DIGITAL PLATFORMS, STATE AND INEQUALITY IN TEACHING WORK WITH DATA

This paper provides a comparative review of digital and human (face-to-face) innovation platforms and their roles in promoting innovation and sustainability. These platforms are particularly significant in advancing sustainability objectives as outlined in Sustainable Development Goal 17, (SDG17) which emphasizes the importance of knowledge and technology partnerships to address sustainability challenges, foster innovation, and enhance scientific collaboration. Through a systematic literature review of organizational and management research over the past decade, the study identifies key features, benefits, and limitations of each platform type. Digital platforms offer scalability, asynchronous collaboration, and data-driven innovation, yet face challenges such as trust deficits, cybersecurity risks, and digital inequality. In contrast, human (face-to-face) platforms facilitate trust, emotional communication, and spontaneous idea generation, but are limited in scalability and resource efficiency. By categorizing insights into thematic tables and evaluating implications for organizations, the paper highlights how the integration of both platform types can optimize innovation outcomes. The authors argue that hybrid models—combining the scalability and efficiency of digital platforms with the relational depth of human (face-to-face) platforms—offer a promising path toward sustainable innovation ecosystems. The paper concludes with a call for future empirical research on platform integration strategies and sector-specific applications.

The scientific hypothesis of the article assumes that inequality in access to digital infrastructure, inequality in digital skills and digital literacy, inequality in the use of digital technologies are new forms of social stratification and forms of manifestation of various digital divides. We argue that digital inequality objectively acquires new forms of manifestation. Digital and spatial inequality coexist in at least two forms of manifestation – digital periphery and digital gentrification. Digital periphery is the result of the formation of territories with limited access to digital infrastructure, which in the context of digitalization of economic processes inevitably leads to economic marginalization. An analysis of the literature has shown that digital gentrification is considered as a consequence of the increase in the cost of housing in areas with developed digital infrastructure due to the internal migration of digital workers. We believe that this approach to defining digital gentrification requires further study, because in the era of digitalization, digital technologies not only change the physical space of cities, but also create new forms of spaces – digital environments, digital platforms, digital communities. This allows us to develop the concept of "digital gentrification" as a phenomenon that describes the processes of displacement, exclusion and transformation in digital space. The purpose of the study is to determine the essence of digital gentrification and its typology, which will allow us to characterize the positive and negative consequences of gentrification processes for inequality from the perspective of socio-spatial transformation. We define the digital environment as the communication environment of digital devices and the environment of digital inequality. By considering the digital environment as the basis of a complex network of digital interactions, we can better understand the differences that arise in access to technologies, their use, and technology-related skills. In the context of spatial inequality, the household is a key entity, since its socio-economic situation directly depends on spatial opportunities: access to infrastructure, jobs, social services, environmental conditions, etc. The spatial localization of the household determines its inclusion in socio-economic processes and opportunities for development. In the context of digitalization, the concept of "household" is significantly modified. Under the conditions of digital transformation, traditional households are being modified into “digital communities” (groups of individuals united by common interests or goals in the digital space, who carry out economic activities) or “virtual collectives” (temporary associations of individuals for the implementation of short-term projects such as crowdsourcing initiatives) or into decentralized autonomous organizations (forms of collective economic activity based on blockchain technologies and smart contracts). Hybrid households are being formed – distributed households. We propose to consider digital gentrification as a process of transformation of digital interaction spaces and digital platforms, which is characterized by a change in the nature and intermediary functions of the digital environment, accompanied by a revaluation of digital assets in the interests of new user groups or data-driven companies, marginalization or displacement of initial users, forced simplification of digital specialization due to the development of ICT, which allowed us to distinguish platform gentrification, spatial digital gentrification, infrastructure digital gentrification, algorithmic gentrification, cultural digital gentrification, informational gentrification, economic digital gentrification, professional digital gentrification, virtual-spatial gentrification.

