Rural green tourism standardization and certification system building within the European integration context

The purpose of the research is to determine the organizational, legislative and regulatory framework for the standardization and certification of the rural green tourism as an unconventional business pattern and a type of environmental services. Methods. In the process of research, systematic and integrated approaches were used, which provided a comprehensive study of the problem and the achievement of scientific results. Methodological basis of the research are general theoretical methods of scientific knowledge, in particular dialectic method, system analysis, fundamental positions of general economic theory. The graphical method was used to visualize the structural diagrams. In addition, general scientific and special methods were used in the study such as dialectical, monographic, non-lethal, induction and deduction, which allowed them to be used to determine the organizational, legislative and regulatory framework for the standardization and certification of the rural green tourism. Results. The article discusses issues concerning the legislative and regulatory framework for the standardization and certification of the rural green tourism in Ukraine. Methodological approaches how to standardize and certify the rural ecotourism are presented too. Innovative factors, having an impact on the rural green tourism evolution in the Ukrainian regions, have been indicated herein. Some attention has been focused on the need for the ecological certification and audit of the various territories, administrative regions, natural and economic systems of the country in general. The necessity of using marks for the legal protection of geographical indications has been determined. It has been proven that the voluntary ecological certification certifies some compliance with the requirements of laws, technical regulations, best practices, good rules, national and industry standards both for the tourism and, in general, for the adherence of requirements as to the environment quality maintenance. Practical meaning. A rural ecological tourism standardization and certification system, accelerating the adaptation of the Ukrainian regulatory and legislative framework to the EU standards, improving the tourism product quality, based on European standards and environmental regulations, helping attract foreign investments and develop the rural green tourism infrastructure and material bases, has been built grounding on the deep study of the present issues. Prospects for further research. The results obtained herein determine the need for the further improvement of the methodological criteria developed for the certification of rural green tourism farmsteads. It will lead to the market promotion of environmental services, to the increase in the number of foreign tourists and to the rise in the competitiveness of Ukraine as the player of the international market of tourist services.

Anxiety and the Onset of COVID-19: Examining Concerns of Historically Excluded Scholars

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic increased uncertainty, leading to questions about how it spread, how long it would last, and its long-term effects. In academia, many scholars worried about their positions and career advancement. Our research focuses on how different groups within academia coped during the initial period of the pandemic, with particular attention paid to the role of anxiety. We argue that vulnerable groups, such as historically excluded individuals, graduate students, and women, felt even higher levels of anxiety. We use original survey data collected from international relations and political science scholars during May 2020. We content analyze open-ended responses to illustrate the impacts of the pandemic on our participants’ work life, including research productivity, the job market, promotion, and tenure. These analyses reveal not only what different groups of scholars are concerned about, but also the different ways in which they discuss the pandemic. Our research aims to highlight the social and mental health effects of the pandemic, with an eye toward addressing inequalities in academia.

Principal directions for improving the mechanism for ensuring food security of the Republic of Belarus

Food security largely determines stability of the entire economic system. The Republic of Belarus overcame the deficiency and ensured food security, as well as formed a significant export potential in the agri-food sector of the economy. In this regard, outside views on the Belarusian model of ensuring food security are of particular interest. There is an objective need to ensure undeniable competitive advantages of domestic food products in terms of quality safety, expanding the marketing potential of Belarusian products in the domestic and foreign markets, and effectively integrating the national agro-industrial complex into the global market space. The paper presents conceptual directions for improving the mechanism for ensuring food security of the Republic of Belarus. Trends of physical and economic availability of food in the domestic market, some destructive factors and potential threats have been revealed. Feasibility of developing national plan for implementation of provisions of the Doctrine and the principles of its arrangement have been substantiated, including: consistency with the model of ensuring national food security and independence; compliance with the criteria for sustainable development of the social-and-economic system of the agri-food complex; stakeholder inclusiveness and accountability; operational and strategic monitoring of the efficiency of measures, etc. The main units of measures are proposed, which cover creation of an efficient monitoring and management system; ensuring quality and safety of food in the domestic market; promotion and implementation of principles of healthy diets among population; regulation of the domestic market balance; increasing the competitiveness of the domestic agri-food complex; creation of favorable competitive environment; development of scientific, innovation and investment potential. This development will increase the efficiency of the Doctrine of National Food Security as a strategic planning document, as well as substantiate and introduce the mechanisms required for solving the assigned tasks.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is not a regional development bank in the way that we might traditionally think of such institutions. This chapter sets out to explore what the implications of this might be in the context of two of the major themes that structure this edited volume: market promotion and regional integration. The chapter does this by outlining briefly the significance of the historical context of the constitutive moment when the EBRD was established. The chapter then utilizes these broad heuristics to analyse the social and intellectual context of transition amid the four policy shifts in the EBRD at various critical historical junctures: (1) Initial market construction; (2) institutional shock therapy; (3) the promotion of neoliberal competitiveness; and then (4) post-crisis re-invigoration; before offering some reflections on the EBRD as regional development bank within the wider framing of the principal agent problem.

