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Measures of demand elasticity indicate the direction and intensity of the reaction of the quantity of demand for a good or service due to a change in the determinants of demand. Among them, the price elasticity of demand stands out because it measures the reaction of customers to price changes. Price elasticity is therefore important for management in making pricing decisions because it answers the question of how raising or lowering prices will affect sales revenue and, consequently, the company's financial results. In this paper, the elasticity of demand for selected types of bread from the company Bobis d.o.o. was empirically tested. The listed company is the leader in the production of bread, fresh pastries, confectionery products, and cakes (NKD 2007 10.71) in County of Split-Dalmatia, and, at the same time, one of the top ten entrepreneurs in the same industry at the national level. For the analysis, data on sales volumes and associated prices of bread in forty-four branches within County of Split-Dalmatia in 2022 were used. In the empirical part of the paper, the coefficients of price and income elasticity of demand for selected types of bread were estimated. By comparing the calculated coefficients of price elasticity of demand for selected types of bread before and after the introduction of the pricing campaign, the results point to the conclusion that the demand for bread is price elastic. The range of the calculated coefficients of price elasticity of demand is significantly higher when the campaign is introduced, in other words, the introduction of the pricing campaign reduced the sensitivity of customers to price changes in the short term, i.e. after the end of the pricing campaign sales increase despite the return of prices to the levels that preceded the campaign. Finally, the calculation of the coefficients of income elasticity of demand implies that, for all selected types, bread is considered to be a normal good.

Introduction: This paper describes the peculiarities of the plasma-derived medicinal product (PDMP) market and illustrates the results of a review of the literature on policies aimed at counteracting the shortage of PDMPs.Characteristics of PDMPs: Plasma is primarily used for the industrial production of blood products (80%). The demand for PDMPs, particularly immunoglobulins (IGs), is increasing. However, the production of PDMPs is complex, long (7–12 months), and expensive, accounting, according to US estimates, for 57% of the total costs of PDMPs compared to 14% for small molecules.PDMP market: Unexpected increases in clinical need cannot be addressed in the short term. Once the demand for some diseases is satisfied, the collection and fractionation of plasma will only be used to supply some specific patients. Hence, the full weight of the marginal costs, which remain constant, are borne by a few products. According to last liter economics, the industry stops producing when the marginal revenue equals the marginal cost, thereby reducing the convenience of producing the most commonly used PDMPs (albumin and IG). The imbalance between the demand and supply of PDMPs was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which further increased the cost of plasma collection.Shortage issue and possible solutions: Policies to counteract this imbalance have also been discussed. If the demand is inappropriate, it should be reduced. If the demand is appropriate and supply cannot be increased, the demand should be prioritized for patients for whom PDMPs are the only available treatment. If the shortage depends on insufficient supply and technical and allocative efficiency, both production and supply should be improved, together with incentives for all stakeholders involved in the PDMP market to increase the sustainability of production/supply. The paper is focused on this second issue, that is supply-driven unbalance.

AbstractSales promotion is a common marketing approach used in the clothing industry to attract customers and increase sales, resulting in the effect of sales promotions on consumer purchasing behavior. Discounts, coupons, flash sales, and loyalty bonuses are all forms of sales promotions. Advertising and marketing of a product increase its reach to more people. The present study looks at how sales promotions influence customer purchasing behavior in the apparel business. The study investigates several sales promotion tactics to attract consumers that can influence consumer decisions in the apparel business. The methodology of the paper is based on a statistical analysis of close-ended questionnaire responses from 330 people aged 18–35 residing in India, as part of field research. The current study asked respondents questions on a 5-point Likert scale. The replies were evaluated using statistical tools from Microsoft, such as Excel, and IBM's Statistical Package for Social Science, as well as statistical techniques such as Regression and Pearson Correlation. According to the study’s findings, sales promotions have a positive influence on customer purchase decisions in India’s apparel industry. Discounts and coupons add up to savings and have a favorable impact on customer purchasing patterns.

The paper analysed the evolution of Romania’s milk production and consumption in the period 2000-2008 in order to identify the correlation between milk offer and demand. Fixed basis index, average, standard deviation, variation and correlation coefficients have been used for processing data. The specific indicators taken into account are: number of milk producing animals, milk yield and production, production per inhabitant, consumption per capita and milk offer-demand ratio. Milk production increased by 9.4 % from 51,630 thou hl in the year 2000 to 59,006 thou hl in 2008, because of the higher milk yield by 24 % but the lower number of milk producing animals by 8 %. As a result, milk production per capita decreased by 4.15 %. Milk consumption increased by 31.9 % from 193 liters/capita in 2000 to 254.7 liters in 2008, being covered both by domestic production and import as well. Milk yield and milk production are positively and strongly correlated (r=0.927) and milk production and consumption per capita as well (r=8.897). But between milk production per capita and consumption/capita is a weak relation. Milk consumption has been entirely covered by production between 2000-2002 and since 2003 it has been also covered by imports.

The paper considers a modelling framework for a set of households in residential areas; using electricity as a form of energy for domestic consumption. Considering the demand and availability of units for electricity consumption, optimal decisions for electricity load allocation are paramount to sustain energy management. We formulate this problem as a stochastic decision-making process model where electricity demand is characterized by Markovian demand. The loading and operational framework is governed by the demand and supply phenomena; where shortage costs are realized when demand exceeds supply. Empirical data for electricity consumption was collected from fifty households in two residential areas within the suburbs of Kampala in Uganda. Data collection was made at hourly intervals over a period of four months. The major problem focussed on determining an optimal electricity loading decision in order to minimize consumption costs as demand changes from one state to another. Considering a multi-period planning horizon, an optimal decision was determined for loading or not loading additional electricity units using Markov decision process approach. The model was tested; whose results demonstrated the existence of an optimal state-dependent decision and consumption costs considering the case study used in this study. The proposed model can be cost-effective for managers in the electricity industry. Improved efficiency and utilization of resources for the distribution systems of electricity to residential areas was realised; with subsequent enhanced reliability of service to essential customers of the energy market.

Jewellery made of precious stones and metals is a luxury item, referring to goods with excessive consumer properties. At the same time, the sphere of turnover of precious metals, precious stones (PMPS) and products made from them is of strategic importance for the formation and development of the state economy. Businesses operating in this sphere are subject to compulsory registration in a special state register. The government is interested in supporting the jewellery industry and increasing its turnover, which is directly dependent on the population’s demand for PMPS products.Popular demand, in turn, depends on many factors that have their own specificities in relation to the area under study. An assessment of the factors based on expert opinion, conducted by the author with interviews of a group of consumers, the study of scientific research materials and journalistic articles from various Internet resources, indicates the acceptable superiority of offers of jewellery made of precious stones and metals, focused on the potential increase in the possibilities of sunlight.The conclusions presented in the paper on the factors influencing demand are recommended for use in the development of business development strategies and may be useful in making decisions on state regulation of the sale of jewellery made from PMPS.

