Sphere Of Policy Research Articles

Does Soft Power Look Different in Multinational Federations? International Education and Soft Power Politics in Canada/Quebec

Abstract While the study of soft power has gained significant scholarly attention, an understanding of soft power politics in diverse state models, and multinational federations specifically, is lacking. This study remedies this gap by exploring the connection between soft power and multinational federalism in the Canadian context, highlighting the tensions between the Canadian federal “majority” nation and Quebec's “minority” nation. Relying on the international education policy sphere and its soft power potential, the study extends the discussion of soft power beyond the typical unitary nation-state lens, elucidating the interaction of multiple (and contrasting) soft power rationales within one country. The study reveals that soft power politics can be exerted as much domestically as externally and can be pursued in a discorded fashion within a nation-state. Clearly, there is a need for a more nuanced understanding of soft power, which considers its contested manifestation, and the context-specific ways it is utilized.

Challenges achieving horizontal coherence across health and public security policies in formulating Uruguay's cannabis regulation.

In 2013, Uruguay became the first country to regulate the legal production, distribution and sale of recreational cannabis. While key officials have framed Uruguay's landmark legislation as part of the government's strategy to regulate cannabis, tobacco and alcohol, there is limited empirical research exploring the political considerations that influenced its approach. Drawing on the concept of policy coherence-the process by which policymakers seek to minimize conflicts and maximize synergies across policy agendas-this study explores the extent to which Uruguay's cannabis regulation was influenced by the promotion of policy coherence within health and across other policy spheres. Government documents, 43 semi-structured interviews and field observations were thematically analysed. The analysis shows that the pursuit of policy coherence across health issues was relatively limited, and where there is an element of regulatory coherence, there also appears to be minimal coordination. Efforts to promote substantive policy coherence were shaped by a desire to legitimate cannabis use without creating an upstream driver or structural force that would promote excessive consumption. The findings also reveal that the outcome of Uruguay's cannabis regulation was more directly shaped by broader political considerations, including how to resolve tensions between public security and unhealthy commodity regulation goals. This study raises important questions around the extent to which Uruguay's cannabis regulation was shaped by the explicit goal of policy coherence, suggesting rather that comparisons with tobacco and alcohol regulation were strategically used to justify the introduction of a legally regulated cannabis market.

Bridging the Gap: Experiential Learning's Role in Transitioning from Hybrid to Full-Time Entrepreneurship

The transition from hybrid entrepreneurship- where individuals maintain part-time employment while nurturing their business ventures-to full-time entrepreneurship presents unique challenges and opportunities. This conceptual paper examines the critical factors that influence the possibility of making the transition from hybrid to full-time entrepreneurship. To develop a more sophisticated knowledge of the dynamic entrepreneurial journey, it is imperative to assess the experience learning that occurs throughout the hybrid phase. To present a conceptual model and related claims, this conceptual paper used secondary data analysis of previously published academic literature, specifically utilizing a thematic analysis. Three elements are identified in the proposed conceptual model as being likely to affect the decision to transition: fear of failure, entrepreneurial competency development and self-efficacy. In this study, hybrid entrepreneurship is demonstrated to be a useful training ground and a route for full-time entrepreneurship. There are three main sources of value in the paper. First, applying an established theory to a novel setting in order to provide a transdisciplinary approach. Secondly, a conceptual model is established, providing statements that are easily connected to theories for further empirical analysis. Third, raising the profile of hybrid entrepreneurship in the literature to promote support and involvement from the public policy sphere.

