Commemorative Populism in the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Strategic (Ab)use of Memory in Anti-Corona Protest Communication on Telegram

During the COVID-19 pandemic, self-proclaimed resistance movements have organized protests against containment measures both in digital media and on the streets. References to the past and an invocation of collective memory have been important elements in the toolbox of their populist communication. We propose the notion of "commemorative populism" to describe the weaponization of history and memory for the proliferation of a political cause by populist activists. In a qualitative content analysis, we examined postings by the German "Querdenker," a movement against Corona containment policies. Findings show 6 types of the (ab)use of history and collective memory: (1) the recontextualization of quotations by historical personalities, (2) the creation of false historical analogies and flattering genealogies, (3) the claim of historical exceptionalism, (4) the denigration of elites by referring to failures of medical history, (5) the dissemination of disinformation about historical facts, and (6) the support of conspiracy myths by the myths' own history.

Perceptions, myths and misconceptions around COVID-19 vaccination: Vaccine hesitancy and uptake among priority groups in Uganda

Vaccination became a vital tool in the prevention against COVID-19 worldwide. The government of Uganda rolled out its first phase of vaccination in March 2021, targeting specific prioritised groups including health workers, armed personnel and teachers among others. Amidst the struggles to procure, administer and convince people about the safety of the vaccine, various, and at times seemingly credible influences came up to warn people against being vaccinated. Different reasons, specifically with regard to safety were raised by critiques and as such, some people including those in priority groups opted out of taking the vaccine. Due to this ambivalence in regard to COVID-19 vaccination, in 2021, government directed that all teachers who had not been vaccinated should not be allowed in schools upon reopening in 2022. This mixed approach study therefore, interrogated how teachers, as part of the priority groups, perceived of COVID-19 related vaccination, what level of knowledge they had about COVID-19 vaccination and their sources of information. In addition, tests were done to find out how perception and attitudes, level of knowledge and sources of information affected uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. Results indicate that teachers hold different conflicting views about COVID-19 vaccines. That although the majority get their information from traditional media, they have doubts, doubts about the cause and origin of COVID-19, about the intent behind vaccination and about their leaders. © 2022 by Angella Napakol and Samuel Kazibwe.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy the United States

Vaccines have been proven to be an effective public health measure in reducing the morbidity and mortality of many infectious diseases. The reduction in the occurrence of vaccine-preventable illnesses is one of the most noteworthy public health accomplishments of the past 100 years. Research indicates that the current COVID-19 vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are safe and effective;however, many young adults are still unvaccinated or are hesitant to get vaccinated. Many reasons, including myths and disinformation about vaccines, explain their hesitancy toward vaccination. To address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, it is crucial to understand what factors play into it and their sources. The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention has developed strategies to assist public health professionals, community leaders, employers, and providers in reducing vaccine hesitancy to help increase vaccine confidence and uptake. Many states have adapted these strategies based on their realities on the ground;however, others have taken unprecedented moves by passing legislation preventing vaccinations of any kind and refusing to apply any recommendations from the federal level, causing conflict regarding vaccines between states and the federal government. © TheEditor(s) (ifapplicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021, 2022.

Self-quarantine: Deepening natural encounter during COVID-19

The word "quarantine" might conjure up negative associations;for instance, a youth may be given "time-out" as punishment for unruly behavior. A time-out creates space for reflection on one's actions and strips away the positive reinforcement linked to social stimulation. This chapter has two sections. The first section, "Mortality and Ecocide", explores the existential ramifications of how COVID self-quarantine suddenly and dramatically eliminated work hours for workers who were viewed as nonessential. The second section, "Symbolism and Deepening of Existential Encounter", delves into personal mythology study to further understand the human situation on the planet in relation to fear of death and the need for power. The chapter explores how human behavioral changes due to dysfunction correspond with the human meaning-making process and how we construct personal myths. Becker's exposition on death anxiety suggests that, in part, humans crave to unveil the meaning of life to mitigate the existential tension at times caused by the inevitability of death. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The concerning persistence of weird ideas about learning and educational technology and their influence on the future directions of higher education

