Impacts of COVID-19 on the Education, Life and Mental Health of Students in Bangladesh

COVID-19’s unanticipated consequences have resulted in the extended closure of various educational institutions, causing significant hardship to students. Even though many institutions rapidly transitioned to online education programs, various issues have emerged that are impacting many aspects of students’ lives. An online survey was conducted with students of Bangladesh to understand how COVID-19 impacted their study, social and daily activities, plans, and mental health. A total of 409 Bangladeshi students took part in a survey. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 13.7% of all participants are unable to focus on their studies, up from 1.2% previously. More than half of the participants (54%) have spent more time on social media than previously. We found that 45% of the participants have severe to moderate level depression. In addition, 48.6% of the students are experiencing severe to moderate level anxiety. According to our findings, students’ inability to concentrate on their studies, their increased use of social media and electronic communications, changing sleep hours during the pandemic, increased personal care time, and changes in plans are all correlated with their mental health.

JOE BIDEN’S STATEMENT ON 1915 EVENTS: PURPOSEFUL POLITICAL ACTIONS MAY CAUSE UNANTICIPATED CONSEQUENCES, AN ANALYSIS FROM THE SOCIOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT

American sociologist Robert Merton, in his article titled "The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action", explained the historical background of the unanticipated consequences of purposeful actions and discussed the impact of these actions on society and its individuals. He stated that unforeseen consequences, separate from desirable foreseeable consequences, are necessarily undesirable from the standpoint of the actor (the decision-maker). According to Merton, the intended and anticipated outcomes of purposive action are always, in the very nature of the case, relatively desirable to the those who take the action. In the case of states, those who take actions can be considered as political decision makers. Merton asserts that these actions may seem axiologically negative to an outside observer who was negatively affected by the decision. Merton points out that the effects of the unintended consequences of purposeful actions differ between the decision-maker of the action and the other side who will be adversely affected from this action. Yet, the entirety of the text and the main purpose of the preparation of the statement reveal who and which nationalities or nations are targeted positively and negatively. In the text, one side (Armenian) is historically pampered and honored, while the other side (Turkish) is aggrieved for the main purpose of the preparation of the statement even if it is not intentional and sought to be avoided. This result, in my judgement, is compatible with the "unintended consequences" concept of Robert Merton and the process he described for reaching such a conclusion. It is highly likely that this statement will be viewed as an unjust accusation and attack against Turkish identity by a significant portion of the Turkish people. It would not be surprising that such an interpretation will lead to an increase in the need inevitably felt to protect Turkish identity, resulting in increased levels of nationalist and anti-imperialist sentiments in the short and medium term.

Underneath the Promise of Safety and Security in a ‘Smart City’

In this article, we explore the promises of security that are embedded in the smart city technologies and algorithms and their potential implications for creating social inequality and discrimination. Our ethnographic case study is the Living Lab Stratumseind, a popular nightlife street in Eindhoven where smart technologies and algorithms are being tested with the aim of increasing security in the street. First, we introduce the context in which the Living Lab Stratumseind was developed and trace this development and the multiple forms of governance that characterise it and highlight the main ‘smart technologies’ that can be found there. Second, we focus our attention on the ways in which smart technologies and algorithms promise to enhance public security by directly and uncritically translating technological rationales and discourses into social domains. Third, we argue that the smart city technologies and algorithms risk to create, reproduce and reinforce social inequalities and discrimination, and that it is unclear who is responsible for these unanticipated consequences.

Consequences of Rapid Telehealth Expansion in Nursing Homes: Promise and Pitfalls

