During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals and their families faced various risk factors, which in some cases resulted in divorce. Adolescents in such families had to grapple with COVID-19 across the world, the risk factors faced by adolescents have largely been under-risk factors associated with COVID-19 and divorce. Despite the rise of divorce during studied, especially among adolescents in South Africa. This study aimed to explore the risk factors experienced by adolescents from divorced households during the COVID-19 pandemic and make recommendations for policy and development. This study employed a phenomenological research design in alignment with qualitative research. Purposive sampling was used to recruit five female adolescents in Johannesburg. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Data was analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s six steps of data analysis. The findings revealed that conflict at home, mental illness, physical and social isolation, a lack of paternal support, and diminished educational performance emerged as risk factors faced by the participants. These findings underscore the need for psychological interventions to help address the risk factors faced by adolescents whose parents divorced during the pandemic and those who face similar circumstances during future crises.
This study aims to evaluate the relationship between financial resilience, exchange rate, inflation, and economic growth from 1996 to 2022 using secondary data from the World Bank. The analysis method uses vector autoregressive to understand the causality dynamics between these variables. The results show that past economic growth positively impacts current economic conditions, but an increase in the exchange rate can hinder economic growth. The exchange rate also tends to be influenced by previous values, but high economic growth does not always increase the exchange rate. Previous conditions significantly affect financial resilience and can be strengthened by a strong currency. Meanwhile, inflation has an inverse relationship with economic growth, where past inflation seems to suppress current inflation, which price stabilization policies can cause. From an institutional economics perspective, this study provides an understanding of the interaction between various economic factors in the structural framework and policies that regulate economic activities. The impulse response function (IRF) shows that economic growth can react strongly to sudden changes, although this reaction may not last long. The exchange rate fluctuates with economic changes, reflecting market optimism and uncertainty. Financial resilience may be strong initially but may weaken over time, indicating the need for policies to strengthen the financial system to ensure economic stability. Furthermore, the role of social capital in economic resilience is highlighted as it can amplify the positive effects of a robust institutional framework by fostering trust and collaboration among economic actors. Inflation reacts differently to economic changes, challenging policymakers to balance growth and price stability. Overall, the IRF provides insights into how economic variables interact with each other and react to sudden changes, albeit with some uncertainty in the estimates. The forecast error decomposition variance (FEVD) analysis in this study reveals that internal factors initially influence economic growth, but over time, external factors such as the exchange rate, financial resilience, and inflation come into play. The exchange rate, which was initially volatile due to internal factors, becomes increasingly influenced by economic growth, indicating a close relationship between the economy and the foreign exchange market. From an institutional economics perspective, financial resilience, which was initially stable due to internal factors, becomes increasingly dependent on global economic conditions, suggesting the importance of a solid institutional framework for maintaining economic stability. In addition, inflation, which was initially explained by economic growth and exchange rates, has gradually become more influenced by financial resilience, indicating the importance of effective monetary policy in controlling inflation. This study highlights the importance of understanding how economic variables influence each other for effective economic governance. Integrating institutional economics and social capital perspectives provides a comprehensive framework for enhancing financial resilience and promoting sustainable economic development in Indonesia.
In order to further alleviate the problems of large assessment deviations, low efficiency of trading organisation and difficulties in system optimisation in medium- and long-term market trading, the article proposes an optimisation model for continuous intra-month bidding trading in the electricity market that takes into account risk hedging. Firstly, the current situation of market players’ participation in medium and long-term trading is analysed; secondly, the impact of contract trading on reducing operational risks is analysed based on the application of hedging theory in the primary and secondary markets; finally, the continuous bidding trading mechanism is designed and its optimisation effect is verified. The proposed model helps to improve the efficiency of contract trading in the secondary market, maintain the stability of market players’ returns and accelerate the formation of a unified, open, competitive and well-governed electricity market system.
The hospital is a complex system, which evolving practices, knowledge, tools, and risks. This study aims to assess the level of knowledge about risks at Hassan II Hospital among healthcare workers (HCWs) working in three COVID-19 units. The action-research method was adopted to address occupational risks associated with the pandemic. The study involved 82 healthcare professionals in the three COVID-19 units mentioned above. All participants stated they were familiar with hospital risks. Seventy-four HCPs reported no knowledge of how to calculate risk criticality, while eight mentioned the Occurrence rating, Severity rating, and Detection rating (OSD) method, considering Occurrence rating, Severity rating, and Detection rating as key elements for risk classification. Staff indicated that managing COVID-19 patients differs from other pathologies due to the pandemic’s evolving protocols. There is a significant lack of information among healthcare professionals about risks associated with COVID-19, highlighting the need for a hospital risk management plan at a subsequent stage.
Finance is the core of the modern economy and the bloodline of the real economy; adherence to the people-centered value orientation and the financial services of the real economy as the fundamental purpose is an important connotation of the road of economic development with Chinese characteristics. Financial work is distinctly political and people-oriented, and must consciously practice the concept of the people, serve agricultural and rural development and farmers to increase their income and contribute to the common prosperity of farmers and rural areas. This study is based on the key factors affecting the multidimensional poverty of rural households—external rural financial resources availability and internal rural household entrepreneurship, rural household risk resilience, and rural household financial capability joint analysis. Based on financial exclusion theory, financial inclusion theory, poverty trap theory, and financial literacy theory, to build a logical framework between the rural financial resources availability, farmers’ financial capability, farmers’ entrepreneurship, farmers’ risk management capability, and farmers’ poverty, and then empirically explore the optimization mechanism of poverty reduction for farmers, and analyze the heterogeneity of the financial resources availability, to reduce the return to poverty caused by the lack of entrepreneurial motivation and the low level of risk resilience of rural households. The study aims to improve the farmers’ financial capability and promote sustainable and high-quality development of rural households. In this study, we modeled financial resource availability and rural household poverty using structural equations and surveyed rural households using a scale questionnaire. It was found that financial resource availability significantly affects rural household risk resilience, farmers’ entrepreneurship, and rural household poverty and that rural household risk resilience significance mediates the relationship between financial resource availability and rural household poverty, financial capability plays a significant moderating role. However, the mediating effect of farmers’ entrepreneurship on the availability of financial resources and farmers’ poverty is insignificant. Here, we put forward corresponding countermeasures and recommendations: guiding the allocation of financial resources to key areas and weak links; optimizing financial services; and building a long-term mechanism.
This study investigates the escalating complexity and unpredictability of global supply chains, with a particular emphasis on resilience in the agricultural sector of Antioquia, Colombia. The aim of the study is to identify and analyze the dynamic capabilities, specifically flexibility and adaptability that significantly enhance resilience within agri-food supply chains. Given the sector’s vulnerability to external disruptions, such as climate change and economic volatility, a thorough understanding of these capabilities is imperative for the formulation of effective risk management strategies. This research is essential to provide empirical insights that can inform stakeholders on fortifying their supply chains, thereby contributing to enhanced competitiveness and sustainability. By presenting a comprehensive framework for evaluating dynamic capabilities, this study not only addresses existing gaps in the literature but also offers practical recommendations aimed at bolstering resilience in the agricultural sector.
Copyright © by EnPress Publisher. All rights reserved.