Expert Support Research Articles

Legal principles of cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union in law enforcement

The article examines the legal basis of Ukraine’s cooperation with the European Union in the field of law enforcement, identifies its main areas. It is pointed out that the constant interaction between the EU institutions and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine is extremely important at the present stage and contributes to the active fight against transnational crime. The main focus is on Ukraine’s cooperation with EU agencies aimed at combating transnational crime, including the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), the European Organization for Justice (Eurojust), the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at External Borders. Of the European Union (Frontex). The main agreements on the basis of which the relevant EU and Ukrainian agencies cooperate are analyzed. It is established that the main areas of cooperation between Europol and Ukraine are the exchange of expertise, general information, results of strategic analysis, information on criminal investigation procedures, information on crime prevention methods, advice and support in individual criminal investigations. An important area of cooperation between Ukraine and Eurojust is the exchange of data, the establishment of joint investigation teams, and the provision of expert and practical support for their activities. The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the EU Member States together with the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine combats illegal migration and cross-border crime through border controls, promotes security at the borders between EU member states and Ukraine. It was concluded that Ukraine needs to deepen cooperation between European Union agencies in order to effectively combat crime.

СТРУКТУРА ПРОИЗВОДСТВЕННОЙ СИСТЕМЫ РОССИЙСКОГО ХИМИЧЕСКОГО КОМПЛЕКСА: АНАЛИЗ ПРОШЕДШЕГО ПЯТИЛЕТИЯ

The authors monitored the organization of the production systems of the Russian chemical complex after half of the implementation period of the chemical industry development program until 2030. The results of 2021 were analyzed as indicators of the midpoint of the implementation of this program, which indicated the stability of the trends in the development of the complex. The article uses the results of the study «Expert and analytical support for assessing the state of the chemical complex of Russia and the performance targets for the implementation of the strategy for the development of the chemical and petrochemical complex for the period up to 2030» and the forecasts made by the authors at the initial stage of the program. It is shown that, despite the average utilization of the production capacities of the chemical complex by more than 80%, it is necessary to consider this indicator differentially by industry. The highest level of utilization was noted in the production of household chemicals and synthetic detergents, ammonia and methanol, and the lowest – in the production of chemical plant protection products and rubber products. It is concluded that the dynamics of the chemical complex of the Russian Federation demonstrates insufficient development of the direction associated with high processing of raw materials, therefore, it is advisable to increase the level of processing of raw materials in every possible way in the chemical industry, and to avoid strong dependence on fluctuations in world prices to focus on the domestic market, including innovative sectors of the economy and dual-use technologies.

ПОТЕНЦИАЛ РАЗВИТИЯ ПРОИЗВОДСТВЕННОЙ СИСТЕМЫ РОССИЙСКОГО ХИМИЧЕСКОГО КОМПЛЕКСА

The authors conducted a study, the results of which allow us to assess the resource base for the development of production systems of the Russian chemical complex with high objectivity. As a data source, the bundle “production – foreign trade – investments – personnel” was considered, and an intermediate period was chosen for analysis, corresponding to half of the implementation period of the chemical industry development program until 2030, since the main trends and dynamics of the work of domestic chemical industry enterprises have now been identified. The data assessment is based on the results of the study «Expert and analytical support for assessing the state of the Russian chemical complex and the performance targets of the implementation of the strategy for the development of the chemical and petrochemical complex for the period up to 2030» and the conclusions drawn by the authors based on the forecasts of the initial period of the implementation of the strategy. It is shown that the development of the chemical industry of the Russian Federation is changing taking into account the orientation to the current economic situation, which includes a reorientation to new markets (Asia, Latin America) and an emphasis on stimulating innovation and investment in import substitution of technologies and equipment. According to the authors’ forecasts, the development of the current stage from understated indicators by 2030 will reach the targets set by the Strategy for the Development of the Chemical and Petrochemical Complex for the period up to 2030. The dynamics of development was evaluated according to the basic and conservative scenarios. Conclusions are drawn: according to both the basic and conservative scenarios, a noticeable growth of the industry is expected from 2030; with an increase in the share of domestic bank lending in the structure of financing sources, the standard of living of the population and working conditions will contribute to the development of the personnel reserve of chemical complex enterprises.

