Arquivo para a ‘Social Network’ Categoria
Media, networks and social isolation
12
May
The three factors now combine and unveil the reality that many “theorists” pointed
out, while neo-theorists stay in abstract philosophies that barely interpret the pandemic reality. One who foresaw reality, Manuel Castells who wrote “Sociedade em Rede” (Social network), explains why we were unable to foresee the virus, its potency and violence were not biologically possible to know, but the need for a health policy and education for the future did not only he pointed out, as well as Sloterdijk, Edgar Morin and many others.
About the current crisis Castells says it is necessary to understand the applause of the balconies of the buildings to doctors, nurses and health professionals and they take health more seriously, this could have been predicted and we would be in another stage, the defender of technology also blames her idolatry, but is necessary now.
He stated that the overvaluation of technology in the case of health has delayed the system as a whole, and at the same time the devaluation and misunderstanding of its application in education and at work has led to a delay that is now being tried to overcome but with a certain lag.
Social networks, whose media enhance, but are not the same thing, as is the case with tele-medicine as a secondary possibility now, as the patient with covid needs a physical place and to be assisted in person, even though decisions and online conferences are many useful.
Social isolation has boosted the use of media in the home and has now more deeply influenced the world of work, shopping and online services, and education runs after lost time, the most obvious finding is that online education is not simple and it is not the even if in person.
The global change must be made if we want to fight the virus efficiently, leave warnings on the ground and prohibit people from traveling, it is possible temporarily, and the worst favors the neo-nationalist view that led many countries to the pandemic crisis, it was thought the problem is in China.
Castells said in a recent interview: “An interdependent global system requires global governance, not necessarily global government. But nation-states resist losing their power and each uses supposedly global governance mechanisms to defend their national interests ”, despite the barriers I would say that the virus does not know that there are borders built, even with national“ isolations ”by protective barriers”.
What we need says Sloterdijk is a “global shield”, co-immunity, now with serious investments, like global co-governance and taking health, work and education seriously in a new normality, we can go back to the previous frivolity, but we will be irresponsible with the future that may come, or a new wave of this virus or its mutation, or another that is certain to come.
Fear between philosophy and reality
06
May
It is necessary to differentiate between fear, anguish and anxiety, those who
blamed the “virtual” world (the virtual comes from virtus which is the root of the virtuous) must realize in the pandemic that they were not correct.
Anguish, another typical feeling in this pandemic, is a feeling linked to not belonging or not understanding the reality we are experiencing, it can be said that it is almost the opposite of fear, since it generates impropriety, that is, we do not face the problem or we postpone it or leave it by positivity, that is, we speed up life, like running from “danger”, being optimistic.
We left anxiety for the end, it is the end of a cycle, we made a post a long time ago to explain that it was not correct to attribute technology to it, there is a book called Information Anxiety (Wurman, 1989) that deals with the topic, however, in psychology it is the end of this cycle: fear, anguish (links to a system of beliefs and systems) that reaches anxiety and can lead to panic and Burnout syndrome, which feeds the cycle with fear. http://marcosmucheroni.pro.br/blog/?p=6199#.XrF_E25FzIU
The first question, therefore, is to treat the fear that is impropriety with ownership, that is, to understand what causes it, to make it conscious and with this the next stage of anguish can be blocked, because we will not escape from reality, the idea of hiding or ignoring facts is what fuels this cycle.
We don’t need to be specialists or in the case of medical pandemics, to understand that some measures are necessary, that without them we get into anguish and this can lead to panic stress, aware that we even face the problem of hospitalization and the social difficulties caused by isolation .
This also explains why people who do only primary reasoning fall into finding fictitious enemies (inappropriate that leads them to the anguish of being unanswered) and in the last stage when the fatalities arrive they lead to panic or the Burnout syndrome, so it makes sense that some cheerleaders who go out on the streets asking for an end to “isolation”, is panic.
