Economic conditions for the development of world educational systems in the context of globalization

The role of education as a socio-economic variable of the country in the context of globalization is constantly growing. Its multidimensionality is the subject to the functions implemented in the relations between society and the economy. The social, cultural, spiritual and educational function of education is a significant and indisputable subject of study in the relevant sciences. The recognition of the economic role of education, the development of estimates its effectiveness and the direction of its growth is a problem which solution depends on whether the striking discrepancy between the productivity of education and the expectations of the economy regarding its importance will be canceled. Obviously, the economic role of education is realized, first of all, in relation to its economic growth. As the development of intellectual potential is a product of the education system that develops new knowledge, provides innovative and technological improvement of production and its embodiment in an increase in the social product, which stimulates economic growth. The aim of this paper is a scientific and experimental review of the economic conditions for the development of world educational systems in the context of globalization. The main background to the development of education is the proper investment in it. Typically for European countries is the fact that most expenditures on education is in the form of government consumption, although it is the consumers who actually spend the most. However, measuring costs only in this way significantly underestimates them, since a more subtle form of costs is completely missed: the opportunity cost of lost wages, since some students are not able to be involved in employment during their studies. It is estimated that the total cost, including the alternative cost of education, are twice the direct costs.

Time and Place in Climate Activism

While comparisons across space are rare in literature on climate movements, time has long featured centrally in it—albeit often implicitly. That is because the climate movement is fundamentally shaped by the temporality of its main concern: climate change will have irreversible consequences that will become inevitable as soon as tipping points are crossed. Against this background, urgency has become an essential driving force behind and challenge for the climate movement. Yet while this urgency is certainly based in physics, it is also a social product. This chapter discusses how the contested nature of time shapes at least three core dimensions of climate activism: strategy, politics, and goals. The chapter further argues that discussions of temporality should be attentive to the contextuality of time: what might seem a future threat in privileged parts of the world presents only one of the more recent ecological disasters to disrupt disadvantaged communities worldwide. Contextualized discussions of time should therefore inform the development of comparative scholarship on climate activism and vice versa.

Institutional Innovations in India: An Assessment of Producer Companies as New-Generation Co-operative Companies

There are many types of innovations such as technological, social, product, process, marketing and organizational, and institutional innovation is one type. The producer companies (PCs), which are a case of legal institutional innovation in the Indian domain of primary producer organization are more market-oriented co-operative companies and can help farmers buy and sell more effectively. They have gained currency across India during the past 15 years since the amendment to the Companies Act made this possible in 2003, and India now has thousands of such PCs, with many of them being supported by state agencies. This article examines the uniqueness of these entities as an institutional form wherein principles of co-operation and corporate entity have been combined so that they could be more relevant entities in a globalized and liberalized market environment. It discusses their competitive edge over other forms of producer organizations like co-operative societies in India and farmer companies in Sri Lanka, and new-generation co-operatives in other parts of the world. After discussing some innovations in their governance and management, it concludes by making suggestions for augmenting this institutional innovation for inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development.

Does crowdsourcing lead to better product design: the moderation of network connectivity

Purpose This study aims to investigate the antecedents of design crowdsourcing decision-making, the impact of design crowdsourcing on new product performance and the moderating effect of network connectivity. Design/methodology/approach The sample (n = 104) was collected from a leading social product development website; the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis and two-stage least square methods were used in the investigation. Findings Three design attribute feature configurations (rational, emotional and kinesthetic value configurations) are conducive to firms’ adoption of design crowdsourcing and there are two configurations in which firms do not adopt design crowdsourcing. Design crowdsourcing influences new product performance positively. Network connectivity has an inverted U-shaped effect on the relationship between design crowdsourcing and new product performance. Originality/value These findings not only enrich crowdsourcing and social network studies but also guide crowdsourcing firms to better manage their processes and community members.

The Analysis of Photo Images of Varosha (Cyprus)

Space is the “envelop of time” (Lefebvre, 1991, pp.339-40) and “(Social) space is a (social) product” (Lefebvre, 1991, p.26) same as Varosha, which is an abounded city since 1974, at Famagusta, known to the Greeks as Ammohostos, meaning “buried in the sand” (2020). Varosha has political, economic, and geographical importance for the Island and Europe. Thus, after the war of 1974, it is fenced off with barbed wires and is guarded by Turkish soldiers. In other words, it is impossible to cross the UN Buffer Zone (“Green Line”) and see the inside of Varosha. Signs/photos warn people to cross the fences and take photos and movies. Thus, this analysis aims to analyze the photos to reveal the hidden meanings of Varosha, because of this the writer uses Barthes's theory to find the connotation, denotation, and Saussure's theory to find the signifier and signified meanings. Then, the analysis will be supported by Color theory and Althusser's Apparatuses. Shortly, the paper tries to answer the question of what do the signs in Varosha’s photos mean according to Semiotics, Ideology and Color Theories? Consequently, in the end, the study shows that the real inhabitants/Cypriots miss the old days of Varosha.

