PROCEEDINGS BOOK Volume 1

ICOC

International Continuous Online Conference on "Recent Ideas and Research"

London, 2021

Edited by Prof. Dr. Anantdeep Singh, University of Southern California Dr. Siavash Bakhtiar, University of Westminster, UK

EUROPEAN CENTER FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

ICOC International Continuous Online Conference on "Recent Ideas and Research"

Proceedings Book Volume 1 ISBN 978-1-63972-395-9

Publishing steps of the Proceedings and Organization of ICOC ICOC-International Continuous Online Conference on "Recent Ideas and Research" is coordinated online in London. The organizing committee aims to provide an online international presentation and publishing platform for the authors. The presentations, abstracts and full papers in social sciences, educational studies, economics, language studies and interdisciplinary studies are published and presented in the ICOC platform continuously. The authors could join the live online meetings organized trimestral for Q&A and networking purposes. The submitted abstracts and papers have been reviewed and the authors received reports from the reviewers upon which they submitted their final version of the papers which are published in this book.

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Copyright © 2021 EUSER © All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher or author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the material in this book is true, correct, complete, and appropriate at the time of writing. Nevertheless, the publishers, the editors and the authors do not accept responsibility for any omission or error, or for any injury, damage, loss, or financial consequences arising from the use of the book. The views expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the European Center for Science Education and Research.

[email protected] International Scientific and Advisory Board

Ewa Jurczyk-Romanowska, PhD - University of Wroclaw, Poland M. Edward Kenneth Lebaka, PhD - University of South Africa (UNISA) Sri Nuryanti, PhD - Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Indonesia Basira Azizaliyeva, PhD - National Academy of Sciences, Azerbaijan Federica Roccisano, PhD - Neriman Kara - Signature Executive Academy UK Thanapauge Chamaratana, PhD - Khon Kaen University, Thailand Michelle Nave Valadão, PhD - Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil Fouzi Abderzag, PhD Agnieszka Huterska, PhD - Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Rudite Koka, PhD - Rīgas Stradiņa universitāte, Latvia Mihail Cocosila, PhD - Athabasca University, Canada Gjilda Alimhilli Prendushi, PhD - Miriam Aparicio, PhD - National Scientific and Technical Research Council - Argentina Victor V. Muravyev, PhD - Syktyvkar State University of Pitirim Sorokin, Russia Charalampos Kyriakidis - National Technical University of Athens, Greece Wan Kamal Mujani, PhD - The National Universiti of Malaysia Maria Irma Botero Ospina, PhD - Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Colombia Mohd Aderi Che Noh, PhD - Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia Maleerat Ka-Kan-Dee, PhD Frederico Figueiredo, PhD - Centro Universitário Una, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Iryna Didenko, PhD - Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine Carlene Cornish, PhD - University of Essex, UK Sadegh Ebrahimi Kavari, PhD Mohammed Mahdi Saleh, PhD - University of Jordan Andrei Novac, MD - University of California Irvine, USA Ngo Minh Hien, PhD - The University of Da Nang- Universiy of Science and Education, Vietnam Kawpong Polyorat, PhD - Khon Kaen University, Thailand Haitham Abd El-Razek El-Sawalhy, PhD - University of Sadat City, Egypt Ezzadin N. M.Amin Baban, PhD - University of Sulaimani, Sulaimaniya, Iraq Ahmet Ecirli, PhD - Institute of Sociology, Bucharest, Romania Dominika Pazder, PhD - Poznań University of Technology, Poland Sassi Boudemagh Souad, PhD - Université Constantine 3 Salah Boubnider, Algérie Lulzim Murtezani, PhD - State University of Tetovo, FYROM Ebrahim Roumina, PhD - Tarbiat Modares University, Iran Gazment Koduzi, PhD - University "Aleksander Xhuvani", Elbasan, Albania Sindorela Doli-Kryeziu - University of Gjakova "Fehmi Agani", Kosovo Nicos Rodosthenous, PhD - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Irene Salmaso, PhD - University of Florence, Italy Non Naprathansuk, PhD - Maejo University, Chiang Mai, Thailand

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL RESEARCH IN PANDEMIC EMERGENCY: WHAT METHODOLOGY FOR RESILIENCY? ...... 10

ELEONORA VENNERI EDUCATION AND THE ECONOMY OF ATTENTION IN TIMES OF (POST-) PANDEMIC ...... 16

SIAVASH BAKHTIAR CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS LAW IMPROVEMENTS FOR JUSTICE WITNESSES IN ALBANIA ...... 30

REZANA BALLA GOOD GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES CONSTITUTING THE E-PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS ...... 47

KRASIMIRA STEFANOVA VALCHEVA MEXICAN AIRLINES IN THE CURRENT SITUATION OF COVID 19. EVOLUTION AND PROSPECTS.. 57

MTRO. SERGIO SOLÍS TEPEXPA LUIS FERNANDO MUÑOZ GONZÁLEZ FAMILY PLANNING POLICY AND HOUSING PRICE IN CHINA ...... 68

SHICHANG MA TING YU BUSINESS SCHOOL OF CENTRAL SOUTH UNIVERSITY A NEW PUBLIC POLICY AND ECONOMIC APPROACH TO CULTURAL SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN THE ANDES ...... 86

MORENO VALLEJO JAIME RODRIGO CUETO VÁSQUEZ CARLOS CÉSAR SANCHEZ MANOSALVAS OLGA TERESA ESPITIA MORENO DAVID THE VALUE OF COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE AS A LEARNING PROCESS TO INCREASE RESILIENCE IN HEALTHCARE TEAMS ...... 101

JANET DELGADO SERENA SIOW JANET M. DE GROOT A RESILIENCE FOR SURVIVAL: REIMAGINE. RECONFIGURE. RESTART ...... 114

MARTIN DEEPAK RAJU CHEKURI

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

SCHOOL CULTURE AND INNOVATION: DOES THE POST-PANDEMIC WORLD COVID-19 INVITE TO TRANSITION OR TO RUPTURE? ...... 136

MARILI MOREIRA DA SILVA VIEIRA SUSANA MESQUITA BARBOSA RESILIENCE OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURES IN A PANDEMIC SCENARIO ...... 148

MARTA MARÇAL GONÇALVES FRANCISCO VILLENA-MANZANARES RESILIENCE IN COVID-19 TIMES - IS THERE A PLAN B FOR THE FUTURE? A STATE OF ART ...... 158

AUGUSTO RENATO PÉREZ MAYO NOHEMÍ ROQUE NIETO FERNANDO ROMERO TORRES FELIPE DE JESÚS BONILLA SÁNCHEZ STRONG ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE – AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR COMPANIES TO SURVIVE IN A PANDEMIC WORLD ...... 179

NINO ZARNADZE TEA KASRADZE TEACHING AND LEARNING THROUGH LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS IN THE AREA OF NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY ...... 191

GUSTAVO LAZARTE KOUICHI JULIAN ANDRES CRUZ ALEJANDRA LUCIA PEREZ LUCERO NORMA ADRIANA CHAUTEMPS WALTER MIGUEL KEIL CHANGING HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIOUR LEVERAGING DATA ANALYTICS ...... 202

RAJEEV RANJAN SHREYA BHARGAV CHALLENGES FACING FINANCIAL INCLUSION DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ...... 211

TEA KASRADZE DIGITAL INTERFERENCES IN THE ALBANIAN LANGUAGE ...... 223

NATASHA SHUTERIQI POROÇANI DEVELOPING AN ONLINE NURSING COURSE ...... 233

SILVANA GRIPSHI

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

SUICIDE AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE ...... 239

ZYHRA GRIPSHI IDENTIFYING AND ANALYZING THE ACCOUNTING POLICIES ADOPTED BY ECONOMIC ENTITY 243

FLAVIO MUCOMO LUMBO ELENA IONIȚĂ STANCIU CONSCIOUS INTRA-PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE EXPERIENCE COUNTS ...... 256

DR. ROSALIE VAN BAEST TEACHING LITERATURE IN A POST-DICTATORSHIP COUNTRY ...... 269

DHURATA LAMÇJA THE CHALLENGES OF SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW FISCAL PACKAGE IN THE CITY OF VLORA ...... 273

BRISEJDA ZENUNI RAMAJ PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNICATION IN FRANCE DURING THE SPANISH FLU AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE ROLE OF EXPERTS ...... 274

KLARA DANKOVA EPHEMERAL MUSEUMS IN PANDEMIC ERA: BARI AND THE MUSEO PROVINCIALE THAT WAS THERE, THAT HAS BEEN AND HAS NEVER BEEN ...... 275

ANDREA LEONARDI GIUSEPPE DE SANDI CLAUDIA COLELLA EPIDEMICS IN MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY AGE IN A BACKWARD AREA OF EUROPE: THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS IN SOUTHERN ITALY ...... 276

VITTORIA FERRANDINO MARILENA IACOBACCIO VALENTINA SGRO UNIVERSITY OF SANNIO, BENEVENTO (ITALY) CHARACTER SKILLS AND PATIENCE TO PROMOTE RESILIENCE IN CHILDREN - EDUCATION IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS AFTER PANDEMIC ...... 277

EMANUELA GUARCELLO DIGITAL CULTURE AND LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION AFTER COVID19: A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT...... 278

ANA LÚCIA DE SOUZA LOPES

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

MARILI MOREIRA DA SILVA VIEIRA DECISION SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN COORDINATION ...... 279

GABRIELLA METSZOSY THE PROTECTIVE ROLE OF SELF-EFFICACY FOR RESILIENCE IN THE COVID-19 PERIOD ...... 280

ANDREA KÖVESDI ÉVA HADHÁZI SÁNDOR RÓZSA KRISZTINA TÖRŐ GÁBOR CSIKÓS RITA FÖLDI SMART CITIES, BIG DATA, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND RESPECT FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION DATA PROTECTION RULES ...... 281

FRANCISCO JAVIER DURÁN RUIZ METHODICAL PRACTICE OF TEACHING CROATIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ...... 282

MIRELA ŠUŠIĆ SPIRITUAL RESILIENCE AND TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS MODEL – HOLISTIC PARADIGM FOR FACING A GLOBAL CRISIS ...... 283

ANGELINA ILIEVSKA NAUM ILIEVSKI THE PROTECTIVE ROLE OF SELF-EFFICACY FOR RESILIENCE IN THE COVID-19 PERIOD ...... 284

ANDREA KÖVESDI ÉVA HADHÁZI SÁNDOR RÓZSA KRISZTINA TÖRŐ GÁBOR CSIKÓS RITA FÖLDI HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH MILD AND ASYMPTOMATIC COVID 19 ...... 285

WIREKO ANDREW AWUAH ABDUL-RAHMAN TOUFIK ALBINA ZHARKOVA FEATURES OF THE POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN RECENT GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS IN ALBANIA ...... 286

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

LORENC LIGORI PSYCHO-SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES IN COPING WITH BREAST CANCER: CASE OF PATIENTS AND FAMILY MEMBERS IN ALBANIA ...... 287

ORNEDA GEGA

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

The Role of Social Research in Pandemic Emergency: What Methodology for Resiliency?

Eleonora Venneri Department of Law, Economics and Sociology - University “Magna Graecia” – Catanzaro, Italy

Abstract With the theoretical and empirical one, the dimension which qualifies and corroborates the scientific nature of social research is that of effective usability that suggests a transactional and pragmatic vision of social investigation. So, the ability of social research to produce knowledge predisposed to impact and measure itself effectively with real-life contexts is particularly arising in pandemic emergency. Perhaps, never like now, the reflexivity of research is the pre-condition for the reasonableness of a conscious practices, related to the need for solutions inspired by social relationality criteria combining with the everyday life and interpersonal exchanges of people. For this purpose, social research must be inspired by criteria of temporariness, contingency and circularity of the methodologies and techniques that need to be coherent and suitable for distinct situations. At this level, the reflexivity assumes meta-theoretical connotations that imply, on the one hand, an implicit recognition of the need to adapt solutions to specific contexts and, on the other, a tacit acknowledgment of the continuous opening of social research to a reasoned dialogue with the stakeholders for evaluate opportunity and merits of operative solutions. This contribute aims to offer a theoretical reflection on the topic by trying to highlight how the value of reflexivity in research in times of “information deluge”, puts the researcher in front of two questions (one conceptual, the other properly methodological). Where the excess of information tends to irrelevance and communicative ineffectiveness, the reflexivity of the research turns rather to the adoption of "existential" methodological procedures suitable for understanding the more than representative dimensions of the real experiences lived by people (their affective and perceptive responses and the relational experiences of the pandemic “time” and “space”; the perception of contagion risk; the fear of loneliness induced by physical distancing; the prospects for future life, etc.). Keywords: Social Research, Methodology, Reflexivity, Resiliency, Culture

Introduction Rethinking with renewed meanings what, in reality, should represent a habitus (generator and at the same time organizer of conscious, aware and responsible representations and research practices) or a "natural" attitude of each analyst and social scientist in particular, is equivalent to rediscover the congenital vocation of social research for reflexivity. What is reflexivity? Briefly, reflexivity is a "dowry" of the social researcher at the same time epistemological, methodological and technical: reflexivity allows us to devise and calibrate the research strategies presumably more suited to contextually circumscribed realities and therefore itself

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 typically characteristics of peculiar temporal and cultural areas. For this reason, reflexivity cannot rely on the impulsive randomness of occasional and imaginative inventive impulses or worse clumsy and careless improvisations. On the contrary, awareness of the contexts, the relevance of the methodologies and the adequacy of the research tools are three key principles denoting the reflexivity of virtuous investigation paths, rationally oriented towards the achievement of significant results, objectively valid, as far as possible faithful to the multifaceted and heterogeneous dimensionality of the investigated and reasonably expendable realities. Reflexivity, therefore, supports the course of the investigation path, shows us the way, reinforces and reinvigorates every scientific path, offers us the coordinates of a “situational morality” in which the procedural criteria must be reviewed, possibly corrected and in any case operationally adequate and relevant respect and in harmony with concrete social situations. As an expression of a cautious and reasonable hermeneutic and interpretative approach of the phenomena studied, not reckless or irrational, reflexivity expresses attention to the quality of the information collected and is not careless rush to the quantum-frenzy of the data. Never as now, perhaps, social scientists are called to a constant exercise of reflexivity. Now, we are spectators and at the same time actors of a "film" in first vision of which we do not know the ending. A film whose visual and sound script intertwines (often dangerously) scientific or pseudo-such knowledge and common-sense knowledge, often fueled by misleading and mystical apocalyptic visions. It is a film in which the spectacularization (in a literal sense) has made us dismayed participants of dismal scenarios. Think of the Italian images of military vehicles lined up as funeral cars, the loneliness of intubated people and desolation of relatives, the hunting for infectors, the “singing appointments” from the balconies of neighborhood houses, the rainbows drawn by children with reassuring captions "will go all right! ", the visual bulimia of home-videos and tutorials in kitchen, the race of television talk-shows to grab the most enlightened virologist and the frenetic race (also often spectacular) to the numbers of the infected and died, the number of search engine visualizations of the symptoms associated with Covid-19 and with the asymptomatics. What scenario outlines all this? Are these tools to exorcise fear or risk? Perhaps never as in this period there is a risk of a real flood of information: “a pandemic in the pandemic”. Not infrequently, in "historical shocks", the spasmodic search for information (even scientifically unfounded) represents a reassuring trick for resilience to destabilizing events. However, the excess of information sometimes results in communicative irrelevance, in background noise. The result is that collecting noise fragments and converting them into meaningful messages turns into a substantially complex process, difficult to manage: the supreme value of the right-obligation to the "search for happiness" pushes to the intensive and frantically restless consumption of “surrogates” who, in some way, placate anxieties and fears (Bauman, 2000; 2007). Here then, reflexivity in social research can represent a scientific antidote to a loss that is unprecedented for our generations. This contribution aspires in some way to corroborate this statement through a brief reflection which, without claiming any exhaustiveness, serves to outline the sustainability of a research path plausibly practicable in the awareness that a fruitful exercise of real reflexivity of social research in the pandemic emergency proceed from conceptual/methodological arguments before even technical/operational ones.

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

In the knowledge that: the ‘objects’ of social sciences are not independent and cannot be separated from the situated activity with which and by means of which the researcher has made them observable (Zimmerman & Pollner, 1970); only ingenuously (and wrongly) is it possible to give in to the prejudice of assimilating sociological investigation to the operational mise en place arranged to carry it out, thereby reducing its sense and content to a merely applicative exercise or, at the most, to a routine exercise of stereotyped techniques. Discussion Methods of data analysis are not simply neutral techniques because they carry the epistemological, ontological and theoretical assumptions of the researchers who developed them (Alvesson and Sköldberg, 2000) based on an relational exchange with the assumptions (sometimes different) of the stakeholder who use them. And this is perhaps one of the main reasons that already in the phase of conceptualization of an investigation path ascribe to reflexivity an intrinsic value. On the other hand, it is no coincidence that the so-called “reflective turn” in social sciences is based on these assumptions; the partial, contingent and perspectival nature of knowledge is recognized, so that the production of scientific knowledge is essentially a social activity, culturally, socially and historically embedded, thus resulting in ‘situated knowledges’ (Haraway, 1988). Also at linguistic and definitional level used by social scientist, these inference is particularly important: how many times, since the beginnings of the pandemic, and still today, in the anxious bewilderment of lockdown return, the expression "social distancing" has been repeated until now fully enter the common lexicon? The same can be said for the concept of risk. The Covid-19 pandemic puts us in a situation of unprecedented, dramatic, and global reach: its power to destabilize our life project grows day by day. The pervasiveness of the threat calls into question evidence that was taken for granted in our system of life. If words are a bit like goods and coins (the more we use them the more they inflate until they almost lose their meaning) it is necessary to take care of their value and carefully evaluate their semantic scope. Rather than social, distancing should perhaps only be connoted “physically”. The locution “social distancing” is an oxymoric expression, if one thinks that a prerogative of sociality is not distancing, if anything, the opposite. Think also of the concept of solidarity which certainly does not go “into quarantine”: it is not true that in quarantine social relations decrease: who "wants to be there" is also from afar. We are painfully experiencing a paradox that we would never have imagined: to survive the disease we must isolate ourselves from each other, but if we were to learn to live isolated from each other we could only realize how essential living with others is for our life. This destabilization is beyond the reach of the science and technique of the therapeutic apparatus. It would be unfair (and perhaps incorrect) to charge the technicians with this responsibility. At the same time, it is certainly true that a greater depth of vision and a better responsibility for the reflective contribution on the meaning and values of solidarity has the same urgency as the search for drugs and vaccines. Therefore, what is the contribution that social research can offer in this regard? The Covid-19 pandemic is definitely causing social upheavals that require "cautious" assessment. In the face of the exponential increase in the number of infections, the increasingly stringent containment and contrast measures, which methodologies can contribute to an accurate analysis of

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 uncertainty and even of the fear that is imposing a sharp brake on our habits in the face of sanitary emergency? You get the idea that to the aseptic and deterministic epidemiological certainty of the numbers of the dangers induced by the pandemic "escape" equally important elements. Suddenly, starting from the institutional registration of the first outbreaks of infection, our life has been and is immediately invaded by data and graphics. They are everywhere. Number of infected, dead, healed. Exponential curves, logistic curves, descriptive trend measures of the relationship between the number of ICU patients and the deceased. Ecosystems of dots that become infected from white to red in newspapers, on social network posts, on televisions in every home. How do I "see" the pandemic? Data, data, data, and visualizations. Everywhere. One every about four minutes. They are extremely violent data, obviously also used instrumentally to give strength to this or that other philosophy of intervention on the pandemic. However, what is the effect of all these data representations in our communication ecology? In our society? Among the main and most powerful is to make us spectators. The data governance model is extractive; the information and data are “extracted” from people and their environment, processed, and represented in some way useful for making decisions that correspond to some form of intervention. Often, the intervention itself consists in administering data visualizations, to obtain some purpose (awareness of the dangerousness of the virus, knowledge of the risk of contagion, compliance with regulations, for example). The extractive model corresponds to a precise epistemological model (of paternalistic type) in which the data come out and transcend from sensitivity, and from the actions of the subjects from which come. The person can only be just a spectator: what can I do other than suffer the numbers and their representations? What can I do other than to be terrified, and then - hopefully - rejoice in their color change: white, red, white again? Nothing could be further from the methodological reflexivity of paths of investigation aimed at explaining the sense and the existential value of those numbers. A procedural model oriented to investigate to understand the more than representative dimensions of the experiences really lived by people in everyday contexts necessarily “distorted” by the pandemic (an inevitable renewal in the organization and management of times and spaces of work, care, sociality, among others) with unpreventable repercussions on the social and cultural determinants of health and resiliency capacity. Situating ourselves socially and empathetically in relation to respondents is an important element of reflexivity: the data are not "oil" to be extracted from people and the environment. Behind the numbers there are people, there are stories, there are narrations. There are myriads of micro-stories, which cannot be reduced or summarized in tables. People are the partners of research, and reflective sociology "gets its hands dirty", takes place during social relationships. Each data corresponds to an existential component, not to a reductive technical or administrative application. Additional considerations lead us to support these arguments. For example, the fact that the researcher is not a mere outside observer but rather a constitutive and integral part of a pre- interpreted reality, linguistically opaque, dynamic and socially constructed, which is unfit for a “mechanical” and un-critical reiteration of pre-established or ‘ready for use’ conceptual schemes or investigation models (Bailyn, 1977; Blaikie, 2010). Furthermore, the complexity typical of social phenomena forces the researcher to acquire the capacity of unravelling and deconstructing their indeterminacy through ad hoc research practices, each time designed and

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 performed per specific themes or problems, in restricted situations. In addition, the approach to social reality must proceed and be determined by background knowledge and cognitive tools chosen by the researcher so that the ‘success’ of a methodological procedure in a given situation does not guarantee its effectiveness in any other situation. Finally, the intrinsic instability and socio-cultural peculiarities of investigation contexts refer (particularly in this pandemic emergency) to a pragmatic meaning of reflexivity that break down all claims of cognitive exhaustiveness and tending to rethink the methodological paths undertaken when these prove to be unviable or unfit for the problems to be faced (Venneri, 2000a). Conclusion Compared to abstract and standardized logics of classification and homologation of needs, reflexivity of social research in times of emergency configures the ability to define and manage those needs in a relational sense. The operative logic that presides over and determines its effects is a comparison logic that also takes on a transformative value; in other words, the reflexivity does not immediately seek the resolution of a problem nor does it take on an emergency value, but is systematically concerned (through methodologically and technically adequate and relevant procedures) with the enhancement and mutual recognition of "parts" distinctly characterized by multiple cultural codes and locally specific (Venneri, 2020b). Implicit is the reference to the exhortations invoked by WHO in support of strengthening resiliency at individual, community and system level; resiliency is far as part of policies and programs designed to promote an holistic and sustainable approach to individual and community health and well-being (not just confined to health care). In particular, resiliency is not just a genetic trait but "the result of a relational process" (WHO, 2017: 13) as positive capacity and a form of toughness of people to cope with stress and adversity. In effect, the scenarios and the urgencies that put us to the test are never such as to undermine our tension to make a sociology that places the person at the center of our analyzes, in a committed way to the reaffirmation of social rights and their exercise fuller. We are perhaps convincing ourselves that "nothing will be like before" and that this "after" will have to push us to critically consider many situations of the "before" worthy of strong attention: just think of the multiple forms of inequity and inequality that the current pandemic has accentuated or unveiled, issues on which an analysis based on the constitutive principles of reflexivity can offer a qualified and useful contribution in the territorial and institutional contexts in which we live and work professionally. References [1] Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid Modernity. Malden, MA: Polity Press in association with Blackwell Publishing. [2] Bauman, Z. (2007). Consuming Life. Oxford: Polity Press. [3] Bailyn, L. (1977). Research as a Cognitive Process: Implications for Data Analysis. Quality and Quantity, 11(2), 97-117. [4] Blaikie, N. (2010). Designing Social Research: The Logic of Anticipation. Malden, MA: Polity Press. [5] Zimmerman, D.H. & Pollner, M. (1970). The Everyday World as a Phenomenon. In: J. D., Douglas (Ed.). Understanding Everyday Life: Towards a Reconstruction of Sociological Knowledge (pp. 80-103). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

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[6] Alvesson, M. & Sköldberg, K. (2000). Reflexive Methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research. London: Sage. [7] Haraway, D. (1988). Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective, Feminist Studies, 14(3), 575-599. [8] Venneri, E. (2000a). Reflective Relationality in Social Investigation: Theoretical Considerations for Research Practice, Journal of Sociological Research, 11(2), 1-13. [9] Venneri, E. (2020b). Reflexivity in Practice: Social Research for Planning, American International Journal of Social Science, 9(1), 29-34. [10] World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe (2017). Strengthening resilience: a priority shared by Health 2020 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Venice, Italy: WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development.

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Education and the Economy of Attention in Times of (post-) Pandemic

Siavash Bakhtiar

Abstract With the Coronavirus crisis, online teaching seems to have become a norm in Higher Education. The essay argues that, although this new pedagogical practice is totally acceptable in times of social distancing, it can lead to something more radical, especially with the strong will of HE institutions to continue this mode of teaching beyond the period of crisis. The normalisation of dematerialised teaching comes as a challenge to academics: it is imbedded in a new form of economy, where attention is a key source of value and labour. The omnipresence of virtual interfaces questions the very fabric of their practice as teachers, especially in humanities, where it can lead to an intensification of the pauperization of teaching staffs, due to forced redundancy. To understand how the normalisation of online teaching after the crisis can be potentially noxious, the essay proceeds by looking at the change of agency of digital tools in teaching contexts, through the concept of pharmakon, developed by Bernard Stiegler, that offers the chance for a critique of this new pedagogical strategy which can be positive during the crisis, but potentially destructive after. This concept leads to a new criteria of judgment of the digital (mode of teaching), which has to be understood as a third way between the optimism of managerial perspectives, always keen to consider information technologies as the perfect catalyst for neo-liberal reforms in education; and the traditional technophobia, proper to a philosophical tradition that, from the Frankfurt School to Giorgio Agamben, apprehends the mediation of technology essentially as a critical regression and a modern form of rationalisation that engenders an immense social and psychic alienation. Keywords: distance teaching – higher education – attention economy – crisis – pharmakon – technology

Introduction When confronted to the question of the replacement of in-class teaching by online delivery, one can refer to the Gilles Deleuze aphoristic essay modestly called “If Literature Dies, It Will be Murder,” where he states that “if audiovisual media ever replace literature, it won’t be as competing means of expression, but as a monopoly of structures (…). It’s no matter of comparing different sorts of medium. The choice isn’t between written literature and audiovisual media. It’s between creative forces (in audiovidual media as well as literature) and domesticating forces” (1995: 131). In other words, the matter of concern is not about the intrinsic qualities of the respective modes of expression, but rather about their interaction with a complex network of ideological and material forces that constitutes a specific context. We have all experienced the Covid-19 Crisis, which has imposed a quasi-global lockdown, with serious consequences in terms of human interactions. In this peculiar context, most of universities in the UK promptly shifted to remote teaching, as a response to the imposed social

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 distancing. Like in many other countries, teachers and researchers in the UK adapted very quickly. Many of them were not “digital natives;” nonetheless, they had to get used, within a few days, to the migration of teaching on different communication platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Panopto, in an great effort to keep the pedagogical continuity. Many of those dedicated academics received a few weeks later, through emails or departmental meetings, a note from the administrators who have decided that the online teaching will the privileged option until the end of 2020, and maybe beyond. In response, many members of staff and the unions instantly manifested their scepticism about this managerial choice, arguing that it comes as another step to the (neo-liberal) vision of the university, and intensifies the already existing institutional crisis.1 The suspicion was reinforced a few weeks later with the announcement of mass redundancies, recruitment freezes and cuts in programmes. With those drastic measures, it goes without saying that spectre of a standardization of online delivery after the crisis can be perceived by the university community as another excuse to accelerate the rampant managerialism that puts higher education on the brink. In times of crisis, critique is more than essential. Questioning is the essence of the job of an academic – some would say, even her responsibility – in difficult times. Therefore, it is important to examine the proliferation of remote teaching, which has important implications for the teachers and the students. If the crisis does not provide (yet) a direct opportunity to undo the endemic marketisation of UK universities, it certainly shows the fragility of its fabric.2 Therefore, this essay looks at several aspects of this process. In the first section, it shows how the prolongation – and de facto, the replacement of in-site classes by virtual teaching – might eventually accelerate the proletarianization of teachers, and the growing of class of knowledge workers known as the cognitariat. In the second section, I claim that there is little ground for criticism for this measure during the pandemic: this unprecedented crisis caught everyone unprepared, and it was the universities’ responsibility to keep the students safe. However, this new settlement – which combines multitasking, communication of information on platforms owned by private companies, and long-hours in front of the screen – participates fully to what thinkers like Yves Citton have called an economy of attention. This concept which gives ground for reflexion on our adjustment to an exponential use of media technologies in our everyday life. Finally, following Bernard Stiegler’s notion of pharmakon, I discuss the possibility for a “new” critical theory that perceives objects and virtual activities within their contexts; a pharmacological approach defines them as “cure” or “poison” for the human individuals or

1 Last spring, academics and members took part in a strike in 74 universities across the UK. It was another illustration of the rapid precariousness of academics, which is a direct consequence of emergence of corporate mentality and market logic within HE institution. The action mainly led by the UCU (University and College Union), that released a report in June 2019, based on the survey led by HESA (Experts in higher education data and analysis) that “give us is an approximate sense of scale. 37,000 fixed-term, mostly hourly paid teaching staff plus another 60- 70,000 hourly paid ‘atypical academics’ represents a lot of casualised teachers circulating in the higher education system.” See: https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/10336/Counting-the-costs-of-casualisation-in-higher-education-Jun- 19/pdf/ucu_casualisation_in_HE_survey_report_Jun19.pdf 2 Luckily, unions and independent associations of academics are already thinking about ways of a restoration a more accessible and public model of higher education. Next to the actions led by UCU, the group The Convention for Higher Education has been very active organising to defend Higher Education from market failure. They have organised several videoconferences since May 2020 and have come up with a manifesto in the form a 9 essential points manifesto based around solidarity around the most vulnerable members of staff and eventually restore higher education as a vital public good that should be accessible to all. The members of the Convention are planning to bring their campaign to the Parliament, with a set of demands for the MPs to put the universities on a long-term sustainable footing. See: https://heconvention2.wordpress.com/2020/05/25/new-future-for-he/

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 societies that interact with/through them. This leads to argue that although technologies are interwoven in the fabric of capital expenditure projects of multinational companies, there is a need to look for an alternative to confront the pessimistic narratives that often present those technologies as alienating instruments. The University as Atomised Individuals and the Emergence of the Cognitariat The quick response of academics to the need of remote teaching, and the accelerated adaptation – via virtual trainings to develop and teach online courses – has pushed paradoxically the managers to believe that, in a matter of weeks, academics will be ready and happy with this new model for a long period of time – often without taking into account the substantive inequality between them. The differences come in many forms: from the space available in the house to work efficiently – everyone does not have the luxury to have an office at home – to the ability to work with digital tools. By extension, these inequalities can give ground to a division of labour, which will eventually atomise the academic community into individuals, allowing a scenario of competition already present in many companies with a neoliberal ethos, where failure is understood a consequence of an individual’s poor choices rather than the collective responsibility. Also, the Covid-19 Crisis comes as another layer to a latent crisis that has been present for decades. The interest of university managers for technology-enhanced teaching is not new, but the current crisis seems to act as a catalyst to online model of delivery that is already part of the practice of many higher education institutions, as a result of restructuring of universities to maximise profit, especially in the UK.1 It goes without saying that the implementation of a market-oriented ideology is transforming de facto knowledge into a commodity. The traditional argument is that the in-class format is obsolete or anachronistic, and placing business before pedagogy, as David Lewin highlights: “Is the interest in online education really pedagogical? It seems highly likely that the impetus to develop online education is founded, first and foremost, on economic rather than pedagogic concerns, since online learning is clearly driven by large corporations invested in the proliferation of online technologies, as well as affording extraordinary scalability and restricting the greatest cost in traditional education, the expense of the teachers” (253). Consequently, in a neoliberal paradigm, the work of academics becomes merely “content delivery” to students, who are considered as clients that are looking for credentials that will give them a plus value on the labour market. This narrative has been at the centre of a larger mechanism, known as cognitive capitalism, which can be defined as a new economy where cognitive activities and information technologies are playing a major part in the production of profit: “the emergence of ‘an economy of knowledge’ means a strengthening of capitalism by the transformation of a free good into a commodity with an exchange value” (Azam: 111). This new paradigm is characterised by a shift from the traditional workplaces, such as the factories, to new sectors and such as offices and universities, but also domestic spaces of everyday life.

1 In this essay, I focus mainly on UK universities, but there has been a drastic neo-liberal turn of higher education is also present in other European countries, as for instance France with Libertés et Responsabilités des Universités; a reform imposed in 2007 with the objective of adapting public universities to the rules of the Nouveau Management Public (Vinokur 2008). Mutatis mutandis, the reform is usually similar in all the European countries: a shift from a traditional collegiate principle (usually independent from the “outside world”) towards a model where the decisions are taken by a board constituted by increasing number of administrators coming from outside the university, and many of them experts in Knowledge Management (Newfield: 70-73).

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With the social distancing and remote working, this phenomenon is now more obvious than even: “This mechanism transforms the free and autonomous essence of those activities, through the alienation and the direct domination of individuals, but also by competing with one another and their integration in the techno-structures of biopower. In this context, the university as an autonomous space of production and transmission of knowledge is on the decline. Progressively, it becomes an institution that is potentially at the centre of the capitalist modes of regulation and production” (Cottet, Bernat Zubiri-Rey, Sauvel: 57). A cognitive capitalist regime – as the classic liberal economic model, based on division of labour and competition between workers – implies the emergence of a proletariat, known as the cognitive workers, the info-proletariat, or the cognitariat. This new category determines a group of individuals that, on one hand, are selling their labour power for a wage; and, on the other hand, are conscious of their exploitation by a neo-capitalist system. The only different, in comparison to Marx’s times or the early 20th century, is that today “ ‘knowledge workers’ (…) unlike the employees under capitalism, they own both the ‘means of production’ and the ‘tools of production’ ” (Drucker: 8). These means of production are mainly generated by media technologies, which are the axis of rotation where high-tech companies articulate their interaction – some would say insertion – of universities. More than two-third of major digital innovations imply a type of collaboration between private companies and public universities or laboratories called open innovation. This asymmetrical collaboration allows majors companies, such as Microsoft or Google, to give “free access” to their tools, in return of the intellectual property of the inventions, which gives them a great opportunity to expand their monopoly and make their technologies the standard in different sectors (Newfield: 73-74). One of the consequences of this model is a systematic stratification of the different members of staff between valuable members – researchers that have grants from external companies and agencies, and therefore enjoy a great autonomy within the universities, useful members – lecturers and technicians with experience, usually with an administrative; and finally the disposable members – associates and graduate teaching assistants on fixed-term, variable or zero hours contracts – that constitute the cognitariat of higher education.1 Of course, this type of hierarchisation in universities has been in place for decades now, but I argue that it has been intensified with the current crisis. As mentioned in the introduction, the pauperization of the academic community increased with the systematic slashing of jobs.2 This is even more dramatic when it is proven that distance learning is more time-consuming and will demand more preparation from the academics on permanent contract, since it tries to adapt to the needs of the learners:

1 As said earlier, the cognitariat is perfectly aware of the situation and the means of its exploitation. In the last months, there have been a great number of academics on precarious contracts that have denounced the university manager’s systematic plan an anticipated reduction of hundreds of casualised TA and TF academics, by letting their contracts to expire. Many of them have decided to challenge the financial narrative back this unfair decision, because they consider it is the consequence of bad management and decades of marketisation, rather than the pandemic crisis per se. see also: https://www.ft.com/content/67f89a9e-ac30-47d0-83e7-eba4d1284847 2 According to UCU, one of the latest and most dramatic action is Bradford College’s intention to dismiss 107 academics by 5 August 2020, after a shortfall £2m fall in apprenticeship income due to the lockdown. See: https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/10851/Unfair-dismissal-warnings-as-Bradford-College-announced-plans-to-axe- over-100-staff?list=1676

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“This can be observed in the spatio-temporal flexibility of online education: it can take place synchronously (in ‘real time’) or asynchronously (whenever suits the learner, i.e., self-paced), though the asynchronous component is more characteristic of learning online where learners engage in email, blogs, forums, wikis, audio, video etc. This flexibility can facilitate independence of mind and self-directed attitudes towards education but more negatively, plays into the ‘student-as-consumer’ attitude” (Lewin: 255). In the previous lines, I have discussed the notion cognitive capitalism to highlight the emergence of a new class of workers, the cognitariat. In the following section, I would like to introduce another concept that will narrow down the scope and help us to understand better certain aspects of our experience during the lockdown period; a liminal time where the imposed social distancing has revealed in an unprecedented fashion what is at the centre of cognitive capitalism: attention. Attention Economy in a Contactless Society Like many people, most academics working from home have noticed that this new form of labour requires discipline and organisation, in a context where attention becomes rare. The sociological interest in attention is not new, but it remerged in the late 1990s with the exponential use of digital technologies the development of Internet in a globalised market, where “money (now) flows along with attention” (Goldhaber 1997, emphasis in original). Therefore, in order to understand how cognitive activities have become a major subject of profit and domination in a neoliberal regime, I refer in this section to the concept of attention economy, proposed by thinkers such as Yves Citton, and tailor it to the study of the specific case of remote teaching in higher education pre- and post -pandemic.1 Citton discuss in his work the necessity to find an alternative to the classic definition of economy, understood as merely a study of the optimisation of the exploitation of rare resources (2014a; 2014b). According to this purely instrumental perspective, one could say that in the age of “liquid” modernity (Bauman, 2000), we have reached a quasi-optimal where all interactions are smoothly integrated into flows of data. Even though the current ecological crisis demonstrates that the hyper-industrial age is far from being immaterial: the exploitation of workers to make the devices, the contamination of lands in the extraction of rare mineral. The digital comes at a hight material cost. Paradoxically, the digital age has been often presented, especially in media studies, as a revolution in the progress line of modernity that presents virtual technologies as extensions of man (McLuhan, 1999). The study of the economy of attention demonstrates that this new economy, marked by exponential use of digital tools, does no replace the old modes of production and communication, but only “adds another layer of complexity, which is implies a reconfiguration of the ulterior layers, without abolishing them in any way” (Citton, 2014a: 9). Said differently, the crisis of attention is just one of the latest stages that complete the long litany of the crises of modernity: the ecological, the social, the economic, the viral…

1 Emmanuel Kessous points out that the “marketisation of attention” can be understood from two different perspectives: “two radically different theoretical approaches based on two fairly compartmentalized disciplines in the social sciences: ergonomics and economics. Whereas in the former, attention is seen as a stock of limited resources that must be preserved, because they are renewed slowly (the problem of usability concerns the use of one’s attention), in the latter, attention is seen as a flow. This approach seeks to set up the economic conditions for the exploitation of attention in order to extract value from it.” (79) In this essay, I will focus on the former definition.

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In his seminal book, Pour une écologie de l’attention,1 Citton asserts that in order to understand the dept of this crisis, one needs to understand attention as essentially a collective phenomenon, in two senses; first, from an ontological point of view, he reminds us that “individuals do not pre-exist the relations that constitutes them”(45). Secondly, he defends the postulate that: “[The] attentional resources of each individual allow her to perform a limited number of tasks at a certain time, with relation with the skills she had learned. (…) [The] limited sum of available attention at every moment implies a principle of competition between the different objects that we take into consideration or the quality of the consideration that is dedicated to each of them. (…) What our attention gains quantitatively by taking into consideration different objects simultaneously, we lose qualitatively in the intensity of the attention we dedicate to them separately” (55). When applied to the practice of online teaching, which requires a high level of multi-tasking – between giving the instructions, sharing documents, avoiding any connection issues, delegating speech time to the students… – it does not take long to understand that at the end of the equation, the quality of the teaching will certainly not be the same than in an in-class situation, where the capacity for deep attention, necessary for an effective learning, is eroded and replaced by hyper attention, defined by Katherine Hayles as “characterized by switching focus rapidly among different tasks, preferring multiple information streams, seeking a high level of stimulation, and having a low tolerance for boredom’’ (2007: 187). This new situation offers a good opportunity to think about the type of higher education we want, without falling into the moralism that, since the Frankfurt School, considers most – if not all – digital technologies as prostheses of a culture industry that entertains the masses (Adorno 2001). However, the attentional phenomenon is more complex than what the followers of the Frankfurt School describe in their work: the position of the viewer is not anymore a passive one, a victim of a powerful alienating visual industry; rather, attention has to be considered as an active phenomenon where “to look is to labour” (Citton, 2014b: 79).2 Far from a digital ideology, which would present internet as a neutral network, made of democratic and “free” interactions that would take the peer-to-peer as a standard, those interactions are fundamentally asymmetric: we are not all equals, when it comes to the digital. The division of between an elite and a proletariat is mainly done by the amount of attention one requires for a specific task, just like in the assembly line in Fordist factories. As mentioned in the first section, the creation of a cognitariat is mainly due to the very physical of a hyper- industrial type of economy, which is always presented as immaterial, but actually requires a huge amount of material and biological capacities to be inventive enough to produce a product that is attractive enough to catch the attention of the viewers, the clients, the teachers, the students. Citton also insists on the necessity of invention in education. Following Jacques Rancière’s lesson on democratic pedagogy, he argues that the essential task of the teachers is not to

1 An English version was published in 2016, but in this essay, all the references are from the original French version. 2 Many social scientists have theorised recently what has been coined by Tiziana Terranova as Free Labour: “We call this excessive activity that makes the Internet a thriving and hyper-active medium “free labour”—a feature of the cultural economy at large, and an important, yet unacknowledged, source of value in advanced capitalist societies” (73).

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 deliver knowledge, but rather to be inventive enough to catch the student’s attention.1 The challenge of inventiveness goes hand in hand with novelty: there is a necessity to work with educational allies that participate in the process of creation, since “we see better, because we usually see with” (Citton, 2014b: 139, emphasis in original). With what? With colleagues and students: paying attention to a different perspective, learning from it and then trying to adapt it to a new context, in order to convey your own understanding of a subject. But also with a huge range of objects: books, of course, but also other types of artefacts and technologies, which can facilitate the transfer of knowledge, empowering the students’ autonomy and promoting a more democratic educational practice. This point is very important, since it pushes to (re)consider that with regard to online education, the issue is not the technological devise per se, but the role imposed to them in a specific context of the attention economy. Citton mentions the specific cases of the MOOCS (massive open online courses) to illustrate the ambivalent nature of technology-enhanced teaching. On the one hand, these courses provide a high-quality teaching to many students who need remote teaching for different reasons – and not only a pandemic. It would be absurd to not recognise that visual technology clearly favours the need of creativity that education needs to be attractive and build up new pedagogical strategies – new forms of evaluation, different format of lectures and seminars, … – to fit the needs of an ultra-connected generation. On the other hand, it would be dangerous to consider the MOOCS as a long-term solution to the new problems of higher education. I have already mentioned the direct effect of this shift on teaching posts: with massive redundancies and the acceleration of the pauperization of university teachers. Citton also insists on the pauperization of the education experience, in the way that the technological medication does not allow to reproduce two interconnected fundamental features essential to in-class education at a university level. First, the imitation of gesture, which requires that the students must observe, and later repeating, the instructor’s action “for real” (Citton, 2014b: 145). Secondly, to be able to watch and imitate the instructor, there is a need of corporal presence that allows the affective/sensory/ bodily dimension of the constitution of our individuation (ibid.: 146). Of course in times of pandemic, this social proximity is not possible, and the technology can substitute human presence, and help out to keep a pedagogical continuity; but it would be irresponsible to consider that they can replace the hands, the voice, the gaze of a teacher. The substitution of technology of human presence, and its interference with the process of individuation has been at the heart of the work of many philosophers. Therefore, I find it important to discuss it in the next section, where I will confront a tradition of critique that is concerned by the rise of technologies in the capitalist (culture) industry and consider de facto most of digital and visual devices as prostheses of a capitalist system or participating to the surveillance apparatus of the state. Contra this technophobic and pessimistic perspective, I will argue, echoing Bernard Stiegler, that attention is not a given natural skill that needs to be protected, but rather it is something that is composed et decomposed with other entities, humans and non-humans.2

1 I have mentioned Citton’s analysis of Rancière’s work on education in a previous essay (Bakhtiar, 2018b). See also Citton, 2010. 2 It is certainly Bruno Latour who offered the most ambitious theory about the necessity to consider non-human entities as important and necessary actants in the composition of the “social” (Latour, 1993; 2005; 2008).

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Concerning the Modern (Capitalist) Pharmacopeia The concern about attention is also present in the writings of philosopher Bernard Stiegler who expressed, in several occasions, the necessity to consider attention in more general terms (économie générale de l’attention) as an essential part, from a very young age, of the socialisation of individuals. Stiegler highlights the fact that the attention processes necessarily go through material dispositifs – from a ritual artefact to an Ipad – that keep part of the artificial memory of a society (Stiegler, 2007: 40; 2010: 127). Therefore, he advocates for an approach that analyses the current neoliberal systemic dynamics, that he calls “hypermaterial economy” to contrast with the immaterial narratives (2014: 127). In philosophy, terminology is important. Consequently, Stiegler’ use of the words dispositifs to talk about the technologies, which did not exist at the end of the 19th century and are now taking an active part in the transformation of our societies, is not a trivial act. By choosing this terminology, he chooses his takes part in the argument between the two major currents of the commentators of Michel Foucault: one could be called techno-pessimistic, and the other, techno-enthusiastic. The former perspective is best represented by Giorgio Agamben, and the later by Gilles Deleuze. Both currents refer to Foucault’s work on biopolitics and agree on many points in their critique of modernity, especially the one that breaks with the modernist epistemological construction of technological progress and science, as being essential and neutral with regard to the development of humanity. However, the orientation they give to their reflexions on technology is radically different. Agamben diagnosis is by far the most pessimistic one: it invites the modern thinkers and favours a definite division between human beings and other entities, since the modern apparatus implies the control of the subject, to the extent of “desubjectification.” In What is an Apparatus, he writes: “It would probably not be wrong to define the extreme phase of capitalist development in which we live as a massive accumulation and proliferation of apparatuses. It is dear that ever since Homo sapiens first appeared. there have been apparatuses; but we could say that today there is not even a single instant in which the life of individuals is not modeled, contaminated, or controlled by some apparatus. (…) What defines the apparatuses that we have to deal with in the current phase of capitalism is that they no longer act as much through the production of a subject, as through the processes of what can be called desubjectification. A desubjectifying moment is certainly implicit every process of subjectification” (15, 19) Deleuze offers a much more enthusiastic definition that focuses on the possibilities modern (media) technological devices can offer in favour of the process of subjectivation: “The first two dimensions of an apparatus or the ones that Foucault first extracted are the curves of visibility and the curves of utterance. Because apparatuses are like Raymond Roussel’s machines, which Foucault also analysed; they are machines that make one see and talk. (…) And finally, Foucault discovered lines of subjectivation. This new dimension has already given rise to so much misunderstanding that it is hard to specify its conditions. More than any other, this discovery came from a crisis in Foucault's thought, as if he needed to rework the map of apparatuses, find a new orientation for them to prevent them from closing up behind impenetrable lines of force imposing definitive contours. (…) And as for Foucault, he sensed that the apparatuses he analysed could not be circumscribed by an enveloping line without other vectors passing above and below: ‘crossing the line,’ he said, like ‘going to the

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 other side’? (…) It is a line of flight. It escapes the previous lines; it escapes from them. The Self is not knowledge or power. It is a process of individuation that effects groups or people and eludes both established lines of force and constituted knowledge. It is a kind of surplus value. Not every apparatus necessarily has it” (2003: 317-318. Emphasis in the original). In other words, Agamben is looking to what is lost in the digital age, while Deleuze is interested to the potential possibilities that can be gained. I write the potential possibilities to highlight the passage: “not every apparatus necessarily has it.” This statement might look self-evident, but it goes against the grain of a certain melancholy that has been present in critical theory, which is an important part of its genealogy. Referring to the Deleuzian perspective, I have used the adjective “enthusiastic” rather than “optimistic” to avoid to include Deleuze into a binary logic that would oppose a positivistic tradition that consider techno-science progress as key to humanity’s future to a tradition of critique that considers technologies solely as tools eroding some “aura” essential to education and emancipation. Like Deleuze, Bernard Stiegler also investigates the possibilities offered by the dispositifs, but advocates for a general pharmacological approach of knowledge and considers technologies as pharmaka: that is to say, objects that can be curative or toxic, favour or against individuation, depending on the way we interact with or understand them (2007: 39-40; 2013: 4; 2014: 130). The contribution of such an approach is more than necessary in times of rise of media technologies, and the de facto– usual negative – critique that philosophers and sociologists develop with regards to them.1 It provides a more pragmatic vision – thinking “par le milieu” to use a Deleuzian catchphrase– to the complex relationship between technological devices and the ideological (and scientific) forces that use and are used by them. Stiegler’s theory also allows to shape a reflection on education, without falling into a romantic rejection of technology, which is according to him central to the process of humanisation, and therefore of emancipation. Said differently, humans are fundamentally technological beings. Confronted to the obstacles of existence, humans had to constantly call on “compensation processes that generate social invention and individuation;” and this compensation cannot be done without the participation of devices. Despite the dependence they might create, there is not socialisation without them: “there can be no ‘origin’ no ‘beginning,’ no ‘inside’ without exteriorisation and differentiation, without the artifice of technics. From the start, a ‘default’ – and the reliance on technics – is always necessary: un défaut qu’il faut” (Stiegler, 2003: 152, emphasis in original). Despite this statement, he calls for a new critical theory that highlights the importance of investigating the genealogy of the complex fabric that links technology, attention, and education.2 One could read the pharmacological approach as an alternative to the narrative of technological neutrality that consider objects as not neutral tools determined by the will of the user or designer – this user being a humanistic teacher or a capitalist manager. On the contrary, I would say that one should consider technologies used for distance learning as part of a long lines of tools used in the educational practice: just like books or pen

1 Stiegler borrows this term from Jacques Derrida, who describes the ambiguous character of writing, that Plato describes as the first pharmakon (Derrida, 1981). 2 David Lewin highlights that it takes part in the polarised debate that has been going between technophiles and technophobes about digitalisation, individual and societal emancipation: “[The debate] has particular resonance with the philosophy of Bernard Stiegler for whom the emergence of human nature and the development of technology are coeval. This is important because it deconstructs the romantic and prelapsarian view of human nature. unsullied by the instrumentalism of homo technicus. If human beings are not, in any meaningful sense prior to technology, then the tensions between technology and education are transformed” (252-253).

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 and paper. This symmetry does not mean that they all have the same potential, or agency, when they interact with other entities.1 Consequently, the pharmacological approach can be sympathetic to the concern of modern critics, and their post-modern followers, like Agamben who warns us about the threat not only on critical consciousness, but also on the social and individual bodies (Agamben 1998). However, in contrast with this type of perspective, a pharmacological approach considers that the process of individuation cannot be opposed to alienation. Said differently, the real/presential cannot be opposed to the virtual: “[the] virtual is opposed not to the real but to the actual. The virtual is fully real in so far as it is virtual” (Deleuze 1994: 208). Stiegler’s tour de force is that to offer a new critical discourse that gives an alternative to the tradition of critique established by the Frankfurt School, and by post-modernists. Consequently, he establishes a “new” critical theory that considers that human socialisation is composed by phases of addiction – or desire or drive to use psychoanalytic terminology– to beings and things.2 The challenge is to dose out the interaction with those addictive entities, those pharmaka that are potentially a cure or a poison depending on the circumstances. I suggest that this statement is applicable to online teaching; in times of crisis, it has an overall beneficial effect on both teachers and students – in times of social distancing, teaching is better than not teaching. But we must be caution in post-crisis times, when this same pharmakon can be toxic, if we do acknowledge the pharmacological nature of such technology, and we do not take care about its effects, without question them, on the process of individuation. as Lewin points out, “[for] Stiegler the mere satisfaction of drives entails infantilization because those drives are given and do not encourage inquiry into their own nature” (261). I would add that the necessity to care and to be concerned is even more necessary in times of social distancing, that are short-circuiting the process of trans-individualisation necessary to the psychic well-being of individuals and affects their socialisation. In times of pandemic, one should not be concerned about the material and primary organs; the heart, the liver; the lungs…but also the “organa as pharmaka: in other words, the artificial organa without which we are nothing: clothes, glasses and other devices that improve our natural capacities; (…) those pharmaka can also cause ruins, disaster..” (Stiegler, 2007: 44). Therefore, one could say that they are not factually always dangerous, but have the potential to be toxic, depending on the circumstances, therefore we should be responsible for the attention we delegate them and consider them legitimately as matters of concern.3 In Conclusion, I Would Prefer Not To… If the reader has still some doubt about the fact that some university managers are taking the opportunity of the Covid-19 crisis to push further their neoliberal strategy for the future of

1 The term agency has to be understood in the way Bruno Latour defines it: “One of them is the precise role granted to non-humans. They have to be actors and not simply the hapless bearers of symbolic projection. But this activity should not be the type of agency associated up to now with matters of fact or natural objects. (…) . Conversely, any study that gives non-humans a type of agency that is more open than the traditional natural causality—but more efficient than the symbolic one—can be part of our corpus, even though some of the authors would not wish to be associated in any way with this approach” (2005: 10). 2 About addiction, Stiegler writes: “I think addiction is a normal condition and that there are good and bad addictions, in the same way that there are good and bad fictions. (….) In conclusion, any addiction can go sour and trigger instinctive or destructive pulsion, starting with auto-destruction” (2007: 34-35). 3 I have developed a section about the difference between matters of fact and matters of concern, using Bruno Latour’s theory, in another essay (Bakhtiar, 2018a).

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Higher Education in the UK, she should read some of the comments of those managers have made in the last months.1 I hope that I have proven in this essay that, on the base of the material and moral impact on the teachers, who were at the front during the crisis, it is important to slow down and set a critical eye on the option of maintaining online teaching after the pandemic. I argue that it will potentially become a toxic pharmakon that places higher education at the heart of the “symbolic misery,” to use Stiegler’s terms, “which places the sensory life of the individual under the permanent control of the mass media” (2016: 192). There is no doubt the education is a multifaceted practice that evolves by including new technics. However, as Stiegler has pointed out, many decision makers have lost sight of the questions of higher education values and purposes. The later are closely linked with the pharmacological questions of caring about beings and things, and the psychological and material consequences of their toxic (neo-liberal) logic for the teachers, who will be massively pauperized if we all stop paying attention to the pharmacological nature of digital technologies: “[The] fact of proletarianization is caused by the digital, which, like every new form of tertiary retention, constitutes a new age of the pharmakon. It is inevitable that this pharmakon will have toxic effects if new therapies, new therapeutics, are not prescribed. Such prescriptions are the responsibility of the scientific world, the artistic world, the legal world, the world of the life of the spirit in general and the world of citizens – and, in the first place, of those who claim to represent them.” (ibid.: 197). Indeed, the Covid-19 crisis, as any crisis, is by essence the a time for critique and therefore offers an opportunity for collective and individual choices about the “lines of subjectivation” and “bifurcations,” to speak with Deleuze’s words, will be co-constitutive of our universities and societies.2 Fortunately, as I have already mentioned, there have been collective actions organised by unions and independent associations mentioned earlier, that are leading campaigns in response to trailing proletarianization that is menacing higher education imposed to universities the UK. Finally, what about the individual response to the current situation? It there any mode of resistance at this level? It is certainly the most difficult one, since it implies an implication on the most intimate conditions: On an individual level, the situations are usually much more complicated on a personal and intimate level, especially after this difficult period, when most

1 For instance the interview given by Prof. Cliff Allan, a former-vice chancellor and eminent Board member of Universities UK, who answered very openly to the question “Will this crisis result in a change to the way universities teach in 2020, or are we likely to see some changes that endure beyond the time of the pandemic?”: “Looking to the future, how can we turn this crisis into an opportunity for change? I hope that we don’t fall back into what we were doing before. What can we learn from this fast step-change around teaching and learning that many leaders have wanted to make in universities, but historically haven’t been able to? Many people may now be waking up to the opportunities, flexibility, and the different models that might emerge from an online offer. (…) What it could have an impact on is the temporal experience of higher education. Does everything have to be delivered in the traditional academic year? We may feel that this gives us a new model of teaching: any place, anywhere, anytime. In many ways, this is a shock to the system, and sometimes shocks to the system can result in quite rapid change. Many people are using this phrase ‘the new normal.’ So does this become the normal, as we move forward?” (Allan in Levisohn, 2020). 2 Stiegler reminds us that “Krisis, which has a long history – in Hippocrates it refers to a decisive turning point in the course of an illness – is also the origin of all critique, of all decision exercised by to krinon as the power to judge on the basis of criteria” (2016: 195).

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 of academics had to promptly comply to the needs of the pedagogical continuity, but knowing that on the long term the current situation – teaching online – might become toxic. The situation most of academics in times of pandemic reminds me of Bartleby. I see a parallel between the pharmacological condition teachers are in universities, where the current mode of teaching is pushing them to a psychological a material limit, and the stranger protagonist of Herman Melville’s eponymous short story, a conscientious clerk in a company in Wall Street, who after a long time of hard work, one day suddenly enters into a state of crisis and decides that would rather not proceed with his regular work; when asked why, he systematically answers: “I would prefer not to” (Melville: 10). This sentence has been the objects of many comments from philosophers, from Derrida to Agamben,1 and especially Deleuze who highlights, in his essay Bartleby, ou la formule, the disruptive potential of such an ambiguous answer, which is not a strict refusal, but “Bartleby does not refuse, he simply rejects a nonpreferred (the proofreading, the errands ...). And he does not accept either, he does not affirm a preference that would consist in continuing to copy, he simply posits its impossibility” (92).2 Casualised teachers – as genuine members of the cognitariat – might passively express in a pharmacological call for recognition, through a negative preference, until the moment their managers recognise the (in)humanity of their condition; echoing therefore the passive resistance of the narrator in Melville’s story who, at the moment of the clerk’s death, acknowledged eventually the critical condition of his former employee, by finishing his tale writing “Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!” (34). Let’s hope we will not have to reach this extreme situation. But for now, let’s say that when asked by a manager if she prefers to keep teaching online after the crisis, any teacher is entitled to use the Bartlebian formula I would prefer not to as a passive, but still direct, act of resistance. References [1] Adorno, T. (2001). The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture. London ; New York : Routledge [2] Agamben, G. (1998). Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Stanford, Cal.: Stanford University Press [3] Aamben, G. (2009). What is an Apparatus? And other Essays. D. Kishik and S. Pedatella (transl.). Stanford: Stanford University Press. [4] Azam, G. (2007). La connaissance, une marchandise fictive. In Revue du MAUSS, 1 (29), 110-126. [5] Bakhtiar, S. (2018a). Concerning the Apparition of a Mobile Phone in a 17th Century Painting and Its Issuefication. In European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(3), 124-131

1 I do not comment in this essay Derrida and Agamben’s respective books of the figure of Bartleby, but the reader can find in Gisèle Berkman’s excellent essay an extensive analysis of the negative definitions these two thinkers give of Bartleby. In donner la mort, Derrida understands Melville’s tale as another modern version of the biblical story of Abraham’s sacrifice; whereas Agamben describes Bartleby as a fictional allegory of the “Muselmann,” the central figure in Remnants of Auschwitz that illustrates those in the concentration camps who are deprived of will, spontaneity, and thrown into a vegetative existence (Berkman, 2011: 162). 2 One could see a similitude in the passive resistance of Bartleby and those teachers who, on an individual level, have also rejected a “nonpreferred” when the have taken part on “wildcat” marking boycott to protest at Goldsmiths, where five hundred members of staff are at risk of losing their jobs. See: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/01/goldsmiths-sack-casual-staff-exams-universities- covid-19.

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[6] Bakhtiar, S. (2018b). The Emancipated Student: Rethinking Knowledge, Equality and Democracy. In European Journal of Social Science Education and Research, 5(3), 32- 40. [7] Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid Modernity. Cambridge: Polity [8] Berkman, G. (2011). L’effet Bartleby. Philosophes lecteurs. Paris: Hermann [9] Citton, Y. (2010). “The ignorant schoolmaster:” knowledge and authority. In Jacques Rancière: Key Concepts. J.-P. Deranty (ed.). Durham: Acumen, 25-37. [10] Citton, Y. (2014a) Introduction, in L’économie de l’attention. Nouvel horizon du capitalisme ?. Paris : La Découverte, 7-31. [11] Citton, Y. (2014b). Pour une écologie de l'attention. Paris : Seuil. [12] Cottet, D., Zubiri-Rey, J. & Sauvel, P. (2009). L'émergence du cognitariat face aux réformes universitaires en France. In Multitudes, 39(4), 56-65. [13] Deleuze, G. (1993). Bartleby ou la formule, In Critique et clinique. Paris : Minuit, 89- 114. [14] Deleuze, G. (1994). Difference et repetition. P. Patton (transl.). New York: Columbia University Press [15] Deleuze, G. (1995). Negotiations: 1972-1990. M. Joughin (transl.), New York: Columbia University Press. [16] Deleuze, G. (2003). “Qu’est-ce qu’un dispositif ?”. In Deux régimes de fous. Paris : Editions de Minuit, 316-325. [17] Derrida, J. (1981.) Plato’s Pharmacy, Dissemination. B. Johnson (transl.). London: The Athlone Press [18] Drucker, P.F. (1998). Post-Capitalist Society. New York: Basic Books. [19] Franck, G. (2013). Capitalisme mental. In Multitudes, 54(3), 199-213. [20] Goldhaber, M. (1997). The Attention Economy on the Net. In First Monday, 2(4). https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/519/440 [21] Hayles, K. (2007). Hyper and deep attention: The generational divide in cognitive modes. In Profession, 13, 187–199. [22] Kessous, E. (2015). The Attention Economy Between Market Capturing and Commitment in the Polity. In Oeconomia, 5 (1), 77-101. [23] Latour, B. (1993). We Have Never Been Modern. C. Porter (transl.), Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press [24] Latour. B. (2005) Reassembling the Social. An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press [25] Latour, B. (2008) Where are the Missing Masses, Sociology of a Few Mundane Artefacts Application. In Technology and Society: Building our Sociotechnical Future. D. G. Johnson and J. M. Wetmore (eds.), Cambridge, Mass.; London: The MIT Press, 151-180 [26] Levisohn, E. (2020, April 29). Allan, J. (2020). The future of Higher Education in the UK: COVID19 impact on institutes and students. Studiocity: https://www.studiosity.com/blog/the-future-of-higher-education-in-the-uk- covid19-impact

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[27] Lewin, D. (2016). The Pharmakon of Educational Technology: The Disruptive Power of Attention in Education. In Studies in Philosophy and Education, 35, 251–265 [28] McLuhan, M. (1999). Understanding Media: the Extensions of Man. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press [29] Melville, H. (2002). Bartleby, The Scrivener. A Story of Wall-Street. In The Texts of Melville’s Short Novels. D. McCall (ed.). New York; London: Norton & Company. 3-34 [30] Newfield, C. (2009). Structure et silence du cognitariat. In Multitudes, 39(4), 68-78. [31] Stiegler, B. (1998). Technics and Time I: The Fault of Epimetheus. Stanford: Stanford University Press. [32] Bernard, B. (2003). Technics of decision an interview. In Angelaki, 8 (2), 151-168 [33] Stiegler, B. (2007). Questions de pharmacologie générale. Il n'y a pas de simple pharmakon. In Psychotropes, vol. 13(3), 27-54. [34] Stiegler, B. (2010). Taking care of the youth and the generations. Redwood, CA: Stanford University Press. [35] Stiegler. B. (2013). What Makes Life Worth Living: On Pharmacology. D. Ross (transl.) Cambridge: Polity [36] Stiegler, B. (2014). L'attention, entre économie restreinte et individuation collective. In L'économie de l’attention : Nouvel horizon du capitalisme ?. Y. Citton (ed). Paris : La Découverte. [37] Stiegler, B. (2016). Automatic society, Londres février 2015. In Journal of Visual Art Practice, 15 (2-3), 192-203. [38] Terranova, T. (2004). Network Culture: Politics for the Information Age. New York : Pluto Press [39] Vinokur, A. (2008). La loi relative aux libertés et responsabilités des universités : essai de mise en perspective. In Revue de la régulation. http://journals.openedition.org/regulation/1783

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Criminal Proceedings Law Improvements for Justice Witnesses in Albania

Rezana Balla PhD., Lecturer, Marin Barleti University, Criminal Law Department Faculty of Law, Tirana, Albania

Abstract In the framework of the constitutional1 justice reform2 of year 2016, “Constitutional reform in Albania of year 2016 determined fundamental amendments by improving justice system.” (Balla, 2017, p. 368), there are undertaken to be improved important justice laws. Therefore, fundamental amendments are made on the Criminal Proceedings Code (CPC) on year 20173. These amendments consisted in general and specially to enable the implementation of government policy, for the establishment of new institutions and the strengthening of existing ones, in the fight against corruption and the consolidation of the justice system. At the same time, the amendments aim to address the most obvious issues and problems encountered in practice. Correspondingly, the constitutional amendments and the adoption of other laws, necessary to implement them, brought the need to unify and harmonize these amendments in the CPC. In particular, the new regulations aim to determine the prosecutor's independence in the criminal proceedings, the establishment of the Special Prosecution Office, the jurisdiction of the High Court and the change in the subject matter jurisdiction of the Court of Corruption and Organized Crime. Through this paper it is addressed the treatment of new standards and institutes that are regulated in the CPC. How do they stand compared to European standards such as the jurisprudence of the ECtHR and international law, as well as the jurisprudence of International Criminal Court (ICC). The paper aims to address issues related to the rights of defendants, the legal position of the victims and especially the treatment of the most favorable legal status of protected witnesses4 and collaborators of justice. Keywords: justice witnesses, collaborators of justice, the rights of defendants, victims of crime, criminal proceedings.

1 Constitutional Law Amendments (2016) published on Official Journal year 2016. 2 Balla, R. (2017). Constitutional Reform, Criminal Justice Reform on Prevention of Organized Crime and Corruption, Proceedings of International Scientific Conference at Faculty of Law, Tirana University, Albania. p. 368. 3 Amendments to the Criminal Proceedings Code CPC have been adopted by law no. 36 dated 30.03.2017. https://alblegis.com/Legjislacioni/Ligji-Nr.36-Dt.-30.03.2017-Kodi-Penal-i-ndryshuar.pdf, (March 16th 2020). 4 Balla, R.. (2007). Witness and Justice Collaborators Protection. The Journal “E Drejta Parlamentare dhe Politikat Ligjore”“. Tirane, Albania. No 39, p.17-57.

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Introduction The new amendments to the CPC have been proposed by the Ministry of Justice1, according to the process of drafting and reviewing a proceeding that has lasted more than a year. EURALIUS2 has contributed on providing legal assistance. CPC is also included in the Criminal Justice package within the Justice Reform. In particular, it is important to mention the change in the jurisdiction of the High Court, which led to the reformulation of the provisions on the limits of review of this court and the transfer of other powers, such as requests for review, or trial of officials of other courts etc. One of the most important issue is the establishment of the decentralization of the prosecution institution. This decentralization is accompanied by determining the role and functioning of the pretrial judge to guarantee the control of the prosecution activity and proceedings during investigation procedure. The other important issue is the establishment for the first time in the justice system in Albania of the special Court on Corruption and Organized Crime. Based, directly on the analytical document of the justice system and the national strategy for justice reform, as well as judiciary decisions so far, it is determined the need for amendments of some e institutes of CPC, aiming at its approximation with the best European standards and the best international ones foreseen by international instruments ratified by the Republic of Albania and the ones aiming to adhere, such as: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), standards established by European jurisprudence for Human Rights and Justice Court (ECtHR), the Acquis Communautaire of the European Union, the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of the Children, etc. Amendments of the CPC represents the recently constitutional amendments based on the point of view of the normative acts, and in the same time they represent harmonization with other approved laws, in the framework of the Justice Reform at the criminal field such as: the Law on the Organization3 and Functioning of Prosecutions, the Law on Organization and Functioning of Institutions to Fight Corruption and Organized Crime4, draft law on juvenile Code, and other draft law of the legal package discussed and agreed to be changed at the High Level of Experts Group. These amendments of the provisions are intended, inter alia: to present the concept of the victim as an important subject in the criminal proceedings; to guarantee the protection of the human rights of juveniles by regulating in a special manner every court proceedings related to juveniles; expanding the rights and protection of the of the defendants in the criminal proceedings in compliance with the best international5 standards, introducing for the first time into the criminal justice system the concept of the letter of rights, to guarantee the testimony of protected witnesses or with a hidden identities, etc.

