Academic literature on the topic 'Economics and law in scientific policy'

The basic concepts and the application potential of the new scientific direction – "law and environmental economics" – are considered in the paper. This area is closely related to the broader scientific discipline "law and economics". The authors study the results reached by the main scientific schools in that area: the Chicago school of law and economics, the school of law reformism and neo-institutional economics, and discuss the possibilities of their use in the ecological sphere. Special attention is paid to the field of social monitoring and control of the implementation of the state ecological policy by the civil society.

<strong>Introduction. </strong>The article proposes a method of theoretical research on state policy in the scientific field by highlighting economic, legal and administrative aspects in its structure and using the well-known theoretical models of economics, law and politics to analyze specific documents and identify theoretical problems that require special study. The essence of the proposed changes in the methods of analysis is that, while at present the economic and legal aspects are considered instruments subordinate to the political objective, in the future it will be necessary to optimize these policy elements based on the developed theoretical apparatus in these areas and build state policy as a system of coordinated solutions in various aspects. <strong>Methods.</strong> An effective state policy is possible only on the condition of harmonious use of the methods inherent in each of the abovementioned areas of science. In the field of science management, the use of the economic theory of externalities (external effects) and institutional theory (optimization conditions) is especially relevant. At present, in Russia, the state policy in the scientific field is formed centrally in subordination to objectives that are also formed by political authorities. For this reason, the advantage of the three components of politics (management, economics and law) is, of course, given to management. The term management is introduced to distinguish between politics as a whole and politics as a complex of administrative measures. <strong>Results and Discussion.</strong> The study of management methods in terms and concepts of political science reveals the structure of political subjects and their hierarchy. The fulfillment of the goal-setting function and the dependence of its implementation on the prevailing structure of policy subjects were tracked in the greatest detail. It is shown that the insufficient presence of scientific organizations in the system of political subjects leads to the focus of the goals of state programs on the state apparatus as executors and participants in the formation of goals and objectives. In the study of the legal aspect of state policy in the scientific field, the premise of the tendency for the scientific potential of an organization and an individual scientist to turn into a basis for acquiring the properties of a political subject in the scientific field was put forward as a scientific hypothesis. Scientific potential is considered a resource, the possession of which enables one to become a subject of politics in the scientific field, as the possession of capital enables one to be a subject in the economic sphere. An analysis of economic relations regulated by state scientific policy has shown a transitional state of methods for their regulation between administrative and market ones. The principles of the civil&nbsp;code are partially observed. The legislation on scientific activity, including new bills, introduces provisions without relying on the requirements of the institutional theory of taking into account the public good when allocating budget funds; the requirement of the economic responsibility of the subject making economic decisions is not met. These circumstances require research in order to form a more advanced system of state support for the scientific sphere. <strong>Conclusion.</strong> As a result of the study, a natural interdependence of the main sections of state policy in the scientific field (management, economics and law) was identified with the recommendation to start research on ways to modernize policy in the scientific field using the methods and principles of economic and legal science.

Relevance of the research topic. Tax policy is an integral part of the financial policy of the state. Taxes are the basis of the financial stability of the state and the guarantee of a competitive position in the world environment, the stimulation of economic activity and the implementation of social policy. The full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on the territory of our state set the Government the task of revising previously chosen goals and reorienting them to ensure the country's defense capability and social security of citizens. In the conditions of martial law, it is important to ensure the implementation of the revenue part of the budget in order for the state to implement its functions. Formulation of the problem. The relevance of the chosen research topic is due to the importance of a detailed scientific analysis of tax policy under martial law, tax policy instruments and assessment of the state of the tax system. Analysis of recent research and publications. The issue of the theoretical and methodological foundations of tax policy and its role in the conditions of economic transformations is being studied by many domestic scientists, including: I. Chugunov [1], V. Andrushchenko [2], Z. Varnalii [3], O. Desyatniuk [4], T. Yefimenko [5], Yu. Ivanov [6], A. Krysovaty [7], L. Kozarezenko [8], M. Pasichny [9], A. Sokolovska [10], and others. Selection of unexplored parts of the general problem. Given the relevance of the research topic, the tax policy in the conditions of martial law requires in-depth research in order to identify problems and study the main ways of adapting the state's economy in conditions of war. Problem setting, research goals. The subject of the article's research is the theoretical and methodological foundations of tax policy. The purpose of the study is to reveal the essence of tax policy and methods of its implementation under martial law. Method and methodology of the study. In the process of studying the research questions, general scientific and special methods were used: systemic, structural, comparison, qualitative and quantitative analysis, scientific abstraction and synthesis. Field of application of results. The obtained research results should be used in conducting further scientific research on tax policy, the functioning mechanism of the tax system and its tools under martial law. Conclusions. The essence of tax policy under martial law is revealed. Changes to legislation and the tax mechanism, which were adopted since the introduction of martial law, were analyzed. Sources of tax revenues of the State Budget were determined and their level compared to the same period last year was assessed. The forecast and state of further development of the state's economy are analyzed.

AbstractThe scientific advisory board of the federal ministry of economic affairs and climate protection conducted a symposium on sustainability at its 500th meeting. The UN’s sustainable development goals play an increasingly important role in economic policy and regulation. This article gives a survey of the trade-offs and implementation problems that were discussed at the symposium, in particular the operationalisation of sustainability in welfare economics, the implementation of sustainability goals in economic law, the relationship between competition policy and sustainability, the impact of sustainability concerns on monetary policy, and finally, supply chain regulation and sustainability objectives.

UDK 630*8/.9&#x0D; The Bologna process thrusts forestry and forestry education into the context of an evolving global economy as well as worldwide concerns about environmental protection and climate change. It stimulates the integration of forestry into the framework of sustainable land-use practices and the combination of forest management experience with new scientific knowledge and research methodology. Forest professionals need a comprehensive educational background if they are to tackle rapidly changing social, economic and political problems. At the same time they need to understand the evolving and locally specific social and cultural aspects of forestry. This demands a joint approach to forest management, environment protection and landscape conservation. Maintaining the natural resource base and managing forests in a sustainable manner will require teaching programme combining policy and law, business economics and management, and forest resource and environmental economics components.

The article is devoted to the study of the trends in Russian criminal policy at the present stage of its development. The authors come to the conclusion that criminal policy today is understood and exists in three aspects: first, as a policy in its own (narrow) sense of the word, that is, state political activity in the field of combating crime; second, as law enforcement in this area (practical policy); third, as a branch of scientific knowledge of complex content (based on the connection of criminal law, process, criminal executive law, criminology with political science, sociology, management theory), the so-called criminal political science.&#x0D; Criminal policy, implemented at different stages of development of social relations, is characterized by certain priority areas. Currently, with regard to international documents and standards, one of the key trends in Russian criminal policy is humanization, as evidenced by the analysis of changes and additions to the criminal law over the past twenty years.