Many volumes have been devoted to intuitive but misguided ideas about how learning works. This is as true in the use of educational technologies in higher education as it is in other related fields of educational research. As we (hopefully) emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, educational technologies are poised to feature more heavily in post-secondary education into the future. There is a substantial incentive for bad actors to provide oversimplified solutions to complex problems. These neat solutions may seem attractive to sector and institutional leaders looking for solutions to the morass of wicked problems the pandemic has inflamed. The pages of this journal and others provide a venue for world-class research on the use of educational technologies in higher education. Despite this enormous volume of high-quality work, misconceptions and oversimplified notions of learning with technology persist. Much has been made of weird ideas about learning but, with higher education facing an increasingly uncertain digitally-mediated future, there is significant risk that these ideas could have a profound influence on the global higher education sector into the future.

Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Frequency and causes among Population of Lahore

Background: Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy is prime hurdle in control and eradication of Covid-19 pandemic. The rapid Procedure of development of new vaccines resulted in a lot of false information and rumors leading to decrease trust of the public in the safetyand effectiveness of the vaccine. Aim(s): To study the frequency and causes of Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy amid population of Lahore. Method(s): This cross sectional study design was done on a sample of 385 participants from lahore were included in the study. Frequency and causes were recorded on the prescribed questionnaire. Result(s): Frequency of hesitancy was found to be 41.7%. 12.8% had doubts related to efficacy and safety of the vaccine. 9.9% were of the view that the risks of the vaccine are greater than its benefits. 5.7% assumed that vaccines were promoted for gains of pharmaceutical companies. 4.4% were concerned about the immediate side effects of the vaccine. 2.6% responded by saying that vaccine was not recommended by health professionals. 2.3% had myths related to vaccine. And lastly, 1.63% said vaccine was not available free of cost. Conclusion(s): Hesitancy of covid-19 vaccine is seen more in illiterate people and the main cause of hesitancy is uncertainty related to protection and efficacy of covid-19 vaccine.Copyright © 2023 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 and vaccination: myths vs science.

INTRODUCTION: Several vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been developed since the inception of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in December 2019, at unprecedented speed. However, these rapidly developed vaccines raised many questions related to the efficacy and safety of vaccines in different communities across the globe. Various hypotheses regarding COVID-19 and its vaccines were generated, and many of them have also been answered with scientific evidence. Still, there are many myths/misinformation related to COVID-19 and its vaccines, which create hesitancy for COVID-19 vaccination, and must be addressed critically to achieve success in the battle against the pandemic. AREA COVERED: The development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines against COVID-19, their safety and efficacy, and myths/misinformation relating to COVID-19 and vaccines are presented. EXPERT OPINION: In this pandemic, we have seen a global collaborative effort of researchers, governments, and industry, supported by billions of dollars in funding, have allowed the development of vaccines far more quickly than in the past. Vaccines go through rigorous testing, analysis, and evaluations in clinical settings prior to their approval, even if they are approved for emergency use. Despite the myths, vaccination represents an important strategy to get back to normality.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Myth, and Perceptions towards COVID-19 Vaccine among typical educated Sub-Saharan Africa: A Web-Based Survey

The covid-19 pandemic is a major health challenge for society and health workers globally. The study sought to determine the effect of perception, attitudes, and myths on vaccine acceptance in residents in West African countries. This cross-sectional study of 1170 respondents was conducted while maintaining social distancing measures in sub-Sahara Africa. Data was collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire via social media platforms. Data gathered were analysed using SPSS version 25.0 for windows. Of 1170 responses received, 59.5%, 51.8%, 70.8%, and 39.5% were from respondents between 30–39 years, males, from English-speaking countries, and had a college degree or above. Respondents had good knowledge (96.999%) of the COVID-19 vaccine, and information about the vaccine was mainly through social media/internet (55.6%) and media houses (23.8%). The overall results show that the majority of the respondents, 96.80% were aware of the Vaccine through social media. However, the findings from covariates show that myth and perception, gender, educational qualification, and employment status have a significant impact (p<0.05) on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. The study suggests that people in Sub-Saharan Africa need to be reassured of the importance of vaccinations through proper information dissemination. Thus, information highlighted a need for Stakeholders and Policymakers to contribute to holding an optimistic attitude and perception free of devoid of misconceptions circulating on social media towards vaccine acceptance. [ FROM AUTHOR]