Water is one of the most important natural resources without which humans cannot survive. Although efforts have been geared toward ensuring an adequate water supply, potable water shortages continue to persist. This paper, therefore, analyses water demand at a local scale to enhance policymakers’ ability to make informed decisions on water demand management. The paper specifically probes the influence of demographic and socio-economic factors on household water demand in Ngamiland District of Botswana. Informed by neo-classical economic theory of supply and demand, a cross-sectional survey of 497 households was undertaken in Maun and Gumare villages. Household survey data collection was done using interview schedules and key informant interviews. The results revealed that gender showed a positive association with household’s monthly water demand, (X2 = 14.961; ρ

As one of the most visible aspects of political life in recent years, the populist rises imply the ‘crisis of representation’ that means the existing institutional mechanism of representative democracy is ineffective in representing the variety of social demands. While this situation, according to the liberal democratic approach, warns of the revival of mass society and new versions of authoritarianism, the radical democratic approach considers it a possibility to retrieve democracy. Which variables determine the contending evaluations of the impact of populism on democracy? The present paper presupposes that the contending evaluations are driven by different conceptions of the principal constituent of democracy (rule of law or general will?) and the populism entity (a manner of governance or a movement constructing collective will?). Given the postulates of the contending democratic theories (liberal and radical), the paper hypothesizes that evaluating the effects of populism on democracy depends on the way of interaction of some variables: a) the content of the populist discourse (egalitarian articulation of plural demands or discriminatory one?); b) the context in which the populist movement arises (democratic structure of opportunity or authoritarian one?) c) the mutual strategy of political actors whether from opposition or in position ones (the connection between street politics and institutional one or disconnection?). Taking advantage of the contending democratic theories (liberal and radical) in a combinative theoretical framework, the paper attempts to justify the hypothesis by highlighting the fact that both democratic theories are built on one aspect of the conception of democratic order. Marking the elements such as individual subjectivity, rationality, the rule of law, pluralism, etc. as characteristics of democratic order, a liberal democratic approach considers populist popular and exclusionary (i.e., determined by populists’ particular definition of the people) orientation as a threat to democracy. It is because such orientation restricts public debates and leads to weakening democratic institutions, the opposition’s rights, and the plurality of society. On the contrary, the radical democratic approach points to the significance of the populist mobilization for the democratization of status quo democracies owing to re-politicization of the issues neglected by the sovereign elite, provided that to articulate accumulated demands around a democratic egalitarian nodal point. Such evaluation emanates from the fact that this approach identifies democracy with collective subjectivity, general will, participation, and so on. It seems that a non-paradoxical and justifiable reference to both the above-mentioned approach in an analysis of the effect of populism on democracy entails taking their different concentrations into account. It means ‘populism-in-power’ (as a way of governance) puts the structural foundations of democracy in danger and facilitates the emergence of authoritarianism due to its anti-institutionalism, anti-pluralism, and tendency to mass politics. It is whilst, in the status of ‘opposition’ (a mobilizing movement), populism might be an opportunity to revive democratic politics. This argument resorts to the action of constructing a new collective will, in populist strategies of mobilizations, which reveals shortages of representative systems such as the monopoly of a minority, technocratic elitism, and so on. Nevertheless, the actualization of the progressive effects of the populist movements on democracy depends heavily on the interaction of variables which are as follows. a) If the populist discourse articulates accumulated social demands around a democratic egalitarian will, then the populist moment (as the moment of crisis in a representative democracy) can be of progressive connotations for democracy-deepening. Conversely, discriminatory articulation (like racist or class populism) paves the way for authoritarianism. Hence in terms of democratization and de-democratization, various populisms can be imagined; ranging from democratic populism to authoritarian, leftist to far-right. b) Realization of the above-mentioned progressive version of populism depends on the ‘democratic structure of political opportunity’. The possibility of mobilization by democratic egalitarian populism is only imaginable where the rules of the democratic competition are guaranteed. In other words, if there is no equal and fair opportunity to declare the policies in electoral campaigns and implement them after taking into power, then there can be just governmental types of populism that mobilize the mass for advocating governmental policies and decisions. Here, populism appears in its authoritarian face in a mass society. c) The third variable is the strategy that political actors of both realms, movement, and institution, in a political structure adapt. If the populist movement ties its street activism with institutional bargaining (e.g. by resorting to parliamentary parties) and, mutually, the government opens up the policy-making input to populist demands (rather than rejecting them), then the rise of a democratic egalitarian populist movement might result in democracy- deepening. Otherwise, populism can bring about some contending de-democratizing mass mobilizations, whether in the shape of authoritarian up-to-down governmental populism or fruitless gross-root radical populism. In brief, the paper maintains that by vindicating ‘popular sovereignty’, populism has double-edged effects in terms of weakening or strengthening democracy; ranging from an infertile radicalism leading to authoritarianism to radical reformism containing the possibility of retrieval of democracy. Hence democratic theory needs to develop an order that balances the rule of law and public will as two sides of democracy. It calls for a new social contract based on a balanced relationship between specialism and democratic responsibility. To reach such a situation, more inclusive politics should be targeted by current-day democracies. The key, however, is hearing the demands of populist advocators rather than populist leaders’ programs.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, within the framework of food consumption in the Czech Republic, organic food consumption has also begun to be statistically monitored. This consumption is influenced by several factors, such as consumer demand, their changing attitudes, and beliefs about the correctness of their consumption, but also the owners and managers of companies producing organic food and their willingness and decision to offer organic food to consumers. The content of this paper is to search for the connections between selected macroeconomic indicators and their influence on total household consumption and, within it, on the consumption of certain groups of food and organic food. More than twenty years of statistical monitoring shows how selected macroeconomic indicators and food consumption, including organic foods and their main groups, were developed. During approximately twenty years of development, it is possible to identify several fluctuations with varying intensity in growth, stagnation and decrease. An example is the current economic situation manifested by significant movements in the leading macroeconomic indicators to varying extents in the Czech Republic and several other countries, not only in Europe. The deterioration of the macroeconomic indicators results understandably raises concerns about the future development of consumption and the applicability of the generally produced more expensive organic food on the market. Therefore, The author team investigated the correlation between selected macroeconomic indicators, total food consumption and, in particular, the consumption of selected organic foods and evaluated the course of changes over time between 1993-2021. The influence of selected macro indicators on changes in the consumption of organic foods in the Czech Republic was assessed. The previously published papers deal with food and organic food consumption from different perspectives but not from the perspective of examining the correlation between consumption and three chosen macroeconomic indicators. The present contribution thus aims to fill this existing gap.