1 Information is published at Ministry of Justice web page http://www.drejtesia.gov.al/njoftime-te- ministrise-se-drejtesise/ (March 16th 2020). 6 EURALIUS is an EU funded project. The project is implemented by a Consortium composed of the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) as Lead Partner.

3 Law No. 97/2016 “On Organization and Functioning of Prosecution in the Republic of Albania”, published on Official Journal no. 209, year 2016, p. 22305. 4 Law on Organization and Functioning of Institutions to Fight Corruption and Organized Crime published on Official Journal no. 209, year 2016. 5 Damaska, M. (1975). Structures of Authority and Comparative Criminal Procedure. Yale Law Journal, 84, p. 480–544.

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Inter alia the amendments indent to regulate the reinforcement of the role and position of the prosecutor1 on directing, controlling, and conducting preliminary investigations. Guaranteeing procedural instruments and reasonable deadlines for conducting investigative actions, in accordance with the complexity of the court case. Conducting uninterruptedly trial. Increasing the authority of the court in the normal discipline and development of criminal proceedings. Involvement of new types of special trials that influence the reasonable time for judgment of simple issues and help the investigation, such as the criminal order of condemnation and judgment by agreement. Regulation of special current trials. Forecasting the necessary legal mechanisms that enable the participation of the defendant and / or his defense counsel in the trial to avoid trial in absentia. Improving the arrangements for notifying the parties in the criminal proceedings. Improvements of appeals that will impact the process of trial and will decrease the court cases at Appeal Courts. Review of the powers of the High Supreme Court in the criminal process after the constitutional amendments. Legal provision of defendants, collaborators of justice and victims II.1- Defendant’s Rights At the general provisions section, of the CPC the amendments consist to the principles of the criminal process by reflecting the accepted international standards and the jurisprudence of the European courts. Article 2 is amended by adding paragraph 2 with the main objective to implement the provisions of the juvenile Code. It is determined that the verdict of guilty will be given only in cases of its probationary, beyond any reasonable doubt, based on the common law2 standard, which is further identified and elaborated by the ECtHR, in all its jurisprudence, which is also accepted and applied by the domestic courts of almost all European Union countries. This principle guarantees the observance of the principle of the presumption of innocence and the charge of the accusation with the burden of proof in the criminal3 proceedings. This principle is foreseen at Article 4 point 2. This article is improved with the aim to be in accordance and harmony with article 30 of the Constitution. The implementation of this principle is depended directly on the judiciary system on how they understand and apply it, that will be the main warranty that the rights of the defendant will be protected during the whole criminal proceedings from the investigations to the trial. The principle of presumption of innocence4 releases the defendant from the burden of proving his innocence, gives him the right not to respond to accusations and not to be responsible for the statements performed. The first paragraph of this article symbolizes the presumption of innocence principle. This presumption is already part of the constitutional presumptions, as well as part of Article 6, paragraph 2, of the ECHR. This presumption must be respected before the trial, during the trial, and even in case the defendant pleads not guilty. The statement is elaborated clearly based on the ECtHR’s Decision Minelli5 vs Switzerland 25.3.1983.

1 Vogler, R.. & Ashgate, K.. ( 2005). A World View of Criminal Justice, London, England. p 27-140. 2 Cassese, A. (2003) International Criminal Law, Oxford University Press England. p. 52-107. 3 Vogler, R.. & Ashgate, K.. (2005) A World View of Criminal Justice, London, England. p. 20-30. 4 Palazzo, P & Giappichelli. ( 2000) Lezioni di diritto penale comparato Torino, Italy. p.220-270. 5 ECHR’s Decision, Mineli vs ZSwitzerland 25.3.1983; https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-57540%22]}; visited on (March 19th .2020).

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With regard to this universal principle, the proposal is based on the Directive1 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2013) 821 "On the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and the right to be present at a trial in criminal proceedings". In accordance with its Article 5 "The burden of proof and the standard of proof are required", paragraph 3 provides as follows: Member States must guarantee that in cases where the court makes a judgment on the guilty of a suspect or accused person and if there is a reasonable suspicion of the guilt of the defendant then this must be considered in favor of the defendant and he should be released as not guilty. The standard of presumption of innocence principle has been developed over the years. The ECHR sets out this principle in Article 6 (2). The ECHR provides for three key requirements: the right not to be publicly presented as convicted by public authorities prior to the final decision. The fact that the burden of proof is on the public accusation. In Albania, the accusation is represented by the prosecutor and the accused benefits and has the right to be informed about the accusation of any reasonable suspicion of his guilt. The ECtHR also acknowledges the existence of a clear relation between the presumption of innocence and other rights related to a fair trial, in the sense that when such rights are violated, the presumption of innocence is inevitably at risk. The right not to be incriminated2, the right not to cooperate and the right to remain silent and the right to liberty (and not to be held in custody before trial). The ECtHR ruled that one of the basic aspects of the principle of presumption of innocence is the fact that a court or public official may not publicly present the suspect or accused as guilty of an offense if it is not proven and they are not found guilty, by means of a final decision. Furthermore, such a decision must be implemented by all public authorities. Both situations may encourage the public to believe that the person is guilty and to prejudge the assessment of the facts by the judicial authority. The second paragraph amended represents the principle in dubio pro reo. The provision represents a reason as well for innocence. This means that the judge finds not guilty, not only when there is no convincing evidence for the defendants, but also in cases where there is insufficient evidence. From this point of view, it is important to note the above-mentioned amendment, in relation to the arguments set out in Article 4 in which is determined that "The burden of proof and the standard of proof are required." This provision stipulates that: The presumption of innocence presupposes that the burden of proof remain on the prosecutor3 and the suspect or accused must benefit from any suspicion of guilt (in dubio pro reo). The presumption of innocence presupposes that the burden of proof is on the prosecutor and the suspect or accused must benefit from any suspicion of guilt (in dubio pro reo). This presupposes that a court's decision should be based on the data presented before it and not simply on statements or assumptions. This fact is very important for our paper because this is one of the fundamental justice principles. Therefor the value of the protected witness is

1 Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (2013) 821 "On the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and the right to be present at a trial in criminal proceedings". 2 Frase, Richard, S. (1995) German Criminal Justice as a Guide to American Law Reform, Weigend,: Similar Problems, Better Solutions?" USA, Boston College International and Comparative Law Review, 18. p. 317–360. 3 Pradel, J. & Cortens, G. & Vermeulen, G. & Papialis, (2009). European Criminal Law. Tirane, Albania. p. 224-251.

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 precious if the testimony will be performed in harmony with this principle, the administration of justice and the fair trial of the defendant would be ensured on the basis of the basic evidence of the protected witness. This remains without prejudice to the independence of the judiciary when judging the guilt of the suspect or the accused. Furthermore, the ECtHR has acknowledged that in specific and limited cases the burden of proof may shift to defense. This guideline does not prejudice the possibilities of defense to present data in accordance with applicable national rules. It is determined the recognition of the principle of freedom of evidence and the obligation of the prosecution to gather both evidence in its favor and those in favor of defense, by reflecting the obligation of the prosecution to uncover the truth. It is determined as well the recognition of this obligation that avoids any arbitrary conduct of the prosecutor or the judicial police during the investigation by avoiding evidence in favor of the defense, by charging the prosecutor with disciplinary responsibility, according to the relevant law (Article 8/a). The amendments are defining the principle of non-punishment twice for the same criminal offense (ne bis in idem principle), by reflecting the constitutional definition, as well as the standard accepted by domestic and international case law on the application of this principle, not only in cases where the person has been convicted previously for the same criminal offense, but when the criminal fact has been previously tried (Article 7). Explicitly, the principle ne bis in idem prohibits a defendant from being tried again after discharging guilt or innocence verdict. This principle is enshrined in many international instruments, including the European Union Schengen1 Convention on 1990 and the Seventh Protocol of the ECHR. The ECtHR at its court case the Zolotukhin2 vs Russia, App. No. 14929/03, has determined that if a criminal proceeding is initiating from facts, which are identical or essentially the same as the first criminal trial, notwithstanding the charge, the second proceeding must not begin. Regarding the amendments of the provisions for the defendant. They include reformulating of the current provisions and improving them, there have also been new provisions articulated for the first time, in all these years of post-communism, and in Albanian jurisprudence, by reflecting in the best way the European and international standards on the rights of the defendant. Hence, are determined the rights of the defendant to be informed with the accusation against him and the rights in criminal proceedings if he has the position of the person against whom the investigations are being conducted. For this purpose, it is foreseen reformulation of Article 34/a, in where are stipulated the rights of the person under investigation. The way of informing him with the rights in the criminal proceedings, before starting the interrogation by notifying the "letter of rights". This is one of the newest processes installed in CPC that has never happened in criminal proceedings for the defendant to be notified with the rights and to sign on to become aware of these rights. Despite the constitutional rights that everyone must be informed for the accusation against him. The provisions and the process in general are considered among the most democratic and

1 European Union Schengen Convention of year 1990 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A42000A0922%2802%29, (March 16th 2020). 2 Sergey Zolotukhin v. Russia - HUDOC - Council of Europe hudoc.echr.coe.int › app › conversion › pdf; (March 16th 2020)..

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 progressive standards because recognition of the rights will help the defendant to provide better protection throughout his criminal proceedings. Specifically, in paragraph 1 of the Article 8, the rights of the defendant are defined in compliance with the Directive 2012-13-EU1 on the right to information in criminal proceedings, with the Directive 2013-48-EU2 on the right of access to a defense counsel in criminal proceedings and with the Directive 2010-64-EU3 on the right to translation in criminal proceedings, as well as the Resolution4 of the Council on Procedure for the Enforcement of Procedural Rights of Suspected or Accused Persons in Criminal Proceedings and the ECHR Convention, and the ECtHR’s decisions. The first right determined to the defendant in letter a) of the first paragraph of this article provides for his right to be informed as soon as possible about the charges against him, in the language in which he understands. This right given by the above-mentioned EU Directives is based on the rights granted by Article 6 of the ECHR. This right is derived from many ECtHR’s decisions such as the Abramyan v. Russia 10709/025. Based on this decision the Court draws attention to the fact that the provisions of paragraph 3 (a) of Article 6 of the Convention indicate the need for special care to be given to the notification of the `charge' to the defendant. The details of the criminal offense play an important role in the criminal process, which means that from the moment of delivery the suspect is considered to have been notified in writing of the factual and legal basis of the accusation against him. The Court further recalls that the object of Article 6 (3) (a) must be assessed in particular in the light of the broader right to be heard regularly guaranteed by Article 6 (1) of the ECHR. In criminal cases, providing full and detailed information about the charges against a defendant and consequently the legal qualification that the court may apply to the case is an essential precondition for ensuring that the trial is fair, see Pelissier and Sassi v. France, no. 25444/94 § 52, ECtHR 1999-116; France,

1 Directive 2012-13-EU, on the right to information in criminal proceedings published on European official journal https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32012L0013, (March 20th 2020). 2 Directive 2013-48- EU on the right of access to a defense counsel in criminal proceedings published on European official journal https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32013L0048, (March 20th 2020). 3 Directive 2010-64-EU, on the right to translation in criminal proceedings published on European official journal https://eur- lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:280:0001:0007:en:PDF (March 20th 2020). 4 Resolution of the Council on Procedure for the Enforcement of Procedural Rights of Suspected or Accused Persons in Criminal Proceedings published on European official journal https://eur- lex.europa.eu/legal content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2009.295.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ, (March 20th 2020). 5 ECtHR’s Decision ABRAMYAN v. RUSSIA 10709/02 published on European official journal https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-155161%22]}, (March 20th 2020). 6 ECtHR’s Decision Pelissier dhe Sassi v. France, no. 25444/94 § 52, ECHR 1999-11, published on European official journal https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-58226%22]}, (March 20th 2020).

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 no. 25444/94 § 52, ECtHR 1999-111; Mattocia v. Italy, no. 23989/94, § 58, ECtHR 2000-IX2; Ollinger vs Austria, nr. 42780/98 § 34, 20 April 20063. According to letter h) of article 34 are provided to the defendant other rights foreseen at the CPC such as the right to sign a decision under the agreement or to enter into a cooperation agreement or to file an appeal against the court decision, etc. The second paragraph of this article provides for the defendant's right to receive a written letter on his rights. “The Letter of Rights” it is provided on written to the defendant and its content is in compliance with the provisions foreseen by the EU Directive 2012/13. This Directive contains the model for the letter of written rights. This fact is implemented for the first time in the history of the rights of the defendant in the years of democracy in Albania. It is very important for the defendant that before his first interrogation he is aware of the rights, to better exercise his protection. Following the guarantees of the defendant, Article 34/b was proposed, as a new article, so for the first time we have a new, special provision in the CPC where the special rights of the defendant are provided. The rights of the arrested or detained person to be informed of the reasons for the arrest or detention provided for in letter a) of this article is the right provided by Directive 2012/13/EU and is in accordance with the established standard from Directive 2010/64/EU. The right of access to a lawyer is guaranteed to a detained or arrested person, to meet privately and to communicate with him before being questioned by the police or the judicial authority. The right of the defendant to communicate with the defense counsel, away from a third party, is part of the basic requirements of a fair trial in a democratic society and is derived from Article 6 § 3 (c) of the ECHR. Correspondingly, the role of the defendant as a witness is foreseen, in cases when he is a collaborator of justice, by charging him with criminal responsibility in case of false declaration. Of particular importance for our study is the fact that for the first time in the history of Albanian jurisprudence, the case of the collaborator of justice, his responsibility and benefit has been regulated in detail, avoiding the problems encountered by practice (Articles 36/a, 37, 37/a and 37/b). For the first time it is stipulated a reformulating article at CPC by determining that the collaborator of justice can give the testimony as a protected witness. According to the new amendments a defendant can gain the status of collaborator of justice by singing the collaboration agreement with the prosecutor. The most important fact is that the agreement can be signed at any stage of the criminal proceedings even after the final decision. The collaborator of justice can have special protection for himself and his family. The content of the agreement must clearly stipulate the testimony that will be crucial for the court proceedings. II.2- Testimony Article 158, paragraph 3, is added, which provides for the prohibition of exclusion from evidence, in cases of criminal offenses against minors. It is similarly, provided for the first time

1 ECtHR’s Decision published on European Court website https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-58226%22]}, (March 20th 2020). 2 ECtHR’s Decision Mattocia v. Italy, no. 23989/94, § 58, ECHR 2000-IX, published on European Court website https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-58764%22]}, (March 20th 2020). 3 ECtHR’s Decision Ollinger v Austria, no. 42780/98 § 34, 20 Prill 2006, published on European Court website https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-76098%22]}, (March 20th 2020).

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 in the provisions of criminal procedure, in accordance with the recommendations of European standards and especially those of ECtHR, paragraph 6 in Article 160 on the manner of obtaining evidence of infiltrated persons which is done by keeping and maintaining hidden their identity. The provisions for obtaining the testimony of a protected witness have been presented for the first time1 in the CPC, as very clear and complete for the testimony of an anonymous witness, or a witness with a hidden identity. This provision is provided for each witness, even for those who have not entered, in the witness protection program. The provisions of Article 165/a, aim to regulate the cases of anonymous witnesses, providing for the cases and procedure followed for situations when the witness or a relative of his may be in serious danger to their life or health, due to their testimony. Correspondingly, criminal offenses are provided, in the trials of which this evidence will be accepted with a hidden identity. According to the ECtHR recommendations, the rights and freedoms of the defendant should be limited to ensure that the testimony is given in a process in which the witness feels threatened and seriously threatened for the life and health of himself and his relatives. This provision is progressive and is provided as well for witnesses who are not part of the witness protection program and will guarantee the implementation of justice. Taking into consideration that many criminal processes failed just because witnesses2 withdrew from testifying because they felt threatened and thus the entire trial failed. At point 3 of article 165/a it is foreseen that the closed envelope containing the full identity of the anonymous witness is handed over by the prosecutor to the head of the trial panel and only he can be aware of full identity of witness protected. However, according to the ECtHR's recommendations explained in the chapters above, the trial panel cannot be informed of the identity of the protected witness, because there is always possibility of leaking information. After all, here in Albania, the court of serious crimes has shown that it has been unable to preserve the identity of the protected witness. There have been many criminal cases where the information on witness identity has been disclosed3 before the trial taking place. In order to preserve the identity of the witness, another judge, who does not adjudicate the case, must verify it and the trial panel must not have any information on the identity of the witness. Only, in this way can be concealed the identity of the witness and he can be saved from the threats to his life and the health of himself and his relatives. Also, the prosecutor's request for the testimony of a witness with a hidden identity must be examined by another judge and only he

1 Islami, H. & Hoxha, A. & Panda, I. (2006) Proceedings Law. Morava, Tirane, Albania. p. 213-328. 2 Serious Crime Court’s Decision no. 16, date 20.03.2007., http://www.gjykata.gov.al/apel-krimet-e- r%C3%ABnda/gjykata-e-apelit-krimet-e-r%C3%ABnda/ (April 2017). As per this decision the witness a juvenile girl was called to testify at the court session in front of two adults that were accusing for sextual exploitation and international trafficking with human being the witness in this court case was victim of the defendants’ crime. Therefore, the witness felt threatened and she changed the testimony. Previously during investigations, she was interrogated by the prosecutor and she confirmed that the defendants were the persons who exploited her, but she changed the testimony at the court by saying that she does not know the defendants. The same mistake was made even by the Serious Crime Appeal Court so definitely two defendants were declared as not guilty by the court. 3 https://gazetamapo.al/deshmitaret-e-mbrojtur-qe-nuk-mbrohen-por-dekonspirohen/ (April, 2015) Refering the media during the court session when the court called for testifing the witness with hidden identety the defendant disclosed the real identity of the witness. The prosecutor was surprised on how the defendant knows the identity of the protected witness. .

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 can be notified for his identity. In this way, the trial panel that examines the criminal case will be informed for the decision taken by the single judge and will continue to implement the decision taken and proceed by having the testimony of the witness with a hidden identity. This recommendation is implemented as well by the ICC when having testimony of the witness protected on the criminal proceedings. Only in this way is it emphasized that in a series of decisions of the ECtHR, a reasonable and fair judicial process can take place and justice can be done, put in order. Although, in point 6 of article 165/a it is determined that the court if it approves the request of the prosecutor decides the pseudonym of the witness and the procedures of concealment of identity and the interrogation is done according to the conditions provided in article 361/b of the CPC which we will analyze below, again we think that this provision should be reformulated. According to the ECtHR, no decision should be taken that could lead to the identification of a protected witness. Therefore, the witness must be provided with first and last name, that is, with new generalities and not with a pseudonym, as this way his identity can be suspected or exposed. Accordingly, the provision of this article "witness with a hidden identity" is defined at the general rules of the CPC and it is not given any opportunity to know, if all these actions, for example the submission of the prosecutor's request to receive evidence from the witness with the hidden identity, the examination of the request by the head of the trial panel and then the appeal that the prosecutor may proceed for the court decision, all these procedures will be undertaken in the presence of the defendant or not. This is not clearly determined in this provision. If the defendant will be notified on these procedures, then everything will be ruined. The defendant can not have information on personal history of the witness otherwise his identity would be exposed. One of the certain guarantees of the ECtHR is that defendants should be restricted in their rights. The defendant must have no information on the identity of the witness. If not, all these criminal proceedings taken for the witness protection process would not function to the purpose for which they are drafted and implemented. We therefore consider it important to determine that it is prohibited for the defendant and his defense counsel to be notified with the request of the prosecutor and not to participate in the examination of the decision to conceal the identity of the witness. Because only in this way can the identity of the witness be hidden and preserved, and his life and the lives of his relatives can be protected. Another positive provision is the definition of Article 169 on confrontation. It stipulates in the second paragraph that it is prohibited to confront the adult defendant with the victim or the juvenile witness, to guarantee the protection of the juvenile and the victim. Based on the decision of the court of serious crimes which confronts the victim of the trafficking in human beings crime whom was a minor and she felt scared at trial and she changed the testimony by declaring that she does not know the adult defendant whom had been her smuggler and had persecuted by sextually exploitation. Similarly, the Court of Appeals for Serious Crimes makes the same mistake and in this way the defendant trafficker was declared guiltless of the crime of international trafficking in human beings with minors. The amendments to the CPC have also aimed to regulate the manner in which witnesses are questioned by setting for the first time, in accordance with international standards of law, the prohibition of questions affecting the witness's impartiality and also the prohibition of suggestive questions aimed at suggesting responses.

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

The amendments to Articles 361/a and 361/b have provided for special cases and procedures to be followed for obtaining the testimony of a minor, a provision in accordance with the Juvenile Code. The amendments of Article 361/b have reinforced the application of special techniques for interrogating collaborators of justice, infiltrated persons and/or persons under cover, and protected witnesses and witnesses with hidden identities. These techniques enable the development of long-distance court hearings, through audiovisual means. An important issue for this paper is precisely the implementation of the ECtHR recommendations for obtaining testimony from witnesses with hidden identities. In these cases, the ECtHR stipulates that the court must take appropriate measures to ensure that the defendant's face and voice are not identified and encrypted by the parties. This regulation is provided for in point 2, first paragraph of Article 361/b. But the second paragraph of point 2 provides that the court orders the summoning of a witness if it is necessary to recognize and supervise the witness. This regulation absolutely is not in harmony with recommendations of the ECtHR and with the articles explained above on encrypted the face and voice of the witness. If the witness will be notified by the court, then the witness identity will be disclosed and the whole efforts for protecting the witness will be damaged. Disclosing the identity of a protected witness with a hidden identity may not be necessary in any case, as there is a very strong reason why the decision was made to protect the witness, such as threatening his life or the lives of his relatives. If the identity of the protected witnesses or anonymous witnesses is revealed1, even by the court, this would destroy the entire mechanism that has been set up to protect the witnesses. Approximately, the identities of 40 percent of those witnesses who collaborated with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)2 have been kept secret because of the security of their lives, according to the court's closing report. However, witnesses again faced threats. As a result, it would not be wrong to say that those who testify in the local courts will face far greater pressures and threats. If these protected witnesses will be disclosed their identities, then their lives will be in danger and the process may fail to deliver justice, especially in the case of witnesses whose testimony is crucial to the criminal process. Therefore, it is suggested to be revised the second paragraph mentioned by insuring stronger protection to the witnesses. Furthermore, paragraph 3 of the article provides that the court may not allow questions to be asked which may disclose the identity of the witness. We should welcome this provision as it is a new definition that has not been before, and it really aims to protect witnesses from intimidation and threats. But, based on the international practice of the ICC and the ECtHR, they also point to a number of recommendations that no questions should be allowed that may reveal personal stories or certain traits, or other features that would lead to witness disclosure. Therefore, we would recommend a clearer provision where it will be explicitly stated that no kind of question will be allowed regarding life, school, profession, work, all activities where the witness has participated during his life and such questions that may jeopardize the disclosure of his identity.

1 Xhafo, J. (2010). International Criminal Law. Tirane, Albania. p. 239-.249. 2 The report on the closure of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Closing of the Hague Tribunal, an International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 1993, established by UN decision to try crimes in the former Yugoslavia, and the legacy it left behind. https://www.trt.net.tr/shqip/ballkani/2017/12/12/koment-tribunali-i-hages-dhe-trashegimia-qe-la- prapa-866543 (April 3rd 2020).

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

II.3- Wiretapping The amendments to the CPC consist of reducing the sentence for criminal offenses from seven years to four years to the maximum for which wiretapping is allowed. The maximum of seven years, as previously predicted, was too high and wiretapping could not be allowed for the investigation of certain important and serious crimes, such as corruption, trafficking in human beings, crimes committed by organizations. criminal or structured groups, etc. The reduction of the maximum sentence to four years is in accordance with the meaning of serious crimes provided for in the Palermo Convention against Organized Crime and its two protocols, ratified by Albania under Law no. 8920, dated 11.7.2002, which provides in Article 2, letter b, that "Serious Crimes" constitutes a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment of a maximum of at least four years or a more severe punishment. As mentioned above, in order to conduct a successful investigation and bring the offenders to justice, wiretapping, as one of the most important procedural actions, should be allowed for criminal offenses punishable by not less than four years in maximum. Predicting the involvement of wiretapping methods in crimes punishable by up to four years on the one hand will make it possible to fight these crimes more, given that these are criminal offenses such as corruption where the subjects of these offenses are subjects with high professional skills, such as that of corruption committed by senior officials and make it impossible to commit sophisticated offenses, leaving no trace, and no space for employees whom pursue criminal prosecution to detect them. But, on the other hand, the employees whom will perform the interceptions must be very careful and well trained in exercising this delicate function, as the interceptions constitute a violation of privacy, personal life of the individual, especially in the investigation phase as there is only suspicion against persons, for committing a criminal offense and we are not sure whether we should infringe on the interests that have been established to protect privacy. In these cases, must be clearly defined and balanced to understand what are the prevailing interests, the protection of privacy or the public interest, to fight against the crime and therefore must be balanced to fairly evaluate which will be the interests that will prevail. In some court cases of serious crimes, has resulted that only wiretapping material has incorrectly incriminated persons who have nothing to do with criminal activity, and this constitutes a major violation of human rights. For these reasons, the reduction of the sentence, will increase the range of criminal offenses that will lead to a burden on employees and can certainly lead to the violation of human rights and freedoms. The reduction of the sentence of criminal offences at no lower than four year is in compliance with other laws as well, especially the witness protection law. According to this law at article 2 it is foreseen that: “disposition of this law will apply for criminal offences that it is foreseen a sentence not lower than four year”. Letter b) of paragraph 1 of this article of CPC has been amended in order to allow this instrument to be used in the event that the criminal offense was committed intentionally, by means of telecommunications or the use of information technology or computer technology. Whereas, the procedural interception is foreseen in the above articles, the procedures, authorities and reasons based on which the preventive interception takes place in the Republic of Albania are foreseen in the Special Law no. 9157, dated 4.12.2003, "On wiretapping of telecommunications".

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Regarding the preventive interception, the judicial practice of the ECtHR states the following in the court case ruled by decision no. 4378/02 of Bykov1 vs Russia dated 10 March 2009. The Court has consistently considered that when it comes to intercepting communications for the purposes of a police investigation, the law should be clear enough, in the sense of giving citizens an appropriate indication of the circumstances and conditions in which public authorities are authorized to return to this covert and potentially dangerous interference with the rights to privacy and correspondence. In the Court's view, these principles apply equally to the use of a radio broadcasting device, which, in terms of the nature and extent of the relevant intervention, is virtually the same as telephone tapping. II.4- Victims According to Directive 2012/29/EU2 which replaced the Framework Decision of the Council 2001/220/ the victims, should have the right to testify in their own language. The third paragraph of this article provides for the right of the defendant and the participants in the trial to be informed, if necessary, through an interpreter, regarding the evidence obtained. The last paragraph ensures that costs related to the translation and interpretation of sign language must be covered by the state in accordance with European and international standards. The amendments to the CPC have introduced the obligation of the victim to participate as a party in the criminal proceedings, by guaranteeing its access to the criminal proceedings, in accordance to the determination of the EU Framework Decision on the status of victims in criminal proceedings dated 15/03/2001 Article 9/a. The amendments of the CPC provide for significant changes for the victim and the accused victim. Thus, the provisions on the victim and the accusing victim are considered very progressive and have provided for the replacement of the role of the "victim of the criminal offense" with the term "victim". Regarding the term used, a great and valuable replacement has been made, because according to the previous provision of the Code, by labeling it with the term "Damaged", an object is conceived, something that has been damaged and not a human being, a victim of a crime, an innocent victim and subject to criminal activity that have been violated, not only on material but moral damage as well as its fundamental rights and freedoms. At the same time, the term "damaged accusing" with the term "indictment victim", giving the relevant definitions and regulations for these terms in accordance with the Framework Decision of the Council of Europe3 of 15 March 2001 on the Victims' Attitude in Criminal Procedure and the Directive 2012/29 / EU4 which has replaced this decision.

1 Decision no. 4378/02 date March 10th 2009, Bykov vs Russia published on European official journal https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-91704%22]}, (April 1st 2020). 2 Directive 2012/29 of the EU and the Council on October 2012 To set minimum standards for the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, which replaced the Council Framework Decision 2001/220 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32012L0029, (April 2nd 2020). 3 Framework Decision of the Council of Europe of 15 March 2001 on the Victims' Attitude in Criminal Procedure published on the European Official Journal http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_framë/2001/220/oj, (March 30th 2020). 4 Directive 2012/29/EU Council of Europe October 2012 For the Determination of the Minimum Standards of Rights, Support and Protection of Victims of Crime, which replaced the Framework Decision of the Council Directive 2001/220/JHA published in the Official Journal

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

For this reason, Article 58 of the CPC has been completely reformulated, followed by Articles 58/a and 58/b, which provide for special character, the juvenile victim and the sexually abused victim or subject to trafficking. In these two cases, it is foreseen that the victim has some special rights related to her own special qualities. Similarly, Article 59/a was added, which provides for the case of numerous victims of criminal offenses, in order to avoid delaying the process for this reason, guaranteeing their representation by the same counsel in cases where there is no impediment. Article 60 provides in detail the content of the request of the accusing victim, to enable the development of a normal judicial process. At the same time, it is foreseen that the civil lawsuit in the criminal process can be filed only by the victim or her inheritors. II.5- Prosecution and Judicial Regarding the prosecution role as a subject at the criminal proceedings the amendments are fundamental. For the first time, in the history of Albanian jurisprudence, from the post- communist period, the function of an independent, fully competent prosecutor is provided to exercise criminal prosecution according to his beliefs, convictions, so a decentralized function whose decisions on criminal prosecution cannot be contested or amended by an administrative hierarchy. Such decisions as they have been before that when the decision of a prosecutor at a lower court could be reviewed by a prosecutor at a higher court. According to these provisions, we hope that prosecutors with high integrity and professionally very capable will be included in the prosecution system. Because this decentralization, under the conditions of a corrupt prosecution as it is nowadays can violate the principles of justice. Thus, the powers of the prosecutor1 have been increased, for the first time, it is foreseen in terms of his rights to reach an agreement with the defendant and to propose it to the court, as well as to decide on the criminal order of punishment, these new institutes provided in the CPC (Article 24). Also, the competencies of the Special Prosecution Office in full compliance with the constitutional provisions, for justice reform have been foreseen, as well as the cases of conflict of competencies between this Special Prosecution and the ordinary prosecution have been regulated (Articles 28-29). Deep and democratic amendments are foreseen in Chapter II of Part I of the Code, which mainly reflect the constitutional amendments on the jurisdiction of the courts, according to the justice reform. Specifically, Article 75/a has been reformulated in accordance with Article 135 of the revised Constitution and Articles 9 and 10 of the Law "On the Organization and Functioning of Institutions to Fight Corruption and Organized Crime", by providing the jurisdiction of the court against the crime of corruption for: any subject who commits a criminal offense provided by Articles 244, 244/a, 245, 245/1, 257, 258, 259, 259/a, 260, 319, 319/a, 319/b, 319/c, 319/9, 319/d, 319/dh, 319/e (provisions in the field of corruption and organized crime); any criminal offense committed by a structured criminal group, criminal organization, terrorist organization and armed band, that their definition is made in the provisions of the Criminal Code;

https://eurex.europa.eu/search.html?qid=1585598884134&text=Directive%202012/29%20/EU&sco pe=EURLEX&type=quick&lang=en (March 20th 2020). 1 Palazzo, P. ( 2000) Lezioni di diritto penale comparato Torino, Giappichelli. p. 130-159.

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 criminal charges against the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Prime Minister, a member of the Council of Ministers, the judge of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the High Inspector of Justice, the Mayor, the Member of Parliament, the Deputy Minister, the member of the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecution Council, and the heads of the central or independent institutions defined in the Constitution or by law; any charges against the above former officials, for acts committed in the exercise of their duties; According to the provisions of Article 75/b on the jurisdiction of the High Supreme Court are also reflected, the new constitutional amendments for justice reform in relation to this court, by keeping in its jurisdiction only the unification of judicial practice by the Criminal College and its amendment by its Colleges. Meanwhile, disputes over competencies are envisaged to be resolved by the Criminal College in the Advisory Chamber, as a competence that does not affect the function of this court and guarantees the same solution for the lower courts. The provisions provide for an amendment to the current rule on the jurisdiction of the Court against Corruption and Organized Crime, providing that in cases where one of the defendants is a minor, the proceedings against him shall be examined in each case by the relevant section of the ordinary court even though the subject matter jurisdiction may belong to the Court against Corruption and Organized Crime, the provision made in Article 80 of the CPC. For the first time in the CPC, it is established the Court against Corruption and Organized Crime which is expected to review, at both levels, district court and appeal court, with a panel of three judges, because the selection of judges and their specialization guarantee the legislator's intention to a fair decision-making of the court. Hopefully, we expect that the establishment of this court will implement justice reform, so long awaited by all citizens. We believe that this court will give the green light to the entire justice system by turning it into an effective justice system and especially by fighting corruption among of judges and prosecutors, but as well as among the politicians in Albania. By establishing the so call “Court of Corruption” we hope that Albania will not to be ranked at the first place on the list of countries with the highest corruption in the judiciary system. We hope that justice will be served to all Albanian citizens, so that they do not seek justice at the doors of the European Court1 just because of the dysfunction of the judicial system in Albania. Albanian citizens deserve access to justice, just like all European citizens. Furthermore, an innovation foreseen by these amendments of the CPC are the provisions provided for the judicial police. The National Bureau of Investigation is established for the first time. This part is regulated based on the provisions of the amendments to the law on judicial police. As we pointed out above, the position and role of the prosecutor2 in the preliminary investigation phase has undergone significant changes and remains a central and competent figure, during the preliminary investigation phase and the amendments are foreseen in harmony with the provisions of the new law on the prosecution, being provided for the

1 Pradel, J. & Cortens, G. & Vermeulen, G. & Papialis, (2009). European Criminal Law. Tirane, Albania. p.155-209. 2 Dhrami, J. (2011). The Defendant and The Prosecutor. Tirane, Albania. p. 287-358.

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 manner of control of the actions performed by the prosecutor during the preliminary investigations and at their conclusion. Conclusions/ recommendations Regarding the amendments to the CPC, we consider that they are very progressive as they are in harmony with international and European standards and some of them are defined for the first time in the Albanian jurisprudence. Defendant's rights letter constitutes a greater guarantee for the protection of the defendant's rights. It determines not only a right for the defendant but above all an obligation for the enforcements agencies to implement executing the rights. The sanctioning of the legal position of the victim in the criminal process and the accused victim is undoubtedly considered positive, as in all these years, despite its important and necessary role, it was not mentioned and specified the role of victims at all in the criminal procedure. The role of the victim in criminal proceedings has already been consolidated as a party in the process with all the rights in a regular criminal process. Consolidation of provisions relating to the protection of witnesses, collaborator of justice and witnesses with a hidden identity. But comparing with international standards the approximation with them is still lacking, therefore it is recommended to be reformulated in the way that the identity of the protected or anonymous witness to not be disclosed for any reasons. Correspondingly, it is recommended that the provisions regarding the prohibited questions to be reformulated, so that the identity of the protected witness will not be disclosed. Bibliography: [1] Balla, R. (2017). Constitutional Reform, Criminal Justice Reform on Prevention of Organized Crime and Corruption, Proceedings of International Scientific Conference at Faculty of Law, Tirana University, Albania. [2] Balla, R. (2007). Witness and Justice Collaborators Protection. The Journal “E Drejta Parlamentare dhe Politikat Ligjore”“. Tirane, Albania. No 39. [3] Cassese, A. (2003). International Criminal Law, Oxford University Press England. [4] Dhrami, J. (2011). The Defendant and The Prosecutor. Tirane, Albania. [5] Damaska, M. (1975). Structures of Authority and Comparative Criminal Procedure. Yale Law Journal, 84. [6] Frase, Richard, S. (1995) German Criminal Justice as a Guide to American Law Reform, Weigend,: Similar Problems, Better Solutions?" USA Boston College International and Comparative Law Review, 18 [7] Islami, H. & Hoxha, A. & Panda, I. (2006) Proceedings Law. Morava, Tirane, Albania. [8] Palazzo, P. & Giappichelli. ( 2000) Lezioni di diritto penale comparato Torino, Italy. [9] Pradel, J. & Cortens, G. & Vermeulen, G. & Papialis, (2009). European Criminal Law. Tirane, Albania. [10] Xhafo, J. (2010), International Criminal Law, Tirane, Albania. [11] The report on the closure of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Closing of the Hague Tribunal, an International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 1993, established by UN decision to try crimes in the former Yugoslavia, and the legacy it left behind.

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[12] The Information published at Ministry of Justice web page On Amendments of the Criminal Proceedings Law. (March 2020). [13] Vogler, R.. & Ashgate, K.. ( 2005). A World View of Criminal Justice, London, England. Albanian Legal Acts [1] Constitutional Law Amendments (2016) published on Official Journal year 2016. [2] Criminal Proceedings Code amended by law no. 36 date 30.03.2017, published on Official Journal year 2017. [3] Law No. 97/2016 “On Organization and Functioning of Prosecution in the Republic of Albania”, published on Official Journal no. 209, year 2016. [4] Law on Organization and Functioning of Institutions to Fight Corruption and Organized Crime published on Official Journal no. 209, year 2016. European and International Legal Acts: [1] Directive 2012/29/EU Council of Europe October 2012 For the Determination of the Minimum Standards of Rights, Support and Protection of Victims of Crime, which replaced the Framework Decision of the Council Directive 2001/220/JHA published in the Official Journal. [2] Framework Decision of the Council of Europe of 15 March 2001 on the Victims' Attitude in Criminal Procedure published on the European Official Journal. [3] Resolution of the Council of Europe on Procedure for the Enforcement of Procedural Rights of Suspected or Accused Persons in Criminal Proceedings published on European official journal. [4] Directive 2012/29 of the EU and the Council on October 2012 To set minimum standards for the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, which replaced the Council Framework Decision 2001/220. [5] Directive 2012-13-EU, on the right to information in criminal proceedings published on European official journal. [6] Directive 2013-48- EU on the right of access to a defense counsel in criminal proceedings published on European official journal. [7] Directive 2010-64-EU, on the right to translation in criminal proceedings published on European official journal. [8] Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (2013) 821 "On the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and the right to be present at a trial in criminal proceedings". [9] European Union Schengen Convention of year 1990. European Court Decisions: [1] ECtHR’s Decision no. 4378/02 date March 10th 2009, Bykov vs Russia published on European official journal. [2] ECtHR’s Decision ABRAMYAN v. RUSSIA 10709/02 published on European official journal. [3] ECtHR’s Decision Pelissier dhe Sassi v. France, no. 25444/94 § 52, ECHR 1999-11, published on European official journal. [4] ECtHR’s Decision Mattocia vs Italy, no. 23989/94, § 58, ECtHR 2000-IX.

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[5] ECtHR’s Decision Ollinger v Austria, no. 42780/98 § 34, 20 Prill 2006, published on European Court. [6] ECHR’s Decision, Mineli vs Switzerland 25.3.1983. [7] Sergey Zolotukhin v. Russia - HUDOC - Council of Europe. [8] Internet web pages: [9] -https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-58764%22]}, (March 20th 2020). [10] -https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-76098%22]}, (March 20th 2020). [11] http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_framë/2001/220/oj, (March 30th 2020). [12] https://eurlex.europa.eu/search.html?qid=1585598884134&text=Directive%20201 2/29%20/EU&scope=EURLEX&type=quick&lang=en(March 30th 2020). [13] https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-91704%22]}, (April 1st 2020). [14] -https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A42000A0922%2802%29, (March 16th 2020). [15] -https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-57540%22]} [16] https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/?fuseaction=list&coteId=1&year=2013 &number=821&version=ALL&language=en, (April 2nd 2020). [17] - hudoc.echr.coe.int › app › conversion › pdf; (March 16th 2020).. [18] -https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32012L0029, (April 2nd 2020). [19] -https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32012L0013, (March 20th 2020). [20] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32013L0048, (March 20th 2020). [21] -https://eur- lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:280:0001:0007:en: PDF (March 20th 2020). [22] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2009.295.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ, [23] (March 20th 2020). [24] -https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-155161%22]}, (March 20th 2020). [25] https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-58226%22]}, (March 20th 2020). [26] https://www.trt.net.tr/shqip/ballkani/2017/12/12/koment-tribunali-i-hages-dhe- trashegimia-qe-la-prapa-866543 (April 3rd 2020).

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Good Governance Principles Constituting the E-procurement Systems

Krasimira Stefanova Valcheva PhD, Assistant at the Department of Public administration, Faculty of Management and Administration, University of national and World economy, Sofia, Bulgaria

Abstract The public procurement represents a vital part of national governance systems. Every year billions of taxpayers money is spent by the state governments to acquire services and goods. The proper functioning of the system allows them to receive better value-for-money, to prevent irregularities connected with corruption and support the implementation of various public policies. The modern society is more sensitive on how the public finances are managed and requires to have leverages to monitor and control their spending. The implementation of the principles of good governance in the public procurement system provide comprehensive base to answer the present needs of public, private and civil partners to increase the levels of effectiveness and efficiency in public spending and administration. The advancement of digital technologies also plays significant part in this reform as electronic procurement systems could significantly facilitate the proper functioning of the sector by interrelating key principles of good governance. Keywords: public procurement, e-procurement, good governance, principles, interrelation

Introduction The New public management (NPM) played a vital role in the modernization of the public governance in the past few decades. Despite its overall positive influence, the NPM practices also revealed some deficiencies that resulted in the development of a new concept for the role of the state that became known as “good governance”. The national authorities are under constant pressure to meet the growing expectations of the society for increased transparency, effectiveness and efficiency in public spending. The principles of good governance provide comprehensive guidelines in this direction and attract the attention of the major stakeholders who constantly seek ways to strategically implement them in their public polices and regulatory frameworks. The public procurement represents a vital part of the public governance as it one of the most common ways for the state to interact with the private sector. A significant part of the national budgets is dedicated to public procurement and the proper functioning of the system ensures that the process follows coherent rules and principles that provide a win-win interaction for all involved parties. The concept of good governance provides sound base for regulation of this important state activity and in the recent years renown international organization have engaged to promote them in the various national and regional procurement practices. The advancement of digital technologies provides further options to

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 reform the procurement process and ensure the state governments comply with the principles of good governance in the sector. The objective of this paper is to review, analyse and systemize the existing understanding on how the principles of good governance relate to public procurement and specifically the e- procurement as the new way of interaction between the public, private and civil sector. The research methods include desk and content analysis of materials, published from renown supranational organizations and institutions like the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United nations (UN) and the European Union (EU). The Importance of Good Governance for Public Procurement systems In 2001 The Asian Development Bank defined procurement as “the heart of delivering public services” and stated that the sound public procurement policies and practices are among the essential elements of good governance since good practices reduce costs and produce timely results (ADB, 2001). Any weakness in the procurement system adversely affects welfare and prospects for growth and it is no surprise that procurement reform is now a top priority. Significant amount of the national GDP is spent on public procurements and poor practices might severely undermine the trust in the government and result in social dissatisfaction. In a report from 2012 the World bank also points out the strong interrelation of good governance and public procurement sector (Tyler, 2012). At the heart of good governance lies effective public financial management, which is linked to multi stakeholder engagement, political accountability, effective checks and balances, decentralization and local participation. The public procurement also links to all three pillars of an effective and successful governance - increasing value for money, improving public service delivery, and creating an enabling environment for private sector–led growth, and is thus an essential element of governance reforms. While good public procurement is a prerequisite for economic growth and effective public investment, poor governance of public procurement systems can turn public investments into major political and economic liabilities, hinder development goals and outcomes, and result in additional costs and waste public funds. Procurement systems can thus be viewed as promoting good governance thorough introducing greater transparency, accountability, and stakeholder participation in the system. The OECD (2015) considers that public procurement is “a crucial pillar of strategic governance and services delivery for governments”. The Organization points out that because of the serious volume of spending it represents, well governed public procurement can and must play a major role in fostering public sector efficiency and establishing citizens’ trust. The well-designed public procurement systems also contribute to achieving pressing policy goals such as environmental protection, innovation, job creation and the development of small and medium enterprises. It recommends to its member to improve their public procurement system by harnessing the use of digital technologies to support appropriate e- procurement innovation throughout the procurement cycle. They should be implemented in public procurement to ensure transparency and access to public tenders, increasing competition, simplifying processes for contract award and management, driving cost savings and integrating public procurement and public finance information.

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

The European Commission (EC) also support the need for reforms in the sector a and recommends the strengthening of public procurement to become central in the actions of public authorities to create a fairer society based on equal opportunity, sustainable economic growth and wide market participation (European Commission, 2014). It regards good governance as one of the key elements that constitute the modern public procurement along with value for money. The procurement should also not be seen as a simply administrative process - on the contrary it is as an opportunity to deliver various societal objectives through smart spending that may result in improvement of trust in government, positive green, social or innovation outcomes. The Union has as well invested serious time and resources to implement a modern information system for public procurement called SIMAP. By implementing modern digital tools presented in the 2016 directives, the EU expects public spending to become more transparent, evidence-oriented, optimized, streamlined and integrated with market conditions (European Commission, 2017). The reviewed documents reveal the existence of a common understanding for the importance of the principles of good governance to be embedded in public procurement systems. However, this might be complicated task since there is still no common understanding on what exactly are the principles of good governance (Table 1). They vary in the perceptions of the different organizations and are influenced from the international, regional and local specifics of interaction between the government, the private sector and the society.

ACCOUNTABILITY TRANSPARENCY 2000 COMBATING CORRUPTION STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION OECD LEGAL AND JUDICIAL FRAMEWORK

ACCOUNTABILITY TRANSPARENCY

2000 RESPONSIVENESS EQUITY & INCLUSIVENESS

United Nations EFFECTIVENESS & EFFICIENCY RULE OF LAW

PARTICIPATION CONSENSUS ORIENTED

2001 OPENNESS PARTICIPATION Commission of the ACCOUNTABILITY EFFECTIVENESS European. Communities COHERENCE

FAIR CONDUCT OF ELECTION, REPRESENTATION & PARTICIPATION RESPONSIVENESS EFFICIENCY & EFFECTIVENESS OPENNESS & TRANSPARENCY RULE OF LAW 2007 ETHICAL CONDUCT COMPETENCE AND CAPACITY INNOVATION & OPENNESS TO CHANGE Council of Europe SUSTAINABILITY & LONG-TERM ORIENTATION SOUND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT HUMAN RIGHTS, CULTURAL DIVERSITY & SOCIAL COHESION ACCOUNTABILITY

Figure 1: Examples of definitions of good governance Source: Agere (2000), United Nations (2000), Commission of the European Communities (2001), Council of Europe (2007),

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An in-depth analysis of the different interpretations of what constitutes the good governance reveals that some of the principles reoccur in the reviewed materials despite being named differently and therefore they could be regarded as key pillars of the concept – transparency, accountability, rule of law, effectiveness, efficiency and participation. We could expect them to be also cornerstones in the reform of the procurement systems and to contribute to a broader understanding of the process not as simply mechanistic, administrative and bureaucratic function but as a strategic activity used to support and deliver government objectives (Phillips & Caldwell, 2007). Fundamental Good Governance Principles for Public Procurement The translation of principles of good governance into procurement practice varies significantly between nations and implementing government objectives into procurement strategy is highly country specific (Phillips & Caldwell, 2007). Even so, there are publications that address the public procurement requirements in more generalized way and could be used to summarize their specific key principles. The ADB (2001) points out that good procurement should follow the principles of economy - best value for money, efficiency - does not delay the project, fairness - for example does not discriminate against bidders on the basis of nationality, and transparency - what is involved, how it is done, and the results are public. More than a decade later, Lynch (2013) in his book “Public Procurement: Principles, Categories and Methods” outlined 7 fundamental principles of public procurement - transparency, integrity, economy, openness, fairness, competition and accountability. In 2015 the OECD published “OECD recommendation of the Council on public procurement”. In the document are presented 12 integrated principles of public procurement that should be incorporated in the national systems of the organization’s member states (Figure 1). They come as an upgrade of the foundational principles included in the 2008 “OECD Recommendation on Enhancing Integrity in Public Procurement”. In the latest edition they are expanded to reflect the critical role governance of public procurement must play in achieving efficiency and advancing public policy objectives. Figure 2: The integrated Principles of the 2015 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Public Procurement

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Source: OECD, 2019 From the above presented three concepts it becomes clear that the key principles of public procurement significantly correspond to those, defined as central in the concept of good governance - transparency, accountability, rule of law, effectiveness and efficiency and participation. This comes as a confirmation of the common understating that the public procurement sector represents an integral part of public governance and it is of utmost importance to be fully aligned with the key principle of good governance. E-procurement and Key Good Governance Principles OECD (2015) added one specific principle for public procurement that is electronic procurement or best known as e-procurement. It is defined as “the integration of digital technologies in the replacement or redesign of paper - based procedure throughout the procurement process”. This definition describes the technical part of the process without including the notion that the new technologies provide the possibility to rethink fundamentally the way public procurement, and relevant parts of public administrations, are organized (European Commission, 2014a). E-procurement at present is more and more perceived by national governments as a strategic activity that could increase their capacity, optimize the spending of public funds and therefore result in higher trust from the society. Although OECD defines e-procurement as a separate principle of the system, it has already proven as an effective and efficient tool for bringing good governance to the procurement process (united Nations, 2011) and has have a profound effect on government operations, supporting government reforms for better transparency, effectiveness and accountability within the procurement process” (United Nation, 2011). On the basis of analysis of corresponding publications, the focus in this part is on summarizing those specifics of the digital system that facilitate the reform in line with the contemporary good governance concept and defines it more as a method than just an Informational and Communications Technologies (ICT) solution.

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Figure 3: Key principles of good governance integrated in E-procurement

Source: author In a 2011 concept report the UN stated that the digitalization of the public procurement system leads to significant improvement in transparency by allowing traceability of all transactions, providing audit trail and thus preventing fraud and corruption. It also enhances the principle of value for money (economy) by supporting competition through improved accessibility, reduction of procurement and transaction costs, facilitates on-line catalogue- based purchases such as framework contracts and results in improved market intelligence and resource allocation management. E-procurement significantly contributes also to improved work efficiency by reducing disputes, better enforces regulations, reduces procurement time, and ensures standardization and streamlining of procurement process. The organization points out that success of the system is not measured by the physical implementation of the system alone, but must also consider the procurement conducted on the system. This is in support of the good governance principle for the “rule of the law” as the success of procurement is more dependent on the regulations and policies governing the procurement process than on the IT solutions. They represent the technical base for its operation, but the leading principles, rules and regulations for its establishment should be set by the responsible institutions in line with the broader strategic public policy goals of the governments for modernization of the public sector. The United Nations Procurement Capacity Development Centre (UNDP) argues that accountability constitutes a central pillar of any public procurement system (Jeppesen, 2010). The introduction of e-procurement systems provides increased transparency and thus offer to the engaged parties more options to monitor and control the process. This results in improved levels of social accountability through access to procurement information by civil society, the media and other stakeholders. So as to gain access and directly monitor the public procurement processes, civil society has in some cases supported the elaboration of a so-called integrity pact (IP) promoted by Transparency International. It commits the public sector and all bidders for a specific public tender to a set of rights and obligations including desisting from offering or accepting bribes, collusion, etc. and thereby promotes the principle of fairness. Along with the civil society control, the media also plays important role as a ‘watchdog’ in procurement oversight - many procurement scandals have been uncovered by the media and a free and independent press is a powerful tool to promote transparency and accountability in this state activity. The media could also serve as education partner regarding public procurement, informing the general public on procurement systems, rules, regulations and

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 principles. The adoption of e-procurement systems could significantly increase the access to real-time information and enable the stakeholders to promptly react in cases of any irregularities at every stage of the procurement process. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (2015) also considers e- procurement to have the potential to significantly improve transparency, efficiency and effectiveness in the public procurement sector by implementing online procedures which are automatically recorded in real time. The e-procurement is cheaper than conducting paper- based procurement procedures for the same contracts. At the same time the e-procurement tools, such as online notification, online submission of proposals and tenders, e-auctions and e-purchasing, increase competition as well as the economy and efficiency of procurements. For example, the cost for government purchasing is lowering (Hadden, 2016) since the system automates the publication of government tenders on web sites with search and alert facilities for vendors. This has been estimated to reduce government costs by analysts and case studies in the range of 5% to 30%. It also increases the reach of government procurement opportunities resulting in additional bids. The electronic document flow saves millions in annual printing costs with estimated savings ranging from $10 to $70 per government transaction or up to 90% of government transaction costs, with further benefits associated with e-invoicing. The government efficiency is also improved with reduced process cycle time of 20 to 40%. The implementation of e-procurement is also a comprehensive method that facilitates the three goals of the modern “good” governments that seek a return on their investment - governance, effectiveness (value for money), and economic development (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 2015). Figure 4: Benefits of e-procurement reforms

Source: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 2015

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

In a 2018 briefing, the European Parliament (EP) focused mainly on improvement of access, transparency and accountability through e-procurement (Becker, 2018). With reference to access, public e-procurement helps to centralize all procurements into either one central, electronic platform or a limited number of competing platforms. The potential contractors do no longer have to track hundreds or thousands of different newspapers and publication sheets, but can login to one website and find all procurements from the local to the national level. Especially for SMEs, which often lack the personnel to monitor all open calls for tender, the improved access through a central platform is an important support factor to increase their possibilities for participation. The centralized online procurement platforms also increase accessibility for international, cross-border bidders. Transparency is often associated with corruption as a way to fight it, but beyond this, transparency simplifies supplier participation and increases trust. The summarized argumentations in favor of e-procurement as an effective mechanism for implementation of the principles of good governance in the sector reveal one significant characteristics of the process - each comes as a perquisite or a result of the others. Accountability is rather difficult to be achieved without transparency as both result it improved fairness and access (OECD, 2019). A sound legal framework of the system also ensures border access through facilitating participation on the basis of coherent and stable intuitional and regulatory foundation. The improved access and participation thus result in increased value for money since a wide range of participants could compete to provide goods and services for the government’s needs. Both the public and the private sector benefit from increased operational effectiveness due to faster and shorter time to announce and locate the procurements, to conduct and submit the documentation and finalize the process – it’s estimated that e-procurement reduces the time-to-procure by 30% (Nextenders, 2013). Conclusion The principles of good governance represent a wholistic approach to reformation of the public sector. They set the direction, but do not provide specific methods. It depends on the local governments to choose how to implement them in their public policies so as to answer the specific needs, influenced by the cultural and political diversity of the society. Public procurement systems should make no exception as they represent a significant strategic political and financial instrument that facilitates the achievement of broader governmental goals. The digitalisation of these systems provides both public and private sector with benefits that go beyond the operational side of the process. However, the various interpretations of the key principles of good governance that relate to public procurement might create confusion and misunderstanding when a national government tries to set the basic parameters for reforming its system. They also present obstacle in gathering and comparing data on international or reginal level. A solution may be the operationalization of the definitions in the respective documents and setting clear indicators on how to measure their advancement. The implementation of technology is not sufficient by itself to guarantee compliance with the good governance principles in the procurement practices – it should be devised as per preceding comprehensive institutional framework. References [1] Agere, S. (2000). Promoting Good Governance. Retrieved from https://doi.org/https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.14217/9781848597129-en

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[2] Asian Development Bank. (2001). Understanding Public Procurement. Retrieved from https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/28646/governancebrief03.pd f [3] Becker, J. (2018). Systems and e-procurement - improving access and transparency of Public procurement. Retrieved from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2018/618990/IPOL_BRI( 2018)618990_EN.pdf [4] Commission of the European Communities. (2001). European Governance: A White Paper. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/DOC_01_10 [5] Council of Europe. (2007). 12 Principles of Good Governance. Retrieved from https://www.coe.int/en/web/good-governance/12-principles [6] European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. (2015). Are you ready for eProcurement? Guide to Electronic Procurement Reform. https://www.ppi-ebrd- uncitral.com/images/stories/pdf/151208_Are_you_ready_for_eProcurement.pdf [7] European Commission. (2014). European Semester Thematic Factsheet. Public procurement. European Commission Paper, 27(April 2013), 1–12. [8] European Commission. (2014a). Making Public Procurement work in and for Europe. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/1/2017/EN/COM-2017- 572-F1-EN-MAIN-PART-1.PDF [9] European Commission. (2017, August 30). Digital procurement. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/public-procurement/digital_en [10] Hadden, D. (2016). Benefits of E-Procurement in government. Retrieved from https://freebalance.com/public-financial-management/benefits-of-e-procurement- in-government/ [11] Jeppesen, R. (2010). Accountability in Public Procurement - transparency and the role of civil society. United Nations Procurement Capacity Development Centre. http://unpcdc.org/media/142496/story%20of%20an%20institution%20- %20accountability.pdf [12] Lynch, J. (2013). Public Procurement: Principles, Categories and Methods, 1–16. Retrieved from https://leanpub.com/procurement-principles-categories-and- methods/read [13] Nextenders. (2013). 5 key benefits of eTendering for buyers. Retrieved from http://www.nextenders.co.uk/benefits-of-etendering-for-buyers/ [14] OECD. (2015). OECD RECOMMENDATION OF THE COUNCIL ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT. Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development. Retrived from https://www.oecd.org/gov/public-procurement/OECD- Recommendation-on-Public-Procurement.pdf [15] OECD. (2019). Council Report on the implementation of the recommendation of the Council on public procurement JT03449826. Organisation for Economic Co- Operation and Development, c(July), 1–94. [16] Phillips, W., & Caldwell, N. (2007). Public procurement A pillar of good governance? Public Procurement, (July), 138–148. https://doi.org/10.4324/noe0415394048.ch10

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[17] Tayler, Y. (2012). Why Reform Public Procurement? 18. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/MNA/Why_Refor m_Public_Procurement_English.pdf [18] United Nations. (2000). What is good governance? Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. https://doi.org/10.18356/d4072237-en-fr [19] United Nations. (2011). E-Procurement: Towards Transparency and Efficiency in Public Service Delivery. United Nations Headquarters, (October), 1–47. Retrieved from https://publicadministration.un.org/publications/content/PDFs/E-Library Archives/2011 EGM_Towards Transparency and Efficiency in Public Service.pdf

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Mexican Airlines in the Current Situation of COVID 19. Evolution and Prospects

Mtro. Sergio Solís Tepexpa Department of Economic Production of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) Xochimilco Unit. Degree in Administration; Specialization in Econometrics; Master in Economics. PhD student in Social Sciences Luis Fernando Muñoz González PhD, Department of Economic Production of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) Xochimilco Unit. Degree in Administration and Degree in Economics; Master in Finance and Doctor in Social and Administrative Sciences

Abstract The present work seeks to analyze and contrast the previous characteristics of the general financial situation of the main Mexican airlines. This is especially relevant, since in general there were problems in leverage and profitability in some of them, since exercises prior to 2020. In this sense, it is important to clarify the conditions in which several surgical surgeries were developed, faced by economic and health crisis of the first decade of this century and finally, they will face this global phenomenon unprecedented in the economic history of this century and much of the previous one. In the part of presenting the figures of reduction in passenger flows today, the characteristics and problems they have faced, as well as some reflections on how they can be better rid. Likewise, a model is presented that emphasizes the change in Aeroméxico's financial situation, towards a critical state in terms of the fall in the activity of commercial aviation worldwide. Finally, there are some reflections and recommendations regarding the possible alternatives for this important sector of the Mexican economy, in general, Aeroméxico in particular, can get out of this difficult and complex current environment. Keywords: Economic and health crisis, main Mexican airlines, Mexican economy, model, possible alternatives

Introduction To give an idea of the conjunctural panorama, before the COVID 19 pandemic, a data that sounds very shocking is that of the decrease in the arrival of total passengers, national and international, same as in annual variation, according to Airports and Auxiliary Services, was of the 29%, for the first four months of 2020. In relation to the five most relevant airports in the country (69.5% of the total), namely: México City, Cancun, Guadalajara, Tijuana and Monterrey, the steepest drop corresponds to Cancun (35.0%), followed by Monterrey (31.0%), México City (29.5%), Guadalajara (26.3%) and Tijuana (19.0%). It should be noted that this situation is general in the 30 most important airports, as well as in the rest of them,

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 according to this source. Additionally, generalized falls are seen when said period is compared against that of 2018. (ASA, 2020) By type of flights, the decrease was 26.1% for domestic flights, while international flights accounted for a decrease of 31.5%. Given the steepest drop in this last line, the share of domestic flights, at the end of April 2020 was 50.5% of the total, reversing the highest relative share of international flights, shown in the same period of 2019. At the national flight level, for the first quarter of 2020, five Mexican lines absorbed 96.7% of passengers, with the following order in their relative participation: Volaris 33.2%, Vivaaerobus 21.0%, Interjet 18.7%, Aeromexico Connect 13.7% and Aeromexico 10.1%. It should be noted that these lines show very pronounced drops in the number of passengers transported, with Vivaaerobus being the least pronounced -14.2%, followed by Volaris with - 23.3%, Aeromexico with -29.9%, Interjet with -30.5% and Aeromexico Connect with -32.8%. Another relevant data refers to the fact that in April 2020, the falls in passengers transported compared to the same month of 2019, were more than 86% in the five aforementioned lines, the sharpest being that corresponding to Interjet, with -97.2%. With reference to international flights, for the January-April 2020 period, Mexican lines participated with 30.3% of the passengers transported (against 42.9% of the US ones). Of this percentage, 26.8% was absorbed: Aeromexico 10.3%, Interjet 9.1% and Volaris 7.4%, leaving Aeromexico Connect, Vivaaerobus and Magnicharters with marginal percentage shares. Falls in this area are more severe than for domestic flights. Aeromexico Connect stands out with -47.4%, Aeromexico with -41.5%, Interjet with -24.3% and Volaris with -18.9%. If only the month of April is considered, compared to the previous year, all the lines (except Magnicharters, which has a negligible participation) presented falls of more than 93% in the number of passengers transported. (AFAC, 2020) Literature review: Current situation of low-cost airlines in the commercial aviation industry As part of the deregulation process, especially reflected in the liberalization of fares and the expansion of routes to foreign destinations, faced by the commercial aviation industry since the end of the last century, low-cost airlines have observed significant growth, as well as a greater participation in the market. Among the most notable proportions, it can be seen that at the beginning of the last decade one in three passengers traveled in these in the United States, in Europe one in four and in Asia and Oceania one in two. In the case of the Latin American subcontinent, the market is concentrated in very few lines, unlike what happened in Europe, although with an interesting dynamism, which is mainly concentrated in Brazil, México and to a lesser extent in Colombia. In México, just under 2 out of 3 passengers in the domestic market traveled in them in the period indicated above. Approximately it is appreciated that more than half of its cost structure is made up of those of flight operation, with the consumption of jet fuel playing a key role here. It is noteworthy that in México this type of air services offer is oligopolistic in nature, having been concentrated since the last decade, especially during the 2008 global crisis, where recession and impact on fuel prices were combined. Among the main advantages that this type of flight has used for its proliferation and presence in the market, the elimination of intermediaries in the sales process, the reduction of costs by offering more basic services, the greater frequency of nonstop flights, the Round-trip flights, as well as the encouragement of flying by socio- demographic strata that previously did not, given the accessibility of fares, competitive even with those of buses, in the Mexican case.

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As a problematic situation prior to this global situation, there is not having the cargo market covered, the lack of more comprehensive connectivity in terms of destination airports, consumer complaints, due to the concomitant reduction of the services offered by the fee, as well as those caused by delays and cancellations, among other factors. Another topic that is appreciated is focusing on the tourism market, rather than on business travelers. In general, in the current context, the following statement seems very eloquent: “…these costs may be affected by financial circumstances, as happened between 2007-2008; health crises like influenza and of course due to economic recessions”. (Canseco, 2015: 10). For some time now, it has been necessary to rethink the strategic direction of low-cost airlines, by generating competitive advantages that can face the competition and, as it is currently appreciated, face the sharp drop in flows, within a context of high volatility in costs. In this sense, the challenge will be extremely difficult, since among the attributes most indicated by the segment of the market oriented to the "businessman", punctuality, comfort and above all convenient hours are privileged. In general, the latter will be a challenge when facing a return to activities, predicting that these flows will be much more restricted than in the days prior to the current pandemic. Perhaps in the case of the tourist segment these situations are much less severe. Another issue that has affected since the beginning of the century is the one related to the costs derived from insecurity, following the terrorist attacks of 2001, which add to the volatility indicated in fuels. In this sense, to account for the vulnerability of this economic activity and unintentionally anticipating what happened in the context of the current situation, we have the following assessment, made in the previous decade: "Unfortunately and without having achieved recovery Overall, airlines around the world are facing a new crisis, this time caused by high fuel costs and in many cases putting them at imminent risk of bankruptcy…” (Urzúa, n.d.: 7). Taking into consideration all the above factors, it is necessary to seek to attend quickly to the two highly relevant segments in this field, namely: the business market, on the one hand, and the tourism market, the latter representing a potential aspect of the How companies that survive can recover. Regarding the tourism market, special attention should be paid to its ability to boost income, since its economic relevance and dynamism are general globally, as stated in the following: “It is one of the most important economic sectors and dynamic in today's world, both for their level of investment, participation in employment, contribution of foreign exchange, and contribution to regional development." (Urzúa, n.d.: 8). Concerted action is required in inter-institutional cooperation (both local, national and international), in the prevailing regulations, in the training of the human factor, in infrastructure as a system, in the marketing mix oriented to the different segments, as well as risk management, among other factors. In this order of ideas, attention should be paid to the possible reactivation of the tourism sector, in terms of the Mexican air network, and its characteristics of connectivity, centrality and intermediation, due to their impact on the capacity for growth in said activity economic. In general, connectivity fosters a multiplier effect in activity directly related to the airport industry and related services, as well as in the tourist network connected to the place in question. It highlights that in 2012 tourism generated about 2.3 million jobs (about 6% of the national total). One of the possible threats that could be presented in the current scenario is the public policy of "air freedoms", which allows foreign lines to attend local flights. According to data from the Ministry of Communications and Transportation, the air network carries 2.5% of passengers, while only 0.1% of cargo. Relating to connectivity, for 2013, it observed that it

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 is found in the three main cities of the country (with a clear centralizing predominance at the country level, in México City), as well as in Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Acapulco and Tijuana. The shorter distances increased their frequency by 22% between 2000 and 2012. Cancun stands out with 100 airports added to its network, reaching the position of being the second airport in the country. With respect to centrality, which measures the relevance as an origin and destination of an airport, the same concentration can be seen in the three main cities in México, with Cancun in second place and Tijuana in fifth. In this sense, it is relevant to take into account that this excess of centrality could be counterproductive in the event of a reactivation of tourism. In fact, ex ante, it had been pointed out that: "The projections proposed by Aviasolutions suggest that during the period 2009-2020 we will face a growth rate of 6.1% ... double the traffic over the next 10 years..." (Lichtle, 2015: 9) Evidently it is clear that this will not be achieved, although it reflects the inertia that prevailed in the market. Regard to intermediation, Cancun, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta stand out. Only 8% of flights can be direct from origin to destination, the rest requires two or more stops. Another interesting aspect is the one regarding the correlation between the arrival of national flights and hotel occupancy in national tourist destinations. In this regard, however, and evidently reflecting the drop in airline activity, it should be noted that: “However, there is a divergence between both series as of 2008, as a result of the negative impact of the health crisis in México during 2009 derived from the outbreak of influenza…From 2012 the behavior of the number of flights and the arrival of national tourists began to move in the same direction, as a result of the improvement in economic conditions…” (Lichtle, 2015: 10). Without being able to obtain an accurate forecast of the duration and magnitude of the current economic recession, what is evident is that it will be much more severe than that of 2008. Within this context, the strong impact that exogenous aspects to the industry have generated on it can be seen, particularly the fall in the markets, the result of global confinement. Likewise, the effect of public policies around the concentration of the Mexican air network, described above, can be seen intertwined. To this are added endogenous aspects, mainly in matters of managing the financial function of companies, although at this point each economic entity entails the consequence of its own organizational management, regardless of the situation the referred sector. In this order of ideas and admitting the synergistic causality of external and external factors, the following seems plausible: "It is necessary to monitor and detect all those events that occur outside the company and that may affect it, but cannot always be controlled from a company in particular; from this, strategies can be developed to face these events.” (Alvarez, 1997: 8). Of course, an event like the current one goes far beyond the proportions that occurred before, at least since the first half of the last century. Finally, it is convenient to articulate alternatives between internal strategies that generate a critical mass of survival, and incidents of public policy in the area of communications and transportation, that support the Mexican airline industry in particular and tourism in general.

