Economic Demands Research Articles

Advances in 3D correction of adolescent scoliosis: The superiority of scoliocorrector fatma-UI in rotational realignment

This letter compares the clinical efficacy and economic feasibility of the scoliocorrector fatma-UI (SCFUI) with direct vertebral rotation (DVR) in treating adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). SCFUI has shown promising results in three-dimensional spinal correction, providing superior rotational alignment compared to DVR and achieving significant improvements in coronal and sagittal planes. Additionally, SCFUI’s advanced design reduces risks associated with AIS surgeries and enhances overall patient outcomes. Economic analysis reveals SCFUI as a cost-effective option, potentially lowering long-term healthcare costs by minimizing complications and revisions. Our findings suggest that SCFUI is a viable, innovative approach in AIS treatment, meeting clinical and economic demands in orthopedic care.

Navigating Institutional Logics: Balancing Cultural Preservation and Economic Sustainability in ethnic minority settlements.

The interplay of cultural preservation and economic sustainability presents a significant challenge for traditional communities. This study examines the Dulong Jiang carpet weaving industry, located in the remote northwestern part of Yunnan Province, China. Drawing on ethnographic methods, the study identifies three key mechanisms that enable the community to balance traditional heritage with economic demands. Findings reveal that while the cultural preservation logic emphasizes safeguarding weaving traditions as a core element of identity, the economic sustainability logic integrates modern tools and platforms to foster market engagement. The study highlights generational tensions, sustainability challenges, and the innovative strategies employed to blend these logics. Contributions include extending the institutional logics framework to cultural anthropology and offering actionable insights for policymakers and practitioners.

Digitalisation and jobs: The case of organisations in the Vitebsk area of Belarus

A two and a half increase in the number of vacancies in the Republic of Belarus does not correlate with the dynamics of the main macroeconomic indicators for 2000–2022, such as GDP index and CPI, volumes of industrial and agricultural production, investment, real wages, which may signify an ambiguous impact of digitalisation on the quantity of jobs and their content. Lack of insight into the reasons behind organisations generating admittedly oversized number of vacancies leads to making irrelevant decisions on the regulation of the labour market. The paper aims to determine the impact of digitalisation on the quantity of jobs and their content in Belarus. Methodologically, the paper rests on the theoretical approaches of labour economics. The methods of comparative analysis, descriptive statistics and a ques tionnaire method are used. The evidence is the data on digitalisation of the Belarusian economy for 2022–2023, as well as the results of the anonymous survey of the heads and specialists of HR departments in 68 organisations located in the Vitebsk oblast, which was conducted in January–March 2024. The research reveals a varying impact of the form of ownership, size of an organisation, and types of economic activity on the change in staff numbers in the context of digitalisation. In addition, a significant growth in the number of jobs is not accompanied by the alteration of the job content conditioned by the digitalisation. The findings may help adjust the estimates of labour demand in the Belarusian economy. Shifting emphasis from the quantity of jobs on the job content (resposibilities, competencies) will improve labour productivity due to the adaptation of business processes and development of digital skills.

Проблемы и перспективы постболонского реформирования системы высшего образования в России: теоретический обзор

The relevance of this study is determined by the need to understand new trends in the development of higher education in Russia after the country’s exit from the Bologna system in May 2022. The author’s goal is a critical analysis and systematic review of scientific sources on pedagogy and social and humanitarian sciences (sociology and philosophy of education, political science, law, economic disciplines), which highlight the problems, contradictions and ways of reforming higher education in Russia in the context of abandoning the two-tier “Bachelor’s – Master’s degree” system and creating a national model of higher education based on traditional priorities and meeting the needs and demands of the national economy. The opinions of domestic scientists on the prospects for modernizing Russian higher education in the post-Bologna period, possible risks and scenarios for the development of domestic education in the context of the introduction of a pilot project implemented on the basis of six Russian universities from 2023 to 2026 are analyzed and compared. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that by means of content analysis of scientific texts four circles of problems are identified that should be solved in the course of current reforms, including economic, social, legal and pedagogical issues. Positive and negative results of the implementation of the Bologna reforms in Russia are described, the attitude of researchers to traditions, innovations and retro-innovations accompanying the process of reforming higher education is revealed. The circle of the most controversial issues that worry the academic community in the context of the transition to a new model of higher education, which is based on the updated format of the Russian specialist degree, is determined.

