Times Of Crisis Research Articles

Unraveling the complexities associated with leadership during times of supply chain crisis: a study on the healthcare sector

The role of leadership during times of crisis has attracted significant attention in academic literature; however, the impact of crisis leadership on mitigating supply chain disruptions in the healthcare sector remains a relatively under-researched area. This study aims to bridge the gap in supply chain leadership theory. We employed an inductive approach to develop a crisis leadership theory focused on mitigating supply chain disruptions within the healthcare sector. To gather insights, we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 33 participants from the healthcare sector who navigated the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis. Drawing on the participants’ experiences and utilizing Gioia’s framework, we established a three-order data structure encompassing Leadership Attention Scope (LAS), Crisis Leadership (CL), and Mitigation of Supply Chain Disruption Strategies (MSCD). Furthermore, we developed a conceptual model based on the interplay of these three constructs. The model elucidates the Attention-Based View (ABV) and Upper Echelon Theory (UET) in the context of healthcare crisis, explaining the role of crisis leaders. This study significantly contributes to the ABV, UET, and supply chain risk management theories. Additionally, the findings provide valuable guidance for healthcare professionals, including chief medical officers, procurement managers, healthcare center directors, policymakers, and OPD staff involved in addressing healthcare supply chain disruptions. Finally, we outline the study’s limitations and suggest directions for future research.

The media morphosis of science communication during crises

Effective science communication is crucial in informing citizens in times of crisis. The ICT-driven metamorphosis of the media industry (media-morphosis) has facilitated the shift from a rather one-directional information deficit model in science communication to a more bidirectional communication corresponding to a dialogue model. Little is known about the preferences for social media communication from the supply side of institutional and scholarly communication. Analyzing survey data from nearly 8,700 scientists, we compared their preferences for press media and social media, proxies of traditional centralized communication channels and modern decentralized channels, respectively. Our empirical results show that trust in governments and prioritizing access to all perspectives on the crisis are important factors that influence scientists’ preferences regarding forms of communication. Trust favors centralized systems, while social media serves as an alternative in contexts lacking trust in politics. Prioritizing the diffusion of different perspectives drives a shift to stated preferences for decentralized communication systems. We also show that scientists’ stated preferences for communication systems depend on the socio-political context.

How can Human Resource Management motivate managers in times of crisis?

How can Human Resource Management motivate managers in times of crisis?

The European Union's Influence on the Organisation of National Healthcare Systems. Navigating the Trends after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit national healthcare systems on an unprecedented scale. At the same time, European societies are witnessing an ongoing war, growing migration and climate crisis. In order to respond to the global challenges facing national healthcare systems, the European Union (EU) is stepping up its actions to promote resilience of national healthcare systems. This is to ensure adequate availability of healthcare services in times of health crises through numerous actions. Despite limited powers in health, the EU legal system creates a multidimensional order for protection of various health-related interests which touch upon the organisation of the Member States' healthcare systems. This paper navigates the ongoing trends with regard to the EU's health policy and presents the perspective on 'standardisation' of the Member States' healthcare systems.

Machine learning technologies on energy economics and finance in times of crisis

Machine learning technologies on energy economics and finance in times of crisis

Utilising Fiscal Instruments to Drive Economic Growth Effectively

Introduction: In these times of contemporary crises, fiscal policy has a key role to play in the national resilience and economic stability. These challenges have become even more pressing due to Ukraine's ongoing war and need substantial financial means to recover.This study is a review of the effect tax revenues to budget income. It is grounded on literature sources and statistic data with more than thirty bibliographic references of academic papers, official reports and policy documents.Results: The research emphasizes that during conflict there is the necessity to optimize existing financial resources as well as look for additional sources of revenue. This reinforces how such fiscal policies play to cultivate economic growth, stabilize finances and appropriately utilize the instruments of taxation. This shows trends of nation revenues and expenditures and acknowledge to the fact that taxation is one of the means of be-fitting financial demand as well as maintaining the economy stable.Conclusions: Fiscal reserves and tax instruments are needed under martial law for maintaining financial stability. But for the effective implementation of these the administrative structures need to be enhanced. Especially during the crisis, we need a balanced tax burden, a favourable business climate and new revenue sources.