Objective Social media is an increasingly relevant tool for health education, enabling information exchange, promoting autonomy and supporting informed decision-making. This study introduces Menopausando, a predominantly Portuguese-language digital platform designed to support women during menopausal transition and postmenopause. Method This cross-sectional study has been carried out in the Gynecology Discipline, São Paulo University, Brazil, since 2019. In the pre-implementation phase of the digital platform, interviews were conducted with 287 Internet users about their experiences and preferences to be disclosed on the digital platform. The chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test and analysis of variance with Stata 16 SE were utilized. Results Interviewees were 83.3% white with mean age 54.3 (1.82) years, and 78.8% were interested in a menopause digital platform. The platform reached 21,617 website users, 3048 Instagram users, 133 Facebook users and 1126 Spotify users. Facebook users were older, men age 51.3 (9.3) years, than Spotify users, mean age 45.6 (12.2) years (p < 0.001). Female gender was present in all social networks (p < 0.001). The largest number of Brazilian users was on the website, with 21,000 (97.1%) (p < 0.001) (all groups), and other countries’ websites and Instagram (p < 0.001). Conclusion Menopausando effectively supports women during menopausal transition and postmenopause via multiple digital channels. The results expose digital access tendencies and inequalities.

The development of ecosystems creates new opportunities for both the economy as a whole and the financial sector. But at the same time, this development also creates new risks associated with the growth of the market power of ecosystems and their deep penetration into the business processes of market participants and the lives of citizens, which confirms the lack of alternative to regulating the activities of digital giants and the digital ecosystems they create. The consumer (user) is the main resource of the ecosystem, providing its competitive advantage. By accumulating market power, digital ecosystems create a profitable business model for suppliers, provide users with new opportunities due to the effect of scale and the introduction of a new customer experience. As a result, the choice of users in the digital space expands, the efficiency and competitiveness of the national economy in the international landscape increases. An important aspect of modern international competition is precisely digital ecosystems and platforms. There are different approaches to reducing the manifestations of digital dominance. The Chinese and American approaches to regulating digital platforms are aimed at reducing the power of digital giants that have already conquered the world markets within the country. In countries where national digital platforms are just being formed, this approach does not promise to be adapted. The traditional market-oriented approach is based on the assumption that the regulation of national ecosystems and digital platforms should not contradict the basic principles of competition and create artificial preferences for individual national players that already occupy a leading position. At the same time, given the conflicts that arise when trying to tax or determine the cost of processed information and/or data as a new generation resource, regulation is a condition for the accelerated implementation of digital technologies in national business models with their subsequent scaling. The development of a new approach to the relationship between regulation and self-regulation of digital ecosystems and platforms will contribute to the aggravation of global inequality. Digital ecosystems formed from several digital platforms and services create additional financial values, and through the use of unified profiles and end-to-end services make the work of users even more convenient. There are different approaches to defining digital platform operators as an information intermediary. The manifestations of digital inequality depend on the models of digital information intermediation: (1) the information intermediation model, which includes all sites that allow third parties to offer and host content (videos, music, photos, documents), services or goods and marketplaces; (2) the information intermediation model, which includes all sites that represent a gateway to access other content (all sites that offer “information content”), such as online search engines, search content aggregators or price comparison services. It has been established that ecosystems that include social networks in their business model usually offer their services to users free of charge, after which the ecosystem itself increases its potential to attract advertisers. The presence of network effects provides an assessment of the impact of a digital ecosystem on the ability of an economic entity to exert a decisive influence on the general conditions of circulation of goods in the relevant goods market.

This article addresses the questions of what role international economic law has played in the story of digital inequality’s emergence and evolution and how international economic law can reduce digital inequality instead of enhancing it. The first part of this study illustrates the uneasy interplay between digital inequality and international economic law. At the network layer, the economic benefit of the General Agreement on Trade in Services’ Mode 3 (foreign investment) market access commitments in the telecommunications sector has never been realized in many developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs). There is a missing link between the consequences of trade liberalization and broadband investment. At the application layer, today’s platformization of services was an ‘unforeseen development’ at the time the World Trade Organization (WTO) was established. Through the pro-liberalization of WTO jurisprudence, members’ decades-old Mode 1 (cross-border) market access commitments have played more than a marginal legal role in global datafication. The second part of this study discusses how international economic law can confront and potentially redress that inequality. In the context of trade and development, it remains to be seen how the WTO members can find the common ground needed to balance digital trade liberalization and development needs. Unless infrastructure concerns from developing countries and LDCs are addressed, the ongoing WTO e-commerce trade deal may end up being labelled the Digital ‘Haves’ Trade Agreement. In the context of trade and competition, the increasing inequality in digital platforms calls for a set of international competition rules to appropriately address market power in the data sector. By imposing cross-border disciplines for competition policy and thus curbing the power of big digital platforms, the proposed WTO Data Reference Paper may well be an effective instrument to address the second dimension of ‘digital inequality’ – data colonization.

