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Background: In large-scale epidemiology, bloodspot sampling by fingerstick onto filter paper has many advantages, including ease and low costs of collection, processing and transport. We describe the development of an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) for quantifying insulin from dried blood spots and demonstrate its application in a large trial. Methods: We adapted an existing commercial kit (Mercodia Human Insulin ELISA, 10-1113-01) to quantify insulin from two 3-mm diameter discs (≈6 µL of blood) punched from whole blood standards and from trial samples. Paediatricians collected dried blood spots in a follow-up of 13,879 fasted children aged 11.5 years (interquartile range 11.3-11.8 years) from 31 trial sites across Belarus. We quantified bloodspot insulin levels and examined their distribution by demography and anthropometry. Results: Mean intra-assay (n = 157) coefficients of variation were 15% and 6% for 'low' (6.7 mU/L) and 'high' (23.1 mU/L) values, respectively; the respective inter-assay values (n = 33) were 23% and 11%. The intraclass correlation coefficient between 50 paired whole bloodspot versus serum samples, collected simultaneously, was 0.90 (95% confidence interval 0.85 to 0.95). Bloodspot insulin was stable for at least 31 months at -80°C, for one week at +30°C and following four freeze-thaw cycles. Paediatricians collected a median of 8 blood spots from 13,487 (97%) children. The geometric mean insulin (log standard deviation) concentrations amongst 12,812 children were 3.0 mU/L (1.1) in boys and 4.0 mU/L (1.0) in girls and were positively associated with pubertal stage, measures of central and peripheral adiposity, height and fasting glucose. Conclusions: Our simple and convenient bloodspot assay is suitable for the measurement of insulin in very small volumes of blood collected on filter paper cards and can be applied to large-scale epidemiology studies of the early-life determinants of circulating insulin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The paper presents an investigation of aerosol seasonal variations in several urban sites in the East European region. Our analysis of seasonal variations of optical and physical aerosol parameters is based on the sun-photometer 2008-2012 data from three urban ground-based AERONET sites in Ukraine (Kyiv, Kyiv-AO, and Lugansk) and one site in Belarus (Minsk), as well as on satellite POLDER instrument data for urban areas in Ukraine. Aerosol amount and optical thickness values exhibit peaks in the spring (April-May) and late summer (August), whereas minimum values are seen in late autumn over the Kyiv and Minsk sites. The results show that aerosol fine mode particles are most frequently detected during the spring and late summer seasons. The seasonal variation similarity in the two regions points to the resemblance in basic aerosol sources which are closely related to properties of aerosol particles. However the aerosol amount and properties change noticeably from year to year and from region to region. The analysis of seasonal aerosol optical thickness variations over the urban sites in the eastern and western parts of Ukraine according to both ground-based and POLDER data exhibits the same traits. In particular, over Kyiv, the values of the Angstrom exponent are lower in April of 2011 than in 2009 and 2010, while aerosol optical thickness values are almost the same, which can be explained by an increase in the amount of coarse mode particles in the atmosphere, such as Saharan dust. Moreover, the coarse mode particles prevailed over suburbs and the center of Kyiv during a third of all available days of observation in 2012. In general, the fine and coarse mode particles' modal radii averaged over 2008-2012 range from 0.1 to 0.2 μm and 2 to 5 μm, respectively, during the period from April to September. The single scattering albedo and refractive index values of these particles correspond to a mix of urban-industrial, biomass burning, and dust aerosols. In addition, strongly absorbing particles were observed in the period from October to March, and the modal radius of fine and coarse mode particles changed from month to month widely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