As it is the beliefs and systems that take the last step, I treat the religious problem, which has nothing to do with spiritualities that seek balance, and even in suggestions from psychologists you will find do self-analysis and have self-control, good spirituality helps, religious fanaticism harms and accelerates the process.
Peak crisis and do not rush the future
04
May
We are at the peak of the crisis and we are already talking about the post-traumatic
situation, there are many doctors and sociologists who want to hurry up an analysis, China emerged from the crisis, Europe begins the new stage in 3 distinct and elongated phases and Brazil and countries from the southern hemisphere winter is approaching.
The analysis of the curve and the peak made by DataScience shows that the social distance was worth it, however, governmental hesitations and the approach of winter may even if the curve flattens, the data indicate that yes, it may be lengthened, that is, the “new normality” will be delayed.
The name “new normality” already excludes all analyzes that indicate any impossibility of returning to the previous stage, that is, an agitated and unprotected life, what Edgar Morin calls everyday “intoxication”, and an accelerated economic development, with its added price.
The moment in Brazil and I believe that most countries in the southern hemisphere is to create even tighter conditions to disadvantage “social relaxation”, in a way even understandable since the quarantine if it were even 40 days, it would be running out, everything indicates not. To further complicate political crises, in the Brazilian case, they deepen and seem to have no end, the problem of governability and political instability accelerates and deepens the health crisis.
Concentrating our efforts and focusing only on the health crisis, the economic and the social exist, however, they should not justify deaths and crisis in health care, we must consider that we are at the upper level of the curve, and the numbers seem to stabilize, they are high, it is true, if if we take #lockDown seriously we could already be seeing a way out, but that’s not the case.
One of the consequences of the pandemic is the so-called Kawasaki Syndrome, in England for example, the Health System (NHS, the acronym in English) has already detected an increase in the number of children with multisystemic inflammation, gastrointestinal problems and physical inflations.
In the middle of spring, but already with signs of summer, Europe will gradually return to activities, and we will be able to see how the social and economic problems will be faced, here is the future.
The pandemic in Brazil and a hope
27
Apr
We started the week with a scenario not only of suffering, it has been happening
since the beginning of the world pandemic, but of political turbulence and misinformation about the pandemic.
Through graphics and hard numbers we tried to show, even to a lay audience and except for those who are in health, we are all a little lay, we showed the rise of the curve and that showed no signs of easing (which would be starting a less steep climb) nor of cooling.
The information and intervention policy of the Minister of Health that came out was encouraging, but the current policy, in addition to showing a cold´s numbers and “betting” on an easing of the curve, there is still no clear intervention in the disease, which is treated as a fatality.
We continue to defend #LockDown for Brazil, but the policy is to bet that the peak will be in May, without any convincing analysis for this.
There are signs in Europe that the peak has passed, the leader of Brexit (leaving England from the European community), British Prime Minister Boris Johnson infected with invite-19 thanked two foreign doctors who, in his own words, “saved my life” .
The pandemic has already changed the way and culture of how we think, media leaders and thinkers do not change, they are defending their establishment discourse that yield expensive lectures and the cultural and social misinformation we live in, I have already mentioned two thinkers, Edgar Morin who he told L´Obs that our “toxic” way of life is changing, and Byung Chul Han (in daily El Pais), who showed why the oriental culture that is disciplining (do not confuse with the authoritarian) favors the fight against the pandemic.
We must always have hope, and the greatest thing we can have in these pandemic times is what humanity has always dreamed of, a homeland for all, care for the “common home” and the gathering of religious leaders: Muslims, Christians, Druze and Jews in Jerusalem (photo above) is a sign that there is something changing and that the change deepens.
The ascent to the Divine, how to live in crisis
23
Apr
It is in these moments of crisis that the human nature of God and the 
divine nature of man are discovered, hands that save, that help, that show solidarity and that point out unthinkable paths, but where is God, what does this pandemic say with so many people dying .