Introduction. The recent escalation of the conflict in the Middle East has led to increased inflation and currency risks, rising unemployment and a drop in GDP. Significant uncertainty about the expected severity and duration of the war has had a significant impact on business economic activity. The central bank of Israel has taken a number of economic measures to cope with the wartime challenges. These include supporting the shekel, reducing the key interest rate, intensifying long-term development loan programs for households and businesses, maintaining price stability and supporting economic growth. Problem Statement. The implementation of Israel's monetary policy under martial law gives rise to scientific discussions on whether to adhere to an expansionary or restrictive monetary policy regime in times of monetary shocks in order to achieve price and financial stability, as well as to create preconditions for sustainable economic growth. The purpose is to examine time horizons of Israel's monetary cycles from 1991 to 2024 using the tools of the key policy rate, to eliminate the gap between the achieved and planned inflation rate and to create conditions for sustainable economic growth. Methods. The study used general scientific and specific methods of scientific knowledge. In particular, the method of historical analysis, abstract and logical, statistical and economic methods. Results. The study identifies eight periods of monetary shocks in Israel: October 1991; September 1994; May 1996; November 1998; June 2002; June 2006; September 2008; April 2022. To determine the date of the monetary shock, the author focuses on the main tool of the Bank of Israel - the key policy rate. In the early stages of monetary cycles, the Central Bank of Israel tried to curb inflation and support the recovery of investment. Over the long-term monetary policy horizon, the central bank focused its efforts on gradually reducing the key policy rate and anchoring inflation expectations to continue to reduce inflation and achieve price stability typical of developed countries. Despite the presence of uncertainty in Israel's military economy, the risk premium in the economy is still high, despite some recent declines. The cautious monetary policy pursued by the Central Bank of Israel prevents significant fluctuations in financial markets, especially in terms of the exchange rate and capital flows, which ultimately has a positive impact on strengthening international investors' confidence in Israel's economic stability under martial law. Israel's small and open economy is also affected by the global environment. Conclusions. The National Bank of Ukraine should study the experience of the central bank of Israel in responding to wartime challenges to price and financial stability. Raising the key policy rate during wartime is not a priority for Israel's monetary policy to mitigate inflationary risks. The latter are largely absorbed by a decline in aggregate demand from households and businesses. The central bank's foreign exchange reserves and external assistance from international partners are used as a priority to mitigate currency risks in a war economy. The real economy is being supported through large-scale loan programs to compensate businesses for lost revenues. The top priority of supporting Israel's war economy is to maintain jobs and aggregate demand at a level that is capable of achieving the planned economic growth indicators. At the same time, achieving the inflation target within the planned one remains an important condition for achieving macroeconomic stability.

Medicine and health are surprisingly separate. In the introduction to his 1963 master work on medical economics, Kenneth Arrow acknowledged that “the subject is the medical-care industry, not health.” In the 50 years that followed, researchers, policymakers, and public health professionals generated valuable and varied insights into health, impacting both behaviors and environments while addressing social determinants and demographic trends. Yet medical care has followed an even steeper upward trajectory, growing rapidly in scientific precision, public esteem, and technical sophistication. As a result, the economic gap between the two domains has widened. The U.S. health care system spends almost $3 trillion annually. Preventive screening and early intervention bridge medical care and health, as do nutrition, behavioral health, aging, and a few other fields. But the money is overwhelmingly in medical care, particularly rescue care for those with acute illnesses or serious (and typically preventable) complications of chronic disease.

This article outlines the principle of efficiency as taken from physics and misapplied into the realm of economics. The result of the misapplication has been a narrow view of antitrust policy, culminating in an extremely conservative application of the consumer welfare standard. The result of such policy has been increasing concentration in many industries, abdication of any examination of monopoly power in the context of Section 2 of the Sherman Act, and dogmatic defense of “consumer welfare” as the only scientific approach to antitrust law. Part II reviews of the original goals of antitrust, as viewed without the lens of present-day economic efficiency. These are policy goals as described in legislative history and judicial development of common law. As such, they are ethical considerations distinct from consumer welfare. In part III, the article discusses the central tenets of economics in antitrust policy. These central notions are policy considerations that are misapplications of physics. Part IV discusses the physics definition of efficiency, with some insights as to the issues arising from adopting such a standard in terms of antitrust markets. Part V addresses the failures of antitrust using the lens of physics, explaining that consumer welfare is an ethical argument, not a scientific one. Part VI addresses other potential ethical standards for antitrust enforcement, as well as empirical evidence that support such norms. Part VII offers concluding thoughts where the article argues that there are superior ethical norms that would boost antitrust enforcement and that are consistent with the goals of antitrust.

This dissertation will take a theoretical approach to analyzing certain challenges in the design of intellectual property rights (`IPR') policy. The first essay looks the advisability of introducing IPR into a market which is currently only very lightly protected - the US fashion industry. The proposed Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act is intended to introduce EU standards into the US. Using a sequential, 2-firm, vertical differentiation framework, I analyze the effects of protection on investment in innovative designs by high-quality (`designer') and lower-quality (`mass-market') firms when the mass-marketer may opt to imitate, consumers prefer trendsetting designs and firms compete in prices. I show that design protection, by transforming mass-marketers from imitators to innovators, may reduce both designer pro ts and welfare. The model provides possible explanations for the dearth of EU case law and the increase in designer/mass-marketer collaborations. The second essay contributes to the literature on patent design and fee shifting, contrasting the effects of the American (or `each party pays') rule and English (or `losing party pays') rule of legal cost allocation on optimal patent breadth when innovation is sequential and firms are differentiated duopolists. I show that if litigation spending is endogenous, the American rule may induce broader patents and a higher probability of infringement than the English rule if R&D costs are sufficiently low. If, however, R&D costs are moderate, the ranking is reversed and it is the English rule that leads to broader patents. Neither rule supports lower patent breadth than the other over the entire parameter space. As such, any attempts to reform the US patent system by narrowing patents must carefully weigh the impact on firms' legal spending decisions if policymakers do not wish to adversely affect investment incentives. The third and final essay analyzes the effects of corporate structure on licensing behaviour. Policymakers and legal scholars are concerned about the potential for an Anticommons, an underuse of early stage research tools to produce complex final products, typically arising from either blocking or stacking. I use a simple, one-period differentiated duopoly model to show that if patentees have flexibility in corporate structure, Anticommons problems are greatly reduced. The model suggests that if the patentee owns the single (or single set) of essential IPR and goods are of symmetric quality, Anticommons issues may be entirely eliminated, as the patentee will always license, simply shifting its corporate structure depending on the identity of the downstream competitor. If the rival produces a more valuable good, Anticommons problems are reduced. Further, if the patentee holds 1 of 2 essential patents, the ability to shift its corporate structure may reduce total licensing costs to rival firms. However the analysis offers a cautionary note: while spin-offs by the patentee help to sustain downstream competition, they may restrict market output, and therefore welfare. Thus the inefficiency in the patent system may be in the opposite direction than is currently thought - there may be too much technology transfer, rather than too little.

The economic reforms under way in most developing countries are directed towards the establishment of an open market economy. These efforts have been initiated in the belief that it is within such an environment that resources could be best utilised in furtherance of economic development. Increasing attention is being directed towards competition law and policy as an essential tool for the attainment of this objective.<br>However, the role and design of competition law and policy ought to reflect the peculiar economic, political and social conditions prevalent in developing countries. Thus, one cannot expect that models of competition suited to developed market economies are applicable ipso facto to developing ones.<br>This thesis identifies some of the peculiarities of the developing country environment, including the nature of domestic markets, and the confluence of political and economic power, and suggests the manner in which these may have to influence competition law and policy in such countries.

