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This qualitative analysis describes the socialist legacy in the governance of higher education within the former Soviet-led member countries that entered the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) between 2001 and 2010. In joining the EHEA these countries signed on for the Bologna Process (BP), but are not members of the European Union. The analysis is based on EHEA BP Country Reports and a survey of Western academic literature and sources from the former-socialist region. It is argued that ministries of education are little engaged with academic and civic communities, in large part because policymakers underestimate the depth of the cultural and institutional changes that are necessary for educational reforms. Therefore, deep convergence of the new signatory countries to the EHEA via the BP has not occurred. Concurrently, West European measures intended to empower educational communities operate perversely in the post-socialist region, characterised by low civic and state capacities. The over-emphasis on bureaucratic checks and controls negates two important aspirations of Bologna: on the one side, university autonomy, empowerment of faculty, and development of local communities; and on the other side, the free flow of international knowledge. Without an adjustment of policies, the prospects for effective reforms are dimmed.

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

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The paper highlights the impact of two cross-border poultry infections with zoonotic potential (avian flu and Newcastle disease) on the functioning of industrial poultry farms in the former Soviet Union counties (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan), where the poultry industry is fairly well-developed. Despite the permanent vaccination of poultry against Newcastle disease in industrial poultry farming, the disease still affects individual farms in Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and Kazakhstan. In case of outbreaks, the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan use inactivated influenza vaccines. In Ukraine, for almost 20 years, outbreaks of influenza have been confirmed mainly on individual farms, and one outbreak of highly pathogenic influenza was reported on an industrial poultry farm in 2020. In the Russian Federation, highly pathogenic influenza occurs on industrial poultry farms more often. In Russia, seven industrial poultry enterprises were affected by influenza in 2016-2017, and eight in 2018. Infection of poultry with influenza virus on poultry factory farms is an indication of shortcomings in compliance with biosecurity measures. Influenza and Newcastle disease are always likely to occur in the countries in question, as wild birds migrate through their territory, and they are a reservoir of pathogens, therefore outbreaks are often associated with spring and autumn migrations of wild birds. In all of said countries, a large number of poultry is kept by individual households, where basic biosecurity, sanitation and preventive vaccination measures are not applied. This component is often crucial in bringing viral infections such as influenza and Newcastle disease on large poultry farms. As a result, the virus is brought onto poultry farms by synanthropic birds, humans, transport, feed, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soviet higher education had a distinctive institutional landscape. It combined two institutional types in a uniform model that embedded higher education in the national economy. This paper focuses on the post-Soviet system-level changes in the institutional landscape in all 15 countries of the former USSR. It shows that over last three decades the Soviet two-type institutional model evolved into a three-type model, with the specialized university as a new institutional type. Highlighting the instruments of horizontal and vertical differentiation for each country, the paper explains how structural reforms and market forces led to the rise of the university/multiversity form of institution, and the strengthening of vertical stratification at system level. The comparative analysis shows that there have been different patterns of transformation in the 15 countries, shaped by unique combinations of structural reforms and marketization policies, with certain countries having made more distinctive steps away from the Soviet institutional model. There are now 15 formally different systems of higher education which poses further questions for comparative analysis.

