Assessment of the Level of Digitalization of Russian Regions Under Conditions of Socio-economic Uncertainty

The paper aims to identify the peculiarities of the digital development of Russian regions in terms of socio-economic uncertainty and determine the vector of regional policy to ensure accelerated digitalization of territories. The authors analyzed the main indicators of digital development households, organizations, and public authorities of Russian regions in the pre-pandemic period compared to the period of an active course of the pandemic, as well as at the stage of military and political instability. The research identifies Russian regions where digital development processes accelerated during the period of social and economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as regions where digitalization limitations became evident. The analysis allowed the authors to conclude about the multidirectional influence of socio-economic uncertainty on the course of digital development processes in Russian regions. On the one hand, the transformation in consumer behavior and the new external conditions of socio-economic uncertainty during the pandemic led to an accelerated digitalization of regional economic systems. On the other hand, the socio-economic uncertainty of 2020 has caused dramatic changes in the implemented business models, formats of organizations, and the nature of employment, which manifested itself in the reduction of most indicators of digital development of organizations in 2020. For each selected group of Russian regions, the authors proposed state policy measures in the field of digital development, which is supportive and accelerated in nature. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

GENDER CONFLICT AS A FACTOR OF GLOBAL TECHNOLOGICAL INEQUALITY: MODELLING AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT THROUGH THE ANALYSIS OF WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE

Purpose: The paper aims to explore gender conflict as a factor of global technological inequality from a modelling and conflict management perspective through an analysis of women's participation in science. Design/methodology/approach: A review of the existing research literature has shown that there is an insufficient scientific basis for identifying the extent of gender conflict as a factor of global technological inequality through an analysis of women's participation in science. Statistical data analysis is used to fill the identified gap in the scientific knowledge system. The countries chosen for study are those with the largest gender gaps and technological inequalities in terms of women's participation in science and knowledge-intensive industries as well as in R&D. Findings: The chapter reviews the factors that make the case, from an academic perspective, for the technological inequalities and gender gaps in the world leading to global employment conflict. The field of education encom-passes numerous interrelated aspects, ranging from the level of demand and supply of educational opportunities to the access and delivery of education. These aspects also relate to the quality of teaching and the learning process, the effectiveness of the education system, individual learning outcomes, and the impact of education on the development and well-being of the individual, the community and the country as a whole. Scientific researchers make an important contribution to improving the quality of the education system: scientific research produces new knowledge further implemented through the education system. Such knowledge can improve people's lives. Research is often carried out in universities, but also in the commercial sector, particularly in high-tech companies (Research and Development). Originality/value: Education has been proven to be one of the resources that provide people with equal opportunities in life. Integrating a gender perspective into education includes assessing and promoting gender equality in learning opportunities available to men and women throughout their lives, especially during compulsory education. The gender approach also includes assessing the fairness of the delivery of educational services (such as training, management and course content). © 2022 by Irina M. Khil, Albina A. Chuprova, Gyulnaz E. Adygezalova and Arina S. Chueva.

CONFLICT OF TRADITIONS AND INNOVATIONS AS A SOURCE OF GLOBAL TECHNOLOGICAL INEQUALITY: SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ECONOMY AND THE BASICS OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to scientifically verify the credibility (prove or disprove) the existing argument for the global technological inequality within the conflict of traditions and innovations, as well as from the perspective of social consequences of the innovative development of the economy and the basics of conflict management. Design/methodology/approach: A review of existing sources of research literature has shown that they formed an insufficient scientific basis for determining the essence and scope of social consequences of the innovative development of the economy and the basics of conflict management in terms of global technological inequality. The method of comparative analysis of statistical data over time is used to fill the identified gap in the scientific knowledge system in this chapter. The top 10 countries of the world, which are characterized by the highest level of the innovative development of the economy, were chosen as the objects of study. Findings: This chapter presents a review of facts determining that there are arguments for the conflict of traditions and innovations against the backdrop of global technological progress from a scientific perspective, a conflict that has social consequences for the innovative development of the economy and the basics of conflict management. Today, the protection and promotion of national interests are being increasingly determined by digitalization as the primary function of diplomatic services. For example, cybersecurity affects national security;web platforms support the economic well-being of citizens and companies;the Internet contributes to the development of healthcare, education and other essential social services, especially during the crisis caused by the COVID-19. Originality/value: It is expected that wide introduction of high technologies in developed countries will reduce the competitive ability of currently less indus-trialized economies of Asia and Africa in terms of cost of labour, will increase the technological gap between them and developed countries that will diversify their economies and create more jobs. In the past, countries such as China, Mexico, Brazil and several Asian countries were climbing the income ladder, transferring labour force and capital from the relatively inefficient agricultural economy to the more efficient products and services. Today, there are fears that high technologies and Industry 4.0 will revolutionize these conventional development processes, making a thorny path even more thorny, and will lead to conflicts of traditions and innovations as a source of global technological inequality. © 2022 by Alexey V. Tolmachev, Olesya A. Meteleva, Evgeniy B. Luparev and Elena V. Epifanova.

