Assessing the effectiveness of public health interventions for Covid-19 in Greece and Cyprus.

In this article, we statistically examine the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented by the national governments of Greece and Cyprus during 2020 to (a) limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and (b) mitigate the economic fallout brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Applying a modified health belief model, we hypothesize that behavioral outcomes at the policy level are a function of NPIs, perceived severity, and social context. We employ a Prais-Winsten estimation in 2-week averages and report panel-corrected standard errors to find that NPIs have clear, yet differential, effects on public health and the economy in terms of statistical significance and time lags.

Pandemic responses at the subnational level: Exploring politics, administration, and politicization in Swedish municipalities.

The Swedish response to the pandemic at the national level has attracted considerable international attention, but little focus has been placed on the way municipalities dealt with the crisis. Using Hay's dimensions of politicization, namely the capacity for human agency, deliberation in the public domain, and social context, we analyze the politicization of the municipal response to the pandemic in Sweden. We do this based on the analysis of the decision making process to activate (or not) an extraordinary crisis management committee.

Crisis management made visible: A case study of a school fire.

The aim of this study was to examine how a more inclusive framing of a crisis directs the actors' understanding of a situation and identifies unrecognized actors in the crisis management process. Crises include various extreme situations and require appropriate management frameworks to be effectively managed. The research is based on interviews with personnel who responded to a school fire and focuses on their interpretations and actions during the incident.

Crisis management in practice: a dynamic process intertwined with daily work performance.

This paper explores how a social services unit in Sweden coped with the large influx of unaccompanied children during the refugee situation in 2015. Crisis management is approached using social practice theory to examine how everyday work practices and their constituent resources informed personnel's management of the chaotic circumstances. The research data consist of practice-based interviews with managerial staff from social services and operational staff at homes for unaccompanied children, as well as manuals and printed routines.

Assessing the effects of calculated inaction on national responses to the COVID-19 crisis.

How does calculated inaction affect subsequent responses to the COVID-19 crisis? We argue that when governments employ calculated inaction during crises, they are more likely to manipulate the technical (scientific) aspects of national responses and highlight symbolic politics, each in the name of projecting power and strengthening the regime's governing authority. Using theoretical insight from McConnell and 't Hart's policy inaction typology, we investigate sense-making and crisis response narratives in China and Greece. We conclude with implications for policymaking and the crisis management literature.

The "black box" of treatment: Patients' perspective on what works in opioid maintenance treatment for opioid dependence.

Background: A lack of conceptual modeling of how the components of opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) for opioid dependence (OD) work causes it to occasionally be labeled the "black-box" of treatment. This study had a two-fold objective: First, to analyze which factors related to OMT for OD contribute to the abstinence of problematic use of non-prescribed opioids and sustain recovery, from the patients' perspective; second, to understand which changes OMT produced in the individuals' lives might significantly contribute to relapse prevention.

Methods: We used qualitative methods of design, inquiry, and analysis from a convenience sample of 19 individuals in a Swedish treatment setting.

Perspectives and Consensus among International Orthopaedic Surgeons during Initial and Mid-lockdown Phases of Coronavirus Disease.

With a lot of uncertainty, unclear, and frequently changing management protocols, COVID-19 has significantly impacted the orthopaedic surgical practice during this pandemic crisis. Surgeons around the world needed closed introspection, contemplation, and prospective consensual recommendations for safe surgical practice and prevention of viral contamination. One hundred orthopaedic surgeons from 50 countries were sent a Google online form with a questionnaire explicating protocols for admission, surgeries, discharge, follow-up, relevant information affecting their surgical practices, difficulties faced, and many more important issues that happened during and after the lockdown.

The value of crisis plans.

Objective: This case study elaborates on the theme of crisis planning and addresses the question of the value of crisis plans and for whom.

Method: This study is based on the data collected during a water pollution incident and consists of interviews, notes, and observations at a Municipal Council, County Administrative Board, and County Council in Sweden.

Result: Merton's concept of manifest and latent function offers a new understanding in the discussion of crisis plans.

Parenthood and Worrying About Climate Change: The Limitations of Previous Approaches.

The present study considers the correlation between parenthood and worry about the consequences of climate change. Two approaches to gauging people's perceptions of the risks of climate change are compared: the classic approach, which measures risk perception, and the emotion-based approach, which measures feelings toward a risk object. The empirical material is based on a questionnaire-based survey of 3,529 people in Sweden, of whom 1,376 answered, giving a response rate of 39%.

Everyday places, heterosexist spaces and risk in contemporary Sweden.

Subjective feelings of risk are a central feature of everyday life, and evidence shows that people who do not conform to contemporary normative notions are often more exposed to everyday risks than others. Despite this, normative notions are rarely acknowledged as risk objects. By drawing on the theory of 'doing' and 'undoing' risk, which combines intersectional and risk theory, this study contributes new perspectives on the everyday risks in contemporary society that face people who many would label as being 'at risk' - lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

The white (male) effect and risk perception: can equality make a difference?

Previous research has shown that white males have a relatively low perception of risks, known as the "white male effect" (WME). Many of the explanations of this effect refer to the privileged position of this particular demographic group in society, adducing white males' socio-economic resources, sense of control, worldviews, etc. It can thus be argued that inequality leads women and ethnic minorities to have higher risk perception than men and the ethnic majority.