We determine the carbon balance of Russia, including Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan using inventory based, eddy covariance, Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVM), and inversion methods. Our current best estimate of the net biosphere to atmosphere flux is -0.66 PgCyr-1. This sink is primarily caused by forests that using two independent methods are estimated to take up -0.69PgCyr-1. Using inverse models yields an average net biopshere to atmosphere flux of the same value with a interannual variability of 35% (1σ). The total estimated biosphere to atmosphere flux from eddy covariance observations over a limited number of sites amounts to -1 PgCyr-1. Fires emit 137 to 121 TgCyr-1 using two different methods. The interannual variability of fire emissions is large, up to a factor 0.5 to 3. Smaller fluxes to the ocean and inland lakes, trade are also accounted for. Our best estimate for the Russian net biosphere to atmosphere flux then amounts to -659TgCyr-1 as the average of the inverse models of -653TgCyr-1, bottom up -563TgCyr-1and the independent landscape approach of -761 TgCyr-1. These three methods agree well within their error bounds, so there is good consistency between bottom up and top down methods. The best estimate of the net land to atmosphere flux, including the fossil fuel emissions is -145 to -73TgCyr-1. Estimated methane emissions vary considerably with one inventory-based estimate providing a net land to atmosphere flux of 12.6TgC-CH4yr-1 and an independent model estimate for the boreal and Arctic zones of Eurasia of 27.6TgC-CH4yr-1. [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]

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]

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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]

Research background: Motivation for this paper is the rapid development of the electronic commerce sector and its increasing role as a sales channel. The level of e-commerce development is spatially diverse, both across continents and countries. As such, this study examined the conditions of electronic commerce development in the context of the specificity of e-consumers' behavior in selected European countries. Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to compare the attitudes towards e-commerce among buyers from Poland, Ukraine and Belarus along with their activities directly related to online shopping. Research methodology: The paper focuses on the results of a study conducted in central and eastern European countries on a sample of nearly 1,000 respondents. The statistical tools used included the Kruskal-Wallis test and an independence analysis through SPSS v. 25 and Statistica v. 13.3. Results: The results showed that the country of origin is a variable differentiating both activities connected with shopping online undertaken by e-consumers and buyers' attitudes towards e-commerce in the context of such aspects as: safety, convenience, time-consuming, possibilities of choice, ease and the economics of shopping. The predominant dependence between the country of origin of respondents and their inclination to use the Internet has not been confirmed. Novelty: The study contributes to the on-going and extremely current issue of the importance of e-commerce and the conditions of its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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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]

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.

The aim of this paper is to present the results of two questionnaires conducted among thirty-eight participants of a language course in medical Polish for people from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The first survey (conducted before the course started) covered the following issues: (1) the participants’ self-assessment of their knowledge of general as well as specialised (medical) Polish, (2) their expectations of the twenty-hour course they were to attend, (3) their linguistic awareness of the need to develop the four linguistic skills in specialised language classes. The second questionnaire focused on the evaluation of the effectiveness of the classes and participants’ own progress in learning Polish for professional purposes. The research was of a diagnostic and descriptive nature, and the findings signalled in this paper have given rise to broader reflections on the current state of research on the description of receptive and productive skills in teaching Polish as a foreign language for specific purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Especially relevant at the present time is the study of the impact of the global crisis - a pandemic caused by the infection COVID-19 on the countries and the world's sustainable development. The consequences of the popular trend of globalization, a certain closedness of the principles of capitalization, and, of course, the impact of the global crisis caused by COV1D-19 were investigated in the scientific work. The study aims to confirm the transformation of sustainable development trends and the transition from worldwide globalization to national capitalization of the agricultural entrepreneurship potential in the modern conditions of the global crisis of Covid-19. The goal will be achieved by tasks through accounting and analytical support and mathematical analysis of the quadratic correlation and regression dependence of the integrated indicator of sustainable development. Research methodology consist of analysis and collection of economic, environmental, and social data of agriculture in European countries. At this stage, the most significant indicators of six countries were selected: Ukraine, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Belarus. Index analysis was used for formation of an integral indicator - a sustainable development index. Also Microsoft Excel tools were used. An index analysis of the main indicators of sustainable development is provided in the paper. On the basis of the integrated index of sustainable development of agriculture, a trend line was built and a forecast of the vector of globalization/capitalization was made. An upward forecast of the integrated index of agriculture sustainable development, which indicates a continuous process of globalization was proved in the paper. This pattern corresponds to Belarus and Romania and was proved by the basis of imperial studies. The calculation and forecast of the transition from global globalization to national capitalization as a result of the impact of the pandemic and quarantine were presented in the scientific work too. This pattern is inherent in Hungary, Germany, Poland and Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the relations between Poland and Belarus in the 21st century in the light of the recent events showing the re-rapprochement between the two countries. The aim of the paper is to present the importance of economic cooperation and the development of trade relations for the strengthening of the relations between these countries. The author emphasizes cooperation in the energy sector. He describes how crucial trade and economic cooperation is in overcoming crises in political relations. The author stresses the role of Poland in supporting the economic transformation of Belarus creating an alternative to the cooperation between Belarus and Russia. In this article the author uses descriptions, as well as the predictive methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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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]

