Times Of Crisis Research Articles

Indonesia Employment in 2023: Labor Force Conditions and Policy Developments in the Early Stages of the Demographic Bonus

In 2023, amidst the complexities of a volatile global economy, Indonesia demonstrated economic resilience, propelled by its dynamic workforce. This abstract synthesizes the intricate interplay between macroeconomic forces and employment trends within Indonesia, drawing from comprehensive data analyses and policy evaluations. The report encapsulates a year marked by economic recovery despite global headwinds such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, inflation surges, and supply chain interruptions. With a predicted global growth of 3.6% by the IMF, Indonesia's economy experienced fluctuations but maintained a growth trajectory from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023. Labor force data indicates a predominance of the working-age population, signaling potential for sustained productivity and economic fortitude. The demographic composition, skewed towards a younger populace, underpins the vibrant labor market. Employment policies have been responsive to digitalization, globalization, and demographic transitions, focusing on skill development, vocational training, and job safety. Notably, vocational training for SMK graduates was prioritized to match industry requirements. Regulatory advancements aim to balance worker protections with corporate operational efficiency. Amidst COVID-19's lingering impact, policy adaptations were crucial to support workers and businesses, exemplifying Indonesia’s agility in times of crisis. The landscape of employment disputes, predominantly centered around termination, underscores the necessity for robust conflict resolution mechanisms. With 71.15% of industrial disputes tied to terminations, mediation emerged as the preferred dispute resolution strategy. Regional data unveiled disparities in job placements and complaints, spotlighting the need for equitable workforce distribution and grievance redressal mechanisms. The report concludes that Indonesia's labor policies and employment conditions are dynamically evolving, poised to sculpt a robust, inclusive, and sustainable labor market landscape.

“No Countries for Municipalities?” – Old and New Faces of Centralisation in the Time of Crisis

Public service provision and administration have been transformed by digitalisation and the application of information and communication technologies (ICT). The article will focus mainly on the impact of these changes on regulatory issues. New approaches have been developed: “soft power” issues, like regulation and standards of public service provision, and central financial tools have become new elements of centralisation reforms, and the concentration of local public services and local administration has become a new issue, especially in Northern and Western Europe. Similarly, the “platformisation” of local services can be interpreted as a new form of centralisation. A “Northern” and “Southern/Eastern” approach to centralisation can be distinguished, and these are analysed in the article.

Guest editorial: Creating business and societal value through sustainable development goals in times of crisis

Guest editorial: Creating business and societal value through sustainable development goals in times of crisis

Public perception of psychiatry, psychology and mental health professionals: a 15-year analysis.

X (previously known as "Twitter") serves as a platform for open discussions on mental health, providing an avenue for scrutinizing public perspectives regarding psychiatry, psychology and their associated professionals. To analyze the conversations happening on X about psychiatrists, psychologists, and their respective disciplines to understand how the public perception of these professionals and specialties has evolved over the last 15 years. We collected and analyzed all tweets posted in English or Spanish between 2007 and 2023 referring to psychiatry, psychology, neurology, mental health, psychiatrist, psychologist, or neurologist using advance topic modelling and sentiment analysis. A total of 403,767 tweets were analyzed, 155,217 (38%) were in English and 248,550 (62%) in Spanish. Tweets about mental health and mental health professionals and disciplines showed a consistent volume between 2011 and 2016, followed by a gradual increase from 2016 through 2022. The proportion of tweets discussing mental health doubled from 2016 to 2022, increasing from 20% to 67% in Spanish and from 15% to 45% in English. Several differences were observed on the volume of tweets overtime depending on the language they were written. Users associated each term with varied topics, such as seeking for help and recommendation for therapy, self-help resources, medication and side effects, suicide prevention, mental health in times of crisis, among others. The number of tweets mentioning these topics increased by 5-10% from 2016 to 2022, indicating a growing interest among the population. Emotional analysis showed most of the topics were associated with fear and anger. The increasing trend in discussions about mental health and the related professionals and disciplines over time may signify an elevated collective awareness of mental health. Gaining insights into the topics around these matters and user's corresponding emotions towards them presents an opportunity to combat the stigma surrounding mental health more effectively.

