National Development Strategy Research Articles

Cluster Model for Establishing Special Economic Zones in Ukraine under Modern Conditions (Global Experience)

Object: Clusters are a relatively new form of organization, risk and profit sharing, and competitiveness enhance ment for both the global and Ukrainian economies. The potential of the cluster development model is significant, and, most importantly, it has been justified in developed countries worldwide. In particular, global practice confirms that the functioning of the most prosperous economies is supported by advantages in modern production technologies and man agement. Therefore, successful development of any level is possible through the comprehensive application of modern strategic management concepts. Thus, the object of the study is to reveal and substantiate the effectiveness of cluster model in establishing special economic zones in Ukraine. Methods: The paper uses general scientific and special methods, that are: the dialectical method of understanding cluster model for establishing special economic zones; comparative analysis methods; methods of empirical research, methods of statistical and structural analysis; methods of historical and logical analysis; identifying individual parts of an object, methods of system approach, identifying cause-and-effect relationships. Findings: Custers are established on the base of a unique internal environment and infrastructure specific to a par ticular region. This allows leveraging the competitive advantages of enterprises in a specific area through integration. A cluster serves as a stimulus for economic development, and regionalism forms the basis for its sustainable growth. Re gionalism is of great significance in selecting priority investment areas, as it can influence the level of uncertainty risk during the assessment of regional investment projects. Its effectiveness is confirmed by cluster development of the child nutrition project presented in the paper (Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ukraine). Conclusions: Cluster approach makes it possible to use available resources more efficiently. The cluster approach is connected with the policy of capacity-building as well as increasing competition profitability of national economies. There are also some cluster formations on the territory of Ukraine. Сluster is a convenient form of organizing a free economic zone. At the same time, each government develops its own approaches to the creation of clusters and regula tion of their activities, accordingly, organizes the activities of those responsible for the implementation of the national strategy of sustainable competitive development.

Manager myopia and green technology innovation

PurposeWith the growing concern of various sectors of society regarding environmental issues and the promotion of sustainable development, green technology innovation is generally considered to be conducive to the long-term development of enterprises. However, because of the existence of agency problems, managers may have shortsighted behaviors. Then how will managers' shortsighted behaviors affect enterprises' green technology innovation?Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses machine learning-based text analysis methods to construct a manager myopia index based on the data from A-share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2015 to 2020. We examine the impact of manager myopia on green technology innovation in companies.FindingsOur study finds that manager myopia significantly inhibits green technology innovation in companies. However, when multiple large shareholders coexist and the proportion of institutional investors' holdings is high, it can alleviate the inhibitory effect of manager myopia on green innovation. Heterogeneity tests show that the impact of manager myopia on green technology innovation is relatively significant in non-state-owned and manufacturing companies, as well as in the electricity industry. Robustness tests demonstrate that our conclusions remain valid after using propensity score matching to eliminate endogeneity problems.Originality/valueFrom the perspective of corporate governance, this paper incorporates managers' shortsightedness, multiple large shareholders and institutional investors' shareholding ratios into the same logical framework, analyzes their internal mechanisms, helps improve corporate governance, enhances green innovation capabilities and has strong implications for the implementation of national innovation-driven development strategies and the achievement of “carbon peak” and “carbon neutrality” targets.

Risks, Challenges and Strategies of the Creation of China’s “City of Events”– A Case Study of Hangzhou

From 2007, when Jinjiang proposed to build “China’s first sports city”, to the successful hosting of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, an increasing number of first-tier cities have regarded sports events as an important strategic layout for urban development. The construction of the “city of events” is proposed by the first-tier cities in China based on the national development strategy, serving the demands of the times for urban development, people’s livelihood and well-being, economic growth and window display. Based on literature, expert interviews and case studies, the article analyzes the current situation of Hangzhou as one of the first “city of events” in Zhejiang Province, existing predicaments and potential risks, strategies and paths for risk aversion, and the risks and challenges of Hangzhou in creating a “city of events”. The results show that there are risks such as lack of culture, imbalance of profit and loss, and lack of core strength in the creation of “city of events”, and it is necessary to focus on multi-dimensional efforts such as sports characteristic positioning, professional events and mass sports cultivation to realize the differential order development pattern of sports events integrating urban characteristics, and thus deduce the action logic of the creation of “city of events”. Diverse urban culture determines the difference in the development orientation of sports cities, and the idea of synergy, profit and loss balance, risk avoidance, and facing the future with a more positive outlook is the meaning and inevitable way of the creation of the domestic “city of events”.

