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The paper represents comparative study on digital skills and social inclusion among educators and learners in adult education sector in selected EU and non-EU countries. Adult education in the 21st century faces many new challenges that result from the growing possibilities of using and integrating ICT in every aspect of both professional and personal life. The great potential lies in the development of ICT integration in the professional environment and the activation of professional life and adult education. An important and key element of adult education is strengthening education to adapt it to local conditions with the possibility of global use and modelling effective practices. In the digital age, the competences of adult educators in the field of ICT enjoy great research interest because adult educators play a key role in promoting the use of ICT by adults in a variety of situations. Digital competence involves the confident and critical use of Information Society Technology (IST) for work, leisure, and communication. It is underpinned by basic skills in ICT: the use of computers to retrieve, assess, store, produce, present and exchange information, and to communicate and participate in collaborative networks via the Internet. The paper framework is directed towards educators and learners at all levels of education, from early childhood to higher and adult education, including general and vocational training, special needs education, and non-formal learning contexts. The paper aims to provide a general reference frame for developers of Digital Competence models, i.e. Member States, regional governments, national and regional agencies, educational organizations themselves, and public or private professional training providers. Paper findings show that digital skills varies a lot among the selected EU and non-EU countries as the dynamics of digital skills and social inclusion are constantly changing with fast pace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

So far, a number of studies emphasized the role of the educational variable. Back in 1990, Romer promoted the idea that educated workforce has the potential to generate and implement new technologies and to stimulate growth. Higher education has become an imperative of the development of a global society. It is a society that bases its development on the rapid changes and progress that entails constant evolution of information and communication technology. This society has become a society of knowledge with the jobs that are increasingly becoming knowledge intensive and ensuring sustainable development of a society. The purpose of this paper is to give a detailed review of previous studies related to the so-called 'education led growth hypothesis' and review the existing empirical evidence to support the fact that education is one of most important determinant of economic growth of a country. The paper contributes to existing research in a manner that at one place summarizes previous empirical evidence on 'education led growth hypothesis' but also provides recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is on the diagnostic possibilities of primary school teachers with respect to adoption of innovations in ICT and search of teacher's impact on pupils in terms of development and computer skills. The aim of the research is to determine the actual situation of primary school teachers in adoption of ICT innovation and examine whether there is an impact on the level of computer skills among primary school children. Another aim is to verify whether the distribution of primary school teachers in the Czech Republic corresponds with Rogers' typology with respect to adoption of the innovations. The paper introduces current research outputs and includes data obtained among teachers and pupils that work at schools cooperating with University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně in Ústí nad Labem. The current research data is compared with Rogers' diffusion and also with data published in research of primary schools in the Czech Republic in 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourist destination marketing started to gain considerable importance within tourism literature and practice during the last fifteen years. In this context, benchmarking became a key process for defining strategies and monitoring their implementation within tourist destinations. Several tools for destination benchmarking were developed at EU level. Due to the major importance of sustainability issues within all Tourism Policies adopted by the European Commission, great importance has been given to the creation of benchmarking tools for sustainable destinations. The paper advances the idea of developing a friendly ICT instrument to support the implementation of such European benchmarking tools in order to actively contribute to the sustainable development of more and more tourist destinations in Europe. Two qualitative research methods were used within the present paper: the literature review and innovation. The first part of the article synthesizes the information on tourist destination benchmarking, based on tourism literature review. A short presentation regarding the initiatives of the European Commission for the benchmarking of tourist destinations was included. The paper than focuses on the most recent benchmarking tool launched by the European Commission in 2010, the European Tourist Indicators System for Sustainable Destinations. Through comparison between this tool and the Dashboard of Sustainability, we advanced the idea of the necessity to develop the European Tourist Indicators System for Sustainable Destinations into an ICT instrument offering attractive visual representations for better implementation within European destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The information age shifts focus in professional education from teaching to studying. Consequently University students are to organize their independent learning. One of the most productive ways of self-learning is making ample use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)-aided education. In the Russian Federation the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation" no 273-FZ introduced in December 2012 imposes an obligation of using various technologies including ICT. Vast application of Internet sources of information and ICT-aided technologies should be based on sufficient level of students' culture of trust in ICT-aided education. The paper introduces the definition and structure of culture of trust in ICT-aided education. The research methodology to determine the level of culture of trust in ICT-aided education is shown, the process of the research of culture of trust level in ICT-aided education is described. The case study conducted in a Teacher Training University in 2016-2017 shows the teachers-to-be culture of trust in ICT-aided education. The Pearson product moment correlation shows the direct connection between the level of culture of trust and the level of performance in doing a research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work arrangements constantly change, as the interest of individuals in greater flexibility in relation to their work arrangements increases. Remote jobs in Latvia become increasingly popular with the advancement of information technologies and the increasing wish of individuals for flexible working hours. Productive remote work is possible only by means of modern information and communication technologies. The research aim is to characterise the types of employment and identify the opinions of external relations specialists on performing their job responsibilities remotely by using modern communication technologies and devices at public sector organisations. The main task of the paper is to analyse sources of information on remote employment and opportunities for working remotely in external relations departments. The present research employed the following methods: document analysis, partially structured interviews. The research results have revealed that an external relations specialist could perform at least half of the job responsibilities remotely, while such a job requires also in-person communication; therefore, a remote job cannot fully replace the conventional kinds of work arrangement at offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new normality of individual and business life is increasingly built up under the influence of the key role of digital technology. Economic agents operate in unprecedented global engagement and continuously expanding business opportunities and information sharing capabilities. The information society transforms the