Centre for Research on Pandemics & Society (PANSOC)
An OsloMet Centre of Research Excellence studying the societal aspects of pandemics
If you missed our third Pandemics & Society Seminar of the 2023–24 academic year with Professor Erik Hornung (University of Cologne) you can catch up with the video here.
Recordings of all of our Seminars, beginning with the Fall 2021 series, are available here.
For the fourth Pandemics & Society Seminar of our Fall 2023 series, we are pleased to welcome Professor Erik Hornung (University of Cologne). The seminar will be held on Thursday, 21 September at the normal time (1600 CEST). More information about our speaker and the presentation is below. You can sign up for email notifications about the seminar series, including the Zoom details, here.
Abstract (Working paper)
How do health crises affect election results? We combine a panel of election results from 1893–1933 with spatial heterogeneity in excess mortality due to the 1918 Influenza to assess the pandemic’s effect on voting behavior across German constituencies. Applying a dynamic differences-in-differences approach, we find that areas with higher influenza mortality saw a lasting shift towards left-wing parties. We argue that pandemic intensity increased the salience of public health policy, prompting voters to reward parties signaling competence in health issues. Alternative explanations such as pandemic-induced economic hardship, punishment of incumbents for inadequate policy responses, or polarization of the electorate towards more extremist parties are not supported by our findings.
About the Speaker
Erik Hornung is Professor of Economic History at the University of Cologne, a Research Fellow of the CESifo and CAGE, and a Research Affiliate of the CEPR. He is also Associate Editor of The Economic Journal and a member of the Editorial Boards of The Journal of Economic History and Explorations in Economic History. His research focuses on economic history and long-run development, particularly through analysis of historically important events that determine differences in development over time and space.
Our Centre leader, Prof. Svenn-Erik Mamelund, held a talk at the Letten Seminar of 2023 at the Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo on September 7. You can now watch the recordings of his talk here.
For the third Pandemics & Society Seminar of our Fall 2023 series, we are pleased to welcome Rebecca Main (University of Stirling). The seminar will be held on Thursday, 14 September at the normal time (1600 CEST). More information about our speaker and the presentation is below. You can sign up for email notifications about the seminar series, including the Zoom details, here.
Abstract
As one of the oldest and deadliest diseases encountered by humans, plague, caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria, provides an excellent opportunity to advance our understanding of how infectious diseases emerge, persevere, and infect humans for centuries or millennia. The talk introduces the audience to the research project and presents a case study of plague dispersal in two distantly separated regions of the Eurasian steppe – the North Caucasus and Altai-Sayan – during the period of Early Bronze Age human migrations.
About the Speaker
Alongside her positions as Research Assistant and Programme Tutor, Rebecca Main is a doctoral researcher at the University of Stirling. Her research historicises non-textual, palaeoscientific data to determine the natural forces (climate and ecological change) and human activities (mobility and migration, trade, economy, and conflict) responsible for the emergence and spread of Yersinia pestis (plague) in Neolithic and Bronze Age Eurasia. Her research interests are in all-things ancient, delving into evolutionary genetics as well as prehistoric culture, disease, demography, diet, migration, and environmental change.
If you missed our second Pandemics & Society Seminar of the 2023–24 academic year with PANSOC postdoc Maria Dunbar, you can catch up with the video here.
Recordings of all of our Seminars, beginning with the Fall 2021 series, are available here.
Senterleder Mamelund har skrevet en kronikk i det siste nummeret av tidsskriftet Michael. Den handler om hvorfor det å bo isolert i norge under spanskesyken for 105 år siden kan ha bidratt til høyere risiko for å dø av sykdommen. Les mer her: Å bo isolert var en risikofaktor under spanskesyken | Tidsskriftet Michael (michaeljournal.no)
As part of our Social Science Meets Biology | CAS (cas-nor.no) project, we are now happy to have published the protocol for a systematic review on Indigenous communities and influenza. You can read it for free here: Indigenous communities and influenza: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis | Systematic Reviews | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)
Evi Juuti has been visiting PANSOC for two weeks in August.
Eevi Juuti is an architect, urban planner and a doctoral researcher at the University of Oulu specializing in the use of service design and design thinking in the context of built environment. She has also been working with topics concerning environmental health. Now she is working with RECIPE (Resistant Cities. Urban Planning as Means for Pandemic Prevention) project, which explores the relationship between built environments and pandemics.
Evi hold a talk at our webinar while here. You can read more about Evi and her projects here: First Fall 2023 Webinar: Built Environments and Pandemics – Centre for Research on Pandemics & Society (PANSOC) (oslomet.no) and also watch the recordings of her webinar talk here: Webinar Recording: Built Environments and Pandemics – Centre for Research on Pandemics & Society (PANSOC) (oslomet.no)
Amal Hassan is a master student studying International Social Welfare and Health Policy at OsloMet. Having obtained a bachelor’s degree in Pedagogical Childcare, her passion for improving the lives of children has been deeply ingrained in her. It was during her academic journey that she realized the significance of research in shaping policies and interventions to positively impact the lives of vulnerable individuals. This realization led her to pursue a master’s degree in international social Welfare and Health Policy, where she strives to develop a comprehensive understanding of both internal and global welfare systems and their impact. This academic pursuit has given her a broader understanding of social policies and interventions that can positively influence the lives of disadvantaged individuals and communities.
Her previous role at the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, where she worked closely with adolescents aged 14-24, further honed her skills in advocating for and supporting young individuals in finding summer jobs and part-time employment. This experience not only exposed her to the challenges they face during their transition into adulthood but also instilled in her a deep sense of responsibility to contribute to evidence-based practices that can improve their long-term outcomes.
Her master’s thesis delves into the intricate web of socio-economic factors and their impact on the utilization of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Acknowledging the widespread consequences of the pandemic on various aspects of life, including social, economic, and health realms, she focuses on the effectiveness and compliance of NPIs such as social distancing, face masks, and hand hygiene, which have proven to be crucial in curbing the virus’s spread.
Guided by advisor S-E Mamelund and the expertise of the members of Centre for Research on Pandemics & Society (PANSOC), the research investigation aims to uncover the intricate relationship between socio-economic factors and the adoption of NPIs as a strategy against the pandemic.
We are pleased to welcome Eevi Juuti (University of Oulu) to present at the first meeting of the Fall 2023 Pandemics & Society Seminar Series, on Thursday, 24 August (1600 CEST). Information about our speaker and the presentation is below. You can sign up for email notifications about the seminar series here.
Abstract
The first part of the presentation will take an overview of the RECIPE project (Resistant Cities. Urban Planning as Means for Pandemic Prevention), which explores the relationship between built environments and pandemics. The second part will further discuss findings of the study so far.
About the RECIPE Project
The RECIPE project explores the role of urban living environments and the potential of urban planning in anticipation and prevention of infectious diseases and thus pandemic outbreaks. The project combines expertise from the fields of environmental research, environmental health, history, information studies, public health, and urban planning. The project engages citizens, SMEs, planners and health professionals, cross-sectional institutions, and decision makers. The project provides new scientific knowledge of the linkages between urban living environments and health, deepens societal understanding of the linkages, develops tools and methods for resistant urban planning, and encourages cross-sectorial discussions and integrative policies between urban planning and health sectors.
About the Speaker
Eevi Juuti is an architect, urban planner and a doctoral researcher at the University of Oulu specializing in the use of service design and design thinking in the context of built environment. She has also been working with topics concerning environmental health. Now she is working with RECIPE (Resistant Cities. Urban Planning as Means for Pandemic Prevention) project, which explores the relationship between built environments and pandemics.
