Ministry Of Education And Science Research Articles

Zła baletnica czy dobry krawiec? O kondycji nauk o polityce i administracji w perspektywie III kryterium ewaluacji jakości działalności naukowej

The article concerns the analysis of the impact of the discipline of political science and administration on the functioning of society and the economy in the perspective of third criterion of the evaluation of scientific disciplines. 75 impact descriptions for the years 2017–2021, submitted by 34 universities, were analysed. The author’s intention is: to discuss the results of the evaluation, to systematise the areas of influence of political science centres, to determine the scope and significance of the declared impact, to discuss the role of research units in creating the impact. In order to achieve the set goals, secondary data from the RAD-on system and the Ministry of Education and Science (MEiN) were used, as well as primary data, including information from representatives of the discipline and participant observation while preparing of evaluation at the home university and performing an expert work.

THE CHALLENGES FACING THE BULGARIAN DIASPORA IN THE BALKAN COUNTRIES FOR THE PRESERVATION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY

This report aims to present the research objectives and results of the implemented research project, CP 06 H70/2, on the topic:"Bulgarians in the Balkans abroad after 1878. The code of survival", implemented under the "Research Fund" of the Ministry of education and science (MES) of Bulgaria. The efforts of the scientific team are dictated by the need to carry out an up-to-date analysis of the history and present of the Bulgarian communities in the Balkans, which will reveal new directions of scientific knowledge about the existence of the diaspora in the modern environment.Characteristic of the official management elites of the Balkan countries, in which there is a Bulgarian diaspora, are the political and cultural nuances regarding the individual diasporas, including the Bulgarian one. the nuances. At the same time – and this is indicative, despite the presence of a number of negative approaches over the decades related to assimilation processes-the diaspora is distinguished by a "living" memory, and its bearers preserve their national identity.The study is also aimed at identifying contemporary threats of denationalization and ethnic melting. In this regard, the emphasis is also placed on the cultural heritage, the result of the centuries-old development of the communities, but also of the modern adhesions and original achievements, emblematic of Bulgarian roots and traditions, but also of the essential features of the modern Balkan cultural space of dialog and synthetic factors.The study is also aimed at identifying contemporary threats of denationalization and ethnic melting. In this regard, the emphasis is also placed on the cultural heritage, the result of the centuries-old development of the communities, but also of the modern adhesions and original achievements, emblematic of Bulgarian roots and traditions, but also of the essential features of the modern Balkan cultural space of dialog and synthetic factors. .For a more comprehensive treatment of the questions raised, it is necessary to use interdisciplinary scientific and research methods and approaches. This means to study both facts resulting from diachronic development-historical, political, literary, folkloric-everyday – but also to study and summarize those phenomena – demographic, economic-political, educational, etc.N. which today intensively form the profile of the diaspora.In this connection and the importance of dialogue and cooperation between all government institutions and agencies, as well as between non-governmental organizations, companies and companies engaged with the Bulgarian communities and their preservation in the Balkans.

The role of distance learning technologies in the organization of the educational process in Higher Educational Institutions of Ukraine in the conditions of the large-scale armed aggression russian federation against Ukraine

2022 has been a year of huge challenge for all Educational Institutions of Ukraine in terms of their ability to quickly organization of distance version of the educational process in connection with large-scale armed aggression russian federation against Ukraine with goal to destruction of Ukraine and its people. After February 24, 2022 when Russia-Ukraine war that began back in 2014 became the large-scale war and President of Ukraine announced of martial law, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (MD) and the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) of Ukraine recommended of all Educational Institutions of the country to use the distance learning technologies (DLT) for further continuation educational process. That’s why Institutions Higher Education (IHE) and Higher Military Educational Institutions (HMEI) of Ukraine actively use own developments and the best developments of the world’s leading companies which work in this direction (Google, Microsoft, ZOOM, Coursera, Udemy, edX, SpaceX, hp, Vodafone, Lifecell, Київстар, etc.) to improve the quality of distance learning in the conditions of the large-scale armed aggression russian federation against Ukraine. The wide opportunities of modern information technologies for the creation of simulation models of objects and processes (flash-animation, 3-D models, educational computer games etc.) allow visualization of information and make the content of the distance courses the most understandable and interesting for students and cadets. That’s why the task of researching the role of distance learning technologies in the organization of the educational process in Higher Educational Institutions of Ukraine in the conditions of the large-scale armed aggression russian federation against Ukraine is more relevant than ever [1-7].

