Covid-19 Unmasked: The News, The Science, And Common Sense
Covid-19 Unmasked: The News, The Science, And Common Sense

Author: Winfried Just

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2021-03-11

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 9811233616

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How can we keep up with the deluge of information about COVID-19 and tell which parts are most important and trustworthy?We read: 'Scientists recommend', 'Experts warn', 'A new model predicts'. How do scientific experts come up with their recommendations? What do their predictions really mean for us, for our friends, and our families?How can we make rational decisions? And how can we have sensible conversations about the pandemic when we disagree?These are the questions that this book is trying to address.It is written in the form of dialogues. Alice, a student of epidemiology, explains the science to three of her fellow students who have a lot of questions for her. The students have the same concerns that we all share to varying degrees: What the pandemic is doing to our health, our economy, and our cherished freedoms. In their conversations, they discover how the science relates to these questions.The book focuses on epidemiology, the science of how infections spread and how the spread can be mitigated. The science of how many infections can be prevented by certain kinds of actions. This is what we need to understand if we want to act wisely, as individuals and as a society.The author's goal is to help the reader think about the COVID-19 pandemic like an epidemiologist. About the various preventive measures, what they are trying to accomplish, what the obstacles are. About what is likely to be most effective in the long run at moderate economic and personal cost. About the likely consequences of personal decisions. About how to best protect oneself and others while allowing all of us to lead lives that are as close as possible to normal.While some chapters present slightly more advanced material than others, no scientific background is needed to follow the conversations. The technical concepts are explained in small steps and the occasional calculations in the book require only high-school mathematics.Related Link(s)

The Chief's Chief
The Chief's Chief

Author: Mark Meadows

Publisher:

Published: 2021-11-09

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781737478522

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Mark Meadows, the final Chief of Staff under President Donald J. Trump, tells the story of one of the most turbulent years in our nation's history-from inside the Oval Office and the frontline on the war against Covid-19 to the campaign trail and its aftermath.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Older Adults
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Older Adults

Author: Edward Alan Miller

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-04-19

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1000573648

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The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life globally through virus-related mortality and morbidity and the social and economic impacts of actions taken to stop the virus’ spread. It became evident early on during the pandemic that older adults are especially vulnerable to morbidity and mortality from COVID-19, and the adverse consequences of strategies taken to mitigate its effects. While no more likely to become infected than younger populations, the risk for hospitalization and death rises considerably with age. Residents of long-term care facilities have been among the hardest hit. The pandemic has brought many facets of ageism to the fore. Community stay-at-home messages, lockdowns, social distancing requirements, and visitation restrictions contributed to a concomitant epidemic in social isolation and loneliness. Economic and social impacts have been dramatic; so too has been the disproportionate hardship experienced by members of racial and ethnic minority communities. This book reports original empirical research and perspectives on the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the older adult population, and draws lessons for policy, research, and practice. Key issues pertaining to the impact of COVID-19 on older adults and their families, caregivers, and communities are highlighted. Four main areas are examined: personal experiences with COVID-19; long-term care system impacts; end-of-life care; and technology and innovation. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Aging & Social Policy.

Ohio under COVID
Ohio under COVID

Author: Katherine Sorrels

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2023-04-05

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 0472903063

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In early March of 2020, Americans watched with uncertain terror as the novel coronavirus pandemic unfolded. One week later, Ohio announced its first confirmed cases. Just one year later, the state had over a million cases and 18,000 Ohioans had died. What happened in that first pandemic year is not only a story of a public health disaster, but also a story of social disparities and moral dilemmas, of lives and livelihoods turned upside down, and of institutions and safety nets stretched to their limits. Ohio under COVID tells the human story of COVID in Ohio, America’s bellwether state. Scholars and practitioners examine the pandemic response from multiple angles, and contributors from numerous walks of life offer moving first-person reflections. Two themes emerge again and again: how the pandemic revealed a deep tension between individual autonomy and the collective good, and how it exacerbated social inequalities in a state divided along social, economic, and political lines. Chapters address topics such as mask mandates, ableism, prisons, food insecurity, access to reproductive health care, and the need for more Black doctors. The book concludes with an interview with Dr. Amy Acton, the state’s top public health official at the time COVID hit Ohio. Ohio under COVID captures the devastating impact of the pandemic, both in the public discord it has unearthed and in the unfair burdens it has placed on the groups least equipped to bear them.

