All in it Together? The Unlikely Rebirth of Covid Corporatism

The battle to soften the labour market impact of the pandemic has thrown up some unlikely bedfellows, with trade union leaders competing with business chiefs over who can most fulsomely praise the government’s economic response. But does this entente really presage a new era of ‘Covid-corporatism’? Crises like Covid-19 can provide opportunities for temporary social pacts, even in countries lacking the labour market institutions needed to sustain these in normal times, and the ‘social partners’ have shown an unusual willingness to be bold and constructive. But cracks are already appearing over how and when the state should begin its withdrawal from the economy. Unions face structural weaknesses and recruitment problems that will hamper their ability to take full advantage of what will likely prove to be only a temporary lull in hostilities.     

Authoritarian populism and response to COVID-19: A comparative study of the United States,India, and Brazil

As the phenomenon of populism is in the preliminary stages of exploratory research, the present study involves an empirical investigation involving a case study of the United States, India, and Brazil to examine whether a correlation exists between populism and management of COVID-19. The study adopts the ideational approach of populism as a set of ideas or discourse to review how core conceptual features of populism have impacted on management of COVID-19. The study has two main objectives: (1) to examine whether populism in the United States, India, and Brazil has determined “a populist response” to the pandemic in dealing with the health crises and (2) to explore the management of COVID-19 in the states led by right-wing populism and the commonality of populist approaches adopted in handling the health crisis. Comparing the three states' statistical data of management models, the study has argued that common populist mechanisms such as distrust for experts, contempt for institutions, and suspicion of “others” have guided the US, India, and Brazilian leadership response to COVID-19. It further argues that leadership in the United States, India, and Brazil has prevented effective management by politicizing the crisis, aggravating social polarization, and contradicting expert advice. Moreover, populist and nationalist orientation of the leadership has evaded responsibility in these states with the leadership blaming ethnicities for spreading the virus and by weakening societal solidarity.     

Covid-19 communication in emerging markets—Not viral enough?

Public health communication acts as a social vaccine in case of pandemics. Prior research has identified that such initiatives often fail to reach vulnerable sections of society. In India, while the first wave of infections mainly hit the urban areas, rural areas witnessed a surge in the second wave. Using the World Bank data, we attempt to understand the effectiveness of public awareness campaigns in rural areas. We use the Ecological Model for public health and find how the various factors relate to public health outcomes. The ecological factors are found to be related to awareness of Covid-19. We find inadequate awareness about the symptoms and preventive measures associated with Covid-19 among the rural population. We also find significant differences in communication and awareness along dimensions such as education and access to media. The role played by SHGs and hospitals in dealing with pandemics is also evident in this study. We conclude that the disparity in public health communication needs to be bridged to ensure equitable access to health information in society during public health crises.     

Challenges of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic for women in the UAE

This study explored the experiences of working from home among women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the lockdown. Adopting the interpretative philosophical approach, this study conducts semi-structured interviews with sixteen (16) randomly selected women actively employed in different sectors in the UAE economy. The analysis was carried out using the thematic analysis to derive the themes and sub-themes emerging from the coded data. The research finds that most of the challenges are associated with spillover from work, affecting family time, and invading personal space. The research concluded that women working remotely faced issues linked to glitches, malfunctions, and knowledge deficiencies. The third most identified challenge to working from home was the distractions that come with the conscious attempt to divide attention between work and family, trying to stop one from interfering with the other. However, the research observed some notable advantages including workplace flexibility and control, as well as the opportunity to work from the comfort of the home. The findings also revealed the mixed feelings to continue working from home and its impact on the career progression of women in the UAE.     

SARSCOV-19 amidst corruption: Does the civil society matter? – An empirical study

The pandemic outbreak has dealt consequences on global engagements and structures. With the ongoing search for pandemic-mitigating measures and the excesses (notably corruption) erupted in its wake, concerns have been raised about the decline in public trust, transparency and satisfaction – particularly in Ghana. This situation has spurred multilevel governance discussions regarding pandemic management. Ensuingly characterising policy makers' propositions in this regard is the civil society's salience as a control valve to governance deficits like corruption. Therefore, transcending the anecdotal claims on civil society's efficacy, this study takes a state-society perspective to probe its relevance in fostering trust, transparency and satisfaction, relative to corruption-stricken pandemic governance. The current study engages the general systems theory as a conceptual lens. The structural equation modelling technique was used in analysing data (n = 519) gathered through the questionnaire survey approach. Though results of data analysis affirmed the negative effects of corruption on trust, transparency and satisfaction, the civil society received affirmation as an enhancer of trust, transparency and satisfaction. In view of these study findings, implications and future research suggestions are delimited.     

国际形势回顾展望北大核心

高端智库的调研与谋划职能,要求其树立正确学术观,涵养敏锐的学术点,并能激活信息死穴,打通"信梗"瓶颈,从形势变动之形,推知事物发展之势;实现出精品、出思想、出人才的目的。先贤有曰:"锐始者必图其终,成功者先计于始。"岁末年初的国际形势务虚讨论,即是把脉天下之善始。     

Reflective and decisive supervision: The role of participative leadership and team climate in joint decision-making

Supervisory bodies can intervene in organizational practices that may harm society, but their effectiveness to do so depends on their ability to make decisions reflectively and decisively. Are these tendencies incompatible with each other or can they go together? Can empowering leadership (i.e. participative, coaching, informing behaviors) stimulate reflectiveness and decisiveness? A 10-item Joint Decision-Making Questionnaire was developed and tested among supervisory officers (N = 87) and supervisory board members (N = 158). Reflectiveness and decisiveness were positively correlated, indicating that these tendencies can be reconciled in joint decision-making (Study 1). An examination of 44 supervisory teams further revealed that participative leadership relates to more reflectiveness and decisiveness, via cooperative trust and goal commitment (Study 2). Moreover, teams that experienced this team climate prior to COVID-19 reported that they acted more reflectively and decisively during this crisis (Study 3). Hence, participative leaders can foster reflectiveness and decisiveness, by promoting cooperative trust and goal commitment.     

中国特色社会主义制度建设的伟大工程

党的十九届四中全会通过的《中共中央关于坚持和完善中国特色社会主义制度、推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化若干重大问题的决定》,是一个关系党和国家长治久安的中国特色社会主义制度建设伟大工程,在党的历史上具有独特性和唯一性,具有里程碑意义。它构筑了党和国家长治久安制度建设的基本框架。党的领导制度体系建设是中国特色社会主义制度体系中最根本的制度建设。中国特色社会主义制度的"众星捧月"格局是相互衔接、相互联系的制度体系。目前的关键是加强干部队伍建设,不断提高领导干部的执政能力和治理水平。     

The use of COVID-19 contact tracing app data as evidence of a crime

This commentary draws attention to the introduction of data collected by COVID-19 tracing apps as evidence in criminal proceedings and the novel considerations this evidence presents for criminal justice agents and digital forensics professionals.     

Did Covid-19 Change Armed Group Governance? Evidence from a Survey of Local Security Authorities in Colombia

As the Covid-19 pandemic began, initial reports suggested that armed groups would seize the opportunity to expand their control over territory and civilians. However, drawing on an original survey of local security officials responsible for monitoring armed group behaviour in Colombia, we find little evidence of significant shifts in the presence or behaviour of political or criminal groups. Contrary to prevailing expectations, we also find that armed group governance is common in areas contested by multiple groups. Our findings shed new light on armed group adaptation to shocks, and challenge the assumption that territorial control is a prerequisite for governance.