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES: A FIELD OF NEW OPPORTUNITIES OR AN OBSTACLE FOR THE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL REALIZATION OF PERSONS FROM THE ROMA COMMUNITY

In the modern global world, digital technologies are becoming more and more necessary and a mandatorycondition for successful personal and professional realization. We live in a world where digital change and the entryof new technologies into various social spheres have a significant impact on the way each one of us works, buys,communicates and communicates. A number of analyzes are available in the specialized literature, which take intoaccount the fact that through the ongoing digital change, an evolutionary change is taking place in society withsignificant socio-economic consequences, which bring risks and opportunities for profound changes in the socialstructure of society. In order to prevent polarization in society, action is needed to benefit vulnerable individuals andsocial groups. One such action is related to the achievement of equality of opportunity.Thus, not full equality is achieved, but "achieved inequality" (Parsons 2005) which replaces "assigned inequality" asa result of belonging to a certain class, ethnicity or gender by birth. If we have to paraphrase Ralph Dahrendorf'sthesis (RalfDahrendorf 1979), for the digital transition to happen, new technologies must increase the opportunitiesand improve the life chances of the different social groups in society. A research question of great practicalimportance is how new technologies, instead of deepening existing socio-economic inequalities, can create newopportunities for everyone, including vulnerable groups at risk, against whom statistical data show a lag in the use ofthe Internet for professional and personal fulfillment. The recovery and digital transition must be fair and include thedifferent social groups in society. Insufficiently researched in Bulgaria is what are the opportunities and risks thatdigital technologies hide for the representatives of the different ethnic communities.The present report follows the theoretical tradition of the multidimensional stratification approach, founded by MaxWeber, to determine divisions and positions in the social structure of society. On the basis of a series of in-depthinterviews conducted among representatives of the Roma community within the framework of a project on the topic:"Digital divide and social inequalities: levels, actors and interactions", funded by FNI at the Ministry of Educationand Science, an attempt will be made to answer the research question.

Technology-mediated Secondary Education in Paraguay: An Exploratory Study

Researchers around the world have amassed vast amounts of information about ICT use in education. This study focuses on ICT use in high school in Paraguay and the changes that took place with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has forced governments to take quarantine decisions, confine people to their homes and delay daily activities in all social and productive spheres. In Paraguay, in terms of education, classes were suspended at all educational levels, forcing the authorities to establish contingency plans. The National Government, through the Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) established an Education Plan in times of Pandemic with the Project "Your school at home" which established training mechanisms for teachers in the country for the development of classes in the virtual modality of Distance Education, in addition to creating written didactic materials, audios and videos, plans and evaluation guides for the different subjects of the Secondary Education courses, available in an online portal as digital resources and freely accessible to the actors of the educational community. Through focus group interviews with secondary teachers from several regions in the country, issues related to the effects of the pandemic and government goals were discussed. Results evidence an urgent need for greater coverage and access to the internet, technological tools, and teacher training in such tools and in the didactics of Distance Education.

Crowning evidence Teachers, students and their families abandoned during the second wave of the pandemic

The publication looks at the Covid-19 pandemic from the point of view of teachers, students and their families. The author, contrary to the decision-makers from the Ministry of Education and Science (MEiN) as well as the Ministry of Health (MZ), believes that educational institutions are the real hotspots of the pandemic. On the basis of a detailed analysis of the data provided by the Ministry of Health, contained on the servers of the Statistics Poland (former Central Statistical Office) and the decisions and messages of the Ministry of National Education, the author shows that during the second wave of the pandemic, educational environments were disregarded, which led to numerous problems and tragedies. He indicates there is a need: to conduct analyses which take into account excess mortality and the participation of sick people requiring assistance, to carry out radical changes in the core curriculum as well as in external and internal exams and to verify the protection measures (including UV-C purifiers) before the beginning of the new school year 2021/2022. The presented analyses constitute the crowning evidence of the need to establish self-governance of the teaching community.

