Empirical Part Research Articles

An Empirical Analysis of the Determinants of Child Poverty in European Countries

The main objective of the study is to analyze the significance of the determinants of child poverty before and after social transfers and to assess how child poverty differs from adult poverty. In the empirical part of the study, the panel data analysis method is used for a total of 12 years and 31 European countries between 2006-2017. The main findings of the study show that GINI coefficient, per capita income, female employment, household size and property status of the dwelling are significant determinants of child poverty. The empirical finding reveals that in the selected countries, the impact of social transfers in reducing child poverty is more limited than the impact of social transfers in reducing adult poverty and that social protection programs should be designed and implemented more intensively to reduce child poverty. The study suggests that to combat child poverty in EU countries, it is necessary to review social programs that focus on child inequality programs in a multi-sectoral framework with a view to designing more effective public policies

A labor value model for exchange rates in a comprehensive economy

This paper establishes a labor value model of exchange rate. According to the labor theory of value, the exchange rate is decomposed into the exchange rate of “a country’s currency and a unit of product” to obtain the main body of the model, and the capital market adjustment items measured by official foreign exchange reserves are added to obtain the complete model. In the empirical part, the appropriate index was selected, and the cointegration relationship test was carried out, and the ARDL model was established according to the test. The regression coefficient R2 of the model is 98%, and the correlation coefficient between the fitted exchange rate value and the actual exchange rate value is 0.95.

Mapping the evolution of algorithmic HRM (AHRM): a multidisciplinary synthesis

High levels of confusion persist around the term “algorithm” in general; and in addition to this, there is also conceptual confusion around the application of algorithms to human resource management (HRM) strategy and functions. Although there are several systematic reviews of various algorithmic applications to HRM and many of its functions, no comprehensive evolutionary map of the emergent field of algorithmic HRM (AHRM) could be found in the academic literature. This study has dual aims. The first is to provide conceptual clarity for the field of AHRM, and the second is to map the evolution of AHRM from 2000 to 2022. To address the first aim, we conduct a multidisciplinary synthesis of the concepts related to algorithms which results in a General Framework for Algorithmic Decision-Making. This framework then informs the empirical part of the study which addresses the second aim. A science mapping review is employed to chart and assess the extant literature on algorithmic HRM from 2000 to 2022. This study presents a General Framework for Algorithmic Decision-Making across all business functions and then a Framework for Algorithmic AHRM Tools. This provides conceptual clarity and distinguishes between automated and augmented HR decision-making. Findings also reveal the multidisciplinary nature of this emergent field of inquiry and point to current research, which focuses on specialized applications for HR functions such as workforce planning, learning and development, allocation and scheduling, and recruitment; but lacks emphasis on more integrative strategic HRM contexts. The study also has implications for organizational strategic decision-making. HR practitioners may need to form project teams with their information technology (IT) and data analyst colleagues when making strategic decisions about algorithmic applications for HR strategy and HR functions. This also lends itself to future research with multidisciplinary research teams including HR researchers along with computer scientists, computational engineers, and data analysts.

Censorship of the Soviet Union in Kazakhstan

Relevance. The relevance of this article is condtioned upon the study of the mechanism of censorship of the Soviet Union as a factor of distortion of the historical reality of Kazakhstan during the Soviet period and the need in the conditions of independence of Kazakhstan to restore its authentic history. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to study the mechanism of censorship of the Soviet Union in Kazakhstan. Methodology. The leading method to study this problem is the ideographic method, which allows reconstructing the phenomenon of censorship in the Soviet period and to investigate it comprehensively, studying the mechanism of censorship simultaneously in the Soviet Union as a whole, and in Kazakhstan as one of its republics, in particular. Both in the theoretical and empirical part of the study, analysis and synthesis were used as necessary general scientific methods. To organise the information obtained during the analysis of archival documents, the method of systematisation was used. Results. The article suggested a classification of censorship by the type of information to which it is applied; the penalties applied to "violators" of censorship in the USSR are determined; 578 documents from four archival collections of Russia and Kazakhstan containing data on the period of development of Soviet censorship in Kazakhstan are selected and examined; the main directions that fell into the hands of archival sources are established under the censorship of the Soviet Union in Kazakhstan. Conclusions. The materials of the article can become the basis for further research in the field of history, political science, etc., devoted to the study of censorship in Kazakhstan, both exclusively during the Soviet Union, and when comparing various historical stages. The results obtained in the course of the study can be used in universities of Kazakhstan in the preparation of classes in history, political science, etc. Keywords: total control; totalitarian regime; prohibition; state ideology; archival data

