Social Crisis Research Articles

Innovation-Driven E-Commerce Growth in the EU: An Empirical Study of the Propensity for Online Purchases and Sustainable Consumption

The e-commerce sector has experienced significant growth in the past two decades, outpacing other economic sectors and contributing to sustainable consumption, increased labour productivity, competitiveness, consumer incomes, and GDP growth. This trend is expected to continue, making e-commerce a key driver of sustainable economic growth in Europe. This study aims to explore the relationship between a nation’s innovation level and its population’s inclination towards online shopping in various EU member states. It hypothesizes that higher innovation levels within a country lead to a greater tendency for online purchases. This study conducts a thorough analysis of the interplay between European economies’ innovation levels and the e-commerce market’s evolution. A composite innovation index was created using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methodology, and panel data models were utilized to examine the dependencies, with data from Eurostat and the Global Innovation Index. The focus is on the period from 2019 to 2021, which was marked by unique market dynamics and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings confirm the significant role of innovation in driving e-commerce expansion within the context of sustainable consumption, supporting the main hypothesis. This research also highlights the pandemic’s positive effect on the e-commerce sector. The pandemic-induced changes in consumer behaviour, particularly due to social isolation and crises in certain economic sectors, have emphasized the importance of online shopping. Notably, the most active online shoppers are identified in the 25 to 54 age group, revealing a key demographic trend.

Abstinence duration and psychopathology among addiction outpatients during 18 months of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of patients with substance use disorder (SUD). However, few longitudinal studies have been done which examine associations between the pandemic, SUD patients' mental health and their drug use. This study aimed to examine duration of abstinence according to psychiatric status among SUD outpatients followed-up for 18 months from the pandemic related lockdown. A follow-up study of 316 SUD outpatients was undertaken. Sociodemographic features, and clinical and consumption related variables were recorded. Pre, during and post lockdown information was evaluated. Abstinence/substance use was monitored at the patient's scheduled follow-up appointments, and psychiatric disorders and psychological variables were revaluated at 18 months. Survival analyses were used to compare the duration of abstinence (in months) from the beginning of the lockdown. It was observed that 70% of patients consumed the main substance for which they were being treated at some point during the follow-up. Men, younger patients, those with more symptoms of anxiety and personality disorders, and patients who experienced increased craving during follow-up, showed shorter duration of abstinence. While patients who had previously maintained at least one year of abstinence, achieved better results. During the first year and a half of the pandemic, SUD outpatients presented alterations in mental health, such us anxiety, depression and maladaptive personality traits and a high rate of relapse. For this reason, despite the health and social crisis and their restrictive measures, a comprehensive treatment should be ensured.

Ecology and Justice: From Environmental Justice to Integral Ecology of «Laudato si’»

Until recently, in the social teaching of the Church, the principle of social justice has been primarily related to issues of poverty, social inequalities, wealth distribution, and goods. Pope Francis extends this understanding to environmental issues. While diagnosing and describing the contemporary ecological crisis (our inability to resolve it in particular), he identifies the same mindset and mechanisms underlying both the social and ecological crises. Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato si’ is, therefore, a revolutionary text, which, based on integral ecology, reintroduces justice (similarly to Rerum Novarum over 130 years ago) as the key to addressing a new social issue – the contemporary ecological crisis. The comprehensive perspective on the contemporary global crisis as a socio-ecological crisis, in Laudato si’ finds its reference in the developed concept of Environmental Justice – an ecological justice as a new type of social justice. The viewpoint of a moral theologian allows us to perceive the duties associated with it not only as a legal obligation (debitum iuridicum) but also more deeply as a moral obligation (debitum morale).

Mapping the Coercive Turn: Universal Credit, Social Crisis, and the Politics of Welfare in Austerity Britain, 2010–2019

This article examines the politics of welfare in Britain from 2010 to 2019. Drawing on Gramscian literature, the first section outlines an original framework of the ‘divide-and-rule’ politics of welfare during the 1980s and 1990s in the United Kingdom. The second section examines the return of welfare restructuring in Britain following the 2008 global financial crisis, focusing on Universal Credit. It contends that a significant escalation of coercive social policies within the social security system undermined previous social antagonisms underpinning the political coalitions of neoliberal welfare reform. Alongside deepening economic stagnation and dislocation exacerbated by austerity after 2010, it argues that this coercive turn intensified an unfolding crisis of legitimacy. The third section examines the politics of welfare amid an unfolding social crisis in Britain. It argues that despite burgeoning socio-political discontent and the emergence of the counter-hegemonic project of Corbynism, 2016–2019 was characterised by an interregnum. With the defeat of Corbynism amid protracted Brexit negotiations, this included a period of political impasse in which popular support for welfare reform, austerity and neoliberalism were in decline, but without an attendant shift in the balance of political forces to advance an alternative hegemonic project. As a result, a deepening social crisis continued to unfold.