Розробка та використання веб додатків для оптимізації процедури проведення навчальної експертизи методом Делфі для задач управління

The purpose of this article is to research the possibilities of optimization of the process of organizing and conducting educational expertise in conditions of remote interaction. The main task is the development of effective and convenient information technology for conducting expert evaluation in the form of a web application. Additional challenges include elucidating key features of the application architecture that can potentially ensure their educational effectiveness. The technology of organizing expert evaluation in management tasks is assigned. The main stages of conducting an expertise using the Delphi method are characterised and the necessary formalizations are given. A range of technical and cognitive problems that arise in the process of teching students the skills of conducting expertise and processing the obtained results in the format of remote interaction has been identified. Information technology based on conducting collective surveys and processing expert evaluations has been developed. The key requirements for the software application, which can potentially ensure their educational effectiveness, have been clarified. Prototyping the application at the conceptual level using UML-modeling tools. The expediency of developing and implementing expert evaluation support systems in the form of web applications while learning decision-making theory disciplines is substantiated. The implementation of the information technology of expert assessment developed by the authors in the form of a web application will allow students to master the methods of conducting an expertise at a substantive and technical level. The prospect of further research is the creation of a complete software complex covering most of the formalized methods of collective decision-making and placing it in the Internet for free access.

LEGAL REGULATION OF FORENSIC HISTORICAL AND ARCHEOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS IN UKRAINE

The article content deals with the first attempt to systamatically analyze the legal regulation of forensic historical and archaeological examinations in Ukraine. The analysis is based on the synthesis of elements from various sciences ensuring the implementation of forensic examinations in a relevant area. Currently, in Ukraine, forensic historical and archaeological examinations are at a formative stage, therefore the system of legal and scientific support for historical-archaeological research necessitates in-depth research. At present, there are no special monographs, textbooks, manuals dedicated to the systematic analysis of forensic historical and archaeological examinationս, and thus, the author of this article suggests her view of the issue, which is a component of forensic expert support of justice in Ukraine. The coverage of this issue requires a comprehensive multi-level combination of knowledge from law, forensic science, history, archeology and some other sciences. Key words: legal regulation, forensic examination, historical and archaeological examinations, monuments, forensic archaeologist.

Социально-экономическая динамика в изменении институтов публичной власти: опыт Хабаровского края

The purpose of preparing this article is to present the results of the implementation of the theory of human development in the practice of public relations at the federal and regional levels. The current specifics of socio-economic processes is the phenomenon of human-centeredness. It is shown how the phenomenon of human-centeredness represents in the sphere of economy, politics, social system and in the governing processes of the state power. Transition of public relations to a new quality led to constitutional reforms in the Russian Federation. The law No. 1-FCL «On improving the regulation of certain issues of organization and functioning of public authority» dated March 14, 2020 initiated amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and introduced the rules on human development in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The processes of constitutional changes have formalized a qualitatively new social contract - an agreement between the people and the public authorities, based on the priority of human development. The constitutional requirements initiated legislative changes in the regional legislation. The paper presents experience of the Khabarovsk region in preparation and adoption of a new edition of the Regional Statute, the results of organization and expert support of this activity in 2022. An important result is affirmation in the regional statute of socio-economic policy that is practically significant for the work of the regional public authorities. The article was prepared on the basis of a system-dynamic methodology, principles of the theory of economic dynamics, the theory of post-industrial development, and the theory of system transformations. Results of the study are recommended for use in the regional public authorities.