Regional Development Banks in the World Economy

This chapter offers a revised categorization of regional development banks (RDB) through an analysis of their changing geographical operations and their shifting prioritization of five major functions—development, regional integration, market promotion, multi-polarity re-inforcement, and strategic market shaping. The authors demonstrate the first RDB were established to correct for market failure, prioritizing development with and, often, by regional integration. A second major period of RDB creation occurred in the 1990s, accompanied by a turn to promoting market-oriented functions—which shaped newly established RDB, as well as previously existing banks. The most recent period of RDB creation occurred from the beginning of the twenty-first century. RDB became more ambitious in geo-political terms and, with regard to function, adopted a more strategic approach to intervention, promoting industry and the provision of international public goods, whilst shifting to new business models with greater and more complex private sector involvement. We examine the extent to which principal-agent analysis sheds light on these complex transformations.

Use of Assessment Indicators to Forecast Market Promotion of Products

During recent years the trend to tighten competitiveness has been increasing globally almost in all industries, although before then it was absent in many countries and economic sectors. This article touches upon the main issues regarding the competitiveness of enriched curd products with prebiotic substances. On the basis of a consumer survey, the calculation of advantageous indicators was performed. According to the results of the ranking of quality indicators, the following maximum values were accepted: taste and smell, form and consistency, titratable acidity, amino acid composition, and vitamin and mineral composition. A comparative analysis of consumer qualities of curd products is given. According to the results of the assessment of the quality of curd products, it can be concluded that competitive advantage belongs to a curd product enriched with cedar oil cake, lactulose syrup and whey proteins. This is followed by the curd product enriched with cedar oil cake and lactulose syrup, and then the integral indicator in the curd sample enriched with cedar oil cake. The integral indicators of curd cream and curd cheese have low values: 0.16 and 0.145, respectively. Thus, the developed curd products enriched with prebiotic substances will be in demand in the modern market of curd products. Keywords: competitiveness, complex quality indicator, curd products, cedar oil cake, whey protein, lactulose

РОЛЬ ВИСТАВОК В УПРАВЛІННІ ІННОВАЦІЙНИМ РОЗВИТКОМ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ

The article provides insights into the role of exhibitions in managing innovative development of enterprises in various industries, with or without consideration of risks posed by the COVID crisis. Based on the results of previous research, the findings reveal that the process of innovation development management should involve management decisions made both on each of its structural elements separately and overall. An emphasis is put that the choice of company innovative development strategy and its market promotion strategy for products / services affect the significance and relevance of company exhibition participation as well as the need to plan the exhibition participation costs. The results of the survey of managers and executives in various sectors of the economy who participated in exhibitions during 2019-2020 demonstrate that these costs might also depend on the exhibition objectives and the formats perceived by managers within the overall plan of company innovative development management. The study discusses the major exhibition participation goals in the framework of implementing alternative strategies of enterprise innovative development along with providing evidence that exhibition participation is of the highest priority in case of implementing a novel strategy, and the lowest – in case of using a retro-innovation strategy. The case studies from the selected companies of consumer goods industries presented the goals and a brief description of the specifics of their participation in exhibitions in the process of managing their innovative development. The conclusion has verified that the exhibition participation priorities in the process of enterprise innovative development management vary significantly subject to industry affiliation and the selected strategy for innovative development as well as may result from various restrictions imposed by a pandemic, in particular. Apart from the above, the findings have identified the risks of exhibition activities during the COVID period and outlined anticipated trends of change in business decisions as to exhibition participation. It is argued that online exhibitions have proved a good alternative to traditional exhibitions activities, however they challenge the application of advanced digital technologies. The results of this study can be used to enhance enterprise innovative development management practices.

