Integrated strategic model for managing regional projects in the field of ecology

The article is devoted to review of authors’ model of project management while executing the strategy of sustainable regional development. The article analyses the essence of social partnership as a collaborative instrument between government, business and society, which influences on economic progress nowadays. It is concluded that improvement of relations between actors of cooperation depends on institutional framework formation as well as on effective methods of management. In this paper there is defined such a condition of economic development as technological progress, which results in resources accumulation in developed regions but intensifies the problem of regional socio-economic inequality. There is proposed and proved the model of cooperation between society and government during implementation the strategy of regional development taking into account the digitalization. Thus resistance of the strategy depends on dimension of project agreement. In this context it becomes important to include into the strategy such a factor as trust. It should be noted that in the article there are defined organization opportunities, which have to be applied during strategic planning of the project to secure sustainable competitive position of the region and business entities. There are also described the reasons for resisting of project management adoption.

Personality traits and engagement in activities - predictors of life satisfaction for ageing persons

Background The aim of the research was to find out, using primary SHARE (Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe) data, how personality traits and involvement in activities predict life satisfaction. Two research questions were raised: (1) Is there a connection between personality traits, engagement in activities and satisfaction with life? (2) How do personality traits and involvement in activities predict life satisfaction? In total, 1479 respondents (36.8% (545) men, 63.2% (934) women) were selected from the Latvian sample, over 50 years old (M = 66,58, SD = 11,21), with permanent residence in the territory of Latvia. The results of the study showed that life satisfaction is predicted by personality traits such as neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness and agreeableness. On the other hand, the types of activities offered predict the impact on life satisfaction by engaging in volunteer/charity work. Conclusions there is a relationship between personality traits, engagement in activities and satisfaction with life. Personality traits such as neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness can predict life satisfaction. Practical application of Results knowing the personality traits and engagement in activities, as predictive factors for life satisfaction for Latvians over 50 years, will probably indicate which personality traits and some of the offered activities will be taken by those who have not reached 50 years of age. The study was performed within the project/agreement No. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/3/19/540 'Challenges of ageing in the Baltic Sea region'. Key messages Personality traits and engagement in activities may predictit life satisfaction in older people. Volunteer work is one of the best predictors of satisfaction with life among older people.

Potential Impact of Meat Replacers on Health and Environmental Sustainability in European Diets

Objectives Replacing meat by meat replacers could be an important strategy for achieving a more plant-based diet, however their current consumption is rather limited. The present modelling study therefore aimed to elucidate the role of meat replaces in healthier and more environmentally sustainable diets. Methods Using the observed diets from Denmark, Czech Republic, Italy and France (∼6500 adults), we created for each individual a replacement diets by replacing all the meat of the observed diet (in grams) by meat replacers. Starting from the observed diets and meat-replacement diets, diets with improved adherence to food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) were modeled using Data Envelopment analysis. These improved diets were then optimized for dietary preferences (Max P, diet similarity index), nutrient quality (Max H, Nutrient Rich Diet (NRD15.3)) or environmental sustainability (Max S, diet-related greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE)). Results In all modeled diets, for both men and women, the amount of meat was lower than in the observed diets, in particular around 30% lower in the Max P, 50% lower in the Max H, and 75% lower in the Max S diets. Moreover, when using fortified meat replacers, the amount of meat in the scenarios of Max P, Max H and Max S was lower than in the same scenarios without fortification. In the Max P diet, NRD15.3 was ∼6% higher, GHGE was ∼9% lower, and ∼83% of food intake remained similar. In the Max H diet, NRD15.3 was ∼17% higher, GHGE was ∼15% lower, and ∼66% of food intake remained similar. In the Max S diet, NRD15.3 was ∼9% higher, GHGE was ∼33% lower, and ∼65% of food intake remained similar. Conclusions Guided by FBDGs to improve diets, adopting meat replacers holds potential to achieve additional benefits on the environment, without necessarily compromising nutrient quality. Funding Sources This work was supported by TiFN under Project Agreement number 15SD01 (SHARP-BASIC).

Russian Initiatives in Internet Governance

The article is devoted to the research of Russian initiatives concerning its participation in international system of Internet governance. In the research, conceptual and theoretic basis for participation of state governments in Internet governance is given, academic discourse of this issue is assessed, the review of main Russian initiatives made from 2005 (since the second stage of the World Summit on Information Society) till the present day is carried out. The conclusion is made that the most successful Internet governance initiative of Russia is the implementation of cyrillic top level domains. Much less successful are Russian attempts to reconstruct existing organizational structure of Internet governance. Russian policy is assessed as a policy of preferring loud statements and PR rather than real influence on development of Internet technologies. Russia consideres Internet as political resource and tries to increase its influence on decision making process on a political, not operational level of Internet governance. The author states that federal government of the United States of America has fully lost the control on the domain name systems. These functions are going to be given to the private sector, while ICANN, which was established according to the Memorandum of Understanding/Joint Project Agreement with U.S. Department of Commerce, is becoming a truly independent international organization. Considering this, the author comes to the conclusion that political transformations for the sake of Russia are already made. He also forecast that next initiatives of Russia will be directed to the segmentation of the Internet.

Managing information for collaborative networks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the orientations of collaborative networks (CNs) for managing integrated information flow. It seeks to analyse and shed light into the main priorities of firms for sharing and coordinating information with CN partners. These priorities are needed to enhance practices to trade-off and integrate flows where appropriate for maximising profits and performance. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, inductive multiple-case logic is applied to research how six industrial firms manage integrated information flow in relation to their collaborative networked organisations (CNOs). Guided by an interpretivism epistemology, 22 face-to-face and 13 telephonic semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 key informants in six industrial firms. Interview data were analysed in line with the research agenda to understand orientations for integrated information flow. Findings – The research finds that CN management is enhanced when flow integration for industrial firms is skill, project, agreement and relationship oriented. The investigation also finds that CNO flow integration could be enhanced when industrial firms confront and prioritise schemes for fluidity prevention, systematised templates, procedural prompts, implementation checklists, confidence building, issuance policies and concern separation. Originality/value – The major contribution of this paper is an exposition on priorities for integrated information flow within CNs. It also offers insights that suggest industrial firms can boost the performance of their CNOs by: working in small knit highly skilled teams, tactically implementing manufacturability and marketability programmes, strategising their production contracts and strengthening their company-customer-supplier ties.