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Blockchain technology is widely used in accounting and auditing by powerful global manufacturers. Implementing blockchain in the enterprise increases the efficiency of accounting and auditing processes and system reliability, reducing the likelihood of errors and fraud. Some countries around the world, such as the USA and the United Kingdom, are actively using this technology in accounting and auditing. However, most countries are still in the early stages of implementing blockchain. In Ukraine and Kazakhstan, the modernization of accounting and auditing is gradually gaining momentum. One of the obstacles to the rapid development of blockchain is the lack of understanding of employees regarding the need to implement blockchain technology. The purpose of the study is to reveal the potential of blockchain in accounting and auditing by highlighting its functional features and assessing the opportunities to improve the workflow of accountants and auditors. The article defined the structure of blockchain, its main functions, advantages and disadvantages, compared it with traditional methods of accounting and auditing. The possibility of implementing smart contracts as a blockchain application in enterprises was emphasized and a comparative analysis of the platforms on which they are implemented was carried out. The study identified both positive and negative consequences of the technology's implementation. It is emphasized that blockchain does not guarantee complete protection against fraud, and the occurrence of transaction errors can lead to significant financial losses. Nevertheless, blockchain can significantly improve the functionality of accounting and auditing systems if the rules are followed. Blockchain adoption in enterprises is fully consistent with Ukraine's digital transformation strategy and Kazakhstan's Sustainable Development vision, but it requires significant investment and high-quality staff training to be successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

Background: In the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries the epidemiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is poorly characterized. The objective of this analysis is to present the prevalence, burden and risk factors associated with COPD in three CIS countries as part of the CORE study (Chronic Obstructive Respiratory Diseases), the rationale and design of which have been described elsewhere. Methods: A total of 2842 adults (≥18 years) were recruited (964 in Ukraine, Kiev, 945 in Kazakhstan, Almaty and 933 in Azerbaijan, Baku) between 2013 and 2015 during household visits. Two-step cluster randomization was used for the sampling strategy. All respondents were interviewed about respiratory symptoms, smoking status and medical history, and underwent spirometry with bronchodilator. COPD was defined as (i) "previously diagnosed" when the respondent reported that he/she had previously been diagnosed with COPD by a doctor, (ii) "diagnosed by spirometry" using the GOLD criteria (2011) based on spirometry conducted during the study (FEV1/FVC < 0.70), and (iii) "firstly diagnosed by spirometry", when the patient had received the COPD diagnosis for the first time based on the spirometry results obtained in this study. Results: The prevalence of "previously diagnosed" COPD was 10.4, 13.8 and 4.3 per 1000, and the prevalence of COPD "diagnosed by spirometry" was 31.9, 66.7 and 37.5 per 1000 in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan, respectively. Almost all respondents with COPD were diagnosed for the first time during this study. A statistically significant relationship was shown between smoking and COPD in Kazakhstan (odds ratio, OR: 3.75) and Azerbaijan (OR: 2.80); BMI in Ukraine (OR: 2.10); tuberculosis in Ukraine (OR: 32.3); and dusty work in Kazakhstan (OR: 2.30). Co-morbidities like cardiovascular diseases and a history of pneumonia occurred significantly (p < 0.05) more frequently in the COPD population compared to the non-COPD population across all participating countries. For hypertension, this was the case in Ukraine and Azerbaijan. Conclusion: In CIS countries (Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan), the prevalence of COPD "diagnosed by spirometry" was significantly higher than the prevalence of previously diagnosed COPD. Compared to many other countries, the prevalence of COPD seems to be relatively low in CIS countries. Factors such as limited funding from the government; lack of COPD knowledge and the attitude within the population, and of primary care physicians; as well as low access to high-quality spirometry may play a role in this under-diagnosis of COPD. The information provided in this paper will be helpful for healthcare policy makers in CIS countries to instruct COPD management and prevention strategies and to allocate healthcare resources accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducts a comparative analysis of Ukraine and the Republic of Kazakhstan, two post-Soviet states facing ongoing contradictions and challenges in mutual understanding. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, these states embarked on their own paths of national development, influenced by various political, economic, socio-cultural, and ethnic factors. This study examines the formation of political parties, the development of political and electoral culture, and the legal approaches to organizing the electoral process in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Additionally, it explores the manipulation of electoral behavior through a specific case study. The study employs standard political research methods such as comparative analysis, anthropological and structural-functional approaches, content analysis, and a systematic approach. The findings of this study serve as valuable information for experts involved in organizing electoral processes, researchers in comparative political science, and readers interested in the subject matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has