challenges for how businesses raise awareness, acquire customers, and generate revenue.

In fact, 39% of small business owners agree that a limited budget is a major roadblock in growing their businesses.

However, there are plenty of low-cost, high-yielding marketing hacks that can help you reach your customers.
Get featured in press by responding to journalists and podcasters
Personalize cold outreach campaigns
Correct Existing Mentions of Your Brand
Add videos to your landing page
Repurpose old blog content

Understand the Challenges Your Customers Are Facing
Before you can market during any period, you need to be able to solve a problem for your customers. During a pandemic, the problem you are solving may change. So you have to be able to communicate that. Part of this is just understanding the current climate. It is probably safe to say that many small business customers are hurting financially. Some may also be in a hurry to receive specific types of items. By understanding your market and staying up-to-date on news in your industry, you should be well versed on the basic challenges that might impact your strategy or talking points. However, Perkin also recommends surveying customers however possible so you can quantify how many of them are struggling in specific areas. Once you know the problems your customers are facing, you can work backward to create your marketing communication strategy.

Learn How to Communicate with New Customers
In fact, you may need to pivot all or part of your business strategy in order to stay afloat during the pandemic. For example, Marran pointed out a UPS client that previously sold pet costumes, but has recently shifted into manufacturing face masks and PPE. This is likely to be a temporary change. But they still need to shift their marketing and communication strategy toward hospitals and B2B customers, rather than focusing on the consumers they normally serve.

Ninety-six percent of new entrepreneurs say the pandemic is motivating or giving them the motivation they needed to start their own business. This positive statistic comes from Azlo, a banking platform for small business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.

In mid-March 2020, Azlo witnessed an uptick in new accounts opening. Wanting to understand the reasons behind the boost in business, Azlo conducted a survey. ‘The COVID Economy’ report interviewed 1,000 of Azlos newest customers across the United States.

Working from home has accelerated innovative team-building trends. How to make traits like agility, collaboration, and candor a permanent part of our management process.

The future of work arrived out of nowhere, on the back of a once-in-a-century pandemic. Team dynamics got challenged as members dealt with illness, trauma, and crisis. We've all been forced to rapidly and radically adapt to new working norms. The Ferrazzi Greenlight Research Institute has spent more than 15 years studying high-performing teams, but I've never seen entrepreneurs rise to the occasion as they have this year. When the crisis subsides, the temptation will be to turn back that progress and retreat into old behaviors.

Here is something good that has come out of the pandemic. Because people have had fewer buying opportunities, the countrys personal savings rate is the highest it’s been in 30 years. Retail sales have continued to grow and consumer confidence is at a six-month high.

But the biggest impact on the sales of smaller retailers has been online. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, online sales have increased more than 44% compared with the previous year and, as more shutdowns, quarantines and other disruptions potentially loom, many expect this trend to continue. Small retailers in this area know this, and many have been investing heavily in e-commerce to succeed this holiday season.

Recovery is slow: In fact, more than half (56%) have experienced a slower recovery than expected after shelter-in-place orders began to expire, with nearly half of small business owners fearing they may need to shutter their business within six months if pandemic restrictions are not lifted or if shelter-in-place orders resume in the near-term.
    
Survival requires adaptability: Yet despite fear of survival, owners are demonstrating resiliency and adaptability, with about a third (30%) creating products/services to meet new needs and half (50%) of those with an online presence increasing their digital footprint to meet the moment. And, they’re looking for help in making those changes – nearly 70 percent of female and 60 percent of male small business owners say they need one-to-one small business advice.

They depend on their community: While small businesses continue to be important facets of communities, many small business owners have noted changes in their customers and worry that people will not be able to afford doing business with them. However, half of small business owners believe that there seems to be a renewed interest in shopping locally in their area.

1. Focus on the positive
2. Hit the reset button
3. Never give up
4. Network

The dent COVID-19 put in podcast advertising hasn’t stopped the market from growing.

Revenues in the podcast advertising market are projected to grow 14.7% year over year to nearly $1 billion in 2020, according to the IAB and PricewaterhouseCooper’s full year podcast ad revenue study, released Monday. IAB surveyed 19 podcast publishers and ad networks prior to the pandemic and followed up in mid-April with another survey about COVID-19’s impact on the industry.

That 14.7% projection is a downgrade from the IAB’s pre-pandemic expectations of 29.6% growth in 2020, 55% growth in 2021 and 36% growth in 2022. Those figures were based on podcast advertising’s growth to $708 million in 2019 (48% year over year).