The Role of Religions and Conspiracy Theories in Democratic and Authoritarian Regimes

This thematic issue asks about the role of religions and religious actors and conspiracy theories/theorists in democratic and authoritarian regimes in general. Special attention is given to the current Covid-19 pandemic, since the relevant state of emergency obviously endorses the persuasiveness of conspiracy theories and makes the comparison with religions necessary. In this respect, the challenges religious prejudices and conspiracy myths imply could even shed light on the problem of whether democracy or authoritarianism is the best regime to fight the Coronavirus successfully. The articles at hand answer these issues from interdisciplinary areas, particularly from political science, sociology, social psychology, and history. © 2022 by the author(s).

The effect of pecha-kucha training on fear and belief in myths of COVID-19 in elderly women.

Adequate and accurate information reduces pandemic fear in elderly women with chronic disease, one of the risk groups for COVID-19. We aim to determine the effect of pecha kucha pandemic training on the fear and belief in myths of COVID-19 in elderly women. This prospective, randomized controlled experimental study with pre- and post-tests employed a total of 64 elderly women, including 32 for each of experimental and control groups. The data were collected using an introductory information form, the Questionnaire for Beliefs in COVID-19 Myths, and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale. Women in the experimental group were informed about COVID-19, using a pecha kucha presentation via smart phone. Those in the control group were given the same information using classical lecture method. The data were collected before, just after, and 3 months after the training and analyzed using Pearson's chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, Friedman, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests. Elderly women in the experimental group had significantly lower fear and belief in myths of COVID-19 both just after and 3 months after the training (p < 0.05, p < 0.05). A pandemic training by pecha-kucha presentation, which is a short, clear, understandable and memorable method of teaching, can reduce both fear and belief in myths of COVID-19 in elderly women.

Rewilding from within: The significance of the beaver in a child's sandplay therapy

This article explores the symbol of the beaver and its loss and eventual return to the UK wetlands. The author considers the possible root of the absence of this creature from the cultural life and memory of the British people linking this to the shadow aspects of the beaver's engineering prowess. Connections are made to the psychotherapeutic work of a nine-year-old-girl with deep early wounding. The beaver, as symbol, appeared to represent a wounded aspect of herself that suffered such an overwhelming hunger for nourishment that it had to be excluded and rejected. Some of her symptoms included a need to control life through ritualistic behaviors. Through her work in the sand the young girl was able to integrate her deep needs and access resources that helped her to restabilize and prepare for the developmental challenges ahead. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The concerning persistence of weird ideas about learning and educational technology and their influence on the future directions of higher education

Many volumes have been devoted to intuitive but misguided ideas about how learning works. This is as true in the use of educational technologies in higher education as it is in other related fields of educational research. As we (hopefully) emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, educational technologies are poised to feature more heavily in post-secondary education into the future. There is a substantial incentive for bad actors to provide oversimplified solutions to complex problems. These neat solutions may seem attractive to sector and institutional leaders looking for solutions to the morass of wicked problems the pandemic has inflamed. The pages of this journal and others provide a venue for world-class research on the use of educational technologies in higher education. Despite this enormous volume of high-quality work, misconceptions and oversimplified notions of learning with technology persist. Much has been made of weird ideas about learning but, with higher education facing an increasingly uncertain digitally-mediated future, there is significant risk that these ideas could have a profound influence on the global higher education sector into the future. © Articles published in the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET) are available under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their work and grant AJET right of first publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Dengue outbreak in the times of COVID-19 pandemic: Common myths associated with the dengue.