restrictive conditions of place and time into factors of relative importance. Digital technologies go deep in a wide range of everyday and routine business processes and cause changes with significant economic and social consequences affecting each individual and business entity. In this paper the main dimensions of the use of computer and Internet technologies by the modern business units are summarized. The main aim of this research is to present the transformation in the Bulgarian enterprises, induced by the wide application of the information and communication technologies, and on this basis to draw the central directions for their use in the business. This paper made theoretical overview of the transformation processes brought about by the introduction of digital technologies in the business, as well as the ways of absorbing the momentary chances for efficient allocation of resources, are explored. The opportunities for digitization of business in Bulgaria have been studied, based on the value of the Enabling Digitalization Index for the country as well as the accessibility of business units to the Internet and its use by enterprises. This allows us to identify the leading role of digitization and information exchange as a key resource for achieving a situation where resource allocation decisions are a compromise choice that is the product of the comprehensive information interpretation capabilities for each trade deal. In conclusion, some of the key trends of the digital transformation of enterprises in the dimensions of the Bulgarian economic realities are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is focused on inquiry based learning (IBL) in Geography. Inquiry based learning is a way of teaching focused on a student and his involvement in the problem-solving process. Problem oriented teaching requires the use of cross-curricular relations and curricular integration. The paper refers to a specific IBL project, the topic of which is landslides, their causes and consequences. The project structure is based on the methodology used in the project COMPASS (2009 - 2011) and PRIMAS (2010-2013). Teaching unit integrates information from both Geography and Mathematics and students develop their competences using the field research methods and information and communications technologies. Teaching is planned partly as a field research and partly in a conventional teaching environment -- in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the enterprises operate in a competitive environment and in very rapid development of ICT (information and communication technology) and other technological facilities. So, enterprises are forced to be transformed from classic way of manufacturing into manufacturing digitalization to be competitive on the today market. This paper presents the usage of ICT on the FMI (Furniture and Metalworking Industry) of Kosovo and their impact on the path to the digital factory. Introducing computerized system and other ICT facilities in process of manufacturing provide support in companies to improve product quality, short time and cost of product and also fulfill new customers' requirements. In this investigation are included small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), because 99 percent of businesses represent [Government of Kosovo, 2011] and in this article we are focused just in the private sector of the furniture and metalworking industry. This investigation is based on the questionnaire and interviews through enterprises which has been done during the year 2016. Utilization of ICT on Kosovo industry is in low level, 16.98% of respondents saying that their company very limited using ICT, 33.02% limited usage, 20.75% medium usage, 26.42% high usage, and only 2.83 % very heavy usage. Most of the respondents has been answered that introducing computers and other ICT facilities proved to be useful for their organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article demonstrates application of distance learning in foreign language teaching at the Faculty of Manufacturing Technologies in Presov. The study of a foreign language is very closely connected with professional subjects. There is a close connection with many engineering disciplines within all study programs. The method of distance learning is an important part of the modern education. The implementation of blended learning to the study process is needed for the newly accredited study programs at the Faculty. The article presented innovative methods and forms of education for needs and development of language and communication skills within technical professional foreign language study material.The paper deals with face-to-face and e-learning forms of study. The study material is obtained on the Moodle platform and it is accessible to all students of bachelor and engineering manufacturing technologies studies within individual professional texts. The presented e-learning course is an innovative tool which provides study of professional technical educational material in the form of independent work with a computer. This form of study also regulates the interaction of students with a teacher. Presented online collaboration contributes to the improvement of the efficiency of foreign language knowledge formation through the introduction of upgraded teaching professional educational study materials; stimulates interest in the study of foreign languages using innovative information and communication technologies; responsiveness of the feedback and the possibility of direct consultation with the teacher in the educational environment of the Moodle platform.I note that foreign language skills and the ability to communicate in a foreign language create a kind of "added value" for each individual, increasing their self-confidence even professionally. At present, knowledge of one foreign language is often not sufficient for employers. The trend and the reality is that many positions will welcome if the new candidate for the offered position also speaks two foreign languages. It is a priority of education, culture, communication possibilities and communication in a foreign language environment. Modernization and innovativeness in the education process should be an essential objective of current higher education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the approach to virtual laboratory "Geoinformation Systems" creation is proposed. Virtual laboratory is a complicated system that consists of a lot of hardware and software tools. The laboratory was created in order to improve the quality of education in the fields of geoinformatics and information technologies. The laboratory provides scientific support of the educational process, integration of innovative research and educational activities. During the course of self-study, students have the opportunity to communicate with each other, and thereby to develop the skills of collective work on large projects using modern and advanced information technology. The students work with knowledge base on the three levels of control: training testing; control testing with evaluation of knowledge; final testing, the results of which automatically generates an academic records. The laboratory provides comprehensive support for the scientific and educational activities - from training sessions (lectures, seminars etc.) with the use of modern educational technology to independent research work of students. In addition, the laboratory is the technological basis for further development and approbation of the concept of electronic research and educational complex: the methodologies of design and creation of hardware, software, information and organizational support, experimental evaluation of the complexity of the implementation of the developed architecture, evaluating the effectiveness of new educational technologies. A variety of different hardware and software tools allow to create a variety of educational routes. The composition and structure of the virtual laboratory is discussed. Experience of using the system is presented. The description of the curriculums and practical works is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, the rise in energy demands for industries and households all over the world has caught the attention of environmentalists. Higher energy demands calls for more energy sources, yet majority of the energy sources have an immense effect on the environment and atmosphere. Today, smart cities are the model for future city planning and urban development by integrating information communication technology (ICT) solutions as well as energy conservation and climate change combating mechanisms where with the underlying technology known as internet of things (IOT). This