Abstract Background This study involved a scoping review to explore factors influencing dental hygienist demand and supply in high-income countries. Methods A six-stage scoping review was conducted with separate search strategies tailored to four databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, Google Scholar, and Google) plus a targeted scan of dental hygienist organization websites. This yielded 2,117 unique citations, leading to 148 articles included in the review. Results Nearly half of the articles (47%) focused on the United States, with 11% on Canada. Most articles (91%) were in English, alongside 13 in Korean and one in French. Journal articles comprised 62% of the publications, followed by reports/working papers (11%) and websites (11%). Other types included conference abstracts, policy briefs, and presentation slides. Content-wise, 47% were original research, with analysis articles (14%), commentaries (11%), and reviews (8%) also present. The articles were coded into three main categories: workforce characteristics/projections, factor-specific analyses, and workforce opportunities. The articles on workforce characteristics covered demographic, geographic, and employment aspects of dental hygienists, along with projections for supply and demand using simulation modelling and geospatial analyses. Factor-specific articles investigated the (1) working environment, (2) policy/regulatory/training environment, (3) job/career satisfaction and related human resource issues, and (4) scope of practice. The third key category of articles highlighted opportunities for expanding the workforce through alternative models in different sectors/settings (e.g., public health, primary care, long-term care, hospitals, mobile outreach, and non-clinical roles including research, education and leadership) and for a range of vulnerable or underserved populations (e.g., geriatric and pediatric populations, persons with disabilities, those living in rural/remote areas, Indigenous peoples, and incarcerated people). Conclusions This review provides a comprehensive documentation of the current state of the dental hygienist workforce, compiling factors affecting demand and supply, and highlighting opportunities for the dental hygienist workforce in Canada and other high-income countries. The findings offer a foundation for future research, highlighting the need for more focused and rigorous reviews and underscoring the necessity of high-quality studies to verify the effectiveness of various interventions and policies. This is crucial to address dental hygienist workforce challenges and ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of oral health care delivery.

The paper considers a modelling framework for a set of households in residential areas using electricity as a form of energy for domestic consumption. Considering the demand and availability of units for electricity consumption, optimal decisions for electricity load allocation are paramount to sustain energy management. We formulate this problem as a stochastic decision-making process model where electricity demand is characterized by Markovian demand. The demand and supply phenomena govern the loading and operational framework, where shortage costs are realized when demand exceeds supply. Empirical data for electricity consumption was collected from fifty households in two residential areas within the suburbs of Kampala in Uganda. Data collection was made at hourly intervals over a period of four months. The major problem focussed on determining an optimal electricity loading decision to minimize consumption costs as demand changes from one state to another. Considering a multi-period planning horizon, an optimal decision was determined for loading or not loading additional electricity units using the Markov decision process approach. The model was tested, and the results demonstrated the existence of optimal state-dependent decision and consumption costs considering the case study used in this study. The proposed model can be cost-effective for managers in the electricity industry. Improved efficiency and utilization of resources for electricity distribution systems to residential areas were realized, with subsequently enhanced service reliability to essential energy market customers.

Abstract Background There is a consensus among healthcare providers, academics, and policy-makers that spiraling demand and diminishing resources are threatening the sustainability of the current healthcare system. Different telemedicine services are seen as potential solutions to the current challenges in healthcare. This paper aims to identify how distance monitoring services rendered for patients with chronic conditions can affect the escalating demand for healthcare. First, we identify how distance monitoring service changes the care delivery process using the lens of service cocreation. Next, we analyze how these changes can impact healthcare demand using the literature on demand and capacity management. Method In this qualitative study, we explore a distance monitoring service in a primary healthcare setting in Norway. We collected primary data from nurses and general physicians using the semi-structured interview technique. We used secondary patient data collected from a study conducted to evaluate the distance monitoring project. The deductive content analysis method was used to analyze the data. Result This study shows that the application of distance monitoring services changes the care delivery process by creating new activities, new channels for interaction, and new roles for patients, general physicians, and nurses. We define patients’ roles as proactive providers of health information, general physicians’ roles as patient selectors, and nurses’ roles as technical coordinators, data workers, and empathetic listeners. Thus, the co-creation aspect of the service becomes more prominent demonstrating potential for better management of healthcare demand. However, these changes also render the management of demand and resources more complex. To reduce the complexities, we propose three mechanisms: foreseeing and managing new roles, developing capabilities, and adopting a system-wide perspective. Conclusion The main contribution of the paper is that it demonstrates that, although distance monitoring services have the potential to have a positive impact on healthcare demand management, in the absence of adequate managerial mechanisms, they can also adversely affect healthcare demand management. This study provides a means for practitioners to reflect upon and refine the decisions that they make regarding telemedicine deployment and resource planning for delivering care.

The study is devoted to the energy market of the Sughd region of the Republic of Tajikistan. The features of marketing in the energy sector are highlighted and the authors’ interpretations of the definition of “marketing” in the energy sector are given. The functions of marketing activities in the development of the energy sector of the region are considered. Examples of the correlation between supply and demand for energy products, including electricity, are given for further forecasting the consumption of these products. The ratio analysis of supply and demand of electricity in a certain area was carried out. To identify factors affecting the demand of electricity consumers, an analysis was carried out using statistical and mathematical calculation methods. As a result, a factor that has a greater influence on the demand of electricity consumers has been identified. The ways of solving marketing research for the further successful functioning of the energy company in the interests of society and the social well-being of the population are proposed.Purpose of the study. The purpose of this paper is to study the state of the regional energy market on the basis of marketing research that characterizes the activities of an energy company; identification of indicators such as consumer dissatisfaction with energy products. The paper is based on a dynamic analysis of analytical and statistical information about ongoing processes in the energy sector. The task is to conduct marketing research of supply and demand in the regional energy market.Materials and methods. The information base of the study is analytical information and statistical data on indexes of supply and demand for energy products, including electricity. The methodological basis of the study is represented by statistical methods of information analysis: comparative analysis and analysis of time series.Results. Based on the results of an economic and statistical analysis of consumer demand indicators for the use of energy products, including electricity, factors influencing demand have been identified. Of the three selected factors, it is especially worth noting the demand of consumers using electricity, which are population density indexes, weather conditions and the number of rainfall days in a particular region, it is theoretically established that population density is a more influential index.Conclusion. Energy is the main branch of the national economy of the country, which contributes to the development of the economy and the normal life of the population. Until now, the problem of providing the population and the national economy of the regions of the republic with energy goods and electricity makes us think about new ways to solve the problem. Since hydroelectric power generation in the country is the share of hydroelectric power plants, given the economic and social condition of the country in the power supply system, it will be appropriate to create a marketing system platform.

Purpose – Human fascination in the unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and alien paranormal phenomenon is rich in history, explored widely in popular culture and many personal beliefs exist across society. The tourism industry offers a range of places where consumers can encounter such a phenomenon. Reports continue to highlight the growth in consumers participating at UFO and alien tourism attractions and locations. Significantly, the purpose of this paper is to shine a light on the relationship between UFOs, aliens and the tourism industry. Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes a pragmatic philosophical approach by embracing a multi-disciplinary analysis. This study examines a range of secondary data information, statistics, reports and research studies. Findings – By identifying the current impotence of the UFO and alien tourism markets and the growing consumer participation in it, this paper presents a theoretical starting point in the form of a model, which maps the current landscape of the industry from supply and demand perspectives. This study should be seen as a stepping stone towards further research into the UFO and alien tourism industry and provide researchers with a theoretical platform and novel ideas through which to explore the subject. Originality/value – The phenomenon includes an established eclectic mix of attractions and likewise tourist motivations for visiting are wide and diverse. However, the subject lacks academic consideration. Thus, this paper presents original research and timely discussions on the topic.