But 2020s decelerated growth is still a positive given how the pandemic has decimated other mediums, said Zoe Soon, VP of consumer experience center at the IAB.

Americans are listening to more business and finance podcasts, with downloads and streams up 78% week-over-week since the COVID-19 pandemic began, iHeartMedia reports.

In fact, as of April 2020, there are more than 30 million podcast episodes on the internet with numbers climbing daily. According to the Financial Times, podcasts have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the media market.

This surging level of interest and engagement in finance podcasts is a golden opportunity for financial advisors, especially those whose seminar and event marketing routines have been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this transition into a new way of doing business, it is important for financial advisors to include creativity and innovation into their post-pandemic marketing and communication plans.

When the pandemic hit us, nobody anticipated the extent to which it would alter our lives. Just over a year ago, the coronavirus was spreading only in the unfamiliar region of China’s Hubei province. Today, every major country is reeling under its effects, with people trying to balance work, home and social wellbeing. While our routines remained restricted due to imposed limitations on movement, it has provided us additional time to spend at home.

Moreover, the work-from-home phenomenon has given employees the flexibility to accommodate the various facets of everyday life. People now have a myriad of options to pick and keep them entertained and connected to the world. Over the months since the initial lockdowns, there is a significant buzz, with reports suggesting a spike in mobile phone usage, online shopping, OTT video content and podcasting.

TV meant to be responsive to the moment seemed distant. But podcasts, with the intimate production values, felt more immediate and relevant than ever before.

In a year otherwise defined by loss, one area of our lives has remained untouched; abundant, even. Movie theaters closed and blockbusters were delayed. Music and theater venues shuttered. But TV marched on. The number of original scripted shows dipped slightly, but international series and older shows arriving on the streaming platforms more than filled the void of shows canceled or delayed.

And yet, as the pandemic months piled up, TVs seeming imperviousness to the halt of all other cultural activities started seeming less like a virtue and more like a vice, like denial, like a dispatch from a faker world.

[allAfrica] The 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference (HIVR4P 2024) held in Lima, Peru, marked a significant milestone in the global fight against HIV, bringing together more than 1,300 scientists, advocates, community representatives, and policymakers. This dynamic gathering provided a platform for experts to share cutting-edge evidence and discuss the latest tools and strategies in HIV prevention science.

Time Eternal is back from the abyss! Nicole talks about three ways the pandemic altered her sense of time and how she is trying to re-engage in the sacredness of time. How did the pandemic shift your experience of time for better or worse? Join the conversation on Instagram or Twitter. The intro and outro of this podcast are the songs "Idea" and "Remedy for Melancholy" by Kai Engel, available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.

Fr. Nick and Dr. Roxanne bring you a live conversation to give you some practical tools to help you parent during this pandemic.

Fr. Nick and Pres. Roxanne share practical tools to help you parent during this pandemic

Regardless of the particulars of our life circumstances, let us use the challenges posed by the global pandemic as reminders of the folly of making life in this world our false god.

Listen to excerpts from this past Sunday's bulletin at St. John the Compassionate Mission, still open and serving the most vulnerable in Toronto. "This becomes a time when we get to experience what real life has been for others. We are receiving the good news of the Resurrection so we can witness and testify for the sake of those who do not know when the darkness is going to end, to those who have not seen the dawn just yet."

Listen to excerpts from this past Sunday's bulletin at St. John the Compassionate Mission, still open and serving the most vulnerable in Toronto. "Never has the church worldwide celebrated Pascha in this way, as we will this year. Abstinence not only from sin but from things that are good in themselves creates an empty space where God can act and surprise us. Could this not be the unexpected grace that is waiting for us in the empty tomb this year? What if the church is called this year to risk living something new, unfamiliar, even surprising?"

Listen to excerpts from this past Sunday's bulletin at St. John the Compassionate Mission, serving the most vulnerable in Toronto.

How can we remain peaceful during the Pandemic? Fr Thomas presents the practical teachings of St Paul and the Lord Jesus Christ to give us perspective about how to actually grow in faithfulness during times of trouble.

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 1 of

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 2 of 4.

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 3 of 4.

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 4 of a 4 part series

A reading scheme set up to help school children in Hastings has been extended for a third year.