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Methodology Vector Autoregressive Model (VAR) To analyze the way in which the evolution of each of the selected independent variables (as described below) influence Aeromexico's share price, the Autoregressive Vectors methodology was used, which is explained in more detail. then: At first glance, the VAR methodology (Joselius, K. (2006); Neusser, K. (2016)) is similar to the simultaneous equation models, since it considers various endogenous variables together. But each endogenous variable is explained by its lagged or past values, and by the lagged values of all the other endogenous variables in the model; there are usually no exogenous variables in the model. When considering models of simultaneous or structural equations, some variables are treated as endogenous and others as exogenous or predetermined (exogenous and endogenous lagging. The term "autoregressive" refers to the appearance of the lagged value of the dependent variable on the right side, and the term "vector" is attributed to the fact that we are dealing with a vector of two (or more) variables, mathematically the model is summarized as follows. 푚

퐴0푋푡 = ∑ 퐴푗푋푡−푗 + 휀푡 푗=1

With 퐸(휀푡´휀푠) = 퐼 푖푓 푡 = 푠 푎푛푑 퐸(휀푡´휀푠) = 0 푖푓 푡 ≠ 푠 푎푛푑

Where 퐴0 푦 퐴푗 are matrices and 휀푡 is the unexplained part of the model, which is included as a vector of white noise variables. As mentioned in the VAR model, it is expressed as a linear variable of its own past values, of all other variables, and of a stochastic error term. Formally the VAR is presented as:

퐵0푦푡 = 푍 + 퐵1푦푡−1 + 퐵2푦푡−2 + ⋯ + 퐵푝푦푡−푝 + 푒푡

Where 퐵0 is a matrix of 푘 푥 푘 of coefficients of the variables included in the VAR, Z is a vector of constants, 퐵1. 훽2 …, 훽푝 are matrices of lag coefficients and 푒푡 is a vector of white noise errors. Furthermore, it is supposed to follow an autoregressive process of order 푟.

푒푡 = 퐹1푒푡−1 + 퐹2푒푡−2 + ⋯ + 퐹푝푒푡−푟 + 푢푡 Once the system is solved the reduced form is found:

푦푡 = 푐 + ∅1푦푡−1 + ∅2푦푡−2 + ⋯ + ∅푝푦푡−푝 + 휀푡 −1 −1 −1 Where 푐 = 훽0 푍: ∅ = 훽0 훽 푠; 휀푡 = 훽0 푒푡. Analysis Econometric Model The aim of this model is to analyze the impact that the macroeconomic environment has on the market value of Aeromexico and thereby determine whether the country's economic conditions are decisive in the level of Aeromexico's share price. For this, an Autoregressive Vectors model is proposed with monthly data in the period from January 2015 to March 2020. The variables used to build the model are: AEROMEX (monthly closing price), IPC (Price Index and Quotes), FIX (peso-dollar exchange rate) and IGAE (Global Index of Economic Activity).

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The following graph shows the variables in their logarithmic version to illustrate their behavior. In it, it is possible to observe that the market value problems in Aeromexico come from the end of 2016 and have not recovered. Likewise, the Scatter is presented where we can observe the most significant functional is that of Aeromexico with the IPC. The next procedure was to calculate the yields and growth rates of the variables, but before that, the unit root tests were performed. The test results show that the variables have order of integration 1, so it is possible to include them in the model with a difference. Graph 1 Variable behavior

LAEROMEX LIPC

4.0 11.0

10.9 3.6

10.8 3.2 10.7 2.8 10.6

2.4 10.5

2.0 10.4 I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 LFIX LIGAE

3.20 4.80

3.15 4.76 3.10

3.05 4.72

3.00 4.68 2.95 4.64 2.90

2.85 4.60 I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Scatter diagrams

Source: Own elaboration with Eviews

Table 1

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Unit Roots Test Variable ADF Phillips-Perron KPSS Integration order laeromex -7.644806 -6.259836 0.085560 I(1) (0.0000) (0.0000) (0.146000*) lipc -7.752026 -6.280828 0.058404 I(1) (0.0000) (0.0000) (0.146000*) lfix -6.499266 -6.093774 0.143522 I(1) (0.0000) (0.0000) (0.463000*) ligae -6.309609 -15.85080 0.360857 I(1) (0.0000) (0.0000) (0.463000*) Source: Own elaboration with data from Eviews The specification of the model obtained is as follows: D(LAEROMEX) = C(1,1)*D(LAEROMEX(-1)) + C(1,2)*D(LAEROMEX(-2)) + C(1,3)*D(LFIX(-1)) + C(1,4)*D(LFIX(-2)) + C(1,5)*D(LIGAE(-1)) + C(1,6)*D(LIGAE(-2)) + C(1,7)*D(LIPC(-1)) + C(1,8)*D(LIPC(-2)) + C(1,9) + C(1,10)*DUM2 D(LFIX) = C(2,1)*D(LAEROMEX(-1)) + C(2,2)*D(LAEROMEX(-2)) + C(2,3)*D(LFIX(-1)) + C(2,4)*D(LFIX(-2)) + C(2,5)*D(LIGAE(-1)) + C(2,6)*D(LIGAE(-2)) + C(2,7)*D(LIPC(-1)) + C(2,8)*D(LIPC(-2)) + C(2,9) + C(2,10)*DUM2 D(LIGAE) = C(3,1)*D(LAEROMEX(-1)) + C(3,2)*D(LAEROMEX(-2)) + C(3,3)*D(LFIX(-1)) + C(3,4)*D(LFIX(-2)) + C(3,5)*D(LIGAE(-1)) + C(3,6)*D(LIGAE(-2)) + C(3,7)*D(LIPC(-1)) + C(3,8)*D(LIPC(-2)) + C(3,9) + C(3,10)*DUM2 D(LIPC) = C(4,1)*D(LAEROMEX(-1)) + C(4,2)*D(LAEROMEX(-2)) + C(4,3)*D(LFIX(-1)) + C(4,4)*D(LFIX(-2)) + C(4,5)*D(LIGAE(-1)) + C(4,6)*D(LIGAE(-2)) + C(4,7)*D(LIPC(-1)) + C(4,8)*D(LIPC(-2)) + C(4,9) + C(4,10)*DUM2 According to the unit circle, the model is stable with two lags, as shown below: Inverse Roots of AR Characteristic Polynomial

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5 -1.5 -1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 Source: Own elaboration with Eviews

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To ensure that the model is not expurious, the Autocorrelation tests were performed, with four lags, and the results show that none of these is statistically significant, so it can be said that the model does not present autocorrelation problems in the residuals. Table 2 VAR Residual Serial Correlation LM Tests

Null hypothesis: No serial correlation at lags 1 to h

Lag LRE* stat Df Prob. Rao F-stat Df Prob.

1 20.74978 16 0.1883 1.328223 (16, 132.0) 0.1893 2 39.36250 32 0.1736 1.263773 (32, 145.4) 0.1776 3 60.86734 48 0.1006 1.321233 (48, 136.9) 0.1086 4 71.66033 64 0.2388 1.138784 (64, 123.6) 0.2669

*Edgeworth expansion corrected likelihood ratio statistic. Source: Own elaboration with data from Eviews The following correctly specified tests are those corresponding to Normality and Heteroskedasticity. The following table shows the statistics obtained and the p-values that show normal residuals without heteroskedasticity. Table 3 Normality and Heteroskedasticity Tests Test Value White Heteroskedasticity (with cross terms) 577.9712 (0.1252) Jarque – Bera 3.587681 (0.8923) Source: Own elaboration with data from Eviews Once the correct specification was determined, the Granger Causality test was performed to determine if there was a correlation between Aeromexico's behavior (yields) and the movements that occurred in the macroeconomic variables during the analysis period. The results show that the null hypothesis that indicates that the No Granger variables cause Aeromexico cannot be rejected, which implies that the behavior in the market of this issuer is not correlated to variations in the exchange rate, the IPC or the economic activity. Table 4 VAR Granger Causality/Block Exogeneity Wald Test

Dependent variable: D(LAEROMEX)

Excluded Chi -sq df Prob.

D(LFIX) 0.984377 2 0.6113

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D(LIGAE) 2.000652 2 0.3678 D(LIPC) 0.551446 2 0.7590

All 4.491112 6 0.6105

Source: Own elaboration with data from Eviews To expand the previous analysis, the Impulse-Response Functions were listed, shown below. In it we can observe that Aeromexico to a shock in the exchange rate in negative terms and in the third month it takes positive values but that effect is diluted from the fourth month. As for the market, a shock in the IPC implies a fall in aeromexico that is only perceived for three periods and is diluted as of the fourth month. And finally, the effect of a shock on economic activity does not statistically influence Aeromexico's market value. Graph 2 Response to Generalized One S.D. Innovations ± 2 S.E.

Response of D(LAEROMEX) to D(LAEROMEX) Response of D(LAEROMEX) to D(LFIX)

.06 .06

.04 .04

.02 .02

.00 .00

-.02 -.02

-.04 -.04

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Response of D(LAEROMEX) to D(LIGAE) Response of D(LAEROMEX) to D(LIPC)

.06 .06

.04 .04

.02 .02

.00 .00

-.02 -.02

-.04 -.04

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Source: Own elaboration with data from Eviews Conclusion The results obtained with the Autoregressive Vector Model give us indications that external factors have not been the cause of the loss in value of Aeromexico's Market, but rather internal factors and investment decisions over the past ten years. This is evident in the following graphs, in the first the liquidity and the level of indebtedness of the company are presented and in the second the reasons of profitability that Aeromexico has offered in the last five years

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 are presented. As can be seen, liquidity has had a downward trend which, together with the increase in debt, has caused it problems in solving its short-term commitments. In terms of profitability, net margin and return on assets have been on a ten-year downward trend for ten years, and the deepest problem is seen in the return on capital that fell in negative terrain since 2017 and has not achieved recover to positive values. Once recovery features are reported, Aeromexico must focus on covering the tourism market, in combination with the business-oriented one, so that it can reactivate with the expected increase in its income. Likewise, efforts should be focused in order to exercise greater control over its main operating costs, to the extent possible. Another factor of central importance is to seek certification of the aircraft in its fleet, to be in a position to use them in planning its operations. In this sense, there is a component of an endogenous nature, very important in the financial situation of the main Mexican airline. However, public policy actions must also be articulated, aimed at creating a less adverse environment for the development of the aviation industry in Mexico. Graph 3 Liquity and Debt of Aeromexico

1,00 60,00 40,00 0,50 20,00 0,00 0,00

Liquity Acid Test debt ratio

Source: Own elaboration with data from Economatica Graph 4 Rentability of Aeromexico

20,00 400

300 10,00 200 0,00 100 -10,00 0

-20,00 -100

Net Margin ROA ROE

Source: Own elaboration with data from Economatica

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References [1] Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares (ASA). Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes. (2020). Actividades Aeroportuarias. Llegadas por Aeropuerto (Flujo de pasajeros y vuelos). Enero abril 2019-2020. Disponible en: https://www.datatur.sectur.gob.mx/SitePages/TrasnAerea.aspx [2] Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil (AFAC). Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes. (2020). Actividades Aeroportuarias. Flujo de pasajeros aéreos por aerolínea. Pasajeros transportados en vuelos nacionales por principales aerolíneas mexicanas. Pasajeros transportados en vuelos internacionales por principales aerolíneas. Enero abril 2019-2020. Disponible en: http://www.datatur.sectur.gob.mx/SitePages/FlujoPorAerolinea.aspx [3] Álvarez, H. (1997). ¿Es posible pronosticar la crisis empresarial? Revista de Economía y Estadística, Cuarta Época,Vol. 36, No. 1: 2º Semestre de 1995 (volumen 36); 1º y 2º Semestre (1996-1997), (volúmenes 37-38), pp. 5-11. Disponible en: http://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/REyE/article/view/3783 [4] Canseco, A., Zuñiga, C. y Blanco, L. (2015). Análisis estratégico sobre el desarrollo de las líneas aéreas de bajo costo en México. Nova scientia, 7(15), 343-363. Recuperado en 05 de junio de 2020, de http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2007- 07052015000300343&lng=es&tlng=es [5] Economatica Decisiva. Database. https://economatica.com/ [6] Joselius, K. (2006). The Cointegrated VAR model. Methology and Aplications. Oxford University Press. [7] Lichtle, P., Sánchez, J., López, D., y Padilla, J. (2015). Evolución de la conectividad en la red aérea mexicana y el crecimiento del turismo nacional. Documentos de Investigación Estadística y Económica. No. 2015-2. Febrero, 2015. Secretaría de Turismo. Subsecretaría de Planeación y Política Turística. Disponible en: https://www.datatur.sectur.gob.mx/Documentos%20Publicaciones/2015_2_DocInv s.pdf [8] Neusser, K. (2016). Time Series Econometrics. Springer [9] Pesaran, H. (2015). Time Series and Panel Data Econometrics. Oxford University Press. UK [10] Urzúa, J., y Muñoz, M. (s.f.). Líneas aéreas ante el incremento de los costos de seguiridad, impuestos y turbosina. Red Internacional de Investigadores en Competitividad. Memoria del II Congreso. Universidad de Guadalajara. Centro Universitario de Ciencias Económico Administrativas. Disponible en: https://riico.net/index.php/riico/article/view/961/320

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Family Planning Policy and Housing Price in China

Shichang Ma School of Economics and Management Engineering, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture Ting Yu Business School of Central South University

Abstract Different intergenerational fertility levels affected by the family planning policy under such altruistic behavior will inevitably affect real estate prices. This paper studies the effect of different intergenerational fertility levels on real estate prices under the parental altruistic behavior model with Chinese characteristics by constructing an Overlapping Generation Model (OLG) with intergenerational wealth transfer. The empirical results show that the lower the intergenerational fertility level of the middle-aged generation, the higher the average wealth level transferred to the youth generation, and the higher the real estate price. This result shows that, unlike the high fertility rate of popular cognition, the low fertility rate of the middle-aged generation under the influence of the family planning policy and the altruistic behavior of the Chinese parents are the important reasons for the current high housing prices. This paper reveals the relationship between China's population policy and real estate price, and can guide the judgment of China's real estate market in the future. Keywords: Family Planning Policy; house price; fertility rate: generational wealth transfer; overlapping generational model

1.Introduction After the implementation of the 1998 market-oriented reform of housing in China, the sales price and volume of real estate has both rose sharply. At the same time, China has entered the release period of the demographic dividend and large number of laborers flow into cities. The generation born in the 1980s has also gradually entered the marriage and childbearing period, bringing numerous inelastic demanded housing consumption. All these demographic factors have great impact on real estate prices from the perspective of demand and supply. However, it seems that it is not fully explained the continuous rise in housing prices for that supply is also increased with the demand all these years in China. The research on whether the higher birth rate will surely bring real estate demand and higher house prices requires further investigation. From the time that family planning policy was designated as a basic national policy in 1982 and written into the Constitution to the time that the implementation of the second-child policy in 2015, China's family planning policy has been adjusted according to national conditions. Then very different intergenerational fertility levels were formed. Under the traditional culture of China, people attach great importance to the concept of ‘home’. Home

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 always means having own house in China. Many Chinese youths purchase houses early with the support of their parents. Parents' funding or even grandparents' sponsorship of young generation’s housing purchases has caused large amounts of wealth from different generations flowing into the real estate market. The rapid rise of China's housing prices in recent years has been the research focus of many scholars. From Figure 1, we can see that China's housing prices have rose for years continually. In 2018, the average price of houses nationwide was 8,544 yuan /㎡ while this figure was 2063 yuan /㎡ in 1998. Many domestic and foreign scholars have interpreted the influencing factors of rising real estate prices from various angles. Some scholars have studied from the perspective of monetary policy and believe that the increase in money supply will lead to the rise of housing prices (Li Jian DengWei,2011; Hongyi Chen, Kenneth Chow, Peter Tillmann,2017;ChiWei Su,XiaoQing Wang,RanTao,Hsu-Ling Chang,2019). Some scholars have found through empirical research that land prices have a significant positive impact on housing prices (Liu Lin and Liu Hongyu, 2003; Zhou Bin and Du, 2010; Wei Wang, Yuzhe Wu, Mellini Sloan,2018). The influence of urbanization and migrant population on urban housing prices has also been proved by many scholars (Lu Ming, Ou Haijun and Chen Binkai, 2014). These are all studies on fundamental factors, but studies on the trend of housing prices in combination with the birth policy of Chinese characteristics are rare. The Chinese population experienced a recovery in the 1960s, so the fertility rate reached a peak from 1962 to 1963, which is considered as the baby boom period. These people entered the marriage and childbearing period in the 1980s and formed the second birth peak in the 1980s. While the family planning policy, which was gradually introduced in the late 1970s, caused a low birth rate from 1977 to 1979, and this group of people entered the marriage and childbirth period, forming a birth trough from 1993 to 2000. In the late 1970s, China introduced a family planning policy to slow the population growth rate. Chinese government include indicators of controlling population growth into the national economic developing plan in July, 1971.In September 1982, the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China defined family planning as a basic national policy which was enacted in the Constitution in December of the same year. After more than 30 years, China's population development has undergone a major turning point: the growth of the total population has been significantly weakened, the degree of aging has continued to deepen, and the demographic dividend has gradually disappeared. In November 2011, China began to implement the policy that couples both from one child family can have two children. And this policy extend to couples can have two children if either of them come from a one child family. Moreover, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in2015 decided to fully implement the policy that every couple can have two children, which intends to respond proactively to the aging of population and improve the balanced development of population. Figure 2 is a trend graph of the fertility rate from 1959 to 2017 and the population born in each year. From this figure, it can be found that the fertility rate is consistent with the trend of the birth population. In Chinese traditional ideas, having a house before married can increase a man’s popularity in the marriage market. Nowadays, many young women also prefer buying houses before marriage, so they will feel more secure and less pressure after marriage. However, most young people do not have enough money to buy a house by themselves, so their parents would pay part of the funds for them to pay for a house. The amount of funding depends on the level of altruism of the parents. The effect of parental altruism will be passed on to the real estate

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 market, which will result in a certain increase in house prices. But the wealth that parents can transfer is limited. Having more children means less wealth that parents will transfer to each child while fewer children means more wealth that parents will transfer to each child. Therefore, the fertility rate will affect the price. All these means that to research the effects of Family Planning Policy on house prices, we should conduct an OLG model with intergenerational wealth transfer.

Fig.1. Average selling price of residential commercial housing Data Source: China Statistical Yearbook

Fig.2. Trend Map of Birth Rate and Birth Population Data Source: China Statistical Yearbook

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Literature review Research on the impact of demographic factors on housing prices has been emerging in the academic field. Mankiw and Weil (1989) studied the effects of birth peaks and birth troughs on housing prices. However, the paper’s discussion and predictions about ‘the actual US house price may fall by 47% in the next 20 years’ has caused widespread controversy. The paper drew a series of subsequent studies on population shocks and the housing market (Swan, 1995; Ohtake &Shintani,1996). The research of Joe Peek and Wilcox, J. (1992) implies that the longer-run positive trends in real incomes and population size and the advance of the baby boom into ages of greater effective demand for houses are forecast to raise real house prices 10%. Ley and Tutchener (2001) studied the impact of population shocks from foreign immigrants on the US and Canadian home housing markets respectively. Fischer (2012) believed immigrants inflow from a common language country has no statistically significant impact on house prices while the noncommon language immigrants significantly push up house prices. Jager, P. and Schmidt, T. (2017) argue that the overall effect of the demographic transition on house prices has been negative. Most of these researches has focused on the impact of baby boomers and immigration on housing prices. But the impact of fertility rate caused by the family planning policy still need further studies. There are many research literatures on the selection of research models for housing price influencing factors. Cocco (2005), Piazzesi (2007) established a relatively complete economic life cycle consumption and portfolio selection model with housing consumption. Cui Xinming (2003) constructed a two-phase intertemporal residential consumption selection model to analyze the impact of mortgage ratio, mortgage period, mortgage interest rate and income growth rate on real estate prices by introducing mortgage mechanism into resident budget constraints. Chambers, Garriga and Schlagenhauf (2009) classify consumers and discuss the impact of heterogeneous consumers and liquidity constraints on real estate demand within the general equilibrium framework. Kong Xing, Liu Zhiguo, and Yu Bo(2010) introduced real estate holding costs based on the durability characteristics of real estate, constructed an intertemporal consumption selection model including general commodities and real estate and analyzed the effect of mortgage loans on the effective demand of real estate market by solving the maximization of household utility. This paper would apply the OLG model to study the impact of fertility on housing prices in China's intergenerational wealth transfer mechanism. The research of Samuelson (1958) and Diamond(1965) provides a basic theoretical framework for the Overlapping Generational Model (referred to as OLG). OLG model has a wide range of applications in macroeconomic research. Abel (2001) constructed a two-generation OLG model with the personal heritage motive considered and found that asset prices would fall after the "baby boomer" generation retired; Ortalo-Magne and Rady (2006) used the framework of the OLG model to analyze the housing consumption upgrade behavior of representative households in different life cycles and the corresponding housing market dynamics. But their research assumes that the population size is constant, so the issue of fertility is not taken into accounts. Among the many studies on the housing market in China, Shi Qingqing (2010) also constructed an OLG model that includes the housing market to study the impact of fertility rate on housing prices in China's intergenerational wealth transfer mechanism, which was rarely mentioned in previous studies. In this paper, we construct an overlapping generational model (OLG model) containing intergenerational wealth transfer, which is divided into three periods. And we also added the bequest to the end of the third period to analyze the impact of intergenerational wealth transfer on housing prices in China.

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Research Methodology The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the fertility rate formed by different family planning policies on housing prices under the intergenerational wealth transfer mechanism in China. We solve the practical problem of the impact of intergenerational wealth transfer and altruistic behavior on housing prices by establishing a specific theoretical model. Liu Xueliang (2011) developed an OLG model with three generations and altruistic behavior which means parents will provide some funding when their children buy a home. They assume that the old people has no income, but in fact most people in urban China have retirement and pensions after retirement. They also assume that when a person dies, instead of transferring to the next generation, his property becomes nothing. This is contrary to the actual situation. In China, the old generation’s houses are usually left as a legacy to the next generation. Because China's old generation has a high level of altruism, they hope that they can alleviate the burden of the younger generation, so they will leave as much wealth as possible for their children. In this context we build a new OLG model for analysis. Our research is mainly on Chinese urban housing prices, because most young generation in rural areas build their own homes on their own land, and old generation would transfer all their property to the next generation after the death. In that case it is rare for them to fund young home purchases. We divide the life of a person into three periods: childhood (0), adult (1), and old (2). Everyone would die at the end of the old (2) period. In order to supplement the research gaps of Liu Xueliang and others, it is assumed that in this model, the old (2) generation does not need the support expenses from the adult (1) generation, their pension is enough for covering their spending. And the old(2) generation will leave the house as a legacy to the next generation after the death. The size of the house (H) will not change, but the price will change over time. Let P1 and P2 be the purchasing house price of the first period and the sales price of the second period, respectively. Because many people can't pay the full amount at one time, it is assumed that each family pays the down payment in early adulthood. And usually all the home loans would be paid off by the end of adulthood. Due to the altruistic behavior of parents, we assume that when the younger generation pursuing house, they will be given an initial purchase fund, which refers to the first wealth transfer between generations. The house purchased in the (1) period will be left as a legacy to the next generation, which is the second transfer of wealth between the two generations. In addition to housing costs, there is other consumptions through a person's life. Assuming that personal consumption in different periods is shown in Table 1: For the childhood (0) generation, they have no income and no housing consumption. They need to rely on their adult parents to maintain all other consumption ( C0 ). Adults have income ( y1 ) and the money they received from their parents when they purchase a house. They will get the inheritance from their parents. Adults’ consumption includes raising children ( C0 ) and meeting their own needs for non-housing ( C1 ), they also need to repay the housing loan ( C2 ) and subsidize their children to buy houses. For the elderly, they can use their savings and pensions ( y2 ) to maintain their daily consumption ( C3 ).They don't have to pay for the house, the house will be left as a legacy to their children and it is equal to the value of the house (

P2 H ).

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Table 1 Basic assumptions of three generations Altruistic Period Income Consumption Housing expenditure behavior

0 None Relying on parents C0 None None Down payment Other consumption C1 Raising children 1 Income（） y1 Housing subsidy Other consumption C2 Mortgage

2 Income （ y2 ） Other consumption C3 None Legacy P2 H 3.1 Maximization of utility We assume that individuals have direct wealth transfers with their parents and children. Assuming a generation is recorded as i, then i-1 and i+1 can represent the previous generation and the next generation. Ni , Ni−1 , and Ni+1 are the total population of the i generation, the i-

1 generation, and the i+1 generation, respectively. ni-1 and n i are the fertility rates of the i-1 generation and the i generation. Thus, we have:

NnNi11=+(1) ii−− ， NnNiii+1 =+(1) （3.1.1） For the i generation, the utility of each period consists of housing consumption and other (non- housing) consumption, then the utility function at t should be:

UCH= ln 1− （3.1.2） ttt ， t=0，1,2

Among them, t represents the period, the life cycle of each generation includes the 0,1,2 period, αindicates the preference between housing and non-housing consumption, Ct indicates non- housing consumption, and Ht indicates the houses. Then the maximum expected utility of the first phase of i can be expressed as:

2 Ti,1 max(1)(1)EUUn=++++ ln Unt−1 （3.1.3） i， 1,11,t2 i tiii + t=0 P1 EU  U i,1 represents the expectation operator of i in the first period. is the discount factor, i,t 2 U t−1 is the utility of i in t period. i+1,t is the utility of i+1 in t period.   Ui,t stands for the t=0 total utility of i in housing consumption and non-housing consumption from period 0 to period   P 2. 1 and 2 represents the altruistic level of parents raising their children. 1 indicates the T price of the first period. i，1 indicates the price that i paid for them when they purchased the T i,1 T house in the first period of i+1. stands for the houses i，1 could get. If the utility of i+1 P1 （1+ n )U acquired in t period is , then the utility obtained by i is 1 i i+1,t . The wealth

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T （ i,1 transfer of i when buying house in i+1 will make i get the utility  2 1+ ni ) ln ，these p1 are determined by the altruistic level of the parents. The budget of i is constrained, that is, the final income and expenditure of i are in equilibrium. (3.1.3) does not include bequest. Suppose i gives all the property to i+1 at the end of the second period, then the accumulated wealth of i at the end of the second period is 0. Suppose Wi,1 is the accumulated wealth of i in the first period. And Wi,2 is the accumulated wealth of i in the second period, then we have:

（3.1.4） WryCDPHTnCBiiiiiii,1,1,11,111,1i-1=+−−+−++(1)((1)) 2 −+， W=(1+r)(W+ y − C − (1 − D ) P H (1 + R ) − i2， i ,1 i ,2 i ,2 1,1 i （3.1.5） (Hi,2− H i ,1 ) P 2 k 2 − (1 + n i ) T i ,2 ) − B i,2 =0 y Where r represents the interest rate, i,1 and yi,2 respectively represent the total income of C C i in the first period and the total income of i in the second period. i,1 and i,2 respectively represent the consumption of other commodities in the first period and the consumption of other commodities in the second period of i. D represents the down payment ratio of housing PH T consumption. 1 i,1 . i−1 is the financial support i-1 offers to i in order to help i reduce the C pressure of life when they start a family. i+1,1 indicates the consumption of other commodities in the first period of i+1. Bi−1，2 and Bi，2 respectively represent the legacy left by i-1 at the end of the second period and the legacy left by i at the end of the second period. Here we assume that the legacy is given to the next generation in the form of house. (1+R) is the loan interest rate of the housing. Hi,1 and Hi,2 respectively indicate the amount of housing in the first period and the amount of housing in the second period. k2 is the capitalization rate of the property. P1 and P2 represent the house price of i in the first period and the house price in the second period. Ti,2 is the property fund that i provided for i-1 when i-1 purchasing a house. As the assumption is true, then we have:

（3.16） Bi，2 = Pi，2Hi,2 3.2 New model

After the analysis in 3.1, we found the control variables of i's maximization of utility are Ci,1 , C H C H T i+1,1 , i,1 , i,2 , i,2 , i,2 ，So we can solve the maximization problem of i generation under budget constraints by establishing the bellman equation:

V（1W i， 1）= max{[ lnCi ,1+ (1 −  )lnHVW i ] +  0 ( i ,2 )} （3.2.1）

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s.t. Wi,2 = (1+ r)(Wi,1 + yi,2 −Ci,2 ) − Pi,2Hi,2 = 0 （3.2.2）

Where yi,2 is the pension of the older generation, formV 0(Wi,2) = 0 ，the optimal solution of

Hi and Ci,2 can be calculated by first-order conditions:

* HrWPiii =−+(1)(1)/ ,1,2 （3.2.3）

* CWii,2,1=  （3.2.4）

The corresponding value function is：

** VH1,1,1(W)lnC(1)lniii =+− （3.2.5）

Through iteration, we can get the bellman equation of i in the first period: （） VCHnCV（2,1,111,12,2Wiiiiii)=+ max{[ W −+++ ln(1)ln(1) ln]() + 3.2.6

Wr=+−−+−++ yCDPHTn(1)((1)) CB （3.2.7） s.t. iiiiiii,2,2,11,111,1i-1 −+，2 WyCDHR=(1+r)(W(1)+−−−+− P(1) i,2,1,2,11,1 iiii （3.2.8） ()(1))B=0HHP−−+− kn T iiii,2,12 2,1i,2 V V From 2 = 0 ， 2 = 0 ，then we have： Ci,1 Ci+1,1 W Cn*2=i,1 {(1 − ) +  [1 +  (1 + )] +  } （3.2.9） ii,1(1+ r )2 2  W * 1 i,2 2 （3.2.10） Ci+1,1 = 2 {(1−) + [1+2 (1+ ni )]+  } (1+ r) * * * * According to the results of Ci,1 、 Ci+1,1 、 Ci，2 、 Hi , we can get the optimal :

(1)(1++n ++ )(1−12 p + ) Hr yr y * ii−−11,2 iii − 1,2,1 （3.2.11） Hi = 21− {D (1+− rnD ) [1 ++21,1 rr(1) −+++ P ]imi ,2− (1 P ii Z )(1 n )(1 )}( )

Where Z(ni ) is the i generation fertility function: 1+ +  (1 +nn )  [1 +  (1 + )] 21ii （3.2.12） Z( ni )= [ + ] /[(1 − )(1 + r )] 1− +  1 −  +  [1 +  + 2 (1 + ni )] From

Z(ni ) 2 1{1− + [1+  +2 (1+ ni )]}+2[1+1(1+ ni )] （3.2.13） = + 2 2  0 ni (1− +  )(1−)(1+ r) {1− + [1+  +2 (1+ ni )]} [(1−)(1+ r)]

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So theoretically the i generation fertility function is a strictly increasing function.

* Hi is the optimal housing consumption of the i generation. From（3.2.11）, once the loan interest rate increases, housing consumption will decrease. When wages increase, housing consumption will increase. But when house prices rise, housing consumption will decrease. From this formula, it can be known that the housing is related to the down payment ratio, the fertility rate, and the loan ratio in addition to interest rates, wages, and housing prices. The theoretical model is in line with our actual situation. 3.3 Equilibrium house prices with wealth transfer Housing prices are solved in the situation that the final income expenditure reaches equilibrium and intergenerational wealth transferred. According to (3.2.11), the relationship ， between housing demand and housing prices in different periods was established. Pi ,1 Pi−1, 2 ， Pi,2 represent the i generation purchase price in the (1) period, the i generation in the (2) period, and the i generation in the (2) period. Supposed Pi ,1 is the house price at time t. Pi - 1,2 and Pi,2 represent the house price at time t+1 and time t+2, then we have, Pi,1 = Pt ， Pi - 1,2 = Pt + 1 and Pi,2 = Pt + 2 . From this formula, we can draw this conclusion: Instead of a specific generation, the house price is related to the time of housing transition. Thus we can assume

Pt + 1 = 1Pt ， Pt + 2 = 2 Pt+1 . When 1 1 and 2 1, house prices rise over time；When

1 1and 2 1 ，house prices fall over time；When 1 = 2 =1，house prices remain unchanged without regarding to inflation.

Assuming * d ，We can solve the housing price of the i generation in the first period Hi = Hi according to the equation (3.2.11):

(1++r )(1 yr + y ) 2 P=* ii,2,1 （3.3.1） i,1 {DrnDrrZ (1+−++ )211 [1(1) nnH −+++− ]  (1)(1)(1 + −− )}H( )H (1) dd 211 211imiiiii−−− 1 According to (3.3.1), we can get the function of housing price. And we can also derive the wealth transferred to i generation from i-1 generation, including the initial amount of subsidy and inheritance when i form a own family: 21 d1 −− （） MDrnHnHiiiii−−−−12111=+++(1 1 + ) (1)(1) 3.3.2

M i−1 represents the total amount of wealth transferred by the i-1 generation. 2− 1 d D(1++r )21 (1 nii− ) H is used to measure the wealth and other financial support from i-1 d generation when i purchasing a house. If we assume that the impact of D and Hi on the transfer of wealth can be offset by the altruism level of the i-1 generation, then the total amount of wealth transfer directly related to house prices can be explained by the fertility rate of the i-1 generation and the housing consumption of the i-1 generation. Then the reduction in the total amount of wealth transfer will definitely be related to the increase of ni − 1 . And the increase in H i−1 will increase the total amount of wealth transfer. Although the future

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 changes in housing prices are related to many factors, we mainly study housing prices through wealth transfer. So we substitute (3.3.2) into (3.3.1), then: (1)(1)+++ryry 2 P=* ii,2,1 （3.3.3） i,1 {(1)(1)(1)(1)()}HDrDrrZnM++−+++−2d miii 121 − From (3.3.3), we can know that the greater the total amount of wealth transfer, the higher the house price would be. Then we study the housing price from the demand and supply of housing. Assuming the balance between supply and demand is existing, there is: d s （） HHii= 3.3.4

d s Hi represents the housing demand of the i generation, Hi represents the effective N housing supply of the i generation, including the new housing supply Hi of the i generation.

And the existing housing supply of the i-2 generation is H i−2 . From Ni = (1+ ni−1)Ni−1 ，

Ni−1 = (1+ ni−2 )Ni−2 we have：

sN −−11 （） HHnnHiiiii=+−+ (1)(1)−−−212 3.3.5 Substituting (3.3.5) into (3.3.3), we can get the price under the balance of supply and demand:

(1++r )(1 yr + y ) 2 * ii,2,1 （3.3.6） P=i,1 211 N −− {DrDrrZ (1++ )(1)(1)(1 nHnnHM−++ ++ )( −+− )}{(1)miiiiii (1)}1 22121 −−−−

2 ， 2 ， AssumedY = (1+ r)yi,2 + (1+ r) yi,1 Q = D(1+ r) + (1− D)(1+ rm )(1+ r) and = 12 We have a simplified formula for equilibrium house prices: Y P* = （3.3.7） i，1 [Q(n+− )]ZHM s iii −1 where H s = f (H N , H ,n ,n ) （3.3.8） i i i−2 i−1 i−2 （） Mgiii−−−111 nH= (,) 3.3.9 The simplified equilibrium house price formula (3.3.7) can be used to determine the factors affecting the price of i generation housing, including lifetime income Y , down payment and mortgage portfolio Q , fertility rate of i generation , effective housing supply , and the total amount of wealth transfer M i−1 of i-1 generation. Among them, the influencing factors of include the new housing supply of the i generation at the (1) period, the existing housing

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supply H i−2 of the i-2 generation, the i-1 generation fertility rate ni−1 and the i-2generation fertility rate ni−2 .

Therefore, we can calculate the impact of fertility rate of i, i-1, i-2 generation on i generation housing prices. Through practical experience, we can know that when the fertility rate of i generation increases, house prices will decrease. The reason is that if the fertility rate of the i generation rises, the i generation will spend more money on raising children, so the cost on the housing will be reduced. The increase in the fertility rate of the i-2 generation will reduce the supply of effective housing and stimulate the growth of housing prices. The rising fertility rate of the i-1 generation will reduce intergenerational wealth transfer and effective housing supply, so the impact of the i-1 generation fertility rate on housing prices cannot be determined based on empirical knowledge. Taking the derivative of ，we have：

P* YZ{[Q( nnHHDrHnnH++−−++++ )](1)(1 ) [2(1)−−−1211 (1)]} N i,1 = iiiiiiii −−−−−−221 12212 s 22 （ +−+nZiiiii−−−111 n HMn {[Q( )]} (1) 3.3.10 ）

AZnnH=[Q()](1)++ −1 Assuming iii −−22 , BHDrHnnH=−++++(1)[2(1)211 (1)]N −− 112212iiiii−−−− Then (3.3.10) can be simplified to:

P* Y(A − B) i,1 = s 2 2 （3.3.11） ni−1 {[Q +Z(ni )]Hi − M i−1} (1+ ni−1)

P* H  H N H  H i,1 Assuming i−2 i and i−2 i−1 ，thus A

4.1 Variables and data We assume in the theoretical model that everyone will go through three periods. The specific division is as follows: under the age of 21 is the (0) childhood period; the age of 21-59 is the (1) adult period; over the age of 60 is the (2) old period. Among them, (1) adult period is our

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 main research object. The i generation represents the group between the ages of 21 and 59, and the i-1 generation represents the group over 60 years old. The source of the data is mainly the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) and the China Statistical Yearbook published by the Chinese Statistics Department. The Chinese General Social Survey has obtained the date of birth of the interviewee (this data is used to calculate the age) and the number of children in the family (this data is used to calculate fertility rates), and the number of household-owned properties, ie, the amount of housing available. From the China Statistical Yearbook we have obtained the price level, the current housing supply and the natural growth rate of the population. Because the latest data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) is in 2015, we used the 2015 data as the research object. In 2015, there were 10,968 respondents and 487 communities in this project. There remain 6,470 interviewees after clearing the data of rural respondents. There are 5,715 in the questionnaires are living in their own houses, and 5,704 effective responses having children. Since it is almost impossible to find housing prices of each community, we choose the data of the provinces and cities as observation points. Because Hainan, Tibet, and Xinjiang have no respondents, the observation points in our study are 28 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. According to the age of each interviewee, we distinguish i+1 generation, i generation, i-1 generation. the average number of children delivered by each woman in each generation is the fertility rate, and the average number of homes owned by each family, as well as the income of each household, and then we can derive our independent variables: n i ， N ni−1 ， H i−1 , Hi , H , f , yi-1 , yi , D1, D2 and dependent variable Pi Table 2 variables Names Proxy variable Expectation dependent Average house price in 2015 variable independent n Average fertility rate of the i generation - variable i

ni−1 Average fertility rate of i-1 generations -

H i-1 Average home ownership of the i-1 generation - Average home ownership for the i generation +

New housing supply + Natural population growth rate + controlled variable Average income of the i-1 generation +

Average income of the i generation + Whether the community is in the first-tier city（Yes=1 D1 + ，No=0） Whether the community is in the second-tier city（ D2 + Yes=1，No=0） According to the theoretical model, we can know that and have direct impact on house prices. And ni-1 , , and H i−1 affect the house price by affecting wealth transfer. and

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H N affect the housing price by affecting housing supply. f is known through empirical knowledge that it has an impact on house prices. In addition, in the study using cross-sectional data, the level of development of the city where the community is located has a significant impact on local housing prices. To control this effect, we used two dummy variables to measure the level of urban development. Since China usually uses first-tier cities and second- tier cities to measure the degree of urban development, we regard “whether the community is in the first-tier cities” and “whether the communities are in the second-tier cities” as dummy variables. Table 3 Variables and statistical descriptions Variables Minimum value Maximum value Mean value standard deviation 3629 22300 6781.36 4656.583 Pi n 0.75 1.64 1.23 0.21 i 1.65 3.67 2.54 0.45 ni−1 1.07 1.53 1.22 0.11 Hi 1.00 1.46 1.16 0.11 H i-1 D1 0 1 0.21 0.42 D2 0 1 0.61 0.50 20560.87 98619.19 38824.14 21621.32 yi 4340.00 49086.04 21896.68 10470.18 yi-1 31847 682532 243854.25 149749.83

f 0.26 8.57 5.02 2.37

According to Table 3, it can be known that the mean values of ni-1 and n i are 2.54 and 1.23. < indicates that the fertility rate is decreasing with time. There is also the country’s macroeconomic regulation and control, as well as the cost of raising children. The average of

is 1.22，The average of H i−1 is 1.16. This shows that the current generation has more houses than the older generation. This is in line with the actual situation. With the development of the economy, buying a house has become a kind of investment and financial management for adults who have enough funds to do this kind of investment. The average of is 1.22 which means that a family has at least one house. The average is 5.02，which indicates the national population is still showing an upward trend. 4.2. Results We have empirically studied the data because the differences in dimensions would affect the result. To eliminate that effect, we convert the dependent and independent variables into natural logarithmic forms to establish a stable linear relationship. Using the natural logarithmic form, the coefficient of the independent variable represents the percentage change in the residential price, in response to a 1% change in the independent variable. Before

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 the analysis, we produced a series of scatter plots to show the relationship between house price and fertility (Figure 3).

Fig.3. Housing Prices and Fertility Rates in Provinces Data Source: China Statistical Yearbook From Figure 3, we can see that the higher the house price, the lower the fertility rate. For example, the price of Shanghai and Beijing has exceeded 20,000, but the i generation fertility rates of these two cities are the lowest. The housing prices in Yunnan and Inner Mongolia are relatively low, but the fertility rate is relatively high. This is in line with the actual situation, that is, the less developed the economy, the higher the fertility rate would be. It can also be seen from Figure 3 that the fertility rate of the i generation is much lower than that of the i-1 generation, which means with the stream of time and the development of society, the fertility rate has dropped significantly. Table 4 Parameter estimation Variables Parameter estimation 1 Parameter estimation 2 Parameter estimation 3 Parameter estimation 4 -0.755*** -0.038** -0.137*** -0.338*** lnn i -0.686*** -0.536*** -0.789*** lnni−1 0.321*** 0.097*** lnHi -0.379*** -0.512*** -0.219*** lnH i-1 D1 0.605*** D2 0.336*** 0.567*** 0.360*** 0.340*** 0.351*** lnyi 0.324*** 0.345*** 0.296*** lnyi-1

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N 0.056** 0.045*** lnH lnf 0.146*** 2 0.491 0.653 0.724 0.825 R Table 4 is a parameter estimate for stepwise linear regression, where parameter estimate 1 and parameter estimate 2 reflect the effect of intergenerational wealth transfer on house 2 prices. When lnn 푖, ln푦푖 are used as independent variables, R is 0.491, which means ln ni and

lnH i can account for 49.1% of ln Pi . Parameter estimation 2 is to increase to 0.653 by adding l n n i-1 , lnyi-1 , and lnHi−1 , which shows that the interpretability is also increasing through the increase of variables. The coefficient of in parameter estimation 2 is -0.038, indicating that if the i generation fertility rate is increased by 1%, and the house price will reduce by 0.038%. The increase if i generation fertility rate indicates that the child's raising cost increases, which is accompanied by a decline in housing consumption. The coefficient of is negative, indicating that the average fertility rate of the i-1 generation is increased by 1%, which reduces the intergenerational wealth transfer of the i generations, resulting in a 0.686% decline of house prices. The coefficient of is also negative, and the average number of owned properties in the i-1 generation has increased by 1%, which has caused the house price to drop by about 0.379% . Estimates 3 and 4 give the effect of all independent variables. Estimation 3 is performed without control variables, and estimation 4 is performed with control variables. The results of the study show that the two dummy variables have a significant positive impact on house prices. The coefficient of D1 is greater than D2 , indicating that communities located in cities with higher economic development will receive higher housing prices. In the process of adding variables gradually, R is also gradually increasing, which indicates that the better the model fits, the results of the actual data analysis are consistent with the results of the theoretical model, which indicates the robustness of our test. Conclusion Family Planning Policy is one of basic national policy in China which has been adjusted with the situation and formed very different generational fertility rates. In the context of parents helping their children to buy houses, pre-marriage purchase of the younger generation has become a common phenomenon. Therefore, the number of newly registered marriages has a strong relationship with the rise of housing prices in China. The younger generation usually can't afford high purchasing house price by their own, so their middle-aged parents are willing to provide some financial support, then intergenerational wealth transfer appears. The transferred wealth will eventually flow into the real estate market and push up house prices. The intergenerational transfer of wealth to everyone in the next generation is related to the fertility rate of different generations. This study establishes an overlapping generational model involving intergenerational wealth transfer and different generation fertility rates caused by the family planning policy from a new perspective. The theoretical model shows that intergenerational wealth transfer has a positive impact on housing prices which is affected by the previous generation’s fertility rate and housing consumption. We further conduct empirical research to validate our hypothesis. The results show that the average fertility rate of the adult generation decreased by 1%, which increased the transfer of intergenerational wealth to the younger generation, resulting in a 0.338% increase in house

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 prices. While the average number of properties owned by the old (2) generation increased by 1%, resulting in a decline in housing prices of approximately 0.219%. The results also show that the fertility rate of the old generation has a negative impact on housing prices, and every 1% increase in fertility rate of old generation will caused house prices to fall by 0.789%. Empirical studies have confirmed that the impact of income and housing supply factors on housing prices, that is, the annual income of the adult generation will increase by 0.351% for every 1% increase, the income of the old generation will increase by 1%, and the house price will increase by 0.296%. It has been pointed out that China's baby boom pushes up China's housing prices. However, the result we get from the empirical analyze based on actual data sounds the opposite. Baby boomers will have a negative impact on the generational wealth transfer. The low fertility rate of the middle-aged generation under the influence of the family planning policy and the altruistic behavior of the Chinese parents are the important reasons for the current high housing prices. Acknowledgements The authors thank the editor and the anonymous referees for their highly constructive comments. This paper is funded by Beijing Natural Science Foundation Youth Project (Grant/Award Number:No. 9184021) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant/Award Number: No. 71673056 and No. 71303052). References [1] Li Jian, Deng Ying, 2011. Research on the Monetary Factors Promoting the Rising of House Price—Based on the Empirical Analysis of the Accumulation Period of the United States, Japan and China .J. Financial Research, 6, 18-32. (in Chinese)

[2] Hongyi Chen,Kenneth Chow,Peter Tillmann,2017. The effectiveness of monetary policy in

China: Evidence from a Qual VAR. J. China Economic Review, 43, 216-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2017.02.006

[3] Chi-WeiSu,Xiao-QingWang,RanTao,Hsu-LingChang,2019. Does money supply drive housing prices in China? International Review of Economics & Finance,60, 85-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2018.12.013 [4] Liu Lin, Liu Hongyu, 2003. Economic Analysis of the Relationship between Land Price and House Price .J. Quantitative Economics of Economics and Technology, 7, 27-30. (in Chinese). https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1000-3894.2003.07.005 [5] Zhou Bin, Du Liangsheng, 2010. Land Finance and Real Estate Price Rise: Theoretical Analysis and Empirical Research. J. Finance and Trade Economics, 8, 109-116. (in Chinese). https://doi.org/CNKI:SUN:CMJJ.0.2010-08-020

[6] Wei Wang, Yuzhe Wu, Mellini Sloan, 2018. A framework & dynamic model for reform of residential land supply policy in urban China. J . Habitat International, 82, 28-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2018.10.006 [7] Lu Ming, Ou Haijun, Chen Binkai, 2014. Rationality or Bubble: An Empirical Study of

Urbanization,Immigration and Housing Price. J. World Economy, 1, 30-54. (in Chinese) . https://doi.org/CNKI:SUN:SJJJ.0.2014-01-003

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[8] Mankiw, N. G. , & Weil, D. N. ,1989. The baby boom, the baby bust, and the housing market. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2, 235-258. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166- 0462(89)90005-7

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Gateway Cities, Housing Studies, 16,199-223. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/02673030120038483

[13] Andreas M. Fischer, 2012, Immigrant language barriers and house prices, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 42, 389-395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2011.11.003 [14]Jager, P., Schmidt, T., 2017, Demographic change and house prices: Headwind or tailwind? Economics Letters, 160, 82-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2017.09.007 [15] Cocco, J. F . Portfolio, 2005, Choice in the Presence of Housing. Review of Financial Studies, 18, 535-567. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhi006 [16] Monika Piazzesi, Martin Schneider, Selale Tuzel, 2007, Housing, consumption and asset pricing, Journal of Financial Economics, 83, 531-569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2006.01.006 [17] Cui Xinming, 2003, The Impact of the Financing Effect of Residential Mortgage on the Price of Residential Demand, Financial Research, 06, 85-95.(in Chinese). https://doi.org/CNKI:SUN:JRYJ.0.2003-06-008 [18] Chambers M , Garriga C , Schlagenhauf D E., 2009, ACCOUNTING FOR CHANGES IN THE

HOMEOWNERSHIP RATE, International Economic Review, 50, 677-726. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/j.1468-2354.2009.00544.x

[19] Kong Xing, Liu Zhiguo, Yu Bo, 2010, User costs, housing mortgage loans and effective demand in the real estate market. Financial Research, 1, 186-196. https://doi.org/10.1360/972010-1084 [20] Samuelson P A, 1958, An Exact Consumption-Loan Model of Interest with or without the Social Contrivance of Money. Journal of Political Economy, 66, 467-482. https://doi.org/10.2307/1826989 [21] Diamond P A, 1965, National Debt In A Neoclassical Growth Model. American Economic Review,1126-1150. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01354256

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[22] Abel A B, 2001, Will Bequests Attenuate the Predicted Meltdown in Stock Prices When Baby Boomers Retire?. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 83, 589-595. https://doi.org/10.2307/3211754 [23] Ortalo-Magne F , Rady S, 2006, Housing Market Dynamics: On the Contribution of Income Shocks and Credit Constraints*. Review of Economic Studies, 73, 459-485. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-937x.2006.383_1.x [24] Shi Qingqing, Fei Fangyu, Zhu Weiliang, 2010, Independence of Demographic Dividend and Real Estate Yield. Economics (Quarterly) , 10,1(in Chinese) [25] Liu, X. L., Wu, J., Deng, Y. H, 2011, Demography, marriage and the housing market. Working Paper (in Chinese). http://www.shangxueba.com/ebook/36208.html. [26] Douglas H.Wrenn, JunjianYi, BoZhang, 2018, House prices and marriage entry in China, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 74,118-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2018.12.001

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A New Public Policy and Economic Approach to Cultural Sustainable Tourism in the Andes

Moreno Vallejo Jaime Rodrigo Ph.D in Economics Pablo de Olavide Seville – Spain, Master Degree in International Relations Complutense University Madrid – Spain, Bachelor of Arts in Business Management at Queen Margaret University United Kingdom and Slippery Rock University United States, Professor Researcher at Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador – (PUCESI) Cueto Vásquez Carlos César MSc in Latin American Studies -Andean University Simón Bolívar, Ecuador - Virtual Education Expert- FATLA in agreement with the International University of Ecuador (UIDE) Sanchez Manosalvas Olga Teresa MSc in Quality Management in Education; Ph.D. in Higher Education, Ph.D. in Design, Orientation and Psychopedagogical Intervention. Academic Vice-chancellor Polytechnic State University of Carchi - Ecuador Espitia Moreno David Bachelor Degree in Law of Mariana University – Assistant of the Attorney General of the Nation Professor Researcher and Human Rights Defender Pasto - Colombia

Abstract This research examines the current reality of the sustainable cultural development, in the Cotacachi –Cayapas Ecological Reserve and its surroundings, part of the UNESCO Global Geoparks (2019), as a world heritage sight located in South America, in the inter-Andean region of the Republic of Ecuador. The diverse cultural and ethnic focusing on the situation of indigenous and peasant people, looking at the processes of their self-awareness, validation, and empowerment. The problems faced by this community are diverse in terms of their empowerment, low levels of education, low levels of economic development, and social, cultural and political discrimination. Their relationships are not stable and their incomes are variable, because they depend on farming and producing livestock on their small plots and the precarious nature of available work in their rural environment. The research enables us to conclude that participation in organizational groups and processes has strengthened the capacity of leadership to collaborate more actively and effectively in the progress and development of their indigenous and peasant communities. This, in turn, enhances success of their projects and makes possible the administration of public and private partnerships that permit social and institutional recognition, contributing to improvement in their standard of living and quality of life and to finds and alternative sustainable economy model based on a cultural tourism. Keywords: Indigenous and peasant people, alternative economy, sustainable cultural tourism, political participatory and human rights

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Introduction Sustainable cultural tourism has received much attention in recent years due to the western belief that indigenous people are the protectors in order to consider a space where the human being is reunited with the past, with a history. Moreover with an infinity of natural, cultural and gastronomic resources, which at first could control as a source of income in which offer important economic benefits, but becomes the exact point where the being human must rethink. However, it has been found that the economic value is seen from the extraction of resources with a capitalist sense, without considering other types of wealth, in which the human being is located. As a consequence, is necessary to consider valuing a frame beyond the material and the simplicity of the economic and to find a mechanism that allows generating a type of culture that transcends economic expectations and seeks human interest and wellbeing, applying a sustainable transformation through the empowerment and awareness of a new vision of a different economic development. Undoubtedly, it is evident the neglect of the governments regarding the regulation that drives and supports this historically undervalued sector, as a result , of the null participation in projects, laws that strengthen their communities. Education as an empowering tool might help indigenous and peasant people. The present paper presents a set of criteria for making a social change and improve their conditions of living by taking action while having knowledge and skills of generate a new value of their Andes culture.

Cuicocha –Lake (Own Resource, 2019) Methodological Procedures Qualitative research is interested in the perspective of the subjects themselves (Millan 1974: 38). The focus of the research approach allows for a perspective from the subject's point of view and their culture and environment. It is framed in a research model with greater focus on social- cultural change and alternative tourism because it is based on a recognition and acknowledgment of the intrinsic value of the knowledge of the reality in which the subjects

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 live. It is a systematic process of learning, since it implies that people carry out critical analysis of the situations in which they are immersed. An approach was made through participant observation, sharing the circumstances, from the daily life of the social subjects, their activities, interests’ preferences and environment. Participant observation can be considered the quintessential example of capturing the nature of reality, rather than alternative techniques of qualitative research methods (Callejo, 2002). Field visits were conducted where the life situation of indigenous and peasant people, their economic, cultural and social conditions, the way of life, working conditions, productive activities and daily life were observed. An in-depth interview was conducted, like an ordinary conversation, with some particular characteristics of participant observation applied (Callejo, 2002). It is about capturing the meanings in an open dialogue that encourages conversation. The interview allows access to the universe of meanings from the perspective of the actors, not only the texts but the situations of the context from the vision and cultural approach of the same. In order to carry out the interviews, it was necessary to establish preliminary contacts, coordinate the times and agree on places, in an attempt to accurately capture the reality of the subjects,

Source: Self-made This paper is based on the systematic review approach, which has been used to answer the research questions presented above. The aim of this working paper is, therefore, to identify all relevant studies of the sustainable cultural development and according to the current state of the research. Therefore, an evaluation of relevant literature and an examination of the current state of affairs will be undertaken. Toward a Comprehension of Andean World In the Andes and in the Amazon, the ethno-peasant populations have their own way of conceiving and ordering their lives. This corresponds to a type of perception, political and legal organization of the world, which has its own roots and it is nourished by pre-hispanic society. Despite the efforts of the hegemonic classes in Latin America to "integrate" in one the

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 characteristics of western societies, a pre-hispanic spirit remains current and vigorous through knowledge, technologies and values that characterized the pre-hispanic collective organizations called ayllus1. Even tough elements from the West are adopted and adapted, they are always in force because they are applied to processes of constant change. As Arguedas, a Peruvian thinker stated once: “the pre-hispanic society remains in force despite having undergone many changes” (García, 2007, pág. 74). Going beyond this, Andean philosophy is the consciousness of the other, female or male, who has been marginated, alienated, beaten and forgotten. (Estermann, 2006, pág. 13). Andean rationality expresses a serial of principles that constitutes and Andean logic which is its rationality sui generis. These principles provoke material manifestations in cosmology or pachasophia, anthropology or runasophia, ethics or ruwanasophia and theology or apusophia belonging to the Andean world. According to Estermann it is possible to talk about an Andean logic meaning a basic structure in the Andean thinking. Following this, Andean rationality reveals, before all, a principle of relation of all with all. Besides, this rationality also implies symbolism, affectivity and integration. (Sobrevilla, 2008, págs. 233-234).If we can feel this way of thinking and relation, it would be easier to comprehend this popular saying from the indigenous world: “Ruraqman chayaspa, rurapakuna; mikuqman chayaspa, mikupakuna; tusuqman chayaspa, tusupakuna; yachaqman chayaspa, yachapakuna” (When we get to someone who is working, let us work with him; when we get to someone who is eating, let us eat with him; when we get to someone who is dancing, let us dance with him; when we get to someone who knows, we can learn with him) (García, 2007, pág. 77). The aim of this essay is the comprehension of sustainable tourism in a world where the indigenous cosmologic thinking predominates. So it is necessary to focus on the Andean thinking first in order to see the way it could be apply to tourism in a sustainable way. Often in the Andean communities the vision and logic of the ayllu are maintained when they refer that the community is a single thought, a single feeling, a single force. That is why the maxim summarizes the tradition of the Andean ayllu, which is the product of a millennial experience that gives strength to what Arguedas once suggested: “the forging of a magical socialism that would be built from the Andean culture and without “tracing nor copy”. The Andean community now represents that tradition of the Quechua and Aymara ayllus. Its historical and at the same time projective meaning seeks the construction of a society with harmony in a changing context, of constant modernization. The following table could establish a line between cosmology and sustainable tourism to make it easier to get:

1 Ayllu: family, kinship system, community. Depending on the characteristics of the natural and sociocultural context, it expands or restricts its meaning. For this reason, it can include from the biological family to the local neighborhood or spiritual affinity. It also encompasses the territory or country that includes soil, subsoil, rivers, lagoons, mountains and domestic upbringing as members of the ayllu.

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Since every element in the Andean logic drives you to the awareness of the other and nature, it is important to keep it in mind when a project in sustainable tourism appears. As it can be seen, eastern principles come from Judaism and Christianity which let us know others as a part and not as a hole of a reality where everybody builds it up. In a Judeo-Christianity and Greco-Roman vision, the center of cosmogony is man, hence his anthropocentrism, unlike indigenous and native communities, where the worldview is structured from the man-nature identity as a collective entity and, therefore, it is agro-cosmo-ethnocentric. According to this so, the Andean ayllu is the center of collective life through community forms of organization and action (García, 2007, pág. 80). A structure of the two worlds and logics before us today could be useful to understand this point:

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However, this permanence of the Andean culture does not imply that it has been removed from the global scene, in fact, it is inserted in it due to its ability to contextualize elements and manifestations of others, giving a dynamic character to what we have called contradictory totality. Thus, the elements that have been incorporated go through an adaptation process in which they are recreated, reinterpreted and reinvented (Sobrevilla, 2008, pág. 240). Some call this phenomenon "syncretism" and others "miscegenation", but regardless of the appropriate term to call this cultural process, the truth is that it is about incorporations that do not destroy but preserve, which explains the validity of the Andean culture. How is it possible to talk about a world order where a sustainable tourism could be appeared? Under which conditions a sustainable tourism takes place in an Andean order? Is it possible to dream an anti-capitalism order where mankind and nature could live together? Let us see a sustainability order in a new logic. Sustainability Logic for a Tourism of Life Everyone talks about sustainability all over the world. Most of the countries and their institutions proclaim a real change on this. A sample of this is The World Tourism Organization or UNWTO with 156 countries confederated. UNWTO is the United Nations agency in charge of promoting responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.(OMT, 2020). As a reference to the topic we discuss about, sustainable tourism has objectives (Europraxis, 2007, pág. 19) as it follows: Economic viability Local prosperity Job quality Social equity

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Visitor satisfaction Local control Cultural wealth Physical integrity Biological diversity Efficiency in the use of resources Environmental purity Besides sustainable tourism, the Millennium Development Goals (Europraxis, 2007, pág. 19) are seen as an opportunity to achieve several macro objectives local and abroad. They are: 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2: Achieve universal primary education 3: Promote gender equality and women's autonomy 4: Reduce child mortality 5: Improve maternal health 6: Combat HIV / AIDS, malaria and other diseases 7: Ensure environmental sustainability 8: Promote a global partnership for development There is a remarkable aspect where objectives and Millennium Goals meet together. In fact, the objectives for a sustainable tourism fit well when you have to eradicate poverty, help women’s autonomy as well as gender equality, protect environment and a global partnership promoting. Focus on this, sustainable tourism for Ecuador presents real opportunities to improve the living conditions of the entire population. First of all, it could be through the articulation of private and community businesses in value chains that directly and indirectly generate employment. On the other hand, the demand for tourist services where you can get authentic experiences becomes a great chance to be satisfied. Challenges presented by the United Nations World Tourism Organization or (UNWTO) to fight against poverty through tourism are: 1. Tourism promotion as an instrument for poverty reduction through a sensitization of actors in the touristic area. 2. Creative and better ways to reshape the visitor spending outcome to poor and local economies ever visited before. 3. Effectiveness of tourism pilot projects and their escalation against poverty. 4. Pilot projects promotion and their several settings widely spread. In spite of capitalism and its perverse neoliberalism and the way they cause a great damage in the tourism area as they get accustomed to the highest benefit. Also, and according to sustainable tourism and it principles, different and attractive ways to a new approach to the

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 phenomenon must be established now. This paper shows a way where it could be possible. This information will be obtained through qualitative analysis of data applied to the representatives of both micro and small businesses, as well as the enterprises of the popular and solidarity economy. This will allow to identify territorial tourism systems, in order to seek synergies and empower residents through knowledge transfer or specialized training in tourism-related techniques, such as: lodging, food and beverage, customer service, entrepreneurship, financing, etc. taking advantage of the potential of existing natural, landscape and public resources (CEDIA, 2020, pág. 5). A sustainable tourism, in this proposal should look like Yasuní-ITT Project proposed to let in soil 846 million barrels of oil from the ITT Block in the Yasuní National Park. In exchange, from the International Community, Ecuador would receive half of what Ecuador would have generated by exploiting the reserves of oil from this place in the heart of Amazonas. Thus, Ecuador establishes goals in the creation of alternative energy sources that respect the environment and in social policies. The total to be raised was estimated at 3.6 billion dollars, half the value of the oil not extracted, in a period of 13 years. The other half would be assumed by the Ecuadorian government (Becerra, 2016, pág. 29). The main objective of this project is to contribute to the fight against climate change and set up a change of production in the country. This unique and unprecedented initiative on the planet would prevent the emission of more than 407 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as well. For the first time in history, a mechanism was presented that proposed avoiding CO2 emissions into the atmosphere instead of reducing them, and was accompanied by one of a specific proposal to combat climate change: Yasuní-ITT Project. Finally, the Yasuní- ITT main proposal is not only to preserve a piece of the lung of our planet, but leaving the oil under the ground to set an example and make the world aware that a change in the energy matrix is necessary. (Becerra, 2016, pág. 29). According to this model explored by Ecuador, three kinds of people could appear in a new way of sustainable tourism to economies in Latin America. Assets are those who feel and suffer with the community, that is, those who share daily events, assemblies, tasks, burials, festivities and everything that happens in the community. On the other hand, Cooperators are those who feel but do not suffer with the community, that is, those who have emigrated and from their new places of residence long for and support their people or community. Finally, Defaulters are those who do not feel or suffer with the community, that is, the uprooted who do not participate in the vicissitudes of the community, neither inside nor outside. They are the acculturated, those who have chosen to place themselves in anthropocentric positions. In this way, assets are the people who really want a change in the economic world order and along endogamy people like tribal communities and some interested persons who are really involved in a new and contra hegemonic way of rule and taking advantage of natural resources. Cooperators are so close to assets, in this case would be millions of tourists all over the world who really want to change the world into a friendly and suitable space for living and share. Defaulters are not interested in such a big and important enterprise and they are allies of nature destruction as well as capitalism rule for every human transaction with other humans as well as nature. Extractivism is an incarnation of a model imposed in Latin America, which essentially maintains a pattern which consists in providing natural resources to satisfy

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 the demands of both the industrialized economies of the North as well as those which are in full growth like China (Chicaiza, 2012, pág. 130). Following a holistic point of view where Andean logic get into an economic and political sustainable tourism would change upwards the present order. Pachasophia give us a guide to consider both sustainable tourism and economy. Be part of a world where everything is part of everything, a relation of all with all make compatible tourism with nature as well as economy in service of both. Since economic principles take advantage of nature, a new economy can open advantages of sustainable tourism where every gain let them free. Ways to do it are innovative and rare but a real “new normality” after Covid-19 make it possible if we really want it. This project longs to reach this goal and show a way to do it. All the time reports are declaring the same because political will is engage with a devastating economy that is looking for selfish accomplishments and the highest benefits. This is part of it in a world where sustainability is destined to utopist: .… Some of these breaches were: that the environmental authority did not verify or require the holder of the concessions, the expansionary environmental impact studies in accordance with current legislation; that the annual programs and budgets were not required, thus limiting the control and monitoring action; nor was it verified that the compliance audit is comprehensive, and that the programs of the Environmental Management Plan are detailed; and finally, that the competent ministries did not develop actions to implement prior, free, and informed consultation processes for the indigenous communities, peoples, and nationalities of the area of influence, in order to obtain their consent for the development of extractive activities. (Chicaiza, 2012, págs. 129-130). Extractivism, on the root of a neoliberalism that accomplishes goals wherever it can manipulate income out of capitalism strategies works under the following principles: The territorial reordering based on the commodification of the territories and their integration to the dynamics of financial accumulation of global capitalism The transfer of macroeconomic decisions to foreign direct investment and investors (especially economic growth, investment and employment). The geopolitics that integrates extractivism into the new processes of struggle for world hegemony, where the processes of concentration and centralization of capital on a world scale have intensified. Regulatory convergence towards the definitions of the World Trade Organization (WTO), free trade agreements and the conformation of the investor and foreign direct investment as new subjects of contractuality structured under the rule of law. Social control and discipline, especially due to conditional cash transfers and the use of social fiscal spending as a political legitimizer. The integration of territorial infrastructures based on the accumulation of capital and the formation of new power blocks. The new institutional architecture for regional political integration that alters the blocks of world power (BRICS, UNASUR, BNDES).

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Violence, social criminalization and the "heuristic use of fear" as a mechanism for political domination, and the resolution of conflicts across the territories and the control of society by paramilitaries, drug trafficking mafias and terrorism. Hegemonic and authoritarian political systems supported by election mechanisms. The epistemological colonization in which universities converge towards market mechanisms (Bologna reforms) and articulate forms of knowledge-power inherent in the accumulation of capital (Verónica Albuja y Pablo Davalos, 2013 , págs. 84-85). Coming to a Commitment Where a Sustainable Tourism Plan Could Be Joined to An Economic Principle of Responsibility Tourism could not be longer be part of an industry linked to capitalism. Those called “environmental services” are not only privatization of water, carbon markets, the tourism industry, paying for environmental services, biotechnology; geotechnology, biofuels, among others (Verónica Albuja y Pablo Davalos, 2013 , pág. 83). If ecotourism can become a new economic alternative and a complement to extractive activities with all benefits, conflicts and tensions for indigenous groups, it is not desirable in a context where capitalism has exploited everything (Azevedo, 2007, pág. 198). Here comes a main principle in the sustainable tourism: “There is no way to conceive ecotourism as a market made up for a group of consumers willing to pay the high prices to satisfy their desire to appreciate wildlife and perhaps experience other cultures, customs and traditions and meet indigenous peoples following the example of indigenous societies” (Azevedo, 2007, pág. 197). Following this perspective, ecotourism initiatives must be prepared with financial, human, marketing, and especially transportation and logistics appropriate resources, in order to achieve the expectations of ecotourists. Some of the experiences where capitalism takes place over ecotourism ideas and platforms are not good enough to the people they trust in. Those people, especially indigenous ones were able to establish higher levels of control of their territories, in spite of the pressures of the logging, mining, oil and specifically tourism developed by private ecotourism operators. As a matter of fact, they only use indigenous lands and natural resources to take advantage of them as cheap labor in the worst jobs, without bringing them social, cultural and ethnic benefits (Azevedo, 2007, pág. 195). There is no way to talk about sustainable tourism where it is offered as a market –based solutions for sustainable tourism that preserve invaluable social and environmental capital for the well-being of local people around the world as EplerWood International (EWI) declared (Epler, 2020). EWI provides innovative systems for companies, NGOs and governments to build competitive resource-efficient economies that benefit all members of society. They also provide market research, business plans, financial and investment plans, and other economic and social entrepreneurship tools to help countries or destinations develop the capacity they need to professionally deliver sustainable ecotourism. Finally, initiatives like this oversees the development of sustainable tourism as a tool to economically benefit underserved rural populations and as a means to support the conservation of protected areas and biodiversity (Epler, 2020). From the perspective that collective initiatives are not viable from the market point of view and in order for them to obtain satisfactory results by generating income through the constant

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 tourist flow, experiences, under any model of operation and support, need to have the following requirements: the sale of quality and differentiated products, facilitating access to all essential information to visitors such as the nature of the offer, location, type of transport, degree of logistics, prices, guide services regional and bilingual. Furthermore, the absence of technical support and training through agreements with local governments are challenges for the effectiveness of such a competitive market, mainly in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Market and community failures have occurred in general terms due to the absence of investments for the training of indigenous groups so that they can have the necessary skills to enter a market that is very different from their subsistence economy, their way of life, symbols and worldview of the world. Here, the productive chains could be promoted so that the projects do not use their profits in the importation of food, in this way, the costs will decrease and the economic benefits would be greater for the whole community where the project is located (Azevedo, 2007, págs. 196-197). Those ideals could be representative to a devastated economic world that keep on urging on these topics: Industry: advice on adventure and ecotourism operations, hotels, tour operators, cruises and transportation. Environment: managing mainstream sustainable development and ecotourism. Poverty alleviation: creating income-generating opportunities for the bottom one billion. Business: development of micro and medium-sized companies in local economies. Government: advice on regional and national planning of tourism development, growth and policies. Conclusions As Ecuador and the Andean countries contemplates and navigates through the growing pains associated with any transition from social invisibility nation to a peaceful claim to their ancient cultural rights and find a place with prosperous rights in economics, education and culture, that lets build a new ways of development and could be Andean tourism with its own cultural, economic, and philosophical identity of Latin American indigenous peoples. Educational training programs, and education more broadly, can help produce a populace with enhanced skills and abilities to support local, regional and national development strategies as well as to promote democratic values, attitudes and behaviors. It is compelling to argue that both phenomena, increasing education and promotion of democratic ideals, are desirable outcomes for an indigenous society struggling to transform itself and to emerge successfully from its forgotten era transition. In a forgotten society, the reestablishment and consolidation of democratic values, attitudes and behavior—indeed democratic institutions themselves—are paramount. However, democratic institutions alone are not sufficient to guarantee majority rule with respect for minority rights and democratic stability. It is the values and norms to which the citizens adhere that provide the ultimate guarantee. This means a willingness to tolerate the rights of those who disagree with the majority and hold opposing views. In the absence of such tolerance, democratic stability will be weak at best.

