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Established ideas about state responsibility and state violence are placed in a new light in times characterized as states of emergency. The following conversation addresses the role of the state in the safeguarding of public health, taking its departure in media debates and political debates about state responsibility in two countries that have been criticized for not taking strong enough measures to protect the very futuriority of the nation in times of a pandemic Sweden and Nicaragua. Both countries have been castigated for avoiding total lockdown and for having taken a passive approach to what Wendy Brown has called "the political management of the virus" (Brown 2020). At the same time, the rhetoric used to describe their respective strategies has differed vastly in dialogue we explore notions about governance, biopolitics and necropolitics as they are articulated and negotiated in national contexts that claim the label social democracies. One of the points of departure is that while the response to Covid-19 is often described in war metaphors, and hence as a state of emergency, the unjust and unequal distribution of life and death is by no means exceptional. ; Det följande är ett samtal om statens roll i värnandet om folkhälsan, som tar sin utgångspunkt i de mediedebatter och politiska debatter om statligt ansvar som utspelat sig i två länder som har kritiserats för att inte ha vidtagit tillräckligt kraftfulla åtgärder för att skydda själva nationens framtid: Sverige och Nicaragua. Bägge länder har kritiserats för att ha undvikit total lockdown och för att ha intagit en passiv position i det Wendy Brown har kallat för "den politiska hanteringen av viruset" (Brown 2020), men retoriken som använts för att karaktärisera deras respektive strategier har varit väsensskild. I dialog utforskar vi frågor om styrning, biopolitik och nekropolitik såsom de artikuleras och förhandlas i nationella kontexter som kallar sig socialdemokratier. En av utgångspunkterna är att medan hanteringen av Covid-19 ofta beskrivs i krigsmetaforer, och därmed som ett undantagstillstånd, så är den orättvisa och ojämlika fördelningen av liv och död som vi ser i pandemins kölvatten inte på något sätt exceptionell.

AbstractIntroductionRising rates of reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the US and Europe are a public health priority and require a public health response. The diagnosis and treatment of STIs have been the cornerstone of STI control and prevention for many decades and, historically, publicly funded STI clinics have played a central role in the provision of STI care. Innovations in non‐invasive diagnostic techniques, especially nucleic acid amplification tests in the mid‐1990s, have facilitated the expansion of STI testing and treatment outside traditional STI clinics, including primary care, family planning, school‐based health, outreach, corrections, emergency departments and HIV prevention and care settings. As a result, the continued need for categorical STI clinics has been debated. In this Commentary, we discuss how practice can be improved at each level of STI care.DiscussionSTI practice improvement plans should be tailored to the strengths of each care setting. Thus, in primary care, the focus should be on improving STI screening rates, the provision of hepatitis B and human papillomavirus vaccines and, in jurisdictions where this is legal, expedited partner therapy for gonorrhoea and chlamydia. Extragenital (pharyngeal and rectal) testing for gonorrhoea and chlamydia should be available in settings serving populations more vulnerable to STI acquisition at these anatomical sites, including men who have sex with men. In family planning settings with a mostly female patient population, there are opportunities to serve male partners with both contraceptive and STI services. STI screening rates can also be improved in other settings serving populations at increased risk for STIs, including school‐based clinics, emergency departments, correctional health facilities and providers of HIV care and prevention. These improvements are predominantly logistical in nature and not dependent on extensive STI clinical expertise. While some providers in these settings may have the clinical knowledge and skills to evaluate symptomatic patients, many do not, and STI speciality clinics must be available for consultation and referral and evolve from "safety net" providers of last resort to STI centres of excellence.ConclusionsA tailored practice improvement plan can be envisioned to achieve an optimally functioning STI care continuum.