Introduction of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Russian Economy: A Practitioner’s View

The article presents the results of a generalization of the practical activities of companies developing and/or implementing artificial intelligence technologies (hereinafter referred to as AI), as well as companies that use these technologies: what scenarios for the use of AI technologies exist and in which industries, what kind of problems organizations implementing AI face, how members of the expert community of the artificial intelligence sphere consider solving these issues and what the state bodies offer. As to the state’s policy regarding the development of artificial intelligence, the article contains information about the factors built in the updated national AI development strategy, reflects the relations between AI technologies and state sovereignty, demonstrates the impact of artificial intelligence on the competitiveness of a company and human creativity. The article also presents the main instructions of the government of the Russian Federation on the development of artificial intelligence, some statistical data on the use of AI in economic and social sectors. It identifies measures to support developers and “implementers” of AI technologies offered by development institutions within the framework of the federal project “Artificial Intelligence” as a part of the national program “Digital Economy of the Russian Federation”. Much attention is paid to the issue of human resourcing in the AI sphere – what kind of specialists companies need, what their level of training should be and what they should be able to do, what requirements are imposed on AI teachers, what leading companies ask applicants for interviews and what the trajectory of “growing” talents in the field of artificial intelligence is. The final part of the article provides recommendations to students on how to prepare for the widespread use of artificial intelligence technologies.

Abstract 817: Establishing a niche to improve Africa’s contribution to cancer research

Abstract Africa has been a key source of scientific discoveries to the global community, especially in areas of scientific experiments and implementation. However, Africans are underrepresented in their contribution to global science and within the African countries, access to adequate funding and infrastructure to do high quality science is limited. These inequities contribute to the 10/90 gap in which only an estimated 10% of global health research funding is used to address health problems in Africa. Thus, it is not surprising that today, Africa contributes just about 2 percent of world research output, 1.3 percent of research spending, and 0.1 percent of all patents. To bridge the aforementioned gaps, mitigate the effect of brain drain and structural constraints and improve support for the next generation scientists, the Nigerian Government recently established the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT). It is worthy to note that cancer incidence and mortality rates in Africa are increasing 1.1 million new cases, with 711,000 deaths reported in 2020. This indicate a mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) of 0.64. These cancer challenges in Africa necessitates a concerted approach towards effective cancer control and management. Here, we show in detail how the NICRAT support improving science while integrating with Nigerian national development plans and strategies. We also show how the NICRAT is establishing a mechanism for domestic funding, while fostering national and international collaborations for African scientists and encouraging women into careers in cancer research. Currently, the NICRAT’s key task also includes centralizing cancer control efforts, mobilizing funding from different sources for cancer research, and coordinating cancer treatment activities across Nigeria. In addition, the institute facilitates collaboration between researchers, healthcare providers, and patients, and provides guidance for cancer policy formulation and implementation. The establishment of NICRAT by Nigeria’s government as well as similar centers elsewhere in Africa may improve active participation of African scientists in scientific practice, discourse, and decision making and spotlight their intellectual contributions towards solving science-associated global problems. Citation Format: Usman A. Malami, Sani A. Malami, Uchechukwu E. Nwokwu, Usman W. Mohammed, Faruk Mohammed. Establishing a niche to improve Africa’s contribution to cancer research [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 817.

