Simanavičienė, Žaneta

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.

Sustainable development goals , ESG standarts.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Monitoring, analyzing, and forecasting the risks that lead to threats are key elements of economic security. To achieve economic security, it is necessary to minimize the risks and factors that have a negative impact on the economic sphere by making optimal use of the potential of various sectors of the economy. The use of tourism as an economic tool will have a positive impact on society, enterprises, and territorial associations through the diversification of risks, the development of infrastructure, the improvement of the image of regions, and other aspects. At the same time, there is a risk of various externalities due to environmental and social problems linked to the specific nature of tourism activities. The subject of this article is economic security and tourism risk management. The aim of the paper is to analyze the significance of tourism at all levels in the context of economic security and to develop a mechanism for managing the risks involved. Study objectives: • to set levels of economic security for tourism; • to analyze the contribution of tourism to economic development; • to carry out a tourism risk assessment on the basis of the main risks identified by experts, group them by means of factor analysis, carry out a survey of tourism service suppliers, and assess the identified risks – both external and internal – in terms of the negative impact they have and the likelihood of their occurrence for individual types of tourism activities; • to calculate an integrated risk index for the tourism complex; • to perform a multi-criteria assessment of the inbound tourism complex. Research methods: analysis of scientific literature, expert evaluation, factor analysis, COPRAS method. A survey of experts and the application of the multi-criteria COPRAS method led to the identification of the significance of risk factors. This method was then used to perform an integrated risk assessment. Studies have shown that the COPRAS method can be used to carry out risk assessments based on both quantitative and qualitative indicators. The results of a literature review show that in an economic risk assessment, 68 risk factors or risk assessment criteria have the highest significance in relation to external environmental factors. When comparing the significance of risk assessments in terms of the external and internal environment and personal risks faced by tourism service users, the results of an expert survey show that the most important risks are external environment risks and internal business risks. In contrast, the personal risk faced by tourism service users is rated at only 0.16, which means that the tourist’s exposure to risks depends primarily on external risk factors and the internal risks related to business service providers. The integrated risk index of the tourism complex by type of tourism is calculated, showing that the riskiest type of tourism is extreme sports tourism. The lowest risk in Lithuania’s inbound tourism sector is accounted for by winter wellness and medical tourism. This is due to low risk probability estimates for infrastructure, transport, and health. Extreme sports tourism has high risk ratings due to higher probabilities of economic losses related to health or injury, and other higher risks in the operational, infrastructure, and transport risk groups. The multi-criteria assessment of the inbound tourism complex allows risks to be analyzed according to the main categories and permits their comparison between the different areas of the tourism complex. This model is not only valuable for the assessment of risk in tourism complexes, but also for economic risk assessments of specific enterprises operating in the tourism sector.

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.