How national models of solidarity shaped public support for policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis in 2020–2021

How do national models of solidarity shape public support for distinctive policy responses to social and economic crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic? We analyze American and German policy responses from March 2020 to June 2021 across a number of economic and social policy domains and identify path-dependent institutional contingencies in both countries despite the same crisis experience. Drawing from 10 different sources of public opinion data, we then triangulate the pandemic's effects on public support for individualized and collectively oriented policy responses. Aside from emotional rally-to-the-flag effects, the policy-specific public reactions are consistent with institutional and normative predicates of the two political economies: the German public seems to be supportive of aggressive policies to combat inequality, though in ways that privilege established social collectivities and groups, whereas in the U.S., we only see moderate evidence of support for time-limited and individually-focused measures designed to remain in place only for the duration of the crisis.

Algorithmic governmentality in Latin America: Sociotechnical imaginaries, neocolonial soft power, and authoritarianism

Latin America stands as one of the most unequal regions globally, where economic and social crises persist regardless of the ideological leanings of the ruling governments. Many countries in the region grapple with pervasive issues such as corruption, impunity, and a lack of adherence to the rule of law. In this context of generalized crisis, governments have turned to discourses of innovation and technological progress to justify their actions, advocating for the incorporation of automated systems into public administration. Algorithmic governmentality, the government of the social world through the algorithmic processing of data, emerges as a political rationality. Drawing from recent contributions in the theory of governmentality and critical data studies, our commentary centers on three critical dimensions: algorithmic governmentality as political rationality manifested in sociotechnical imaginaries; as an expression of soft power wielded by the U.S. government over the region; and the means by which regional governments automate social asymmetries and social control. This commentary delves into the intricate dynamics of algorithmic governmentality in Latin America, shedding light on its multifaceted implications for governance, democracy, and social structures in the region.

Preparing for the Future in the Shadow of the Pandemic—The Goat Trust Emerges Digitally

The founder of a charitable organization dedicated to small livestock management for livelihood generation now confronts the additional challenge of supporting returnee migrant workers who lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Simultaneously, addressing the need to navigate the economy during and after the COVID era became imperative. India’s diverse economic landscape, marked by substantial regional disparities, compels thousands of labourers to migrate annually for a better life. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the plight of these migrant labourers. Faced with joblessness and unable to sustain themselves in large cities, they began returning to their homes. The Goat Trust, actively promoting livelihood development in resource-deprived areas, is exploring avenues to reshape the value network of goat farming in India. The urgency of the situation demands immediate action. This scenario underscores the potential for social enterprises to play a pivotal role in building the new post-pandemic economy. Organizations like the Goat Trust can seize opportunities presented by this social crisis by upgrading and digitising local economies. This approach is pertinent to India and relevant to the global economy. Focusing on local economic development emerges as a key strategy for alleviating the profound economic depression induced by the pandemic.

ViolHelp: results of a pilot study to identify potential warning signs and risk factors for self- and hetero-directed violence in the calls received by the Helplines of the Italian National Institute of Health.

Self- and hetero-directed violence (SHDV) is a serious public health problem and a complex phenomenon, influenced by individual and environmental factors. SHDV may occur particularly in moments of personal, economic and/or social crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ISS-Helplines operators have perceived an increase in psychological distress and self-isolation among callers. The ViolHelp project aimed at identifying potential warning signs and risk factors of SHDV emerging in the activity of the ISS-Helplines (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, ISS, Italian National Institute of Health). A dashboard collecting warning signs and risk factors of SHDV was developed to be used during the ISS-Helplines activity. In one year of data collection, 135 calls were compiled. In 106 calls, callers referred experienced violence: 72 self-directed violence (SDV), 20 hetero-directed violence (HDV), 14 both. The most frequent warning signs and risk factors for SDV were desire to die (68.6%), previous suicide attempts (31.4%) and threat of self-harm (25.6%); for HDV were depressed mood (32.4%), diagnosis of pathology and/or psychiatric disorders, desire to die, use of psychotropic drugs, and alcohol abuse (29.4%). The results of this pilot project show the importance of being able to read the warning signs and to create a network that can improve information, prevention and support activities for people at risk of violence and their families.

