Covid-19 Archives

Unprecedented times: Leadership at the age of Covid-19

Covid-19, Leadership

Pages:28

Introduction

Current age is confronting challenges of health and humanity survival. The issue of pandemic global Coronavirus has stopped every business activity around the globe. Covid-19 crisis is taking over the world and testing clinical capacity of teams with unprecedented patient numbers (Bauer & Anderson, 1985). The situation is also providing opportunities to healthcare to envision effective care delivery in future. Leadership and communication are the core parts of teams during current pandemic. A thoughtful and strong leadership is critical for organizational stability. During the height of crisis, a team planning is necessary to tackle the situation. The team building approach works significantly for the leadership development and this practice yields a planned orientation. Covid 19 has modified communication ways in teamwork, focused more on team building work and developed sound basis. Leadership process is a systematic work that binds team members to produce a productive workforce.

Covid-19 upheaval has expedited team communication and virtual setup, leadership and management. Best practice to handle tough situation is team management, effective collaboration and virtual communication. Team management trains to work on virtual platform because teammates need to know their delivery and its significance. Before this crisis, team management have not faced virtually integrated and technology driven environment (Burt, 2018). Trust, confidence and engagement are some core parts of team management that needs to be communicated with customer. These attributes function effectively under thoughtful leadership.

It is critical to discuss that team leaders manage and devote essential time to train teams. Knowledge transfer through team building approach allow them to lead and perform effectively. It is important to understand that essential principles of leadership work inherently when applied to teamwork (Costantine, Landon &Saade, 2020). They aid team development approach, grouping performance and business environment. Due to effective communication and connectivity, awareness related to key societal issues needs a broad-based structure. A leader follows these rules and provide a wide scenario to implement techniques of grouping and group based tasks.

Performing strong and knowledge based teams play a critical role in developing groups. The group based learning allows individuals to participate in different ventures and focus on connectivity. Group based activities also focus on good attributes and put relevant impact on capabilities to face challenges (Georgiades, 2020). Under a leadership perspective, the goal of grouping is to face issues and develop planning. To accomplish groups’ objectives, preparation is essential that is invigorated by leaders and they develop a team charter. It is essential to understand the team operating agreement that enhance group members’ involvement and they know about work patterns. Teams can reduce stress by using mindful technologies and collaboration (Hajro, 2018). Role of group in education is significant to understand because positive and negative characteristics determine success ratio.

Purpose of study

It is important to know that how a leader contributes for the good of the group. This notion is better to understand when required leadership and grouping theories are considered. Working on leadership theories, allows understanding of team work, management principles and abilities needed to accomplish tasks. The purpose of this paper is to identify how a leader contributes to good things in a group and it will be linked to relevant theories. The paper will describe good and bad attributes of a group and its influence through leadership.

Theoretical Overview

Individual and collective level leadership pertains to effective team members. At individual level, groups behave different from the external point of view, for instance, it is reflected when a person say that someone has got into the bad company. The notion of self-managed teams is linked to the high performing and task oriented structure (Hirpara& Taylor, 2020). In certain organizations, these features of team are not common but depends on leaders’ involvement. A leader can walk in such situation and adopts necessary steps required for high performing groups. Teamwork, group and leadership play essential role in the Industrial age. Current pandemic has focused on the need to work in grouping to achieve goals and objectives.

Group Dynamics

Groups differ in size, character and composition. Some famous groups appear to share key values and similarity of features make them dominant. The systematic group study was stated by Kurt Lewin in 1940s, when multiple research papers were written on group dynamics. It is a vibrant field that overlap multiple branches like social science, psychology, education and sociology. The scope of groups and its linkage with industry is significant because in many disciplines, group study is focused (Kassema, 2020). For example, psychotherapy is about group therapy, in business, management teams are managed, and in politics, political leadership participates. Groups have taken recognition after the setting up of theories in social psychology about work nature, plan and development of teams.

In grouping, good and bad are two key types that elaborate the idea about functioning of groups. The good group functioning all goes well, it spreads positive influence and give positive motivation that persists. On the contrary, the wrong or bad group is about the rebellious attitude and conflicts in class or at workplace. This form of group engages team members in unproductive activities and show unwillingness to cooperate. The difference in good or bad group is different and based on situational factors. The group dynamics play inherent role in defining the role of group in classroom or in workplace. The internal characteristics of a good group pave the way for learning and evolve over time.

The learner group consists of active partners and members represent a strong social unit that is bigger than the sum (Kaul, Shah & El-Serag, 2020). Group development is essential to work inherently because if it goes astray, it can harm learning. It is important to consider the positive development of group processes, as driving force can pursue learning goals. Researchers have focused on key processes used in the development of group dynamics that go inside and analyze team building approaches. In educational contexts, the group dynamics determine coherency and act as independent units. The productive environment for groups allows their involvement and they specialize in subject matter training. Due to structural significance of group based behaviors, the scope of leadership extends.

Leader Member Exchange Theory

Literature presents the dimensions of leader member exchange theory under transformational leadership. The concept ‘leader-member exchange’ theory was floated in classical Greek Days under vertical dyed linkage (McArthur, 2002). The concept is about leadership approach that work on group behaviors within organizations. The theory is intuitive and discuss what a leader group structure can be. It explains the working dimensions of group and leadership by pointing towards the strong features. It also illustrates the dynamic of problems, issues of loyalty with leader and develops structure to offer solutions. A leader works to maintain team in most significant form through its hard work and striving efforts. The role of responsibility matters a lot when it comes to work through grouping.

Leaders usually garner their position of relationship. The leader member exchange theory highlights the fact that a position by grouping is secured by trust and confidence. Most of the trusted person and supporters do this with responsibility under an inner circle. The inner circle is based on dyad linkage theory. Dyad means two, and it refers to leader and it is linked to others for whom it work. Linkage is about relationship that work for the coherency to build team. Leaders feel that team is the main adhering point for their productivity because it specifically work for the support (Spinelli &Pellino, 2020). If a leader allows it followers work according to the task, they would get substantial support in this regard.

The scope of roles under leadership is undefined because a supporter can assume a formal role. A subordinate and leaders’ relationship is preserved at some instances, due to conflict of power. Due to acquisition of power, a leader undertakes challenges and can relate to the lower status. The term ‘inner circle’ can define the power of a relationship when it comes to a leader and supporter (Stillman, Fletcher &Carr, 2007). In a team, multiple tasks, strengthening roles and supportive relationship allow greater performance. Better roles define better leadership so supportive leaders support more and acquire greater responsibility. The range of leaders can be different from a small discussion forum to large and this framework undertakes strong attributes to accomplish a task.

Leadership range differs, when it comes to manage teams, either small or large encompassing roles tackle groups (Somech, 2003). For the structural framework, the complex tasks can need more organizational and group dynamics to work. In leader member exchange theory, there are three stages of development. First is the organizational stage that can be performed under some approaches and help a person rise from a crowd while having intelligence and charisma. The second stage is role development that comes with many origins and answers the questions that how group was formed. In the third stage of development, the ‘good old boy network’ expression is developed. This leader led relationship needs consideration to work on general qualities that will develop groups. In these cases, the fundamental values are integrity, trust, and willingness that not only work on openness but also delegate power. In current working environment and situation, egregious routinized systems face challenges.

Methodology

The methodology of this paper is qualitative. With the help of interviews, research question will be addressed. Qualitative interview will be evaluated under a thematic analysis approach.

Participant

The participant of this study is a 27 years old university student at her final masters’ year in Educational Leadership and Management at the University of Coalalambour. She was approached while she was about to leave Coalalambour and requested to be interviewed since her major requires her to do lots of group projects. Pre-interview was done followed by the final interview, she refused to do a third interview because she was busy with exams. She was interviewed to understand the grouping and leadership principles because her major was educational leadership. Understanding leadership and grouping allows evaluation of major differences in productive work. The participant involvement provided insights to know about managing team work and participation in productive workouts.

Procedures

The procedure used in this study is use of thematic analysis approach like the one developed by Braun and Clarke (2013). The thematic approach allows familiarizing with the data by assigning preliminary codes. In this interviewing process, data familiarity will provide themes by jotting down different ideas. After this, coding will be implemented. Coding is about summarizing three lined of interviews as dialogues that will reflect images, words or accurate concepts. Coding is the iterative stage that will explain the work and ideas.

