Transition Countries Research Articles

Cybersecurity in the Western Balkans and European Regulation

The technological leap is challenging interoperable government ideas and policies for cybersecurity. Online platforms, telecommunications networks require policies that track their changes to prevent negative computer phenomena. Some countries see the opportunity for cooperation and partnership to increase cybersecurity, while other need to prepare strategic frameworks alone to face cyber warfare. Good European practices serve as a model for the Western Balkan states, guiding them towards proper legal regulation and internal legal alignment with the laws of the European Union. The Western Balkans region faces an intensification of cases showing weak cybersecurity strategies and intractable barriers to preventing cyber warfare. Cybersecurity poses not only a challenge for the Western Balkans but also a global challenge, impacting the capacity and well-thought-out government policies of the Western Balkan countries, which are also transitional countries. Through this study, the cyber landscape in which different actors navigate will be explored.

The seroincidence of childhood Shigella sonnei infection in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Background Shigella sonnei is a pathogen of growing global importance as a cause of diarrhoeal illness in childhood, particularly in transitional low-middle income countries (LMICs). Here, we sought to determine the incidence of childhood exposure to S. sonnei infection in a contemporary transitional LMIC population, where it represents the dominant Shigella species. Methods Participants were enrolled between the age of 12–36 months between June and December 2014. Baseline characteristics were obtained through standardized electronic questionnaires, and serum samples were collected at 6-month intervals over two years of follow-up. IgG antibody against S. sonnei O-antigen (anti-O) was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A four-fold increase in ELISA units (EU) with convalescent IgG titre >10.3 EU was taken as evidence of seroconversion between timepoints. Results A total of 3,498 serum samples were collected from 748 participants; 3,170 from the 634 participants that completed follow-up. Measures of anti-O IgG varied significantly by calendar month (p = 0.03). Estimated S. sonnei seroincidence was 21,451 infections per 100,000 population per year (95% CI 19,307–23,834), with peak incidence occurring at 12–18 months of age. Three baseline factors were independently associated with the likelihood of seroconversion; ever having breastfed (aOR 2.54, CI 1.22–5.26), history of prior hospital admission (aOR 0.57, CI 0.34–0.95), and use of a toilet spray-wash in the household (aOR 0.42, CI 0.20–0.89). Conclusions Incidence of S. sonnei exposure in Ho Chi Minh City is substantial, with significant reduction in the likelihood of exposure as age increases beyond 2 years.

The propensity for money laundering amongst accountants in Malaysia

Based on the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, Malaysia is used as a transit country to move drugs globally. Launderers continuously update their new routes for laundering their illegal funds. Accountants are vulnerable to involvement in money laundering as they are the gatekeepers and the bridge to committing money-laundering activities. This paper conceptualises the relationship between the propensity for money laundering amongst accountants in Malaysia, with their familiarity with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities (AMLATFAPUAA) Act 2001, and the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Requirements.

Tracking the post-1990 sociometabolic transitions in Eastern Europe with dynamic economy-wide material flow analysis

Developing and transition countries merit more attentions on resource monitoring and circular economy implementation to improve global sustainability. With four Eastern European countries, Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, and Romania, as cases, we integrated economy-wide and dynamic material flow analysis principles to track multiple material flows and stocks during 1990–2019 and investigate circularity performance and decoupling status throughout all life cycle stages of their entire socioeconomic system. Although the absolute stocks presented different trajectories in these countries, they all have witnessed a progressive growth in per capita stocks, reaching 390 t/cap (Bulgaria), 383 t/cap (Croatia), 239 t/cap (Poland), and 306 t/cap (Romania) in 2019, dominated by minerals. Their material use along all life cycle stages has been identified as being in a strong coupling or a relative decoupling with economic outputs and thus further stock expansion is foreseeable. However, their socioeconomic circularity remained at a low level, ranging from 7 % to 14 %. Such sociometabolic patterns affirm demand-side strategies for manufacturing streams close to service provision are required to reduce resource extraction. Proper waste management systems and policy enforcement are needed to maximize recycling and increase circularity, particularly, in Bulgaria and Romania. We call for more bottom-up studies to improve sectoral resolution, zoom in key life cycle stages, and provide tailored insights towards circular economy implementation in such transition countries.