presented extreme challenges to developing countries across the world. The aim of this paper was to provide estimates for current development COVID-19 pandemic in the Post-Soviet states and forecast potential best and worst scenarios for spread of this deadly infection. Methods: The data on COVID-19 cases extracted from official governmental sources until April 18, 2020. A modified SEIR (Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered) modelling was used to plot the pandemic outbreak in 10 Post-Soviet states and forecasting over the period of 10, 30 and 60 days. The optimal measures (best-scenario) and suboptimal measures (worst-scenarios) of potential spread of COVID-19 in these countries were estimated. Results: It was estimated that Armenia and Azerbaijan have reached their peaks, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Uzbekistan are expected to reach their peaks in the early May-2020), with comparatively low cases of COVID-19 in the best-case scenario. In contrast, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine would likely see the outbreaks with the largest number of COVID-19 cases amongst the studied Post-Soviet States in the worst-scenario during the next 30 and 60 days. Conclusion: Governmental response was shown to be as an important determining factor responsible for the development of COVID-19 epidemic in Post-Soviet states. The current protection rates should be maintained to reduce active cases during upcoming 30 and 60 days. The estimated possible scenarios based on the proposed model can potentially be used by healthcare professionals from each studied Post-Soviet States as well as others to improve plans to contain the current and future epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the relationship of economic development, measured as economic growth, energy use, trade and foreign direct investment, on the one hand, and environmental degradation (carbon dioxide (hereafter CO2) emissions), on the other hand, in eleven emerging Eastern European and Central Asian countries during the period of 1990 to 2014. The empirical results give an evidence of a carbon emission Kuznets curve for these emerging economies. The current income level indicates that not every country has reached the turning point for CO2 emissions reductions. Income elasticities for CO2 are positive for all eleven countries. The paper concludes that within the group, Ukraine and Kazakhstan have the most sensitive change in economic growth in respect to CO2. In addition, it concludes that there is a negative effect of total energy consumption on environment as such consumption increases CO2 emissions. The results also show a positive effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on CO2 emissions in Eastern European and Central Asian countries. It is expected that the innovative transition to a low-carbon economy offers great opportunities for economic growth and job creation. Technological leadership (the initiative Industry 4.0) should be accompanied by the development and introduction of new technologies throughout Eastern European and Central Asian countries, hence, the paradigm of "sustainable development" should be considered as fatal. Furthermore, Eastern European and Central Asian economies should consider the experience of policy making implications made by other developing countries in gaining sustainable growth. Econometric analyses prove the existence of different impact on energy consumption of the ICT sector, which plays a key supporting role for intelligent manufacturing. Thus, there is a need for further investigations of the relationship between technology use and CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research article provides a comprehensive scenario analysis of key structural changes in Kazakhstan's fuel and energy complex subsectors until 2060, focusing on decarbonization efforts. The background places the issue of decarbonization in a broader context, considering the country's vast size and sparse population. The study's purpose involves analyzing the development of the climate agenda by comparing two scenarios: a "reference" scenario without decarbonization measures and a carbon neutrality scenario until 2060 (CN2060). A mathematical technical-economic model based on the TIMES paradigm (The Integrated MARKAL-EFOM System) serves as the method to optimize and simulate Kazakhstan's energy system. The main findings reveal sets of policies, standards, and legislative, economic, and political decisions that are required to achieve CN2060. Additionally, the integration of a low-carbon policy, sectoral and cross-cutting approaches, the impact of the coronavirus crisis, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and energy security issues receive a discussion. The article concludes with projected shares of generation and investment in renewable energy sources (RES) necessary for attaining CN2060. This work offers novel insights into challenges and opportunities for Kazakhstan's transition to a low-carbon economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looks at whether Kazakh and Russian wheat exporters leverage their dominant share of the wheat markets in the South Caucasus to exercise market power. We apply a three-stage estimation for systems of simultaneous equations and Zellner's seemingly unrelated regression to analyze residual demand elasticity. The results of both estimations provide empirical evidence of Russian market power in the wheat markets of the South Caucasus but no evidence of a Kazakh oligopoly. Russian exporters possess greater market power in Armenia than in Georgia. Market power depends on the presence of competitors in the destination market. The results show that Kazakh exporters restrict the market powers of Russian exporters in the Azerbaijani wheat market, while Russian exporters constrain the market power of Kazakh exporters in the Azerbaijani and Georgian wheat markets. Ukrainian wheat exporters are able to intervene in the market powers of Russian exporters in Azerbaijan and Georgia, while they restrict Kazakh oligopoly in the Georgian market. Some export restrictions imposed by wheat exporting countries significantly affected competition in wheat importing countries. Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine and the blockade of Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea are restricting wheat trade, severely damaging Ukraine's competitiveness and export potential, and reducing food security in the South Caucasus, the Middle East, and North Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