Identifying Barriers to and Facilitators of Using a Mobile Fruit and Vegetable Market Intervention Delivered to Low-Income Housing Sites: A Concept Mapping Study

Background Mobile fruit and vegetable (F&V) markets may be a promising strategy to improve F&V intake among low-income and racial/ethnic minority groups. However, challenges remain in terms of maximizing the reach and utilization of such markets. Therefore, this study identifies perceived barriers to and facilitators of utilizing a mobile F&V market among residents who lived in low-income housing that received the markets. Specifically, this article reports the results of the follow-up acceptability study of the “Live Well, Viva Bien” (LWVB) intervention. Method We conducted concept mapping with residents in housing communities that received the Fresh to You (FTY) markets. Participants generated, sorted, and rated statements concerning barriers to and facilitators of market use. We compared the rating data by residents’ level of market utilization and created a map representing how statements clustered into conceptual themes. Results We retained 66 unique participant-generated statements. Eight thematic clusters emerged; four pertained to barriers: financial/promotion, produce-related, scheduling/knowledge, and logistic/awareness barriers, and four related to facilitators: produce/staffing, promotion, accessibility, and multilevel market facilitators. There was a strong correlation in ratings between participants who more frequently versus less frequently shopped at the markets ( r = 0.94). Conclusions Participants identified financial barriers, market promotion, ease of market accessibility, produce variety and quality, and staffing as key factors influencing FTY market use. This study highlights the importance of identifying the perceived barriers to and facilitators of mobile F&V market use among target populations to inform future efforts to scale up such approaches.

Advertising Homeownership through Cultural Capitalism: Neoliberal Making of New Shanghai Middle-Class Dream

Private homeownership has increasingly become a kind of new obsession and a symbol of upward mobility among the emerging middle class in post-Mao Chinese society. This essay studies the neoliberal making of the new Shanghai middle-class dream by exploring how this dream is invented and imagined through the pursuit of cosmopolitan citizenship, socio-spatial class distinction, and tiered lifestyles. It analyzes and problematizes the enduring charm of Shanghai as a global “city of magic” continues to attract those who aspire to eventually own a piece of property and display cultural capital of this highly unaffordable neoliberal city. Through a series of distinct case studies of recent real estate advertisement, interior design philosophy, and signature furniture stores and architecture magazines whose storytelling aesthetics are middle-class-inspired and focused, the essay critiques the way in which private homeownership is engineered, advertised, and made as one of the key prerequisites for the new Shanghainese (xin Shanghairen) to become middle class in the past two decades. It argues that the making of the new Shanghai middle-class dream is problematically preconditioned by a type of state-market promotion and advertisement of private homeownership and urban citizenship that ultimately synchronizes with the state-capitalist, neoliberal making of a moderately prosperous (xiaokang) society where class distinctions have revived to dominate the social, cultural, and economic discourses of a bourgeois Shanghai in the age of global capitalism.

Business Operation Approach of Small and Medium Enterprise in Pathumthani Province

The purposes of this research are to study; 1) The importance level of factors lead to the business operations approach of SMEs 2) The characteristic of SMEs. 3) The relationship between the characteristic of SMEs and the importance level of factors lead to the business operations approach of SMEs. 4) Business operation approach of Small and Medium Enterprise in Pathumthani Province. Research via quantitative methodology. Data were collected from the executive or owner of SMEs in Pathumthani Province, by accidental sampling of 385 respondents of unknown exactly population. The research instrument were questionnaires. The data were then analyzed by computer software packages, statistic treatments were frequency, percentage, means, standard deviation, and ranking, Pearson Correlation, and Multiple Regression at statistical significance level of .05 The results of the research were as follows: 1) Overall the importance level of factors lead to the business operations approach of SMEs in Pathumthani Province were at of a high importance level, raked by CV (Covariant) respectively were: Technology Development and upgrading of firms' technology, Innovation and information technology, Products, Distribution and supply chain, Business Environment, Price, Government promotion, Market promotion. 2) Overall and individual of the characteristic of SMEs in Pathumthani Province were at of a high importance level, raked by CV (Covariant) respectively were Average total turnover per year, .Amount of employees, SMEs business operation.3) There were moderate relationship level between the characteristic of SMEs and the importance level of factors lead to the business operations approach of SMEs in Pathumthani Province. 4) Business operation approach of Small and Medium Enterprises in Pathumthani Province = was 0.783 Government promotion, was 0.775 Innovation, was 0.771 Technology Development and upgrading of firms' technology, was 0.702 Distribution and supply chain, was 0.681 Products, was 0.641 Price, was 0.421 Market promotion. (R square = 0.851)