This article aims to uncover the legal background behind the European Union's response to the ongoing refugee crisis. Pursuant to its Agenda on Migration, the EU has implemented a wide set of legal, financial and operative measures to face the challenges of the mass inflows of refugees onto its territory. Some of these measures aim to respond to what was classified as the most pressing duty of saving lives in the Mediterranean and strengthening EU external borders. Others aim to uphold the EU's international obligations and values by assisting the third countries most affected. A core set of measures was then introduced to repair the existing EU legal framework on asylum, proven as dysfunctional when faced with the unprecedented pressures of incoming refugees. These measures came about in the context of an already deficient Common European Asylum System, yet the Union still decided to place the Dublin Regulation as a starting point for all operative plans dealing with the refugee crisis within the Union territory. Although the Dublin Regulation was not envisaged to function in a time of crisis, all the EU measures introduced were in effect merely exceptions to that inherently inefficient system. On the other hand, a true emergency mechanism was not something the Union lacked during the crucial moments of creating an operative plan for the Agenda. The existing Union framework on asylum creates two quite different concepts for determining the Member State responsible for providing international protection to refugees – one for regular asylum procedures, and another for emergency situations. By choosing the former instead of the latter, the EU went for the wrong option. The author's position is that the Union in its centralised capacity failed to activate an efficient legal framework to respond to a crisis of the present magnitude, thus creating a perfect ground for individual Member States to become the main actors of crisis management, each invoking its own political particularities and national interests. The outcome was polarisation of the Member States, every day moving farther away from the ever-closer Union.

The psychological health and safety of firefighters has become a significant issue for fire services in Ireland owing both to recent legislative changes and to increasing awareness of the potentially stressful nature of dealing with emergency situations. Critical incident stress management (CISM) initiatives have been introduced with a view to supporting the psychological health of fire crews and with the aim of protecting individuals from developing a psychiatric illness, namely post-traumatic stress disorder. While research has consistently questioned the efficacy of such interventions, there has been little attention paid to how firefighters themselves actually construct their own experiences of dealing with emergency situations in the course of their work. This thesis addresses this imbalance by conducting both a qualitative and quantitative investigation into how firefighters in Ireland talk about the incidents they respond to. The first study details a discourse analysis which was conducted on the transcripts of seven focus groups which was conducted with 89 participating retained firefighters. Key discursive constructions were identified and explored in light of how best to provide psychological supports to fire crews. In order to further investigate these discursive constructions a quantitative study was then conducted with an alternate group of firefighters (n=40) using Q methodology. This triangulation allowed for subject positions to emerge that had not heretofore been considered when providing psychological supports tofirefighters. A number of important findings emerged. First, many of the subject positions explored highlight how firefighters primarily draw upon discourses of professionalism and how constructs of the "crew" can strongly mediate their experiences of the "critical 3 incident". Secondly, the research highlights how many of the notions inherent in the Mitchell model of CISM were not actually borne out in the fire fighter's own constructions, particularly with regard to the focus on the "critical incident' as being always/already a source of a traumatic response. These insights were then used by the Researcher to propose a framework of psychological support for fire services in Ireland.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to a Congressional request for information regarding critical infrastructure protection within the federal government. In May 1998, Presidential Decision Directive 63 was issued with the intent to eliminate any significant vulnerability to both physical and cyber attacks on the nation's critical infrastructure. It makes every department and agency of the federal government responsible for protecting its own critical physical infrastructure. The Interagency Security Committee (ISC) and all 22 of the agencies GAO reviewed have some role in providing security for office space, although the degree of involvement varied from agency to agency. Other types of security responsibilities include performing security assessments, providing security funding, providing security forces and security technology, and coordination of security efforts among and within agencies. Eleven of the 22 agencies stated that they had completed security assessments on all their facilities since 1995. Nine agencies reported that they were still doing security assessments on their buildings. Two agencies are located in General Service Administration (GSA) space only and GSA is responsible for the security assessments. The agencies provide security using a combination of security forces and security technologies. Security forces are comprised of federal security forces and contract security guards. Examples of security technologies implemented include closed circuit television, X-ray machines, magnetometers and window protection features. The President initially allocated $8.6 million of the $40 billion from the Fiscal Year 2001 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States to the Federal Buildings Fund, administered by GSA, to provide increased security for federal buildings. The main coordination groups identified as providing coordination among agencies were ISC, the Office of Homeland Security, the Federal Protective Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The impediments to improving security for federal buildings cited by the agencies in the review included difficulty getting lessors to allow federal agencies to implement strengthened security measures in their buildings, and insufficient funding and staff."