<p> Bitcoins were conceptualized in 2008, which revolutionized the digital transfers of value within payment systems (Nakamoto, 2008). The advent of digital currencies revealed problems concerning anonymity embedded in bitcoins, consequently raising money laundering concerns. Regulators and law enforcement agencies struggle with addressing the money laundering issues inherent with bitcoin and digital currencies (Ajello, 2025). In response to these threats, agencies have issued various opinions regarding defining digital currencies within a financial framework. Regulator opinions concerning the applicability of bitcoins existing as currency, property, a commodity and commodity money contradict each other. Moreover; prosecutorial agencies attempt to fit digital currency exchangers under the regulations pertinent to money service businesses (MSB) (Mandjee, 2015; Sonderegger, 2015). This project provided an analysis of scholarly material, government publications, case law, and current trade information to examine a solution to the problem of money laundering through digital currency. This project revealed a need for a clear definition of bitcoin and digital currency within the context of U.S. laws and regulation to assist with investigations concerning illicit uses of digital currency. Furthermore, a need exists for new U.S. legislation specific to digital currency, which addresses money laundering and terrorist finance risks. Research revealed that digital currency regulations should mirror MSB regulations to curb peer-to-peer digital currency exchanges (Kirby, 2014). Additionally, FinCENs purview with financial crimes provides a unique position to assist law enforcement with digital currency investigations (FinCEN, 2014). A need exists for FinCEN to develop a blockchain analysis tool for law enforcement agencies and to assist with complex digital currency investigations (DHS, 2014). Keywords: Economic Crime Management, Financial Crime and Compliance Management, Paul Pantiani, virtual currency, cryptocurrency.</p>

Sri Lanka's trade regime has been gradually liberalized over the last two decades with the aim of deeper integration into the global economy. The purpose of this study is to present a quantitative assessment of the impacts of major unilateral, regional and multilateral trade liberalization on Sri Lanka, and rank the trade policy options in terms of their welfare effects. This study contributes to the empirical literature on trade liberalization. The Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model is used to analyze the welfare effects of trade liberalization in a multi-country, multi-sector general equilibrium framework. The results show that if Sri Lanka implements the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), while maintaining 15 percent external tariffs for the rest of the world, this combined policy would provide the highest welfare gain to Sri Lanka. The SAFTA by its own would provide the second-highest ranked gain from the trade reforms due to the benefits of preferential access to the large SAARC market. The third-highest ranked policy option comes under the unilateral reduction of import tariffs to 15 percent scenario. As results indicate, the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ILFTA) offers the fourth-highest policy option for Sri Lanka. Finally, the phasing-out of MFA on Textiles and Clothing under the Uruguay Round Agreement, rank as the fifth-highest policy option for Sri Lanka. Thus, regional trade liberalization is far more preferable to unilateral and multilateral liberalization. However, as the GTAP model permits, these rankings based on only to the static welfare gains, ignoring the dynamic effect of trade liberalization. In addition, the gravity model has been employed to examine the determinants of Sri Lanka's bilateral trade flows with her selected trading partners, in order to sort out the influence of geographical proximity versus preferential trading policies in creating a regional concentration in trade. Our results confirm the validity of geographical factors such as proximity and cultural familiarity, as determinants of Sri Lanka's trade with neighbouring countries. They suggest that the selected trading partners are “natural trading partners” of Sri Lanka.<br>Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

Zakat is an obligatory payment that a free and rational Muslim who owns a certain amount of wealth has to observe. The idea of zakat investment was initiated by the belief that providing the poor and needy with a non-substantial amount of fund that is mostly used to pay for their consumption is not enough to tackle poverty. Collection of zakat itself also has been shown insufficient even to provide them with a subsistence level of income. Muslim scholars suggest a long-term measure involving the investment of zakat that not only supplement the poor with a stream of income that is more consistent and continuous, equip them with the opportunity for equity participation or provide them with projects that help improve their livelihood but also provide a source of revenue to fund overall Muslim economic development. However, Muslim scholars found that investment of zakat may make the payment legally vulnerable from the Shari>ca (Islamic law) point of view. Thus, many fatwa>s and views have been expressed by the Muslim scholars as guidelines to ensure that the investment activities conform to Shari>ca. This study examines contemporary policy and practice in the management of zakat investment in Malaysia, particularly at two zakat institutions: Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan and Lembaga Zakat Selangor. These two institutions are selected because they are the most vibrant zakat institutions in the country in terms of zakat revenue and they also are the most active in investing zakat. Given the many background complaints about the institutions’ inefficiencies in managing zakat particularly the large amount of undistributed zakat, it is thus pertinent to analyze the compliancy of these investment activities with the principles and purposes of zakat. The study finds that these institutions accordingly have moulded their investment activities not only to observe the principles of zakat but also according to the modern changes in the administration of zakat in the country as well as to cater for the recipients’ current needs. The study also finds that various policies have been set up to guide the management of these investment activities. Still, there remain numerous possibilities for improving these further.

This program of work examines the effects of policy, ethics, and economics on the emerging field of stem cell research. The research seeks to understand how these factors influence the actions of stem cell scientists working in the United States and other jurisdictions, and collectively, these how these actions change the trajectory of a new biomedical field. In this work, I ask three fundamental questions: 1) In the United States, what are the political, social, and historical contexts that affect the deliberations of stem cell scientists? 2) How do stem cell scientists and other stakeholders describe their social worlds and their decisions as they grapple with policy, ethics, law, and economics in a rapidly evolving and controversial area of bioscience? And, 3) How do these individual and collective actions change the trajectory of stem cell research and experimental treatments for disability and disease? An approach using mixed methods is used to qualitatively and quantitatively examine these questions in four studies. Results of the first study describe the history of stem cell research in the United States, showing how the field is defined through its ethical, social, scientific and political discourse. The second, quantitative, project probes how embryonic stem cell scientists obtain and use essential research tools to do their work, and how policy can impact international trends in productivity. How stakeholders such as patients, scientists, and government officials communicate the results of stem cell research through the popular media forms the basis of the third quantitative effort. The final study is devoted to an in-depth ethical analysis of the world's first clinical trial using human embryonic stem cells. Overall, the results from this research provide new evidence that policy makers, patients, scientists, and stakeholders can use for navigating what is arguably called science's most promising frontier.

How should the experimental use mechanism be designed in order to maintain the proper balance between the rights of patent holders and the rights retained by the public? The work explores various approaches towards the experimental use exemption in influential regions, such as US UK Germany Japan as well as in international treaties. In each of these systems some degree of vulnerability is found. Either exemption is too narrow or too broad and lacking a dynamic dimension. Therefore, the work sets out to design a dynamic and multi-step experimental use mechanism. The work proposes to view the experimental use mechanism as a right provided to the public and in turn as a duty imposed on the patent holder to suggest path/s of exploration with regard to the patented invention. This approach significantly strengthens the experimental use mechanism as it becomes part of the bundle of requirements that an inventor needs to comply with in order to obtain a patent grant. The scope of the experimental use mechanism will be determined by a three step process. In the first stage the positions and interests of the inventor, invention and researcher will be taken into account in order to determine the incentives needed to cause inventors to stay within the patent system and at the same time prevent researches from migrating to other regions. In the second stage the scope of the experimental use mechanism will be impacted by the determination whether either party adopted anticompetitive behavior. The final step will inquire whether the invention or the research is geared at improving public health. In these instances there will be a tendency to increase the scope of the experimental use mechanism due to the internationally recognized right to health and its global importance. The work incorporates concepts from different legal fields such as competition law and health policy as well as from other disciplines including economics and psychology The three step process has the potential of designing a dynamic and robust experimental use mechanism which may prove to be useful in other patent settings such as the holdup problem or blocking patents. Incorporating a flexible experimental use mechanism may diminish the attempts of patent holders to act opportunistically and curtail the rights of the public. Thus, the work contributes to the current state of the experimental use debate and towards achieving the proper balance between the rights of the patent holder and the rights of the public.