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Therefore, in addition to support for democratic institutions, there must be ample public support for political tolerance, and elite and powerful groups must demonstrate tolerance towards the opposition and other minorities for a stable democracy to flourish. Another key component to any notion of democracy and a fundamental building block of democratic theory is the centrality of participation to the democratic process. Education and training programs can foster, encourage and support indigenous community and political social organizations to build a real multicultural state. Participation in these training programs and organizations often stimulates innovation and promotion in defense of democratic processes and institutions built upon the notions of trust and reciprocity. It is important to support an alternatives approaches of economic development as both an end in itself and because it is a critical element in promoting sustainable development. This objective is facilitated through the establishment of democratic institutions, free and open markets and an informed and educated populace. In Ecuador and most of the countries in the Andes, still a restricted political participation by a multitude of factors. Not all citizens have equal access to the political process. Factors affecting access include distance from voting stations, fear of government retaliation, fraud, limit participation and in many cases limitations placed on indigenous and peasant women who are faced with competing obligations in the rural and urban sector, restrictions placed on peasants and indigenous who cannot afford to leave the source of their livelihood, etc. Education has proven to be a powerful predictor of political participation. Specifically, those who have a higher level of education tend to participate more. Recommendations Greater and high quality of education for communities of indigenous and peasants definitely equips citizens with the intellectual tools to be able to link their economic, political, social and cultural interests with their behavior in defense of the millenarian natural resources, but, perhaps more importantly, it gives them community respect so that when they participate they will be taken seriously by their peers. Education is directly related to income and those with higher incomes have more free time to participate and find it easier to obtain the resources to participate. Therefore, future studies that examine the role of the indigenous communities and Pleasants in local, regional and national economic development strategies in society may do well to include a more extensive analysis of the critical roles that increased educational and training programs can have on the institutionalization and consolidation of democratic stability and processes of a new way of economic development based on a cultural tourism for the Andes.

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Political process to make a project into reality. Source: Self-made The visibility for a political project immersed in social interests and sustainable tourism must be directed through a strong platform for decisions. For this reason, it is considered a relevant organization in the region as the Andean Nations Community (ANC). As it could be inferred from the graphic, an agenda is required to bring about a necessity in order to formulate a first policy in charge of contemplate and analyze reality. This is driven to a formal legislation to create a law and public policies for the Andes countries, integrated as a one community to be implemented in real life and make improvements for its members, and can be determined a new way of social structure with a given order. Furthermore, the whole process is monitoring through a permanent evaluation to check the integrated community of countries and to check the progress and correct procedures. An example could be given to illustrate the process. An agenda could determine the lack of promoting tourism in the Andes through the governments and its diplomacy services it can be the link between tourism of the Andes and internationals relation of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. The configuration of the respective proposal must be written and supported by theoretical and technical criteria. Once a project is discussed and considered by specialists, it goes to be presented and approved by authorities in charge of legislation on this matter. They could declare it as a law to be considered and widely diffused among citizens in order to apply its contents in the problematic area. Moreover, it is strictly revise periodically to improve eventualities. According to this insight of the political procedure to get a relevant social product, the neglect of the governments regarding the regulation that drives and supports this historically undervalued tourism sector could be come to its end. The participation in social projects and laws that strengthen a sustainable tourism community could be leaded by the ANC in the region and every nation belonging to it. No more delays, no more particular initiatives, no intermediaries but several proposals from diverse points of view of the ecotourism and its real participants in the field.

International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Besides, educational new perspectives would be spring out to empowering indigenous communities and peasant people. They will be able to create formational spaces by regular institutions as universities or colleges or be qualified in different areas in order to fulfill old and empty spaces to grow in leadership and local protagonism. Ways to do it are innovative and they compelled to call a “new normality” in order to make it possible if we really want it. That´s why this project longs to reach this goal and show a way to a new order with an Andean cosmovision as it has been declared before. Nowadays, socio-political aims are engaged with a devastating economy that only look for selfish accomplishments and the highest benefits of some power groups and their interests. Finally, the role of the indigenous communities and peasants in local and regional has been deplored for years and it is necessary new economic and development strategies to support western civilization. Critical analysis of social and economic phenomena should be increased through these new educational and training programs by new educative institutions raised by the Andean world. Consolidation of real democratic stability and processes of a new way for economic development are required to break old premises as well as prejudices on indigenous and peasant peoples and their protagonic role in a sustainable tourism. References [1] Azevedo, L. (2007). Ecoturismo indigena. Quito: Ediciones Abya-Yala. [2] Barretto, M. (2005). Turismo etnico y tradiciones inventadas [Ethnic tourism and invented traditions]. In A. Santana & L.L. Prats (Eds.), El encuentro del turismo con el patrimonio cultural: Concepciones teoricas y modelos de aplicaci on (pp. 3956). Sevilla: FAAEE- Fundacion El Monte [3] Barreto, M. (2007). Turismo y Cultura. Relaciones, contradicciones y expectativas [Tourism and culture: Relationships, contradictions and expectations]. La Laguna: Pasos. Retrieved 9 May 2020 from http://www.pasosonline.org [4] Barth, F. (1969). Ethnic groups and boundaries. London: Allen and Unwin. [5] Barth, F. (2003). Tematicas Permanente e Emergentes na Analise da Etnicidade [Current and emerging themes in ethnic analysis]. In H. Vermeulen & C. Govers (Eds.), Antropologia da Etnicidade. Para Alem de “Ethnic Groups and Boundaries” (pp. 1944). Lisboa: Fim de Seculo. [6] Becerra, T. (2016). ¿Por qué fracasó la iniciativa Yasuní-ITT? Madrid: Instituto Universitario de Desarrollo y Cooperación IUDC-UCM . [7] Blangy, S. (1999). O despegue do ecoturismo [The takeoff of ecoturism]. O Correo da Unesco, AugSept, 3233. [8] Bricker, K.S. (2001). Ecotourism development in the rural highlands of Fiji. In D. Harrison (Ed.), Tourism and the less developed world: Issues and case studies (pp. 235249). Wallingford: CABI Publishing. [9] Bruner, E.M. (1995). The ethnographer/tourist in Indonesia. In M.F. Lanfant, J.B. Allcock & E.M. Bruner (Eds.), International tourism. Identity and change (pp. 224241). London: Sage. [10] Carla Barbieri, Sandra Sotomayor & Claudia Gil Arroyo (2020) Sustainable Tourism Practices in Indigenous Communities: The Case of the Peruvian Andes, Tourism Planning & Development, 17:2, 207-224, DOI: 10.1080/21568316.2019.1597760

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[11] CEDIA. (2020). Gestión integral del turismo en las comunidades del Parque Nacional Cotacachi-Cayapas, Imbabura. Quito: www.cedia.edu.ec. [12] Chicaiza, G. (2012). Extractivismo minero: Motivo de violación a los derechos humanos y de la naturaleza. Horizonte de los derechos humanos, 129-136. [13] Epler, M. (25 de junio de 2020). EplerWood International. Obtenido de EplerWood International: http://www.eplerwoodinternational.com/ [14] Estermann, J. (2006). Filosofía andina. Sabiduria para un mundo nuevo. La Paz: ISEAT. [15] Europraxis, E. C. (2007). Diseño del Plan Estratégico de Desarrollo de Turismo Sostenible para Ecuador "Plandetur 2020". Quito: TOURISM & LEISURE ADVISORY SERVICES (T&L). [16] García, J. J. (2007). La etnonormativa andina . En C. Zapata, Intelectuales indígenas piensan América Latina (págs. 74-95). Quito: Ediciones Abya-Yala. [17] OMT, O. M. (25 de junio de 2020). UNWTO. Obtenido de UNWTO: https://www.unwto.org/tourism4sdgs [18] Sobrevilla, D. (2008). La filosofía andina del P. Josef Estermann. Solar, n.º 4, año 4, 231-247. [19] VALLEJO, Jaime Rodrigo Moreno; KERCHIS, Donald E.. Household Economy in the Rural Sector of the Border Region between Ecuador and Colombia and Alternatives to Overcome Poverty. European Journal of Economics and Business Studies, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 2, p. 106-117, aug. 2019. ISSN 2411-9571. Available at: . Date accessed: 10 july 2020. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.26417/ejes.v5i2.p106-117. [20] Verónica Albuja y Pablo Davalos. (2013 ). Extractivismo y posneoliberalismo:el caso de Ecuador. Estudios críticos del desarrollo, vol. iii, núm. 4, 83–112. [21] Weaver, D. (2010). Indigenous tourism stages and their implications for sustainability. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 18 (1), 43-60. [22] Wilson, T.D. (2008). Introduction: The impacts of tourism in Latin America. Latin American Perspectives, 160(35), 3-20. [23] Yang, L., & Wall, G. (2009). Ethnic tourism: A framework and an application. Tourism Management, 30, 559-570 [24] Zoettl, P.A. (2010). Capa deIndio [Indians in disguise]. Anthropological documentary on DVD. Lisboa: Peter Anton Zoettl. [25] Zorn, E., & Farthing, L.C. (2007). Communitarian tourism. Hosts and mediators in Peru. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(3), 673-689.

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The Value of Communities of Practice as a Learning Process to Increase Resilience in Healthcare Teams

Janet Delgado University Institute of Women's Studies, University of La Laguna, University Hospital of the Canary Islands, Neonatal and Intensive Care Unit, La Laguna, Spain Serena Siow Department of Family Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary Janet M. de Groot Department of Psychiatry, Oncology and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine; University of Calgary

Abstract This paper addresses the role that communities of practice (CoP) can have within the healthcare environment when facing uncertainty and highly emotionally impactful situations, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. The starting point is the recognition that CoPs can contribute to build resilience among their members, and particularly moral resilience. Among others, this is due to the fact that they share a reflective space from which shared knowledge is generated, which can be a source of strength and trust within the healthcare team. Specifically, in extreme situations, the CoPs can contribute to coping with moral distress, which will be crucially important not only to facing crisis situations, but to prevent the long-term adverse consequences of working in conditions of great uncertainty. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how CoP can support healthcare professionals when building moral resilience. To support that goal, we will first define CoP and describe the main characteristics of communities of practice in healthcare. Subsequently, we will clarify the concept of moral resilience, and establish the relationship between CoP and moral resilience in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, we analyze different group experiences that we can consider as CoP which emerged in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to navigate moral problems that arose. Keywords: communities of practice, vulnerability, moral distress, COVID-19, moral resilience

Introduction Vulnerability is a fundamental aspect in health care (Gjengedal et al. 2013; Delgado 2017). The recognition of our corporeality, dependence and fragility is everywhere in hospitals and health institutions. In this context, healthcare professionals do suffer or witness suffering on a regular basis: they confront death and fragility in a more noticeable way than in daily life (Delgado et al. 2020). To be witness to all of these circumstances in patients’ lives has an impact on healthcare professionals' own lives, and it constitutes a form of vulnerability. Healthcare

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 professionals may themselves be prone to more-than-ordinary vulnerability, since they are routinely exposed to stressors that are not ordinarily encountered by most people in their everyday life (Carel 2009). Since these situations cut deeply into the most existential aspects of human life, and place the professionals in a unique position of vulnerability, clinicians suffer when interacting with human health and illness (Ulrich and Grady 2018). In this regard, vulnerability is experienced by professionals because of their profession, as part of their work. Not recognizing this vulnerability may come at a cost not only for healthcare staff, but also for patients and their families. That is, clinician burnout and fatigue are separately associated with major medical errors and perceived medical errors (Tawfik et al, 2018; Welp 2014) In a public health emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals are even more prone to moral suffering (Rushton 2018), which include vulnerability experiences and moral distress. Moral suffering is the anguish that occurs when healthcare professionals have to deal with adversities that challenge their own integrity (Rushton 2018). Facing dramatic situations, frontline workers who are directly involved in the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with COVID-19 are at risk of developing mental health problems (Lai et al. 2020) and moral distress (Cacchione 2020). There are at least three ethical issues that are likely to affect healthcare professionals globally: a) their own safety, and the safety of patients, colleagues and families; b) the allocation of limited resources; and c) the changing nature of relationships with patients and their families (Morley et al. 2020). Due to that, there is a necessity for healthcare institutions and professionals to seek sources of support during this pandemic. However, what kind of support can healthcare professionals find, to face these ethical problems? Moral resilience may be an outcome of addressing moral suffering. We understand moral resilience as the ability to effectively navigate crisis situations in response to the moral complexity, confusion, anguish or setbacks of practice (Baratz 2015; Rushton 2016). The question is how in a public health emergency such as the pandemic COVID-19 moral resilience can be fostered in health professionals who face these challenges? A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of people interested in the same problem, technique or question that interests them, and who interact regularly to learn together and from each other (Casado and Uria 2019). In the healthcare settings, a CoP constitutes an intentional space to promote the exchange of experiences arising in clinical practice (Delgado et al. 2020). Because of that, our hypothesis is that CoP can be of great value in addressing the moral suffering inherent to the healthcare practice, which is manifested as vulnerability, moral distress, and sometimes burnout. As spaces of openness to share different ethical experiences arising from the practice, especially in unknown and highly emotionally impactful situations, CoPs offer an opportunity to learn together in order to increase resilience collectively. Our goal is to explore the role that communities of practice (CoP) can have within the healthcare environment when facing unknown and highly emotionally impactful situations, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, we first explain what is a CoP, and more particularly a healthcare CoP. Then, we address some modes in which CoPs can promote moral resilience in healthcare professionals to cope with moral distress. We then proceed to analyze these particular problems of moral distress and moral resilience in the context of the current pandemic COVID-19, which show us that moral distress is an issue that must be prevented always, but more intensively in situations which involve a huge emotional impact in healthcare professionals. Finally, we analyze different group experiences that we can consider as CoP which have emerged in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to navigate moral problems that arose.

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Understanding the key elements of a community of practice The notion of CoP was originally introduced to literature by Lave and Wenger in 1991. In this early work, CoP were understood as a type of informal organization oriented to learning with focus on the practical aspects. Since then, the term has been extensively used in education and business sectors, and also in the healthcare field. Lave and Wenger (1991) initially focused on how novices participate in practice, beginning at the periphery of professions, using culturally and historically rich examples. In this context, the situated learning emphasizes the social interactions that support learning within a community of those who practice similar professions or in similar fields (Delgado et al. 2020). Nowadays, CoP can facilitate the ongoing learning process for all professionals, and not only novices. Following the early work of Wegner et al. (2002), CoP share a basic structure combining three main elements: a domain of knowledge; a community of people who are concerned or interested in the domain; and a set of shared practices that they develop to be effective within the domain. By interacting, the members of CoP obtain several benefits: they share information; help each other to solve problems; share situations, aspirations and needs; explore new ideas; create tools and documents; accumulate knowledge and associate informally. All of this reflects the value that the CoP create for individual members, as well as for the system or organization, the process of learning together. Consequently, the value of CoP is based on (Wegner et al. 2002): Connect different or isolated professional experts, Diagnose and address recurrent problems whose root causes barriers between teams, Analyze why work units with similar tasks offer different results and work to achieve the highest possible quality and efficiency standard, Relate and coordinate unrelated activities within the same domain of knowledge. A CoP has been defined as a group of people who share a practice, care about the same topics, share tacit knowledge and meet regularly to guide each other through their understanding of mutually recognized real-life problems (Pyrko et al. 2017). Pyrko et al. (2017) point out that both the intention to foster trust and the mutual engagement of all members are essential features of a CoP. They proposed developing CoP by “thinking together”, in order to advance the understanding of the nature of CoPs and their fundamental learning processes. Some reasons for that are: Thinking together entails a trans-personal process. Through this process, the members of the CoP thoroughly learn together and from each other in practice, and in this way they become more skillful professionals. This idea of thinking together additionally emphasizes the possibility of developing learning partnerships and a sense of community through mutual identification. This way of learning is not only related to technical, practical or theoretical knowledge, but also to the understanding of relevance relationships and communities to any particular field of practice. More particularly focusing on the healthcare field, usually, healthcare CoPs arise to share clinical information about relevant problems in daily work (de Carvalho-Filho et al. 2019), and sometimes it is an urgent clinical problem that initiates the CoP. In these cases, usually a particular patient´s case is at the core of the CoP (Young et al. 2018). Accordingly, CoPs

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 constitute an intentional and determined space which allows the exchange of experiences that arise in clinical practice (Delgado et al. 2020). We propose that these experiences could also be a space to exchange thoughts and feelings about the ethical dimension of healthcare, present in all clinical practice, but has not yet been considered in the literature about healthcare CoP. We envision that through “thinking together” about ethical dilemmas in daily work, healthcare professionals will learn together through a process that may foster resilience. In the next section, we will address why it is so important to deepen understanding the particular circumstances why healthcare professionals face moral suffering (Rushton 2018), and consequently, can experience moral distress. A silent reality: healthcare professionals´ vulnerability, moral distress and burnout Healthcare professionals ́ vulnerability arises from their everyday practice, from the fact that they confront suffering, pain and death day by day. In addition, professionals bring their own vulnerabilities to their encounters with patients. Carel (2009, 218) argues that there is "a vulnerability that arises out of the experience of others’ vulnerability, and this type of vulnerability may require more recognition by the profession. Working as a nurse brings with it an almost daily reminder of the fallibility of human flesh and spirit and the fragility of human life and goods. This, in turn, is a lesson in vulnerability”. This learning cannot be explicitly addressed in training, supervision or practice. On the other hand, Carel also maintains that the lesson of vulnerability is not a pessimistic one: vulnerability also suggests a relationship of openness to the world. In order to flourish we must let ourselves be vulnerable: this vulnerability is also the gate to creativity and flourishing (Carel 2009). According to vulnerability theory1, vulnerability is not simply a negative condition, but it must be accepted and not ignored (Fineman 2013; 2014) . Indeed, recognizing the positive aspects of vulnerability can improve the experiences of people in terms of isolation and exclusion, because vulnerability is also generative. “Importantly, our vulnerability presents opportunities for innovation and growth, creativity and fulfilment” (Fineman 2012, 96). Some of these positive aspects of vulnerability can improve the relationships in the field of healthcare. To recognize it, we have to consider that there is a shared vulnerability between patients and professionals. Nevertheless, as Barnard maintains, “the ability to translate shared vulnerability into therapeutic relationships requires continuing self-awareness and self-care” (Barnard 2016, 297). Some difficulties seem to appear regarding how to allow healthcare professionals in practice to talk and express their own and shared vulnerability. Nissim et al. (2019) have developed a qualitative study to evaluate a group intervention based on mindfulness, called Compassion, Presence and Resilience Training (CPR-T), for interprofessional oncology teams. Shared vulnerability emerged in that study as a challenge identified by the participants. The authors recognized three key elements to analyze this experience of vulnerability: a) an organizational culture that does not allow the professionals to show their feelings in adversity, b) vulnerability management in sessions and c) the paradoxical benefits of sharing vulnerability within the team. Regarding the first aspect, the participants worried about being open and showing vulnerability in the group, since they

1 The Vulnerability and the Human Condition (VHC) Initiative at Emory University has been developed over the last decade under the leadership of Woodruff Professor of Law Martha Albertson Fineman. See https://web.gs.emory.edu/vulnerability/index.html (Last visited July 8, 2020). In addition, for a broad understanding about vulnerability theory and bioethics, see Delgado 2017.

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 considered that this could diminish their ability to function effectively within the healthcare team when they return to work. Usually in the healthcare environment, any expression of emotionality is traditionally seen as a weakness, although that reality is changing. The participants pointed out that vulnerability is something tacit, which they do not share with patients or colleagues, much less with superiors, since it is seen as a negative feature. Furthermore, people with leadership roles were uncomfortable opening up in front of direct reports and vice versa. Regarding vulnerability management in the sessions, participants described a gradual change through which they could express their vulnerability as the CPR- T was developed. Although the participants were concerned about the possible consequences of demonstrating vulnerability in front of their team members, they noted that the sessions facilitated mutual trust, empathy and understanding, so that even communication with their colleagues had improved their work (beyond the study group). Finally, regarding the paradoxical benefits of sharing vulnerability within the team, participants commented that CPR-T helped them to recognize the commonalities that they share with their team members, which made them feel more connected to their colleagues and develop a non-critical attitude towards them. All this helped them to build cohesion as well as improve communication between different professions. The participants expressed their surprise upon learning that "they are also vulnerable" (Nissim et al. 2019, 9) and how this awareness helped normalize their own sense of vulnerability and initiate mutual dialogue and learning. Although participants expressed concern about showing vulnerability to their supervisors, participants in managerial positions noted that they became more understanding and responsive to the needs of others. In addition to the vulnerability experienced by healthcare professionals because of their professional role, moral distress is another source of moral suffering. Moral distress occurs “when a health professional, as a moral agent, cannot or does not act in accordance with his moral judgments (or what he believes to be correct in a particular situation) due to institutional restrictions or internal ”(Ulrich and Grady 2018, p1). In other words, moral distress occurs when health professionals recognize ethical conflicts and their responsibility to respond to them, but cannot make their moral choices. Moral distress can arise when the professionals cannot perform their work in accordance with their moral values. In many cases, the reasons may be directly related to the institution. We have many examples about health care professional vulnerability, moral distress, and burnout experienced in the workplace, unfortunately, increasing during last years (Dyrbye et al. 2017; Davidson et al. 2018; Squiers et al. 2017). In this regard, there are institutional factors that generate impotence, burnout or moral distress: lack of personnel, lack of administrative support, imbalance in power, inadequate organization of work, lack of communication, work overload, etc. (Moreno 2016). These system problems can lead to feelings of impotence, fear or frustration in the individual healthcare professional. In addition, the perception of an unsafe environment for patients, and the fact that professionals cannot challenge these conditions can exacerbate moral distress (Berlinger 2016). Some of the institutional factors that can trigger moral distress are lack of staff and resources, lack of administrative support, imbalance in power, some styles of leadership, poor organization of work, poor relations between members of the interdisciplinary group, lack of communication, work overload and the precariousness of personnel, among others. In addition, there are also some institutional policies or legislation that can generate moral stress (Moreno 2016).

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Moral distress can be a contributor to burnout (Fumis et al. 2017) as well as unrecognized vulnerability. Burnout is a psychological syndrome that arises in response to chronic stressors at work, a condition in which professionals lose concern and emotional feelings for the people they work with. As a consequence, they come to treat patients as dehumanized persons (Maslach et al. 2001). Burnout is a three-dimensional syndrome: (1) emotional exhaustion, (2) cynicism and depersonalization and (3) lack of accomplishment and inefficacy (Maslach et al. 2001, 2016; Fumis et al. 2017). Most burnout research has focused on its profound prevalence rather than seeking to identify the origin of the burnout epidemic, and these efforts are usually focused on increasing resilience and wellness among participants rather than combating problematic changes in how medicine is practiced by physicians nowadays (Squiers et al. 2017). However, there is an increasing recognition that healthcare organizations need to face burnout and foster well-being, as well as help clinicians to provide the best care to patients, through collective action and targeted investment. In the United States, healthcare organizations are implementing committees and supporting groups in an attempt to reduce burnout among their clinicians, nurses and physicians. The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), has a strong commitment on addressing these problems, and they have designed the vast initiative “Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience”, which is one of the most important initiatives developed in this area. As part of this project, the NAM is promoting a network of organizations of the Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience1. Another initiative to address burnout has been the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Framework for Improving Joy at Work (Perlo et al, 2017). The COVID-19 pandemic complexity as a moral suffering trigger for healthcare providers In exceptional situations of great physical and emotional burden, such the pandemic COVID- 19, ethical questions involving huge emotional suffering increases exponentially. No other previous situation has explicitly exposed the vulnerability of healthcare professionals worldwide to the public. With the current public health crisis, several factors that increase stress, fear and moral distress in health professionals, increasing the mental load of health workers, has been added to their more than ordinarily vulnerable everyday practice. During the peak period of the pandemic, the increasing number of cases, overwhelming workload, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), media coverage, lack of specific medications, and feelings of being inadequately supported has been identified as factors associated with experiences of psychological burden among healthcare workers exposed to COVID- 19 (Lai et al. 2020). These are some aspects that have been identified as triggering moral distress during the current pandemic: a) The need to prioritize scarce resources such as ventilators, intensive care beds, blood, etc., generates moral distress (Berlinger et al. 2020; DePierro et al. 2020). In addition, the decision making process about the withdrawal of life support treatments, in this case, would occur despite the fact that the treatments are not objectively futile and that the patients do not reject these interventions, but mainly due to the lack of availability of resources. In Intensive Care

1 The information about the Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, developed by the NAM, in available in: https://nam.edu/initiatives/clinician-resilience-and-well-being/

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Units, during the COVID-19 pandemic, professionals have experienced feelings of disorientation, worry, loss of control, and helplessness (Kok et al. 2020). b) Primary Care professionals have been overwhelmed, having to face complex decision- making that generates great moral distress, since it is a new disease with great uncertainty regarding treatment, which entails establishing a relationship with patients different from usual practice (having to do triage, telematic consultations, distance or using PPE), and in a context of scarce resources for both care and protection of professionals (Melguizo et al. 2020). c) Health professionals cannot refuse to care for patients. However, if there is a lack of personal protective equipment PPE and they are at risk of contracting the disease, should they refuse to treat their patients? When does work-based risk become unacceptable? Is there a time when health professionals have the right not to treat seriously ill patients if their PPE is inadequate or if they do not have it? It is essential to treat patients regardless of their disease. But are there limits to this duty? How much risk is too much risk? (Kok et al. 2020; Sheather and Chisholm 2020). The lack of PPE highlights the obligations of healthcare professionals to take care of themselves (Declaration of the World Medical Association in Geneva 2017; Parsa- Parsi 2017) not only because it is necessary to improve the work life of healthcare providers as part of the quadruple aim (Bodenheimer and Sinsky 2014), but also because they are extremely valuable assets for treating patients in the context of a pandemic. The Canadian Medical Association conducted a poll of Canadian physicians showing 74% were somewhat anxious or very anxious about PPE supply (CMA April 2020), and that three quarters of physicians working hospitals were uncertain of their PPE stock or supply (CMA April 2020). In any case, this kind of uncertainty about PPE availability and difficult decision-making generates moral distress, as healthcare professionals feel obligated to continue to provide care. Moral distress has been identified as a predictor of burnout (Rushton et al. 2015; Fumis et al. 2017) and research has explored the prevalence of burnout in healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a public health crisis as the current pandemic, healthcare professionals have to contribute increased efforts into their activities for extended working hours. In addition, the constant use of PPE, and the physical fatigue and mental pressures on the unknown disease make the working hours tremendously exhausting (Talee et al. 2020). Other studies have noted the psychological impact of COVID-19 to healthcare workers. A study in Italy where 49% showed post traumatic stress, 25% depression, 20% anxiety, and 22% high perceived stress (Rossi et al. 2020). A study in China showed that of healthcare workers treating patients with COVID-19, 50% reported symptoms of depression, 34% reported insomnia, 45% reported symptoms of anxiety, and 72% reported distress (Lai et al. 2020). Another study of frontline nurses in Wuhan China reported that nurses experience moderate burnout and a high level of fear, with half of nurses reporting moderate or high burnout in all burnout dimensions (Hu et al. 2020). According to the results of a study in Ecuador during the COVID-19 pandemic (Vinueza et al. 2020), more than 90% of medical and nursing professionals had moderate-severe burnout syndrome. These results were associated with profession (physicians experienced higher burnout than nurses), age (the youngest were the most affected) and gender (women were more affected than men). In a systematic review addressing the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, the evidence suggests that a significant proportion of healthcare professionals have experienced mood and sleep disorders,

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 highlighting the need to establish ways to mitigate mental health risks and adjust interventions to cope with it and minimize the risks factors (Pappa et al. 2020). In addition, medical and nursing students have also experienced stress and anxiety during the pandemic (Al-Rabiaah et al. 2020). A study in Iran of hospital workers showed 53% experienced high levels of burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic (Jalili et al, 2020). These studies are worrisome, as the existing rates of mental health illness and occupational burnout in healthcare prior to the pandemic were significant, with over half of physicians and one third of nurses experiencing burnout in the United States (McHugh et al. 2011, Shanafelt et al. 2012). An editorial in a Canadian newspaper highlights the potential crisis of worsening mental health issues from the pandemic, in physicians already experiencing high mental health and burnout rates (Horton 2020). The parallel pandemics of burnout and post traumatic stress disorder received further attention following the death by suicide of Dr Lorna Breen, the medical director of the emergency department of New York Presbyterian Hospital1. Further research is ongoing exploring the psychological impact and effect of burnout from the pandemic. For example, a psychiatrist in Montreal is recruiting healthcare workers for a study on factors associated with burnout (https://burnout.mhicc.org/), while a team in Halifax is conducting research on burnout in healthcare workers. (https://researchns.ca/2020/05/05/preventing-burnout-among-front-line-care-workers- to-fight-covid-19-screen-and-intervene/) Considering all this complexity, to address the psychological and emotional needs by providing the healthcare professionals and students with adequate support is essential to improve the management of this situation. Some ways that have been proposed to support them are: a) considering their conditions, b) presenting solutions, c) increasing their awareness, d) encouraging them, and e) acknowledging their importance (Talee et al. 2020). In addition, to increase the resilience of healthcare professionals seems to be a necessary goal to cope with the specific difficulties triggered by public health emergencies. To foster healthcare professionals’ resilience, we show how CoP can provide the adequate space for building the healthcare professionals resilience. How to foster moral resilience through a CoP in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic The most common approach when talking about ethics in organizations is the use of an individualistic vision in which each person is morally responsible for their behavior; consequently, the interventions focus on the health care of the professional. However, another way to approach ethics in health organizations is to see each person as a member of a community or team, where the understanding of individual ethical behaviors must be complemented by knowledge and exploration of the organization's moral and social structure (Moreno 2016). Despite being a source of suffering for healthcare professionals, vulnerability and moral distress can also act as a spring to open the field of reflection and dialogue from which to generate change at the collective or institutional level (Carel 2009, Fineman 2013, 2014, Moreno 2016). In this regard, our thesis is that CoP can be a source of moral resilience for health care professionals to cope with vulnerability, moral distress and other forms of moral suffering.

1 The New York Times published the report about this case on April 27, 2020. Available in: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/nyregion/new-york-city-doctor-suicide-coronavirus.html

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In the healthcare environment, resilience plays an important role for workers. A way to foster workplace well-being and engagement is training for resilience, developing good mental health and subjective well-being. Resilience training has a number of wider benefits that include enhanced psychosocial functioning and improved performance (Robertson et al. 2005). All professions in healthcare experience similar effects in relation to the stressful conditions of work. This common aspect offers an opportunity to design and implement interprofessional approaches that can enhance the capacity for resilience among teams of coworkers. For this purpose, it is necessary an institutional culture that prioritizes training and cultivating specific skills and attitudes for promoting resilience to all members of the health care team, which also include students (Haramati and Weissinger 2015). Resilience has been studied mainly in regard to stress. But what about ethical conflicts and problems that workers have to deal with? Initially the term of moral resilience was developed as moral courage. Lachman (2007, 131) defines moral courage as the “capacity to overcome fear and stand up for his or her core values; the willingness to speak out and do what is right in the face of forces that would lead a person to act in some other way; it puts principles into action”. In her latest work, she also develops the concept of moral resilience, defining it as “the ability to deal with an ethically adverse situation without lasting effects of moral distress and moral residue” (Lachman 2016, 123). She adds that this requires morally courageous action, activating needed supports and doing the right thing. In addition, she argues “the virtue of moral courage is necessary to meet the ethical obligations of the profession” (Lachman 2016, 123). Rushton (2016) highlights that moral resilience is a concept under construction, and it is a way to transform the deep despair and impotence associated with morally distressing situations. Moral resilience can be understood as the ability to preserve or restore integrity in response to various types of moral adversity (Rushton 2018). We acknowledge that healthcare professionals are thought to be highly resilient. A Canadian study of physicians showed that despite over 30% experiencing high levels of burnout, 60% of physicians said their overall mental health was flourishing and 82% reported high levels of resilience (CMA 2018). In the COVID-19 pandemic, Hu et al. (2020) found a moderately negative correlation between frontline nurses’ burnout, anxiety, and depression with the self- efficacy and resilience. Thus, as nurses have greater more self-efficacy and resilience, they may experience less mental health problems. Gujral et al. (2020) have proposed some strategies to increase resilience in healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic: a) Find time for self-care: give employees the opportunity to attend the practice of meditation, acupuncture, yoga therapy or massage therapy as well as a weekly mindfulness meditation session guide. b) Breathing practice: offering 15-minute breathing sessions three times a week by teleconference for anyone working within the healthcare system as a reminder of focus on breathing practice. c) Gratitude practices: Finding the opportunity for gratitude as a powerful practice to heal, energize, and empower. Although these interventions are important, all of them are focused on an individual perspective, that is, to promote individual moral resilience. They must be complemented with

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 a collective perspective. In addition, these interventions do not address the systemic factors which are thought to contribute to moral distress and burnout. A collective and systemic perspective is of great importance, given recent research that finds physicians have greater resilience than the general working population (West et al, 2020) and that even highly resilient physicians may experience burnout. Thus, individual resilience alone is not sufficient to prevent burnout or moral distress. Collective perspectives also have the potential to improve systems through advocacy. It is also necessary to consider whether resilience as currently assessed, equates with moral resilience. In the light of this way of thinking, and according to Delgado et al. (2020), the exchange of experiences that is shared within the CoPs is an essential factor in building and maintaining moral resilience. It allows for a change in relationship from a distressing situation by shifting the mindset that the distressing experience is completely negative. From this starting point, strategies to collectively navigate ethically complex situations can be developed . Culture and systems play a crucial role in supporting physicians' moral resilience, in terms of building an environment of ethical practice. In this regard, CoP seems to be one ideal strategy for the flourishing of resilience among the healthcare team. Fostering CoPs as a process that encourages healthcare professionals to address ethical dilemmas together has the potential to build culture and system change, which reciprocally enhances personal resilience. One concern that can arise regarding the CoP as a strategy to collectively build resilience is if this process can imply some risks. We believe that CoP can facilitate the increase of resilience among the participants through the relationships, dialogue, trust and continuity (Delgado et al. 2020). However, who should facilitate or moderate these discussions? Since the emotional management of these groups is complex and can be iatrogenic if they are not carried out by people trained, CoP pursuing the goal of increasing moral resilience should be facilitated by experts with experience facilitating groups, addressing emotional needs, understanding ethical complexities and building personal resilience. The question now is who should be these experts? The selection and composition of these experts influence effectiveness of the CoP to achieve its goal of moral resilience. Practical approach: analyzing examples in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare providers have shown great strength and resilience. Liu et al. (2020) found that healthcare nurses and doctors working in Hubei, China, used multiple support systems and self-management skills to relieve stress. However, the sense of helplessness over the suffering of the patients and the sudden loss of life were identified as painful. Some professionals believed that they could cope with their emotional stress without professional support. However, professional psychological counseling and support systems and crisis interventions should be made available to those seeking formal assistance. "With logistical support from their hospital and peer support and encouragement among colleagues, they had a sense of safety and felt they were not alone" (Liu et al. 2020, e795). Across the world, healthcare providers were called to step up to the surge of patients requiring hospitalization. Many were redeployed from community settings, often without direct experience caring for patients with infectious or respiratory disease. The sense of responsibility to provide care in a competent manner led to the provision of multiple educational resources. Many medical organizations, educational institutions, and healthcare organizations provided educational webinars to learn more about COVID-19 with a focus on

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 clinical aspects of managing patients with COVID-19. These webinars provided an opportunity for healthcare professionals to share experiences within their respective clinical settings. Many international physicians provided opportunities to share their experiences with others around the world via teleconference to support others’ efforts to contain the pandemic1. The emergence of online forums to share experiences related to COVID-19 was observed, as the Doctors of British Columbia initiative (https://www.doctorsofbc.ca/news/new-online- forum-physicians-collaborate-covid-19). An international online forum for critical care physicians provided an opportunity to share experiences surrounding healthcare personnel management, isolation and quarantine procedures, respiratory therapy, antivirals, and indications for Intensive Care Unit admission and discharge (Bo et al. 2020). A report of G- MED’s Global Physician Online Community showed physicians from over twenty countries contributing information about four themes: epidemiology, guidelines, preparedness, and treatment approaches (IpsosMORI 2020). The use of social media, including Facebook and Twitter to gain information from other healthcare professionals has been noted in a New York Times article2. Although not formally called CoPs, we witnessed healthcare professionals engage with colleagues around the world to share information and learnings together with the common goal of curbing the pandemic. In this regard, Tan and Roach, who met via Twitter, co- wrote a piece on Allyship (Tan & Roach 2020) as global anti-racism protests enhanced awareness of the greater likelihood of Black Americans, indigenous people and people of color, experiencing not only discrimination and police brutality, but also developing COVID-19 itself and its adverse outcomes, including death (Thakur et al, 2020; Elbaum 2020). More specifically, CoPs that address healthcare professionals’ well-being, with the intention to prevent burnout and increase ability to cope with moral distress have been developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts or groups of experts as in the examples below, of the Virtual Moral Resilience Rounds and the COVID Ethics series are helpful to providing examples of learning from experience and conveying diverse ways of thinking about moral challenges. In groups, expert facilitators may support validation of and exploration of challenges or encourage others to provide perspectives. These examples of CoPs addressing moral distress and building resilience are described here: Virtual Moral Resilience Rounds have emerged at Johns Hopkins Hospital (US) to proactively have discussions about the COVID-19 pandemic3. These weekly one-hour sessions invite multidisciplinary clinicians to attend to discuss ethical challenges, with the goal of acknowledging distress and finding solutions. These sessions are held on Zoom and facilitated by C. H. Rushton, a physician, and a philosopher, with broad expertise on moral distress and moral resilience. In Calgary, Canada, a team of psychiatrists, mental health clinicians, and family physicians established a partnership to provide an opportunity for connection and support amongst healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online spaces offer physicians, and separately, continuing care facility staff, the chance to meet and share experiences with peers.

1 More information is available in these websites: a)https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-03-07/China-Italy-doctors- share-experiences-of-COVID-19-control-online-OFi0gryDVS/index.html; b) http://en.people.cn/n3/2020/0324/c90000-9671699.html 2Information available in: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/well/live/coronavirus-doctors-facebook- twitter-social-media-covid.html 3Information available in: https://www.advisory.com/research/physician-executive-council/prescription-for- change/2020/05/moral-resilience-rounds.

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The online space for physicians is called “Virtual Doctors’ Lounge” and acknowledges the challenges of providing care during the pandemic including ethically complex situations. It has been piloted to a group of family physicians providing care in hospital settings. As continuing care staff have been greatly affected in Canada with high numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths, an online group provides the opportunity for staff to receive support. These online group sessions promote sharing of experiences, acknowledging emotional distress, normalizing experiences, and providing support to others. They are facilitated by psychiatrists and mental health clinicians with expertise in group therapy. In Alberta, Canada, different experiences can be identified as emerging or strengthening frequency of CoP meetings in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic to navigate healthcare professionals problems that arose. 1) Alberta Health Services (AHS) Zoom Room: This biweekly one hour session addressed numerous topics relevant to the pandemic and physicians, including but not limited to PPE availability, domestic violence during the pandemic, Zoom use. The series began with an expert-led presentation on one of the topics followed by participants’ sharing of their own experiences and perspectives. Outcomes of the sessions were shared with AHS leaders and often led to Tip sheets that others could access. 2) Psychosocial oncology spontaneously developed a clinical discussion group - addressed all matters related to clinical practice including technology. 3) Psychodynamic psychotherapy clinicians who previously met bi-monthly, met weekly to share wisdom regarding practical and clinical implications of COVID-19 in psychotherapy practices. This included change to virtual practice, clinical presentations and therapist challenges related to COVID-19 including Zoom fatigue and methods to manage it. Texts, email information and papers are shared between meetings. Dr. Mamta Gautum, a Canadian psychiatrist with expertise in physician health held daily online support groups for physicians across Canada during the pandemic. Many physicians entered the pandemic burnt out, and thus were at risk of medical errors. Four distinct stages were evident through the course of the first surge of the pandemic: readiness, response, reassurance and recovery. Challenges discussed varied from frontline issues including PPE limitations and, d for those not at the front-line, there was adjustment to clinical practice and delivering virtual care while working from home, balancing childcare or resilience, partner job loss. These sessions provided a space for physicians to share their experiences and receive expert advice on strategies to address personal challenges and build resilience. A COVID Ethics Series at Seton Hall University and Hackensack Meridian Medical School arose in recognition of the value of many and diverse people discussing challenging ethical issues. The series was organized by Dr. Pilkington and includes a panel of experts from medicine, nursing and health sciences, as well as philosophers, ethicists, economists and lawyers. Topics included but were not limited to: Intention and Limitations of Aid, Vulnerability and Dependence during the time of COVID-19 and Discrimination intensified during Covid-19. The series aimed to enhance the capacity of students and healthcare practitioners to practically reason about morally challenging topics (Pilkington, 2020).

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Conclusion Healthcare professionals are exposed to complex challenges in daily work that increase vulnerability and moral distress, which are heightened in the situations of extreme stress, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. We examined CoP as a process to build resilience, and provided examples of healthcare providers coming together to share information, experiences, wisdom and perspectives with a common goal. This process of sharing common experiences in a group setting can also be valuable to build resilience, not only for the individual professional, but also towards a culture of ethical practice. Using CoP, our intention is to recognize both the individual and the system’s responsibility towards shaping the working environment in a way that promotes safe and effective care. CoP have demonstrated value during the pandemic and we theorize that CoP may be an effective strategy to increase moral resilience of healthcare professionals collectively, and exist beyond the duration of the pandemic. Finally, we emphasize the importance of promoting ethical reflection grounded on practice in order to respond to the everyday ethical challenges of healthcare professionals. “There are limits to thinking of professional ethics in terms of virtues- being caring, being compassionate, being respectful- if healthcare professionals see few ways to put these virtues into practice(...) Thinking about the complex systems as a "moral space" that must always be open to the discussion of questions of right and wrong action, of justice and injustice, may help us grapple with the continuing challenge of creating and sustaining health care systems that are safe, effective, compassionate and just” (Berlinger, 2016, p. 176). References [1] Al-Rabiaah A, Temsah MH, Al-Eyadhy AA, et al. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome- Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) associated stress among medical students at a university teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia. J Infect Public Health. 2020;13(5):687-691. doi:10.1016/j.jiph.2020.01.005 [2] Baratz, L. (2015). Israeli teacher trainees’ perceptions of the term moral resilience, Journal for Multicultural Education, 9 (3), 193 - 206. [3] Berlinger, N. (2016). Are workaround ethical? Managing Moral Problems in Health Care Systems. New York, Oxford University Press. [4] Berlinger, N., Milliken, A., Guidry, L. K. et al. (2020). Ethical Framework for Health Care Institutions Responding to Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Guidelines for Institutional Ethics Services Responding to COVID-19 Managing Uncertainty, Safeguarding Communities, Guiding Practice. The Hastings Center. [5] Bodenheimer, T. and Sinsky, C. (2014). From Triple to Quadruple Aim: Care of the Patient Requires Care of the Provider. Annals of Family Medicine, 12 (6), 573-576. [6] Cacchione, P. Z. (2020). Moral Distress in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Clinical Nursing Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1054773820920385. [7] Canadian Medical Association (CMA). (April 2020). CMA Rapid Poll on the Supply of Personal Protective Equipment and Mental Health Impact of COVID-19. https://www.cma.ca/sites/default/files/pdf/Survey/CMA-rapid-poll-Executive- summary-2_EN.pdf [8] Canadian Medical Association (CMA). (April 2020)CMA Rapid Poll on the Supply of Personal Protective Equipment. https://www.cma.ca/sites/default/files/pdf/Survey/CMA-Survey-Supply-of- PPE_E.pdf

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A Resilience for Survival: Reimagine. Reconfigure. Restart

Martin Deepak Raju Chekuri CF APMP, MBA- Strategic Management, MSc Psychology, Six Sigma Green Belt, Business Proposal Writer, Shipley Associates

Abstract Governments, Industrialists and CEOs are agreeing that the COVID-19 crisis will impact us way more than the 2008 crisis (Gurnani, 2020). No one really knows how to solve the financial crisis set into motion by COVID-19. Amidst this, there is mounting pressure on sales teams in organisations to sell products and services without sufficient salespeople. To make any sale, or receive funding, organisations go through a process where they must develop a business proposal. Almost no business in the B2B (business to business) market is won without a formal business proposal. Business proposal management and writing has evolved over the years with best practices and certifications, just like project management, but the COVID-19 crisis has given it a jolt unlike any other. Salesteams, bid and proposal management teams. proposal writers and associated graphic specialists need to use this crisis as a catalyst for change. There is a resounding, echoing bell ring that asks us to reimagine, reconfigure and restart. And the bell does not ring just for teams but also for individuals. The future depends on interactive technologies and proposal teams must think about playing strategic roles if they want to stay relevant. For the investigation and writing of this paper, we have used both primary and secondary research techniques. They are listed as follows: Primary Research - Questionnaires and Interviews; Secondary Research - Journals, Harvard Business Review, Economic Times, Internationally acclaimed websites, Textbooks Keywords: Sales, Presales, Bid Management, Proposal Management, Strategy, Marketing, Change, Change Management, Future, Collaboration, Virtual Teams, Design, Automation

Introduction The word “thrive” has taken backstage, at least for now. Right now, organisations need to have a plan to survive. No one in an organisation can get comfortable in their cubicle chair and let their world spin on autopilot. With a crisis looming that is greater than what we faced in 2008, resilience is key. Reimagining the way we do things, reconfiguring the way we work and restarting our business with a fresh outlook is the order of the day. It may be the only way for organisations to survive this dark phase of human history. Scope of The Research The scope of this research is limited to organisations which have turnovers of over a million dollars and range upto several billions (USD). All of them are B2B. These huge organisations

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 and the people they employ have a direct impact on how governments operate and international trade across the world runs. Considering the COVID-19 crisis, it is important that these organisations generate sales, and convince their customers to make purchases in order to restart the global economic cycle. Trends Proposal Teams Are Expressing

Figure 1: COVID-19 has brought gloomy days to proposal teams For an industry to not be affected by the COVID-19 scenario is a pipe dream. Despite organisations having risk-mitigation plans, due to crises as tremendous as COVID-19, they began laying off employees. Sales and presales teams in most industries and companies have dramatically dwindled. However, there is an undeniable demand for someone in the organization to write proposals. This brings us to two frequently asked questions. What are business proposals? What makes them so important? A Brief Introduction to RFXs and Business Proposals Customers send a document with a thorough list of requirements to multiple vendors. This document is called the RFX. The X can be replaced with alphabets such as I, Q and P.

Figure 2: What are RFIs, RFQs and RFPs?

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Customers send a document with a thorough list of requirements to multiple vendors. This document is called the RFX. The X can be replaced with alphabets such as I, Q and P. While vendors find it hard to respond to RFPs, customers find it equally hard, if not harder to create RFPs. Once it arrives, sales teams immediately try to gather information about the customer. They try to identify if the customer already has a favourite, or an incumbent vendor- who is currently supplying the product or service. Then, they prepare the response document, also called a proposal. A business proposal is light years away from a marketing brochure. It is customised to the customer’s needs. At its heart, it understands that customers do not care about vendors, their products or their services. Customers care about themselves. Without doubt, consistently winning proposal teams are doing something radically different from their competition’s proposal teams. Proposal Strategy Outline: “Hope” is never a strategy while creating a business proposal. At least, having an idea of the customer’s needs, issues and motivators and identifying sponsors helps create a better strategy. Identifying the degree of competition and therefore developing partnerships gives organisations an extra edge. Proposal teams must work with agility and steadfastness to beat the clock in order to achieve this. Getting all roads to lead to Rome: Proposal teams manage various meetings- the first being the kick-off meeting- where everyone is introduced, and everyone’s goals and roles are set. Most importantly, the due dates are discussed, and a thorough plan is developed by the proposal manager that gets everyone to contribute and complete the RFP response. RFPs are hot potatoes: RFPs can be several hundred pages long. Getting even one of the terms and conditions, or making a wrong observation can cause the organisation to lose the deal, or worse, cause the organisation to get into legal and financial obligations. Troubles shared are troubles halved: There can be anywhere between three (3) to three hundred (300) people involved in responding to an RFP depending on its deadlines, value, risk and complexity. Proposal teams assist technical teams in conveying their message to the customer in a clear, succinct, attractive, legally accurate and time-bound manner to ensure organisations win more business. How Important Is a Proposal? Proposals are worthless unless they induce a behavioural change in the customer. It is meant to woo, not repulse. It is meant to impress, not bore. It is meant to cause a desire that otherwise was not there. Hence the name “proposal”. It needs to be sought after. It needs to be something the customer wants, not just needs. It needs to be loved. Every page should trigger a sense of anticipation. How proposals are written is just as important as what is written in them.

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How has COVID-19 Impacted Proposal Teams Proposal teams are being laid-off, furloughed, or are taking pay cuts in many organisations that are not seeing business opportunities. The work of proposal teams is being passed on to delivery teams in order to reduce costs in these organisations. However, a few organisations from industries like pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, medical device manufacturing, are growing in these times. Proposal teams are being hired by them. Collaboration Has Never Been a Problem

Figure 2: What are RFIs, RFQs and RFPs? Global collaboration has dramatically increased across organizations in all teams by over 1000% (Samik Roy, 2020). Although other teams across the world have been shaken up by new work-from-home norms, most proposal teams have reported that there is almost no difference in how they worked. Proposal teams can continue to work-from-home unless of course, it is crucial for a major deal that requires war-rooms. Today, even those can be virtual. However, we only recommend that cameras be turned on so that the human element is not lost. Survival of the Fittest To adapt to COVID-19, some organisations have committed to not lay-off their proposal management teams or change processes. However, most organisations have realised that they might need to shift their modus operandi to a way of work that would continue to keep the company profitable. The ultimate way to win this battle during this crisis is to find solutions and techniques that will: • Focus on strategy and competitive advantages (offer something unique to customers) • Develop better partnerships with other organisations • Reduce costs by reducing employee headcounts and/or remunerations

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• Increasing revenues by responding to more RFPs in less time • Exploring new markets • Improve effectiveness and efficiency > Bring in automation, tools and techniques • Reimagining Proposal Management and Sales Case Study Christopher (name changed) has about twelve proposals he was working on simultaneously. Only one of them is winnable and no one is working on it. The multi-million-dollar company Christopher worked for, faced a massive blow due to the COVID-19 crisis. 60% of their clients were from the tourism and travel industry. As a result, the organisation went into panic mode. They tried to get their hands on every single RFP available- even if they had very limited chances of winning it. Because of the ensuing crisis, a few proposal managers, writers and graphic designers were laid-off. The graphics team predominantly prepared customised content that clients would find relatable Suddenly, Christopher’s laptop crashed. Along with it went all the information that went into the proposal. Some of the information on the laptop was not saved on the cloud and was not passed on to any team members. Two candidates who contributed to the proposal had left the organisation. Although their data backup was taken, no one knew how to find it and re-assemble it at such short notice. Christopher now is unable to find the information he needs the most. Suddenly, an entire proposal had to be built from scratch. With just five days left to submit the proposal, Christopher’s fingers tremble, as he visualises incoming migraines. With a cold sweat breaking, Christopher empties a cup of coffee each hour to stay awake. Panic escalates into horror. He enlists the help of another overworked proposal writer who is based out of a different time- zone to review the styles, fonts, themes and colours. He gets a graphic designer who already has a plethora of work to cater to and pleads with him to create a cover page. The graphic designer tells him he cannot do it and suggests that Christopher can choose from a set of previously created cover pages. Christopher does the best he can, with the resources he has. And in five days, he submits the proposal to the customer after getting a review done. The proposal goes to the customer and Christopher finally goes to bed. Barely a minute after he has hit his pillow, he gets a call from his manager telling him it is urgent. He shows Christopher that in several places of the document, there is the name of the wrong client- an indication that sufficient attention has not been paid. In the proposal world, that mistake is a monstrosity. It happened because Christopher copied the content from other proposals he could find. He pasted it without thoroughly checking its relevance. And then his manager shows him that some content that was placed is old and there is new, better and more mature content available from a technical and a non-technical point of view. Literally, the proposal is a piece of trash. Every single minute spent on it amounted to nothing.

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From a graphical point of view, there is nothing that tells the customer that Christopher’s proposal was crafted with professional intent. Christopher was forced to focus on submitting the proposal. He did not have the time, nor the resources to win it. Christopher was living Murphy’s law: “Anything that can go wrong- will go wrong” Strategy 1: Bid to Win. Not Just Submit Christopher’s organisation was trying to grab every opportunity they got to stay afloat, instead of focusing on the one they could win. Also, Christopher was an overworked, confused, and unrested proposal manager who was working without the support of a team. A recipe for disaster- it has been proven, tried and tested that none of these strategies work. It results in limited organisational focus and excessive organisational chaos. To solve this conundrum, organisations must, at the least, ask themselves the following questions before opening up RFPs and sending them to proposal managers to work on: Is this within our business area? Does the customer really intend to buy? Do we know the customer and the customer’s vision? Have we considered the global crises that can prevent this purchase? Is there an incumbent who the customer is not satisfied with? Do we have any competitive advantages that our competition does not possess? Do we have any competitive disadvantages that we need to tactically manage? Is there a risk we face if we bid / do not bid for this opportunity? Can we really win? How and why might we lose? Is the pursuit worth the effort? In times like these, sales-persons may be tempted to hunt for any opportunity available. However, a thorough bid validation must be done before engaging proposal teams on a deal, lest it waste their time and wear them down. When they get involved, proposal managers must be able to showcase compliance rather than finding reasons for non-compliance to customer requirements. They must be able to show an understanding of the customer’s pain points and motivation to spend money despite market conditions Strategy 2: Make Proposals Sing In his bestseller entitled “Epic Content Marketing”, Joe Pulizzi asks, “Your customers are exposed to over 5,000 marketing messages per day. Are your messages cutting through the clutter and making an impact?” (Pulizzi, 2014) Although Pulizzi is talking here about content marketing, one can extend his theory to proposals. With all the clutter of information, will your message matter? In another study (Nicholas Toman, 2017), where several thousand executives at companies across the world were asked to describe the entire purchase process, out of which, obviously,

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 reading RFPs from multiple vendors and coming to a conclusion would be one. Some responses included “hard”, “awful”, “painful”, “frustrating” and “minefield”. In a world where 140 characters is all one gets to convey information that is meaningful (Twitter), proposal contributors must aim to keep their messages as short and simple as possible. Keeping it Simple Proposal Teams ought to take the effort needed to make the proposal a joy to read. And yet, almost no proposal evaluator would express that reading proposals is a pleasure, or a joy. Instead, proposals are pompous and boring. Evaluators seldom find them engaging and feel like they are not tailored for them and are corporate mumbo-jumbo. Proposal contributors are under the impression that a lot of information on a subject will impress the customer. One study (Nicholas Toman, 2017) points out that customers are increasingly overwhelmed and often feel paralysed than empowered by information overload. Information overload births unnecessary questions, inquiries and probes. This causes a 65% delay in purchase decisions, and often, deviations towards other sellers / vendors. Clearly, proposal contributors must learn to respect the time of evaluators. The Impact of Good Design in Proposals A business proposal is like a salesperson. It cannot afford to be shabbily dressed. It is crucial that the first impression be good. People think that they are not bewitched by first impressions, but that is not true. Hence, graphic design is becoming extremely important.

Figure 2: The Impact of Graphic Designers Although the famous idiom goes “Do not judge a book by its cover”, several studies found that people make judgements about the quality of the content in a book by looking at the cover page in just about five seconds. In fact, there are so many proven logical fallacies that the human brain is prone to make based on design such as:

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Implicit Association Bias: Just because something looks good, we assume it is good. Von Restroff Effect: When multiple options are present, attention is subconsciously directed towards the one that stands out. Law of Triviality: We tend to spend time on trivial, good-looking things- whether or not they are important or are serving our purpose. The Future of Proposals Organisations are realising that they need proficient graphic designers to design proposals for them. There are huge indicators of how important graphic design is and how dependent the proposal teams are upon them. In a world where everyone is using documents and slides, there are organisations which are silently moving towards software and web applications that are far more effective and engaging. For nearly twenty years, Microsoft’s PowerPoint and a few other similar tools have been used to create customer pitches. Multiple presentations attached in a single email, confused evaluators and waste their precious time, thereby sometimes annoying them. But things are changing. LinkedIn’s PointDrive, for example, is changing the way presentations are done. Instead of making content static, it is making it dynamic. Evaluators are also more inclined to read content sent to them via PointDrive is because they can interact with content on any device. From a proposal author’s point of view, PointDrive allows them to see which content has been most interacted with. (Burnett, 2017). PointDrive, and similar tools are already being used to submit proposals. In fact, organisations have started presenting proposals based on augmented reality and virtual reality. In a world where people prefer engagement, why would anyone want to read? That is why UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) is becoming important. We anticipate UI and UX being given a colossal importance in the future. We have already seen how much importance organisations are giving graphics teams. We recommend that graphics teams learn more skills and upgrade themselves. At least, they must be able to make customised video presentations and have an idea of how augmented reality and virtual reality works, and what tools can be used to prepare futuristic presentations. Under anonymity, one proposal manager we interviewed, explained how the organisation he is working with is currently crafting presentations that are designed for presentations on Zoom, GoToWebinar, Skype or MS Teams. “Each platform works differently and streams content differently. So, we design presentations based on the platform. We do not do that for every deal, but we are getting there. We realized that things do not look the way we intend them to look if we do not know the platform they will be streamed on. Customers are beginning to tell us that there is a noticeable difference, and that our presentations look better than our competitors’ presentations”, he said. 87.5% of our respondents agreed that proposals need to be designed in a manner that needs as little explanation as possible, with minimalism and engagement.

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Owing to the COVID-19 crisis, no presentation is being made at the customer’s office. Even if a video presentation is recorded, because of its length, customers are not willing to watch them. That is why, the proposal presentations being sent to them must be engaging and interesting enough for evaluators to want to go through them. For this too, a graphic designer supplies life blood. Strategy 3: Exploring Automation The word often instils fear and paranoia. According to many, it is a necessary evil, which feeds corporate greed. However, history has proven that whenever automation came, it led to the loss of a few jobs but created several thousands, if not millions more. However, if the question is “will automation take away my job as a proposal manager or a proposal writer?”, the answer is most likely “yes”. Proposal managers, for example, need to coordinate a proposal from end to end- which includes not just ensuring compliance, but preparing the proposal, getting proposal contributors to update content, making calls to get information, managing proposal playbooks and getting approvals, to name a few For example, Amjad and Samina, based out of Maryland, USA are creating a futuristic RFP tool called Zbizlink. The tool can almost effortlessly improve the speed of proposal processes three times over by helping managers. It automatically pulls out requirements from RFPs. It also helps managers create workflows, plug in content, manage collaboration and do a whole host of other things- all over one web-based application that can be accessed both on the proposal teams’ laptops and mobile devices. When it comes to proposal writers, there are tools already available that radically improve the proposal’s quality, tone, professionalism and uniformity. Another huge problem that writers face is the famous “writer’s block”. There are automation tools, which, when fed with bits and pieces of necessary information, literally write content. Shipley ROSE for example, helps proposal authors write anywhere between 50-70% of the executive summary within just ten minutes We are already seeing automation technology enter the proposal management space helping proposal teams. Instead of asking what automation will take away from us next, we need to ask what work automation will enable us to take on. Content Management In organisations where content is diverse and solutions are aplenty, it is important to appreciate and make way for a proper content management system. It is a terrible idea nowadays to maintain all content on a few computer devices or dump content onto a server. In our survey, 31 out of 40 respondents said that they had some form of organisational content repositories. Among them only 7 had automated content repositories that would use metadata to identify content. In fact, very few organizations have heard of AI driven content management solutions. But they are out there. Organisations that have systematic content management repositories and teams, also express a greater degree of success. Out of the 40 respondents we interviewed, there were 33 respondents who had content respositories. This meant that they recognized its importance. However, they did not have content management tools and did not invest into content

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 management teams. They expressed having often used old and irrelevant content and were able to trace it back to not being able to find the right content at the right time.

Figure 3: How Teams Are Managing Content At the least, organisations should attempt to organise data on the cloud- where content would be accessible and retrievable with minimal downtime. Established organisations have content management teams who curate content and upload content onto the cloud. Better still, they do this using tools that manually or automatically absorb metadata that is tagged to the document. This allows proposal teams to find what they want, when they want it, without having tunnel vision or slowing down. They will have the most recent content that has been curated and pre-approved. Like other aspects of business, knowledge and content management is moving from traditional human input towards artificial intelligence that reads a document and automatically identifies metadata tags. This enables proposal teams to be more than cut-copy-paste artists. This gives them time to become strategists, wordsmiths and artisans in their field. A good content management strategy is not just something “nice to have”. It must become an integral component of the proposal management team’s armour. It is an incredibly important component of the proposal management team’s battle gear when they go to war. Is it expensive? Maybe, yes. But going to battle without it might result in severe damages to reputability, credibility, and reliability in the eyes of the customer. Reconfiguring Proposal Management Case Study Typically, customers could not read a proposal that came from the company where Christopher worked without yawning incessantly. Most of them never got to the last page. Although Christopher’s boss got feedback regarding the kind of proposals that went out, he never found enough time to take a stab at them and improve them.

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With the advent of COVID-19 however, everyone woke up. The senior management wanted to see more deals being won. Christopher and his boss had to get their act together or bid their jobs goodbye. Strategy 1: 4 Step Improvement Model Although the COVID-19 crisis is not exactly a crown, it certainly does come with some silver linings. One of them is that organisations are not getting many RFPs to work on. The time could be used for process improvement and eliminate operational waste. There are organisations where for several years, the proposal team has been static with no one looking into the modus operandi- as a result of which, the organisation is not able to open up to its market potential. We recommend that if organisations find a little extra time, they should not waste it. They must improve their processes, and align themselves with the vision of becoming leaner, stronger organisations. It goes without saying that organisations must do what is necessary without causing any major business disruption. Proposal teams can follow the proven “Four Stage Model of Operational Improvement”. The model was developed by Professors Hayes and Wheelwright of Harvard University with contributions from Professor Chase of the University of California.

Figure 4: The Four Step Model for Operational Improvement During Stage 1, the proposal team may identify the top three most pressing issues and worst problems they face and use a systematic approach to solving them. Do not go after small

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 problems. Try identifying problems within the team which are causing genuine pain to the business. The goal is to fix those pains. During Stage 2, now that the team has fixed the worst problems, the team works towards industry best practices. This may include adopting unexplored and relevant APMP best practices for proposal management, reviews, improving quality of executive summaries, and improving content repository capabilities. The goal is to be as good as the competition. During Stage 3, the team develop strategies on becoming industry leaders on how proposals can be written. A simple example would be adopting tools and techniques and develop guidance tools that will assist proposal contributors avoid writer’s block. There are so many tools available in the market that can and help write better proposals and present them to customers in a more professional manner. Tools like Shipley ROSE for example, helps proposal contributors write anywhere between 50-70% of the executive summary within just ten minutes. The goal in stage 3 is to become better than the competitors. During Stage 4, the team starts preparing for the next global crisis or the next big scenario that is going to hit their industry; and works towards staying one step ahead of the competitors. Simply put, the goal in stage 4 is to identify the trends of the future before they come and stay prepared. Strategy 2: Create Compelling Content A great way to improve a team’s proposal writing skills and increase the win ratio is to teach them the art of persuasive proposal writing. HBR recommends using the Who-Why-What- When-How chart (Garner, 2012) This need not be just for content written afresh, but for boiler-plate content already present in the organization’s repositories. Additionally, we recommend the following steps to creating persuasive and profession content: Step 1: Asking the question, “Why write this?” before composing content in any section. helps instil the necessary tone, morale and pace, thereby reaching the goal of the proposal. Step 2: Avoid verbose content, jargon, convoluted sentences and paragraphs that instil boredom in the reader. Understand that poorly written content is a huge waste of the reader’s time. If writers do not get to the point quickly enough, the reader might switch-off. Be relentless in achieving this Step 3: Use tables and graphics to keep the proposal engaging. Use them to illustrate something discussed in the text. The goal is to help readers understand in 4-5 seconds via pictures what would take 2-3 minutes to read Other strategies that would dramatically improve the persuasiveness of proposals include: Using the customer’s name more frequently throughout the proposal Quantifying benefits of the solution Keeping the most important ideas first while writing content. Helping customers perceive differentiators and discriminators.

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Composing headings that guide readers rather than using abstract headings. Adding graphical inputs (such as call-out boxes or figures with action captions) aids readability and increases customer interest. “Make It Easy” Policy Business proposals are often written by technical teams, who tend to pay less emphasis to strategic details- which help win more business. They often state the features of the product, rather than the “benefits” and “advantages” that customers gain when they purchase them.

Figure 5: The Who-Why-What-When-How Chart

Benefits and advantages are compelling, but customers are not persuaded enough to purchase products if these “advantages” are not shared with them. It is crucial that proposal authors make it a point to articulate benefits throughout the proposal. Consider the following statements. Statement 1: The laptops come with inbuilt 8GB RAM Statement 2: The laptops come with in-built 8GB RAM – which allows you to work faster and lessens the scope of the laptop crashing by 35%

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The statement above in italics helps customers identify benefits rather than just providing them with features The Shipley Proposal Guide says, “Benefits have the strongest and most lasting impact on customer decisions as they are explicitly linked to alleviating issues. In short, customers buy benefits.” (Newman, 2016) Differentiators and Discriminators Organisations need to be more intelligent in how they sell. Often, proposal teams do not have sufficient input on the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s competitors. Amongst those that understand the competition, most proposal contributors focus on differentiators, and not enough on discriminators. Differentiators are what make organizations different from their competitors. Discriminators, on the other hand are differentiators that can be acknowledged as important to the customer. Additionally, proposal teams must deal with a proposal’s weaknesses. If competitors can articulate features that are beneficial to the customer, which the proposal does not provide, they become negative discriminators and proposal teams need to examine addressing the issue in their proposals.

