This study empirically examines the effect of trade liberalisation on inclusive growth in West Africa over the period 2000–2023 using balanced panel data sourced from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators. Inclusive growth is measured using a multidimensional index aligned with the UNCTAD (2022) framework, capturing economic performance, living standards, and inequality. Principal Component Analysis is employed to generate the index, thereby reducing multicollinearity while preserving informational content. The empirical strategy combines descriptive statistics, diagnostic tests for multicollinearity and cross-sectional dependence, and Panel Corrected Standard Error (PCSE) estimation to ensure robustness. The findings indicate that trade liberalisation has a positive effect on inclusive growth, suggesting that greater openness enhances market access, thereby promoting competition and improving resource allocation. Domestic credit and control of corruption also exert positive and significant influences, highlighting the roles of financial deepening and institutional quality in fostering inclusive development. In contrast, inflation and foreign direct investment display statistically insignificant effects at the regional level. Country-specific estimates further reveal substantial heterogeneity in the impact of trade liberalisation and macroeconomic variables across West African economies, reflecting differences in structural conditions and institutional capacities. Based on these results, the study recommends strengthening trade facilitation frameworks, deepening regional integration, improving access to domestic credit, promoting export diversification, and implementing complementary social protection and institutional policies to ensure that the gains from trade are equitably distributed. The study’s key contribution lies in developing a multidimensional inclusive growth index for West Africa, thereby moving beyond conventional GDP-based measures that may inadequately capture the breadth of inclusive growth outcomes.
Developing markets like Indonesia still use natural gas, oil and coal as the main sources of electricity. These traditional energy sources will run out soon. Nowadays, Indonesia needs to pursue renewable energy while evaluating the environmental impact of carbon emissions from electricity generation and the use of oil, gas, and coal. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the three main energy sources of electricity and renewable electricity to carbon emissions from Indonesia. Data series from 1990 to 2020, compiled by the International Energy Agency (IEA), are identified using the Partial Adjuster Model (PAM) with Robust Least Squares (RLS). Empirical results found that all major energy sources have a positive and significant effect on carbon emissions in both the short and long run. Specifically, electricity from coal has the most dominant impact, while gas contributes the least to carbon emissions. In both the short and long term, renewable electricity has been shown to reduce carbon emissions in Indonesia, albeit relatively modestly. In addition to the main findings, this paper implicitly reveals a strong structural dependence on coal-based electricity in Indonesia, which limits the effectiveness of efforts to reduce emissions despite the development and expansion of renewable energy. The findings indicate that the limited impact of renewable energy is due to limitations in institutional readiness, investment scale, and technological capacity. This paper also contributes to the literature by integrating disaggregated electricity sources (gas, oil, and coal) into the dynamic PAM-RLS framework, thereby offering a more nuanced and comprehensive perspective than conventional aggregate approaches. Notably, it provides policy implications by emphasising the urgency of accelerating renewable energy development to achieve environmental sustainability and inclusive economic growth. Other implications of the current study are discussed in the future.
In conditions of active hostilities, there is a need to preserve national and cultural identity while ensuring the economic development of the state. This necessitates the study of those spheres of production that are historical and traditional, yet capable of producing economic effects. Therefore, the purpose of the manuscript is to study sheep farming as a historical, economic, national and cultural value of the Ukrainian people, as well as a source of food, materials for processing, medical goods, income of the state, communities, and citizens, a place of work in rural areas and to provide the recommendations for support and development of this industry in Ukraine. During the research, a number of scientific research methods were used, in particular: formal and legal assessment, comparison, graphic, tabular, and cartographic analysis, synthesis, regression analysis, and branched fraction theory. The article analyzes the regulatory and legal framework for the development and support of sheep farming in Ukraine at the state and community levels; a comparison of the current sheep population in Ukraine and wool production volumes with similar indicators of world leaders in sheep farming was conducted; the distribution of agricultural animals by regions of Ukraine was studied and mapped; key indicators of the spread of sheep farming within Ukraine were analyzed; regression tools and branched continued fractions were used to build a forecast of the sheep and goat population and wool production volumes in Ukraine in 2025 and 2026; a critical analysis of domestic and foreign studies of the problems and prospects for the expansion of the sheep farming industry was conducted; relevant recommendations were formulated regarding the support and future progress of sheep farming as a component of economic activity and a means of preserving the national and cultural identity of Ukrainians.
