Western Front Research Articles

The Army of Pasteurians: Militarisation of Hygiene and Hybrid Disease Control Measures in Fernand Visbecq’s 1919 Typhus Mission in French Algeria

Summary During mass demobilisation following the armistice of 11 November 1918, colonial troops gradually returned to their cantonments. Algeria hosted a military penal colony under French army rules to which convicts continued to converge. As a result, soldiers and convicts became the disseminators of the typhus epidemic that swept through the armies still stationed on the Western Front, before spreading to North Africa. Based on a study of the Visbecq mission against typhus in the spring and summer of 1919 in Algeria, this article examines how Visbecq’s assignment was part of a wider process of militarisation of hygiene in France as in the Empire. It promoted hybrid measures combining the implementation of new technical processes with conventional isolation measures. In fine, Visbecq’s actions were part of a set of current technopolitics which contributed to pasteurisation of the French colonial empire.

Contact zones, affects and noeuds de mémoire: Chinese laborers on the Western Front in Martine Laffon’s Souviens-toi de moi

This article argues that Souviens-toi de moi, a novel published in 2014 by French writer Martine Laffon, reclaims the memory of travailleurs chinois on the Western Front during the First World War, at the same time exposing the deliberate agenda of forgetting in both French and Chinese memory cultures. Referring to Mary Louise Pratt’s concept of contact zone and Leela Gandhi’s concept of affective cosmopolitanism, I show how the novel creates an inclusive ethics across race, gender and species, challenging the fixed hierarchies of Western modernity. Synchronously, by applying the multidirectional framework of noeuds de mémoire, the article demonstrates how Laffon constructs war remembrance at the conjunction of anti-militarism, anti-imperialism, feminism and the struggle for animal rights. The novel thus offers a vision of the First World War that radically departs from the French récit national and the Chinese instrumentalization of the laborers’ war memory.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in E.M. Remarque's Works about the "Great War"

Considered one the most vivid writers about the horrors of first World War, E.M Remaque was also a good observer of the human nature in condition of extreme stress. His major books about the “Great War”, All quiet on the Western Front, The Road back and a series of eight short stories are not just about war itself but about human endurance, hope, failure….and about the description of a mental affliction considered “modern”: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Present in ancient, medieval or modern literary sources, PTSD haunted soldiers for millennia. In Remarque’s case, the author gives well documented descriptions of the PTSD, these cases being the subject of the present paper.

Warfare and wind tunnel: engineers, physicists, and the evolution of combat aircraft 1914-1918

Abstract The British aircraft industry was transformed across the course of the First World War. Annual output grew exponentially, while by 1917-1918 the intensity of wartime research and development saw technologically advanced machines seeking air supremacy in all theatres of operation, most notably the Western Front. Capability had been inhibited by the absence of reliable, high performance power units, but ultimately production and procurement problems were resolved. This heroic narrative warrants qualification given the high ratio of poor to outstanding aircraft and the reality that in August 1914 Britain was by no means wholly unequipped to wage war in the air: the development programmes of the National Physical Laboratory and Royal Aircraft Factory, and the Royal Naval Air Service’s collaboration with science-based companies such as Short Brothers run counter to a popular belief that machines were still crudely built and militarily ineffective. There existed a working partnership between pioneer engineers and designers, schooled in applied science at metropolitan technical colleges, and graduate physicists and mathematicians encouraged by far-sighted dons to join a fledgling but fast-growing industry. That fusion of theory and practice, academic and industrial, was consolidated once British science’s human assets were mobilised to wage ‘industrial war’. Yes, aviation saw huge changes across the War, but the continuity is striking: before 1914 designers and air frame manufacturers were drawn from both the shop floor and the varsity, a wartime infusion of research scientists generated remarkable advances in aeronautics and in consequence a vital extension of Allied air power; and after 1918 companies survived retrenchment thanks to a durable combination of the entrepreneurial engineer and the experimental analyst.