In recent decades, two different approaches to mine ventilation control have been developed: ventilation on demand (VOD) and automatic ventilation control (AVC) systems. The latter was primarily developed in Russia and the CIS countries. This paper presents a comparative analysis of these two approaches; it was concluded that the approaches have much in common. The only significant difference between them is the optimal control algorithm used in automatic ventilation control systems. The paper describes in greater detail the algorithm for optimal control of ventilation devices that was developed at the scientific school of the Perm Mining Institute with the direct participation of the authors. One feature of the algorithm is that the search for optimal airflow distribution in the mine is performed by the system in a fully automated mode. The algorithm does not require information about the actual topology of the mine and target airflows for the fans. It can be easily programmed into microcontrollers of main fans and ventilation doors. Based on this algorithm, an automated ventilation control system was developed, which minimizes energy consumption through three strategies: automated search for optimal air distribution, dynamic air distribution control depending on the type of shift, and controlled air recirculation systems. Two examples of the implementation of an automated ventilation control system in potash mines in Belarus are presented. A significant reduction in the energy consumption for main fans' operation obtained for both potash mines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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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 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]

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 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]

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]

Cellular vitreous carbons with the open-pore structure are attractive materials in some aerospace applications, such as the super-lightweight structural materials or sandwich core materials in the thermal protection systems. Cellular vitreous carbon (or VC foam) with the open-pore structure can be synthesized by pyrolysis of cellular precursor structures made from some types of resins, such as epoxy or phenolic resins. Several approaches elaborated at RPMI, Belarus can be applied to create the precursor resin foams. The replication approach ensures perfect open-pore structure with the porosity of >90% and high hydraulic permeability. The sacrificial template approach ensures lower porosity and hydraulic permeability, and higher specific strength. In the approach with the deformable space-holder granules in the sacrificial template, the foam porosity can be controlled in a wider range. The paper compares different methods of making the precursor resin foams and properties of VC structures synthesized by pyrolysis of these precursor foams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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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]