With the sharp rise in dengue cases across the state and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to pay attention to the common misbelieves among the population about dengue. It should be considered to actively spread awareness about the disease to bust the common myths associated with it. A few common myths include that it is a contagious disease, or it is a milder infection than COVID-19, so it's not taken more seriously, or that one cannot be coinfected with both dengue and COVID-19 at one time. We propose that accurate information about dengue can be spread through community education through televisions and social media to cater to the targeted audience. In addition to that, awareness campaigns in rural areas should be planned to help the masses understand the pathogenesis of the diseases and play a role in limiting the transmission.

When the Demos Takes to the Street Protest Participation in Romania, between Myth and Reality (1990-2021)

Viewed as forms of participation and political contestation, democratic protests in post-communist Romania had a direct impact on the functioning of democracy, often leading to important social and political changes. Beyond their historical reality, these social movements can be and have been interpreted in different ways, depending on the collective imaginary and the political myths employed, either by protesters, or by the targets of their actions: the Romanian Governments of the last 30 years. The scope of this paper is to analyze the interpretation given by the protagonists of these movements themselves, in an ideological context, through the intentional use of political mythologies and Manichaean approaches, both serving the narratives employed, in the sense of creating meaning and determining action Using this perspective, our analysis follows the manifestations of the demos in the "street" and in the "public square" between 1990 and 2021. We consider "Golania" and "Mineriadele" from 1990-1991, "Bucharest Spring - 2012", the post-Collective "Political Revolution" of 2015, the #Rezist Phenomenon from 2017-2019, and the "Protest of Free People" during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal is a better understanding of the "street" and the "public square" and, with them, of democracy in Romania during the last 30 years. Finally, our interest is to evaluate how the Romanian political system has changed, if it has changed at all, after 30 years of street democracy. In the first part of the paper we will define the general conceptual framework, so that we can further analyze the different episodes of political contestation using the interpretation given by the collective imaginary and political myths. h the last part of the paper, through a personal approach, of a theoretical and philosophical nature, we will aim to open new horizons of reflection on democracy and real, systemic changes, which all these political challenges have brought, and can still bring, in the Romanian political system.

Introduction: Understand ageing and how we care for older people-Reflections, legacy and lessons learned in the wake of COVID-19

Understanding the normal ageing processes and mechanisms is of vital importance for all nursing and allied health and social care professions. This will support them when providing care for older people, their families and friends across diverse health and social care sectors. The primary goal of this text is to explore some of the neglected contemporary issues associated with ageing such as spirituality, sexuality, death and dying. The aim is to break down barriers and dispel some of the myths and misconceptions that are often perpetuated across generations, within professions and throughout care settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

CAREER MYTHS FROM STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS PERSPECTIVE

Drastic and structural changes in the labour market and organizational environment related to the Covid-19 pandemic, rapid technological development, general globalization trends, demographic deterioration and other economic changes signal the need to find new approaches to the classical career management paradigm. Several studies on occupational segregation show that various stereotypes and misconceptions affecting the choice of occupations for young people are still relevant, but changes in the working environment also determine changes in this context. The European Social Fund project "Career Support in General and Vocational Education Institutions" has made huge contributions to the improvement of the career guidance system in Latvia since 2016, developing and approbating career development support action plans, along with informative and methodological materials, as well as educating career counsellors and support specialists, thereby updating their approaches to career guidance and management. This study analysed the views of students and educational staff about current beliefs and stereotypes about career choices and management. Data from the 96 specialists and managers surveyed from different educational institutions reveal that educators have a strong belief in the importance of career stability. A majority believe that career choice is not always a guided process, although most support the involvement of career professionals. The importance of prestigious education and hard work, as well as success in one's career, is emphasized. The 10th through 12th grade students were surveyed in 2019-2020 in Daugavpils, Dobele, Ogre and Riga general educational schools. In the opinions of these pupils, there is evidence of various stereotypes regarding the choice of profession, as well as the correspondence of career beliefs and convictions within the dynamics of modern working life.