Kierunki pozaeuropejskie paradyplomacji polskich województw

The main purpose of this article is to present the directions of foreign activity (paradiplomacy) of Polish regional governments with partners from outside Europe. The first, theoretical part shows the essence of paradiplomacy, which is understood as the ability of local government units to conduct political interactions beyond country borders. The empirical part discusses the spatial directions of paradiplomacy of Polish local governments, Polish-chinese regional partnerships and other partnerships from outside Europe. The hypothesis was verified that regional governments, in addition to european and neighbourhood cooperation, also cooperate with geographically distant partners from outside the european continent. The article uses methods typical of social sciences, including case studies and quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Good vs. Bad: An Empirical Analysis of the Brand Names of Coronavirus Vaccines

Brand names are assets in marketing: a good name can help to sell products. Although research has made several recommendations on how “good” brand names should be created, the complex process is not easily adapted to every product category. Little research is done on a particular product category: the brand names of vaccines. This paper contributes to vaccine brand names in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The theoretical part of the paper first describes the characteristics of “good” and “bad” brand names, and then the focus is narrowed down to the characteristics of drug brand names and to the processes that influenced the naming of coronavirus vaccines. In the empirical part of the paper, Hungarian students perform brand recognition, recall, and association tasks connected to vaccine brand names. It will be shown that the vaccines are known by their public brand names (e.g., Pfizer) and not by their actual brand names (e.g., Comirnaty). The rating of the brand names shows that public brand names are considered to be better than the actual brand names, while brand associations collected for the actual brand names show mixed results. In the last part of the paper, theoretical implications are discussed, and recommendations for pharmaceutical companies are formulated to show what steps these companies could take to overcome the impasse between public and actual brand names.

Education for people-yet-to-come: Imaginary projects in the Anthropocene

This paper analyzes the future of education, especially the future changes in education and the people that will occupy the field. What kind of people are we educating for the future? To answer this question, I will analyze the Deleuzo-Guattarian concept of people-yet-to-come by taking into account the new perception and explanation of time and space as well as the context of the Anthropocene. In the empirical part, interviews with experts from non-educational fields are used to discuss time and space in education. Statements about the new features of people in the future reveal the picture of the future of education in the eyes of the experts and its correspondence to theoretical considerations and prognoses.

Setting the Theater for Creativity: Proposal for Integrating Temporal and Spatial Artificial Mnemonics as a Qualitative Artificial Development of the Autobiographical Naturalistic Mnemonics (AM).

Mnemonics are not only tools that empower memory but also have a significant role in qualitatively transforming mental functions and, hence, consciousness in general. A specific type of mnemonics is autobiographical mnemonics (AM) constructed of spatial, temporal, and semantic dimensions used in a naturalist form by individuals about their own experiences. This paper proposes a spatial-temporal mnemonic that transforms AM from a naturalist level into an artificial one. We consider allowing the intellect and consciousness to grasp the abstract flow of time in the global context of geography will contribute to setting the stage for creativity. By explicitly representing the abstract time-space theater, the intellect (the world view) is more able to reflect the abstract laws of reality (the world), hence, to make the intellect sphere objectively equipped to externalize the emerged meanings (the internalized reality) that reflect the internal content of experience and, hence, make sense of them as a crucial function in creative activity. The paper is a theoretical and methodological step for the empirical part of the proposal when the mnemonic should be used as a training tool to empower creativity factors.

