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COLLABORATIVE ONLINE INTERNATIONAL LEARNING IN A BUSINESS COURSE DURING AND POST THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Full text linkDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, study abroad programs in the universities all over the world were exceptionally limited due to campus closures and travel restrictions. An innovative Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program was developed in a quantitative business core course. Students from Salem State University paired with students from Xi’an University of Posts and Communications to work on an assigned course project over a five-week period. Without traveling abroad, students had meaningful and valuable engagement with peers in another country. COIL is a practical way to prepare students for diversity and multi-culture while still helps fulfill academic program goals in their home universities. Additionally, COIL helps faculty leverage the utility of online learning technologies and structure the course in support of the social and emotional well-being of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This COIL effort also has potential to show promising progress and fruitful results in business courses redesign. Courses in other disciplines could benefit from a properly designed COIL beyond the pandemic. The positive outcome of this COIL effort was supported by student survey. Survey result is discussed and future research direction is explored
NATIONAL IMAGINARY AS A DECOLONIZATION MODALITY IN IMANTS ZIEDONIS’ KOLKZOZ NARRATIVES
Full text linkIn 1940, the Baltic States were occupied as a result of an armed seizure by the USSR, followed by annexation. Prior to the occupation, the Baltic region had a strong agricultural sector. After the occupation, private farms (homesteads) and small farmers’ cooperatives were forcibly merged into collective farms (kolkhozes) and state farms (sovkhozes), which were forms of collective farming in the countryside of the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc satellite states in Europe. Situated on the periphery and comprising the ethnic Baltic populations where they were the numerical majority, the kolkhozes became enclaves where, despite numerous repressive reforms and the utopian management of collective farming, the connection with the pre-occupation national sentiment, commemoration of the cultural and historical code of independent Latvia, remained unbroken throughout the decades of occupation. A significant role in the transmission of these codes and the formation of a decolonial atmosphere was played by nonfiction texts, or documentary prose, devoted to the life (and critique) of kolkhozes and sovkhozes by several important Latvian writers, published in the 1970s and 1980s. These texts coexisted with (1) the national imaginary - ethnographic and cultural-historical images, facts, personalities, and events that highlighted the social and cultural life of kolkhozes and sovkhozes before the occupation, and (2) the mimicry of the Soviet occupation era, or ideological tributes - references to Soviet ideological attributes and political doctrines. One of the most prominent writers who skilfully integrated the national imaginary into the texts dedicated to kolkhozes, or kolkhoz narratives, was Imants Ziedonis (1933–2013)
THE ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF ICT IN THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF CITIES
Full text linkThis paper examines the ethical dimensions of integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT), specifically digital twin technology, in the digital transformation of cities. As digital twins— enhanced by artificial intelligence for data analysis and decision-making—become increasingly prevalent in urban planning, it is crucial to address the ethical challenges they pose to ensure sustainable and inclusive urban development. Using the UP2030 Project in Istanbul as a case study, the paper explores key ethical issues such as data privacy, security, and biases in AI models. A comprehensive ethical analysis is conducted alongside a multi-faceted methodology that includes a literature review, legal framework analysis, and an in-depth examination of project-specific documentation. The findings underscore the need for stringent data protection measures, equitable representation across demographic groups, and careful management of AI-driven decision-making systems to prevent the erosion of human oversight. The paper argues that integrating AI-enhanced digital twin technology ethically into urban planning is essential for addressing energy consumption, climate resilience, and mobility challenges. Istanbul’s case demonstrates how technology, when governed fairly, can drive positive change, achieving goals like carbon neutrality by 2050 while setting a global example. This approach not only ensures responsible urban development but also serves as a model for the sustainable and ethical evolution of smart cities worldwide