<p> Abstract of Dissertation Loan Awarding Practices and Student Demographic Variables as Predictors of Law Student Borrowing This study examined the effect of institutional loan awarding practices and student demographic characteristics on law student borrowing, in order to contribute to our understanding of student borrowing decisions. Behavioral economic concepts like framing and status quo bias suggest that decisions about borrowing may not be made using a rational cost-benefit analysis alone, as traditional economic theory suggests, but may also be influenced by the loan amount that an institution initially awards a student. The amount initially awarded represents the status quo, which, for a variety of possible reasons, the student may be inclined to accept, even if he is eligible to borrow more. </p><p> Using three years of student borrowing data from a law school, multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the effect of initial loan amount offered and 15 additional independent variables on loan amount borrowed. The law school data provided a unique opportunity to study student loan borrowing decisions because the institution followed two different loan awarding practices in the three academic years for which data was obtained. This provided a quasi-experimental environment in which to study the effect of initial loan amount awarded on loan amount borrowed. </p><p> Altogether, the model explained nearly half of the variance in loan amount borrowed and initial loan amount offered explained 5.4 percent of the variance in loan amount borrowed holding all other variables in the model constant. In addition to initial loan amount offered, the following variables were also found to be statistically significant predictors of loan amount borrowed: Asian race, age, being married, Expected Family Contribution, cost of attendance, class level, student status, total credits, and total non-loan aid. It was also found that there was no statistically significant difference in the relation between initial loan amount offered and loan amount borrowed in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, under the old awarding practice, as compared with 2010-2011, when a new awarding practice was in place. This suggests that students responded similarly to the initial loan amount offered, or the status quo amount, under both the old and new awarding practices.</p>

The monograph is devoted to the conceptualization of scientific law as a special branch of Russian law with all the necessary attributes: subject, method, principles. Special attention is paid to the need to codify legislation on scientific and innovative activities, to significantly update the current law on science, to develop a new concept for the development of legislation on science. Such problems as state policy in the field of science and technology, the legal status of a scientist, scientific organizations, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the legal regime of scientific works are considered. It is almost the first time that the legal forms of financing scientific activities are touched upon. The legal models of integration and cooperation in the field of science of Russia and foreign countries within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union are separately touched upon. For scientists and teachers, graduate students and students of law, humanities and other fields of study (specialties). It may be useful for a wide range of readers interested in scientific and technical policy issues.

The current stage of development of the world economy is characterized by such trends as the rapid development of scientific and technological progress, post-industrialization, globalization, transnationalization, regionalization and the development of integration processes in the world economy.&#x0D; The process of globalization has led not only to the unification of the economic space, when uniform standards for financial reporting, the activities of financial organizations, tax policy, but also technology, ecology, law, employment policy, education and culture appeared.&#x0D; In addition to the positive trends caused by these objective processes, certain problems have arisen.&#x0D; This monograph is a collective work of teachers and students of the Department of Economic Security, Accounting and Law of the Don State Technical University. It is devoted to the consideration of certain world and Russian trends and problems in the field of economics.

The scientific and practical guide is devoted to the formation of a comprehensive and systematic approach to improving the activities of the court and preliminary investigation bodies in cases of crimes committed in the field of business and other economic activities (including taking into account the experience of law enforcement practice in criminal prosecution of entrepreneurs in a number of foreign countries). The problem of establishing a balance between the duties of judicial and investigative bodies within their competence to take measures to ensure economic security and to respect the rights and legitimate interests of entrepreneurs involved in criminal proceedings is considered.&#x0D; &#x0D; The author defines the main directions and forms of modern criminal policy in this area; gives a General description of the criminal legal situation in terms of ensuring economic security; identifies additional guarantees of the rights and legitimate interests of entrepreneurs provided in the implementation of law enforcement activities. Particular importance is attached to the study of substantive and criminal procedural mechanisms used in criminal proceedings on economic crimes.&#x0D; &#x0D; For researchers, practicing lawyers, representatives of the business community, teachers, postgraduates, students of law schools and faculties, as well as for a wide range of readers interested in this issue.

Abstract In most countries of the world, sustainability issues are viewed by the public as of increasing importance and animal welfare is perceived to be both a public good and a key aspect of these issues. European Union animal welfare policy and legislation on animal welfare has helped animals, has had much positive influence in the world and has improved the public image of the EU. Health is a key part of welfare and the one-health and one-welfare approaches emphasize that these terms mean the same for humans and non-humans. The animals that humans use are described as sentient beings in EU legislation. Scientific information about animal welfare, like that produced by EFSA, is used in the formulation of the wide range of EU animal welfare laws. The European Commission has an animal welfare strategy including the Animal Welfare Platform. However, most kinds of animals kept in the EU are not covered by legislation, and they are subject to some of the worst animal welfare problems, so a general animal welfare law and specific laws on several species are needed. Animal sentience and welfare should be mentioned, using accurate scientific terminology, in many trade-related laws as well as in animal-specific laws.

AbstractEven after 11 years, the Fukushima accident is not completely over yet. Technological challenges for decommissioning of Fukushima are unprecedented. Economic, social, and humanitarian impacts are huge and will remain for a long time. The Fukushima nuclear accident completely changed the energy picture in Japan. Nuclear energy is no longer most reliable, least expensive, “main” power source in Japan. Japan’s long-term energy policy is self-inconsistent, stating “Japan will reduce its dependence on nuclear power as much as possible,” but maintains it as an important option for carbon neutral policy. But mainly due to poor economics, role of nuclear power in carbon neutral policy could be limited. Given the Ukrainian crisis, international community must strengthen international law and norms to protect all nuclear facilities, in particular, sensitive facilities, against military attack. Finally, lessons learned from the Fukushima accidents are: (1) Think unthinkable (2) Engineering risk assessment is not enough (3) Need for independent scientific advice/policy review organization (4) Public trust is essential.

The valorisation of a healthcare model centred on the active role of the patient has allowed its assimilation, from a legal perspective, to the figure of the consumer, characterised by ontological vulnerability and information asymmetry. This analogy is convincing in the hypothesis of the patient-direct user of medical devices, while it is more problematic in the presence of a therapeutic relationship between the patient and the healthcare provider, in particular medical facility. The assessment of compatibility between consumer and care relationship is conducted through the analysis of the European legislation on the notion of consumer (Dir. 93/13/EEC), and of the case law of the CJEU, which is reluctant to undue extensions of protection (cf. C-177/22), albeit with variable geometry. The study of case law about product liability (Dir. 85/374/EEC; Proposal 2022/495), shows the application of the discipline to damages suffered by any injured party, even without the status of consumer. This paper critiques the consumer metaphor, a view shared by American doctrine (Gusmano et al., 2019), not only for reasons of economic policy (e.g., inapplicability of the rule of supply and demand to the healthcare market), but also due to the distinct nature of the interests involved: commercial in the consumer relationship and existential in the care relationship, which seeks to protect the fundamental right to health (Art. 35 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU).