Media Framing of Government Crisis Communication During Covid-19

During the early phase of the Covid-19 crisis, televised speeches and press conferences were one of the preferred means of government communication. They emphasized the urgency and severity of the situation and allowed actors to lead news coverage. While in the immediate phase of the crisis these press conferences were also directed at the general public, their original function was, of course, to inform and influence media coverage. The article investigates how government press conferences were received in newspapers in the first phase of Covid-19, answering two research questions: Did a rally-around-the-flag effect occur among journalists during Covid-19? And how did government press conferences influence salience and sentiment in newspaper opinion pieces? To answer these questions, I draw on a unique dataset, including transcripts of all Covid-19 press conferences in five European countries between January and July 2020, as well as opinion pieces from tabloid and broadsheet newspapers. Based on a mix of automated and manual content analysis, the results reveal how factors such as country context, newspaper type, and the progress of a pandemic can influence how the government agenda is reflected in the media in times of crisis.

Explained – How Layoffs Affect Employees in Startup Ecosystem

Experiencing a layoff can be a challenging and overwhelming time of loss and adjustment. While some individuals may view it as an opportunity for a fresh start or a welcome relief from a demanding work environment, for others, the loss of their career can be deeply distressing. Coping mechanisms for stress and change vary among individuals, but the following paper outlines common emotional, psychological, and physical reactions. In the past, layoffs were primarily seen as a last-resort measure during times of economic recession or crisis. However, they have become more commonplace in today's business landscape, particularly in the commercial sector. Many companies have recently announced layoffs, citing the need to increase profitability as the economy recovers and job prospects improve. Unfortunately, these layoffs often do not result in the intended profitability. The dynamics are quite different within the startup ecosystem. This research paper will delve into the journey of layoffs in startups and explore their impact on employees. Layoffs can be highly stressful for both startups and their employees. The paper will examine the aftermath of layoffs on employees and provide recommendations to help them navigate this challenging situation.

Impact of public health communication for prevention and personal resilience at the time of crisis. A pilot study with psychophysiological and self-report measures.

Health communication promotes public and individual health. Psychophysiological indices can unveil the unconscious emotional variables that influence audience's representations of these communications. This study explored emotional and cognitive responses to health communications using implicit (psychophysiological) and explicit (self-report) measurements. Twelve communications (health prevention, personal health, public health, Covid-19) were shown to N = 19 participants, while psychophysiological (i.e. Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability (HRV), skin conductance level and response (SCL and SCR)) and self-report (Semantic Differential and Self-Assessment Mannikin (SAM)) data were collected. Higher arousal and physiological engagement (SCL) were observed for health prevention, public and personal health communications. Lower HRV values were found for health prevention compared to crisis communication (Covid-19 stimuli), suggesting higher emotional reactions and concern for the first topic. Self-report results confirmed psychophysiological findings. Overall, using public health communication activates objective indicators about emotional reactions that have important implications for the effectiveness of the communication itself.

Ian Fleming Introduces Jamaican Plants: Gardens, Plantations, and Natural Threats in <em>Dr. No</em> and <em>The Man with the Golden Gun</em>

Ian Fleming’s Dr. No (1958) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1965) – published before and after Jamaican independence in 1962 – each connect the botanical concerns of the island of Jamaica to its colonial past. This article takes a plant humanities approach to these novels, to reveal that Fleming’s interest in Jamaican flora and fauna is inseparable from his interaction with Jamaica as a colony and his reaction to independence. Fleming’s description of Jamaica in Dr. No opens that novel, focusing on the trees and flowers from the Hope Botanical Gardens bordering the beautiful English lawns of Kingston’s wealthiest homes. The gardens at Hope were just one of the colonial botanic gardens in Jamaica established in the nineteenth century by the British government to exploit the island by improving its agricultural industries. Bond’s encounter with a basket of poisoned, glasshouse-grown tropical fruit in Dr. No is a precursor to another threat disguised by a natural product: guano, a garden fertiliser front for Dr No’s operation at Crab Key, while the scale of the threat posed by Scaramanga’s burning of sugar plantations in The Man with the Golden Gun emphasises the dependence of Jamaica’s economic security on agricultural plants. As this article will argue, Fleming’s interaction with plants demands more attention within Bond scholarship, as a way of engaging a new readership with the breadth of his work in a time of ecological crisis.