This paper analyses Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan as nationalizing states, focusing on four domains: ethnopolitical demography, language repertoires and practices, the polity and the economy. Nationalizing discourse has figured centrally in these and other ‘post-multinational’ contexts. But nationalizing projects and processes have differed substantially across cases. Where ethnonational boundaries have been strong, quasi-racial and intergenerationally persistent, as in Kazakhstan, nationalization (notwithstanding inclusive official rhetoric) has served primarily to strengthen and empower the core nation. Where ethnonational and linguistic boundaries have been blurred and permeable, as in Ukraine, nationalization has worked primarily to reshape cultural practices, loyalties and identities, thereby in effect redefining and enlarging the core nation. Where boundaries have been strong, yet show signs of being intergenerationally permeable, as in Estonia and Latvia, nationalization was initially oriented towards protecting, strengthening, and empowering the core nation as a sharply bounded collectivity, but has subsequently become more assimilationist and culturalist. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper compares the status of young naturalist after-school programs in three post-Soviet republics: Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In the past, the region's environmental teachers, leaders and activists have emerged from such youth programs. Thus, the health of these programs is a leading indicator for the long-term viability of broader environmental efforts across the former Soviet Union. However, it is unclear whether the existing international, national or local structures of the post-Soviet republics are adequate for nurturing a new generation of politically active and environmentally aware youth. Although all three countries have many thriving programs with talented staff and good curriculum, one of our main findings is that there is not enough support from existing state structures or from private sector efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of such programs. In addition, we find that many of these programs would benefit from better communication and coordination with one another. However, we also find that there are some new, encouraging organizational models being tried on a limited basis in selected regions. We conclude with a recommendation for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campus crisis management remains an understudied topic in the context of COVID-affected higher education. In this paper, we contrasted the ability to tame the wicked problems brought by the pandemic of COVID-19 in private and public universities in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, India, Kazakhstan, Uganda, and Ukraine. The cross-country analysis and diversity of institutional types allowed us to consider a wide range of challenges faced by academic leaders and their institutions during the global pandemic. By drawing on institutional policy reviews and interviews with university administrators, we have examined tensions between the human and institutional agencies on these crisis-stricken campuses given differing institutional coupling, sizes, resources, and missions. The focus on agential co-dependencies and institutional coupling lays the ground for conceptualizing campus crisis management as a culturally specific construct in the context of higher education affected by the global pandemic.

Research on news credibility and susceptibility to fake news has overwhelmingly focused on individual and message-level factors explaining why people view some news items as more credible than others. We argue that the consistency of the message's content with the dominant mainstream narrative can have a powerful explanatory capacity as well, particularly in the domain of international news. We test this hypothesis experimentally using a sample of 8,559 social media users in three post-Soviet countries. Our analyses suggest that the consistency with the dominant narrative increases the perceived credibility of foreign affairs news independently of their veracity. We also demonstrate the moderating role of international conflict, government support, and news language in some national contexts but not others. Finally, we report how the effects of these factors on credibility vary according to whether the news items are real or fabricated and discuss the societal implications of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both internationalization of higher education and use of English as a global language (EGL) coexist, for the latter is a vital tool to attain the former and vice versa. Although the former came into existence in non-native English-speaking countries in Europe, and the latter became the major medium of instruction at universities with the de facto 'extraterritorial' lingua franca, research into international students' issues has mainly been conducted in English-speaking countries. This paper, therefore, aims to explore such value and use of EGL in a higher education internationalization context in Bulgaria. With the qualitative research approach, two themes emerge, answering two research questions. The results collected from 13 students from European and former Soviet backgrounds offer insights into linguistic, cultural, and psychological challenges international students tend to encounter as well as determinants that impact their adjustment.

