Simanavičienė, Žaneta

Sustainable development goals , ESG standarts.

Ukraine’s reconstruction, estimated at $524 billion over the next decade, presents an unprecedented opportunity to embed circular economy principles into industrial rebuilding, but the financial architecture currently deployed for reconstruction is structurally blind to circular outcomes. This paper examines how digital tools and innovative financing mechanisms can channel investment toward circular industrial reconstruction in Ukraine, drawing on Germany’s National Circular Economy Strategy (NCES, adopted December 2024) as a reference model. A comparative institutional analysis combines a documentary review of Ukrainian reconstruction policy frameworks (Ukraine Plan 2024–2027, RDNA4, Ukraine Facility) and German NCES instruments with the construction of a financing−technology pathway typology. Five pathways are proposed: circular bond issuance with Digital Product Passport integration; blended finance with blockchain impact verification; EU Facility conditionality with AI-driven resource management; war risk insurance with circular construction standards; and SME digitalisation credit with circular economy competency building. Each pathway is assessed against five criteria: investment scale, risk mitigation, circular measurement, digital readiness, and institutional feasibility, and applied to four industrial corridors (Dnipro region, Zaporizhzhia region, Kharkiv region, and Donetsk region). The analysis reveals that no single pathway is sufficient; a layered strategy differentiating by region is required. Digital tools, particularly the Digital Product Passport and blockchain traceability, serve as partial substitutes for institutional trust in post-conflict settings, reducing information asymmetry between investors and project operators. The paper contributes a practically oriented framework at the under-theorised intersection of post-conflict reconstruction finance and circular economy scholarship.

Gender segregation in agriculture remains a significant socio-economic problem that limits women's potential and hinders sustainable development in rural areas. Despite the critical role of women in agricultural production, their access to land, financial resources, technology, and training remains limited, leading to lower productivity and increased poverty among rural populations. This study examines gender segregation in the agricultural sector of Kazakhstan for the period 2013-2023. The use of the dissimilarity index (DDD coefficient) allows for a quantitative assessment of gender disparities in employment.  A literature review shows that gender inequality in agriculture is caused by structural barriers, including uneven land ownership, limited access to agricultural subsidies, and social norms that hinder women's participation in decision-making processes. Empirical analysis reveals that the national DDD coefficient increased from 6.0% in 2016 to 9.1% in 2023, indicating a growing gender imbalance. The highest levels of segregation were recorded in regions characterized by resource-dependent and mechanized agriculture, such as Kyzylorda, Atyrau, and Aktobe. In contrast, regions with well-developed agricultural cooperatives and small-scale farming exhibited lower DDD levels. The SWOT analysis revealed both strengths and barriers faced by women in agriculture in Kazakhstan. In conclusion, recommendations are proposed to reduce the gender gap, including developing educational programs, increasing women's access to financial resources, and strengthening support for women's entrepreneurship in rural areas.

In the conditions of the modern information society, expat communities are becoming important centers for the formation of opinions and attitudes towards various socio - political events. The research object: the phenomenon of spontaneous self - organization of online community. The research purpose: to conduct a comparative ana lysis of homogeneous emigrant communities (primarily from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus) in various European Union countries, allowing to identify external factors influencing the formatio n and development of mechanisms for combating information threats. The results of this research will have a significant potential contribution to the development of social sciences, in particular sociology, communication studies and information security sc ience. By investigating the mechanisms of self - organization, the project will provide the scientific community with new data on how systems of spontaneous social control of information arise and operate without direct state or commercial support. The knowl edge gained will contribute to the development of new theoretical models of community self - organization and can be used to shape integration and information security policies at the national and pan - European levels. This, in turn, will help strengthen demo cratic institutions and increase the resilience of societies to external information threats, which is a priority for the European Union, Lithuania and Ukraine.

The article examines the structural transformations of employment in the global energy sector in the context of the transnationalization of labour supply. It is established that, in the clean energy sector, employment growth has outpaced total employment growth worldwide. It has been determined that, as a result of large-scale investments, the number of people employed in clean energy has exceeded that of jobs in fossil fuels. It is emphasised that since most jobs in the energy sector can’t be transferred abroad, the role of the transnational factor in the development of the energy sector is growing. The international scale of labour use characterises these sectors and is a key source of employment in every world region. Global trends in energy development shape the prospects of energy transnational companies, and the number of jobs crucially depends on the pace of the transition to clean energy. At the same time, the limited supply of workers with the necessary qualifications on the energy labour market creates high competition for employees, putting energy TNCs in the position of having to provide labour through labour retraining. It is concluded that the labour supply in the clean energy sector and the solution to the problems of fossil fuel sector workers require a comprehensive approach at the international, national, and company levels, including developing the necessary skills and providing appropriate institutional support.It is proven that the transition to green energy is closely linked to employment policy, as it entails significant changes in the energy sector's job structure, requiring a comprehensive approach at all levels to retrain and further employ displaced fossil fuel workers. As a result of the research, a Conceptual and structural model of the transnationalization of labour resource provision in the global energy sector was developed, reflecting the systemic integration of labour resources in the worldwide energy sector, driven by global economic and technological changes.