(Food) Hoarding

Food hoarding in human behaviour, on its own, has not been frequently documented or extensively researched within archival studies. Various reasons may contribute to a lack of available information on food hoarding. A primary example is that hoarders often experience feelings of guilt, shame, and dispossession of their hoardings. Accessible materials in food hoarding research, however, do include historically archived propaganda posters from world wars and news articles that described the scarcity mindset of citizens during times of crisis, including wars, genocides, and pandemics. Clinical and sociological research has often provided a general analysis of hoarding that informs researchers of the issues that hoarders deal with in private. However, I propose that research on general hoarding should extend to observing behaviours around food and its interconnection to memory and trauma. Furthermore, I believe that the literature about theories of hoarding as an act of archiving—although there are very few—adds to the perceptions of displaced communities’ experiences with food insecurity and attachment. These new methods of examining the archive explain how the displaced have preserved their pasts, challenged their present through mobility (or lack thereof), and planned for their futures through knowledge beyond a traditional archive.

Qualitative research during the COVID19 pandemic: the impact of remote research on the collaborative production of methodological knowledge

ABSTRACT During the COVID19 crisis, school closure was a frequent feature of Government responses. The Children’s School Lives (CSL) national cohort study of primary schooling in Ireland had to be adapted and transferred online as an interim response to the unprecedented impact that the pandemic had on the research environment. Adapting longitudinal qualitative research in response to a global pandemic brought specific challenges. In addition to moving data collection to remote methods, longitudinal studies also needed to maintain a focus on retention of research participants and sustain an analysis that informs the longitudinal design of the study. Based on reflective research practice during the COVID19 pandemic and through the collaborative production of methodological knowledge, this paper contributes to the literature on remote research during times of crisis. However, it also extends this literature as the methodological learning can be applied beyond the very particular circumstances of a pandemic.

E-service failure and recovery strategy in times of crisis: effect on peer attitudes, expectation and future intention

AbstractThis study analyses the impact of the critical issues on Travel and Tourism e-service failure and explores specifically how peer-to-peer accommodation business can cope with the potential collapse in demand caused by global crises. The purpose is to examine the impact of peer-to-peer accommodation’s recovery offer on revisiting intentions and relationships termination in light of justice-, fairness-, and attribution theory. In this vein, the main aim is to develop a theoretical model which is underpinned by an understanding of the consequences of e-service failure and the effectiveness of recovery strategies for business competitiveness. To gauge peer perceptions of peer-to-peer accommodations, we employed a mixed-method approach. Alongside 17 interviews with peers and industry experts, a survey involving 404 peer-to-peer accommodation users was conducted. Structural equation modelling was applied to unravel the intricate relationships and influences at play. The findings suggest that managers and service providers need to focus on timely recovery and building stronger relationships with peers, to increase repurchase intention and post-recovery satisfaction and to better front the crises times. This could be implemented efficiently via the platform of social media. This study offers specific theoretical and practical implications by providing a fair recovery strategy to result in the satisfaction of both parties.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of clinical psychologists in Austria: results of a mixed-methods study.

Clinical psychologists in Austria shouldered a large part of the massive increase in demand for mental health services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to find out how the pandemic affected their work and to gather information on how best to support the profession in the event of a crisis. N = 172 Austrian clinical psychologists participated in a cross-sectional online survey between 11 April 2022 and 31 May 2022, including both closed and open-ended questions about their work. Open-ended questions were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. A mixed-methods analysis was conducted to test correlations between the categories derived from the qualitative analysis and professional variables. The analyses revealed that clinical psychologists, especially those with more years of experience, perceived an increased need for clinical psychological treatment, especially for children and adolescents, a lack of coverage for clinical psychological treatment by health insurance, a change to remote treatment formats, and a number of burdens associated with complying with COVID-19 measures. Clinical psychologists reported an urgent need to increase resources in both outpatient and inpatient settings and to promote health insurance coverage. To support the clinical psychology profession in providing high-quality work in times of crisis, there is a need to facilitate more opportunities for team and peer exchange, as well as financial support in the event of loss of income.

