Times Of Chaos Research Articles

Ruby Princess case study: a systems thinking analysis of COVID-19, cruise ships and Australia’s response

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic tested leadership in chaos and complexity and resulted in many lessons learnt in the process. One such opportunity was the cruise ship Ruby Princess “mishap” in Australia which resulted in the failure to quarantine the virus onboard the cruise ship thus allowing transmission into the Australian community. The purpose of this paper is to use the Ruby Princess as a case study and apply a systems thinking analysis to it.Design/methodology/approachWhilst many inquiries and commissions have documented the failings of the agencies or “systems” involved in the Ruby Princess, the Ruby Princess case study provides a suitable example for the application of systems thinking analysis. The paper proceeds by identifying the various agencies either directly or indirectly involved in the Ruby Princess disaster and groups them based on the system they represented (state; federal; international or cruise-based system). These systems were mapped providing a visual representation of the complexity of the landscape in which police and public safety agencies had to operate in to respond to the Ruby Princess.FindingsOver 30 agencies were found to be either directly or indirectly involved in the Ruby Princess. Following the application of systems thinking analysis, it was clear that the various systems were operating in silos, thus failing to fully exploit the interconnections between and within all the systems which ultimately resulted in the Ruby Princess.Practical implicationsThe results of this analysis have informed a series of recommendations for leadership development within similar contexts, including embracing a systems thinking approach.Originality/valueUsing the Ruby Princess as a case study, this article presents a novel approach through the application of systems thinking and how it can enhance a leader’s ability to navigate the current “new normal” operating environment. It highlights the importance of public safety leadership moving away from an insular systems focus towards more of a public sector partnership which is an imperative for police and other public safety agencies to navigate through times of complexity and chaos.

Kindergarten teachers’ leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic: from uncertainty to practices of care and concern

ABSTRACT This study sheds light on the professional leadership attitudes of kindergarten teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on their managerial practices in these times of chaos and crisis, and their presence as a type of pillar of stability. The main research question examines the leadership characteristics of these educational leaders, based on two main theoretical frames: the adaptive leadership style and the ethics of caring. The study population included 64 kindergarten teachers who had worked in Israel in different managerial and educational roles (kindergarten manager, full-time kindergarten teacher, and supplementary part-time kindergarten teacher) in the early childhood educational system during the pandemic. The research tool was an online questionnaire. The main finding of the study is that the participants conducted their leadership through augmented practices, as presented in the unique model that we developed specifically based on self-report analyses. Our findings indicate that the most dominant practice is the concern and caring practice. The Augmented Leadership Model also reflects the participants’ perception of their role as stable leaders, mostly towards their team, the parents, and the children. The main conclusion is that the leadership of kindergarten teachers has become a strong anchor of stability during this time of uncertainty.

Communicating shared situational awareness in times of chaos: Social media and theCOVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractTo effectively manage a crisis, most decisions made by governments, organizations, communities, and individuals are based on “shared situational awareness” (SSA) derived from multiple information sources. Developing SSA depends on the alignment of mental models, which “represent our shared version of truth and reality on which we can act.” Social media has facilitated public sensemaking during a crisis; however, it has also encouraged mental model dissonance, resulting in the digital destruction of mental models and undermining adequate SSA. The study is concerned with the challenges of creating SSA during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Australia. This paper documents a netnography of Australian public health agencies' Facebook communication, exploring the initial impact of COVID‐19 on SSA creation. Chaos theory is used as a theoretical lens to examine information perception, meaning, and assumptions relating to SSA from pre to post‐pandemic periods. Our study highlights how the initial COVID‐19 “butterfly effect” swamped the public health communication channel, leaving little space for other important health issues. This research contributes to information systems, information science, and communications by illustrating how the emergence of a crisis impacts social media communication, the creation of SSA, and what this means for social media adoption for crisis communication purposes.