Countermeasures for the Planning and Construction of Villages and Towns in the View of Rural Revitalization

In recent years, the state has put rural revitalization in an important position of the national development strategy, emphasizing that rural revitalization must be realized in order to solve the problems of agriculture, rural areas and farmers and improve rural economic income. Under the rural revitalization strategy, in order to restore the overall vitality of villages and towns, we must give priority to the development of agricultural and rural areas. However, due to the restriction of the dual structure of urban and rural areas, the planning and construction of villages and towns are faced with many problems, such as the absence of the main body of village planning and construction management, the crisis of abandoning cultivated land for other purposes, poor living conditions and even destruction. This paper emphasizes practical village planning, pays attention to the construction of ecological civilization and the principle of construction and development according to local conditions, constructs a diversified development space, and provides effective assistance for the implementation of the strategy of rural revitalization, as well as the development of practical rural planning.

Evaluation of environmental impact assessment and mitigation strategies for Gulpur hydropower project, Kotli, Pakistan

AbstractEnvironmental Impact Assessment (EIA) became mandatory in Pakistan in 1983 with the passage of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance. The Sustainable Development Goals were incorporated into Pakistan's national development strategy, making it the first country in history to do so. The study is based on evaluating the mitigation strategies and environmental impact assessment at the Gulpur Hydropower Project (HPP), Kotli, AJK, which uses the Poonch River's water resources to generate power and has a design capacity of 100 MW using the EIA documentation of Gulpur HPP. In addition to making additional observations and reviewing the literature, the study looked at Mira Power Limited's EIA reports. The possible effects, as well as the Government's and MPL's mitigating actions, were examined by the authors. EIA procedures at the Gulpur HPP considered several laws, including the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, AJK Wildlife Ordinance of 2013, the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, and Laws Regulating Flow Releases for Hydropower Projects. Projects using hydropower in delicate areas carry a high risk. Given the thorough analysis of the hazards in this instance, it is evident that the EIA had a significant impact on the project's design. The authors concluded that there are no negative environmental effects of the construction of hydropower projects in the concerned area and that all potential effects and compensation were handled legally and efficiently. The study suggested that all hydropower projects in Pakistan undertake environmental impact assessments.

Towards leaving no one behind in North Macedonia: a mixed methods assessment of barriers to effective coverage with health services

BackgroundThe Government of North Macedonia’s Primary Health Care reform is committed to leaving no one behind on the path to Universal health Coverage (UHC). During mid-2022 to March 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) collaborated with the Government and other national stakeholders for an assessment of barriers to effective coverage with health services experienced by adult citizens, with a specific focus on rural areas and subpopulations in situations of vulnerability.MethodsThis study constituted the piloting of a draft forthcoming WHO handbook on assessing barriers for health services, grounded in the Tanahashi framework for effective coverage with health services. In North Macedonia, the convergent parallel mixed methods study involved four sources. These were: a nationally representative Computer Assisted Telephone Interview Survey (1,139 respondents); 24 key informant interviews with representatives from government, professional associations, non-governmental and civil society organizations, and development partners; 12 focus groups in four regions with adults from vulnerable/high risk groups in rural areas and small urban settlements and an additional focus group with persons with disabilities; and a literature review. Instrument design was underpinned by the Tanahashi framework, which also orientated data triangulation and deductive analysis. The research team synergistically incorporated emerging themes in an inductive way. A key component of the assessment was participatory design of the study protocol with inputs from national stakeholders as well as participatory deliberation of the results and the ways forward.ResultsDespite considerable progress towards UHC in North Macedonia, the assessment elucidated remaining challenges. These included: insufficient numbers of health workers, in general and particularly in the more disadvantaged regions of the country; inadequate number of outpatient medicines covered by health insurance; distance and transportation obstacles, including indirect travel costs, particularly in rural areas; adverse gender norms and relations for both women and men inhibiting timely treatment seeking; perceived discrimination by providers on multiple grounds; bottlenecks including waiting times to get appointments for specialist referrals; and lack of patient adherence, due several factors including costs of medicines and health products.ConclusionsThe outputs from this study of barriers to effective coverage with health services for adult citizens of North Macedonia are feeding into the ongoing Primary Health Care reform, and provide evidence for equity-related actions in the forthcoming National Development Strategy.