Price disparities in motor insurance create financial inequality and hinder the effective performance of insurance, undermining its social function. The harmonization of insurance standards with EU regulations has changed the pricing systems, intensifying the rapid rise in policy costs in Ukraine. The article aims to analyze the financial implications of price disparities in motor third-party liability insurance (MTPL) by developing original indicators of economic pressure on Ukrainian households and conducting a cross-national comparison with European Union markets to substantiate strategies for harmonizing insurance policies. The empirical analysis covers 2021–2024 and applies statistical, comparative, and economic-mathematical methods. The study justifies the need to assess consumers’ financial capacity and proposes the use of the Insurance Burden Ratio on Wages and the MTPL Insurance Affordability Index, reflecting an original approach that accounts for income levels, vehicle fleet age, and policy costs. The scientific novelty lies in the quantitative assessment of price disparities in motor insurance using these developed indicators. The findings reveal that the rising cost of insurance policies in Ukraine imposes an excessive financial burden on households. In contrast, the European Union’s motor insurance market exhibits significantly lower price disparities, with economic conditions ensuring greater insurance affordability. The practical significance of the study lies in the potential for state regulators and insurers to utilize the proposed indicators to refine tariff policies and align them with European standards, thereby fostering a socially efficient, accessible insurance market that supports the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The article addresses the current challenge of adapting companies’ economic strategies to market uncertainty through Agile technologies. The study aims to determine the impact of agile management approaches on the strategic adaptability of companies in five countries for 2021-2024. The methodology is based on building a multifactor econometric model using data on 15 companies from the USA, UK, Germany, Ukraine, and China. The study considers variables such as the Agile adoption rate, market uncertainty, the innovation index, industry affiliation, and company size. The model's results confirmed the positive impact of Agile approaches on the adaptability of strategies: the highest indicators were recorded at Huawei Technologies (0.82), Nova Poshta (0.78), and Apple Inc. (0.75). The companies with a low Agile adoption rate, such as BP plc or Rolls-Royce Holdings, demonstrated adaptability at the level of 0.44-0.51. The results obtained provide grounds to conclude that flexible methods are effective in increasing companies' strategic resilience to external environmental instability. Promising areas for further research include expanding the sample's geographic scope, incorporating real statistics, and considering digital and cultural factors. The developed model can be applied for strategic planning in the context of global transformations and the digital economy.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has intensified asymmetries in the socio-economic development of territories, thereby precipitating a radical transformation of the financial foundations underpinning the functioning of Ukraine’s municipalities. This context necessitates the development of differentiated approaches to strengthening municipalities' financial resilience during both wartime and post-war periods. The purpose of this article is to assess the financial resilience of Ukrainian municipalities under conditions of war. The study employs the following research methods: a system-structural approach (to construct an information-analytical model of financial resilience), an integral assessment method (to develop an empirical indicator of municipal financial resilience), and a multiplicative approach (to construct a composite indicator of financial resilience). The information-analytical basis of the study comprises data from all municipalities of Ukraine, classified into four groups, for the period 2021–2025. The findings indicate a weakening in the financial resilience of Ukraine’s municipalities during the full-scale invasion. In rear regions, the dynamics are heterogeneous: municipalities in Lviv Oblast maintained relatively high values, whereas those in Volyn Oblast deteriorated to 0.164 in 2025. Two distinct models of revenue autonomy are clearly observable: (1) a model of regional polarization (in 2023, frontline and occupied municipalities declined to critical levels–Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts–while municipalities in Dnipropetrovsk (0.757), Kyiv (0.628), and Poltava (0.558) Oblasts preserved or strengthened their financial resilience potential); and (2) an adaptive model (by 2025, Kyiv (0.771), Poltava (0.760), and Dnipropetrovsk (0.754) Oblasts approached the optimal threshold (0.75), while Lviv (0.654), Cherkasy (0.601), and Kirovohrad (0.594) Oblasts entered the zone of permissible autonomy; municipalities in Luhansk Oblast continue to record zero values). Expenditure autonomy across municipalities in all regions of Ukraine systematically deteriorated throughout the entire period under study. The empirical evidence demonstrates that municipal financial resilience is characterized by internal structural disproportionality. Pronounced fiscal gaps persist, while investment activity remains selective.