Examining the re-territorialisation of beneficiary accountability: Digitising nonprofit services in response to COVID-19

This research explores change in accountability toward beneficiaries within nonprofit organisations (NPO) during the first wave of COVID-19; specifically, through the digitalisation of NPOs' services. COVID-19 was a time of great change, where chaos replaced a level of order and routine in organisations' established structures and systems. Accordingly, this research uses understandings from Deleuze and Guattari to explore territorial changes within two NPOs' regimes of beneficiary accountability as a result of COVID-19 and their actions in attempting to restore order. Findings suggest that although disruption was produced by COVID-19, responses by the NPOs resulted in digitised changes to service provision that predominantly saw positive experiences for beneficiaries in each NPO. Findings demonstrate how organisational responses to unanticipated change, through the digitalisation of service provision, impacted upon the beneficiary accountability regimes in ways that both expanded and restricted their territories. Here consideration is given to shifts in territory and emphasis on accounting for-the-self versus accounting for-the-other. A theoretical contribution is made toward understanding how NPOs might work to produce order in times of chaos through considering their territories of accountability.

On Authenticity, Exhaustion, and Finding a Spark

With the COVID-19 pandemic as a backdrop, this personal essay examines the author’s relationship with authentic leadership and professional optimism. The author accounts their experience with burnout brought on by the ongoing pandemic and discusses activities and colleagues that have contributed to cultivating a renewed sense of purpose and hope. The author reflects on the implications of burnout and exhaustion for academic library managers leading teams through times of chaos and instability, and reflects on potential solutions for how those challenges can be mitigated.

The impact of transformational leadership on nurse faculty satisfaction and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic: Amoderated mediated analysis.

AimsTo examine the effects of nursing deans/directors' transformational leadership behaviours on academic workplace culture, faculty burnout and job satisfaction.BackgroundTransformational leadership is an imperative antecedent to organizational change, and employee well‐being and performance. However, little has been espoused regarding the theoretical and empirical mechanisms by which transformational leaders improve the academic workplace culture and faculty retention.DesignA cross‐sectional survey design was implemented.MethodsNursing faculty employed in Canadian academic settings were invited to complete an anonymous online survey in May–July 2021. A total of 645 useable surveys were included in the analyses. Descriptive statistics and reliability estimates were performed. The moderated mediation model was tested using structural equation modelling in the Analysis of Moment software v24.0. Bootstrap method was used to estimate total, direct and indirect effects.ResultThe proposed study model was supported. Transformational leadership had both a strong direct effect on workplace culture and job satisfaction and an inverse direct effect on faculty burnout. While workplace culture mediated the effect of leadership on job satisfaction and burnout, the moderation effect of COVID‐19 was not captured in the baseline model.ConclusionThe findings provide an in‐depth understanding of the factors that affect nursing faculty wellness, and evidence that supportive workplace culture can serve as an adaptive mechanism through which transformational leaders can improve retention. A transformational dean/director can proactively shape the nature of the academic work environment to mitigate the risks of burnout and improve satisfaction and ultimately faculty retention even during an unforeseen event, such as a pandemic.ImplicationGiven the range of uncertainties associated with COVID‐19, administrators should consider practicing transformational leadership behaviours as it is most likely to be effective, especially in times of uncertainty and chaos. In doing so, academic leaders can work towards equitable policies, plans and decisions and rebuild resources to address the immediate and long‐term psychological and overall health impacts of COVID‐19.

Eliciting the right decisions in times of chaos

Eliciting the right decisions in times of chaos

The Rationale of Gentle Nudges and its Reflections in the Work Behaviour of Corporate Employees during the Outbreak of Pandemic

Nudges have been emerged as a prominent technique in human resource management through linking the productivity and performance of employees with the gentle alterations made in the existing work environment. The suitability and appropriateness of workplace nudges during the period of COVID-19 need to be assessed to incorporate them in innovative human resource practices and their effectiveness has to be determined in the context of employee engagement and empowerment leading to improved organisational commitment and better work culture. This study focuses on analysing the impact of nudges and their contribution to the productivity and performance of employees during times of chaos. An extensive literature review is conducted to strengthen the theoretical models of nudges in the modified work environment. Multiple cases have been analysed to support the primary and secondary data. Results evidenced categorisation of the strategical measures of corporates as nudge initiatives. The study shows that nudges have positive and negative influences on the behaviour of employees and they check whether the nudges are in alignment with rationality. The paper attempts to determine the effectiveness of nudges in the workplace contributing to increased productivity and improved work culture. It adopts extracts from case studies and insights from reviews offering a comprehensive idea about the implications of workplace nudges during the period of a pandemic.