Future Trends of Wushu and Education Process for Sport University China

Background and Aim: Under the auspices of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and an array of state policies, this research aims to scrutinize the role of Wushu culture within the national development strategy of the new era. These policies include the "Five-Year Plan for Chinese Wushu Development," "Opinions on Implementing the Inheritance and Development Project of Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture," and "Outline for the Construction of a Sports Power" Amidst the strong emphasis by General Secretary Xi Jinping on cultural construction and the promotion of traditional culture, this research elaborates on the pivotal role sport university China serves in the exploration and dissemination of Wushu culture. The central objective of this study is to undertake an in-depth exploration of the historical evolution of Chinese Wushu culture and to critically examine its current state and potential future trajectories within the milieu of Chinese sports universities. The study aims to provide valuable insights for education policy-makers, practitioners, and researchers and is expected to make a substantial academic contribution to the discourse on Wushu culture and its pedagogy. Materials and Methods: The research methods combined quantitative and qualitative means with mixed methods. To collect the data, a literature review, expert interviews, and questionnaires were used in this study. In addition, the views and suggestions of 19 experts on the future development of the wushu culture curriculum were collected through the Ethnographic Delphi Futures Research method. Use descriptive statistics to analyze the data (average, standard deviation) collected by mixing methods; in addition to quantitative analysis, we will also qualify the data collected from expert interviews and open questionnaires. Results Experts affirm the importance of enhancing traditional cultural education, emphasizing the central role of the concepts of physical and mental health and wellness in wushu instruction. They believe that employing modern educational technology and utilizing a combination of online and offline teaching methods allow students to gain a deeper understanding and mastery of wushu course content. Interdisciplinary collaboration is seen as a new trend in the future of wushu education. It is advocated to actively explore new resource allocation models such as public-private partnerships and cross-sector collaborations, leveraging resources from various sectors of society to collectively advance the development of wushu education. Suggest: Establish specialized courses focusing on wushu culture: Innovate and expand course content: Employ diversified instructional designs: Develop a scientifically sound and rational course evaluation mechanism: Prioritize the transmission of wushu philosophy and culture: Promote the integration of wushu with other academic disciplines: Strengthen the internationalization of wushu education and promotion. Conclusion: Enhancing traditional wushu education involves the creation of specialized courses, diversified instructional methods, and a strong emphasis on wushu culture and philosophy. Collaborative resource allocation and internationalization efforts further contribute to the continued development and promotion of this ancient martial art.

The Construction and Implementation of a Cross border E-commerce Talent Training Mechanism for Business English Empowered by Digital Intelligence

The Construction and Implementation of a Cross border E-commerce Talent Training Mechanism for Business English Empowered by Digital Intelligence Abstract: The business English application-oriented talent training mode under the digital intelligence empowerment is to train business English talents with language+cross-border e-commerce practice+cross-cultural communication skills, which is in line with the national development strategy of "new liberal arts", "interdisciplinary" and "the Belt and Road". Through the linkage between schools and enterprises, the training mechanism adopts a cross integration approach of virtual context+ thinking activities +application activities by collaborating with enterprises to build a small seed studio. The course mechanism can deeply integrate experimental courses with other related courses, organically combine project-based learning with personalized training, explore students' comparative advantages, and create a full process and multi-stop teaching practice center. The course mechanism can cultivate the talent with national confidence, innovative concepts and risk awareness by promoting efficient collaboration between business English language courses and professional courses in terms of instrumental, humanistic, and business aspects.