ABSURDITY AND THE LOSS OF WAR ETHICS IN THE NOVELS OF PETRO MARKO AND ERNEST HEMINGWAY

Topic Absurdity and the loss of war ethics in the novels of Petro Marko and Ernest Hemingway, war is presented as a state of madness and meaninglessness by those who invented it. We find this unequal human conflict where real life and literary motivation interweave with each other, in the novels of Petro Marko between Italians and Albanians, while Ernest Hemingway talks about the absurdity of the Italian-Austrian war and the war between Francoists and Republican forces of volunteers from all over the world. Two writers and two fighters who experienced great challenges during these conflicts, transformed and immortalized all the experiences, ideas, perspectives, and worldviews of this war into works of art, thereby creating their original universe. Otherworld and European authors also wrote novels on the subject of war, such as Erich Maria Remarque, known for his famous work Nothing New on the Western Front, published in 1929. Remarque himself was on this front for ten days and saw it for namely the futility and inequality of war. The war lost him forever, the aura of honor he had until then.

Observations of Igneous Subsurface Stratigraphy during the Jezero Crater Floor Rapid Traverse from the RIMFAX Ground-penetrating Radar

Perseverance traversed the eastern, northern, and western margins of the Séítah formation inlier on the rover’s western fan front approach. Mapping the stratigraphy and extent of the Máaz and Séítah formations is key to understanding the depositional history and timing of crater floor resurfacing events. Perseverance's rapid progress across the Jezero crater floor between the Octavia E. Butler landing site and the western fan front resulted in limited contextual images of the deposits from the Navigation Camera and Mast Camera Zoom. By combining the limited surface images with continuous subsurface sounding by the Radar Imager for Mars’ Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX) ground-penetrating radar, Jezero crater floor stratigraphy was inferred along this rapid traverse. We produced the first subsurface map of the Máaz formation thickness and elevation of the buried Séítah formation for 2.3 km of the rapid traverse. Three distinct reflector packets were observed in RIMFAX profiles interspersed with regions of low-radar reflectivity. We interpret these reflector packets with increasing depth to be the Roubion member of the Máaz formation (covered in places with regolith), the Rochette member, and the Séítah formation. We found a median permittivity of 9.0 and bulk density of 3.2 g cm−3 from hyperbola fits to RIMFAX profiles, which suggests a mafic composition for Máaz and Séítah. The low-radar reflectivity regions within each reflector packet could indicate potential depositional hiatuses where low-density material like sediment or regolith could have accumulated between successive Máaz formation lava flows and the Séítah formation at depth.

The “underfilled trinity model” of foreland basins revisited: reality or myth?

The “underfilled trinity” model of foreland-basin stratigraphy was proposed based on the observation that the initial sedimentary stages along the western and northern front of the western and central Alps were represented by shallow-water carbonates (Calcaires à Nummulites) overlain by hemipelagic marls (Marnes Bleues) and capped by siliciclastic turbidites (Grès d’Annot). Subsequently, this model has been widely accepted and applied in foreland basins worldwide. We here re-investigated the Eocene-Oligocene sedimentary succession of the Western Alps to check its validity. Major geological features of this region include: i) the existence of a Cretaceous-Eocene unconformity spanning more than 25 Myr in the studied sections; ii) a virtually synchronous age of the Calcaires à Nummulites, Marnes Bleues, and Grès d’Annot formations across the Western Alps; iii) a long-term deepening-upward trend, from inner to outer ramp, documented by the Calcaires à Nummulites, followed by the pelagic Marnes Bleues and by the Grès d’Annot turbidites; iv) the provenance of the Grès d’Annot Formation from the Maures-Estérel Massif and/or Corsica-Sardinia block in the south, rather than from the Alpine orogen in the east. By integrating field observations, sedimentological, biostratigraphic, and provenance analyses, we found the Eocene “underfilled foreland” model too simplistic and inadequate to explain the basin evolution in the western Alpine region. Based on the alternative scenario proposed herein, the Annot and Barrême basins formed in the late Eocene (40-35 Ma) in an extensional/transtensional setting during a period of major change in tectonic stress fields across western Europe on the upper plate of the Apennine subduction.

Postcolonial Identity and Discourse: Foucauldian Analysis of Shamsie’s A God in Every Stone