Social and economic inequality in different countries or regions can be a significant obstacle to the implementation of an effective environmental policy. In general, people who are economically disadvantaged are often the most vulnerable to the negative impacts of environmental degradation and climate change. They may also lack the political power and resources to advocate for policies that protect their interests. For example, low-income communities are disproportionately affected by pollution and environmental hazards, such as toxic waste landfills and air pollution from factories and highways. Typically, these communities do not have the financial resources or political clout to demand that their government take action to address these issues. Economic inequality can create a political climate that is less favorable to environmental regulation. Wealthy societies or corporations generally have the resources to lobby against environmental protection or fund political campaigns of candidates who oppose environmental regulation. Social and economic inequality can lead to a lack of public trust in state institutions and skepticism regarding the effectiveness of environmental policies. If people do not feel that their government is working for them or that policies are against them, they may be less likely to support environmental initiatives, even if they benefit from them. For this reason, it is important to address social and economic inequality as part of any comprehensive approach to environmental policy. Typically, these measures include increasing access to education and job opportunities, investing in public transport and renewable energy infrastructure, and ensuring that vulnerable communities have a seat at the table in policy discussions. By tackling inequality and poverty, we can build a fairer and more sustainable society that is better equipped to deal with the environmental challenges we face.

The scope of this paper encompasses an analysis of the leniency policy introduced by the European Union (EU) public enforcement of competi­tion law and its interaction with private enforcement of competition law, par­ticularly focusing on the approach and challenges of Albania as an EU candi­date country. The purpose of this study is to examine the nature, characteristics, and effec­tiveness of the EU leniency policy within the context of competition law en­forcement. It investigates how the leniency policy affects private enforcement of competition law, particularly in relation to evidence disclosure and joint and several liability. Even though private and public enforcement of compe­tition law are considered to be complementary, the practice has shown that conflicts may arise, especially with the implementation of leniency policy. In addition, this paper aims to examine the Albanian approach to leniency pol­icy and examine possible challenges of the Albanian private enforcement of competition law. The methodology employed in this study includes a desk review and a com­parative study. The desk review methodology encompasses an analytical re­view of EU standards, treaties, and secondary legislation, Albanian legislation on civil judicial procedure and the public enforcement of competition law. Second, the comparative analysis is conducted to highlight similarities and differences between EU and Albanian competition law concerning leniency policy. In addition, the US example and its substantially different approach to­wards private enforcement of competition law is examined. The findings of this paper contribute to an understanding of the complex re­lationship between the EU public and private enforcement of the EU competi­tion law (especially during leniency proceedings) and its implications for Alba­nian practice. Lastly, this study’s findings provide new insights into the EU-ori­ented future of the Albanian competition law, offering suggestions for possi­ble amendments to the actual national competition legislation.

The electronic training course "History of Medicine" is compiled in accordance with the requirements of the federal state educational standard of higher education 3++ for specialties 05/31/2011. Medical care, 05/32.01. Preventive medicine, 05/31/02. Pediatrics, 05/31/03. Dentistry The purpose of the course is to study the history, patterns and logic of the development of healing, medicine and healthcare of the peoples of the world from antiquity to the beginning of the XXI century. Course objectives: to teach students to objectively analyze historical phenomena, achievements and prospects for the development of medicine and healthcare; to reveal the achievements of outstanding civilizations in the field of medicine in the context of the progressive development of mankind; to show the interaction of national and international factors in the formation of medical science and practice in various regions of the globe; to inculcate ethical principles of medical practice and the historical conditions of their formation in various countries; to cultivate high moral qualities in students: love for their profession, loyalty to duty, feelings of humanism and patriotism; expand the general scientific and cultural horizons of students. to form among students the most important cultural and historical guidelines for the civil self-identification of the individual, the assimilation of basic professional values and competencies; to develop the ability to analyze and compare medical information about the past contained in various sources; to motivate students to maintain their health and lead a healthy lifestyle. The complexity of the course: 72 classroom hours are allocated for the study of this discipline, including 36 hours of lectures and 36 hours of seminars.

Between 2-4% of researchers admit to have falsified or fabricated their data. The prevalence of such unethical behavior can be as high as 10% in some disciplines or countries. Data falsification is an extreme form of questionable research practices that are both less problematic and much more widespread: surveys on different disciplines have shown that more than half of researchers make some form of selective reporting or add new data until they obtain significant results. Unethical practices harm the global quality of research. Provided they have been validated by peer review, fabricated, distorted or selected data are featured in literature review or meta-analysis. They can in turn influence directions for future research or, even, policy decisions with wide range implications in health, economics or politics. Negative incentives have attracted significant attention: publishers, institutions and research evaluators tend to favor unprecedented research that does not simply confirm common hypotheses. The lack of proper tools, standards and workflows to deal efficiently with data is also a fundamental issue. In most disciplines, data collection is not well organized nor maintained: it has been estimated that as much as half of the datasets created from the 1990s in life science are already lost. Questionable research practices partly stem from common deficiencies in scientific data management. Open science and data sharing have recently emerged as a common framework to solve issues of research integrity. While initially focused on access to publications, the open science movement is more broadly concerned with transparency at all the stages of the research lifecycle. The diffusion of datasets in open repositories and infrastructures has already largely solved major issues of long term preservation. It also ensures that potential errors or adjustments to statistical indicators can be subsequently corrected, as posterior analysis and replications have access to the original data source. Open science is now increasingly integrated into ethical standards, following community-led initiatives like the TOP Guidelines (2014). The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity from 2017 includes full requirements for open access, open data and reproducible workflow: “Researchers, research institutions and organizations ensure access to data is as open as possible, as closed as necessary”. The Hong Kong principles for assessing researchers (2020) acknowledge open science as one of the five pillars of scientific integrity. Open science is changing the nature of the debate over research integrity which had remained until now largely detached from the public space. 60%-90% of the audience of open scientific platforms comes from non-academic professionals and private citizens. This increased diffusion creates new responsibilities but also new opportunities to involve non-academic stakeholders in the spirit of citizen science.

