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Societies
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Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society
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Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society

A special issue of Societies (ISSN 2075-4698).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 56089

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sandro Serpa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of the Azores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Interests: sociology; teaching sociology; sociology of education; organisations; organisational culture; research; scientific communication; psycho-sociology of educational organisations; digital society; digital literacy and society 5.0
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Carlos Miguel Ferreira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences-CICS.NOVA, 1069-061 Lisbon, Portugal
2. Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies, 1069-061 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: social sciences; arts and humanities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, one of the hymns of hope was the song “Andrà tutto bene” (Everything will be all right), composed by Cristovam (https://www.publico.pt/2020/09/29/impar/
noticia/milhao-mortos-vai-ficar-bem-cristovam-acredita-sim-1933339). To watch the video of this song, please access https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUZIp_PKeZ0.

Currently (December 16, 2020), it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic generated a huge convulsion at the micro, meso and macrosocial levels, with a profound influence at the individual, social, economic, political, educational and health levels, among other dimensions, in a real global crisis, with people all over the world dying and becoming infected: 71,919,725 confirmed cases, 1,623,064 confirmed deaths in 220 countries, areas or territories with cases (https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019).

Although there is already a vaccine for the coronavirus, there are still doubts and reservations, both about its effectiveness in practice and about the processes of acquisition and vaccination of the population worldwide.

We deem it pertinent to question whether everything “will be all right”, inasmuch that the impacts of the pandemic are multiple and interdependent: at the social, economic, health, political, educational, work and employment, ethnic-racial, freedoms and citizenship rights’ levels, which pose multiple and complex scientific, moral, social and political challenges to various agents in the post-COVID period. Thus, this Special Issue seeks to be a space for reflection on the aspects that shape the articulation between the complex and polyhedral processes of a pandemic crisis and the possible prospective scenarios in their various components and dimensions, namely the social, cultural, health, ecological, political and economic ones, developed from a positioning that favours the perspectives of the social sciences, emphasising, however, a plural scientific project centred on interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity.

In this Special Issue, we welcome manuscripts of various types, such as research articles, reviews, and conceptual papers (whatever the methodology used) of a disciplinary or transdisciplinary nature, that seek to contribute to the analysis of a “Challenges of post-COVID-19 for a sustainable development society”.

What are the consequences of COVID-19, now in a more distanced analysis and with more information, as well as what will be the future that COVID-19 helped to shape? These are the main purposes of this Special Issue.

Dr. Sandro Serpa
Prof. Carlos Miguel Ferreira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • COVID-19 
  • Coronavirus 
  • Post-COVID-19 
  • Pandemic 
  • Digital society 
  • Sustainable society

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 200 KiB  
Editorial
Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainably Developed Society
by Sandro Serpa and Carlos Miguel Ferreira
Societies 2022, 12(2), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12020066 - 6 Apr 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2502
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted both preventive and reactive disease control measures, such as lockdown, physical distancing, and mask use, among others [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society)

