University Social Responsibility during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Universities’ Case in the BRICS Countries

Rababah, Abedalqader; Nikitina, Natalya; Гребенникова, Вероника Михайловна; Gardanova, Zhanna R.; Zekiy, Angelina Olegovna; Ponkratov, Vadim V.; Bashkirova, Nadezhda N.; Kuznetsov, Nikolay; Volkova, Tatyana I.; Vasiljeva, Мarina V.; Ivleva, Marina I.; Elyakova, Izabella

doi:10.3390/su13137035

Cited by 31 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…"Critical analysis does not only criticize, but it also references ideas and practices that are essential, needed, or critical for something to happen" (Hill Collins et al 2021, p. 691). As intellectual front-runners and visionaries, university leaders are increasingly called on to incorporate social responsibility in their organizational strategies (Rababah et al 2021). They are drivers and masters of social change in concrete terms.…”

Section: University Social Responsibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

University Social Responsibility: Challenging Systemic Racism in the Aftermath of George Floyd’s Murder

Meikle

Morris

2022

Administrative Sciences

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In this paper, we examine university discretionary interpretation of the 2020 social upheaval that emanated from George Floyd’s murder as an element of university social responsibility (USR) policymaking. The paper addresses two research questions: (a) What are university presidents’ implicit and explicit social justice responses to George Floyd’s death and the idealistic protests of 2020? (b) To what degree are principles of social justice embedded in universities’ intellectual roots and social responsibility? Using a sample of university presidents’ public statements in response to George Floyd’s death and the idealistic protests of 2020, we analyze the response and responsibilities of universities in the struggle for a just society. We cross-check mission statements and strategic plans to corroborate universities’ public statements with their institutional philosophies, mission, and action plans relating to discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities and systemic racism. We use critical discourse analysis and the Voyant Tool to perform a textual analysis of 62 university presidents’ letters and mission statements. They all denounced the dehumanization and inequitable treatment of Black people. An important implication of our work is the sharp difference in the depth and forthrightness of responses by university presidents across university types. Some presidential letters are forthright in their denouncement of the murder of George Floyd and systemic racism, while others were, at best, vague in their approach. Presidential letters disclose their institutions’ priorities, organizational identities, and social responsibility convictions. Overall, mission statements and strategic plans included addressing systemic racism and inequality. While there is no ordered symmetry between presidential narratives and institutional action, we anticipate social responsibility as a core institutional value. We argue for social justice anti-racist platforms as critical dimensions of USR. We call for university milieus that promote a fair and just society among all stakeholders.

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Section: University Social Responsibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

University Social Responsibility: Challenging Systemic Racism in the Aftermath of George Floyd’s Murder

Meikle

Morris

2022

Administrative Sciences

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“…According to Ali et al (2020), "Universities across the globe need to undertake social responsibility as an integral process of the organization and mold their activities of teaching education and training accordingly"; in this sense, their research indicates the practical approaches that can be undertaken by universities to legitimize their social responsibility initiatives, also shedding light on the fact that the social responsibility of universities differs "in nature from corporate social responsibility since the nature of institutional operations and objectives are inherently different from business organizations". Rababah et al (2021) showed that "University management creativity, effective communication with the public and stakeholders, the quality of the educational process and the development of scientific activities stimulate USR development", with special regard to the BRICS countries and, as such, these should be used as the basis for the strategic planning of activities in the context of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Recent Contributions In the Academic Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

University Social Responsibility: The Case of Italy

Comoli

Gelmini

Minutiello

et al. 2021

Administrative Sciences

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Increasing attention is now being paid to the concept of sustainability as a crucial element of our life at all levels. The awareness that attention must be paid not only to the present, but also and above all to the future of the society in which we live has increased attention to social and environmental issues, such as climate change and the digital revolution. This transformation has also impacted the public sector: in particular, the scientific attention in the university sector has led to the birth of the concept of University Social Responsibility (USR), which suggests that universities sustainably re-transform their work. However, this issue has so far only been the subject of a few studies. The purpose of this article is to promote greater awareness on the part of universities of the importance of addressing sustainability issues. The results of the analysis, obtained thanks to the use of a questionnaire and interviews, depict the state of the art in the adoption of social reporting practices by Italian universities and identify the main reasons and barriers to the adoption of these practices.