La modernización educativa en España en un escenario de cambio social y de apertura democrática. Conversaciones con Pedro Caselles Beltrán, Director General de Educación Básica (1976-1982)

This text is an extract from several conversations held with Pedro Caselles Beltrán (1937), a primary school teacher with a degree in Philosophy and Humanities, specialising in Pedagogy, and an education inspector. Pedro Caselles occupied the provincial education offices in Lugo, Cádiz and A Coruña (1970-1976); later he was Deputy Director General of Non-State Schools and General Director of Basic Education (1977-1982). The text deals with his professional career, a summary of administrative management and political action, with particular emphasis on his time as a provincial delegate and later as a senior official in the Ministry of Education and Science (MEC). Under his mandate, several initiatives were carried out, including the promotion of the General Education and Financing of the Education Reform Act (LGE) of 4 August 1970 through the renewal of the Basic General Education Programmes.

Issues to develop tertiary education in line with regional development

For Mongolia, which has a small population, a large territory, and abundant natural, agricultural, and mineral resources, regional development of the education sector, especially tertiary education, which is significant for population settlement, is an important issue for regional development. The purpose of this study is to optimize spatial planning of the tertiary education sector in line with regional development. This research used statistical and spatial analyzing methods to achieve the sets of research objectives. The key indicators of the tertiary education sector included a number of universities, institutes, and colleges, students, full-time teachers, new entrants, and graduates from general educational schools and the relevant datasets were collected from the National Statistical Office (NSO) and the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) covering the period from 1990 to 2019. As can be seen from research results, 92.5 per cent of tertiary educational institutions, 88.9 per cent of all employees working in the sector, 92.6 per cent of all students, and 92.2 per cent of new entrants are all located in Ulaanbaatar alone, which means that Mongolia’s tertiary education sector is overcrowded in the Capital city only. This study suggests that it is necessary to support the establishment of vocational and tertiary education institutions, research centers, institutes, and their branches outside of the capital city by first reviewing the status and functions of national and aimag-level cities, which are in line with regional and local unique and economic priorities.

Писането на есе като компетентност. Какво и как оценяваме

This article analyzes the problems that arise in the measurement and grading of writing skills in one of the main genres of school-level texts – the essay. After analyzing the current grading criteria according to the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science (MES), the author reaches the conclusion that an adequate and objective grading scale is possible only after we have clearly defined the criteria that constitute the competence of essay writing. The author’s main proposition is that this competence is dual in its nature – on the one hand, it is content-related, and on the other – communication-related. Neither of these two competences is defined clearly enough in the current educational criteria. The article describes in detail all aspects of the essay writing competence and offers a clear working algorithm. Hence the author offers the idea that an adequate grading scale can only be created if one follows the classic rhetorical scheme which describes the three main components of any discourse formation – inventio, dispositio, and elocutio. A practical measurement and grading scale is proposed. Its usage would grant two major advantages: it would allow the authorities to assess the students’ results adequately and objectively, and it would frame a clear and systematic working algorithm for the acquisition of essay writing skills. According to Bulgarian school programs, this competence is supposed to be taught for four entire years within the two high-school stages of the secondary education.

Planting the seeds for inclusive education: one resource centre at a time

ABSTRACT A Non-Government Organisation (NGO) in Kazakhstan introduced a pilot project to support schools through school-based resource centres for inclusive education as requested by the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES). This initiative came about as a way to support the State Program for the Development of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2016-2019 (MoES) that set the goal of having 70% of mainstream schools inclusive by the end of 2018. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how school-based resource centres are assisting in the development of creating conditions for inclusive education in mainstream schools of Nur-Sultan City. Data was collected using 22 one-to-one interviews with resource centre staff, teachers, parents of SEN students, school specialists and principals thus giving voice to all stakeholders. The main findings of the study were the positive impacts of resource centres in contributing to the continued development of inclusive education in Kazakhstan. Other findings revealed areas for further improvement in order to sustain and grow this initiative. These findings have implications for further detailing policy outlining a focused and practical plan for the continued development and reform of inclusive education beyond the capital city.