research proposes Virtual Power Plants (VPP) as the most efficient means of energy distribution for smart cities. This paper explores the modern technological innovation and paradigm in the energy sector known as VPPs which perform the task of flexibly managing a consolidation of renewable energy sources by effectively storing and distributing in variable proportions as and when it is needed. As well as outlining the challenges, this research offers to explore and model the endless possibilities of powering smart cities with the VPP technology and overall, the environmental ecosystem preservation and energy conservation opportunities it presents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industry 4.0 is a concept which puts forward by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology at the Hannover Messe 2013. The German academic community believes that the "Industry 4.0" concept is the fourth industrial revolution dominated by intelligent manufacturing, or a revolutionary production method. The strategy aims to transform manufacturing into an intelligent enterprise by leveraging the combination of ICT and cyberspace virtual systems: Cyber-Physical System. In China, the using of service design is increasing, especially for the travel service design, for example like Didi, Ofo and Mobike, etc. We can see that China has also entered the era of service economy, in this background, the operation of enterprises in the service industry has become a new source of market profits. Service design will also become an integral part of service innovation and development. As Stefan Moritz said, "Service Design is not a new specialist design discipline. It is a new multi-disciplinary platform of expertise", service design is a complex platform. In order to create a systematic concept or service, the service designers should use some new methods. In this paper, the basic theory of service design, design principles and framework processes, and specifically introduced the methods and tools involved in the design of various services will be summed up. This research will also explore the basic methods of travel service design from the perspective of system thinking in Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the questions of development of food security in information aspect and in the context of information economy. The importance of the article is conditioned by advancing development of information and digit economy and its influence over all the state economy. The goal of the article is to address the issue of food security within the development of information economy and implementation of information and communication technologies. The article reports in depth of food security as the foundation of state economic security and the problems of realization of digitalization potential within the agriculture sector of the Russian Federation. In the frameworks of this paper the authors address the types of monitoring of agribusiness industry as well as the «Internet of Things - IoT» conception and the specifics of IoT implementation in agriculture of Russia. New projects of digitization of agriculture as the process of creating of effective information systems and implementing of the breakthrough hardware and software are reviewed. The courses of efficiency improvement of agriculture driven by digitization and IoT are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and communication technologies (ICT) play an important role in the development of modern Russian society. Their fast development together with the convergence of computer systems with different types of communications resulted in the need to reevaluate the perception of these technologies in the spiritual sphere of a human being. This paper analyses the implementation of information and communication technologies into the spiritual sphere of the Russian society. Based on the analysis of statistical and factual data, the authors distinguish five stages of increase of the role of ICT in such domains as education, religion and culture. The first stage is connected to the time when significant social objects get their own websites and other communicative platforms on the Internet, the second one to the appearance of online order of different services, the third one to the direct realisation of social functions by the means of ICT for a limited audience, the fourth stage aims to remove the time and space limitations of the audience and can be represented, for instance, by the appearance of massive open online courses. The fifth stage has been discovered by extrapolation and points at the possible transition of the main fields of human life, including the spiritual one, to the Internet. ICT bring a significant change into the pace of the spiritual life of the society and influence in a certain way the cultural sphere of a person. The information stream is changing and will keep changing radically. At the same time we witness a qualitative transformation in thinking, perception, activity, interpersonal and group relations forming in the conditions of an information-intensive environment. The process suggested for study by the authors deals not only with the technical changes in the modern society, but also with the transformation of the fundamental spiritual and cultural structures, concepts and ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and communication technologies now provide a wide range of opportunities for improvement of the educational process, but the constant evolution of information and communications technology, including its implementation in education, places new demands on teachers who have to be prepared to work with modern didactic tools and technologies, and at the same time create appropriate educational materials for such tuition. That is why new demands are placed on the teacher in this modern teaching paradigm and even though the teachers do not necessarily need to be ICT experts, they should be able to make use of them in tuition where their role should be, above all, that of students' advisor. Based on the aforementioned assumptions, we proceeded to analyze the methods and approaches to the use of ICT tools by the teachers in primary and secondary schools, who implement teaching supported by up-to-date didactic means and digital technologies. The main objective of this research is to describe the current state of the use of ICT tools in the education process at Czech schools, using the methods of educational research. In addition to the main objective, attention was focused also on determining the specific ways of using these tools under real conditions of the educational process. The paper summarizes selected partial results of a project called "Attitudes of Pupils and Teachers toward Educational Content in the Subject of Informatics at Primary and Secondary Schools". This project was solved in 2017 at the Department of Technical Education and Information Technology at Faculty of Education, Palacký University Olomouc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The architecture of the Europe 2020 strategy execution system assumes intense integration of activities at the level of the Member States and regions thereof, aimed at a common objective. One of its elements is the identification requirement related to smart specialisations, reflecting the endogenous potential of regions, related to maximisation of synergic effectiveness of funds provided for execution of the strategy. This paper shows the role of ICT as national and regional smart specialisations in creation of an innovation ecosystem in Poland. The study is based on an intensive review of EU, national and regional strategic documents, further supplemented by multidisciplinary literature review on ICT, innovation, and smart specializations. The carried studies allowed the architecture of the Europe 2020 strategy execution system to be defined, together with the scope within which ICT is included in national and regional smart specialisations in Poland. The results show the horizontal and vertical character of ICT tools, possibilities of its applications and expected directions of improvement in voivodeship development strategies focused on supporting innovative processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has a great importance in all aspects of life, including education as well. With the fast technology progress, implementation of ICT in education is inevitable. There is an old stereotype for mathematics as the most problematic course. Students often tend to use technology in order to find solutions for different mathematical problems without tending to understand them in the reasonable way. This paper investigates the implementation of ICT in education, especially