scholarly journals Price Gouging During a Pandemic: The Federal Government’s Response

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Marissa Rydzewski

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) characterized the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Two days later, the US president declared a state of emergency in Proclamation No. 9994. One of the many problems that arise with a public health crisis is the shortage of essential medical supplies like ventilators, masks, and hand sanitizer. When these items become scarce, some businesses or entrepreneurs try to inflate their prices to make a higher profit when they know they can still sell these necessary items. These high costs on goods during disasters or emergencies can seem unfair and make it difficult for those who need them able to afford them. During these stressful times, it’s important for Americans to recognize and report price gouging when they suspect fraudulent activity when purchasing items. Where do people find the authority on anti-price gouging laws? Typically, it is each state’s responsibility, however, in times of crisis, the federal government could also do what is necessary to protect the public interests. This paper will assist people in understanding what price gouging is, how to recognize when price gouging is occurring, and how to report it. Additionally, this paper will address what responsibility the federal government has to protect Americans from price gouging schemes in times of crisis and what it is currently implementing to prevent these fraudulent actions.

2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 1281-1303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Norrlöf

Abstract COVID-19 is the most invasive global crisis in the postwar era, jeopardizing all dimensions of human activity. By theorizing COVID-19 as a public bad, I shed light on one of the great debates of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries regarding the relationship between the United States and liberal international order (LIO). Conceptualizing the pandemic as a public bad, I analyze its consequences for US hegemony. Unlike other international public bads and many of the most important public goods that make up the LIO, the COVID-19 public bad not only has some degree of rivalry but can be made partially excludable, transforming it into more of a club good. Domestically, I demonstrate how the failure to effectively manage the COVID-19 public bad has compromised America's ability to secure the health of its citizens and the domestic economy, the very foundations for its international leadership. These failures jeopardize US provision of other global public goods. Internationally, I show how the US has already used the crisis strategically to reinforce its opposition to free international movement while abandoning the primary international institution tasked with fighting the public bad, the World Health Organization (WHO). While the only area where the United States has exercised leadership is in the monetary sphere, I argue this feat is more consequential for maintaining hegemony. However, even monetary hegemony could be at risk if the pandemic continues to be mismanaged.


Author(s):  
Ghada Alsulami

On March 11, 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) declares Covid-19 disease as global pandemic. Accordingly, the style of linguistic or verbal communication between governments and nations has been highly affected. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate resources where X-phemistic expressions come as characteristics of the speeches of Saudi Health Minister during Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, it examines how Warren's euphemistic strategies (1992) have appeared in the minister’s speeches. The collected data are the eight speeches delivered by Saudi Minister of Health during Covid-19 pandemic. They are analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis (TA) approach. The results show that Saudi Health Minister manages to deliver the massages about Covid-19 crisis through applying variety of linguistic devices which sound to be euphemistic, dysphemistic, and orthophemistic representations of the pandemic. The employment of each X-phemisms choice is mainly occurred within certain thematic fields. Euphemism is used in presenting unpleasant massages, naming the health crisis, and comforting the public. Dysphemism is applied in one specific theme of describing the virus. Orthophemisms is found in themes of declaring facts about the pandemic, warning the public, and requesting to follow instructions. It is also found that implication, reversal, particularization, metonymy, and metaphors are the most frequently used euphemistic strategies among Warren model (1992). This analysis contributes to the limited examination of pandemic discourse by understanding how X-phemistic expressions and euphemistic strategies are used by Arabic speakers during international crises like Covid-19.


2021 ◽  
pp. 244-245
Author(s):  
Rakesh Anbazhagan ◽  
Srinivas Govindarajulu ◽  
Sudha Seshayyan

At this pandemic situation where the global response to ght the COVID-19 pandemic through the cooperation of the general public, the negative shade of internet connectivity has been revealed, with the overload of misinformation which is being spread about the virus and management of outbreak are increasing day by day, may pose a greater risk to public health. These widespread of misinformation, rumours and fake news is termed as Infodemic by the WHO (World Health Organization), these massive content of misinformation makes it difcult for people to obtain the information from the trustworthy sources. With hope hanging on the vaccine, the scepticism and false information being rapidly developing towards it, would cause another health crisis. Getting correct and accurate information via reliable sources, especially the information which is provided by the ofcial institutions and organs of governments could help in decreasing the apprehension among the public. With this insight the paper aims to review about the infodemic, its implication and hindrances to combat Covid-19 in India.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofija Nikolić Popadić ◽  
Marko Milenković ◽  
Marta Sjeničić