This research project, conducted in one of Lithuania’s cities, explores the integration processes of foreign nationals in the urban environment. Its primary aim is to identify key obstacles to migrants’ social, cultural, and professional inclusion, and to propose practical recommendations for improving adaptation at the community, municipal, and organizational levels. Special emphasis is placed on the role of media manipulation and disinformation targeting migrants, which often reinforces stereotypes, fuels xenophobia, and undermines trust in institutions. The study focuses particularly on Ukrainian refugees as a vulnerable group exposed to politicized narratives and hybrid informational threats. Using both empirical data and theoretical frameworks, the article investigates how migrants perceive and respond to such manipulations. The findings aim to inform more effective integration strategies and contribute to policy development rooted in democratic values and information.

This collective monograph presents the results of several years of scientific discussion in the MRU Public Security Academy, while also outlining the concept of security as a separate research area in various fields of human activity. It is noteworthy that the first contours of the concept of cohesion as a distinct field of research were drawn by taking into account both the national and international dynamics of the debate and the current context of the field. The results of both international research and that of the community and peers of the MRU Public Security Academy have shown that security is a priority not only at the local level, but also at the international level; at both the micro and macro scales In recent years, researchers have paid particular attention to assessing security, challenges, and risks through a multidisciplinary lens. While interdisciplinarity is crucial in security research, it is also necessary to acknowledge that this field of study possesses certain qualities that make it distinct. This collective monograph presents the work of researchers from the MRU Public Security Academy. The monograph covers a wide range of issues, from economic security to understanding tourism risks. The aim of the monograph is to highlight the challenges of transformation in the context of economic security. The issues raised in the monograph are explored through several objectives: 1. Analyze the transformation of the global labor market in the context of globalization. 2. Identify changes in Ukraine’s economic security and strategic priorities. 3. Describe environmental security in the national security frameworks of countries. 4. Understand the impact of hybrid threats. 5. Analyze the international legal and policy framework for terrorism. 6. Demonstrate the impact of economic security on business. 7. Analyze risk perceptions in the tourism sector. 8. Understand the characteristics of economic security and tourism risk management. 9. Examine the regulation of non-horizontal concentrations in the context of EU economic security. Creating this collective monograph involved the following basic research methods: scientific literature review, economic analysis, analysis of statistical data, analysis of legal acts, synthesis of results, formulation of conclusions, and justification of proposals for security theory and practice.

Objective: This article explores the possibility of the early diagnosis of catastrophic events based on weak signal detection and information field monitoring. Data and Methods: Publications in The New York Times and The Guardian are used as a source of data. To analyze the dynamics of the information field, the concept of weak signals is applied. Text mining methods (text preprocessing, frequency analysis, word clouds) are used. Statistical methods for analyzing distributions and testing hypotheses are used to determine anomalies in keyword frequencies. Results: The study makes it possible to confirm the assumption that the information field begins to change some time before the real onset of catastrophic events. The changes in the information field that preceded the two selected catastrophic events – the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine – are analyzed. Statistically significant changes in the information field in both cases were observed long before the start of these events. It was revealed that deviations in the frequency of keyword mentions more than 4σ are anomalous, and can signal impending disasters. The assumption that it is possible to track the state of the information field through open media resources is also confirmed. Conclusions: The results of the study confirm the possibility of using the analysis of the information field for the early diagnosis of global catastrophes. The creation of a system for monitoring the information field using the methods of machine linguistics can contribute to the timely preparation and minimization of threats to economic security.

The energy security of the EU is a current issue for all member countries. The EU’s energy policy aims for diversification of energy resources and energy independence. After 2022, this issue has worsened. The article analyzes the main risks to the energy security of EU countries and industries located in these countries. The dynamics of energy consumption by different sectors of the EU economy are considered and the impact of changes in the energy sector on the economic security of businesses is evaluated. Approaches to modeling the impact of transformations in the energy sector on the economic security of businesses are discussed. A simulation model of a three-sector energy market has been developed. The driver of changes in the model is the minimization of carbon emissions. Experiments were conducted to simulate the development of the energy market from 2012 to 2052. Digital modeling showed that in a case of “gas blackmail” the most probable scenario means increasing of dirty energy sources with high carbon emission.