The covid-19 pandemic had a big impact on the whole world, and a great deal of research was directed at the subject. Earlier research has foremost been directed at the covid-19 pandemic as a crisis, the management of the crisis and vaccinations. The effects of the pandemic, primarily from the perspective of street-level bureaucrats, is a relatively unexplored subject. The discretion of street-level bureaucrats in healthcare in the district of Kalmar is explored in this paper, together with the question and explanation of if and how the discretion has changed. The problems are mostly focused on how the changes are experienced in the post-pandemic timeline, how the discretion is affected and what might be the cause to the changes in discretion. The problems are studied based on Lipsky´s theory of street-level bureaucrats with the support from Jönsson´s theory of discretion. The theories have also been used for the development of the interview questions, that in turn have been used to collect the empirical data for this study. Semi structured interviews were used to collect the empirical data in physical interviews with doctors and nurses who work in district Kalmar. The result of the interviews has since been analyzed with qualitative text analysis with the support of the aforementioned theories. The result and the analysis showed a change in the cornerstones of the street-level bureaucrats’ framework according to Jönsson´s theory. The changes in district Kalmar during the pandemic can still be seen in the post-pandemic timeline in several ways. Therefore, a change in the street-level bureaucrats’ discretion can be seen and explained. Street-level bureaucrats have had an increase in knowledge and developed coping mechanisms, simplifications, and routines for the before uncertain situations, which in turn have resulted in a more comfortable street-level bureaucrat with changed discretion. Further research may show how these changes and effects can be seen in the future and other districts, which can contribute to the scientific gap that this study has shown about the remaining effects in the post-pandemic timeline.

This thesis examines the changes and effects the covid-19 pandemic had on the Church of Sweden within the diocese of Karlstad. The thesis is based on semi-structured interviews with eight vicars within the diocese of Karlstad. The data from the interviews were analysed using a thematic analysis. The thesis theoretical origin is derived from institutional theory, and new institutionalism. According to these theories, organisations evolve in response to the expectations and pressures exerted by society. The covid-19 pandemic affected the entire society including religious communities, among them the Church of Sweden. Many issues occurred during the pandemic and the restriction regarding the number of participants at social gatherings resulted in solutions such as booking systems and more frequent services where the vicar stood outside the church counting the participants. The thesis also presents how all parishes in question underwent some form of digitalisation and how seven out of eight parishes offered digital services. The changes that occurred in the parishes are in accordance with both theories. Lastly the thesis demonstrates the range of how these changes were maintained when the covid-19 pandemic subsided, and the restrictions were lifted. Some parishes still use digital services but at a much lower sequence since the demand for digital services decreased severely. Digital meetings are still in use but other than that how the changes maintained varied within the parishes. The opportunity to offer and suggest livestreaming a funeral if a family member is illwould never have happened before the pandemic and the parishes all agree that the knowledge, experiences, and attitudes that the pandemic brought on have come to stay and that they are ready for the next crisis.

No / As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, manually enhanced ad-hoc solutions have helped the physical space designers and decision makers to cope with the dynamic nature of space planning. Due to the unpredictable nature by which the pandemic is unfolding, the standard operating procedures also change, and the protocols for physical interaction require continuous reconsideration. Consequently, the development of an appropriate technological solution to address the current challenge of reconfiguring common physical environments with prescribed physical distancing measures is much needed. To do this, we propose a design optimization methodology which takes the dimensions, as well as the constraints and other necessary requirements of a given physical space to yield optimal redesign solutions on the go. The methodology we propose here utilizes the solution to the well-known mathematical circle packing problem, which we define as a constrained mathematical optimization problem. The resulting optimization problem is solved subject to a given set of parameters and constraints – corresponding to the requirements on the social distancing criteria between people and the imposed constraints on the physical spaces such as the position of doors, windows, walkways and the variables related to the indoor airflow pattern. Thus, given the dimensions of a physical space and other essential requirements, the solution resulting from the automated optimization algorithm can suggest an optimal set of redesign solutions from which a user can pick the most feasible option. We demonstrate our automated optimal design methodology by way of a number of practical examples, and we discuss how this framework can be further taken forward as a design platform that can be implemented practically. / University of Bradford's COVID-19 Response Fund, the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (Computer Science National Program) under grant #TIN2017-89275-Rof the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion and European Funds (AEI/FEDER, UE)

This study aimed to characterize and assess the subjective impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on symptom severity and psychosocial experiences of youth with chronic tic disorders (CTD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and co-occurring tic and OCD (Tics+OCD) through the use of Likert scales and validated measures. Children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 and their parents were asked to complete an online survey from July 2020 to April 2021. Overall, youth in the study reported negative pandemic-related impact on several domains, particularly after-school activities, relationships with friends, and family and community gatherings. Though limited by the small sample size of the group, youth with OCD appeared to report more negative impact compared to the other diagnostic subgroups. The median screen use for youth in this study was 3-8 hours a day; youth who reported >8 hours of screen time per day on weekends trended towards a 13x greater odds of depression compared to those with <8 hours per day although not statistically significant. If future public health emergencies were to ensue, supports aimed at helping these particularly vulnerable youth navigate the impact of those restrictions would be welcome and important to their mental health and general well-being.