THE RENDERING OF ANTHROPONYMS IN BUSINESS AND POLITICAL TEXTS FROM ENGLISH INTO LITHUANIAN
Full text linkThe phenomenon of naming a person has existed from time immemorial, with ancient philosophers such as Socrates and Aristotle already being interested in the origin and meaning of human names. In terms of translation, anthroponyms are sometimes considered as untranslatable linguistic elements or, rather, elements which do not need to be translated, as they can cross the boundaries of different languages in their authentic forms. Yet, in reality, the situation is quite different, as names can have literal meaning and serve as character defining elements in literary texts while differences of languages create problems even when rendering anthroponyms with no semantic meaning in non-fictional texts. This paper focuses on the translation of personal proper nouns from English into Lithuanian in business-related and political discourse and aims to find out the dominant translation tendencies. The scope of the study is 100 anthroponyms. The renderings are analysed and subdivided according to the following name translation procedures: transference, substitution, translation, modification
CONTENT OF HEAVY METALS, MICRO AND MACRO ELEMENTS IN BULGARIAN HONEYDEW HONEY
Full text linkThe aim of this study was to determine the content of heavy metals, trace and macro elements in honeydew honey collected in Bulgaria. A total of 13 honey samples purchased from apiaries and hypermarkets were tested. The honey samples were prepared for analysis by digestion with nitric acid in a Mars 6 microwave system and analysed by ICP-OES. The Hg content of the samples was determined directly (without digestion) with a mercury analyser. Most of the honeydew honey on the market is genuine, with electrical conductivity values ranging from 0.8 to 1.4 mS/cm. Four of the samples tested were adulterated by mixing with nectar honey. Of the macroelements, the highest content was K (1074-1912 mg/kg), followed by Ca (93.7-192.5 mg/kg), Mg (74.5 -149.7 mg/kg), P (71.1-149.8 mg/kg), Na (41.8-130.8 mg/kg) and Al (0.12-5.8 mg/kg). Of the trace elements, Mn (7.3- 28.1 mg/kg) was the highest, followed by Fe (3.1-11.7 mg/kg), B (3.8-9.0 mg/kg), Zn (0.64-2.9 mg/kg), and Cu (0.56-1.15 mg/kg). Toxic metal contents were very low and ranged from 0.01 to 0.63 mg/kg for Pb, 0.15 to 0.39 mg/kg for As, and 0.03 to 5.86 ng/g for Hg. Variability was found in the elemental composition of the honeydew honey, the differences being due to the geographical origin of the honey. The content of toxic metals Pb, Cd, As and Hg in honeydew honey does not exceed the maximum permissible values (except for 2 samples for Pb), indicating minimal environmental contamination in the areas where the honeydew honey is produced. Bulgarian honey meets the requirements for a safe product for human consumption
EXPLORING THE CAPACITY OF AGRO-INDUSTRIAL WASTE TO COUNTERACT THE TOXIC EFFECTS OF MYCOTOXINS
Full text linkMycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites, which threaten the lives of both animals and humans. The decontamination of cereal crops and fruits is almost impossible due to their physical and chemical stability. Zearalenone (ZEA) is a fusariotoxin that can cause hormonal, digestive, neurological or immune dysfunctions, pigs being one of the most affected species. Agro-industrial waste could be a viable solution to counteract the mycotoxins toxic effects as they are rich in bioactive compounds (polyphenols, polyunsaturated fatty acids etc) with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-microbial properties. Our results have shown that rapeseed meal could alleviate the proinflammatory effects induced by ZEA at the gut level. However, the mechanisms involved in this process are not known, therefore the aim of our ex vivo study was to investigate the signaling pathways responsible for the ability of rapeseed meal (unfermented-RSM or fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae-FRSM) to counteract the inflammatory response triggered by ZEA in porcine jejunum explants. The explants collected from the jejunum of healthy piglets were incubated in DMEM/F12 HAM medium and treated or not with ZEA 100µg/mL and with methanolic extracts of RSM/FRSM for 4 hours. Gene expression of a couple of signaling molecules involved in the innate immunity (TLR2, TLR4, TLR5, TLR9, MyD88, MD2) and inflammatory response (Nrf2, IRAK1, TRAF6, TAK1, TGFβ2, AP1, AKT), also of MAPKs (ERK1/2, JNK1/2, p38α) which regulates the activity of pro-inflammatory cytokines were evaluated. Our results showed that 100µg/mL of ZEA increased the gene expression of TAK1, TGFβ2, NF-κB, JNK2 and p38α MAPK. The main mechanism involved seems to be the activation of TLR4/MyD88/MD2 signaling pathway due to the up regulation of these gene expressions by ZEA. The addition of RSM/FRSM extracts was able to significantly reduce the effects of ZEA on the analyzed signaling molecules, to the control levels, mainly through the inhibition of the TLR4/MyD88/MD2 signaling pathway