Abstract The World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 pandemic on 11 March, 2020. Serbia declared a State of Emergency (SoE) on 15 March, just days after the country’s first official case, part of an unprecedented global wave of emergency responses, with states reacting differently to the threat of the virus. Decision makers in Serbia opted to declare a SoE, followed by a series of governmental decrees and ministerial orders. This paper examines the Serbian government’s initial response. The legislation in force in March 2020 is analysed to explore what possibilities and instruments could have been used, with particular focus on legislation regarding infectious diseases and disaster responses, which allowed for the declaration of an emergency situation, and the introduction of legitimate restrictions to fight the outbreak. The paper concludes that the full potential of all available measures and instruments was not exhausted, especially regarding legislation relating to an emergency situation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Ahmadvand ◽  
Ayda S. Forough ◽  
Lisa Nissen

BACKGROUND The public health crisis, due to the new Coronavirus found in December 2019, has received unprecedented attention from the public and the media. The infodemiological analysis of queries from search engines to assess the status of search interests and the actual burden of the new virus could be an informative approach. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to assess search query data from Google Trends, to visualize the interest in search over time for the new “Coronavirus” in Google, across four English-speaking countries, namely, Australia, Canada, the UK, and the USA, and compare the search interest with the actual burden of Coronavirus in the corresponding countries. METHODS We used Google Trends service to assess people’s interest in searching about “Coronavirus” classified as “Virus,” from January 1, 2020 to March 13, 2020 in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the USA. Then, we evaluated top regions and their relative search volumes (SVs) and country-specific “Top” and “Rising” searches. We also evaluated the trends in the incidence of detected Coronavirus infections to find possible differences between the actual burden of the disease and search patterns by the public. RESULTS From January 1, 2020 to March 13, 2020, Australia was the top country searching for Coronavirus in Google, followed by Canada, the UK, and the USA. There was a noticeable bimodal pattern in searching for Coronavirus, mostly in late January 2020, and then from early March 2020. Search interest in all four countries declined in the month of February 2020. Top regions in each of the four countries with the highest search interest where the ones which reported either a confirmed case of Coronavirus infection or a death due to it. None of the declarations by the World Health Organization of the nature of this pandemic appeared to have caused major changes in the search patterns in Google. CONCLUSIONS Search for ‘Coronavirus’ increased exponentially, in all four countries, mostly in Australia. The month of February 2020 could be considered a ‘lost opportunity’ in terms of acting on the momentum of searching by people on Google about the Coronavirus. The increased interest in searching for keywords related to Coronavirus and its symptoms shows the possible focus areas of awareness campaigns in increasing societal demand for health information on the Web, to be met in community-wide communication or awareness interventions, should another pandemic occur in the future. 


Author(s):  
Nicholas Longrich

The US and UK governments, as well as the World Health Organization, currently advise against the use of masks by the public to fight the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic (1). But could they be wrong? The governments of China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Viet Nam, Czechia, Slovakia, Bosnia and Taiwan all recommend that the public wear masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In some countries, like Japan, masks aren’t officially recommended, but are still widely used by the public. Many countries treat masks as a strategic resource. China has ramped up production of facemasks, converting Foxconn factories that once made iPhones to make face masks. Taiwan has also ramped up the production of facemasks, prohibited their export, and implemented price controls and rationing. It’s hard to see how both approaches could be right. Increasingly, advice against the use of face masks has been questioned (1) (2) (3), including by the head of China’s CDC (4). Common sense, scientific studies, but perhaps most of all the success of countries using masks to fight the coronavirus suggest that masks may make a difference. There are fewer scientific studies available to guide decision making than we might like, and the evidence is not always clear-cut. However, decision-making in a crisis requires that decisions be made in the absence of perfect clarity. What is clear is that the exponential mathematics of pandemics mean that even if masks are of limited benefit in reducing infection rates, masks could make a large difference over time, potentially slowing the pace of the pandemic, limiting its spread, saving lives, and finally, letting countries to restart the economies that their people depend on for their livelihoods.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-241
Author(s):  
Alexandru Stoian

AbstractAccording to art. 20 of the Emergency Ordinance no. 1/1999 of the Romanian Government, the state of emergency imposes “non-military measures of public order and it is instituted in case of special threats to the national security or to the functioning of the constitutional democracy, as well as in the case of different disasters”. The requirement to implement economic, social or political measures in the case of the state of emergency is directly dependent on the progressive nature of the danger. During the state of emergency, the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms may be restricted and important responsibilities of the public administration authorities are subordinated to the competence of the public order authorities, specified in the decree establishing the state of emergency. The spread of the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus, in the international context of the declaration of the pandemic by the World Health Organization, led to the adoption by the Decree of the President of Romania no. 195 of March 16, 2020 on the establishment of the state of emergency on the territory of Romania, which had important consequences in terms of restriction on the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (41) ◽  
pp. 66-72
Author(s):  
Augusto Lemos Regis