Under the Trump Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA"), failed to protect workers from COVID-19, which has led to deadly workplace outbreaks of the virus. OSHA's failures began when it refused to produce legally-binding rules, known as emergency temporary standards, that would mandate the most basic step of requiring masks in the workplace to protect workers from the risks of infection on the job. In addition, while OSHA did produce non-binding guidance for employers, that guidance was unclear and fundamentally deficient in failing to require masks in all workplaces and failing to require recordkeeping that would identify potential outbreaks in workplaces in their early stages. OSHA also refused to use its enforcement authority in a way that would encourage employers to use risk-mitigation strategies in the workplace. Rather than increasing inspections to send a signal that employers need to protect workers from COVID-19, OSHA conducted fewer inspections during the pandemic than it had in previous years. Essentially, OSHA has provided a playbook of what not to do in a pandemic. This Article exposes the details of OSHA's failed response to COVID-19, outlines actions that would be effective in protecting workers during a pandemic, and recommends structural, legislative changes that would enable OSHA to better respond to pandemics in the future.

Purpose. The aim is to select the most efficient modular facilities for the disposal of toxic substances in case of emergency procedures. Methodology. We study and analyze the world experience in spill response and neutralization of toxic substances using mobile devices. Findings. The most effective methods and mobile devices for decontamination areas: methods of "cold combustion", mobile plasma installation, mobile installation for the destruction of chemical weapons, "hot detonation", mobile, modular clean installation of liquid and solid radioactive waste, mobile devices for mercury disposal. Plasma pyrolysis installation is suitable for the processing of solid radioactive waste. The mobile plasma systems are effective for the disposal of medical and biological waste in extreme conditions. Operation of the mobile plasma systems eliminates the risk of contamination of the environment during the transportation of hazardous waste as a result of road accidents. The method of "cold combustion" is effective for neutralization of toxic industrial waste, obsolete pesticides, military warfare agents, explosives (heptyl, etc.), substances of processing of municipal solid waste. The use of plasma gasification of municipal solid waste eliminates the formation of environmentally hazardous emissions and waste. The cryogenic trap of the mobile devices of mercury disposal provides a high pumping speed and low vapor mercury residual concentration of mercury in the exhaust gases. Originality. Analysis of modern methods of disposal of toxic substances from the area with the use of environmentally sound technology allows you to select the most efficient modular installation. Practical value. The use of modern methods of recovery of hazardous areas is effective using mobile devices in emergency spills and releases of toxic and flammable substances. ; Цель. Целью работы является выбор наиболее эффективных модульных установок для утилизации токсич-ных веществ при авариях. Методика. Изучен и проанализирован мировой опыт по ликвидации аварийных разливов и обезвреживанию токсичных веществ с использованием мобильных установок. Результаты. Определены наиболее эффективные методы и передвижные установки для обезвреживания местности: методы «холодного сжигания», мобильные плазменные установки, передвижные установки по уничтожению химических боеприпасов, «горячая детонация», мобильные модульные установка очистки жидких и твёрдых радиоактивных отходов, передвижные установки по демеркуризации. Плазменно-пиролитическая установка целесообразна для переработки твердых радиоактивных отходов. Эффективно применение в чрезвычайных условиях мобильных плазменных комплексов для утилизации медицинских и биологических отходов. Эксплуатация мобильных плазменных комплексов исключает риск заражения окружающей среды во время транспортировки опасных отходов в результате дорожно-транспортных происшествий. Способ «холодного сжигания» эффективен для обезвреживания токсичных промышленных отходов, просроченных пестицидов, военных отравляющих веществ, взрывчатых веществ (гептил и др.), продуктов переработки твердых бытовых отходов. Использование плазменной газификации твёрдых бытовых отходов исключает образование экологически опасных выбросов и отходов. В передвижных установках по демеркуризации криогенная ловушка обеспечивает высокую скорость откачки ртутных паров и низкую остаточную концентрацию ртути в выхлопных газах. Научная новизна. Анализ современных методов обезвреживания местности от токсичных веществ с использованием экологически безопасных технологий позволяет выбрать наиболее эффективную мо-дульную установку. Практическая значимость. Использование современных эффективных методов и средств обезвреживания опасных зон с помощью мобильных установок при аварийных разливах и выбросах токсичных и пожароопасных веществ. ; Мета. Метою роботи є вибір найбільш ефективних модульних установок для утилізації токсичних речовин при аваріях. Методика. Вивчений і проаналізований світовий досвід по ліквідації аварійних розливів і знешкодженню токсичних речовин з використанням мобільних установок. Результати. Визначені найбільш ефективні методи та пересувнi установки з знешкодження місцевості: методи "холодного спалювання", мобільні плазмові установки, пересувні установки по знищенню хімічних боєприпасів, "гаряча детонація", мобільні модульні установка очищення рідких і твердих радіоактивних відходів, пересувні установки по демеркуризації. Плазмово-піролитична установка доцільна для переробки твердих радіоактивних відходів. Ефективне застосування в надзвичайних умовах мобільних плазмових комплексів для утилізації медичних і біологічних відходів. Експлуатація мобільних плазмових комплексів виключає ризик зараження довкілля під час транспортування небезпечних відходів в результаті дорожньо-транспортних подій. Спосіб "холодного спалювання" ефективний для знешкодження токсичних промислових відходів, прострочених пестицидів, військових отруйних речовин, вибухових речовин (гептил та ін.), продуктів переробки твердих побутових відходів. Використання плазмової газифікації твердих побутових відходів виключає утворення екологічно небезпечних викидів і відходів. У пересувних установках по демер-куризації кріогенна пастка забезпечує високу швидкість відкачування ртутної пари і низьку залишкову концентрацію ртуті у вихлопних газах. Наукова новизна. Аналіз сучасних методів знешкодження місцевості від токсичних речовин з використанням екологічно безпечних технологій дозволяє вибрати найбільш ефективну модульну установку. Практична значимість. Використання сучасних ефективних методів і засобів знешкодження небезпечних зон за допомогою мобільних установок при аварійних розливах і викидах токсичних і пожежонебезпечних речовин.

