Ashoka University

About: Ashoka University is a education organization based out in Delhi, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Banach space. The organization has 221 authors who have published 419 publications receiving 2021 citations.

A digital media literacy intervention increases discernment between mainstream and false news in the United States and India.

Abstract: Widespread belief in misinformation circulating online is a critical challenge for modern societies While research to date has focused on psychological and political antecedents to this phenomenon, few studies have explored the role of digital media literacy shortfalls Using data from preregistered survey experiments conducted around recent elections in the United States and India, we assess the effectiveness of an intervention modeled closely on the world's largest media literacy campaign, which provided "tips" on how to spot false news to people in 14 countries Our results indicate that exposure to this intervention reduced the perceived accuracy of both mainstream and false news headlines, but effects on the latter were significantly larger As a result, the intervention improved discernment between mainstream and false news headlines among both a nationally representative sample in the United States (by 265%) and a highly educated online sample in India (by 175%) This increase in discernment remained measurable several weeks later in the United States (but not in India) However, we find no effects among a representative sample of respondents in a largely rural area of northern India, where rates of social media use are far lower

COVID-19 and Supply Chain Disruption: Evidence from Food Markets in India .

Abstract: This paper looks at the disruption in food supply chains due to COVID-19 induced economic shutdown in India. We use a novel dataset from one of the largest online grocery retailers to look at the impact on product stockouts and prices. We find that product availability falls by 10% for vegetables, fruits, and edible oils, but there is a minimal impact on their prices. On the farm-gate side, it is matched by a 20% fall in quantity arrivals of vegetables and fruits. We then show that supply chain disruption is the main driver behind this fall. We compute the distance to production zones from our retail centers and find that the fall in product availability and quantity arrivals is larger for items that are cultivated or manufactured farther from the final point of sale. Our results show that long-distance food supply chains have been hit the hardest during the current pandemic with welfare consequences for urban consumers and farmers.

Comparing COVID-19 vaccine allocation strategies in India: a mathematical modelling study

Abstract: Background The development and widespread use of an effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine could help prevent substantial morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19 infection and mitigate many of the secondary effects associated with non-pharmaceutical interventions. The limited availability of an effective and licensed vaccine will task policymakers around the world, including in India, with decisions regarding optimal vaccine allocation strategies. Using mathematical modelling we aimed to assess the impact of different age-specific COVID-19 vaccine allocation strategies within India on SARS CoV-2-related mortality and infection. Methods We used an age-structured, expanded SEIR model with social contact matrices to assess different age-specific vaccine allocation strategies in India. We used state-specific age structures and disease transmission coefficients estimated from confirmed Indian incident cases of COVID-19 between 28 January and 31 August 2020. Simulations were used to investigate the relative reduction in mortality and morbidity of vaccinate allocation strategies based on prioritizing different age groups, and the interactions of these strategies with several concurrent non-pharmacologic interventions (i.e., social distancing, mandated masks, lockdowns). Given the uncertainty associated with current COVID-19 vaccine development, we also varied several vaccine characteristics (i.e., efficacy, type of immunity conferred, and rollout speed) in the modelling simulations. Results In nearly all scenarios, prioritizing COVID-19 vaccine allocation for older populations (i.e., >60yrs old) led to the greatest relative reduction in deaths, regardless of vaccine efficacy, control measures, rollout speed, or immunity dynamics. However, preferential vaccination of this target group often produced higher total symptomatic infection counts and more pronounced estimates of peak incidence than strategies which targeted younger adults (i.e., 20-40yrs or 40-60yrs) or the general population irrespective of age. Vaccine efficacy, immunity type, target coverage and rollout speed all significantly influenced overall strategy effectiveness, with the time taken to reach target coverage significantly affecting the relative mortality benefit comparative to no vaccination. Conclusions Our findings support global recommendations to prioritize COVID-19 vaccine allocation for older age groups. Including younger adults in the prioritisation group can reduce overall infection rates, although this benefit was countered by the larger mortality rates in older populations. Ultimately an optimal vaccine allocation strategy will depend on vaccine characteristics, strength of concurrent non-pharmaceutical interventions, and region-specific goals such as reducing mortality, morbidity, or peak incidence.