Економічна освіта і наука в НЛТУ України: здобутки, проблеми та перспективи

Місією Навчально-наукового інституту екологічної економіки і менеджменту (ННІ ЕЕМ) НЛТУ України є наукове обґрунтування процесів екологізування економіки і всіх сфер життя суспільства, підготовка висококваліфікованих фахівців, компетентних у питаннях втілення вимог сталого розвитку в економічну діяльність. Зусилля колективу Інституту сьогодні зосереджені на дослідженнях актуальних еколого-економічних проблеми освіти і науки, які здійснюються у руслі світових трендів та відповідають засадам сталого розвитку. Викладачі Інституту працюють над проблемами формування екологічної економіки в Україні, шляхами переходу до екологічно обґрунтованих та економічно ефективних методів господарювання, формуванням систем екологічного менеджменту, обліку й аудиту підприємств лісового сектору економіки. Пріоритетним є науковий напрям досліджень – еколого-економічні проблеми природокористування, підґрунтя яких заклав у 70-80-х роках ХХ ст. д-р екон. наук, проф. Ю. Ю. Туниця. Ці дослідження розвинені та втілені в ідеї і концепції Екологічної Конституції Землі, виголошених від імені України в ООН (1997, 2008, 2009, 2011) та на Світовому саміті "Ріо+20" (2012), а також у рішенні Колегії МОН України щодо екологізації освіти як одного із пріоритетних напрямів діяльності МОН та всіх навчальних закладів незалежно від їх підпорядкування і форм власності (2015). Колектив ННІ ЕЕМ працює над освітніми і науковими проблемами, які випереджують сьогоднішні потреби економіки, забезпечує їх спрямованість на потреби майбутньої постіндустріальної інформаційної цивілізації, перехід від відтворювальної системи освіти і науки до випереджувальної.

STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INTEGRATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLIGENT TOURISM

The authors explore and analyze the need for the sustainable functioning of an integrated information environment (IIE) to manage the development process of smart tourism, which would improve the tourist and cultural and entertainment infrastructure and adapt and apply good European and world practices and innovations in the adequate and appropriate use of tourism products, information and communication technologies, human, institutional, public and corporate resources.The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance of implementing a smart Bulgarian tourist product and the promotion of various intelligent tourist destinations and the need to model innovative organizational-management, functional-structural, production-performance and business processes based on an effectively functioning IIE; oriented to absorbing the potential of new regions, balanced regional development, improving the market positions of tourism in general, creative and river reactive industries.In the research it is argued that in Bulgarian conditions the formation of IIE for the management of the processes in the tourist sector and especially for the development of the intelligent tourism, facilitating the access of producers, consumers and intermediaries of tourist products and services to digital content, its use and exploitation at local, regional, national and supranational level would lead to an increase in entrepreneurial activity providing the basis for radical innovation in organizational structures and knowledge; emerging from the efficient use of the scientific and innovation potential, the technological modernization, the innovation-electronic infrastructure and the specific natural and historical-cultural resources of our country.The research tasks of the study require the use of interdisciplinary research tools: a thematic bibliographic study; studying models and good practices through information search strategies, working visits and fieldwork, and retrieving and structuring information; contextual modeling.The report is for scientific research project DN № 05/1, 14.12.2016 „Communicational Model for Interactive Educational Environment for Post – Graduate Professional and Vocational Studies in the Field of Cultural and Creative Industries“, with the financial support of National Science Fund (NSF) of Ministry of Education and Science (MES) of Bulgaria.

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS FOR CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL ECONOMIES AND COMMUNITIES

The purpose of this study is to analyze and present the problems and perspectives of the cultural and creative industries in the context of the sustainable development of local economies and communities. The authors argue that a deeper understanding of the cultural and creative industries, as a complex phenomenon that has a versatile and multi-layered impact, would allow local government representatives to benefit more fully from the results of their own investments, which is particularly valid for their social dimension, in terms of improving quality of life leading to population growth, attracting educated and active citizens, cultural diversity and community cohesionSome of the problems facing the cultural and creative industries related to the strategy and the vision for the sector are being analyzed, the regulatory framework, the incomplete functioning of the systems of culture, arts and education, the lack of a "shared communication vision" on the challenges and perspectives of the municipal and local authorities, the contradictory nature of individual regulations and regulations, the cumbersome procedures and notices of public service, etc.The study demonstrates the hypothesis that investment in cultural and creative industries has the potential to generate jobs, innovation and productivity, improve the quality of life on the ground, stimulate new ideas and thinking within the community, and influence a wide range of political priorities, which is a major reason for every sustainable municipality to be given the necessary attention and to direct the institutional and administrative resources for research, planning and development. Each of the local authorities needs to understand their importance and look for a form of investment appropriate to local circumstances, as CCIs and local administrations have mutual benefits from close cooperation and interaction. These benefits could be achieved through direct investments tailored to the needs of CCIs (eg through physical infrastructure, skills, networks and business support).The report is for scientific research project DN № 05/1, 14.12.2016 „Communicational Model for Interactive Educational Environment for Post – Graduate Professional and Vocational Studies in the Field of Cultural and Creative Industries“, with the financial support of National Science Fund (NSF) of Ministry of Education and Science (MES) of Bulgaria.