The article is devoted to the systematization of household financial behavior. Its novelty lies in the construction of a structured framework based on interdisciplinary and systemic approaches, combining faceted and hierarchical classification methods. The household financial behaviour system is presented as a hierarchy of models, strategies, focuses, types, patterns, and triggers, each of which can be considered an independently classified facet. The financial behavior model (consumer, charitable, entrepreneurial, savings-oriented, investment, credit and borrowing, and insurance) occupies the top level of the hierarchy as the dominant framework guiding household actions and cash flow management. It is shaped by principles, values, interests, attitudes, and perceptions of desired outcomes and means to achieve them, which determine financial decision-making and the formation of behavior strategies. The proposed hierarchy illustrates how individual elements of financial behaviour can be further classified, enabling the identification of strategy groups, including financial planning and future provision; current financial management; development of financial potential; financial risk and liability management; capital accumulation and growth; and alternative and special strategies. Implementing these strategies requires households to define a behavioural focus that may be rational, irrational, reactive, or deviant. Particular attention is given to household financial behaviour patterns, defined as recurring, observable sets of actions, decisions, and habits that manifest over time. For the first time, the concept of a financial behaviour trigger is introduced as a stimulus (an event, condition, or phenomenon) that initiates a behavioural pattern, and is classified into physiological, psycho-emotional, cognitive, and informational categories. Overall, the household financial behavior system is defined as a holistic, hierarchically structured framework integrating models, strategies, focuses, types, patterns, and triggers, interconnected through household members’ value orientations, interests, and perceptions, and aimed at managing cash flows, assets, and financial risks to achieve socio-economic objectives.
The article explores the issue of identifying behavioral risks in HR management through the lens of metaprogram profiling. In the context of the BANI world, the growing responsibility of managerial and financial roles and the increasing importance of cognitive alignment with job requirements create a need for tools that provide deeper diagnostics of thinking, motivation, and behavioral patterns. The study aims to develop the conceptual BRPM model (Behavioral Risk Profiling Model) that identifies risky metaprogram configurations and predicts behavioral deviations linked to fraud, procedural violations, compliance failures, or destructive leadership. The scientific novelty lies in the interdisciplinary integration of cognitive-behavioral typology with HR diagnostics and organizational risk modeling. The authors developed an original typology of metaprograms in polar and tripolar formats, identified their impact on managerial and financial behavior, and created an interpretive matrix distinguishing adaptive and risk-prone thinking strategies. The methodological framework combines content analysis of scholarly sources in cognitive psychology, behavioral economics, and HR analytics, a functional comparison of the Big Five, SHL OPQ, and Hogan Risk Profile models, and inductive modeling of employee risk profiles. The study presents the conceptual architecture of the BRPM model and a table illustrating interrelations between cognitive filters and probable behavioral outcomes. The practical significance lies in applying BRPM for screening candidates for critical roles, assessing behavioral alignment, preventing managerial failures, and forming teams with minimized conflict risk. The model can be adapted for internal audits, strategic workforce planning, and behavioral compliance frameworks.