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“…On the communal level, this load decreases productivity, especially food production, and maintains the vicious circle of increased hunger, infection, disease, poverty, and socioeconomic and political instability (Silverio et al, 2021). Hyper infectious nature of SARS-CoV-2, especially it is few variants, countries including BRICS territories have taken unrivaled initiatives to combat COVID-19 transmission, ranging from the limited social exposure, revocation of public transit to social isolation (Zhao et al, 2020;Dash et al, 2021;Popkova et al, 2021;Rababah et al, 2021). Distinct nutrient deficiency or protein-energy deprivation has been shown to detrimentally affect the infection combating prospects along with diminished immunity level (Ambrus and Ambrus, 2004;Silverio et al, 2021).…”

Section: Equation Of Covid-19 and Malnutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many of these bioactive phytochemicals alleviate psychosomatic stress (Fedotova et al, 2017;Aubry et al, 2019;Soni et al, 2020b). COVID-19 pandemic effects have distress consequences (Clemente-Suárez et al, 2020;Popkova et al, 2021;Rababah et al, 2021); and herbal medicinal preparation or bioactive phytochemical-rich diet can moderate these social distress disorders (Aubry et al, 2019). Due to uncertainty on COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety and similar disorders become frequent.…”

Section: Herbal Remediesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…BRICS nations have a unique state at various global fronts; and hold diversity in economic development, social composition, healthcare practices, food habit, nutritional state, and priority for mental health management (Jakovljevic, 2015(Jakovljevic, , 2016Jakovljevic et al, 2017;Reshetnikov et al, 2020;Awe et al, 2021;Dash et al, 2021;de Almondes et al, 2021;Popkova et al, 2021;Rababah et al, 2021;Zhu et al, 2021). These nations have distinctive influences of COVID-19 pandemic on society, medical system, and economics (Dash et al, 2021;de Almondes et al, 2021;Rababah et al, 2021;Zhu et al, 2021). BRICS nations are among the countries facing the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 (WHO, 2021) and are affected by associated consequences of malnutrition, and psychological disorders among their population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interplay of Nutrition and Psychoneuroendocrineimmune Modulation: Relevance for COVID-19 in BRICS Nations

Mehta

Ratre

Sharma³

et al. 2021

Front. Microbiol.

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The consequences of COVID-19 are not limited to physical health deterioration; the impact on neuropsychological well-being is also substantially reported. The inter-regulation of physical health and psychological well-being through the psychoneuroendocrineimmune (PNEI) axis has enduring consequences in susceptibility, treatment outcome as well as recuperation. The pandemic effects are upsetting the lifestyle, social interaction, and financial security; and also pose a threat through perceived fear. These consequences of COVID-19 also influence the PNEI system and wreck the prognosis. The nutritional status of individuals is also reported to have a determinative role in COVID-19 severity and convalescence. In addition to energetic demand, diet also provides precursor substances [amino acids (AAs), vitamins, etc.] for regulators of the PNEI axis such as neurotransmitters (NTs) and immunomodulators. Moreover, exaggerated immune response and recovery phase of COVID-19 demand additional nutrient intake; widening the gap of pre-existing undernourishment. Mushrooms, fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, and legumes are few of such readily available food ingredients which are rich in protein and also have medicinal benefits. BRICS nations have their influences on global development and are highly impacted by a large number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. The adequacy and access to healthcare are also low in BRICS nations as compared to the rest of the world. Attempt to combat the COVID-19 pandemic are praiseworthy in BRICS nations. However, large population sizes, high prevalence of undernourishment (PoU), and high incidence of mental health ailments in BRICS nations provide a suitable landscape for jeopardy of COVID-19. Therefore, appraising the interplay of nutrition and PNEI modulation especially in BRICS countries will provide better understanding; and will aid in combat COVID-19. It can be suggested that the monitoring will assist in designing adjunctive interventions through medical nutrition therapy and psychopsychiatric management.

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University Social Responsibility during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Universities’ Case in the BRICS Countries

Cited by 31 publications

References 51 publications

University Social Responsibility: Challenging Systemic Racism in the Aftermath of George Floyd’s Murder

University Social Responsibility: Challenging Systemic Racism in the Aftermath of George Floyd’s Murder

University Social Responsibility: The Case of Italy

Interplay of Nutrition and Psychoneuroendocrineimmune Modulation: Relevance for COVID-19 in BRICS Nations

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