Does Climate Change Influence Russian Agriculture? Evidence from Panel Data Analysis

Agriculture is one of the economic sectors primarily affected by climate change. This impact is very uneven, especially for countries with large territories. This paper examines the contribution of climate change to the improvement in agricultural productivity in Russia over the past two decades. Several ensembles of fixed effects regressions on yields and gross harvests of grain, fruits, and berries, potato, and vegetables were evaluated for a sample of 77 Russian regions over the 2002–2019 period. In contrast to similar studies of the climate impact on Russian agriculture, we considered a larger set of variables, including both Russian and global climate trends, technological factors, and producer prices. Russian weather trends such as winter softening and increase in summer heat have a significant but opposite effect on yields. An interesting finding is a significant and mostly positive influence of global climatic variables, such as the CO2 concentration, El Niño and La Niña events on both harvests and yields. Although technological factors are the main drivers of growth in Russian agricultural performance over the past 20 years, we found a strong positive effect on yield and gross harvest only for mineral fertilizers. The influence of the other variables is mixed, which is mainly due to data quality and aggregation errors.

The Gap between Korean Esports and Educational Gaming

While some research suggests South Korea has fallen behind other developed nations with regard to publishing and using serious games in the classroom, Korean interest in video games remains extremely high. Due to a number of cultural, social, and technological factors, esports was primed to become a significant force in Korean culture and received significant support from the Ministry of Culture. The Korean Ministry of Education, meanwhile, is resistant to adopting educational games as a part of its accepted pedagogy. This resistance has created a significant gap between the interest in video games as a learning tool and that of video games as an industry and career path in Korea. While a number of factors play a role in the languishing serious games market, based on evidence analyzed through educational gaming literature it is unlikely educational gaming will be able to significantly advance without the support of the primary governing body controlling educational policy.

Technology acceptance drivers for AR smart glasses in the middle east: A quantitative study

This study aims to establish Middle East users' perspectives on the major factors that impact their decision to adopt Augmented Reality AR smart glasses (ARSG). Thus, an online questionnaire was designed and sent directly to the respondents, and 584 valid data points were collected from individuals living in the Middle East. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlations and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) techniques using SPSS. Eleven hypotheses were tested using Multiple Regression analysis, where seven independent variables out of eleven were confirmed to have a significant impact on the perceived adoption of ARSG. The results indicate that four of the independent variables including Pre-Market Knowledge, Image, Own privacy and Technology innovativeness show the significant impact on ARSG adoption at the 1% significant level. In addition, the results indicate that three of the social and technological factors include Perceived Ease of use, Perceived usefulness and Other's privacy show the significant effect on ARSG adoption at the 5% significant level. Among the 7 social and technological factors, the results suggest that technology innovation expresses the strongest effect on ARSG adoption with the highest coefficient value of 0.413 (b = 0.413, t = 12.881, ρ < 0.01). Moreover, user intention is significantly impacted by gender and place of living but not by education or age. The research also provides pre-market insights on users' personal types that represent who will most likely adopt the new smart glasses and that differentiate them based on their priorities. To the best of our knowledge, this is among the first works to investigate technology acceptance drivers of AR smart glasses in the Middle East.

Understanding Factors Affecting Smart Classroom Adoption

This study sheds light on the role of technological factors (i.e., perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, and compatibility), and knowledge sharing between teachers and students in predicting smart classroom adoption in the context of higher education in Saudi Arabia. We selected a sample of 285 instructors from 6 universities in Saudi Arabia. Structural equation modelling was utilised to analyse the data and test the suggested hypotheses. The results indicated that technological factors (i.e., perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, and compatibility) have a significant influence on intention to adopt smart classroom. Furthermore, knowledge sharing plays a significant role in predicting smart classroom adoption. The results offer meaningful implications for practice and theory.

Unified analytical algorithm for identification of component composition of winemaking products

The article discusses a unified analytical algorithm for identification of component composition of winemaking products, established in the new national standard GOST R 59570-2021 «Winemaking products. Identification of component in terms of determination of the origin of ethanol and other compounds of physical-chemical composition». The standard provides modern scientific data on winemaking products, as well as data on natural, agrotechnical and technological factors that can impact the component composition of products to interpret the results of analytical evaluations. The article provides practical examples of use of analytical methods established in the standard for the study of winemaking products produced in Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and foreign countries.