The study focuses on models of environmentally oriented development to support decision-making in business ecosystems (BE). The goal is to show the relationship between technical greening measures and BE performance results. The study's stages include the characteristics of BE; evaluation of greening measures and their impact on functioning; construction of factor-analysis models of technical greening and BE efficiency; determination of validation criteria based on elasticity indicators; and justification of the feasibility of the proposed methodology for decision support in BE. The methodology is based on the conceptualisation of BE, the construction of “input-output” models, the calculation of the integral indices ITGI and IBEEEI, factor/regression analysis, and elasticity assessment (point and arc). For an energy company, the most significant ITGI parameters are the share of new equipment with reduced noise and lower water discharge. The results of BE greening depend significantly on environmental costs and payments to support the ecobalance. The average annual growth rate of ITGI exceeds that of IBEEEI, indicating a lag between implementation and results; the nonlinear nature of the relationship is confirmed. The arc elasticity index indicates a moderate average sensitivity of IBEEEI to changes in ITGI, while the point elasticities reflect greater volatility in response to shocks. The study confirmed the presence of a measurable, but lagging and nonlinear relationship between technical greening and the results of greening the business ecosystem. This makes the constructed models an effective tool for supporting management decisions in sustainable development. The practical value lies in the proposed methodology for assessing internal drivers of business ecosystem efficiency in alignment with external challenges, enabling the systematic evaluation of environmental initiatives, their effectiveness, and their integration into digital decision-support systems for monitoring sustainable transformations.
This article examines the role of strategic planning in the governance of higher education institutions through a comparative analysis of Turkey and Azerbaijan. The study explores how strategic planning is conceptualized, institutionalized, and implemented within higher education systems, with particular attention to governance structures, policy frameworks, managerial capacity, and organizational culture. Using a qualitative and conceptual research design, the study draws on a systematic analysis of national higher education policy documents, institutional strategic plans, regulatory frameworks, and relevant academic literature. The analytical approach is grounded in comparative governance perspectives and focuses on identifying patterns of convergence and divergence in strategic planning practices across the two national contexts. The findings demonstrate that Turkey has developed a relatively advanced and structured approach to strategic planning, supported by regulatory mechanisms, performance-based management principles, and integrated quality assurance systems. In Turkish universities, strategic planning serves not only as a formal administrative requirement but also as an operational tool that guides decision-making, resource allocation, institutional differentiation, and innovation-oriented development. In contrast, strategic planning in Azerbaijani higher education remains at an early and uneven stage of development. Although certain institutions have introduced strategic documents and actively participate in international cooperation programs, planning practices often remain fragmented, symbolic, and weakly integrated into everyday governance processes. Limited managerial capacity, insufficient stakeholder involvement, and weak links between strategic planning and budgeting continue to constrain effective implementation. The comparative analysis highlights that strategic planning is most effective when embedded in participatory governance structures, supported by institutional autonomy, and reinforced by continuous monitoring and organisational learning. The study concludes that strengthening strategic planning practices can significantly enhance governance capacity, policy coherence, and the sustainable integration of higher education institutions into the global academic environment.
The article explores corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a strategic tool for ensuring the sustainability of enterprises operating under the conditions of a wartime economy. The full-scale war in Ukraine has transformed CSR from a reputational instrument into a vital mechanism for supporting business resilience, maintaining stakeholder trust, stabilizing local communities, fostering sustainability. The paper provides a theoretical overview of CSR evolution, highlighting key models such as Carroll’s Pyramid, the Triple Bottom Line, and Stakeholder Theory, while contextualizing them within Ukraine’s war-related challenges. A comparative analysis of global CSR models reveals specific regional characteristics, emphasizing the dominance of humanitarian and social components in Ukrainian practice. Special attention is given to the case of PJSC “AB InBev Efes Ukraine”, which effectively adapts its CSR strategy to wartime conditions. The company implements programs to reduce CO₂ emissions, optimize water consumption, support employees, invest in local communities, promote sustainable business practices. Key performance indicators (KPIs) demonstrate tangible outcomes in environmental, social, and economic dimensions, confirming the strategic importance of CSR during crisis periods. The research substantiates that CSR is no longer an auxiliary business function but a core element of enterprise survival and national recovery. A systematized CSR architecture, supported by public-private cooperation and non-financial reporting, enhances reputational capital, stakeholder engagement, and long-term competitiveness. The article concludes that CSR serves not only as a crisis response mechanism but also as a foundation for sustainable post-war development and civil society strengthening in Ukraine.