Procedure further extends to validate the codes. It is to work on re-examining data by authenticating the consistency of data to ensure if it is not misinterpreted. Set up of themes after code validation will allow clustering in themes. The creation of multiple themes will allow finalizing of on theme, later its illustration will be done with verbatim quotations. When coding process will be finalized, the report results will be composed.

The thematic analysis of qualitative data is a useful approach to analyze data effectively. This process is suitable and appropriately applicable on interview transcripts like the one used in this study. The process will allow examining further ideas and themes that are workable and provide a future dimension. The advantages of thematic analysis of qualitative data are finding a running theme, getting flexibility of fata and think about key ideas (Singh, Meera Bai & Pal, 2011). For instance, the issue of current age is coronavirus that is modifying existing leadership behaviors in countries. Changed behaviors in leadership are transforming teamwork hence grouping.

Under this thematic approach, a freedom is attained that makes research study flexible because it is modified under different research studies. Literature helps validating different concepts of theory so a rich and detailed result is attained. Current research will contribute in this way to discuss epistemology about leadership. Our research question about leadership and changing group behavior due to Covid-19 will be significantly answered by this approach. This method will help organizing, analyzing and in identifying themes appeared from a dataset. The collected data will be analyzed in the next section in light of interview transcript.

Data Analysis

Based on interview and methodology, data is divided into three parts. A first part is a good group, a second part is a bad group, and the third part is discussion.

The good group

The interview discussion was vibrant because participant explained about her group and leading person traits. She described two group leaders who exhibited different characteristics. The researcher was interested in Group dynamics, and God forbid that how wrong can work for group related tasks. Group dynamics is a group work that operates in small numbers. Participant described that good leader gathers its team and makes it healthy by telling everyone about their roles. The leader, who builds a strong team, is enthusiastic and has an incredible capacity to empathize. A leader is visionary and tolerant who understand the issues with group members and seeks a problem-solving approach (Safronova&Urubkov, 2017).

The information provided by the participant discussed the excellent attributes of a leader and group roles. The leaders’ characteristics are never-ending because he wants to see its team strong. He is unconventional and fun-loving, neither needy nor demanding. In addition, a good leader develops a good group and has a youthful spirit. It is researched that in the times of corona crisis, leadership should be more responsible, accelerated and ready to help (Petriglieri, 2020). The foundations in the form of a strong team allow better performance and develop good team ethics (Schwarz, 2014). It also helps employees and fellows to move smoothly and communicate effectively.

Good teams and groups focus on results and outcomes when work is done collectively. The leader offers them clear direction under a visionary approach to achieve organizational objectives. During a crisis, a leader has the responsibility to gather group members and lead them effectively, so that they get hope (Miao, Newman, Schwarz & Xu, 2013). According to participant, an enchantment with vision is a clear framework that helps individuals set up their directions and learn frequently. Visionary leaders promise a better future due to their sacrificing and productive nature. In the times of crisis like the current pandemic of Coronavirus, leaders have to show responsibility to control and direct the team. If vision is not set in crisis, motivation will not be achieved.

The bad group

A bad group face the bad side of a leader during a time of crisis, so team members face the worst experience. The participant in this study has elaborated the worst experience she faced with a bad leader. For instance, at corona times, the leader kept the same plan outside of what team wanted to change because of the corona, such as social distancing.Participant discussed “the leader was less appealing to team members due to her behaviour and display of different features like, she boosted her math abilities, tried to avert his eyes and showed intense behavior”.Some bad points in her views are “changed momentum quite a bit with the Corona outbreak, unexpected change and stability in the group and lots of arguments which is a wrong way of doing things”.Team members seem unsatisfactory due to this kind of approach. Due to reduced participation or no vision of a leader, a group may turn into bad and show poor contribution.

Bad group exhibits a lethargic approach due to work and show overburdened. There is less competency in the group, and they lack crucial skills like productivity, efficiency and performance (McFarland, 2014). This kind of situation creates a stressful work environment so the leader can be disrespectful to co-workers, supervisors and other mates. Lack of involvement is the key feature of a bad group because there is no vision and direction that help team members to get involved in team activities. The poor team members refuse to take any responsibility, so they always face failures.

More specifically, Adair theory is best suited here. It is action-centered leadership that was presented by John Adair in 1960. It is three circles model that overlap each other and elaborate about task achievement, managing grouping and managing individuals that form a team (Mango, 2018).

Overlapping circles highlight that these three elements work together, as elements of managing individual can overlap managing group and that in turn can overlap achieving the task and so managing individuals (Junker & van Dick, 2014). This theory illustrates that if a manager wants to be a good leader, all these features should be implemented. The model is itself simple yet needs to adapt to the situation.

Summary/discussion

The interview with the participant provided key themes of grouping, such as good group, bad group and their working dynamics. The way of working and involving group members into different tasks has been greatly changed due to the crisis of coronavirus. Groups are no more working together due to social distancing rules. Leaders follow key precautionary practices to help group members stay safe and spread awareness (Grint, 2020). According to research studies, group behaviour can guide individuals in adopting goods and bad ethics. Interview inferred that group behaviour is mostly workable with leader behaviour, for instance, a positive attitude of a leader develops positive roots of a group, so it turned into a good group and vice versa. Corona crisis has changed the notion of many groups and group leaders about work and work ethics. For instance, better and improved collaboration has been seen today than earlier to tackle the crisis. Improved support and value-added opinion have been seen in current times due to a positive group working ethics (Dörnyei& Murphey, 2009).

In the bad times, the good group can hold power, trust and mouldbehaviours of the team, so a leader can have influence over the entire team. A good group have a powerful sense of strength and an incredible sense of authority so the leader will be idealistic. On the contrary, “a bad leader can be a critical person and always try to be a perfectionist” discussed by participant, so this will create distance in team members. Popular and ideal leader work on social skills to gather a team and tries to resolve conflicts. For example, in the interview, the participant mentioned some weak points of a leader while working as a group in corona situation when no precautions were followed, and gathering was allowed.

The difference in the good and bad group is apparent from working ethics, following the current scenario and leadership approach. Different team leader perceptions allow team members to think and behave according to the situation (Chappelow, 2007). From the participants’ view, good leader values its members and work together during the issue of the coronavirus, since it is important to follow distance maintaining rules. Hence, a leader can focus on group members’ behaviour and modifies them. A behavioral theory of leadership considers the reactions and observable actions of leaders and followers in a particular situation, just like a corona. The theory focuses on leaders’ behaviour and assumes that whether the leader is born or made, successful leadership is based on learned and definable behaviour.

Participative leadership theory describes a style of leadership that is an idea on the basis of group learning (Davis, 2001). These leaders enhance contribution and encourage the participation of the team in a group so that they feel more accountable (Cardiff, McCormack &McCance, 2018). This process help group members to be more specific to adopt decision-making approach and use a decisive style. A leader in this way enhance communication and social skills and brings in teamwork format. The structural process of team and leadership needs to be updated with the current crisis such as Covid-19 situation to train and educate the team members.

Conclusion

Leadership during crisis interpret the ideal traits necessary to form a group and build skills. Leaders not only provide structural approach but also reassure people to participate in product decisions. Adapting to new challenges of current crisis like corona is attributable to leader because he instils need in the team required to tackle conflicts. Group behaviour is decided on behalf of the leader. The report discussed the key issue of coronavirus today and its impact on leadership. It is based on leaders’ guidelines and actions. Mostly good leaders develop good groups because they develop good habits in-group members that allow them to participate in objective accomplishment. Bad groups face declined morale due to less involvement and less participation. In view of the participant of the study, a good leader engages team members and encourage them to participate in activities.

Leadership defines group roles, and current pandemic needs leadership skills that develop good group collaboration. If a good group develops better collaborative skills in members, it’s evident to work in collective support during a crisis. Moreover, good leadership necessitates a trustworthy image and decision making power. This interview analysis illustrated that the current challenging situation needs effective leadership skills to monitor group behaviour as well as to educate people. A leader works as a mentor and educator to direct group fellows, thus enhance learning. The views of the participant about good group and leadership showed that the best leader is an ideal one because he/she supports its team in all respects, is trustworthy, exchange ideas and coordination.