ПРОБЛЕМА УВЯЗКИ СТРАТЕГИЙ ФИНАНСОВОГО РАЗВИТИЯ С ЦЕЛЯМИ СОЦИАЛЬНО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОГО РАЗВИТИЯ: АСПЕКТ ЦЕЛЕВЫХ ПОКАЗАТЕЛЕЙ

The study is devoted to the problem of linking financial development strategies with socio-economic development strategies in terms of matching the target indicators of such strategies related to different levels of the hierarchy of strategic planning documents. The isolation of financial development from the goals and priorities of socio-economic development in Russia begins with strategic planning. This is most clearly manifested in the discrepancy between target indicators of these two levels of strategic planning. The article presents 4 options for a complex of financial development indicators linked to the goals and objectives at the upper level of strategic planning. Their development was based on the analysis of the impact of individual parameters of financial development on the parameters of socio-economic development and global competition of the national financial sector; individual areas of financial development on financial development in general, as well as on isolating the role of financial regulators in raising the level of financial development of the country. These indicators were suggested while providing expert support for the development of various financial development strategies, but their use as a whole, as a complex of indicators, was hindered by departmental interests. In the process of interdepartmental discussions, a complex of target indicators subject to a single logic was replaced by unrelated, easily achievable indicators, or fundamentally unmeasurable indicators. The main contribution of this article is drafting of a complex of target indicators for financial development, as well as making conclusions from the experience of their practical application / non-application.

Recognizing Native Advertising and Its Challenge to Traditional Advertising

Native advertising has continued to show its influence in the digital media market, as one of the representative online advertising types over time. Consequently, it has become highly significant for marketers and advertising participators. The impact has also been witnessed in the case of the market of native advertising, which has experienced a rising trend over the past years. Although the advertising industry and companies have advocated in support of native advertising, regulators and experts have signaled concerns regarding its transparency because its contents are designed based on the style and purpose of the media hosting. Through conducting a detailed review of the relevant literature, this study aims to define native advertising, trace its history, and discuss the close relationship between the young generation and native advertising. Meanwhile, the study illustrates that native advertising causes conceptual, ethical, and regulatory challenges. Further, the findings of the research demonstrate that the effectiveness of native advertising may be enhanced to a certain degree through imitating non-commercial content design, tone, and style. However, it may not be a long-term solution for advertisers to deal with a decreased advertising effectiveness. Therefore, there is a need for both advertisers and policymakers to investigate challenges posed by native advertising and find valuable solutions for improvements.

Effects of Stakeholders Engagement on the Implementation of Physical Infrastructure Projects in Public Secondary Schools: A Case of West Pokot and Trans Nzoia Counties, Kenya

Education sector globally has realized a huge rise in enrolment levels. In Kenya for instance, the continuous enrolment in primary schools and the hundred percent transitions as a result of the Free Primary Education (FPE) has imposed pressure on the already existing resources in Secondary section. This study aimed at assessing the effects of stakeholder engagement on implementation of physical infrastructure projects in secondary schools: a case of West Pokot and Trans Nzoia Counties, Kenya. The study adopted Critical Chain Project Management theory. This study employed a descriptive survey design which was suitable since the study sought to collect information from the respondents on their opinions. The target population was 479 which comprised of the Principals, Board of Management Members, County and Sub County Directors of Education. Using Yamane’s formula, a sample size of 218 respondents was attained. Questionnaires and interview guides were used in data collection. The quantitative data collected was coded to translate questions responses to specific categories and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), tabulated and presented using descriptive statistics. The findings indicated that in both Counties; stakeholders were highly engaged in secondary school infrastructure project development though at varied levels. The findings showed that indeed, school heads are being supported and trained by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in both counties on the capacity to handle projects. The study also found out that whereas the board of management in Trans Nzoia County was offering some good work in managing projects, the management in West Pokot County was ineffective. There was an indication that; despite the government banning the PTA component of financing schools, still schools in Trans Nzoia county charge parents this component in the fees as opposed to the West Pokot schools. It was also evident from the findings that teachers were not engaged in the development of the physical infrastructure in the two counties. The findings showed that in counties, professionalism and commitment from the contractors were upheld. The respondents in the research rated PTA’s participation in terms of expertise and financial support to having influence in school infrastructure project implementation in Trans Nzoia County. Respondents from both Counties agreed that there was commitment and professionalism from the hired contractors. The following recommendations were made: Participation by stakeholders in the whole process of infrastructure project implementation in government aided secondary schools should be encouraged. Given that the government banned PTA component of physical infrastructure funding, the government should provide enough budgetary funding to all secondary schools. The study recommends that teachers ought to be engaged in physical infrastructure development in secondary schools. The study also recommends that Parents Teacher Associations need to be empowered on project implementation in schools and due diligence should be followed in pre-qualifying, selecting and awarding of tenders to contractors.