MONITORING OF TECHNOLOGICAL INEQUALITY IN THE MODERN WORLD ECONOMY: ASSESSING THE SCALE OF THE GLOBAL CONFLICT AND SCENARIOS FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT DEPENDING ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Purpose: This chapter aims to study the issue of technological inequality in the modern world economy from the position of assessment of the scale of global conflict and the scenario of its development depending on conflict management. Design/methodology/approach: The performed review of literature sources has shown that they provide an insufficient scientific basis for determining the level of technological inequality in the modern world economy from the position of assessment of the scale of the global conflict and scenarios of its development depending on conflict management. To fill this gap in the system of scientific knowledge, we use the method of comparative and correlation analysis of statistical data. The research objects are China and the United States, as well as other countries of the world that have the highest level of technological development, trade, and digitalization. Findings: This chapter provides a review of factors that determine scientific arguments in favour of technological inequality of countries, which leads to a global conflict. Many forms of inequality have a socio-economic character and are connected to access to the main services (healthcare, education, or accommodation), as well as incomes and access to the sources of income, especially in the sphere of employment. The deficit of decent work and inequality turned the COVID-19 pandemic from the crisis of public healthcare into the crisis of employment and social conflict, which influenced the subsistence of millions of employees. There is a real risk that without comprehensive and well-coordinated political actions, the increase in inequality and reduction of general progress in the labour sphere will be preserved in many dimensions. There's a need for the measures of international policy to provide develop-ing countries with access to vaccines and financial support, including through restructuring of debts. Originality/value: It is proved that after the creation of the UN, the nature of conflicts and violence underwent serious changes. Conflicts take fewer human lives but last longer, and the frequency of conflicts between groups within a country is higher than the frequency of international conflicts. In certain parts of the world, crimes on a gender basis are increasing in numbers. Besides, technologies allow using robots, drones, cyberattacks, viruses, and hackers for mili-tary purposes. At the same time, international cooperation is weak, similar to the global ability to prevent and regulate conflicts and all possible forms of violence. Technological progress changes the character of the development of conflicts. Achievements in the sphere of AI and machine learning will play an important role in this process of transformation, so the character of threats from the government and non-government subjects will change. The use of AI raises the precision of cyberattacks and physical and biological attacks, making the identification of attackers very difficult. © 2022 by Anastasia A. Sozinova, Natalia G. Vovchenko, Elena D. Kostoglodova and Stanislav A. Khapilin.

TECHNOLOGICAL DISCRIMINATION OF CONSUMERS OF GOODS UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT: THE ESSENCE OF SALES CONFLICT, ITS MANIFESTATIONS, AND PERSPECTIVES OF OVERCOMING

This chapter's purpose is to check (prove or disprove) the argument in favour of technological discrimination of consumers of goods in the conditions of digital development, given the essence of sales conflict, its manifestations and perspectives of overcoming. The literature review of the existing sources shows that they have an insufficient scientific basis for determining the essence of sales conflict, its manifesta-tions, and perspectives of overcoming in the conditions of digital development and in view of technological discrimination of consumers of goods. To fill this gap in the system of scientific knowledge, the authors use the methods of comparative and correlation analysis of statistical data. The research objects are the top 10 countries from the G20, Latin America, the Caribbean, China, and the United States, which have the highest level of development of online trade and digitalization. The authors perform an overview of the facts that determine that, from a scientific point of view, there are arguments in favour of technological discrimination of consumers of goods in the conditions of digital development from the position of the emergence of sales conflicts between companies and consumers of online goods. Modern economies are developing along the path of further increase in the technological gap between them, which could be caused by two reasons: differentiation in the level of socio-economic development of separate countries and their different susceptibility to the achieve-ments of the digital economy and digital technologies. Countries with high innovative potential, but without effective innovative systems, undergo ‘digital transformation'. Countries with low innovative potential, but active borrowing and implementation of innovative technologies from abroad, undergo ‘digital adaptations'. It is proved that the COVID-19 pandemic led to the change of consumer behav-iour models, seriously influencing the structure of consumption. While the traditional retail trade is in stagnation, the sales volumes in the system of online commerce continue growing. Together with the development of online com-merce, new types of conflicts emerge – they are caused by inequality in the level of technological and digital development of various countries of the world, as well as by discrimination of consumers. © 2022 by Irina I. Saenko, Nadezhda K. Savelyeva, Elena A. Lysova and Victoria N. Ostrovskaya.