In the context of the fourth industrial revolution, digitalization of education is acquiring key importance as a factor in sustainable economic growth and formation of human capital. The aim of the study is a comprehensive analysis of the impact of digital educational platforms on professional education and the labor market. The article discusses the features of the integration of digital technologies into the educational process, the transformation of goals and forms of training, as well as changes in the structure of interaction between students, teachers and employers. Examples of using digital platforms in the secondary vocational education system are given, including practices of personalized learning, skills certification, and the formation of digital competencies. Particular attention is paid to the challenges of digitalization: digital inequality, a shortage of competencies among teachers, a decrease in student motivation, and cybersecurity threats. The author emphasizes that successful digital transformation of education requires coordinated efforts by the state, business, and the scientific community, as well as investments in infrastructure, pedagogical support, and methodological resources. It is concluded that digitalization is not just a technological trend, but a necessary condition for adapting the educational system to the challenges of the global economy and the future labor market.

The article describes the problem that in the context of digital transformation enterprises, especially those with a traditional business model, face both great opportunities and challenges. The competition is intensifying, turning into hyper-competition, which implies the search for new tools to win customer loyalty and accelerate innovation processes. The article provides a generalization of adequate strategies for the development of enterprises based on the use of information technology, studying the effects of digital transformation on competition and on various forms of digital inequality at the micro and meso levels, including the background of the proliferation of global digital platforms. Digital transformation involves 3 stages - digitization, digitalization, digital transformation itself; it involves changes in enterprise strategies, organizational structure, information technology, supply chains, marketing, development of own digital platforms, market diversification, co-creation. For a successful digital transformation, companies need to build a fundamentally new set of assets, including IT infrastructure, Big Data, AI, IoT and blockchain, digital flexibility, digital network capabilities, cloud solutions, etc. Different types of companies have their own peculiarities of digital transformation. In a hypercompetitive environment, it is more difficult to maintain the company's performance trends due to the change in competition patterns to rivalry patterns, which are characterized by shorter product life cycles and an accelerated pace of innovation. This means that hypercompetition reduces the ability of firms to create sustainable competitive advantages, calling into question, if not the validity, then at least the usefulness of using a resource-based strategy. This thesis is especially important in the context of digital transformation, because it quickly depreciates the strategic assets of traditional companies. A global challenge for all businesses is the development of digital platforms that have evolved into global social and technical intermediaries and business organizations that not only connect users, but also provide the basic infrastructure for doing business. Their control over access to technology allows them to create global networks for the transfer of data and capital, controlling access to important resources, while strengthening their dominance through increased control over technology and data, which digital platforms turn into a key asset that drives the financialization process. Digital platforms are contributing to the globalization of competition between employees and governments and increasing hypercompetitive conditions, which is challenging companies with traditional business models to survive and grow, as the risks of massive bankruptcies increase, which in turn exacerbates digital inequality at both the micro and meso levels.

Editorial Commentary

This article investigates the "three digital platforms" of Hangzhou Public Library 杭州图书馆 through a discussion of information inequality, the digital divide, and community informatics. After an introduction to the context of contemporary China, and in particular Hangzhou, the authors consider the resources themselves with special reference to their ability to reduce information inequality. These resources—the "Three Platforms" referenced in the title of this essay—are: the library's Website (which can be accessed through standard browser applications), a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) service that is available to mobile users, and a unique digital television service (that is supplied in collaboration with a local cable television company). As part of this discussion, the authors provide data on the number of users and views each service has had in the time since their implementation; offer detailed information on the profile of Website use and the numbers of library patrons taking part in library activities; assess the impact of these services; and debate their implications for community informatics and digital inequality in Hangzhou. Finally, the authors discuss potential future developments.