Executive Summary This report describes a series of experiments carried out by PRICE Lab, a research programme at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) jointly funded by the Central Bank of Ireland, the Commission for Energy Regulation, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Commission for Communications Regulation. The experiments were conducted with samples of Irish consumers aged 18-70 years and were designed to answer the following general research question: At what point do products become too complex for consumers to choose accurately between the good ones and the bad ones? BACKGROUND AND METHODS PRICE Lab represents a departure from traditional methods employed for economic research in Ireland. It belongs to the rapidly expanding area of ‘behavioural economics’, which is the application of psychological insights to economic analysis. In recent years, behavioural economics has developed novel methods and generated many new findings, especially in relation to the choices made by consumers. These scientific advances have implications both for economics and for policy. They suggest that consumers often do not make decisions in the way that economists have traditionally assumed. The findings show that consumers have limited capacity for attending to and processing information and that they are prone to systematic biases, all of which may lead to disadvantageous choices. In short, consumers may make costly mistakes. Research has indeed documented that in several key consumer markets, including financial services, utilities and telecommunications, many consumers struggle to choose the best products for themselves. It is often argued that these markets involve ‘complex’ products. The obvious question that arises is whether consumer policy can be used to help them to make better choices when faced with complex products. Policies are more likely to be successful where they are informed by an accurate understanding of how real consumers make decisions between products. To provide evidence for consumer policy, PRICE Lab has developed a method for measuring the accuracy with which consumers make choices, using techniques adapted from the scientific study of human perception. The method allows researchers to measure how reliably consumers can distinguish a good deal from a bad one. A good deal is defined here as one where the product is more valuable than the price paid. In other words, it offers good value for money or, in the jargon of economics, offers the consumer a ‘surplus’. Conversely, a bad deal offers poor value for money, providing no (or a negative) surplus. PRICE Lab’s main experimental method, which we call the ‘Surplus Identification’ (S-ID) task, allows researchers to measure how accurately consumers can spot a surplus and whether they are prone to systematic biases. Most importantly, the S-ID task can be used to study how the accuracy of consumers’ decisions changes as the type of product changes. For the experiments we report here, samples of consumers arrived at the ESRI one at a time and spent approximately one hour doing the S-ID task with different kinds of products, which were displayed on a computer screen. They had to learn to judge the value of one or more products against prices and were then tested for accuracy. As well as people’s intrinsic motivation to do well when their performance on a task like this is tested, we provided an incentive: one in every ten consumers who attended PRICE Lab won a prize, based on their performance. Across a series of these experiments, we were able to test how the accuracy of consumers’ decisions was affected by the number and nature of the product’s characteristics, or ‘attributes’, which they had to take into account in order to distinguish good deals from bad ones. In other words, we were able to study what exactly makes for a ‘complex’ product, in the sense that consumers find it difficult to choose good deals. FINDINGS Overall, across all ten experiments described in this report, we found that consumers’ judgements of the value of products against prices were surprisingly inaccurate. Even when the product was simple, meaning that it consisted of just one clearly perceptible attribute (e.g. the product was worth more when it was larger), consumers required a surplus of around 16-26 per cent of the total price range in order to be able to judge accurately that a deal was a good one rather than a bad one. Put another way, when most people have to map a characteristic of a product onto a range of prices, they are able to distinguish at best between five and seven levels of value (e.g. five levels might be thought of as equivalent to ‘very bad’, ‘bad’, ‘average’, ‘good’, ‘very good’). Furthermore, we found that judgements of products against prices were not only imprecise, but systematically biased. Consumers generally overestimated what products at the top end of the range were worth and underestimated what products at the bottom end of the range were worth, typically by as much as 10-15 per cent and sometimes more. We then systematically increased the complexity of the products, first by adding more attributes, so that the consumers had to take into account, two, three, then four different characteristics of the product simultaneously. One product might be good on attribute A, not so good on attribute B and available at just above the xii | PRICE Lab: An Investigation of Consumers’ Capabilities with Complex Products average price; another might be very good on A, middling on B, but relatively expensive. Each time the consumer’s task was to judge whether the deal was good or bad. We would then add complexity by introducing attribute C, then attribute D, and so on. Thus, consumers had to negotiate multiple trade-offs. Performance deteriorated quite rapidly once multiple attributes were in play. Even the best performers could not integrate all of the product information efficiently – they became substantially more likely to make mistakes. Once people had to consider four product characteristics simultaneously, all of which contributed equally to the monetary value of the product, a surplus of more than half the price range was required for them to identify a good deal reliably. This was a fundamental finding of the present experiments: once consumers had to take into account more than two or three different factors simultaneously their ability to distinguish good and bad deals became strikingly imprecise. This finding therefore offered a clear answer to our primary research question: a product might be considered ‘complex’ once consumers must take into account more than two or three factors simultaneously in order to judge whether a deal is good or bad. Most of the experiments conducted after we obtained these strong initial findings were designed to test whether consumers could improve on this level of performance, perhaps for certain types of products or with sufficient practice, or whether the performance limits uncovered were likely to apply across many different types of product. An examination of individual differences revealed that some people were significantly better than others at judging good deals from bad ones. However the differences were not large in comparison to the overall effects recorded; everyone tested struggled once there were more than two or three product attributes to contend with. People with high levels of numeracy and educational attainment performed slightly better than those without, but the improvement was small. We also found that both the high level of imprecision and systematic bias were not reduced substantially by giving people substantial practice and opportunities to learn – any improvements were slow and incremental. A series of experiments was also designed to test whether consumers’ capability was different depending on the type of product attribute. In our initial experiments the characteristics of the products were all visual (e.g., size, fineness of texture, etc.). We then performed similar experiments where the relevant product information was supplied as numbers (e.g., percentages, amounts) or in categories (e.g., Type A, Rating D, Brand X), to see whether performance might improve. This question is important, as most financial and contractual information is supplied to consumers in a numeric or categorical form. The results showed clearly that the type of product information did not matter for the level of imprecision and bias in consumers’ decisions – the results were essentially the same whether the product attributes were visual, numeric or categorical. What continued to drive performance was how many characteristics the consumer had to judge simultaneously. Thus, our findings were not the result of people failing to perceive or take in information accurately. Rather, the limiting factor in consumers’ capability was how many different factors they had to weigh against each other at the same time. In most of our experiments the characteristics of the product and its monetary value were related by a one-to-one mapping; each extra unit of an attribute added the same amount of monetary value. In other words, the relationships were all linear. Because other findings in behavioural economics suggest that consumers might struggle more with non-linear relationships, we designed experiments to test them. For example, the monetary value of a product might increase more when the amount of one attribute moves from very low to low, than when it moves from high to very high. We found that this made no difference to either the imprecision or bias in consumers’ decisions provided that the relationship was monotonic (i.e. the direction of the relationship was consistent, so that more or less of the attribute always meant more or less monetary value respectively). When the relationship involved a turning point (i.e. more of the attribute meant higher monetary value but only up to a certain point, after which more of the attribute meant less value) consumers’ judgements were more imprecise still. Finally, we tested whether familiarity with the type of product improved performance. In most of the experiments we intentionally used products that were new to the experimental participants. This was done to ensure experimental control and so that we could monitor learning. In the final experiment reported here, we used two familiar products (Dublin houses and residential broadband packages) and tested whether consumers could distinguish good deals from bad deals any better among these familiar products than they could among products that they had never seen before, but which had the same number and type of attributes and price range. We found that consumers’ performance was the same for these familiar products as for unfamiliar ones. Again, what primarily determined the amount of imprecision and bias in consumers’ judgments was the number of attributes that they had to balance against each other, regardless of whether these were familiar or novel. POLICY IMPLICATIONS There is a menu of consumer polices designed to assist consumers in negotiating complex products. A review, including international examples, is given in the main body of the report. The primary aim is often to simplify the consumer’s task. Potential policies, versions of which already exist in various forms and which cover a spectrum of interventionist strength, might include: the provision and endorsement of independent, transparent price comparison websites and other choice engines (e.g. mobile applications, decision software); the provision of high quality independent consumer advice; ‘mandated simplification’, whereby regulations stipulate that providers must present product information in a simplified and standardised format specifically determined by regulation; and more strident interventions such as devising and enforcing prescriptive rules and regulations in relation to permissible product descriptions, product features or price structures. The present findings have implications for such policies. However, while the experimental findings have implications for policy, it needs to be borne in mind that the evidence supplied here is only one factor in determining whether any given intervention in markets is likely to be beneficial. The findings imply that consumers are likely to struggle to choose well in markets with products consisting of multiple important attributes that must all be factored in when making a choice. Interventions that reduce this kind of complexity for consumers may therefore be beneficial, but nothing in the present research addresses the potential costs of such interventions, or how providers are likely to respond to them. The findings are also general in nature and are intended to give insights into consumer choices across markets. There are likely to be additional factors specific to certain markets that need to be considered in any analysis of the costs and benefits of a potential policy change. Most importantly, the policy implications discussed here are not specific to Ireland or to any particular product market. Furthermore, they should not be read as criticisms of existing regulatory regimes, which already go to some lengths in assisting consumers to deal with complex products. Ireland currently has extensive regulations designed to protect consumers, both in general and in specific markets, descriptions of which can be found in Section 9.1 of the main report. Nevertheless, the experiments described here do offer relevant guidance for future policy designs. For instance, they imply that while policies that make it easier for consumers to switch providers may be necessary to encourage active consumers, they may not be sufficient, especially in markets where products are complex. In order for consumers to benefit, policies that help them to identify better deals reliably may also be required, given the scale of inaccuracy in consumers’ decisions that we record in this report when products have multiple important attributes. Where policies are designed to assist consumer decisions, the present findings imply quite severe limits in relation to the volume of information consumers can simultaneously take into account. Good impartial Executive Summary | xv consumer advice may limit the volume of information and focus on ensuring that the most important product attributes are recognised by consumers. The findings also have implications for the role of competition. While consumers may obtain substantial potential benefits from competition, their capabilities when faced with more complex products are likely to reduce such benefits. Pressure from competition requires sufficient numbers of consumers to spot and exploit better value offerings. Given our results, providers with larger market shares may face incentives to increase the complexity of products in an effort to dampen competitive pressure and generate more market power. Where marketing or pricing practices result in prices or attributes with multiple components, our findings imply that consumer choices are likely to become less accurate. Policymakers must of course be careful in determining whether such practices amount to legitimate innovations with potential consumer benefit. Yet there is a genuine danger that spurious complexity can be generated that confuses consumers and protects market power. The results described here provide backing for the promotion and/or provision by policymakers of high-quality independent choice engines, including but not limited to price comparison sites, especially in circumstances where the number of relevant product attributes is high. A longer discussion of the potential benefits and caveats associated with such policies is contained in the main body of the report. Mandated simplification policies are gaining in popularity internationally. Examples include limiting the number of tariffs a single energy company can offer or standardising health insurance products, both of which are designed to simplify the comparisons between prices and/or product attributes. The present research has some implications for what might make a good mandate. Consumer decisions are likely to be improved where a mandate brings to the consumer’s attention the most important product attributes at the point of decision. The present results offer guidance with respect to how many key attributes consumers are able simultaneously to trade off, with implications for the design of standardised disclosures. While bearing in mind the potential for imposing costs, the results also suggest benefits to compulsory ‘meta-attributes’ (such as APRs, energy ratings, total costs, etc.), which may help consumers to integrate otherwise separate sources of information. FUTURE RESEARCH The experiments described here were designed to produce findings that generalise across multiple product markets. However, in addition to the results outlined in this report, the work has resulted in new experimental methods that can be applied to more specific consumer policy issues. This is possible because the methods generate experimental measures of the accuracy of consumers’ decision-making. As such, they can be adapted to assess the quality of consumers’ decisions in relation to specific products, pricing and marketing practices. Work is underway in PRICE Lab that applies these methods to issues in specific markets, including those for personal loans, energy and mobile phones.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence, an NIJ program hosted a four-day symposium, January 11–14, 2022. The symposium included presentations and panel discussions on topics relevant to recent advances in firearm and toolmark examination with a focus on the future. The symposium brought together 685 criminal justice processionals to explore implementation of three-dimensional (3D) imaging technologies, best practices for forensic examination of firearm and toolmark evidence, federal initiatives, gun crime intelligence, black box studies on firearm and toolmark examination, legal challenges to the admissibility of current examination of firearm and toolmark evidence and engineering solutions that will be used in court in the future, implementation of Organization of Scientific Area Committee (OSAC) standards and reporting, uniform language in testimony and conclusion scales. The panel discussions and presentations and provided examples of how agencies implement new imaging technologies for firearms and toolmark examination, incorporate statistics to add weight to forensic comparisons, address legal issues, and operationalize forensic intelligence to improve public safety and share information with the justice community. The symposium also provided a platform to discuss a series of considerations for the forensic, law enforcement, and greater criminal justice community that could help support a successful national transition to incorporate statistics in forensic testimony and accelerate the adoption of imaging technologies for firearm and toolmark examination.