USE OF SELECTED STRATEGIES IN LEARNING AND THEIR IMPACT ON LIFELONG LEARNING

The article focuses on selected learning strategies that we acquire in school and extracurricular environments. The degree of their use in learning is an important determinant of lifelong learning. A learner who has mastered these strategies has a higher motivation for further education, higher self-confidence and achieves better results. In the empirical part of the work we describe work procedures, research objectives, research set and research methods. The quantitative design of the work is aimed at identifying the rate of use of individual strategies of critical thinking among secondary school students using a questionnaire with Likert-type questions. The results of the research were processed by mathematical and statistical methods. At the end of the work recommendations for pedagogical practice are proposed based on the theoretical analysis and specific research results.

CREATIVITY AND THE FILM INDUSTRY: THE CASE OF “LATVIAN FILMS FOR LATVIA’S CENTENARY”

In this paper authors focus on the film projects created under the “Latvian Films for Latvia’s Centenary” (LV100) project competition, their thematic choice and development process. The aim of the article “Development of creative processes in the film industry in the framework of the LV100” is to find out how the thematic ideas of films under the “Latvian Films for Latvia’s Centenary” contest developed, and what important factors are reflected in this creative process? The empirical part of the work, which includes semi-structured in-depth interviews with filmmakers (N = 15), reveals that (1) film ideas have occurred either under the influence of individual factors or collective as a result of the impression of LV100 contest (2) certain film intentions have arisen as a source of inspiration from an existing cultural product (3) in the context of the creative process, nationalism can be viewed in two ways: for some directors, nationalism was not a major theme for film-making purposes, but other directors acknowledge that it had an important role in Latvian identity and self-awareness.

State programmes to support higher education in the Republic of Kazakhstan: Efficiency, prospects for development

Relevance. The research is relevant in light of the significant role that higher education plays in the implementation of social and economic policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, especially through the application of educational programmes. In addition, the analysis of changes in the educational policy of Kazakhstan will enable evaluating of its effectiveness. Purpose. The purpose of the research is to investigate students' perceptions and experiences of the state programme �Serpin-2050,� focusing on their adaptation to its procedural structure. This examination serves as an indicator of the programme's effectiveness and a predictor of its potential for further development. Methodology. Analysis, synthesis and abstraction were used to develop the theoretical methodology. For the empirical part of the research, the sociological method of survey was used. Results. The research revealed that students primarily received information about the �Serpin-2050� programme through physical and social environments, with digital channels being less effective. Students' motivations for joining the programme were predominantly personal, focusing on individual needs and interests, rather than patriotic or public benefit motives. The overall adaptation to the new educational environment was positive, with students expressing high satisfaction with university infrastructure, the quality of educational services, and the level of support and communication from the university administration. Conclusions. The study concluded that the �Serpin-2050� programme is highly valued by its participants, who are generally willing to recommend it to others. The findings suggest areas for improvement, such as enhancing leisure facilities in dormitories, increasing digitalisation of the library, and encouraging more active student participation in research and discussions. The practical value of the work is related to the prospect of adjusting the programme with some comments on the areas of improvement of educational services: leisure areas for the dormitory, digitalisation of the library, and active participation of students in research and discussions. Keywords: academic mobility; intellectual migration; quality of services; academic adaptation; internationalisation

Improvements in Rock Mass Description for Stope Design by Geophysical and Geochemical Methods

Stope design is an important part of mine planning, and it aims to balance ore recovery, ore dilution, and production costs without compromising the safety aspects. This paper summarizes the main results from the research, which aims to introduce new techniques to describe the ore body and surrounding rock mass at the tunnel face prior to stope excavation. The research comprises a literature review and a survey among mining professionals to assess current stope design practices. The study identifies geotechnical data, software improvements, and integration of design into mine planning as the most critical areas for improvement. The empirical part of the study proposes new techniques for fast data acquisition. The laser-induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) technique is developed for measurements at the tunnel face and from core boxes to provide mineralogical and geometallurgical data. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) studies are conducted to improve discontinuity characterization, and rapid photogrammetric methods are proposed for efficient tunnel geometry characterization. The techniques discussed in this paper already have many industrial applications. This study reveals their potential to be adopted and further developed to serve ore and rock mass characterization for stope design.

British influence on continental legal tradition in Croatia: Holy Grail or a Wrong Trail?