Financial security of Arab countries: analysis of some aspects

Issues of ensuring the financial security of the country have always played an important role not only in times of crises but also in conditions of relatively stable functioning of the economy and financial system. Financial security, along with food and energy security, is part of national economic security and plays a leading role at the macro and micro economic levels. It is especially necessary to note the rapid development of digitalization processes which directly affect the stability of the financial system and its security. The financial systems of Arab countries, being included in the global financial system, are directly or indirectly exposed to almost all possible risks that arise and evolve in the global financial markets and in the global economy. Ensuring financial security in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa region is one of the top priorities for the leadership of these countries. These tasks boil down to, among other things, reducing sovereign risk ensuring unity in regulatory approaches to ensuring cross–border transactions, transparency in trade finance transactions taking into account the imposition of sanctions against some countries, and ensuring cybersecurity in the context of digitalization of financial processes remains an important aspect. This article examined and analyzed some of the aspects of the financial security of Arab countries including taking into account the inclusion of innovative processes in world practice, and there are also presented the problems of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa region which contribute to an increase in the likelihood of imbalance in processes to ensure the financial security of the region generally.

Branding a small state as an innovation business partner

AbstractApproximately 50 small countries depend on international cooperation for their survival as sovereign nations. This case study contributes to the discussion of cosmopolitanism versus internationalism in public diplomacy and place branding. It argues that limited bilateral partnerships with universities and businesses based on government-to-government agreements and shared interest are a safer strategy for small countries seeking reputational security than outspoken support for cosmopolitan values. This strategy is a very useful form of place branding, especially in times of crisis and uncertainty. The case examined is Innovation Centre Denmark, with offices in innovation hotspots in various countries. It organizes its activities as bilateral triple helixes, inspired by the work of Henry Etzkowitz and his colleagues. The center developed as part of a nation branding strategy launched by Denmark, a small Nordic country, following the so-called Muhammad crisis in 2005–2006. Then Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen described the controversy as Denmark’s worst international relations incident since WW2, as it damaged the country’s brand in some parts of the world. The article is multidisciplinary in nature, as it combines theories from international relations, business studies, and communication. The public diplomacy approach adopted is primarily represented by Nicholas Cull and his colleagues.

Hedging crude oil and currencies fluctuations

Relying on the D-Vine copula model, this paper delves into the hedging capabilities of Brent crude oil against the exchange rate of oil-exporting and oil-importing nations. The results affirm Brent crude oil’s role as a safeguard and a refuge against the fluctuations of major currencies. Furthermore, we reaffirm that oil retains its robust hedging and safe-haven attributes during times of crisis, with currency co-movements across all countries exhibiting greater correlation than during the entire dataset. Additionally, our empirical findings highlight an unusually positive correlation between Brent crude oil and the Russian exchange rate during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, demonstrating that oil functions as a less effective hedge and a less dependable refuge for the Russian exchange rate in such geopolitical turbulence.

Financial security of Arab countries: analysis of some aspects

Issues of ensuring the financial security of the country have always played an important role not only in times of crises but also in conditions of relatively stable functioning of the economy and financial system. Financial security, along with food and energy security, is part of national economic security and plays a leading role at the macro and micro economic levels. It is especially necessary to note the rapid development of digitalization processes which directly affect the stability of the financial system and its security. The financial systems of Arab countries, being included in the global financial system, are directly or indirectly exposed to almost all possible risks that arise and evolve in the global financial markets and in the global economy. Ensuring financial security in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa region is one of the top priorities for the leadership of these countries. These tasks boil down to, among other things, reducing sovereign risk ensuring unity in regulatory approaches to ensuring cross–border transactions, transparency in trade finance transactions taking into account the imposition of sanctions against some countries, and ensuring cybersecurity in the context of digitalization of financial processes remains an important aspect. This article examined and analyzed some of the aspects of the financial security of Arab countries including taking into account the inclusion of innovative processes in world practice, and there are also presented the problems of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa region which contribute to an increase in the likelihood of imbalance in processes to ensure the financial security of the region generally.