The aim of the research is to study trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus, the agreement and legal basis of bilateral cooperation, the dynamics of foreign trade turnover, tendencies and forms of production cooperation in the context of modern challenges. The methodology of work is a complex of scientific principles, general scientific and special historical methods, as well as interdisciplinary and comprehensive approaches to the historical discourse of modern Ukrainian-Belarusian trade and economic relations based on the integral use of sources on this issue. The scientific novelty is stipulated by insufficient research of trade and economic aspects of cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus in the Ukrainian historiography at the present stage, where, with few exceptions, there are almost no generalized papers on these issues. The author's view on the dynamics of cooperation between the two countries for the whole period of 1991-2020 is shown, the peculiarities of bilateral cooperation after the presidential elections on August 9, 2020 in Belarus, which led to deepening political crisis in the republic, have been clarified, the prospects of given research have been determined. The conclusions. It has been proven that almost thirty years of experience of cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus in the new geopolitical realities is the evidence of the importance of bilateral trade and economic cooperation based on pragmatism and mutual interest, broad contacts at the level of the heads of the states, governmental and non-governmental structures, diplomatic bodies as well agreement and legal basis. It has been shown that owing to the industrial cooperation of the two states, the growth of the dynamics of mutual trade turnover, the search for constructive solutions in interregional cooperation, the concerted work of all structures coordinating Ukrainian-Belarusian relations, the accumulated institutional and legal support, it became possible to preserve the accumulated potential in the interstate relations ensuring the vector of bilateral opportunities in the context of integration and globalization processes of the present time. At the same time, in connection with the ongoing political crisis in Belarus, the format of bilateral relations has changed. Although economic cooperation continues, the challenges affecting the mutual dialogue are inducing Kyiv to consider different options for the development of bilateral cooperation; in the economic dimension, the search for opportunities to diversify and replace the Belarusian products is taking place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Chernobyl accident resulted in a considerable release of radioactivity to the atmosphere, particularly of Iodine-131 (131I), with the greatest contamination occurring in Belarus, Ukraine, and western part of Russia. Material and Methods: Increase in thyroid cancer and other thyroid diseases incidence in population exposed to Chernobyl fallout in these counties was the major health effect of the accident. Therefore, a lot of attention was paid to the thyroid doses, mainly, the 131I intake during two months after the accident. This paper reviews thyroid doses, both the individual for the subjects of radiation epidemiological studies and population-average doses. Exposure to 131I intake and other exposure pathways to population of affected regions and the Chernobyl cleanup workers (liquidators) are considered. Results: Individual thyroid doses due to 131I intake varied up to 42 Gy and depended on the age of the person, the region where a person was exposed, and their cow's milk consumption habits. Population-average thyroid doses among children of youngest age reached up to 0.75 Gy in the most contaminated area, the Gomel Oblast, in Belarus. Intake of 131I was the main pathway of exposure to the thyroid gland; its mean contribution to the thyroid dose in affected regions was more than 90%. The mean thyroid dose from inhalation of 131I for early Chernobyl cleanup workers was estimated to be 0.18 Gy. Individual thyroid doses due to different exposure pathways varied among 1,137 cleanup workers included in the epidemiological studies up to 9 Gy. Uncertainties associated with dose estimates, in terms of mean geometric standard deviation of individual stochastic doses, varied in range from 1.6 for doses based on individual-radiation measurements to 2.6 for "modelled" doses. Conclusion: The 131I was the most radiologically important radionuclide that resulted in radiation exposure to the thyroid gland and cause an increase in the of rate of thyroid cancer and other thyroid diseases in population exposed after the Chernobyl accident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Maetagused is the property of Estonian Literary Museum, Department of Folkloristics 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.)