Toward an assessment of the relevance of proposed public policy in contemporary African society: A retrospective review of Kenya's now‐defunct building bridges initiative, with special reference to post‐election violence

AbstractWhereas competing interests characterize the African public policy sphere today, the lens of mass‐elite differences has hardly been employed to study electoral violence. Accordingly, this article juxtaposes the lived experiences of ordinary Kenyan citizens, obtained through focus groups, with the content of the now‐defunct Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a comprehensive set of public policy changes proposed by Kenya's political protagonists Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga in 2017. It poses the following broad question: did the BBI proposals truly intersect with the opinions and lived experiences of the masses? I find that various factors, including the lack of electoral and judicial integrity, and a winner‐takes‐all democratic system, are responsible for post‐election violence according to citizens. A comparative analysis of citizen perspectives and the BBI Report reveals considerable congruence in the understanding of the causes of post‐election violence. The study partly concludes that African leaders should continue to engage in policy entrepreneurship.Related ArticlesHodzi, Obert. 2020. “African Political Elites and the Making(s) of the China Model in Africa.” Politics & Policy 48(5): 887–987. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12380.Kouladoum, Jean‐Claude. 2023. “The Role of Freedom of Communication in Modulating the Effect of Political Participation on Electoral Outcome in Africa.” Politics & Policy 51(4): 588–613. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12539.Onyango, Gedion. 2024. “DHR‐PA—Democracy and Human Rights in Public Administration in Africa.” Politics & Policy 52(2): 426–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12584.

The Role and Place of Prosecutorial Supervision over the Activities of the Eurasian Economic Commission in the field of Antimonopoly Regulation within the Framework of the Functioning of the Eurasian Economic Space

Currently, taking into account the new circumstances in which the economy operates, greater importance is attached to such an economic association as the Eurasian Economic Union. The article analyzes one of the areas of authority vested in the Commission — the sphere of competition policy, since the Commission considers applications, conducts investigations, considers cases of violation of competition rules, sends appropriate requests for information to consider cases of violation of competition rules, if a violation or signs of a violation have been committed on the cross-border market of the Union. But who exercises control and supervisory functions over the activities of this body and should there be such control and supervision? This article will be devoted to these issues, which require analysis taking into account the scientific approach and law enforcement. The author analyzes the powers of the Eurasian Economic Commission in the field of competition policy. Reveals such gaps in Union law as the lack of a mechanism for challenging determinations of refusal to initiate proceedings on violation of competition rules and other powers of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Is England’s Office for Students likely to falsely identify courses as below threshold on the B3 progression metric?

ABSTRACT Rising inflation and slow growth globally have led to governments focussing on value for money, and in the sphere of higher education policy that is often translated into graduate outcomes. In England, the Office for Students (OfS) has created the progression metric which for full-time, first degree and UK domiciled students requires courses to have 60% of graduates with positive outcomes 15 months after graduation. This paper utilises simulations to evaluate the likelihood that the OfS’s approach will fail to identify courses below the threshold (false positives) and incorrectly identify courses at or above the threshold (false negatives). The simulation adapts the levels of positive outcomes within the population (20-90%), sample size (40–1000), percentage sampled (30-90%) and crucially confidence intervals applied (90%, 95% and 99%) to identify courses below threshold. The three main findings are: the choice of 90% CI minimises the likelihood of false positives compared to 95% or 99% CIs; second, larger samples are essential to reduce likelihood of false positives; and third, preferring the 95% confidence interval instead of 99% for taking regulatory action will result in more courses incorrectly identified as below threshold. Governments that choose a statistical approach to regulate educational standards, like the application of confidence intervals to identify provision below quality standards, should utilise simulations to check the likelihood of false positives and false negatives since failure to do so could lead to both: (a) courses below standard not being identified and (b) regulatory action taken incorrectly against provision at or above standards.