Background Expectations regarding use and potential benefits of telehealth (TH) in nursing homes (NHs) are high; however, unplanned and unexpected consequences can occur as a result of major policy and technological changes. Objectives The goal of this study was to elicit stakeholder perspectives of consequences of rapid TH expansion in NHs. Methods Using a qualitative descriptive design, we drew a sample based on findings from a national study examining trends in NH information and technology (IT) maturity, including TH use. We used maximum variation sampling to purposively select participants who (1) participated in our IT maturity survey for two consecutive years, (2) completed year 1 of the IT maturity survey prior to TH expansion (before March 6, 2020) and year 2 after TH expansion (after March 6, 2020), (3) represented a broad range of facility characteristics, and (4) were identified as an end user of TH or responsible for TH implementation. Using six questions from the IT maturity survey, we created a total TH score for each facility and selected participants representing a range of scores. Results Interviews were conducted with (n = 21) NH administrators and clinicians from 16 facilities. We found similarities and differences in perceptions of TH expansion according to facility TH score, NH location, and participant role. Desirable consequences included four subthemes as follows: (1) benefits of avoiding travel for the NH resident, (2) TH saving organizational resources, (3) improved access to care, and (4) enhanced communication. Undesirable consequences include the following five subthemes: (1) preference for in-person encounters, (2) worsening social isolation, (3) difficulty for residents with cognitive impairment, (4) workflow and tech usability challenges, and (5) increased burden on NH staff/infrastructure. Participants from rural NHs perceived lack of training, poor video/sound quality, and internet/connectivity issues to be potential pitfalls. Conclusion Clinicians and NH administrators should consider leveraging the desirable consequences of rapid TH expansion and implement mitigation strategies to address the undesirable/unanticipated consequences.

“We got in the pilot program to learn from it:” Features of Social Learning in Drought Contexts Along the Arkansas River in Colorado

Unintended consequences from decisions made in one part of a social-ecological system (SES) in response to climate hazards can magnify vulnerabilities for others in the same system. Yet anticipating or identifying these cascades and spillovers in real time is difficult. Social learning is an important component of adaptation that has the ability to facilitate adaptive capacity by mobilizing multiple actors around a common resource to manage collectively in ways that build local knowledge, reflective practices, and a broader understanding of contexts for decisions. While the foundations of social learning in resource management have been theorized in the literature, empirical examples of unintended consequences that trigger social learning are few. This article analyzes two cases of drought decisions made along the Arkansas River Basin in Colorado; in each, social learning occurred after actors experienced unanticipated impacts from others’ decisions. Methods include interviews with actors, both individual and institutional representatives of different sectors (e.g. recreation, agriculture, etc.), and a review of relevant historical and policy documents. The study identifies four features of social learning that aided actors’ responses to unanticipated consequences: first, governance structures that facilitated more holistic river management; second, relationship boundaries that expanded beyond small scale decisions to capture interactions and emergent problems; third, knowledge of others’ previous experience, whether direct or indirect; and fourth, creation of spaces for safer experimentation with adaptation changes. Results identify empirical examples of actors who successfully learned to adapt together to unexpected consequences and thus may provide insight for others collectively managing drought extremes.

Crisis Within a Crisis: Migrant Workers’ Predicament During COVID-19 Lockdown and the Role of Non-profit Organizations in India

This article explores the role of non-profit organisations in mitigating crisis for the urban working poor during the pandemic in India. We focus specifically on the humanitarian crisis around the interstate migrant workers that resulted from the Indian government’s efforts to contain the pandemic by imposing a nationwide lockdown. Through in-depth interviews with leaders of non-profit organisations in India, who were actively engaged in relief work during the migrant crisis, we explore the role of poverty and inequality in exacerbating the pandemic’s impact. Our findings indicate that multiple dimensions of inequality combined to aggravate the effects of the lockdown on interstate migrant labourers in India. The government’s initial apathy towards this vulnerable group, delay in addressing the unanticipated consequences of the pandemic response, and its ineffective crisis management efforts resulted in a humanitarian crisis in the country concurrent to the pandemic. In this context, the non-profit sector played a critical supporting role in mitigating the migrant workers’ crisis during the pandemic.

Precariousness, Gender, Resistance and Consent in the Face of Global Production Network’s ‘Reforms’ of Pakistan’s Garment Manufacturing Industry

© The Author(s) 2019. This case study of the restructuring of Pakistan’s garment manufacturing industry explores how attempts to increase capital’s control over the labour process intersect with local patriarchal structures and trigger workers’ reflexivity and agency causing unanticipated consequences. Using Archer’s notion of agency, the article examines the theoretical space where capitalism meets patriarchy, and both are reproduced. The focus on reflexivity, anchored between objective contexts and agents’ personal concerns, helps theorize capital–labour–gender relations in global supply chains and explains workers’ impactful resistance to protect a supposedly precarious work regime. Our findings challenge the notion that globalization reduces workers’ agency and their potential for impactful resistance.