КОНТРОЛЬНІ КАРТИ ШУХАРТА В ДЕРЖАВНОМУ УПРАВЛІННІ ЕКОНОМІЧНОЮ БЕЗПЕКОЮ

The low level of Ukraine’s economic security indicates the imperfection of the public administration system. Correlation analysis has shown that economic growth is the dominant condition for social goals achieving of sustainable development. Therefore, the methodological basis for the development of effective measures of public administration of economic security is the provisions of the theory of sustainable development. The foundation of the sustainable development theory is the synergetic principles of self-organization of systems, in particular, the chaos theory. The turbulence of the trajectory of the country’s economic system makes it susceptible to management in the context of unforeseen events («black swans») and economic crises, provoked by medium-long cycles. Today, the COVID-19 pandemic can serve as an example of the «Black Swan» event for the economic systems of the global world. Therefore, the strategic task of public administration in times of chaos should be to maintain the homeostatic balance of the economic system while simultaneously finding new alternatives (attractors) for its sustainable development. To diagnose the economic system state by the level of security (homeostasis) the threshold (permissible, stable) limits of the values of indicators are fundamental, to characterize the level of protection of national economic interests. In domestic practice, to define safety indicator thresholds are used primarily heuristic methods, which based on the expert’s experience and intuition. The subjectivity inherent in heuristic methods does not exclude fundamental errors in the state diagnosis of the economic system by safety level. To prevent subjectivity, it is suggested to use Shewhart’s control charts. The Shewhart’s theory largely corresponds to the basic provisions of the theories of Sustainable Development and the Black Swan. To identify periods of «chaos» and «order» (an unruly and manageable management process) of the development trajectory of the socio-economic system, it is advisable to use combined XmR-chart. The article provides an example of the interpretation of the build XmR-map results for analyzing the manageability of the process of ensuring the Ukraine’s economic security during 1990-2019 years.

COVID-19 Lockdown in New York: A News Comparison Between the New York Times and Vice News

The Corona virus or also known as COVID-19 has raged the world with a devastating number of lives that were lost. During the lockdown and in the times of chaos, many have relied on the media for information to keep abreast with the updates of this angry virus. The objective of this study was to find out the differences of news coverage concerning the Covid-19 pandemic between mainstream and alternative media in New York City, where it hit the worst. The New York Times and Vice News were chosen to represent the mainstream and alternative news stations, respectively. The methodology used was a qualitative content analysis to organize, extract and understand the large data sets and derive conclusions. Conclusively, this analysis is based on four criteria’s: headlines, sources, language, and visual images. A summary of the headline regarding the alternative resultantly informs us that Vice incorporates a majority of vague, misleading titles while contrastingly, the New York Times incorporates accurate and informative titles. Dissimilarities also occur with sources where a majority of citations are composed of sole informants for Vice News and multiple sources for the New York Times; authoritative and non-authoritative.

“A distant mirror”: Sensemaking in the era of Trump

Sensemaking is an ongoing act of constructing a reality to be interpreted. While numerous articles have explored the notion of sensemaking in organizations, far fewer have examined it through the empirical prism of an individual case of sensemaking, with the notable exception of Weick’s seminal contribution and formulation, “The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organizations: The Mann Gulch Disaster” (1993). In this article, we seek to build on the literature of sensemaking in organizations by offering an analysis of the actions of former Republican Senator Jeff Flake, whose leadership interventions we interpret as efforts at sensemaking in the era of Trump. In this context, we focus on the US Senate as an organ of sensemaking established by the framers of the Constitution to be relied upon in times of disruption, confusion, and chaos—a check on presidential power established by the framers of the US Constitution to provide prospective sensemaking for uncharted waters. In analyzing the case of Jeff Flake as sense-maker, we rely on certain definitions of leadership embedded in the era of post-truth. We conclude that Flake’s actions may be seen as a distant mirror (to quote Tuchman, 1978 ) of Weick’s treatment of the storied smokejumper Wag Dodge—a sense-maker whose persuasive powers failed him in the moment, only to be viewed in retrospect as the one who paved the way forward toward survival in the midst of a “cosmological episode.”

