Issues and Prospects of Investigative Journalist Activities in the context of anti-corruption in contemporary Ukraine

In the article the author considers the problems faced by investigative journalists in the process of combating corruption in contemporary Ukraine. In particular, regarding the negative perception of their activities within society; lack of proper security of journalists in detecting corruption offenses by government officials; difficulties in finding and accessing information on corrupt transactions. The need to establish high-quality mutual support and cooperation between NGOs and investigative journalists to address the above issues, as well as to develop joint recommendations for overcoming corruption risks based on their own activities. The advantages of NGO cooperation with investigative journalists in the context of protecting the latter from persecution by the authorities are highlighted. The author sees the solution of the most of problems related to the professional activity of investigative journalists in a special network created for them, which would monitor the movement of corruption funds and ensure high-quality receipt and exchange of relevant information. It is proposed to create a similar network in Ukraine, which would cover all regions and could lay an information basis for establishing effective anti-corruption control at the national level.

Conceptual and model support for the development of an innovative-active university

The monograph is devoted to the development of theoretical-methodical and model- information basis for the construction of innovative- active HEI on the basis of autonomy of its activities, quality of education, anti-corruption. Trends in the modernization of the world system of higher education have been identified, a study of the phenomenon of "autonomous, innovative- active university" has been conducted, and a list of factors influencing the increase in the competitiveness of individual HEIs has been formed. Based on the analysis of the legislative basis and state initiatives, the opportunities for the development of an innovative-active university (IAU) have been identified. The stratification of HEI of Ukraine according to the level of their educational, scientific and technical, innovative and international activities was carried out. Conceptual and methodological bases of IAU construction are developed, the mechanism of its functioning is formed and conceptual bases of formation of system of corporate management of rendering of HEI educational services on the principles of counteraction of corruption are offered. Recommended for researchers, professionals in education, economics, information management and protection, teachers, graduate students and students of higher education institutions.

Assessment of Seismogeodynamic Activity of Mining Areas on the Basis of 3D Geoinformation Modeling

The article deals with the creation of an information and analytical platform for assessing external causes of technogenic (man-made) accidents and for improving methods of their predication and prevention on the territories of long-term geological, mining, and engineering activities on the Southeastern (SE) Transbaikal region example — one of the key areas for mining and extraction of the strategic raw minerals in Russia. 3D modeling of active geological structures and hazardous seismogeodynamic processes on GIS-based technologies is a key instrument for forecasting dangerous natural and technogenic events and risk reduction of their occurrence. A matter of minimizing consequences of natural and technogenic disasters for such facilities of increased technological and environmental hazards as minefields, radiochemical facilities, sites for spent nuclear material disposal, dams, gas and oil pipelines, etc. has become essential. It is necessary to assess modern geodynamic territory’s activity on a unified geoinformation platform applying the newest integrated geological-geophysical researches’ methods for these objects, to select seismically active fault-fracture zones, to determine the rate and direction of surface displacement, to establish patterns of subsoil stressed-strained state natural component influence on behavior of local technogenic processes. Taking into account the specificities of geotectonic structure of mining territories, the structure of monitoring seismogeodynamic processes network on multifunctional geodynamic test sites should be developed. Observations made on test sites form the information basis for forecasting of lithosphere condition, taking decisions on rational subsurface management and providing ecological safety of the territory.

Assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the poverty of households

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused grave and severe losses in many of the economies across the globe. The impact and the duration of the economic crisis occurring due to the pandemic among certain households is difficult to anticipate since the indeterminacy is being defined through the duration of the crisis and costs for the recovery of the economy. The purpose of the paper is to study theoretical aspects related to the assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the poverty of households. Methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study are modern theories, concepts, hypotheses. Comparative analysis is used. The methodological and information basis of the work are scientific works, materials of periodicals, information resources. Results. The paper incorporates a content analysis of studies focusing on the economic impact of the COVID-19 on the development of national economies. The majority of studies assess economic implications of the COVID-19 however they are concentrated on the macroeconomic and financial impact of the Corona Crisis. The impact on national economies is subsequently reduced to the microlevel, specifically the social and economic impact on individuals. Nonetheless, there is a need for a microanalysis which may better describe the interrelation between sectors and countries (the effect of macroeconomic aggregate indicators) and supplement the macroanalysis, providing more relevant evaluations of the impact of the distribution of income, outline the authorities of households, the role of people's savings, determine the resilience of households. The work establishes main assumptions and restrictions of formulating the model of impact of social and economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the poverty of households Conclusion. Taking into consideration the distribution of incomes for various sectors, the proposed model allows to ensure the assessment of losses in the consumption of households, savings depletion and time for their recovery. It has been proven that without the social protection of the population the Corona Crisis will lead to a massive economic shock for the national economy. Prospects of further studies lie in the assessment of the impact of indirect macro-level factors, role of indeterminacy in the decision-making of households and implications in case of numerous waves of social crisis as well as the possible effect in the condition of concurrent exogenous shocks.

