Power of the First Hour

Abstract

In 2012, the NGO Save the Children launched its No Child Born to Die campaign with the tagline, “Breastfeeding Saves Lives.” The press release explains that in the first hours and days after a baby is born, their mother produces colostrum, a substance known to improve immunity, which must be delivered to infants in the first sixty minutes of life; this is referred to as “the power of the first hour.” Invoking a sense of urgency and a crisis of infant mortality, which breastfeeding is positioned to resolve, the campaign cites staggering medical statistics of infant deaths in the campaign targets of Africa, Asia and Latin America, and also Northern Indigenous and Inuit reserves in Canada. More than misrepresenting racialized women in the developed world as uneducated on infant health, childcare and child rearing and as lacking agency and empowerment, the campaign mobilizes the erroneous conflation of medical science, morality, capitalism and public health – a linkage typically mobilized by the development industry to the detriment of globally marginalized women. In order to understand how this conflation is mobilized to manufacture crisis at the expense of examining the root causes of infant mortality globally, we collect theories of crisis temporalities to develop a “feminist politics of crisis.”     

Gender,poverty, and inequality: a brief history of feminist contributions in the field of international development

This paper provides a brief history of feminist contributions to the analysis of gender, poverty, and inequality in the field of international development. It draws out the continuous threads running through these contributions over the years, as the focus has moved from micro-level analysis to a concern with macro-level forces. It concludes with a brief note on some of the confusions and conflations that continue to bedevil attempts to explore the relationship between gender, poverty, and inequality.     

The influence of the economic crisis on quality of care for older people: system readiness for innovation in Europe

The aim of this study is to examine the influence of the recent economic crisis on the quality of long-term care for older people in Belgium and the Netherlands. A mixed-method approach was applied, primarily focused on conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with health professionals working in a management role in organizations providing long-term care for older people. The results show that Dutch organizations seem to be prepared for the influences of the economic crisis on the quality of its care provision primarily in terms of a sound system readiness. At the same time, Belgian organizations seem to be prepared for the influences of the economic crisis on the quality of its care provision primarily in terms of a favorable sociopolitical context. Comparing two countries allows for reciprocal lesson-drawing. The conclusion drawn in this study is that a sustainable long-term care system requires above all stability and structure.     

论公共危机管理法律体系的建构

公共危机的本质是社会结构的失衡。现代社会危机发生的频率越来越高,种类越来越多,应对和处置的难度越来越大。不断深入地探索和认识危机形成、发生、发展的客观规律,并据此构建完备的危机管理法律体系,以有效的制度保障和有力的秩序控制去应对、调控和处置危机,是历史的必然选择。     

唐代魏征执政思想的启示

唐代魏征关于执政者必须具有责任意识、公正意识和危机意识的执政思想,曾指导唐太宗李世民执政23年,成就了其功载史册的“贞观之治”。在新的历史条件下,汲取魏征这一执政思想的积极成果,强化共产党人对国家和人民的责任意识、对社会和人事的公正意识、对现实和未来的危机意识,有益于贯彻我们党的十六届四中全会精神,加强中国共产党的执政能力建设。     

试论大学生网络道德危机与网络道德教育

从学习、科研到休闲、娱乐,大学生与网络的联系越来越紧密。随着网络使用频率的升高,大学生的网络道德问题逐渐显现出来,比如,诚信缺失、价值观错位等等。本文在着力分析大学生网络道德危机的基础上,提出应对危机的主要对策——加强网络道德教育,从网络道德教育的目标、内容等方面进行初步阐述。     

试析社会危机的类型与成因

社会危机是指社会系统中的某个构成部分突发剧烈失调和畸变,导致社会生活秩序偏离正常轨道以致严重威胁社会安全,使整个社会处于高度危险的紧急状态的社会现象。对于社会危机可以从内容、来源、影响等多个角度进行类型划分,而对其形成原因则可以从自然、人为、经济、体制和价值观诸方面进行具体分析。     

赵树理文学的表征危机

用表征理论省察、考量赵树理文学,会发现赵树理文学也存在着表征危机,具体表现为其作品中的"次要人物"如二诸葛、三仙姑、小飞蛾的文学性描写远胜于其"主要人物"如小二黑、小芹、艾艾等,而这些人物又是他所着力否定的。其主观追求同实际效果之间发生了严重的背反。造成赵树理文学的表征危机的原因是:缺乏相应的谱系、话语范型支持,同时也与他对民间"小传统"中的诗意存在的回避、拒绝、否定有关。结果:一、造成对民间小传统的"暴力改写"和严重的妖魔化;二、使非文学的政治理性不断在文学土地上强势"殖民",导致文学越来越可能趋向被政治简单改写的危机。     

社会网络、身份认同与新生代农民工的心理危机

通过对福建、湖南与贵州三省1735名新生代农民工的抽样问卷调查数据分析发现：滋生自杀意念是新生代农民工心理危机的重要表现,而先赋性社会网络与自致性社会网络能有效降低新生代农民工生活中面临的“扭力”,为其遏制自杀意念进而防止自杀行为提供双重保护;而新生代农民工市民化进程的“滞后性”与对市民身份认同的“超前性”之间的结构性张力对其自杀意念施加显著的正向影响,且身份认同对新生代农民工社会网络与自杀意念之间的负向影响起着路径截然相反的调节作用。因此,引导新生代农民工实现社会网络结构从“先赋性社会网络”到“自致性社会网络”的转换,并通过加快新生代农民工的市民化进程与其市民身份认同的“同步性”,消除两者之间的结构性张力,是有效遏制其滋生自杀意念的重要途径。     

Deny or bolster? A comparative study of crisis communication strategies between Trump and Cuomo in COVID-19

This study applied the situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) in political crisis communication amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, a “sticky crisis” that is longitudinal and politicized, thereby involving multiple challenges and complexities. Considering the critical role of Twitter in the information transmissions during the ongoing pandemic, this study considered politicians’ tweets as a proxy to access their crisis communication strategies and conducted a systematic content analysis to critically evaluate COVID-19 crisis communication strategies of two politicians, Trump and Cuomo, according to their perceived day-to-day circumstances during COVID-19. Three strategies categorized by SCCT, deny, diminish, and bolstering, surfaced with significance for both Trump and Cuomo. A new strategy specific to the political context, cohesion, was also identified. In addition, significant differentiation was observed in the strategic narratives between Trump and Cuomo, which reveals the evolving political dynamics in disease representation and crisis messaging. For example, Trump emphasized social exclusion and accusations of Democrats whilst Cuomo stressed care for vulnerable and minority groups and compassion delivery. Moreover, deny strategy, especially accusing other races, significantly boosted audience engagement for Trump. The results are discussed in relation to the idiosyncrasy of the complex COVID-19 pandemic and crisis communication in the political realm. Our findings demonstrate practical implications including online crisis messaging recommendations that foster public trust during politicized and polarized health emergencies and cultivate grounds for information exchange beyond partisan barriers.