This research article delves into the intricate interplay between postcolonial identity and discourse in Kamila Shamsie's novel, "A God in Every Stone," employing a Foucauldian analytical framework This paper presents a Foucauldian analysis of Kamila Shamsie's novel, "A God in Every Stone." Drawing upon the works of Michel Foucault (2016), the paper examines the novel through the lens of power, knowledge, and the construction of historical narratives. Through a close reading of key characters and events, this analysis elucidates how colonial power structures and systems of knowledge production intersect in the novel to shape individual and collective identities. The present study has been conducted on Shamsie’s A God in Every Stone to highlight the process of colonization. The interpreter has examined the ways by which the colonized resisted colonial rule. Foucault’s model of Power has been used as the conceptual framework of the study to analyze the postcolonial aspects of Shamsie’s (2014) novel. The present study is qualitative in nature. The data has been collected through the close reading technique of the A God in Every Stone. For data analysis, those textual lines have been selected in which the elements of power and resistance are present covertly. The interpreter has explored different dimensions of Foucault’s power, i.e., Sovereign power and disciplinary power. British Empire justified its colonial rule over the colonized through the colonial discourse which was prejudiced against non-white people. The colonized people resist colonial rule through their dialogues in this novel. In A God in Every Stone, the major protagonist is Vivian Rose Spencer. She is an English woman who carried out digging in Turkey to unearth the ancient silver circlet. The interpreter has inferred that the colonizers used many disciplinary strategies to subjugate the colonized people. The Indian soldiers were trained by the British imperialists to fight in the battlefield on the Western Front. Many innocent Indian soldiers lost their lives in fighting the enemies of the British Empire. The major character of the novel Qayyum Gul, fought bravely in the battlefield. Unfortunately, he lost an eye during the battle. When he returned to Peshawar, he joined a freedom movement, which aimed to liberate India from the British colonizers. Ultimately, this Foucauldian analysis of "A God in Every Stone" underscores the intricate dynamics of power and knowledge in the colonial context and sheds light on the complexities of historical representation and identity formation in a postcolonial world.

Late Jurassic granitoids in Mufushan complex and their significance for the Mesozoic tectonic evolution of eastern South China

The Mesozoic tectono-thermal evolution of eastern South China plays an important role in forming the abundant magmatic rocks and associated giant polymetallic deposits. The middle-late Mesozoic granitoids in Mufushan and adjacent regions (e.g., Lianyunshan, Wangxiang, Taohuahsan, etc.) represent the western front of the southeast China magmatic province. However, the tectonic regimes and petrogenesis of the magmatic rocks are still elusive. Here, we report zircon UPb ages, geochemistry, and Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotopic data for the granitic rocks in the Mufushan region, in combination with data available from the literatures, to discriminate the middle-late Mesozoic tectono–magmatic history of the Mufushan complex in north-central South China Block. New zircon UPb dating suggests that the Mufushan two-mica monzogranites were emplaced at 149–144 Ma, a short time after the 153–151 Ma granodiorites. These late Jurassic felsic magmas share broad similarities in geochemical-isotopic characteristics, with significant enrichment in LREEs and LILEs (e.g., Ba, Rb, Th, and K), depletion in some HFSEs (e.g., Nb, Ta, Ti, and P) and positive Pb anomalies, similar to those of arc-type rocks. The common existence of Neoproterozoic zircons within the magmatic rocks indicates a certain amount of ancient material involved in the genesis of the magma. The two-mica monzogranites have εHf(t) values ranging from −13.4 to +3.5, overlapping with those of the granodiorites (−11.3 to +6.6), but both are lower than contemporaneous diorites (−2.4 to +0.59), suggesting a greater incorporation of enriched materials into the source for the granitoids. The two-mica monzogranites and granodiorites have εNd(t) values ranging from −7.9 to −8.8 and − 10 to −7.9, with corresponding two-stage Nd model ages of 1.7–1.6 Ga and 1.6 Ga, respectively, falling within their two-stage Hf model ages of 2.0–1.4 Ga and 1.8–1.4 Ga, respectively. Compared with the geochemical and isotopic compositions of the coeval magmatic rocks in eastern South China, we favor that the late Jurassic Mufushan granodiorites evolved from variable mixing and differentiation of the diorites and granitoids, accompanied by a continuous magma assimilation. The presence of late Jurassic highly fractionated granites suggests an extensive magma differentiation in eastern South China and the well-developed early Cretaceous A-type granites in eastern South China reflect a dominant extensional tectonic regime induced by slab roll-back of the Izanagi plate. The involvement of subduction-related melts facilitated the underplating of mantle-derived magma and crustal heating, triggering intensive partial melting of the lithosphere and magma enrichment, as well as the polymetallic deposits in eastern South China.

