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Copyright of Politologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper attempts to assess events related to the huge scale of the influx of migrants in the summer of 2021 at the Belarusian borders with Lithuania, Poland and Latvia. The involvement of the Belarusian government had a key impact on the nature of the events and led to Belarus' violation of its international obligations. In particular, Belarus has violated the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951), the 1967 additional Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1966 UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000 and the Protocols Thereto (Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air). The illegal actions taken by Belarus were described as a hybrid attack aimed at destabilizing Europe. Minsk's creation of an engineered migration pressure on the border with the EU can be considered part of a hybrid strategy – one of the dominant methods in geopolitical confrontation and the struggle for influence in international relations. The present paper verifies the research hypothesis that Belarus has deliberately violated international law by inducing engineered migration at the border with the EU in order to paralyse the migration situation in the neighbouring EU Member States. The violation of international law has not resulted in any major international consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper attempts to describe, discuss and analyse the situation of rapid and spontaneous transfer to practical usage of a language which speakers know only passively in the situation of stable closely related bilingualism. Such a transfer – from native Russian to Belarusian – has been taking place in the Republic of Belarus due to various reasons. Partly, this process was connected to the political situation in the country and around it; at the same time, a part of Russian-speaking intelligentsia (mostly residing in the country capital, Minsk) was in the process of reshaping of their national identity. The paper discusses in details both those reasons, as well as the peculiarities of the language situation promoting this process, its linguistic features and their difference from those of an interlanguage which arises in the situation of a foreign language acquisition and from those of trasyanka, the code in-between Russian and Belarusian. The phenomenon in the focus is also compared with the newest tendency of Russian-speaking Ukrainians to transit to using Ukrainian instead of Russian in their everyday communication and in social media. The paper is based on the data obtained in the course of longitude field study conducted in Minsk in 1999–2022 and the data derived from media and internet sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking into consideration the current developments as regards the intensification of the irregular movement of third country nationals at the EU's border with Belarus, this paper sets as its main objective to assess the resilience building measures that were taken at the level of the affected Member States and that of the EU in order to manage the newly emerged border crisis. It is being argued that we are not dealing with an ordinary migration crisis, but a deliberate act of the Belarusian regime to instrumentalise migrants from the Middle East for political purposes. The research presents the facilitation of irregular immigration in a dual nexus, firstly as a hybrid warfare tool, and secondly, as a shock/stress factor disturbing the system or the prevalent status quo. After presenting the statistics on the modification of the illegal border-crossings between Belarus and the EU in the 2021-2022 period, we shall attempt to briefly analyse the resilience building measures to the hybrid threat of weaponizing migrants that were taken at both Community and Member State level, by grouping them in five resilience building categories: political/legal, institutional, inter-institutional, regulatory and societal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Polish Journal of Economics / Gospodarka Narodowa is the property of SGH Warsaw School of Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper discusses the findings of a study on the attitudes of Belarusian parents with school-aged children towards school-based sexuality education programs. The study aimed to measure parental support for comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and its individual components, identify the topics and age ranges approved by parents, and determine which course characteristics are important to them. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to evaluate the factors that influence parental support for introducing sexuality education in schools. The study found that a fairly high share of 60.6% of parents were supportive of the introduction of CSE, despite low satisfaction and awareness of the current information presented in schools. Parents approved a median age of 13.3 years as the minimum age for CSE curriculum. However, topics such as safe use of cell phones, computers, the Internet, and social media; psychological pressure and violence; peer bullying; confronting peers; sources of help; relationships, love, friendship, parenting, and family were considered permissible for earlier age ranges. The study found that parental support to school-based sexuality education is influenced by several factors. These include parents' normative ideas about the balance of responsibility between family and school in educating children and adolescents about sexuality, the level of awareness of and satisfaction with available information on sexual development and health in the school curriculum, whether parents have a college degree, parents' personal experiences in having intimate conversations with their children, and any difficulties they may encounter in such communication. The paper offers recommendations for a CSE course architecture that is relevant to the context of Belarus and meets parental expectations, as well as on perspectives for advancing sexuality education in Belarus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos Europeos de Deusto is the property of Universidad de Deusto and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper's focus is on the innovations in the urban public political agenda that are due to the interplay between participatory digital platforms, the socio-economic paths of specific urban environments, and long-term policy orientations on the national and urban levels. The context of the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus and the resulting boom of participation in the local and national political agendas is taken here as a particular configuration of the mentioned interplay and its outcomes. The first part of the paper focuses on the role of digital platforms in the studied boom of participation in 2020, the second documents the urban policy developments in Belarus during the period of 2015--2020, and the third reflects on the compatibility of the Belarusian case with wider discussions on the political impact that the spread of digital platforms has on urbanism. It is argued that the repressive state, the gradual marketization of urban development and the accompanying strengthening of urban dwellers' economic autonomy, and the proliferation of commercial digital platforms and civic tech are the factors that