Water quality and unseen health outcomes: A cross-sectional study on arsenic contamination, subclinical disease and psychosocial distress in Bangladesh

Health risks from water quality pose a major threat to billions of people globally. Most microbial contaminants have short subclinical periods, compared to chemical contaminants that can take years to manifest, which can translate to less attention in the policy sphere. Complex water quality issues in Bangladesh, including arsenic contamination, offer an ideal case study to highlight the wide-ranging health and social impacts of perceived and invisible contaminants. This paper presents a cross-sectional study where two tools are explored for understanding the less visible health impacts of water contamination: (1) measuring subclinical disease via nail arsenic measurements (n = 899) to better ascertain chronic exposure; and (2) understanding the relationship between water quality and psychosocial distress (n = 876), for men and women across three sites with varying water quality issues. Applying generalised linear regression models, subclinical arsenic showed strong positive correlation with water arsenic, while the relationship between severity of psychosocial distress and water arsenic was modified by perceived risk from arsenic. Subclinical disease was much more prevalent than what current exposure through drinking water would indicate, with 65.3% of participants having nail arsenic levels above the 1 μg/g cut-off for unexposed individuals (spanning across sites with average water arsenic as low as 2.51 μg/L and as high as 379 μg/L). Further demonstrating the breadth of unseen outcomes of water contamination, uncertainty was the most commonly expressed component of distress, followed by worry, fear, suffering, and lack of choice. The presence of psychosocial distress underscores how experiences of contaminated water go beyond physiological illnesses, while the use of subclinical biomarkers can shift the understanding of disease and provide a useful way of leveraging policy change by pinpointing exactly where and by whom intervention is needed.

ТРАНСФОРМАЦІЙНІ ЗМІНИ НА РИНКУ ПРАЦІ УКРАЇНИ В УМОВАХ ВОЄННОГО СТАНУ: ТЕНДЕНЦІЇ ТА ВИКЛИКИ

The state and dynamics of changes in the labor market of Ukraine, caused by the conditions of martial law in Ukraine, require prompt monitoring and their consideration when developing modernization programs focused on the needs of the recovery of the national economy, the priorities of the country's integration into the European Union, taking into account the trends in the functioning of the global labor market. The purpose of the article is to monitor transformational changes in the labor market of Ukraine under martial law. The subject of the study is the trends and challenges of the labor market of Ukraine. Research methods: analysis and synthesis, comparison, grouping and analogies, deduction. The hypothesis of the study is that the effectiveness of the modernization mechanism of the further functioning of the labor market depends on the scale and direction of the trends of transformational changes, which are reflected in the trends and challenges that have a high specific capacity of behavioral aspects. Presenting main material. The article identifies the reasons for the significant increase in the imbalance in the functioning of the labor market, which mainly occurred due to the mass migration of the population and the relocation of enterprises from the occupied territories to the western and central regions of the country, but at the same time, employers feel the presence of personnel hunger, which they seek to cover with little competition in pay labor. It has been established that, in general, the type of labor market functioning with a shortage of qualified personnel persists. The conducted analysis made it possible to determine relevant processes for the wartime functioning of the labor market of Ukraine, which consist in a significant reduction in employment; changes in the structure of the country's labor potential due to the large-scale internal and external migration of the population and the increase of internally displaced persons in the structure of the labor force supply; dissatisfaction with the needs of the working population; activation of mobilization processes provoked negative dynamics of informal employment; manifestations of differentiation in the level of wages and job offers regionally and by gender. Originality and practical significance of the research. The practical value of the research lies in the fact that the obtained results allow to objectify the processes of transformational changes in the labor market of Ukraine in wartime conditions, to characterize the current and prospective challenges of its functioning in the system of the national economy. Research conclusions. The impact of war events on the country's national economy was primarily reflected in the reduction of production capabilities, changes in the structure of the available labor force, the destruction of enterprises, the deterioration of the dynamics of the functioning of the labor market, and the crisis-related deterioration of the regulatory mechanism of labor market institutions. In the context of research perspectives, the monitoring of the consequences of martial law for social and economic spheres, providing spheres of human capital development, market relations, internal and external policy of the state remains an important operational task. In further investigations, the identified threats and risks can be used to develop programs for regulating processes and resources in the labor market.