Polychromous Tulipa suaveolens Roth has a vast range comprising almost the whole Ponto-Caspian Steppe and extending from the south-east of Ukraine to western Kazakhstan. The species is famous for high variation in flower colour, but the pattern of its geographical distribution remains unclear. In the present article, T. suaveolens flower colour variation is studied in 56 natural populations across the European species range. Tepal colours are detected from the digital images using the Lab colour model with two chromatic components—a (the red colour intensity) and b (the yellow colour intensity). The analysis reveals that, throughout the European species range, there is an obvious T. suaveolens flower colour gradient in the direction from the north-east to the south-west, along which the intensity of the red chromatic component increases; the distribution of the yellow chromatic component is interpreted as random. Also, the chromatic component a is found to be linearly dependent on temperature and precipitation parameters. We draw a conclusion that, across the European species range, the identified geographical trends in T. suaveolens flower colour distribution result from natural selection caused by these two abiotic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the 2014 Ukraine crisis, Belarus and Kazakhstan appear caught in an alliance security dilemma characterised by intra-alliance threat and entrapment, as both are potential targets of militarised hybrid warfare by their vastly more powerful ally, Russia. Despite having sought foreign policy flexibility between the two increasingly opposed geopolitical camps of the West and Russia, Minsk and Nur-Sultan appear drawn further towards Moscow. Utilising their pre- and post-2014 national security documents, reinforced by an examination of their rhetoric and policies, this essay demonstrates how both countries reassessed their security environment in the wake of the annexation of Crimea and the initial war in the Donbas region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: In many countries families have rarely been involved in addressing treatment and interventions for family members with substance use disorders (SUDs). The aims of this study were to measure the influence of substance use on users’ family members and to evaluate what and if any interventions were conducted by and with family members in the three countries of Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Ukraine. METHODS: A convenience sample approach was used to identify the involvement of families in the treatment and recovery process of a subject using substances and to provide countryspecific data from Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. RESULTS: The survey yielded 2174 respondents from the three countries, including 1099 responses from relatives of a subject who used or uses substances and 1075 from subjects who use or used psychoactive substances. In total, 47% of the relatives indicated that they did not receive treatment interventions and 87% believed that treatment could be an effective option to address the use of substances. CONCLUSIONS: A significant majority of the relatives in Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine did not receive any therapeutic or other support while living with a subject with an SUD. Unsurprisingly, family members often regarded the best way to treat SUDs as being to isolate the subject. However, in all three countries most of the subjects with experience of substance use identified the family as the main factor that could prevent them from using substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the lingering legacies of the Cold War was the enormous nuclear arsenals amassed by the two superpowers. When one of them, the Soviet Union, disintegrated in 1991, its nearly 30,000 nuclear weapons were located on the territory of not one but four newly sovereign states: Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. Although command-and-control of Soviet strategic missiles was centralized in Moscow, the specter of the single largest wave of horizontal nuclear proliferation loomed after 1991. By 1994, however, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine had decided to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as non-nuclear weapons states and to give up the missiles on their soil. Drawing on previously untapped archival records, this article reconstructs the divergent paths of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine toward relinquishing their armaments. A combination of domestic and international political factors contributed to the resolution of the problem. Among the various contributing factors, the NPT stands out as a salient force that provided normative framing and guided deliberations on post-Soviet nuclear disarmament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildfires are widespread disasters and are concurrently influenced by global climatic drivers. Due to the widespread and far-reaching influence of climatic drivers, separate regional wildfires may have similar climatic cause mechanisms. Determining a suite of global climatic drivers that explain most of the variations in different homogeneous wildfire regions will be of great significance for wildfire management, wildfire prediction, and global wildfire climatology. Therefore, this study first identified spatiotemporally homogeneous regions of burned area worldwide during 2001–2019 using a distinct empirical orthogonal function. Eight patterns with different spatiotemporal characteristics were identified. Then, the relationships between major burned area patterns and sixteen global climatic drivers were quantified based on wavelet analysis. The most significant global climatic drivers