have defined the studied politicization and the boom of participation in Belarus. The examined case shows the contours of emerging politics in non-democracies under conditions of ubiquitous digitalization and the pressure on the state's redistributive capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to specify the definitions of two terms, bigraphia and digraphia, and examine how these phenomena appear in post-socialist countries. It is currently a global phenomenon to use two or more writing systems in one country, due to the spread of English and the Internet. Bigraphia means when the function and prestige of two writing systems (or two varieties of one system) are equal. On the other hand, when there is a difference in the function and/or prestige between two writing systems, it is defined as digraphia. The paper examines the combination of writing systems in post-socialist countries such as Russia, Belarus, Serbia, and Uzbekistan. In-digraphia refers to a situation in which variations of one writing system coexist, and out-digraphia refers to a situation in which two different writing systems coexist. A narrower sense of digraphia is observed in Belarus today: Belarusian Cyrillic-Т(BC-T) is used to write Tarashkievitsa and Belarusian Cyrillic-N (BC-N) is used to write Narkamaŭka. Out-digraphia is observed in Serbia and Uzbekistan. In these countries, Cyrillic and Latin scripts are used to write Serbian and Uzbek. Out-digraphia is also confirmed in Russian texts: It is commonly thought that only Cyrillic letters are used to write Russian, but recently the use of the so-called "macaronic alphabet," which is a mix of Cyrillic and Latin letters, has become common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this article is to analyse women’s writing as immaterial labour, focusing on the case of contemporary Belarusian literature as the contribution to the de-Westernizing of creative labour studies. First, the paper focuses on language choice specific for contemporary Belarusian literature and educational opportunities as the prerequisites to begin a writing career set in the 1990–2000s. Second, the paper outlines the environment providing publishing and showcase opportunities, emphasising the mid-2010s as the period of increased diversity. And third, the paper assesses the conditions that influence creative expression sustaining the labour of creating writing in 2020–2023. Within this argumentation, the paper investigates the state of specifically women’s writing in Belarus, considering the problematics of equal opportunities. Thus, in the 1990– 2000s women’s writing wasn’t on the agenda aimed at the preservation of the field and relating it to the Belarusian language. In the 2010s educative and showcase opportunities supporting the efforts of young writers provided an equally beneficial environment for men and women writing in Belarusian or Russian. The representation of women writers increased, including more women writers awarded with book prizes by both state and independent organizations although still not equal with men writers. During 2020–2023 it is mostly recognized women writers over 40 years old, especially currently in emigration, who produce literary works that are successfully published in Belarusian or Russian. Younger women writers have less opportunities for publication and showcase, switching to autofiction of shorter formats barely sustaining their efforts as labour. Interestingly, in both cases the most common themes are ancestry and corporality, making women representation in contemporary Belarusian literature less diverse. This affects the demand in literary works by women writers among diverse groups of women as the reading audience, making the labour of women writers in Belarus more precarious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines some ‘stories’ of female artists who were connected (in different ways) to Belarusian cultural space, mainly in the first half of the twentieth century. Despite women’s prominent and incontestable contribution to art, firstly, as producers, their role and place are still mainly invisible in ‘global’ and ‘local’ art history, whose ‘canon’ is oriented on the male experience. Exploring history and the strategies of displacement, erasing, forgetting, and non-recognition of female producers in art, the paper asks about socalled universal common patterns of how this marginalisation (and, as a result, absent) still happens, no matter what field — art, science, technology — in any area which is considered as a male realm. Discussing several obstacles scholars might face in the process of reconstructing women’s biographies, the author argues that the feminist approach of storytelling aims not merely to extend ‘history’. It is a strategy to trouble the existing male-oriented ‘canon’ that contributes to creating multidiverse and plural ‘epistemic spaces’ as the fundamental matter of transnational feminism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the notions of interruption and exhaustion in relation to the 2020-21 anti-governmental uprising in Belarus. It examines various forms of protesting, such as marches, neighbourhood gatherings and strikes from a feminist perspective. It focuses on the dynamics of visibility and opacity, social reproduction and politicization of mundane gestures, and on questioning the notion of revolutionary event and its temporalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia i Polityka is the property of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Traditional dyeing methods are practically forgotten in Poland. Józef Rostafiński included questions on the use of dyes in his ethnobotanical survey from 1883. Methods: 126 questionnaires contained information on dye plants. They were identified by the respondents using folk names or sometimes even Latin names. Folk names were analyzed by comparison with other literature. Several voucher specimens were also present. Results: 74 plant taxa were identified to genus or species level. The most commonly used were: onion (Allium cepa), brazilwood (Caesalpinia brasiliensis or Paubrasilia echinata), winter corn (mainly rye Secale cereale), black alder (Alnus glutinosa), safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), apple (Malus domestica), birch (Betula pendula), oak (Quercus robur), and violet flowering spring flowers (mainly Hepatica nobilis and Pulsatilla spp.). Conclusions: Most species are well known in the literature about plant dyeing, but the paper provides extra details on the picture of dyeing traditions in Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the important current problem of illegal crossing of a national border, which since autumn 2021 has been particularly intense on the Belarusian-Polish section of the border. It has been serious enough to pose a security threat not only to Poland, but also to the rest of Europe. This article contains a discussion of the solutions provided for in the 1999 Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus that concern illegal border crossing and associated crimes, i.e. organization of illegal migration and violation of the period of prohibition of entry into the territory of the country. For the purposes of the article, it was assumed that the scope of the regulations in question is casuistic and restrictive, and provides little guarantee of protection of the national border of Belarus. The legal analyses that were conducted generally confirmed the assumed evaluation of these solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the degree of digitalization of Academic Writing and Information Literacy (hereafter AW & IL) course in the countries of the post-Soviet era. Numerous research demonstrated that digital transformation has taken place toward the teaching of AW & IL in most of the developed countries and beyond, yet little is studied about the digitalization in countries of the former Soviet Union that have passed a long way to align their education with the globe. Keeping up with the four main categories of digitalization, the paper will look at its application as a part of curriculum development, assessment, students' competency, and university maintenance. The paper employs a phenomenological approach confirmed through the qualitative analysis of 18 in-depth interviews conducted with AW & IL instructors from nine countries. The study revealed that recently AW & IL course has moved through partial digitalization, providing that the university stakeholders do not exert any necessary support.