On that demon time: Black time geographies of reimagining, recovering, and resisting

This article introduces “Demon Time” as a theoretical concept for examining Black time geographies. Building off the theorization of demonic space, I theorize that demon time is an alternative Black temporality. I use the soundscapes of the Black church, the Black barber/beauty shop, and the strip club to think through demonic temporality as a mode of reimagination, a reimagining of Black subjectivities, a mode of recovery, an iterative process of recovery from anti-blackness, and a mode of resisting, a continual resistance of normative logics and western ideologies. These Black soundscapes produce Black timescapes which are anchored to time-spaces of Black cultural production. Thus, demon time offers us a way to reorient how we understand Blackness in moments of economic, social, and ecological crisis, while also allowing us to think about the incommensurability of Black temporalities across Black regions in the US.

Impact of Media Information on Social Response in Disasters: A Case Study of the Freezing-Rain and Snowstorm Disasters in Southern China in 2008

Disaster information content is an objective mapping of disaster situations, social response, and public opinions. Social response to emergency is an important mechanism for implementing and guaranteeing emergency management of major natural hazard-related disasters. Understanding how disaster information content affects social response to emergencies is helpful for managing risk communication and efficient disaster response. Based on the 2008 freezing-rain and snowstorm disasters in southern China, this study used Python to extract 7,857 case-related media reports and applied natural language processing for text analysis. It used three typical cases to identify and analyze disaster media report content and the relationship between these reports and the social response to the emergency. Eight categories of disaster response—such as prewarning and forecasting, announcements by the authorities, and social mobilization—appeared in the disaster information in the media, along with disaster impact information, that is, real-time disaster status. Disaster response information and an appropriate amount of disaster impact information played important roles in prewarning, disaster relief, public opinion guidance, and social stability maintenance and can serve important functions in communicating with all stakeholders of emergency management, assisting or influencing emergency departments or individuals in decision making, and eliminating “information islands.” Empathy caused the general public to become “disaster responders” through receiving information. Rumors and an excess of negative information may have a perverse amplification effect on public opinion and increase the unpredictability of the disaster situation and the risk of social crisis.

Addressing the workforce crisis in (rural) social care: A scoping review.

This scoping review identifies strategies potentially addressing the 'workforce crisis' in rural social care. The increasing global demand for social care has been coupled with widely recognised challenges in recruiting and retaining sufficient staff to provide this care. While the social care workforce crisis is a global phenomenon, it is particularly acute in rural areas. The review identified 75 papers which (i) had been published since 2017, (ii) were peer reviewed, (iii) concerned social care, (iv) were relevant to rural settings, (v) referenced workforce shortages, and (vi) made recommendations for ways to address those shortages. Thematic synthesis was used to derive three analytical themes with a combined 17 sub-themes applying to recommended strategies and evidence supporting those strategies. The most common strategies for addressing social care workforce shortages were to improve recruitment and retention ('recruit and retain') processes without materially changing the workforce composition or service models. Further strategies involved 'revitalising' the social care workforce through redeploying existing staff or identifying new sources of labour. A small number of strategies involved 're-thinking' social care service models more fundamentally. Very few papers specifically considered how these strategies might apply to rural contexts, and evidence for the effectiveness of strategies was sparse. The review identifies a significant gap in the literature in relation to workforce innovation and placed-based studies in rural social care systems. It is unlikely that the social care workforce crisis can be addressed through continuing attempts to recruit and retain workers within existing service models.

Poverty in Older Adulthood: A Health and Social Crisis

In the transition to older adulthood, people often experience health, social, and economic challenges related to increased chronic health conditions, retirement, decreased social connections, a reduction in income and earning capacity, and increased health related costs. These factors can contribute to financial insecurity, social instability, and even poverty for older adults. In the United States, one in ten older adults is living in poverty. However, standard poverty measures do not account for inflation and many costs specific to older adulthood, and thus underestimate the number of older adults living in poverty. Older adults in poverty conditions experience early mortality and high rates of disability, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. It is estimated that more than a third of older adults experience loneliness. Loneliness within this population is associated with poor physical and mental health, cognitive decline, and early mortality. Poverty and loneliness are independently detrimental to older adults and when experienced together impact the health and wellbeing of older adults in ways that are unique compared to other age cohorts. Nurses are well positioned to address these intersecting issues. The purpose of this article is to discuss the challenges of poverty in older adults, with particular focus on the intersection of poverty and loneliness within this population. Nursing implications for education, practice, research, and policy implications are discussed.