The Armistice of Villa Giusti

In the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was a part of the Central Powers. As from 1916, the Empire had been very keen for the war to end. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was deprived of the financial power to continue the war and faced with the demands of independence from the minorities before and during the war, approached the armistice proposals very positively that could end the war in 1916 and 1917. In mid-June 1918, the failure of the attack launched by the Austro-Hungarian troops against the Italian troops and the superiority of the Allied Powers over Germany on the western front in July-August put the situation of the Central Powers in the European fronts in trouble, and after the successful attack launched by the Italian troops on 24 October, there was no possibility for Austria-Hungary to continue the war. The Austro-Hungarian Empire withdrew from the First World War by signing an armistice with Italy on 3 November 1918 at Villa Giusti del Giardino outside the city of Padova. The armistice contained very harsh terms and severely limited the empire in every respect. The Armistice of Villa Giusti consisted of two chapters and nineteen clauses including eight military and eleven naval and maritime provisions. The additional protocol of the armistice consisted of two chapters and nineteen clauses, ten of which were military and nine of which were related to the naval forces and maritime affairs.

Interaction between active tectonics, bottom-current processes and coral mounds: A unique example in the NW Moroccan Margin, southern Gulf of Cadiz

The NW Moroccan Margin has a complex geological evolution, being located close to the transition zone between the Azores – Gibraltar Fracture Zone and the western front of the Betic–Rif collisional orogen. The interaction between tectonic, halokinetic and fluid flow processes with bottom-current activity shapes the seafloor and influences the distribution of seafloor biological communities (such as the cold-water coral mounds) and deep-water sedimentation. The aims of this work are to study the interaction of the paleo-oceanographic and morpho-tectonic processes that generated the various seafloor features of the NW Moroccan Margin. To achieve this, high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and parasound data acquired in the “ALBOCA II” cruise have been used, complemented by high-resolution 2D seismic reflection data and the EMODnet bathymetric compilation.Several morphological features were identified in the margin, which are related to different processes of sedimentary (contourites and sediment waves), structural (faults and diapirs), gravitational (slide scars, mass transport deposits), fluid migration (mud volcanoes and pockmarks) and biogenic (exposed and buried coral mounds) nature. The structural features (e.g., strike-slip faults) have a major control on the seafloor morphology and, consequently, on the development and evolution of the sedimentary systems in the study area.The evolution of the NW Moroccan Margin during the late Quaternary has been controlled by climatic variations and tectonic activity. The action of these factors has been dominant in distinct parts of the study area where: i) contourite terraces developed when climatic and oceanographic changes were the prevalent factor, ii) mounded and confined contourite drifts and local mass transport deposits formed when the major control was tectonic activity.

Alexander Sergeevich Puchkov’s activities as a member of the Russian Red Cross Society during the First World War

The article is devoted to the activities of Alexander Sergeevich Puchkov as part of the Russian Red Cross Society, which during the First World War was one of the largest public organizations that provided assistance to wounded soldiers and officers in the theater of military operations and in the rear. The Red Cross appointed those responsible for all military sanitary, medical evacuation and organizational measures in this area of military operations: a special officer, a chief officer. The events of the period 1914–1918, which formed the professional qualities of the organizing physician A.S., are described. Puchkova, approaches and principles to providing medical care to the wounded in case of mass injuries and injuries in the performance of official duties of the special representative of the Russian Red Cross Society under the 2nd Army of the Western Front.

The application of ‘Small Wars’ theory and experience by the British Army in Macedonia during the First World War

ABSTRACT Historians of the British Army during the First World War have emphasised the shift from the small pre-war professional army engaged in imperial policing to the mass citizen army capable of conducting modern industrialised warfare on the European continent. That the conflict’s global dimensions led British forces beyond the Western Front to operate in conditions which bore remarkable resemblance to those encountered during the ‘small wars’ of the nineteenth century and confront comparably irregular adversaries has remained understudied, not least in how earlier experiences affected how such challenges were met. This article redresses this omission by examining how the expeditionary force in Macedonia, the British Salonika Force, was guided by institutional and individual experiences of ‘small wars’ when approaching the challenges posed by the region, not least the hostile indigenous population and comitadji irregulars.