Coastal shipping plays a key role in insular regions, ensuring economic, territorial and societal cohesion at national and regional level and supporting the transport of passengers, vehicles and goods. For Greece, passenger maritime transport is essential, considering its lengthy coastline (about 15,000 km) and its numerous islands, scattered within its territorial waters. This paper investigates demand for passenger maritime transport of the Greek coastal shipping before and during the pandemic through a spatial assessment based mainly on primary data provided by the responsible National Authority, thus highlighting issues to be addressed through policy and decision making. Considering that Covid-19 led to significant disruption of transport services, especially in ferry operations, demand for passenger maritime transport was almost halved during 2020. However, the supply services provided are mostly determined by the terms of the public service obligations (PSOs) that are announced by the responsible National Authority and which had to be further enhanced during the pandemic for sufficiently covering the corresponding demand. As such, the paper aims to support policy and decision making, and the implementation of relevant strategies and measures so as to maintain the proper level of services provided in the sector during emergencies.

The study aims to analyze how factors such as environmental attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and environmental knowledge impact the willingness of Generation Z tourists in Indonesia to make green or environmentally friendly purchases. It also explores the moderating role of environmental knowledge in the relationship between environmental attitude and green purchase intentions. The analysis focuses on Generation Z respondents, totaling 543 individuals. The paper employs the structural equation modeling (SEM) method. The results show that when considered individually, consumer behavior, encompassing environmental attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, exerts a significantly positive impact on green purchase intentions. These results suggest that tourists’ attitudes toward the environment, influence from family or friends, and the ability to control their actions are pivotal in fostering green purchase intentions while traveling. Furthermore, the study demonstrates a substantial positive correlation between environmental knowledge and tourists’ green purchase intentions. Additionally, environmental knowledge moderates environmental attitude, amplifying its positive effect on tourists’ green purchase intentions. This highlights the vital role of environmental knowledge, which not only stimulates green purchase intentions but also motivates tourists to adopt pro-environmental behavior by opting for eco-friendly products.

The global organic market is increasing constantly, organic sales reaching over USD 5 billion per year. Organic Monitor estimates that international sales amounted to about USD 38.6 billion in 2006, more than the double of USD 18 billion in 2000. The organic demand is concentrated in North America and Europe, these two regions comprising 97% of the global revenues. The European organic food and beverage market is the largest and most complex in the world, evaluated at USD 20 billion in 2006. Many European countries offer grants to organic farms to support organic production. This production-oriented strategy will have guaranteed success if the market structures and the marketing channels will be able to face the rapidly increasing demand and if the sellers adapt their products, sales channels and prices to the consumers’ demand

Closely connected to production, consumption plays an active catalyst role because all economic activities end in consumption. From this perspective, consumption research is a good solution to identify offer accurately and meet the needs and, on the other hand, it is an important source of information in marketing. Consumption ranges among the first in the process of goods use. Consumption is the process of using goods to meet consumption needs (though not all needs) since there is always a gap between needs and consumption.

Biological agriculture is a dynamic sector that has known lately an increasing trend. One of the main conditions for biological agriculture to develop is the promotion of the eco concept to make the consumers aware of the advantages of consuming biological products. With the rise of the population interest in a more proper lifestyle and the awareness of the importance of healthy nutrition, biological products have started to replace part of the conventional products in the nutrition of more and more consumers.

Abstract This debate paper asserts that implementation science needs to incorporate a key concept from entrepreneurship—market demand—and demonstrates how assessing an innovation’s potential market viability might advance the pace and success of innovation adoption and sustainment. We describe key concepts, language distinctions, and questions that entrepreneurs pose to implementation scientists—many of which implementation scientists appear ill-equipped to answer. The paper concludes with recommendations about how concepts from entrepreneurship, notably market viability assessment, can enhance the translation of research discoveries into real-world adoption, sustained use, and population health benefits. The paper further proposes activities that can advance implementation science’s capacity to draw from the field of entrepreneurship, along with the data foundations required to assess and cultivate market demand.

A historic area situated within contemporary urban space must adapt to modern lifestyles and aesthetic sensibilities to sustain its vitality and facilitate effective heritage transmission. A key criterion for evaluating adaptation is its ability to fulfill people’s ‘demands’ for it. This paper focuses on people’s demands as its core, employing the post-occupancy evaluation theory and the scene theory to develop a subjective evaluation framework for scenes within urban historic conservation areas. An application case study uses the typical historical area of Foshan, China, as an evaluation framework. The discussion encompasses spatial vitality, extraction of scene elements, construction of an indicator set, satisfaction evaluation, and differences in evaluations across areas and individual indicators. The research findings reveal several key points: (1) People’s attention and demands regarding scene elements in urban historic conservation areas are multifaceted. (2) There is a high degree of tolerance among people towards urban historic conservation areas, with varying preferences for different areas. (3) The approach to area protection and development needs diversification. (4) People’s overall perception of an area is influenced by various elements within the scenes. The application of this evaluation framework can aid in understanding people’s “demands” and their underlying reasons while also providing assistance for future optimization efforts related to urban historic conservation areas. Furthermore, the subjective evaluation framework has potential applicability for research into other historical cultural street areas.

The article considers theoretical aspects of values and value orientations. The paper gives results of their empirical research among 1st–3rd year students learning pedagogy. The authors discuss various approaches to the understanding of values and value orientations, their classification in domestic and foreign psychology, the place of values in the structure of the individual, as well as the significance of values in the structure of the individual and the need to allocate a separate group of priority values – universal values. The study presents the results of an empirical study of terminal and instrumental values (the M. Rokich method in the modification of D. Leont’ev). The paper highlights groups of students depending on value orientations, analyses similarities and differences in most important and less desirable terminal and instrumental values, which different groups have.

The aim of the article is to study the demand for educational services in Ukraine under the influence of economic, political and social factors that are effective in the country. Among the main factors influencing the demand for educational services are the COVID-19 pandemic, the full-scale invasion of the russian federation on the territory of Ukraine and, as a result, migration processes, the destruction of educational infrastructure, changes in the structure of the labor market, budget constraints, reduction of funding at the expense of households, etc. The projected value of the reduction in demand for educational services (number of entrants) by 2025 based on the studied parameters is on average 10%. A correlation and regression analysis was carried out to study the demand for educational services of higher education institutions (HEIs) depending on the main demographic, economic, political and social indicators. According to the analysis of the correlation matrix, the factors that have a high level of closeness of interconnection and a direct impact on the number of entrants to HEIs are the number of school graduates, the number of population aged 16–59 years and the employment rate. Factors such as a decrease in education costs, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the occupation have an inverse impact on the number of entrants. The paper considers the study of the effectiveness of the State regulation of admission to the budget form of education in individual specialties. For this purpose, data on the results of the 2023 admission campaign from the Unified State Electronic Database on Education were used. It is found that in 2023, the highest demand is for specialties related to the social and philological direction (Psychology, Journalism), as well as those that have a well-established importance in terms of prestige and employment (Dentistry, International Relations, specialties in the IT profile, etc.). On the other hand, the lowest demand is for engineering specialties, where the competition is two applications for three budget-funded places. The article uses econometric methods of analysis of digital information, analyzes the influence model between the indicators of the passing score and the general competition. Recommendations are provided on the revision of the policy of admission and competitive selection of students in certain specialties, taking into account the existing established trends in the demand for engineering specialties and taking into account the factor of occupation of the country’s territory and, as a result, changes in the structure of production and needs in the labor market.