For most students, playing video games is a popular, enjoyable activity to do in their leisure time. While many people play video games for fun, some do develop problems associated with their play. Excessive engagement in video game play can lead to significant impairment and clinically significant levels of harm. However, there are several important gaps in the research literature which limit understanding of potential harm. First, little is known about the gaming behavior of students, ranging from middle-school to graduate school, specifically as it relates to their reasons for playing video games and their time spent playing. Second, concerns regarding the readability of measures of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) have been identified in past research that informed the creation of an enhanced literacy assessment of IGD. Third, given the novel COVID-19 pandemic significantly altering day-to-day life and directly decreasing the amount of time individuals were able to spend outside their home, it was not yet known how gaming behavior may have been fundamentally altered. Via a three-study design, the current project addressed gaps in the literature regarding video game use of students, established the reliability and validity of a measure of IGD with enhanced literacy, and provided summative data regarding perceptions of distance learning and potential changes in gaming behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic of Covid-19 the restrictions changed the abilities of gatherings, so also for the members of the Church of Sweden, and questions arose from spokesperson of the Church of Sweden on the behalf of the members regarding injustice or discredit of the right of freedom of religion. This thesis handles how the restrictions affected the Church of Sweden, if there was any discredit for the freedom of religion and if people in Sweden found other alternatives during the pandemic to express spiritual life outdoors when there were limitations indoors for gatherings. My main source of material has been Kyrkans tidning (The Church’s Paper), a newspaper for the Church of Sweden, with articles involving the Archbishop Antje Jackelén. In the thesis are both qualitative and quantitate methods used, an inductive document analysis combined with a manual content analysis with the codewords experiential, social, economic, and political, concepts from a theory of religion and politics. The inference in this thesis is that there has been an injustice committed against members of the Church of Sweden, with reference to some of the restrictions settled by the Public Health Agency. Even though the Church of Sweden and the Sweden’s Christian Council might not agree, the comparison made between the articles, the United Declarations of Human Rights, other convents, and the definitions of religions there was no indication that the freedom of religion was illegally affected in Sweden during the pandemic of Covid-19.

Zur Situation und den Bedingungen der Tutorienarbeit an der TU Dresden wurden Anfang 2022 zum Einen Fachtutor:innen und zum Anderen Betreuungspersonen von Tutor:innen mit Hilfe von digitalen Fragebögen befragt. Ziel war es, herauszufinden, ob und wie Tutor:innen in ihrer Arbeit unterstützt werden. Im Bericht werden die Ergebnisse der Befragungen zusammengefasst dargestellt.:Überblick Die Teilnehmenden Finanzieller Rahmen und weitere Mittel Persönlicher Aufwand für die Tutor:innen seit Pandemiebeginn Motivation Kommunikation Freiheitsgrade Möglichkeiten zur Weiterentwicklung Unterstützung Wünsche, Herausforderungen und Kritik Zusammenfassung Fazit

The COVID-19 pandemic left no one unaffected as it spread across the world and changed the lives of billions of people. The pandemic has not only resulted in physical sickness and death, but also increased mental health issues due to fear, uncertainty, and social isolation. This review aimed to investigate whether mindfulness interventions can decrease symptoms of mental illness, such as depression, anxiety, stress, and burnout, and increase symptoms of mental well-being, such as psychological well-being, during the pandemic. All studies included in this thesis used different mindfulness interventions and different self-report measures to evaluate various mental health aspects, such as psychological flexibility, tolerance of uncertainty, empathy, self-compassion, and more. Statistically significant improvements in mental health were observed across all studies and is further supported by existing literature on mental health and mindfulness meditation and interventions.

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Background: Telepresence robots provide real-time audio, video, and mobility features, allowing faculty and students to engage in learning experiences without being physically present. Problem: With multiple students and faculty members needing to quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a flexible learning environment was essential. Approach: The telepresence robots were used as an innovative approach for both faculty and students to engage in learning experiences offered in a variety of settings. Outcome: Feedback was obtained from faculty and students about the use of and satisfaction with telepresence robots. The robots were easy to use and posed only a few technological challenges, which were easily overcome. Conclusions: Telepresence robots were effective tools in overcoming teaching and learning barriers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The telepresence robots have many applications, including use in clinical and community settings.