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This dataset provides information related to the outbreak of COVID-19 disease in the United States, including data from each of 3142 US counties from the beginning of the outbreak (January 2020) until June 2021. This data is collected from many public online databases and includes the daily number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths, as well as 46 features that may be relevant to the pandemic dynamics: demographic, geographic, climatic, traffic, public-health, social-distancing-policy adherence, and political characteristics of each county. We anticipate many researchers will use this dataset to train models that can predict the spread of COVID-19 and to identify the key driving factors.

When Dr. Harold Riemer, Professor and Dean with the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies (KHS), was looking at what the upcoming semesters in KHS would look like, he knew that he wanted to find a way to offer a classroom experience to students, while adhering to all COVID-19 restrictions. The faculty worked together and came up with creative solutions to have small, in-person classes in addition to an extensive amount of remote courses. Staff no

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Honour’s Psychology, B.A.

The University of Manitoba’s science librarians developed a three-credit, second-year course entitled “Information Skills for the Sciences” that was delivered for the first time in the fall of 2020. The culminating project of the course was a scientific poster session where students shared their research project as a poster presentation with their instructors and classmates. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the course was moved to online synchronous delivery and all assignments needed to be adapted for the online format. We designed a virtual poster session simulating an in-person event, hosting the poster session on Zoom for a class of twenty students using breakout rooms to separate presentations. Our poster details the methods used to deliver an online in-class poster session in an undergraduate setting with visualizations to illustrate the experience. Despite the conditions of remote learning, the poster presentation session allowed students to engage meaningfully with the research of their classmates demonstrating that an exciting end-of-semester event like an in-person poster session was possible in an online environment. We discuss the challenges we encountered creating the poster session as well as our reflections on what worked and what might be improved in the future.

The Covid-19 Pandemic has highlighted how important the healthcare sector is as critical infrastructure. It has also revealed how vulnerable the healthcare critical infrastructure is to malicious cyber operations. The number of cyber operations against the healthcare sector has increased substantially since the onset of the pandemic, seemingly unregulated by international law, particularly jus ad bellum. This paper argues that cyber operations that target or intend to target healthcare critical infrastructure should be treated as a use of force and armed attack because any intentional disruption to business continuity can and will cause physical harm and potential loss of life. Using the 2017 WannaCry Ransomware attack on the United Kingdom as a case study, this paper analyzes four approaches to classifying a cyber operation as a use of force and armed attack. The first approach is the Instrument Based Approach, which emphasizes a textual reading of the United Nations Charter. The second approach is the Strict Liability Approach, which treats all cyber operations against critical infrastructure as an armed attack. Third, the Effects Based Approach endorsed by the Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyberspace, which emphasizes the scale and effect of a cyber operation. Fourth, the Cyber Physical System Approach, which emphasizes the intent of the attack. Finding these approaches insufficient, this paper advocates for a Healthcare Based Approach which would consider any cyber operation rising above the level of espionage on healthcare critical infrastructure as an armed attack.

By May 2021, millions of people from around the world had already endured some 15 months of living with COVID-19. Like elsewhere, in Saskatchewan the effects of the pandemic were felt by everyone, everywhere. Friends, family and colleagues talked of amplified levels of anxiety, stress and depression. Some individuals upped their alcohol and drug use to cope with the pressures of isolation. But to what extent did COVID-19 play havoc on Saskatchewan residents’ mental well-being during the pandemic? Staff no

La pandemia en el contexto de una crisis cultural ¿que reto teológico?. Panel"Theology and the global crisis caused by COVID-19": Forum mondial théologie et libération. Evénement sur Zoom, Montréal, Canada

