Unintended consequences and the problem of ensuring sustainable development

The sources, types, and mechanisms of formation and tools for minimizing "unintended consequences" of economic reforms in Ukraine are considered. "Unintended consequences" are understood as unpredictable, unintentional, indirect, and incredible consequences of actions of initiators, organizers and executors of Ukrainian reforms, which were not included in their plans but happened in reality and have have a decisive influence on the state of the national economy. The methodological basis of the study includes historical-genetic, comparative, statistical, and graphical analysis. The origins of the study of " unintended consequences" of human actions can be traced in the works of N. Machiavelli, J. B. Vico, B. Mandeville, A. Ferguson, W. Petty, A. Smith, J.-B. Sаy, K. Marx, С. Menger , W. Pareto, M. Weber, F. Hayek, and R. Merton. Prerequisites for the "unintended consequences" of economic reforms in Ukraine include insufficient competence of initiators and organizers, errors in analyzing problems due to ignoring the specifics of the current situation, focus on achieving immediate results without the possibility to calculate long-term consequences of implemented measures, underestimation of the role of basic values of national culture and the impact of disclosure of predictions on the behavior of economic entities. The types of “unintended consequences” that affected the course of economic reforms in Ukraine include those that, while remaining functional for the system, rely on latent, unconscious and unplanned factors arising from latent dysfunctions. Varieties of mechanisms for the formation of "unintended consequences" of economic reforms in Ukraine include the manifestation of the results of latent functions, self-realization of social beliefs and self-destructive beliefs. It is substantiated that the practice of mandatory preliminary testing at the local level on the basis of relevant information platforms makes it possible to eliminate shortcomings in advance, clarify and improve the implemented measures, determine their social effectiveness, and choose the best alternative. Conducting preliminary economic experiments avoids situations where, as a result of the reform, certain groups gain access to various types of rental income at the expense of society.

The influence of the sphere of physical culture and sports on life satisfaction

The article examines the assessment of the influence of the sphere of sports on the indicators of satisfaction and quality of life, and also examines these indicators themselves and the methodological approach to their formation. The article raises issues related to the assessment of the social effectiveness of investments in the development of physical culture and sports.

Digital transformation as an adaptation factor for personnel to realise productive capacity in a pandemic

The directions for the development of the enterprise digital environment are considered, and the ways to improve the professional competences of the enterprise staff, including the digital aspect, have been analysed. A questionnaire survey of the personnel of the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering in 2019 and 2020 using the methodology “Assessment of personnel capability (Manageability Assessment)” revealed the problems determined by the digital transformation process. Significant components for staff have been identified, including clarity of understanding of their place in the project, appreciation of task setting, staff focus on the overall end result, and functional interpersonal interaction. In analysing levels of manageability levels, the influence on the staff labor activity the factors such as remuneration, social and living conditions in the enterprise, ergonomic conditions at the workplace, interpersonal horizontal and vertical relationships in the team, and social effectiveness of management, have been studied. The findings provide the basis for practical recommendations to Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering management on changing the enterprise organisational culture to activate the staff labor potential. This solved the problems identified, improving the efficiency of staff working remotely in a pandemic and the manageability of staff across the enterprise as a whole.

The General Factor of Personality (GFP) and Vocational Interests: a Test of Social Effectiveness at the Behavioral and Genetic Level

Previous studies have examined how personality models (e.g., Big Five, HEXACO) relate to vocational interests. We adopt a novel approach by testing the associations between personality and vocational interests from the perspective of the general factor of personality (GFP). One interpretation of the GFP is that it reflects social effectiveness. Based on this interpretation, we predicted that the GFP is particularly related to interest in social jobs because people generally tend to be attracted to activities in which they perform well. To test this, we used four large data sets: the Professional Worker Career Experience Survey (study 1a; N = 752), OpenPsychometrics.org (study 1b, N = 108,209), Project Talent (study 2; N = 81,130), and the National Merit Twin Study (study 3: N = 1536 in 768 twin pairs). In each sample, we presented the direct associations as well as the results after using control variables (gender and cognitive ability). In study 1a and 1b, the GFP particularly related to interest in social and enterprising occupations. In study 2, the GFP related to interest in working with people and was also associated with a range of occupational scales involving social aspects. In study 3, the GFP only showed a consistent relation with social interests. This association was present at the phenotypical as well as genetic level. Notwithstanding some variation in findings across the different studies, the overall pattern seems to be in line with the notion that the GFP is positively associated with the preference for more socially laden jobs.

Overlap between general factors of psychopathology and personality: They share associations with daily life functioning and communication style

Previous studies have shown that specific personality dimensions, -e.g., the Big Five-, consistently intercorrelate, such that they form a general factor of personality (GFP). It has been hypothesized that the GFP reflects social effectiveness. Similarly, in the clinical domain, overlap between various psychopathological symptoms has also been reported, leading to a general factor of Psychopathology, or p factor. The aim of this study was to test the overlap between the higher-order factors in personality and psychopathology, and how they relate to daily life functioning and communication style. We tested a sample of 165 outpatients of a psychological therapy institute, using a multi-source approach that included self-reports and other ratings. The outpatients’ self-reports of personality, general psychological problems, and interpersonal problems were available. Psychotherapists rated the outpatients’ functioning in daily life with the well-known Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. A spouse or friend also rated the impact of the patient’s communication/social behavior. Patients with lower GFP scores and higher scores on general psychopathology, displayed more distress and daily functioning deficits (i.e., lower GAF scores) and, in terms of communication styles, were also rated as being less dominant, less in control socially, and more submissive and aggressive. We proposed that part of the overlap between the general factors (GFP, psychopathology factors) may relate to a lower general life functioning and less social effectiveness.

