What will a country do to get lifesaving vaccines? COVID-19 vaccine is in high demand all over the world. Because of this, countries making vaccines–such as Russia, China, and the U.S.—have been able to gain diplomatic power. If a country wants vaccines, it often must do what the producing states want. Can the ‘vaccine-poor’ countries find a way out of this dilemma?
This LionSide Chat will be presented by:
Randall Newnham
Professor of Political Science
The COVID-19 pandemic and these preventive measures have dominated the news media for several months. Policymakers and the public have been discussing whether the economy should be opened if so when, or the effectiveness of interventions, such as stay-at-home orders, social distancing measures, and preventive testing. Decision-makers at various levels of the government, as well as private/public organizations, have to make such critical decisions that have a profound effect on the well-being of individuals and society. Policymakers have been increasingly relying on epidemiological models to guide their decisions and communicating their policy choices to the public through visual aids created by these models. Through various media outlets, the public has seen graphs illustrating the spread of COVID-19 and learned the concept of “flattening the curve” so that our healthcare providers have the adequate resources needed to treat COVID-19 patients without being overwhelmed. In this presentation, we will briefly introduce how simulation models can be used to predict the outcomes of COVID-19 containment measures such as testing, contact tracing, social distancing, and self-isolation.
This LionSide Chat will be presented by:
Dr. Abdullah Konak
Professor of Information Sciences and Technology
Penn State Berks
Participants will be introduced to the dynamics of verbal and nonverbal communication and discuss some new communication phenomenon; such as why it’s hard to communicate while wearing a mask and why we have communication-related Zoom fatigue. The chat will end by providing tips for thoughtful communication in our new pandemic-related communication contexts.
This LionSide Chat will be presented by:
Dr. Jill Burk, Associate Teaching Professor Communication Arts & Sciences
Dr. Kesha Morant Williams, Associate Professor Communication Arts & Sciences
Penn State Berks
The opioid overdose crisis continues and Pennsylvania has been one of the hardest hit states. How has the overdose rate been impacted by COVID-19 and what is currently being done to deal with the opioid crisis?
This LionSide Chat will be presented by:
Dr. Jennifer Murphy
Associate Professor and Chair of Criminal Justice
Penn State Berks
Resources:
Covid-19 and Overdose (PPT)
This will be a very friendly introduction to analyzing statistical data related to the treatment and search for a COVID-19 vaccine. We will discuss basic principles in designing and conducting clinical trials and how these principles relate to both efficacy and the efficiency of bringing a drug/vaccine to development.
This LionSide Chat will be presented by:
Dr. Ryan Hassler
Associate Teaching Professor of Mathematics
Penn State Berks
Resources:
World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/
National Institute of Health: https://www.nih.gov/coronavirus
US National Library of Medicine: https://clinicaltrials.gov/
US Center for Disease Control: https://www.cdc.gov/
Regulatory Affairs Professional Society: https://www.raps.org/
European Medicine Agency: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en
The Lancet: Peer-reviewed Medical Journal: https://www.thelancet.com/
New England Journal of Medicine: https://www.nejm.org/
Oshinsky, D. M. (2005). Polio: An American Story. GoogleBooks.
Piantadosi, S. (2005). Clinical Trials: A Methodologic Perspective (2nd edition). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
This webinar will provide an overview of culture and its influence on people’s behaviors. How individuals responded to government calls to adjust their behaviors to reduce the spread of the Corona Virus during the 2019 pandemic will be looked at through the culture of different countries.
This LionSide Chat will be presented by:
Sharon Pitterson-Ogaldez, MS, IDI, CliftonStrengths
Coordinator of Diversity & International Programs
Resources:
Books
Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication, Milton Bennett
Communicating Across Cultures, Stella Ting-Toomey
Intercultural Communication in Contexts, Judith N. Martin and Thomas K. Nakayama