the importance of the use of the ICT in the subject of mathematics. We give its definition, indicators, techniques and methods of implementation, the obstacles that the implementation faces, and some good implementation practices performed in Mathematics. This research covers the teachers from the R. of Macedonia of different ages which come both from elementary and high schools. We analyze the level of ICT usage in mathematics; the different barriers for not using it by the teachers; the ways of communication between the teachers; student arrangement and grouping while using ICT; the importance of using ICT on problem solving, the impact of the ICT in improving the results on the subject of mathematics and comparing it with other subjects. Some of the results found by this research are compared by the results found by the research done by the Institute for Applied Social Science (ITS) with teachers from Germany, Ireland, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium. In order to get a clear illustration concerning the interpretation of the gathered data, making conclusions and decisions, we have used the Statistical Analysis Software SPSS. We have analyzed some elements from the descriptive statistics. For analyzing the obtained data in this research we have used Cross Tabulations. For analyzing the dependencies between variables the chi-square test and the so called t-testing is used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of ICT and metamorphosis of the concept of copyright, and migration flows caused by economic and political reasons that confront understanding of different cultures and values ask for an effective, flexible and easily adaptable strategy in elimination of plagiarism at tertiary level that would not only fight the consequences but also would help to prevent causes of plagiarism. An important role is played by purposeful application of technological tools in personal knowledge management because one of the fundamental premises in the development of knowledge society is personal knowledge management literacy. Therefore, if the student uses tools that develop his personal knowledge management skills on a daily basis, then during the study process it will be easier to integrate and apply these tools, which promotes the elimination of plagiarism at tertiary level. The aim of the research is to analyze possibilities of plagiarism elimination at tertiary level in the context of e-education when using elements of personal knowledge management in group work. Research data were collected using the survey method, and the method of factor analysis was used for quantitative analysis. The basic results reveal the importance of the skills of personal knowledge management in creating academically ethical behaviour in the university by presenting possibilities of using complex startegies to eliminate plagiarism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to identify and measure the demand and the requirements for a new master programme in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) area and estimate to what extent Innovation-based approach could be used for new study programme development. The authors of the given research paper have analysed the situation in Latvia and Lithuania in November 2015 till February 2016. Using Innovation-based approach to the new study programme creation and introduction, the authors stated two main research questions for testing the statistically approved significant demand for new master programme: RQ1: Could the innovation based approach be used for the development and introduction of new study programme? RQ2: Is there a sufficient demand in the Latvian and Baltic States market for new master programme in ICT area? In the given research the authors were used the following methods: critical analysis of literature sources, quantitative analysis and interpretation of the primary and secondary data. As primary data sources three types questionnaires for different target groups were used (Questionnaire for Employers, for ICT students; for everybody); and 2 types interviews. The research results clearly approved that new study programme could be successfully developed using innovation development life cycle while several impact factors still leave big space for discussion. Practical implications: The research could impact the behavior of Universities' top management and stakeholders in using innovation-based approach to developing and introducing new study programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many schools in Poland there area classes in which teachers successfully work with a notebook equipped with wireless Internet, and pupils - with netbooks connected to the school network. The encroachment of ICT on schools is favoured by the regulations of the core curriculum. The ability to use modern information and communication technologies, including searching for and using information, is - apart from reading, mathematical thinking and communication skills in native and foreign languages - one of the seven most important skills and is included in the core curriculum at each stage of education. Empirical studies confirm that the significance of ICT in educational practice has been growing steadily. Not only did they contribute to a better access to information, but also to the development of passions and interests of students. At present, the application of ICT in schools is not the main aim; rather, it is a tool to assist the development of the pupil, especially as regards the competences they need for life. It is impossible to imagine the geographical educational practice at various stages of education without the application of tools and techniques based on ICT. The author of this paper has become involved in a discussion on the importance of ICT, showing their advantages and chances to use it in geographical education, and drawing attention to the risks that it involves. Within the so-called "best educational practices", the selected examples of the use of ICT at various stages of geographic education in Poland were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents an experience of the last few years of implementing new information technologies in teaching a foreign language as well as forming journalists. Journalistic texts about urgent environmental issues have been explored. Some Euronews sci-tech information has been carefully chosen to be analyzed at the lesson in order to reveal ways to make the text professionally adapted for an audience in English, French and Russian. Topics crucial for the understanding of modern Russian, French and English civilizations have been revealed, cultural and historical knowledge about modern France, UK and USA and Russia has been showed introduced in an explicit and implicit manner. The study results in building exercises using ICT. Methods and techniques to identify cultural layers in a non-fiction text have been provided. The practical application of the research is in practical training of future ecologists in foreign language and, on the other hand in training of young journalists which intend to work in the multicultural and multilanguage editions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper highlights the role of some pedagogical aspects of university information and communication environment in establishing academic mobility of intending bachelors and masters of pedagogical education. The authors emphasize the principles and factors of bachelor and master-degree students' academic mobility, which allow finding the relevant forms of training students in the information and communication environment of a University. The researchers provide insight into academic mobility with the use of university information and communication environment, stressing the fact that such an environment improves the institutional base and mechanisms of academic mobility. The e-learning educational technologies are regarded as one of the development fields of virtual academic mobility of bachelor and master degree students as well as professors in Russia. The authors believe that distance learning technologies will help to overcome underfunding of academic exchange programmes and subject difference in academic programmes of partner Universities. Among the advantages of distance learning for students one can point out the possibilities of "home" education (which is especially important for physically challenged people) and to choose among a variety of educational institutions and subject courses available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-learning (electronic learning) is one of the most effective forms of teaching in the teaching process, which has made full use of information and