The purpose of this study is to explore and provide a better understanding of how journalists who work in a non-free media environment that is characterized by high level of state involvement conceptualize normative journalistic roles. This study used in-depth qualitative interviewing to explore opinions of journalists who live and work in Belarus. Normative theories of the media, concepts of news media and democracy as well as the literature on the roles of news media in authoritarian regimes guide the paper theoretically. The findings of the study demonstrated that Belarusian journalists have similar understandings of normative roles as their colleagues in democratic nations. Exclusive for the orientations of journalists from state-run news organizations were mouthpiece and ideological/propagandistic roles. Certain roles were described as encompassing different goals by the representatives of state-run and independent news media. The study revealed that roles of journalism that help support the social ideal as understood by journalists in this autocratic country could be described as having two mostly competing directions: one that reflects the ideal of the nation's development toward free society and representative democracy and another direction that represents the ideal of protecting the status quo, sustaining conformity in the society, and preserving national security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural organic substances are found in all natural waters, and especially high concentrations occur in the surface waters. Humic substances, which often constitute the majority of natural pollutants, can be the source of undesirable odor and increased color as well as may accumulate certain toxic substances through sorption or formation of complexes. Another threat connected with the presence of humic substances in water is the possibility of the trihalomethanes (THM) formation during disinfection with chlorine. Additionally, it disturbs most processes employed for treatment of water. Hence, the great interest in the development of the pretreatment methods enabling to reduce the content of humic substances prior to the further water treatment processes. According to many researchers, ion exchange is an effective method for removing humic substances from drinking water supplies. However, the obtained effects are strictly dependent on the properties of the employed ion exchangers. The paper presented the studies on the removal of humic substances from water using fibrous ion exchangers. Owing to their structure, fibrous ion exchangers are characterized by very good kinetics of the sorption process, which enables the application of thin layers with simultaneous high flow velocity. Fiban A-1 – strong base anion fibrous exchanger, synthesized in the Institute of Physical Organic Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus – was employed in the presented laboratory studies on the treatment of surface water containing substantial amounts of humic substances (over 10 g/m3 ). The applied anion exchange resin allows for efficient elimination of humic substances from the treated water, whereas the obtained sorption value, reaching approximately 20 mg/g of ion exchanger allowed treating about 255–270 bed volumes of water under the conditions of the experiment. The exhausted Fiban A-1 ion exchanger can be successfully regenerated using 2% NaCl + 2% NaOH solution, as five consecutive operational cycles showed no reasonable decrease in the amount of purified water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contains a deep analysis of exports of Belarus and defines the proposals for its development. Economic comparisons and systematisation, which is based on the official statistical data for 2012–2018, are used in the study. It is concluded that Belarus exports have a poor diversification; export development is largely determined by Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) integrating processes; export support of innovative goods and evolution of a single service market through the enhanced cooperation are possible. A generalised model for the export development of innovative goods and services of the EAEU member states on a cooperative basis is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), understood as a concept of socially responsible business behaviour, is becoming one of the important and actual business practices. Globally more and more MNEs are engaging themselves into CSR activities and see CSR as part of their corporate strategy. This paper presents an analysis of existing CSR strategic options for international companies to choose, and reveals what influences international companies' decision what strategy and instruments to choose for implementing in a host country or market. In particular, the implementation of CSR strategic options and instruments in Belarus are analysed. The concept of this paper is based on the integration of a theoretical idea and business management practices. Since the object of the research is complex, it required the application of different research methods, such as theory analysis, system analysis, meta-analysis, survey, content-analysis, and expert interview methods. The findings of the study could be useful for foreign companies deciding to enter the Belarusian market, make M&A with local companies, for local managers responsible for CSR at their company, as well for researchers interested in CSR implementation in Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to identify determinants of the efficiency of service companies from two Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries--Poland and Belarus. These transition economies represent different economic and systemic conditions. That is why it is worth analyzing whether external conditions determine internal efficiency factors in service companies. In order to achieve that aim quantitative research was conducted among 305 Polish and Belarusian service enterprises. The research results presented significant differences in responses between the two countries. For Polish enterprises the main determinants of efficiency were above all connected with competent and skilled staff. Belarussian companies regarded as efficiency factors which determine the demand level by means of access toward foreign markets and possibilities of internationalization. It proves that CEECs are not homogeneous and they represent different levels of economic development as well as the different conditions of running a business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 analyses the effects on Belarus of European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia, on the one hand, and Russian sanctions on Ukrainian and EU goods, on the other. International sanctions opened up new political and economic opportunities that the Belarusian authorities sought to capitalise on. But Minsk's attempts to swim between two waters (retaining the benefits Moscow offered while improving relations with the EU) have backfired and distrust towards Minsk has grown in Moscow, Brussels and Kiev. A theoretical approach is made to the foreign policy of small states, before this paper shows how Belarus has been harmed by its attempts to take advantage of EU and Russian sanctions regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]