THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO CONCEPT OF “COMPETITION” AND “COMPETITIVENESS”

The article deals with the theoretical and methodological interpretation of the economic essence of the categories of “competition” and competitiveness. The basic aspects of the categories under investigation are illustrated here. The results of the research are revealed in theoretical terms, making clear the scientific achievement of domestic and foreign scientists, providing a comprehensive analysis of the conceptual structure of basic theoretical issues of competitiveness with the help of the method of analysis and synthesis. And also it forms a comprehensive notion of the concept of differentiation and its derivatives

Criminological Assessment of Medical Misconduct during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examines the professional actions of health workers during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic from the point of view of criminological assessment in the context of labor relations. With the help of political and legal analysis and a comparative legal method, the work considers the international practice of assessing the actions of medical workers from the standpoint of criminal responsibility, political and legal initiatives concerning the protection of the rights of medical workers during the spread of a pandemic and quarantine measures. This study argues for significantly broader criminal immunity for health workers during a pandemic. At the same time, the study gives grounds to assert that today the lack of sufficient empirical data and research complicates an objective assessment of the offender. At the same time, based on the results of this study, it is suggested that in the near future the number of investigations and appeals to the court on issues related to the professional activities of medical workers carried out during the spread of the pandemic will increase.

Structure and properties of polymer composite based on natural zeolite

This research paper is dedicated to the possibility of expanding directions and increasing the use of natural zeolite as filler (65 – 85 %) for the manufacture of composite material. The structure of composites with varieties of copolymers (Styrene- butadiene, Styrene-acrylate) and revealed the features of the structure (open porosity 5 - 24 %) and material properties of the zeolite concentration are identified

Integral Approach to Vulnerability Assessment of Ship’s Critical Equipment and Systems

The digital transformation of the maritime industry is almost a fait accompli. Merchant ships today use computing and cyber-dependent technologies for navigation, communications, cargo operations, environmental monitoring, and many other purposes. Nowadays, entire industries and businesses are becoming increasingly dependent on data arrays, and the maritime sector is fully experiencing this transformation. A modern commercial ship is unthinkable without digital technology, and the reasons for the deep digitalization of the fleet are numerous. Emergency systems such as safety monitoring, fire detection and alarms are increasingly reliant on cyber technology. Therefore, cybersecurity is a critical component of ship and shipping safety, and cyber-attacks on maritime transport are a very likely problem. These risks will only increase with the further development of information technology. This article proposes approaches to identifying cyber threats as well as a probabilistic assessment of ship cybersecurity, which is based on an integral approach to assessing the vulnerability of shipboard critical equipment and systems. Estimated probabilities of target and non-target cybersecurity breaches of the ship, as well as their overall probability, which allows considering all chains of events leading to a certain consequence associated with potential losses. The model of probability assessment of ship cybersecurity violation and its consequences, which allows evaluation of possible losses as a result of these events, is presented and mathematically described

DEVELOPMENT MEASURES TO ENHANCE THE ECOLOGICAL SAFETY OF SHIPS AND REDUCE OPERATIONAL POLLUTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Reduction of ecological risks of shipping is a challenging task that requires methods of legislative and regulatory control, organizational measures, and technical and technological support. Furthermore, the matter concerns not only the reduction of possible risks but also the level of existing impact on the marine environment because of exhaust gas emissions by ships, discharge of waste and ballast water, as well as control of ecological consequences of accidents. The purpose of this study is to analyse possible sources of environmental impact during ship operation cycles, identify significant risks, review existing potentials to reduce the risk of ship accidents and their environmental consequences, and develop solutions to existing problems. This study offers results, which can serve as the initial basis for the formation of comprehensive measures on the reduction of environmental risks, and consequences of possible accidents for the environment caused by ships and international shipping

Preparation of α‐Oxo Semicarbazone Oligonucleotide Microarrays

This unit describes the preparation of α‐oxo aldehyde functionalized oligodeoxynucleotides, the preparation and characterization of semicarbazide glass slides, and the fabrication of α‐oxo semicarbazone microarrays by site‐specific ligation of α‐oxo‐aldehyde oligodeoxynucleotides to the semicarbazide glass slides. The α‐oxo aldehyde group COCHO is extensively used in ligation chemistry for the preparation of large molecular constructs. It is stable toward air oxidation and mainly present in aqueous solution in the hydrated form COC(OH)2. It reacts efficiently with hydrazine derivatives, in particular, with the semicarbazide group. The reaction occurs spontaneously in water at pH 5.5. Site‐specific immobilization of glyoxylyl oligodeoxynucleotides on semicarbazide glass slides allows the preparation of high‐quality microarrays that can be used directly in hybridization experiments.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143637/1/cpnc1206.pd

Application of fuzzy controllers in automatic ship motion control systems

Automatic ship heading control is a part of the automatic navigation system. It is charged with the task of maintaining the actual ship’s course angle or actual ship’s course without human intervention in accordance with the set course or setting parameter and maintaining this condition under the effect of disturbing influences. Thus, the corrective influence on deviations from a course can be rendered by the position of a rudder or controlling influence that leads to the rotary movement of a vessel around a vertical axis that represents a problem, which can be solved with the use of fuzzy logic. In this paper, we propose to consider the estimation of the efficiency of fuzzy controllers in systems of automatic control of ship movement, obtained by analysis of a method of the formalized record of a logic conclusion and structure of the fuzzy controller. The realization of this allows to carry out effective stabilization of a course angle of a vessel taking into account existing restrictions

Gender Inequality in Social Security on the Basis of the ECtHR Case-Law

As the European case-law shows, nowadays, there are numerous problems in the social sphere. Accordingly, there appears to be a need to study international regulation of equality and current social security problems to find possible solutions to the existing shortcomings and to strengthen human rights protection. The article aims to analyse the universal international regulation of equality and gender equality, in particular, and to study the problems of gender inequality in social security based on the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law to eliminate this discrimination. The leading research method is a legalistic one. It allowed us to analyse the international legislation on gender equality and to look into the ECtHR case law in gender discrimination in social security. It was found that gender inequality in social security is often a result of prior gender-based discrimination in labour relations. Despite the fact that legal acts protect women in cases of inequality, the analysis of the ECtHR case-law permitted us to conclude that men suffer from gender discrimination as much as women. Therefore, it is suggested to adopt legal acts on the equality of men and women in social security to overcome such discriminative practices at the legislative level. It is also recommended to implement the governmental policy on counteracting gender stereotypes in society. The research results can improve national legislation and international legal acts, further research into equality issues, and develop a methodological base for teaching human rights and social security