communication technologies. Electronic educational portals nowadays are used almost by every university. In the paper, we describe an e-learning system LMS Moodle, which referres to the learning management system. Based on our survey, we evaluated the usage of various communication tools by the students of the Faculty of Management of University of Presov in Presov, focusing on the use of LMS Moodle, which is most widely used in the area of e-learning in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New technologies, methods and techniques in designing, project planning and project realization are used across the wide range of construction processes during the lifecycle of construction projects. These factors have significantly increased the amount of information that professionals in the construction industry need to identify, acquire and use in their job. There is also a growing need for competency based management, especially with the increasing number of stakeholders in construction project. They have different interests and a lot of information flows and processes arise between them. The increasing importance of information management and integration requires the information strategy aligned with social and technical competencies of project managers. The aim of the of the paper is to show the potential of information and communication technologies together with competency based management for developing effective information flows and partner relationships between construction companies and other parties in the construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The business environment is constantly changing and becoming more complex and difficult. Enterprises are under pressure, which forces them to react quickly to changing conditions and be innovative in the field in which they work. Such activities require businesses to be more flexible and to take frequent and quick strategic, tactical and operational decisions, some of which are very complex. Receipt of such decisions may require significant amounts of data, information and knowledge. Processing within the required decisions must be made quickly, often in real time and usually requires some automated support. Since the early 21st century, ICT based solutions called Business Intelligence (BI) become an important decision support tool and an integral part of the daily work of managers, analysts and executives across the enterprise. Adoption and use of BI is affected by several factors. The paper presents the results of studies which show the factors for the successful implementation and use of BI. The contribution also points to the influence of individual factors for effective implementation and use of BI and also the impact on the efficient management of processes in the company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports on the concept and results of the survey for teachers of informatics subjects and case studies of the development of information technology competencies pupils and implementation of ICT into the school educational environment, which were used as research methods within the project realized in 2013. The project was focused on a complex issue of curricular, process and organisational aspects of informatics, or information technology education in primary and lower-secondary schools in the Czech Republic. The project ran in more than 1000 primary and lower-secondary schools and the survey for teachers and case studies method were applied in the final phase of the project. Electronic survey was given to respondents' interested greater participation in the research in 167 schools and 6 case studies were conducted in selected schools. The purpose of survey for teachers and case studies was to supplement other applied methods and to partly complement the findings of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confirming the importance of marketing communication while building a brand value in the case of KRAFT in the 90s caused a strong increase in its use. While in 1996 the money inserted into the communication was counted as an expense after this year many companies started to consider them as an „investment”. On the other hand the interest of companies to communicate with their customers caused information blindness by flooding the media with commercial messages. Last 10-15 years produced a large number of innovations in the field of marketing communication. Product placement, guerilla marketing, viral marketing have been known tools for marketers already for decades, their increased use, however, came with Internet development. The need for new approaches brought as well changes in communication technologies and consumption of media. Smart phones with Internet access, expanding use of social media and multitasking reduced the effectiveness of traditional media perception. One possible way of attractive product connection with customers brought new technologies and the experiential marketing in computer games. There is a wide range of using the advergaming within the process of communication strategy and it brings many advantages to brand. This paper deals with the analysis of games that have been developed for Slovak market and with perception of individuals from target group of researched projects done through focus groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the lexicographic system developed under cooperative project of the Mathematical Linguistics Department of Saint-Petersburg State University, Institute for Linguistic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Saint-Petersburg Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO University). The various possibilities of developed software are described, such as text storage, the parameterized search system, integration with external electronic corpora and dictionaries, remote access, data export and import, system architecture, user interfaces. The software package can be used to automate dictionary works, as well as a training tool in education process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Till present times there were considered two most important factors of economical and social growth - raw materials and economical sources, but today great importance is given to the information. Slovakia belongs in present time among countries with significantly stagnating country behind most developed countries of the world in almost all areas of development of the information society, which consequently reflects considerably in performance and competitiveness of Slovakian economy and living standard of the Slovakia inhabitants. Development of information technologies and their using in the companies becomes in present time one of the main goals of the state policy, orientated to the regional development of Slovakia. Goal of the contributed paper is to provide view to the present situation of information and communication Technologies using in SMEs in Slovakia, to determine possible reasons of the given situation and finally to demarcate according research, performed at the region of Slovakia basic possibilities of information and communication technologies applying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some aspects of the technical material selection and using information communication technology as well as some methodological procedures applied to English language teaching with the aim to reinforce productive communication skills of the students are being described. The authors also deal with the syllabus design for technical English language course at the Faculty of Manufacturing Technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the link between musicology and new information and communications technologies, a well as the novel possibilities this link provides for preparing critical editions of music, receive more and more attention. Furthermore, financing and publishing extensive series of critical editions of music for print is becoming more complicated. Institutions financing research in this field are beginning to place more emphasis on the preparation of scholarly editions in digital format. The success of some of these editorial projects (Computerized mensural music edition, Digital Mozart Edition, Online Chopin Variorum Edition, Bratislava antiphonaries etc.) opens the doors for further, new projects. Developments in the preparation of scholarly editions in digital format require the use of sophisticated information and communications technologies and an interdisciplinary collaboration of the parties involved. The present study focuses on how this development affects, and to what extent it changes the process of preparing critical editions of music from the point of the editor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Findings