Knowledge Management in the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE)

With completion of the restructuring of the nuclear waste disposal landscape in Germany, the competences for construction and running of repositories for radioactive waste products are since 2017 with the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE). The BGE has over 50 years of experience in the disposal of nuclear waste in Germany. Over a period of several decades substantial effort was put into the research and developmental work on nuclear waste disposal in Germany, which led to a considerable state of knowledge, both thematically and quantitatively; however, so far no consistent overview exists on the various works and therefore on the total state of knowledge, as these works only partially exist or existed in the very different organizations (diffuse and local) within the nuclear waste disposal landscape. The emerging loss of specialist knowledge in Germany caused by the withdrawal from nuclear energy and the recession of national mining activities is doing the rest. This imminent loss of knowledge must be taken into consideration as a critical factor, especially considering the age structure within the BGE and the simultaneously occurring processes on selection of a site for disposal of highly radioactive waste products. For this reason, in the division of research and development/knowledge management (R&D/KM) an independent department for knowledge management was created in order to establish an infrastructure for knowledge management and a connection between knowledge management platforms and knowledge carriers in the company. In addition to the collection and distribution of the available knowledge, current results from research and development are also to be fed into the “learning organization”. For this purpose, knowledge management provides a digital information basis, into which current results from research and development are also entered as a knowledge store. This knowledge store consisting of over 14 000 documents, contains mostly research reports and scientific publications, which are concerned with diverse topics for the final disposal of radioactive waste products in geological formations. The total stock of internal company documents available can be accessed with a browser-based text analysis software. Intelligent search algorithms render the textual contents accessible, combine them with synonyms and dictionaries deposited in the system and make the resulting hits of the search queries available for the user in order of importance in summarized and full text versions. Using specific query terms, as known from search machines or library servers, this software analyzes the available documents of the digital information basis and in a brief summary of results, in addition to a brief description of the contents, the naming of relevant keywords, the identification of sources, compilers, institutions, knowledge carriers and an extended optimized information analysis of hits, also provides the possibility to retrieve the complete document and the download. The research options can, in addition to the queries via the established internet search engines also be combined with queries via the incorporated information or databank catalogue of national and international scientific institutions or libraries, which are concerned with research programs relevant for repositories. In order to further increase and optimize the information possibilities for employees of the BGE, a variety of knowledge landscapes has been implemented in the intranet, which enable specific queries on topics, expert information, institution, country and persons. Using these tools a first essential target of knowledge management, the collection, availability and distribution of written down knowledge in the company has been achieved. For the development of person-related and group-related knowledge the department of knowledge management is compiling concepts, which can only be implemented together and jointly with them, as they border on certain interfaces in the organization/company. This particularly concerns measures that fall into the areas of human resources, such as personnel management and personnel strategies or in the area of the particular project; keyword lessons learnt.

Informational basis of Ukrainian financial security management in conditions of sustainable development

The purpose of the article is to decide the possibilities of Ukrainian financial security management in the conditions of military and political instability through adaptation of the indicators for the current methodology of the state financial security calculating in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development. The authors use general scientific and special methods, in particular dialectical, abstract logical, system analysis, economic and statistical. The authors in terms of the system approach and the allocation of material and information basis consider financial security. The authors formalize the process of informational support for the management of state financial security. Analysis of statistical data suggests that the determination of the Ukrainian financial security takes place because of political and military instability. Every component of financial safety includes factor of war influence, which as a result correlates the integral index of financial safety. The authors investigate factors that include expenditures for army forces support, aggressor state exchange rate expenditures, volume of monetary mass of the aggressor state in national economics, participation of the aggressor state capital in the banking capital structure, volume of financial resources loss of the aggressor-state.