This study examines Form 10-K filing lags of US firms during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. The findings suggest that filing lags relate negatively to firm size, profitability, hiring Big4 auditors, and filing status, but positively to ineffective internal control, ineffective disclosure control, and going concern opinion. Large accelerated and accelerated filers had shorter filing lags, and non-accelerated filers had longer filing lags in 2020-2021 than 2018-2019. Further analysis provides mild evidence that Big4 auditors contributed to the filing lag reduction in 2020-2021, echoing the view that adopting advanced audit technologies allows Big4 auditors to respond better to the external shocks brought by the pandemic.

Disease pandemics, once thought to be historical relics, are now again challenging healthcare systems globally. Of essential importance is sufficiently investing in preparedness and responsiveness, but approaches to such investments vary significantly by country. These variations provide excellent opportunities to learn and prepare for future pandemics. Therefore, we examine digital health infrastructure and the state of healthcare and public health services in relation to pandemic preparedness and responsiveness. The research focuses on two countries: South Africa and the USA. We apply case analysis at the country level toward understanding digital health policy preparedness and responsiveness to a pandemic. We also provide a teaching note at the end for use in guiding students in this area to formulate digital health policy recommendations for pandemic preparedness and responsiveness.

Aim/Purpose: This study examines the use of the Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) platform by undergraduates of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, during the COVID-19 pandemic using the constructs of the UTAUT2 model. Five constructs of the UTAUT2 model were adopted to investigate the use of the ERT platform by undergraduates of the university. Background: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak disrupted academic activities in educational institutions, leading to an unprecedented school closure globally. In response to the pandemic, higher educational institutions adopted different initiatives aimed at ensuring the uninterrupted flow of their teaching and learning activities. However, there is little research on the use of ERT platforms by undergraduates in Nigerian universities. Methodology: The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 334 undergraduates at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, while a questionnaire was used to collect data from 271 students. Quantitative data were collected and analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and regression analysis. Contribution: The study contributes to understanding ERT use in the educational institutions of Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country. Furthermore, the study adds to the existing body of knowledge on how the UTAUT2 Model could explain the use of information technologies in different settings. Findings: Findings revealed that there was a positive significant relationship between habit, hedonic motivation, price value, and social influence on the use of ERT platforms by undergraduates. Hedonic motivation strongly predicted the use of ERT platforms by most undergraduates. Recommendations for Practitioners: As a provisional intervention in times of emergencies, the user interface, navigation, customization, and other aesthetic features of ERT platforms should be more appealing and enjoyable to ensure their optimum utilization by students. Recommendation for Researchers: More qualitative research is required on users’ satisfaction, concerns, and support systems for ERT platforms in educational institutions. Future studies could consider the use of ERT by students in different countries and contexts such as students participating in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and the English for Speakers of other languages (ESOL) programs. Impact on Society: As society faces increased uncertainties of the next global pandemic, this article reiterates the crucial roles of information technology in enriching teaching and learning activities in educational institutions. Future Research: Future research should focus on how different technology theories and models could explain the use of ERT platforms at different educational institutions in other geographical settings and contexts.