Figure 6: Understanding Discriminators

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Proof Points While being customer focused, proposals must include relevant referrals and case studies. This helps prospective clients gain more trust that the proposal is more than just a can of empty words. Strategy 3: Change Management People get into a rhythm that makes them resistant to change. To understand the mindset, try changing hands when you brush your teeth in the morning- Gary Gesme, Deere & Company Studies show that anywhere between 70% – 80% of change efforts flop. They either fail to deliver the anticipated benefits, or they are abandoned entirely. (Steven H Appelbaum, 2012) Before proposal teams work towards radical shift in how operations are run, they should spend time studying them. Do they really need to be improved? A frequent adage at a multi-billion-dollar organisation goes “In our organisation, change is the only constant”. While that might be true, organisations must not make changes that are so dramatic and frequent that chaos would ensue. The catalyst for change must be the pursuit of value. If there is no tangible value that change would bring, organisations must not pursue radical changes. According to Kotter, the eight steps to transforming an organization (which can be applied to proposal teams) are: Establish a sense of urgency about the need to change because people will not change if they do not see the need to do so. Create a guiding coalition- assemble a group of individuals who have the power, energy and influence to lead the change. Develop a vision and a strategy. Create a vision of what the change is about. Tell people why the change is needed and how it will be achieved. Communicate the change vision – tell people, in every possible way and at every opportunity, about the why, what and how of the changes. Empower broad-based action – involve people in the change effort, get people to think about the changes and how to achieve them rather than thinking about why they do not like the changes and how to stop them. Generate short-term wins – seeing the changes happen and recognising the work being done by people towards achieving the change is crucial. Consolidate gains and produce more change – create momentum for change by building on successes in the change. Invigorate people through the changes and develop people as “change agents”. Anchor new approaches in the corporate culture – this is critical to long-term success and institutionalising the changes. Failure to do so may mean that changes achieved- through hard work and effort, slip away with people’s tendency to revert to the old and comfortable ways of doing things.

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Through a process of change, proposal team members’ responsibilities are being increased or altered in order to win more business. There is nothing wrong with this. It just needs to be systematic and not an act birthed out of panic. Efficiency is doing things fast while effectiveness is doing things right. We see proposal teams pursuing value, often focussing on efficiency and not on effectiveness. Organizations can pursuit change but ensure that it does not hamper the effectiveness of proposal teams. Preparing for Changes Before changing a process, tool or policy within the proposal teams, we recommend that teams develop clarity by using the following screens (Slack, 2009) Restarting

Figure 9: Categories of Evaluation Criteria Case Study At the turn of the page, Christopher aimed to type in a boisterous business buzz word. But no matter how many fancy phrases went in, his proposals did not win. Christopher worked 15 hours a day, despite frequently earning the wrath of his wife. Since his boss knew of the long hours Christopher spent, he could not understand why they were not winning deals. So his boss decided to spend some budget and hire someone despite the financial crisis. After three months of head hunting, they realized they hired someone with essentially zero skills. How did that even happen? Strategy 1: Changing Modus Operandi Hiring Strategies

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Maybe interviews should be a thing of the past. With all the information available online nowadays, people can falsify resumes, pretend to be really good at interviews and fail miserably once they are working. For the team that is hiring them, it is a terrible waste of time, effort and capital. Instead, it is advisable to ask prospective candidates to work on a demo proposal, if not a live proposal to assess their management proficiencies, writing abilities and evaluate how well they would fit into the team’s environment. That would be a more wholistic approach to hiring proposal teams. Overcoming Workaholism Proposal Teams needs to consider if there are individual heroes who get overworked and pulled into every single “major deal” or get to find about it themselves and go vouch for it. IF that is the case, the team needs to consider if workaholism is going to become a problem in the long term. The typical workaholic ends up not sleeping and “burns the midnight oil”. Unfortunately, the corporate system rewards them for it. It takes a toll on the health of the individual in the long term, and at some point, the individual will experience burnout. In their book titled Rework, Fried and Hansson remark “Workaholics miss the point. They try to fix problems by throwing sheer hours at them. They try to make up for intellectual laziness with brute force. They even create crises. They do not look for ways to be more efficient because they actually like working overtime. They enjoy feeling like heroes. Workaholics are not heroes. They do not save the day. They just use it up. They may claim to be perfectionists but that just means that they are wasting time fixing inconsequential details instead of moving on to the next task” (Jason Fried, 2010) Workforce Training Most organisations we interviewed do not take proposal management seriously enough, and do not invest into training proposal management teams. While experience is a good thing, some theory can help teams remember what they may have forgotten or help them arrive at new ideas. It might allow proposal teams to reduce errors, improve proficiency, build confidence and increase overall team morale. This might enable the team to take a leap of excellence and possibly even increase organisational win ratios. Investing in trainings has become less expensive as most of them are happening virtually. It is important to remind employees that learning new skills and sharpening existing ones is the only way to survive. Cal Newport argues in his bestselling book, “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” that “skills trump passion in the quest for work one loves” (Newport, 2012). If organisations do not invest in them, employees need to take initiative and invest in themselves. Strategy 2: Kaizen-ing Proposal Management Strategies The word “strategy” is used in so many business meetings these days- a pause to think about the meaning of the word. The word has its origins in Greek. “Strategos” means “leading an army”. Clearly, there is a military metaphor. It is intense and powerful. Today, it is a word that is almost borderline business jargon. With businesses finding themselves in such volatility today, effective business proposal strategy is essential.

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Having Any Plan Is Better Than Having No Plan It may be said that having any plan is better than having absolutely no plan, even if in hindsight, it proves to be the wrong plan. The following story is quoted by Slack and Lewis in their famous textbook for Operations Strategy: A group of Hungarian soldiers got lost doing manoeuvres in the Alps. The weather was cold, and the snow was deep. In the freezing conditions, after two days of wandering, the soldiers gave up hope and became reconciled with a frozen death on the mountains. Then, much to their delight, one of the soldiers discovered a map in his pocket. Much cheered by the discovery, the soldiers were able to escape from the mountains. When they were safe back at their headquarters, they discovered that the map was not of the Alps but that of the Pyrenees. The moral of the story? A plan (or in this case, a map) may not be perfect, but it gives some sense of purpose and a sense of direction. If the soldiers had waited for the right map, they would have frozen to death. Yet, their renewed confidence motivated them to get up and create opportunities. (Slack, 2009) Conflicting Strategies Proposal strategies that conflict with one-another must be discussed and ironed out. For example, a proposal’s strategy may be to increase organisational profitability. And in order to increase profitability, the organisation may choose to decide to outsource. Outsourcing decisions may improve profitability but must not hamper quality and reputability of output. Strategy 3: Infuse Clarity Into Proposals Over 77% proposal writers and managers think that the proposals they write are jargon-free and easy to read. Only 15% admit that they only do it when they have time. A sample study into 30 proposals from 30 different authors has shown us that over 88% of proposals have complex jargon that does not explain itself and have a Flesch Reading Ease1 score of 10 or less, which proves that content is extremely complex, and authors just do not know how to measure and correct it. A poor writing style makes reading cumbersome. Writers hope to persuade readers by adding jargon and business buzz words. However, organisations which had been responsible for introducing business jargon are now studying the effect of easy reading. Deloitte studied thirty people in a Starbucks cafe who were given two documents each. One document was compiled with a lot of jargon and long sentences. The other was radically simple and easy to understand. Both were in effect- trying to share the same message. Subjects read the two documents, and were given a list of character traits to associate each document with. The list of character traits had fifteen positive (“good”) and fifteen negative (“bad”) traits. The study found that 100% of the readers associated the document with jargon and complicated sentences with “obnoxiousness, rudeness, stubbornness and unreliability”. Not a single positive trait was attributed to the complicated document. (Brian Fugere, 2005) On the other hand, subjects who read the document without jargon did not associate it with even one negative trait. Instead, they associated with traits like “likability, energy, friendliness,

1 Flesch Index scores range from 0-100. A Flesch Index of 0-10 indicates that the document is very hard to read and may at best be understood by university graduates.

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Figure 7: How Readability Influences Likeability Donald Murphy, the editor of an agricultural newspaper found that reducing the complexity of his articles from a ninth grade to a sixth-grade level increased newspaper readership by 43% for an article on 'nylon'. There was an increase of 42,000 readers in a circulation of 275,000. Reducing the complexity also caused a 60% increase in readership for an article on 'corn'. (Murali Mohana, 2016) Easy reading increases readers’ perseverance to complete reading the document. In the 1950s, Wilber Schramm, the director of Iowa Writer’s Workshop interviewed 1,050 newspaper readers. He found that easier reading styles help decide how much of an article is read. He found that people read fewer long articles than short ones. A story nine paragraphs long will lose three out of ten readers by the fifth paragraph. A shorter story will lose only two. (Murali Mohana, 2016) Studies like this transformed how American newspapers were written. Most American newspapers are now written at a 11th grade level. A cursory observation of popular novels shows that most of them are written at a 7th grade level. America’s most sold publications – TV Guide and Readers’ Digest- are written at a 9th grade level. (Murali Mohana, 2016) In summary, all research points to three things that are prime culprits for making reading difficult and must be avoided in proposals The lack of logic and focus in writing Jargon and complicated words Long Sentences and endless paragraphs Conclusion Proposal management and writing are time-bound and mission-critical activities crucial to the survival of B2B business, and must involve the right people. Involving the wrong people to write a proposal is like asking a steward to fly a plane. Organizations must hire the right people and train them. Proposal contributors must be able to write compelling content that sets them apart from competition. The presentation of their proposals must thoroughly delight readers. Proposal contributors must spend their time strategizing and not brooding over rudimentary tasks. They must be enabled with the process and technology required to do so.

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We recommend that organizations adopt change gradually, and transform the way they manage, write and present proposals. Organizations must bid to win. Not just submit. Consistent winning happens through effort and design. It is driven by purpose. If chemistry were to be used to give an analogy, one might say that there are no accidents that bring forth glorious proposals. Each element has to be weighed with precision and its relevance pondered upon. That defines the purity of the compound. Some elements must at all times be avoided- or the compound at the output would be worthless sludge. A complete waste of time, effort, and material of the chemist and not something of significance, beauty or worth. We believe that effective proposal management and excellent proposal writing is not wishful thinking or a stroke of luck. We believe it needs to be cooked to perfection with a recipe- like a stew at a restaurant that people would want to visit over and over again. The proposal must only have the right amount of persuasiveness for too much of it will sound suspicious. It must have sufficient evidence to back up claims. It needs to have clarity and not sound obnoxious. It needs to be managed well from end to end without getting anyone overworked (which is why training everyone is necessary). Like a shrewd diplomat, a proposal emphasizes its strengths and benefits to its customer. In doing so, the proposal adds enough potent content that reveals a competitor’s weaknesses and inadequacies. Finally, it needs to be packaged well to invoke the emotion of persuasiveness and look like a work of meticulous, thoughtful and thought-provoking piece of art. Author Note This research paper and its presentation was funded in its entirety by Shipley Associates and was prepared for presentation at the International Conference on Social Sciences XVIII, to be held at the Oriel Congress Centre in the University of Cambridge Bibliography [1] Brian Fugere, C. H. (2005). Why Business People Speak Like Idiots. USA: Simon & Schuster. [2] Burnett, B. (2017, April 18). Introducting PointDrive. Retrieved from LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business/sales/blog/sales-navigator/introducing- pointdrive [3] Garner, B. A. (2012). HBR Guide to Better Business Writing. New York: Harvard Business Review Press. [4] Gurnani, C. P. (2020, June 09). Covid crisis much worse than 2008 crisis. (P. Doval, Interviewer) [5] Jason Fried, H. H. (2010). Rework. New York: Crown Publishing. [6] Mark Kovac, J. C. (2018, November 1). Preparing for the Next Recession. Harvard Business Review, pp. 1-8. [7] Murali Mohana, N. (2016). Measuring the readability of newspapers a comparative study of two national english dailies. Mysore: University of Mysore.

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[8] Newman, L. (2016). Shipley Proposal Guide 4.1 (Vol. 4.1). Kaysville, Utah: Shipley Associates. [9] Newport, C. (2012). So Good They Can't Ignore You. London: Piatkus. [10] Nicholas Toman, B. A. (2017). The New Sales Imperative. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/03/the-new-sales-imperative [11] Pulizzi, J. (2014). Epic Content Marketing. New York: McGraw Hill Publications. [12] Samik Roy, C. H. (2020, May 21). How Microsoft Teams is providing solutions to firms amidst the COVID crisis. (S. Chowdhary, Interviewer) [13] Slack, N. (2009). Operations Strategy. In M. Lewis, Operations Strategy (2 ed.). UK: Pearson. [14] Steven H Appelbaum, S. H.-L. (2012). Back to the Future: Revisiting Kotter's 1996 Change Model. Journal of Management Development, 31, 764-782.

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School Culture and Innovation: Does the Post-Pandemic World COVID- 19 Invite to Transition or to Rupture?

Marili Moreira da Silva Vieira Susana Mesquita Barbosa Mackenzie Presbyterian University

Abstract This article discusses the relations between school culture and the innovation processes necessary for schools, inserted in a complex, globalized, plural and technological society, to continue to meet the needs of their students. It seeks to highlight the educational legacies of the twentieth century (SAVIANI, 2017), the paradigmatic transitions in education (PACHECO, 2019; VALDEMARIN, 2017) and the school rituals that constitute the culture, essential to explain the purposes of the school (not the teaching objectives, but the reason for the existence of the school), and consequently, the definition of the curriculum and the strengthening of teacher´s identity (SOUZA, 2017). From the explanation of the school's purpose, we begin to discuss the relationship that it should establish with digital culture and with innovational processes. Crises drive innovation because they create different needs for people (PACHECO, 2019; BENITO, 2017). The moment that is being lived, generating new needs, will drive innovations in educational and schools. It is important to have clarity of the school purpose of education, so that the ruptures and innovations are ethical and might meet the welfare of the students (CORNISH, 2019) and the teachers, as well as the educational needs of an ethical citizen, globally and locally. Keywords: Covid19, School culture, Curriculum, Digital culture, Innovation.

Introduction The pandemic experienced in 2020 due to the spread of the COVID-19 Virus provoked serial reactions from different social and economic sectors. The ease of contagion (air routes) and the rapidity of the manifestation and spread of symptoms, caused sovereign states and international communities to decide on collective measures, in some cases, radical measures of isolation and social distancing, aiming to reduce forms of infection and/or slowing their contagion curve. The pandemic initially hit health care, shed a severe light on the vulnerabilities and challenges facing humanity in respect to all the social rights. Alongside this loss of social rights, we perceived a clear picture of existing inequalities. Among the measures taken, one that generated the most social and economic impact was undoubtedly the suspension of educational activities around the world with the immediate cancellation of classes and/or educational adaptations, conducting classes using technological

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 mediation. More precisely, according to UNESCO data (2020), more than 1.5 billion students had their learning impaired due to the closure of schools. This situation has raised a series of issues and problems that lead us to reconnect with and rediscover the social role of education; to face and recognize the concrete economic, social and infrastructure inequalities involved in education and, above all, conduct us to reflect upon the very meaning and scope of Education. In June 2020, UNESCO published a paper intitled "Education in a post-COVID world: Nine ideas for public action" in which it advocates that "We cannot return to the world as it was before" and invites us to think about ways, principles and possibilities to have no educational setback. Among the guidelines and ideas for post-pandemic education are: 1) The definition of 'right to education ‘ provided special attention to the issue of connectivity and access to knowledge and to information; 2) Protection of the social spaces provided by schools, considered indispensable, but in which new “school practices’ should be observed, preserving the space- time of collective life; 3) Ensure that scientific literacy within the curriculum, actively placing ourselves against the empire of disinformation (ignorance or fake news) and, 4) Promoting global solidarity to end the current levels of inequality. We highlight these ideas because, more accurately, they are also part of the discussion that involves School Culture, and impulses us to think on the complexity, inter-relations and continuity of Education, Society and Curriculum. Therefore, to guarantee continuity and to try to understand what this “new normal” will demand of educators, it is essential to acknowledge how school culture and curriculum relate to society. Souza (2017) also points out the same proposal in Sacristán (1998), Forquin (1993): […] studies in school culture that can explain the various dimensions of the internal functioning of schools in their relationship with society, particularly the functioning of the curriculum, are indispensable. Raw material of teaching practice and essential reason for the existence of school, as Sacristán states, the concern and focus in curriculum, "the definition of culture and its conditions for development and meaning" in educational institutions, is at the heart of such an undertaking (Sacristán apud FORQUIN, 1993, p. 21). Hence society is going through a major crisis, educational institutions are also undertaking this crisis and will suffer these effects in its culture and in curriculum. However, will we be able to acknowledge this? In what dimension will school culture and curriculum be affected by this crisis? Crises drive innovation processes because they create new and different needs for people (Pacheco, 2019; Benito, 2017). The moment that is being lived, generating new needs, is expected to drive innovations in educational and school processes. However, to do so, it is important to have clarity of the purposes of school, of education, so that the ruptures and innovations brought forth can meet the educating needs of an ethical citizen, globally and locally. What kind of changes and innovations do we desire in schools or in the teaching-learning procedures? Do we want schools for new types of citizens? What exactly do we need to change in schools? Will this be an opportunity to promote changes in our teaching methodologies? Or in curriculum?

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As António Viñao (2007) reminds us, every reform, change, or innovation produces anticipated, or even desired effects. Other times, the changes alter behavior or induce the opposite attitudes or, even antagonistic to what had been originally desired. Therefore, new situations need to be reflected upon, so that we can observe the real changes. There are occasions in that the changes will become authentic educational innovations, in other, curricular ones. However, alternations will only really be considered as part of the new school culture when, on the horizon, we glimpse its consolidation and structure during the process. Much has been asked about the consequences of the pandemic: we are either facing a rupture, in which we will perceive a paradigmatic revolution in all social areas, including education, or we are observing a moment proper to social evolution, in which we will observe transitions of processes and procedures, but we will keep the model already established. School Culture and Society The political, economic, and pedagogical decisions taken in the context of COVID-19 had their implementation in a short period of time but will have long-term consequences. These decisions will impact the analysis of policymakers, the theoretical elaborations of educators and their respective educational communities – which may become transnational. Since the 1970s, it has been perceived that when we are faced with situations like this, we are led to realize the impact on School Culture. This concept derives from the conception that both school practices and educational processes are part of broader cultural processes (Gonçalves & Faria Fo, 2005, p.32) and, therefore, every time we have changes in cultural macro- structures we will observe their reflections in School Culture. António Viñao (2007), a Spanish philosopher, points out that school institutions and educational systems constantly change and, in this process, will perceive different types of relationships with external aspects and with the internal aspects of the system. Therefore, we need to understand the measure, the aspect and the march for changes, and the different lessons that we can perceive in them, namely: It is therefore necessary to distinguish at least two types of educational changes: those that are due to long-term socio-educational processes – in which external aspects or conditions play a relevant role – and those others, more limited to school but also lengthened over time, of an organizational-curricular nature. This is not, of course, an absolute division. Both changes interact with each other, however their outcome outlines the relationship between school culture, reforms, and innovations. The fact that in both cases these are long-term processes – longer, in any case, the former – is not the result of chance or a discursive strategy. The first lesson that offers a historical view of school reforms and changes is the contrast between the latter – which usually take place in a slow and almost imperceptible way – and the impatient and noisy clamor of reformers with their calendars and their persistent and failed pretensions to "reinvent" the school. (António Viñao, 2007, p.5. Authors´ own translation) We understand, then, that such a conception must recognize that school norms and practices should be understood in aspects related not only to the context of their production, but also to their purpose, to their time and context, and, in a special way, their primary intention, enabling answers to religious, socio-political or economic inquiries, as it turns out today, sanitary

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 inquiries. Therefore, we are dealing with the identification of different school cultures, in the same space-time (geographically and chronologically considered). Dialoguing with António Viñao, Dominique Julia (2001), a French historian, develops his thesis to justify the potentialities of understanding the concept from his historiographical perspective. For this, the author defends that the analysis of school culture needs to be done in relation to the set of contemporary cultures. Thus, school culture as "a set of norms that define which knowledge to be taught and the behavior to be inculcated, and a set of practices that allow the transmission of this knowledge and the incorporation of these behaviors" (Julia, 2001, p. 10). Philippe Perrenoud, a Swiss sociologist, understands that there are situations in which school culture can also be analyzed from the perspective of the construction of teachers’ savoir-faire, taking into account the possibility that this analysis occurs at times when the "school submits this knowledge, and in a global way, the practices and cultures, to a set of transformations that make it teachable", in a movement ranging from the selection of knowledge, through their didacticization, that is, making it teachable, to the "effective learning of students" (Perrenoud, 1993, p. 25, cited by Gonçalves & Faria Fo, 2005, p.32). These great conceptions make us realize that school culture is structurally and systematically linked to great social transformations, dialoguing especially with History, Sociology and Anthropology. This complexity allows us to move on a reflection that can be both comprehensive of the great processes of interlocution, and responsive to the most particular aspects of the school routine. For this reason, Viñao (2007) went ahead in his thesis by warning us that also the educational systems, the teaching institutions experience in addition to external changes, numerous internal changes, especially circumscribed to the curricular organizational scope. These are changes that can be observed with a 'microscope' and readily identified because they objectively alter the school routine, the 'school doing', such as the insertion of a new discipline, the institution of a new working method or a new technological resource. Changes that, because they are surgical, have a profound and immediate impact on all educational processes and school life. Reflecting on pedagogical and educational changes, considering the category of School Culture, allows us, therefore, to investigate, guiding a proposal of theoretical and methodological renewal of epistemological contexts, organizational contexts, and disciplinary contexts. This perspective allows schools to appropriate themselves of the meaning their practices convey. Such concern appears in Michel Young (2007), an English educator, who throws the fundamental and always current question of "What is school for?" In addition to being inserted in the discussion of School Culture, this question should be asked repeatedly by the entire academic community and by society in general, permanently, that is, as an agenda. From the perspective of such an agenda, parents, adults responsible for minors, schools, teachers, and politicians become active participants in the powerful construction of knowledge. More than raising the question, the author reminds us that such an analysis is vital for the Sociology of Education, because the question of the awareness of intentionality (What is it for? ) is what guarantees autonomy, authority and, above all, the trust that schools have for and with society. (Young, 2007)

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The complex literature on School Culture reveals "pandora's box of school education", as Julia (2001) would define. Benito (2017), for this reason, reminds us that school culture is a legitimate pedagogical heritage – material and immaterial. The historiography of school culture allows us to reach its biographical and social memory, opening the possibility of processing it as a Patrimonial education focused on the identity of the narrative of the subjects and the formation of a new citizenship. The investigation of the history and culture of the school, from an archaeological perspective, supported by the study of materiality’s, their institutional uses, and the narrative value that the actors attribute to it, suggests the construction of a new subjectivity. (Benito, 2017, p. 25) In an effort, therefore, to understand the locus of contemporary problems and understanding that school culture dialogues with the great social changes (macro) and internalizes them with changes in pedagogical practices and processes, we will dedicate ourselves to establishing parameters and guidelines to understand the changes caused in school culture due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The unveiling of the world´s sensitivity: reflections on the Pandemic We try to surround ourselves with the utmost certainty, but to live is to sail in a sea of uncertainty, through islands and archipelagos of certainties in which we refuel. (Edgard Morin. Certainties are an illusion. 2020) As stated, the Covid-19 pandemic has generated numerous impacts on global society. UNESCO data inform us that the mere suspension of school activities and processes has directly impacted the lives of more than 1 billion inhabitants of the planet, and alone demonstrates the strength of social change. Economic, political, and pedagogical decisions have been made and will impact, for many years, the entire school culture. The fact is that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed social and economic vulnerabilities – including technological infrastructure – in a global way. But, also, it has emerged the extraordinary human resources and potential, capable of giving immediate answers and revealing that pragmatism and rapid actions when based on great principles and under the best purposes. The statement UNESCO and many world theorists have made is that we cannot return to the world in the same way as it was before. We cannot therefore have institutional arrangements at the international and national level restructured in a way that doesn´t dialogue with the principal school actors. As it has not been seen for a long time, for example, decisions regarding the performance of school activities were taken by health authorities, not pedagogical. We became aware of our vulnerable health and of how states and politicians prioritize their actions, especially regarding the construction of public health care systems. If school culture is impacted by society and vice-versa, shouldn´t teachers be heard about how to proceed upon this emergency? Our politicians demonstrated their worries in respect to our fragile health during this pandemic but, little was heard about how to go about the fact that students were without formal education. Teachers, in many countries, took it into their hands to guarantee a minimum of continuity of education during this period. In doing so, they came in touch and researched new forms of

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 teaching and the possibilities of teaching with technology. How will these teachers come back? How will this experience impact school culture? Philosophers, pedagogues, sociologists, and economists have dedicated themselves to understanding and leading us to reflect upon what we are experiencing. What has been revealed to us? What was unveiled to us? What will be delegated to us? The Portuguese philosopher Boaventura Santos (2020) wrote a text early in the Pandemic, entitled "The Cruel Pedagogy of the Virus. " " In this paper, he states that it is possible to learn from the "Virus", but this will only happen in fact if we are ready to abandon the world as we knew it before and abandon our desire to return to "normal". He understands that the virus has revealed the consequences of our options. In the last 40 (forty) years we have not paid attention to the seriousness of ecological issues and to issues related to social and economic inequalities. Therefore, it is not enough for us to have passive attitude of acceptance that we will no longer have the same world. We need a different attitude, one of promotion of concrete and effective change. Not only to abandon our way of life before the pandemic, but also to position ourselves energetically willing to create a new life, with a new pattern of consumption of nature and, above all, with new ways of participation and political insertion in our communities, among these insertions, direct involvement in the construction of school identity. The Brazilian indigenist philosopher Ailton Krenak wrote a strong manifesto entitled "Tomorrow is not for sale. "(2020). In it, the indigenist agrees with Boaventura in saying that the pandemic is not a surprise, but rather the consequence of a process of non-legitimation of the knowledge of ancestral cultures, especially those in respect to nature. He argues that humanity needs to emerge differently from this pandemic and understand that it is not an accident but an incident in the trajectory of the economic and social choices that we take on a daily basis in all our actions. The way out is to re-humanize ourselves; that is, to place man, his dignity, and his preservation as an essential recipient of our actions. What is at stake, therefore, is not only the change of the way of life, but the confirmation or not of our human character: Let us hope we do not get back to normal, because if we go back, it is because it was not worth the death of thousands of people all over the world. After all that, people will not want to wrangle their oxygen again with dozens of colleagues in a small workspace. [...] We cannot go back to that rhythm[...]. It would be like converting to denialism, accepting that the Earth is flat and that we should keep devouring ourselves. Then, yes, we will have proved that humanity is a lie. (Krenak, 2020, p.14) Yuval Harari, Israeli historian, is emphatic in stating in an interview that "We will go on living, but we will inhabit a new world"(Harari, 2020). For him, who has dedicated himself to understanding how man dialogues with his historicity, what awaits us is a very rich period, in which we have to discuss essential topics such as privacy, the role of the State, solidarity between nations. However, he, warns that the "[...] the storm will pass. But the decisions we make today will change our lives in the years to come."

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For Harari, the Pandemic delegates responsibility for a new global pact, with the establishment of a new citizenship and a new parameter of humanity. In a unique way and never even imagined by researchers, the pandemic made us live and participate in a 'large-scale social experiment that would never have been approved". At the same time, from the West to the East, in the northern and southern hemispheres, entire societies have altered their daily lives, their eating and hygiene habits, their policies and judicial decisions, and their pedagogical processes. Thus, if we do not commit ourselves to a new "tomorrow" we run the risk of repeating the dynamics of the twentieth centuries that witnessed numerous emergency situations, in which temporal measures were taken that had the "ugly habit of [not] surviving the emergencies". The coronavirus epidemic is therefore a great proof of citizenship. In the coming days, each of us will have to choose between relying on scientific data and medical care experts, or unfounded conspiracy theories and political interest. If we do not make the right decision, we could be renouncing our most cherished freedoms, thinking that this is the only way to safeguard our health. (Harari, 2020). One of the consequences of the pandemic for the author is the empowerment of the new citizen. Among the main changes, he points out that science, education and technology can recover spaces of trust in society – lost especially in recent years –, contribute to the socialization and identification of healthy habits and reduction of health hazards, as well as insert us into participatory democratic processes, since it forced us to follow government decisions and taught us to dimension the risks inherent to them. The French educator, Edgard Morin, is also a supporter of the idea that we should expect changes. Such changes will focus on the economic, political and, above all, human spheres. In economic changes we will experience a time with new forms of work, differentiated concern with the health and qualification of workers, decision-making processes with less hierarchy. In political changes we will have a resizing of the collective value of solidarity and the culture of consumption. And in human change, we will have to strengthen our humanism, re-establish the criteria for our sense of equality. The pandemic comes to make us recognize that we are "adrift" of the world. That we very quickly assume the habit of seeing any and all knowledge as dogmas, absolute certainties, however, "Certainties are an illusion". Science is a human reality that, like democracy, is based on the debates of ideas, although its methods of verification are more rigorous. Despite this, the main accepted theories tend to become dogmatized, and the great innovators have always fought for their findings to be recognized. The episode we are going through today may therefore be arousing the right time to make citizens and researchers aware of the need to understand that scientific theories are not absolute, like the dogmas of religions, but biodegradable. (Morin, 2020) In this biodegradable world, the pandemic presents itself as an opportunity to become permanently aware of these human truths that we all know, but which are repressed in our subconscious: that love, friendship, communion, solidarity are what make the quality of life. In the same perspective, the Spanish educator and sociologist Manuel Castells, sentences: The world has already changed; never more will it be as we know it! This unveiling, as if in a hurry

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 to pluck the band-aid from the skin, is what should guide us. Castells points out that our task now is to ask, "how the world has changed?" and no longer "will it change?". Among the many modifications, the philosopher bets that Education has been hit the fastest. For him, online education will gain more and more space and more quality, especially breaking prejudiced barriers that have been sustaining themselves in recent decades. However, this will not be possible if there is no change of political orientation. If there was one thing that the pandemic revealed to us is that we are inserted in a global society in which there is a deep technological inequality, as well as social inequality and it reveals itself in all areas. What is most interesting, and with which we utterly agree, for him, face-to-face teaching will never disappear, because his "band width is much higher than that of the fiberoptic network. " (Castells, 2020a). In this way, we can expect as a consequence “A great frontier of pedagogical innovation and investment in teaching," faced with the perception that Education is a fundamental part of the social fabric and, above all, of the civilizing process. The educator says that now is the time for humanity to make a 'great reset'. However, the biggest reset, is the one that is happening in our heads and lives. It is that we have realized the fragility of everything we believed guaranteed, of the importance of affections, of the resource of solidarity, of the importance of an embrace — and that no one will take us away, because it is better to die embraced than to live in fear. It is to feel that the consumer waste in which we mistakenly spend our resources is not necessary, because we need no more than a few eats and drinks with friends on the balcony. [...] The necessary reset is a portal to a new way of life, another culture, another economy. It is good that we value it, because the alternative to it is the masochistic nostalgia of a world that is gone not to return. Life goes on, but another life. It's up to us to make it wonderful." (Castells, 2020b) There is no denying the impact of the Pandemic on the world. Not only for their expressive numbers, but above all for the depth of dialogue and reflections on the cultural changes that we are facing and that we will face. The pandemic has revealed to us, more as confirmation than innovative postulation, that such changes are directly proportional to our choices, including those related to nature. It revealed to us the possibility of a new humanitarian pact, sensitive to the world, to citizenship, attentive to the desires of men and women. And it delegated to us the responsibility to promote reflection upon, and change about the world in which we live, our options and our forms of cultural appropriation. As we can all verify, the pandemic reaffirmed that one of the most sensitive and powerful aspects in our society is education and, its basic social institution, the School. The School was one of the institutions that most quickly responded to new needs, as it was already rehearsing an insertion of innovative and digital culture. And it did so without losing sight of, rather reinforcing, its social and political dimension. Jane Soares de Almeida says that this is the belief of all those who are dedicated to the understanding of Education:

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Even recognizing [...] difficulties in the immanent educational field [...] they share the belief in a school that, in the labyrinthine universal entropy, characteristic of present times, still becomes one of the last bulwarks of peoples’ hope, whether belonging to this or to that nation, as part of a globalized world that has never shown so many human similarities before the useless social abysses. (Saviani, Almeida, Souza & Valdemarin, 2014, p.3) School Culture and Digital Culture in the Pandemic: changes or ruptures As we have seen, social conditions change. Naturally, due to their expected and desired processes of transformation, or abruptly, in the face of a need that is imposed. If cultures change, so do institutions. Thus, as António Viñao (2007) states, educational institutions change. The educator tells us that such changes are fruit of a combination, among many other possibilities and imaginations, of the constant tension between tradition and innovation, notably as a consequence of decisions limited sometimes by external factors, sometimes by technological constraints, sometimes by alteration of practices and processes. All these elements can be grouped into the concept of School Culture. "[...]This term, of ambiguous and polysemic significance, comprises, in its historical perspective, as stated, a set of ways of doing and thinking, of beliefs and practices, of shared mentalities and behaviors within educational institutions, which are passed on to new members of the school community, especially teachers and students, and that provide strategies to integrate, interact and carry out, especially in the classroom, the tasks that are expected of each one, as well as, at the same time, to meet the demands and limitations they involve or transport. " (Viñao, 2007, p.09) In effect, we have experienced, as teachers, two different kinds of stimulus for change in our daily practices that might possibly influence our School Culture. On one hand, as already pointed out, the inequality due to the low technological access students have for their learning experiences and for accessing information is an aspect that governments and school administrators will need to face. This unveiling, if ignored, will reveal unethical intentions. It is something that necessarily needs to be faced. On the other hand, many teachers were faced with the possibility of altering their methods of teaching using the social network students are habituated to use; using different types of APPs and platforms created for sharing and collaborating on line, that necessarily existed, but did not enter into our daily lesson plans. The challenge we now face, when we return to our physical classrooms is to blend our meetings with activities that implicate the students in creating and interacting with each other on-line, using these app. We are challenged to comprehend that technology will not substitute teachers but will enhance their capability of provoking learning and communication with students in a more constant manner, as these technologies for communication permit. Akash Singhal, a CEO in India, states that: By the time this pandemic will be defeated, we also have a chance of overcoming all the problems and cons related to the traditional and unorganized form of schooling. E-learning services, coupled with Collaborative LMS offering such as - Auto-Quiz creation, teachers performance reviews, expertly curated content library, one tap-assignments, Instant messaging, and doubt clearing sessions, etc. will become the best friends of the whole education fraternity. (Singhal, 2020)

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However, as pointed out earlier, these experiments, if not accurately reflected and thought about, will dissipate when we return. We will not survive the crises if we do not think about it seriously. As pointed out by Castells, face-to-face teaching will never go away, but it will gain new force, new energy. Nevertheless, only if closely thought about and seriously related to prior experiences and prior knowledge of what it means to teach, to learn, to be in school. In an interview given to The Harvard Gazette, former secretary of Education for Massachusetts, Paul Reville, stated: In politics we say, “Never lose the opportunity of a crisis.” And in this situation, we do not simply want to frantically struggle to restore the status quo because the status quo was not operating at an effective level and certainly was not serving all of our children fairly. There are things we can learn in the messiness of adapting through this crisis, which has revealed profound disparities in children’s access to support and opportunities. We should be asking: How do we make our school, education, and child-development systems more individually responsive to the needs of our students? Why not construct a system that meets children where they are and gives them what they need inside and outside of school to be successful? Let us take this opportunity to end the “one size fits all” factory model of education. (Reville, 2020) School culture was already being put in “check” before the pandemic because we weren´t communicating with this generation of students of the XXI century, we weren´t meeting their needs. Ate the same time, we observe that when challenged to learn using technology and apps, this generation has much difficulty, because, they know how to use it for leisure, for social communication, but not for studying, not for systematization of knowledge. For that, they need the teacher´s mediation. Now, we are at a turning point. We need to be conscious of this; we need to seek more training and more abilities to insert these resources in our pedagogy. But we can´t turn back. It is important to reevaluate School Culture and to understand how it will be impacted from this experience. It is our, the teachers’, the responsibility to do so and to bring forth this discussion in society. Will we make small changes, adaptations, that in the first opportunity will fall back into old habits? Or will we rupture with old paradigms? Conclusion This paper started out problematizing how the COVID 19 virus and the closing is affecting the role of education and its political, economic, social, and infrastructural impact on society and from society. The challenge made in June 2020, by UNESCO, and made opportune by ICSS, to write in defense of the idea that "We cannot return to the world as it was before” was faced by the discussion we proposed, so that some principles were raised. Among the many guidelines already pointed out, this paper aimed to consider two important aspects that involve the “right to education” and interact with the concept of School Culture. First, a structural change: the confrontation of the necessity to extend access to information to all types of students and populations, expanding connectivity as one of the demands for education.

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In second place, the need for all educators to recall on the significance and the aspects that contribute and constitute what is called School Culture and the effects of forced on-line teaching on this culture, in order to guarantee adequate interaction amidst Society, Education and Curriculum. We discussed how curriculum relates with valued knowledge in society and how the movements and events lived socially influence education, because they create new needs, new behavior, new forms of interaction. And in school, all these aspects come together composing school culture. Another concept discussed in this paper relates to how COVID19 unveiled our social weaknesses, our contradictions, our prejudice, the inequality, our fragile health systems. However, it also unveiled our characters, for good, for solidarity, for courage. It revealed how teachers, even if with small conditions deficient abilities involving technology, are committed with their students, with their professions. We affirmed that this crisis being experienced might generate innovation, but to do so, will necessarily demand clarity about the purpose of schools in society, and teachers and educators, as a whole, will have to reflect upon the experience and the new possibilities that it brought to teaching and to student´s development. This commixture of elements historically composing our ideas of schools, teachers and of students, along with the on-line teaching and on-line learning experienced, the technology, the learning platforms and the use of social networks all compose a possible new school culture. Each community, each school district, each school will need to “look in the mirror” and examine the needs of its own students, the conditions that need confronting and change. This is the opportunity to do so. Altogether, school culture dialogues with the great social changes (macro) and internalizes them with changes in pedagogical practices and processes. Nonetheless, teachers will need to navigate in uncertain oceans, find new islands to rest and reflect, but the rupture will happen when we all, as teachers, realize that the new culture implies a restlessness that resists the establishment of new dogmas, and promotes continuous pursuit for satisfying new needs and demands of new generations and of society. References [1] BANNELL, R.; DUARTE, R.; CARVALO, C.; PSCHETOLA, M.; MARAFON, G.; CAMPOS, G. (2017) Educação no século XXI. Campinas: Vozes. [2] BENITO, A.E. (2017) A escola como cultura: experiência, memória e arqueologia. (H.H.P Rocha & V.L. G. Silva, Trad) – Campinas, SP, Editora Alínea [3] CASTELLS, M. (2020, April 14 ) Castells debate pandemia, Público e Educação .Outras Palavras. . Retrieved from: [4] CASTELLS. M. (2020, April 27) The time of big Reset. Outras Palavras, 27-04-2020. A (S. Paz, trad). Retrieved from: http://www.ihu.unisinos.br/78-noticias/598423-castells-a-hora-do- grande-reset [5] CORNISH, C. (2019) Student welfare: complexity, dilemmas and contradictions. Research. In: Post-Compulsory Education, 24:2-3, 173-184, [6] GONÇALVES, A & FARIA FO, L. (2005). História das Culturas e das Práticas Escolares perspectivas e desafios teórico-metodológicos. In A cultura escolar em debate: questões

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conceituais, metodológicas e desafios para a pesquisa. Souza & Valdemarin (orgs.). Campinas, SP: Autores Associados. [7] HARARI, Y. N. (2020, March 24). Yuval Noah Harari: the world after coronavirus. The Financial Times. Retrieved from< http: https://www.ft.com/content/19d90308-6858-11ea-a3c9- 1fe6fedcca75>. [8] JULIA, D. (2001). A cultura escolar como objeto historiográfico. (Gizele de Souza, Trad). Revista Brasileira de História da Educação, São Paulo, n. 1, 2001, p. 9-44. [9] KRENAK, A. (2020). O amanhã não está à venda. São Paulo/Brasil: Companhia das Letras. [10] MORIN, E. (2020, April 09). As certezas são uma ilusão. Le Journal, CNRS–Retrieved from < https://www.fronteiras.com/entrevistas/edgar-morin-as-certezas-sao-uma-ilusao>. [11] PACHECO, J. (2019) Inovar é assumir um compromisso ético com a educação. Campinas: Editora Vozes. [12] REVILLE, P. (2020). Time to fix American education with race-for-space resolve. Retrieved from: [13] SANTOS, B. S (2020). A cruel pedagogia do vírus. Lisboa: Almedina. [14] SAVIANI, D. (2017). O legado educacional do Século XX no Brasil. Autores Associados. Edição do Kindle. [15] SAVIANI, D., ALMEIDA, J.S., SOUZA, R.F, VALDEMARIN, V.T (2014). O legado educacional do século XX no Brasil. (3. Ed). - Campinas, SP.' Autores Associados, 2014. [16] SILVA, F.C.T. (2006) School Culture: conceptual framework and research possibilities. Educar. Curitiba, Editora UFPR, n. 28, p. 201-216. [17] SINGHAL, Akash. (2020, July 05) How shift to e-learning during Covid-19 lockdown will lead to paradigm shift in education. India Today. Retrieved from: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/how-shift-to-e-learning- during-covid-19-lockdown-will-lead-to-paradigm-shift-in-education-1675338-2020-05-07. [18] UNESCO. (2020). International Commission on the Futures of Education. Education in a post- COVID world: Nine ideas for public action. Paris, UNESCO. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373717/PDF/373717eng.pdf.multi [19] VIÑAO, A. (2007). Culturas Escolares Y Reformas (Sobre La Naturaleza Histórica De Los Sistemas E Instituciones Educativas). Revista Teias, 1(2), 25 p.. Retrieved from https://www.e- publicacoes.uerj.br/index.php/revistateias/article/view/23855 [20] YOUNG, M..(2007). Para Que Servem As Escolas? Educação e Sociedade. Campinas, vol. 28, n. 101, p. 1287-1302, set./dez. Retrieved from: http://www.cedes.unicamp.br.

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Resilience of Urban Infrastructures in a Pandemic Scenario

Marta Marçal Gonçalves Civil Engineering Department, Higher Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, Portugal Francisco Villena-Manzanares Design Engineering Department, Higher Polytechnic School, University of Seville, Spain

Abstract Most of the work on resilience of urban infrastructures focuses on their technical performance and reliability in disaster situations. In general, when we link urban infrastructure and Civil Engineering, we think of technology, engineering, constructions and technical or control buildings. In a state of pandemic like the current one, the study of the relationship between urban infrastructures and resilience is a phenomenon scarcely studied in the literature. The main objectives of the article are to analyse, from a Civil Engineering and actors’ perspective, the role and behaviour of urban infrastructures for the maintenance of the wellbeing of the community in a pandemic situation, and to fill a gap in the existing bibliography. The authors argue that the human factor is the most important element for infrastructure to be resilient in a Covid-19 situation. To achieve the objectives, a review of the literature was carried out considering the works published in the last 10 years. Then, a reflection is made about the influence of the resilience in infrastructures during a pandemic situation considering the relevant sustainability factors. As practical implications of this article, the drawn conclusions are expected to represent value for the societies of the future. Keywords: urban infrastructures, resilience, pandemic, civil engineering, sustainability.

Introduction The present work intends to show and to outline how to face the analysis of resilience in a state of global pandemic in critical infrastructures of mobility and transit of passengers and goods, based on a review of the bibliography of the last 10 years. This type of infrastructure is going to be essential to controlling the spread of the disease. Secondly, the dimensions of sustainability in a pandemic situation will be analyzed. As it is intended to focus on the issue of the resilience of the infrastructures named above in a pandemic scenario, sudden disruptions due to structural collapse, earthquake, tsunami or other catastrophic events that may occur simultaneously are not considered. In the case of pandemics, the role of people is central and important. It is the people who operate the urban infrastructure, who remain in their jobs and who keep them up and running.

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When a relationship is made between urban infrastructure and Civil Engineering, common sense leads us to think about technology, engineering and other types of buildings. As a result, most of the work on urban infrastructure resilience focuses on their technical performance in the event of a catastrophe. However, it turns out that, in a pandemic case like the current one, people are the most important element for the whole system to be resilient. Among natural disasters like earthquakes, many of the world's most destructive catastrophes are centered around water, through floods (excess of water in the wrong places); droughts (lack of water in the places where it is needed); contamination (useless or risky water) (Feagan et al., 2019; Fox-Lent & Linkov, 2018; Heinzlef, Becue, & Serre, 2020; Moatty & Reghezza-Zitt, 2019; Rezende, Franco, Oliveira, Jacob, & Miguez, 2019; Sauter, Feldmeyer, & Birkmann, 2019; Vamvakeridou-Lyroudia et al., 2020; Vitale, Meijerink, Moccia, & Ache, 2020). We are currently experiencing an even more destructive catastrophe than the previous ones, since it affects people's health when a society declares a state of health alarm or pandemic. Therefore, critical infrastructures for the mobility and transit of passengers and goods are going to be essential for controlling the spread of the disease. The Royal Spanish Academy defines a pandemic as “an epidemic disease that spreads to many countries or that attacks almost all individuals in a locality or region”; this Academy defines resilience as “the ability of a living being to adapt to a disturbing agent or an adverse state or situation”, or as “the ability of a material, mechanism or system to recover its initial state when it has ceased the disturbance to which he had been subjected”. Urban resilience is based on the conception of the city as a system of systems, a complex entity that, like the human body, needs the different organs to function properly in order to enjoy good health. The Royal Spanish Academy defines infrastructure as “a set of elements, endowments or services necessary for the proper functioning of a country, a city or any organization”; there is currently talk that infrastructure must adapt to the effects of global warming with a view to the societies of the future. The Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Climate Change (Bernstein et al., 2008), in 2007, defined resilience as “the capacity of an ecological or social system capable of absorbing disturbances while maintaining the same structure and basic forms of functioning, the ability to self-organize and the ability to adapt to stresses and changes”. Regarding urban resilience, the most accepted definition (AA.VV., 2020; Masik & Grabkowska, 2020), is the one proposed by Meerow et al. (2016): “urban resilience refers to the ability of an urban system - and all its constituent socio-ecological and sociotechnical networks acrosstemporal and spatial scales - to maintain or rapidly return to desired functions in the face of a disturbance, to adapt to change, and to quickly transform systems that limit current or future adaptive capacity” (Meerow, Newell, & Stults, 2016, pp. 39, 45). To develop resilience in infrastructures, all possible vulnerabilities and risks, whether infrastructural or operational, related to their proper functioning must be identified. Once identified, they would be analyzed and evaluated, through data analysis, projections, modeling and simulations, to establish possible adaptation strategies to apply at the territorial level. Therefore, we can affirm that the meaning of a resilient infrastructure is the one that must be prepared to provide service in any adverse situation. Urban infrastructure is based on different networks that provide citizens with water, energy, transportation, waste management, healthcare, education, and other basic services. These networks that form the urban infrastructure are fundamental for life in modern cities and when these fail, human

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 health, well-being, and the economy are endangered putting consequently the pillars of sustainability at risk. Within urban infrastructures, in this work we will only deal with resilience for critical mobility and transit infrastructures for passengers and goods (elements such as roads, bridges, railway lines, airports and ports) in a pandemic scenario. Infrastructure resilience has been treated in the literature from different aspects, such as from the perspective of terrorism, from the perspective of natural disaster, climate change, etc., but studies of infrastructure resilience from the perspective of a state of a global pandemic such as that currently experienced with Covid-19 are scarce. As we know, humanity requires useful infrastructures and governments need to invest in road works, bridges, railway lines, tunnels, dams and ports, so that they are resilient, and they need to be operational even in situations of sanitary emergency. It is demonstrated that for the proper functioning of an infrastructure in a state of sanitary alarm, collaboration, control and the involvement of the human factor as the main agent (military control, police control, health control, etc.) are essential. Social fear, family recruitment, military and health control mean that infrastructures need to have action plans to have resilience capacity in migratory movements due to the impacts of a health emergency such as the one we are suffering with the Covid-19. Currently, it has been demonstrated that societies must have contingency plans for critical mobility and transit infrastructures for passengers and goods framework, in order to reduce the problems of their use due to the health emergency, and above all to avoid the spread of the illness. Resilience in urban infrastructures in a pandemic scenario Resilience can also be defined as the capacity of a socio-ecological system to anticipate, manage changes and recover from the effects of a disruption when exposed to disturbances and trends, whether economic, environmental, social or political. This can only be achieved by maintaining the long-term absorption, adaptation and transformation capability of the system (Paz, Méndez, & Mukerji, 2017). The literature has generally focused its resilience analyzes on climatic aspects, calling climatic resilience as the combination of absorption, adaptation and transformation capacities, which can be delineated according to the responses to climatic disturbances and stresses that they provide (Giz, 2014; IUCN, 2014). Regarding the above, we define: The absorption capacity of a system, as its capacity to repair or recover from the impacts of negative events using predetermined confront responses in order to preserve and restore basic and essential functions and structures (Béné, Devereux, & Sabates-Wheeler, 2012; Cutter et al., 2008). In short, it can be summarized as the system's response capacity to a threat. The adaptability capacity of a system, such as its capacity to adjust, modify or change its characteristics and actions in order to better respond to existing and future climate shocks and stresses and take advantage of opportunities (Béné et al., 2012; Brooks, 2003; IPCC, 2012). The transformation capacity of a system, such as the capacity to fundamentally change its characteristics and actions when existing conditions become unsustainable in the face of climatic disturbances and stresses (Béné et al., 2012; Walker, Holling, Carpenter, & Kinzig, 2004).

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The previous definitions have been developed in a concept of resilience in infrastructures from a climate change point of view. For example, if we think of a flood-prone area, we should have a levee system. At this point it is worth asking what should the previous capabilities of a mobility infrastructure (absorption, adaptation and transformation) be like if there is a pandemic state? It should be noted that the concept of resilience is still relatively recent in the field of Civil Engineering, which is why many studies are based on and adapt existing definitions (Wang, Xue, Wang, & Zhang, 2018). This did not restrict the attempt to define infrastructure resilience as “the ability to reduce the magnitude and/or duration of disruptive events. The effectiveness of a resilient infrastructure depends upon its ability to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and/or rapidly recover from a potentially disruptive event” (United States National Infrastructure Advisory Council, 2009 apud Quitana, Molinos-Senante, & Chamorro, 2020). If we recall the sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda, the ninth goal marks us: “To develop reliable, sustainable, resilient and quality infrastructures, including regional and cross-border infrastructures, to support economic development and human well-being, with special emphasis on affordable and equitable access for all”. In a pandemic state, human well-being is diminished by the possible threats of contagion that make it possible to spread the disease, which is why we ask ourselves: has it been considered how a system acts in a situation of pandemic state? The answer is obvious, the only responsible for absorbing, adapting and transforming the infrastructure is the human factor together with technology, for migratory control and preventing the spread of the disease. But are the critical infrastructures of mobility and transit of passengers and goods resilient in a pandemic scenario? They can only be resilient if there are people who operate them. In this situation it is important to have assets that immediately replace operators who become ill. Have you ever imagined a metro network where water is continuously pumped so that the network is not flooded? This is a situation that exists in many cities. Without the man, these pumps could still work for a while, but then they would stop. Why? Because there would be no one to operate or repair them. Despite the computerized world in which we live, the human factor remains fundamental. Table 1 compares the actions of resilience of such infrastructures in climate, war and pandemic scenarios. Table 1 – Comparison of actions in infrastructures of mobility and transit of passengers and goods (authors) Critical infrastructure for Climate scenario War scenario Pandemic scenario mobility Roads/Bridges/Tunnels Climate changes due to Alternative route Passenger control Railways/Subways temperature; (temperature Ports Environmental disasters measurement); Airports (example: Sea level rise, Panic room Isolation of affected Rains, Seismic people; problems). Social distance; Border closure; Packaging disinfection points; Cleaning and disinfection; Isolation rooms.

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Ability to absorb, adapt Improvement of the infrastructure’s stability against Human factor and and transform unexpected mechanical actions derived from climatic technology or warlike changes Sustainability in a pandemic scenario The concept of sustainability was first introduced in 1972 at the United Nations (UN) Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm. Later in 1987, most definitions of sustainability established by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, also called the Brundtland Commission), indicate that sustainable development refers to “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (ONU, 1987), being this the definition of sustainable development that has been used by many researchers. The terms sustainability and sustainable development have varied widely over the years (Kaye, Gabriela, & Nijaki, 2012) and both have multiple interpretations and often mean different things to different people (Illankoon, Tam, & Le, 2016). According to Ross (2009), sustainability refers to things that can be done for longer periods without unacceptable consequences. Therefore, the concept of sustainability and resilience are very similar in that they share “enduring time and responding to changes”. Ortiz, Castells & Sonnemann (2009) identified sustainability as a concept to improve the quality of life and, therefore, allow people to live in a healthy environment and improve environmental, economic and social conditions for present and future generations. Weybrecht (2010) defined sustainability as the incorporation of the economy, the environment and equity in political values and objectives. The United Nations indicates three “pillars of sustainability”: economic, social and environmental (ONU, 2002). Akadiri (2011) insists that for a development to be sustainable, social, ecological and economic factors must be considered. Du Plessis (2007) pointed out that the relationship between humans and their environment is determined by a certain number of factors. Therefore, over time, new pillars were added to the three basic pillars, with which sustainable development was fed. To date we can talk about the economic, social, environmental, ecological, technological, competitiveness, equality, eradication of poverty, labor well-being, economic growth, etc. as new pillars of sustainability.

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Figure 8 generically represents the economic and social sustainability of a given country or city with a single curve, environmental sustainability with another curve, and depicts an increasing evolution of the pandemic over a certain period of time. The behavior of economic and social sustainability as the pandemic evolves, decreases due to the lack of social integration of the community affecting the economic cycle of the region. However, by reducing pollution due to a confinement state, environmental sustainability is improved.

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Figure 8 – Evolution of sustainability in a pandemic state (authors)

Conclusions The issue of resilience in a pandemic period has been of fundamental importance in the recent months. This work reflects on the concept of resilience of critical infrastructures for the transit of passengers and goods in times of pandemic. This theme is scarce in the scientific literature, what makes this topic current. It is verified through this review that the resilience of infrastructure in times of health alarm does not depend on the infrastructure itself, since the capacities for adaptation, absorption and transformation go hand in hand with the human factor and technology. It has been verified that the infrastructure needs resilience to control the spread of the disease. Countries should develop contingency plans to evaluate options that allow infrastructure to behave appropriately for migratory transit and for disease control. This study can be used so that stakeholders can make decisions that improve the resilient behavior of cities by optimizing disease control by the human factor and technology at the service of future societies. References [1] AA.VV. (2020). Optimizing community infrastructure. Resilience in the face of shocks and stresses (1st ed.; R. M. Colker, Ed.). Cambridge, EUA: Butterworth- Heinemann/Elsevier. [2] Akadiri, O. P. (2011). Development of a multi-criteria approach for the selection of sustainable materials for building projects. University of Wolverhampton. [3] Béné, C., Devereux, S., & Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2012). Shocks and social protection in the Horn of Africa: analysis from the Productive Safety Net Programme in Ethiopia, IDS (No. 395). Brighton. [4] Bernstein, L., Bosch, P., Canziani, O., Chen, Z., Christ, R., & Riahi, K. (2008). IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Geneva: IPCC. [5] Brooks, N. (2003). Vulnerability, Risk and Adaptation: A Conceptual Framework (No. 38). [6] Cutter, S. L., Barnes, L., Berry, M., Burton, C., Evans, E., Tate, E., & Webb, J. (2008). Based model for understanding community resilience to natural disasters. Global

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Environment Change, 18, 598–606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.07.013 [7] Du Plessis, C. (2007). A strategic framework for sustainable construction in developing countries. Construction Management and Economics, 25(1), 67–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446190600601313 [8] Feagan, M., Matsler, M., Meedow, S., Muñoz-Erickson, T. A., Hobbins, R., Gim, C., & Miller, C. A. (2019). Redesigning knowledge systems for urban resilience. Environmental Science & Policy, 101, 358–363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.07.014 [9] Fox-Lent, C., & Linkov, I. (2018). Resilience matrix for comprehensive urban resiience planning. In Y. Yamagata & A. Sharifi (Eds.), Resilience-oriented urban planning, Lecture Notes in Energy 65 (pp. 29–47). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3- 319-75798-8_2 [10] Giz, N. (2014). Valoración y seguimiento de la resiliencia climática. Bonn. [11] Heinzlef, C., Becue, V., & Serre, D. (2020). A spatial decision support system for enhancing resilience to floods: bridging resilience modelling and geovisualization techniques. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 20, 1049–1068. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-1049-2020 [12] Illankoon, I., Tam, V., & Le, K. (2016). Environmental, Economic , and Social Parameters in International Green Building Rating Tools. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000313 [13] IPCC. (2012). Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (C. B. Field, V. Barros, T. F. Stocker, D. Qin, D. J. Dokken, K. L. Ebi, … P. M. Midgley, Eds.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. [14] IUCN. (2014). A Guiding Toolkit for Increasing Climate Change Resilience. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. [15] Kaye, L., Gabriela, N., & Nijaki, L. K. (2012). Procurement for sustainable local economic development. International Journal of Public Sector Management. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 25(2), 133–153. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513551211223785 [16] Masik, G., & Grabkowska, M. (2020). Practical dimension of urban and regional resilience concepts: a proposal of resilience strategy model. MISCELLANEA GEOGRAPHICA – REGIONAL STUDIES ON DEVELOPMENT, 24(1), 30–34. https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2019-0028 [17] Meerow, S., Newell, J. P., & Stults, M. (2016). Defining urban resilience: a review. Landscape and Urban Planning, 147, 38–49. [18] Moatty, A., & Reghezza-Zitt, M. (2019). Infrastructures critiques, vulnérabilisation du territoire et résilience : assainissement et inondations majeures en Île-de-France. VertigO - La Revue Électronique En Sciences de l’environnement, 18(3). https://doi.org/10.4000/vertigo.23554 [19] ONU. (1987). Desarrollo sostenible. Retrieved July 15, 2020, from Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas website: https://www.un.org/es/ga/president/65/issues/sustdev.shtml

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[20] ONU. (2002). Informe de la Cumbre Mundial sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible. Retrieved from unctad.org/es/Docs/aconf199d20_sp.pdf [21] Ortiz, O., Castells, F., & Sonnemann, G. (2009). Sustainability in the construction industry: A review of recent developments based on LCA. Construction Building Materials, 23(1), 28–39. [22] Paz, O., Méndez, R., & Mukerji, R. (2017). Infraestructura resiliente bajo un enfoque de reducción del riesgo de desastres y adaptación al cambio climático. Marco conceptual. La PAz, Bolívia. [23] Quitana, G., Molinos-Senante, M., & Chamorro, A. (2020). Resilience of critical infrastructure to natural hazards: A review focused on drinking water systems. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 48(paper 101575), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101575 [24] Rezende, O. M., Franco, A. B. R. da C. de, Oliveira, A. K. B. de, Jacob, A. C. P., & Miguez, M. G. (2019). A framework to introduce urban flood resilience into the design of flood control alternatives. Journal of Hydrology, 576, 478–493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.06.063 [25] Ross, A. (2009). Modern interpretations of sustainable development. Journal of Law and Society, 36(1), 32–54. [26] Sauter, H., Feldmeyer, D., & Birkmann, J. (2019). Exploratory study of urban resilience in the region of Stuttgart based on OpenStreetMap and literature resilience indicators. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLII–4(W14), 213–220. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-4-W14-213-2019 [27] Vamvakeridou-Lyroudia, L. S., Chen, A. S., M.Khoury, Gibson, M. J., Kostaridis, A., Stewart, D., … Savic, D. A. (2020). Assessing and visualising hazard impacts to enhance the resilience of Critical Infrastructures to urban flooding. Science of the Total Environment, 707(136078). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136078 [28] Vitale, C., Meijerink, S., Moccia, F. D., & Ache, P. (2020). Urban flood resilience, a discursive-institutional analysis of planning practices in the metropolitan city of Milan. Land Use Policy, 95(104575). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104575 [29] Walker, B., Holling, C. S., Carpenter, S. R., & Kinzig, A. (2004). Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social–ecological systems. Ecology and Society, 9(2), 5. [30] Wang, L., Xue, X., Wang, Z., & Zhang, L. (2018). A unified assessment approach for urban infrastructure sustainability and resilience. Advances in Civil Engineering, 2018(2073968), 19 pages. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/2073968 [31] Weybrecht, G. (2010). The Sustainable MBA: The Manager’s Guide to Green Business. Chichester: Wiley.

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Resilience in Covid-19 Times - Is There a Plan B for the Future? A State of Art

Augusto Renato Pérez Mayo PhD., Research Professor, Autonomous University from the State of Morelos Nohemí Roque Nieto PhD., Professor, Autonomous University from the State of Morelos Fernando Romero Torres PhD., Research Professor, Autonomous University from the State of Morelos Felipe de Jesús Bonilla Sánchez C. PhD., Professor, Autonomous University from the State of Morelos

Abstract There are three concepts represented that prove the possibilities of finding a plan B for humankind towards a pandemic such as Covid-19. Our papers focus in the study for the prove of the organizational ambit in Mexico, where it hasn’t been valued as a way of well-being to fortify people for a pandemic like Covid-19 in the organizations, that is to say, about which should be the Plan B for humankind, schools, universities, media, governments, and other domains. There is literature presented that provides arguments of an emergent and meaningful change in the paradigm of human evolution and other organization during future pandemics. To describe this change of strategy, we revisit Florentino, Ríos, Carrillo and Sacubo, Molina, Castello, Mikulic and Fernández, Palomar, Matus, Victorio among others. In any context where people are developed, they must confront situations that can affect significantly their life dynamics and lose forever the perception of a reality built over years of life, exposing them to risks on their physical, mental and emotional health. It is argued that the reason why organizations are not listening more, about the emergent sociocultural, economic, political, and even philosophical change that Covid-19 has caused. The general idea of a change on an e1mergent paradigm and the next step on the history of humankind is being hatched. Keywords: resilience, organizations, pandemic, emerging plan

Introduction Part I. The problem

1 What is presented here is a state of the art that justifies the presentation of quotations and quotations, which are reflected in the paragraphs that precede or precede them.

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The concept of resilience1 according to diverse perspectives, seen by the Real Academy of the Spanish Language dictionary, comes from the latin word resilie –entis and means “to jump backwards, bounce, fall back” (RAE-ASALE, 2020). Garmezi (1991, p. 459), states that it is “the capacity to recover and maintain an adaptive sanity after being abandoned or the initial capacity to start a stressful event”. Meanwhile Kotliarenco, Caceres and Fontecilla (1997), affirm that: The focus of resilience comes from the premise of being born in poverty, like living in a physiologically insane environment; these are high risk conditions for the mental and physical health for people. Apart from focusing on circuits that maintain on this situation , resilience worries to observe those conditions that could possibly open to a more positive and sane development (1997, pp. 1–2). It is also defined as “the human capacity of confronting, overcome and being strengthened or transformed by the experiences of adversity” (Amar Amar et al., 2013, p. 1). Flores Olvera (2014, p. 7) States that, it is “the potential capacity that an individual has to confront the adversity and keep growing form it”. It also mentions that there exists a phenomenon opposite to resilience known as asiliente anomie that: Is a sick attitude from the individual, a conduct deflected form policy, which characterizes mainly from transforming the real vision from itself, for a wrong vision that proves the incompetence of the individual and their social group to solve problems, to reach optimism and a high life standard, making them to obtain results that are negative to adversity (Flores Olvera, 2013, p. 7). The current pandemic scenario in the world (2020), is a challenge and a threat to the human resistance process in every way: physical and mental. Is a threat for each eight dimensions: confronting, autonomy, self-esteem, awareness, responsibility, hope, sociability, tolerance and frustration. But, do all public and private organizations are taking into consideration of these dimensions? Each one of these are a base of the resilient support of the human being towards these diverse situations. The problem In Mexico, there exists a total population of 126.2 million habitants (World Bank, 2018). according with data provided the 100% of Mexican population have never lived in a pandemic such as we are going through in June 2020, we have never been exposed to family context (house) labor (companies) where there are always contextual and individual problems presented (Maslach et al., 2001) joining the sanitary emergency, Covid-19. In recent studies made June 21th 2020, the Health Secretary of Mexico states that: the quantity of cases in Mexico is 180,545 confirmed, 21,825 deaths (Health Secretary of Mexico, 2020) and in the world there are 8,860,331 confirmed positive cases and 465,740 deaths (WHO, 2020), and to this day there hasn’t been fund a cure or the structural composition of the virus. The lack of investigators in Mexico is still precarious.

1 It is about understanding and putting in due importance a concept of building the capacity for adaptation and recovery of the human being in adverse situations such as economic crises, emotional crises, as a consequence of the current pandemic; as a learning capacity, which should not be understood as a panacea but as an alternative.

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In this Covid-19 situation in many countries, such as Mexico, the answer was to send the population to quarantine and the strategy known as “sana distancia” as better tools to face it; quarantine has been used a long time ago as tool to prevent the possible spread of diseases transmissible among the population. (Barbisch et al., 2015). However, we must consider if the benefits obtained with this mandatory is going to compensate the possible psychological cost during this period (Rubin & Wessely, 2020). During the pandemic process there has not been a word about strategies to fortify resilience for the people. During the period in which people are quarantined in their home, we can appreciate two types of reactions, in one way, it can bring the best of themselves, and in other way, it can present stress, burden and other physiological disorders. (Rubin & Wessely, 2020). In studies recently checked traumatic stress answers were measured in kids and fathers during pandemic disasters, it was found that these quarantine events can be traumatic, accomplishing the criteria to post-traumatic stress disorder. (TEPT) (Sprang & Silman, 2013). It is also important to mention that the economic decay probably will be a problem during quarantine, due to most of the population aren’t allowed to work and have to interrupt their professional activities without a correct planning and their effects can last a long time. In other studies, the economic decay due to quarantine created several symptoms of distress, frustration and violence against the people surrounding each other (sons, wives, mothers and fathers (Pellecchia et al., 2015) and it has been reported as a risky factor for symptoms to physiological disorders, anger and anxiety, even months after the quarantine is ended (Mihashi et al., 2009). In other study based in the reaction of people in quarantine by the Ebola disease, it was found that, even when the participants were granted with an economic subvention, some of them felt that the quantity wasn’t enough and/or came too late for them; due to this, many of them felt affected because they couldn’t cover their current expenses. Many others became economically dependent from their families, generating the possibility of conflicts in this nature (Desclaux et al., 2017). The same thing Mexicans are passing though. This symptom probably happens because those with less income tend to be more affected to a temporal loss of income that those with a higher income. For this, employers should also consider proactive approaches that allow employees to work from home; this is to avoid economic loss and to maintain the proactivity and to be benefited from remote working of the employees.(Manuell & Cukor, 2011). In another study, psychological effects were studied from quarantined people in Toronto, Canada finding a high prevalence of psychological aguish. The symptoms of TETP and depression were found in the 28.9% and the 31.2% of surveyed people, respectively. Longer durations of quarantine were associated with a higher prevalence of symptoms of TEPT. Likewise, the knowledge or direct exposing to someone with a diagnosis of SARS was also associated with TEPT and depressive symptoms. (Hawryluck et al., 2004). Also, in some reports of a study it is stated that negative psychological effects, including posttraumatic stress, confusion, and wrath symptoms. The stressful factors included mayor duration of the quarantine, fears of infection, frustration, boredom, inadequate supplies, incorrect information and financial loss (Bedford et al., 2020).