The impact of covid-19 pandemic on Albanian health emergency operation centre

Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, each State adopted different health emergency strategies to face this new challenge. After the first hospital centred answer, these strategies promoted the strengthening of the territorial health assistance as better response to population health needs at worldwide level. This approach was especially important in the countries in transition, where the hospital systems are weaker. This research aims to assess the impact of these new health policy strategies on health emergency operation centre (HEOC) in a country in transition. Country case study was found to be the most effective methodology. Albania was a significant case study due to its ongoing efforts to align its national healthcare system with European health standards being in pre-adhesion to the European Union. Moreover, this country has recently implemented a modern national HEOC (2018). The data shows that at the beginning to COVID-19 pandemic, the response by HEOC was limited and mainly hospital-centred. In 2020 only 8% of the calls for COVID-19 to the HEOC had an intervention, that was in the 49% a transport in hospital. Medical consultations and treatments on site were only the 4%. In 2021, the issue of guidelines aimed at giving priority to the territorial health assistance brought to a relevant reduction of calls (-64%). It allowed the HEOC to enlarge its response until to give a response to the 34% of calls. The 15% of calls were managed by medical consultations and 18% by treatments on site. The cases transported in hospital were always the 50% but they decreased off -63% in absolute value. In Albania the implementation of national health policy strategies that have enhanced the territorial response to COVID-19 pandemic, relieved the pressure on HEOC by calls’ reduction. In this way, HEOC focused its efforts on the applications of territorial responses instead of hospitalization, according to national health policy strategies, increasing its responsiveness. Key messages • The enhancement of the territorial response to COVID-19 pandemic has eased the pressure on the Albanian HEOC. • The territorial response to COVID-19 pandemic by the Albanian HEOC especially focused on mainly the provision of medical consultations and treatments on site.

How does globalization affect female employment?: A Panel CS-ARDL analysis for transition countries.

Globalization is considered as a process of development for a country procured from the exchange of human capital, technology, and culture, along with many other economic, financial, and cultural factors at the international level. A wide range of studies in labor economics indicate that globalization and female employment are positively associated as job opportunities are enhanced for both males and females. However, others suggest that as opposed to males, once job opportunities increase, job market becomes more competitive in an unfavorable manner for females. This study intends to examine how globalization process affects female employment in transition countries over the period of 23 years from 1995 to 2017. To do this, a panel data consisting of a selected group of 21 transition countries are utilized in the analysis for which the Cross-Sectionally Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (CS-ARDL) is employed. Our results suggest that globalization is inversely related to female employment in the long run, which in turn suggests that globalization might create obstacles among females if policymakers do not provide any optimal policies to keep the labor market dynamics stable during the globalization process.

Does environmental regulation improve energy transition performance in China?

This study examines the relationship between environmental regulation and energy transition performance in China. With the pressing need to mitigate climate change and reduce environmental impact, understanding the effectiveness of environmental regulations in facilitating the transition to cleaner energy sources is of paramount importance. Using comprehensive data on environmental regulations and energy transition indicators in China, this research investigates whether stringent environmental regulations positively influence the country's energy transition performance. The study employs statistical analysis techniques to analyze the correlation between environmental regulation stringency and various energy transition metrics, including renewable energy capacity, carbon intensity, and energy efficiency. The findings provide valuable insights into the role of environmental regulation in shaping China's energy transition landscape. Understanding this relationship can guide policymakers and stakeholders in formulating effective strategies and policies to accelerate the transition towards a sustainable and low-carbon energy system in China and beyond.

The impact of digital inclusive finance on the growth of the renewable energy industry: Theoretical and logical Chinese experience

The development of renewable energy is the key to tackling climate changes and ensuring energy security. Meanwhile, the process is usually associated with a huge investment and financing gap, especially for transitional countries like China. Hence, developing and innovating the traditional financial system is urgent. However, existing studies have mainly focused on traditional financial perspectives, and few papers have critically examined how digital financial inclusion affects the growth of renewable energy industries. To this end, using Chinese provincial data from 2011 to 2020 and applying Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) method, this study explores the effect of financial inclusion on renewable energy and its underlying mechanisms from the production and consumption perspectives. It is found that the impact of financial inclusion on the production side of the renewable energy industry is significantly better than on the consumption side, and there is heterogeneity effect in different energy resource varieties, different regional locations, and different financial regulation intensities. The financial inclusion on renewable energy has a significant pulling effect in photovoltaic and wind provinces, but not in large hydropower provinces. Then, its driving effect is particularly pronounced in the northern region. Nonetheless, it is not significant for renewable energy consumption in the southern region. Besides, this positive effect cannot be achieved without stronger financial regulation. The mechanism of action assessment finds that optimizes the consumption pattern, increase the competition of commercial banks, and improve technological innovation all contribute to the positive effect whereas, FDI shows the negative effect. This study provides new evidence on China's achievement of the energy transition, suggesting the need to further improve incentives for FDI firms and to strengthen consumption-side guidance.

