Articles

#COVID-19: Social Media Both a Blessing and a Curse during Coronavirus Pandemic We are facing an unprecedented crisis of public understanding. Western digital corporations and social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat and Reddit) and their Chinese equivalents (WeChat, Weibo, Tencent and Toutiao) are at the heart of the crisis. These platforms act as […]

Ten books that offer lessons from past pandemics What we don't know about the threat posed by COVID-19 vastly exceeds what we do. The works of fiction and non-fiction provide us a set of tools, both existential and intellectual, for helping us face this current health crisis. Some works also create a historical record of […]

Face Masks and Coronavirus: How Culture Affects Your Decision to Wear One In East Asia, wearing face masks is often perceived as a collective responsibility to reduce disease transmission and can symbolize solidarity. But while epidemic fears could temporarily reduce resistance to masks in the West, changing this deep-seated cultural aspect over the long-term proves […]

Toronto Star: "Canadian government doubles down on money for researchers leading COVID-19 counter attack" "The Canadian government has almost doubled its financial backing of a legion of researchers now being called on to develop a counterattack against a series of social, clinical and public health woes triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic." See the full article […]

Toronto Star: "Returning vacationers must adapt to very different Canada amid COVID-19" "... that’s what Canada’s returning vacationers are doing. The Canada they left was normal. The Canada they’re returning to has changed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-isolation, social-distancing, empty store shelves, frequent handwashing. “It’s literally a wake-up call,” said Harris Ali, a York University […]

CTV News: "Is online shaming of COVID-19 rebels effective?" "Whether it's posting a video of a crowded Vancouver beach or a photo of men playing basketball on a closed court in Philadelphia, some Twitter users have resorted to online shaming in an effort to convince others to abide by physical distancing measures. And while experts […]

The Conversation: "Outbreaks Like Coronavirus Start In and Spread from the Edges of Cities" How increasing suburbanization may lead to increased vulnerability to infectious disease spread. See the article in the Conversation here.

Interview with Emily Troutman for AID Works: "Race and Disease: Should We Change the Name of Ebola?" How the naming of infectious diseases leads to an association of the disease with people or places. See the article from AID Works here.

Interview for Wired Magazine: "California's Hepatitis A Outbreak is the Future Poking Us in the Face" When urban infrastructure enables outbreaks, it's not just a medical tragedy. It's a signal of a failure yet to come. See the article by Wired here.

Featured interview with NRC Handelsbad: "Een Epidemie Versterkt Racisme" Harris Ali socioloog Na de SARS-uitbraak werden mensen van Chinese afkomst gediscrimineerd, zag socioloog. Download the article here or see it online here.