CSTP: lessons from the implemen-tation of the first stage and future prospects

The article presents the results of the analysis of the first stage of the implementation of the Strategy of scientific and technological development on the basis of complex scientific and technological programs/projects of the full innovation cycle, expert support for this process and current changes in the organization of the development of such programs and projects.

The lawmaking linguistic and expert support: European and Ukrainian examples

The article aims to study the role and importance of an expert and linguistic support of law drafting as a mean of improving the national legislation of Ukraine. The work is based on the application of descriptive, systematic, logical-legal, hermeneutic, statistical, comparative-legal methods of legal research and the method of alternatives. The research materials include normative legal acts regulating the activity of expert and linguistic support of lawmaking in Ukraine, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, and Poland. The circle of the main executors of expert and language support of lawmaking in the specified countries, for the definition of their efficiency according to the Rule of Law Index as an indicator of the quality of the legislation, is allocated. The nature of the influence of expert and linguistic support of lawmaking of the analyzed states and their Rule of Law Indices is established.

Qualitative assessment of the probability of introduction and onward transmission of lumpy skin disease in Ukraine

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a transboundary disease affecting bovine animals, which may result in severe economic implications. Ukraine is considered particularly vulnerable to LSD due to its proximity to regions where the virus is circulating. In addition, its ecological and environmental parameters can sustain, in summer, the spread of the disease in case it entered the country.This qualitative risk assessment aimed to investigate the probability that LSD virus is introduced to Ukraine and, if introduced, what would be the probability of onward transmission in the country within the next year. The risk assessment followed the OIE import risk analysis for animals and animal products guidelines and was undertaken with the support of local experts via an expert elicitation workshop. A modified Delphi approach was used to gather experts inputs.The illegally traded cattle was the pathway considered to have the highest probability of LSD introduction; however the probability was estimated to be low. When assessing the probability of an animal being exposed to the virus and further onward transmission in Ukraine, the highest probability estimate was related to flying vectors (high probability). During the expert opinion workshop, the Delphi approach helped to increase the agreement between experts and to assess the uncertainty related to some of the probability estimates.Throughout the risk assessment, some data gaps were identified and highlighted. The lack of reliable data on animal movements and biosecurity in Ukraine were emphasized. Based on the elicited probability estimates, the local experts generated recommendations for risk management practices. To our knowledge, this is the first risk assessment performed on LSDV in Eastern Europe and the conceptual framework adopted can help other countries willing to do a risk assessment in a similar data scarce environment.

Evaluating the accuracy of smallholder farmers’ sire identification for introducing genetic evaluation in community-based sheep breeding programs

A major challenge in improving genetic merits of smallholder farmers’ flocks in developing livestock systems is the absence of pedigree and performance recording for reliable selection decisions. In this study, we evaluated the reliability of pedigree recording in a community-based Menz sheep village breeding program in Ethiopia, with the purpose of introducing genetic evaluation in the selection program. A total of 3577 six-month weight (SW) and 3876 weaning weight (WW) records collected from 2009 to 2017 were analysed fitting three mixed effects animal models. RP model: considering the sires recorded by farmers as certain, HM model: uncertain paternity with candidate sires in a breeding season assigned posterior paternity probabilities according to phenotypic information, and model AR: uncertain paternity with sires assigned equal priori probabilities and using the average numerator relationship matrix to estimate the genetic effects. The model selection criteria Deviance Information Criteria and Conditional Predictive Ordinate for the three models were comparable, indicating all the three models fitted the data equally. Heritability (Monte Carlo Error in parenthesis) of SW estimated by HM, AR, and RP models were 0.306 (0.00067), 0.374 (0.00061), and 0.418 (0.00048), respectively. EBV and ranks of rams estimated by RP were highly correlated (r = 0.82–0.94) with those of HM and AR models. Up to 82% of the top 30% rams ranked by RP were also ranked by HM and AR models, but accuracy of EBVs was higher for HM model than for AR and RP models. The accuracy of parameter estimates from RP and their correlations with the reference models (HM and AR) is a compelling evidence towards the reliability of farmers pedigree records. It can be fairly recommended to introduce genetic evaluation in community-based breeding programs, estimating EBVs using farmers’ pedigree records directly or with complementary evaluations using methods for uncertain paternity situations. If farmers’ records are to be used directly, expert support in data collection is required to improve the accuracy of EBV above the estimated 70% in this study.