Towards Sustainable Agriculture: Assessing Plant Variety Protection and Farmers’ Rights in Pakistan

Pakistan's regulatory framework regarding Plant varieties presents a multifaceted challenge in the preservation of farmers' rights within the spheres of agricultural policy, intellectual property rights (IPRs), and the socio-economic landscape. This inquiry aims to analyze the current state of plant-related legislation in Pakistan, with a particular highlighting on the strategies employed to protect farmers' rights in the background of the rapidly changing global environment of intellectual property and agricultural methodologies. With the dawn of international accords such as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights(TRIPS)and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), Pakistan faces the imperative of aligning its domestic legal framework with global standards while ensuring the safeguarding of farmers' rights. The study concludes by recommending reforms at both institutional and policy levels that could strengthen Pakistan's legal framework in the protection of farmers' rights, particularly regarding the safeguarding of plant varieties.

The politics of Africa’s urban–industrialisation: authoritarian centralisation and policy integration

A growing body of literature addresses the implications of the ongoing rapid state-led, export-oriented industrialisation in African cities for a range of development concerns – e.g. labour relations, value chain development, gender relations and China’s involvement in infrastructural development. This study focuses on another important implication of Africa’s rapid industrialisation that has not been sufficiently explored – urban–industrial integration. Recent scholarship that looks at the interaction of urban and industrial development in Africa identifies challenges emerging at the nexus caused by lack of policy integration (PI). However, this literature does not address why this disconnect between the policy spheres arises or why it continues to persist. Based on thematic analysis of over a hundred qualitative interviews with key policy actors in the urban–industrial sphere, I argue policy fragmentation in the African urban–industrial nexus is driven by processes of ‘authoritarian centralisation’ that foster adverse political conditions for PI – more specifically conceptual integration, policy coordination and infrastructural integration. The study illustrates the relationship between authoritarian centralisation and PI and discusses the ways in which authoritarianism has shaped urban policy, planning and development and its integration into industrial and economic development strategies. The paper contributes to the nascent literature on the politics of urban–industrialisation in a broader range of developmental authoritarian African states. This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0 .

Determining a future policy focus to support antimicrobial stewardship in community pharmacy: A modified Delphi study

BackgroundOver the past decade, the pharmacy sector's policy, academic and professional spheres have increasingly drawn attention to the opportunities to better leverage the untapped potential of the community pharmacy sector in contributing to global efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR). While efforts are in train, progress is slow. ObjectiveTo draw insights from global experts in the field to identify a broad range of potential future policy directions to support community pharmacists' involvement in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). MethodsA modified Delphi technique, comprising two survey rounds to build consensus amongst global community pharmacy sector stakeholders and opinion leaders. In Round 1, participants rated their level of agreement with 28 statements across the three domains of policy design, implementation design, and monitoring and evaluation. Participants were also invited to contribute feedback in Round 1, which was reflected as new statements (n = 10) in Round 2. In Round 2, participants were asked to re-assess Round 1 statements in view of the group consensus and to rate the new statements. Results289 participants were invited to participate. 48/289 (17% response rate) completed Round 1, and 25/42 (60% response rate) completed Round 2. Consensus (defined as >70% agreement) was achieved for 79% (n = 30) of the statements across the three domains. ConclusionPharmacy sector experts agreed that acknowledging community pharmacists in AMS national action plans is an important component, signalling a recognition of the sector's contribution to whole-of-nation AMS efforts. Implementation components that achieved consensus reflect the profession's evolution to a professional service driven model, particularly in complementary AMS initiatives including infection prevention and control measures. Context-specific adjustments to support implementing these AMS measures will be required, in addition to striking the appropriate balance to support the pace of increased community pharmacists'involvement in AMS with building whole-of-profession buy-in.