Digital technologies have been transforming methods of health care delivery and have been embraced within the health, social, and public response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this has directed attention to the “inverse information law” (also called “digital inverse care law”) and digital inequalities, as people who are most in need of support (in particular, older people and those experiencing social deprivation) are often least likely to engage with digital platforms. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic represents a sustained shift to the adoption of digital approaches to working and engaging with populations, which will continue beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to understand the underlying factors contributing to digital inequalities and act immediately to avoid digital inequality contributing to health inequalities in the future.The response to COVID-19 represents a sustained shift to adopting digital approaches to working and engaging with populations which will continue beyond this pandemic. Therefore it is important that we understand the underlying factors contributing to digital inequalities, and act now to protect against digital inequality contributing to health inequalities in the future.

The research analyzed the experiences of 20 (twenty) students developed in Remote Teaching (ER) in the 1st semester of 2021 after completing the Supervised Curricular Internship II. A qualitative and quantitative approach was carried out using a virtual questionnaire created on the Google Forms® digital platform, to investigate the choice of the Chemistry Degree course, conditions of access to digital technologies, pedagogical tools used during the internship, adversities encountered by these students during the realization of the internship and the contributions of the remote internship for the formation of the Graduate in Chemistry. After analyzing and tabulating the data, the research presented the following results: the students chose a degree because they like to teach and because of their insertion in the job market, they accessed digital technologies at home, using smartphones through a broadband service with good quality connection, used Google Meet®, WhatsApp® and VLE virtual learning environment as pedagogical tools during the internship. Internet access, lack of knowledge in digital media and adaptation to remote classes were the adversities encountered during the internship. Learning and using different technological resources and digital platforms were the main contributions of the internship to the formation of decent people. The virtual remote internship enabled and provided opportunities for varied everyday experiences, promoting reflection on teaching work.

RESUMO Discutem-se, neste artigo, categorias analíticas que envolvem diretamente a profissão docente. Considera-se que uma das intencionalidades do Estado Gerencialista é reduzir e desvalorizar a função pública. Sustentam esta análise dados concernentes às formas de contratação de docentes no Brasil e na França, de 2010 a 2020, anos inicial e final da publicação do Censo Escolar no Brasil. Constata-se que, a despeito de haver mais docentes concursados em ambos os países, os contratos temporários crescem em diversos estados brasileiros e chegam a 74% no Acre, por exemplo; já na França, os não concursados concentram-se em territórios mais vulneráveis socialmente.

Aim. The work aimed to determine priority fields of digitalization of tax administration in relation to entities of the agricultural sector of the Russian Federation (RF), including an analysis of problems of the current functioning of the unified agricultural tax (UAT) mechanism, and to develop proposals for the implementation of digital solutions aimed at increasing transparency, automating interaction with tax authorities, and reducing the administrative load on agricultural producers.Objectives. The work seeks to analyze the current level of digitalization of tax administration in the agro-industrial complex; to identify organizational, infrastructural and legal barriers to the implementation of digital technologies in the tax policy of the unified agricultural tax; to study the current digital tools used by the Federal Tax Service (FTS of Russia), and assess their applicability to agricultural entities; to develop models of digital administration of the unified agricultural tax taking into account interdepartmental integration and the level of digital maturity of agricultural organizations; to propose a set of measures for the implementation of digital services, mobile applications and training platforms for agricultural workers; to define digital benchmarks for the transformation of tax administration in the industry.Methods. The study employed systemic and comparative legal approaches which enabled to identify structural relationships between tax regulation entities and digital platforms; as well as an economic and statistical analysis of official reporting data from the Federal Tax Service of Russia, the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, and the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia for 2019–2024 was performed. The project method was used to create a digital administration model for the unified agricultural tax, including a description of the platform functional architecture and an assessment of the expected results. The graphical method is used to visualize the integration links between participants in tax interactions, as well as to compile a comparative table of the current and target state of digital transformation in the industry.Results. It was established that the level of digitalization of tax administration in agriculture remains fragmentary, namely less than 40% of entities use electronic document management; and integration with the information systems of tax authorities is difficult due to the lack of standardized solutions and weak digital infrastructure in a number of regions. Key barriers were identified. These include insufficient digital literacy of taxpayers, low level of Internet access, and poor adaptation of existing digital platforms to the specifics of the unified agricultural tax. A digital administration model was developed, including the creation of a single digital platform for the unified agricultural tax, the implementation of a mobile application, integration with accounting cloud systems, as well as interaction with banks and cadastral authorities. Measures were proposed for the phased implementation of digital solutions with an assessment of their effect by key indicators, namely reporting processing times, the share of digital document flow, and the degree of automation of calculations. The results are systematized in tabular and graphical ways, indicating the promising architecture of tax interaction.Conclusions. The theoretical and regulatory aspects of digitalization of tax administration in the agricultural sector were analyzed with an emphasis on the unified agricultural tax. A need was identified to adapt the system of interaction between tax authorities and agricultural producers to industry specifics, eliminate digital inequality, and optimize information exchange. The scientific novelty consists in the development of a model for the unified agricultural tax digitalization, which includes information exchange, automation of tax calculations, and digital services. Measures for regulation, training, information security, and monitoring with cost assessment were proposed. The results confirmed the model efficiency for successful digitalization of tax administration in the field of agricultural business. The proposed measures can be used in programs for digitalization of tax administration and support of the agro-industrial complex.