that strongly impacted each of the eight major wildfire patterns were identified. The most significant combinations of hotspots and climatic drivers were Atlantic multidecadal Oscillation-East Pacific/North Pacific Oscillation (EP/NP)-Pacific North American Pattern (PNA) with the pattern around Ukraine and Kazakhstan, El Niño/Southern Oscillation-Arctic Oscillation (AO)-East Atlantic/Western Russia Pattern (EA/WR) with the pattern in Australia, and PNA-AO-Polar/Eurasia Pattern-EA/WR with the pattern in Brazil. Overall, these results provide a reference for predicting wildfire and understanding wildfire homogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terms used in the study of people/place bonding too often circumscribe thinking to either the most readily conceived and tangibly experienced scale of place – home/neighborhood – or to the most politically prevalent scale of place – the state. In doing so, researchers ignore the influence of places that help constitute identity between and above the aforementioned scales. A more elastic conceptualization of place attachment allows for mutability of place-identities and their capacity to be both multi-sited and varying in scale. With a long history of ethnic Russian habitation from the Tsarist through Soviet eras, the northern oblasts of Kazakhstan emerged as a borderland of potential irredentism akin to eastern Ukraine. Calls for secession and annexation have, however, been minimal thus rendering the region's amalgam of place identities a ready case for considering relational geographies of borderland place-attachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between psychological distress, gender, and health lifestyles in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. These countries have been subjected to highly stressful and extensive social change associated with the transition out of communism. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews () in November 2001. Distress was measured by 12 psychological distress symptoms. Health lifestyles focused on measures of alcohol consumption, smoking and diet. We found that females carried a much heavier burden of psychological distress than males, but this distress did not translate into greater alcohol consumption and smoking for these women or for men. The greatest influence of distress on health lifestyle practices was on daily diets in that both less distressed females and males consumed a more balanced diet than more distressed persons. Our findings suggest that it is the normative demands of a particular lifestyle, rather than distress, that principally shapes the pattern of heavy male drinking. This is an important finding as some sources indicate heavy drinking is largely responsible for the health crisis in the former socialist states. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article examines the evolution of gender equality in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan since the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Topics discussed include the shift from a socialist, state feminism to a neoliberal, market feminism, and its role in the increase in social and economic inequities. It also tackles the prevalence of violence against women in Kazakhstan.

Background: The overweight/obese population (evaluated by a body mass index, BMI) represents a global health problem and contributes to the development of various chronic diseases. In this epidemiological study we evaluated this relationship by analyzing patient-reported questionnaires related to respiratory function, physical activity and BMI.Methods: In 2013-2015, adult residents of selected cities were enrolled to this study in: Ukraine (M/F: 403/561), Kazakhstan (M/F = 348/597) and Azerbaijan (M/F: 389/544). Height was measured using a vertical measuring board, and body weight was measured by using portable digital scales. All participants were interviewed using CAT™, mMRC scale and IPAQ; respondents who also reported wheezing or whistling chest sounds during the previous 12 months additionally ACT™.Results: 45.4% of respondents in Ukraine, 47.6% in Kazakhstan and 54.9% of respondents in Azerbaijan were found to be overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2). The mean CAT™ total score among this population versus those respondents with a normal weight was 5.2 versus 3.6 (Ukraine, p < 0.001), 4.2 versus 2.9 (Kazakhstan, p < 0.001) and 5.9 versus 4.3 (Azerbaijan, p < 0.001). The number of respondents without airflow limitations (mMRC score 0) among overweight/obese respondents versus normal weight respondents was 298 (68.2%) versus 456 (86.7%) in Ukraine, 261 (58.1%) versus 387 (78.2%) in Kazakhstan and 343 (67.1%) versus 345 (82.3%) in Azerbaijan. The ACT™ total score between overweight/obese respondents and normal weight respondents was not statistically different. IPAQ showed a tendency towards a higher proportion of "low activity" results (compared to "moderate" and "high") in the overweight/obese subgroup (24.7% vs. 23.8% in Kazakhstan, 18.5% vs. 14.6% in Azerbaijan), and in Ukraine this difference was significant (12.4% vs. 5.2%, p < 0.001).Conclusion: CAT™ and mMRC are widely used tools for respiratory function assessment. Despite CAT™ scores being close to a normal value (< 5), the relationship of both CAT™ and mMRC scores with being overweight/obese was demonstrated in the general adult population of three CIS countries. IPAQ may also be a useful instrument for measuring activity level however, more objective studies are required to evaluate the relationship between BMI and physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diplostomosis is an invasive disease of carp fish that can cause significant damage to the fish farm. It is widely distributed