Constructive Deviance in Search and Rescue Teams: Getting Around Regulations

Highly Reliable Teams (HRT) work in complex and extensively regulated environments where improvisation outside routine processes can be critical to success. Work teams in search and rescue, emergency medicine, surgery, aviation, and military solve complex problems in chaotic environments with high reliability. They must produce successful outcomes under the detailed and conflicting regulations from professional societies, sponsoring agencies, and government. This research project will identify how HRTs deal with regulation during times of high stress and chaos when solutions fall outside accepted process and regulatory protection. The Principle Investigator (PI) proposes to imbed with six different HRTs, and through observation, interview and participation, explore the relationship, regulation, reliability, and non-compliance.

An Analysis of Deliberately Deposited Artifacts (T’oejang yumul) Discovered in Unified Silla and Koryŏ-era Temple Sites

This article presents a systematic study of deposits of precious goods recovered from temple sites from the Unified Silla and Koryŏ periods. These deposits typically consist of metal objects that had been stored in the temple but were placed in big iron cauldrons or bells and buried for safekeeping during times of war or chaos. Unlike the chindan’gu or ritual implements to pacify the earth spirits, which were buried before the building was constructed, “deliberately deposited artifacts” (t’oejang yumul) refers to objects buried during an emergency. After burial, because of the temple’s destruction or other factors, they could not be recovered and restored to the temple; most have thus been recovered recently during archeological excavations. This article investigates artifacts recovered from twelve different sites. Following a careful comparison of the metal objects, it was ascertained that during the mid-Koryŏ period, the previous system wherein three ritual objects were employed (one incense burner, one candle holder, and one vase) shifted to a system influenced by the Southern Song (one incense burner, two candle holders, and two vases). This system with five ritual implements became more prevalent during the period of Mongol dominion, spreading to temples across the country. It is surmised that the objects recovered from such deposits did not only derive from the golden hall, the main shrine of the temple, but were used in various buildings in the temple precinct, and can serve as an index for the size of the temple in which they were found.

Loves me, loves me not

The Balkan region is known for its historical climate of turbulent social relations; thus, public spaces that consecrate shared experiences of grief and loss come as no surprise. One such space, however, has experienced astonishing growth in its fame and popularity, not just as a renowned cultural landmark, but as a significant Croatian cultural export. The Museum of Broken Relationships is filled with unremarkable everyday objects donated by lovers who associate them with their past relationships. The value of these objects is not necessarily utilitarian, or aesthetic, but symbolic: they represent the emotions of remorse and pain elicited by breakups. This paper is an account of the objects, stories, and narratives found in the Museum of Broken Relationships. It considers the Museum a lens through which people can scrutinize the meaning of love in their everyday lives and consequently re-shape their identities. It looks into the Museum’s transformative potency as a spiritual and sacred space that offers hope in times of despair, fosters disorientation and chaos, and offers visitors an opportunity to confirm or reject their previous perspectives on love.

In Times of Chaos: Creating Blueprints for Law School Responses to Natural Disasters