New unfreezing strategy of transfer learning in satellite imagery for mapping the diversity of slum areas: A case study in Kenitra city—Morocco

The purpose behind this paper research is to localize and detect, for the first time, three types of shantytowns that can exist in both urban and rural areas in Morocco. The reason why we have conducted this study is the absence of diversity slum mapping in the form of dynamic GIS data, which can be a part of national development strategies to tackle the risk of further proliferation of shantytowns. Therefore, we first create a new database integration from five countries whose content contains 1366 high-resolution patches of 224 × 224 pixels divided into five classes: two types of “Urban Slum”, one type of “Rural Slum”, “Formal Buildings”, and non-built-up area. Second, we suggest employing a variety of performance metrics to come up with the best transfer learning-based models for the unfreezing stage. The study reveals that by handling the unfreezing of the front layers, we can produce a reliable new model where one condition is fulfilled, namely, where high-frequency dissimilarities have arisen between the target and the source datasets.Quantitative results of these methodologies show that our dataset and our unfreezing strategy for the mobilenetv2 model are more accurate compared to other competing models. This new model can localize all possible changes in morphology and shape among the three-slum types with state-of-the-art performance that reaches an overall accuracy of 98.17%, a loss of 0.062, and a kappa score of 97.71%. Our dataset and the code will be publicly available at the github11https://github.com/mouddentarik/New_Unfreezing_Strategy. to share our results.

R&D, innovation and labour productivity: Evidence from the manufacturing sector in Ghana

The One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative by the Government of Ghana, designed to boost manufacturing across all districts, has the potential to achieve substantial growth in the sector through the strategic use of R&D to enhance labour productivity. The existing empirical literature falls short in exploring the role of R&D in influencing innovation and ultimately labour productivity within the manufacturing sector of Ghana as well as other developing economies with similar characteristics. This study addresses this gap by examining the role of R&D on labour productivity in the manufacturing sector using a structural equation model encompassing R&D, innovation, and labour productivity. Data was sourced from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) involving 209 firms in Ghana. The study employs Three-Stage Least Squares (3SLS) method with its capacity to mitigate issues related to endogeneity and simultaneity bias in simultaneous equations in contrast to other econometric techniques. The 3SLS method was used to examine the effect of R&D on innovation and labour productivity in the manufacturing sector of Ghana. The results highlight the multifaceted determinants of labour productivity in Ghana's manufacturing sector, emphasizing the positive impact of R&D. R&D also significantly influence both product and process innovation. These findings are useful for the development of human capital in Ghana. Thus, the study recommends the integration of R&D into Ghana's national development strategy toward improvement in human capital to create a conducive environment for local manufacturing firms and the 1D1F initiative, to actively engage in R&D to enhance labour productivity.

The impact mechanism of carbon emission reduction performance on financial performance based on carbon neutral targets: Evidence from Chinese energy enterprises

Purpose: Low-carbon and green technologies are crucial for achieving industrial structure upgrades and significant leaps forward in the development of energy enterprises. Therefore, this paper examines the correlation between carbon emission reduction and financial performance in energy firms.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: A two-way fixed-effects model is developed using data from 33 Chinese energy-listed companies between 2015 and 2020.
 Findings: The benchmark regression results show that improving a company's carbon emission reduction performance leads to better financial performance. Moreover, assuming corporate responsibility for reducing emissions can boost companies' reputations and foster better relationships with stakeholders. The trustworthiness of the standard regression outcome is validated through alternative independent variables, reducing time frames, and incorporating previously omitted factors. The results of heterogeneity analyses show that reducing carbon emissions has the same effect on financial performance across all regional characteristics and equity subgroups. Furthermore, the internal transmission mechanism analysis reveals that female leadership positively moderates the effect, while financing constraints negatively moderate the relationship between carbon emission reduction performance and financial performance.
 Conclusion: Under the national green development strategy of achieving carbon neutrality and carbon peaking, the carbon information disclosure system should be improved by the government; enterprises should implement innovative methods for low-carbon economic management and operation; and regulators should establish effective green regulations, incentives, and constraints. This paper offers a comprehensive guide for energy companies and their stakeholders to reduce carbon emissions, thereby achieving sustainability.