ResumoA Pandemia do novo coronavírus fez o Mundo parar. O alto grau de contágio da doença colocou a população mundial em quarentena, impedindo a livre circulação de pessoas para lazer, compras e até trabalho. No Brasil, as medidas para evitar o contágio seguiram as orientações da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) e a Administração Pública precisou encontrar maneiras para poder continuar a produzir e oferecer os serviços à população levando em consideração a crise na Saúde Mundial. Em suas demandas, o Governo redigiu a Instrução Normativa nº 44, de 10 de junho de 2020, que modifica o documento anterior sobre teletrabalho no funcionalismo público, a Instrução Normativa nº 1 de agosto de 2018. Este artigo tem como objetivo comparar as duas Instruções Normativas e a CLT, no que se refere à adoção da modalidade de trabalho remoto no serviço público. Para essa análise se utiliza do método comparativo com as bibliografias produzidas no Brasil por pesquisadores da área de Administração Pública e a consulta das leis referentes à regulamentação do teletrabalho no funcionalismo público. O resultado dessas análises encontrará mudanças e melhorias para o servidor em serviço remoto e a manutenção da eficiência dos serviços públicos diante do problema mundial atual. Ao final do trabalho, com grande parte das repartições informatizadas e experiências positivas em diversas instituições do Governo, a Instrução Normativa nº 44 de junho de 2020 mostrará que é possível um processo menos burocrático na implementação do teletrabalho na Administração Pública Federal. Palavras chave: Administração Pública. Setor Público. Teletrabalho. Instrução Normativa. AbstractThe new coronavirus pandemic has stopped the world. The high degree of the disease contagion put the world population in quarantine, preventing the free movement of people for leisure, shopping and even work. In Brazil, measures to avoid contagion followed the WHO guidelines (World Health Organization) and the Public Administration needed to find ways to continue to produce and offer services to the population taking into account the global health crisis. In its demands, the government drafted Normative Instruction No. 44, of June 10th, 2020 which modifies the previous document on teleworking in the public service, Normative Instruction No. 1 of August 2018. This article aims to compare the two Normative Instructions and CLT regarding the adoption of the remote work modality in the public service. For this analysis the comparative method will be used with the bibliographies produced in Brazil by researchers in the public administration area and the laws consultation regarding the telework regulation in the civil service. The result of these analyzes will find changes and improvements for the server in remote service and the maintenance of the public services efficiency before the current global problem. With a large part of the computerized offices and with positive experiences in various government institutions, the Normative Instruction No. 44 of June 2020 will show that a less bureaucratic process in the teleworking implementation in the Federal Public Administration is possible. Keywords: Public Administration, Public Sector, Telework, Normative Instruction.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 1458-1464
Author(s):  
Sweta Kamboj ◽  
Rohit Kamboj ◽  
Shikha Kamboj ◽  
Kumar Guarve ◽  
Rohit Dutt

Background: In the 1960s, the human coronavirus was designated, which is responsible for the upper respiratory tract disease in children. Back in 2003, mainly 5 new coronaviruses were recognized. This study directly pursues to govern knowledge, attitude and practice of viral and droplet infection isolation safeguard among the researchers during the outbreak of the COVID-19. Introduction: Coronavirus is a proteinaceous and infectious pathogen. It is an etiological agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Coronavirus, appeared in China from the seafood and poultry market last year, which has spread in various countries, and has caused several deaths. Methods: The literature data has been taken from different search platforms like PubMed, Science Direct, Embase, Web of Science, who.int portal and complied. Results: Corona virology study will be more advanced and outstanding in recent years. COVID-19 epidemic is a threatening reminder not solely for one country but all over the universe. Conclusion: In this review article, we encapsulated the pathogenesis, geographical spread of coronavirus worldwide, also discussed the perspective of diagnosis, effective treatment, and primary recommendations by the World Health Organization, and guidelines of the government to slow down the impact of the virus are also optimistic, efficacious and obliging for the public health. However, it will take a prolonged time in the future to overcome this epidemic.


This volume addresses the relationship between archaeologists and the dead, through the many dimensions of their relationships: in the field (through practical and legal issues), in the lab (through their analysis and interpretation), and in their written, visual and exhibitionary practice--disseminated to a variety of academic and public audiences. Written from a variety of perspectives, its authors address the experience, effect, ethical considerations, and cultural politics of working with mortuary archaeology. Whilst some papers reflect institutional or organizational approaches, others are more personal in their view: creating exciting and frank insights into contemporary issues that have hitherto often remained "unspoken" among the discipline. Reframing funerary archaeologists as "death-workers" of a kind, the contributors reflect on their own experience to provide both guidance and inspiration to future practitioners, arguing strongly that we have a central role to play in engaging the public with themes of mortality and commemoration, through the lens of the past. Spurred by the recent debates in the UK, papers from Scandinavia, Austria, Italy, the US, and the mid-Atlantic, frame these issues within a much wider international context that highlights the importance of cultural and historical context in which this work takes place.


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