Edgar Morin and Patrick Viveret wrote “How to live in a time of crisis”, the Brazilian translation is from 2013 and the original French version of 2010, so they are not talking about this crisis, knowing Morin and reading the book we realize that it is that night of thought that we speak (see post).
Consistent with our thinking, he goes against ambiguities, and makes a comparison between Pascal and Descartes right from the start: “Pascal brings a sense of ambiguity to him, the human being brings the best and the worst in himself. Descartes not, we must be Pascalians” (pg. 10) and if we allow the religious sense also Easter beings, to pass from death to life, and to live in crisis.
There is a deep thought in Morin, which he has expressed in other ways, which in this book is more surprising: “I would like to propose, regarding the historical period that we have entered, a reading close to that of the Apocalypse, in the original sense of the expression (sic), not of catastrophe, but of revelation, of a critical time of humanity with itself, allowing it to work the essentials ”(pg. 34), to accuse him of being religious would be ignorance and hopeless, bad reading.
The model of the crisis we live in is called DCD, “deregulation, unrestrained competition, displacement*”, in a note explaining the latter, it is manufacturing production displaced from one country to another, concentrated in China, for example, the case of necessary equipment and masks to fight coronavirus.
This model with economic foundations, is called by Karl Polanyi “market society” and which is currently called by Joseph Stiglitz “merchant fundamentalism” (p. 36), the authors give the diagnosis of the crisis: “formed by this double excess/malaise ”(p. 40).
They also give two essential and surprising diagnoses, saying that bin Laden, who was a Muslim, cited the Satan of the Apocalypse to refer to Rome, and says “what is the great strength of the prophets? It is precisely to say that the question of inhumane is inward” (p 58), “The idea that others are evil prevents us from treating our own inner barbarism” (idem).
The entire chapter 3 of the evangelist John is marked by a revelation, which is made when walking with men, and shows how the divine reality of the Risen Jesus is contextual and adapted to the world, however “the one whom God sent speaks the language of God “(Jo 3, 34), and it is clear that a good part of the religious discourse does not express this, but only conflicts in the human nature.
MORIN, Edgar; Viveret, Patrick. 2013. Como viver em tempo de crise (How to live in times of crisis), Rio de Janeiro: Bertrand Brasil, Brazil.
Pandemic could worsen in Brazil
20
Apr
This last Sunday’s data, still under strong influence from the previous policy,
gives an increase of 101% in the number of deaths, however you should remember (for this reason we said influence of the previous policy), that “at the time the exam is placed on the timeline , it needs to be placed on the date it was collected ”(Dr. Paulo Lotufo, USP), and this means a delay of 10 to 15 days, in addition to the infection taking more than 5 days to manifest.
Thus, the current policy, which even if dictated in an unclear way, is not to use social isolation, the fact of doing mass tests (it needs to see if there will be enough tests) means to see how much the society as a whole is being infected , gaining “immunity” (this has not yet been scientifically proven) and what “virus behavior” is in our environment, early winter and poor sanitary conditions. The health system’s responsiveness is running out, and the curve we see above still indicates far from a plateau (the number of deaths is not a projection, it is real), and still indicates a rise and there is no plateau in sight, the peak most experts say, is yet to come.
We defended #LockDown, if it comes now it will be a little late, and apparently the political climate is not favorable, the central government is against it (curiously there are those who defend military intervention, but political and not sanitary) and society feels apprehensive and insecure what can happen.
If there is an aggravation, it is not what we want because it implies lives, the response capacity is reduced, we started with preventive measures at the beginning of the pandemic, but we do not owe consequences to it, and we cannot loosen ahead of time, it will be a collapse.
Any sincere and humanistic person wants the best, wants everything to work out, but the risk of opening trade, when the number of deaths is still very high, is enormous, not very prudent.
We cannot pay to see, the cost will be high for lives and much more even economical.
It is comforting to see that in many countries that have taken tough measures, loosening can already begin to happen, do not forget that in the face of the crisis they have taken tough measures.