The leader is an influential figure and encourages the team to spread positive influence, get educated and stay involved. The study is useful in terms of analyzing the role of a good leader in building the best team with all good features. The study is beneficial in terms of describing a bad leader that corresponds to a bad group. The study discussed that bad group behaviour not only discourages team members but reduce their involvement. Lack of involvement declines productivity. The study illustrated the practical experience of a participant in the current scenario of coronavirus and how important it is to maintain social distancing and rules to avoid contact with the public. The study provides an institutional approach in terms of understanding the good behavior of a leader that results in good group ethics and that positive group activity improves health.

Group dynamics-based approach discussed that group interaction is essential to maintain in an organization, which is attributable to the leader. The performance of a leader describes how effectively a group is being managed and what attributes are built in the group members. The attitudinal/behavioural and participatory theories are relevant to discuss in this paper because they define the attitude of leaders and foster skills that are necessary to implement in the team. The current paper is valuable in terms of analyzing team behaviour and leadership approach. It helps to learn key frameworks of leadership and its role in modifying team members’ attitude. The paper enhanced learning about standards a leader set for managing teamwork allows establishing productive roles and responsibilities. During tough times like corona, leadership supports teamwork and develops group behavior. This situation also invigorates competencies in teams and groups.

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Appendices

Gender: Female
• Approximate age 27
• Nationality Colombian
• Current status
•Time and language of the interview : English

Appendix A The Actual Interview Transcript

Interviewer: Good Morning!

Participant: Good morning!

Interviewer: I hope everything is okay with you?

Participant: Yea. What about you.

Interviewer: Pretty good, I would say. Thank you.

Participant: You are welcome.

Interviewer: So, are you ready?

Participant: Ready when you are.

Interviewer: Okay. Just to recap, you said you were in two distinctive groups, good and bad.

Participant: Yes.

Group Nature

Interviewer: What is the description of the groups in your opinion?

Participant: Well for the good group, we were five from different countries. Our leader ‘R’ was enthusiastic throughout the project. Which was about a presentation on the effects of depression on managing the team. We decided early on that we should get together in [location of the gathering] and we were always there except for one guy but he had his own reasons. As for the other group, we had four members. The leader of the first group was just a regular member there in the second group. He was a bit shy at first. The leader ‘K’ was a bit older than all of us. She said that she knew him from somewhere, but I did not bother to ask. We had a pretty good start, since the leader knows how to figure her way through numbers because statistics was our issue in the first group!

Interviewer: What were the symptoms of the groups being good/bad?

Participant: As for the good group, ‘R’ gave each and every one of us our roles and was tolerant of our mistakes. I still remember his smile wherever he was waiting for us when we get together. Like we often asked where this guy actually gets angry or not! He was optimistic and often seeking to understand. One day, [name of one of the group members] was completely lost for like a full week. Then, he suddenly contacted us and said that he ran into an accident. Our leader quickly gathered us and we went to his place to check up on him. Our leader told him that he already did his job and all he wished for is his fat recovery! What a man! He was also fun loving and unconventional, which validates my need for freedom. He was neither needy or demanding. I felt I was there because I want to be, not because I had to be there, if that makes any sense? There other guys were a bit slow but with quick minds and youthful spirits. I think it helped stimulate my mind.

As for the bad group, the leader ‘K’ was pretty confidant of herself. She even boosted about her math abilities. Saying that it will be a smooth sail and all that and winked at ‘R’. He tried to avert his eyes. Anyhow, she gave us high hopes since we did struggle quite a bit. Well, let us just say it was our main pitfall! The momentum changed quite a bit with the Corona outbreak. There where periods of unexpected change and stability in our second group. We were meant to meet at the evening. She said that we can meet in her place. One of the girls said that we should not because of social distancing rules. But she said that nothing would ever happen and we should meet to get things done. Suddenly, one of the girls did not come, ‘K’ was somewhat angry because she met her in the grocery store that day and, according to her, she was fine. ‘K’ argued a lot with her on phone. I knew this way of doing things is wrong. Yet, ‘R’ did not do anything at all! Her intensity scared us. As if there was not outlet for what she was thinking about. All she had in mind is that the work needs to be done according to her plan. ‘R’ Had an unsatisfactory look on his face.

Q3. Do you think group activity helps i.e. positive or negative?

explain if it is negative

It depends on how the group acts with its leader. I think the second group was negative because of its leader. She thought that she is more capable than all of us and therefore she bossed us all around. She came across as cold and critical. I mean she did not listen to any of us. All she wanted is that we gave our answers to whatever questions she had. Thinking nothing about the current situation, I mean Corona kept us doing nothing but work and work. I do not know why he did not say anything to her, though!

As for the good one, being understanding and supportive really elevated some of the pain. Like no one was able to go as deep as we could! We spent quite sometime together outside of what we had to do.

Interview: What is your opinion about working in groups can impact grade?

Participant: Well It did impact both our grades and our health!

For the good group, we got a lower grade, but we thought that all of our efforts were payed off. As for the bad group, we got a better grad at the expense of our mental health!

Interviewer: Do you think grouping allows everyone to put in similar effort?

Not always! I got this sense of inadequacy with the second group. Like I need to just follow her and that’s it.

Interview What are the reasons that attribute the group’s being good/bad to?

please mention if there are bad attributes

Participant: As for the good group, ‘R’ was practical, trustworthy and could hold things for others. He gave some of his time and did one of the guys work!

Influence of the leaders

Interviewer: What influence of the leaders had on grouping?

Participant : As for the good group, although he gave powerful sense of power and an incredible sense of authority, he was idealistic and in touch with his soft side.

The bad group had a leader who was critical and perfectionist and I think it created a distance.

Interview: Can you state three drawback of group work in both groups?

Participant:To be honest, I did not like ‘R’ helping the other member that much. It is good to be caring but not to the extent of doing his work! Secondly, he did not ask about our weaknesses. We know that no one is competent enough in statistics not until the end! I think it because we also spent so much time having fun together.

The bad group had a pretty bossy leader. She seemed like she did not need the help of others. She also trusted herself so much that she went to the extreme trying to prove that she was right! Thank god no one got corona! I also felt like we were in the group only to do the work.

Interviewer: Do you agree that group projects enable individuals to use skills which individual assessment do not?

Participant: Yeah. Social skills, for example. Humans tend to view the world through closed kingdoms. Group work allows us to see the issue from multiple angles!

Interviewer: You mentioned conflicts in the two groups, what do you think the main reason behind them? Could you please state some causes?

Participant: Hmmm. I will be honest. ‘K’ is highly independent but a bit hard-headed. We failed to persuade her to do the work via Zoom. She said that since we all live in the same area, we had to come in one place and do the work. The police noticed us and told us to disperse and she was about to fight with the saying that we do not have corona. She was also so wrapped up in the project that she never spoke to any one of us outside of what she told us to do. She did an outstanding job in her part. But the others were less productive.

The good group was about to fell apart at the end. We were quite weak in statistics. As a result, we had this thought that all of our work is in vain. Still, being together gave us hope that everything will be fine in the end.

Significance of grouping

Interviewer: can you describe your general feelings about significance of grouping min light of the two groups?

Participant:The bad group left a bad taste in my mouth. I really wanted to be myself. But ‘K’s’ Impulsiveness made us doubt ourselves. I felt like if I follow my gut feelings, there will always be unfavorable consequences. So, from my perspective, I could not take any actions effortlessly. Had to go back to her.

As for the good group. We had this sense of belonging that we did not do anything wrong. Rather than seeing this pattern, I mean us not knowing anything bout statistics, as punishment, we thought of it as a process of personal growth.

Interviewer: How did the leaders as the group leaders behave and how did this contribute to what the group was like?

Participant:The good group had a pretty down-earth leader. I felt like it does not matter how hard I worked because perfection is hard. We really had fun together and felt like family.

As for the bad group. I think, while her intensity could help her achieve success in this world, it would not be very helpful to her in the long run. I do not think that I would ever work with her again
Interviewer: What happened to the groups in question?

Interviewer: Do you think the two leaders exerted influence on group members?

Participant:A big yes! I wanted to be the good group because I wanted to. I had to be in the bad group because I had to!

Interviewer: How leader’s ideas forward towards a strategy in groups , mention two ideas?

‘R’ felt like he already embraced his kindness and desire to provide. When he helped our friend, I felt safe and take care of. I can depend on this leader. Yeah and he likes to work in cooperation with others. I felt like I can help anyone with anything and I learned new things! Unlike the bad group. ‘K’ was like a robot, she said that everyone should only do his job and I felt board the whole time! She also did not follow social distancing rules and we did not work like we should. I think her not following the rules by the government worsened our commitment. It is like we thought he was a perfectionist in everything.