In times of crisis, utilization of medical services by mothers decreases - Are single mothers affected more?

Accessing medical services requires resources, which can be particularly scarce for single parents. During times of crisis and the associated daily challenges, the threshold for seeking out medical care increases further. This study is based on data on 6,155 mothers from the Socioeconomic panel (SOEP) survey waves of 2019 and 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic is used here as an example of a crisis. The results suggest that single parents have an overall higher need for medical care, reflected by poorer health and more medical diagnoses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a decline in the utilization of healthcare services was observed, especially among single mothers. It is important to create support opportunities for (single) mothers to improve and maintain their health during times of crisis.

Safer Supply: Program Discontinuation and re-engagement

Since 2016, nearly 50,000 people who use drugs have died as a result of the toxic unregulated drug supply. Safer supply programs provide people who use drugs with daily access to pharmaceutical-grade prescription medication as an alternative to the toxic unregulated drug supply. We conducted a qualitative study with safer supply participants to better understand program discontinuation, re-engagement, and barriers to care from their perspective. Semi-structured interviews and surveys were completed with participants. Overall, 30 individuals participated in this study. Three major themes were brought up by research participants, which include: (1) safer supply program entry, (2) safer supply program experiences, and (3) the program restart process. Discussions with participants highlighted the importance of recognizing that times of crisis are inevitable and may potentially threaten participant program retention. Having clear program processes in place, increased wrap-around services, and flexibility when provisioning care are essential components of safer supply programs.

‘Unsung Political Leaders: An Analysis of Black Women State Legislators’ Representation During COVID-19 in the United States

ABSTRACT Drawing on interviews with Black women state legislators in 2022, I show that these women bring an intersectional perspective to addressing COVID-19. The Black women in my sample discuss systemic inequities due to racism as a key factor in how they understand the challenges that the virus brought to their communities. Motivated by research on Black women’s leadership, [Cole, J. B., & Guy-Sheftall, B. (2003). Gender talk: The struggle for women's equality in African American communities. One World; Rajack-Talley, T. A. (2021). We Do Not Have to Be White or Men to Lead: Redefining and Assessing Black Women’s Leadership. Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International, 10(2), 205–14], which argues that Black women not only fight against racism, but that the inextricable links between racism, economic justice, gender inequality, homophobia, and sexism, require an interconnected analysis to effectively challenge the institutional structures of racism and sexism. I examine why Black women lawmakers were positioned to understand the unique challenges facing their communities. I make two major claims in this essay. Black women’s intersectional leadership allows them to acknowledge the multiplicative influences of marginalisation centreing on race and gender as well as provides them with a tool to leverage authority to serve and protect historically marginalised groups. Assessing Black women’s leadership by examining how they respond in times of crisis is a critical first step to understanding the intersectional nature of policymaking processes in response to COVID-19.

‘Now We Are One’: How Japanese American Internment Camp Newspapers Helped Create Communities, 1942-1943

The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was an extraordinary chapter in US history. After Pearl Harbor, 120,000 people, two-thirds of them US citizens, were evacuated from the West Coast because of their Japanese ancestry. They were housed in crude camps that became small cities with their own newspapers. Previous studies have demonstrated that camp papers were subject to government regulation, but they nevertheless had agency. An unexamined aspect of these newspapers is their role in building communities behind barbed wire. These communities did not automatically coalesce. They were fostered by papers appealing to unity, morale, and self-reliance to establish new societies at the margins of a nation that had shunned them. Through their newspapers, members of this marginalized community had a voice at a time of crisis.