in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus. Sexually mature individuals parasitize the intestines of fish-eating birds of the genus Laridae. The intermediate host is freshwater fish and mollusks of the genus Lymnaea. The disease cycle is represented by several migrations of the parasite from the reservoir to the intermediate hosts, followed by ingestion. Fry and fish with a low immune status are most susceptible to this disease. When introduced into the body, trematodes can inoculate fish with various pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic microflora inherent in the habitat, which can complicate the production of high-quality products that are safe for both humans and animals. Therefore, the implementation of our patented "Method for assessing the quality of meat of fish infected with diplostomosis" during the veterinary and sanitary examination is important. The invention involves diagnostic measures, namely, to determine the quality of fish meat, which were carried out in this study. The method consisted of a step-by-step study of the pathogen obtained by destroying the integrity of the vitreous body and sowing exudate by collecting the material with a Pasteur pipette with transfer to the MPA. These were kept in a certain temperature regime for at least 48 hours. The researchers examined the plates with the inoculations and described the morphology of the resulting colonies, with preliminary staining of the smears according to Romanovsky-Giemsa. The colonies were counted using the Goryaev camera. The method used helped to detect the parasitic disease together with the bacteriological purity of the fish, which makes it possible to issue a correct veterinary and sanitary assessment for a given invasion. The data were processed statistically; a correlation relationship between the intensity of invasion and the level of the bacteriological flora of fish products was established. The most significant was the relationship of contamination with bacteria of the E. coli group and of the genus Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus. The obtained value of the KMAFAMnM index exceeded the indicator of healthy fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exports from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan (RUK) help to improve global wheat availability and, hence, global food security. During the past 15 years, however, RUK wheat exports have shown high variability, mainly because they have been repeatedly diminished by severe harvest failures. We present an outlook for RUK wheat production and exports up to 2027, taking into account possible yield variability and harvest failures, and focusing on the impact on food security in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the world's major wheat importing region. For the analysis we use the stochastic version of the Aglink‐Cosimo model. Simulation results show that wheat yields in RUK are a major source of uncertainty for international wheat markets. The projected substantial increases in world market prices due to limited RUK wheat exports threaten food security in MENA and highlight the need for both stabilising RUK yields and novel complementary food security approaches to decrease MENA's vulnerability to disruptions in agricultural world markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kazakhstan and Ukraine are the two latest adopters of the broken windows theory of policing first applied in New York City in the 1990s. Both countries embraced the practice despite its declining popularity and widespread criticism in the West. This article explores why and how broken windows policing is mimicked in both countries' largest cities – Almaty and Kyiv. It shows that there are striking similarities in how various order-maintenance policing initiatives rose to prominence in Western urban areas and later in the post-Soviet context. The expansion of the middle class and the rapidly changing demography of urban areas due to socio-economic transformations popularised this norm-setting style of policing. By expanding policing of disorderly behaviours, both countries also tried to mould the type of citizens appropriate for a state with grand geopolitical ambitions. Kazakhstan and Ukraine sought to improve their regional and global rankings by creating a more orderly domestic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of a variety of levels of education, namely, high school, vocational and university education, on the probability of being employed in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Design/methodology/approach: The data are from two waves of the Life-in-Transition Survey that covers 29 post-communist transitional countries. The number of binary logistic models is estimated to quantify the effects of different types of education on the likelihood of being employed, while controlling for different sets of covariates. Findings: The findings reveal that the effect of employment associated with university education is higher than that of vocational education, which in turn is higher than that of high school education. However, the differences between the effects of the various levels of education are not considerable. Any specific level of education is always associated with a higher effect in Eastern Europe as compared to the former Soviet Union. The effect of education is also found to be higher for females than for males. In the former Soviet Union, the positive effect of university and vocational education on employment is found to go down with age. Originality/value: This is the first study which compares effect of different types of education on probability of being employed on a diverse sample of 29 post-communist countries over the period of five years.

