Era Of Crisis Research Articles

Urban protopops in the public life of Russia in the era of the political crisis of the early 17th century

The article shows that the protopopes at the beginning of the XVII century usually took a patriotic position and opposed impostors and interventionists, which is especially clearly seen in Bryansk, Zaraysk, Nizhny Novgorod and Veliky Novgorod. Episodes of the protopops' loyal attitude towards the supporters of impostors are not typical and were caused by their presence in the occupied territories. The support of patriotic forces by the protopopes of Russian cities strengthened their position both within the clergy and in society as a whole, as manifested by their participation in the signing of the Approved Letter of Mikhail Fedorovich not among the Consecrated Cathedral, but as electors from places not traceable in an earlier era

Renewable Solar Energy Facilities in South America—The Road to a Low-Carbon Sustainable Energy Matrix: A Systematic Review

South America is a place on the planet that stands out with enormous potential linked to renewable energies. Countries in this region have developed private investment projects to carry out an energy transition from fossil energies to clean energies and contribute to climate change mitigation. The sun resource is one of the more abundant sources of renewable energies that stands out in South America, especially in the Atacama Desert. In this context, South American countries are developing sustainable actions/strategies linked to implementing solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) facilities and achieving carbon neutrality for the year 2050. As a result, this systematic review presents the progress, new trends, and the road to a sustainable paradigm with disruptive innovations like artificial intelligence, robots, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for solar energy facilities in the region. According to the findings, solar energy infrastructure was applied in South America during the global climate change crisis era. Different levels of implementation in solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities have been reached in each country, with the region being a worldwide research and development (R&D) hotspot. Also, high potential exists for concentrated solar power (CSP) facilities considering the technology evolution, and for the implementation of the hybridization of solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities with onshore wind farm infrastructures, decreasing the capital/operation costs of the projects. Finally, synergy between solar energy infrastructures with emerging technologies linked with low-carbon economies like battery energy storage systems (BESSs) and the use of floating solar PV plants looks like a promising sustainable solution.

Investigating the declining apprenticeship trends in Ghana: a human capital perspective

ABSTRACT Apprenticeship enrollment in Ghana is declining according to recent rounds of the Ghana Living Standards Survey, despite its importance as an avenue for human capital development among young people. This trend is alarming, especially during an era of economic crises and constraints in technical and vocational education. The paper utilizes qualitative approaches involving interviews with key stakeholders such as master craftspeople and apprentices, apprenticeship experts, and secondary data to explore the reasons behind the decline in apprenticeships. The findings reveal that young people’s desire for quick financial gains and lack of interest in apprenticeships, along with structural factors, contribute to the decline. The paper concludes by offering a nuanced critique of the human capital theory’s application to the declining apprenticeship trends in Ghana, underscoring the need for a more comprehensive framework that incorporates social, cultural and environmental factors.

Volatility spillovers and time-varying correlations across stock and commodity markets: An assessment during the epidemic crisis era

The financial and economic stability of the business world is greatly damaged by a number of crises over the years. These crises also change and affect stock markets around the globe. This study examines the nonlinear behavior of well-known stock markets in the US, Europe, Canada, and Asia (S&P 500, Nikkei 225, CAC40, DAX30, Bombay Stock Index, Hang Seng Index, and Canadian Stock Index). We also investigate the commodity indexes (Gold, Bitcoin, Brent Crude Oil, and West Texas Crude Oil). The transmission of returns and the volatility propagation pattern across stock-commodity markets during the COVID-19 era is analyzed using the VAR DCC MEGARCH model. The results demonstrate that correlations intensify and become more complicated during the COVID-19 period, especially between financial market indices and oil commodity indices. However, the volatility spillover statistics during the pandemic period show a definite rise in the uncertainty of financial market indices due to index instability. The analysis also shows that financial markets experience a substantial leverage effect during the pandemic crisis. According to the research, Bitcoin is crucial for reducing portfolio risk during the health crisis, and gold proves to be the best option for investors to diversify their financial risk.