Organic carbon in vegetal biomass of forests in Kyiv region

Carbon sequestrative capacity of forest plant communities is one of the main criteria for the potential for low-carbon development of the country and the fulfillment of international obligations in the context of the Paris climate agreement. The information basis of the research is formed by information from the database of IA "Ukrderzhlisproekt", which contains the detailed biometric characteristics of forest stands located in the research region. Another component is represented by a system of mathematical models for quantitative assessment of live biomass and forest dead organic matter. As a result, in this research we have determined the quantitative values of organic carbon content in live biomass and dead organic matter of forests of Kyiv region. In total, the amount of carbon accumulated in vegetal biomass of the region's forests equals 61.8 million tons, of which 60 % is accounted for by pine stands. The share of carbon accumulated in dead organic matter is 10.5 %. The highest density of sequestered carbon per unit area is typical for ash and oak stands with indicators of 10.08 and 9.921 kg∙(m2)-1, respectively. More than 40 % of organic carbon is accumulated in vegetal biomass of stands of I site index class, which mainly grow in relatively poor forest conditions. Recreational, health-improving and protective forests of the region are characterized by the highest indicators of organic carbon density per unit area – 10.53 and 10.49 kg∙(m2)-1, respectively. Among the objects of the nature reserve fund, the dominant positions in the volume of the studied indicator belong to nature reserves – 82.7 %, national nature parks account for another 8 %. In the total structure of carbon capacity of dead organic matter (6.5 million tons) more than 60% belongs to forest litter. At the same time, carbon content in dead organic matter of coniferous stands equals 4.1 million tons, or 62.9 %. The results of the research will serve as an information basis for the formation of a strategy for regional low-carbon development.

An Overview of Eco-Driving Theory, Capability Evaluation, and Training Applications

Constrained by traditional fuel-saving technologies that have almost reached the limit of fuel-saving potential, the difficulty in changing urban congestion, and the low market penetration rate of new energy vehicles, in the short term, eco-driving seems to be an effective way to achieve energy-saving and emissions reduction in the transportation industry. This paper reviews the energy-saving theory and technology of eco-driving, eco-driving capability evaluation, and the practical application of eco-driving, and points out some limitations of previous studies. Specifically, the research on eco-driving theory mostly focuses on a single vehicle in a single scene, and there is a lack of eco-driving research for fleets or regions. In addition, the parameters used to evaluate eco-driving capabilities mainly focus on speed, acceleration, and fuel consumption, but external factors that are not related to the driver will affect these parameters, making the evaluation results unreasonable. Fortunately, vehicle big data and the Internet of Vehicles (V2I) provides an information basis for solving regional eco-driving, and it also provides a data basis for the study of data-driven methods for the fair evaluation of eco-driving. In general, the development of new technologies provides new ideas for solving some problems in the field of eco-driving.

SYSTEM FOR MONITORING THE COMPETITIVENESS AND DIGITALIZATION OF URBAN DISTRICTS AS A STRATEGY TOOL

The article substantiates the relevance of the problem of forming and developing a system for monitoring the competitiveness and digitalization of urban districts as an information basis for making informed management decisions in the field of strategic management of territories, and suggests a system of indicators for assessing the level of competitiveness and digitalization of urban districts. the use of which, especially in the context of a pandemic associated with the spread of a new coronavirus infection, can expand the information base of regional and municipal economic policies. Methodological approaches to assessing the impact of digitalization and informatization on the competitiveness of territories with the results of their testing on the materials of urban districts of the Republic of Bashkortostan are presented. The typologization of urban districts of the Republic of Bashkortostan according to the level of competitiveness and the level of development of informatization and digitalization is carried out. According to the results of the typologization of regions, carried out by the method of complex groupings, using cluster analysis, 6 types of urban districts are identified according to their competitiveness and the level of development of informatization and digitalization. A matrix of competitive strategies in the field of informatization and digitalization for different types of urban districts according to the level of competitiveness has been developed. A set of measures is proposed to adjust the policy in the field of informatization and digitalization at the regional and municipal levels, which can be used in the development of management decisions on the development of digitalization at the municipal level, as well as in the adjustment of a set of measures in the implementation of the national project "Digital Economy".