The pandemic and the Other
17
Apr
Although the so-called horizontal isolation received the name (in the Brazilian case)
of “social isolation”, a name that would be more proper and less aggressive would be families retreat, in other countries also called confinement, as in France.
The recognition of the Other in the family also leads to an improvement in the social relationship, except in cases of families where the family relationship was already in a situation of extreme conflict, the tendency will be to practice acts of solidarity and tolerance.
This is necessary for a good social interaction, and to find the face of the Other, which is not the same, a term widely used in philosophy, Paul Ricoeur, Emmanuel Lévinas, Habermas, Agamben and Byung Chul Han, I certainly forget several since the theme it is present in current philosophy. The self-defense instinct, which must be coupled with a change in social behavior, can make the virus a catalyst for cultural change, that of thought is ongoing and the religious one essentially depends on what those who proclaim the faith think and who should to move from the sacredness of your thoughts to the substantiality of the world.
We will have to help people in order to help companies, work and education itself, worldwide EaD (Distance Education) tools, video conferences and chats, which from families can be re-educated, are being widely used, Brazil had an unprecedented meeting of the Federal Supreme Court by Skype, condominium meetings, etc.
Some countries like Denmark and Finland are already announcing the reopening of primary schools, but with some parents having restraint and fear of sending their children, adults will be able to cope with forms of distance education, at least for now.
As will be the religious re-education with closed temples, one pastor played sax for his faithful, another one put photos of the parishioners in his celebration, but an even bigger step needs to be taken for faith to appear beyond social solidarity (many food campaigns for the poorest) which is the act of mercy, the only one capable of showing the face of the Other without prejudice and “social isolation” from those who have a new different view of religion.
The crisis of Western thought and the pandemic
14
Apr
Old analyses still grounded in idealism, which study the state model, economic problems and
anthropocentric models do not account for the new reality, the global pandemic was caused by a virus and caught every society unprepared.
The net analyses continue with discourses about obviousness, we are one planet, the problem is everyone’s, we have to review values, etc. but those that point to the future still live in the dimness of a thought about ideals that have been exhausted, but not the discourses.
Edgar Morin, who has long been pointing to a planetary citizenship, approaching 100 years and keeping a lucid head, in an interview with the L ́Observateur of 03/18 said: “Confinement can help us detoxify our way of life”, and in the same interview points out that “this crisis shows us that globalization is an interdependence without solidarity”, and that it has produced a techno-economic unification of the planet.
In the same vein Byung Chul Han wrote in the Society of Tiredness, that we are all in active life and ignore contemplative life, however the pandemic has taken us out of activism and we still do not know what to do with the “idleness” of staying at home, there is even religious discourse that calls it a tomb, but we will talk about it when we speak of the night of God and the instrumentalized religiosity of today.
To those who do not believe in this analysis, I remember that successful programs like “reality show” are now in fact realities because each one lives in his home, and “master chef” now has to happen in practice in families because restaurants are closed.
As for the technological aspect pointed out by Morin we can not forget that in addition to the global news, now for work, for education and even for leisure videoconferences are now realities, there are still those who curse against them, but it is schizophrenia because they are now necessary and even to maintain trade are indispensable, online shopping are there.
The detoxification of our way of life did not come through a plan of government, nor by a great cultural change, although the pandemic suggests this, even in our homes we still seek the unrealities of contemporary life, the pandemic, however causes a change of this vision.
The East and some countries, I quote the case of Portugal, are succeeding because of a certain discipline in the #StayAtHome when Peter Sloterdijk in The rules for the human park spoke about the failure of “human domestication”, did not imagine that a virus could demonstrate its thesis, will come out of the crisis early and will have fewer dead countries with greater social discipline.
Finally, Social Networks (not to be confused with the techno media we talked about above), the dynamics of the spread of the virus follows the logic of networks, and so if these studies are taken seriously we may be more ready in the defense of lives, not by chance the infectologist Carl Latkin is one of the scientists with the greatest publication in this subject.