Savage Gardens: Balancing Maintenance, Aesthetics, and Ecosystem Services in the Biodiversity Crisis Era

The escalating biodiversity crisis, coupled with the increasing frequency of droughts and anticipated water shortages due to climate change, necessitates a shift towards biodiversity-led landscape architecture, including domestic gardens. Traditionally viewed as high-maintenance spaces emphasising tidiness, domestic gardens can significantly impact urban green infrastructure and species richness. This paper explores the concept of ‘savage gardens’—untamed and natural spaces representing a fourth nature approach, incorporating wild gardens and neglected areas. Despite potential challenges in public appreciation, it is argued that savage gardens offer substantial benefits, such as reduced maintenance, increased biodiversity, and enhanced resilience to climate change. By reframing the perception of ‘savage’ from biophobic to a reconnection with nature, savage gardens are proposed as a viable solution for balancing aesthetics, maintenance, ecosystem services, and biodiversity in domestic landscapes, promoting a more sustainable future in the face of the biodiversity emergency.

Governance, institutional quality and economic complexity in selected African countries

AbstractNew economic thinking speculates that the diversification and sophistication of economic capabilities/structures is key in explaining why African countries lag in development behind the rest of the world. We question the extent to which non-traditional growth factors such as governance and institutional quality are related to economic complexity for 35 African countries. We estimate panel GMM regressions using 8 different measures of governance/institutional quality for both linear and kinked regressions using annual data collected between 1996 and 2021. The baseline estimates reveal a positive linear relationship between most measures of governance and institutional quality and economic complexity. Our sensitivity analysis further show that institutions/governance have stronger relationship with economic complexity in the post-global financial crisis era. Moreover, nonlinear or kinked relationships emerge once the data is segregated into different income and resource abundant groups. Altogether, our findings of a nonlinear relationship between institutions/governance and economic complexity are novel to the literature and offer unique insights on how African policymakers can use governance/institutions for improving the complexity of production processes.

Design of a high-dimensional information decision model for smart supply chains using IoT data traceability in the post-public health crisis era

Design of a high-dimensional information decision model for smart supply chains using IoT data traceability in the post-public health crisis era

On the Road to Electoral Democracy? Erosion of the Free and Fair Elections Standard in the Era of the Polish Constitutional Crisis after 2015

This article attempts to diagnose the state of democracy in Poland, remaining in the era of constitutional crisis and following the erosion of the free and fair elections standard, which determines the criteria for distinguishing an electoral democracy from a liberal democracy. For this purpose, the individual elements constituting this concept are analyzed, both having a procedural dimension and referring to the course of the three phases of the electoral process itself (the period before election day, on election day and after election day), as well as referring to the standards of honesty, reliability, the real possibility of alternative power or equal opportunities. The conclusions drawn at individual stages of the deliberations, including an indication of the destabilisation of electoral law, the erosion of guarantees regarding the reliability of elections, disproportion in the access of political party representatives to public media, lead to a thesis on the formation of electoral democracy in Poland, which can be described as a democratic system devoid of liberal values. It is characterised by restrictions on freedom of association, freedom of speech and academic freedom, electoral distortions, unequal access of representative political parties to the public media and judicial guarantees related to the electoral process.

The new face of book value of listed companies in the era of global economic crises

The new face of book value of listed companies in the era of global economic crises

Effects of trade and poaching pressure on extinction risk for cacti in the Atacama Desert.

In this era of a global biodiversity crisis, vascular plants are facing unprecedented extinction rates. We conducted an assessment of the extinction risk of 32 species and 7 subspecies of Copiapoa, a genus endemic to Chile's fog-dependent coastal Atacama Desert. We applied the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Categories and Criteria enhanced by expert insights and knowledge. Our primary aim was to analyze the impact of trade and poaching on their extinction risk. We employed machine learning models, including multinomial logistic regression (MLR), decision tree (DT), and random forest (RF), to analyze the relationships between conservation status and various factors. These factors encompassed trade and poaching activities, landscape condition, human footprint, monthly cloud frequency, and biological traits such as evolutionary distinctiveness and maximum diameter. Seven taxa had an area of occupancy (AOO) of <10km2, 10 additional taxa had an AOO of <20km2, and 16 taxa had an AOO of ≤100km2. This reassessment exposed a critical level of extinction risk for the genus; 92% of the taxa were classified as threatened, 41% as critically endangered, 41% as endangered, and 10% as vulnerable. MLR, DT, and RF exhibited accuracies of 0.784, 0.730, and 0.598, respectively, and identified trade and poaching pressure and landscape condition as the primary drivers of extinction risk. Our assessment of Copiapoa showed trade, poaching, habitat degradation, and their synergic impacts as the main drivers of the genus' extinction risk. Our results highlight the urgent need for nations to develop and enforce strategies to monitor and control trade and poaching pressure because these factors are crucial for the long-term persistence of desert plants.