Post-COVID-19 assessment of the use of Open Educational Resources at five European Library and Information Science higher education institutions

This article presents an analysis of the impact of Open Educational Resources (OER) during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their potential use in the post-pandemic, in Library and Information Science (LIS) higher education institutions. The research explored how OER were used and created, what were the main barriers and drivers in practice and some main lessons learned that can help to improve the quality and increase the use of OER beyond times of crisis. The research was based on fieldwork carried out in the LIS departments of the universities of Barcelona (Spain), Hildesheim (Germany), Osijek and Zagreb (Croatia) and the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies in Sofia (Bulgaria). The methodology approach was qualitative and was based on interviews with faculty and focus groups with students. Results show that faculty members were still hesitant to adopt OER since they generally did not consider them. Moreover, those who did use them did so on their own initiative and as additional resources. We discuss the different speeds of OER implementation that have been observed depending on the faculty’s prior level of knowledge, and on whether their institutions and countries are prepared to support the use of OER. The promotion of post-pandemic OER involves greater capacity building, as well as collaboration and institutional support. Students’ attitudes about the usefulness of OER focus on their availability. The large number of teachers and students who participated in the study, as well as the international scope of the study, constitute a strength in the treatment of a topic such as the use of OER where the user perspectives and LIS context have been little addressed in the literature.

Bringing the state back in: Ruling parties and regime collapse during the Arab Uprisings

Scholars have mostly investigated the fall of dictatorships during the Arab Uprisings through the lens of contentious politics, uncovering new information about the protest dynamics and how they spread both within countries and throughout the wider region. However, the longer structural vulnerabilities within regimes have received little attention; yet such factors internal to states and their regimes proved paramount to the social revolutions investigated by Theda Skocpol. Focusing on the case of Tunisia, the author shows how the economic downturn and a succession crisis contributed to the decay of the Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali regime starting in the 2000s. Importantly, they heightened internecine conflicts within the regime and, in particular, within the longtime ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally. It is through this backdrop that the events of the 2010–2011 Tunisian revolution must be understood: far from supporting the regime in times of crisis, members of Ben Ali’s ruling party engaged in contentious activities against him, thus crucially weakening the regime from within.

Greek Primary School Teachers’ Narratives about their Role Negotiation during the Covid-19 Pandemic

No one can dispute the fact that the teaching profession seemed to be tested during the coronavirus pandemic. Teachers were called upon to perform a difficult and multifaced role, without help and support from the state. The issues that teachers had to respond to and solve are related to their autonomy, their digital literacy competences and their relationships/cooperation with students. The new working conditions terrified teachers, who had to manage their digital classroom through a violent readjustment. Under these circumstances, Greek primary school teachers’ narratives offer us their phenomenological perspective on how they coped with their teaching duties during this period of health and educational emergency. An initial attempt is made to empathetically approach the ‘world’ of four teachers, while the subsequent interpretive and critical analysis serves as a means to illuminate ‘hidden’ beliefs of their professional role, the reshaping of their identity, and their adaptation to the online teaching context. Through their narratives, the teachers reflect on the issue of the lack of support from the state. They also note that they found it difficult to manage their e-classes in such a short time. Finally, there is a need for more effective preparation of teachers in times of uncertainty and crisis.

Optimism bias as a barrier to accessing mental health support amongst tertiary students

ABSTRACT Student wellbeing is a key concern for those delivering tertiary education. Tertiary providers such as universities use a range of techniques to support student wellbeing through times of stress. This article reports on one finding from a mixed methods study at two New Zealand universities that explored how students enrolled in agricultural courses saw and managed their wellbeing. The findings demonstrated that students reflected an optimism bias regarding managing their own stress believing most stressful situations would resolve without the need to involve support services. Their intent was that university support services were only to be used in times of mental health crisis. Consequently, students reported that they would not engage with support and education around managing their wellbeing but did find value in learning about how to support others through times of crisis. These findings contribute to knowledge about tertiary students’ attitudes to stress and support services. They have implications for those delivering wellbeing services at tertiary institutions in terms of how best to tailor and deliver services for students experiencing stress.