Bayesian Applications in Environmental and Ecological Studies with R and Stan
Bayesian Applications in Environmental and Ecological Studies with R and Stan

Author: Song S. Qian

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2022-08-29

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 1351018779

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Modern ecological and environmental sciences are dominated by observational data. As a result, traditional statistical training often leaves scientists ill-prepared for the data analysis tasks they encounter in their work. Bayesian methods provide a more robust and flexible tool for data analysis, as they enable information from different sources to be brought into the modelling process. Bayesian Applications in Evnironmental and Ecological Studies with R and Stan provides a Bayesian framework for model formulation, parameter estimation, and model evaluation in the context of analyzing environmental and ecological data. Features: An accessible overview of Bayesian methods in environmental and ecological studies Emphasizes the hypothetical deductive process, particularly model formulation Necessary background material on Bayesian inference and Monte Carlo simulation Detailed case studies, covering water quality monitoring and assessment, ecosystem response to urbanization, fisheries ecology, and more Advanced chapter on Bayesian applications, including Bayesian networks and a change point model Complete code for all examples, along with the data used in the book, are available via GitHub The book is primarily aimed at graduate students and researchers in the environmental and ecological sciences, as well as environmental management professionals. This is a group of people representing diverse subject matter fields, who could benefit from the potential power and flexibility of Bayesian methods.

A Framework for Assessing Mortality and Morbidity After Large-Scale Disasters
A Framework for Assessing Mortality and Morbidity After Large-Scale Disasters

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2020-11-25

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 030968028X

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In the wake of a large-scale disaster, from the initial devastation through the long tail of recovery, protecting the health and well-being of the affected individuals and communities is paramount. Accurate and timely information about mortality and significant morbidity related to the disaster are the cornerstone of the efforts of the disaster management enterprise to save lives and prevent further health impacts. Conversely, failure to accurately capture mortality and significant morbidity data undercuts the nation's capacity to protect its population. Information about disaster-related mortality and significant morbidity adds value at all phases of the disaster management cycle. As a disaster unfolds, the data are crucial in guiding response and recovery priorities, ensuring a common operating picture and real-time situational awareness across stakeholders, and protecting vulnerable populations and settings at heightened risk. A Framework for Assessing Mortality and Morbidity After Large-Scale Disasters reviews and describes the current state of the field of disaster-related mortality and significant morbidity assessment. This report examines practices and methods for data collection, recording, sharing, and use across state, local, tribal, and territorial stakeholders; evaluates best practices; and identifies areas for future resource investment.

The Pandemic Divide
The Pandemic Divide

Author: Gwendolyn L. Wright

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 2022-08-22

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 1478023139

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As COVID-19 made inroads in the United States in spring 2020, a common refrain rose above the din: “We’re all in this together.” However, the full picture was far more complicated—and far less equitable. Black and Latinx populations suffered illnesses, outbreaks, and deaths at much higher rates than the general populace. Those working in low-paid jobs and those living in confined housing or communities already disproportionately beset by health problems were particularly vulnerable. The contributors to The Pandemic Divide explain how these and other racial disparities came to the forefront in 2020. They explore COVID-19’s impact on multiple arenas of daily life—including wealth, health, housing, employment, and education—while highlighting what steps could have been taken to mitigate the full force of the pandemic. Most crucially, the contributors offer concrete public policy solutions that would allow the nation to respond effectively to future crises and improve the long-term well-being of all Americans. Contributors. Fenaba Addo, Steve Amendum, Leslie Babinski, Sandra Barnes, Mary T. Bassett, Keisha Bentley-Edwards, Kisha Daniels, William A. Darity Jr., Melania DiPietro, Jane Dokko, Fiona Greig, Adam Hollowell, Lucas Hubbard, Damon Jones, Steve Knotek, Arvind Krishnamurthy, Henry Clay McKoy Jr., N. Joyce Payne, Erica Phillips, Eugene Richardson, Paul Robbins, Jung Sakong, Marta Sánchez, Melissa Scott, Kristen Stephens, Joe Trotter, Chris Wheat, Gwendolyn L. Wright

