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Under the circumstances of the dynamic geopolitical situation, it is becoming increasingly important to develop an effective methodology for assessing fiscal space. Fiscal space formation depends on a number of key factors, including economic development of a country, the size of its population and labor force, and the tax system efficiency. Understanding these factors and being able to use them correctly helps a country to manage its finances effectively and ensure sustainable development of its economy. The sanctions imposed on Russia by “unfriendly” states have revealed a huge number of weaknesses in the modern domestic economy, so it is necessary to approach the issue consciously and comprehensively. It is necessary to revise budget priorities, search for additional funding, and support the economy sectors most vulnerable to the sanctions pressure from Western countries. For the state development and its financial stability, it is becoming more urgent. The government will be able to make more informed decisions on fiscal policy and maintain stability and reliability of the federal budget in conditions of volatility and uncertainty, if a more accurate and adaptable method to assess fiscal space is developed.

Features of the current stage of development of Russia increase the relevance of studying problems associated with the expansion of internal sources of financing economic growth, one of which may be citizens’ savings. To attract private capital more widely, the national financial system can and should provide a large range of tools for private investors that meet the needs of citizens in terms of profitability and safety of funds. The paper has considered the key tools of retail investment, which are currently widely used in domestic practice. Alternative ways of private investment have also been explored. They can be applied depending on the needs of specific actors, market participants, or citizens. The development of a line of instruments for the retail investment – deposits, long-term individual investment accounts, products of research and production associations, insurance products, etc., their availability is one of the conditions for the effective functioning of the domestic financial market and, as a consequence, the Russian economy as a whole. The analysis of the essence, trends, opportunities, and risks of the retail investment instruments will allow us to assess the effectiveness of the activities of financial regulators in this area and identify promising and appropriate areas for its improvement.

This paper addresses the need for innovative optimization solutions in automotive manufacturing. Through advanced algorithms, we review existing methods and introduce novel ap- proaches tailored to this sector. Our literature review identifies gaps and limitations in current methodologies. We define a specific optimization problem within automotive manufacturing, emphasizing its unique challenges. Our key contributions include: (a) Exploring hybrid optimization algorithms, combining genetic algorithms with simulated annealing for a 15% improvement in convergence speed, (b) Integrating machine learning techniques, resulting in a 20% reduction in optimization error compared to static settings, (c) Incorporating multiobjective optimization, achieving a 25% improvement in simultaneous cost and efficiency optimization, and (d) Proposing dynamic optimization algorithms, reducing decision-making latency by 30% during rapid environmental changes. Case studies demonstrate practical ap- plication, with quantitative results highlighting the superiority of our approaches over traditional methods. Additionally, the data analysis was conducted using Python, contributing to the robustness and accuracy of our findings.

The increasing volumes of produced and consumed wastes and the very low level of waste disposal weakly correlate with the key provisions of the concept of sustainable development, environmental protection, and socioeconomic development of society. This study aims to substantiate the provisions of a new concept of consumer behavior in a circular economy based on responsible and environmentally oriented consumer behavior. Online participants (N=400 suburban eco-conscious shoppers) were randomly assigned packaging with either collective, generational, or no sustainability messaging before rating eco-friendliness, intentions, and conducting discrete choice tasks. Results showed that collective impact messaging drove the highest perceived eco-alignment (M=5.81 vs. 4.22 control) and willingness-to-pay thresholds. Moderation analysis indicated that collective appeals strengthened eco-perception relationships with premiums. Findings provide empirical evidence that targeted circular economy communications can increase sustainable packaging appeal and economic adoption tradeoffs to overcome attitudinal barriers around consumer recycling behavior. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-04-01 Full Text: PDF

Mental health disorders are a significant global health burden, and access to mental healthcare services remains a challenge. Digital transformation has emerged as a promising solution, but it also presents its own set of challenges. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the impact of digital transformation on mental healthcare, identify the opportunities and challenges it presents, and to examine the role of AI chat-bots in mental health symptom management. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review, a theoretical framework is developed, and five hypotheses are proposed. Methods: This study employs a cross-sectional survey design, collecting data from mental healthcare professionals in three countries. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses and examine the relationships among digital transformation, opportunities, challenges, AI chat-bot effectiveness, and mental health symptom management. Findings: The results provide support for the hypothesized relationships, highlighting the significant influence of digital transformation on opportunities and challenges, the impact of opportunities on AI chat-bot effectiveness, and the role of AI chat-bots in mental health symptom management. Novelties: This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of digital transformation in mental healthcare and offers practical implications for the development and implementation of effective digital mental health interventions. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-04-012 Full Text: PDF