The subject of this paper is the healthcare system in Mexico and major programs and policies developed by President Felipe Calderón administration during the first three years of government. It highligths progress in universal health care, improving quality, funding problems and the response to the emergence of swine flu in Mexico in March-April 2009. ; En este trabajo se presentan los principales programas y acciones desarrolladas por el gobierno del presidente Calderón durante el primer trienio de su administración. Se destacan los avances en materia de universalización de los servicios de salud, el mejoramiento de la calidad, los problemas de financiamiento y la respuesta ante la aparición del virus AH1N1 en México en los meses de marzo y abril de 2009.

PurposeEmployment-related measures play a significant part in preventive and mitigative social policies. The importance of these actions is especially emphasised in times of crisis. This paper provides empirical insights into employment-related measures implemented in a sample of OECD countries as a response to the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. Furthermore, it addresses the continuity of the measures by July 2022.Design/methodology/approachThe research applies and further develops a capability approach in the COVID-19 context to provide a theoretically informed empirical understanding of the implemented employment related measures.FindingsThe results indicate that countries expanded the coverage of previous preventive and mitigative employment measures horizontally and vertically while also introducing new schemes to protect workers. The main conclusions suggest that most employment-related measures (65.5%) were preventive aiming at saving jobs and broadening peoples capabilities with bridging measures during the crisis. The employment measures served first as an emergency aid. However, most measures were recalibrated and changed incrementally toward 2022.Research limitations/implicationsThe data consisted major employment-related measures and changes in social policies the studied countries. The authors focussed the examination on governmental-level measures. Thus, sub-national or sector-specific responses, for example tripartite agreements in certain employment sectors or social transfers in certain areas, were excluded.Social implicationsThe way in which welfare states reacted to employment problems during the COVID-19 pandemic may have an impact on how governments approach social policies in the future. The capability approach exhibits a pronounced strength by facilitating the establishment of sustainable trajectories for social policy and welfare services.Originality/valueThe capability approach embracing the preactive and proactive role of social policies lends a unique perspective on public policies.