Research

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15 pages, 654 KiB  
Article
Jogging during the Lockdown: Changes in the Regimes of Kinesthetic Morality and Urban Emotional Geography in NW Italy
by Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco
Societies 2021, 11(4), 124; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11040124 - 9 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2394
Abstract
Jogging is the most practiced physical activity in the west. This form of light running appears a solution to the health problems caused by the sedentary of contemporary dwelling and affirmed the role of the extensive use of urban space as a key [...] Read more.
Jogging is the most practiced physical activity in the west. This form of light running appears a solution to the health problems caused by the sedentary of contemporary dwelling and affirmed the role of the extensive use of urban space as a key to individual well-being and health. The COVID-19 pandemic and the imposition of lockdowns imposed a new form of kinesthetic morality based on domestic confinement; a morality that is in open contrast to that of jogging. The article explores this conflict and its consequences in terms of perception of the urban environment and the society among joggers. Based on case study research conducted in 2020 in Alessandria, NW Italy, this study delves into this abrupt change and explores how the urban spatiality changed for the joggers. In so doing, it asks what this event teaches us about the development of new, more effective, urban policies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society)
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13 pages, 266 KiB  
Article
Male Sex Workers Selling Physical Sex during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal: Motives, Safer Sex Practices, and Social Vulnerabilities
by Henrique Pereira
Societies 2021, 11(4), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11040118 - 24 Sep 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4241
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to assess the motives, safer sex practices, and vulnerabilities of male sex workers who sold physical sex during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a mixed strategy, utilizing purposive sampling techniques to conduct 13 online surveys with [...] Read more.
The purpose of this research was to assess the motives, safer sex practices, and vulnerabilities of male sex workers who sold physical sex during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a mixed strategy, utilizing purposive sampling techniques to conduct 13 online surveys with male sex workers working in Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were aged between 23 and 47 years old and mostly provided their services to other men. Additionally, half of the participants were immigrants. Participants mentioned paying for essential expenses (rent, food, phone, etc.), having money for day-to-day expenses, wanting to, and enjoying it, as their main motives for engaging in sex work. Regarding sexual practices, 3 to 11 participants did not always or did not consistently use condoms during penetrative sex with their clients. Thematic analysis was used to identify the following repeated patterns of meaning regarding COVID-19-related vulnerabilities, encompassing a loss of clients and income, increased work availability, price reductions and negotiation difficulties, emotional functioning, health care access, safer sex negotiations, age, and immigration status. The findings serve as a basis for recommendations regarding social policies aimed at male sex workers who sell physical sex in Portugal. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society)
13 pages, 1450 KiB  
Article
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Working Conditions, Employment, Career Development and Well-Being of Refugee Researchers
by Ourania Tzoraki, Svetlana Dimitrova, Marin Barzakov, Saad Yaseen, Vasilis Gavalas, Hani Harb, Abas Haidari, Brian P. Cahill, Alexandra Ćulibrk, Ekaterini Nikolarea, Eleni Andrianopulu and Miroslav Trajanovic
Societies 2021, 11(3), 71; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11030071 - 1 Jul 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5752
Abstract
The ongoing ‘refugee crisis’ of the past years has led to the migration of refugee researchers (RRs) to European countries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RRs often had to work from home and/or to continue their social, cultural and economic integration process under [...] Read more.