Sustainable Affordable Housing: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives

Nowadays, there are many studies with a significant focus on affordable housing. The relevance of this theme, which is usually the central object of public housing policies, requires an updated review of the problems and challenges to be overcome, especially in terms of sustainability, in favor of an improvement in the quality of products delivered to beneficiaries. This research concentrates on applying the sustainability concept to affordable housing, emphasizing technical, social, and governance aspects. A novel classification framework is introduced, encompassing these aspects in the context of sustainability integrated with affordable housing. A systematic literature review is conducted and more than 100 articles are examined based on bibliometric and bibliographic analyses to highlight the main dimensions and topics involved in the housing public policy sphere. The study has been elaborated based on collecting relevant materials, building a descriptive analysis of the literature examined, highlighting the classification structure that categorizes the studies examined, and evaluating the material identified based on the classification structure. The outcomes aim to spotlight the diverse dimensions of sustainable affordable housing and associated research themes. Furthermore, the research outlines deficiencies in current approaches and outlines a future research agenda for implementing sustainability in affordable housing. It establishes a strong connection between technical, social, and governance aspects of affordable housing and sustainability, considering anticipated approaches, techniques, and challenges.

The Phenomenon of Creative Heritage in Socio-Humanitarian Discourse

The main idea of the article is to address the phenomenon of creative heritage as an independent basic concept of modern socio-humanitarian research. Having analyzed a certain corpus of works in the field of memorial cultural practices, the authors came to the conclusion that there is no instrumental distinction of the concepts “cultural memory”, “artistic heritage”, “creative heritage” in this discursive field. The novelty of the study lies in analyzing the specificity of the concept “creative heritage”, as well as its role in contemporary socio-humanitarianism in general and art history in particular. Since the field of applied interest of the authors lies in the sphere of a specific art form — dance, practical conclusions are drawn in relation to it. It is emphasized that along with the generally accepted methods of research in a given discursive space — typological, structural, functional, biographical — the method of humanitarian blockchain and the concept of “artistic code of the epoch” proposed earlier by one of the co-authors can be used to study the creative heritage of a person (creative group) in the history of art. Emphasis is placed on the relevance of this research policy in connection with the current geopolitical agenda, the practices of “culture of cancellation” being implemented before our eyes, and, accordingly, the need to develop effective projects in the sphere of state cultural policy, forming the working contours of cultural memory and national identity. The problem of identifying, studying and preserving the creative heritage as part of the cultural heritage acquires special relevance in the realities of the modern historical stage — the “early digital era”, accompanied by the rapid development of digital technologies, including destructive ones such as deepfake. The practical potential of the development of this concept is particularly noted, which allows for the consistent preservation of traditions and innovations in artistic activities, to use both the formed array of cultural heritage of different levels and the potential of creative cultural industries.

Global hotspots of climate-related disasters

Climate change mitigation is crucial to prevent excessive temperature rise, a primary contributor to climate-related impacts. However, even if net zero emissions were achieved immediately, the carbon locked in the atmosphere will continue to impact ecosystems, people, settlements and infrastructure, as observed in the past several decades. Despite the urgent need to minimize climate change impacts, climate adaptation has not kept pace with escalating risks. Data on disaster occurrences and impacts can guide action to where it is most needed. We used data on climate-related disasters recorded between 2000 and 2020 in the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) to 1) discern disparities in climate-related disaster impacts across countries and continents, and 2) pinpoint administrative areas where people have been highly impacted from those types of disasters. During this period, over 4,600 occurrences of climate-related disasters were documented, directly impacting over 3.3 billion people. Highly developed countries experienced fewer impacts despite not having a lower number of climate-related events. African countries showed an increase in the number of people impacted through time, despite a decrease in the number of climate-related events. Areas in Central America and the Caribbean, Eastern North America, Eastern Africa and Madagascar, and Southern and Eastern China, India and Southeast Asia had the highest numbers of people impacted per km2. Identifying locations with disproportionally high numbers of impacted people can lead to action and policy shifts, from local to international levels. Some of the approaches to adapt to climate change impacts that can be cost-effective and readily available are those based on nature and the benefits that nature provides to people. Therefore, nature conservation, restoration and management could be important interventions to help people adapt to the impacts of climate change, especially in areas of low human development and where people have experienced high and very high climate impacts. In the policy sphere, synthesizing information on historical occurrences of climate-related disasters could guide efforts to address losses and damages and to promote climate justice.