The paper presents the relationships between prices, demand and supply in the electric bicyclemarket, which are described by spider web model. The aim of the work is to analyse the probabilitydistributions of price, demand and supply and to simulate further distribution of demand and supplyusing Statistica software. In addition, due to the seasonality of the e-bike market, a prediction ofe-bike prices for subsequent periods is conducted using a trend model with periodical fluctuations.Keywords: spider web model, demand, supply, normal distribution, normality of distribution tests,Iman–Conover method, prediction, trend model with periodical fluctuations

The refusal of a taxpayer to respond or pay the tax due has always provoked the tax authority to approach the court with an ex-parte application in chambers. The result of this ex parte application arms the tax authority with a restraining order. With a detached team of policemen, the tax authority will storm the premises of the taxpayer, vandalize, forcefully drive out the tax payer and seal up the premises. All these arrangements and decisions are done behind the taxpayer. This paper examined the constitutionality of the entire procedure for the recovery of tax due to the tax payer. The paper utilized doctrinal methodology in analyzing the extant laws and case laws as they relate to the subject matter. The paper submits that decisions under section 104 PITA are too weighty to be taken in the absence of the taxpayer. The paper, therefore, recommends some sort of judicial activism by judicial officers in exercising their discretion and accommodate the interest of the taxpayer.

The paper substantiates the relevance and necessity of studying the specifics of marketing in pharmaceutical enterprises. The purpose of the paper is to determine the specifics and characteristics of modern pharmaceutical marketing. The paper uses methods of analysis, grouping, and a system approach. The features of the modern pharmaceutical industry in countries with market economies are presented. Current trends and features of the development of the global pharmaceutical market are identified. The key problems of the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine and priorities of its development are considered, taking into account the feasibility of using marketing tools. Among the identified priorities, it is important to increase the competitiveness of products and enterprises of the pharmaceutical industry through qualitative changes and innovations; ensure the innovative development of industrial enterprises in this industry; apply creative approaches. Specifics of pharmaceutical marketing are given. The interests of the subjects of the modern pharmaceutical market are combined into a “complex” covering two levels: micro- and macro-. The interaction of the main subjects of the pharmaceutical market is studied. The main forms of a marketing application in the pharmaceutical industry are considered. The scientific originality of the paper is reflected in the authors’ proposals to combine the interests of all subjects of the modern pharmaceutical market into a certain complex that covers two levels; to build a graphical display of all possible connections between the subjects of the pharmaceutical market. The practical significance of the paper consists in the possibility of introducing priorities for the development of the pharmaceutical market in Ukraine, considering the feasibility of using marketing tools. It is noted that most manufacturers in the pharmaceutical industry do not implement the third form since all functions related to marketing are performed by intermediary networks. Prospects for further research are to study the international experience of cooperation between pharmaceutical companies, a detailed review of global trends in pharmacy

In this paper we have analyzed the specific characteristics of the energy markets in general and the products transacted, in particular. Due to its unique features, electricity, one of the most important products for the economic development of a country, has brought challenges to the organization of a liberalized market to be transacted on. The paper also offers a view on the evolution of the supply and demand on the energy market in the last past years, along with a forecast analysis. The last part of the paper offers a presentation of the specific steps taken in the deregulation of the energy market process.

Ethiopia's growing population, urbanization, and booming construction industries are all factors in the country's rising demand for wood products. The country's current plantations are inadequate to meet the demand for wood products. The country only exports a small amount of wood, accounting for about 1.45% of all imports, while importing over 3 million m3 round wood equivalent (RWE), amounting to about USD 182.53 million. This showed that there is a large gap between import and export bills, which indicates a negative trade balance. The goal of this study is to examine supply patterns as well as existing and prospective demand for wood products, particularly industrial wood and wood fuel. First, a collection of all relevant documents indicating supply and demand was done. Then, two groups were created out of official records and study papers. Literature that is pertinent and related to the topic was chosen from among the groups. Different publications between 2010 and 2022 a total of 37 were utilized for this review. It was found that Ethiopia consumes more than 130 million m3/year of round wood equivalent, of which about 92.3% is used as wood fuel and the remaining is used to produce industrial goods with added value. Nowadays, imports provide a significant amount of Ethiopia's wood demand, and in 2015 alone, more than 30% of industrial needs were satisfied by imports. The review helps in determining the resource potential, supply-demand imbalance, and current level of demand for wood products.

The human resource is the fundamental element in the dynamics of any organization, regardless of the field of activity or the constraints of the economic environment. Under these conditions, the importance enjoyed by the human resource management component at the organizational level is obvious. Any analysis of the components of organizational management relies, overwhelmingly, on the multifaceted and complex approach of the dynamics of individuals in the organization, of the tools and mechanisms available to the manager for the formation, consolidation and development of a performing team capable of meeting the requirements imposed by the specific competitive environment the markets on which the entity operates but, at the same time, and perhaps most importantly, from the perspective of the subject of the present paper, the dynamics of the labor market.

This paper presents a forecasting model depends on the reliability of product and the failure of its parts to forecast the required quantity of spare parts. Fuzzy logic is integrated with the forecasted model to treat the uncertainty that may be exist around defining the parameters values. Fuzzification of the product reliability is constructed using alpha cut and triangular fuzzy number. The effect of fuzzy process on the forecasted required demand of spare parts will be studied in three cases: 1) fuzzification of the mean of the product reliability, 2) fuzzification of the standard deviation of the product reliability, and 3) fuzzification of both the mean and standard deviation of the product reliability. Four suggested defuzzification methods (mean-max, centroid, signed distance, and graded mean integration representation) were used to figure out the difference between the crisp and the fuzzy forecasted demand with its related costs and to save the stock with the suitable production ranges. From the results, the maximum deviation between the crisp and the fuzzy forecasted demand was resulted from the fuzzification of both the mean and the standard deviation with percentage range from 2.06 up to 5.45 that would save the non-stock out than crisp forecasting.