The ongoing ‘refugee crisis’ of the past years has led to the migration of refugee researchers (RRs) to European countries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RRs often had to work from home and/or to continue their social, cultural and economic integration process under new conditions. An online survey carried out to explore the impact of the pandemic on the refugee researchers showed that RRs found it difficult to adapt their everyday working life to the ‘home’ setting. The majority have had neither a suitable work environment at home nor the appropriate technology. Although they stated that they are rather pleased with the measures taken by the public authorities, they expressed concern about their vulnerability due to their precarious contracts and the bureaucratic asylum procedures, as the pandemic has had a negative impact on these major issues. The majority of RRs working in academia seem not to have been affected at all as far as their income is concerned, while the majority of those employed in other sectors became unemployed during the pandemic (58%). Recommendations are provided to the public authorities and policy makers to assist RRs to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on their life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society)
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15 pages, 278 KiB  
Article
COVID-ized Ethnography: Challenges and Opportunities for Young Environmental Activists and Researchers
by Dena Arya and Matt Henn
Societies 2021, 11(2), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11020058 - 7 Jun 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 7225
Abstract
This article offers a critical and reflective examination of the impact of the enforced 2020/21 COVID-19 lockdown on ethnographic fieldwork conducted with UK-based young environmental activists. A matrix of researcher and activist challenges and opportunities has been co-created with young environmental activists using [...] Read more.
This article offers a critical and reflective examination of the impact of the enforced 2020/21 COVID-19 lockdown on ethnographic fieldwork conducted with UK-based young environmental activists. A matrix of researcher and activist challenges and opportunities has been co-created with young environmental activists using an emergent research design, incorporating a phased and intensive iterative process using online ethnography and online qualitative interviews. The article focuses on reflections emerging from the process of co-designing and then use of this matrix in practice. It offers an evidence base which others researching hard-to-reach youth populations may themselves deploy when negotiating face-to-face fieldwork approval at their own academic institutions. The pandemic and its associated control regimes, such as lockdown and social distancing measures, will have lasting effects for both activism and researchers. The methodological reflections we offer in this article have the potential to contribute to the learning of social science researchers with respect to how best to respond when carrying out online fieldwork in such contexts—particularly, but not only, with young activists. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society)
12 pages, 265 KiB  
Article
Accessibility in Inclusive Tourism? Hotels Distributed through Online Channels
by Eva Martin-Fuentes, Sara Mostafa-Shaalan and Juan Pedro Mellinas
Societies 2021, 11(2), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11020034 - 12 Apr 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7506
Abstract
There is a lack of comprehensive international studies on accommodations for people with disabilities; only small, local-level studies exist. This study aims to show the status of the tourist accommodation sector through the online distribution channel in terms of accessibility to offer more [...] Read more.
There is a lack of comprehensive international studies on accommodations for people with disabilities; only small, local-level studies exist. This study aims to show the status of the tourist accommodation sector through the online distribution channel in terms of accessibility to offer more inclusive tourism. A descriptive analysis has been carried out with more than 31,000 hotels from the online travel agency Booking.com, in the 100 most touristic cities in the world. For the first time, an accurate picture of adaptation in the hotel sector for people with disabilities is presented. Results show that the adapted hotel infrastructures by countries are uneven. The main adaptations are those that help to avoid mobility barriers, and in contrast, hotels offer very few adaptations for sensory disabilities such as visual disabilities. Moreover, this study shows that, worldwide, countries with the highest income per capita, such as the United States of America, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates, have the highest degree of hotel adaptation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society)