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On the other side, on previous investigations, people who participated in them state that they perceive deficient information and sometimes deceit from authorities of public health and they turn it in a stress factor, believing that the information isn’t sufficient and unclear to be able to take appropriate actions; such as, some habitants still don’t get the purpose of the quarantine (Braunack-Mayer et al., 2013; Reynolds et al., 2008). Finally, people also informed a perception of a lack of transparency from officer of health and government sectors about the gravity of the pandemic (Braunack-Mayer et al., 2013). Maybe due to the lack of clear patterns or justification for accomplishing quarantine protocols related to posttraumatic stress symptoms (Reynolds et al., 2008). Negative psychological effects both in general population and personal health, that are those who are found in the first line of people who contracted this virus; the main symptoms are posttraumatic stress, confusion, and anger. Stressing factors include the enlargement of the quarantine, fears of infection, frustration, bad temper, aggressiveness, fatigue, boredom, inadequate supplies, incorrect information, and financial loss. Observing this problem from a scientific point of view, we have the perspective of Vincent Larivière, Fei Shu and Cassidy Sugimoto (march, 2020), who mention that important crisis tend to reveal hidden rules from the scientific system, making well-known scientific practices public. The Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) in Mexico and the world, exposed an uncomfortable truth about science: The actual system of academic communication does not satisfy the need of science and society. More specifically, the crisis manifests two inferences in the investigation system: the predetermined value of closed science and the excessive focus on elite publishing, only in English, independently from the context and research consequences. For the case of Mexico, this is not distant, due to the collapsing of the political system, medical staff without knowledge and experience on the treatment of this disease made the sector to have 17% of infections between mayors, nurses, medics and even administrative staff and these, like a snowball, would infect their families and friends. In January 31 of 2020, Wellcome Trust reviewed coronavirus as an “important and urgent threat for global health” and asked for both magazine researchers and their sponsors to “make sure that the results of the investigation and relevant data for this outbreak were shared quickly and openly to inform to public health sectors and save lives”. Partners from this declaration included mayor editorials, such as Elsevier, Springer Nature and Taylor & Francis, such as, many other funders and social academies. Mixed partners of this statement were compromised to make all the investigations and data about the outbreak public immediately: on preprint repositories for articles that haven’t been checked by pairs yet and on platforms of magazines for articles that that have been checked already (Carr, 2020). This is a positive step, but it doesn’t comes far enough to satisfy public needs, because the only thing it did, at least for Mexico, was to liberate and put a direct access to things that have nothing to do with the problem; and to be able to inform and cause awareness at least on people in the academic scope and work as expositors with collaborative tools to reach more citizens from the country or the world. It is true that the documents and chapters from books that have been released for this action represent only a small proportion of literature available about Coronavirus. According to Web of Science (WOS), there have been 13,818 articles published about the Coronavirus topic since the final years of the decade of 1960. More than a half (51.5%) of these articles have a

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 restricted access. Coronavirus is without a doubt a great family of viruses and someone could argue the relevance of older researches on the actual outbreak. However, as an example, three documents about COVID-19 published on the edition of February 15th from The Lancer were based on 69 different documents indexed in WOS, which of 73.2% of them are mixed with 13,818 documents about Coronavirus. The most antique reference in these documents is from 1988; this remarks the fact that, even if Coronavirus can be a novelty, the research about Coronavirus is based on a long queue of literature of research that is often closed. The overlay of this scientific literature on larger investigation flows also highlights the limitations of this approach. The 13,818 articles of coronavirus quote more than 200,000 articles, form virology to cancer and from public health to genetics and heritance (Figure 1). Less than a third of the quoted articles in which “coronavirus articles” obtained information and inspiration were other “coronavirus articles”. Even if all the articles about coronavirus were available, this would not be enough to tackle the crisis, given the intrinsically interdisciplinary nature of the biomedical investigation. The base for the knowledge of the science is just much wider than only one topic. Seeing the literature through a wide lens about coronavirus articles causally related with COVID-19 only blinds the effort of the research for other work that could be crucial.

Figure 1. Percentage of references quoted by works about Coronavirus, by specialty of quoted magazines. Field NSF and subfield classification 1988-2018. But this does not stop there; cures for deceases tend to come from new combinations and knowledge from several investigation areas. If the goal of opening an investigation is to advance in science and serve society, all the investigation must be open, not only a part of it. Not finding elements that allow human resource to heal the wound of losing its loved ones,

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 besides the total confrontment conditions that has caused levels of interfamilial violence or against women or children in the world. The absence of resilience is total in all these articles. Publication incentives are the other controversial element revealed by the actual outbreak. During the last decade, authorities and Chinese institutions, such as the ones in many other countries, have offered a financial direct reward based on the magazine in which researchers publish their work, with the implicit objective to put in a better position their institutions on international classifications. Invariably, publishing on these magazines implies to adjust to a frank language (English) and to publish about topics that matter to most of the guardians of these magazines that are disproportionately from western countries. Meanwhile, a larger diffusion to the scientific community is a more important objective; it should not be at the expense of diffusion to local communities, particularly to those who have a direct connection to the study scope. Due to the payment barriers and the use of English, international magazines tend to be inaccessible to those who are on the first global line of proposing medical attention and elaborating health norms, especially on crisis times. The only researchers that have possibilities of economic support to pay these articles are the ones on hard science and only a small group. The actual outbreak exemplifies this efficiency. In late 2019, the Chinese Center for Control and Decease Prevention (CCDCP) sent a group of experts to Wuhan to recover data about the virus. This was almost three weeks after the first patient presented symptoms and right after the news of human-human transmission on social networks by eight different medics from Wuhan (posteriorly they were accused by police). Researchers analyzed data and the presented their results, including a verification of human-human virus transmission to high- prestige magazines from the west, such as The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), published on January 24th and 29th respectively. On January 20th it was published a public statement, recognizing the transmission form human to human.

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Figure 2. Number of articles about decease surveillance posted by Chinese investigators on international magazines (WOS) and on national magazines (CNKI). After the pandemic of SARS in 2003, the importance of the investigation about decease surveillance in China has exponentially increased In response to this, the Chinese government stipulated that financed projects about coronavirus, including the ones with new initiative 1.5M from the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), should be published in local Chinese magazines instead of international ones and the emphasis should be for controlling the virus and saving lives. This suggests recognition from part of the Chinese government that the focus of publishing on elite magazines did not provide a convenient way of spreading results. Besides, the Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) emitted a mixed statement that required that universities and research institutions should limit the use of SCI documents, just like related indicators (for example, JIF, ESI, etc.) on investigation evaluation. MoST also stipulated that the number of documents cannot be used as key criteria for evaluating the development of the investigation and has prohibited the use of cash policies per publishing. All these initiatives point to a subjacent truth: prioritizing indicators about a sudden deliver for results to relevant communities is not the best for society. Signatories to the declaration of agree to follow these principles not only for the actual outbreak, but also for every situation in the future “wherever there is a significant benefit for public health when guaranteeing that the data is shared in a quick and long way” (Carr, 2020). This statement establishes a direct link between public health and the trade of results for the investigation: explicitly arguing that walls and embargos from magazines are an obstacle for science and as a result they´re a threat for public health. However, it also states the question: Where is the line of what constitutes a "public health benefit" drawn? In the last five months, the Center for Decease Control of the United States estimated that there was between 18,000 and 46,000 deaths related to the flu. Isn't there benefit for public health at doing public, or any type of research that can accelerate biomedical discovery and save lives? In Mexico it has been all the opposite, only financing is given for paying articles on international magazines that belong to the Scopus Sources y Master Journal List companies – WoS. Es por ello por lo que hacemos un llamado a la comunidad científica (editores, financiadores y sociedades) para que se mantengan fieles a su palabra. It is necessary to quickly share the investigation to inform the public and save lives. We applause the job that it is being done through this crisis, we hope for this moment to serve as a catalyst for change. Trump´s administration in the United States, for example, is considering an executive order that makes every financed study by the federal government to free to read at publishing. On the same way, the coalition of funders from the Plan S have been opposed by many of the signatories from the Wellcome Trust declaration. This is a blatant contradiction. The signatories of the declaration from Wellcome Trust must extend their principles to cover all their practices: make the investigation to be available immediately and incentivize scientific communication to all the people who are interested. The scientific answer to Covid-19 has proven some of the benefits for opening the scientific system, including the torrent of documents that are shared immediately on preprint servers, the open collaboration and the discussion of scientist that use platforms such as social networks and the accelerated modeling of viral genomes. However, this would be in vane if the scientific system does not change. It is

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 essential to recognize what is clear during these times of crisis: a robust scientific system and an informed citizenship requires immediate access and public to the research. The review from the State of Art for the impact of Covid-19 does not show a resilient program at all as alternative, neither as plan B for future world pandemics. Fairly. Part ll. On why resilience as a key factor for the future of human resource towards a pandemic According to verified national and international investigations, resilience has been brought, but focused around kids, young people, and women in a situation of vulnerability, poverty, violence, and educational context, but not for phenomenon like pandemics, Covid-19. More recent studies focused around resilience have been accomplished on an international ambit with a quantity focus and a correlational scope. Meneghel, Salanova and Martínez (2013), launch new study challenges of resilience in a labor context in which it remarks the necessity of studies with a focus on resilience at an organizational level, social level, group and individual. Therefore, the current investigation centers around contributing new discoveries that enrich previous works by other investigations focused on organizational resilience through the reinforcement of resilience on individuals, on institutions for future pandemics. Resilience as a key factor for future projects for human resources from global nations Resilience background Studies of resilience appear around the 70´s, their study isn’t simple, due to the diversity of context, focuses, methodologies and several studies; but it is important to expand the knowledge about this phenomenon because it is actually primordial that human beings reinforce their capacities, resources and individual competences for confronting future world pandemics. The conceptual study of resilience generated some attention and has been studied by several disciplines in the last years and decades, like the case of social and human sciences, therefore: It is recognized as a valued perspective for its possible applications in the fields of health, prevention and education; as well as a theoretical input for the elaboration of strategies to develop from the school, family and community ambit oriented to recover health, dignity and human condition (Fiorentino, 2008, p. 96) Resilience has been investigated by researchers under different approaches: 50s: Researchers focused their attention on how young people were able to survive and overcome adverse extreme situations such as poverty or abuse from a mentally sick parent, additional to the presence or absence of intrinsic qualities such as temper that acts with the social environment of a young person. (Anthony, 1987 quoted by Flores Olvera, 2013, p. 9) 80´s: “studied the process and mechanism of protection involved emerging from resilience on a natural way. Arguing that resilience must be understood as a dynamic interaction between an individual and its environment.” (Rutter, 1987 quoted by Flores Olvera, 2013, p.9; 2014, p.9). Late 20th century: “researchers focused in actives on people, arguing that positive development, coping and resilience are present among those who have enough for both

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 internal and external resources“(Lerner & Benson, 2003 quoted by Flores Olvera, 2013, p.9; 2014, p.9). 21st century: There is a fourth wave on this decade that it is extending the discussion, arguing that the way in which we are understanding resilience currently is being is discursively negotiated and influenced by culture and the context in it. (Boyden & Mann, 2005 quoted byr Flores Olvera, 2013, p.9; 2014, p.9). Besides focusing around the social resilience factor for helping others in cases such as pandemics like Covid-19 Professionals that have been interested or integrated to resilience studies are “sociology, administration, social psychology, neuroscience, anthropology and genetics”. However, “additionally there already are international organizations involved in the investigation and promotion of resilience, such as: UNICEF, CEPAL, World Bank, LAC and others on England and USA” (Flores Olvera, 2013, p. 10, 2014, p. 9). Part 3. Evolution and identified factors on resilience studies throughout time During the development of resilience studies there have been found a considerable number of related factors with it, among which vulnerable groups are highlighted, such as kids, teenagers, and women. It is also related with temper, family, community, environment, social support, self-esteem, dynamism and perseverance, adaptation, interaction, abilities, intelligence, context, Puig and Rubio (2013), do a line of time where they prove the concept of resilience and identify associated factors with it, just as shown in Table 1. Table 1. Conceptualization of resilience and associated factors Author Year Concept of Resilience Identified factors Werner and 1982 “History of successful adaptations “Being a woman, physically strong, Smith on an individual that has been socially responsible, adaptable, exposed to biological factors of risk tolerant, oriented towards concrete or stressful events in life” (Puig and goals, good communicators and a Rubio, 2013). good level of self-esteem, helpful environment and caring in and out of the family” (Puig and Rubio, 2013). Garmezy 1991 “Capacity to recover and maintain “Temperament and attributes (level an adaptive conduct after of activity, reflexive capacity, abandonment and/or initial cognitive abilities, and responsibility incapacity when a stressful event towards others)” (Puig and Rubio, occurs” (Puig and Rubio, 2013). 2013). “Families (affection, cohesion and the presence of some adult care)” (Puig and Rubio, 2013). “Availability of social support (substitute mother, interested professor, help from an organization, etc)” (Puig and Rubio, 2013). Rutter 1992 “Mix of social and intrapsychic “Being a woman, good processes that bring the possibility temperament, positive school of having a “sane” life living on an environment, self-control, self- “insane” environment. These efficacy, planning skills and a close processes would have a place personal relationship, warm and

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thought time, giving lucky mixes stable at least with one adult” (Puig between kid attributes and their and Rubio, 2013). familiar, social and cultural environment” (Puig and Rubio, 2013). Kumpfer and 1993 “It develops through interaction with Optimism Hopkins the environment” (Puig and Rubio, Empathy 2013). Insight Intelectual competence Self-esteem Direction or Mission Determinism and perseverance. Kumpfer, 1998 “Capacity to recover from traumatic “People with resilience tend to Szapocznick, events in life” (Puig and Rubio, consume less and have a better Catalano, 2013). adaptive level” (Puig and Rubio, Clayton, “Ability to resist chronic stress” 2013). Liddle, (Puig and Rubio, 2013). Mcmahon, Millman, Orrego, Rinehart, Smith, Spot and Steele Azjen 1998 “The construct of resilience could be a previous element, equivalent or similar to perceived conducted control, or to other constructs such as Bandura´s self-efficacy” (Puig and Rubio, 2013).

Braverman 1999 “Successful adaptation to exposition “We don’t know if we should for significant stressors or other consider resilience as a simple risks. For him, resilience would phenomenon, specific from the explain us why a person consumes individual or as a group of or not in a specific moment.” (Puig phenomena that can be studied and Rubio, 2013). more independently in different areas” (Puig and Rubio, 2013). Masten 1999 “Feature relatively global from the “Morrison, Storino, Robertson, personality that allows a person to a Weissglas, Dondero” (Puig and better adaptation to life” (Puig and Rubio, 2013). Rubio, 2013). Morrison, 2000 “Is the great macro factor of Storino, protection that covers all the others Robertson, “(Puig and Rubio, 2013). Weissglas and Dondero Becoña 2002 “Strategy of confrontment, ability to solve problems and self-regulating” (Puig and Rubio, 2013). Luthar and 2003 “Is should be considered as a “It is going to depend on the Zelazo process or phenomenon, not as a interaction of the individual with his feature. It is modifiable not static” most immediate environment” (Puig (Puig and Rubio, 2013). and Rubio, 2013).

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Fergusson and 2003 “It explains the adaptation of people “The factors that take you to Horwood that have passed through tough or resilience are: intelligence and skill traumatic situations during their during problem solving” (Puig and infancy” (Puig and Rubio, 2013). Rubio, 2013). Fergus and 2005 “There are three models of “The community organization is a Zimmerman resilience identified: compensatory, central element to produce protective and challenging” (Puig resilience for those who are at risk” and Rubio, 2013). (Puig and Rubio, 2013). Grotberg 2006 “Capacity of the human being to Source of resilience: face the adversities in life, I am overcome them and even being I have transformed by them” (Puig y I can Rubio, 2013). Triadic Model. Source: Puig and Rubio (2013, pp. 40–43). State of art in resilience. Studies of resilience at an international level There exists a multidisciplinary of studies related with resilience at an international level, this is why through Table 2, we will detail different approaches for these and the design for being able to have an analysis on more common studies about resilience. Table 2. International studies of resilience Author/Year/ Focus Type of Design of Instrument Results Country/Keyword investigatio investigatio s n n Ríos, Carrillo and Resilience, Quantitative Transversal/ Connor- (+) resilience Sabuco (2012). burnout and Descriptive/ Davidson (-) Murcia, España. sociodemographi Correlational Resilience emotional Keywords: c variables in Scale (CD- fatigue and Resilience nursing students. RISC) mayor Burnout Where the levels personal of the two first fulfillment variables and the variables of the Levels of sociodemographi Burnout: c samples were 28% studied emotional fatigue 19% cynicism Molina, (2013). Resilience and Quantitative Transversal/ Connor- (+) resilience San Juan, Burnout in a Descriptive Davidson (-) Levels of Argentina. public hospital Resilience Burnout Keywords: from Argentina in Scale (CD- (+) resilience Resilience the urgency area RISC). (-) Emotional Burnout (relation between fatigue and resilience and (+) Personal burnout and the fulfillment association of these phenomenons

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with sociodemographi c variables and lifestyles). Castello (2003). Resilience from a Theoretical Revision There exist (+) resilience Argentina. systemic focus and four bases to (+) for the Quantitative build Adjustment development of Variables: organizationa to the human resources Shock, l resilience, context and and organization. paralysis, according to insecurity of denial, wrath, Castello: the depression, Future goals environment rationalizatio Confronting (-) n and reality Assimilation acceptance exploration of of total and meaning process, compromise Capacity of (+) realizing Treatment things with regression elements and near our reduction approach. Mikulic and Philological Quali- Empirical Interview Need of Fernández (2005) strength in Quantitative and structured to inclusion of Buenos Aires, children and International descriptive review the Argentina. teenagers sample 44 exploratory strengths in psychologica Keywords: participants children and l evaluation Psychological between 10 teenagers in the Evaluation, and 18 years context of Strengths, old. children and Children, teenagers Teenagers and because it Resilience. provides them strength and sense of protection. Canaval, González Spirituality and Quantitative Correlational. Resilience (+) and Sánchez resilience on sample on Scale (RS) of Spirituality (2007). abused women purpose: 100 (Wagnild and (+) Cali, Colombia. that file a women Young), with Resilience Keywords: complaint on between 18 25 items. Women health, their situation of and 65 years Spiritual violence in relationship old, that file perspective relationships, violence a complaint scale of abuse women, on situations Reed, with spirituality, and of 10 items. resilience relationship violence Source: Self-made elaboration from Ríos Rísquez (2012), Molina Collon (2013), Mikulic and Fernández (2006) and Canaval, González and Sánchez (2007).

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Studies of resilience in Mexico In Mexico there exist multiple studies about resilience, just as it is shown on Table 3: Table 3. National studies of resilience Author/Year Focus Method Scope of Instrument Results Investigation González Resilience in Quantitative Transversal Resilience (+) Resilience Arratia, 200 Young questionary on men with Valdez Mexican (Strength and independent Medina, and people personal features, on Zavala Borja security of their part (2008). González- women need an Tepic, Arratia and external backup Nayarit. ValdezMedina to be resilient México. (2005). Keywords: Resilience and Resilience questionary Gaxiola, Resilience Quantitative Transversal The scale (+) resilience González influence, Internal about goals for (+) academic and goals, and variables: teenagers performance Contreras social context goals and (Sanz de prediction, (2012). in the resilience Acedo, Ugarte during school Hermosillo, academic External and goals. Sonora. performance variables: Lumbreras, Keywords: of high school risky 2003). Resilience, (96 young neighborhood Inventory of Academic Mexican and risky Resilience performance people). friends. (IRES) and High (Gaxiola, Frías, School Hurtado, Salcido and Figueroa 2011). Palomar, What is Quantitative Transversal Connor- (+) Strength: Matus and resilience of Davidson Locus internal Victorio extreme Resilience control, (2013). poverty from Scale (Connor motivation till Urban areas the center of and Davidson, achievement near the Mexico made 2003). and direct Federal of? (sample confronting District. 913 people) (+) Confronting of adverse conditions González- Knowing the Quantitative Transversal Resiliance High level of Arratia, features of questionary resilience at the Valdéz- resilience in (González three Medina, children in a Arratia, Valdez, dimensions of Pasa-Flores poverty and Salazar the instrument: and situation of a 1. internal

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González- rural comunity 2006) (32 protective Escobar (100 children, replies). factors (2009). 50 men and 2. external Mexico 50 women) protective State factors Keywords: 3. empathy Resilience, Poverty and Children Source: Self-made elaboration from the literature (Gaxiola Romero et al., 2012; González Arratia López Fuentes et al., 2008; González-Arratia López et al., 2012; Salgado Arteaga et al., 2018). Merton´s Model: The Pygmalion effect We individuals coexist day to day with other people and we need their trust and acceptance, it is because of this that Merton (1964) named Pygmalion effect to obtained results on the behavior of an individual, derived from the expectations and opinion from other people. This means that, the individual will obtain mediocre results, if other people treat him with mistrust and devalue. Meanwhile, if this situation is opposite, and the individual is treated with trust and value, then the results of the individual work would increase drastically. Coming from Merton contributions (1964), it is detached that the trust that other people have on an individual, will reinforce it to achieve goals with a mayor complexity and this is very important, given that all the individuals need in one way or another is support and acceptance of others to be able to potentiate our capabilities and hidden abilities. In the world we are living on we face a lot of challenges; therefore, a resilient culture must be constructed, in which values, respect, dignity, triumph, and happiness are always available. Resilience isn’t static, it is dynamic and if it isn’t feed, it can even die; it is true that when an individual is born it is resilient, but if this resilience doesn’t have a continuous feedback it tends to die and turn itself in an opposite phenomenon called asilient anomie. It is very important to have a “positive vision for the future of mankind” (Flores Olvera, 2013, p. 16), however, this is a hard task from all of the contexts in which the individual develops itself. High executives, leaders, teachers, instructors, and bosses must focus in creating a chain effect in resilience constructing and not only individual, but social in ways of strength for facing tough situations. In the world there exists: “pessimism, depression, suicide, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, drug abuse, violence, this is nothing new or unknown among employees, students and families from Mexico” (Flores Olvera, 2013, p. 16), this is why asilient anomie must be eliminated and we must promote the strength resilience to build an environment of peace, wellness, mental health and productivity in every context where the individual interacts. Shakespeare's Principle Model When people have positive and negative aspects that a daily effect on them, in one way or another, this phenomenon is known as Shakespeare’s principle and it refers to the actions both negative and positive that increase or decrease levels of resilience from individuals (Flores Olvera, 2013) this effect is known as filling or empting an internal tank for a person. Depending on their age is how can someone fill or empty Shakespeare´s tank, and it is because the importance of knowing what activities help us to feed back the resilience levels on people to strength them on environments where they are developed.

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Plan B Now we detail the actions from the government or national, regional, and global leaderships that could be done in an articulated way: Create comprehensive programs about friendship. Create comprehensive programs about teamwork, group activities, the feeling of belonging in a social group, the celebrating the achievement of another person, listening to others, to actively participate in social events not only from work if not from citizens; if these are efficient they will have positive effects on citizens such as high levels of security, self-esteem, optimism, hope, happiness and creativity. Comprehensive programs that encourage in an individual and positive way to elevate individual resilience levels: practicing sports, coexist with nature and other people, having an active social life, having presence on social networks with the intention of receiving positive actions from other people, having at least one clear and precise goal in life, planning short or medium term goals, having osseous and fun times (camping, board games, going to parties, healthy activities, singing, hobbies), having a pet, being thankful and giving others positive actions. Create a program to release data bases or payment repositories where they keep more recent investigations about pandemics for all the academics to be popularizers in every part of the country for educating during pandemics. Integrate a subject or seminary on curriculums of elementary, middle, and high schools and colleges to be transversal for studying. Append the organizational learning Theory to study the phenomenon of resilience in human resources on organizations in every postgraduate existing in the world. Build a model of resilience culture specifically for future pandemics. Create recruitment and selection models for all the public and private organizations it the world that from the beginning start to apply instrument for measuring their capacity of resilience, and from there. Create an institutional entertaining program. Create in a permanent way investigation programs that not only study from the medical perspective, if not organizational and administrative, the impact of pandemics on organizations.

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1. Confrontment: successful resolution of conflicts or complex situations 8. Tolerance to frustration: action or effect of 2. Autonomy: overtaking or resisting independence of a person opinions, beliefs or in relation to another one practices from other or to its fears with some individuals contrary or grade of liberty different from ours.

7. Sociability: having good 3. Self-esteem: relations with other people Variables to study from Self-evaluation or based in the kindness and resilience in human judgment of personal good intentions to resources values or towards other contribute to its wellness individual

6. Hope: 4. Awareness: is to have trust, knowing the internal and expectative, wishes and external reality of the beliefs in goals and changing and dinamic possibilities environment 5. Responsibility: accepting the consequences for decisions taken previously in a free way

Figure 3. Methodological model for studying social resilience. Source: self-made elaboration from Flores Olvera (2014). Conclusion The present pandemic scenario in the world (2020), is a challenge and threatens the human resistance process in every way; physical and mental. This threat affects eight dimensions in the life of a human being: confrontment, autonomy, self-esteem, awareness, responsibility, hope, sociability, tolerance to frustration and life. But, do private and public organizations are aware of these dimensions? Every, and each of them are the resilient base for the human towards adverse situations. Given this, we expose the results found in the literature: In this Covid-19 situation in many countries, such as Mexico, the answer was to send the population to quarantine and the strategy known as “sana distancia” as better tools to face it; quarantine has been used a long time ago as tool to prevent the possible spread of diseases transmissible among the population. About the costs to consider regarding this strategy (obligatory on quarantine): economic decay, as a consequence, millions of people lost their jobs; serious feelings of anguish, frustration and violence against people that live in their environment (sons, couples, parents), psychological effects of high prevalence such as anguish; negative psychological effects, including symptoms of posttraumatic stress, confusion and anger. High duration stressing factors like: fear of virus exposition, contagion, disappointment, tedium, alimentary insecurity, inadequate information, financial loss. Lack of strategies and projects for resilient strength of people.

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Deficient information perception and sometimes misleading from part of authorities from public health or government. Uncertainty was also present from part of officials from health and government about the severity of the pandemic. The pandemic has put in evidence the deficiency of the scientific system in the world and even more in Mexico. These important crises tend to reveal hidden norms in the scientific system, making well-known practices from science public. The coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) in Mexico and the world exposes an uncomfortable truth: that the actual academic communication system does not satisfy all the needs for science and society. Two inefficiencies are revealed in the investigation system: the predetermined value of closed science and the excessive emphasis on elite publishing, only in English, independently from the context and the consequences of the research. In Mexico´s case, this is not weird, due to the political system collapsing, medical staff without the knowledge and experiencing on this virus treatment made this sector to have 17% of infected people among managers, nurses, medics and even administrative staff (Health Secretary of Mexico, 2020) and they infected their families and friends just as a snowball. Obligatoriness proposed by the declaration of the Wellcome Trust about dominant editors like Elsevier, Springer Nature and, Taylor & Francis was necessary, and as funders and academic societies; to compromise to make every investigation and data about the outbreak public immediately: on preprints repositories for those articles that haven’t been checked by pairs yet, and on magazine platforms for those articles that were already checked. Signatories from the Wellcome Trust agreed on keeping these principles not only for the actual outbreak but for every other situation were “there in a significant benefit for public health by guaranteeing that data is shared on a wide and quick way” (Carr, 2020). This is a positive step, but not enough to satisfy public needs, because the only thing it did, at least for Mexico, was to liberate and give open access to collections that doesn’t have anything to do with the problem; which limits the ability to inform and aware people form the academic ambit at least and work as expositors with collaborative tools to reach more citizens from countries and the world. A scientific community call must be done (editors, funders, and society) for maintaining true to its words. The statement from The Wellcome Trust is incorrect: it is necessary to quickly share the investigation for saving lives and informing the public. Even though we applaud the job that is being done in this crisis, we hope for this moment to work as a catalyst for change. The documents and chapters from books that have been released over this action represent just a small portion of the literature available about coronavirus. According to the Web of Science (WoS), there have been 13,818 articles published about the coronavirus topic since the end of the 1960 decade. More than the half (51.5%) of these articles remain closed for the public to read. Publication incentives are the other controversial element revealed by the actual outbreak. During the last decade, authorities and Chinese institutions, such as the ones in many other countries, have offered a financial direct reward based on the magazine in which researchers publish their work, with the implicit objective to put in a better position their institutions on international classifications. Invariably, publishing on these magazines implies to adjust to a frank language (English) and to publish about topics that matter to most of the guardians of these magazines, that are disproportionately from western countries

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Meanwhile, a larger diffusion to the scientific community is a more important objective; it should not be at the expense of diffusion to local communities, particularly to those who have a direct connection to the study scope. Due to the payment barriers and the use of English, international magazines tend to be inaccessible to those who are on the first global line of proposing medical attention and elaborating health norms, especially on crisis times. The only researchers that have possibilities of economic support to pay these articles are the ones on hard science and only a small group. The actual coronavirus outbreak exemplifies this efficiency. In late 2019, the Chinese Center for Control and Decease Prevention (CCDCP) sent a group of experts to Wuhan to recover data about the virus. This was almost three weeks after the first patient presented symptoms and right after the news of human-human transmission on social networks by eight different medics from Wuhan (posteriorly they were accused by police). Researchers analyzed data and the presented their results, including a verification of human-human virus transmission to high-prestige magazines from the west, such as The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), published on January 24th and 29th respectively. On January 20th it was published a public statement, recognizing the transmission form human to human. In response to this, the Chinese government stipulated that financed projects about coronavirus, including the ones with new initiative 1.5M from the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), should be published in local Chinese magazines instead of international ones and the emphasis should be for controlling the virus and saving lives. This is something that most of the countries never did, and even less in Latin America. The signatories of the declaration from Wellcome Trust must extend their principles to cover all their practices: make the investigation to be available immediately and incentivize scientific communication to all the people who are interested. The scientific answer to Covid-19 has proven some of the benefits for opening the scientific system. The review from the State of Art for the impact of Covid-19 does not show a resilient program at all as alternative, neither as plan B for future world pandemics. Fairly. According to verified national and international investigations, resilience has been brought, but focused around kids, young people, and women in a situation of vulnerability, poverty, violence, and educational context, but not for phenomenon like pandemics, Covid-19. More recent studies focused around resilience have been accomplished on an international ambit with a quantity focus and a correlational scope. Thus, there is the necessity for creating a global model, International, regional, or local of resilience for citizens. It is affirmed that it is the capacity for recovering and maintaining and adaptive behavior after being abandoned or the initial incapacity to start an stressing event, it is true people with less capacity for recovering or maintaining and adaptive behavior are the ones that have less economic or material resources. It is June 28th, 2020, and the present effects from Covid-19 exist, people are still getting infected and dying, and new psychological effects are being born. What awaits us without a Plan B? What awaits us without a Resilient Plan? The impact of the pandemic remains among us, what remains to come is the subjective and intersubjective impact on the human being, and the intervention of organizations, public and private, is not notable.

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References [1] Amar Amar, J., Martínez González, M., & Utria Utria, L. (2013). New approach to health considering the resilience. Revista Salud Uninorte, 29(1), 124–133. http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0120- 55522013000100014&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=es [2] Anthony, E. J. (1987). Risk, vulnerability, and resilience: An overview. The invulnerable child, 3–48. [3] Banco Mundial. (2018). Indicadores del desarrollo mundial—Google Public Data Explorer. https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sp_pop_t otl&idim=country:MEX&hl=es&dl=es [4] Barbisch, D., Koenig, K. L., & Shih, F.-Y. (2015). Is There a Case for Quarantine? Perspectives from SARS to Ebola. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 9(5), 547–553. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2015.38 [5] Bedford, J., Enria, D., Giesecke, J., Heymann, D. L., Ihekweazu, C., Kobinger, G., Lane, H. C., Memish, Z., Oh, M.-D., Sall, A. A., Schuchat, A., Ungchusak, K., Wieler, L. H., & WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Infectious Hazards. (2020). COVID-19: Towards controlling of a pandemic. Lancet (London, England), 395(10229), 1015– 1018. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30673-5 [6] Boyden, J., & Mann, G. (2005). Children’s Risk, Resilience, and Coping in Extreme Situations. En Handbook for Working with Children and Youth: Pathways to Resilience across Cultures and Contexts (pp. 3–26). SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412976312 [7] Braunack-Mayer, A., Tooher, R., Collins, J. E., Street, J. M., & Marshall, H. (2013). Understanding the school community’s response to school closures during the H1N1 2009 influenza pandemic. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 344. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-344 [8] Canaval, G. E., & Sánchez, M. O. (2007). Espiritualidad y resiliencia en mujeres maltratadas que denuncian su situación de violencia de pareja. Colombia Médica, 38, 7. [9] Carr, D. (2020). Sharing research data and findings relevant to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Wellcome. https://wellcome.ac.uk/coronavirus-covid- 19/open-data [10] Desclaux, A., Badji, D., Ndione, A. G., & Sow, K. (2017). Accepted monitoring or endured quarantine? Ebola contacts’ perceptions in Senegal. Social Science & Medicine, 178, 38–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.02.009 [11] Fiorentino, M. T. (2008). La Construcción De La Resiliencia En El Mejoramiento De La Calidad De Vida Y La Salud. Suma Psicológica, 15(1), 95–113. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=134212604004

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[12] Flores Olvera, D. (2013). La resiliencia nómica mejor ambiente educativo, familiar, escolar y comunitario. Una nueva realidad de la familia (Primera). Instituto Internacional de Investigación para el Desarrollo. [13] Flores Olvera, D. (2014). La Resiliencia nómica. Un mejor desempeño en el afrontamiento de adversidades más exigentes. Para lograr una vida más satisfactoria. (Primera). Instituto Internacional de Investigación para el Desarrollo. [14] Garmezy, N. (1991). Resilience in children’s adaptation to negative life events and stressed environments. Pediatric Annals, 20(9), 459–460, 463–466. https://doi.org/10.3928/0090-4481-19910901-05 [15] Gaxiola Romero, J. C., González Lugo, S., & Contreras Hernández, Z. G. (2012). Influencia de la resiliencia, metas y contexto social en el rendimiento académico de bachilleres. Revista electrónica de investigación educativa, 14(1), 165–181. [16] González Arratia López Fuentes, N. I., Valdez Medina, J. L., & Zavala Borja, Y. C. (2008). Resiliencia en adolescentes mexicanos. Enseñanza e investigación en psicología, 13(1). [17] González-Arratia López, N. I., Valdez Medina, J. L., Oudhof van Barneveld, H., & González Escobar, S. (2012). Resiliencia y factores protectores en menores infractores y en situación de calle. Psicología y salud, 22(1), 49–62. [18] Hawryluck, L., Gold, W. L., Robinson, S., Pogorski, S., Galea, S., & Styra, R. (2004). SARS Control and Psychological Effects of Quarantine, Toronto, Canada. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 10(7), 1206–1212. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1007.030703 [19] Kotliarenco, M. A., Cáceres, I., & Fontecilla, M. (1997). Estado de arte en resiliencia. Organización Panamericana de la salud. [20] Lerner, R. M., & Benson, P. (Eds.). (2003). Developmental Assets and Asset-Building Communities: Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice. Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0091-9 [21] Manuell, M.-E., & Cukor, J. (2011). Mother Nature versus human nature: Public compliance with evacuation and quarantine. Disasters, 35(2), 417–442. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2010.01219.x [22] Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job Burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 397–422. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397 [23] Meneghel, I., Salanova, M., & Martínez, I. M. (2013). El camino de la Resiliencia Organizacional—Una revisión teórica. 31(2), 13–24. http://www.want.uji.es/wp- content/uploads/2017/02/2013_Meneghel-Salanova-Mart%C3%ADnez.pdf [24] Merton, R. K. (1964). Anomie, Anomia and Social Interaction. Contexts of Deviant Behavior. Free Press. [25] Mihashi, M., Otsubo, Y., Yinjuan, X., Nagatomi, K., Hoshiko, M., & Ishitake, T. (2009). Predictive factors of psychological disorder development during recovery following SARS outbreak. Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 28(1), 91—100. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013674

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[26] Mikulic, I. M., & Fernández, G. L. (2006). Importancia de la evaluación psicológica de las fortalezas en niños y adolescentes Adolescents and children strengths psychological assessment importance. Anuario de Investigaciones, 13(unknown), 279–287. [27] Molina Collon, M. D. (2013). Resiliencia y burnout en trabajadores de urgencias de un hospital público de San Juan, Argentina. V Congreso Internacional de Investigación y Práctica Profesional en Psicología, 4. [28] Pellecchia, U., Crestani, R., Decroo, T., Bergh, R. V. den, & Al-Kourdi, Y. (2015). Social Consequences of Ebola Containment Measures in Liberia. PLOS ONE, 10(12), e0143036. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143036 [29] Puig, G., & Rubio, J. L. (2013). Manual de resiliencia aplicada. Profesorado, Revista de Currículum y Formación del Profesorado, 17(2), Article 2. https://recyt.fecyt.es/index.php/profesorado/article/view/42100 [30] RAE-ASALE. (2020). Resiliencia. En «Diccionario de la lengua española»—Edición del Tricentenario. https://dle.rae.es/resiliencia [31] Reynolds, D. L., Garay, J. R., Deamond, S. L., Moran, M. K., Gold, W., & Styra, R. (2008). Understanding, compliance and psychological impact of the SARS quarantine experience. Epidemiology and Infection, 136(7), 997–1007. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268807009156 [32] Ríos Rísquez, M. I., Carrillo García, C., & Sabuco Tebar, E. (2012). Resiliencia y Síndrome de Burnout en estudiantes de enfermería y su relación con variables sociodemográficas y de relación interpersonal. International Journal of Psychological Research, 5(1), 88–95. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=5134686 [33] Rubin, G. J., & Wessely, S. (2020). The psychological effects of quarantining a city. BMJ, 368. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m313 [34] Rutter, M. (1987). Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms. American journal of orthopsychiatry, 57(3), 316–331. [35] Salgado Arteaga, A., Salgado Arteaga, D. B., Pérez Mayo, A. R., & Vallejo Trujillo, L. S. (2018). Resilience and Organizations: A State of the Art. Journal of Human Resource and Sustainability Studies, 6(2), 194–209. https://doi.org/10.4236/jhrss.2018.62037 [36] Secretaría de Salud. (2020, junio 21). COVID-19 Tablero México. COVID - 19 Tablero México. http://datos.covid-19.conacyt.mx/index.php [37] Sprang, G., & Silman, M. (2013). Posttraumatic stress disorder in parents and youth after health-related disasters. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 7(1), 105–110. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2013.22 [38] WHO. (2020, junio 22). WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard. World Healt Organization. https://covid19.who.int/

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Strong Organizational Culture – An Effective Tool for Companies to Survive in a Pandemic World

Nino Zarnadze, Assosiate Proffesor, Caucasus International University Tea Kasradze, Professor, Caucasus International University

Abstract Recent events related to COVID-19 have shown that many companies are on the edge of crisis. The unpredictable situation in the world has given rise to a new phobia in people: the inability to control one’s life, the unpredictability of the future, anxiety for physical and financial well-being, fear of losing a job. The incident caused a state of mental and post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other nervous diseases. These processes are particularly crucial in developing countries, where managers and staff of the companies have failed to collaborate and work coherently during the crisis. In many cases splitting of workforce and top-level management took place. Although people’s engagement has grown caused by fears of job losses, the decision makers has often abused the current situation: reducing wages, increasing work time and intensity, and treating staff unethically. In our view, this separation will deepen in the post-pandemic period especially in the organizations that do not have an organizational culture. Organizational culture is the most important tool for regulating interaction in a group, a lever for increasing the efficiency and productivity of its members. Forming a culture in an organization, we create thinking architecture, a common psychology and value system that creates physical changes in the brain. All that we believe in, what we strive for, all the actions that we physically perform over a long period of time, our goals and objectives, ideas, values and traditions that we follow form our brain. In this research the impact of the pandemic on the staff coherency, the measures that were taken by managers to maintain stability in the company and the role of the organizational culture in overcoming the crisis are analyzed and relevant recommendations suggested. Keywords: Organizational culture, coherence, pandemic, collaboration, workforce, overcoming the crises.

Inroduction The evolution of economic relations is closely related to the development of organizational forms of management. The world production boom predetermined the permanent desire of companies to adapt production forces to new, advanced means of production. In pursuit of leadership in a competitive race, companies are constantly looking for unique ways to maximize current profits. This is necessary, but today it is an insufficient requirement for

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 obtaining the title of “high-performance company”, a successful company. The years of doing business have revealed the particular importance of the company's image and reputation as an important intangible asset that affects its life cycle and success. The Oxford Dictionary defines reputation as “a widespread belief that someone or something has a particular characteristic”. Reputation is an intangible resource that can strengthen or weaken a company's position in the market. According to studies, companies with a good reputation (high rating, positive customer reviews) are more attractive to consumers and, therefore, have an advantage in competition. 86% of people would pay more for services from a company with higher ratings and reviews (Status Labs, 2020). On average, more than 25% of a company's market value is directly related to its reputation. Building a company's reputation in order to achieve its “high performance” is one of the strategic issues of modern companies. There are many universal ways to enhance a company's reputation. These include high social responsibility, special requirements for the quality of goods and services produced, transparency and business style, etc. However, an important advantage of giant companies (Bosch, Netflix, Michelin, Canon, Sony, Microsoft, etc.) is that they were able to discover not a universal, but a unique path of public respect and self- presentation on a global market (Natalie Singer-Velush, Kevin Sherman, Erik Anderson, 2020). Among the many factors that determine the success of the organization and form a positive business reputation of the company, the organizational culture is one of the most important. Companies face, performance and reputation is a mirror image of the quality of intra- organizational relationships, value systems, norms, and rules that exist in the company. The culture at whatever level it is considered (macrolevel - national culture or microlevel - organizational culture) is the connecting link of the members of the association, society. Moreover, the value and maturity of the organization, its resistance to crises and emergencies, and the potential for getting out of difficult situations is directly related to the degree of development of the organizational culture. Organizational culture is a system of norms, rules, traditions, and values existing in the organization accepted and shared by members of the organization. The architecture of organizational culture reflects the main value and ideological attitudes, the most important value orientations that underlie relations between people in the organization, as well as outside it. Organizational culture is what the organization believes in, its vision and awareness of the mission of its activities. At the same time, organizational culture is a way of fulfilling the organization's mission - how, using what way, and through what tools the organization achieves its goals. The value of organizational culture is manifested through the functions of culture in the organization. The most important of them are: Adaptive (through culture, people are socialized, they integrate into a new community, harmonize and synchronize their interaction). Axiological / value (the formation of value priorities in the organization is done through culture) Gnoseological / cognitive (through culture, the experience of employees is accumulated, the ways and stages of the organization’s development are perceived, and their role in this process

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 is realized, they identify (associate) themselves (employees) as part of the organization). Along with this, culture and the degree of its development are an indicator of how much people are involved in the life of the company, how devoted to it they are, what is the quality of relations between members of the organization, how great is the distance between authority and subordinates, how significant is the influence of employees on the future of the organization). Communicative (through culture it becomes possible to transmit and exchange information, the formation of motivational messages. In this case, it is very important that the meaning and context of the most important concepts are decoded by the members of the groups adequately, correctly, without “communication noises” and distortion). Communication is intended to become an instrument of rapprochement and mutual understanding. Functions of compilation of social experience (through this function, the values, rules, norms and traditions of the organization are transferred to new employees) Through the implementation of the listed functions, culture consolidates the organization into a single core, a single system. The work of Aristotle, Plato, Kant, and Hegel is permeated with questions of the relationship between the whole and the parts. Holists, led by the founder of the holistic philosophical movement, Jan Smuts, in their philosophical teachings, consider the issue of the integrity of the system and come to the following conclusion: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Relying on holism, an organization is a holistic system only when there are connections between its parts. In other words, if there is no interaction between people in an organization, then it is simply a crowd. Organizational culture is the connecting core that turns the crowd into a holistic organization. Moreover, the stronger the connections between the members of the group, the more transparent the values and rules in the organization are formulated, the higher the degree of their acceptance by people, the greater the likelihood of high motivation of the staff, their productivity, and High Performance. The studies confirm that 88% of the surveyed employees of American companies believe that a strong organizational culture is key to the success of the organization. 94% of managers agree with this (Heinz, 2019). 82% of respondents to this survey believe that culture is a potential competitive advantage. Citigroup has an entire committee focused on ethics and culture and has implemented a website-based video series which shows in details the real work ethic dilemmas. Bank of America focuses on transforming its corporate culture to encourage employees to raise and escalate issues of concern or problems. Wells Fargo is stepping up its efforts to collect feedback surveys from employees to become aware of its culture, current trends, and potential areas. The Netflix culture presentation, often used as an example, has been downloaded more than 12 million times since 2009.The presentation clearly describes a culture that combines high expectations with an engaging employee experience: Generous corporate perks such as unlimited vacation, flexible work schedules, and limited supervision balance a strong focus on results with freedom and appreciation for the expected achievement. Professor Andrew Oswald, one of three researchers who led the study, said companies that invest in employee support and satisfaction tend to succeed in generating happier workers.

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At Google, employee satisfaction rose 37% as a result of those initiatives—suggesting that financial incentives aren’t enough to make for highly productive employees (Revesencio, 2015). From the very beginning, at Toyota, it was believed that the key to success was the investment in human capital. Toyota's production system is primarily about the culture - the way people think and behave, and this is deeply rooted in the philosophy and principles of the company. The focus is on respect for people and continuous improvement. It took nearly ten years to create such a document under the leadership of Fujio Cho, the then President of Toyota. The founders of the work on the importance of organizational culture were first voiced in the work of a group of scientists led by E. Mayo, who conducted an experiment in one of the American companies. Further, such scientists as E. Schein, V. Sate, T. Dila, and A. Kennedy and many others worked on this topic. Organizational culture is of particular importance in crisis situations. An example of this was the 2020 crisis associated with the spread of COVID-19 in the world (Lisa Dreier, Jane Nelson, 2020). The coronavirus pandemic has hit all countries hard and caused the worst economic downturn in a century. Factories and plants, enterprises, and organizations have been stopped. Schools, kindergartens and other educational institutions are closed. Transport links have been suspended. Countries have closed up their borders. The whole world froze in obscurity and unpredictability of the course of events. According to the calculations of a world- renowned consulting company specializing in solving problems related to strategic management, it could take more than five years for the most affected sectors to get back to 2019-level contributions to GDP (MCkinsey&Company, 2020) Particularly noteworthy are organizations in developing countries in which economic growth and population welfare are unstable and difficult to achieve. Developing countries, as exemplified by Georgia, are in a precarious socio-economic state and are more sensitive to changes in the external environment (Kasradze & Zarnadze, 2019). The effect of crises on unstable systems extends over the long term. The suspension of innovative activity, the reduction in investment flow here are directly related to the loss of jobs, rising prices, reduced purchasing ability, high inflation, and ultimately are fraught with socio-economic disasters. In the crisis situation of the 2020 Corona-virus pandemic, the authorities of developing countries were also not able to fully provide “airbags” to companies, and survival in the market has become a priority for the companies themselves (Government of Georgia, 2020). Once on the edge of the abyss, not having sufficient reserve funds to overcome the financial crisis, they are in search of other rescue opportunities. One of such lifebuoys is the company's unique ideology, which forms the spiritual and emotional upsurge of employees. For Georgia, a country experiencing a shortage of free financial resources against the background of difficult socio-political conditions over the past few decades, cohesion, resilience, and patience as a psycho-emotional factor in overcoming a crisis situation is not new. By basing its organizational culture on these basic values for society as a whole, Georgia is trying to get out of the current crisis with minimal losses (Kasradze, Tea; Zarnadze, Nino, 2018). In general, a national culture largely determines the priorities of local companies and forms the nature of the organizational culture of companies. The history of the development of local companies is inextricably linked with the history of the development of economic relations in

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 society, and, accordingly, with the culture of a particular society. It is possible that our mental programs are physically determined by states of our brain cells. Nevertheless, we cannot directly observe mental programs. What we can observe is only behavior: Words or deeds. When we observe behavior, we infer from it the presence of stable mental software. This type of inference is not unique to the social sciences; it exists, for example, in physics, where the intangible concept of “forces” is inferred from its manifestations in the movement of objects. Like “forces” in physics, “mental programs” are intangibles, and the terms we use to describe them are constructs. A construct is a product of our imagination, supposed to help our understanding. Constructs do not “exist” in an absolute sense: We define them into existence (Hofstede, Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values, 1980). From this point of view, the works of the Dutch sociologist Geert Hofstede are of particular interest to us. The Hofstede theory was developed in 1982. He conducted a study at the well- known multinational company IBM, which shows the data of more than 110 thousand respondents in 40 countries of the world. The scientist has formulated 6 identifiers by which he distinguishes national cultures according to the following parameters (Draguns, 2007): Power Distance Collectivism-individualism Femininity-Masculinity Uncertainty Avoidance Long-term Orientation Indulgence-Restraint This study shows that in countries characterized by high level of collectivism (Colombia, Pakistan, Taiwan, Russia, and Georgia) the following features of organizational culture prevail: Emotional dependence on the company; Managers prioritize stability; Managers hold traditional views, discouraging individual employee initiatives; Group solutions are more attractive than individual ones; Particular attention is paid to discipline and order, to a sense of duty; Relationship according to the principle: friend-or-foe. In countries characterized by a high level of individualism (USA and Western European countries), the following features of organizational culture prevail: The priority of the personal interests of the employee over the interests of the company; Emotional independence from the company; Sober estimation prevails in relations with the company; Managers encourage employees’ initiative; Managers call safety and pleasure as the main goals in life;

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Faster career growth. According to the research of G. Hofstede, collectivism is characteristic of poor and developing countries. They are also characterized by a large distance of authority (Philippines, Venezuela, India, and Russia). In fact, in these countries, managers are more authoritarian, prone to establish strict discipline and control. They are less inclined towards group reasoning in the decision-making process, and employees prefer not to express disagreement or dissatisfaction. In countries with a smaller authority distance (Denmark, Israel, Austria), managers tend to consult with their subordinates in the decision-making process. The word "authority", "wealth" does not cause negative emotions in subordinates. Moreover, subordinates are not afraid to express their disagreement with the manager. Workers tend to cooperate and collaborate. Interestingly, in countries with a shorter authority distance, highly educated workers are less likely to adhere to authoritarian values than poorly educated workers (Kasradze, Tea; Zarnadze, Nino, 2018). In the countries studied by the author, the situation also differs in terms of the parameters of perception of uncertainty, since it is obvious that people from different cultural structures react to the state of uncertainty in different ways. For example, Latin American countries, Greece, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea are countries with a strong rejection of uncertainty: The workers become managers here on the basis of the seniority criterion; high positions are intended for adults, the elderly; The hierarchy is strictly built; Strict adherence to the rules; Focus on continuous monitoring of employees; Initiatives of employees should also be supervised; The attitude towards the staff is respectful but pessimistic. Thus, the unique ideology of the organization is, on the one hand, a reflection of the depth and characteristics of internal ties between employees, and on the other hand, it is closely linked to the national culture, its characteristics, and history. In general, the more trusting and transparent the relationship between employees in the organization, the more favorable working conditions for them. Studies in the field of personnel management have shown that the effectiveness of personnel depends on the environment in which they work. Economists calculated that “happiness led to a 12% spike in productivity, while unhappy workers proved 10% less productive” (Revesencio, 2015). Organisational Culture in Georgia during Pandemic Based on the foregoing, the authors of this article conducted a study of the activities of companies during the pandemic in Georgia. The interest was due to the fact that at this stage in the development of economic relations, the role and importance of organizational culture in Georgia are underestimated. The main values, rules, and traditions, and in general, the entire organizational culture of modern Georgian organizations are spontaneously implemented rules and traditions, borrowed (brought) from the national culture of Georgia. Being an informal law of behavior, these values are brought up and formed according to

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Georgian traditions from childhood and are considered universally recognized for all members of society (high empathy, complicity, and compassion, teamwork, high resistance to crises, etc.). We conducted studies of employees of more than 80 companies starting with small businesses with a number of personal of up to 10 people to large businesses with a number of personal of over 250 people. The areas of activity of companies are different, but all companies are private. People of different age categories were involved in the study: 45% - people aged 20 to 35 years, and 45% - company employees aged 35-50 years. Employees of 50-65 years old made up a small part of the study - 8%, but their questioning is also interesting to us (Diagram 1).

Diagram 1. Age of Respodents

9,30% 45,30% 45,30%

0,00% 5,00% 10,00% 15,00% 20,00% 25,00% 30,00% 35,00% 40,00% 45,00% 50,00%

65 and more years old 35-50 years old 20-35 years old

According to the obtained data, more than 69% of respondents’ answer that there is an organizational culture in their company, more than 30% answer that there is either no organizational culture in their organizations, or they know nothing about its existence (Diagram 2).

Diagram 2. Does corporate culture exist in your organization?

10,50%

19,80%

69,80%

0,00% 10,00% 20,00% 30,00% 40,00% 50,00% 60,00% 70,00% 80,00% No Don't know Yes

This actually means that a third of the employees we surveyed (not to mention their managers) do not understand the role of organizational culture as a real tool for effective employee interaction, as a platform that connects employees into a single whole, as a mechanism that increases employee productivity. In fact, every third respondent is deprived of a “team” feeling in the organization, the awareness of the need for engagement, and high performance, which is directly proportional to the company's reputation and competitiveness in the market. Such employees often do not get satisfaction at work and work solely in the interests of material reward.

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However, the most important factor in increasing the efficiency of the organization, its business reputation, and capitalization is the Person and the quality of his/her interaction in the group. We have already said above that organizational culture as an intangible asset of an organization is perhaps one of the most important. The importance of this intangible resource lies in the fact that it affects the productivity and efficiency of each member of the group and the team as a whole. Shawn Anchor, author of The Happiness Advantage, has found that the brain work much better when a person is feeling positive. At those times, individuals tend to be more creative and better at solving problems. And additional research by Daniel Goleman has shown that when emploees are happy there are more effective and so their productivity rise. As Daniel Goleman writes, “happiness leads to greater levels of profits” and for every 2% increase in how happy emplooyees are revenue grew by 1% (Goleman, 2013). When asked what the most important characteristics of organizational culture are, respondents answer as follows: (care for employees, development opportunities, high sense of responsibility and discipline, sense of "team" and respect, hygiene and equality). In this case, it is of particular interest that none of the respondents named the economic elements of doing business as elements of organizational culture, for example, “low cost”, “quality service”, bonuses, remuneration, salary cuts, reprimands and warnings, which confirms our earlier hypothesis that 60% of the respondents who believe that their companies still have organizational culture still do not have a complete idea of what organizational culture is. It is known that employees who don’t like their organization’s culture are 24% more likely to quit (Revesencio, 2015). However, this is truer for companies in developed countries. In developing countries like Georgia, where the level of unemployment is high and the level of well-being of the population is low, losing a job is a tragedy, and, accordingly, keeping a job and wages regardless of external conditions is the norm for Georgian everyday life (Kasradze, Poverty – A Global Socio-Economic Problem, 2013). This is confirmed by our research: more than 53% of respondents named fear of losing their jobs and about 63% of respondents named anxiety due to changes in working conditions as the main stress factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rest of the factors causing anxiety and concern that the respondents named were the unclear instructions of managers — 30%, uncoordinated work — about 28%, lack of tech skills for ramote working — about 34%, non-team work — more than 25% (Diagram 3).

Diagram 3. What were the main challenge during COVID-19 pandemic ?

34,90% 62,80% 33,70% 25,60% 53,50%

0,00% 10,00% 20,00% 30,00% 40,00% 50,00% 60,00% 70,00% Unclear instructions Stress caused by a new work environment

Lack of tech skills for remote working Non-team work

Fear of losing a job

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From this point of view, the role of managers and leaders is very important, who, considering the difficult material conditions of employees, must constantly try to increase their motivation and productivity, thereby contributing to the growth and development of the company. In fact, over 37% of employees believe that during the coronavirus pandemic, they did not receive the psychological support and motivational charge they needed from employers. 27% of respondents described the management process as chaotic, 43% - as stressful (Diagram 4) and (Diagram 5).

Diagram 4. How can you describe management process in your company in one word?

8,10% 26,70% 26,70%

20,90% 43%

26,70%

Chaotic Stressfull Inspiring Ordered Coordinated Other

Diagram 5. Did employers support and motivate you during COVID-19 pandemy?

62,80% 37,20%

0,00% 10,00% 20,00% 30,00% 40,00% 50,00% 60,00% 70,00% No Yes

So, for example, despite the fact that approximately 60% of the employees participating in the survey were ready to work on a remote basis, for 95% of respondents, working in a pandemic was still a challenge (Diagram 6).

Diagram 6. Was working during COVID-19 a challenge?

4,70% 95,30%

0,00% 20,00% 40,00% 60,00% 80,00% 100,00% 120,00%

No Yes

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Thus, even for “ready-to-challenge” employees, the COVID-19 crisis has become a factor of great psycho-emotional stress.The following data of the study, which reflects the inextricable connection between the specifics of the national and organizational culture, which we mentioned above, became very interesting for us. More than 58% of employees did not receive financial assistance from the company during the COVID-19 crisis, wages of 52.3% of employees decreased (and about half of the respondents, 45%, consider the reduction of wages justified), while the intensity and time of work increased for 50% of respondents (Diagram 7). Despite the above data, more than 67% believe that their managers in difficult situations turned out to be strong leaders who are able to manage in difficult situations.

Diagram 7. Did your salary decreased during COVID-19?

47,70%

52,30%

45,00% 46,00% 47,00% 48,00% 49,00% 50,00% 51,00% 52,00% 53,00%

No Yes

These statistics clearly reflect the fact that in a Georgian society (inclined towards collectivism, strict hierarchy, obedience, and respect for seniority, a masculine society) a manager is a leader – “a conqueror leader”. They believe in the manager, he/she is respected and followed even in the face of disagreement or inefficiency. Special attention should be paid to the fact that for a 67.4% of the respondents, their managers were strong leaders, which, from our point of view, is the topic of a separate study (Diagram 8).

Diagram 8. Has your manager turned out to be a leader able to handle difficult situations?

32,60% 67,40%

0,00% 10,00% 20,00% 30,00% 40,00% 50,00% 60,00% 70,00% 80,00%

No Yes

Of particular interest is the fact that, during the COVID-19 period, in the Georgian companies, according to 66% of respondents, training and online meetings focused on enhancing team collaboration and cohesion were implemented either rare or not at all, but only 36% lacked support from the organization. In our opinion, the described situation is caused by an underestimation of the role of intra-organizational links, when even minimal participation is

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 sufficient, the distance of authority is great and managers, employers are not considered obliged to do anything more than job descriptions. Ultimately, about 97% of respondents believe that a healthy, strong organizational culture would increase their productivity (Diagram 9).

Diagram 9. Did you feel supported by the organization while working remotely?

36% 64%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

No Yes

Conclusion As a result of the study, the following conclusions can be drawn: Organizational culture is the most important managerial resource that helps to increase the company's capitalization and competitiveness in the market, its reputation, and its performance. The economic effect of the introduction of organizational culture is easily measurable and can be expressed in such indicators as employee productivity, time spent on implementation of work, the number of products and services produced per unit of time, etc. Organizational culture is closely related to the national culture of the people forming the company, it has its own specific features and characteristics. The culture of the company can be judged by the national values and traditions of the country in which the company is located, by the history of its social and economic development. They are constructs, which have to prove their usefulness by their ability to explain and predict behavior. The moment they stop doing that we should be prepared to drop them, or trade them for something better. I never claim that culture is the only thing we should pay attention to. In many practical cases it is redundant, and economic, political or institutional factors provide better explanations. But sometimes they don’t, and then we need the construct of culture (Hofstede, 2002) Organizational culture takes on special importance in times of crisis and becomes a circle of salvation for employees, managers and the company as a whole. The situation that has developed in Georgian companies during the coronavirus infection COVID-19 has shown that there is no understanding of the role and importance of organizational culture in society. There is a lack of understanding of the economic benefits of introducing organizational culture in companies (Nino Zarnadze, 2019). The atmosphere existing in companies, which is spontaneously formed and borrowed from the national culture, is considered as organizational culture. Formation of strong intra-organizational links will help Georgian organizations create a strong immune system of the organization, synchronize the actions of employees, maintain team

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 spirit and raise the psycho-emotional mood of company employees, increase its profitability and work efficiency. Bibliography [1] Draguns, J. G. (2007). CULTURE’S IMPACT AT THE WORKPLACE AND BEYOND. Reviews in Anthropology, 43-58. [2] Goleman, D. (2013). Primal Leadership, With a New Preface by the Authors: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. [3] Government of Georgia. (2020). Report on the measures taken by the Government of Georgia against COVID-19. მოპოვებული http://gov.ge/files/76338_76338_444796_COVID-19angarishi...pdf -დან [4] Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work- Related Values. SAGE Publication Ltd. [5] Hofstede, G. (2002). Dimensions do not exist: A reply toBrendan McSweeney. Human Relations [6] ILO. (2006). Decent Work Country Programmes. International Labor Organisation. [7] Kasradze, T. (2013). Poverty – A Global Socio-Economic Problem. Caucasus International University HERALD #5, pp. 15-18. [8] Kasradze, T., & Zarnadze, N. (2019). CHALLENGES OF ECONOMIC OF GEORGIA: GOOD AND BAD ECONOMIC GROWTH. European Journal of Economics and Business Studies, 178-186. [9] Kasradze, Tea; Zarnadze, Nino. (2018, May). Enhancing Workforce Competitiveness through Improving Quality of Education – An Indispensable Means for Overcoming Poverty. International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Economy, pp. 19-21. [10] Lisa Dreier, Jane Nelson. (2020). Why some companies leapt to support the COVID-19 response. World Economic Forum. [11] MCkinsey&Company. (2020). COVID-19: Implications for business. MCkinsey&Company. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/business- functions/risk/our-insights/covid-19-implications-for-business [12] Natalie Singer-Velush, Kevin Sherman, Erik Anderson. (2020). MICROSOFT ANALYZED DATA ON ITS NEWLY REMOTE WORKFORCE. Harvard Business Review. [13] Nino Zarnadze, T. K. (2019). A WEAK EDUCATION SYSTEM–A CHALLENGE FOR SOCIETY’S WELL-BEING. Journal of Teaching and Education,, 137-149. [14] Revesencio, J. (2015). Why Happy Employees Are 12% More Productive. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3048751/happy-employees-are-12-more- productive-at-work [15] Status Labs. (2020). 100 Reputation Management Stats for 2020. Status Labs. Retrieved from https://statuslabs.com/reputation-management-stats-2020/

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Teaching and Learning Through Laboratory Experiments in the Area of Nuclear Technology

Gustavo LAZARTE Reactor Nuclear RA0, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Cordoba, 5000 Ciudad Universitaria, Argentina Kouichi Julian Andres CRUZ Reactor Nuclear RA0, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Cordoba, 5000 Ciudad Universitaria, Argentina Alejandra Lucia PEREZ LUCERO Reactor Nuclear RA0, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Cordoba, 5000 Ciudad Universitaria, Argentina Norma Adriana CHAUTEMPS Reactor Nuclear RA0, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Cordoba, 5000 Ciudad Universitaria, Argentina Walter Miguel KEIL Reactor Nuclear RA0, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Cordoba, 5000 Ciudad Universitaria, Argentina

Abstract Simulated laboratories are an effective tool to complement teaching and learning processes, in this case, in the area of nuclear physics and related sciences. They can be used in universities, schools, and research centers for personnel ramp up and training. This work presents the development of a simulator of a nuclear radiation counter and the elements used in experiments alongside it, such as simulated radioactive sources, absorbing materials and dispersing materials of radiation. This simulator allows us to verify the scientific laws that are involved in the interaction of radiation with matter, in a safe and reproducible way. The simulated laboratory experiments include determining the plateau curve of a Geiger-Müller tube, beta particle absorption and backscattering, and radioactive background. The data obtained from the simulations is based on the real experiments, eliminating the inherent risks of the manipulation of radioactive materials. This also allows to verify theoretical concepts in practice, strengthening the learning process and incentivizing research, interpretation, integration and communication of the obtained results. By incorporating this simulator in the multidisciplinary teaching and learning processes in STEM fields, it is possible to run these laboratories in a simple manner using non- radioactive materials. Keywords: teaching, learning, technology, experimentation, simulator, nuclear, simulated education

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Introduction Laboratory experimentation on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects allows students, professors and professionals to apply interdisciplinary concepts where the theoretical aspects of scientific developments can be applied to a real-life activity. In these experiments, schools, scientific communities and the industry come together as a cohesive unit. At the same time, the usage of simulators in teaching and personnel training is becoming wider in all stages of academic and/or professional career developments, especially on fields where the experiments are either complex, expensive or dangerous. Simulating these experiments transforms them into simple, cost-effective and safe experiments, through the use of the data obtained from real experiments. By doing this, the student can qualitatively and quantitatively verify the scientific laws that interact with the real world, in an environment with the aforementioned benefits (Perez Lucero et al., 2015). Nuclear physics, in particular, is one of those fields. Most of the experiments involve the manipulation of radioactive material, which means that experiments must be done on nuclear laboratories with the proper protection to use them. This poses an accessibility problem for schools and universities who do not have a nuclear laboratory and want to teach about Nuclear Physics, as they would be unable to provide a valuable laboratory experimentation for their students. In the upcoming sections, we present a project of a Geiger counter simulator, as a part of a broader project (Chautemps et al., 2019). This simulator puts the user in a similar environment as the real experiment environment, where the user can develop skills, learn operative procedures, and reinforce knowledge of theoretical and practical aspects from the real experiments. All of the simulations can be done an unlimited number of times, which also allows to adjust to the user’s own learning process. The simulator presented in this work is the second iteration of said project, adding data for an additional experiment, and updating the user interface in order to simplify future upgrades, and extend the lifespan of the simulator. Background Geiger counters are instruments used for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation. They consist of a Geiger-Müller tube, a cylinder filled with ionizing gas, and electrical components that count the amount of ionizing pulses that come from inside the tube. A basic scheme of the Geiger counter can be seen on figure 1. Whenever a charged particle (such as 훼 or 훽 particles) goes into the detector, the gas gets ionized. This produces a chain reaction that lasts for a fraction of a second which, in turn, produces a pulse, which is processed by the pulse counter. The pulse occurs due to the power supply, as it forces electrons to accumulate on the anode, and positive ions on the cathode.

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Figure 9: Geiger Counter Scheme Simulator description This section explains in detail the different laboratory experiments and how the user should operate the simulator in order to obtain the results from each experiment. The simulated elements include the electrical supply voltages of the Geiger counter, radioactive sources, absorbent elements and particle dispersers. These values are used to determine the Plateau curve of the aforementioned instrument, the values of the absorption and backscattering of charged particles by different materials exposed to the selected radioactive source, and the effects of background radiation. This iteration of the simulator adds the capabilities for all measured data to variate according to known statistical distributions for each piece of data, unlike its predecessor which has fixed values for all data types (Lazarte et al., 2016). This variation of data allows the simulator to resemble the real experiment more closely, as there is always some degree of error and variation when measuring in the real-life experiment. Laboratory 1: Determining the plateau curve of the Geiger Counter The plateau curve indicates the appropriate supply voltage for a Geiger counter. If the voltage is too low, radioactive activity will not be equally distributed along the cathode; if the voltage is too high, the tube may be damaged by the continuous discharges. An appropriate supply voltage will be in a zone from the curve in which the amount of counts per minute grows linearly when increasing voltage, with the optimal point being in the middle of this zone, to reduce the effect of variations in the voltage (Knoll, 2000). The graph shown in figure 2 shows a graphical representation of the plateau curve. In order to experimentally obtain the aforementioned curve, the user would need to vary the supply voltages used on the tube, measuring on every variation the amount of counts per minute returned by the pulse counter. Using this data, the user will be able to plot the curve and graphically determine the optimal supply voltage. In the simulator, the user is able to select the supply voltage from a set of pre-loaded data on the simulator, which has been obtained from doing the real experiment.

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Figure 10: Plateau Curve of the Geiger Counter Table 1 shows the measured activity (in counts per minute) as a function of the supply voltage of the detector. The values displayed on the simulator are slightly modified following a statistical normal distribution, in the same fashion as in the real experiment. V (voltage) Am – Background (cpm) 550 0 600 0 625 0 650 695 675 1537 700 1592.333 725 1557.4 750 1590 775 1626 825 1759.333 850 2037.666 Table 2: Activity according voltage source The simulated elements are shown on figure 3.

Figure 11: Simulated plateau curve of the Geiger counter Laboratory 2: Absorption The next laboratory focuses on two aspects of nuclear experimentation: on one hand, determining which radioactive material is acting as the radioactive source (that is, to

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 determine whether the source is Cobalt-60, Sodium-22, Strontium-90, etc.); on the other hand, determining the minimum thickness of an absorbing material so that it can block incoming radiation from the radioactive source. To block incoming radiation, the required material depends on the type of radiation that the user would want to block. 휶 radiation is blocked by paper, 휷 radiation by metals and  radiation by concrete and/or lead, as shown in figure 4. This laboratory focuses on blocking 휷 radiation.

Figure 12: Radiation types and blocking materiales In order to obtain the minimum thickness of the radiation-absorbing metals, the student will have the superficial density of the piece of metal, and the density of the metal, which is always constant. Using these data, it is possible to obtain experimentally the thickness of the absorbing metal. On a real experiment (as shown on figure 5), the required elements include a 휷 particle source, absorbers of various thicknesses, and a Geiger counter (Parks, 2001).

Figure 13: Real absorption experiment setup The simulated elements are shown on figure 6. The simulator returns activity count values corresponding to the radioactive source and the thickness and type of the absorbing material being simulated, with the radioactive source being on the third slot of the tower, and the absorbing material being on the second slot. The data obtained will be a value based on the results of a real experiment shown on table 2.