The paper discusses the possibility of modeling of psychic processes regulating the internal state and behaviour of a student. The modeling is carried out on the basis of normal probability distribution of his emotional condition changes while making a number of limitations and assumptions. The human behaviour in a model is concerned with the learning of the neural nets, representing his brain, with the process of thinking and inductive reasoning getting subordinated to his mental condition. The author assumes that in the process of a swift-flowing emergency situation, when a vast amount of input information initiates a so-called "combinatorial explosion" owing to the examining and checking of a number of hypotheses, the timely analysis of all data by the brain appears to be practically impossible due to the physical limitations in the pulse
communication rate between neurons. Thus, in order to ensure the necessary speed of response a human behavior is regulated by the previously developed and fixed structures of the neural subnetworks. This results in the fact that in order to develop a timely response to the dynamic event the brain can ignore a significant part of the input
information and augment it on the basis of formerly developed subjective judgments, which are constantly modified in reliance on the "experience" being acquired and anchored in the corresponding neural subnetworks of the brain. However, these subjective judgments can be distorted, be of chronic nature and based in the form of "foul" difficult-to-manage neural subnetworks of the brain. The emergence of a conflict situation is directly contingent on the existence of such "foul" neural subnetworks, while their appearance is modeled by means of basic parameter readjustment of normal distribution of a human's emotional condition changes.

The current convergence of global challenges, particularly the climate change emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter movement, have highlighted the need for a new lens to challenge and interrogate key urban planning assumptions related to spatial urban inequality. Yet urban inequality is often and invariably described from a limited economic perspective, commonly interpreted and measured as income inequality. This is an overtly statistical measure, or Gini-Type index, often giving limited and unsatisfactory results. Yet, in practice, the spatial distribution and concentration of income inequality is a multi-scalar, multi-variant, and multi-disciplinary issue and has links with other and wider dimensions of inequality and well-being. As such, this article argues for a holistic understanding of urban inequality that goes beyond narrow empirical and quantitative models. It presents collaborative research that aims to impact the actions of urban professionals, to accurately identify and adequately respond to urban inequalities. Through the establishment of an interdisciplinary expert panel, we have uncovered a series of provisional mechanisms and responses to aid practitioners to achieve more spatial equality. We introduce an integrated analytical method, the "litmus test," that acts as a planning tool for understanding, evaluating, and responding to inequalities and segregation present in the built environment. This novel methodology and procedural framework will assist us in (a) identifying and defining different forms of inequality and segregation beyond the current scope of physical and agency-based forms; (b) measuring and demonstrating the latter with a combination of qualitative, empirical sources that are materially significant in supporting and evidencing planning strategies; and (c) setting out a series of planning and built environment specific responses.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a multitude of vulnerabilities in Switzerland's decentralized healthcare system and highlighted the urgent need to strengthen Switzerland's capacity to respond to health crises and disease outbreaks. In this article, we draw on three distinct areas of analysis of the current functioning of the Swiss healthcare system to examine its strengths and weaknesses, which can serve as a basis for future considerations and strategic priorities. First, we analyze the different levels of nine non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), as defined by the ETH KOF Stringency Index and implemented in the Swiss cantons of Zurich, Vaud, and Ticino, compared with the rate of positive COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. We find that there was no strong correlation between the severity of the nine non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented and lower rates of positive COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Second, we examine the challenges of Switzerland's decentralized healthcare system through a literature review and with empirical data obtained from semi-structured interviews with health professionals in Switzerland. We conclude our analysis with the role of central authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results demonstrate that during a national emergency in Switzerland, taking into account other factors that influence the success of a pandemic strategy, there is an opportunity for a more unified, centralized response to reduce the social and economic toll of the pandemic without necessarily risking greater health damage. We recommend that the Swiss federal government use a combination of decentralized and centralized public health and policy approaches and promote greater private–public collaboration with direct communication channels among policymakers, public health stakeholders, and the public to improve pandemic preparedness and response.