LEGAL PROBLEMS OF ENSURING FOOD SECURITY IN MODERN RUSSIA IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION AND MUTUAL RESTRICTIVE MEASURES

The article discusses the problems of ensuring food security in modern Russia in the context of globalization and mutual restrictive measures. Legal documents forming the sphere of state policy in the field of ensuring food independence are studied. The issues of creating conditions for uninterrupted provision of the population with affordable good-quality food, in the physical and economic sense, are considered. It is revealed that food security at the global level affects socio-economic development, health and ecology. It is shown that by pushing through their geopolitical interests, the countries of the golden billion threaten the food stability of entire continents, and the world community as a whole is moving away from solving the problems of food security at the global level. The absence of a direct legislative act regulating the most important area of national security hinders the food self-sufficiency of our country. It is recommended to develop and adopt the Federal Law “On Food Security” as soon as possible.

Projections of private vehicle ownership, energy demand and vehicular emissions – a study of metropolitan cities in India

Urban agglomerations in India have witnessed significant growth in private vehicle ownership since the turn of this century. Intense urban road transport will have stern implications on air quality, GHG emissions, energy demands and, transport infrastructure. This study investigates the relationship between income and vehicle ownership rate for five metropolitan cities in India using a non-linear Gompertz functional framework. Medium-term scenarios of private vehicle (cars and two-wheelers) ownership, vehicle stock, energy demand and tailpipe emissions under multiple scenarios are envisaged by deriving ownership saturation based on city area and land use pattern. The results show a significant increase in vehicle stock resulting in a substantial rise in energy demand and vehicular emissions by 2035. However, the adoption of electric vehicles is expected to truncate this surge. Delhi is projected to saturate during this period while other cities are expected to saturate after 2035. The study also highlights transport policy and investment spheres to reduce private vehicle dependency.

Resisting stigma: the role of online communities in young mothers’ successful breastfeeding

BackgroundBreastfeeding initiation and continuation rates are shaped by complex and interrelated determinants across individual, interpersonal, community, organisational, and policy spheres. Young mothers, however, face a double burden of stigma, being perceived as immature and incompetent in their mothering and breastfeeding abilities. In this study, we aimed to understand the experiences of young mothers who exclusively breastfed for six months and beyond and explore their experiences of stigma and active resistance through social media.MethodsIn 2020, in-depth telephone interviews about breastfeeding experiences were conducted with 44 young mothers under age 25 in Aotearoa New Zealand who breastfed for six months or longer. Participants were recruited via social media. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically.ResultsAnalysis yielded four themes on young mothers’ negotiation of breastfeeding and support. The first three themes revealed young mothers’ encounters with socio-cultural contexts. They faced negative judgments about maturity and competence, adverse guidance to supplement or cease breastfeeding, and an undermining of their breastfeeding efforts. The fourth theme showed how young mothers sought alternative support in online environments to avoid negative interactions. Online spaces provided anonymity, convenience, experiential knowledge and social connections with shared values. This facilitated identity strengthening, empowerment and stigma resistance.ConclusionOur research highlights the importance of online communities as a tool for young mothers to navigate and resist the societal stigmas surrounding breastfeeding. Online spaces can provide a unique structure that can help counteract the adverse effects of social and historical determinants on breastfeeding rates by fostering a sense of inclusion and support. These findings have implications for the development of breastfeeding promotion strategies for young mothers and highlight the potential of peer support in counteracting the negative impacts of stigma. The research also sheds light on the experiences of young mothers within the health professional relationship and the effects of stigma and cultural health capital on their engagement and withdrawal from services. Further research should examine how sociocultural barriers to breastfeeding stigmatise and marginalise young mothers and continue to reflect on their socio-political and economic positioning and how it can exacerbate inequities.