Figure 14: Simulated absorption experiment setup The user of the simulator should take note of the activity count values displayed by the simulator. These values can then be plotted and, through and approximation technique (on most cases, minimum squares), it is possible to obtain an exponential fit to the

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 obtained data. An example of this curve is shown on figure 7. The fit of the curve will be of the form 풚 = 풂 풆−풃풙, where the absorption coefficient can be calculated by obtaining the value of b (Martinez Alonso & Losada Ucha, 2000).

Figure 15: Simulated absorption experiment curve fitting The next step on the experiment is to obtain the maximum energy before 휷-decay. This can be done using the thickness of the material that resulted in the lowest amount of counts per second, and then mathematically obtaining the maximum energy with this data. Finally, comparing the maximum energy with known 휷-decay patterns (as shown on figure 8 (Knoll, 2000)), the user can determine the radioactive being used.

Figure 16: b-decay of Cobalt-60

Table 3: Activities from radiactive sources Laboratory 3: Backscattering This laboratory experiment analyzes the radiation from the radioactive source when the incident 휷 radiation scatters when going through different materials. This

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 experiment shows that the materials used as scattering materials exhibit this behavior, and that the scattering effect is more prominent on materials with a higher atomic number. When a 휷 particle coming from a radioactive source interacts with a material, its trajectory may deviate depending on its initial energy. This produces a dispersion effect on the particle. Depending on the relative orientation of the impact between the 휷 particle and the core of the material’s atoms, there is a chance that the 휷 particle exits the material on the same spot where it entered the material. This phenomenon is called backscattering. In this experiment, the user first measures the radiation activity count when there is no scattering material in between. After that, the user adds different materials at the end of the source and measures the activity count once again. The difference between the two allows to determine which is the scattering material being used. A schematic of the experiment setup is shown figure 9.

Figure 17: Backscattering experiment schematic setup In the simulator, the setup is shown in figure 10. The different simulated elements (the radioactive source and the backscattering material) are placed in a tower similar to the one used on the previous experiment. The position of the simulated elements resembles the real experiment.

Figure 18: Backscattering experiment simulated setup In the practical work of interaction of radiation with matter, for the study of the dispersion of charged particles, the real data shown in table 3 is stored in the simulator.

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Table 4: Backscatter Laboratory 4: Background radiation This laboratory focuses on the radiation that exists on the environment, without the deliberate introduction of a radioactive source. This radiation is also called background radiation. On a laboratory setting, figure 11, if the objective is to measure the radiation counts of a specific radioactive source, the Geiger counter will inevitably count the background radiation, the latter should be measured beforehand to appropriately subtract the background component from the measurement. This laboratory is an expansion made to the previous iteration of the simulator, which did not have this experiment implemented (Lazarte et al., 2016). The experiment consists in measuring the amount of counts measured by the Geiger counter over a short period of time, without any radioactive source nearby to prevent noisy data (Mera, 2015). This measurement should be done a number of times. Based on a real experiment (Suárez, n.d.), the simulated experiment simulates a measurement every 2 seconds, doing this a total of 100 times. The measured counts can be plotted in a histogram, which should resemble a Poisson distribution frequency histogram, with parameter λ =1.06 as the average amount of counts every 2 seconds, as shown on figure 12. A table 4 with the measured counts and the histogram of it are plotted on the display.

Figure 19: Setup for background radiation measurement

Figure 20: Background radiation

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Conts/100 Value 0 0,346 1 0,367 2 0,195 3 0,069 4 0,018 5 0,004 Table 5: Radiation counts/100 values Validation and results The improvements made on the simulator for this iteration were developed during the COVID- 19 pandemic. As on-site lectures and laboratory work went virtual, the changes were not able to be validated with students. For this reason, this section will be based on the results obtained with the previous iteration of this simulator; which was used on late 2019, on a course of “Methodology and Application of Radionuclides”, taught by the University Center for Nuclear Technology (CUTeN), of Faculty of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, part of the National University of Cordoba, Argentina. The course consisted of 30 students, where as part of the laboratory practice exercises, they used the presented simulator. At the end of the corresponding exercises, the students were asked to answer a survey that focuses on the effectiveness and the overall reception of the simulator and the experiments conducted with it. The table 5 indicates the questions asked to the students on the survey, and the figure 13 and figure 14 indicate the results obtained from the survey. The first two questions refer to information about similarity to the real experiments and understanding the real phenomena; the other three questions ask the user to rate the degree of learning that they have achieved of various concepts taught with the help of the simulator. The results from the survey indicate that students perceived positive effects on the learning process of different topics related to the usage on the simulator, and they also showed a high degree of acceptance of the tool.

Table 6: Questions and possible answers asked on the survey

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Figure 21: Answers to Questions 1 and 2

Figure 22: Answers to Questions 3 to 5 Future work This simulator is part of a broader project. As part of the scope of the extended project, it is planned, in the near future, to upgrade the prototype of the simulator to allow usage both physically and remotely through the internet. The implementation done in this iteration can, in the future, be extended more easily than in the previous iteration to enable remote usage. Another feature under consideration is to add new tables for the radioactive activity values for other radioactive sources, absorbent materials and dispersers. Finally, adding new simulations for other experiments not implemented already is also under consideration. Conclusion The simulator presented in this article has as its main objective to improve laboratory activities on schools, universities and laboratories. Laboratory experiments develop students’ skills in dealing with laboratory instruments and physical processes with the objective of reinforcing the understanding of the investigated subject (Malkawia & Al-Araidahb, 2013). This prototype of a simulator of a nuclear radiation counter was designed and built having as main purpose allowing to obtain real data using simulated elements. This simulator has four modes related to real-life experiments: obtaining the plateau curve that shows the basic behavior of a Geiger counter; obtaining curves that show the radioactive activity in relation to the thickness of the absorption materials which can, in turn, be used to estimate the energy of the particle-emitting source; evaluating the behaviour of radiation as it goes through dispersers; and finally, measuring the background radiation of an environment. As the radioactive activity data provided by the simulator is based on real experiment, the usage of this simulator allows to manipulate radioactive sources, absorbing materials and particle dispersers in a safe, simulated environment that resembles the real world experiments.

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This simulator is the second iteration of a broader project. This part adds usage through a touchscreen that, even though the interface deviates from actual instruments due to the lack of buttons, it makes the simulator more durable and does not compromise the validity of the data. In addition, this simulator adds the capabilities to return data based on statistical parameters in order to more closely resemble an actual experiment. Finally, this simulator is easier to extend in the future for remote usage. The remote experiments will be introduced to students gradually in three planned phases: in the first phase, in preparation for a typical remote laboratory experiment, the students are tasked with re-familiarizing themselves with the underlying physical principles, the experimental equipment and procedure of the particular experiment to be performed. In the second phase of the laboratory experience, will use the supervision of an instructor and in the third stage, the studends will continue more detailed experimental studies in a remote fashion (Nickerson et al., 2007). References [1] Chautemps, N. A., Lazarte, G., & Perez Lucero, A. L. (2019). Desarrollo de instrumentos para laboratorios remotos [2] de protección radiológica. Revista de enseñanza de la Física, 31 (Extra), 189–194. [3] Knoll, G. F. (2000). Radiation detection and measurement (3rd). Wiley. [4] Lazarte, G., Perez Lucero, A., Chautemps, N. A., & D ıaz,́ L. C. (2016). Simulador prototipo de contador de [5] radiación nuclear. XI Congreso de Educación en Tecnología y Tecnología en Educación. [6] Malkawia, S., & Al-Araidahb, O. (2013). Students’ assessment of interactive distance experimentation in nuclear [7] reactor physics laboratory education. European Journal of Engineering Education, 38 (5), 512–518. [8] Martinez Alonso, G., & Losada Ucha, R. (2000). Laboratorio de alcance de radiaciones nucleares basado en [9] microcomputadora. Ingenierías, 3 (6), 15–21. [10] Mera, E. (2015). Experimento: Radiación. Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana de Chile. [11] Nickerson, J. V., Corter, J. E., Esche, S. K., & Chassapis, C. (2007). A model for evaluating the effectiveness of [12] remote engineering laboratories and simulations in education. Computers Education, 49, 708–725. [13] Parks, J. E. (2001). Attenuation of radiation. Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Tennessee. [14] Pérez Lucero, A., Chautemps, N. A., Bertone, R., & Díaz, L. C. (2015). Simuladores aplicados en laboratorios de [15] energía nuclear. XXI Congreso Argentino de Ciencias de la Computación. [16] Suárez, P. M. (n.d.). Estudio de la radiación con un detector geiger müller. Universidad de Oviedo.

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Changing Health-related Behaviour Leveraging Data Analytics

Rajeev Ranjan Research Scholar at School of Business & Management, Jaipur National University, Jaipur Shreya Bhargav Assistant Director at School of Business & Management, Jaipur National University, Jaipur

Abstract This paper explores the potential of Data Analytics in Behavioral Epidemiology and Changing Health Behavior (CHB), especially amongst the youth with regard to biomedical and well-being informatics, which plots the essential attributes of Big Data and delineates the relations among restorative and well-being informatics. The translational bio-informatics, sensor informatics and clinical diagnosis help a person in effective management of their wellness and prosperity. Data Analytics has the potential to harness diagnostic information not only to obviate morbidity to a great extent, but also bring down the expenses on therapeutic and/or clinical diagnosis, intervention and management. Keywords: Changing Health Behaviour, Health Enhancing Behavior, Health-Compromising Behavior, Big Data, Data Analytics, Behavioral Epidemiology, Health Informatics.

1. Introduction A person’s behaviour is a primary determinant of his or her health status. Behaviour is responsible for 50% of a person’s health status followed by environment (20%), genetics (20%) and access to care (10%) (Institute for the Future, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, US). Eight unhealthy behavioral patterns and risks lead to fifteen costly chronic medical conditions that drive 80% of the cost for all chronic disease worldwide (The World Economic Forum, 2010). The youth, adolescents or teens, are the future of this planet and their health-related behavior reflects a pattern different from others. However, the health-related behavioral pattern in the youth has received only limited empirical attention. Therefore it needs due attention and investigation as the lifestyle of the youth may have significant implications not only on their morbidity and mortality, but also on the general costs to society. Morbidity refers to the condition of being ill, diseased, or unhealthy; while mortality refers to the death rate. Hence, both morbidity and mortality have significant implications for adolescent health-related behavior (Kimm, S.Y.S., Glynn, Nancy W. et al, 2002). Many of the most significant challenges in healthcare such as smoking, bad-eating habits, and poor adherence to evidence-based guidelines can be resolved, if we can influence behaviour (Vlaev, Ivo et al, 2016).

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Changing Health-related Behaviour (CHB) refers to the motivated and voluntary acts of gradual withdrawal from Health-Compromising Behaviors (HCBs) and subsequent adoption and continuation of Health-Enhancing Behaviors (HEBs). Some prominent health compromising or risky behaviors are Usage of Tobacco and Tobacco products, Lack of Physical Activity/Regular Exercise or Yoga, Bad Dietary Habits, Not having close to recommended Body Mass Index (BMI), Irresponsible waste disposal, Not using Disposable Syringes, Unsafe Sex, and the like. Changing Health-related Behaviour (CHB) is thus the effort

Exhibit-1: The 3-4-50 Framework made by an individual to change one's habits to prevent diseases. According to the “3-4-50 Framework” (Exhibit-1); originally developed by the Oxford Health Alliance in response to global concerns about chronic disease; 3 behaviors (poor diet, little to no physical activity and smoking) alone lead to 4 types of diseases (heart disease/stroke, diabetes, cancer, pulmonary disease) that in turn account for 50% of the deaths worldwide. With appropriate intervention, the healthcare costs as well as the general costs to the society- -- morbidity and mortality--- may be brought down drastically. As much as 36% of health care spending could be eliminated by just focusing on three key areas: Consumer behaviour that contributes to unnecessary care, Inefficient or unnecessary clinical care, and Operational inefficiency related to health care delivery (Mathews, Christopher J., 2013). Even modest improvements in preventing and treating disease may, by 2023, avoid 40 million cases of chronic disease and reduce the economic impact of chronic disease by 27 percent, or $1.1 trillion annually (Robillard, Jean, 2010). It is for this reason that in public-health interventions, emphasis has been on changing behaviors so that the negative or harmful consequences that follow such health compromising or risky behaviors get minimized.

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2. Big Data in Healthcare The term “Big Data” is used to refer to the massive high-speed, complex and inconstant information that need advanced techniques to enable its capture, storage, dissemination, management and analysis of information (Agrawal, K., 2015). Big Data are huge and complex electronic data-sets that are practically not manageable with traditional software or hardware or common data management tools and techniques or methods (A Frost & Sullivan White Paper, 2012). The volume of Big Data generated globally may be estimated by the fact that in 2011 alone, 1.8 ZB (Zettabytes) of data (1ZB= 1021 Bytes or 1 Trillion GB) were created globally which equates to 200 billion, 2 hour-long HD movies, which may need 47 million years to watch. Surprising enough as it may seem, this volume of data is expected to double and every year going forward (TechAmerica Foundation, 2012). Although Big Data has existed for a long time, its application in healthcare research and management has been a recent phenomenon. In healthcare industry, Big Data is enormous due to its volume, diversity of data types and the speed at which it needs to be managed (A Frost & Sullivan White Paper, 2012). In healthcare, Big Data may be generated from diverse sources which may be clubbed into the following broad categories: 1. Human Interventions (HI): Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Physicians’ Prescriptions/Notes/Emails, Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS), Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE), Buying behaviour, exercise (Gym memberships), government sources and reports, emergency-care data, articles in medical and other journals, etc. 2. Digital Platforms (DP): Web pages; blogs and social media posts such as tweets, status updates on Facebook and other platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn; Smartphone Apps, news feeds, and the like. 3. Biometrics: Finger prints, retinal scans, handwriting, genetics, diagnostic images, blood pressure (BP), pulse-rate and pulse-oximetry readings, and the like. 4. Machine-to-Machine (M2M): Readings from remote sensors, sensors, GPS tracking, meters and other clinical and diagnostic devices at diagnostic centers and laboratories. 5. Business Operations’ Records (BOR): Pharmacies’ billing records, Medical Insurance Claims, etc. (available mostly in semi-structured and unstructured formats). 3. Data Analytics in Healthcare The term “Data Analytics” is used to refer to a set of qualitative and quantitative techniques and processes used to enhance productivity. It involves a set of processes--- inspection, cleansing, transformation and modeling of data--- to elicit useful information and support decision-making. In Data Analytics, data is extracted and categorized to identify and analyze behavioral data and patterns. The potential advantages of application of Data Analytics in the healthcare sector can be viewed from the developmental changes. Gradual digitalization of various activities in this digital era is making access to information viable at various levels, ranging from single-doctor operating independently to multi-doctors operating at a clinical set-up. Healthcare industry generates huge amount of data through clinical examination, personal records, genomics, diagnostics and medical or surgical interventions. Earlier, these data were

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 stored in hard copies; however, with massive inflow of data the need for digitization is imperative. This systemization of data through Data Analytics gives a support in terms of an effective health management. Data Analytics has the potential to identify healthcare issues before they become ungovernable. Information derived from Data Analytics is conducive for professionals to come up with effective and dependable diagnosis and analysis. The outputs may help taking informed decision-making and develop the healthcare systems and processes more effectively and efficiently. Data Analytics therefore lends an immense opportunity to manage essential heath data, early detection/identification of diseases; thereby providing pre- emptive diagnosis, bringing down cost of treatment and save lives. The Big Data generated in the healthcare industry from diverse sources can be harnessed to gain a more thorough and insightful diagnoses and treatments, leading to higher quality healthcare at lower costs. For example; by analyzing a patient’s profile (demographics, symptoms, lifestyle, behavioral patterns, etc.), cost and outcomes of medicare the most appropriate medical intervention--- the optimal clinical-care required and the most cost- effective treatment--- may be identified. Advanced analytics (e.g., segmentation and predictive modelling) may be applied for patient profiling and proactive identification of individuals who may be the beneficiary of predictive or preventive medicare or lifestyle changes. Data Analytics may also be used for Broad-spectrum profiling of diseases to identify predictive events and support preventive interventions. Medical procedures’ data may be collected and published, thereby helping the patients in determining the care protocols that offer the best value. Advanced analytics may also be applied for detection of incidences of fraud and verifying the accuracy and consistency of claims. There also lies a tremendous potential for Data Analytics to facilitate the identification of new drugs which could be a boon for the pharmaceutical industries and of course the users (Ramadas, Amutha & Fatt, Quek Kia, 2018). Data Analytics may also be used to address the mobile health and lifestyle issues like nutrition, physical activity, and sleep. Availability of contextual information is an essential aspect to access influence of the process. Data analytics tools can comprehend the existing relation between social and physical behaviors, genetic factors, nutrition and development of any mental/physical diseases. Further, using mHealth in the form of mobile apps, it may be possible to help patients manage their healthcare, locate healthcare services providers and improve their health. By application of Data Analytics, it may be possible to monitor such patients vis-à-vis their adherence to prescribed drugs and treatment regimens and help detect trends that may lead to individual and population wellness benefits. Thus, Data Analytics may be used to change one’s health-related behaviour and promote and induce health enhancing behaviour (HEB) amongst the masses; especially the youth; by prevention, early detection, timely intervention and optimal management in an efficient and sustainable way. 4. Behavioural Epidemiology and Data Analytics Epidemiology is the branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases in a population. The term “Epidemiology” is derived from the combination of three Greek terms--- “epi” which means 'upon’ or ‘among', “demos” which means 'people’ and “logos” which means 'study’ or ‘discourse'. Thus literally, Epidemiology means "the study of what is upon the people". The behavioral epidemiology constructs explore two major issues; first, the issue of physical activity amongst children and adults and second, the physical activity during childhood and adolescence has an impact upon their adulthood health. These issues can be studied under the factors of disease and risk of disease. The major results are Obesity, Cardiovascular Disease (CVDs), Psycho-social

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Outcomes, Type-II Diabetes and Skeletal Health. (Biddle, Stuart J.H., Gorely, Trish & Stensel, David J., 2004) Cardiovascular Diseases Though Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are usually evident at the adulthood or at the old age, its emergence sets in during childhood, primarily during adolescence, due to inappropriate behavioral factors like unhealthy food habits, lack of physical activity and exercise. It is important to stop the occurrence of CVD at an early age. During adolescence, CVD exhibits risk factors such as High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol. The influence of exercise and physical activity helps in limiting the blood pressure. In addition, behavioral scientists argue that adequate physical activity is essential for maintaining a conducive health behavior. Obesity Obesity in the youth is related to their wellbeing conditions, for example, Dyslipidemia and the primary cause of the danger of Type-II Diabetes (Stensel, D. J., King, J. A. and Thackray, A. E., 2016). Youth obesity is additionally considered as a solid indicator for it (Whitaker, R. C., Wright, J. A., Pepe, M. S., Seidel, K. D., Dietz, W. H., 1997) which, therefore is related with the medical issues during their adulthood (Must, A, Jacques, P. F., Dallal, G. E., Bajema, C. J., Dietz, W. H., 1992). Inadequate physical activity is linked to the incidences of diagnosis of obesity in children and young adults. Evidence suggests that children are having significantly less energy these days as compared to youth 50 years ago. (Durnin, 1992). Recent evidences also indicated comparatively lower level of physical activity (Kimm et al., 2002). Researches have also indicated that exercise and adequate physical activity during childhood and adolescence are the most effective remedy to counter obesity with proper dietary habits (Epstein, Leonard H., Meyers, Michelle D., Raynor, Hollie A. & Saelens, Brian E., 1998). Physical activity and exercise can be seen as an effective remedy to stop the rising incidences of obesity and other related diseases. Psycho-Social Outcomes There is a well-established conviction that physical activity is characteristically best for the youngsters with encouraging psychosocial results. These include confidence, balanced state of mind and cognitive functions. Generally, any sort of sports or activity is viewed as conducive for psychological well-being of an adolescent stepping into adulthood. Exercise apparently also impacts the self-esteem. The probability of a physically fit person suffering from psychiatric disorders is found to be low. Steptoe and Butler (1996) in a report emphasized that more than 5,000 British teenagers acknowledged metal prosperity with physical health. Skeletal Health Skeletal Health refers to the health of the Skeletal System of the body and the bones and is reflected by the bone density, a low bone density condition clinically being referred to as Osteoporosis. Though Osteoporosis is predominantly under the hereditary control of individuals, there are some behavioral and ecological factors too that regulate its incidences; for example, diet and physical activity (Ralston, 1997). In this way, physical activity is significant for the youth and delayed maturity that might be advantageous for catalyzing bone development and consequently forestalling Osteoporosis further down the timeline. Weight-

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 bearing activities like strolling, hopping and weight-lifting, etc. enhance bone mineral thickness in children and adults as it has been shown in intervention trials. Data Analytics offers an ideal platform to analyze, secure and render informative solutions for such behavioral and life-style generated diseases and their possible control. Big Data meta- analysis is substantially used to analyze the sedentary behavior and physical activity of the youth. Big Data captures the complex determinants for evaluation of this behavioral change. Information extracted involves details regarding sample size, age, gender, socio-economics and ethnicity, etc. Thus, complex data information and its efficient management form an essential aspect to analyze the correlation between sedentary life-style and physical activity in the youth (Pearson, N., Braithwaite, R. E., Biddle, S. J. H., Sluijs, E. M. F. van & Atkin, A. J., 2014). The possible control of behavioral and life-style generated diseases like CVDs, Obesity, Skeletal Health, Psycho-social issues and Type-II Diabetes need considerable informative background for which the enormous amount of Big Data available from various sources may be of great help for a thorough diagnostic insights and preventive and predictive treatment or possible control, leading to higher quality healthcare at lower costs. Thus, Data Analytics can have immense potential and importance in Behavioral Epidemiology, holding essential data of adolescent health in the identified population, and possible control of diseases in that segment. 5. Changing Behaviour Leveraging Data Analytics A conceptual framework for Changing Health-related Behaviour Leveraging Data Analytics has been illustrated under Exhibit-2. Raw healthcare data generated from various sources and often available in multiple formats (flat files, .csv, relational tables, ASCII/text, etc.) needs to be pooled and aggregated for the purpose of Data Analytics. This raw data needs processing or transformation for which various options are available. One option may be a service- oriented architectural approach combined with web services (Raghupathi, W et al, 2007). Another option may be data warehousing, wherein data from various sources is aggregated and made ready for processing; although the data is not available in real-time. The data from diverse sources may be cleansed and readied through ETL (Extract, Transform and Load). Several data formats can be used, depending upon whether the data is structured or unstructured, as input to the Data Analytics platform. In the next step of the conceptual framework, appropriate data input approach, design, tool selection and analytics models, etc. may be decided depending upon the requirements. After that, Data Analytics may be applied for generation of queries, reports, MDA (Multi-

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Exhibit-2: A Conceptual Framework for Changing Health-related Behaviour Leveraging Data Analytics Dimensional Analytics) queries, OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) and Data Visualizations. Appropriate techniques and technologies are available for aggregation, manipulation, analysis and visualization of big data in healthcare. Powered with these applications, Health Compromising Behaviors (HCBs) of individuals and the individuals indulging into HCBs as well may be identified by analyzing their profile (demographics, symptoms, lifestyle, behavioral patterns, etc.). Similarly, through segmentation and predictive modelling, individuals who may be the beneficiary of predictive or preventive medicare or lifestyle changes may be identified. Predictive events and supporting preventive medical interventions may also be identified through broad-spectrum profiling of diseases. Once HCBs of individuals and the individuals indulging into HCBs are identified, appropriate behavioral change interventions may be made; once again leveraging Data Analytics; using Location-based Social Marketing Interventions by sending them frequent preventive or predictive flash messages, SMS and emails on their mobile phone. In the same way, appropriate behavioral change interventions may be made for individuals who may be the beneficiary of predictive or preventive medicare or lifestyle changes. In case a large number of individuals with HCB or individuals having potential for predictive or preventive medicare or lifestyle changes are found in a certain population or geographical area through Data Visualization, behavioral change interventions may be appropriately up-scaled using advertisements and celebrity endorsements on print and electronic media, campaigns, etc. in that location to promote Health Enhancing Behaviour (HEB). Thus, Data Analytics may be leveraged to change one’s health-related behaviour and promote and induce health enhancing behaviour amongst the masses; especially the youth; by prevention, early detection, timely intervention and optimal management in an efficient and sustainable way.

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6. Conclusion In spite of the immense potential for application of Data Analytics to change Health-related Behaviour of the people in a big way and promote and induce health enhancing behaviour (HEB) amongst the masses, it faces several major challenges also. Some of the most prominent challenges may be data ownership, reliability, fragmentation, standardization, governance, use and its security; data protection regulations; interoperability; information reconciliation confinements, industry preparedness; architectural issues; lack of infrastructure and the like. The dynamic availability of various data analytics algorithms also need to be made accessible at a larger scale. To reap out its optimal benefits, Data Analytics and its applications need to be a user-friendly, transparent and secure. Now that Data Analytics has become more prevalent, issues like privacy, security and data governance, improving the tools and technologies, etc. also need urgent attention. Although Data analytics potentially offers an incredible prospect of data management, there needs to be further efforts in making sure data collected is devoid of any error. The data in fact needs to be dependable, for its long-term application. Though, application of Data Analytics in healthcare is still at a nascent stage, rapid developments in platform and tool techniques may boost it which ultimately may be beneficial for the healthcare. References [1] Robillard, Jean (2010), “Changing behaviour can change health”, Corridor Business Journal, June 7 - 13, 2010. [2] “The price of excess: Identifying waste in healthcare spending,” (2012), The PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute. [3] Vlaev, Ivo & King, Dominic et al (2016), “The Theory and Practice of “Nudging”: Changing Health Behaviours”, Public Administration Review, July | August 2016. [4] Mathews, Christopher J. (2013), “Strategies for Changing Members’ Behaviour to Reduce Unnecessary Health Care Costs”, Benefits Magazine, September, 2013. [5] Bian J, Topaloglu U, Yu F, Yu F, “Towards Large-scale Twitter Mining for Drug-related Adverse Events”, Maui, Hawaii: SHB; 2012. [6] Agrawal, K. (2015), “Investigating the Determinants of Big Data Analytics’ Adoption in Emerging Economies”, Academy of Management Proceedings, Vol.2015, No.1, pp.11290. [7] Raghupathi W, Raghupathi V, “An Overview of Health Analytics”, Working paper; 2013. [8] “Drowning in Big Data? Reducing Information Technology Complexities and Costs For Healthcare Organizations” (2012), A Frost & Sullivan White Paper. [9] “Transforming Health Care through Big Data: Strategies for leveraging big data in the healthcare industry” (2013), Institute for Health Technology Transformation, New York. [10] Biddle, Stuart J.H., Gorely, Trish & Stensel, David J. (2004), “Health-enhancing physical activity and sedentary behavior in children and adolescents”, Journal of Sports Sciences, Volume-22, Issue-8.

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[11] Raghupathi, Wullanallur & Raghupathi, Viju (2014), “Big Data analytics in healthcare: Promise and potential”, Health Information Science and Systems, 2014, 2:3. [12] Stensel, D. J., King, J. A. and Thackray, A. E. (2016), “Role of physical activity in regulating appetite and body fat”, Nutrition Bulletin, 41, 314–322, British Nutrition Foundation. [13] Whitaker, R. C., Wright, J. A., Pepe, M. S., Seidel, K. D., Dietz, W. H. (1997), “Predicting Obesity in Young Adulthood From Childhood and Parental Obesity”, The New England Journal of Medicine,1997 Sep 25;337(13):869-73. [14] Must, A, Jacques, P. F., Dallal, G. E., Bajema, C. J., Dietz, W. H. (1992), “Long-term Morbidity and Mortality of Overweight Adolescents. A Follow-Up of the Harvard Growth Study of 1922 to 1935”, New England Journal of Medicine, 1992 Nov 5;327(19):1350-5. [15] Durnin, J. V. G. A. (1992), “Physical activity levels--- past and present” in N. G. Norgan (Ed) Physical Activity and Health, Cambridge University Press, pp20-27. [16] Kimm, Sue Y.S., Glynn, Nancy W., Kriska, Andrea M., Barton, Burce A., Kronsberg, Shari S., Daniels, Stephen R., Crawford, Patricia B., Sabry, Zak I., Liu, Kiang (2002), “Decline in physical activity in black girls and white girls during adolescence”, New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 347, No.10, pp.709–715. [17] Epstein, Leonard H., Meyers, Michelle D., Raynor, Hollie A. & Saelens, Brian E. (1998), “Treatment of Pediatric Obesity”, Pediatrics (ISSN 0031 4005), Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 101 (Supplement 2) 554-570. [18] Steptoe, A. S. & Butler, N. (1996), “Sports participation and emotional well-being in adolescents”, The Lancet, Vol.347, Issue 9018, pp1789–1792 [19] Ralston, Stuart H. (1997), “Science, Medicine, and the Future: Osteoporosis”, British Medical Journal, Vol. 315, No. 7106 (Aug. 23, 1997), pp.469-472. [20] Ramadas, Amutha & Fatt, Quek Kia (2018), “The Usefulness and Challenges of Big Data In Healthcare”, Journal of Healthcare Communications, 3:21. doi: 10.4172/2472- 1654.100131. [21] “Big Data Technologies in Healthcare: Needs, opportunities and challenges” (2016), Big Data Value Association [22] Pearson, N., Braithwaite, R. E., Biddle, S. J. H., Sluijs, E. M. F. van & Atkin, A. J. (2014), “Associations between sedentary behaviour and physical activity in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis”, Obesity Reviews, 15, 666-675, August 2014, published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association for the Study of Obesity. [23] Raghupathi W, Kesh S (2007), “Interoperable electronic health records design: towards a service-oriented architecture”, e-Service Journal 2007, 5:39–57.

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Challenges Facing Financial Inclusion Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tea Kasradze Caucasus International University

Abstract Financial inclusion is often considered as an access to financial resources for the wide public and small and medium-sized businesses, although it is a much broader concept and includes a wide range of access to quality financial products and services, including loans, deposit services, insurance, pensions and payment systems. Mechanisms for protecting the rights of consumers of financial products and services are also considered to be subject to financial inclusion. Financial inclusion acquires great importance during the pandemic and post-pandemic period. The economic crisis caused by the pandemic is particularly painful for low-income vulnerable population. A large part of the poor population who were working informally has lost source of income due to lockdown from the pandemic. Remittances have also been reduced / minimized, as the remitters had also lost jobs and are unable to send money home. Today, when people die from Coronavirus disease, it may be awkward to talk about the financial side of a pandemic, but the financial consequences can be far- reaching if steps are not taken today to ensure access to and inclusion of financial resources. The paper examines the impact of the pandemic on financial inclusion and the responses of the governments and the financial sectors to the challenge of ensuring the financial inclusion of the poor population and small and medium enterprises. Keywords: financial inclusion, economic growth, access to financial products and services, pandemic, low-income population

Introduction The economic growth rate in Georgia in 2019-2020 was one of the highest among the Eastern European countries and the Caucasus region – 5.1%. However, talking about this issue in a positive context by experts and government officials causes a negative attitude from citizens for some reason. We often hear not even a rhetorical question - can a country have one of the highest GDP growth rates in the region and the population cannot feel it? The answer is simple – it is possible and we should search for the reason in the non-inclusive growth of the economy (Kasradze & Zarnadze, 2019). Inclusion is an important factor for the sustainable development of the economy (Kasradze, Tea, 2018). The cause of poverty of the population is unequal opportunities, which means not only unequal incomes, but also unequal access to economic opportunities. Inclusive development benefits the wide society and not just individuals within a narrow group of society. Inclusion makes it possible to derive not only quantitative but also qualitative effects from economic growth (Kasradze, Tea; Zarnadze, Nino, 2018).

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The term "inclusion" first appeared in the Socio-Economic Development Strategy of Georgia "Georgia 2020", where we read that "Our main goal is to benefit a significant part of the population of Georgia from the goodness brought by inclusive or universal economic growth" and the development of work force focused on the requirements of the labor market, the improvement of the social security system and the provision of a quality and affordable health care system are considered by the government as the main way to achieve this goal (Government of Georgia, 2014). Financial inclusion is an integral part of economic inclusion. Moreover, the path to inclusive growth and development of the economy goes through financial inclusion. It is true that among the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which should be achieved by humanity through joint efforts by 2030, we do not find financial inclusion, but achieving many of these goals (GOAL 1: No Poverty; GOAL 2: Zero Hunger; GOAL 3: Good Health and Well- being; GOAL 4: Quality Education; GOAL 5: Gender Equality; GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth; GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality) would be impossible without financial inclusion (United Nations, 2015). UN member states use the Global Financial Inclusion (Global Findex) database to measure progress towards sustainable development goals. This document is also the statistical information base for our paper. The issue of growing financial inclusion gained a special significance during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a large part of the world's population was locked up at home. According to a preliminary assessment by the International Labor Organization (ILO), 25 million people lost their jobs and livelihoods (ILO, 2020). Now is the time for governments and financial institutions to play their part in providing greater access to financial services for poor individuals and households as soon as possible during the crisis. Governments, working together with financial institutions, must first and foremost be able to provide financial access to poor individuals and households with the necessary support to ensure their survival in these times (Ozili, 2020) (Tarek Eldomiaty, 2020). Often financial inclusion refers to the availability of only financial resources for the broad layers of society and small and medium-sized businesses, although it is a far more common concept and includes a wide range of quality financial products and services, including loans, deposit services, insurance, pensions and payment systems. As well as financial education and consumer protection mechanisms (Giovanna Prialé Reyes, 2010). Financial inclusion implies equality of access to financial information and services. Every member of the public should have access to the financial information and services that the other part of the population enjoys. Yet, unfortunately, in today’s reality billions of poor people do not have access to numerous financial globali and non-financial products and services (Kasradze, Financial Globalisation–Positive and Negative Impacts on Developing Countries, 2014). Financial inclusion allows poor people to finance their own businesses, save, contribute to the well-being of their own families, and protect themselves from daily risks. The readiness of the country's financial sector as a whole, as well as the responsible and social approach of specific financial institutions - microfinance organizations, insurance companies, banks and others - play a big role in increasing financial inclusion in general in conjunction with public policy. It is important these institutions to be well aware of their role in struggling against poverty by promoting financial inclusion (Kasradze, Poverty – A Global Socio-Economic Problem, 2013).

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The following definition of financial inclusion is also found - financial inclusion includes a diverse range of financial and non-financial products and services to combat financial exclusion. In developing countries, financial exclusion usually means being without access to a bank account in particular. This category of the population is called the unbanked category. Bank accounts allow people to save money and make (send and receive) payments. Lack of access can be caused by various reasons, such as lack of financial knowledge (Tea Kasradze, Vakhtang Antia, Ekaterine Gulua, 2019), (Nino Zarnadze, 2019), distrust of financial institutions in general, high banking fees and rates, territorial distance from bank customers, etc. In developed countries, we are dealing with more the so-called underbanked challenges, which is caused by the high cost of financial products and services due to risk management measures taken by banks. The World Bank defines financial inclusion as access to and use of formal financial services, and believes that it is a global problem and that the authorities should pay significant attention to its improvement in the country's economic development strategy (The World Bank, 2018). According to the World Bank Global Findex Database 515 million adults worldwide opened an account at a financial institution or through a mobile money provider between 2014 and 2017. Which means that by 2017, 69% of the adult population had an account, while in 2014 this figure was 62% and in 2011 it was 51%. 94% of adults in high-income economies have an account; 63% - in developing economies. Globally, 1.7 billion adults lack an account in 2017. In the Global Findex survey conducted by the World Bank in 2017, the majority (2/3) named the lack of need for an account due to lack of funds as the reason for not having an account. A quarter cite the distance and fees of banking institutions as the reason. Approximately the same number cite the fact that other family members have an account as the reason for not having an account. 1/5 cited a lack of documents and distrust of the financial system, while 6% cited a religion. (Asli Demirgüç- Kunt, Leora Klapper, Dorothe Singer, Saniya Ansar, Jake Hess, 2018). Having an account is an important first step towards financial inclusion. However, a real inclusion requires the ability to use these accounts securely and conveniently (digital payments, payments via a mobile phone or the internet) (Dorofeiev, 2019). The Global Findex database provides information not only about who owns the account, but also whether people use these accounts for payments. 1/5 of the account holders state that they have not put or withdrawn money from their accounts in the last 12 months, which is why these accounts are considered inactive and naturally such accounts cannot be considered as promoting financial inclusion. In countries where more than 80% of the population use an account, private sector initiatives and innovations have played a major role, including the main impetus for low rates on account usage and the ability to make mobile phone transfers. Financial Inclusion in Georgia According to the Inclusive Development Index (IDI) 2018 of the World Economic Forum Report, Georgia ranks 32nd among 74 developing countries in the world with a 3.991 inclusive development index, lagging behind post-Soviet countries (Diagram

1 IDI scores are based on a 1-7 scale: 1=worst and 7=best

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1). The Inclusive Development Index (IDI) is an annual assessment of 103 countries’ economic performance that measures how countries perform on eleven dimensions of economic progress in addition to GDP. It has 3 pillars; growth and development; inclusion and; intergenerational equity – sustainable stewardship of natural and financial resources (World Economic Forum, 2018).

Diagram 1. The Inclusive Development Index (IDI) 6

5 4,86 4,69 4,67 4 4,26 4,2 4 3,99 3,66 3 3,42

0 Lithuania Azerbaijan Latvia Kazakstan Russian Moldova Georgia Armenia Ukrin

Source: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Forum_IncGrwth_2018.pdf Special scrutiny is required for the part on financial intermediation, which ranks Georgia on 16th place among low and mid income states. Georgia is on the 31st place among states with the access to business accounts for the poorest 40% of the population. In terms of access to credit, it ranks 23rd. Georgia is in the middle in terms of accessibility of financial sector. The situation is even worse in case of financial intermediation of real economy investment (19/38). In terms of accessibility of local asset market, Georgia takes 34th place among 38 low and middle income states, as for attracting venture capital, Georgia is on 32nd place (Arevadze, 2015). As mentioned above, even well-developed financial systems today have failed to achieve comprehensiveness and certain segments of the population remain outside the official financial systems. As a result, in recent years, the importance of an inclusive financial system has been widely recognized in political circles, and financial inclusion is considered a policy priority in many countries, including Georgia. An inclusive financial system facilitates the efficient allocation of financial resources and thus reduces the value of capital. (Kasradze, The Major Policies Used by the Governments of Developing Countries for Attracting Direct Investments, 2014) In addition, access to financial resources and services can significantly improve a day-

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 to-day financial management, facilitate to reduce the use of high-risk informal credit sources. According to the World Bank surveys conducted in 2011, 2014 and 2017, the growth of financial inclusion in Georgia is visible in all directions. According to the World Bank Global Findex database, in 2017, 61% of the adult population of Georgia (15 years and older) had accounts, while in 2011 and 2014 this figure was 32.98% and 39.66%, respectively (Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, Leora Klapper, Dorothe Singer, Saniya Ansar, Jake Hess, 2018). According to the same study, in 2017, the adult population of Georgia without accounts named the following reasons for not having accounts: Table 1.

Reason %, age 15+ No account because financial institutions are too far away 2.55131602 No account because financial services are too expensive 12.7379675 No account because of insufficient funds 24.0508652 No account because of lack of necessary documentation 16.8846092 No account because of lack of trust in financial institutions 9.13279533 No account because of no need for financial services ONLY 0.92726338 No account because of religious reasons 1.17684305 No account because someone in the family has an account 15.6534386 It is complimentary that the number of account holders in Georgia is growing from year to year, but in terms of financial inclusion, it is more important how many other financial products and services are available to them, how much access they have to financial technology. The most significant driver of financial inclusion today is technology. Its potent effect is its ability to deliver financial services to people wherever they are and when they need them. Financial inclusion has arisen as a by-product of these technologies now commonly known as FinTech. Since financial technology lowers the costs of financial intermediation, it enables profitable intermediation of the unbanked poor (Ashenafi Beyene Fanta, 2019). Financial technologies have a special load during COVID-19. Fintech allows users locked at home due to COVID-19 to transfer money from any bank account, make payments and services for trade and business in any part of the country and abroad. Financial technology can also create a framework for the inclusion and use of technological capabilities to facilitate transaction execution, access and use of accounts. According to the Global Financial Inclusion (Global Findex) database, in 2014 and 2017, 13.37% and 29.07% of the adult population made digital payments respectively, while 20.82% and 52.95%, respectively, made or received digital payments which is quite a low indicator. The trust of poor individuals and families towards the Fintech platforms is of particular importance during COVID-19 pandemic. Fintech businesses need more transparency and security. Increasing transparency alone will not build trust. A combination of ethics, regulation, oversight, communication and transparency will be key elements of trust that will enable people to benefit from Fintech business services on the one hand, and Fintech companies to provide financial services to the poor and families on the other.

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The financial industry constantly offers innovative products and services to the population, thereby reaping great benefits itself. The appearance of Fintech companies on the Georgian financial market and their active activities have significantly contributed to solving the problem of gaining access to financial services by offering the services needed by individuals and organizations at a reasonable cost. Fintech can help millions of unbanked and underbanked individuals improve their financial well-being and tackle poverty. Fintech has boosted digital, crowdfunding, and peer-to-peer (P2P) cashless transactions in recent years. P2P loans have proved to be particularly profitable for people in emerging markets who are unable to take loans from traditional financial institutions because they do not have a financial or credit history that would allow them to assess their credibility. According to a World Bank study, there has been an increase in access to credit in recent years. In particular, according to the data of 2017, 44.92% of the adult population had access to any kind of loan in Georgia during the last year (Borrowed any money in the past year), while the similar figure in 2014 was 36.65%. It is true that 8% growth in 3 years is not a bad indicator, but if we look at the statistics of access to credit in other countries, even the former Soviet countries, we will see that the situation is not so favorable (Diagram 2):

Diagram 2. Borrowed any money in the past year (% age 15+) 60,00 55,32 54,23 50,61 50,00 45,59 46,32 45,83 44,91 41,32 37,27 40,00 30,00 20,00 10,00 0,00

2014 2017

However, it should be noted that only 23.65% of the adult population borrowed in 2017, compared to 13.86% in 2014, while 20.33% of the adult population borrowed from financial institutions or used a credit card in 2014, and 27.44% in 2017. Which, on the one hand, indicates that a small part of the adult population has access to credit cards and, on the other hand, all in all a small part of the population has taken loans from financial institutions. If you look at other sources of credit, such as borrowed from family or friends, unfortunately, we have a growth tendency here as well. In 2011-2014-2017, these figures were 14.01%, 16.23% and 20.68%, respectively, indicating that official loans are either not available for some reason or due to high interest rates, people choose this path. With that being said, it is thought-provoking that a very small portion of the adult population borrowed to start or expand a business. In particular, in 2014 and 2017 2.71% and 3.07%

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 borrowed to start, operate, or expand a farm or business. The similar figures in the former Soviet Union look like this (Diagram 3):

Diagram 3. Borrowed to start, operate, or expand a farm or business (% age 15+) 18,00 16,93 16,00 14,00 12,00 10,00 7,36 8,00 5,18 4,83 4,29 6,00 3,07 4,00 1,78 1,35 1,03 2,00 0,00

2014 2017

The COVID-19 crisis has once again shown how important digital funding is for the poor in difficult socio-economic conditions. In many developing countries of the world, including Georgia, remittances received from migrants abroad using international digital payment systems are a means of livelihood for many poor families. Sending remittances using mobile devices is an effective tool towards financial inclusion. The pandemic has caused a double problem with remittances in developing countries, one- Remittances have been sharply reduced, as the remitters had also lost jobs and are unable to send money home, which negatively affected both the well-being of specific individuals and families and the country's economy as a whole. Second - the lack of skills to make and receive digital payments in the population. Digital financial services, on the one hand, need encouragement from the regulator, and on the other hand, in parallel with the promotion of these services and raising public awareness, it is desirable to reduce tariffs on digital services. Reduced tariffs will encourage and increase the number of entities using digital services. According to the World Bank Find Global Findex Database 2014 and 2017 data, digital payments were made by 13.37% and 20.07% of the adult population in the last one year, respectively. While digital payments were made and received by 20.82% and 52.95% of the adult population, respectively. If we look at the statistics of developed European countries (Diagram 4), the difference is very big and it is clear that the Georgian government and the financial sector have a lot of joint work to do in this direction.

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Diagram 4. Made or received digital payments in the past year (%, age 15+) 120

100

2014 2017

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of cases of human infection with the virus caused by touching money were reported in Georgia. Naturally, using non-cash in such a situation is one of the best ways to protect yourself. In the report on the measures taken by the Government of Georgia against COVID-19, we read that the banking sector of Georgia is one of the leaders in the world in terms of payment technologies. There are quite a variety of means of payment and banking services: contactless cards, mobile wallets, payment bracelets, barcodes, internet banking, mobile banking, telephone banking, etc. The services can be used without physical contact with cash. In addition to the fact that these services are usually more convenient, their usage is especially important now when social distance is so critically important. We call on the population to use Internet payment services as much as possible in order for the country to be able to fight the virus effectively (Government of Georgia, 2020). However, the fact that in 2017 only 18.52% of the adult population used a debit or credit card to make a purchase in the past year and 15.27% used a mobile phone or the internet to access an account (% with an account, age 15+) indicates that on the one hand a large part of the adult population does not have accounts and, therefore, neither debit and credit cards, on the other hand, those who do have preference for cash transactions. In 2011-2014-2017, the percentage of the adult population in Georgia, according to the possession of debit and credit cards, looks like this (Diagram 5).

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Diagram 5. % of adult population (age 15+)

50 40 30 20 10 0 2011 2014 2017

Credit card ownership Debit card ownership

The growth tendency of debit card holders is complimentary, but the declining number of credit card holders in 2017 compared to 2014 still indicates the problem of access to credit and the preference for loans by non-financial institutions by a large part of the population, which does not really help increase financial inclusion. It should also be noted that a large part of the population was left without livelihoods during the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia. According to research, a large part of the adult population (44.84%) does not have access to emergency funds, which indicates low financial inclusion and complicates the situation of the already poor population in a pandemic. In 2017, there was a decrease in access to emergency funds compared to 2014. In particular, the percentage of the adult population that can access to emergency funds has decreased from 45.51% to 41.24%. In addition, for 18.18% of the adult population, a loan from a bank, an employer, or a private lender is the main source for emergency funds; And unfortunately for only 5.48% - savings. This means that despite the joint monetary and anti-crisis measures taken by the government and the National Bank during the pandemic, access to financial resources for a large part of the population will still be one of the main problems of financial inclusion in the near future (Kasradze, Theoretical Aspects of Financial Crises, 2015). Conclusion: COVID-19 is not just a pandemic that has affected nearly 14 million people to date and has taken the lives of up to 600,000 people worldwide. It is a global economic crisis triggered by lockdown measures taken to stop the virus. It is a global macroeconomic shock of uncertain scale and duration that has left people without jobs, food, education (even temporarily). The movement of capital has been halted due to risk aversion by investors and other stakeholders (Kasradze, Investment Environment in Georgia and and Domestic Investment Potential of the Country, 2014). Due to the pandemic, on the one hand, the amount of debts of citizens already in debt has increased even more, and on the other hand, the financial systems themselves are under stress. Financial institutions are unable to receive disbursements from their clients whose livelihoods have been destroyed by the pandemic (Arunachalam & Crentsil, 2020) Since the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the financial sector, naturally the same can be said about financial inclusion. The pandemic affected all stakeholders in financial inclusion - the poor, microfinance organizatins, banks and other financial institutions. Under

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 the anti-crisis plan developed by the government, initially citizens were given the opportunity to defer loan repayment for 3 months with the help of the state in order to avoid problems with the payment and the corresponding fines. After the expiration of the term, the loan payment was postponed for another 3 months. The anti-crisis plan also provides direct financial assistance to citizens who have lost their jobs or been on unpaid leave, as well as to various categories of vulnerable groups. The National Bank of Georgia has taken significant measures to mitigate the negative impact on financial sector by COVID-19 and to stimulate the country's economy. In particular (Georgia, 2020): - Reduced existing capital and liquidity requirements, allowing the banking sector to offset potential losses through these buffers and being able to continue normal business operations and crediting the real economy; - In order to provide liquidity to the banking system, the National Bank has launched swap operations, thus supplying the system with GEL liquidity. The purpose of these operations is to reduce liquidity risk in the system so that liquidity risk does not become an impediment to crediting the economy. The $200 million swap instrument will be distributed among banks in proportion to their market share; - Considering the role of microfinance organizations in providing financial services to businesses and the population of the regions of Georgia, the National Bank provides liquidity support to microfinance organizations through $200 million in swap operations; - Commercial banks’ capital requirements have been eased, which will free up 1.6 billion GEL in capital for the banking sector, which could be used to offset potential losses or to lend 16 billion GEL to the economy. The mentioned anti-crisis measures ensure the survival of stakeholders of financial inclusion in the short term, but their long-term survival is important also. The question naturally arises - how long can the moratorium on payments be extended? Where will customers get the money to repay the loan? On what basis will citizens and small businesses be able to take out new loans and on what basis will financial institutions issue new loans? Who will get the final blow when the large-scale loan defaults start? The danger is real, and the questions remain unanswered. Although COVID-19 in terms of access to financial resources threatened the positive trends discussed above in the paper on financial inclusion, in some respects it could also be said to have had a positive effect. In particular, due to the high risk of spreading the virus: Remote service was encouraged (POS cashing, remote identification, etc.); A new rule has been developed and approved, which allows customers to withdraw money from POS terminals of shopping facilities (pharmacy, grocery store) in addition to ATMs; The National Bank of Georgia has started issuing permits to banks on remote customer identification procedures. At this stage, three banks were allowed to agree to use remote identification for different product purposes; Some products and financial technology companies are being communicated on the digital transformation of some products; Remote lending procedures have been simplified according to which temporarily no real estate appraisal is required on the spot. Demand for renewal of financial statements was eased, etc. We think that all this will have a stimulating effect on financial inclusion in the future.

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Bibliography [1] Arevadze, L. (2015, December 15). What is Inclusive Growth? IDFI Publications. [2] Arunachalam, R. S., & Crentsil, G. L. (2020). Financial Inclusion in the Era of COVID- 19. An Online Participative Conference For Central Bankers, Ministries of Finance, Financial Sector Development & Financial Inclusion Professionals, Commercial & Microfinance Bankers, NBFIs, DFIs, MFIs, Consultants, FINTECH & RegTech Companies, Investors, Ins. THE FINANCIAL INCLUSION ADVOCACY CENTRE. [3] Ashenafi Beyene Fanta, D. M. (2019). The Relationship Between Technology and Financial Inclusion. In D. M. Ashenafi Beyene Fanta, Extending Financial Inclusion in Africa (pp. 211-230). Elsevier Inc. [4] Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, Leora Klapper, Dorothe Singer, Saniya Ansar, Jake Hess. (2018). The Global Findex Database 2017 - Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution. Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. [5] Dorofeiev, S. N. (2019). Digital financial inclusion: evidence from Ukraine. Investment Management and Financial Innovations, 194-205. [6] Giovanna Prialé Reyes, L. D. (2010). FINANCIAL INCLUSION INDICATORS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES:The Peruvian Case. DOCPLAYER. Retrieved from https://docplayer.net/20698246-Financial-inclusion-indicators-for-developing- countries-the-peruvian-case.html [7] Government of Georgia. (2014). Social-economic Development Strategy of Georgia "GEORGIA 2020". Tbilisi: Legislative Herald. [8] Government of Georgia. (2020). Report on the measures taken by the Government of Georgia against COVID-19. http://gov.ge/files/76338_76338_444796_COVID- 19angarishi...pdf [9] Kasradze, T. (2013). Poverty – A Global Socio-Economic Problem. Caucasus International University HERALD #5, pp. 15-18. [10] Kasradze, T. (2014). Financial Globalisation–Positive and Negative Impacts on Developing Countries. International Scientific-Analytical Journal Ekonomisti. [11] Kasradze, T. (2014). Investment Environment in Georgia and and Domestic Investment Potential of the Country. International Scientific-Analytical Journal Ekonomisti. [12] Kasradze, T. (2014). The Major Policies Used by the Governments of Developing Countries for Attracting Direct Investments. Caucasus International University HERALD. [13] 13.Kasradze, T. (2015). Theoretical Aspects of Financial Crises. Proceedings of Materials of International Scientific-Practical Conference ACTUAL PROBLEMS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL ECONOMIES (pg. 335-337). Tbilisi: PUBLISHING HOUSE OF PAATA GUGUSHVILI INSTITUTE OF ECONOMICS OF IVANE JAVAKHISHVILI TBILISI STATE UNIVERSITY. http://www.pgie.tsu.ge/contentimage/konferenciebi/2015_.pdf [14] Kasradze, T., & Zarnadze, N. (2019). CHALLENGES OF ECONOMIC OF GEORGIA: GOOD AND BAD ECONOMIC GROWTH. European Journal of Economics and Business Studies, 178-186. [15] Kasradze, Tea. (2018). Trends of Financing for Development in Georgia. American Scientific Journal #21 ,, 32-40.

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[16] Kasradze, Tea; Zarnadze, Nino. (2018, May). Enhancing Workforce Competitiveness through Improving Quality of Education – An Indispensable Means for Overcoming Poverty. International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Economy, pp. 19-21. [17] Nino Zarnadze, T. K. (2019). A WEAK EDUCATION SYSTEM–A CHALLENGE FOR SOCIETY’S WELL-BEING. Journal of Teaching and Education,, 137-149. [18] Ozili, P. K. (2020). Financial Inclusion and Fintech during COVID-19 Crisis: Policy Solutions. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3585662 [19] Tarek Eldomiaty, R. H. (2020). Institutional determinants offinancial inclusion: evidence from world economies. International Journal of Development Issues. [20] Tea Kasradze, Vakhtang Antia, Ekaterine Gulua. (2019). Challenges of Financial Management of the Higher Education Institutions in Georgia. European Journal of Economics and Business Studies, 187-206. [21] The World Bank. (2018). UFA2020 Overview: Universal Financial Access by 2020. The World Bank. Retrieved from https://ufa.worldbank.org/ [22] United Nations. (2015). TRANSFORMING OUR WORLD: THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. United Nations. [23] World Economic Forum. (2018). The Inclusive Development Index 2018 - Summary and Data Highlights.

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Digital Interferences in the Albanian Language

Natasha Shuteriqi Poroçani “Aleksandër Moisiu” University, Durrës, Albania

Abstract The development of information technology in Albania has been largely similar to that of other countries: placed in new social and communication contexts. However, two features of our national situation have been manifested for quite some time now, processes which ultimately refer to the process of training Albanian speakers. It regards a double dualism: the one between writing and speaking, and the one between respecting grammatical rules and breaking them. We have also focused on the history of this journey for Albanian as well as on the concretizations of the interventions (Italianism, Anglicism, slang, etc.), closely related to the social and cultural contexts from which they were transferred. In our work, we have focused on the space occupied by electronic writing in virtual communication, and the hybrid changes that the language intended to be used in this communication typology has undergone. To carry out our study we have relied on the products of research in virtual communication (WhatsApp, Viber, email, etc.) of a group of young people aged 16-20 years as well as data provided by open scientific university studies. We have come to the conclusion that presently, a new way of communication is being created which aims to and realizes fast communication, in real-time, through abbreviations, interventions, and graphics, which although not in the nature and structure of the Albanian language, manage to convey messages and provide accurate perceptions, but also closely related to the social, timely and cultural strata in which they are used. Such codifications are the result and consequence of the new contexts into which communication has entered. Keywords: electronic communication, abbreviations, media, language.

Methodology Is the Albanian language moving under the influence of these changes, is this a mutation that conveys a series of positive aspects but also equally negative? If we look into the proportions of which the Albanian language has changed over time, the writing of the present gives us an opportunity to understand whether this new linguistic form (Nobile, 2017) used especially by young people to communicate is a hybrid, a trend or something new, whose role we have not yet defined in the Albanian language.

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In order to reach the answer to the problem, the champion we have chosen has been the age group of 16-20 years. The approach to virtual communication of young people has brought productive analysis regarding the journey that the Albanian language has undergone in this type of communication. We have taken a comparative approach with data coming from the history of Albanian development. Undoubtedly, the theoretical analysis of recent studies at European Universities has been a strong argument that has provided us with clarity on the reached conclusions. Virtual communication and the problem in focus Alma: - Gimme Soni’s digits qckly Blerta:-06982.... Alma-thnx Blerta-wk, (emoji: two pairs of lips) A variant of correct use of grammar would be: -Honey, can you please pass me Soni’s number? -06982.... -Thank you. -You’re welcome. Two kisses. If you need to write a quick message, you start using intensive Albanian: press the keyboard very quickly, shorten words, synthesize sentences, use emoji (even in Albanian we do not have an equivalent term), narrow or eliminate the use of characters of punctuation. You may happen to replace voice speech with a message. Linguists have called it a kind of hybrid language (Barton D, 2003) that blends typical elements of speaking and writing and that is increasing its use day by day, it is becoming our way of communicating. Electronic communication is a very wide space. The first message from one computer to another was sent in 1969. In the 1980s, research in Switzerland conducted by British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee resulted in the World Wide Web linking HyperText documents into an accessible information system. from each node in the network. Since the mid-1990s the Internet has had a revolutionary impact on culture, commerce, and technology, including the rise of almost instant communication via email, messaging, video calling, blogs, social networking, and online shopping sites. But what is being made into a field of research today is the space of electronic writing. It identifies texts and tools which have many similarities and differences with each other, which meet in graphics and messages but differ in individual specifics. Innovative values have been attributed to these texts and tools in relation to the traditional ways and forms of writing. -What are the specifics of this new writing that has already been created? -What are its innovative aspects and to what extent do they have to do with tradition?

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-Is this kind of writing really a hybrid that should be treated as an evolution (and in this case should it be stimulated?), or regression (and in this case does it convey the need for a quick intervention?). These are questions which, not for the first time face the social and linguistic consciousness of the individual with doubts, sometimes fatal and others sceptical. If we take a closer look at the object of this phenomenon, we would focus mainly on the Albanian that is currently used in electronic writing. We used the term Albanian to delimit the semantic spaces of the phenomenon: this territory includes the linguistic characteristics of the electronic writing, but also social and psychological factors that not infrequently have intervened with determining force. In this sense, the value of research is based mainly on linguistic phenomena (abbreviations, cloning, chalks, etc.) which of course are not characteristic of electronic writing in general, but specifically of electronic writing tools that serve to dialogue: e-mail, chat messages. Here we are referring mainly to text messages, but also to those messages where emoticons or emojis interfere. While computer typing gives you the convenience of writing and rewriting, splitting, cutting and pasting material elsewhere, etc., this often damages the clarity of communication because shifting often affects the context, connectors, and consequently the semantics of spoken word (Fare comunicazione, 2006). However, the influence of these phenomena in the Albanian language is still in process, which makes it difficult to determine their definite influential role on it. The phenomenon of electronic communication certainly does not end in the dialogical dimension. Other media undoubtedly present similar phenomena, but to a much lesser extent: so for example websites are written mainly in a standard Albanian, or with isolated deviations. This is not to say that the textual structure of a book page is the same as that of a web page. There are differences between them that are necessarily conditioned by extralinguistic factors (Dinale, 2001) such as. paper as opposed to the screen, the size of a book and the size of a monitor, etc. However, these are phenomena that considerably affect the architecture of a text, especially the hypertext structure and less the linguistic material. Undoubtedly important elements that are affected by this kind of use of language, are the types of discourses that appear in stylistic diversity which is conditioned precisely by the change of the writing tool. Text formats, different from traditional formats often appear. The writing process in our schools dates back to the early twentieth century. Regarding primary education, the researcher Rama (Rama, 2013) states that "in the time period we are discussing, most of the teaching time was occupied by: the teacher's speech, the student-teacher reading and the written assignments", which were done with a feather (a tool that is not at all known today by the generation of the `70s and above). The transition from feather to pen must have taken place in the late '60s, the times when the usage of a typewriter was treated as a state-paid

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 profession. The introduction of the computer in the 2000s became staggering, but despite this, writing on a computer is considered a massively incomplete process, although in universities, in the public administration, and in the world of work it is starting to become predominant. The computer, this new tool that has nothing to do with the pen or feather, meets them in the final product writing. But even this physical contact shares radical differences in content. Electronic communication versus the traditional one -Novelties Text written electronically in applications such as WhatsApp or Viber, unlike text written on paper has a dialog destination. The destination in question has conditioned and shaped different typologies from the traditional ones. This is exactly what makes it show the most obvious differences from traditional writing (where we set not only the standard but also dialects, jargon, etc.). The primary purpose of this type of dialogue communication is to convey information in real-time, comparable to face-to-face conversation. This is true of email as well, although it can be postponed. To summarize, this applies to text messages that are communicated electronically. We believe that this real-time factor is the fundamental innovation of electronic communication, as opposed to the traditional one. The history of writing tells us that upon the creation of humankind, they expanded their world by first choosing to gather information and equally, to transfer this information. In this sense, "language" was the first "internet" that not only transferred information but also associated it with gestures which were later called "body language", which today, when transmitted in real- time, the real internet has named Emoji. After all, the entirety of tools that internet communication offers, do nothing but increasingly tend to imitate those of oral communication. In this innovation, it is the details that define innovation. And the details include emojis among others. Sociologists argue that the use of the Internet, social networks, and conversations, aimed at mimicking face-to-face conversation, includes emojis, as graphic expressions of the emotions one chooses to convey in that verbal information. It economizes not only writing (information) but also emotion. In a way information-related emojis make relationship skills between people create more convenient communication. But Baron (Baron, 1998) draws attention by saying that it should never be forgotten that in the relationship between traditional writing and electronic writing, there was also the telephone, which has nevertheless progressively reduced the distance between writing and traditional speech. It has enabled conversations at synchronous distances; but also telegraph and fax, which send text remotely but in real-time. If, from a communicative point of view, the linguistic novelty of electronic writing consists in the synchronous use (term used by Baron) of writing, from a sociolinguistic point of view, the most essential innovation consists in the decisive contribution that these tools have made to

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 modify the sociological basis of those who use1 writing for informal communication. Up to twenty years ago, this change was quite insentient, but now due to a kind of democratization of language, as well as other factors, it is expanding rapidly. The democratization of language has often been understood as disrespecting the rules of the traditional written text because it is known that the writer when taking the pen in their hand, starts to use the most formal variety of their linguistic repertoire. But re-writing (mainly dialogical writing) is more intimate, more volatile, less formal even compared to typological texts intended for informal writing such as diary, love letters, notes, or wall writing. Relation to the standard All these phenomena were not born out of anything. They were firstly prepared by the change in social interactions and then by the change of the individual's relations with society and language as a means between them. Hysenaj (Hysenaj, 2013) claims that "Changes in society, language liberalization, and the establishment of communicative contacts between members of the speaking community, have produced linguistic evolution accompanied by changes in existing codes." In 19722 in Albania, the use of standard language in official communication was established. Administratively, teaching and any relationship between the individual and the state (including the media) is organized in the standard language. However, if we intend to refer to the changes in communication in the Albanian language, we must consider the reasons as to why the standard presented problems that were inherited until today and were later standardized from online communication. Firstly, we must refer to the model used to shape the standard. If the strait between the two dialects within the territory of the former RPSSH was visible, unification was softening it. At the same time, the speech in Albania and the speech in Kosovo since the conception of the standard reflected this distance, which over the years not only was not ignored but further hardened. Paçarizi (Paçarizi, 2008), specifies that the Albanian spoken in Kosovo differed from that spoken in Albania in the fact that standard speech in Albania was based on the "vocal model of Tosk Albanian", while standard speech in Kosovo was based on the vernacular speech of Prishtina, which sometimes even had elaborate features of the vocal model of Kosovo. "In Albania, the vocal model of Tosk Albanian prevailed, which began to be imposed as if it were the standard itself, being brought with disregard for the standard itself", says Paçarrizi, (2011: 97), thus identifying one of the reasons for the unsatisfactory spreading of spoken Albanian which was standardized in 1972. This prevented spoken Albanian from being satisfactorily mastered by other speakers who had a native language of any other dialectal variant, especially by standard Albanian speakers in Kosovo. We referred to this phenomenon as a

1We use the verb "use" instead of the noun "use" because we judge that in both types of articulations the verb better provides the image of a complete movement of linguistic material. 2Instruction for the school year 1972-1973, RTPSH, Directorate of Education and Culture, Directorate of Secondary Education, Nr. 205

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 problem, since the dialect of Kosovo was massively absorbed by the language of electronic communication for dialogue, a phenomenon analogous to some of the other countries in the world. Secondly, since the standard is a variant of the language used, considered by Chiss (Chiss, 2010) as the best variant, it must be noted that it was maintained for 50 years with rigor and fanaticism by the state, its preservation being even accompanied by administrative measures. This, however, did not avoid the use of the dialect in the spoken language but rather isolated it from the written language. This method of controlling the language (mostly written) was powerless to the extent that immediately after the `90s the dialects exploded, gaining territory in writing as well. Here we do not refer only to the works of Fishta, Koliqi, etc. that began to be republished and reread, but also to the works of contemporary authors of that time such as Rreshpja, Camaj, etc. In addition, demographic shifts accelerated social change at the same pace as linguistic change. The newcomers brought with them to the capital (which we will necessarily treat as the epicenter of the standard language) their phonetic, lexical and even syntactic changes (especially if we refer to the unexplicated forms, the deafening of the vocal consonant at the end of the word, the frequent ellipse, half-words, or tempo change in speech). This assertion is generated by the idea of Hysenaj, according to which "In the current situation, we can talk about the concept called" dialectization of the standard ". This statement applies to both Albanian models, the one of Albania, based in Tirana, and that of Kosovo, based in Pristina. " Thirdly, especially in the 60s, a new communication situation started in the field of Albanian letters, which spread modernism. With the motive of avoiding templates and schemes, the novels of P. Marco, J. Xoxa, and I. Kadare brought another way of communication in written Albanian. Here I would refer especially to a completely new type of communication brought by Kadare, who with "General" or "Kronika", managed to transmit this information in sync with the event. For example, what in Italy in the seventies and eighties Simone (Simone, 1990) immediately defined as "speaking for oneself", taking form, strength, meaning, especially by young people, in order to expand the sphere of intimacy, in Albania they were unnamed but were absorbed and imitated in more fragile forms. There are some communication contexts that did not remain biographical but were perceived as overtly intimate narratives. As an example, we can take the poetic communication of Fatos Arapi or Dhori Qiriazi, the stories of Ilinden Spasses. I would like to single out in this context, Kadare's particularly interesting phenomenon in "Winter of great loneliness", where perhaps for the first time in our literature comes the jargon of the boys of Bardhyl street, which can be considered the first appearance of that which would later be called the WhatsApp language. Fourthly, the consolidation of Albanian youth values, which had begun to appear in the sixties, but was interrupted after the 11th Festival, belongs to the period after the `90s. The social and political changes brought changes in the individual's relationship with language. However, those at the forefront of creating a new language code were the youth. This is because it is

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 well-known that electronic communication in Albania has a differentiated distribution between different generations. Fifthly, the characteristics of the so-called youth language took shape through the intervention of different cultures, which chaotically gained ground in their beginnings, due to the multicultural virginity with which the Albanian youth approached. Nevertheless, in the 2000s many changes took place: the culture of international pop, the strong influence of Italian culture, the influences of the Anglo-Saxon world, the arrogant entry of Kosovo dialects, the stubbornness of local dialects, which in their majority, ultimately testify to an extraordinary vitality in Albania, comparable to some of the European language areas. Also, if we consider the relationship between the Albanian-speaking territory and the number of Albanian dialects and sub-dialects, then we could say that this movement is even competitive with these European areas. Furthermore, in this space we also find room to insist on the power that jargons received. Before the '90s, the jargon of young people originated from political, social, or cultural movements whilst today, they develop new channels of communication simply to break away from the rest of society, without any malicious reason. The sole purpose of using foreign words, metaphors, and abbreviations is to load the language with expressive force to make it essential, dialectical, shameless, and, above all, incomprehensible to others. When used in everyday life, jargon may be passed over in writing, in order to avoid entering certain literary genres. It would not be wrongful to say that the history of a language is also the history of its slang. In general, jargons serve to enrich the phonetic image that the dominant language does not always fulfill; they transform meaning not simply into polysemous spaces, but into codes; jargons are red light bulbs that prove that a group exists, but at the same time convince you that if you are not part of this group, you can not penetrate the content. This is why slang can be considered special uses, which we have further discussed below. Finally, the audiovisual media today have placed great responsibilities on the standard. In the television medium or in the language of television mediators, there is a noticeable use of coded language, interference of foreign words, syntax disorder, a re-creation of models borrowed from the language of communication in dialogue, etc. All of this should not be treated as a violation1 of pure communication but as a need to achieve that form of synchronization that electronic dialogue favors. What is happening to the WhatsApp Albanian? Italianism. It is already claimed not only by Albanian analysts and sociologists but also by foreigners, that the opening to Italian culture in the '90s, the integration of different local cultures, more or less in this period and later on, after the 2000s, the dominance of the Anglo-

1 By the term "violation" we do not mean damage or destruction of the phenomenon, but simply its tangible change

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Saxon culture, remain the three most important factors in the evolution that Albanian society underwent in general, but also in the shaping and formatting of a new generation, which, among other things, began to present special graphic uses initially in written texts in general and later in electronic ones. In the beginning, there was Italian influence. According to the researcher N. Shkëlzeni (Shkelzeni, n.d.) the aforementioned became a very strong influential factor in the early `90s due to geographical proximity, long-term relations between the two nations, Albanian emigration of the last twenty years, and high consumption of Italian media products. Italian is a language of study, as there are many Albanian students who attend Italian universities every year, it is a working language as long as a large number of Albanian immigrants work and live in Italy. But Italian is also the language of television, entertainment, shows, cinema, and fashion. All these reasons have made Italian one of the most popular languages, especially by young people, who grew up in constant contact with Italian television. A:-Hey B.-(emoji) A:-U there? B:-whr we going? A:-Y u trynna b kool. As if u dunno... Anglicanism. Undoubtedly, the most dominant influence is that of English. The role of English in national languages has already become a phenomenon (Furiassi, 2010). This is not only because of the technology which is built almost entirely or partly in English, but also due to the fact that the leading position that English has taken in international communication, often suggests codes that have already been internationalized. At this point though, the alarming signal must be activated, since many Anglo-Saxon formats are damaging Albanian and its lexicon. Since this is not the focus of our paper, we will focus only on a few abbreviations that have already been accommodated in the electronic uses of young people in Albanian. For this we are bringing examples treated by (Schirru, n.d.) (htt10), who in their work have proved the etymology of some graphic signs in Italian, which coincide with the same historical in Albanian. In the English context, we find a tradition of some graphic signs having their genesis or their moment of maximum spread in the practice of medieval writing (Berruto, 1987): it is the case of the so-called "and-commercial", the & sign, which represents the printed interpretation of the graphic manuscript nexus commonly used for the Latin conjunction "e", which in English corresponds to the parallel value of "and (dhe)"; or the famous snail, the @ sign, which derives from a simple ligature, in a cursive script such as that commonly used by merchants, between the letter or with an overlapping line having the value of an abbreviation: in the Anglo-Saxon world it is the preposition that introduces an address. Therefore, its use, in the context of information communication, informs about email addresses.