The advent of the era of big data has posed greater challenges to the economic model of international trade and opportunities for international trade. In this paper, from the application of big data in international trade, we study the SVM-based big data clustering analysis method for international trade and propose to optimize the objective function in the iterative process by using the individual fitness function of the chicken flock optimization algorithm for the problem that SVM is easy to fall into the optimal local solution. Then, the steps of international trade big data analysis by constructing CSO-SVM are used to forecast international port throughput, international trade exports, and imports. The average absolute error rate of the trained CSO-SVM model for the prediction of international port throughput decreased to 6.19%, and the accuracy of the prediction of international trade export volume and export price reached 86.86% and 87.83%, respectively, and the accuracy of the prediction of international trade import demand and import price reached 86.71% and 87.07%, respectively. During the test, CSO-SVM has higher prediction performance than other models. The analysis based on big data can better quantify the challenges faced by international trade, optimize international logistics scheduling, and improve import and export planning.

As a typical ecology of “Internet+”, cross-border e-commerce enterprises have a huge amount of data, but it is difficult to use it effectively. This paper researches the generation and development of cross-border e-commerce big data, proposes the association rule algorithm based on Apriori to mine and analyze the cross-border e-commerce data, improves the problem of high time cost of Apriori algorithm, optimizes the clustering analysis method of quantitative attributes, and adopts the distance-based quantitative association rule to search for frequent classes, and analyzes the big data of cross-border e-commerce platforms based on the improved algorithm. Big data of cross-border e-commerce platform. Based on the analysis of the high demand of the cross-border e-commerce platform based on big data, the prediction error rate is 1.75%, 2.27%, 5.48%, 2.49%, 2.91%, 2.08%, 10.18% and 1.81% in order. In terms of user portraits, the accuracy of big data analysis of users’ purchasing power, purchasing habits and consumption intentions reached 86.10%, 73.43% and 90.48% on average. Big data technology helps cross-border e-commerce companies optimize the industry chain, improve operational management efficiency, enhance consumer experience and establish a brand effect.

For a more accurate understanding of religious tourism, it is useful to distinguish between faith-based tourism, spiritual tourism and tourism in religious spaces. The former is characterized by religious faith (and processes of hierophany), the next by spirituality and transcendence experience, while the latter remains in the secular realm of experience. Based on this conceptual grasp, the paper presents the situation in the highly secular Czech Republic and investigates the opinions of service and offer providers in this type of tourism through interviews (n = 3). A comparison with the demand and preferences of tourism participants was collected through an online survey (n = 104). The findings point to a significant and untapped potential and minimal knowledge or interest on the other hand. This highlights the fact that if correctly communicated and presented, tourism in religious places can be something to present to Czech tourism participants and possibly to foreign tourists.

AbstractIn many real-world inventory deterioration concerns, the rate of deterioration of individual commodities is based on the deteriorating items during the storage period. Inventory models for degrading commodities have become more important in the food production sectors due to the unpredictability of product life spans. This deterioration can be overcome by involving a preservation factor to reduce the effects of decaying objects. This model is applicable for food production, in particular, dairy product (ice cream) suppliers to make inventory decisions in the inventory system under the effect of optimal values. In this paper, a preservative-based inventory model for deteriorating products with quality demand is discussed. The proposed model with cost functions yields the best operating plan and total sales. The policy combinations for dairy products are generally designed to reduce the deterioration rate, the expenditures, and the total cost. To illustrate the value of the proposed model numerical examples involving three flavours of ice creams have been studied. The model was tested with the real-time data obtained from the ice cream factory. Also, the proposed model’s numerical results are compared with the existing model. Further, the sensitivity analysis is performed to study the effect of changes in different parameters of the model. The complex algebraic equations are solved using MATLAB R2013a.

Relevance of the research topic. The structural transformations of the national economy, competition intensification, and unfavourable demographic changes lead to dramatic changes in the labor market, which is characterized by a mismatch between the demand and the supply of labour and vocational qualification and educational levels as well as types of economic activity. The consequences of the full-scale military aggression of the russian federation in Ukraine weakens the potential of the labor market. Firstly, there are barriers to the free movement of production factors, including workforce. Secondly, there are losses of production facilities and infrastructure. Thirdly, as a result of forced migration, there are negative trends in employment and income. Furthermore, the structure of the labor market has changed significantly: there is an imbalance between labor supply and demand, and regional disparities in the concentration of labor resources deepens. Formulation of the problem. The stabilization of the national labor market, growth in employment, redistribution of the workforce for the post-war recovery of Ukraine's economy require the development of effective labor market management mechanisms in the context of training specialists, formation of special skills, the development of professional education system to minimize educational-professional and regional imbalances. Analysis of recent research and publications. The trends in demand and supply on the labor market, the influence of various factors on its structure are investigated by domestic (V. Antoniuk, V. Brych, V. Heiets, A. Hrishnova, L. Ilich, A. Kolot, M. Krymova, E. Libanova, A. Novikova, I. Petrova, N. Rushchyshyn, Z. Smutchak, L. Shaulska, N. Yakymova) and foreign scientists (D. Alpisbaeva, H. Andersen, G. Becker, G. Brisese, M. Kali, S. McGuinness, M. Popp, A. Robay, P. Sloan, G. Fields, R. Freeman). The results of research of educational and qualification disproportions in the labor sphere are reflected in the works of N. Azmuk, V. Twin, O. Kupets, L. Lisohor, V. Sarioglo, L. Fedunichik, who study the disproportionality of labour supply and demand in terms of the uneven distribution of workers in terms of occupations and economic activities, due to the imbalance between the available and the required levels of professional competence of employees. The development of the system of vocational and technical education as a source of formation of the labour market of vocational professions is described in the scientific developments of A. Amoshi, I. Hnibidenko, M. Dolishny, V. Kutsenko, M. Semikina, V. Shmatova and others. Selection of unexplored parts of the general problem. Despite some progress in resolving these problems, the impact of the vocational training system on the sectoral and regional disparities in the national labour market is not sufficiently investigated; as well as the risks and threats caused by the military actions in Ukraine are still not taken into account. Setting the task, the purpose of the study. The above-mentioned circumstances make it expedient to assess educational, vocational and sectoral imbalances in the labour market and identify guidelines for redressing the imbalance between labour supply and demand. Method or methodology for conducting research. In the process of research general scientific (analysis and synthesis, abstract-logical, generalization and system analysis) and special methods of studying economic phenomena and processes are used. Presentation of the main material (results of work). The paper analyses the dynamics of the labour market, indicating the steady trend towards the decrease of the number of employed population. An assessment of the structure of demand and supply in the labour market by economic activity and occupational group reveals an excess in the labour market of the economically active population, which associates itself with the following areas of the economy: agriculture, trade and vehicle repair, public administration. There is an unmet demand for workers in the manufacturing industry, transport, health, education. Among the professional groups, a large proportion of the unemployed are trade and service workers, employees and managers, and the most demanded in the labour market are skilled vocational professionals. The results of the study highlight that the current problem of the national labour market and the existing imbalance between the supply of labour and the demand for it is the mismatch between educational services of the vocational training system to the needs of the labour market, insufficient level of vocational education, imperfect state and regional order for skilled workers, lack of effective interaction between stakeholders, insufficient motivation of young people for vocational professions. Conclusion according to the article. In order to overcome the existing negative trends, it is necessary to increase vocational guidance among schoolchildren. This guidance should focus on popularization of relevant and promising professions. It should contribute to strengthening the capacity of public employment services; expand the range of services and improve their quality. Career guidance ought to strengthen the practical component of training of workers and develop the system of dual education. There should be introduction of the program “job security for young people”, initiation of the research on formation of specialties, skills and qualifications, taking into account the strategic outlook of the labour market. Social dialogue in the context of creating conditions for continuing vocational education should be created. There should be promotion of the development of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as constant content of educational programmes to meet the needs of the regional labour market and expand the competencies of skilled workers. State standards for specific occupations on a modular and competency basis should be introduced. There is a strong demand for improvement of the material and technical base of vocational schools as well as modernization of the network of educational establishments. The implementation of these directions will contribute to the formation and development of innovative human capital, restoration of the quality of the workforce, and overcoming the imbalance in the labor market. The balancing of the labor market is the main need for post-war development, and effective employment must be an integral part of post-war reconstruction social policy.