SCIENTIFIC REPORT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAM “INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR SOCIAL TELEREHABILITATION IN THE SCHOOLS OF LATVIA IN THE CONTEXT OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION”

The main goal of the National Research Program INOSOCTEREHI (Innovative solutions for social telerehabilitation in the schools of Latvia in the context of inclusive education) is related to the research on the issues and problems that are important to our society, as well as it is closely related with the goal of Rezekne Academy of Technologies Research Institute for Regional Studies: to promote interdisciplinarity and innovation transfer in spheres of socialization, re- socialization, human security (including people with special needs).The research is particularly relevant in connection to the NDP (National Development Plan) and Education Development Guidelines and the educational content reform implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) in general and inclusive education ensuring the introduction of the competence based approach by implementing Specific Goals of Support (SGS) with the help of EU Structural Funds. The practical importance of the outputs is especially high as the findings of the research are being used by being involved in the work of the cooperation partner – the ESF project “The Competencies Based Approach in the Content of Education (Activity 8.3.1.) – as project cooperation partners and as individuals. Therefore the outputs of the NRP INOSOCTEREHI enable the development of the support system for the implementation of the innovations according to the specific needs of the target groups (teachers, learners, etc.).

Impact of salt and frost weathering on the physical and durability properties of travertines and carbonate tufas used as building material

This study was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) through the Research Project CGL2006-05027/BTE and Community of Madrid (S2023/MIT 2914). A pre-doctoral research fellowship was awarded to N. Cueto by the MEC.

Alternative rating system of scientific activity of ukrainian higher educational institutions: methodical bases and results

Higher school conditions the direction of the social development by introducing scientific ideas, developing innovative technologies, studying and promoting effective socio-economic mechanisms of the country development, supports the cultural level, intellect and spirituality of the society. That is why the creation of conditions for strengthening main directions of the higher educational institutions (HEI) activity, especially, their scientific-research, scientific-technical and innovative potential it is a key task of the higher educational system modernization by the Ministry of education and science (MES) of Ukraine. On the background of diverse factors of such motivations, the one of importance is the factor of comparative collations that is the rating base.The article is devoted to the further development of methodological principles, methodical and information-model support of the construction of the rating system of the assessment of the Ukrainian higher educational institutions potential. The special feature of the offered rating system is the formation of the multi-component system of the quality monitoring of the HEI scientific activity by the four main factors: International activity, scientific activity, citing and commercialization of scientific results. Local indicative systems that allow to assess the HEI scientific activity from system positions were formed for each factor, based on the comparative analysis of the list of parameters of the well-known world ratings and features of the Ukrainian higher system modernization. The pilot calculations of the scientific activity of Kharkiv HEI were realized to probate the offered rating assessment system.

Salmonella Enteritidis Isolate Harboring Multiple Efflux Pumps and Pathogenicity Factors, Shows Absence of O Antigen Polymerase Gene.

DJ has received research funding from Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT, grant number SFRH/BD/80001/2011). VM was supported by FCT fellowship (grant SFRH/BPD/77486/2011), financed by the European Social Funds (COMPETE-FEDER) and national funds of the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science (POPH-QREN). We thank the support of FCT grant number PEst-OE/AGR/UI0211/2011-2014 and UID/MULTI/00211/2013.

CONTEMPORARY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN THE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: THE NEW CHALLENGES