THE ROLE OF AZERBAİJAN İN THE FİELD OF GLOBAL WORLD LOGISTICS

In this article, the objective is to research and analyze the actual and strategic role of Azerbaijan in the field of Global Logistics and how Azerbaijan contributes strategically to the global logistics industry. This article explores the ways Azerbaijan should do in terms of its strategic role in the world logistics field and tries to disclose country's role in conditions that exist in the world logistics network. Logistics has an important role the development of all sector in any country. When we evaluate the role of Azerbaijan in the field of Global Logistics, one of the main nuances is to determine the weak and strong points of country in logistics section. For the improvment of logistics potencial, the state programs in this area should be implemented continuously. By assessing the country's capabilities in the field of global logistics, it is important to attract international attention to increase the country's transit trade potential. A general theoratical approach to the study of modern logsitics relations permit to form a imagination about the basic events and processes occuring in this field. In any region, the improvement of logistics infrastructure creates broadly opportunities for the developmemt of transit potencial and having become a significant motive force of economic growth, logistics and trade permit to increase the capacity of foreign direct investments in the basic fields in quickly globalizing world. Azerbaijan plays the role of a bridge between Europe and Asia. To turn into an important hub, to become better in this sector, Azerbaijan has to improve essentially the logistics and trade infrastructure for the long term period.

THE RIGHT OF DIRECT PARTICIPATION OF CITIZENS AND ITS FORMS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

The level of direct participation of citizens in the country is one of the important indicators of democracy. Countries in transition, such as Serbia, are facing a low level of trust in their governments and institutions, so this is the main reason why citizens are not interested in direct participation and why they do not believe that if they participated directly, they would not be able to change anything. The aim of this paper is to point out the possibilities of direct participation, which are recognized by law to citizens, at the level of local governments and to point out the obstacles they face, as well as what discourages citizens from direct participation. Examples of good practice are highlighted, bad examples are pointed out and solutions for improving the legislative procedure are proposed.

The Role of Public Administration in Ensuring State Security: Strategies and Mechanisms of Implementation

Objective: The objective of this research is to examine the role of public administration in ensuring national security within the context of strategy formation and implementation. It seeks to substantiate the theoretical foundation and offer practical recommendations for addressing the challenges posed by increasing risks, threats, and dangers to state security in the face of instability and external influences, especially in the aftermath of Russia's war against Ukraine.
 
 Methods: The study utilizes a range of research methods, including general scientific and specialized approaches such as economic analysis, system analysis, scientific abstraction, comparison, synthesis, analogies, statistical analysis, grouping, multivariate cluster analysis, the k-means method, correlation and regression analysis, as well as tabular, graphical, systematization, and generalization techniques.
 
 Results: The findings reveal that the security situation in European and transitional countries has deteriorated due to Russia's actions, affecting the effectiveness of public administration in ensuring state security. Ukraine's Fragile State Index reached a critical level in 2023, highlighting the need for immediate measures to counter threats.
 
 Conclusions: The evolving landscape of state security, marked by increased instability and external pressures, necessitates a reevaluation of public administration's role in ensuring national security. The empirical findings underscore the urgency of addressing these challenges through strategic planning and effective mechanisms. It emphasizes the importance of cooperation and coordinated efforts among countries facing similar threats to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity in a changing geopolitical landscape.

Spain’s «national character» in «The Economist»

The image of a country conveyed by the international media is increasingly important in a globalised and interdependent world. Some of these international outlets have a special role to play in this process, and the British weekly The Economist is certainly one of them. For more than a century and a half, the publication founded by James Wilson in 1843 has been a reference for politicians, opinion leaders and businessmen around the world. For this reason, it is of particular interest to understand the magazine’s special way of contextualising news events in different latitudes from the perspective of each country’s ‘national character.’ From this perspective, we analyze the image of Spain offered by The Economist throughout its history from the understanding of the interest that has always had for the professionals of the British weekly the interpretation of current affairs in the context of the so-called ‘national character’ of a country. After the thematic analysis of nine supplements on Spain published by the weekly between 1972 and 2018, six features have been highlighted that would consistently configure the ‘national character’ of this country for the weekly. These six traits are: a country in transition; a diverse country; a festive, hospitable and tolerant country; a country with an inefficient administration; a country with a weak economy; and an artistic and unscientific country. A better understanding of these stable features can be of great importance for better managing a country’s international projection.