Physiological and biochemical aspects of adaptation-compensatory processes of hydrobionts under the effect of technological factors

Purpose. To study the functional status in the body of the common carp Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758) after the addition of biologically active substances in feed composition as an adaptogene and corrector of metabolic processes including the antioxidant system, catalase activity in carp body. Methodology. The experimental part of the study was performed at the laboratory of the Scientific and Research Laboratory “Aquaculture Perspectives”, Scientific and Research Laboratory of “S. Pentelyuk Physiological and Biochemical Studies”, Scientific and Research Laboratory of Ecological and Chemical Analysis and Water Monitoring of the State Education Institution “Kherson State Agrarian and Economical University” and at the laboratory of the “Kherson Production and Experimental Hatchery of Ordinary Fish Breeding”. The duration of the experimental part was 30 days. During this period, visual observation of the fish was carried out, biological material was collected for the study in accordance with the current methods in fish farming. Cytological studies of blood were carried out on smears using Micromed MDC-500-5MP eyepiece camera. ThermoMix equipment was used to transport biological material to the laboratory. The hydrochemical parameters in tanks of the recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) were investigated by express methods (tests) with the corresponding recording of results in the work journal. The reaction and ethology of the common carp Cyprinus carpio to the light was carried out using digital equipment and a LDT test. Findings. The obtained results demonstrated the positive effect of the feed factor as an adaptogene and growth stimulator on the redistribution of metabolic energy in the carp body, which in turn had a stimulating effect on the development rate and improved the general functional status of the fish body. The paper presents the results of morpho-functional, biochemical parameters of carp blood in ontogenesis when grown in recirculating aquaculture systems against the background of the application of elements to improve technological aspects while improving the adaptive capabilities of the fish body. It was found that the feed factor, when introduced into the general economic ration, promoted an increase in the average carp body weight in the experimental group, improved the parameters of homeostatic equilibrium in comparison with fish in the control group. Positive results of a scientific and experimental study on the use of the additive as an adaptogene were obtained; it was studied with the aim of activating protective mechanisms, metabolic processes of aquatic organisms under constant or systematic exposure to stress factors of a technological nature. The study showed that the body weight, yield, total number of erythrocytes, hemoglobin content, total protein, and the level of catalase activity in the experimental groups of fish exceeded these parameters in the control group. The results obtained allowed noting the activation of the antioxidant system, the restructuring of physiological and biochemical processes, mobilization systems in the carp body in the experimental group. Originality. We found a correcting effect of the feed factor on metabolic processes, the adaptive capacity of the fish organism, as well as an increase in the resistance of the body as a whole. After implementing the technological scheme of cultivation of a feed factor of natural origin as an adaptogene against the background of the influence of technological stress factors, we found a correlation between the morpho-functional, biochemical parameters of carp blood and stress markers. Addition of biologically active substances of natural origin with a pronounced adaptive and correcting physiological and biochemical parameters into the general diet of carp improved the adaptive capacity. The antioxidant system was activated against the background of the action of technological factors. Practical value. The results of scientific and experimental studies of the functional status of carp body under the influence of technological factors were presented. Parameters of the development of carp in ontogenesis when growing in recirculating aquaculture systems against the background of the introduction of multilevel elements to improve technological aspects were studied. The results demonstrated the positive effect of biologically active substances invlufrf in the feed mixture, in particular, activation of the growth rate, increase in body weight, and yield. Key words: functional state of the carp body, adaptive and compensatory parameters, development rate, recirculation systems, technological factors.