The Croatian legal system is traditionally under the dominant influence of the Germanic legal tradition. This is a logical consequence of historical circumstances, which state that present-day Croatia was long part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the field of criminal law, which is the focus of this paper, there is a significant influence of Austrian, German, and Swiss criminal law. However, since 2008, new trends have emerged, first evident in procedural law (through the introduction of the previously typical AngloAmerican institution of plea bargaining in criminal proceedings), and then from 2013 also in substantive criminal law. In the Criminal Code of 2013, sexual offenses were modeled after the English Sexual Offences Act of 2003, which has sparked considerable controversy in theory and practice. In this text, the author critically examines this legislative shift in tradition from the perspective of comparing the historical circumstances of the English and Croatian criminal law backgrounds. The author discusses the differences in criminal justice systems of these countries, compares the circumstances of the origin and shaping of sexual offenses in the mentioned legislations, and presents the results of their own research conducted in Croatia, reflecting whether the new legal solution was successful and whether it achieved its purpose. Based on this, the author provides an answer to the hypothetical question of whether a solution implemented from one legal tradition can successfully exist in the conditions of another significantly different legal tradition.

ASEAN, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the politics of pragmatism

Abstract The timid response of member governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has puzzled many western observers as it flagrantly violates the most basic norms of international law to which ASEAN expressly subscribes. This article seeks to provide answers to this puzzle. Informed by practice theory, the article transcends conventional realist explanations of how small and medium-sized countries respond to great power politics. Combining material and cognitive arguments, practice theory allows identifying the cultural and ideational roots of these policies and uncovering mismatches between rhetoric and agency. It suggests that, conceptualized as communities of practice, ASEAN member countries' foreign policy elites have developed a path-dependent pragmatism, which guides their response to great power politics and hence the war in Ukraine. Employing a qualitative mixed-methods approach, the empirical part of the article examines how south-east Asia's diplomatic communities of practice define pragmatism and shows that, historically, pragmatism has strongly guided their foreign policies. It traces ASEAN governments' pragmatic responses to the war in Ukraine at three levels: the national, regional and the (global) multilateral level. The article concludes that liberal proselytism does not help the West to win over ASEAN member countries to support its pro-Ukraine course.

Research on the Impact of Supply Chain Concentration, and Financial Flexibility on Corporate Innovation: An Empirical Study in the New Energy Industry

With the gradual formation of an international consensus on carbon peaking and neutrality, the new energy industry is a key focus for future development. Still, the industry also suffers from a fiercely competitive market environment. Therefore, the innovation performance of enterprises is crucial. This paper analyzes the impact of supply chain relationships and financial flexibility on corporate innovation from a resource-based viewpoint. Moreover, several variables are introduced to explore the optimal combination of innovation strategies. In the empirical part of the study, the study selects the panel data of listed companies in Chinas new energy industry. The fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis approach investigates how supply chain concentration, and financial flexibility affect corporate innovation. The study shows that: corporate cash is the main internal resource for R&D, industrial clusters facilitate the acquisition of external resources, and the configuration of the two can promote corporate innovation; debt and supply chain risk inhibit corporate.

СОЦИАЛЬНО-ПСИХОЛОГИЧЕСКОЕ БЛАГОПОЛУЧИЕ КАК ФАКТОР АКТУАЛИЗАЦИИ ГРАЖДАНСКОЙ СОЛИДАРНОСТИ ЛОКАЛЬНЫХ СООБЩЕСТВ

Conducting research in the area of factors of civic solidarity in Russia is determined by current processes of consolidation under conditions of exogenous geopolitical risks and threats, and common strategic course for building responsible society. The study is intended to provide a foundation for the nature and role of socio-psychological well-being of citizens in the actualization of civic solidarity of local communities. The nature of social and psychological well-being as an intangible resource for the development of local communities is defined as a subjective perception of Oneself and Others through cognitive, emotional and activity assessments, constructed under the influence of learned values of spatial and territorial identity, experience of social interaction, objective factors of the surrounding reality. The empirical part of the study is based on the results of expert interviews (N = 45) and online surveys (N = 969) of residents of three subjects of Southern Russia - Krasnodar Territory, the Republic of Adygea and the Republic of Crimea. It is revealed that citizens’ subjective perception of well-being and the possibilities of its increment has a personalistic and pragmatic character. At the same time, military-political tension, which creates significant threats and risks for communities in the South of Russia, has determined transformations in civil assessments and attitudes: a sense of belonging to the fate of fellow villagers / townspeople / fellow citizens involved in conducting a special military operation of Russia, and the direct dependence articulated by experts between individual and collective (national) well-being form the basis of mutual assistance practices.