Critical Teacher Education for Social Sustainability: Voices from Zambian Student Teachers and Tutors

ABSTRACT This study aims to reveal the contributions of teacher education to social sustainability in an African context. The study explored the gaps and connections between multiple layers of policy, global, regional, and national educational targets, and the voices of teacher education tutors and students from a local teacher education college in the Copperbelt region of Zambia. Semi-structured interviews were employed to gather participants’ views on their aspiration, knowledge transformation and professional capacity. Employing a critical realist approach, the study identifies four key ‘moments’ in teacher education (Robertson and Dale, 2015) and reveals dedicated teacher education practices that aim to support national economic development local demands for specialised subject knowledge, along with family and individual human needs within communities. The findings lead to a discussion mapping critical teacher education that promotes social sustainability within the Global South, emphasising the significant roles of teacher education in fostering a comprehensive understanding of societies and human well-being, encouraging reciprocal knowledge exchange within communities, and supporting the continued professional development of teachers.

Optimal path of China's economic structure and energy demand to carbon neutrality

The changing economic structure may impact future trends in energy demand and carbon emissions since various economic production sectors have differentiated energy dependencies. Compared to consumer goods sector, investment goods sector usually has higher energy intensity, and its energy is weakly substitutable with other input factors. This paper constructs an energy-economy dynamic optimization model (EED) with heterogeneous energy dependences between investment and consumer goods sectors, and applies it to analyze the structural transformation of the Chinese economy and energy prospect. The optimization model generates a drop of investment share in GDP to 27 % in 2060, 15 percentage points lower than in 2020. Along the above transformation path, the peak demand for energy is expected to be between 6.1 and 6.3 billion (tce) in the baseline scenario, and overall energy intensity by 2060 will be 54 % lower than in 2020. The forecasting results also subject to uncertainties including technological progress. Moreover, we find that macroeconomic policy to promote consumption can help alleviate energy and environmental pressures. Thus, the development of the Chinese economy in the future needs to combine multiple channels such as promoting consumption and improving investment efficiency.

Encouraging Community Empowerment and Local Economic In-dependence in Villages through Sustainable Economic Develop-ment Techniques

With an emphasis on local economic independence and community empowerment, this publication examines sustainable economic development tactics in villages. The purpose of this study is to present an integrated and comprehensive picture of sustainable village economic development. The researchers assessed economic development initiatives in several community areas in Indonesia, using qualitative descriptive methods. The study findings suggest that a comprehensive and integrated approach that considers the economic, social, cultural, and environmental demands of the local population is necessary for sustainable economic development in villages. To achieve local economic independence, community empowerment through active community involvement in the formulation and implementation of economic development programs is essential. The authors of this article suggest a sustainable economic development plan for villages that is based on the ideas of community empowerment and participation. Leveraging local resources, strengthening organizations and cooperatives, empowering women and youth, developing small and medium enterprises and the agricultural sector, and implementing sustainable environmental management are all part of this plan. In conclusion, a comprehensive and integrated approach that emphasizes local economic independence and community empowerment can lead to sustainable economic development in villages. Such a plan can improve the welfare of village communities and encourage sustainable economic growth.

Discussion of the first factory laws of the Russian Empire in the metropolitan press

The article provides an overview of the publications of the leading periodicals of St. Petersburg and Moscow on the factory laws of 1882–1886, which ensured the labor protection of children, adolescents and women, regulated the relations of workers and business owners concerning the conditions of employment, the issuance of wages, the imposition of fines, etc. The liberal press called for the further development of this legislation, as well as to expand the rights of workers, up to the resolution of strikes with economic demands and the creation of trade union organizations. Conservative publications opposed any self-organization of the factory population and any form of strike struggle. Some of them («Russian Business», «Modern News») They criticized the adopted laws, which, in their opinion, infringed on the interests of the owners and did not correspond to the relations that, allegedly, had long been established between workers and employers. M.N. Katkov, the influential publisher and editor of «Moskovskiye Vedomosti», on the contrary, demanded an all-out strengthening of state regulation at industrial enterprises. His ideas were formed in the 1880s. The concept of «guardianship» is based on strict administrative custody of «factory people».

The role of KRT18 in lung adenocarcinoma development: integrative bioinformatics and experimental validation