Mergers and Acquisitions in the Corporate Sector of the Russian Pipe Industry

The relevance of this study is determined by the significance of mergers and acquisitions as modern tools for expanded diversified growth, direct investment, production synergy, and overcoming the increasing risks of companies’ external environment. The work clarifies the content of mergers and acquisitions from the perspective of reorganization and business development, dominant and partial shareholder control. The high concentration of the Russian pipe industry is emphasized, which is due to the historical territorial concentration of key enterprises in the industry and modern trends of consolidation and movement towards a large-scale oligopoly in the domestic market. The mergers are based on signs of both vertical and horizontal integration, with a focus on creating a model of business units, each of which represents an enlarged production complex. The key driving force is recognized as the growing domestic demand for pipe products from enterprises in the oil and gas sector and municipal infrastructure in the context of the priorities of the national development strategy and the active state policy of project financing. A consistent combination of tight integration tools with technological cooperation programs with strategic counterparties has been proven. Signs of a merger were noted at the level of consolidation of internal assets of infrastructure divisions of large companies in the metallurgical industry.

The National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes program and its significance to a prosperous future

AbstractThe U.S. National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes program is introduced, and its significance is discussed relative to the guiding national AI research and development strategy. The future of the program is also discussed, including, the strategic priorities guiding the potential for new AI Institutes of the future, initiatives for building a broader ecosystem to connect Institutes into a strongly interconnected network, and the building of new AI capacity and fostering partnerships in minority‐serving institutions.

Can stakeholders’ attention to innovation promote corporate innovation?

PurposeGiven the significance of innovation in enabling firms to maintain a long-term competitive edge and secure excess profits, this paper aims to investigate whether and how stakeholders’ attention to innovation (SATI) influences corporate innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper introduces a novel variable, SATI, which is achieved by segmenting stakeholders’ attention into two categories: attention to innovation and attention to other facets, using textual analysis methods. Subsequently, this paper empirically examines the influence of SATI on corporate innovation.FindingsThis paper finds that SATI positively affects corporate innovation input, and the result remains true after addressing possible endogeneity issues using instrumental variable regression. Furthermore, the positive effect of SATI on corporate innovation is stronger in firms facing greater financing constraints, thus verifying the financing constraints hypothesis. The positive effect is also stronger in firms with lower risk-taking levels, thus confirming the innovation failure tolerance hypothesis. Further analysis suggests that SATI increases both corporate innovation output and efficiency, thus ruling out the catering hypothesis.Originality/valueThis paper highlights the importance of SATI in driving corporate innovation. It enriches the literature on the repercussions of stakeholders’ attention and determinants of corporate innovation. In addition, it provides practical suggestions for further implementing China’s national innovation-driven development strategy.

Sustainable Solutions to Mitigate the Negative Effects of Climate Change on Afghanistan

One of the most important global issues that face all countries is climate change. One of the nations most impacted by the effects of climate change is Afghanistan. The nation is more endangered due to its geographic location, delicate ecosystems, and socioeconomic difficulties. This article explores Afghanistan's vulnerability to climate change and highlights sustainable solutions to lessen its effects on the nation. Online surveys were used as part of the study, which comprised 136 lecturers and current students from several Afghani universities. The results showed that the main effects of climate change on Afghanistan are an increase in average temperature, more frequent and severe droughts, flooding and increased water scarcity, loss of food security and agricultural productivity, melting of glaciers and depletion of water resources, and an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters (such as storms and landslides). The main sustainable ways to lessen the effects of climate change are to promote renewable energy sources (solar, wind, and hydro), implement water management and conservation practices, improve agricultural practices for increased resilience, improve infrastructure for disaster preparedness, reforest and conserve forests, educate and raise awareness about the impacts of climate change, empower communities, create accountable policy and decision-making processes, and develop national strategies for sustainable development. Afghanistan.

Natural Tourism planning and sustainable tourism in Libya The case of the Derna region

The Derna region experienced a violent hurricane in 2023 that destroyed much of the infrastructure and residential neighborhoods. The area requires extensive reconstruction that takes into account the natural and touristic qualities of the place, beyond the obvious shortcomings in tourism planning processes. It is time to pay attention to this important sector, by adopting urban plans that are updated and modified according to circumstances in order to create a sustainable tourism project.
 The Derna region in eastern Libya is one of the cities that, if it benefits from tourism urban programs adopted within a national strategy for sustainable tourism development, will constitute a tourism pole not only in Libya but also at the regional level. The area is coastal, characterized by stunning natural landscapes with the presence of the sea, valley and plateaus. It is also located within a rich tourism field that provides the practice of various types that attract tourists at different levels, capabilities and ambitions, and establishes true sustainable tourism. However, the effectiveness of the tourism sector in the region and in all cities of the Libyan country is still modest in its practice compared to the opportunities and capabilities available. It also does not have sustainability requirements, as it does not have an effective tourism plan. This requires a redoubled effort to overcome various challenges and create a sustainable future tourism project.