In Search of the Dao: Process Cosmology, Epistemology, and Ritual in the Xunzi and the Xici zhuan

This paper investigates, in a comparative fashion, the common quest for the Dao by authors of the Xunzi and the Xici zhuan of the Book of Changes to come to terms with political and social crises in Warring States China. Since the two texts adopt both similar and divergent methodologies in their search of the Dao, this paper first examines their similarities in terms of process cosmology, epistemology, and practice of ritual, and then analyzes the divergences in their approaches to the Dao. In particular, the practice of ritual is unveiled as the marker of the Dao within the philosophical framework of both texts, albeit with differing connotations. In the final analysis, this paper discusses both the underlying pragmatic applications of the two approaches in the nuanced philosophical insights they provide into the coordination of human beings with the processes of the cosmos, and their implications in understanding what A.C. Graham calls “the disputers of the Dao”.

Dismantling rentier logic: Tenants struggles in Argentina

In the conversation "Dismantling Rentier Logic: Tenants Struggles in Argentina," Ana Vilenica and Moisés Quiroz engage with Garvazio Munoz from Inquilinos Agrupados (IA), delving into Argentina's housing crisis and its effects on renters. Garvazio Munoz provides a historical perspective on tenant organising in Argentina, starting with Juana Rouco Buela's leadership in the 1907 tenants' strike against steep rent increases and the Movimiento de Inquilinos Peronistas of 1973. The conversation pivots to contemporary challenges, with Munoz describing the harsh reality of Argentina's housing market – a sector plagued by dollarization, deregulation, and speculative practices that exacerbate accessibility issues for ordinary Argentinians. Munoz critiques the cultural norm of homeownership, pointing to the growing necessity and practicality of renting in today's economic landscape. The dialogue delves into the government's recent shock measures, with Munoz expressing concerns about a looming social crisis. Munoz also highlights the practical operations of Inquilinos Agrupados, emphasizing their grassroots approach and significant political and media presence.

Flying in Travel Bubbles amidst the Covid Era

The world was struck by an unparalleled health, social, and economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the travel and tourism industry was among the severely affected industries. In a 'travel bubble', a set of countries agree to open their borders to each other while the borders to all other countries are closed. This allowed the people to move freely within the bubble and helped to restore the inbound cash flow streams associated with international tourism and travel. The current research is framed to understand Indian tourists' perception of travelling within available travel bubbles amidst the pandemic and to focus on the travel bubble concept from a post-COVID perspective.

Rumors and Conspiracy Theories in Bulgarian Social Media During COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examines the socio-psychological phenomenon of rumors during the global pandemic of 2020-2022, focusing on the case of Bulgaria. Messages from a closed online group (254 participants) with a thematic profile related to traditional remedies were analyzed. Content analysis revealed the most prevalent beliefs about the COVID-19 pandemic, such as “10% of vaccinated individuals will die within 5 years” and “the pandemic is aimed at destroying small businesses,” among others. It is argued that rumors and conspiracy theories thrive during times of social crisis and uncertainty. Moreover, it is highlighted that individuals often tend to hold onto false beliefs even when presented with evidence that contradicts them. The study concludes that four factors play a significant role in maintaining misconceptions: (1) the need to reduce stress, (2) low levels of education, (3) cultural memory and traumatic past experiences that shape present judgments, and (4) the phenomenon of mental schemas, making it harder for individuals to change their established beliefs and opinions. These four factors contribute to people’s resistance to accepting new information that contradicts their familiar mental schemas. By providing accurate information and facilitating open discussions about existing misconceptions, communication specialists can help counter conspiracy theories that undermine the efforts of governments and public institutions.