The role of charitable food assistance during times of crisis

The role of charitable food assistance during times of crisis

Editorial: Exploring the multifaceted relationship between human health and urban nature in times of crises

Editorial: Exploring the multifaceted relationship between human health and urban nature in times of crises

Transnational reproductive brokers in crisis

ABSTRACT International assisted reproduction depends largely upon the work of various brokers. They mediate and articulate global assisted reproduction assemblage, the mobilities of intended parents, surrogates, ova donors, gametes and embryos through connecting different people, things and places, utilizing their specialized information on logistics, language, laws and access to networks of surrogates or ova donors and clinics. Such networks and assemblages are fluid and subject to change, particularly in times of crisis. We use two senses and temporalities of ‘crisis’ in our analysis, exploring how change in the form of crises may be both creative and destructive to brokerage. We examine firstly the cyclical crisis experienced by intended parents undergoing fertility treatment who are navigating the uncertainties, risks and low chances of success of assisted reproduction. The crisis that infertility presents catalyzes the need for brokers who mediate scarce information around cross-border options for care and resources, creating new opportunities and spaces for intervention and a means through which intended parents regain agency to pursue their future family. The second form of crises examined is episodic crises such as experienced when the international surrogacy industry was banned in Thailand or the war in Ukraine. As the ties of communication, mobility, and social practice rupture, brokers may either lose their status and ability to mediate entirely or transform and recreate it in new forms. They invent new ‘fixes’ to problems and adapt their modes of communication and work. At these ruptures the self-interests of brokers and the moral logics of business are often revealed through mistrust and demands over money, a change in relationship with clients, or in some cases absconding entirely for self-protection. These reveal the creativity and adaptability but also the potential vulnerability that may emerge in the relationship between brokers and their clients.

Care in Times of Crisis: Phenomenological, Political and Theological Perspectives

Care in Times of Crisis: Phenomenological, Political and Theological Perspectives

Desde Abajo: Space and popular forms of knowledge production ‘from below’

Gerlof and López-Morales point to the importance of endogenous theoretical production to better understand and define processes happening in the Global South. In a less direct manner, Gerlof and López-Morales also point towards the ways and the places which and where communities are grappling with everyday politics. This commentary attempts to broach our need for endogenous concepts that speak to people's experiences and theorizations with the ways in which popular and cultural spaces exemplify collective action and expressions ‘from below’. Building on Castells reminder in The City and the Grassroots to keep the analysis of the crisis and the analysis of collective action together, this commentary uses versos and the fandango tradition from the southern region of Veracruz as an example of collectively produced knowledge and radical spaces. These spaces and collective expressions are essential in understanding systems of knowledge production and relations of convivencia that challenge forms of domination in times of crisis. Examining these spaces and forms of expression also help capture the loss, displacement, and violence that take place when these spaces are destroyed.

Work-family-self-care and day drinking among women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The term "day drinking" is used colloquially to refer to drinking alcohol during daytime hours and has become part of the vernacular surrounding alcohol use. Anecdotal evidence is suggestive of increased day drinking among women during the COVID-19 pandemic, but empirical studies are few. This study assessed changes in the time of day women consumed alcoholic beverages during the pandemic and investigated whether their difficulty balancing work, family, and self-care was associated with the initiation of daytime drinking. In June of 2020, 546 women age 25 and older completed an online survey regarding their drinking behaviors pre- and post-COVID-19, perceived stress, COVID-19 anxiety, and degree of difficulty managing work, family, and personal care. Multivariate logistic regression models assessed associations between variables, controlling for women's sociodemographic characteristics. Women shifted to drinking earlier in the day with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific increase in daytime drinking. Difficulty managing work, family, and self-care was associated with significantly greater odds of initiating day drinking, but perceived stress and COVID-19 anxiety were not. Alcohol consumption is harmful to women's health. In addition to work and family roles, researchers should continue to explore how self-care affects women's alcohol use, and specifically temporal patterns, especially in times of crisis.

How Does Nonprofit Revenue Diversification Affect Revenue Volatility Before, During, and After External Economic Crisis?