Interviewer: Are the described phenomena common in the country the you come from?

Participant: Oh boy! A roller coaster of emotions! You can find both good and bad people in my country!

Interviewer: Can you make your assessment of team effectiveness, if yes, mention three characteristics?

Participant: The workflow was solid with the first group. The leader seed like he had a knack for knowing how to deal with people. He was fun-loving and approachable.

The second group was bad. She was intense, arrogant and a bit nasty. I tried to hide what I felt a number of times. One day, I woke up and saw like 23 messages from her. She thought I was ignoring her. I did not bother to say that I was feeling sick because I do not think she would believe me. I just said that I was away and I am sorry.

Interviewer: How perceptions of one team leader can be different from others?

Participant: Since we came from different backgrounds, we had some religious and language barriers. But we did not think of it that much. In the good group, we had fun. In the bad group, we worked like hell. So, each leader had his own qualities that resulted in new experiences.

Interview: What are the key values that are inherent in the two leaders, as a participant of the group?

Participant: ‘R’ valued group work and fun above all. As a result, we felt close to him and everyone else. ‘K’ Thought that we only need to do our job and we were distant from each other.

Interviewer: So you think a leader need to focus on group behavior, how a leader connects all the team members together?

Participant: Exactly.

What can minimized the conflicts in group members

Interviewer: Can you specify two things that you feel work differently the minimized the conflicts in group members?

Participant: ‘R’s’ kindness. It worked like magic with the good group. But he was almost non-existent in the bad one that I felt like it was a bad trait!

Also, ‘K’s’ intensity could have been beneficial to us in the statistical part of the project. We were a bit carless. But it was bad in the second group because it but so much pressure on us.

Interviewer: What is the reason some people go off task at any point during the group work?

Now that I think about it, the way ‘R’ showed his kindness towards us and that everything is aright make us procrastinate a bit. Also, When my friend got sick and ‘R’ helped him, I had this satanic thought of doing the same thing. But with ‘K’, we went discussing trivial things like that we can do everything online and she said that she would never join us! We had to come, and I did not work elsewhere except when we got together.

Interviewer: Since one of your team member was absent from group work but role is assigned, what would you do if you were the leader?

Participant: I would compensate that member’s work and move on.

Interviewer: In your opinion, which leader was best to in assessing the understanding of group member?

Participant: I think the bad one. She asked about what each excels at.

Interviewer: How collaboration in group work can yield learning?

Participant: Through coordination and exchange of ideas

Interviewer: Based on your experience with the group work, how every participant behaves with it?

Participant It was different in both. As I told you, the leader is the most influential figure.

Interviewer: Is it important for all group members to show consent towards agreed goals?

Participant: Of course!

Interviewer: What are some other thoughts about group work?

Participant: Sharing is caring. You need to always let the other members feel that you are connected with them.

How team members behave

Interviewer: Do you believe team members understands one another’s’ role?

Participant: Yes for the bad group but the pressure was so hard for us we lost interest in doing our best.

Interviewer: Do the two leaders assume the responsibility to train their members and focus on effective collaboration, coordination and development?

Participant: The leader of the bad group did not. She said: “What do you excel most at?” and we decided on the roles. She than said that since no one said anything when she said the word “excel”, no one needs any help! That snake!

Interviewer: What about the good group?

Participant: He did the same but followed us through to the end.

Interview: I think this is it. Do you have anything else to say?

Participant: No, Thank you.

Interview: You are welcome, Thank you for your help.

Participant: No problem. Good luck!

Interview: You, too!

Appendix B Pre-Interview

Interviewer: Good morning [Name of the participant]! My name is George! I am a researcher interested in Group dynamics and God forbid what might go wrong during group work! All of your info will not be shared by anyone, including this recording.

There will be two interviews. The first one is to just lay the ground for the second interview. So, for now, let us just talk in general and not go too deep. We will leave it for the second interview. Is this alright with you? I may ask for a third one if there is something that would need any clarification. Do You Have any questions?

Participant: Ready when you are.

Interviewer: How are you coping with the corona outbreak? I hope you are doing fine!

Participant: I am fine, Thank you. It has been really tough for me.

Interviewer: I am really sad to hear this! I really everything is fine. Do you need any help?.

Participant: Thank you so much. No , I am doing fine. I hope you are, as well. Do you need any help?

Interviewer: No, I am doing fine. Thank you for asking!

Participant: Good! I heard your boss is trying to get in touch with you all.

Interviewer: Yes. They are Putting us in groups of small numbers to take us back.

Participant: HeHe. Group dynamics the right way.

Interviewer: Haha. I would not say this at such an early stage but thank you!

Participant: No problem. Wish for your safe travel.

Interviewer: Thank you. Speaking of Which, you did say that you had a very interesting experience in two distinct groups. May I know about them? Let us first start with the good one.

Participant: Yes. We knew our roles from the very beginning. [The group’s leader] was a very active guy. He was pretty enthusiastic and I was instantly into the mood. I must confess, though. He was a bit confrontal. But I always felt that it was never an issue.

Interviewer: Do you mind if I ask why it was never an issue?

Participant: He felt like my practical side. Like he was a maturing influence on me.

Interviewer: Interesting! So he felt like he had this energy that made you want to show up, right?

Participant: Yes.

Interviewer: Was this the same for everyone else?

Participant: Yes, I think so. He had this incredible capacity to empathize.He was able to see the good in all things and he was visionary and can see the world from both sides despite the differences among us. Ironik enough, He was a complete guy in the other group!

Interviewer:Was he the leader in both?

Participant: No, He was just another member in the second one. He disapproved of that girl’s intensity, that was apparent. But it felt like his will was somewhat diminished and he could not express himself. He even reacted quite recklessly. Typical man!

Interviewer: I completely understand you. But may I ask you to discuss the two groups separately? Just to avoid confusion.

Participant: No problem.

Interviewer: So, you said that, for the good group, you all were different from one another. May I ask how? what was so different about you all.

Participant: Well, since this is an international university. We all came from dramatically different backgrounds.

Interviewer: Yes. I see. Was this the same with the other group?

Participant: Yea, minus having one member I knew from the older group.

Interviewer: Oh this second group seems totally different, eh?

Participant: Well the start was actually better than the first one!

Interviewer: Seriously?

Participant: Yeah but with the spread of Covid-19, it went downhill.

Interviewer: Oh! That is too bad.

Participant: I know, right!

Interviewer: What was the main thing that made it the worst experience?

Participant: Despite the fact that she showed a period of struggle, she kept with the same plan outside of what we wanted to change because of the corona. We went through trials for no clear reason! Just when we thought we leveled off and found a solution, she said no and when I confronted her in private, she said I trust my intuition and we should not change the way things are! What the! And he just stood there Like a wall despite his experience as a leader!

Interviewer: I really feel you. You need to give reasonable reasons for your actions!

Participant: I do not think that I will be able to get that man *tch*.

Interviewer: He must have been a headache. But I think this is it. Thank you so much. I will get back to you in 5 days time. Just email me with times you are comfortable with. Is this okay with you? Do you have anything else to add?

Participant: Not that I think of. Okay. Thanks!

Interview: Your welcome! Thank you so much for the help! Talk to you later!

Participant: You, too! See you soon!

Appendix CCoding List

Description of Good Groups:

They are collaborative
They are trustworthy
They communicate effectively
They show involvement

Description of Bad Groups:

Groups that are less involved
They are not trustworthy
Lack of involvement
No vision, less optimistic

Group activity benefits

understanding and supportive role
Positive collaboration
Optimism
Improvement in grades and health

Influence of leaders on Grouping

Strength
incredible sense of authority
Better communication
Focus on decision making

Projects help groups than individuals

Team building approach
conflict resolution
Enhancing social skills

Leaders as the group leaders

They modify team behavior
They enhance decision making skills
They encourage members by fun and learning
They give ideas that forward towards a strategy

Team effectiveness

Approachable
Fun loving
People dealing

Group Behavior

Kindness
fun & learning
Collaboration

Benefits of Group work

Sharing
Understanding
Coordination

Critical and Rhetorical Methods in Communication

Covid-19, Critical and Rhetorical Methods in Communication, Rhetorical Criticism

Pages:10

Generic Criticism of COVID-19 in Satirical shows

With the advent of Coronavirus, many life situations and systems have witnessed a massive change in how they operate and that includes the change adapted by late night shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show with Steven Colbert, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. They have all shifted to quarantine versions of the shows. Their satirical lens to the current situation has changed little and their views and opinions on this novel crisis and what it implies including life in quarantine, the death crisis, the weakness in the healthcare system, political negligence, mental health, the impactful economic crisis, and many more face the fire of these shows’ satire.

Coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan, China, and very quickly, was transmitted to rest of the world. One of the main reasons for this included the dynamics of the global village we live in today where traveling has become extremely prevalent and fluid. Where China appeared to be the epicenter of this virus, the highest death rate and confirmed number of known cases for the virus is, as of yet, found in the US. Where about 4500 people lost their lives in Mainland China, about more than 90,000 people have lost their lives in the US. This has given rise to many conspiracies such as the virus in itself being used as a biological weapon to gain the global status of “superpower” by having economic and power hegemony by China. Other theories of its origin include that the novel virus was found in the bats in Wuhan and when some people consumed them for food, the virus was contained in them and they became carriers for it, infecting other people unknowingly with the deadly virus until its consequences became apparent.

Soon, this virus took over the lifestyle of the entire world as the only solution for containing it was disclosed to be social distancing and a concept used ages ago was put forward known as self-isolation or quarantine. This resulted in people slowly decreasing their social activities, although exceptions apply, and this later metamorphosed into countries applying national lockdowns and closing their borders to other nations for travel and trade to contain the virus. Dire steps were taken especially after Europe, including France and Italy, and the US came under the bus of Coronavirus. This, however, revealed a lot about the loopholes in the “developed countries” political systems, as in many, it took thousands of lives for country leaders to understand that human lives should be the priority in this case.

The superpower of the United States of America reacted too slowly in dealing with what now has become a pandemic. The Trump administration received international and national backlash. The Trump administration kept making things up and in the mid of March, Trump said that “Nobody knew there’d be a pandemic” in a press conference. However, evidence suggested otherwise. Trump was also criticized for making contradictory statements such as when he announced that there will be a travel ban on everybody coming from Europe into the US. Later his team and his own tweets cleared up the misunderstanding that the travel ban will not apply to US residents, their families and some important businesses. Also, Trump’s body language also spoke volumes about his inner confused, stressed and tense state of mind as opposed to his apparently confident demeanor. Further, some of the promises made by Trump that were consistently insisted that will be met, were actually not met and caused more anxiety and angst in the already endangered Americans. For instance, Trump repeatedly insisted that by Easter, the Coronavirus will go away. However, the consequential impact of the virus instead blasted America by leading to exponential rise in deaths. Moreover, Trump’s promises to open the country to counter the economic crisis that ensues as millions of Americans have signed up for unemployment by May 1^st too proved hollow and impractical in actuality. It can be seen from these examples that Trump’s instinct’s on the virus were extremely wrong and so was the case with many other Americans who have faced backlash from the mentioned shows in a subtle manner by using satire as a tool to highlight their shortsightedness.

Using Generic Criticism is extremely useful in bringing about the actions of the status quo under scrutiny by playing it safe and not while doing so at the same time. Many have termed this concept as being one of the many “meta-critical approaches” that ought to paid attention to (Brock and Scott). This concept can be traced back to the Aristotelian times when Aristotle came up with the study of the art of persuasion now known as rhetoric. The need for the specific term Generic Discourse came to be about when a plethora of different discourse found their way in the norm and thus the term was coined so (Black).

Rhetoric is basically a way of trying to effectively convey one’s message or thoughts to other people in their speech or any other form that uses language. Generic Criticism generally encompasses the types of criticism used in a piece of speech, art, or written work and is a great tool to be used to convey one’s point of view in a unique way.

The scripts of the shows mentioned in the introduction can be broken down and looked at with the lens of satire. For instance, in the episode snippet named “The Battle Over Wearing Masks” from The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (it’s quarantine edition called The Daily Social Distancing Show) Trevor uses satire to convey his point brilliantly. The extract mentions, “Trevor Noah: But if we know that masks can help save lives and stop the spread of coronavirus, why are so many people refusing to wear masks when they go out in public? Well, one reason is that just honestly, they’re not super comfortable. And one woman in Kentucky found a solution that totally didn’t work.

NewsMax: A Kentucky woman is going viral for the way she wears a mask. This woman is caught on camerashopping with a hole cut in the middle of her protective mask. She claims it made it, quote, easier tobreathe. Everyone is required to wear a mask while out. Of course, the CDC is advising that masksshould cover both the nose and mouth completely.

Trevor Noah: OK, I’ll be honest. I get where this woman is coming from. Wearing a mask can make it a little harderto breathe. But you know what can make it a lot harder to breathe? Coronavirus. Like, I think somepeople might be missing the point of the mask. It’s not about conforming. It’s about safety.” The genius of this script not only lies in the content but visual effect as well that complement it. The content is effective because it presents a humorous way to humiliate the ones who put comfort higher up in their priorities but whereas, in this time, priorities are clear: masks can save lives and no alternative exists. This is not belittling, degrading or shading the woman but this tactic softly makes fun of the woman who did not actually pay heed to the coronavirus threat as much as she should have.

Continuing the theme of masks, Trevor given another funny example, “Trevor Noah: Although I will say one guy in San Diego got a little too creativewith his coverage.

KTLA 5: Outrage is growing over a man seen wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood inside of a Von’s grocery store nearSan Diego. Other shoppers took pictures of the man seen Saturday in the city of Santee. Store clerksreportedly asked the man to remove the hood or leave. He finally took it off while he was in line, thenpaid for his items and left. Santee’s mayor and others have condemned the incident.

KTLA 5: Detectives from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department are now investigating and will pursue anyappropriate charges.

Trevor Noah: Wow! Wearing a Klan hood as a face mask. That seems counterproductive.

Trevor Noah: Because, I mean, you might be protecting yourself from Corona, but you’re definitely going to get acase of ass whipping. And I know this guy thought he was being intimidating wearing a KKK mask inpublic. But I’m sorry, man, you’re in a grocery store. I can’t be scared of anyone buying GoGurt. Plus, Ilike how he only wore the hood. Yeah. So he was at home like. Should I put the robe on as well.” This dialogue contains tongue-in-cheek along with satire to criticize the ones making a joke out of this serious situation where thousands are losing their lives. The usage of words in this is extremely important to notice as it sets the satirical tone from the very start by introducing the action of the man of wearing a Klan Hood as being a “creative” action.

Trevor also integrates a similar serious situation of the arms debate in the US with a lighter tone that conveys his point that some Americans care more about not covering their faces than taking an important issue like the ownership of gun with due seriousness. The dialogue mentions, “Trevor Noah: …in America, you don’t just have the right to bear arms. You also have the right tobear face.

ABC 8: In Houston you could get a thousand dollar fine for not wearing a mask. That’s led to at least onelawsuit and complaints of government overreach. These mandatory masks amount to governmentoverreach.

Fox 26: There is now a lawsuit over face mask requirements here in Harris County.

Fox 26: There are many people who are unhappy with the order. Close to 150. Demonstrators protested themask mandate.

CBS: I don’t want to wear masks. I don’t want the government telling me what to do.

Fox 26: You cannot allow the government to overreach the Constitution, because if you allow that, then whatelse is next? Only God knows how.

Trevor Noah: Hell yeah, I’m sick of the government telling us what to do. Telling us to wear masks. You’ve got thosered lights that tell us when we can drive. Stopping me from buying romaine lettuce because it has E.coli on it.” The rhetorical device Trevor uses take help from simple everyday life examples such as comparing a traffic light to governmental order of taking precautionary measures. This highlights the stupidity of the people who are refusing to abide by the rules set by the government related to Coronavirus.

Similarly, Jimmy Kimmel’s show also showcases satire when viewed using the lens of Generic Criticism. In the episode titled, “Perfect Mother’s Day, Maskless Pence, Busy Trump and Mom Texts,” he blatantly makes fun of the unintellectual nature of Trump and the US Vice President, Mike Pence as the dialogue mentions, “Jimmy Kimmel: Mike Pence, pretending to carry empty boxes of PPEs into a hospital is the perfect metaphor for whohe is and what he’s doing. A big box and nothing, delivering another box and nothing.