The main aim of the paper is to analyse whether a demand for reusable products in Slovenia exists and to identify customers’ characteristics in terms of their gender, age, income, education and employment status. We used survey data to investigate what share of customers in Slovenia are buying and are willing to buy reusable products. Furthermore, we investigate whether there are differences between customers who are buying and who are not buying reusable products with regard to selected demographics (gender, age, income, education and employment status). The findings show that more than half of customers in Slovenia are already buying reusable products. The results of selected characteristics of individuals indicate that there are differences among buyers and non-buyers of reusable products only with regard to gender. The paper contributes to the literature on the demand for reusable products and gives better insights into the characteristics of customers buying reusable products.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the progress made in research on demand factors of development of the Polish organic food market in 2004-2018, to present the strengths and weaknesses of relevant research and identify cognitive gaps in this respect. The review is restricted to Polish literature because of the particularities of the domestic organic food market which reflect its immaturity. The analysis focused on the last fifteen years (2004–2018). The papers were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, Google Scholar and BazEkon, basing on four keywords: demand for organic food; purchasing behavior of organic food consumers; availability of organic food; and organic food prices. The article presents a review of research from 107 publications. The review of research findings suggests that progress has been made in the identification of key demand factors of development of the organic food market. Some development barriers (high prices, limited availability of the product range) were not removed in the study period. The weakness of the relevant research is the insufficient use of complex statistical methods.

Purpose – This research enables the authors to highlight the importance of proper pricing for retailers. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of demand-based pricing, providing empirical results that reveal the validity of this pricing philosophy in the sport retailing industry. In particular, this study has identified the limits of acceptable prices for the products studied, selected the most appropriate method for pricing products suffering from high competition and compared the impact produced on price perceptions according to different retail environments to be able to relate changes in the acceptable prices ranges according to the geographical location of each point of sale, differentiating between rural or urban environment and type of client. Design/methodology/approach – The authors have carried out surveys of 350 customers in each of the three points of sale analysed. Therefore, there are a total of 1,050 interviewees, for the three products analysed. The direct method of acceptable prices setting is developed. In addition, ANOVA and t-test have been carried out to find differences between the three shops. Findings – One main finding is that the acceptable price range is not unique. Each point of sale has one that is distinct because it depends on many factors: the competition, the economic capacity of the closest residents, the location of the point of sale or the ability to attract customers. Originality/value – The foremost contribution of this paper is to demonstrate empirically how considering the local demand at setting prices would generate larger earnings, even for a small retail chain. The direct method of setting acceptable prices enables us to set the prices according to the demand. The best option is if these prices are above the costs. It can be noted that the prices should be set according to each shop, and a different price used in each point of sale to maximise profits and to adapt to what the typical customer of each shop is willing to pay, despite the products being the same and the points of sale belonging to the same retail chain.

In consumption demand studies, we can consider that choice of quality is affected by consumption decisions (whether to consume or not). The term “quality” refers to any subjective factor that motivates consumers to pay for a good more than its substitutes. Any change in a consumption explanatory variable has two effects: 1) the probability of consuming the good and 2) considerations of quality. The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of factors such as demographics and socio-economic factors on choice of quality in meat consumption including livestock and aggregated meat (livestock, poultry and aquatic). Furthermore, we estimate quality elasticities using cross-sectional survey data for year 2014 among Iranian rural and urban households. The paper applies Heckman two-step method to estimate unknown parameters of participation and consumption equation. Our findings show that the most important variable affecting the choice of meat quality for consumption is household income. In this study, the quality elasticity of income in meat consumption is positive in all samples and there are other variables (gender, age and education of household breadwinner) which have significant effect on quality choice in meat consumption.

Abstract Produced through pyrolysis, biochars are used as a soil amendment. Differences in feedstock and processing result in differentiated products which impact their values in different soil conditions. Despite the enormous potential, biochars have not been widely used. This paper overviews the benefits and potential demand for biochar and features of supply chain, and identifies opportunities for viable introduction of biochars. The value of biochars should be evaluated as a part of the pyrolysis system that coproduces biochars and biofuels. Biochars can improve agricultural productivity and soil functioning and contribute to climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration. Furthermore, it can provide extra benefit by contributing to fire prevention. The cost of biochar system depends on the costs of feedstock acquisition, transportation, and processing. Biochar is most likely to be adopted in locations with marginal land and high‐value crop, and near low‐cost feedstock sources. The adoption of biochar can be enhanced by compensation for carbon sequestration, further investment in research, and learning of producers to enhance efficiency of the supply chain.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the railway sector experienced a significant worldwide decrease in the number of passengers due to the reduced transportation capacity of trains introduced for limiting social contacts and passengers fears from the disease. The reduction in population mobility resulting from national anti-pandemic measures led to the fact that carriers in the Slovak Republic began to optimize and limit the rail transport performance. Several measures were also implemented to reduce the risk of the spread of the COVID-19 disease so that passengers feel safe while traveling by train. Globally, we are entering the third year of coronavirus, and the pandemic is expected to continue even this year. For this reason, forecasting passenger demand for rail transport is becoming increasingly important and it is necessary to take measures in public passenger transport that will consider the reduced mobility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper deals with the proposal of a methodology for planning transport services on selected regional railway lines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The modern food market is undergoing a period of rapid development following the changes in marketing technologies and consumer behavior patterns. Nowadays, people pay more attention to the quality and composition of food products, as well as their functional properties. The present article reviews the international and Russian market of functional foods in order to define the consumer demand for new specialized products. The methods included data comparison, grouping, and systematization. The analysis involved Russian and foreign papers published in 2018–2022 and registered in Scopus, eLibrary, Cyberleninka, and the Library of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. It also covered the National Demography Project, the Healthy Nutrition Project, and the Strategy for Improving the Quality of Food Products through 2030. Consumers’ growing interest in improving their health and immune system proved to be the key factor in the functional food market. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified such trends as the priority of healthy, high-protein, and low-sugar foods. Japan and the USA are the current leaders on this market. Russia supports healthy food policy at the state level. The functional food market is likely to become the most promising and competitive sector of global food economy. Consumer demand for these products is steadily growing: the volume of demand for functional food products will reach 17 trillion rubles by 2027. However, Russian food science needs more research in this area to catalyze import substitution. The Omsk Agrarian University has numerous projects that are meant to increase the competitiveness of the domestic functional food industry.