Digital technologies are critical in ensuring sustainable development, contributing to economic growth, social equality and environmental security. The article reviews modern digital practices and their impact on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and also analyses international experience in applying innovative technologies in various spheres of society. The study assesses the role of artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, blockchain and financial technologies in shaping sustainable economic models and improving resource management. In particular, the impact of digital financial technologies on expanding access to banking services and lending for vulnerable population groups is highlighted, contributing to economic inclusion. The development of e-commerce and digital platforms allows small businesses to enter global markets, which positively impacts the competitiveness of economies. The environmental aspect of digitalisation includes the development of “smart” cities, the implementation of IoT solutions for environmental monitoring and efficient management of energy resources. Digital environmental platforms facilitate monitoring of air, water and soil pollution and help automate waste management processes. The use of blockchain in tracking supply chains allows for transparency of business processes, promoting enterprises’ environmental responsibility. The social aspect of digital transformation includes improving access to quality education through online courses, digital platforms and adaptive learning based on artificial intelligence. Such technologies allow for personalisation of the educational process, making it more effective and accessible to the general public. An analysis of the European Union’s financial investments in digital transformation indicates a significant level of funding for the development of artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, cloud computing and digital infrastructure. At the same time, the article considers key challenges of digitalisation, including the growth of digital inequality, cybersecurity issues, the need to regulate artificial intelligence and the problems of e-waste management. The article also presents recommendations for the effective use of digital technologies for sustainable development. The study results can shape digital transformation strategies that promote balanced economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social equality.

While the world rallies toward sustainable development, access to digital platforms now enables so many entrepreneurs in terms of the environment and social issues. This paper systematically reviews the literature on what the platforms do for scaling sustainable entrepreneurship. It pulls from peer-reviewed studies published from 2010 to 2024 and uses their findings to synthesise various academic schools on entrepreneurship, sustainability studies, digital innovation, and platform economics. It is found that one of the three roles that digital platforms play toward sustainable entrepreneurship is accessibility to such resources as funding, knowledge, and markets; collaboration and co-creation among different stakeholders; and transparency, accountability, and trust regarding sustainable value propositions. Platforms such as crowdfunding sites, e-commerce ecosystems, blockchain-based traceability systems, and sustainability-oriented social networks have therefore reduced the entry barriers and operational expenses and accelerated access to markets for green and social ventures. Nonetheless, the review also brings to light some of the most significant gaps and challenges. Among these are issues of digital inequality, platform governance, and algorithmic biases, alongside the other troubling possibility of mission drift when entrepreneurs aim for sustainability but scale via a commercially driven platform. The authors argued for more empirical research from the Global South, interdisciplinary approaches to platform analysis, and frameworks that integrate socio-technical and ecological perspectives. This review enhances the budding field of digital sustainability by sketching out the ways in which platforms shape sustainable entrepreneurship and proposing a research agenda going forward. With the double-edged role of digital platforms as enablers and gatekeepers elaborated in the paper, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners are consequently rendered paths illuminating the way to nurturing inclusive and impactful entrepreneurial ecosystems in the digital age.