The quantitative research basis is the data of surveys which were filled in by teachers of vocational education institutions and employers. The research is based on researches and reports regarding vocational education, strategic planning documents of development of education of Republic of Latvia and EU, studies, statistics on vocational education (data basis of the Central Statistical Bureau, statistics of the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) on vocational education) also are used. The aim of the research is to analyze factors of the internal and external environment that affect vocational education in order to determine how these factors create challenges for the vocational education system and educational institutions. The article analyzes the correlation between the elements of internal environment: resources, processes and results and external environment (political, demographic social) factors. The challenges make the vocational education change the existing paradigm of vocational education. The research was performed with a purpose to analyze the environmental factors; the quantitative research combines: an analysis of normative documents and a survey of employers and teachers of vocational education. The key results of the research: demographic trends in Latvia have an essential impact upon the human resources of the vocational education institutions; in order to implement the lifelong learning strategy, it is important to involve more adults in the vocational education; the learning environment of vocational education must be developed by following the principles of lifelong learning; cooperation between the state institutions, employers and teachers is required in order to provide effective solutions to the challenges that vocational education is facing. The cooperation between the employers’ institution, educational institutions and state institutions is essential in the process of planning and implementation of the curriculum and evaluation of the results. The prestige of the vocational education in the society affects students’ choice regarding their further education; it also influences the assessment of employers. If there were developed and implemented such curricular, which would imply the key competences that are relevant to the vocational areas of education and on the basis of which a flexible transformation of the content of curricular would be possible, the competitiveness and quality of the vocational education would be ensured. Key words: external environment, internal environment, learning environment, vocational education.

The Twentieth International Conference on Automatic Control "AUTOMATICS-2013"

International conferences on automatic control are initiated by Ukrainian Association on Automatic Control (UAAC) and held annually since 1994. In September 25–27 on the basis of Admiral Makarov National Shipbuilding University the town of Nikolaev held XX International Conference on Automatic Control “AUTOMATICS–2013”. The conference was devoted to 100birthday anniversary of the outstanding Ukrainian scientist in the field of technical cybernetics, Academician of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine A.G. Ivakhnenko. The goal of the Conference is the discussion of research and development results in the field of control of complex objects of different nature, discussion of development tendencies in the control science, establishment of scientific contacts, involvement of talented young people in scientific investigations. The organizers of Conference were National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine, Ministry of Education and Science (MES) of Ukraine, Ukrainian Association on Automatic Control, National Committee of Russia on Automatic Control, V.M. Glushkov Institute of Cybernetics of NAS of Ukraine, Institute of Space Research of NAS and SSA of Ukraine, International Scientific-Educational Center of Information Technologies and Systems of NAS and MES of Ukraine, Moscow M.V. Lomonosov State University, Admiral Makarov National Shipbuilding University, Academy of Sciences of Shipbuilding of Ukraine. Subject matters of the Conference were presented in six sections. • Mathematical problems of control, optimization and game theory. • Control and identification under uncertainty conditions. • Automatic control in technical systems. • Control of aerospace, marine and other moving objects.

Preface: phys. stat. sol. (b) 1/2007

AbstractThis issue of physica status solidi (b) contains the Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on High Pressure Semiconductor Physics (HPSP‐12) which took place in Barcelona, Spain, on 31 July– 3 August 2006. The meeting was held at the CosmoCaixa Museum (see also the Conference Report and Concluding Remarks by M. Cardona at the end of this issue [1]). HPSP‐12 was a satellite conference to the 28th International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors held in Vienna, Austria, 24–28 July 2006. Around 125 scientists were registered at HPSP‐12, and 89 papers were submitted to the Proceedings. These describe recent research on various physical properties under pressure like optical absorption, vibrational states, structural transformations, transport properties, electronic structures, superconductivity, among others. The materials and solid state systems examined include bulk, crystalline materials of various compositions, alloys (diluted nitrides), quantum‐well structures, quantum dots, fullerenes and carbon nanotubes, microrods, devices like lasers, etc. Interesting results were presented in several experimental papers as well as in accounts of theoretical work.HPSP‐12 was supported financially by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC), Obra Social Fundació “la Caixa”, Fundación BBVA, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), m.t. Brandão España s.l., Generalitat Valenciana, Carburos Metálicos S.A., Universitat de València, and Universidad de La Laguna.We are very grateful to the local organizers and thank the Program and International Advisory Committees. Not least, we thank the many reviewers who submitted their detailed referee reports within short notice.The agreement with the publishers Wiley‐VCH on the publication of the proceedings of the HPSP conferences is very important, in particular because the papers are reviewed as for a usual international journal. This ensures a high standard of the accepted papers. However, the quality of the research presented is closely related to how the HPSP community itself defines the scope of its meetings. One might ask, whether the subjects, which in the past have been very successful in defining the programs of the HPSP conferences, could in part be exchanged with new fields in order to adjust more to new developments in condensed matter research. The next HPSP conference, number 13, will be held in Fortaleza, Brazil, 21–28 July 2008. This gives time for all of us to suggest new directions and offer assistance to the organizers (Chair: Prof. V. Lemos).September 2006