of IDEA project (www.idea-strategy.eu), focused on high potentials, had been reconsidered in context of educational response towards changes in economy. The findings included mapping of changes in the world of work and evaluation of training needs in selected fields according to classification of economic activities. Similarly the educational response was looked for. The conclusions were derived in the scope of constant changes and adaptation of educational system for the requirements of labor market. The adaptation instruments and tools such as one minute essay or firsthand experience of key competencies were examined and recommended for gradual regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning and teaching foreign languages at all ages has played a very important role in people's lives. For centuries, different methods have been used to learn and teach languages, always with the tools available at that time, in school settings or even during private lessons. In the twenty-first century, with the spread and popularity of the Internet, digital language learning broke into a virtual learning environment. Learning more foreign languages has become increasingly important. Learning materials can be easily achieved and communication with peers and instructors make learning easier. Nowadays it is possible to learn a language on the mobile phone, which opens new perspectives on language learning, especially among the generation Z, who love using their mobile phones. Due to the situation caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in everyday learning and teaching has become a necessity in formal and informal education. The present study intends to address this issue, especially the use of ICT tools in English language learning among high school students in the North-West region of Romania. The research was based on a questionnaire completed by 244 students. Descriptive statistics were used and the results show that students are positive about learning English with ICT tools or using them in English, but more in the field of informal learning. There is a need to receive guidance from teachers so that students can take advantage of these tools in formal learning as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a world faced with the twin challenges of increasing urbanization and climate change, it is paramount to re-think cities so that they are able to face the pressures these changes will bring. Smart Green City goes one step beyond smart cities and is committed to caring for the environment. The Smart City, undoubtedly, has many advantages, and the implementation of all the technology associated with it is almost immediate. However, there is another emerging concept that, although it has less relevance, is also very important: Green City. Smart City and Green City are two very related ideas. However, they are two different concepts: Smart City The concept is closely linked to the application of information and communication technologies to improve the urban management of cities. Through technologies, work is being done to reduce CO2 emissions in the city, water losses in supply networks, electricity consumption in public buildings, etc. Green City refers to a city committed to reducing the ecological footprint, that is, a city that applies habits, measures and ways to build, occupy the landscape and produce with minimal impact on the environment, contributing to the sustainability of the planet. If we combine both terms, we are talking about Smart Green City: a city with "Green" objectives (reduction of the ecological footprint) that it uses to obtain "Smart" technological tools. We could say that the basis of a Smart Green City is the Green cities, since they are the ones that inspire the goal. The Smart Green Cities go a step further in the modernization of cities, and not only apply technology to improve the quality of life of people, but also try not to negatively impact the environment. Each smart green cities project contributes to greater sustainability of the planet and to take more care of the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the digital transformation of agriculture, its development and links to the digital information economy of the state. The relevance of the article is due to the growing importance of the digital economy on a global scale and its impact on all spheres of the state economy. The purpose of the article is to analyze the current state of digitization of agriculture as well as to develop questions about the development of the information digital economy and the introduction of information and communication technologies. The article identifies and studies the negative factors hindering the digitalization of agriculture in Russia. The important directions of the process of digital transformation of the agrarian economy, as the development of artificial intelligence systems, robotization and work with big data, are considered. The authors examined the concept of "Internet of Things - IoT" and the peculiarities of its use in Russian agriculture. The areas of IoT application in agriculture have been identified and characterized: "precision farming", "smart farms", "smart greenhouses", "big data", management of agricultural transport, etc. The practical significance of this direction is revealed by the example of "smart greenhouses". New projects of digital transformation of agriculture in Russia are described as the process of creating information-digital systems based on new areas of the digital economy. The directions of increasing the efficiency of agriculture in the conditions of the development of digital transformation and forecasts for the future of digitization of agriculture in Russia and the state are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To live in Global Information Society we should constantly increase our knowledge. The wish to possess core competences is a main reason of lifelong education. Due to Open Society and development of ICT teaching methods are changing. Education 3.0 based on the idea of connectivism involves collaborative learning. The article describes the experience of integration Massive Open Online Course into the process of formal education within the framework of students' self-work. The authors analyze results of an experiment and come to the conclusion that participation in MOOC contributes to the formation of core competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geological education has a number of specific features. Modern geology is a complex of more than a hundred of sciences and scientific disciplines. The objects of study of the geology are distributed both in space and time in the widest ranges: these being planetary and nanometric dimensions, billions of years of geologic history and the nanoseconds of the processes of crystal formation. The cognition of the diversity of the geological phenomena requires the fundamental knowledges of mathematics, physics, chemistry. The interdisciplinary relationships are considered to be the hallmark of modern geological science and education. The primary tool for the realization of such relationships in the modern world appears to be information and communication technologies. The promising direction of cognition of the nature of geological processes using information and communication technology in the geological education is the application of virtual reality technology and 3D modelling. The basic advantage of virtual reality technology is modeling the entity of processes and phenomena in the virtual space while taking into account the processes of feedback. Simultaneously, the peculiarities of geological education makes it necessary to preserve traditional educational technologies, such as conducting training and field practices aimed at development of professional competences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a development of innovative research in the field of high education and museum studies in context of Digital Humanities (DH) concept. Information and communication technologies implementation to educational activities of classical university and museums is analyzed as a factor for development of Russian Federation higher education system. Collaboration between university and museum is considered as a factor of efficient improvement for training professionals in Arts and Humanities and is examined for blended learning environment. It is shown, that education is a form of citizens' access to open electronic sources and is one of the components for national interests of the Russian Federation in information society. It is noted, that an important condition for an individual fostering in a professional sphere is implementation of a