Cold War “Cultural Safaris”: Canadian Art, Cultural Diplomacy, and the Asian Commonwealth Tour

In 1955, the National Gallery of Canada circulated an exhibition of Canadian art to the “Asian commonwealth”—Pakistan, India, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Developed in tandem with Canada’s involvement in the Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia, the tour was part of a wide-angled strategy of cultural engagement that, despite its humanitarian trappings, was grounded in Cold War politics. Featuring a small display of relatively unimportant works in venues of limited interest to the National Gallery, the tour nonetheless marks a significant juncture in the development of the Canadian cultural state—a turning point in the relationship between the gallery and Canada’s Department of External Affairs, which in the immediate postwar decades sought to coordinate with the National Gallery in pursuit of an active role in the information brokering and cultural work it identified in the gallery’s promotion of Canadian art abroad. In this article, we position the Asian commonwealth tour as a case study that reveals the inherent tension in the relationship between the cultural and policy spheres of the state that informed Cold War mobilization of the liberal values art was thought to express.

ЦИФРОВІ БАЗИ ДАНИХ ДЛЯ ОСВІТИ І ПРО ОСВІТУ: ДОСВІД ДАНІЇ

The article analyzes the content and specifics of Denmark's open educational electronic databases with the aim of adapting the existing Danish experience to the processes of digitization of the educational sphere in Ukraine. It was noted that these processes cover the sphere of the state policy of digitization of the educational realm (organizational, methodical, management, monitoring, accumulative mechanisms), education management (data storage to reflect the history of changes, monitoring of existing services and education quality control systems, accumulation of statistical data and their prognostic analysis), methodical support of the process of forming the digital competence of the educational process’ subjects (building information profiles, developing digital didactic subsystems, increasing the level of competitiveness of educational institutions as providers), the scientific sphere (digitalization of the open scientific environment, building a space of academic integrity, cooperation between scientists and stakeholders). The common characteristics of the National Electronic Research and Information System URIS and the Danish educational database MED were analyzed. A vision model of the MED database (subjects of educational activity and the content of their activity) was built. The structure of monitoring the quality of education in Denmark, based on open electronic databases, is presented; it includes evaluation of the professional activity of teachers, compliance of educational programs with the social order, effectiveness of state/regional types of certification of graduates, standardization and unification of the evaluation system, mandatory regional analysis of statistical data. It was noted that the identified problems and shortcomings of computer testing of school graduates in the context of assessing the quality of their activities became a significant motivating factor for the creation of the MED database. The conclusion was formulated that the open electronic database makes it possible to build statistically substantiated correlations between the existing social characteristics of teachers and students of all levels and types of schools. The main advantages of the created open MED database were noted: compliance with the global requirements for the assessment of the "added value of the teacher", high frequency of data collection, prognostic nature of conclusions regarding the formation of the state's educational policy.

Тенденции и противоречия современного семейного воспитания в Российской Федерации: ценностно-смысловой аспект

The article presents the priority directions for the development of family education in the Russian Federation, taking into account the modern socio-cultural reality. The problematic trends that caused the crisis phenomena in the sphere of state family policy in Russia are analyzed. The discussion issues discussed during monitoring studies by various sociological platforms on the problems of the family institute are considered. The thesis is put forward about the need to enrich the family education system with value-semantic, human-centered content through the development of civil society institutions whose activities are aimed at popularizing traditional values and norms. Conclusion dwells upon the necessity and significance of developing prognostic, multidimensional studies as part of strengthening the structure of the school educational segment related to the transmission of knowledge about humanistic, universal values of native history and culture; organization of the Public Council for discussing problems and developing the foundations of educational and moral values of youth, including generalization of the best practices of family education and their replication in the subjects of the Russian Fed-eration.