AbstractThe aim of this exploratory study is to understand the potential benefits to and limitations of inclusion of members of the community in Full Scale Exercises (FSX) that simulate disaster responses, with particular emphasis on volunteer trust, confidence, and community resilience. As these events contribute to skill maintenance and development of responders, it is also important to understand what additional benefits they potentially present in terms of engagement with the public and local communities. Better recognition of this impact on trust and confidence aids organisers and planners, while also providing clearer utility of investment and resources. Pre‐ and postintervention surveys, including quantitative and qualitative elements, were given to volunteer role‐players who took part in an FSX. Sixty‐five completed the pre‐exercise survey and 24 completed the postexercise survey. An additional 126 responses were received for a casualty role‐player survey. Correlations were applied to the statistics while qualitative elements were examined using thematic analysis. Findings demonstrated that involvement in the FSX created opportunities for learning but that community faith in emergency services could be diminished if the purpose of the FSX is not clearly communicated. Overall reduced rates in volunteer confidence could be explained by gaining increased perspective into the complexities of disaster management. The implication is that FSXs can meaningfully enhance community learning, trust, and resilience but only if the community involvement is properly and holistically managed. This is among the first studies to take the opportunity to examine the learning outcomes for volunteers of an FSX. Recommendations and increased awareness of this impact are important for future organisers, to maximise the benefits of their exercises and ensure that planning takes into consideration this often‐overlooked component.

The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), causing widespread food insecurity and a sharp decline in living standards. In response to this crisis, governments and humanitarian organizations worldwide have mobilized targeted social assistance programs. Targeting is a central challenge in the administration of these programs: given available data, how does one rapidly identify the individuals and families with the greatest need? This challenge is particularly acute in the large number of LMICs that lack recent and comprehensive data on household income and wealth. Here we show that non-traditional "big" data from satellites and mobile phone networks can improve the targeting of anti-poverty programs. Our approach uses traditional survey-based measures of consumption and wealth to train machine learning algorithms that recognize patterns of poverty in non-traditional data; the trained algorithms are then used to prioritize aid to the poorest regions and mobile subscribers. We evaluate this approach by studying Novissi, Togo's flagship emergency cash transfer program, which used these algorithms to determine eligibility for a rural assistance program that disbursed millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief aid. Our analysis compares outcomes – including exclusion errors, total social welfare, and measures of fairness – under different targeting regimes. Relative to the geographic targeting options considered by the Government of Togo at the time, the machine learning approach reduces errors of exclusion by 4-21%. Relative to methods that require a comprehensive social registry (a hypothetical exercise; no such registry exists in Togo), the machine learning approach increases exclusion errors by 9-35%. These results highlight the potential for new data sources to contribute to humanitarian response efforts, particularly in crisis settings when traditional data are missing or out of date.

Corona virus infection (Covid-19) originated from Chinese city of Wuhan, Hubei in late December 2019 . While the disease is thought to be highly contagious, WHO declared it as public health emergency on 30th January 2020. Pakistan reported its first corona virus infection on 26th February 2020. Initially infection was limited to those travelling from endemic areas but on 13th March 2020, Pakistan reported its first corona virus infection from local transmission. With limited testing ability and lack of uniform national corona virus response strategy, Pakistan reported total of 38,799 confirmed corona virus cases by mid May 2020. Confirmed cases reached 905,852 on 24th May 2021. Lack of definitive guidelines for health care workers (HCWs) and poor existing hospital strategies in response to COVID-19 pandemic increased the agitation and stress level among HCWs. More than half of the doctors working in our orthopedic department suffered from COVID-19. In this COVID-19 pandemic, orthopedic community should continuously evolve taking into consideration resource optimization, social distancing, innovation and best practices to minimize COVID-19 infection among health care workers who are working day and night to combat COVID- 19 in already overburdened health care system of developing country. Adopting these recommendations will not only give a uniform policy for health care workers (HCWs) of orthopedic department working in resource limited government hospitals, where thousands of patients present daily, but also limit the COVID-19 infection among health care workers (HCWs). We hope to get the best possible outcome out of current circumstances where developing nation like ours cannot afford the luxury of PPE for every health care worker and PCR COVID-19 testing for every patient.