consistent and balanced state policy in information, educational, scientific fields. Learning environment, which corresponds to contemporary educational requirements, is important components of this complex. Blended learning environment development at classical university is presented on the example of courses devoted to cultural digital heritage preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern technological changes (and digitalization in particular) radically change social relations, character of labor and population's employment. In politicians' claims, urgent character of starting changes is manifested. In practice, that means that people will not have time for adaptation in new conditions. A new model of labor and employment, socalled "Job 4.0", brings higher requirements to workers' professional qualifications being applied to all professional groups without exception. "Job 4.0" is carried out in the digital space, contains new opportunities, but also new risks as well. Numerous objects and means of labor are being digitized, new forms of cooperation and exchange emerge. A necessary step in assessing the opportunities for population adaptation in this situation is the inclusion of ICT and Internet skills in the study of modern employees' competencies. If Russia will not go further along the path of isolationism, the importance of social, intercultural and managerial knowledge and skills for more successful adaptation of migrants will increase. At the same time, the labor market, especially in the regions, is already labor-surplus and relatively balanced only because of low technology and low salaries. We hope so that the development of special Ñentres for the development of migrants' competences contributes to the adaptation of their families and especially children in Russian labor market and for Job 4.0. As an example, we show the work of Charitable Fund for Support and Development of Educational and Social Projects "PSP-Fund" in St. Petersburg, which has implemented the project "Resource Center for Community-Focused Non-Governmental Organizations of the North-West of the Russian Federation, Dealing with Problems Caused by Labor Migration." The PSP-Fund works in close contact with St. Petersburg municipal administration implementing the principles of public-private partnership in its activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's comparative analysis of professional journalistic cultures has quite developed methodologies but relies on national level of comparison, which might be misleading. We test whether, in Russia of 2010s, the structure of professional journalistic community is as diverse and fragmented as the media system itself - and, thus, whether it can be perceived as a whole, unlike journalistic cultures in the West. The cleavages include generational ones as well as value-based ones, the latter being reflected in journalists' orientation to either post-Soviet or pro-Western standards of reporting. Another cleavage is based on the speed of adoption of ICTs in reporting and editorial practices, a major factor of change, e.g., in American journalism. We argue that this combination of divisions may be re-conceptualized as 'traditional vs. innovative' journalistic cultures, based on technological, professional, legislative, and political factors; thus, traditional and innovative cultures co-exist within the Russian media system and do not supplant each other, and the new generation of journalists is described as experiencing rapidly changing professional standards. Our results are based on an online survey of 200 journalists in Russian regions, 6 in-depth interviews with key media managers, and 30 video interviews with online media managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing trends in the development of modern society reflect the need to form new approaches to the organization and implementation of public administration, as evidenced by the ongoing reorganization of government bodies, the improvement of the regulatory and legal framework to increase the effectiveness of their activities, the expansion of the list of public services provided, the integration of new information technologies and management structures. The current changes in the economy and its digitalization, which is based on the rapid growth of information and communication technologies, the development of the information society in a compartment with limited resources of public authorities, with a significant increase in demand for public (state and municipal) services have necessitated the informatization of public administration, subsystems of the system of public administration and state regulation of socioeconomic activities, the formation of "Electronic government" and "electronic state". The purpose of the study is to develop theoretical and methodological provisions and develop practical recommendations for the implementation of tools for "management by objectives" in the public administration system. Achieving the goal set in the study predetermined the solution of the following tasks: to develop a structural model for the compatibility of the principles of "management by objectives" and public management; to improve the methodology for assessing the effectiveness of "management by objectives" in public administration. The research was carried out using deductive and inductive approaches, using comparative, structural-logical, economic-mathematical, statistical analysis, which is confirmed by the presented calculations, arranged in the form of tables and graphs. As a result of the study, the authors developed a structural model for the compatibility of the principles of "management by objectives" and public management. The methodology for assessing the effectiveness of "management by objectives" in public administration was improved, characterized by the use of the author's hierarchical system of indicators, which makes it possible to carry out a multi-parameter and comprehensive assessment of the consequences of implementing the "management by objectives" toolkit in the public administration system. The results of scientific research are brought to the level of practical conclusions, regulations and recommendations that can be used in the legislative and practical economic activities of public authorities in improving public administration, the introduction of tools for "management by objectives.". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's world, where we can witness the ubiquitous implementation of information and communication technologies along with the inevitable digitalization of business processes, the role of intangible assets, of intellectual property and intellectual resources for achieving sustainable competiveness is growing in importance. The aim of the present article is to contribute to the identification of the elements of intellectual capital in trade under the established fields in the economic literature: human, organisational and relational capital. The article includes certain theoretical and practical achievements of well-known researchers in the field of intellectual capital, which are founded on the methodology developed by Goeran Roos, Stephan Pike and Lisa Fernstroem. The specific characteristics/of the trade activity and the differences between the elements of the intellectual capital in trade in comparison with other economic activities are taken into consideration. Consequently, the article introduces a theoretical model to identify the elements of intellectual capital in trade, which meets the requirement for detailed intellectual capital elements at minimum three levels. The suggested theoretical model will be verified at a subsequent stage in the trade practice. Building an intellectual capital tree is the mandatory first step in managing intellectual capital. The verification of the theoretical model of identifying the elements of intellectual capital in trade in the commercial practice provides for determining the respective weight of the elements of the intellectual capital and the degree of their importance for creating stockholder value. The management of the intellectual capital poses a serious challenge to the modern economic science and research. In the commercial field there is relatively little research related to intellectual capital at this stage, which defines the publication as necessary and timely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the attractiveness for the Compostela Ways for thirty years corresponds to an important socio-cultural phenomenon. After having given some markers of the success of the Compostela Ways (number of pilgrims, etc.), we try to highlight the different motivations of the participants. We propose a typology of these different "pilgrims" or walkers. By analyzing situations of information and communication, we will study the aspects of identity and the relationship with others but also with oneself (better knowing oneself), articulating the issues of meaning, link or interaction and identity. From the study of two websites (Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France and Santiago de Compostela in Spain), we propose to analyze how information and communication technologies (ICT) also contribute to the creation of a new identity. The development of the Ways to Santiago contributes - especially in Spain - to a certain economic development of remote and very depopulated areas. But what is the future of the Compostela Ways: an ephemeral fashion effect or a new more sustainable (but nonetheless seasonal) mode of development of territories (stakes of Territorial Intelligence)? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The French Healthcare System copes with important challenges especially of costs, often linked with "walls" between compartmentalized fields, particularly between Primary Care and Hospital sector. These challenges largely correspond to information and communication issues. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) may constitute an important lever to overpass them and to improve the efficiency of the whole system. New Healthcare Interfaces Organizations (HIO) developed for thirty years constitute an interesting and representative field to observe the main challenges and experiment some new ways, especially patients' pathways with EHR (Electronic Health Records), data platforms or telemedicine tools with the idea of developing new Digital Healthcare Territories (Territoires de Soins Numériques). We also propose new ways for an evaluation approach focusing on qualitative aspects and interactions between all the actors in a global process of improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU Development Guidelines impose high standards on the role of local government in supporting digital society. To achieve higher availability and reliability of digital public administration services towards citizens and the economic sector, the management of ICT technology must be interconnected with the business strategy of public administration. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as a part of the European Commission legal framework, sets the security of business data and processes as a basis of functionality of the system. In such context, it is essential that a system management is well-structured and that it has enterprise plans, policies, procedures and financial resources supported by the authority. In this research we analyze the efficiency of system management maturity by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) through a number of factors such as COBIT control, human resources, security level, system reliability, etc. The obtained results of the analysis differentiate units that achieved relative efficiency from those who remained relatively inefficient. Using the results of obtained projections, relatively inefficient units could improve their business operation and move to efficiency frontier. The results obtained by DEA can help the management to determine causes of inefficiency and create suggestions for potential improvements for each inefficient unit. Therefore, these results might provide guidelines for improving the business operations in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We can observe significant potential of information and communication technologies (ICT) in interior designing field, by development of software and hardware virtual reality tools. Use ICT tools offer the possibility realistic perception of proposal in its initial idea (the study). A group of real-time visualization supported by hardware tools like Oculus Rift HTC Vive provides free walkthrough and movement in virtual interior with the possibility of virtual designing. By development of improved ICT software tools for designing in virtual reality we can achieve still more realistic virtual environment. The contribution presented proposal of an innovative approach of interior designing in virtual reality using the latest software and hardware ICT virtual reality technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of this study is to find out the impact of innovation policy on the dynamics of total factor productivity (TFP). The approach of the Conference Board Total Economy Database is used to measure TFP. According to this method, the growth in output is the result of an increase in labour and capital service, where capital is decomposed into ICT capital, and non-ICT-capital, and labour is decomposed into pure employment quantity and labour quality. Thus, TFP growth captures technical change and the overall efficiency. The main contribution of this study to the literature is the following. TFP dynamics may be examined as the autoregressive distributed lag model, but different sets of the key indicators should be used to assess the determinants of TFP growth in various groups of countries. The Foreign direct investment proved to be an important channel of knowledge spillover and technological adoption for middle-income countries and countries exporters of natural resources. However, in post-industrial countries, the overall effectiveness of the innovation policy has the positive effects on total factor productivity growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sector of organic wine tourism is continuously growing in Romania, more and more private wine producers increasingly entering the market. In this context, the present article advances the idea of creating a web platform dedicated to both organic wine producers and organic wine consumers in Romania, based on an innovative Business Intelligence tool for wine products scoring (wines, wine cellars, vineyards and wine events). The first part of the article contains best practice presentation, including a synthesis of WineBook Romanian project. This Romanian Business Intelligence software was created for wine tasting events. Having WineBook as a starting point, this article introduces the ROVINTIS Research Project which has as its main objective to develop a collaborative web platform for the Romanian organic wine friends community. Within this collaborative platform, an innovative Business Intelligence tool will be developed in order to offer decision support to both producers and consumers. The architecture of this ICT solution has two components: a mobile app for wine tourists, which includes an original rating system for Romanian organic wine products (wines, wine cellars, vineyards and wine events), and a back office component which includes specific reports for organic wine producers. The ROVINTIS collaborative web platform is designed to get together the community of organic wine consumers with organic wine producers, winemakers, distributors and event organizers, offering them the possibility to actively interact. Using ROVINTIS platform, organic wine producers will therefore be able to obtain instant feedback from wine tourists and the entire organic wine friend community. The proposed mobile app mainly addresses the savvy wine tourists who consume organic wine, who can be included within the category of the so-called sustainable-oriented tourists. They have to check in, using a QR Code, each time they visit a Romanian wine cellar or vineyard, participate in a wine event or when they simply drink an organic Romanian wine, and rate the wine(s), the cellar, the vineyard or the event using specific rating systems. User scoring notes are also envisaged to be part of the application. As a pilot application, the ROVINTIS model can be afterward adapted to foreign organic wine markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Author characterize the content and scope of data evidence in connection with criminalistics information systems for crime control. Information and communication technologies to help better understanding the connection between different evidence, trace and information in criminalistics. Author Analyse the possibilities of using digital and digitalized information as trace and other objects. Relatively new part of criminalistics system - information systems, helps us better using of criminalistics evidence traces and other criminalistics objects. He demonstrates various ground parameters of digital evidence systems. This contribution is the result of the project implementation: Centre of excellence of security research, code ITMS: 26240120034 supported by the Research & Development Operational Program funded by the ERDF, task 3.3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]