The article explores the role and significance of strategic analysis methods in the public governance of higher education amid current global challenges such as digitalization, demographic shifts, economic instability, and increased competition in the international education market. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the relevance of applying strategic approaches in the management of higher education institutions to ensure their sustainable development, adaptability to changes in the external environment, and increased competitiveness. The author conducts a systematic analysis of the main strategic analysis tools — SWOT, PESTEL, scenario analysis, Porter’s Five Forces model, benchmarking, and the Balanced Scorecard. Based on the research, a comprehensive vision is proposed for using strategic analysis as an effective tool for shaping flexible educational policies adapted to a rapidly changing environment. The article presents a stakeholder map of the higher education system in Ukraine, identifying the levels of their influence and interest in the decision-making process. The scientific novelty of the study lies in combining strategic analysis with public governance of education, enabling the formation of effective development strategies based on objective analytical data. The practical value of the results lies in their potential application by university administrators, government bodies, and international partners to make informed management decisions and improve the efficiency of the higher education system. The main conclusion of the study is that implementing strategic analysis methods contributes not only to improving the quality of governance in higher education institutions but also to strengthening their position in global competition.
This article analyzes the strategic role of the compliance function as a pivotal administrative-legal mechanism that fosters sustainable economic development and corporate growth within the framework of European integration. The investigation focuses on how institutionalized compliance systems serve as a catalyst for investment attractiveness and market transparency, particularly during Ukraine’s alignment with EU standards. The research employs a black letter legal method to examine key instruments, including the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation, and Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2021-2025. This analysis is supplemented by a review of CJEU case law and OECD monitoring reports. The results indicate that while Ukraine has established a sophisticated anti-corruption infrastructure, its economic impact is hindered by a persistent commitment-capacity gap and merely symbolic, box-checking compliance at the corporate level. Furthermore, comparative analysis with Germany, Italy, and Hungary demonstrates that a one-size-fits-all approach is ineffective; compliance outcomes are profoundly shaped by national legal traditions, external financial conditionality, and the discretion of street-level administrators. The findings establish that integrating ESG principles into corporate compliance frameworks is a crucial driver for standardizing sustainability reporting, reducing systemic market risks, and building institutional trust. The article concludes that a robust, practically adaptable compliance function is indispensable not only for combating corruption but also for ensuring the institutional resilience and macroeconomic stability required for successful European integration and post-war economic recovery.
The article examines the relationship between implementing sustainable development strategies and enhancingcompetitiveness among Ukrainian enterprises amid global economic turbulence and rising ESG requirements. The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of ESG instruments on financial performance, non-financial outcomes, and the long-term resilience of enterprises across different sectors of the economy. The research methodology is based on the construction of an integrated ESG index that combines financial performance, non-financial outcomes, and sustainability levels. Each component is assessed on a five-point scale, enabling calculation of a standardised ESG maturity index ranging from 0 to 100%. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of six Ukrainian companies. The results show that enterprises with high ESG index values demonstrate stronger financial stability, increased reputational capital, active stakeholder engagement, and greater investment attractiveness. A high level of ESG maturity was observed in companies that systematically implement sustainability initiatives and ensure transparent non-financial reporting. In contrast, enterprises with lower ESG scores apply ESG principles inconsistently. The findings confirm that ESG strategies function not only as instruments of social responsibility but also as effective drivers of enterprise competitiveness. The practical value of the study lies in the application of the proposed ESG index as a tool for strategic analysis and comparative assessment of enterprises in the context of European integration and post-war economic recovery.