Copyright of Acta Histriae is the property of Historical Society of Southern Primorska of Koper and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article aims to analyze the "Robim Good" project -- a digital platform for sharing urban knowledge and info about upcoming local campaigns. A vacuum among urban initiatives was established in Belarus because of the repressive policy of the authoritarian regime. As a result, around 965 non-profit organizations have been shut down. Nonetheless, there was a demand from activists to create a safe managerial organization that focused on urbanism. The "Robim Good" project became a solution. The research question is as follows: what is the value orientation of the analyzed digital platform that attracts new participants? The paper applies the value-based approach in NGO engagement. The analysis shows that one of the main promoted values and key characteristics of the digital ecosystem is security, which is directed at overcoming the dangers of the unpredictable regime. Subsequently, "Robim Good" has been able to engage volunteers and survive after a year of activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Belarusian Potash salt deposits are bedded under aquifers and unstable soil layers. Therefore, to develop the deposits a vertical mine shaft sinking is performed using the artificial ground freezing technology. Nowadays, real-time observations of ground temperature and groundwater level is applied to control the ground freezing process. Numerical simulation can be used for a comprehensive analysis of measurements results. In this paper, a thermo-hydro-mechanical model of freezing for water-saturated soil is proposed. The governing equations of the model are based on balance laws for mass, energy and momentum for a fully saturated porous media. Clausius-Clayperon equation and poroelastic constitutive relations are adopted to describe coupled processes in water and ice pore pressure, porosity and a stress-strain state of freezing soil. The proposed model was used to predict equivalent water content measured in Mizoguchi's test and frost heave in a one-sided freezing test. Numerical simulation of ground freezing in the Petrikov mining complex located in Belarus has shown that the model is able to describe field measurements of pore pressure inside a forming frozen wall. Furthermore, the mismatch between hydro- and thermo-monitoring data obtained during the artificial freezing is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic affected not only global economy and society, but also particular institutions, including those of higher education. The aim of the paper is to determine changes in students' life at selected universities in Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. An online survey was applied, addressed to students of four universities in Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus (n=380). As a result of the pandemic, more than 46% of students declared worsening of their material situation. In comparison to the period before the pandemic, the respondents observed appearance or intensification of various psychosomatic symptoms, and a 12 percent point decrease in the assessment of their own health. The comparative analysis showed similarities between students' life preferences, plans on university education, and differences in their material situation, health, and employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the sustainable development of rural areas is relevant for various countries, both developed and developing. The improvement of existing approaches for the assessment and management of rural settlement systems is particularly relevant for Belarus, as a country with agricultural resources. Currently, there is no eligible information model for a rural settlement system in Belarus. The main research aim of this study was to develop the information model for formulation and assessment of the settlement scenarios for solving the issue of sustainable rural development in Belarus. The research methods were based on the complex and interdisciplinary approaches, including the systems approach, factor analysis, comparative analysis, spatial and mathematical modelling, SWOT analysis, and the hierarchy method. The paper proposes the development of the informational model of a rural settlement system at a local planning level, including five main determinants of sustainability, namely social, technological, economic, environmental, and political. The model was approved by the assessment of development scenarios for the Zavalocycy local council as the first-level unit of a planning system. We obtained the development indexes for 14 rural settlements within the obtained assessment criteria. The research results showed the relevance of the informational model for the monitoring of sustainable development at a local planning level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presented the results of surface water temperature measurements from 17 lakes located in northern Poland and Belarus over the period of 50 years (1971–2020). Using the Excel computer program, Corel Quattro Pro 8, and graphic Draw 9, annual and monthly averages, extreme values, and annual and monthly trends were calculated and presented. These were supplemented by the monthly average air temperatures for 13 weather stations. The research showed that the temperature in all lakes was characterized by a positive trend at the level of 0.044 °C year−1. The largest lake was characteristic for the Chervonoe Lake—0.066 °C year−1—and the smallest 0.029 °C year−1 for the deep Lake Hańcza. In the course of the average monthly surface water temperatures, a positive trend was also observed, ranging from 0.015 °C year−1 in January to 0.069 °C year−1 in May. These values correlated with the average air temperatures in the winter months (December–March) and with the winter NAO index (DJFM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of research in this paper refers to the analysis of the impact of free zones on the economic growth of developing countries. The objective of the research is to explain to the scientific and professional public the way of functioning and the transmission mechanism of free zones in generating economic growth ceteris paribus. The analysis covers free zones in three countries in the development of compatible