Social Effectiveness and Human-Wildlife Conflict: Linking the Ecological Effectiveness and Social Acceptability of Livestock Protection Tools

Human-wildlife interactions are embedded within socio-ecological systems (SES), in which animal behavior and human decision-making reciprocally interact. While a growing body of research addresses specific social and ecological elements of human-wildlife interactions, including conflicts, integrating these approaches is essential for identifying practical and effective solutions. Carnivore predation on livestock can threaten human livelihoods, weaken relationships among stakeholders, and precipitate carnivore declines. As carnivores have received greater protection in recent decades, researchers and managers have sought non-lethal tools to reduce predation and promote coexistence between livestock producers and carnivores. For these tools to be successful, they must effectively deter carnivores, and they must also be adopted by producers. Relatively few studies examine the practical and context-specific effectiveness of non-lethal tools, and even fewer simultaneously consider their social acceptability among producers. To address this gap, we suggest that a tool's ecological effectiveness and social acceptability be analyzed concurrently to determine its social effectiveness. We thus paired an experimental study of a carnivore predation deterrent called Foxlights® with qualitative interviews of livestock producers in Northern California. We placed camera traps in sheep pastures to measure the response of coyotes (Canis latrans) to experimentally deployed Foxlights and interviewed livestock producers before and after the experiment. Our experiment revealed weak evidence for reducing coyote activity with Foxlights, but interviews revealed that the potential adoption of tools had as much to do with their social acceptability and implementation feasibility as with evidence-based measurements of tool effectiveness. Interviewees viewed Foxlights as potentially effective components of husbandry systems, despite the data suggesting otherwise, demonstrating that scientific reductionism may lag behind producer practices of systems-thinking and that isolated demonstrations of a tool's ecological effectiveness do not drive tool adoption. Future empirical tests of non-lethal tools should better consider producers' perspectives and acknowledge that data-based tests of ecological effectiveness alone have a limited place in producer decision-making. Iteratively working with producers can build trust in scientific outputs through the research process itself.

INCREASING THE MEDICAL AND SOCIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PREFERENTIAL DENTAL PROSTHETICS PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF CITIZENS IN THE REPUBLIC OF TATARSTAN

Background. The study is devoted to improving the medical and social effectiveness of the Privileged Dental Prosthetics Program for certain categories of citizens in the Republic of Tatarstan. Aim. The aim of the study was to develop new tactical approaches to implement a targeted program of dental prosthetics for certain groups of the population in the Republic of Tatarstan in the complete absence of teeth aimed at the introduction of modern treatment technologies.Material and methods. We applied a complex method using: method of expert evaluation of the Program of free dental prosthetics in the Republic of Tatarstan, method of organizational modeling for the development of new tactical approaches in the implementation of the Program, method of statistical cost prediction in comparing three approaches to dentures for edentulous mandibles at the expense of the Program. Analysis of aggregate data obtained in the calculation of the comparative economic efficiency of the traditional method, the use of dental implant quota and the introduction of the number of applications for the fabrication of a complete removable denture in persons over 60 years in the medium­term forecast of 10 years was conducted. Statistical processing was performed in MS Windows software. Results and discussion. At the level of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Tatarstan, when implementing the additional MHI program of free denture prosthetics for certain categories of citizens, tactical approaches have been introduced, implying a frequency of visits with complete removable prosthetics – once every three years, according to the service life of the prosthesis. Every year since 2015, an order has been issued by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Tatarstan. Saving funds of the Program for this section of dental prosthetics reaches more than 8,8 million rubles (67%) per year. Rational use of the funds of the compulsory medical insurance program makes it possible to manufacture modern constructions with the use of dental implantation in 200 people a year. Conclusion. The developed tactical approaches of using the funds of the Territorial Program of Compulsory Medical Insurance for free dental prosthetics in the Republic of Tatarstan serve as a reserve for the introduction of modern technologies of treatment with the use of dental implants on edentulous jaws.

Integrating conformance and performance for the evaluation of urban planning implementation from a goal-oriented perspective

Urban planning implementation evaluation (UPIE) is an important tool for the supervision and inspection of the outcomes, processes and effectiveness of planning implementation. Conformance-based evaluation refers to the exploration of the degree of coincidence between actual situations and planning contents. Decision-centred performance evaluation focuses on exploring the role and purpose of plans in the implementation process. Although consensus has been reached on conformance and decision-centred performance evaluation, goal-oriented performance evaluation needs further development. Therefore, the integrated theoretical framework of UPIE, which emphasizes social effectiveness, has been constructed with goal-oriented performance in mind. It is suggested that performance-based evaluation that focuses on social effectiveness reveals the gap between actual situations and planning goals and can be established by the degree of realization of planning goals. Meanwhile, it has put forward a service-capabilities-based evaluation methodology which relies on the spatial matching between service supply and user group demands. Taking the Urban Master Plan of Xi’an (2008–2020) as an example, the results of UPIE show that this blueprint needs further revisions and adjustments. Through a goal-oriented methodology, the integrated theoretical framework can attract more attention to social effectiveness.