Christian Interiority in the Wild

Abstract: We live in an era of crisis when the Earth itself calls us to reconsider our most basic assumptions. Encounters with the wild world and with wild beings may impact us deeply, yet we rarely acknowledge them as sources for our own spirituality, let alone for our academic work as scholars of spirituality. By exploring how such encounters engage us at a more foundational level than that of articulated meaning, this essay strives to take another step toward thinking through the full implications of a participative epistemology and relational ontology.

Sensitization against Covid-19 in Algeria: Which communication strategies?

In the era of a health crisis of international concern, the authorities must elaborate on communication strategies to inform the right way about the risks and how to deal with them. In this regard, we analyze the feedback on the used communication strategies in Algeria during the Covid-19 outbreak, to identify the most impactful ones and characterize the population sensitivities. To this end, Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) were conducted among 1500 households to collect the data. Videos and posters concerning Covid-19 information were shown to the inteviewees. Then a method inspired by that of Elimination and Choice Expressing REality is used to select the most impactful messages. Moreover, statistical models are used to identify the corresponding message to each target population. The obtained results show that videos containing real images or those with celebrities are the most impactful. In particular, to target youth (under 25), urban people, and those living in small household sizes. Videos are judged as more impactful than posters, and videos with real images are better than schematic ones. Empathy and guilt seem to play a role in the communication messages that impact the youth, and people with less than basic educational level. Furthermore, the evolution of the media explains why the elderly gave a better ranking to posters with writing, whereas the youth were more impacted by the audio-visual messages. In sum, to sensitize Algerians the government must focus on messages that contain real images, or famous people having good credibility. Unfortunately, until now, the videos using schemes are more deployed in Algeria, even those established by the World Health Organization.

Innovation in the Economic Management of Enterprises in the Post-Financial Crisis Era

Innovation in the Economic Management of Enterprises in the Post-Financial Crisis Era

Mimetic Resentment's Violent Somatechnics in Permacrisis Times: Critical Cartographical Contours and Coordinates

Our current era of crisis and neo-fascist revanches (see Lawtoo 2019 ) is rife with desires-driven mimesis, and more specifically, mimetic resentment or conflictual copycat behaviour. Traditionally conceptualised in relation to ressentiment, mimetic resentment (see Nietzsche [1887]2006; Girard [1961]1965 , [1977]1992 , and [1978]1987) is seldom analysed as a somatechnical phenomenon that meshes the corporeal and the technological ( Sullivan 2005 ; Pugliese and Stryker 2009 ; Sullivan and Murray 2011 ), involving pre-personal and affective micropolitics, as well as social and environmental macropolitical characteristics. This article therefore seeks to map out resentment's contemporary somatechnics by attending to its violence-engendering micropolitics in addition to the macrolevels of the permacrisis times it is said to be operating in. The burgeoning environmental crisis that is currently unfolding against the backdrop of these permacrisis times furthermore indicates that such a mapping exercise must consider both the micro- and macropolitical nuances of how zoē/ bios classifications and resultant gaps between non/human actors are created and sustained. Finding such a nuanced eco-focused framework in Deleuzoguattarian philosophy (see Deleuze [1969]1990 ; Deleuze and Guattari [1980]2005 ; Guattari [1989]2000 and [1992]2002) , as well as contemporary critical new materialist thought (see Cooper 2008 ; Braidotti 2013 ; Haraway 2016 ; and Yusoff 2018 ), we first examine these permacrisis times before presenting a critical cartography ( Braidotti [1994]2011 ; Deleuze and Guattari [1980]2005) of the contours of mimetic resentment's violent micro- and macropolitical somatechnics, to then explore several eco-focused Deleuzoguattarian and critical new materialist pathways that could lead us out of the spiralling vortex of violence that characterises this time of planetary trouble.