Organization of practical training in higher engineering education

The article presents an analysis of educational practices of the organization of practical training on the example of higher engineering education in the agricultural sector. In the course of the research, we conducted a review of modern approaches to the implementation of practical training in university education in various countries of the world (theoretical level). The empirical part of the study was conducted by the survey method. In total, 627 people took part in it – students of engineering Bachelor’s degree programs of 2-4 full-time courses of Stavropol State Agrarian University, who had experience in passing various types of practices – educational, industrial, research, pre-graduate. The survey database was processed in the SPSS Statistics program (version 23). We obtained information on the actual state and problems of organizing practical training of engineering personnel in the system of higher agricultural education (based on the students’ opinions). Data segmentation and comparative analysis of the organization of practice in different areas of training shows significant differences and identifies areas of improvement of the educational process and management procedures.

COGNITIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR THE FORMATION OF COMPETENCIES OF STUDENTS IN THE STUDY OF NATURAL SCIENCE SUBJECTS

The article focuses on the study of the impact of cognitive technologies, in particular those based on artificial intelligence, on the process of forming the competencies of students, as well as on the consideration of approaches to the development of cognitive information technology. As part of the work, the authors developed a model of cognitive technology for the formation of competencies of students, which integrates an individualized approach to learning aimed at improving the quality of education and developing key competencies of students. The authors conducted a detailed analysis of the current scientific literature to determine the critical parameters for evaluating the effectiveness of the proposed system. The empirical part includes experiments with students studying natural science disciplines, demonstrating a significant improvement in learning and motivation to pursue education. It is shown that the cognitive model of the technology for the formation of competencies of students is influenced by the following: the regulatory framework, the concept of cognitive technology, the software and hardware complex, and human resources. The result of the application of this technology is «Recommendations for improving the process of forming the competencies of students». It is also shown that this model can be divided into two stages: «Neural network training» and «Implementation of the neural network in the educational process». This study focuses on achieving efficiency and minimizing educational losses in the process of acquiring competencies. The study confirms the sufficient effectiveness of cognitive technology for the formation of competencies of students, opening up new prospects for its application in various educational contexts. The study shows the possibilities of an approach to the development of educational technologies using artificial intelligence, offering innovative approaches to learning, contributing to the formation of deep knowledge and the development of a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.

PRAGMALINGUAL MEANS OF INFLUENCE ON THE AUDIENCE IN MASS MEDIA

The purpose of the research is to reveal the synergistic relationship between methods of psychological manipulation and media texts of socio-political discourse in well-known English-language media resources. The possibility of intensifying the influence of media texts due to the use of pragmalinguistic means at different language levels (from lexico-semantic to morpho-syntactic) has been studied. As a result of the analysis of a large number of academic works on the problems under investigation, it was found that the function of influencing the recipient of information and even manipulating public opinion is the essential function of a media text, and using pragmalinguistic means is one of the most powerful tools for implementing this function. The empirical part of the work was carried out in the translation center LinguoStar of Sumy State University, which made it possible to fullfill a quantitative analysis of translation transformations on the way to the equivalent transfer of various speech means of manipulative influence in English-language media texts of socio-political discourse, which outlines the broad equivalent possibilities of the Ukrainian language in the translation process. The practical significance of this study can be used to improve the qualifications of journalists and translators in the field of media linguistics.

Person with a disability in the literary work Heart by Edmondo de Amicis

The aim of the report is to analyse the issue of disability in the literary work Heart by Italian children's writer of the 19th century Edmondo de Amicis, in which there appear several characters with different types of, predominantly physical, disability. The report, in addition to the theoretical analysis, also includes a short empirical part presenting the results of interviews about the book from the perspective of primary education. In conclusion, we present a didactic reflection.