Frontal slope: A new measure of ocean fronts

Ocean fronts, as typical marine phenomena, significantly impact the marine environment and the distribution of organisms. However, the research on their tilted structure is limited. This study considered the frontal slope as a key parameter for describing the tilting characteristics of ocean fronts. A novel method, based on high-resolution in situ observations and reanalysis data, was proposed to extract global frontal slopes using contour lines and surfaces. To validate this approach, a mathematical model was developed for the oceanic front slope and verified through in situ observations. The frontal slope equation produced reliable results, indicating that the front tilting primarily arises from shear flow and density differences. Furthermore, a modified oceanic front gradient parameter was proposed based on the frontal slope, and its significance in understanding the impacts of ocean fronts on underwater acoustic propagation was validated through numerical simulation and statistical analysis. The distribution characteristics of frontal slope for ocean fronts on a global scale were analyzed for the first time. Marginal ice zone fronts had the highest slope (>1.5 m/km), followed by tidal mixing fronts, western boundary current fronts, and water mass convergence fronts (1–1.5 m/km). In contrast, upwelling fronts and estuarine plume fronts generally had slopes below 1 m/km. This parameter provides a new perspective on ocean front systems and their influence on dynamic structures and ecological resource distributions. This study helps in a comprehensive understanding of the tilting characteristics of the ocean front and their implications.

Oman as a fragment of Ediacaran eastern Gondwana

Abstract Comprehensive U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology of Ediacaran sandstones from Oman indicates that they originated from Neoproterozoic basement with a peak magmatic age of ca. 850–780 Ma (Tonian), with lesser Paleoproterozoic and Ediacaran sources and renewed magmatic input starting at ca. 550 Ma. Comparison with detrital zircons from the Arabian-Nubian and NW Indian Shields supports an eastern Gondwana affinity for the Ediacaran succession of Oman. Tonian basement sediment sources are present in Oman. Sources for older Paleoproterozoic zircons (ca. 2500 and 1800 Ma) are not found in Oman but are known from the cratonic Indian Shield. The signal of the main magmatic events of the juvenile Arabian-Nubian Shield, peaking at ca. 640–620 Ma, is rare or absent in the Ediacaran rock succession of Oman. However, deformed Ediacaran clastic units with an Arabian-Nubian Shield affinity occur in western Oman. Influx of latest Ediacaran–early Cambrian zircons (550–525 Ma) is interpreted as due to final Cambrian Angudan/Malagasy orogeny-related magmatism. These results, together with new ages for volcano-sedimentary terranes in the subsurface of SW Oman and seismic observations, support the interpretation that the Ediacaran succession of Oman was deposited along the western, passive margin of the Greater Indian Shield, on the eastern (east and west in this paper refer to present-day coordinates) side of the Mozambique Ocean. Oman then collided with the Arabian-Nubian Shield in the early Cambrian, when the Angudan/Malagasy orogeny led to final consolidation of Gondwana. Our data support the inference that the youngest and final suture between the Indian and Arabian Shields lies in the subsurface of Oman along the early Cambrian western deformation front.

Architecture of Fluvial and Deltaic Deposits Exposed Along the Eastern Edge of the Western Fan of Jezero Crater, Mars

AbstractEarly observations from the Perseverance rover suggested a deltaic origin for the western fan of Jezero crater only from images of the Kodiak butte. Here, we use images from the SuperCam Remote Micro‐Imager and the Mastcam‐Z camera to analyze the western fan front along the rover traverse, and further assess its depositional origin. Outcrops in the middle to lower half of the hillslopes comprise planar and inclined beds of sandstone that are interpreted as foresets of deltaic deposits. Foresets are locally structured in ∼20–25 m thick, ∼80–100 m long, antiformal structures interpreted as deltaic mouth bars. Above these foresets, interbedded sandstones and boulder conglomerates are interpreted as fluvial topset beds. One well‐preserved lens of boulder conglomerate displays rounded clasts within well‐sorted sediment deposited in overall fining upward beds. We interpret these deposits as resulting from lateral accretion within fluvial channels. Estimations of peak discharge rates give a range between ∼100 and ∼500 m3 s−1. By contrast, boulder conglomerates exposed in the uppermost part of hillslopes are poorly sorted and truncate the underlying beds. The presence of these boulder deposits suggests that intense sediment‐laden flood episodes occurred after the deltaic foreset and topset beds were deposited, although the origin, timing, and relationship of these boulder deposits to the ancient lake that once filled Jezero crater remains undetermined. Overall, these observations confirm the deltaic nature of the fan front, and suggest a highly variable fluvial input.