characteristics: Serbia, Croatia and Belarus. The research problem is sublimated in the question of whether and in what way free zones have an impact on the economic growth of developing countries? The research was conducted by analyzing the relevant literature and by using the panel analysis. The results of the research showed the existence of statistically significant determination of GDP per capita, as an indicator of economic growth, by variations of macroeconomic parameters of the functioning of free zones. That is, the operation of free zones has a statistically significant impact on the economic growth of targeted developing countries ceteris paribus. Whether growth will be inclusive and sustainable in the long run depends on political and economic decision makers and defined economic policy. In this way, the hypothesis was confirmed that the establishment of free zones in developing countries, with the condition of integration of the national economy into the work of zones, creates preconditions for sustainable and inclusive economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kopan microregion is a group of the Stone and Bronze Ages archaeological sites, located in the section of the Dnieper River valley (about 30 sq. km) between Rechytsa town and Kopan village (eastern Belarus). The aim of the study is to reconstruct the history of this section of the Dnieper River valley. The paper presents the results of field studies of the relief and sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic & Regional Studies/Studia Ekonomiczne i Regionalne is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Social remittances- the transfer of ideas, practices, and codes of behaviors- are a well-documented subject in migrant transnationalism literature and transnational family studies. However, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak has generated unprecedented regulations around the world which require widening the conceptual basis of social remittances in a state of emergency. As the pandemic progresses, most countries require civilians to follow a number of norms deemed as the "new normality," while other countries continue to operate under their "old normality," with minor or no restrictions. As national pandemic policy responses vary across countries, transnational families live under different regimes of "normality." In these settings, the study of transnational families offers a valuable opportunity to examine a special type of social remittances practiced during global crises, and analyze whether the exchange of rules, practices, and ideas across national borders has any impact on re-shaping and renegotiating pandemic-coping "new normality" practices for both migrants and their families. The paper is based on 13 in-depth interviews conducted with representatives from Armenian transnational families with migrant members in Russia, the Czech Republic, or Belarus. These countries provide a backdrop for an examination of social remittances among transnational families that we term "pandemic transnationalism." The study shows that the circulation of safety rules and "good practices" actively shapes the everyday behavior of migrants and their families, their level of perceived danger towards the coronavirus, and their practical knowledge of safety measures. The latter are often harnessed in informal collective settings despite being in conflict with the obligations and regulations of their home society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online messaging app Telegram has increased in popularity in recent years surpassing Twitter and Snapchat by the number of active monthly users in late 2020. The messenger has also been crucial to protest movements in several countries in 2019-2020, including Belarus, Russia and Hong Kong. Yet, to date only few studies examined online activities on Telegram and none have analyzed the platform with regard to the protest mobilization. In the present study, we address the existing gap by examining Telegram-based activities related to the 2019 protests in Hong Kong. With this paper we aim to provide an example of methodological tools that can be used to study protest mobilization and coordination on Telegram. We also contribute to the research on computational text analysis in Cantonese—one of the low-resource Asian languages,—as well as to the scholarship on Hong Kong protests and research on social media-based protest mobilization in general. For that, we rely on the data collected through Telegram's API and a combination of network analysis and computational text analysis. We find that the Telegram-based network was cohesive ensuring efficient spread of protest-related information. Content spread through Telegram predominantly concerned discussions of future actions and protest-related on-site information (i.e., police presence in certain areas). We find that the Telegram network was dominated by different actors each month of the observation suggesting the absence of one single leader. Further, traditional protest leaders—those prominent during the 2014 Umbrella Movement,—such as media and civic organisations were less prominent in the network than local communities. Finally, we observe a cooldown in the level of Telegram activity after the enactment of the harsh National Security Law in July 2020. Further investigation is necessary to assess the persistence of this effect in a long-term perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 85% of tuberculosis (TB) related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries where health resources are scarce. Effective priority setting is required to maximise the impact of limited budgets. The Optima TB tool has been developed to support analytical capacity and inform evidence-based priority setting processes for TB health benefits package design. This paper outlines the Optima TB framework and how it was applied in Belarus, an upper-middle income country in Eastern Europe with a relatively high burden of TB. Optima TB is a population-based disease transmission model, with programmatic cost functions and an optimisation algorithm. Modelled populations include age-differentiated general populations and higher-risk populations such as people living with HIV. Populations and prospective interventions are defined in consultation with local stakeholders. In partnership with the latter, demographic, epidemiological, programmatic, as well as cost and spending data for these populations and interventions are then collated. An optimisation analysis of TB spending was conducted in Belarus, using program objectives and constraints defined in collaboration with local stakeholders, which included experts, decision makers, funders and organisations involved in service delivery, support and technical assistance. These analyses show that it is possible to improve health impact by redistributing current TB spending in Belarus. Specifically, shifting funding from inpatient- to outpatient-focused care models, and from mass screening to active case finding strategies, could reduce TB prevalence and mortality by up to 45% and 50%, respectively, by 2035. In addition, an optimised allocation of TB spending could lead to a reduction in drug-resistant TB infections by 40% over this period. This would support progress towards national TB targets without additional financial resources. The case study in Belarus demonstrates how reallocations of spending across existing