More Judgment Than Data
More Judgment Than Data

Author: Michael Jones

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-08-23

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 3030994724

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More data has been produced in the 21st century than all of human history combined. Yet, are we making better decisions today than in the past? How many poor decisions result from the absence of data? The existence of an overwhelming amount of data has affected how we make decisions, but it has not necessarily improved how we make decisions. To make better decisions, people need good judgment based on data literacy—the ability to extract meaning from data. Including data in the decision-making process can bring considerable clarity in answering our questions. Nevertheless, human beings can become distracted, overwhelmed, and even confused in the presence of too much data. The book presents cautionary tales of what can happen when too much attention is spent on acquiring more data instead of understanding how to best use the data we already have. Data is not produced in a vacuum, and individuals who possess data literacy will understand the environment and incentives in the data-generating process. Readers of this book will learn what questions to ask, what data to pay attention to, and what pitfalls to avoid in order to make better decisions. They will also be less vulnerable to those who manipulate data for misleading purposes.

On Being Adjacent to Historical Violence
On Being Adjacent to Historical Violence

Author: Irene Kacandes

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2021-12-06

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 3110753359

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This book offers to academic and general public readers timely reflections about our relationships to violence. Taking cues from the self-reflexivity, themes, and subject matters of Holocaust, queer, and Black studies, this large group of diverse intellectuals wrestles with questions that connect past, present and future: where do I stand in relation to violence? What is my attitude toward that adjacency? Whose story gets to be told by whom? What story do I take this image to be telling? How do I co-witness to another’s suffering? How do I honor the agency and resilience of family members or historical personages? How do past violence and injustice connect to the present? In smart, self-conscious, passionate, and often painfully beautiful prose, cultural practitioners, historians and cultural studies scholars such as Angelika Bammer, Doris Bergen, Ann Cvetkovich, Marianne Hirsch, Priscilla Layne, Mark Roseman, Leo Spitzer, Susan R. Suleiman and Viktor Witkowski explore such questions, inviting readers to do the same. By making available compelling examples of thinkers performing their own work within the cauldron of crises that came to a boil in 2020 and continued into the next year, this volume proposes strategies for moving forward with hope.

National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness
National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness

Author: Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2021-05-04

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 1510767614

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The ultimate guide for anyone wondering how President Joe Biden will respond to the COVID-19 pandemic—all his plans, goals, and executive orders in response to the coronavirus crisis. Shortly after being inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden and his administration released this 200 page guide detailing his plans to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness breaks down seven crucial goals of President Joe Biden's administration with regards to the coronavirus pandemic: 1. Restore trust with the American people. 2. Mount a safe, effective, and comprehensive vaccination campaign. 3. Mitigate spread through expanding masking, testing, data, treatments, health care workforce, and clear public health standards. 4. Immediately expand emergency relief and exercise the Defense Production Act. 5. Safely reopen schools, businesses, and travel while protecting workers. 6. Protect those most at risk and advance equity, including across racial, ethnic and rural/urban lines. 7. Restore U.S. leadership globally and build better preparedness for future threats. Each of these goals are explained and detailed in the book, with evidence about the current circumstances and how we got here, as well as plans and concrete steps to achieve each goal. Also included is the full text of the many Executive Orders that will be issued by President Biden to achieve each of these goals. The National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness is required reading for anyone interested in or concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on American society.