Masaryk University Journals / Časopisy Masarykovy univerzity
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Russian natural gas projects in the Arctic: A new hope for ailing exports?
Full text linkThe 2022 development of the Russian aggression in Ukraine has stirred up the long-silent waters of the European energy dimension. The European Union’s (EU) reaction was strong and surprisingly swift in comparison with the lax response to the start of the war in 2014. The consequent geopolitical shifts could be compared to those of the early 1990s, and the changes in traditional demand – supply energy relations are especially radical. With Russian coal and crude oil imports under sanctions, the European Union also quickly turned away from Russian natural gas. Natural gas, being the key Russian energy export commodity, lies at the centre of this paper. In the wake of the invasion and the decrease in gas exports to Europe, and with the federal budget being largely dependent on revenues from primary commodity exports, it is clearly apparent that Russia needs to look for customers elsewhere. One of the apparent options is to tap into the Russian Arctic export potential. The primary aim of this paper is to analyse the Russian Arctic export potential and to evaluate its capacity to replace the lost volumes using liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities. The authors use diachronic comparative analysis to evaluate Russia’s export capacities in the Arctic and compare them to the situation before the war and in the following years up to 2040. The authors are thus able to assess the potential and possible impact the new Arctic export facilities may have on Russia’s ability to offset the lost European market
Limitation of visibility on the coast of the Kara Sea in the context of modern climate change
Full text linkAn analysis of standard meteorological observations of horizontal visibility was performed, based on instrumental and visual observations at two Russian meteorological stations located on the southern coast of the Kara Sea. Horizontal visibility is an important navigation criterion for choosing safe routes and speeds along the Northern Sea Route. A decrease in horizontal visibility to less than 50 m is a dangerous weather event. The study of the conditions for the occurrence of such a dangerous phenomenon has become especially relevant when using giant ice-class tankers, the length of which reaches 300 m. The analysis showed that the frequency (probability) of unfavorable conditions for horizontal visibility has a pronounced seasonal variation. A relationship was found between the increase in frequency and changing climatic conditions, namely an increase in frequency against the background of modern global warming which is expressed both in a steady increase in surface air temperature in all seasons of the year and in a reduction of sea ice cover in the summer
Phenological development, viability, and visual tree assessment of Pinus sibirica du tour beyond the Arctic circle
Full text linkThe study was performed on the Kola Peninsula and aimed to assess the impact of climatic factors on Pinus sibirica’s phenological development beyond the Arctic Circle in particular. Eight phenological parameters were analyzed, including vegetative bud swelling and breaking, initiation and cessation of annual linear shoot growth, full lignification of shoots, cessation of needle elongation and maturation, duration of linear lateral shoot growth, and needle growth period. Additionally, correlations between the onset of phenophases and temperature parameters, including average monthly and ten-day temperatures, the dates of the stable transition through the thresholds of 0, 5, and 10°C, sums of active temperatures above 0, 5, and 10°C for phenological phases and periods, monthly and ten-day sums of active temperatures, and monthly and ten-day cumulative sums of active temperatures starting from April, were investigated. Viability assessment involved evaluating the degree of annual shoot lignification, winter hardiness, habitus preservation, shoot-forming capacity, vertical shoot growth, generative reproduction, and reproduction in cultivation. Tree health categories were established based on examinations of root, butt, trunk, crown base, primary branches, and crown for indications of hollows, cracks, decay and fungal fruiting bodies, damage, wounds, weak forks, and dead branches. The onset dates of the phenophases occurring in the beginning of the vegetation period and full shoot lignification correlated with the dates of transition through the thresholds of 0 and 5°C. In contrast, the onset dates of the phenophases occurring in the middle of the vegetation period and duration of phenological periods correlated with accumulated temperatures above 0 and 5°C. The date of transition through 10°C and its associated parameters yielded uninformative results. The onset dates of all phenophases exhibit negative correlations with the following parameters: (1) average temperatures in April and May, (2) the sums of active temperatures (SATs) exceeding 0 and 5°C in May, (3) cumulative SATs above the thresholds of 0 and 5°C from April to May and June, and (4) cumulative ten-day SATs above the thresholds of 0 and 5°C before the onset of a phenophase. Pinus sibirica at Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden-Institute (PABGI) exhibited winter hardiness, maintained species-typical life form, and reached the generative stage of development. They were categorized as healthy or weakened. Visual inspection revealed no restrictions to root system growth. They displayed monocormic, unimucronate or bimucronate forms, with dense crowns and well-developed apical and lateral shoots. Some instances of reduced lateral shoot growth and V-shaped trunk forks were observed. Recommendations for regular monitoring, sanitary pruning and other agrotechnical measures have been formulated for the investigated tree individuals
Houman A. Sadri, Conflict and Cooperation in the South Caucasus Region: From Theory to Policy, Lanham, MA: Lexington Books, 2024.