and new interventions could have a substantial impact on TB outcomes. This highlights the potential for Optima TB and similar modelling tools to support evidence-based priority setting. Author summary: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading global cause of death and morbidity, and 85% of deaths occur in countries where resources for TB care and control are limited. Many countries cannot finance all TB interventions or technologies, which means difficult decisions on what to prioritise and publically finance. Modelling tools can help decision-makers set priorities based on evidence, in a systematic and transparent way. This study presents Optima TB, a tool that estimates which allocations of spending across interventions will most likely maximise specified objectives—such as minimising TB deaths, prevalence and incidence. In partnership with local decision-makers and stakeholders, Optima TB was applied in Belarus. Recommendations from the model findings include focussing investment on outpatient rather than inpatient care and actively finding people with TB (e.g. through contact tracing) rather than mass testing of the population. The recommended reallocations of spending could reduce TB prevalence and deaths by up to 45% and 50%, respectively, by 2035 for the same amount of spending. Key stakeholders were engaged throughout the analysis and findings and uncertainty around the results were clearly communicated with decision-makers. The timeliness of the results helped inform national dialogue on TB care reform, among other key policy discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to assess the current and potential role of UNESCO Transboundary Biosphere Reserves (TBRs) as a platform for cross-border cooperation enhancing sustainable development of border areas characterised by unique natural and cultural heritage but lagging in socio-economic terms. The study covered three TBRs located in the Polish--Ukrainian borderland: West Polesie, Roztocze and East Carpathians. The quantitative (regarding subject matter, partners involved, amount of funding, etc.) and qualitative analysis (aimed at examining the objectives of the initiatives undertaken in line with the BRs' goals) included projects implemented under the CBC Programmes Poland--Belarus--Ukraine in the years 2004-2020. The results suggest that cross-border cooperation in the analysed areas was generally oriented toward TBR-related objectives, i.e., socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable development. At the same time, numerous barriers have been identified that limit the impact of crossborder cooperation on the sustainable development of the TBRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the general concept of withdrawal from human rights treaties and addresses a specific case of withdrawal from the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The article argues that the human rights regime, due to its axiological nature, the non-reciprocal character of treaty parties' relations, and the final beneficiaries´ expectations, needs lex specialis provisions on the withdrawal matters. Moreover, the results of analyses of the United Nations' bodies show that the general clause on withdrawal being requested by a non-democratic state may lead to the denial of access to international justice for indivi duals and jeopardize the entire human rights protection system. Nowadays, however, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties does not satisfy the needs of the human rights regime. The United Nations and its mandate holders are recommended to request an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice to clarify the compliance of the termination clause of the human rights treaties with the common values of the international society of states as a whole and the principles of the United Nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annales UMCS, Sectio K (Politologia) is the property of Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Belarus and Ukraine were the countries most affected by the consequences of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. A study of perinatal mortality in Belarus found a highly statistically significant increase in the 1990s in the most contaminated oblast Gomel but no increase during this period in the rest of Belarus. As a possible mechanism to interpret this increase as a late Chornobyl effect, it has been suggested that strontium-90 contained in Chornobyl fallout, incorporated during menarche, impairs the immune system of pregnant women which in turn increases perinatal mortality. In the present study, this hypothesis is tested using data from Ukraine. Methods: Annual data on perinatal mortality, in the period 1981–2006 were provided by the Ministry of Public Health of Ukraine. Trends in perinatal mortality rates in the most contaminated regions of Ukraine (Kyiv and Zhytomyr oblasts and the city of Kyiv; study region) were compared with rates in the rest of Ukraine (control region). To identify any differences in perinatal mortality trends between the study and control regions, the ratios of perinatal mortality rates in the study region to the rates in the control region were analyzed using the calculated strontium concentration as a predictor. Results: A trend analysis of perinatal mortality rates in Ukraine revealed two bell-shaped deviations from a long-term exponential trend with maxima at the beginning and end of the 1990s. The same pattern was found in the data from the study and control regions, but the deviations were almost three times higher in the study region than in the control region. An analysis of the ratios of perinatal mortality rates in the study region to the rates in the control region (odds ratios) showed an increase and decrease during the 1990s which was approximated by a lognormal density distribution. The calculated strontium concentration, when used as a predictor, also fitted the data well. Thus, the data from Ukraine confirms the results from Belarus. The analysis of the odds ratios revealed about 1000 excess perinatal deaths in the study region in the period 1990–2004. The corresponding figure for Ukraine as a whole was estimated at 3500 perinatal deaths. Conclusion: It is hypothesized that the observed increase in perinatal mortality in the 1990s may be a late effect of incorporated strontium-90 on the immune system of pregnant women. The analysis is based on a theoretical model, as no data on strontium concentrations were available; the results should therefore be interpreted with caution. An updated study for Belarus would be desirable to corroborate the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to ionizing radiation, especially during childhood, is a well-established risk factor for thyroid cancer. Following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident the total number of cases of thyroid cancer registered between 1991 and 2015 in males and females who were less than 18 years old exceeded 19,000 (in Belarus and Ukraine, and in the most contaminated oblasts of the Russian Federation). However, as indicated by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation the fraction of the incidence of thyroid cancer attributable to radiation exposure among the non-evacuated residents of the contaminated regions of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia is of the order of 0.25. Apparently, the increased registration