Cold Waves Accelerate the Spread of Infectious Diseases

AbstractClimate change is creating a new era of infectious disease crises, further exacerbated by extreme weather. However, the relationship between extreme weather and infectious disease remain unclear. Here, we provide a new quantitative study on the impact of cold wave on COVID‐19 as an example. We found that during cold waves, extreme cold temperatures coupled with rapid aerosol transport accelerated COVID‐19 outbreaks. It directly increased the number of COVID‐19 cases in Beijing by 28.1% in the winter of year 2022. More urgently, cold temperatures led to a higher risk of death during infectious disease outbreaks, with a 7.07% increase in confirmed deaths and a 16.61% increase in excess mortality. Our findings emphasize the urgent need to promote a synergistic policy for responding to infectious diseases during cold wave disasters in order to minimize the risk of death among the elderly and those with underlying diseases.

Enhancing Efficiency in Hybrid Marine Vessels through a Multi-Layer Optimization Energy Management System

Abstract: Configuring green power transmissions for heavy-industry marines is treated as a crucial request in an era of global energy and pollution crises. Following up on this hotspot trend, this paper examines the effectiveness of a modified optimization-based energy management strategy (OpEMS) for a dual proton exchange membrane fuel cells (dPEMFCs)-battery-ultra-capacitors (UCs)-driven hybrid electric vessels (HEVs). At first, the summed power of the dual PEMFCs is defined by using the equivalent consumption minimum strategy (ECMS). Accordingly, a map search engine (MSE) is proposed to appropriately split power for each FC stack and maximize its total efficiency. The remaining power is then distributed to each battery and UC using an adaptive co-state, timely determined based on the state of charge (SOC) of each device. Due to the strict constraint of the energy storage devices’ (ESDs) SOC, one fine-corrected layer is suggested to enhance the SOC regulations. With the comparative simulations with a specific rule-based EMS and other approaches for splitting power to each PEMFC unit, the effectiveness of the proposed topology is eventually verified with the highest efficiency, approximately about 0.505, and well-regulated ESDs’ SOCs are obtained.

Optimization of biodiesel yield from waste cooking oil and sesame oil using RSM and ANN techniques

In the era of global energy crises and the pressing concern of fossil fuel depletion, the quest for sustainable alternatives has become paramount. The current study aims to optimize biodiesel extraction from a combination of waste cooking oil (WCO) and sesame seed oil (SSO) through response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN). The cold flow properties of biodiesel produced from WCO are a major obstacle to the commercial use of biodiesel. On the other hand, SSO possesses better oxidation stability and cold flow properties. A mixture of waste cooking oil (i.e. 70 % by volume) and sesame seed oil (i.e. 30 % by volume) has been prepared for biodiesel production via a microwave-assisted transesterification process. For biodiesel yield optimization, the interaction among the operating parameters is developed by RSM, whereas biodiesel yield is predicted by ANN. The operating parameters include reaction speed, RPM (100–600 rpm), reaction time (1–5 min), methanol to oil ratio (8:1–12:1 v/v), and catalyst concentration (0.1–2 % w/w). The highest biodiesel yield of 94 % is found at a reaction speed of 350 rpm, reaction time of 3 min, catalyst concentration of 1.05 w/w, and methanol to oil ratio of 10:1. Furthermore, it is discovered that when estimating biodiesel production rate depending on reaction constraints, ANN shows lower comparative error compared to RSM. The results show that ANN outperforms RSM in terms of percentage improvement when it comes to biodiesel production prediction.