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The role of social norms for online prosocial & antisocial behavior among adolescents in Singapore
No full textAlthough features of social media such as visibility and quantifiability might intensify processes of peer influence, there still is little systematic research on these mechanisms in the online context, especially when it comes to prosocial behavior. This study systematically investigated normative influences on adolescents’ antisocial and prosocial online behavior. We applied an extesnded version of the Theory of Normative Social Behavior to analyze how and under which conditions descriptive and injunctive norms influence social online behavior. We conducted an online survey among 420 Singaporean adolescents aged 14–17 years (M = 15.84, SD = 1.10) and applied structural equation modeling. For antisocial online behavior, we found that stronger perceived antisocial behavior of friends (descriptive norms) was related to more online antisocial behavior for those adolescents who also perceived a higher social approval of such behavior (injunctive norms). This relationship was further strengthened for adolescents who had more positive outcome expectations towards antisocial actions, both for descriptive and injunctive norms. For prosocial online behavior, we found that a stronger perception of friends behaving accordingly (descriptive norms) was directly related to more online prosocial behavior. Stronger positive outcome expectations towards prosocial online behavior were also directly related to more prosocial actions. The study underscores a complex interplay of norms and outcome expectations particularly for understanding antisocial online behavior, while suggesting other theoretical mechanisms might be more relevant for prosocial online behavior
What’s the optimal usage pattern? Latent profile analysis of Chinese young adults’ social networking site use and its association with subjective well-being
No full textContributing to the active debate about how the use of social networking site (SNS) affects mental health, this study uses a person-centered approach to examine the relationship between SNS use and components of subjective well-being. Unlike previous research that primarily employed variable-centered approaches and focused on the active-passive use dichotomy, this study considered a range of SNS activities across different communication contexts (private vs. public) and audiences (e.g., friends vs. strangers) to identify distinct user profiles. A latent profile analysis among Chinese young adults (N = 1,075, Mage = 20.43) revealed five latent profiles: Minimal users (9.1%), Moderate users (22.2%), High explorers (19%), Private communicators (36.5%), and Advanced engagers (13.2%). These profiles were significantly associated with well-being. Advanced engagers reported the highest life satisfaction and positive affect, along with low negative affect. In contrast, Private communicators showed lowest life satisfaction and relatively low positive affect, though they also experienced less negative affect. Moderate users and High explorers experienced more negative affect, whereas Minimal users reported the lowest positive affect. These findings reveal heterogeneous user styles among Chinese SNS users and further suggest that active use may contribute to well-being, but only when it combines both public and private communication within existing social networks
Factors associated with connectedness to social media influencers among Italian and Dutch young adults
No full textParasocial bonds with Social Media Influencers (SMIs) can significantly influence followers’ behaviors, attitudes, and well-being, especially during adolescence and young adulthood. This study examined how diverse dimensions of connectedness with SMIs (i.e., escape, imitation, modeling, and aspiration) relate to perceived social connectedness in offline, combined offline-online social connectedness and online contexts, as well as to social self-efficacy and problematic social media use, age and sex. A total of 554 respondents (346 from Italy and 308 from the Netherlands) aged 18 to 35 years (Mage = 23.85; SDage = 3.63; 67.6% female) completed an online survey. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized associations, followed by multigroup analysis to assess cross-cultural differences. Findings revealed that offline social connectedness was negatively associated with the escape dimension, while offline-online connectedness showed negative associations with escape and imitation. In contrast, online connectedness was positively associated with these same dimensions. Thus, the form in which social connectedness is experienced seems to relate to more immediate and superficial forms of parasocial engagement. Social self-efficacy was positively associated only with aspiration, highlighting a selective, identity-driven engagement with SMIs. Problematic social media use was positively linked to all connectedness dimensions, suggesting its broad influence. Younger respondents were more inclined to imitation, modeling and aspiration compared to older respondents, while male respondents reported higher scores than females across all dimensions. Finally, multigroup analysis revealed significant differences between Italian and Dutch respondents, emphasizing the role of cultural context in shaping parasocial dynamics with SMs
Caught in the daily scroll: How upward social comparison fuels daily anxiety during short video use among Chinese young adults
No full textThe rapid growth of short video platforms has raised concerns about their potential impact on young people’s mental health and well-being. However, the dynamic relationship between short video use and daily anxiety symptoms remains poorly understood. To address this gap, this study employed the experience sampling method (ESM) and dynamic structural equation modeling (DSEM) to examine their bidirectional relationship in a representative sample of Chinese young adults (N = 389; Mage = 20.38 years, SD = 1.44 years; 51.1% male). The results indicated that at the within-person level, there were no significant bidirectional effects between short video use (i.e., active use, passive use, or total use time) and daily anxiety symptoms. However, upward social comparison tendency moderated the within-person effect of passive short video use on subsequent anxiety symptoms. Specifically, individuals with higher levels of upward social comparison experienced greater anxiety during periods of increased passive short video use. In contrast, those with lower levels of upward social comparison experienced less anxiety under similar conditions. These findings suggest that while short video use may not directly contribute to daily anxiety, its psychological impact is contingent upon individual differences in social comparison. In particular, those prone to upward comparison may be more vulnerable to anxiety during passive consumption of short video content