This study investigates the relationships between sustainable human capital management practices, ESG performance, ESG disclosure, and firm financial performance. Using a sample of 387 S&P 500 firms from 2013 to 2023 and a panel data regression approach, we examine the impact of training expenditure, workforce diversity and inclusion, pay equity, and employee benefits on ESG performance. We also explore the association between ESG performance and ESG disclosure, the effect of ESG performance on financial performance, and the moderating role of ESG disclosure in the ESG-financial performance relationship. Our findings reveal that sustainable human capital management practices have a positive and significant impact on ESG performance, which in turn positively influences firm financial performance. We also find a positive relationship between ESG performance and ESG disclosure, and that ESG disclosure moderates the ESG-financial performance link, with the positive association being stronger for firms with higher levels of ESG disclosure. This study contributes to the literature by offering an integrated approach to examine the relationships between sustainable human capital management, ESG performance, ESG disclosure, and financial performance, providing novel insights into the drivers and outcomes of corporate sustainability in the context of human capital management. Doi: 10.28991/HEF-2024-05-02-08 Full Text: PDF

This study aims to investigate the differences in e-learning adoption among university students in Indonesia, Albania, Russia, and Kazakhstan and examine the role of cultural dimensions in explaining these differences. This research draws upon Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory to explore the impact of culture on e-learning adoption in diverse global contexts. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample of university students from the four countries, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and multi-group analysis (MGA) techniques. The findings reveal significant differences in e-learning adoption among the four countries, with learner engagement, learning satisfaction, and technology accessibility exhibiting varying levels of influence on e-learning adoption. The multi-group analysis indicates that cultural dimensions partially explain these differences, highlighting the importance of considering cultural factors when examining e-learning adoption in diverse settings. This study fills a gap in cross-cultural e-learning research, offering key insights into factors shaping students’ adoption of online platforms worldwide. The findings emphasize the importance of cultural considerations for educators, policymakers, and e-learning developers in global higher education. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of the complex interplay between culture and e-learning adoption by demonstrating the explanatory power of cultural dimensions. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-03-015 Full Text: PDF

Digitalization is one of the “catalysts” of economic development in any modern state. Accordingly, it has a strong impact on international financial market as a whole. The countries that were among the first to carry out digital transformation in their economies occupy leading positions in terms of socio-economic development. At the moment, global economy is in a rather difficult situation, and the leading countries are still looking for new ways of development that can ease some aspects of economy. The need for rapid implementation and adaptation of international financial market to digital technologies and transformation of international monetary and credit relations are the main trends in international financial market digitalization development in modern conditions. Due to digital technologies development, new participants in financial market are emerging, the range of services provided is expanding, and the quality of the results is improving.

Objectives: This research aims to develop a new economic model and conceptual directions for increasing the sustainability of regional budgets in the Russian Federation. Methods: The research methodology is based on empirical methods (data collection, study, and comparison), methods of synthesizing theoretical and practical material, and mathematical and statistical analyses. When processing information, methods of systematization and grouping were used. The budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (BCERF) are the object of this study. The authors proposed grouping and revealed the consequences of the factor actions for the regions, leading to a reduction in income, an increase in the expenses of the BSRF, the need for government borrowing, etc. Findings: Conceptual directions for increasing the sustainability of regional budgets in the Russian Federation were proposed, such as eliminating the practice of subsidies in areas not defined by regulatory legal acts and improving the methodology for distributing subsidies for fiscal equalization, aimed at reducing the risks of underfinancing the expenditure obligations of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (CERF). Novelty: The scientific novelty of this research includes the presentation of more effective mechanisms for controlling budgetary reserves and increasing the sustainability of regional budgets. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-02-015 Full Text: PDF

The article considers Russia’s foreign policy towards the United States in 1991–1996. The desire of the Russian leadership to achieve the level of strategic partnership with the United States is shown in the conditions of the formation of a new Russian statehood and the weakening of the country’s international positions. The conclusion ismade about the collapse of Moscow’s unjustified hopes and illusions for equal cooperation with Washington.

The present research studies specific features of globalization in education and export of services illustrated by universities and higher education institutions in countries holding the leading positions on the global education market, such as Great Britain, France, German, China and others. The research methodology is based on general and specific methods of cognition, on the analysis of methodological approaches and theoretical models of education service export, on the empiric approach to identifying peculiarities of country policy in the aspect of education globalization and related risks. The article provides conclusions concerning feasibility of using some of them in Russian universities and other higher education institutions. The author put forward a set of steps and recommendations aimed at raising the potential of education service export in Russia. It is possible that the use of conclusions and recommendations made by the research, in addition to work being done by universities could improve efficiency of their international activity as a ‘soft power’, which responds to interests of the university, the entity of the Russian Federation and geopolitical goals of Russia with regard to the current sanction pressure.