Komunikasi yang Canggih di Era Society Industri 5.0

Industry 5.0 is a new industrial era characterized by the use of advanced technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics. In this day and age, communication has become increasingly important as technological advances allow humans to interact more effectively with machines and systems. Advanced communications in the Industry 5.0 era require the use of new technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to enhance the user experience. For example, in manufacturing, AR can be used to visually guide workers through the production process, and VR can be used for training and simulations. In addition, AI technology also enables more effective communication between humans and machines. For example, in the automotive industry, AI can be used to monitor vehicle performance and provide early warning if there is a problem. This reduces downtime and increases production efficiency. As communication technology advances, concerns arise regarding changes in communication ethics. Apart from the many positive benefits, virtual communication also has a negative impact on society. This includes the development of individualistic personalities which can give rise to social communication crises, especially among the younger generation. This article discusses the communication ethics of young women on social media. Basically, communication ethics is very important and easy to implement. Both as media and as media. Good communication ethics prevent misunderstandings and arguments that lead to mutual insults. If the communication is rude, impolite, and far from moral values, especially if it is spread via unknown social media, then it is useless and will not provoke or cause conflict Maybe so

Gender stereotypes may not influence the choice of female leaders: Experimental evidence from a crisis framed as social or economic during the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractThis research examined whether female (vs. male) leaders are preferred during a pandemic when stereotypically feminine leadership is deemed useful. We hypothesized that citizens prefer female (vs. male) politicians when the crisis is framed as a social (vs. economic) crisis because they believe it requires feminine (vs. masculine) leadership. In a pilot study and three online experiments with US residents (Ntotal = 1675), we manipulated crisis type or a leadership candidate's gender for a task force. While participants indicated that a crisis framed as social (vs. economic) required more feminine leadership, they did not appoint a woman more or rated her as more suitable for the social crisis (vs. economic crisis or a no‐crisis situation). Furthermore, the female (vs. male) candidate was not perceived to possess more feminine leadership traits. Overall, participants did not rely on gender stereotypes when explicitly evaluating politicians. We discuss potential explanations for these unexpected results.

External Event Crises on The Stock Market: Taking Japan’s Sea Discharge Incident as An Example

On August 22, 2023, the Japanese government announced that it would start discharging nuclear wastewater into the sea from August 24. This decision was widely questioned and opposed by the international community and caused strong concerns in Japan. This article aims to take the Japanese nuclear sewage discharge incident into the sea as an example to explore the impact of social crisis on Japan's domestic stock market. The main research method of this article is based on stock return analysis, using the ARIMA model to predict the Japanese stock price trend after excluding the impact of this event, and then comparing it with real data. The results of this study provide evidence that the predicted stock prices are close to the actual stock prices, indicating that as of mid-September, there was no short-term negative impact on the Japanese stock market due to the event, but from a long-term perspective, the predictions remain It is uncertain whether stock prices in Japan's financial markets will fall because of this incident. The main conclusion drawn from this study is that external events may not have a large impact on stock prices in the short term. Different from previous literature, this study uses ARIMA analysis on daily data and weekly data to obtain the relationship between them. Recommendations include organizing a team of experts; hiring a legal team; establishing a complete procedure to handle social media information, and having a dedicated public relations team may be helpful.

System's Crisis Resilience as a Societal Crisis: Knowledge Structure and Gaze of the Finnish Health Care System.

The crisis resilience of vital social systems is currently the target of constant development efforts in Finland, as their drifting into crisis would weaken societies' functional abilities, safety, and security. This is also the case regarding the Finnish health care system. In an attempt to move beyond existing frameworks of crisis imagination, this article takes an unconventional stance by elucidating endogenous crisis dynamics present in the Finnish health care system. Delphi process was conducted for top experts in Finnish health care and crisis management. With a dissensus-seeking orientation, our aim was to fertilize disagreements among panelists to reveal key vulnerabilities in the health system. Despite our efforts to evoke dissensus, the panelists ended up generating a consensus that aims to protect the underlying assumptions of the health system's knowledge structure. Through inductive analysis of expert discourses, the data was analyzed through our research question "what constitutes a crisis-proof health system and a crisis-prone health system". What is framed as a strength of the system by our panelists, namely the ability to maintain legitimacy, improve efficiency, and guarantee continuity, can still have questionable implications that are left ungrasped. A system's theory approach illustrates how such effects can develop and escalate beyond the reach of social interventions, and thus be predisposed to cause objectionable yet concealed social crises. The discussion illustrates how these endogenous crisis dynamics could be seen to materialize in real-life cases.