Migration status of migrant workers under the international human rights protection system

The international protection of the rights of migrant workers and their migratory status is a crucial issue in the current global context. Migrant workers face numerous challenges and vulnerabilities due to their cross-border mobility, making them more susceptible to exploitation and discrimination in the workplace. To address this issue, the international community has established a legal framework aimed at safeguarding the rights of migrant workers. Instruments such as the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, adopted in 1990, recognize the basic human rights of these workers, regardless of their migratory status. Achieving more effective protection requires promoting closer international cooperation and fostering dialogue among countries of origin, transit, and destination. Additionally, addressing the underlying causes of migration and improving legal pathways for labor migration are crucial steps in ensuring that the human rights of migrant workers are respected and protected at all levels.

Irregular migration of vulnerable groups to Ecuador: a breach of human rights

The reasons behind the irregular migration of children and pregnant women are diverse and complex, but political instability, violence, and poverty in their home countries stand out. Due to its geographical location and relatively flexible migration policies, Ecuador has become a transit and destination point for many vulnerable migrants. Children embarking on this perilous journey face countless risks, including exploitation, trafficking, and abuse. It is crucial to implement policies that safeguard their rights and well-being, while also providing access to essential services such as education and healthcare. Pregnant women also confront a delicate situation, as the journey can jeopardize their health and that of their babies. The lack of adequate healthcare access during the journey and in the destination, country exacerbates their vulnerabilities. Addressing this issue demands a comprehensive and coordinated response involving the governments of origin, transit, and destination countries. Establishing specific protection and assistance measures for the most vulnerable groups is essential, ensuring their human rights are upheld and offering opportunities for a dignified and secure life.

Humanising Pedagogy in Mathematics Education at South African Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges: Influence on TVET Teaching and Learning

This study examines the implementation of a humanising pedagogy in teaching mathematics at a TVET college in South Africa. Despite the country's transition to democracy, disempowerment and dehumanisation persist within the education system, particularly affecting learners from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. Mostly, TVET mathematics classrooms are neither humanised as mathematics is taught in isolation with social issues nor linked to students’ lived experiences. Student engagement is minimal as the classroom environment is a banking zone model. The study explores how a humanising pedagogy, based on critical pedagogy principles, can address these challenges. A humanised pedagogy has been explored through workshops and lesson presentations that were based on humanising pedagogy. Findings reveal that the adoption of a humanising pedagogy enhanced student engagement as the teaching strategies were engaging and student centred. Students were actively involved; mathematics was linked to students’ lived experiences. Additionally, the adoption of a humanising pedagogy helped students and teachers to see the relationship between the content and real life and how they can use mathematics to address social problems. The study highlights the need to humanise mathematics teaching and calls for educators to become agents of social change. Embracing a humanising pedagogy can foster a more inclusive, responsive, and equitable education system.

ROHINGYA REFUGEES MIGRATION TO MALAYSIA: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

The Rohingyas are refugees originally from Rakhine, Myanmar, who fled to Malaysia since in the end of the 1970s and early 1980s. They choose Malaysia as a destination compared to other South-east Asian countries, in spite of the obstacles and restrictions faced. Hence the purpose of this article is to identify the factors for their preference in choosing Malaysia as a transit country, and the modus operandi used by them to enter Malaysia. This qualitative research gathered data from content analysis of written materials. It argues that the ethnic Rohingyas entry into Malaysia is not only to flee the ethnic crisis in their country of origin. Their purpose is partly economic in efforts to build a better life for the future, due to the favourable factors of sharing a common religion with Muslim Malaysians, family influence, political stability, attitude and culture of Malaysian society and opportunity for education in Malaysia. The availability of various migration cross-border routes paved the way for their planned or unplanned entry. The selection of migration route whether over land, water or air or combination of routes depends on aspects such as safety, duration of journey, service fees for smuggling of humans and the risk of getting caught by authorities.