A recent onslaught of domestic natural disasters created acute, critical needs for legal services for people displaced and harmed by storms and fires. In 2017, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Michael struck much of Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, displacing millions from their homes. Wildfires burned throughout California and tested the capacity of pro bono and legal aid systems across the state. In 2018, Hurricane Florence flooded North Carolina, and Hurricane Michael devastated the Florida Panhandle. California again suffered wildfires, the largest and most devastating in recorded history. Natural disasters are both more common and more destructive, the “new abnormal.” Social and economic inequities emerge sharply after each natural disaster. Low-income and vulnerable people both suffer more from disasters and experience heightened barriers to accessing the post-disaster resources necessary to survive, rebuild, and return home. Marginalized and vulnerable populations, in particular, need legal assistance and expertise to overcome these barriers. Natural disasters also inspire law students, law clinics, law schools and law faculty to help. Law school responses to assisting with post-disaster legal needs have been diverse. Some efforts have been law student initiated, while several law school clinics have provided legal assistance in a variety of ways. Some law schools have launched clinics with a devoted budget and strict focus on disaster practice. Some took on disaster work because it was the greatest need for existing clients and communities. Others shifted the focus of existing clinics to disaster needs, and still others launched temporary clinics in various forms to respond to acute crises. Some wanted to help but did not have ready relationships or resources to be responsive. Each of the authors has direct experience surviving natural disasters and providing legal assistance from within the academy. This article provides necessary information about the nature of natural disasters, the ecosystem of response systems, and common legal issues for law schools and clinical programs interested in providing legal assistance to disaster-affected communities. It then describes varying models of law school institutional responses to increasingly common natural disasters. Building on lessons learned through these experiences, law schools can develop a blueprint for community-engaged disaster response. Building a framework for institutional responses in the legal academy can advance and improve access to justice for vulnerable communities recovering after a disaster and can provide students with an opportunity to learn from this social justice engagement.

Getting from 1932 to 1945 : Responsibilities of Scientists and Engineers in Times of Chaos and Upheaval [Opinion

Examines the roles and responsibilities of scientists and engineers in times of chaos and upheaval.

Hindi Print Media Content Analysis Of Bhopal Gas Tragedy: In The Context Of Reflect And Effect Study Of Media On Society

The 1984 Bhopal Gas Leak tragedy has been classified as one of the World’s major Industrial accidents of the 20th century, recorded post 1919, by a United Nations Report. This tragedy killed thousands of people and maimed thousands. Union Carbide subsidiary pesticide plant released approximately 40 tonnes of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas which went on to touch the lives of more than 500,000 people of the city. In a way, even after it immediately killed and maimed in thousands, it is still a continued disaster as the generations exposed to the toxic gases have been consistently showing up signs of physical and mental deformity. This gruesome event’s impacts on society are beyond time and space. The crucial question that renders is that how media dealt with the situation and to what extent it affects the everyday life of masses. This study came into initiation when the researcher visited the Methyl Ico-Cynate gas-affected area of Bhopal. During the pilot study, the researcher saw that people of the affected place were living in inadequate conditions. Thus, a concern piqued the interest of the researcher, and evoked an indispensible question: Is media fulfilling its responsibility as the fourth pillar of society in times of chaos and devastation, towards the public? For examining his queries researcher has taken renowned print media outlet’s articles of Bhopal gas tragedy as the content of the analysis. Hence on the basis of Hindi print media content of Bhopal gas disaster the researcher has taken the initiative to search appropriate answers to questions which examine the role of media after the tragic occurrence has taken place in society.