In this article, we have attempted to study the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has gradually increased and impacted the world. The authors integrate the knowledge from cognitive psychology literature to illustrate how the limitations of the human mind might have a critical role in the decisions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors show the correlation between different biases in various contexts involved in the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the ways in which we can nudge ourselves and various stakeholders involved in the decision-making process. This study uses a typology of biases to examine how different patterns of biases affect the decision-making behaviour of people during the pandemic. The presented model investigates the potential interrelations among environmental transformations, cognitive biases, and strategic decisions. By referring to cognitive biases, our model also helps to understand why the same performance improvement practices might incite different opinions among decision-makers.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of gaps in students’ knowledge at the time they enter a comprehensive Information Systems cap-stone course. This problem of knowledge gaps was exacerbated by the forced remote learning and isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim was to find a technique that would identify and fill those gaps. Ideally, the method would also reinforce the students’ interpersonal soft skills. Background: Many universities have a capstone course where students may apply their knowledge from the curriculum to a project, and they are evaluated on their retention of knowledge from the core classes. Over the past two years, students have experienced course interruptions and modifications due to the pandemic, resulting in learning gaps on topics covered in the core courses. Depending on the project’s scope and curriculum, this may prevent students from conversing on many essential concepts during the capstone course. By requiring students to create “Teach Back” tutorials on materials from their core courses, faculty may ensure that the key concepts are discussed multiple times within the curriculum. Methodology: We present a case study to identify key concepts and compare cohort results before and after implementation. Contribution: A process for identifying potential knowledge gaps is identified, and a method to repeatedly expose students to concepts is introduced. Findings: There were improvements to the overall capstone scores after the tutorial implementation. While many factors influence changes in scores across cohorts, the initial findings are promising, supporting the concept that teaching back helps to close knowledge gaps. Recommendations for Practitioners: Faculty should collaborate to identify knowledge areas that need to be rein-forced later in their students’ academic careers. Teaching back essential concepts that may not be prioritized in implementing a capstone project ensures a repeated exposure to the identified concepts. Recommendations for Researchers: There needs to be a priority to teach students to be lifelong learners and to teach the skills needed to share their knowledge with future coworkers. There needs to be more research into a pedagogy that builds these essential soft skills within our curriculum. Finally, research into alumni feedback on course topics and pedagogy is needed. Impact on Society: Introducing pedagogy that improves both knowledge and soft skills, this re-search looks to build individuals who will learn independently and be able to communicate with and improve others. Future Research: There needs to be additional research to study the changes in technical knowledge before and after Teach Back, the consequences of elective sequencing, the consideration of elective versus required courses, and the use of Teach Back to capture student knowledge gained from completing diverse electives prior to the capstone course.

Aim/Purpose: This paper aims to empirically quantify the financial distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). The paper also aims to identify the most important predictors of financial distress pre- and mid-pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge toll, not only on human lives but also on many businesses. This provided the impetus to assess the impact of the pandemic on the financial status of Jordanian companies. Methodology: The initial sample comprised 165 companies, which was cleansed and reduced to 84 companies as per data availability. Financial data pertaining to the 84 companies were collected over a two-year period, 2019 and 2020, to empirically quantify the impact of the pandemic on companies in the dataset. Two approaches were employed. The first approach involved using Multiple Discriminant Analysis (MDA) based on Altman’s (1968) model to obtain the Z-score of each company over the investigation period. The second approach involved developing models using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) with 15 standard financial ratios to find out the most important variables in predicting financial distress and create an accurate Financial Distress Prediction (FDP) model. Contribution: This research contributes by providing a better understanding of how financial distress predictors perform during dynamic and risky times. The research confirmed that in spite of the negative impact of COVID-19 on the financial health of companies, the main predictors of financial distress remained relatively steadfast. This indicates that standard financial distress predictors can be regarded as being impervious to extraneous financial and/or health calamities. Findings: Results using MDA indicated that more than 63% of companies in the dataset have a lower Z-score in 2020 when compared to 2019. There was also an 8% increase in distressed companies in 2020, and around 6% of companies came to be no longer healthy. As for the models built using ANNs, results show that the most important variable in predicting financial distress is the Return on Capital. The predictive accuracy for the 2019 and 2020 models measured using the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) graph was 87.5% and 97.6%, respectively. Recommendations for Practitioners: Decision makers and top management are encouraged to focus on the identified highly liquid ratios to make thoughtful decisions and initiate preemptive actions to avoid organizational failure. Recommendation for Researchers: This research can be considered a stepping stone to investigating the impact of COVID-19 on the financial status of companies. Researchers are recommended to replicate the methods used in this research across various business sectors to understand the financial dynamics of companies during uncertain times. Impact on Society: Stakeholders in Jordanian-listed companies should concentrate on the list of most important predictors of financial distress as presented in this study. Future Research: Future research may focus on expanding the scope of this study by including other geographical locations to check for the generalisability of the results. Future research may also include post-COVID-19 data to check for changes in results.

The novel coronavirus pandemic ravaged the world in 2020, making the world fall into an unprecedented period of stagnation. This research used the Sol-Idea internet public opinion analysis platform to collect, and analyses online public opinion data associated with novel coronavirus. This research finds the following situations: 1) COVID-19 online opinion leaders are more likely to post in major discussion boards. However, opinion leaders of replies but use PTT forum as the main discussion channel; 2) According to the analysis of the content and behaviour of the account 'ebola01', it is found that the content of the posts are mostly news praising the ruling party government or mocking the opposing parties, with the sources mostly coming from media considered to be more pro-ruling party. Therefore, it can be inferred that 'ebola01' may be part of cyber army with a particular political spectrum.