Smart working as an organisational process or as a social change? An Italian pandemic experience

Purpose: Along the coronavirus pandemic, huge business challenges are facing as a result of collapsing customer demand and organisational significant changes supported by digital development, while the increasing social and environmental needs involve business and individuals. The authors argue that this trend is modifying organisational and market logic, replacing them with values and practices linked to community-based models. The present work aims to study the impact that smart working (SW) has on the worker, seen both as a member of the organisation and the social community. Design/methodology/approach: The study data were collected from a computer-assisted web interview administered in 2020 to public employees working for health agencies across the Campania region, in South Italy. To test the conceptual model, partial least squares-structural equation modelling is used. Considering the abductive soul of the research, the study represents a pilot survey that will deliver stochastic results to be subsequently replicated in all Italian health agencies. Findings: The results of the research highlighted how the evolutionary dynamics of SW employees tend towards a reconceptualisation of workspaces, a redefinition of time and emotions and a better balance between work and personal life, thus creating a greater space for social and community aspects and determining a greater involvement in their working life. Originality/value: This research introduces a new win-win logic in the labour market, one capable of generating advantages for people, organisations and the entire social system by allowing workers to better reconcile working times with their personal needs and with flexibility demands coming from companies. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Cybersecurity Assessment: World and Ukrainian Experience

During the coronavirus pandemic, digital technology has opened up new possibilities and helped mitigate and circumvent many of the pandemic's limitations. For many countries and companies, cybersecurity has become one of the most pressing issues in modern life. Assessment of the Global Cybersecurity Index, the National Cybersecurity Index, and the complementary Digital Development Level give different results for the same countries. We provide an analysis of countries' efficiency in the context of cybersecurity. In the example of Ukraine, a detailed analysis of cybersecurity indices was conducted. The main cybersecurity vulnerabilities were identified: technical mechanisms and capabilities to combat spam, use of the cloud for cybersecurity purposes, mechanisms to protect children online, single point of contact for international coordination, and so on. © 2022 IEEE.

Development of the Digital Economy in Terms of New Global Challenges

The article defines the essence of the economic category “digital economy” and establishes its close relationship with the traditional economy. The presence of the influence of the digital economy on the level of economic growth and development has been noted. The existence of a relationship between integration into global added value chains and the concept of ecosystem development and smart specialization has been revealed. The trends and features of the global digital development, as well as its drivers, have been studied. New global challenges of digital development and their impact on the economy and society in Russia and abroad have been identified and analyzed. It is shown that over the past decades Russia has transformed into a center for the creation of digital products and services and has a number of powerful competitive advantages. The state and possible prospects for the development of the Industry 4.0 in the context of such a global challenge as the coronavirus pandemic are analyzed. The main threats and new opportunities for socio-economic and digital transformations caused by COVID-19 were identified. At the same time, the main emphasis is placed on Russia’s opportunities to be included in new value chains or develop existing ones. The need to ensure the complementarity of digital and socio-economic transformations is indicated. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

An inverted digital divide during Covid-19 pandemic? Evidence from a panel of EU countries.

The extension of remote forms of employment, education and communication during the Covid-19 pandemic was expected to bridge the digital divide in 2020. However, more digitally developed countries have shown a reduction of Internet use. This article examines the changes in Internet use in 2020 as the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic focused on cross-country digital development. We use a random effects regression model to assess the relationship between Internet use as an indicator of digital divide and digital development on the macro, business, infrastructural, and individual levels in EU countries. Panel data from Eurostat for 2014-2020 are applied. We found that more digitally developed EU countries, including Estonia, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway, show a higher relationship between Internet usage and digital performance than other EU countries. These countries saw a decrease in Internet use during 2020, which is contrary to the general trend of either increasing or unchanging Internet use in the case of social distancing restrictions and lockdowns. High digital dependence in more digitally developed countries, and in some other EU countries in the context of a pandemic as a crisis, has led to a reduction in Internet use due to the vulnerability of digitalized industries, enterprises, jobs and personal patterns that may identify the new challenge as inverted digital divide.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Urban Spatial Distribution of the Sales and Use of Online Education Courses: The Case of the Taipei Area

The COVID-19 pandemic broke out in December 2019 and began to spread globally in 2020. The final analysis of 124, 564 valid observations pointed out that before and after the COVID-19, online education courses had an abso-lute increase in the total purchase amount or total purchase amount. Because of the control of COVID-19 in Taiwan, there is no significant difference between the validity and the time point of the purchase amount and the use of the course. The geographic location is defined by the digital development level of the administrative area, and the higher the digital development of the administrative area, the better the amount of courses purchased and the use of courses, compared with other types of courses, the life category has more purchase amount and course use time;the education level of course users has a considerable degree of positive influence on the purchase amount and course using. © 2021, Tamkang University. All rights reserved.