The manuscript reflects on the extent to which COVID-19 influenced the education system in Africa, notably South Africa. The purpose was to document lessons learned to inform decision-making and practice while drawing conclusions for future usage.

This book covers the nexus between urban health, sustainability, and peace. 'Urban Health, Sustainability, and Peace' is the first book that attempts to put these three critical areas together. This novelty approaches the subject matter by delving into evaluating what works, what does not work, and what should be done to achieve healthy cities. We believe this book will be beneficial to a wide range of stakeholders, particularly policymakers, planners, and developers, who continuously shape and reshape the structure and environments of our cities and communities. Unfortunately, in most cases, the healthiness of the cities may not be of their immediate concern. Nevertheless, it is the concern of the end-users, citizens, or simply those who live and work in cities and communities worldwide. To safeguard peace in cities, one has to consider sustaining urban health; and that is the main aim of this book. The ongoing pandemic gives us an excellent reason to study cities' health. During such a disruptive time, we detect many flaws in cities and communities around the world. We primarily identify the negative impacts on sustainability and peace in cities. In order to sustain a healthy city, this book evaluates six sustainability dimensions of physical, environmental, economic, social, institutional, and technical. It then utilizes eight primary dimensions of positive peace, evaluating critical areas for future considerations in urbanism. These considerations include making cities smarter, more resilient, and more sustainable. The book's ultimate goal is to highlight how we should progress to maintain and sustain urban health. As a continuation to 'The City in Need,', this book covers the nexus between urban health, sustainability, and peace. Furthermore, by reflecting on the ongoing pandemic crisis, metaphorically labelled as 'The Day the World Stopped,', we delve into some key areas beyond the usual planning and policy guidelines. Lastly, the book intends to highlight what has not been studied before, i.e., the relationship between urban health, sustainability, and peace.

The year 2007 could perhaps accurately be described as the year when climate change finally received the attention that this challenge deserves globally. Much of the information and knowledge that was created in this field during the year was the result of the findings of the Fourth - sessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which were disseminated on a large scale and reported extensively by the media. This was the result not only of a heightened interest on the part of the public on various aspects of climate change, but also because the IPCC itself proactively attempted to spread the findings of its AR4 to the public at large. The interest generated on the scientific realities of climate change was further enhanced by the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC and former Vice President of the US, Al Gore. By taking this decision in favour of a leader who has done a great deal to create awareness on c- mate change, and a body that assesses all scientific aspects of climate change and disseminates the result of its findings, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has clearly drawn the link between climate change and peace in the world.

By relying on a virtual ethnography approach carried out on Italian-speaking alternative lifestyle and counter-information online communities, this book shows how the nature of personal interactions online and the construction of both personal and group identities, are central to the creation and propagation of medical misinformation.

An in-depth guide to prepare your family for the widespread outbreak of any deadly disease like COVID-19 or H1N1. New viruses hop around the globe every year. In 2009–2010, it was H1N1 that infected over sixty million people around the globe. In 2014, Ebola virus had a terrifying 40% mortality rate. In 2020, COVID-19 exploded into a world-wide pandemic despite the best efforts of governments and health organizations.So, what will happen when a pathogen as easily transmitted as coronavirus and as deadly as Ebola emerges? Prepping for a Pandemic provides all the information you need for medical self-reliance. It’s step-by-step guidance covers every important issue, including stocking food, storing water, developing contingency plans, learning first aid and nursing skills, and establishing quarantines and sick rooms. With checklists, tips, and plans, this book outlines the necessary supplies and skills one will need to stay healthy when doctors, hospitals, and the world’s medical infrastructure become overwhelmed or unavailable during a pandemic outbreak.

The book explores its consequences and the reactions of the world towards the deadliest plague the world has ever known. It delves into the history of the pandemic, noting its socio-economic effects. Imagine the gripping truth that you are about to discover in this collection of tragic true life story of the realitees of the people who lived in the early life. Imagine the stunning reality of death and the cruelity of the spanish virus. This book unravels the brokenness of life and how the distortion of families came to play. Discover a plethora of topics such as • The world in 1918 • The beginning of the outbreak • What was the spanish flu? • The third and final wave • Aftermath • The strange legacy of the spanish flu • And much more! The spanish flu was the worst pandemic the world has ever seen next to the bubonic plague of 1346. About 500 million people were infected by it and between 25 - 50 million lost their lives. It occurred toward the end of the 1st world war which lasted between 1918 -1920. This book revisits the spanish flu in a unique way, starting with a brief scientific explanation of the virus and then going deeper to explore its historical context.