In the literature, analysing job adverts is considered to be a credible method for collecting data about the real demand for employees with higher education. Studies on the demand for teachers based on this data source have been conducted in many countries, but never in Poland. On this basis, the research objective was to identify regional and temporal changes in the demand for geography teachers. As part of the study we tracked all job adverts addressed to geography teachers which were published online over a period of nearly two years. It turned out there were 3,438 such job vacancies in Poland, which included part-time and full-time positions. The study results indicated vast temporal and regional differences in the demand for teachers, and also a clear imbalance in the demand for geographers between Warsaw – the capital city – and the rest of the country. It should be highlighted that both the methodology and the results presented in the paper are pioneering.

The importance of public administration (PA) education and training is obvious, any effective public administration system needs an influx of a new and well-educated workforce. Compared to the (relatively) better situation in other Central and Eastern European countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia represent a very specific case – the falling number of students in PA programs threatens the existence of the only programs with international accreditation (those at Masaryk University Brno and Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica). The aim of this paper was to investigate the reasons why so few students apply and enroll in these EAPAA-accredited programs. Qualitative research is used to achieve this goal. In the opinion of the program chairs and our secondary analysis, there are multiple factors behind the very low level of demand which critically threatens the existence of the best master programs in the countries studied. A very specific issue that appears to be unique for both countries is free public university education with unregulated demand. Such an environment, combined with the performance- based funding of public universities and other higher education institutions, where the number of students is a decisive factor in the amount of the public grant to the university, generates an oversupply of places offered to secondary school graduates. The role of other potential barriers for the interest to study public administration is catalyzed by the ‘oversupply’ conditions. The questionnaire, the statements of program chairs, and our secondary analysis confirm that there is a role to be played by monitoring other potential barriers — the fact that programs are run in economics faculties, limited trust in politicians, government and public administration, the system of access to the civil service and salary levels in the public sector.

This research simulates the effect of imposing excise tax on plastic container of drinks towards economic performance of beverage industry in Indonesia and governmentâ˘A ´Zs tax revenue. The results showed that by imposing excise tax on plastic cups and plastic bottles the government would lose tax revenue from value added tax (PPN) and corporate income tax (PPh badan) more than they gain additional revenue from excise tax. Hence, imposing excise tax on drink containers should serve a clear purpose and an undeniable reason. This paper recommends the government to develop proper excise infrastructure to extend the goods or services to be taxed. This paper also recommends the required stages for extending the excise tax.

Some lessons learned from the EU project “Broadband e-Services and Access to the Home” (2005–2007) are presented concerning the broadband development in rural ar- eas. In particular, the paper discusses the common problems of broadband deployment in the rural environment, various aspects of stimulating demand for broadband, the limitations of public aid and, most importantly, the problems of technoeconomic analysis

In this paper, to investigate the dynamic interplay between supply and demand, with a focus on collectability, a novel mathematical model was introduced via conformable operator. This model considers the possibility that operating expenses or a lack of raw materials causes a manufacturing delay than the supply of goods instantly matching demand. This maturation (delay) is represented by the delay factor $ \left(\tau \right) $. Stability analysis revolves around the equilibrium point other than zero. Chaotic behavior emerges through Hopf bifurcation at the critical delay parameter value. If this delay parameter is even slightly perturbed, oscillatory limit cycles can be induced in the market dynamics, leading to equilibrium with brisk market expansion, frequent recessions, and sudden collapses. We conducted sensitivity and directional analysis on a number of factors while also examining the stability and duration of the Hopf bifurcation. Numerical findings were validated using MATLAB. Additionally, the Caputo operator was used to examine the fractional of demand and supply dynamics. Importantly, we assumed a pivotal role in advancing fair labor practices and fostering economic growth on a national scale.

Rising demands and competition for water resources within all sectors are placing increasing pressure on the environment. Almost all direct abstractions in England require a licence (permit) from the regulatory authority, the Environment Agency. Assessing and setting ‘reasonable’ peak quantities of water that can be legally abstracted in an environmentally sustainable manner is central to the whole licence determination process. To protect environmental flows and other abstractors within each catchment, the regulatory authority needs to be able to set sensible limits in the licence conditions, including total seasonal volumes and peak rates of water use, particularly for abstractions from hydrologically sensitive surface water sources. This paper describes the development of a methodology to assess the ‘reasonable’ peak rates of water use for agricultural irrigation in support of catchment water resources management and planning. A daily time step water balance model was used to simulate peak monthly and daily water requirements for irrigation using long-term historical weather records for agroclimatically contrasting sites. The model-simulated outputs were then compared against observed data from selected case study farms, and against data reported in a national water abstraction database. Guidelines were then developed for setting peak monthly, daily, hourly, and absolute abstraction rates for irrigation, taking into account the environmental sensitivity of different types of water source. The application of the procedure and its relevance in other countries where catchment water resources are under intense pressure from agriculture are described.

The aim of this paper is to simulate the European natural gas system in extreme situations and to determine its weaknesses in terms of demand coverage. An assessment has also been made of the targets set for existing energy efficiency regulations and their effects on the coverage of future natural gas demand. This document assesses the potential for energy efficiency improvements associated with European countries and the effect of such improvements on the lessening of the natural gas demand. Once the efficiency improvement potential has been identified, the results of demand coverage in various scenarios of natural gas supply cut-off via pipelines were studied. The expected result reflects the study of the effect of the presumed demand reduction, due to the improvement of energy efficiency, on the self-sufficiency of the natural gas network and the improvement of energy coverage for EU countries. To carry out this study, an evaluation of the current infrastructures was developed, the existing resources were optimized, and the independence of the system was quantified in relation to the current situation of natural gas consumption at the European level. The proposed model has resulted in improvements in the coverage of the demand of certain countries and has detected those with systems that are not robust enough to face extreme crisis situations. The main conclusions are that the natural gas system has improved considerably from 2009 to the present, and that, in the event of massive gas cuts, there is a real risk of being unable to cover the natural gas demand of several countries with a very high dependence on gas from Russia.

The issues of competitiveness such as why some companies reach success, while others not, how companies differ and how they are managed within the chosen strategies to reach the state of competitiveness are the key for the organization of any type and industry. Some researches had a tendency to fragment or disintegrate the important parts of this problem, but the purpose of this paper is to integrate the main elements of the competitiveness phenomenon into the complex system and offer a wide practical view over the cornerstones of a company’s competitiveness in a contemporary environment. In this article the author reveals her understanding of the concept of modern company’s competitiveness, then in the main part offers the qualitative model – the system of company’s competitiveness which should lead to financial competitiveness. The presented framework is practice-oriented and based on factors and efforts that depend on the company itself, but goes beyond the resource-based view or a particular single strategy school, highlighting the importance of a complex approach.