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Objective: The objective of the article is to analyse the status of IT specialists in the labour market of selected post-communist countries: Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine. Research Design & Methods: The article used own calculations made based on available statistical data from the World Bank, European Commission, Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, Belstat, Ukrstat, and UNCTAD. A descriptive method was also used, as well as deductive reasoning, studying the literature of the subject, and analysis of source texts. Findings: The article demonstrates that despite the difficult socio-political situation and the deteriorating condition of the Belorussian economy, IT specialists from this country can be a panacea for staff shortages in the labour market in neighbouring countries, i.e. in Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltic States. The article also analyses the offers of the above-mentioned post-communist countries that received migrants from the Belorussian IT industry. Implications & Recommendations: We show that Poland has significant economic potential (and economic ties) in terms of incentives for employees of the Belarusian IT sector. The potential of the rest of the studied countries is in total comparable to that of the Republic of Poland - compared with Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine. Relocation of Belarusian IT specialists may contribute to the improvement of competitiveness and innovation of the host countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed 350 companies based in the Śląskie Province that received financial aid to avoid the negative impacts of COVID-19. This study focused on the structure of companies receiving public support due to their business being at risk of negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the amount and type of support. It also classified industries by the amount of subsidy. When analyzing the available data, the Kruskal–Wallis test was applied, which is a nonparametric equivalent of the one-way analysis of variance. It was used to test whether the selected factors significantly affect the values of individual measures. Although the amounts of subsidies received vary, they have contributed to preserving at-risk jobs due to the public health crisis and maintaining the competitiveness of affected micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy education of the younger generation, who are the future decision makers, investors, consumers, scientists, or skilled labor force in new energy technologies, is crucial for the future of Europe and the world. However, beyond the long-term goals of energy education policies, the short-term effects on energy conservation and the promotion of renewable energy sources are equally as important. The main purpose of the paper is to identify and analyze the behavior of students (who study the issues related to energy saving and RES), in terms of energy conservation. The conducted analysis focused on examining and comparing the scope of responses of the surveyed students in individual countries, especially in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine. The survey was carried out using the computer-assisted web interview (CAWI). Descriptive and graphical methods were used to present the results. Statistical analysis of the collected data included basic measures of descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. The main results of the study are as follows: Almost 60% of the surveyed students follow the principles of energy conservation; however increased educational activities on eco-energy behaviors is recommended. The share of RES in the heating systems of the studied residential buildings is 9%, on average, with the highest percentage of houses in Poland (14%) and the lowest in Ukraine (only 2.6%). When compared with literature reports, the collect data show that educational activities can be as effective as a tool in implementing RES and pro-environmental behaviors as the government's environmental policy and household subsidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst the changes and adjustments of the international energy situation, the leading trend is to shift from fossil fuels to low-carbon fuels, and ultimately, to enter the era of sustainable energy, based mainly on renewable energy. The ongoing changes in global security of energy supply and the high volatility of fossil energy prices also stimulate investment in alternative energy sources, making renewable energy sources (RES) one of the rapidly growing elements in the global energy system. This article fills the research gap by analyzing the potential of using renewable energy in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the years 2015–2018. The authors address the energy potential in the years 2015–2019, and energy consumption in the years 2015–2018 as the potential of RES in the CIS countries was not researched after 2014. Please note that the study covers the CIS countries, along with Georgia and Ukraine, which are no longer formal members of the Community, but have been included for cognitive and comparative purposes. Upon comparing the increase in energy production in the CIS countries to the average increase for the European Union (EU) countries, the value of this increase is observably higher than the average for the EU countries only in Ukraine. However, the average for the entire CIS is much lower than the EU average, therefore in CIS countries, the changes in the volume of RES energy production are varied. In some countries, there is a significant increase in the production of this type of energy (e.g., Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Georgia). However, there are also countries in which the changes are negligible, or which noted significant drops in RES energy production (Uzbekistan, Moldova, Russia, Armenia). The findings contribute to the RES market debate and the international relations theory by comparing political factors with territorial and economic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]