These proceedings represent the work of contributors to the 22nd European Conference on e-Learning (ECEL 2023), hosted by University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa on 26-27 October 2023. The Conference Co-Chairs Associate Professor Sarah Jane Johnston and Associate Professor Shawren Singh both from University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa. ECEL is now a well-established event on the academic research calendar and now in its 22nd year the key aim remains the opportunity for participants to share ideas and meet the people who hold them. The scope of papers will ensure an interesting two days. The subjects covered illustrate the wide range of topics that fall into this important and ever-growing area of research. It is especially relevant that the conference is being hosted by UNISA this year as the university celebrates its 150th anniversary. UNISA has been a pioneer in first distance and now e-Learning. The conference will also host the final round of the 9th e-Learning Excellence Awards where innovate case histories will be presented. The opening keynote presentation is given by Professor Thenjiwe Meyiwa, Vice Principal for the Research, Postgraduate Studies, Innovation and Commercialisation at University of South Africa who will speak on, “The Role of African Feminisms in Shaping a Sustainable Future of Being and Learning”. An afternoon keynote on Thursday will be made by Dr Zolile Martin Mguda, University of South Africa on the topic of “ChatGPT: The first year”. The second day of the conference will open with an address by Dr Isabel Tarling, MD, Limina, South Africa with the title “Developing Digital Standards for Learning and Teaching in South Africa’s Schools”. With an initial submission of 100 abstracts, after the double blind, peer review process there are 45 Academic research papers, 3 PhD research papers and 1 Masters Research paper published in these Conference Proceedings. These papers represent research from Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Mozambique, Norway, Oman, Perú, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

In the era of COVID-19, many people have suffered high levels of stress and mental health problems. To cope with the widespread of suffering (physical, psychological, social, and economical) the positive psychology of personal happiness is no longer the sole approach to examine personal wellbeing. Other approaches such as Viktor Frankl’s theory of self-transcendence provide a promising framework for research and intervention on how to achieve resilience, wellbeing, and happiness through overcoming suffering and self-transcendence. The existential positive psychology of suffering complements the positive psychology of happiness, which is championed by Martin Seligman, as two equal halves of the circle of wellbeing and optimal mental health. This Research Topic aims to examine the different approaches to Positive Psychology and their influence on individual wellbeing during the COVID-19 era. One of the exciting development in the positive psychology of wellbeing is the mounting research on the adaptive benefits of negative emotions, such as shame, guilt, and anger, as well as the dialectical process of balancing negative and positive emotions. As an example, based on all the empirical research and Frankl’s self-transcendence model, Wong has developed the existential positive psychology of suffering (PP2.0) as the foundation for flourishing. Here are a few main tenets of PP2.0: (1) Life is suffering and a constant struggle throughout every stage of development, (2) The search for self-transcendence is a primary motive guided by the meaning mindset and mindful mindset. (3) Wellbeing cannot be sustainable without overcoming and transforming suffering. In this Research Topic we welcome diverse approaches discussing the following points: • The dialectic process of overcoming the challenges of every stage of development as necessary for personal growth and self-transcendence; • The role of self-transcendence in resilience, virtue, meaning, and happiness; • The upside of negative emotions; • The new science of resilience based on cultivating the resilient mindset and character; • How to make the best use of suffering to achieve out potentials & mental health.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started to gain space on the front page of the Mainstream Media and then prompted the “closure” of entire countries, following medieval ways to fight epidemics, as exposed by Donald G. McNeil Jr, on his article published by the New York Times in February 28, 2020 titled: “To Take on the Coronavirus, Go Medieval on It”, several phenomena caught my attention. Acting in my role as Gig Economy driver, delivering food in this small and nice town named Huntersville (57K Inhabitants and me: Legal Alien), in North Carolina, United States, was able, first hand to witness different approaches people and companies use to face this pandemic, like: · Use of face masks of any kind, everywhere, everyday=? · Compulsive hoarding of Toilet Paper=? · Installation of small plexiglass dividers or huge plastic curtains on customer service areas=? · The Olympic walking, as pictured by Trevor Noah, Host of the Daily Show, renamed because of the quarantine: “The Daily Social Distancing Show”, mocking people performing pirouettes to avoid being even near other human beings=? · People asking their FOOD to be delivered at the mat of their front doors=? · Closing Doors and forcing people to walk in/out through arbitrary design patterns in stores=? · Washing hands= OK These and other crazy behaviors published by news and people made me think: How was it in other Pandemics, on Part One will try to bring light on those past behaviors. On Part Two will browse facts and most amazing behaviors on this actual Pandemic and on Part Three will work on the question: Was this epidemic, with epicenter in Communist Governed China, convenient for other Governments around the globe?