Mülteci çocukların renal sağlığı: süregelen bir zorluk

Aim: Its geographical proximity to Syria makes Turkey an important destination and transit country for refugees from various countries. The aim of this study is to determine the kidney and urological disease profile and to reveal the ongoing problems of refugee children who applied to a single center in Adana, home to a dense refugee population. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the largest single center experience with the refugee pediatric patient population in this field.
 Methods: Medical records of 614 refugee children admitted to the pediatric nephrology and urology departments between February 2020 and May 2022 evaluated retrospectively. A total of 530 patients were included in the study.
 Results: Median age of the 530 patients (301 male/229 female) was 72 months. The median follow-up time was 7 months (IQR 14 months). Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract with 181 patients (34.2%) is the most common diagnosis. The frequency of chronic kidney disease (CKD) of the patients was determined as 25% with 132 patients. 64 (12%) of the patients required surgical intervention. It was observed that 322 (61%) of the patients did not come to their regular follow-ups and delayed their follow-up.
 Conclusion: Irregular follow-up and delaying the treatment can lead to sad consequences in patients with CKD in the long term. We believe that regular patient follow-up will have a positive impact on the long-term follow-up results of the patients and on the health costs of the country hosting the refugee patient profile.

Rethinking the Nexus: DDR and SSR in Post- and Evolving Conflict Contexts in Africa

Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR) programs are critical components of postwar transitional processes. The interlinkages between the two programs have been essential, especially in determining how combatants in armed groups and armed forces could become part of reconstituted security sector institutions, including the military and the police. Additionally, these links help determine who may be eligible as participants in these processes, and why some actors should be excluded. Over the past four or so decades, academic and policy understanding of postconflict settings has led to the acknowledgment that the two programs reinforce each other and should be designed to ensure fluidity and complementarity. However, there are usually gaps in linking the two, which have negative implications for peace, security, and stability in countries in transition from violence to peace. While there are several studies on the links between DDR and SSR, this paper seeks to examine both previous and current practices in both conflict and postconflict settings, with the aim of interrogating the changes that have been introduced over time to strengthen the links, and some of the gaps that are still existing, or emerging, especially as the nature of armed conflicts continue to change in Africa. Methodologically, the paper adopts a qualitative approach, through which interviews were conducted with practitioners, policy makers, and academics in the fields of DDR and SSR, across countries that previously implemented and those that are currently implementing DDR and SSR programs.

Health issues of the indigenous communities with special reference to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Odisha: a review

As India is a country in epidemiological transition, the indigenous populations agonise from a dual burden of illnesses, including undernutrition, infectious diseases and lifestyle-related issues like hypertension, obesity and diabetes. Few concrete efforts have been made to understand these emerging public health problems with emphasis on the indigenous populations living in this country. This review paper focuses on the epidemiological transition, prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases, nutritional status, dual burden of malnutrition and the availability, acceptability and accessibility of the health care services among the tribal communities with special emphasis on the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Odisha. This study is based on the review of published articles in different online databases using search engines like Google Scholar, Pub Med, INFLIBNET, JSTOR. A total of 195 articles published during the period from 1956 to 2022 were reviewed. The review is focussed on the indigenous populations living in the Indian state of Odisha. Migration and urbanization are the leading causes of epidemiological transition among them. The health scenario in terms of nutritional status, disease burden and availability of health care facilities of Odisha was found to be far behind the national average. Compared to other groups, the situation of the PVTGs of this state is the worst. The review suggests more action-oriented ground level research with targeted goals that would address the health needs of the indigenous populations at a micro level.

Information Directed Towards Migrants and the (Un)Making of Borders: An Interdisciplinary Perspective Between Countries of Origin, Transit, and Destination

ABSTRACT Migration information campaigns and awareness-raising activities are increasingly used by Western governments as a “soft” tool of border enforcement in countries of origin, transit, and destination. Acting upon perceptions and aspirations, these information provision initiatives aim at convincing (potential) migrants to remain in or “voluntarily” return to their country of origin. As they rely on security and humanitarian rationales, they gather heterogenous actors whose practices oscillate between migration control and assistance. Yet, despite their apparently consensual nature, these initiatives bring out conflicting interests and generate contestations on the ground. In this perspective, this SI approaches information as a highly crowded and disputed field to grasp the complexity of power relationships in a restrictive migration context. Drawing on an interdisciplinary perspective, it investigates the discourses and norms conveyed by governmental initiatives that use information as a tool to control mobilities; the communication strategies defined by state and non-state actors to reach (potential) migrants; and the everyday practices deployed by migrants themselves to navigate this disputed information landscape.