G.G. Smith: A Urologist on the Western Front

Objectives World War I (WWI) left a devastating impact on Europe. Urologist George Gilbert (GG) Smith served with a Harvard-associated group of surgeons and nurses stationed at the western front from 1915-1916. First-hand accounts and medical observations from the front are rare, so Smith’s wartime diary is a valuable source to gain further insight into what was once termed the ‘War to End All Wars’. Our objective was to study Smith’s diaries from WWI to better understand the personal and professional experiences and sacrifices of those who fought and served Methods The GG Smith diaries were obtained courtesy of the Smith family. Archives were consulted from the American Urological Association (AUA) William P. Didusch library (Linthicum, MD), Center for the History of Medicine at Countway Library (Cambridge, MA), the British Red Cross, the American Hospital of Paris, and cited secondary sources. Results Smith graduated from Harvard medical school in 1908 after training at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He joined the growing urology faculty at Harvard under the leadership of Hugh Cabot. Following the start of WWI and before the United States’ formal involvement in the war, the Harvard Surgical Unit (HSU) was one of a number of ‘neutral’ medical corps from America’s elite hospitals, composed of individual doctors and nurses who were deployed wherever they were needed for a 3-month tour of duty. As a member of the HSU, Smith was stationed by the warfront, braving air attacks and bombs to care for hundreds of wounded, combatting infections, trauma, and fractious personalities.. The skill in leadership he developed served him well as President of the AUA from 1935-1936, Chair of Urology at MGH from 1938-1945, and President of the Massachusetts Society of Social Hygiene from 1937-1945 Conclusions Smith’s war time diary is testimony to the great philanthropic efforts of America’s institutions during WWI, to the remarkable progress in medical and surgical care that was motivated by the devastation of that war, and to the diversity of people whose pragmatic heroism contributed to the Allied victory.

“Real News Arrives From Abroad”: Transnational Eyewitnessing in Leonora Raines’ War Correspondence for the New York Evening Sun (1914–1918)

This article synthesizes results from historical newspaper analysis and archival research with standpoint epistemology to explore the dynamics of transnational eyewitnessing illustrated by Leonora Raines, a Paris-based American journalist who reported the Great War (1914-1918) for the metropolitan New York Sun. Few World War I military-press histories have explored how female reporters engaged in transnational journalism, harnessing their role as an “outsider within” to produce cross-border stories for audiences dependent on foreign news. Analysis of Raines’ 126 articles, her scrapbook, and records from U.S. and German archives reveal her interactions with foreign sources, military censors, and propaganda across France, the Western Front, and Germany.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ ЗАПАДНОГО ФРОНТА ВЕЛИКОЙ ВОЙНЫ 1914–1918 гг. ЧАСТЬ II. ВООРУЖЕННАЯ БОРЬБА

The article presents an analysis of the operational-strategic deployment of the armed forces of the German army in the fist months of the Great war, the formation of french strike groups, the position 
 of neutrality of the belgian leadership and the reasons for England's entry into the war. The general nature of the battles is revealed in two battles – the battles for Liege and the attack on Alsace and Lorraine. 
 It is emphasized that the success of the battle is determined not by the quality of the fortress walls, but by the technical power of the army and the number of soldiers. It is concluded that the results of the first battles on the Western front indicate that peace is possible only after the complete military defeat of one 
 of the sides.

Inflationary Realities, Shrinkflation Strategies: Business Unveiled

Since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, global supply chains have been severely impacted. Preceding this, the intense protectionism and trade tensions between the USA and China in 2018 and 2019 had already diminished trade volumes on the Western front. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 further disrupted supply chains, creating a ripple effect that shook economic stability. This tumultuous series of events triggered a worldwide wave of inflation, resulting in an increase in the prices of goods and services across various categories. The inflationary surge had a profound impact on family budgets, adversely affecting the standard of living for many. To combat this, the majority of central banks responded by raising interest rates, causing a sharp increase in the cost of borrowing. Faced with these challenges, producers from large, medium, and small enterprises found themselves compelled to make their products more affordable, aiming to alleviate the financial strain on consumers. In the era of consumerism, producers found themselves under pressure to provide relief to end-users. The adopted strategy involved reducing the size or weight of products while maintaining the same price. This tactic, known as shrinkflation, became a psychological game to offset the inconveniences of inflation. Consumers, although paying the same price, received less for their money. While some organizations embraced this strategy, others considered it a serious ethical breach. Some consumers accepted the reduction without complaint, while others, particularly those with conservative views, felt aggrieved by what they perceived as a moral compromise. For some producers, shrinkflation was seen as a temporary measure, applied until input prices softened.