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) represents one of the most common subtypes of lung cancer with high rates of incidence and mortality, which contributes to substantial health and economic demand across the globe. Treatment today mainly consists of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, but their efficacy in advanced stages is often suboptimal and emphasizes the clear need for new biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Using comprehensive bioinformatics analyses consisting of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Human Protein Atlas (HPA) and Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC), immune infiltration analysis and functional enrichment analysis, and single-cell analysis, we examined the potential of keratin 18 (KRT18) as a candidate biomarker in advanced LUAD. KRT18 was significantly elevated in LUAD tissue relative to normal adjacent tissue (p < 0.05), and its expression was correlated with poor clinical-pathological features and inferior prognostic outcome. Furthermore, KRT18 expression was associated with several populations of immune cells, suggesting KRT18 may contribute to the local tumor microenvironment and potentially pathways of immune evasion. Survival analysis indicated that elevated KRT18 expression correlated with poor overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI), reinforcing its legitimacy as a prognostic tool (AUC = 0.846). Importantly, gene enrichment analysis found KRT18-associated genes enriched for pathways associated with lymphocyte differentiation and immune response pathways, which provides mechanistic insight into biological effects attributed to KRT18. Notably, NU.1025 has demonstrated the capability of reversing KRT18-modulated oncogenic features, and targeted therapeutic strategies can be developed moving forward. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that KRT18 has utility as a potential biomarker but may also serve as a therapeutic target in LUAD and merit further investigation into underlying mechanistic functions and potential therapeutic roles in the clinic.

The characteristics of the educational and digital environment of US universities

The article examines the educational and digital environment of U.S. universities as a complex and multifaceted system that integrates modern digital technologies, infrastructure, and innovative approaches to education. The primary components of this environment include digital infrastructure, Learning Management Systems, Massive Open Online Courses, as well as tools such as Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality. These technologies enable personalized learning, enhance student-faculty interaction, and simplify access to educational resources regardless of geographical location. The analysis of U.S. universities’ practices highlights their leadership in digitalizing the educational process, providing valuable insights for adapting these practices to other educational systems, including Ukraine. However, digitalization comes with challenges such as the digital divide among students from various socio-economic backgrounds, ethical issues in data usage, and cybersecurity concerns. The article emphasizes the importance of developing digital competencies among students and educators. For instance, the integration of digital literacy courses into university curricula prepares graduates for the demands of the modern digital economy. The potential of data analytics to monitor student progress and design personalized educational strategies is also explored. The findings suggest that the educational digital environment of U.S. universities has the potential to serve as a model for global educational transformation. Future research in this area should focus on adapting successful practices to diverse cultural contexts, exploring the long-term implications of digitalization, and assessing its broader impact on education and society.

THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF THE FORMATION OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF THE ENTERPRISE

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the theoretical aspects of forming competitive advantages in a company, emphasizing various concepts and approaches. It highlights that competitive advantages play a crucial role in ensuring the company's stability in the market amid global competition and rapid changes in the external environment. Key approaches to defining competitive advantages are examined, including the resource-based theory, which focuses on the effective use of material and intangible assets to create a unique market position. The competitive strategy theory, which emphasizes the development and implementation of differentiation and cost leadership strategies that allow companies to achieve sustainable competitive positions, is also discussed. Special attention is given to the dynamic capabilities theory, explaining how companies can adapt to ever-changing external conditions by enhancing their internal capabilities, innovations, and technologies. In particular, the significance of innovation and technological development as key factors in creating competitive advantages is explored, since new technologies and products enable companies to not only maintain but also strengthen their market positions. The article also highlights the role of human capital, as effective personnel management, skills development, and motivation for innovation are essential elements of a successful competitive strategy. Additionally, the importance of a company's resilience to external factors, such as economic crises, regulatory changes, or demand fluctuations, is justified as a necessary condition for long-term retention of competitive positions in the market. This resilience ensures that a company can adapt and respond to changes swiftly, thereby protecting its market share and reputation. The research concludes that to achieve long-lasting competitive advantages, companies must actively employ innovations, develop dynamic capabilities, and effectively manage their resources, emphasizing the importance of agile leadership and strategic foresight in anticipating market trends and potential disruptions.

Маркеры неолиберальных тенденций в концепциях модернизации российского образования

The article presents an attempt to critically comprehend the influence of the neoliberal ideological project on the educational policy of post-Soviet Russia. The authors elucidate the meanings of the ideologies of global capitalism, such as “knowledge economy”, “lifelong learning”, “human capital”, “individual freedom”, “competition” and their impact on the formation of educational policy. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate how these ideological constructs are integrated into modern concepts of modernization of Russian education. Particular attention is given to the emergence of “new pedagogical thinking” in the late 1980s and 1990s, which introduced the idea of child's freedom and the prioritization of their rights into the educational discourse. The article discusses the concept of personality-oriented education, which promoted the significance of the “individual self”, as well as the competence-based approach, which established competencies as leading characteristics of a competitive individual adapted to the demands of the global economy. The article raises the question of the place of personalized education in modern pedagogical theory and practice. In conclusion, the authors advocate for a critical reassessment of adherence to the neoliberal tradition in education to revive and strengthen the value sovereignty of Russia.

INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY INTO COAL MINING EDUCATION

Coal mining education needs to be integrated with environmental conservation and sustainability principles so that a new generation of environmentally responsible mining professionals will be developed. This paper discusses how ecological awareness and sustainable practices need to be taught in educational programs related to coal mining to overcome traditional mining challenges. The research outlines ways the conservation aspect may be incorporated into the curriculum: adaptation to friendly technologies, reduction of ecological footprints, and ensuring sustainable resource management. Education regarding coal mining may help towards more responsible practices by the industry itself, especially where the role of mining in general, particularly coal, is brought about from an environmental impact and sustainability concept by the students. The conclusion is that an enriched curriculum with subject matters on conservation and sustainability would add to the student's repertoire of skills, meet the international objectives of making coal mining environmentally compatible, and strike a balance between economic demands and ecological preservation.

FLUXO DE TRABALHO DIGITAL E TECNOLOGIAS CAD/CAM: IMPACTOS OPERACIONAIS E ECONÔMICOS NA ODONTOLOGIA

This article explores the economic, operational, and clinical impacts of implementing CAD/CAM technologies and digital workflows in dentistry. The literature review highlights how these innovations transform the relationship between dentists and patients, offering greater precision, efficiency, and personalization in treatments. Key benefits include the reduction of manual steps, the production of customized dental prostheses and devices, and resource optimization. The integration of technologies such as intraoral scanners, 3D printing, and electronic health records enhances service quality and patient experience. However, the adoption of these technologies faces significant challenges, such as initial implementation costs, the need for specialized training, and reliance on centralized production, which can impact time efficiency. The analysis suggests that integrating prosthetic laboratories into dental offices and employing hybrid models can mitigate these limitations, promoting greater agility and patient satisfaction. The study concludes that the successful digital transition in dentistry depends on a strategic balance between technological innovation and maintaining personalized care, ensuring high-quality outcomes that meet clinical, aesthetic, and economic demands.

A Steep Road to Improve the Accountability of the Credit Rating Industry: the Chinese Way or the Western Way?

AbstractRegulators in the US, EU and China embarked on several episodes of reforms to improve the accountability of credit rating agencies after the Financial Crisis 2007–2008. The US reform implemented a new civil liability provision, although the new regime remains weak, largely caused by the regulator’s inability in taking a tough liability approach on powerful credit rating agencies but giving in to the economic demands of the country. In contrast, the EU’s provision is much more balanced; however, it left too much leeway to the national laws’ interpretation. The parameters of civil liability under the Chinese law largely coincide with the Western laws, although with a unique robustness by reversing the burden of proof. The recent reforms improved the accountability of credit rating agencies to some extent, nonetheless, more work is needed to give effect to these regulatory reforms with further collaboration. This paper critically analyses the robustness of the Chinese civil liability regime with the reversed burden of proof, which arguably sits uncomfortably with the Western laws. It calls for an improvement of the current civil liability regime in the US and China by adopting the EU model, which is more feasible to balance the responsibilities of key players in the financial market.

Care service attendant training based on culturally responsive pedagogy and design thinking for immigrant women in Taiwan

A significant cohort of Southeast Asian women in Taiwan, having married locals, constitutes a disadvantaged group entangled in the issues of gender, marriage migration, and social class. The lack of human capital, social discrimination and urgent personal economic demands have caused immigrant women in Taiwan to become a source of inexpensive labor in the labor market, they usually prioritize vocational training for employment. Furthermore, the rapidly growing elderly population has resulted in a severe shortage of quality care services in Taiwan. Despite Taiwanese government training for immigrant women, diverse sociocultural factors hinder them from pursuing caregiving professions. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of care service attendant (CSA) training based on culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) and design thinking (DT) for immigrant women in Taiwan. Nine Vietnamese and Indonesian immigrant women in Taiwan attended and completed the training. The CSA training comprised core academic modules and practicum modules and was conducted in groups for 170 h over 5 weeks. This study employed a qualitative research approach, gathering data through interviews, observation, and document analysis. The results revealed that CSA training based on CRP and DT was effective in improving immigrant women’s satisfaction with training and their rate of employment as CSAs. Specifically, in addition to basic care service professionalism, the female immigrant trainees developed proactive attitudes toward problem-solving. Moreover, the integration of Taiwanese culture and frequent communication in the training facilitated the self-confidence of these trainees. In the workplace, these female immigrant CSAs’ commitment to meeting clients’ needs and innovating their service boosted the clients’ appreciation and their own cultural competency and empowerment. Overall, this study suggests that the application of CRP and DT in CSA training is a promising way of enhancing the workforce capacity of female immigrant CSAs and has value for low-skilled adult trainees. However, structuring the learning processes clearly and involving instructors with multicultural education and DT education competency are critical to implementing such vocational training.