Even before the initial spread of COVID-19 in Canada in early 2020, nearly one in 10 Canadians worked from home in some capacity (Conference Board of Canada, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the way organizations work (Gallacher & Hossain, 2020), making it critically urgent to understand how to build high-performing virtual teams, and to learn the basics of virtual team leadership. Suddenly, virtual teams are the norm in many sectors and organizations, a significant change for the labour market. With approximately five-million Canadians now working from home in response to the pandemic, the national total of work-from-home employees has risen to 6.8 million, or almost 40 per cent of Canada’s workforce (St. Denis, 2020). Meaning, 6.8 million employees are likely working across time and space, with interdependent virtual teams that communicate and collaborate through internet-based communications (Maduka, Edwards, Greenwood, Osborne, & Babatunde, 2018). With change comes opportunity (McCallum & O’Connell, 2009), in this case, to clarify and evolve in our use of virtual teams, creating potentially long-lasting benefits for organizations (i.e. Clancy, 2020; Gottfredson, 2020; Ruiller, Heijden, Chedotel, & Dumas, 2019). Of course, virtual teams are unique from physically co-located ones. With the lost ability to communicate in person, virtual teams face intense communication challenges that on-site teams do not (Sproull & Kiesler, 1986, as cited by Martins, Gilson, & Maynard, 2004), but strong leadership can coordinate teams into collectives (Ziek & Smulowitz, 2014). Towards the achievement of strong leadership, organizations should ensure leaders have the precise skills needed to navigate the unique virtual environment (Byrd, 2019). Even for experienced leaders, the virtual work environment carries new complexities that would indicate the need for virtual team leadership training. It is up to the leaders of teams to help facilitate the relational environment, rich in social capital, that is needed to build the trust, satisfaction and collectivism that virtual teams need to succeed (i.e. Ceri-Booms, 2020; Peterman, 2019; Spurk & Straub, 2020). This social capital, based in relationships, mutual obligations and reciprocated trust and respect can be achieved via strategic and targeted leadership development (Day, 2000). This paper explores the concepts of remote work and virtual teams, and examines the role of the leader in developing high-performing virtual teams. Suggesting a need for openness to new ways of leading, the value of shared leadership, linked to social capital and transformational leadership in virtual settings, is explored (Liu, Hu, Li, Wang, & Lin, 2014; Muethel, Gehrlein, & Hoegl, 2012; Robert & You, 2018). This paper contributes to the literature on virtual team leadership by suggesting that organizations need to undertake intense leadership development activities to increase team social capital (Day, 2000) and the use of shared leadership behaviours (Shuffler, Wiese, Salas, & Burke, 2010). It also examines considerations for leadership development in the virtual context. Especially now, amidst the global pandemic creating lockdown-type conditions in many parts of the world, the emphasis needs to shift from building effective leaders, to building effective teams of leaders. If employees and leaders learn together as a team, they will be better equipped to succeed (Panteli & Sockalingam, 2005, as cited by King, Fielke, Bayne, Klerkx, & Nettle, 2019). With the right training and development, leaders and teams can better face challenges, including those associated with the rapid onset of a “global health emergency” (Schumaker, 2020, para. 1), like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic brought uncertainty, this project uses a mixed-method research design to study the ways people thrive during a pandemic. Two hundred and five participants, ages 18 to 83 years, completed an online survey with 102 quantitative questions consisting of 5 inventories, a number of demographic questions, such as access to green space, living situation, sexual and gender identification, as well as 5 qualitative questions. This presentation focuses on the qualitative results of the study. Qualitative data were collected in two waves. Participants first responded to five questions exploring ways people experienced personal growth, relationships with animals and nature, spirituality and supporting beliefs, and potential sustainable changes to carry forward. Six-months later, participants who provided their emails in wave one were sent a follow-up online questionnaire exploring additional information addressing continued and sustainable growth, engagement, subjective meaning, and key personal learning that supports thriving. A thematic analysis, resulted in the emergence of themes that supported thriving including self-prioritization, resilience, and a unique experience of time during a pandemic. The results of the quantitative data analysis informed our thematic analysis. For example, participants’ connection with nature and pets was a subcategory leading to an awareness of the importance of selfprioritization. Another significant finding of this research was the reprioritization that took place regarding participants’ relationships, goals, and their overall improvement to personal well-being. Overwhelmingly, it was reported that individuals took time to reassess what they wanted in life which resulted in better investments into their overall health and well-being. The results of the quantitative portion of this study are presented in another presentation in this research forum.

This action research inquiry, undertaken in partnership with the Independent Schools Association of British Columbia (ISABC), was guided by the question: How might the ISABC’s Team Leadership Program support the leadership development and thriving of emerging and middle leaders throughout and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic? Data were collected with a survey and two focus groups involving 52 participants from 16 independent schools. Arts-based approaches included photo elicitation and found poetry. Key findings indicated the pandemic has magnified the human side of educational leadership and thriving as being a middle leader requires communication, relationship building, and the prioritization of followers’ needs. Recommendations addressed strategies to (a) develop self-awareness, coaching, and interpersonal skills amongst emerging leaders; (b) capitalize on existing leadership networks to foster a stronger sense of belonging within the ISABC; and (c) offer leadership-focused professional development and resources accessible to the broader ISABC community. Keywords: arts-based research, found poetry, K–12, independent schools, leadership development, middle leaders, photo elicitation, thriving at work