Several factors contribute to Surinames particular vulnerability to the effects of climate change. It is dependent on fossil fuels, has forests liable to decay, fragile ecosystems, and its low-lying coastal area accounts for 87% of the population and most of the countrys economic activity. Many sectors are at risk of suffering losses and damage caused by gradual changes and extreme events related to climate change. For Suriname to develop sustainably, it should incorporate climate change and its effects into its decision-making process based on scientific- evidence. The State of the Climate Report analyzes Surinames historical climate (1990-2014) and provides climate projections for three time horizons (2020-2044, 2045-2069, 2070-2094) through two emissions scenarios (intermediate/ SSP2-4.5 and severe/ SSP5-8.5). The analysis focuses on changes in sea level, temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and winds for the seven subnational locations of Paramaribo, Albina, Bigi Pan MUMA, Brokopondo, Kwamalasamutu, Tafelberg Natural Reserve, and Upper Tapanahony. The Report also analyzes climate risk for the countrys ten districts by examining the factors which increase their exposure and vulnerability on the four most important sectors affected by climate change: infrastructure, agriculture, water, and forestry, as well as examining the effects across the sectors. The State of the Climate provides essential inputs for Suriname to develop and update its climate change policies and targets. These policies and targets should serve as enablers for an adequate mainstreaming of climate change adaptation and resilience enhancement into day-to-day government operations.

Germany is a parliamentary democracy (The Federal Government, 2021) with two politically independent levels of 1) Federal (Bund) and 2) State (Länder or Bundesländer), and has a highly differentiated decentralized system of Government and administration (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, 2021). The 16 states in Germany have their own government and legislations which means the federal authority has the responsibility of formulating policy, and the states are responsible for implementation (Franzke, 2020). The Federal Government supports the states in dealing with extraordinary danger and the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) supports the states' operations with technology, expertise and other services (Federal Ministry of Interior, Building and Community, 2020). Due to the decentralized system of government, the Federal Government does not have the power to impose pandemic emergency measures. In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to slowdown the spread of coronavirus, on 16 March 2020 the federal and state governments attempted to harmonize joint guidelines, however one month later State governments started to act more independently (Franzke &amp; Kuhlmann, 2021). In Germany, health insurance is compulsory and more than 11% of Germany’s GDP goes into healthcare spending (Federal Statistical Office, 2021). Health related policy at the federal level is the primary responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Health. This ministry supervises institutions dealing with higher level of public health including the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute (PEI), the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the Federal Centre for Health Education (Federal Ministry of Health, 2020). The first German National Pandemic Plan (NPP), published in 2005, comprises two parts. Part one, updated in 2017, provides a framework for the pandemic plans of the states and the implementation plans of the municipalities, and part two, updated in 2016, is the scientific part of the National Pandemic Plan (Robert Koch Institut, 2017). The joint Federal-State working group on pandemic planning was established in 2005. A pandemic plan for German citizens abroad was published by the German Foreign Office on its website in 2005 (Robert Koch Institut, 2017). In 2007, the federal and state Governments, under the joint leadership of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Health, simulated influenza pandemic exercise called LÜKEX 07, and trained cross-states and cross-department crisis management (Bundesanstalt Technisches Hilfswerk, 2007b). In 2017, within the context of the G20, Germany ran a health emergency simulation exercise with representatives from WHO and the World Bank to prepare for future pandemic events (Federal Ministry of Health et al., 2017). By the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, on 27 February 2020, a joint crisis team of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) was established (Die Bundesregierung, 2020a). On 4 March 2020 RKI published a Supplement to the National Pandemic Plan for COVID-19 (Robert Koch Institut, 2020d), and on 28 March 2020, a law for the protection of the population in an epidemic situation of national scope (Infektionsschutzgesetz) came into force (Bundesgesundheitsministerium, 2020b). In the first early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Germany managed to slow down the speed of the outbreak but was less successful in dealing with the second phase. Coronavirus-related information and measures were communicated through various platforms including TV, radio, press conferences, federal and state government official homepages, social media and applications. In mid-March 2020, the federal and state governments implemented extensive measures nationwide for pandemic containment. Step by step, social distancing and shutdowns were enforced by all Federal States, involving closing schools, day-cares and kindergartens, pubs, restaurants, shops, prayer services, borders, and imposing a curfew. To support those affected financially by the pandemic, the German Government provided large economic packages (Bundesministerium der Finanzen, 2020). These measures have adopted to the COVID-19 situation and changed over the pandemic. On 22 April 2020, the clinical trial of the corona vaccine was approved by Paul Ehrlich Institute, and in late December 2020, the distribution of vaccination in Germany and all other EU countries