Social Isolation and small words
07
Apr
It has already been explained that social isolation is diferente of the #LockDown,
reducing the dynamics of physical proximity between people and social isolation, but the explanation that we are in networks, which makes a person from the outskirts of São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro move to the center, it is the fact that networks (which can communicate through media called “virtual”) in this case are physical networks.
The contact between people to be infected by a virus occurs because many people live in the so-called dormitory cities and need to travel to the big centers for work, and the essential jobs: transport, employees of health posts and markets, live in peripheries. and must return home.
In the study of Social Networks there is a phenomenon called “six degrees of separation” that was named after a play in 1990 by playwright John Guare, and a film by Fred Schepisi (see the picture), where a character says: “… everyone on this planet is separated from each other by only six other people. Six degrees of separation.
Between us and anyone else on the planet ”, these are the small worlds, each person says the character in the film“ it is a door that opens to a new world ”.
It is a profound idea, also says in the film, of the dynamics of large masses, we are going to see a form of microsociety where each one has a role and can provide a new world, a change in the worldview, and an important thing at this moment is the defense of life , perhaps the good economy.
Let’s stick to the proposal of social isolation, it slows down but does not reduce the number of infected people say experts and appeal to science, however, the science of networks shows that small worlds make this interaction possible, so a “type” of isolation vertical makes sense if we think of the small worlds.
It is not just about the elderly, a risk group, but the peripheries where contagion is arriving can cause the exponential call of contagion, due to both physical proximity conditions and sanitary conditions, this is where we put the serious problem, and no study has been done yet.
The Ministry of Health said it would do this study over the weekend, but the bad policy hurt, the small world of politics suffered a contagion, which within the government itself suffered vertical isolation, but there was already social isolation, 76% of the population it supports the Ministry of Health policy in Brazil (different vision of the president), but the analysis of expansion in the periphery was left aside.
#LockDown now
06
Apr
We have entered a decisive week of the pandemic, especially in Brazil, but
also in many parts of the world, contagion will reach poorer areas and countries, where sanitary conditions and the concentration of people can lead to the greatest human tragedy, but it is Easter week. and I have hope.
A huge #LockDown could have a fulminant effect against contagion and this would help fight the pandemic, network studies (in the sense of the relationship between two nodes, in this case it is the proximity of people) show that the network effect exists, and the only now appear in poor peoples.
The possibility of interrupting is to create clusters, isolated sectors of society and a single contact of the one node produces a viral effect.
Carl Latkin, in addition to being an eminent infectologist who works in Global health programs, is also one of the most productive researchers in Social Networks, our study of co-citations in Social Networks works demonstrated this (a PhD in progress), but a given important of this researcher is what shows the presence of HIV in African-American homosexuals.
This study carried out with a sample of 234 African American men, showed that the fact that they are in denser sexual networks, are more prone to contagion.
The analogy with COVID-19 is that peripheral populations are in denser population networks and the relationship within the family is stronger, as they are larger families, as we do not have time to do local sampling, beyond the quarantine period, we’re running a simulation and the risk is real, even the ministry team admits a Covid-19 explosion.
It turns out that workers supporting essential services: truck drivers, cleaning workers and assistants in medical centers, secretaries, etc. it comes from the periphery and displacement is already a problem, they ride on crowded buses and do not have the necessary hygiene conditions.
There is an urgent need for a #LockDown during this week of the end of Lent, not only can the holidays help, but a political attitude of frontal confrontation can help a lot.
Carl Latkin, Cui Yang, Karin Tobin, Typhanye Penniman, Jocelyn Patterson, Pilgrim Spikes, “Differences in the Social Networks of African American Men Who Have Sex With Men Only and Those Who Have Sex With Men and Women”, American Journal of Public Health 101, no. 10 (October 1, 2011): pp. e18-e23.