What Was Tragedy? Theory and the Early Modern Canon by Blair Hoxby

Reviewed by: What Was Tragedy? Theory and the Early Modern Canon by Blair Hoxby Marta Albalá Pelegrín Blair Hoxby. What Was Tragedy? Theory and the Early Modern Canon. Oxford UP, 2015. 366 Pp. IN TIMES OF CHAOS, tragedy has been the spirit or the ghost that hovers over history. Tragedy has also been particularly long-lived as a theatrical genre, one whose aesthetic has changed over the course of the centuries, and with it, so too, its appraisal by critics. What Was Tragedy? reflects recent interest in reception studies, as some of its chapters diligently consider the performance history and success of a variety of theatrical texts, some now forgotten (as is the case of Stefonio’s Crispus), some relegated to a secondary position within the corpus of extremely canonical authors (as is the case of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra). With a conceptual-history bent, What Was Tragedy? is an in-depth reflection on the construction of literary theories across time; its ultimate goal is demonstrating “that the philosophy of the tragic is an obstacle to our interpretation of most of the tragedy that was produced in early modern Europe” (293). As the title reminds us, there is not a single definition able to encompass tragedy through time, and delving into the history of tragedy means delving into its past meanings, what it was as opposed to what it is for us. Hoxby’s book is divided into two parts, The Philosophy of the Tragic and the Poetics of Tragedy and The World We Have Lost. Part 1, consisting of chapters 1–2, sets out the theoretical basis of the book, while part 2, consisting of chapters 3–6, incorporates case studies of particular tragedies, each with varying aims and often accompanied by an overview of the performance history of the works in question. Chapter 1, “Our Tragic Culture,” reviews theories of tragedy developed by the German idealist tradition and assesses their influence in twentieth-century conception of tragedy. Special attention is given to a range of 1960s-era scholars, including Jean-Pierre Vernant, who stressed that an alien subjectivity such as that of the Greek tragedy “could not be properly understood apart from its social and cultural context” (37). Following this idea, Hoxby situates himself among more recent critics such as Terence Cave, Terry Eagleton, and Simon Goldhill, while at the same time distinguishing himself from them by “putting emphasis on pathos” and by confining his book “to a historical period with a coherent poetics of tragedy” [End Page 163] (40). Hoxby’s aim, therefore, as he states, is to “redefine tragedy in trans-historical terms,” setting early modern literary theory “in dialogue with rival ideas that have existed in other historical moments” (41). To conceptualize early modern tragedies, Hoxby relies on five propositions: (1) “Great drama need not be the drama of a nation” (41); (2) “Organic form is not superior to beautiful design” (44); (3) “Tragedy is a theatrical rather than a poetic art” (47); (4) “The passions are dramatic units of crucial significance in early modern tragedy” (48); and (5) “Not only the naive but also the sophisticated and seemingly modern aspects of ancient theater have value” (51). As the subsequent chapters unfold, these five propositions serve as the skeleton of the book’s overall argument. Chapter 2, “An Early Modern Poetics of Tragedy,” delves into early modern theories of tragedy while analyzing relevant period vocabulary for today’s reader. The chapter relies both on Aristotle’s Poetics and on the myriad interpretations of his text that emerged out of humanist milieux of early modern Italy. As Hoxby explains, “early modern critics often used Aristotle’s terms as a scaffold on which to hang a vast collection of ancient testimonies that elucidated, complicated, or contradicted Aristotle” (57). While the chapter provides terminology and definitions key to understanding the early modern poetics of tragedy, it fails to provide a full portrait of the vast debates and the varied theoretical currents surrounding the issue in early modern Europe. A project as ambitious as that of recovering “what early modern tragedy was” in a single volume must necessarily have its blind spots. One example concerns the chapter...

Rediscovery of the Malay ‘local:’ youth and TV fiction in Malaysia

Previous research has shown that while TV fiction is coloured with narrative appeals, themes of love and binary opposition (good versus evil, love versus hate and rich against poor), TV producers continue to tailor their products to match audience’s pleasure. Such formula may be clichéd, but in the world where news of war, terrorism, diseases and conflicts often make the headlines, respite from harsh realities of life can often be found through studying TV fiction. Drawing from theory of cultural hybridity, this article explores how youth relate to three popular Malay TV fiction, On Dhia, Julia and Adam & Hawa through interviews and personal narratives. Their voices have shown forms of rediscovery of the Malay ‘local,’ providing glimpses into what it means to rediscover Malay local fragments in times of global risks and chaos, oscillating between a wide array of social and cultural uncertainties that continue to unfold for imagination.

Ethnicity as Uncertainty Reducing Behavior

Scholars of ethnic violence have moved beyond the traditional primordialist constructivist debate into a much more thorough discussion exploring why mobilizations to violence along ethnic divisions are successful. This debate has sparked insight into many components that help to explain varied motivations for participation in ethnic violence. However, as of yet there has not been a systematic theory that can explain the prevalence of ethnic violence as opposed to violence based upon other categorizations. This paper argues that ethnic mobilization to violence is successful because ethnic identity offers a means of uncertainty reduction in times of chaos that allows people to create more effective risk assessments in their daily interactions. However, ethnic violence will only occur under conditions where more effective risk assessment tools are sufficiently weakened.