The article explores the challenges of first-year STEM students’ mathematical preparation in Ukraine, framing them within the context of key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work), SDG 9 (Innovation and Infrastructure), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). The insufficient level of mathematical literacy among school graduates, evidenced by both international assessments (PISA 2022) and the National Multi-Subject Test (NMT), creates substantial difficulties for the transition to higher education. An analysis of survey responses from 135 educators across 35 universities revealed widespread challenges, including students’ inability to work with formulas, perform transformations, construct and interpret graphs, carry out mathematical proofs, formulate conclusions, and apply mathematical knowledge to practical tasks. Key problematic areas of the school curriculum are functions, mathematical analysis, stochastics, and plane geometry. It is argued that these gaps hinder the development of analytical, critical, and systems thinking – competencies crucial for sustainable development. The study concludes that systemic changes are needed including revising school curricula, implementing first-year adaptation programs, developing digital and interactive learning formats, integrating interdisciplinary and contextual learning, placing greater emphasis on the value-oriented dimension of education, and fostering educational partnerships between schools and universities. The importance of cultivating motivation, autonomy, reflection, and a value-based attitude toward mathematics is emphasized. The authors conclude that with adequate support, mathematics can become not a barrier but a resource for developing key competencies for sustainable development.
This study systematically maps research on interdisciplinary problem solving in education, with a primary focus on the Turkish scientific context. International studies are included to provide contextual comparison and to position national research trends within the broader literature. The study aims to identify the structural characteristics of the field, reveal prevailing research tendencies, and determine existing gaps. Within this framework, 35 postgraduate theses and 9 related articles published between 2015 and 2023 were analyzed in terms of publication year, academic level, research method, study group, associated disciplines, and thematic focus. The findings indicate that theses were published frequently in 2018 and 2019, while articles peaked in 2020, reflecting a period of intensified academic and institutional scholarly interest. Master’s theses constitute the majority of graduate research, whereas doctoral studies remain limited in number, scope, and theoretical contribution. Mixed methods were predominantly used in theses, while quantitative designs were more common in articles, indicating restricted methodological diversity and a comparatively limited use of qualitative approaches. Middle school students were the most frequently studied group, whereas teachers, parents, and other stakeholders were included to a limited extent. Disciplinary distribution is concentrated in science, mathematics, and engineering, largely influenced by STEM and STEAM approaches, while social sciences and arts remain underrepresented. Although interest in the field has increased over time, methodological and disciplinary balance has not yet been achieved, and theoretical consolidation remains limited. The study emphasizes the need to diversify research designs and broaden participant profiles.
This study examines the relationship between managerial innovation and organizational creativity in schools and tests whether the strength of this relationship differs between Turkey and Ukraine. Using a cross-national, quantitative correlational design, data were collected in the 2025–2026 academic year from 569 teachers (Turkey n=282; Ukraine n=287) with the Managerial Innovation Scale and the Organizational Creativity Scale. Because subgroup distributions were uneven, nonparametric analyses were applied, Spearman’s rho to estimate associations, Fisher’s z to compare correlations across countries, and Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis H tests (with Bonferroni post hoc comparisons) to examine group differences. Results showed a strong positive association between managerial innovation and organizational creativity overall. The relationship was moderate in Turkey and stronger in Ukraine and the difference was significant. Ukrainian teachers reported higher levels of both managerial innovation and organizational creativity, and significant differences emerged by gender, professional seniority, and teaching field. Findings suggest that innovation-oriented leadership, school autonomy, and an innovation-supportive climate can strengthen teachers’ creative capacities, highlighting the role of system-level reforms in enabling creative school cultures. Practically principals can foster creativity by involving teachers in decisions, lowering organizational barriers, and recognizing experimentation and collaboration. For policymakers, the cross-national pattern implies that decentralization and sustained professional support may amplify the creativity gains associated with managerial innovation.