Perceived Social Support as a Predictor of Teacher Candidates' Smartphone Cyberloafing

This study investigated whether teacher candidates' perceived social support (PSS) predicts smartphone use during lectures. To achieve the aim of the study, a relational survey model was used. The study sample composed of students studying at the College of Education in Elazığ Province, Turkey, during the 2019-2020 academic semester. The correlation analysis was conducted to determine the relationships among the variables, and hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to determine the predictive effects of demographic characteristics (gender and class) and PSS on smartphone cyberloafing. The results of the study revealed a significant, negative, and low relationship between PSS and smartphone cyberloafing. Social support from family negatively predicted smartphone cyberloafing during lectures, while social support from significant others positively predicted it. Finally, the family and significant other subscales significantly predicted interactive, browsing, and entertainment cyberloafing. In contrast, the friends subscale predicted only interactive cyberloafing. The belief that a sense of trust in family and needed family support in times of need could decrease smartphone cyberloafing and lead teacher candidates to focus more on teaching. Educational institutions should develop policies that involve families at every stage of education, and decisions should be made with the support of experts, institutions, or organizations on problematic issues.

Men and wolves: Anthropogenic causes are an important driver of wolf mortality in human-dominated landscapes in Italy

Over the last 40 years the gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) re-colonized its historical range in Italy increasing human-predator interactions. However, temporal and spatial trends in wolf mortality, including direct and indirect persecution, were never summarized. This study aims to fill this gap by focusing on the situation of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna regions, hosting a significant proportion of the Italian wolf population, by: ( i ) identifying the prevalent causes of wolf mortality, ( ii ) summarizing their temporal and spatial patterns and ( iii ) applying spatially-explicit Generalized Linear Models to predict wolf persecution. Between October 2005 and February 2021, 212 wolf carcasses were collected and subjected to necropsy, being involved in collisions with vehicles (n = 104), poisoned (n = 45), wounded with gunshot (n = 24) or blunt objects (n = 4) and being hanged (n = 2). The proportion of illegally killed wolves did not increase through time. Most persecution events occurred between October and February. None of our candidate models outperformed a null model and covariates such as the density of sheep farms, number of predations on livestock, or human density were never associated to the probability of having illegally killed wolves, at the municipal scale. Our findings show that conventional correlates of wolf persecution, combined with a supposedly high proportion of non-retrieved carcasses, fail to predict illegal wolf killings in areas where the species have become ubiquitous. The widespread spatial distribution of illegal killings indicates that persecution probably arises from multiple kinds of conflicts with humans, beyond those with husbandry. Wolf conservation in Italy should thus address cryptic wolf killings with multi-disciplinary approaches, such as shared national protocols, socio-ecological studies, the support of experts’ experience and effective sampling schemes for the detection of carcasses.

When Fairness is Flawed: Effects of False Balance Reporting and Weight-of-Evidence Statements on Beliefs and Perceptions of Climate Change

Presenting both sides of an issue is considered a feature of good journalism. However, false balance can result when equal platform is given to opposing views despite one view holding expert and evidentiary support. In three experiments, we examined whether exposure to non-consensus contrarian views, on their own and in falsely balanced presentations, would affect perceptions of expert consensus and personal belief in climate change. Exposure to contrarian views reduced perceived expert consensus, even when paired with a consensus view, and regardless of the expertise of the contrarian source. However, participants who subsequently read a weight-of-evidence statement, despite reading contrarian arguments, showed no such reductions and even beneficial increases in their beliefs and perceptions. Although contrarian claims problematically inform people’s understandings of issues by making them seem more contentious than they actually are, statements about the broader consensus of experts can encourage perceptions and understandings in line with empirical evidence.