Nonprofits widely adopt revenue diversification with the belief that it improves their fiscal health and promotes a higher output of charitable services. However, this belief tells us little about the effects of revenue diversification during crises. This study, using panel data from 2004 to 2012, examines how nonprofit revenue diversification affects revenue volatility in the context of systematic risks, such as the 2008 Great Recession. The results reveal that while revenue diversification effectively lowers revenue volatility under normal conditions, this effect did not persist during and after the Recession, although certain revenue sources were shown to be more efficient in reducing volatility during economic downturns. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the varying stability of revenue streams and their compositions to ensure financial resilience in times of crisis. Finally, this study offers both theoretical insights and practical guidance for nonprofit organizations seeking financial resilience amid economic turmoil.

Being young and resilient in times of AI, disasters, and crises

Disasters, crises, and resilience are interconnected with a general comprehension of “normality” or everyday routine disrupted by sudden and adverse events. However, some inconsistencies in the above interpretation induce an epistemological and existential crisis. First, the everyday life of some disadvantaged groups can be described as catastrophic and miserable whether the general community recognizes it or not. Nevertheless, some of the usually resilient groups could become future icons of the new risk, particularly AI hazards. Second, disasters are, by definition, sudden events with identified timeframes, while crises can be long-lasting with the tendency to become omnipresent. Third, when compared with earlier assertions, particular groups may undergo a long-lasting and gradual crisis that diminishes their capacity to anticipate future events, a critical aspect of resilience, and influences the social structure. An exemplary case is the unregulated widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) by students to complete tasks, which diminishes critical thinking and reduces significant cognitive engagement. Such actions are possible with the cultural complicity of various stakeholders. Ultimately, the dystopian vision of a mindless and non-resilient young populace within an already susceptible context of an aging society—particularly with the increasing prevalence of dementia—reveals novel vulnerabilities, signalling the onset of an impending disaster. The suggestion made in this paper is for the research and teaching community to play a more active role in mitigating, if not preventing, potential unintended yet not-so-unforeseeable consequences.

Tourism Demand Forecasting in Normal and Crisis Times: Combining Bootstrap-Aggregating and Bayesian Approaches

Taking advantage of the merits of both the bootstrap-aggregating method and the Bayesian forecasting approach, this study introduces their combination—the BayesBag method—to the tourism forecasting literature for the first time. In this study, we examine whether the novel BayesBag method can improve the forecasting performance of the traditional Autoregressive-Distributed-Lag (ADL) model in both normal (i.e., pre-COVID-19) and crisis (i.e., during the pandemic) times. This is also the first study to incorporate the global travel sentiment index as a measure of visitors’ behavioral intentions for forecasting tourism demand in a crisis situation. We conduct both ex-post and ex-ante forecasting of European monthly tourism demand, and our empirical results show that the newly proposed BayesBag method outperforms other methods in both periods.

Affective‐Motivational States Link Threat Experience and Defensive Reactions During the Covid‐19 Pandemic

ABSTRACTThe pandemic changed people's lives and came with enormous restrictions on personal freedom, greatly restricting people's sense of agency. In response, people oscillated between fear and anger. We show (N = 2125) the ways in which people restored their perceived agency that was taken away by restrictions and that affective reactions to the pandemic may have guided people's pandemic behavior. In Study 1 (n = 276), psychological threat elicited by the pandemic predicted anxiety and was, in turn, related to reactance. While anxiety positively predicted reactions increasing the success of pandemic management, reactance was related to non‐facilitating reactions such as belief in conspiracies and vaccine distrust. In Study 2 (n = 354), reading about a conspiracy myth as one form of defense increased positive affect. In Study 3 (n = 213) and Study 4 (n = 1282), we replicated findings from Study 1, extending the focus to belief in conspiracies and fake news, anti‐vaccination attitudes, national trust, solidarity, and mainstream media mistrust. Interestingly, in Study 4, defensive reactions were associated with more perceived agency, indicating that defensive reactions may be tools to manage pandemic‐induced affect. This study series shows that a threat and defense perspective may be a useful angle to understand human behavior in times of crisis.