Unfulfilled Dreams? The Financial Situation of Workers in Paris and the Department of Loir-et-Cher between 1789 and 1795

The convening of the Estates General in France in 1789 raised high hopes in French society for change. The economic demands written down in the ledgers of complaints, such as the abolition of the guild system, the unification of taxes and their more equitable distribution, the abolition of customs duties and fees within the kingdom, can be categorized as inclusive economic institutions. Their introduction in France during the Revolution was expected to translate into an improvement in the financial conditions of the population. The purpose of this article is to present the changing financial situation of workers in Paris and the department of Loir-et-Cher between 1789 and 1795 in the context of the aforementioned institutions. Data from a survey of prices and wages conducted at the behest of the Committee of Public Safety, Paris police reports of 1795 and depreciation tables were used to show the change in the financial position of working families during the French Revolution. Demands from the ledgers of complaints against the Estates General of 1789 were used to determine the title workers' "dreams." Assessing the change in the financial situation of workers required calculations that took into account, among other things, the size of the average working family's demand for foodstuffs or the change in France regarding the number of working days per year after the elimination of the old holidays and the introduction of the republican calendar. During the period under review, the financial situation of workers in the Loir-et-Cher department worsened due to high inflation – turning at times into hyperinflation – despite the implementation of most of the demands of the ledgers of complaints by the revolutionary authorities. In the case of Paris, the assessment is not so clear-cut. Thanks to the rationing of bread and meat in the capital, and their sale at a discounted price by the authorities, the living conditions of working families in 1795 were better or comparable to those at the beginning of the revolution. The article sheds new light on the changing financial situation of workers in Paris and the department of Loir-et-Cher in the context of the implementation of workers' demands recorded during the revolution in the ledgers of complaints to the Estates General of 1789, thus filling a gap in historiography.

Advances in Membrane Technology for Gold Extraction: A Comprehensive Review

This comprehensive review investigates recent advancements in separation technologies for gold extraction, focusing on sustainable and efficient methods to address environmental concerns associated with traditional practices. The study explores innovative techniques such as hydrometallurgical methods, biocyanidation, biosorption, and membrane technology, evaluating their mechanisms and environmental implications. Significant trends in gold extraction have emerged over the past five years, as revealed by a comprehensive review of numerous studies. One such trend is the increasing adoption of non-toxic leaching agents like thiocyanate, which show comparable recovery rates to cyanide while posing lower environmental risks. Additionally, advancements in bioleaching through engineered microbial strains have demonstrated improved gold solubilization efficiencies, with reported increases of up to 25% in recovery rates. Membrane technologies, particularly composite and nanostructured membranes, have emerged as promising alternatives for selective gold ion separation, offering enhanced permeability and selectivity. The integration of these advanced technologies into hybrid systems further enhances overall recovery rates, with efficiencies of over 95% when combining biological and physical separation methods. This review concludes that the future of gold extraction lies in the combination of these innovative technologies, which improve recovery efficiencies and address critical environmental concerns. The ongoing research in this field is vital for the development of sustainable gold recovery processes that meet both economic and ecological demands. By examining the mechanisms, efficiencies, and environmental impacts of these methods, this paper highlights the future potential of separation technologies in sustainable gold recovery.

Capital market distortions and skills demand in a transitional economy: The case of Vietnam

Capital market distortions and skills demand in a transitional economy: The case of Vietnam

Learning outcomes for the future: how STEM education promotes sustainable development, innovation and green skills for young adults in Germany

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is pivotal in fostering innovation and promoting Germany’s position in global industries and in several sectors. This paper explores selected cases of STEM education and STEM related VET in Germany, focusing on how learning outcomes are aligned with the evolving demands of a sustainability-driven economy. By examining ESD educational frameworks, government policies, and industry collaboration, the research explores key competencies developed through STEM curricula, such as green skills, innovative problem-solving, and critical thinking. Despite Germany’s progress in STEM education and VET, challenges such as gender disparities, lack of systematic integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into VET curricula, and increasing demand on green talent as well as digitalisation, climate change and increased migration to Germany, present opportunities for further policy refinement on a governance level. Focusing on STEM education in Germany, the paper provides recommendations to better align STEM learning outcomes with labour market needs, emphasising the integration of emerging trends like AI, digitalisation, and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It also contributes to the better understanding of adult learning and education policy and practice and the international political economy of education policy, both in the context of sustainable development.