Advantages and challenges of digitalization of the Ukrainian economy

The essential characteristics, primary goals, and tasks of the Ukrainian economy's digitalization are studied. It has been established that digitization is the saturation of the physical world with electronic digital devices, means, and systems and the establishment of electronic communication exchange between them; in fact, the general, interaction of the virtual and physical is realized, that is, a cyber-physical space is created. The main goals of digitization are the digital transformation of the existing economy, the creation of new sectors of the economy, and the transformation of spheres of life into new, more efficient, and modern ones. This growth will only be possible if ideas, actions, initiatives, and plans related to digitization are integrated into national, regional, and sectoral development strategies and plans. The principles of the digital economy, which acquire features of an avant-garde character, are allocated, improved, and characterized. The types of digital economies, their four evolutions, the challenges of each stage of digitalization, and their impact on Ukraine's economy are indicated. It is well-founded that Ukraine has all the conditions for the so-called digital leap and the transition to a higher level of technological development, namely: ability to produce and use information, communication and digital technologies, and availability of professionals. This is evidenced by the statistics of real successes of Ukrainian IT companies on the international market, the purchase of appropriate equipment and technologies, and the dissemination of technologies among citizens and enterprises. This is evidenced by the gradual recovery of domestic demand for technologies, market "success stories" in various spheres of life and economy, creation of local representative offices of equipment manufacturers, distribution of high-tech equipment, a sufficient level of system integration of technical products and services - from design to complex implementation of various technologies, software, and hardware; а culture of creativity and the ability to generate ideas, as evidenced by high ratings. The key directions of the initial stage of the formation of the digital economy are clarified. Challenges in the field of digital economy and strengths and weaknesses are identified in digitalization. Proposals were made to strengthen the strengths and overcome the challenges of digitalizing the economy at the international and national levels. Keywords: digitalization; digital technologies; digital economy; digital society; digital development.

Optimization and evaluation of alternative village-based breeding plans: the case of goats in Afar region, Ethiopia

The study aims to design and evaluate alternative village-based breeding plans for Afar goats in Aba’ala, Afar region, Ethiopia. The alternative breeding plans were designed and evaluated using ZPLAN+ computer program following the gene flow method and selection index procedures. Input parameters were sourced from a production system survey study, own-flock ranking exercises and literature. The breeding goal traits included six-month weight, daily milk yield and proportions of weaned kids. Four alternatives were designed based on the variation of the number of the traits in the selection index (recording) while keeping all traits in the aggregate breeding goal. Furthermore, the proposed alternative plans were evaluated by varying the years of breeding buck service period. Higher annual genetic gain was estimated for six-month weight (0.2983 kg) in alternative 4, for daily milk yield (0.0083 kg or 8.3 g) and proportion of lambs weaned (0.0142%) in alternative 1 when the years of buck use for breeding was set to two years. Higher selection accuracy was obtained in alternative 1 when all the traits were included in the selection index while lower selection accuracy was achieved in alternative 4 when six-month weight only was included in the selection index. The highest profit per doe per year was achieved in alternative 1 (1.221€) while the lowest was obtained in alternative 4 (0.885 €) when six-month weight only is included in the selection index. The simulation results gave an acceptable range of genetic gains with little difference across the alternatives. Therefore, village breeding programs with a few traits in the recording and two years of breeding buck use are deemed practicable. The proposed breeding plans should be part of the national development strategies and involvement of local research institutions and universities is very crucial to ensure adequate technical support.