The starting point of the research project was the hypothesis that the "principle of proportionality", which is fundamental to law, is related to the "economic principle". The resulting methodological similarities were intended to enable a cross-disciplinary bridge to be built, which would allow the findings of economic analysis to be made fruitful for legal issues. This was practically tested in three study areas in order to be able to better classify the performance of the analytical tools. The foundations for interdisciplinary bridge building are found in the rational-choice paradigm. In both disciplines, this paradigm calls for an examination of the relationship between the purpose-means-relations: among the design options under consideration, the one must be selected that is expected to be as (freedom- or resource-) sparing as possible, in other words, the most "waste-free" solution to the control problem.The results of the economic analysis can thus be "translated" in such a way that, within the framework of "necessity", they support the search for control instruments that are equivalent to the objective but less disruptive. supports. The core of the positive economic analysis is the motivational situation of those actors whose behavior is to be influenced by a changed legal framework. In this context, the classical behavioral model of economics proved to be too limited. It therefore had to be developed further in line with the findings of research in institutional economics into homo oeconomicus institutionalis. This behavioral model takes into account not only the consequentialist, strictly situational utility orientation of the model person, but also other factors influencing behavior, including above all those that are institutionally mediated. If one takes the motivational situation of the actors as the starting point for policy-advising design recommendations, it becomes apparent that an understanding of governance dominated by imperative behavioral specifications leads to less favorable results, both in terms of the degree to which goals are achieved and in terms of the freedom-impairing effects, than a mixed-instrument approach oriented toward the model of "responsive regulation." According to this model, the law can no longer simply assume that those subject to the law will "obediently" execute the legal commands. It must ask itself what other factors determine behavior and under what boundary conditions changes can be expected in the direction of the desired behavior. For this reason, too, it must engage with the cognitive program of the behavioral sciences. This linkage opens up new perspectives for interdisciplinary research on the consequences of laws.

The experiences and marginalisation of international organisation employees with caring responsibilities has a direct negative impact on the type of security and justice being built in conflict-affected environments. This is in large part because international organisations fail to respond to the needs of those with caring responsibilities, which leads to their early departure from the field, and negatively affects their work while in post. In this toolkit we describe this problem, the exacerbating factors, and challenges to overcoming it. We offer a theory of change demonstrating how caring for carers can both improve the working conditions of employees of international organisations as well as the effectiveness, inclusivity and responsiveness of peace and justice interventions. This is important because it raises awareness among employers in the sector of the severity of the problem and its consequences. We also offer a guide for employers for how to take the caring responsibilities of their employees into account when developing human resource policies and practices, designing working conditions and planning interventions. Finally, we underscore the importance of conducting research on the gendered impacts of the marginalisation of employees with caring responsibilities, not least because of the breadth and depth of resultant individual, organisational and sectoral harms. In this regard, we also draw attention to the way in which gender stereotypes and gender biases not only inform and undermine peacebuilding efforts, but also permeate research in this field. Our toolkit is aimed at international organisation employees, employers and human resources personnel, as well as students and scholars of peacebuilding and international development. We see these communities of knowledge and action as overlapping, with insights to be brought to bear as well as challenges to be overcome in this area. The content of the toolkit is equally relevant across these knowledge communities as well as between different specialisms and disciplines. Peacebuilding and development draw in experts from economics, politics, anthropology, sociology and law, to name but a few. The authors of this toolkit have come together from gender studies, political science, and development studies to develop a theory of change informed by interdisciplinary insights. We hope, therefore, that this toolkit will be useful to an inclusive and interdisciplinary set of knowledge communities. Our core argument - that caring for carers benefits the individual, the sectors, and the intended beneficiaries of interventions - is relevant for students, researchers, policy makers and practitioners alike.

For the first time in Ukrainian journalism, the issue of totalitarian journalism has been outlined. The basis of the analysis is the archival materials of the Chernivtsi regional newspaper «Soviet Bukovyna» founded in 1940, which was re-registered in 1991 with the name «Bukovyna». The specifics of the formation of the assets of «pen workers» during the Soviet era are clarified; the qualitative composition of the staff, the reasons for their turnover and the typical types of journalists of that time were analyzed; information about the trials and investigations of journalists who were widely used against them in accordance with the legislation of 1940 wasintroduced into scientific circulation; biographical portraits of individuals are given. The personnel policy of the Bolshevik Party in the western Ukrainian territories annexed on the eve of World War II had its own specifics. The editors-in-chief of the newly formed newspapers were usually verified personnel sent from the eastern regions. They were selected primarily for the most important ideological qualities – loyalty to the cause of the Bolshevik Party, the ability to pursue its policy in the entrusted case. Literary abilities, accurate knowledge of the specifics of the journalistic craft, practical experience in this field were desirable, but not decisive. With the enactment of a strict law in 1940 on criminal liability for breach of labor discipline, delays in work without good reason, the cases of a number of journalists were transferred to the district courts at the place of work. In the first postwar years, the Central Committee of the party strongly encouraged local party committees to issue to functionaries of the ideological front so-called party vouchers for work in newspaper editorial offices. Keywords: journalism of the totalitarian era, newspaper «Soviet Bukovyna», cadres of journalism, types of Soviet journalists, trials and investigations against journalists, journalistic destinies.

Two major global challenges of recent decades are climate change and populism. While there is a strong scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change, social science research highlights how climate change and policy reforms have provoked significant backlash within populist discourse. Despite the clear intersection of these phenomena and the threats they pose to modern democracy, limited literature explores this relationship. This article examines the mechanisms by which right-wing populist (RWP) parties promote climate skepticism or hostility to climate policies. Focusing on the Law and Justice Party (PiS) in Poland, the Sweden Democrats (SD), and Alternative for Germany (AfD), this study conducts a rhetorical analysis of their climate communication to investigate how RWP positions align with shifting ideological and electoral contexts. The research employs Scott Consigny’s (1974) rhetorical situation framework and integrates Wodak’s (2015) interdisciplinary approach to populism, establishing a novel methodology for analyzing populist rhetoric. Findings reveal that RWP parties deploy rhetorical strategies such as framing an antagonism between the “elite” and “the people,” prioritizing national self-interest over climate concerns, and using anti-intellectual rhetoric. However, notable differences in rhetorical strategies emerge among the parties due to varying ideological and political contexts, demonstrating the adaptability of populist rhetoric around its ideological ‘center’. This study highlights the interplay between ideological and rhetorical facets of populism in shaping climate communication. By offering a nuanced understanding of how RWP parties engage with climate discourse across contexts, this research provides a foundation for further exploration of climate communication within populist narratives. Keywords: Climate change, climate skepticism, right-wing populism (RWP), climate communication, anti-intellectualism, Euroscepticism