Background: Perceived discrimination has been linked to worse mental health. However, little is known about this association in the countries of the former Soviet Union (fSU). Aim: To address this deficit, this study examined the link between perceived discrimination and psychological distress in nine fSU countries. Methods: Data were analyzed from 18,000 adults aged ⩾18 years obtained during the Health in Times of Transition (HITT) survey undertaken in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine in 2010 and 2011. A single-item measure was used to assess discrimination. Psychological distress was measured with a 12-item scale. Logistic regression analysis and meta-analysis were used to examine associations. Results: After adjusting for all potential confounders, when using none/little discrimination as the reference category, moderate and strong discrimination were associated with significantly increased odds for psychological distress in the total population and in men and women separately with odds ratios ranging from 1.93 to 2.64. Meta-analysis based on country-wise estimates showed that the level of between-country heterogeneity was negligible. Conclusion: Perceived discrimination is associated with psychological distress in countries throughout the fSU. Quantitative and qualitative research is now warranted to determine its specific forms and impact on population health in individual fSU countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Main treatable Chronic Respiratory Diseases (CRDs) like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Bronchial Asthma (BA) and Allergic Rhinitis (AR) are underdiagnosed and undertreated worldwide. CORE study was aimed to assess the point prevalence of COPD, BA and AR in the adult population of major cities of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine based on study questionnaires and/or spirometry, and to document risk factors, characterize the COPD, BA and AR population to provide a clearer "epidemiological data".Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, population-based epidemiological study conducted from 2013 to 2015 with two-stage cluster geographical randomization. Interviewers conducted face-to-face visits at respondent's household after informed consent and eligibility assessment including interviews, anthropometry, spirometry (with bronchodilator test) and completion of disease-specific questionnaires.Results: Two thousand eight hundred forty-two respondents (Ukraine: 964 from Ukraine; 945 from Kazakhstan; 933 Azerbaijan) were enrolled. Mean age was 40-42 years and males were 37%-42% across three countries. In Kazakhstan 62.8% were Asians, but in Ukraine and in Azerbaijan 99.7% and 100.0%, respectively, were Caucasians. Manual labourers constituted 40.5% in Ukraine, 22.8% in Kazakhstan and 22.0% in Azerbaijan, while office workers were 16.1%, 31.6% and 36.8% respectively. 51.3% respondents in Ukraine, 64.9% in Kazakhstan and 69.7% in Azerbaijan were married.Conclusion: CORE study collected information that can be supportive for health policy decision makers in allocating healthcare resources in order to improve diagnosis and management of CRDs. The detailed findings will be described in future publications.Trial Registration: Study Protocol Summary is disclosed at GlaxoSmithKline Clinical Study Register on Jun 06, 2013, study ID 116757 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-Soviet space is underrepresented in international discussions on trans depathologization, and voices of trans people (as distinct from activists and experts) are rarely heard. The article seeks to fill this gap by introducing debates on depathologization among trans activists and nonactivist trans people of post-Soviet countries. In order to take into account opinions of various groups of trans people, a survey was conducted concerning the revision of the International Classification of Diseases and various trans-related policies. Classification models were developed to find relationships between demographic data and answers to the questions about depathologization and legal gender recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]