Assessment of the required amount of funding for expert support of standardization work in the field of technical regulation of railway transport infrastructure

Assessment of the required amount of funding for expert support of standardization work in the field of technical regulation of railway transport infrastructure

Technocratic attitudes in COVID-19 times: Change and preference over types of experts.

Western publics show a sizable support for experts’ involvement in political decision making, that is, technocratic attitudes. This article analyzes two key aspects of these attitudes: technocratic attitudes’ stability and the heterogeneity in the demand for experts depending on the context. We first analyze how technocratic attitudes have been affected by an external event, the COVID‐19 pandemic, that has placed experts’ role at the forefront of the public debate; this allows us to analyze the stability or change in these attitudes. Second, given that the pandemic quickly evolved from being a public health issue to becoming a political issue combining economic and public health dimensions, we examine whether framing the COVID‐19 pandemic exclusively as a public health problem or as including a prominent economic dimension as well affects the type of public officials who are preferred to lead the political management of the crisis (independent experts with diverse professional skills or party politicians belonging to different parties and with a specialization in different policy fields). We pursue these two research goals through a panel survey conducted in Spain at two different time points, one before and another during the pandemic, in which we measure technocratic attitudes using an exhaustive battery; and through a survey experiment combining a conjoint design and a framing experiment. Results show that, first, technocratic attitudes have significantly increased as a consequence of the coronavirus outbreak; second, people's preference for experts prevails against any other experimental treatment such as party affiliation; and, finally, preferences for the type of experts vary depending on the problem to be solved. In this way, this paper significantly increases our knowledge of the factors that affect variation in public attitudes towards experts’ involvement in political decision‐making.

Visual recognition processing of power monitoring data based on big data computing

The operation control of power units is usually carried out by the control personnel with the help of distributed control system. Although it can ensure the safety of unit operation and meet the requirements of power generation loads, the economy of unit operation and the accuracy of control process still need to be further improved. Therefore, by designing multiple view mapping and association, it provides interactive visualization support for relevant experts in the key links of model establishment and evaluation. In the exploration stage of estimating model parameter, the user can get the delay range by line chart and focus + context technology, while in the model screening stage, the user can provide the combination of screening views, selecting the model by its accuracy on different data sets, and finding the model anomalies by the model structure view. Besides, in the model evaluation stage, the user can get the delay range by predicting line chart and model accuracy radar chart. In addition, the method in this paper keeps between 4.2–7.2 in most distributions, and the maximum value is 18. The time series trend of the data segment is consistent, and the absolute value of the weight coefficient is basically 0 after being superimposed, which has great advantages compared with other methods, proving the effective results of the research content in this paper.

Expert-analytical Support of Foreign Policy Activities

The article presents the final results of the project studying the system of expert and analytical support for foreign policy decisions. The project is devoted to conducting a survey and a set of interviews with employees of government bodies (leaders and chief specialists) who are involved in the process of preparing and making foreign policy decisions. The article contains the officials’ assessment of the main challenges when interacting with the scientific and expert community, as well as a "desired image" of such interaction.The study was held in two stages (stage I in February-October 2020, stage II-in January-August 2021) in the form of a survey with a set of follow-up interviews for a more detailed interpretation of the data obtained. The interviewees included 24 employees of federal executive bodies (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Rossotrudnichestvo; departments of international cooperation of line ministries, agencies and services); offices of the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (departments providing international and inter-parliamentary cooperation). All participants of the study are in positions of the "managers" category or are part of the group of "chief specialists", that is, they have experience in decision-making process and/or in elaborating them. The survey and interviews were anonymous. The research is within structural-functional, institutional and regulatory approaches. The authors note that informational materials with low level of generalization and lacking recommendations and forecasts will never replace genuine analytics and expertise. Given the development of artificial intelligence, generalizing information will be automatized. As a result, expertise has to be of better quality.