The relevance of this study is driven by the growing need to integrate innovative digital tools, particularly artificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbots, into the educational process to enhance language learning efficiency and adapt to modern educational challenges. The work aimed to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of integrating an AI chatbot into the process of learning the Ukrainian language, focusing on the development of language competencies and student motivation. The research was based on an experiment involving 96 students, divided into a control group (traditional methods) and an experimental group (using the chatbot). A mixed-method approach was employed: testing using the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB), Natural Language Processing (NLP) metrics: BLEU (75%) and ROUGE-L (82%) to assess response quality, and in-depth analysis of interaction log files. Student's t-test was used for statistical data validation. The obtained results revealed a statistically significant advantage for the experimental group. Students in this group demonstrated higher response relevance (4.2 vs. 3.5 in the control group), as well as improved grammatical (76.4 vs. 62.3) and lexical competence scores (79.9 vs. 70.1). The motivation test also recorded substantial positive shifts: the average score for language interest was 4.5 (vs. 3.8), while the anxiety level significantly decreased to 2.0 (vs. 2.7). The scientific novelty of the research lies in the development and testing of a specialized AI-based chatbot for learning the Ukrainian language, built on a transformer architecture and the implementation of an integrated assessment approach that simultaneously encompasses technological efficiency (through NLP metrics and log-file analysis) and pedagogical-psychological impact (on motivation and anxiety). The results confirm that the integration of AI chatbots is an effective tool for enhancing motivation, academic achievement, language skills development, and anxiety reduction. Prospects for further research include analyzing the long-term impact and adapting the methodology to other disciplines and cultural contexts.
Information and communication technologies have become widely integrated into education in Ukraine and globally. Their relevance significantly increased during crisis periods, particularly under COVID-19 quarantine restrictions and martial law in Ukraine. At the same time, the application of distance-based formats in educational tourism remains insufficiently studied. The purpose of this article is to generalize and scientifically interpret the experience of organizing online competitions in sports tourism and orienteering in Ukraine during 2020–2023. The study analyzes the practice of implementing such events by the Ukrainian State Center for National-Patriotic Education, Local History and Tourism of Student Youth and regional after-school education institutions. The research identifies the main types of tasks used in distance competitions, examines methodological and technical challenges, and analyzes participant composition, workload levels, and technical conditions of participation. The scientific novelty lies in the development of a classification of online competitions by content and technological implementation, as well as in substantiating, through methods of mathematical statistics, the influence of visual stimulus material quality and device type on competition outcomes. Expert evaluation of visual content made it possible to justify methodological approaches aimed at minimizing the impact of technical factors. The practical significance of the study consists of outlining ways to improve the organization of online competitions, including mechanisms for preventing academic dishonesty and violations of the Fair Play principle, as well as recommendations for task design that account for participants’ technical capabilities. The findings confirm that, under appropriate methodological and technical conditions, online competitions can serve as an effective instrument of educational tourism in crisis contexts and a complementary format to face-to-face activities.
The study aims to determine the influence of mind maps on teaching humanities to higher education students and to identify their potential for improving analytical, reflective, and cognitive skills. The research employed a comprehensive methodology combining standardized testing (Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Reflective Practice Questionnaire, Coping Flexibility Scale–Revised), questionnaire survey, structured observation, and statistical methods such as analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation analysis, and paired t-test. The empirical sample comprised 120 students majoring in humanities, randomly divided into control and experimental groups, which ensured the validity and reliability of the obtained results. The study lasted for two academic semesters and included pre-testing, experimental intervention, and post-testing. The results showed that 80% of students recognized the high effectiveness of mind maps in structuring and organizing learning materials, while 75% confirmed a noticeable improvement in critical and reflective thinking. The mean value in the Adaptive Coping category increased from 3.45 to 4.30, and in Self-Appraisal – from 3.00 to 4.00, while the effect size ranged from 0.70 to 0.80, confirming a statistically significant influence on learning outcomes. Mind maps also contributed to cognitive flexibility, interdisciplinary integration, and higher student engagement in the educational process. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the empirical verification of the long-term cognitive, reflective, and integrative effects of mind maps, confirmed for the first time in the context of humanities education. The research introduces a pedagogical model for integrating mind maps into university courses, offering a new perspective on the interaction between visual, analytical, and critical thinking. The practical significance lies in applying mind maps as an effective educational tool to enhance comprehension, structure knowledge, and improve students’ autonomy, motivation, and cognitive activity in higher education.