DEGREE AND AREAS OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY HAIL IN THE TERRITORY OF KAKHETI REGION (GEORGIA)
Full text linkHail belongs to such a dangerous meteorological phenomenon that causes great damage to the economies of countries. Heavy hail is frequent in Georgia, in its eastern part. The region of Kakheti is particularly notable, where heavy hail causes millions of losses every year, especially in the agricultural sector. Therefore, it is important to determine the agricultural areas affected and the degree of damage caused. The data of 2016-2019 have been processed, which includes data on the total damaged areas of Kakheti region, including 100% damaged areas, as well as averaged data on the degree of damage in percentages and data on the types of damaged agrarian culture. The distribution of damaged areas and degree of damage in Kakheti region according to municipalities is shown. Areas with particularly high degree of damage and areas to be covered have been determined
CIRCULAR MIGRATION OF HIGHLY SKILLED LABOR IN EU COUNTRIES AND ITS IMPACT ON MIGRATION POLICIES
Full text linkMigration policies have become more complex and diversified in recent decades, using different programs and instruments in most EU countries. This innovation process aims to adaptation of responding to new challenges. These challenges also involve a sharp increase in the share of highly skilled migrants in migration flows. In addition to various non-economic factors stimulating the emigration intentions of qualified workers or university students, current research on the migration of highly qualified labor forces focuses on questioning the validity of the brain drain theory in the current stage of globalization and ICT development. A significant part of migration flows is only temporary in nature, which can be perceived as brain circulation, not as brain drain. Migration policies in EU countries should respond to this fact. The paper outlines the genesis of the circular migration concept. It also pays attention it is not necessary only to introduce mechanisms that ensure the circulating nature of the migration stay, but also to constantly innovate them. It also outlines strategies for modern migration policies that will enable the full usage of the potential of highly skilled migrants
PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SETTLEMENT PROCESS OF BANKS
Full text linkThe paper is devoted to the most recent news and modern prospects for the development of the settlement process of banks. An analysis of the payment and securities settlement systems was made, and on this basis the tendency of the European financial markets to switch to a one business day settlement cycle (T+1) was highlighted. Europe is currently going through a lengthy legislative process to speed up its complex financial market infrastructure. European financial markets are believed to be ready to follow the example of the US and switch to one-day settlement in the medium term. T+1 settlement cycle marks the start of a global race to shorten the time it takes for trades to clear, which will not stop at T+1
FLIPPED LEARNING APPROACH IN DIFFERENT ACADEMIC COURSES IN CIVIL ENGINEERING, TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
Full text linkFlipped classroom approach is the educational method which was lately encouraged and supported by the University of Maribor and therefore implemented in certain courses at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Architecture. As in any other novelty, only practical usage can show its real value. The teachers of discussed courses introduced flipped learning after they had experienced online teaching and returned to face-to-face lectures. The combination of both allows them to use already prepared online study materials and interact with students in the lecture room. Flipped learning encourages students to be involved in active learning activities, they can study at their own pace at any time that is suitable for them, through Moodle and MS Teams they always have access to literature and instructions. However, they should be mature, disciplined, and motivated for the individual work. Even though mastering learning management system and be available for students in the lecture room results in more obligations for teachers, face-to-face lectures prove higher engagement of students and easier educational process for all