Other

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14 pages, 223 KiB  
Concept Paper
Learning for the Future beyond COVID-19: A Critical Alternative to the Neoliberal Model of Development
by David Neilson
Societies 2022, 12(2), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12020032 - 24 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2830
Abstract
This paper reviews how COVID-19 became a global pandemic, why we now have to live with it, and what needs to be done to stop viruses going global in the future. Specifically, it argues that the still prevailing neoliberal model of development combined [...] Read more.
This paper reviews how COVID-19 became a global pandemic, why we now have to live with it, and what needs to be done to stop viruses going global in the future. Specifically, it argues that the still prevailing neoliberal model of development combined with related forms of class structure and ideological struggle all but guaranteed that the priorities of global capital and its agents, along with COVID-19, would win out in the end. Vaccinations have become the only path for resolving the tension between neoliberal capitalism and COVID-19 suppression. However, they take time to develop, are hampered by the capitalist model of vaccine production and distribution, and face a resistant alienated precariat. As a critical alternative, this article explores the neoliberal model of development’s democratic socialist transformation with particular reference to the prevention of global pandemics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society)
15 pages, 1069 KiB  
Concept Paper
Filtering Facepiece Respirator Supply Chain Management Framework in a Disaster Such as COVID-19
by Kihyung Kim and Li Zhao
Societies 2021, 11(4), 136; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11040136 - 11 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3601
Abstract
Due to the lack of vaccines and treatments, filtering facepiece respirators are a primary and effective tool to dampen the spread of COVID-19. To meet the huge and continuous demand for filtering facepiece respirators, this concept paper suggests a supply chain management framework [...] Read more.
Due to the lack of vaccines and treatments, filtering facepiece respirators are a primary and effective tool to dampen the spread of COVID-19. To meet the huge and continuous demand for filtering facepiece respirators, this concept paper suggests a supply chain management framework based on the disaster management principle. This concept paper adopts an exploratory and qualitative literature review to provide managerial insights for the supply chain participants. Due to implementation delay and strategic interdependency, the supply chain management strategies need to be systematically integrated. A viable way to integrate strategies is based on the disaster management cycle: mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery phases. Our model integrates innovative and successful but overlooked supply chain management strategies. First, the production capacity should be flexible so that the production mode in emergency and normal situations can be different. Second, the concept paper and development facilities can utilize their capacities for actual production in emergencies. Third, the quality certification process should accommodate the flexible production capacities. Fourth, inventory stockpiling should be renewable. This concept paper contributes to policymakers, healthcare sector decision-makers, stakeholders throughout the FFR supply chain to cope with future crises caused by pandemics by providing a systematic approach to constructing an effective, flexible, and resilient supply chain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society)
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13 pages, 1341 KiB  
Concept Paper
Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Migration and Mobility: Transnational Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Marie McAuliffe, Jenna Blower and Ana Beduschi
Societies 2021, 11(4), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11040135 - 10 Nov 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 13794
Abstract
Digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in migration and mobility have incrementally expanded over recent years. Iterative approaches to AI deployment experienced a surge during 2020 and into 2021, largely due to COVID-19 forcing greater reliance on advanced digital technology to monitor, inform [...] Read more.
Digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in migration and mobility have incrementally expanded over recent years. Iterative approaches to AI deployment experienced a surge during 2020 and into 2021, largely due to COVID-19 forcing greater reliance on advanced digital technology to monitor, inform and respond to the pandemic. This paper critically examines the implications of intensifying digitalization and AI for migration and mobility systems for a post-COVID transnational context. First, it situates digitalization and AI in migration by analyzing its uptake throughout the Migration Cycle. Second, the article evaluates the current challenges and, opportunities to migrants and migration systems brought about by deepening digitalization due to COVID-19, finding that while these expanding technologies can bolster human rights and support international development, potential gains can and are being eroded because of design, development and implementation aspects. Through a critical review of available literature on the subject, this paper argues that recent changes brought about by COVID-19 highlight that computational advances need to incorporate human rights throughout design and development stages, extending well beyond technical feasibility. This also extends beyond tech company references to inclusivity and transparency and requires analysis of systemic risks to migration and mobility regimes arising from advances in AI and related technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society)
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13 pages, 288 KiB  
Concept Paper
COVID-19 Stigma and Charismatic Social Relationship: A Legitimization Narrative of President Trump’s Status as a Charismatic Leader following a SARS-CoV-2 Infection Reported by the Portuguese Media
by Carlos Miguel Ferreira and Sandro Serpa
Societies 2021, 11(4), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11040130 - 28 Oct 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3029
Abstract
This concept paper aimed to understand how stigma, a concept usually associated with negative social relationships, in the context of a pandemic threat such as COVID-19 can, in some situations, structure a charismatic social relationship in a perceived positive association between stigma and [...] Read more.
This concept paper aimed to understand how stigma, a concept usually associated with negative social relationships, in the context of a pandemic threat such as COVID-19 can, in some situations, structure a charismatic social relationship in a perceived positive association between stigma and a specific social characteristic. For this purpose, we used the example of the news selected and highlighted by several Portuguese media about the actions and messages developed by President Trump in the context of his infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent recovery process. These news reports gave visibility to a narrative that can be considered as reinforcing the legitimization of his condition as a charismatic leader in an electoral context marked by the pandemic threat. In conclusion, stigma associated with a pandemic health threat and generally linked to a negative social status can also reinforce admiration, trust, and belief in the charismatic leader by supporters and followers, as demonstrated with the plight of President Trump. Stigma can be a factor in social uplift in affirming an upward trajectory of social status and symbolic power for actors seen as ill, where stigma-motivated discrimination is experienced positively, unlike in most cases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Development Society)
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