Aim/Purpose: This paper aimed to explore the impact of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out among the general population during the pandemic. Background: The paper has attempted to explore compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out among the population at large, especially during the pandemic. This area has not been explored as yet. Methodology: A simple random sample of 98 males and 88 females was collected anonymously through a Google form survey. Part A collected demographic data and Part B comprised of 15 statements with 5 each for compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out, adapted from a Compassion Fatigue/Satisfaction Self-Test. ANOVA single factor was employed for the three variables of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out using a 0.05 significance level. Correlations among the variables were also analyzed. Contribution: The present paper contributes to covering the research gap of investigating the presence of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out among the population at large comprising the age group of 18 to 60+ and from different professions. Findings: The findings revealed significant differences in the levels of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out in the population at large during the pandemic. Future Research: The findings can be further strengthened by extending it to a larger sample size across different nations and, specifically, studying gender differences during such adverse pandemic situations.

The objective of this study was to explore through the Model of Theory of Planned Behaviour the most important variables that influence the practice of physical and sports activity at home supported by virtual training in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-study was proposed between countries from three continents, distributing the questionnaire in Spain (Europe), Pakistan (Asia), and Colombia (South America) to ensure a comprehensive study. The methodology of structural equations using partial least squares was used. The empirical exploratory study supported the hypotheses proposed, with the most important result that confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been a factor causing the practice of physical and sports activity at home. This is one of the first studies to examine sports practice at home and the new context of sports practice that has generated disruptive technologies and the global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Health Organization says every effort is now needed to contain the coronavirus disease, COVID-19. Some nations have well-developed plans for dealing with the outbreak of a new virus, others are just starting to catch up. Jane Halton, the former health secretary of Australia, and a past chair of WHO’s executive board says there’s a lot to be learned from models that simulate similar outbreaks.

Also: health officials have warned people not to touch their face, but that’s easier said than done; understanding personal versus collective responsibility around coronavirus; millions of kids are home from school and they have some thoughts to share; after being on lockdown, a California family stranded in China ventures outside; and three Mexican nurses have become heroes in the global fight against coronavirus, thanks to a video they made on the correct way to wash hands.

(From L) World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme Director Michael Ryan, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Technical Lead Maria Van Kerkhove attend a daily press briefing on COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva. Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images)

The US has been planning for catastrophe on a national scale since the beginning of the Cold War and the advent of the nuclear age. Now, with the new coronavirus, the US and the world face a very different challenge, but the approach is similar. Author Garrett Graff examined this intersection between national security and national emergency in his book Raven Rock, named after one of the major bunkers used by the US government in times of emergency.

Also, more than 300 million students in China are stuck at home and getting their schooling through online classes - how are they coping? As more people across the globe work from home, the team-messaging application Slack is having a big moment. International students in the US, displaced by COVID-19, face new challenges with online classes. In the US, farmworkers are considered essential so they still go out and work, but there are increasing concerns about their safety on the job. And Mr. Motivator wants you to have fun while exercising under quarantine.

Photo: An American flag is seen at sunrise at the Pentagon. Credit: Salwan Georges/The Washington Post/Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic is causing the world to realize just how fragile life can be.  More than ever, people need to hear that God is good and offers us salvation through Jesus.  As Christians, we have a unique opportunity to glorify God as we serve our neighbors. Through the ages, amazing things have occurred during difficult times. The story of C.S. Lewis writing the classic book Mere Christianity is one of those.  In the book, C. S. Lewis at War - The Dramatic Story Behind Mere...

I want to first thank all the great guests we have had on Walls & Ceilings’ videos with our Publisher Jill Bloom. 

Atlanta — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released guidelines intended to help businesses, as well as schools and mass transit operations, safely reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — Workers’ opinions about returning to the office amid the COVID-19 pandemic vary greatly based on each individual’s situation, but most want their employer to take certain actions to ensure their safety when they do, results of a recent survey show.

Washington — The American Hotel and Lodging Association has developed what it calls “enhanced” cleaning guidelines and workplace protocols “to meet the new health and safety challenges and expectations presented by COVID-19.”

Washington — Aimed at protecting restaurant/food and beverage workers from exposure to COVID-19, a new OSHA safety alert lists measures employers should take during the pandemic.

Silver Spring, MD — In response to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the nation’s largest union and professional association of direct care registered nurses is petitioning OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard to protect frontline workers, patients and the public from the potentially deadly respiratory illness.