Jimmy Kimmel: His boss, King Joffrey, got a bit of unsettling news today. One of the President’s personal valets hastested positive for Coronavirus, which is a big deal because the White House valet works very closelywith the President on a personal level. He does everything from handing him the remote to turn onFox News in the morning to grinding up his Adderall at night.

Jimmy Kimmel: The White House says Trump took a test. He gets tested every day and tested negative. Think he getsthat swab shoved up his nose every time? I wonder what kind of sound he makes when he gets that.But this President doesn’t have time for the virus. He is very busy obstructing justice and redecoratinghis wall. Trump reportedly wants to have his border wall painted black. Now he wants it painted blackso it will get hot from the sun and then people won’t want to climb it.” Two very serious jokes are employed by Jimmy in his dialogues and yet he slides away easily using satire by making fun of the heavy stuff. He questions the cleverness and intellect of Mike Pence by comparing him with an empty box indicating that he is hollow from the inside by insinuating that he does not have a brain. This is the underlying message yet is shrouded in the metaphor. Another serious joke used is by highlighting Trump’s absurdity by mentioning how the evident humanitarian crisis in the US is being undermined by Trump as he prefers to talk about his border wall amidst such desperate times. Using words like “redecorating” the wall really signifies what Jimmy thinks is the superficial and stupid nature of the American President that is costing him a lot.

Building upon the theme of the wall, Jimmy mentions, “Jimmy Kimmel: The paint job will reportedly cost anywhere from five hundred million to threebillion dollars to complete, which is a lot of money to paint a wall that doesn’t exist. But don’t worry,Trump put his number one son in law in charge. Jared Kushner, whenever there’s a job around theWhite House, Jarrett gets it. Jarrett is like Jared Kushner is like the world’s least reliable handyman.” Jimmy also drags Trump’s nepotism under the bus while mentioning his other weaknesses that help in highlighting his overall bad performance during covid-19.

Likewise, The Late Show With Steven Colbert also widely uses this technique of satirically commenting on politics in an attempt to let the general people know what is actually going on. In the episode titled, “Trump’s Valet Tests Positive For Covid-19 As His Campaign Prepares To Deploy Their Death Star”, he mentions, “One of the things about this virus is that itdoesn’t care who you are or whether you believe the virus is worth staying inside for. You can stillcatch it. Case in point, we learned today that one of Trump’s personal valets has tested positive forCoronavirus. Well, maybe this will help the President understand how scary it is for the average American when one of their personal valets tests positive.

Steven Colbert: Now, the President’s fine, but this was a risk given that Trump’s valets do not wear masks and thevalet who tested positive works in the West Wing and serves the President his meals. That soundstroubling. But keep in mind, the way you serve Trump, his meal is to kick the door open. Throw thechicken bucket inside and slam the door before you lose a hand. The President was reportedly prettyupset. A White House source said that “news that someone close to Trump had tested positive forCoronavirus was hitting the fan in the West Wing.”

Steven Colbert: Luckily, the White House fan is so caked with poop at this point; it no longer spins. Now, this news isinconvenient for the President because it gets in the way of Trump’s core message that we’ve got toopen up the country as fast as we can. And to that end, the CDC is actually already prepared adetailed document with step by step advice to local authorities on how and when to reopen. But theadministration has shelved the document. It’s just another part of the President’s long runningcampaign. The less you know.” This dialogue is highly satirical as it mentions the indifference of the American President towards the safety of the people around him that might also affect him in turn. Also, the informal language used such as the fan being caked with “poop” is definitive as it makes fun of the presidency’s apathy. This combined with the jokes made on the entire Trump regime regarding the propaganda related to information being hindered from reaching the public, emphasizes the message Steven is trying to convey in a subtly open manner.

Conclusively, it can be seen that understanding generic criticism is important as it makes one grasp the hidden messages in many different aspects in life and different sources. The examples given of the three shows explore the type of satire in generic criticism and how it proves to be effective in conveying harsh reality to the pupils.

Bibliography

Gustainis, Justin J., (1982) The Generic Criticism of Social Movement Rhetoric, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Taylor & Francis, Ltd.

Harrell, Jackson and Linkugel, Wil A., (1978) On Rhetorical Genre: An Organizing Perspective, Penn State University Press

Foss, Sonja K., (2004) Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration & Practice

Security Implications for Aid Agencies and Non-Profit Organizations while combating COVID-19

Aid Agencies, Covid-19, Non-Profit Organizations, Security Implications

Pages:11

Requirements:

A short piece on Security implications of the COVID pandemic (2000 to 3000 words)

The events of recent weeks presented a wide range of challenges to the global community as the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, spread rapidly around the world. The initial response by many Govts was restrictions, curfews and lock-downs resulting in panic buying, shortages of medical supplies and in some cases xenephobic attacks.

Once the acute phase passes the world will settle into a ‘new normal’ that consists of longer term security implications. I require a projection/thought piece from a ghost writer who will develop an internal piece that’s not for public consumption. The piece will discuss a range of potential developing security threats and offer tips for the individual to kick start what is likely to be an evolving discussion. Headings are likely to include crime (xenephobic attacks), political fallout, economic fallout, implications and impact on international travel, infrastructure and most importantly national and individual security. 2000 to 3000 words max.

——————————————————————————————————

Introduction

Indeed, we can think and imagine the hardships of the health workers who have to continually risk their lives and deal with stressful situations while fighting at the front line with deadly and severely contagious viruses like Ebola or COVID-19, but it is not the complete story; unfortunately, there is much to the agonies of these healthcare workers. This paper explores the difficulties these healthcare professionals have to bear in different regions of the world and their probable root causes to understand how the severity of these attacks could be mildened. Furthermore, this paper would also highlight the chances of such incidents happening with the workers responding to COVID-19. (Lisa Reilly and Raquel Vazquez Llorente, 2015)(WHO Africa, 2019)

Ebola and growing violence against aid workers

When it comes to combatting diseases in parts of the world which are in warfare for several decades and where the writ of the insurgent groups exceeds that of local government, the job of a healthcare worker gets harder many times. As described by a doctor, Abdourahmane Diallo, working in the Eastern side of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC);(Al Jazeera, 2019)

“The fear we feel, and that the community feels does our job ten times harder.”

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a severe fatal disease that was first discovered in 1976; however, it was only recently when the massive outbreaks started to occur. As per WHO, the average fatality rate from Ebola is 50% and can be transferred to one another through human to human transmission. In 2014, the Virus out broke in Guinea, which transmitted later to Sierra Leone and Liberia. Currently, the Virus is creating severe chaos on the Eastern side of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with threats that it might be transmitted to other parts of the country, which can be lethal.What makes this situation more complicated for Aid Agencies and Non-Government Organizations is the current level of anarchy widespread in DRC. In the first six months of 2019, the number of attacks on medical facilities and healthcare professionals in the Democratic Republic of Congo reached a staggering number of 174, the highest in the world, followed by 41 in Afghanistan and 34 in Syria. The aspect which makes these attacks more worrisome is that the primary reason for pushing this violence is not merely theft or creating terror but deep-rooted hatred. As happened in an incident in Beni (DRC) in late June 2019, when a hostile mob attacked the Ebola response team and later burned down the car when the team had fled. As mentioned by Christian Bada, a medical hygienist, “People threw rocks at us; it was merely to kill us.”(Humantarian Outcomes, 2019)(United Nations, 2019)(Max Bearak , 2018)

As per the World Health Organization, these attacks can be attributed to increased armed conflict in the region, civil unrest, and community resistance caused by mistrust between the locals and authorities. Not only such rebellion and resistance are creating life threats to the healthcare professionals but also hindering the response towards Ebola, which can be lethal as the Virus can spread to other provinces of DRC and even to other countries if not contained adequately. (Adelicia Fairbanks, 2020)(BBC, 2019)

Such a situation has worried local and global institutes, including Aid Agencies and Non-Government Organizations, that why these incidents are occurring in the first place and how they could be restrained. Several studies and surveys have been conducted through research agencies to unleash the root cause of such incidents cast towards healthcare professionals as without hampering the violence, it might be severely challenging to contain and combat deadly viruses like Ebola and COVID-19. (Kinshasa/Butembo, 2019)

Why Healthcare Professionals have to deal with these attacks?

