Has COVID-19 Affected Students' Attitudes towards Online Education? A Case Study of Azerbaijan

The article analyses changes in attitudes towards online education in Azerbaijan during the unprecedented global lockdown resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic led to the total closure of all educational institutions in Azerbaijan and marked the beginning of massive online learning in schools and universities across the country. The present study is based on analysis of data collected from a survey of 1300 students representing 20 universities in Azerbaijan. The starting point for the analysis was to ask whether the students had online learning experience prior to the mandatory shift to distance learning or not. The students were also asked to provide their opinion regarding both traditional and online learning tools. This information enabled the research group to examine the weaknesses and strengths of both educational models. Having little to no experience with online education, about 36.5% of Azerbaijani students nonetheless expressed willingness to continue their education in an online mode, most preferring online courses over online degree programs. Difficulties with technical issues and unprepared instructors were cited as key issues among the remaining 63% of students who preferred the traditional mode of education

Need for Service Design Development for Sustainable Rural Tourism in Azerbaijan

‘Development of Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Support of Local Handicrafts in Rural Azerbaijan’ is a joint effort between the Turku University of Applied Sciences Ltd. and Sustainable Future in Finland and Ekoloji Tarazliq NGO as a local partner, with the aim of creating rural businesses and services in order to attract tourists to the three project areas. Thus far, most of the tourists in Azerbaijan have been business travellers staying in the capital, Baku. The project (implemented in 2012-2014) has introduced PPP or public-private partnership approaches in the promotion of sustainable tourism through the involvement of various stakeholders from small-scale entrepreneurs to national level authorities. The most important stakeholder groups are the local communities, entrepreneurs, handicraft masters, and owners of households providing accommodation services to travelers

Mitigating the Social Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The topic of this issue is “Mitigating the Social Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic”. Firstly, Gurgen Aslanyan, Vardan Baghdasaryan and Gayane Shakhmuradyan examine the social policy response of the Government of Armenia to the COVID-19 crisis. Secondly, Farid Guliyev posits that Azerbaijan’s social assistance and income support schemes adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic need to be seen within the context of the existing social protection system and safety nets. Thirdly, Vakhtangi Demuria and Teona Absandze suggest that the Georgian government’s efforts to provide social assistance for the population were delayed and faltered in terms of efficiency, but overall, more or less complex schemes of assistance were elaborated. Finally, Ramina Murshudova, Aytan Shahmarova, Mirvari Gasimova, Gunel Poladova, and Malahat Valiyeva analyze changes in attitudes towards online education in Azerbaijan during the unprecedented global lockdown resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.Das Thema dieser Ausgabe ist die "Milderung der sozialen Folgen der COVID-19-Pandemie". Als Erstes untersuchen Gurgen Aslanyan, Vardan Baghdasaryan und Gayane Shakhmuradyan die gesellschaftspolitischen Reaktionen der armenischen Regierung auf die COVID-19-Krise. Als Zweites vertritt Farid Guliyev die Position, dass Aserbaidschans Sozialhilfe- und Einkommenssicherungssysteme, die während der COVID-19-Pandemie eingeführt wurden, im Kontext des bestehenden Sozialversicherungssystems und der Sicherheitsnetze gesehen werden müssen. Als Drittes weisen Vakhtangi Demuria und Teona Absandze darauf hin, dass die Bemühungen der georgischen Regierung, die Bevölkerung mit Sozialhilfe zu versorgen, verzögert wurden und in puncto Effizienz ins Stocken gerieten, dass aber insgesamt mehr oder weniger komplexe Hilfsprogramme ausgearbeitet wurden. Zuletzt analysieren Ramina Murshudova, Aytan Shahmarova, Mirvari Gasimova, Gunel Poladova und Malahat Valiyeva die Veränderungen in der Einstellung zum Online-Unterricht in Aserbaidschan während des beispiellosen globalen Lockdowns infolge der COVID-19-Pandemie.ISSN:1867-932