The Social Power of Narcissists in Mass Customization

It has become standard practice for consumers to customize products instead ofchoosing off-the-shelf solutions. A new practice is that consumers can directly share and discuss their customized products with their peers via social product configurators. We examine how the type of communication affects peer decision-making and satisfaction in such configurators. Drawing on research on mass customization, electronic word of mouth, and narcissism, we propose that narcissistic communication is crucial to understanding the effect of a shared configuration. A series of three studies demonstrates that consumers scoring high (vs. low) on narcissism are more likely to share their customized product online as a sample configuration and to use I-centered communication to describe that configuration. Such narcissistic communication makes peers adjust their own customized product to the sample configuration and to evaluate their own product less favorably. These findings suggest that narcissistic communication influences consumers’ decision-making by increasing the likelihood to conform, potentially negatively impacting consumer satisfaction. The social power of narcissists has implications for both marketing research and practice.

CREATIVE POTENTIAL OF PERSONALITY: MAIN MECHANISMS OF DEVELOPMENT

The difficulty of studying the phenomenon is that there is no single definition of creativity. Therefore, this is the reason for the need to substantiate the creativity characteristics and determine the main personal abilities that motivate creativity. Creativity is a means of self-realization of an individual, the characteristic essence of human existence. It is creativity that an individual realizes his inner potential in. The realization of the creative potential of individuals becomes a measure and criterion for assessing the development of the socio-cultural environment. As a means of knowing the world, creativity reveals the great potential of the human spirit, and the realization of the creative potential of a man provides the creation of new things in ideal forms and socio-practical activities. Creative activity is one of the main factors in developing human essence. The process of creative activity, the results of activity, the personality of the creator as well as the environment and conditions in which creativity is carried out can be determined in the structure of creative activity. The ability to be creative is unique to a man because a man creates a new product that did not exist before. Creativity as a complex mental activity of a man is characterized by its psychological features. Creativity begins with setting tasks to be solved within the process of activity, then there is the search for a solution. But creativity becomes full-fledged only when a person turns new ideas into a social product that becomes accessible to understanding and perception by others. Creativity is associated with the structural and functional renewal of activity, its transformation into a more perfect activity which is expressed in the newly created material and spiritual values. The self-realization of a creative personality occurs through the disclosure of the inherent creative potential which is determined by talent, creativity, willingness to carry out various forms of activity and its productivity determination.

Empower Saving Energy into Smart Communities using Social Products with a Gamification Structure for Tailored Human-Machine Interfaces within Smart Homes

Residential buildings can contribute to save energy and to decrement electricity consumption in the world. On the other hand, the Internet of Things has allowed the implementation of smart homes that can profile the users. Nevertheless, end-users are not accepting the smart homes due to behavioral problems and usability problems with the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) or with the household appliances. As a solution, social products promote the interaction between the smart home and the consumer by including gamification features in the interface. Thus, smart homes can interact and compete with other houses to reduce energy consumption. Therefore, this paper proposes a three-step framework that takes advantage of social products to promote interaction between smart homes within a smart community to reduce electrical energy consumption. The first step collects from the literature review, the characteristics of the end-users, the behavioral and usability problems, and the most common gamification elements that teach, engage and motivate the user to reduce energy consumption. The second step proposes the gamification elements required for a tailored HMI in each social product and smart home through a fuzzy logic decision. The third step evaluates the interaction between social products in smart homes and the users to test which smart home is reducing more energy consumption. Finally, a three-level tailored gamified mock-up is depicted: level 1 for a single social product, level 2 for the smart home, and level three for the smart community. This mock-up can be implemented in small communities as residential complexes.

Analyzing the financial development of the Russian Federation

Subject. This article explores the issues related to financial development of the Russian Federation. Objectives. The article aims to find ways to reduce the uncertainty of the formation of the sphere of monetary relations regarding distribution, redistribution of the social product value and national wealth, and identify the limit of the Russian Federation's financial development. Methods. The study is based on the systems approach using statistical, cluster, and neural network analyses. Results. The article actualizes the need to analyze the financial development of the Russian Federation in the context of reducing the uncertainty of the formation of the monetary relations sphere regarding the distribution, redistribution of the social product value and part of the national wealth and its limit identifying. Conclusions and Relevance. The opportunities identified to reduce the uncertainty of the formation of the monetary relations sphere determine the limit of the financial development of the Russian Federation. The study extend the knowledge and develop the competence of public authorities to make management decisions on the financial development of the Russian Federation.