Attacks on healthcare professionals massively hinder their abilities to function correctly and effectively towards to sole goal of eradication of the disease. Not only these acts of violence put a constraint on the mobility of these healthcare workers, but also they make aid organizations and NGOs spend more money on the security and well-being of these professionals. As per the International Humanitarian Law (IHL), aid workers and healthcare professionals performing their duties in armed conflicted regions must be protected, however above mentioned incidents of attacks and violence tell another story. To make any set of solutions to curb these sorts of events, the first step should understand the reason and root causes of these attacks, only then any institute or government would be able to draft any set of solutions. (David Child, 2019)(Insecurity Insight, 2019)

Community Distrust

One key reason for these attacks is based on the distrust between the communities which are affected by these diseases and the aid/health organizations, mostly foreigners, which are trying to curb the spread of these diseases. Reports of local people threatening and harming directly to aid workers and healthcare professionals while they carry out their duties in the Ebola-affected regions are increasing. (Catherine Saez, 2019)(Emmanuel Freudenthal , 2019)

The root cause of this distrust is the belief that is commonly found in the people of DRC that Foreigners, including non-Congolese and Congolese people who are not habitats of the affected areas, have falsely fabricated this Virus to exploit financial and political benefits. The matter gets further exacerbated as the majority of the Ebola-affected areas weren’t allowed to participate in the elections of 2018, which happened in December, and most of these aid workers and healthcare professionals don’t speak the local language. It is the local conception that the outside agencies, including aid agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations, are working for the sole agenda of further destabilizing the region. (United Nations , 2019)(Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee, 2019)

Financial exploitation on the name of Ebola

Another reason for the rift between the locals and these aid workers is the community widespread belief that these workers and agencies are not honest with the financial aid coming from global organizations like the UN and WHO. This has been further substantiated by a research conducted by WHO through a third-party research firm, which concluded that a majority of the response community believes that the conception fuels these violent attacks that the primary reason and motivation of these aid organizations and NGOs is to gain financial benefit. (Emmanuel Freudenthal , 2019)(Rebecca Ratcliffe, 2019)

Just to create anarchy

Rebel groups have dominated the eastern province of Congo like Allied Domestic Forces (ADF) and Mai Mai Militia, which adore creating disorder and chaos in their regions to demonstrate their writs and enforce their rulings. Attacking and using violence against foreign aid agencies provide them with much-required hype not only in the regionally but also globally. (Emmanuel Freudenthal , 2019)

Are health workers fighting COVID-19 facing the same incidents of violence?

Unfortunately, violence, abuse, and hatred couldn’t be stopped from reaching the nurses and doctors working at the frontline to defeat one of the most significant pandemics of human history – Corona Virus (COVID-19). In some countries, it is indeed true that these healthcare professionals are treated as superheroes for putting their own lives at stake to save others; doctors and nurses are getting praised from all world over the social media, but several incidents of violence and abuse have been reported too all over the world. After facing several cases of assaults and backlash from the general public in Mexico City, Fabiana Zepeda Arias, quotes that; “Please stop assaulting us. Please help us take care of you, and for that, we need you to take care of us.”(Kirk Semple, 2020)

Fabiana Zepeda is a Chief of Nursing Program in Mexico, according to her, nurses working under her have been assaulted, verbally, and physically, 21 times; people are accusing nurses of spreading Virus. She further added that many nurses now have stopped wearing their medical outfits while going to and from work as they are afraid that people might hurt them.

On April 1, as reported on BBC, a team of medical staff was assaulted and attacked by an angry mob in Indore, India. As quoted by Dr. Zakiya Sayed, “I had never experienced scenes like these before; it was indeed frightening. We somehow managed to flee away from the agitated mob.” An ambulance driver was shot earlier in April in the Quezon province of the Philippines as it was feared that the ambulance was spreading Corona Virus in the vicinity. (DAWSON WHITE, 2020)(Reethu Ravi, 2020)

Such incidents are not happening in developing parts of the world, but also in a city like New York. When nurses went to their cars in the parking lot after finishing their shifts in Hudson Valley Hospital, they found that the tires of their vehicles were slashed. (DAWSON WHITE, 2020)

Above mentioned cases of violence, abuse, and assault are just a few examples of reported hate crimes against the professional healthcare staff who are tirelessly working to help the world fight with COVID-19. Historically, it has been substantiated that during pandemics, health care professionals are targeted, whether it be Spanish flu, Yellow fever, Ebola, or Corona, people have been verbally and physically violent to them as the due false stigma that these professionals can spread the Virus to them. (Stephanie Nebehay, 2020)(Mary Beth Sheridan, Niha Masih and Regine Cabato, 2020)

These incidents can severely halt the process of containing such lethal viruses. Not only the performances of medical staff can be deteriorated by these stigmas, but also the number of these professionals will decrease with time. In India, the Association of Doctors wrote, “We, the healthcare professionals, are not as scared by the virus itself as we are afraid of the community we treat.”

What we can do to mediate between the communities and healthcare professionals

In any circumstance, hate and violence against medical professionals shouldn’t be tolerable. Without the assistance of these brave healthcare professionals and aid workers, no one can imagine the proper containment and cure of fatal diseases like Ebola and COVID-19. To find ways to mediate between the communities and these healthcare workers and to bridge the gap between them, we need to understand the beneath reason for such stigmatization and assaults; only then organizations could come up with any solid solution.

Acknowledge, promote and glorify

The foremost step to bury the hate and xenophobia against the aid workers and the healthcare professional is to acknowledge their roles and efforts at the federal level. Governments all over the world should announce support packages, which can take several images like permanent employments or a pay raise for the medical staff who are at the front line combatting diseases like Ebola and Corona Virus. Institutions, including the general public, should renounce and promote the duties these medical professionals are performing. In the last, we need to glorify the efforts, bravery, and courage of aid workers and healthcare professionals to decimate the hate and xenophobia against them.

Re-emphasize the punishment for assaulters and abusers

After several cases of verbal and physical abuse were reported in India, the government promulgated an ordinance to make amendments to the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. It introduced a new sentence for criminals who are involved in any kind of assault and violence against medical professionals. As per the new ordinance, any act of hate and violence would be non-bailable and cognizable; further to increase the intensity of the crime, the government has ordered to complete the investigation within 30 days. Moreover, the offender will also provide compensation to the healthcare professional for any injury, loss, or damage to the property.(Special Correspondent, 2020)

To reduce the number of violent cases, governments all over the world should increase their efforts to amend or introduce new laws and legislations, which will make these sorts of crimes more condemnable.

Communication

To hinder the mistrust between health organizations and communities, proper programs of communication should be launched. The goal of such programs should be to clarify the image of aid workers and healthcare professionals in the visions of communities. These sorts of applications would be more fruitful in the case of societies like the Democratic Republic of Congo, where mistrust is so rampant that people have started to attack aid workers and medical staff directly by themselves. These programs will help in transmitting the main agendas of these organizations and try to align the interests of both communities and health institutions.(Catherine Saez, 2019)

References

Adelicia Fairbanks, 2020. Security and access in the DRC: implementing an acceptance strategy in the Ebola response. Humanitarian Practice Network, March.

Al Jazeera, 2019. Deadly DRC protests target UN as Ebola workers pulled out. AL Jazeera, November .

BBC, 2019. DR Congo crowd burns UN base and Beni town hall. BBC, November .

Catherine Saez, 2019. New Plan For Ebola Outbreak Response To Ensure Safety Of Respondents. Health Policy Watch, June.

David Child, 2019. WHO warns Ebola could breach DRC’s borders unless attacks stop. Al Jazeera, May.

DAWSON WHITE, 2020. Slashed tires and violence: Health care workers face new dangers amid COVID-19 battle. Miami Herald, April.

Emmanuel Freudenthal , 2019. ‘Ebola Business’: How Mistrust Is Fueling Attacks on Health Workers in Eastern Congo. World Politics Review, November .

Humantarian Outcomes, 2019. Aid Worker Security Report 2019. Humantarian Outcomes.

Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee, 2019. IOAC Mission report Democratic Republic of the Congo 24 April – 2 May 2019, s.l.: WHO.

Insecurity Insight, 2019. Attacks on health care in the context of the Ebola emergency response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, s.l.: Insecurity Insight.

Kinshasa/Butembo, 2019. United Nations strengthens Ebola response in Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Health Organization, May.

Kirk Semple, 2020. ‘Afraid to Be a Nurse’: Health Workers Under Attack. New York Times, April.