Acceptance and myths regarding covid vaccination among general population

Introduction: COVID pandemic has led to shut down of societies, cities and even biggest countries of the world. To combat this pandemic, different scientists of many countries have started developing vaccines and they have succeeded in developing vaccines against SARS-CoV2. There are many myths regarding covid vaccination among general population. Objectives: to find out acceptance of covid vaccination and myths associated with it in general population. Methodology: an online web based cross sectional survey was conducted by using Google forms among 216 adult participants. Statistical analysis was done by using EPI INFO7 statistical software. Results: 216 participants were included in the study. 4.63% population was not willing to take covid vaccination. 4% believe that there is no need to get vaccinated if they got the disease previously. For information about the virus or the disease most people either turned to health professionals or social media. Many myths were present in the population regarding side effects and effectiveness of vaccination. Conclusion: There is a need to increase awareness regarding covid vaccination among general population. Active efforts should be made at all levels to remove myths regarding vaccination.

No change without some continuity: Evergreen health myths resurfacing during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated journalistic corrections

Crises allow falsehoods to flourish in communication environments, prompting negative consequences. Corrections issued in response, such as journalistic fact-checks, have difficulty undoing the harm falsehoods cause. This has been attributed to the design and distribution of corrections, presented as diametral to how false /misleading claims are reported;however, this argument has never been tested in a single study. We addressed this research gap through a content analysis of journalistic coverage of health myths surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of journalistic corrections. We found that 86.1 % of the misinformation items addressed in this coverage echoed health myths described in the literature for other outbreaks, suggesting that misinformation is largely recycled and tweaked to apply to new outbreaks. We also found major differences regarding the actors that journalists presented as those in which falsehoods and corrections originated – with the former stemming mainly from the civil society domain and the latter from the science domain. Finally, we found differences in the key properties of misinformation and corrections in the journalistic coverage analyzed, agreeing with existing theorizing. This suggests that corrections have a competitive disadvantage compared with misinformation. To address this, corrections should employ more supporting visuals and decreased complexity. © 2022. the authors. This work is licensed under the “Creative Commons Attribution – NonCommercial – NoDerivatives 4.0 International” license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Uncritical Patriotism and Belief in COVID-19 Conspiracies.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has also led to many conspiracy theories. While the origin of the pandemic in China led some, including former US president Donald Trump, to dub the pathogen "Chinese virus" and to support anti-Chinese conspiracy narratives, it caused Chinese state officials to openly support anti-US conspiracy theories about the "true" origin of the virus. In this article, we study whether nationalism, or more precisely uncritical patriotism, is related to belief in conspiracy theories among normal people. We hypothesize based on group identity theory and motivated reasoning that for the particular case of conspiracy theories related to the origin of COVID-19, such a relation should be stronger for Chinese than for Germans. To test this hypothesis, we use survey data from Germany and China, including data from the Chinese community in Germany. We also look at relations to other factors, in particular media consumption and xenophobia.

Unpacking South African Institutions of Higher Learning Efforts and Hurdles to Respond to COVID-19: Social Service Professionals' Lenses

Incontrovertibly, COVID-19 has overwhelmed institutions of learning in a big way with various institutions in South Africa endeavoring to surmount the challenges in different ways. This article has reviewed various sources of secondary literature from mainly journals. Findings established that institutions of higher learning need to strengthen their institutional modus operandi of communicating coronavirus messages;to change the staff and students' mindset to strengthen response;advocacy to relay message to staff and students;infrastructural support to mitigate the effects of staff and students;and to avail requisite psychosocial support. The article also established the following hurdles: teaching adjustments and gadget deficits;disruption of school curriculum and academic calendar;and pitfalls of working from home. The article has recognized the need for institutions to enlist the support of social service professionals such as social workers in availing the requisite psychosocial support to both students and the staff.