Adoption of Blockchain Technology through Digital Twins in the Construction Industry 4.0: A PESTELS Approach

The key challenges of the building, engineering, construction, operations, and mining (BECOM) industries are the lack of trust, inefficiencies, and the fragmentation of the information value chain into vulnerable data silos throughout the lifecycle of projects. This paper aims to develop a novel conceptual model for the implementation of blockchain technology (BCT) for digital twin(s) (DT) in the BECOM industry 4.0 to improve trust, cyber security, efficiencies, information management, information sharing, and sustainability. A PESTELS approach is used to review the literature and identify the key challenges affecting BCT adoption for the BECOM industry 4.0. A review of the technical literature on BCT combined with the findings from PESTELS analysis permitted researchers to identify the key technological factors affecting BCT adoption in the industry. This allowed offering a technological framework—namely, the decentralized digital twin cycle (DDTC)—that leverages BCT to address the key technological factors and to ultimately enhance trust, security, decentralization, efficiency, traceability, and transparency of information throughout projects’ lifecycles. The study also identifies the gaps in the integration of BCT with key technologies of industry 4.0, including the internet of things (IoT), building information modeling (BIM), and DT. The framework offered addresses key technological factors and narrows key gaps around network governance, scalability, decentralization, interoperability, energy efficiency, computational requirements, and BCT integration with IoT, BIM, and DT throughout projects’ lifecycles. The model also considers the regulatory aspect and the environmental aspect, and the circular economy (CE). The theoretical framework provides key technological building blocks for industry practitioners to develop the DDTC concept further and implement it through experimental works. Finally, the paper provides an industry-specific analysis and technological approach facilitating BCT adoption through DT to address the key challenges and improve sustainability for the BECOM industry 4.0.

TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF THE INVESTMENT CLIMATE IN POLAND AND BELARUS

The article provides a detailed analysis of the most significant technological factors that determine the investment climates of Belarus and Poland. According to the authors, the main technological determinants influencing investment decisions include: Global Innovation Rankings, R&D financing, level of introduction of advanced technology, digitalization of the economy, development of e-services and maturity of technology transfer mechanisms. The research shows, that among the factors of technological development there are both positively and negatively affecting the investment climate of the studied countries. The authors proved that despite the similar past and the commonality of a number of trends in the development of the technological environment of investment activity, Belarus fails to keep pace with Poland in the level of innovation development. This suggests that Polish investments are beneficial for Belarus not only from a financial, but also from a technological point of view.

Enhanced assessment of technological factors for Ti-6Al-4V and Al-Cu-Mg strength properties

Introduction. The strength of construction materials when used under cyclic loads is of great importance in design engineering. A significant number of factors that affect the fatigue resistance have predetermined the creation of numerous methods that consider such influence. Nondestructive methods that are based on the connection of the physical degradation of material with strain properties enable evaluating experimentally the fatigue properties of materials. Purpose of study: the analysis of the processes of energy dissipation and strain accumulation during the inelastic cyclic strain of samples, using the VT6 (Ti-6Al-4V) titanium alloy and the D16 (Al-Cu-Mg) aluminum alloy before and after the technological impact. The work experimentally investigates the physical processes of degradation of the VT6 and D16 alloy samples that accompany the process of fatigue failure in materials with homogeneous and inhomogeneous stress-strain states in the concentrator (in the form of a hole and a weld). Typical modes are used to reach the fatigue testing that determine the critical stress in a material sample – the stress at which physical properties (temperature, strain) change without reaching the fatigue failure of samples. Critical stress amplitudes in the cycle, based on the data obtained during the experiment and the results of mathematical simulation, are compared. The effect of stress concentrators on critical loads that a detail can withstand after a unit operation is estimated by the finite-element method (FEM). As a result, the effect of the operational and technological factors on critical stress determined by strain and temperature is estimated. Comparative tests of the VT6 and D16 alloy samples with and without stress concentrators showed that the amplitudes of critical stress decrease by more than 30% in comparison with the ones that are without stress concentrators. The low-cycle fatigue tests of the D16 alloy samples are carried out. Mathematical simulation of the cyclic strain of the samples is carried out using MSC.Marc package. The results of the cyclic loading tests, which show that the characteristics of the technological process reduce the amplitudes of the critical stress of the VT6 and D16 alloys and affect the fatigue properties of the D16 aluminum alloy, are discussed. Mathematical simulation corresponded positively to the experimental data. Such correspondence indicates the possibility of conducting qualitative numerical assessments of the beginning of the inelastic strain accumulation process in structures with stress concentrators under the cyclic stress and the increasing stress amplitude, using the typical sample made of hardening elastoplastic material.