of thyroid neoplasms in the parts of these countries is a classical 'screening effect', i.e., massive diagnostic examinations of the risk-aware populations performed with modern eqipment resulting in detection of many occult neoplasms (incidentalomas). Moreover, one type of thyroid cancer previously called 'encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma' is non-invasive and instead of 'carcinoma' should now be recognized as 'noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features.' Other potential causes of overdiagnosing of thyroid tumors include increase of the spontaneous incidence rate of this disease with age, iodine deficiency among children from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, and/or consumption by these children of drinking water containing high levels of nitrates that likely coincides with the carcinogenic effect of radiation on the thyroid gland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: As the result of digitalisation of the economy, the number of Internet users is increasing, which leads to an increase in the number of vacancies posted on online platforms and services. The description of vacancies includes information about skills and competencies, which is the source of additional data for the labour market analysis. This information cannot be received through the analysis of statistical and administrative data. Therefore, it is important: -- to learn how to evaluate new information sources, and use the data they generate; -- to develop tools that people and organizations will use for finding an employee or a vacant post. The study focuses on the analysis and forecast of labour demand in the context of skills and competencies, which significantly enriches and adds to the information about the labour market and facilitates effective decision-making. Aim: The main goals of this article are the following: (1) identification of the methodological approaches in the labour market analyses using Big Data; (2) assessment of the labour demand and labour supply in the context of skills and competencies listed in the vacancy description posted on job portals; and (3) determination of the matches (mismatches) between skills and competencies in order to help the companies and individuals get better employment and education. Empirical data used in the research were collected from the description of job vacancies (16 401 vacancies) and CVs (227 215 CVs) from the most popular open job portals in Belarus through the scraping approach and classified according to the ESCO and ISCO codes. Quantitative analysis by the means of artificial intelligence was used in the research. Results: The study results revealed that the information about the volume and structure of skills and competencies obtained by scraping data from vacancy descriptions and Cvs, which are posted on online portals, allows for more precise diagnostics of labour demand and supply and overcoming of bilateral information asymmetry in the labour market. Based on the analysis, the parameters of scarcity and excess in competencies for individual occupations in the labour market are determined (the level of the correlation ratio between applicants' competencies and those requested by employers in the context of occupations (four digits according to the ISCO classification) is less 0.8; the deviation of the ranks of competencies listed in CVs and vacancy descriptions according to the ESCO groups of skills/competencies and a sign of revealed deviations). The methodology is developed to set areas for necessary knowledge acquisition (by the analysis of competencies listed in CVs and vacancy descriptions at the 3rd and 4th digit level of ISCED classification) and skills (by the analysis of competencies at the 2nd digit level in ESCO groups). The paper illustrates limitations in using Big Data as an empirical database and explains the measures to eliminate those limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group of species of Cytisus sect. Tubocytisus with strictly lateral inflorescences, commonly referred to as C. ratisbonensis s.l., is critically revised in Eastern Europe on the basis of morphology and comprehensive treatment of herbarium specimens and observations. Seven species and two presumed hybrids are recognised. Complete accounts are provided for each species, with synonyms, typifications, brief morphological descriptions, data on ecology and distributions, taxonomic and nomenclatural annotations. Cytisus polonicus is described as new to science, separated from C. ratisbonensis on the basis of morphology and diploid (vs. tetraploid) chromosome count. The lectotype of C. elongatus is superseded and a new lectotype is designated; this name has priority for the species previously known as C. triflorus. Six species names are newly placed to the synonymy: Chamaecytisus pineticola under Cytisus ruthenicus s. str., and Cytisus czerniaevii, C. leucotrichus, C. lindemannii, C. ponomarjovii and Chamaecytisus korabensis under Cytisus elongatus. The presumed hybrid between C. ruthenicus and C. elongatus, which was incorrectly known as C. czerniaevii, is described here as C. semerenkoanus. Cytisus lithuanicus, which has been an obscure name since its original publication, is resurrected for a newly-recognised octoploid species, which is endemic to eastern Poland, western Belarus and north-western Ukraine. The name C. cinereus is re-instated for the species previously known as C. paczoskii, and C. horniflorus is added to its synonymy; its complete distribution area is circumscribed, and its occurrence in Austria, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia is documented. Cytisus kreczetoviczii and C. elongatus are reported for the first time from Belarus, and the latter species also from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Slovenia. Cytisus borysthenicus and C. elongatus are reported as new to some territories in European Russia. Cytisus ratisbonensis s. str. is treated as absent from Eastern Europe. The neglected protologue of C. ruthenicus is discovered, and the nomenclature of all other names is verified and corrected when necessary. The original material of C. borysthenicus is re-discovered. Five further lectotypes and one neotype are designated. Distribution areas are circumscribed on the basis of numerous herbarium collections and documented observations, identified or verified by the authors. Chromosome counts published for nameless taxa from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia are assigned to the species according to their herbarium vouchers: C. borysthenicus, C. kreczetoviczii and C. lithuanicus are octoploid (2n = 100), C. ruthenicus is tetraploid (2n = 50) and octoploid (2n = 100), and C. semerenkoanus and C. elongatus are tetraploid (2n = 50). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Countries with unique developmental paths and cultural lineages display significant variations in their out-of-school education systems. In this landscape, Belarus, a vestige of the disbanded Soviet Union, illustrates a distinct out-of-school education system, profoundly shaped by both Soviet and European Union countries' influences. A meticulous examination and scholarly investigation into the Belarusian out-of-school educational framework could enable a more profound comprehension of the metamorphosis and transitions in the out-of-school education systems of nations that surfaced following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This knowledge could subsequently render a more transparent understanding of the patterns guiding the evolution of global out-of-school educational systems. Design/Approach/Methods: This article focuses on out-of-school education in Belarus and discusses its development status and the following main characteristics: the dimensions of its historical development stage, legislative guarantee, essence and extension, training goals, and typical cases. Findings: Influenced by historical and geopolitical factors, Belarusian out-of-school education is found to embody the characteristics of both the Soviet Union and European countries. National resources are found to play an important role in the development of out-of-school education, effectively reducing the cost of education for families and shaping students' positive values. Originality/Value: This study analyzes both the history and the current situation of out-of-school education in Belarus and summarizes the country's successful experience in the development of out-of-school education. It can provide a positive point of reference for optimizing the public out-of-school education system in China and exert a positive influence on related educational reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eight species of the apterous genus Liposcelis (Psocoptera: Liposcelididae), L. bostrychophila Badonnel, 1931, L. corrodens (Heymons, 1909), L. decolor (Pearman, 1925), L. pearmani Lienhard, 1990, L. silvarum (Kolbe, 1888), L. formicaria (Hagen, 1865), L. aleksandrowiczi Georgiev, Ostrovsky & Lienhard, 2020 and L. sp. cf. entomophila (Enderlein, 1907), are recorded for Belarus. The latter species is recorded in Belarus for the first time. Brief information about their modern distribution, as well as features of biology and ecology is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Simple Summary: Macrocysts of the protozoan Sarcocystis rileyi, resembling rice grains, are found in the muscles of numerous duck species. Meat from ducks contaminated with S. rileyi is not suitable for consumption, and severe S. rileyi infections are harmful to infected birds. This Sarcocystis species was reported only in North America for a long time. However, recently, the number of reports of S. rileyi infection in European wild ducks has increased. The present research is the first long-term surveillance study on macrocysts in wildfowl species. Overall, 3268 individuals of wildfowl species collected in Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, and Belarus were tested for macrocysts of Sarcocystis. The examined parasite was detected in 237 Mallards and in two Eurasian Teals. Macrocysts isolated from 37 Mallards were examined by DNA methods and identified as S. rileyi. The infection rates of macrocysts in Mallards in the examined region ranged from 3.1% to 8.7%. The fluctuations in infection rates were observed in different years, months, and studied countries. Based on the results of the current research and previous studies, the prevalence of macrocysts depends on the duck species, age of the bird, year, geographical region, and hunting season but is not related to the sex of the bird. Wildfowl meat infected with S. rileyi macrocysts is not suitable for human consumption. Ducks are among the main game birds in Europe, and S. rileyi infections cause significant economic losses. In 2011–2022, a total of 2649 anseriforms collected in Lithuania and 619 Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) hunted in the Kaliningrad region of Russia, Belarus, and Latvia were tested for macrocysts. In Lithuania, macrocysts were detected in 206 of 2362 Mallards (8.7%) and in two of 88 (2.3%) Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca). The prevalence of macrocysts in the other three countries, Belarus (5.9%), Russia (5.0%), and Latvia (3.1%), was similar. For species identification, macrocysts isolated from 37 Mallards (21 from Lithuania, 8 from Russia, 6 from Belarus, and 2 from Latvia) were subjected to sequencing of the ITS1 region. Based on DNA analysis, S. rileyi was confirmed in all tested birds. By comparing the infection rates of macrocysts in Mallards in Lithuania, significant differences were observed in different years (p = 0.036), and a significantly higher prevalence of infection was established in November–December than in September–October (p = 0.028). Given the amount of data per decade on the prevalence of S. rileyi, awareness of infection needs to be increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sample-preparation methods have been developed and adapted for using gold nanoparticles in qualitative analysis of paint layer compositions with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Use of plasmonic nanoparticles for SERS analysis of art materials in actual paintings could significantly reduce the luminescent background caused by the presence of organic binders in the paint layer and led to multiple amplification of the chromophore Raman-line intensities and an increase in the signal-to-noise ratio. The techniques were successfully tested on paint layers of 12 easel paintings of the XVI–XIX centuries in close cooperation with museums of the Republic of Belarus and could be systematically used in art history expertise to identify the composition of paints and attribution of cultural heritage objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the resource, technical, and economic potential of using solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Belarus and Tatarstan. The considered countries are characterized by poor actinometric conditions and relatively low tariffs for traditional energy resources. At the same time, Belarus is experienced with solar power due to different incentive mechanisms that have been used over the past decade. Moreover, the cost of building solar power plants in Belarus in 2013–2017 was lower than the world average. The cost of electricity production is analyzed depending on the geographical location of sites and the type of owners of solar power plants (i.e., households, businesses and industrial enterprises, electricity producers). Using the data on the cost of photovoltaic systems as presented by IRENA and considering actinometric data for Belarus and Tatarstan, a long-term forecast of PV electricity cost is made. The moments of the break-even points and payback periods are defined for Belarus and Tatarstan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRYU) is an administered mass organization for youth in contemporary Belarus and has been supported by the Lukashenka government for decades. It is therefore well positioned to engage in international activities. What's more, it claims to develop "multi-vector international youth collaboration" by participating in international programs and projects. This article aims to map and explain the international activities of the BRYU from the early 1990s until the present day. It asks how the association's international activities look in practice and what explains these patterns. It finds there is a qualitative difference between the BRYU's international activities with actors in Russia, the European Union and China. The article suggests that in comparison to the BRYU's domestic activities, which have been the primary focus of previous research, the youth league's participation in international affairs is limited. It argues that this state of affairs can be explained