Call for Papers: Journal of Community Positive Practices (JCPP) XXI (2) - Issue 2/2021 - Community Policy Analysis within the COVID-19 Pandemic Context

Faced with the magnitude of an unprecedented epidemiological crisis such as the one generated
by the propagation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, public administrations at various levels (national,
regional, local etc.) have adopted different policies to try and prevent the virus from spreading,
while taking care of the residents’ health. However, the social impact of such measures on the
communities has not yet been properly studied, which leaves an open question mark on the
effectiveness of the measures. In 2020, ‘lockdown’, ‘quarantine’, or ‘immunization’ have
become keywords in public administration decisions. Nevertheless, these factors have been
designed and applied differently across regions. One year after the start of the COVID-19 public
health crisis, can some of these measures be identified as ‘best practices’ in order to be replicated
in less fortunate communities as well? Do the policies maintain their validity even if applied to
different social communities? Where and how do differences in public policy adoption appear
between communities? How do these inter-communitarian differences manifest and what is their
social impact? Many governmental decisions did not do anything else than to copy measures
already taken in other parts of the world. Is this policy transposition effective or would it be more
appropriate to take into account the specifics of local communities? How are local or residential
communities impacted by the governmental policies and how do they respond to them?

This issue of the Journal of Community Positive Practices calls for (comparative) analyses or
theoretical explorations (but not limited to) on how public ‘lockdown’, ‘quarantine’, or
‘immunization’ policies have impacted upon social communities and how these have influenced
the everyday life of local communities and the social relationships within. The research should
focus on social sciences, especially on sociology. However, manuscripts from other social
specializations such as economics, anthropology etc. are welcomed, as long as they maintain a
social dimension. Some of the topics that researchers might focus on are:

- The community policies, practices and measures taken to navigate through the period of
Covid-19 and to control the spread of the epidemic;
- Community policies for recovering from the Covid-19 crisis;
- Public, personal or mediatic communication about Covid-19 policies within
communities: In many countries, communications around Covid-19 have transformed to
dramatization or sensationalism. Media outlets are full of Covid-19 news, a topic which
also characterizes daily, personal communications in communities. This thematic might
explore how governments manage the communications related to the Covid-19 public
policies and how these are understood by the audience. Does the audience accept or reject
the communications? What is the impact upon public policy adhesion?;

- The consequences of Covid-19 public policies on communities. How are families,
neighbourhoods, or other formal and informal social groups impacted?

Timetable
- Full paper submission: April 1 st , 2021
- Feedback, review and submission of revised manuscripts: April-May 2021
- Publish date: June 2021, Issue 2/2021
Submission Guidelines: Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have carefully
read the submission guidelines of the Journal of Community Positive Practices (JCPP), available
at: http://jppc.ro/en/index.php/jppc/about/submissions
Language of manuscripts: all manuscripts have to be written in English.
About the Journal: http://jppc.ro/en/index.php/jppc/about