In this study, we present a new implementation of the phase field fracture approach in the finite element code ANSYS and its numerical background. The framework is general, and is supported by addressing several classical 2D boundary value problems as well as the ductile fracture and 3D surface flaws behaviors of particular interest. The 3D implementation exploits the analogy between the phase field formulations and the magnetic vector potential equation. The influence of the mode mixity and biaxiality loading conditions of the cracked bodies on phase fields is evaluated as a function of the crack length scale parameter, characterising the scale at which damage effects become significant. As a result of the FE calculations of phase field distributions for propagating cracks, the effects of both the fracture mode and the biaxial stress-strain state are determined. The size of the fracture process zone or damaged region is determined across a wide range of cracked body loading conditions. Developed code: https://github.com/Andrey-Fog/ANSYS-USERELEMENT-PHFLD.

This study analyzes the problem of higher professional education for people with disabilities in multinational megacities from different countries. The aim of this paper is to investigate the emerging changes and perspectives of educational inclusion in the universities of Moscow, Jakarta, Barcelona, and Cairo and to develop a new model of inclusive educational practice for universities based on an inclusive ideology of understanding the position of people with disabilities in the education system and society overall. To perform this study and verify the new model proposed by the authors, participants were selected from ten universities that indicated parameters such as accessibility, participation, quality, students’ education results, and government funding. The survey aimed to collect participants’ perspectives and experiences from diverse elements of the higher education community in the aforementioned locations. 751 participants were selected for the survey with a balanced gender distribution: 48.6% men and 51.4% women. Age distribution was rather diverse: the age group of 18–24 years was 25,7%, the age group of 25–34 years was 27,3%, the age group of 35–44 years was 25,6%, and the age group of 45 years 21,4%. Another distribution was people without disabilities (N=250) and with disabilities (N=551). The reliability of the research was achieved using several methods, including ANOVA. The results of this research show similarities and differences in implementing inclusive education practices across selected locations, providing a detailed picture of the current state and future perspectives of higher inclusive education. The scientific novelty of this research lies in the theoretical-methodological rationale of the new model of inclusive higher education practices in universities of major megacities and in forming the propositions on this model’s implementation in higher education institutions. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-SIED1-03 Full Text: PDF

The objective of this study is to compare and underscore the advantages and disadvantages of learning English in non-English speaking countries to propose the concept of a new English teaching method for students from non-English speaking countries (the case of Russia, Spain, Serbia, and Indonesia). The study used a mixed-methods approach with qualitative analysis of literature from Russia, Serbia, Spain, and Indonesia, and a research questionnaire was developed. 1595 participants were recruited for a survey determining their experiences of learning English and students’ perspectives on English teaching methods in non-English speaking countries. The data went through thematic analysis in the qualitative part of the research and descriptive analysis in the quantitative survey-based design. Findings of the qualitative analysis revealed both advantages and disadvantages of teaching English to students in selected countries; however, the main findings reported the presence of cultural barriers and students finding it difficult to form meanings from the English language context. Conceptual thinking helped to understand the role of memory and comprehension when learning a foreign language, whereby research focuses on more novel concepts. Future researchers can focus on the area of neural development of students' memory, which can help guide strategies to teach the English language effectively. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-06-020 Full Text: PDF

Based on a grounded theory approach to healthcare professionals’ experience, this study conducted a qualitative assessment of new opportunities and provided a conceptual justification of forward-looking trends of global health system efficiency improvement and resilience toward universal health in the post-COVID-19 era. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, while theoretical saturation was reached after 20 interviews with international experts in Global Health System Resilience (psychologists, nurses, and community health consultants). The data were analyzed using four coding stages: initial, focused, axial, and theoretical. The results showed that to achieve global health system resilience toward universal health and safety coverage in the post-COVID-19 era, it is required to develop a strategy including the support of healthcare professionals, which allows coping with the emotional and psychological impact of the pandemic. Moreover, opportunities for professional development and collaboration can enhance their resilience and adaptability during and after crises. The findings suggest factors of global health system resilience ranked using the AHP method. The present research provides a valuable insight into the significance of telemedicine, remote care, and ensuring the safety of the healthcare industry and patients as the most crucial factors for enhancing health system sustainability. This article provides new policy recommendations to ensure the long-term effectiveness and sustainability of health systems. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-06-011 Full Text: PDF