by its structural subservience to President Lukashenka, for whom the BRYU's international activities are of secondary importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, human impact on the Earth's ecological environment has become increasingly visible, with serious negative consequences. One of the most important pollutants are heavy metals which can easily bind to sediments. Due to their toxic behavior, persistence, lack of biodegradability and bioaccumulation, they are considered key river pollutants that need to be controlled. This study examined two rivers: the Liwiec and Muchawka rivers located in south-eastern Poland. The mouth of the Liwiec River is the Bug River, which is partly the border between Poland and Belarus. In turn, the mouth of the Muchawka River is the Liwiec River. The objectives of the study were the following: (1) To complete a qualitative analysis of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni, Zn) in the waters and bottom sediments of the Liwiec and Muchawka rivers; (2) To assess the degree of heavy metal contamination; (3) To identify the sources of contamination. The analysis included samples of surface water and bottom sediments collected (16 water and 16 bottom sediment samples were taken from the Muchawka River and 32 water and 32 bottom sediment samples were taken from the Liwiec River) in June and September 2022. The variability of characteristics, such as temperature, precipitation and humidity, contributes to seasonal changes in the distribution characteristics and sources of heavy metals. The study showed that only a small part of the heavy metals entering rivers are present in the water depth in the dissolved state, and most of them enrich the sediment, resulting in much higher concentrations of heavy metals in the sediment than in the water column. The differences in the distribution of some elements in water and sediment are due to the fact that surface sediments retain long-term records. Therefore, sediment can be considered a potential source of heavy metals in the aquatic environment. In general, the content of heavy metals determined in bottom sediments was not high but indicative of anthropogenic human activity. There is a possibility of re-release of heavy metals from the sediment into the water when hydrodynamic conditions or environmental factors (pH, redox potential, etc.) change, which could lead to secondary water pollution. The data obtained will be of great importance to both researchers studying river systems and the population living in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to better understand the obstacles and limits that Belarus faces in moving to a circular economy (CE). Three separate studies were used to achieve these goals. In the first study, a research-based questionnaire was created to collect data on the business operations of Belarusian enterprises and their use of circular business models. In the second study, we used an interview-based assessment of the Belarusian economy's circularity. In the final section, we used the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method to analyze the impediments to the circular economy in the Republic of Belarus. The overall findings of this three-part study indicate that businesses are interested in and working to adopt various CE activities like waste management, resource efficiency, cost savings, and carbon emissions. However, Belarus lacks planning possibilities and CE-related initiatives due to a lack of consistent legal standards or frameworks. This is one of the earliest CE-focused studies on Belarus, focusing on the country and giving policy recommendations for the country's transition to a CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive study of the glacial relief structure and morphology has been carried out for the first time in the Gorodok Upland (northeastern Belarus). New data have been obtained using lithological–stratigraphic, petrographic, and morphometric methods. The upland formation was caused by uplifting at the top of the Upper Devonian rocks. This pre-Quaternary surface uplift was overbuilt by Middle Pleistocene glacial deposits with glaciodislocations and erratic masses. As a result, the upland was formed in the ice-divide zone between the Chud and Ladoga ice streams during the last glaciation. Under the maximum advance of the last ice sheet, a moraine plateau with kames began to be formed in the center of the upland. At the Lepel Stage (18–20 cal. ka BP, Edrovo in Russia, Gruda in Lithuania, and Poznan in Poland), the ice lobes of the Chud and Ladoga ice streams moved from the periphery to the moraine plateau. In total, there were six distinct oscillations of the glacial edge. As a result, chains of hummocky and ridge end-moraine landforms were formed. Later, at the Braslav Stage (16–18 cal. ka BP, Vepsa in Russia, Baltija in Lithuania, and Pomeranian in Poland), hummocky end-moraine landforms appeared on northwestern and northeastern slopes of the upland. At the same time, the ice melting process resulted in large runoff troughs crossing the upland from north to south. The study results are important for reasonable geological survey and prospecting for mineral building materials within the ice-divide zones of the last glaciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparisons of spatial planning systems still require in-depth reflection, especially in Central and Eastern European countries. This article compares national (central) government approaches to spatial planning in Belarus, Ukraine and Poland, answering the following research questions: (1) How are spatial planning issues regulated nationally? Which topics do laws focus on? What values and objectives are laws particularly emphasizing? (2) Are there any central/national strategic documents dealing with spatial planning, and which spatial issues do they address mostly? The article covers two key issues: comparing national approaches to spatial planning systems and comparing spatial planning issues in the three countries. We focus on statutory approaches and those contained in central-level strategic acts. In each country, spatial planning issues are covered by numerous laws, generating confusion when interpreting individual provisions. Our study makes an important, innovative contribution to the academic discussion by proposing a way of comparing and analyzing approaches of national authorities to spatial planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political scientists are often asked to make public assessments about strategic events. The tendency to rely on historical analogy is problematic as method, while academic method proper is to slow, and the problem addressed in this article is how to improve analytical assessments in strategic affairs. I use and develop an analytical framework introduced during the Cold War by Sovietologist Michael MccGwire in order to systematize expert assessments. In the empirical section I illustrate it with an inquiry into the prelude to the escalation in Ukraine 2022. The inquiry shows that the Russian actions to subordinate Belarus in the Spring of 2021 is key to the understanding of the ensuing military and diplomatic events that often was mistaken as Russian coercive diplomacy. The empirically grounded assessments show that the framework could have improved precision in assessments in the run-up to the approaching war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]