CONTEMPORARY MIGRANT CRISIS WITH THE SPECIAL OVERVIEW OF THE PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF THE CITIZENS OF IMMIGRATION COUNTRIES

The contemporary migrant (refugee) crisis that began in 2010 in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East is by no means accidental, but a very well-planned and executed migration of people. This plan slowly leads to the formation of a completely new world order in such a way as to destroy the previous national one, and create a completely new limited sovereignty. The de-sovereignation of nation-states has become a scourge of the modern age. A typical example is the European Union, which, in the era of the contemporary migrant crisis, has set itself a great challenge and task, to preserve the national identity of its member states. In the paper, the authors presented the legal and institutional framework for the protection of basic human rights of migrants. The paper contains a special reference to respect for the constitutional rights of citizens of the countries of immigration in the age of the migrant crisis. The contemporary migrant crisis has led to an enormous increase in people smuggling, but also influenced the increase in human trafficking. In the paper, the authors point to the distinction between human smuggling as a criminal offense against public order and peace and human trafficking as a criminal offense against humanity and other goods protected by international law. In the final deliberations, it was pointed out the necessity of respecting international documents, encouraging national, regional and global cooperation, as well as public condemnation of discrimination and hate speech.

Renewable Wind Energy Implementation in South America: A Comprehensive Review and Sustainable Prospects

South America is a region that stands out worldwide for its biodiversity of ecosystems, cultural heritage, and potential considering natural resources linked to renewable energies. In the global crisis due to climate change, South American countries have implemented actions to carry out a progressive energy transition from fossil energies to renewable energies and contribute to the planet’s sustainability. In this context, South American countries are implementing green strategies and investment projects linked to wind farms to move towards achieving the sustainable development goals for the year 2030 of the UN agenda and achieving low-carbon economies for the year 2050. This article studies the advances in wind energy implementation in South America, highlighting progress and experiences in these issues through a review of the scientific literature considering the year 2023. The methodology applied in this article was carried out through the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and the generation of scientific maps. As a result, this article presents the main developments, lessons learned/gaps, and future sustainable prospects on the road to 2050. According to the results, renewable wind energy infrastructure was applied in South America during the global climate change crisis era. Different levels of development in on-shore wind farms have been reached in each country. Also, a promising future exists for off-shore wind energy considering the highest potential. Finally, this article concludes that implementing emerging technologies like the production of green hydrogen and synthetic e-fuels looks like a synergetic clean energy solution combined with wind energy, which may transform the region into a world-class sustainable territory.

Mediating and moderating factors between economic pressure and turnover intention among school teachers in Lebanon during the ongoing crisis era

BackgroundThe Lebanese ongoing crisis has exposed big challenges for the education system, including low teachers’ salaries and their desire to leave their jobs. Identifying key contributing factors to teacher turnover intention may help policymakers develop and implement appropriate and informed retention strategies aiming at preserving the struggling Lebanese educational system and saving costs. The present study aimed to examine the mediating role of three potential factors, i.e. job satisfaction, work-related fatigue, and psychological distress, and the moderating role of employment sector, in the relationship between economic pressure and turnover intention among teachers who work in Lebanon during the economic crisis. MethodsWe carried-out a cross-sectional, web-based study targeting a nationally-representative sample of Lebanese teachers (N = 3779, mean age = 38.33 years, 86.7 % females). ResultsThe results of mediation analyses showed that physical/emotional/mental work fatigue, psychological distress and job satisfaction mediated the relationship between perceived economic pressure and turnover intentions among Lebanese teachers. Economic pressure was significantly associated with higher work fatigue, more distress, less job satisfaction and more turnover intentions. Also, more work fatigue, higher distress levels and less job satisfaction were significantly associated with higher turnover intentions. Finally, more economic pressure was significantly associated with more turnover intentions. On the other hand, the moderating effect of teachers’ sector of employment (Private versus Public) was not significant. ConclusionThis is among the first studies to link economic pressure, job satisfaction, work fatigue, psychological distress and turnover intentions in the teachers' psychology literature. This is also the first study on this topic in Lebanon, a country that offers a unique context and opportunity to understand the link between teachers' economic pressure and turnover intentions. The results expand on past research by showing that work-related fatigue, job satisfaction and psychological distress are three factors that underline the cross-sectional relationship between economic pressure and teachers’ turnover intention. This implies that further attention of policy makers and school officials should be paid to enhance job satisfaction, decrease work fatigue and prevent psychological distress in order to retain and attract teachers at schools in Lebanon.