Lisa Reilly and Raquel Vazquez Llorente, 2015. Organisational risk management in high-risk programmes: the non-medical response to the Ebola outbreak. Humanitarian Practice Network, June.

Mary Beth Sheridan, Niha Masih and Regine Cabato, 2020. As some health workers get ovations, others come under attack during coronavirus pandemic. Washington Post, April .

Max Bearak , 2018. ‘Like a horror film’: The efforts to contain Ebola in a war zone. Washigton Post, December.

Rebecca Ratcliffe, 2019. Senior WHO official accused of using Ebola cash to pay for girlfriend’s flight, s.l.: jANUARY.

Reethu Ravi, 2020. Abused, Attacked, Beaten: Frontline Workers Are Risking Their Lives Everyday In India. The Logical Indian, April.

Special Correspondent, 2020. Coronavirus | Attacks on health workers to attract up to 7 years in prison. The Hindu, April .

Stephanie Nebehay, 2020. Nurses must be protected from abuse during coronavirus pandemic: WHO, nursing groups. Reuters, April .

United Nations , 2019. Ebola emergency chief decries new attacks on frontline staff, after DR Congo worker death. UN News, November.

United Nations, 2019. Armed groups kill Ebola health workers in eastern DR Congo. UN News, November .

WHO Africa, 2019. The Ministry of Health and the United Nations condemn attack on health worker supporting the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Health Organization, November.

Coronavirus

Coronavirus, Covid-19, Pandemic, Wuhan

Pages:5

The COVID 19 pandemic has shocked the world suddenly. There are no clouds when this crisis will ends. However, we to get your help in identifying the following ”
– What we need to capture for this experience?
– How we can capture the values?
– What we can do now, and after the employees come to work again?
And anything else that we need to plan for.

Article

It would be an understatement to say that the novel coronavirus has changed the ways of life globally. The virus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan and slowly encompassed about 210 countries, resulting in the deaths of more than 1.5 million people in just a mere five months. The scale of covid-19 might be global, but its wave has not hit every country equally at the time as the number of reported cases and severe ones as well appear to be far higher in Europe and the US than in the rest of the world. China claims to have “flattened the curve” and has reduced restrictions related to social distancing, presently the only solution available for covid-19. This article will explore the changing way of life, lessons learnt from living in quarantine, the economic impact, and when life gets back to the “norm” (or will it?).

The coronavirus outbreak has changed a lot about normal lifestyles. With the closing of schools, universities, prayer places, shopping malls, parks and almost all the places except the hospitals and quarantine centres, a virtual lifestyle has peaked as meeting, classes and appointments have shifted to video calls over the internet. Along with the self-isolation policy, all of us are to follow to flatten the curve and reduce the spread of the virus, the closing of institutions for some has brought negative feelings. Another major change in the ways of life is that a safe distance of about 6 feet is to be maintained and no physical contact ought to be made with people who don’t physically live with you. This means that the affectionate gestures of meet and greet, such as a handshake or a hug, have vanished. These simple things in life are being missed by many so much so that a sense of fear and paranoia too has prevailed. Some people are structuring creative schedules as coping mechanisms such as cooking, giving themselves a haircut, painting and catching up with their readings. Additionally, travel bans have been implemented, and public gatherings made illegal. Quarantine and the lockdowns are new for mostpeople, but the threat of the deadly virus is forcing people to obey the order, though there are some exceptions.

The covid-19 outbreak has learnt numerous and profound lessons. Many people have realized that they have been taking simple things in life for granted and claim that they will appreciate life more after the battle with the virus is over. An important lesson leant from the virus is the fact that even significant parts of the world were unprepared for the virus, even after knowing the damage it had caused in Wuhan. The lack of efficient leadership on a political level has made people see the major loopholes in the healthcare and medical branch. For instance, the President of the US was warned time and again to prepare for the outbreak of the virus. Still, he kept on ignoring the advisory personnel until it was too late and not the US is the most severely affected country from covid-19, having lost more than 40,000 lives in just a month and a half. Despite the warnings of many scientists that the world needs to prepare for a pandemic, even the most developed countries ignored the call and are now suffering because of their ignorance.

The Chief environmentalist of the UN said, “The separation of health and environmental policy is a dangerous delusion. Our health entirely depends on the climate and the other organisms we share the planet with.” Hence, orders are being given to call off the unhygienic intake of food and the suggestive time to time washing of hands is proving beneficial for fighting against the virus.

Further, the efforts of the medical administration including, doctors, nurses and the rest of the medical staff, is extremely plausible as they have been fighting for their patients by putting themselves at risk and sacrificing meeting their loved ones to protect them. They have been declared the frontline fighters and their efforts have been acknowledged by the entire world.

Another eye-opener for everyone has been the positive impact the virus has had on nature. The outcome of social distancing has meant that fewer cars are on the road; less space is occupied by the man that leaves more space for nature. Many factories have stopped production, lessening the air pollution index in many cities. According to a study done by Carbon Brief, a specialist outlet, the emission of polluted gases have fallen drastically, such as the carbon dioxide emissions fell by around 25% in China. There are many claims made that even the depletion of the ozone layer has slowed down and has instead recovered to an extent.

An important and worrisome impact of the virus other than the biological aspect is the economic aftermath. Many economists had predicted a world recession in 2020 before the pandemic, but this event has worsened it, and many global economists now suspect an economic depression. People being locked away and not producing materials is putting an immense burden on the economy. Hence many economists have been in favour of removing the lockdown, claiming that even if people survive the pandemic, the economic hardships afterwards might result in desperate times that may lead to their demise.

Leading world economist James Meadway stated “the correct Covid-19 response isn’t a wartime economy – with massive upscaling of production. Rather, we need an “anti-wartime” economy and a massive scaling back of production. And if we want to be more resilient to pandemics in the future (and to avoid the worst of climate change), we need a system capable of scaling back production in a way that doesn’t mean loss of livelihood.”

The coronavirus outbreak has made us realize how frail our market systems are. There are global alarm and speculation, and even governments are afraid that these systems might break down as supply chains are disrupted, social care is challenged, and healthcare has become questionable. Hence, a shift from the conventional economic system might provide a solution.

Many believe that this crisis has triggered a push towards economic imagination.

Finally, the most awaited question on everyone’s mind seems to be about going back to normalcy. It must be noted that many thinkers believe that the coronavirus is here to stay until its vaccine has developed. If it does not develop soon, then the period of social distancing will continue for a very long time, maybe even a year or two as postulated by many, such as analytical thinkers of the Business Insider and many more. However, some places that have successfully flattened the curve and have removed some restrictions such as China and Hong Kong. They are on their way back to the normal life, but it must be remembered that in the global village of today, no country can survive without others and if major world countries take longer to reopen their system, then the fully functional countries would not be able to continue trade and commerce that would naturally impact their economic and social systems.

It can be said that although there have been many pandemics before, this one feels completely new as the era it targeted did not expect it at all and despite the world being transformed into a post-modern world, it still lacks the basic necessities of proper health care and hygiene. The quarantine life may seem a bit bland as compared to the previous jovial life; it is a duty on all of us to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the heinous disease. Thus we should follow the instructions given by the authorities and hope for better days.

References

Blodget, Henry. When Will Life Go Back To Normal Again? Insider Today: Business Insider.

Oroschakoff, Kalina. 6 Ways the Coronavirus is Changing the Environment. POLITICO.

Torres, Ella. How life has changed since coronavirus struck. ABC news.

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Pages:28

Introduction

Purpose of study

Theoretical Overview

Group Dynamics

Methodology

Participant

Procedures

Data Analysis

The good group

The bad group

Summary/discussion

Conclusion

References

Appendices

Appendix A The Actual Interview Transcript

Appendix B Pre-Interview

Participant: You, too! See you soon!

Appendix CCoding List

Pages:10

Generic Criticism of COVID-19 in Satirical shows

Bibliography

Pages:11

Introduction

Ebola and growing violence against aid workers

Why Healthcare Professionals have to deal with these attacks?

Community Distrust

Financial exploitation on the name of Ebola

Just to create anarchy

Are health workers fighting COVID-19 facing the same incidents of violence?

What we can do to mediate between the communities and healthcare professionals

Acknowledge, promote and glorify

Re-emphasize the punishment for assaulters and abusers

Communication

References

Pages:5

Article

References

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