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In electronic Albanian, we have an even richer presence of English abbreviations such as thnx (thank you), hi (hello), x (for), etc. A: -Dud. Wt the .. B:-Yep i’m srs A:-Who told ya? C:-D barman. A:-Ignr him, he’s well bored Or A:- Looking lit B:-thnx Mathematical composition. Equally present is the phenomenon of compositions between numbers and words borrowed sometimes from Italian and sometimes from English: a single number serves to indicate the phonetic correspondents which is embodied inside the composition thereby conceiving a word. U2 (you too), Ci6 (are you there, can you, are you available, etc.), B4 (before), 4ev (forever). There are also cases from Albanian, but fewer, for example, ver8, I am going for 5hkim. We are at the stage when these uses are expanding their area of use and creating a system of abbreviations that previously existed nebulously (Söll, 1980). As we trace such combinations and clones, let us not forget that the mathematical operators x, y, z, +, -,:, x was widely used as abbreviations in the written language long ago. Conclusions The Albanian language is a language with high flexibility. It has modes, verb tenses, cases for the noun, the surname, the pronoun, it possesses abbreviated forms, a variety of limbs, etc. Therefore, is Albanian suitable for such a mutation? What if the phonetic principle of Albanian accepted this phenomenon? These elements that we analyzed are being used by young people to identify themselves, to stand out from the rest of society. Apparently, social, cultural, political factors, etc., are being stratified by linguistic factors as well, which are even determining. This sociolinguistic detail has turned into a maze where not everyone can enter. You need to know the linguistic keys to be able to understand this new incoming group, which is deepening the difference with the rest of society. However, judging by the habit of shortening the word, using the emoji, or abolishing the use of punctuation marks, they all mix with us without any logic with the result of generating a final product of which we still unclear, it is a hybrid, a mutation, or a way that will be left to writing alone. Because, while in an SMS an individual writes: "Çpb" when we meet the same individual on the street, no doubt he asks us: what are you doing? Should we then be afraid of what is happening? Let time speak.

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Bibliography [1] Baron, N. (1998). Letters by Phone or Speech by Other Means: The Linguistic of Email. . Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0271530998000056 [2] Barton D, L. C. (2003). Language online. Investigating digital texts and practices. London, New York., USA. [3] Berruto, G. (1987). Sociolinguistica dell’italiano contemporaneo. Milano, Italy: Carroci. [4] Chiss, J.-L. (2010). Retrieved from https://www.editions.polytechnique.fr/files/pdf/EXT_1547_3.pdf [5] Dinale, C. (2001). I giovani allo scrittoio. Padova, Italy:: Esedra. [6] Fare comunicazione. (2006). In Teoria ed esercizi. Roma, Italy: Carroci editore. [7] Furiassi, C. (2010). False Anglicisms in Italian. Milano, Italy:: Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher,. [8] Hysenaj, H. (2013). Shqipja ne folur 40 vjet pas standartizimit te gjuhes. Retrieved from http://www.shkenca.org/pdf/gjuhe/standartizimi.pdf [9] Nobile, M. (2017). I prestiti, digitali: studio di interferenze, linguistiche. Salerno, Italy: Universita degli studi di Salerno. [10] Paçarizi, R. (2008). Gjuha Shqipe. In Thesis Kosova, nr.1, AAB (p. 116). Prishtine. [11] Rama, B. (2013). Mesimdhenia e gjuhes shqipe ne nje veshtrim bashkekohor. Retrieved from https://unitir.edu.al/doktoratura-besnik-rama-fakulteti-i-histori- filologjise-departamenti-i-gjuhesise/ [12] Schirru, L. a. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/16134621/La_lingua_italiana_nei_nuovi_mezzi_di_com unicazione_SMS_posta_elettronica_e_Internet_con_Luca_Lorenzetti_ [13] Shkelzeni, N. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.doktoratura.unitir.edu.al/2016/09/ndikimi-i-medias-globale-ne- kulturen-dhe-identitetin-e-rinise-shqiptare/?lang=it [14] Simone, R. (1990). Fondamenti di linguistica. Bari, Italy: Editori Laterza. [15] Söll, L. (1980). Gesprochenes und Geschriebenes Franzö sisch. Berlind, Germany: Schmidt.

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Developing an Online Nursing Course

Silvana Gripshi Faculty of Technical Medical Sciences, University of Medicine Tirana-Albania

Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic and mandatory lockdown, academic nursing institutions as well as all over the world and in Albania have shifted to distance learning. An unknown practice in nursing education in Albania that was associated with a range of difficulties for staff and students. As distance education continues to be utilized by higher learning institutions, many struggles in knowing how to effectively utilize tools for the benefit of the students, faculty and staff facilitating online teaching. This review aims to describe the process of creating and developing an online course in nursing education. The intended result is a review of the latest literature, as well as a practical set of guidelines for planning and developing online courses. It is important for nursing educators to support the changing technology and its potential for teaching purposes. Keywords: nursing education, online, course, distance learning

Introduction During the COVID-19 pandemic and mandatory lockdown, academic nursing institutions as well as all over the world and in Albania have shifted to distance learning, an important strategy that responded to this unusual situation and provided education to students. Distance education was an unknown process and did not previously practice by Albanian lecturers, consequently was associated with a range of difficulties for staff and students. So, qualitative structuring of the communication environment can influence the development of an online course, in order to bring about the desired changes in students' knowledge and skills.19 However, research shows that creating an online course involves a different set of skills than delivering content in a traditional course setting.14 This paper aims to describe the process of creating and developing an online course in nursing education. A number of studies from the nursing literature database were analyzed, using keyword research combinations related to the design and development of an online nursing course. Theoretical Basis The design and delivery of quality Internet-based courses is heavily dependent upon the use of well-researched instructional practices that are aligned with current theories of learning.2,26 Constructivist models of learning are exclusively recommended as "best-practice" for the design and delivery of Web-based courses in nursing education.10,17 The constructivist model of learning is based on the notion that online instructors are facilitators of learning who create authentic, interactive educational experiences that support learners' efforts to actively

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 construct personal meaning and knowledge based on new information and prior knowledge.23 One of the best known summaries of constructivist-based instructional practices is the widely disseminated list of seven principles of effective teaching, written by Chickering and Gamson.4 Designing and developing an online course Organization is key to any project. So, need to gather all the resources from previous courses you have taught, content and instructional materials you have researched or picked-up from colleagues and put them in a format/file and store in a way you can easily access.7 A distance course can either be pre-packaged and offered to a given population or produced on commission. In any case, its aims and objectives cannot be defined without first carrying out a detailed study of the users’ learning needs and then setting them out in detail.24 The course should begin with a welcome from the instructor that includes a personal note, some information about the instructor along with contact information, a course description, a syllabus containing course outcomes, information about procedures to be followed, textbook and resource material information, assignment descriptions, a course schedule, and information on how to obtain technical assistance.20 It is just as important for a teacher to give a sense of personal presence in an online course as it is in a traditional classroom. In an online setting, presence equates to being visible. The sense of presence is conveyed in an introductory audio or video message from the instructor, and it continues in discussion groups where the instructor should make comments and address students by name. Holding regular online office hours and replying to students’ questions and concerns in a timely way also increase the sense of personal presence.1 Adding a frequently asked questions link to your course will also convey to students that you really care about their understanding and learning. You can add common questions and answers that you encounter each time that you teach the course.22 But it is necessary to identify the knowledge and basic skills that students will need in order to participate in course activities. At the university level these relate to current year, course of study, and the student’s effective knowledge both of the content and the technology to be used, elements which can easily be gauged through an entrance exam.24 Defining and Structuring Aims and Objectives Proper definition of aims and objectives have a strong impact on the subsequent design phases and especially on the mechanism used to evaluate both the course as a whole and learning in particular.24 An easy framework for creating learning objectives is the A.B.C.D. method. This stands for Audience, Behavior, Condition and Degree.7 Structuring of objectives may be carried out in a variety of manners, including arrangement in a taxonomy (Bloom, 1956) or in a hierarchy of main and subordinate objectives.8 Content Structuring The sound structuring of online course content into main and subordinate topics is strongly advised, given the close connection this structure has with the structure of the Web-based environment that is to host the learning activities and manage communication flow. Online courses, especially those based on collaborative strategies, must take proper account of participants’ specific needs. Course flexibility is called for in response to a variety of factors: differences in equipment levels, differences in the amount of free time available to dedicate to the course or differences in the level of know-how in the technology to be used.24 The core course content should be divided into modules, also called units or blocks, each with its own learning outcomes. This way, learners can use the modules they need and will find it easy to navigate among topics. Within a module, the instructor may include lectures. However,

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 traditional lecture notes should not just be converted to online format, because of students can get lost in the narrative and find it difficult to move around in the pages and do not interact with the information. Instead, lecture material can be embedded in a multimedia package that can include topic and subtopic headings, links to other Web pages, video clips from YouTube or TeacherTube, or textbook resources.6 Further course content can be delivered by textbooks or e-books; online periodicals with reading guides, summaries, and questions; animations; digital pictures that illustrate important concepts; or video clips of demonstrations. Choice of Educational Strategies Having defined the educational objectives, we need to identify the learning strategies to be adopted for their pursuit.24 Many different constructivist teaching strategies may be built, as simulations, case studies, concept map development, problem-based learning exercises, logs and journals, and group projects. It is important to identify the most effective methodology for employing each of these strategies. Students do not learn much just listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and giving answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.11 Another useful strategy is including an assignment directing students to find new websites related to your course. This activity engages students and adds to course resources.22 Using a variety of teaching strategies will address students’ varied learning styles.11 Defining Evaluation Criteria Students need appropriate feedback on performance to benefit from courses. In getting started, students need help in assessing existing knowledge and competence. In classes, students need frequent opportunities to perform and receive suggestions for improvement. At various points during college, and at the end, students need chances to reflect on what they have learned, what they still need to know, and how to assess themselves.4 To keep students engaged in their learning, short quizzes or assignments should be given at least weekly. This practice prevents students from letting work slide until the midterm or final exam.5 Examination security is of concern to many faculties who teach online courses. Is it possible to know for sure that the person taking the quiz or exam is the student enrolled in the course? Yes, it is possible, if your institution has the money to invest in high-tech security measures using biometric authentication like voice recognition or retinal scanning software, or monitor webcams. Short of such solutions, students can be required to come to the campus for exams or go to a proctored location.15 Other measures used to deter cheating on tests include automatic randomizing of test items, issuing a password to access the test, setting time limits for tests, using anti-plagiarism software and using browser lockdown software. Also, you can design the test so that it is not easy for students to look up information and yet complete it on time, and purposefully designing assessments that address class assignments in some detail, rather than using open-ended questions12,21 The complicated matter of defining evaluation criteria is still the subject of research. Evaluating an online course raises a number of problems at different levels. Two in particular are of special significance 24: 1. Evaluation of learning. 2. Evaluation of student participation levels in terms of activity carried out online.

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Evaluation of learning. Without going into detail about the modes normally used for evaluating learning in an online course, it should nevertheless be stressed that their definition must go hand in hand with the definition of educational objectives and of the educational strategies employed for pursuing those objectives. What this means is that the learning strategy itself often suggests the mode of evaluation. For instance, a strategy that features online discussion calls for evaluation based on qualitative-quantitative analysis of the messages produced by the participants.9,25 Evaluation of participation levels. We need to distinguish here between two different ways of organizing participants; namely, virtual classes or learning circles.18 Virtual classes bring together individual participants who are scattered over a geographical area and therefore remote from one another. Learning circles, on the other hand, are locally based groups who use ICT to communicate with other such groups situated in other geographical areas. Evaluation of participation levels within virtual classes may be performed by analyzing the messages produced and by examining the log files to gauge the level ofonline “presence”.24 Discussion We need to distinguish here between activities based on individual action and those that envisage collaborative learning, as well as between activities designed for use by virtual classes or by learning circles. In addition, we need to indicate the resources required for each activity. These include learning and support material, course guides, available experts, the roles of the tutor (counselor, discussion moderator, facilitator for exercise activities or collaborative production, etc), management modes for group activities, the network services to be used.24 When organizing network activities, it is crucial to decide how many participants are to be involved and how their interaction is to be organized.27,18 Harmonization of staff members’ roles is a key factor in the success of an online course. It helps to avoid overlap in the tutors' actions to prevent clashes in the replies given by different tutors, to delineate the respective fields of action of the tutors and experts, to establish decision- making procedures, and so on.24 Online courses require careful prior structuring, given that once they are underway it becomes extremely hard to make substantial alterations. The same meticulous planning must also go into the scheduling of each individual activity, be it at the stage or the module level. Outlining the schedule for the whole course is no easy task. No matter how much care and effort are put into estimating the time necessary for the various activities, the need invariably arises for constant calibration, ever greater flexibility, and response to 14 needs that come up throughout the course. You will not create a perfect online course, at least not the first time you learn it. It takes a few semesters to improve it, but keep experimenting with new approaches, refining your learning according to your learning objectives and your students' reactions. It is highly recommended to include a Course survey in your final module so that you can gather valuable data and insights from the student's perspective on the model, content and delivery of your course.7 Expect more and you will get more. High expectations are important for everyone - for the poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert themselves, and for the bright and well motivation. Expecting students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when teachers and institutions hold high expectations of themselves and make extra efforts.4

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Conclusion The delivery of nursing programs via distance education has great potential. Nevertheless, whether or not the online method is as effective as a traditional nursing classes remains to be seen. A comparison and evaluation of the same course that is offered by the same instructor in both an online and traditional classroom setting should be included in future agendas. Nursing online programs provide one solution for students to take courses and complete degree programs while still in this pandemic situation. Results from the course evaluation of the Trends and Issues in Nursing course suggest that most students thought their online learning experiences where positive and that they learned the key course concepts and skills. We suggest that these positive outcomes are directly related to the features of the electronic classroom, which supported instructor efforts to create a quality online learning environment. References [1] Baker, C., & Taylor, S. L. (2010, February). The importance of teaching presence in an online course. Faculty Focus Special Report. Retrieved from www.facultyfocus.com [2] Bangert A. The seven principles of effecting teaching: a framework for designing, delivering and evaluating an Internet-based assessment course for nurse educators. Nurse Educ. 2005;30(5):221-225. [Context Link] [3] Bloom, B.S. (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook: The Cognitive Domain. David McKay, New York. [4] Chickering AW, Gamson ZF. Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE Bulletin. 1987;39(7):3-7. [Context Link] [5] Dail, T. K. (2010, February). Enabling: A strategy for improving learning. Faculty Focus Special Report. Retrieved from www.facultyfocus.com [6] Das, S. (2010, May). Increasing instructor visibility in online courses through mini- videos and screencasting. Faculty Focus Special Report. Retrieved from www.facultyfocus.com [7] Designing an online course. https://ctl.mesacc.edu/teaching/designing-an-online- course/ [8] Gagne, R. M. (1970). The conditions of learning (2nd ed.). Holt, Rinehart & Winston. [9] Henri, F. (1992) Computer conferencing and content analysis. In Collaborative Learning Through Computer Conferencing (ed. A.E. Kaye). Springer-Verlag, Berlin [10] Jonassen DH. Computers as Mindtools for Schools. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall; 2000. [Context Link] [11] Legg, T. J., Adelman, D., Mueller, D., & Levitt, C. (2009). Constructivist teaching strategies in online distance education. Journal of Nursing Education, 48(2), 64–69 [12] Ko, S., & Rossen, S. (2010). Teaching online: A practical guide. (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge [13] Keegan, D. The Competitive Advantages of Distance Teaching Universities, [WWW document]. URL: http://www.fernuni-hagen.de/ZIFF/v2-ch46a.htm, October 1998

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[14] Miller, J. L. (2007). The new education professionals: The emerging specialties of instructional designer and learning manager. International Journal of Public Administration, 30(5), 483–498. doi:10.1080/01900690701205970 [15] O’Neil, C. A., Fisher, C. A., & Newbold, S. K. (2004). Developing an online course. New York, NY: Springer. [16] Owston, R.D. (1997). The World Wide Web: A Technology to Enhance Teaching and Learning? Educational Researcher, 26(2), 27-33. Retrieved May 8, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/58179/. [17] Partlow KM, Gibbs WJ. Indicators of constructivist principles in Internet-based courses. Journal of Computing in Higher Education. 2003;14(2):68-97. [Context Link] [18] Riel M., & Levin, J. (1990). Building electronic communities: Success and failure in computer working. Instructional Science, 19, 145-169 [19] Reigeluth, Charles M., ed. Instructional-design theories and models: A new paradigm of instructional theory. Vol. 2. Routledge, 2013. [20] Rovai, A. P. (2004). A constructivist approach to online college learning. Internet and Higher Education, 7, 79–93. doi: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2003.10.002 [21] Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., and Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education. Boston, MA: Pearson Education,Inc. [22] Sull, E. C. (2010, November). Teaching online with Errol: A tried and true mini-guide to engaging online students. Faculty Focus Special Report. Retrieved from www.facultyfocus.com [23] Svinicki MD. New directions in learning and motivation. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 1999; 80:5-27. [Context Link] [24] Trentin G. (2001). Designing Online Courses, in C.D. Maddux & D. LaMont Johnson (Eds) The Web in Higher Education: Assessing the Impact and Fulfilling the Potential, pp. 47-66, [25] Thorpe, M. (1998) Assessment and ‘third generation’ distance education. Distance Education,. 19, 2, [26] Thorpe, M. (1998) Assessment and ‘third generation’ distance education. Distance Education,. 19, 2, [27] Thorpe, M. (1998). Assessment and “third generation” distance education. Distance Education, 19(2), 265-286. [28] Thurmond VA. Considering theory in assessing the quality of Web-based courses. Nurse Educ. 2002;27(1):20-24. [Context Link] [29] Webb, N.M. (1982). Student interaction and learning in small groups. Review of Educational Research, 52(3), 421-445.

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Suicide Among Young People

Zyhra Gripshi

Abstract Suicide affects the lives of many people across the globe and is a concerning public health issue. Almost 800,000 people’s deaths are the result of internationally suicide each year, meaning one person every 40 seconds. Suicide, or deliberate self-harm in the presence of death thoughts, whether direct or indirect (Kann L), represents a phenomenon with tremendous consequences for the individual and beyond, a phenomenon encountered in all social strata and in different populations. Keywords: suicide, young, health

Introduction Youth suicide is a serious phenomenon due to the lost years of life when a young person takes his own life. Since the suicide rate among young people is high, youth suicide should be considered as a serious health and social issue because of the cost. Studies and research so far of cases of suicide from a sociological point of view show that the main causes of its occurrence are of a social and individual nature. Family relationships, good material conditions, correct relations with the environment, normal and trauma-free development of childhood personality, are considered as circumstances that significantly prevent suicide. On the other hand, the disordered family, conflicting relationships between members, trauma, stress, inability to solve life problems are factors that contribute to suicide. In this regard is mentioned mental illness and disorders; various depressions and psychopathies; the suffering from serious and incurable diseases; the loss of loved ones; loss of self-confidence; fear of responsibility for actions or omissions taken; feelings of isolation and abandonment; revenge on others; melancholy and prolonged depression; ambitions and their non-realization; property losses; disappointment in friends and feelings of betrayal; unwanted pregnancy; loneliness; unfortunate love; alcohol consumption; drugs and their abuse; various deviations and aberrations in the gratification of sexual desires; the adherence and belonging to sects or cult groups that prefer suicide. The real causes or motives of suicide can hardly be discovered. Sometimes these motives are learned from greeting letters, various recent messages, from the information of family members and friends, from police bodies, courts, etc. But more than half of the motives remain unknown. The famous French sociologist Emile Durkheim was the first to try to explain the connections between suicides and social factors in his work "Le suicide" published in 1887. In this work he formulated a coherent sociological theory which probably represents the work of first systematically scientifically related to this phenomenon. In his treatment of the phenomenon of suicide, he largely put an end to discussions about the morality of the act of suicide and the thoughts that were then largely influenced by theological teachings. He attempted to make a

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 comprehensive analysis of the social conditions that cause this act. After him, interest in this phenomenon increased significantly, so recently constituted the new scientific discipline that would deal with suicides, called suicidology. The purpose of this study is to reveal the perceptions of young people about the factors and the degree of influence of these factors that lead their peers to suicide. Methodology The population in this study consisted of young people in the Elbasan Region. Out of this population were randomly selected 370 young people in five cities, and respectively 222 young people from Elbasan, 36 young people from Librazhd, 38 young people from Gramsh, 39 young people from Peqin and 35 young people from Cerrik. The respondents were 18-30 years old, selected based on the criteria for inclusion in the study. Regarding the gender of the interviewed persons 270 were female and 100 are represented by males. The instrument in this study was a semi structured questionnaire. In the first part were included 7 questions pertaining to the demographic characteristics of youngers In the second part, 25 items were designed in the form of a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “Not at all influential” to “Extremely influential” with values 1-5 assigned to each alternative for the measurement of the influence degree of the social and economic factors related to suicide and the idea of suicide, according to the opinions of the young people who participated in the study. Some of the items that have been used for the factors that influence the idea of suicide are: social status, professional status, area of residence, individual’s age, sexual orientation different from other members of society, social circle, social position, bullying in society, results at work or at university. In the third part were 5 open-ended questions. The data collection for this study took place during September-November 2020. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS software Results and discussion The study was attended by 370 subjects of which 60% were interviewed in Elbasan, 40% in other districts of Elbasan region. Regarding the gender of the interviewed persons, the most of them, about 73% were women and 27% are represented by men. As for the level of education, the findings show that almost 75% of them have higher education and the rest have secondary education. A small part of them have completed 8-year education, 9-year education or no education at all. As noted above, the purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence young people to conceive of suicide. Thus, referring to the question: How widespread is the thought of suicide? - 47% of respondents said that the phenomenon of suicide is somewhat widespread, while 36% of them did not hesitate to state that, “almost every young person at least once in mind thought about suicide”, and 55% belong age group 21-25 years, followed by 37% others belonging to the age group 18-20 years. However, what are some of the social factors that influence this phenomenon? Young people on the top of these factors rank the phenomenon of bullying with 73% stating that bullying affects too much. They then rank sexual orientation and social circle at 45% and 43%, respectively. On the other hand, the factors such as results in work or exams and the age

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 of individuals respectively with 36% and 34% are motivating factors in the phenomenon of suicide. The link between bullying and suicide turns out to be quite complex, as suicidal behavior does not originate from a single episode of stress or trauma; thus persons with such behaviors often experience feelings of helplessness or hopelessness, and it is precisely involvement in bullying that can reinforce such feelings leading to an increased risk of suicide, without neglecting the role of complex interactions between friends and family members, mental health and factors stressful in and out of school (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2014). We can argue that bullying, in any form, can increase the risk of engaging in suicidal behavior. There are many circumstances that can increase individuals' exposure to bullying and / or suicidal behavior, including: stress, family conflicts, alcohol and drug use, exposure to violence, relationship problems, loss of connection to school, various physical disabilities, lack of support, differences in sexual / gender identity, cultural differences, etc. (McKenna M) (Kim YS) (Karch DL). As for the economic factors which obviously are very important, 75% of respondents answered, that increasing debts are determinant in the decision of young people to commit suicide, as well as unemployment and poor economic situation of their families. Conclusions and recommendations Suicide is a great concern of our society, which in addition to the person who commits suicide, it directly and indirectly affects the family in the first place, friends and society in general. It was found that the risk of suicide among young people depends on external factors including at first the social, economic or cultural factors. Society as well as economic factors have a significant impact on the growth of opportunities to incite the phenomenon of suicide among young people. Family situations, events or traumas experienced by family members or their relatives also aided by other health factors, have undeniable impact on increasing the prevalence of suicide by multiplying the influence of motivating factors on suicide. Regardless of where young people live the factors that push them towards the fatal phenomenon of suicides are related to other circumstances. Exposure to the phenomenon of suicide is more evident in men than female, and commit suicide more, while women attempt more. Since the trend of young people suicides has increased, it should immediate to intervene to prevent and fight it. For this purpose, the increase of the well-being of the citizens, opening of new employment opportunities as well as the sensitization of the risked population would serve positively in suicide prevention.

Bibliography 1. Kann L, Kinchen S, Shanklin SL,. " Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance — United States." (2013): 1-168. 2. Karch DL, Logan J, McDaniel DD, Floyd CF, Vagi KJ. "Precipitating circumstances of suicide among youth aged 10–17 years by sex: Data from the National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 States, 2005–2008. ." Journal of Adolescent Health (2013): 52- 53.

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3. Kim YS, Leventhal B. " Bullying and suicide. A review. ." Int J Adolesc Med Health (2008): 133-54. 4. McKenna M, Hawk E, Mullen J, Hertz M. "The association between bullying behavior and health risks among middle school and high school students in Massachusetts, 2009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2011; ." 2011.

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Identifying and Analyzing the Accounting Policies Adopted by Economic Entity

Flavio Mucomo Lumbo The Doctoral School of The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania Elena Ioniță STANCIU The Doctoral School of The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Abstract The recognition of an asset is conditioned by a credible assessment of its cost. After this moment, it requires the accounting evaluation to intervene in the following moments: at the inventory, at the end of the exercise and at the date of leaving the entity. We highlight a broad analysis of regulations in Romanian and international law on the accounting for depreciation of tangible fixed assets, emphasizing what are the rules applicable at the initial recognition of fixed assets. What accounting policies and options can use entities when performing a subsequent valuation of an asset, what are the main methods by which property, plant and equipment can be depreciated. What are the differences resulting from the use of two different depreciation plans for accounting and tax depreciation. The purpose of the article highlights an analysis of accounting policies adopted by economic’s entities, and to give a little background to the relevant discussions and other aspects in comparison with national and international accounting standards. Keywords: accounting policies, identifying, analyzing, adopted, and economic. JEL (Journal of Economic Literature) Classification: G32, H32, L21, M16, M40, M41.

Introduction Most of the meanings of defining the concept of accounting policies come to meet the realization of a sincere accounting (a true image). Dictionary of accounting of University of Oxford defines accounting policies as the specific accounting bases used on an ongoing basis by an organization in preparing its financial statements. These bases are considered and determined by the organizations as the most appropriate for the faithful presentation of its financial results and operations. Policies are focused on specific topics such as pension schemes, goodwill, research and development costs, operations denominated in foreign currencies, etc.

Accounting policies are detailed methods of evaluation, measurement and recognition that an organization adopts from those generally accepted by law, accounting standards or

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 commercial practices. These policies must be used on a permanent basis and must be published. An undertaking's annual report includes an annex on accounting policies that have been applied in the financial statements. For example, a policy publication would specify whether the company used the linear or degressive depreciation method, whether the FIFO or CMP method was used in the inventory valuation, how the provisions for future pension payments were calculated and accounted for. - Christopher Nobes Literature review Accounting policies are the specific principles and procedures implemented by a company's management team that are used to prepare its financial statements. These include any accounting methods, measurement systems, and procedures for presenting disclosures. Accounting policies differ from accounting principles in that the principles are the accounting rules and the policies are a company's way of adhering to those rules. The IAS 8 standard deals with the choice of accounting policies and defines the processing of policy changes and accounting estimates, as well as errors. An entity must choose and apply the same accounting methods over a period. It targets only significant changes and corrections. The choice and application of accounting policies, transactions are treated according to the corresponding standards and interpretations. In the absence of specific processing, according to the IFRS reference, management must develop the most relevant accounting treatment for users of financial statements. This elaboration is done, as a matter of priority, in analogy with the existing standards and interpretations and the principles of the international conceptual framework. It is also possible to refer to the most recent positions of other accounting normalizers, which are based on a similar conceptual framework. Accounting policies are principles, bases, conventions, rules and specific practices, applied by an enterprise, in the preparation and presentation of financial situations. The international accounting reference presents solutions for most accounting problems. However, IAS 8 states that if there are no standards or interpretations issued by the IASB applicable to a transaction, managers must exercise their professional judgment in order to find a solution that is at the same time: • Relevance to users decision-making process; • Reliable, so that the financial statements: • To represent faithfully the financial position, performance and treasury fluctuations of the entity; • Reflect the economic substance of the transactions and not only their legal form; • Be neutral; • Be cautious; • Be complete. Users must be able to compare the financial statements of an enterprise, over a certain period, in order to identify the trends of its financial position, its performance and the cash flows assumed by the various activities. To do this, the interconnection must use the same accounting policies that are adopted for each financial year, respecting the principle of permanent methods.

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A change in accounting policies must be made only if it is required by regulation or by an accounting normalization or if such a change leads to a more appropriate presentation of the events or transactions included in the financial statements of the enterprise. The IAS 8 standard states that there are no accounting policy changes: - Adopting an accounting policy for U.S. events transactions that differ in substance in terms of economic reality from previous events or transactions; - Adoption of a new accounting policy for events or transactions that had not previously occurred or were previously insignificant. The reavaluation of tangible and intangible assets represents a change in accounting policies but it is treated in accordance with IAS 16 and IAS 38 standards. If the policy changes results from the application of a new standard or a new interdependence, it is treated in accordance with the transitional provisions set by that standard or interpretation. If an enterprise makes a change in accounting policies resulting either from the application of a standard that does not include transitional provisions or from the decision of the enterprise, the change must be applied retrospectively. Retrospective application implies that the entity must adjust the opening balance of each affected capital component, for the oldest period presented, and other comparative amounts communicated, for each previous period presented, as if the new method has been applied. Identifying and Analyzing Accounting Policies Adopted by S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. Accounting policies are a set of standards that govern how a company prepares its financial statements. These policies are used to deal specifically with complicated accounting practices such as depreciation methods, recognition of goodwill, preparation of research and development costs, inventory valuation, and the consolidation of financial accounts. These policies may differ from company to company, but all accounting policies are required to conform to generally accepted accounting principles IFRS - International Financial Reporting Standards. Accounting principles can be considered as a framework in which a company is expected to operate. However, the framework is rather flexible, and a company's management team can choose specific accounting policies that are advantageous to the company’s financial report. Because accounting principles are lenient at times, the specific policies of a company are very important. S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. is one of the best known companies on the Romanian electricity production and distribution market. The organization’s system of the entity is a joint stock company, these shares being admitted on a regulated market and traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. For the preparation and presentation of financial statements, S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. makes a series of assumptions or estimates that influence the way accounting policies are applied at the enterprise level. Sequentially, these assumptions and estimates affect the value of assets and liabilities or income and expenses in the balance sheet and in the profit and loss account. Identification and analysis of accounting policies adopted by the entity The company Electromagnetica S.A. is a company that was founded almost 90 years ago under

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 the name "Romanian Electric Standard". It is currently part of a group composed of four other companies: Electromagnetica Prest Serv S.R.L., Electromagnetica Fire S.R.L., Electromagnetica Goldstar S.R.L. and Procetel S.A. The entity owns almost all the shares or shares of all four companies that are part of the group, as follows: Table 1: Share held by Electromagnetica S.A. in companies belonging to the group Company name Share (%) Eletromagnetica Prest Serv S.R.L. 98,335 Eletromagnetica Fire S.R.L. 98,875 Eletromagnetica Goldstar S.R.L. 100 Procetel S.A. 96,54

Since it is an entity listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, since 2012, the financial year of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. has adopted the International Financial Reporting Standards, thus drawing up the financial statements in accordance with the provisions of OMFP 2844/2016 for the approval of accounting regulations in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards.1

The accounting activity within the company is carried out by respecting significant accounting policies in the following areas of interest: • Initial recognition of the assessment base; • Subsequentexpenditure; • The basis for assessing the calculation of depreciation (taking into account or not any significant residual values); • The economic life used (depreciationrates); Accounting policies are designed in such a way as to ensure compliance with Romanian and international regulations in the field of accounting for tangible assets and at the same time to ensure that all users of the accounting information contained in the financial statements can make well-grounded decisions based on their analysis. Common to all accounting policies adopted at the level of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. is the fact that, through these, the aim is to obtain financial statements characterized by neutrality. Consequently, the policies underlying the preparation of financial statements aim to help both managers in tactical and strategic decision-making and other persons interested in the entity's activity as shareholders, employees, creditors, potential investors, etc. Policies on initial recognition of the assessment base Accounting policies adopted at the level of the company provide for the initial

1 Order No. 2844/2016 of the Ministry of Public Finances on the approval of the accounting regulations on the individual and consolidated annual financial statements (“Order No. 2844/2016”)

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 recognition of tangible assets at their acquisition cost or at their cost of production. The first method by which tangible assets enter the entity's patrimony, is characterised by the recognition in the accounts of two types of costs: • Costs representing the company's consideration for the actual acquisition of tangible assets; • The additional costs of bringing the fixed assets to the place where it will be used and putting them into service, so that the imgotiations can operate in accordance with the functions they perform. • Therefore, the managers of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. recognize at the initial entry of a tangible asset into the patrimony not only the acquisition cost, but also other costs directly attributable to the commissioning. Depending on the purschased asset’s nature, the additional costs may be custom’s duties, costs necessary to prepare the area for the commissioning of the asset. Expenses for the asset’s transport to the place where it will be put into service, costs associated with the specialist’s payment who put the asset into service, transport costs, etc.(Pântea, I., Bodea, G., 2013: 57). An example of how managers of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. recognize the initial entry of a tangible asset by taking into account both the costs of consideration and the costs attributable to commissioning, purchasing equipment for making LEDs from light bulbs from a China’s supplier. - The invoice date from the external supplier is 30.03.2016; - The purchase value of the equipment is $42,000, and transport costs of $1,350 and customs duties, amounting of $392; - according to the rate published by the National Bank of Romania, one dollar was quoted to 4.2325 lei at the rate of 4,2325 lei (BNR, 2018a). Since the accounting policies of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. on foreign currency transactions provide for their registration in lei at the time of the transaction, it is necessary to convert from dollars to LEI the purchase value of the equipment, transport costs and customs duties: Table 2: Expression in lei of the value of transactions made in foreign currency Transaction Costs Value in dollars Currency Value in lei Equipment acquisition value 42.000 4,2325 177.765 Transport costs 1.350 4,2325 5.713,88 Customs duties 392 4,2325 1.659,14

The initial recognition of the value of the tangible asset in the accounts of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. was achieved by the following registration: 185.138 lei 2131 = % 117.765 lei Technological 404 Suppliers equipment of fixed assets

(machines,

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equipment and work 401 Suppliers 5.713,88 lei installations)

446 Other 1.659,14 lei taxes, fees and assimilated payments

Therefore, although the actual cost of purchasing the equipment was 177,765 lei, the managers of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. recognize an entry value of the immobilization of 185,138 lei. This benefits both from the point of view of a lower corporation tax to be paid as the equipment is depreciated and in terms of a better estimate of the cost of replacing the immobilisation when its useful life ends. By including both transport costs and customs duties in the original base, the entity ensures that it will be able to purchase, transport and operate similar equipment when the current equipment is replaced. The second method of entry of tangible assets into the assets of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. is about production of fixed assets under own management. The entity's accounting policies provide that recognition of the costs of self-directed tangible assets include both direct production costs (eg. material or payroll costs) and indirect or other costs that may be associated with bringing the assets to the place where they will be put in service. Due to the complexity of the machinery and equipment needed to make the electrical appliances that S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. markets, the entity prefers to acquire these types of assets from suppliers specialized in their production. However, situations arise where it is more advantageous for tangible assets to be carried out in their own direction. Policies on subsequent expenditure S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. has adopted policies not only for the initial recognition of tangible assets, but also for the subsequent recognition of the costs associated with these assets and which may contribute for a better asset’s operational life cycle. In the financial statements, a distinction shall be made for the recognition of expenses, depending on their nature. On the one hand, expenses contributing to the increase in the carrying amount of the asset by a better return or a longer life cycle shall be recognised as part of the asset’s net value. On the other hand, the usual maintenance or repair expenses are treated by the management of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. as normal expenses of the period. Policies on the basis for assessing the calculation of depreciation When drawing up each financial report, the managers of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. review the residual value of the tangible assets, their life cycle and the depreciation methods used. The reevaluation of the residual value, useful life cycle of the fixed assets and depreciation methods used shall be carried out by the entity in compliance with the rules laid down in IAS 8 accounting policies, changes in accounting estimates and correction of errors. The general policy of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. is to consider the residual value as insignificant, with the exception of this rule by making motor vehicles with a mass of more

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 than 3,5 tonnes in the company's assets. For example, on December 15th, 2013, the entity purchased a minibus at the price of 135,500 lei, excluding VAT. The depreciation method used was linear, the duration considered appropriate by the management of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. for the depreciation of the minibus was five years. According to the literature, the estimate of the residual value can only be made if there are data that ensures the reliability of the estimates (Cernusca, L., 2016: 26). The managers of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. have established in the past residual values of about 4,000 lei for similar vehicles in terms of size, utility and modus operandi and practice has demonstrated that this residual value can be recovered at the end of the life cycle. Consequently, a residual value of 4,000 lei was established for the minibus purchased on December 2013. In these circumstances, although the value recorded in the accounts for the minibus was 135,500 lei, the basis for assessing the depreciation calculation was established by the entity by subtracting the residual value from the input value of the asset. Depreciable value = Acquisition value – Residual value = 135,500 lei – 4,000 lei = 131,500 lei The vast majority of tangible assets in the assets of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. are valued based on the historical cost method, with the exception of some assets that are valued according to the fair value method. In order to determine the valuation basis for the fixed assets to be depreciated, S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. uses the IFRS 13 fair value provisions. This means that the entity relates to a three-tier hierarchy when using fair value valuation techniques: 1. The first level shall consist of market prices for tangible fixed assets of the same nature. The managers take into account the prices which they have access at the time of the evaluation, considering that these market prices represent the best reflection of fair values for amortized tangible assets. 2. The second level of assessment shall consist of information obtained from the market, which is different from that obtained on the first level. The only condition is that this information is reliable, i.e. it can be observed directly or even indirectly in different trading markets. 3. The third level shall be considered that cannot be observed directly or indirectly. In this case, the managers resort to reasoning based on the information available in each specific case. Policies on economic life and depreciation rates The managers have established intervals in which the life cycle of all types of tangible assets decrease: measuring, control and adjustment apparatus and installations, means of transport, technological equipment, furniture, office equipment, personal protective equipment and material values and constructions. The economic life intervals for each of these categories of fixed assets are shown in the following table: Table 3: Life of tangible assets according to the accounting policy of Electromagnetica Category of tangible assets Economic lifespan Measuring, control and regulation 3-8 years apparatus and installations

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Means of transport (means of conveyance) 4-8 years Technological equipment 5-12 years Furniture, office equipment, equipment for 8-15 years protection of human and material values Construction 20-60 years

Since the company and the other companies that are part of the Group have opted to use the linear depreciation method, depreciation rates are determined according to the annual depreciation rate. This, sequentially, is calculated by making a ratio between the value 100 and the economic duration of use of that asset: 100 퐴푛푛푢푎푙 푑푒푝푟푒푐푖푎푡푖표푛 푟푎푡푒 = 퐸푐표푛표푚푖푐푎푙 푠푒푟푣푖푐푒 푙푖푓푒 Once the annual depreciation rate is obtained, the annual depreciation can be determined by the formula: Annual Depreciation = Inbound G/L Value x Annual Depreciation Rate Since assets in the assets of the company can have an economic life within a predetermined period through accounting policies adopted at entity level, the annual depreciation rate is also an interval. For example, for means of transport an economic life between 4 and 8 years is accepted, which means that the annual depreciation rate can differ between 12.5% (for means of transport that are depreciated in 8 years) to 25% (for means of transport that are depreciated in 4 years).

Table 4: Annual rates of tangible assets according to the company Category of tangible assets Annual depreciation rates Measuring, control and regulation 12,5% - 33,3% apparatus and installations Means of transport (means of conveyance) 12,5% - 25% Technological equipment 8,33% - 20% Furniture, office equipment, equipment for 6,67% - 12,5% protection of human and material values Construction 1,67% - 5%

The lowest annual depreciation rates are those for construction, because have the longest economic life. The use of different annual depreciation rates for fixed assets in the same category has an advantage for the company, if it can thus adapt the depreciation plan according to the specifics

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 of that asset. Conclusions The previous sub-chapter presented the accounting and tax policies adopted by S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. in relation to the depreciation of tangible assets on several levels, as follows: - Policies on the initial recognition of the assessment base; - Policies on subsequent expenditure; - Policies on the basis for assessing the calculation of depreciation; - Economic life cycle policies and depreciation rates; - Policies on the depreciation method used. Next, an in-depth analysis of how they reflect the real situation in the enterprise will be carried out, the ultimate goal of the analysis were to identify some possible solutions for optimising the accounting policy model adopted at S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. level. a) Analysis of potential solutions for optimising policies for initial recognition of the assessment base The system of accounting policies adopted at the company level at present on the initial recognition of the valuation base for tangible assets provides for the use of two distinct methods: valuation of acquisition’s, cost and valuation of production’s. This option of the entity shall take into account in determining the cost of purchased tangible assets, the amount of consideration that has been made for those assets to be acquired and other costs necessary for the fixed assets to be properly put into service. This accounting policy’s formulation of the company complies with the recommendations in the literature regarding the initial recognition of tangible assets according to two distinct methods: valuation according to acquisition cost and assessment by cost of production (Feleaga, N., Feleaga, L., 2008: 84). However, we do not consider that in the accounting policy manual adopted at the entity level, a clear statement on the recognition of tangible assets should also be made only if two conditions are met cumulatively. That asset may be associated with a high probability of generating future economic benefits and it is possible to carry out a credible assessment of the asset’s cost. On the other hand, the cost of self-directed fixed assets includes, under the current accounting policy system of the company, all expenses incurred by the undertaking in relation to the payment of employees salaries, covering indirect production costs and other costs which may be clearly associated with bringing the asset to the location where it will be put into service and installing for use. This approach is in line with national law and international standards for the initial recognition of tangible assets in the accounts, but does not cover all the situations identified in the literature, that reflects the possibilities that a tangible asset may enter to the company. For example, Crow and Tudor (2012) identified, apart from direct acquisition and own-direction production, five other possible situations that can be encountered in business practice: 1. Entry by contribution in kind. In this situation, the initial assessment shall be made by reference to the contribution value. 2. Entry through government subsidies. In this case, the initial assessment must take into account the amount of the subsidy received.

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3. Entry by financial leasing. The initial assessment should be carried out in this situation by reference to the minimum value resulting from the comparison of the present value of the minimum lease payments and the fair value. 4. Entry by operational lease. The initial assessment shall be carried out in this situation by reference to the residual value. 5. Admission by receipt free of charge. This situation must be dealt by recognising the useful value of tangible immobilisation. The current accounting policy manual of the company does not capture this wide variety of situations that may arise in the company's activity. In these circumstances, a solution to optimise the accounting policies adopted by the entity on tangible assets could be to clearly identify the valuation methods used to enter fixed assets in various situations arising in practice (receiving in-kind input, obtaining government subsidies, contracting a financial or operational lease or entering by way of free). b) Analysis of potential solutions for optimising policies on subsequent expenditure In the accounting policy manual of the company on tangible assets there are provisions on how expenditure is recognised according to its nature. A clear distinction of accounting treatment shall be made between two situations: - The situation where the company records expenses which contribute to the increase in the carrying amount of tangible assets. This value addition may be determined by a higher return on the asset or a longer duration of use. In such cases, expenditure shall be recognised by the representatives of the entity by including it in the net value of the asset; - The situation where the company records maintenance and repair costs. In this case, costs shall be treated in the accounts as normal expenditure for the period. In order to reflect as closely as possible the impact of subsequent expenditure on the economic and financial situation of the entity, it is recommended in the literature that companies have policies adopted and in the sense of clearly distinguishing between expenditure incurred in the form of modernisations or investments and expenditure representing current rehabilitation or repair (Bunea, S., 2014). The accounting policies of the company currently reflects only the need for the different treatment of subsequent expenditure depending on their nature, but without clearly defining what the costs of modernisation or investments represent in terms of the specific nature of the undertaking's activity, on the one hand, and what represents current rehabilitation or repair costs, on the other. This deficiency could lead to confusion that usually leads to the alteration of the financial statements. c) Analysis of potential solutions for optimising policies on the basis for assessing the calculation of depreciation The evaluation of the company. policies on the basis for assessing the depreciation calculation has shown that the company predominantly uses the historical cost method, except where the entity exchanges tangible assets with other companies belonging to the group, in which case the fair value method is used. The reasons why the management of the company has chosen to use the historical cost method are determined by two cumulative factors: the need to respect the principle of prudence and the relatively low rates of inflation in Romania over the last decade.

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Over the past 20 years, however, the principle of prudence and the method of historical cost have become increasingly criticised. Although prudence is one of the oldest principles of accounting, the literature shows compliance with the principle of prudence in all economic and financial aspects that arise in the activity of entities inevitably leads to mistakes that indirectly influence the degree of credibility and neutrality of accounting information (Karahan, G., 2013). While the principle of prudence brings certain advantages to society, such as avoiding situations where the entity distributes fictitious dividends, reducing the tax burden or restricting the positive perception that the entity's managers might have of their own activity (Gushe, R., 2011). Excessive caution may result in situations which a certain share of the profit obtained by the entity is transferred from one year to the next, this also leads to the transfer of uncertainty from one year to the next (Good, S., 2014). Another advantage of the option to use fair value for S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. is that resulting from the fact that the entity operates in a highly competitive market, such as that of the production and distribution of electricity and the manufacture of electrical equipment, and that it must bear the constraints resulting from the fact that it is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Consequently, the economic and financial performance of the undertaking is strongly influenced by its market image and the degree of transparency promotes in relation to investors. The use of the fair value model for the entire range of reasoning for the depreciation of tangible assets that the company achieves would as a result have the advantage of greater utility for investors, who can thus have access to valuable information on the reasoning used by the entity's managers and their expectations (Mihalache, S., 2016). In those circumstances, the use of fair value to determine the valuation base is taken into account for the depreciation of tangible assets could be a viable option for the company, an analysis of the impact such a measure would have on the accounting, fiscal and economic-financial aspects of the company. d) Analysis of potential solutions for optimising economic life policies and depreciation rates Currently, the company has adopted accounting policies that ensure that the economic life of all categories of tangible assets is classified within the ranges set by the Romanian tax authorities, so it can be said that the entity applies an accounting policy to comply with tax regulations. The economic reality of the entity, however, allows the option of S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. to use the decentralised method to determine depreciation durations. Unlike the centralised method, in which depreciation periods are established through the laws established by the Romanian authorities, the decentralized method involves the estimation by the specialists in the company of the life cycle of the fixed assets held. In other words, the decentralised method uses a professional reasoning, that is based on the specific conditions of the entity's activity, thus managing to transform accounting policies on the depreciation of tangible assets into a management instrument (Manea, M.D., 2006, p. 123). In those circumstances, the management of Electromagnetica S.A. may consider the option of applying a treatment that involves estimating the life cycle by means of its own modelling. In choosing this option, however, the management of the entity must assess both the advantages deriving from a lower estimate of the duration of use of tangible assets (faster recovery of investments and the need to pay a lower corporation tax) and the associated disadvantages (difficulties that may arise in the competitive market or increased costs of goods and services).

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References [1] Feleagă, N, Feleagă, L., 2008. Politici și opțiuni contabile. Editura Infomega, București [2] Gădău, L., 2014. Întocmirea, prezentarea şi utilizarea situaţiilor financiare. Studii şi cercetări. Editura Tribuna Economică. Bucureşti [3] Gușe, R., 2011. Valoare, preț, cost și evaluare în contabilitate. Editura CECCAR, București [4] Manea, M.D., 2006. Măsurare și evaluare privind amortizarea și deprecierea activelor imobilizate. Teză de doctorat, Academia de Studii Economice, București [5] Nobes, C. 1999 Pocket Accounting, The Economist Books. [6] Pântea, I.P. and Bodea, G., 2008. Contabilitatea financiară românească conformă cu Directivele europene. Ed. Intelcredo, Deva [7] Pântea, I., Bodea, G., 2013. Contabilitatea financiară. ENoditura Intelcredo, Deva [8] Răileanu, V. and Răileanu, A.S., 2009. Abordări contabile şi fiscale privind impozitele şi taxele. Editura Economică, Bucureşti. [9] Ristea, M. şi Jianu, I., 2009, Fair Value – From Abstract Theory to Practical Reality, Conferinţa „Audit and Accounting Convergence. 2009 Annual Convention”, Cluj- Napoca [10] Ristea, M., Ilincuță, L., 2016. Contabilitate financiară curentă. Note de curs – sinteze. Universitatea „Spiru Haret”, Facultatea de Științe Economice, București [11] Teodorescu, M. and Badea, L., 2007. Finanţele întreprinderii,“Cartea Studenţească” Publishing House. [12] International Financial Reporting Standards, IFRS – 2017, Part A (2017), CECCAR Publishing House, Bucharest [13] International Financial Reporting Standards, IFRS – 2017, Part B (2017), CECCAR Publishing House, Bucharest [14] Order of the Ministry of Public Finance No. 1802 of 29 December 2014 for the approval of the Accounting Regulations on Individual Annual Financial Statements and Consolidated Annual Financial Statements, published in M.Of. No. 963/ 2014 (Order No. 1802/2014) [15] Order of the Ministry of Public Finance no. 2844/2016 (Order No. 2844/2016) … [16] Law No. 82 Of December 24, 1991 (Republished) Accounting [17] Busuioceanu, S., 2012. Corporal Immobilization Reassessment Accountancy And Tax Alternatives. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov. Economic Sciences. Series V, 5(1), p.147-156. [18] Bendovshi, O., 2015. Dimensiuni ale diferenţelor între standardele contabile locale şi IFRS şi potenţialii factori determinanţi – cazul economiilor emergente, cu accent pe România. Audit financiar, nr. 5 (125), pp. 34-43

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[19] CECCAR, 2018. Clasificarea contractelor de leasing. Reflectarea în contabilitate a operațiunilor de leasing (II). CECCAR Business Magazine, nr. 12-13, 3-16 aprilie, disponibil pe adresa http://www.ceccarbusinessmagazine.ro/clasificarea- contractelor-de-leasing-reflectarea-in-contabilitate-a-operatiunilor-de-leasing-ii- a3311/ [20] Cernuşca, L., 2016. Amortizarea imobilizărilor corporale în viziunea referenţialului contabil naţional şi a celui internaţional. CECCAR Business Magazine, nr. 34, noiembrie, pp. 22-28 [21] Dreghiciu, A.E., 2016. Accounting Policies Effects On Depreciation And Evaluation Of Balance Sheet. SEA-Practical Application of Science, (12), pp.493-498. [22] Dumitrescu, I., 2016. Analiza zilei: Valoarea fiscală a mijloacelor fixe reevaluate. Fiscalitatea, 18 mai, disponibil pe https://www.fiscalitatea.ro/analiza-zilei- valoarea-fiscala-a-mijloacelor-fixe-reevaluate-14555/ [23] Gădău, L., 2016. The Adaptation of Profit and Loss Account to the Current Requirements Reporting of the Performances. ICCS Magazine. Issue no. 3, pp.93-102 [24] Karahan, G., 2013. Accounting Conservatism: A Literature Review. Journal of Accounting & Taxation Studies, vol. 6, nr. 2, pp. 1-21 [25] Popa, M., 2012. Accounting policies and options regarding tangible assets'evaluations. Annals of the University of Craiova, Economic Sciences Series, 2. pp.191-196 [26] *** IAS 8 – Politici contabile, schimbări de estimări contabile şi corectarea erorilor, disponibil pe adresa http://www.conta- conta.ro/miscellaneous/182_miscellaneous_contabilitate_files%2018 2_.pdf [27] *** IAS 16 - Imobilizări corporale disponibil pe adresa http://www.de- contabilitate.ro/articole/definitii_1595.html [28] *** IAS 36 – Deprecierea activelor, disponibil pe adresa https://www.iasplus.com/en/standards/ias/ ias36 [29] BNR, 2018. Proiecţia inflaţiei anuale a preţurilor IPC şi intervalul de certitudine asociat, http:// www.bnr.ro/Proiectii-BNR-6152.aspx [30] BNR, 2018a. Arhiva curs, https://www.cursbnr.ro/arhiva-curs-bnr [31] S.C. Electromagnetica S.A. – Rapoarte anuale consolidate pentru perioada 2014- 2016 [32] https://www.investopedia.com/

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Conscious Intra-Personal Development: The Experience Counts

Dr. Rosalie van Baest

Abstract The future of mankind will depend on the ability of the individual to acquire Self- knowledge. The preservation of autonomy of the individual is supported by learning to fathom one's own unconscious and inner being, the undiscovered self. By consciously developing Self-knowledge the possibility originates for the individual to make his own conscious choices and to understand an other human being. It often takes a great deal of effort from an individual to consciously open up to his inner being. Gaining experiences related to intra-personal development and consciously reflecting on those experiences, is essential to keep the conscious intra-personal development process in motion. Education can lend a helping hand during this process, from the start of the school career of children, by making room in the curriculum for affective and experiential education. Theory disturbs the experiential orientation and the focus on emotions. Offer affective and experiential education to children from an early age, with plenty of personal room, and continuing this form of education until they leave school, supports young people to become more and more self-directing. The way in which this form of education is taken care for is crucial for its success. Keywords: Conscious Intra-personal Development – The Unconscious - Autonomy - Affective and Experiential Education – Process

Introduction In this article the importance of conscious intra-personal development for the individual emerges. The process of conscious intra-personal development is placed in an educational context. The connection between ‘Why searching the way to the inner self?’ and ‘How to stimulate conscious intra-personal development in education?’will come to the fore. Carl G. Jung (C. G. Jung 1865-1961) wrote the book ‘The Undiscovered Self' in 1957. In the book Jung gives his view, from his experiences as a psychiatrist, on the importance of searching the way to the inner Self. He stresses the significance of conscious intra-personal development by the individual for the future of mankind (and of the earth and everything that lives on it. Remark of the author). The ability of the individual to acquire Self-knowledge, the preservation of autonomy of the individual, lead possibly to conscious personal choices. Only by sensing and understanding his own unconscious, the undiscovered Self, the individual can get through to his inner Self. This requires of the individual to face his fear for his own unconscious. The view of Carl G.Jung on searching the way for the inner Self, in his book ‘The Undiscovered Self”, is the basis for the article.

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It is often very difficult for an individual to make a start with the search for the inner path, let alone to shape it. Therefore, some support at the start of the conscious intra-personal development process is valuable. Education is there for (almost) everyone and for that reason education has the opportunity to offer support to (almost) everyone in gaining experience with the conscious intra-personal development process, from the start of the school career of young people until they leave school. A way to start the support of this process for young people in education is affective, experiential and student-oriented education. The attitude and role of the experiential teacher is of great importance in affective and experiential teaching. (Van Baest 2017). Contents Part 1 of the article focuses on the view of Carl G. Jung, about searching a way to the inner Self, in his book ‘The Undiscovered Self’. His view is related to conscious intra-personal development. Part 2 is focused on how to stimulate conscious personal development in education. Part 3 goes into themes that play a role in the process of conscious intra-personal developmemt (in education). Part 4 focuses on some points of interest for the approach of affective and experiential education. 1. Why searching the way to the inner self? 'Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your live and you will call it fate'. Carl G. Jung

In this part of the article, the view of Carl G. Jung in his book 'The Undiscovered Self', comes to the fore; this view is related to the conscious development of Self-knowledge. Jung creates an image of the world we live in and the role of humanity in it. In the book, he expresses his great concern about the future of humanity and (remark of the author) therefore also about the future of the earth and everything that lives on it. On what does an individual base his choices? On external factors: on what happens in his environment, on what is possible at a certain moment, on what everyone is doing? Or on his personal values, on his Self-knowledge, on his possibilities and qualities? An individual who consciously develops his Self-knowledge will not only be guided by external circumstances, but also by his inner being. Too much attention for the environment, creates blockades for direct inner experiences. There is another blockade for achieving Self-knowledge: fear of what the individual might encounter in the unconscious part of his psyche. In fact the individual thus ignores a part of his Self. Fear of the unconscious stands in the way of the development of Self-knowledge. When an individual opens up to his unconscious, searching for his Self, estrangement from his environment is an inevitable and logical consequence. The path to the inner Self is a personal

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 path, a path the individual can only follow himself. The search for this inner path irrevocably involves estrangement from one's surroundings. In spite of these obstacles, the conscious intra-personal development of the individual is a necessary solution to the major problems, facing and to be faced by humanity. The conscious part of an individual's psyche that opens up to his unconscious, learns to listen to it and thus increasingly can come closer to his Self, his whole inner being. Gap between knowledge and feeling For many years the gap between knowledge and feeling has deepened, between knowing and understanding, between the conscious and unconscious aspects of the human psyche. Intra-personal development and the development of personal values and norms lag behind the rapid developments in science, technology and society. The balance between emotions and knowledge is lost. Knowledge alone is not enough to solve the major problems of humanity or to give them a push in the right direction. If the individual is satisfied with his circumstances, he will accept his situation. The individual is often so busy with what is happening around him, he does not take time to focus on his inner being. However, when circumstances change, and there has been no learning process to achieve autonomous functioning, the individual will easily focus on what everyone is doing. In this situation, it is not inconceivable that the individual considers external circumstances to be responsible for the choices he makes. However, external circumstances cannot take responsibility for the choices the individual has made. External circumstances have no choice, no norms and values. Individuals do or could have them. 'The forlornness of consciousness in our world is due primarily to the loss of instinct, and the reason for this lies in the development of the human mind over the past aeon. The more power men had over nature the more his knowledge and skill went to his head'. (Jung 1957). The unconscious is everything that the conscious is not. It manifests itself through opposite feelings, fantasies, emotions, impulses and dreams, which come up unasked for by the individual. What feelings and impulses does an individual experience in the activities he undertakes? Does he consciously reflect on what is going on in his unconscious or does the conscious part of the individual's psyche shut itself off from the unconscious? The conscious will have to take into account the existence of unconscious factors that require attention. If the conscious part of the psyche wants to be open to the unconscious factors, the conscious will first have to get to know the essence of these unconscious factors, he will have to experience them. A consequence of shutting oneself off from the unconscious is that the individual only knows himself partly. 'Accordingly we imagine ourselves to be innocuous, reasonable and humane. We do not think of distrusting our motives or of asking ourselves how the inner man feels about the things we do in the outside world. But actually it is not good and psychically right, to overlook the reaction and standpoint of the unconscious. One can regard one's stomach or heart as unimportant and worthy of contempt, but it does not prevent overeating or overexertion from having consequences that affect the whole man. Yet we think that psychic mistakes and their consequences can be got rid of with mere words'. (Jung 1957).

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The process of conscious intra-personal development is not a theoretical learning path. The search for the inner path is guided by individual experiences, of which emotions are an essential part. Knowledge or understanding When an individual consciously develops his Self-knowledge, will he be supported by knowledge and theories? In his book 'The Undiscovered Self' Jung expressly indicates the difference between knowledge and understanding in the context of conscious intra-personal development. When it comes to developing Self-knowledge or understanding an other human being, knowledge and theory should be omitted. Knowledge and understanding follow a different path each and can not be intertwined; it should be clear which of the two paths is being followed. Theory is not related to individual experiences, to isolated facts, but to abstractions and generalities. Self-knowledge is an individual matter; only the individual can sense and follow his intra-personal development. Conscious development of Self-knowledge is not based on theoretical assumptions. You walk the path inwards on your own and you have little use for knowledge and theory if you want to understand a fellow human being. Self-knowledge The conscious part of the psyche admits the unconscious part, thinks about the unconscious part and gives it a place. In the unconscious resides opposite feelings, impulses and dreams. What do these feelings, dreams, impulses mean to me and how can I deal with them? The conscious part of the psyche admits the unconscious part, to become a complete human being. Jung indicates that a profound change in the inner Being of man, will become more and more important in the future. (1). Note ' Anyone who has ego-consciousness at all takes it for granted that he knows himself, but the ego knows only its own contents, not the unconscious and its contents. People measure their self -knowledge by what the average person in their social environment knows of himself, but not by the real psychic facts which are for the most part hidden from them. What is commonly called self- knowledge is therefore a very limited knowledge, most of it dependent on social factors, of what goes on in the human psyche'. (Jung 1957). Only the individual can seek his inner Being within himself by looking openly and honestly at his feelings, his dreams, his good and bad sides, his prejudices and assumptions about himself and the other. More and more facing his thoughts and feelings, to realise where he stands and what path he would like and could take in his life. To see himself as he is and therefore to be able to see his fellow man in a different perspective, because as an individual he has started to think and feel differently. If an individual has turned inwards and gained insight into his Self and his actions, he has found access to the unconscious and, without realising it, has created a possibility to influence his surroundings.

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The individual and the intra-personal path 1. The individual The only one who can follow his inner path is the individual, who is open for his intra-personal development process, for his unconscious. To start with the conscious development of the inner path requires great effort. 'It usually costs people an enormous effort to help the first stirrings of individuality into consciousness, let alone put them into effect'. (Jung 1957). In the end, focusing on the inner Self, will provide the individual with more insight into his total humanity. 2. The individual and his social environment No one can walk on the intra-personal path for another individual. The environment or society are not capable of giving the individual intra-personal development. Every individual will have to acquire this himself, at the cost of a great deal of effort. By learning to understand his inner Self, the possibility arises to come to a mutual understanding of one's fellow man. 3. The individual and society The value of a society consists of the spiritual and moral content of the individuals comprising it. 2. How to stimulate conscious intra-personal development in education? Stimulating the conscious intra-personal development process, stimulating the conscious search for the inner path. was and is not self-evident in education. Affective and experiential education can support this process. Conscious personal development may lead to conscious choices. Not only on a personal level, but also on a professional level'. (Van Baest 2017). The inner path is an individual path and is different for each individual. Experience that supports the conscious intra-personal development is gained by feeling something yourself, by observing and being involved in certain processes. Affective and experiential education is about gaining experience with personal qualities, to reflect on the experience and to learn from it. The way in which the search of the individual for his inner path will go, is of great importance for the direction of his path. Affective and experiential education The focus in affective and experiential education is on personal qualities, as: self-esteem, ambition, stress-resistance, motivating and stimulating ability, integrity, responsibility, creativity (Gramsbergen-Hoogland 1999). The aim of the experiential and affective education is to introduce unexpected and surprising experiences related to personal qualities that enables a person to consciously experience his thoughts, feelings and ideas about his personal qualities and to reflect on them.

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The following is an example of an affective and experiential assignment: the 'Learning style test of Kolb’. Learning about your personal learning style offers a perspective on the way you learn. During an affective and experiential meeting, the learning style test of Kolb is worked out and discussed, together with all students (in this case the test was in Higher education) present in the classroom. The test is easy to fill in and it does not take a lot of time. The aim is to provide a beginning insight into the personal learning style, but also to obtain information about the learning styles of group members. First of all the students fill in the test, without too much explanation. When they finish the test the students receive a text with a description of the learning styles. There are four learning styles: the dreamer, the thinker, the decision-maker and the doer. It is important that each student endorses the outcome of his learning style test. Only the student himself can sense in which learning style he recognizes himself and in which learning style he might develop himself. Possibly the student always encounters the same problem during group work, caused by a learning style he has not (yet) developed (or not sufficiently). Each student indicates in the group which learning style has emerged from the test and whether he agrees with this result. For the lecturer, it is essential that substantiated feedback can be given to the students about their learning style. (Van Baest 2016-2017-2019). 'When it is used in the simple, straightforward, and open way intended, The LSI usually provides valuable self-examination and discussion that recognizes the uniqueness, complexity, and variability in individual approaches to learning. The danger lies in the reification of learning styles into fixed traits, such that learning styles become stereotypes used to pigeonhole individuals and their behaviour' (Kolb 1981-2005). Constantly gaining new experiences related to personal qualities during experiential and affective education and reflect consciously on them, offers the possibility to deepen the insight into one's own personal qualities; the learning process of conscious intra-personal development. Gaining experience with a way to approach the conscious intra-personal learning process, provides a basis for recognising and developing the personal learning process, thus creating more and more opportunities for self-directing. Self-directed learning is essential for learning to learn and lifelong learning. Openness to the intra-personal learning process remains important throughout life. Information about personal development, from the lecturer to the students, without the students gaining experience themselves, provides information about personal development but no personal experience to support the inner path. The experiential lecturer The affective and experiential teacher has an essential role. A flexible attitude is a basic characteristic of the experiential teacher. The teacher's attitude and communicative style are part of affective and experiential education. The lecturer's learning process, as part of the affective and experiential meetings, takes several years: the experiential lecturer has consciouly gained experience with all kind of aspects of his

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 personal qualities and reflected on them. The possibility to offer experiential, affective and student-oriented education requires time and space on the part of the lecturer. The experiential teacher has a complex role when it comes to education in which conscious development of self-knowledge is the essence. Where lies the lecturer's interest, in knowing or understanding? Is the lecturer pupil-oriented or more knowledge-oriented? Has the lecturer gone through the process of conscious intra- personal development himself? Does stimulating conscious intra-personal development fit his personality? Is the lecturer supportive of affective and experiential education? Can he shield the meetings from knowledge and theory? Does he himself want to engage in lifelong learning? Does the lecturer have a flexible attitude? Starting up and building up a digital network for teachers involved in affective and experiential education, an E.T.W.W. (Experiential Teacher Wide Web), can provide support in the development of this form of education. Teachers from all kind of educational situations might exchange ideas, ask each other questions, answer each other's questions and provide each other with constructive feedback. An experiential assignment from group 2 of the primary school can also give a teacher from secondary or higher education ideas and vice versa. A digital network for experiential teachers, an E.T.W.W., can deepen and broaden the way in which affective and experiential education works. Affective and experiential education for young children An example of an interpretation of affective and experiential education can be seen in the documentary 'Just a Beginning', ('Ce n'est qu'un début' 2010), which was recorded in group 1 and 2 of a primary school in a village near Paris. In this documentary, children are offered affective and experiential education at a very young age: the 'philosophy lesson', the reflection lesson or PHILO, as the children call the lesson. By sharing experiences in the classroom that focus on conscious intra-personal development, on the emotions, thoughts and ideas of each pupil in the group, it supports opening up to the intra-personal path and at the same time provides insight into the emotions, thoughts and ideas of the classmates, interpersonal development. The teacher of group 1 and 2 stimulates the children to think and talk together about personal experiences, behaviour and emotions concerning themes such as: love, friendship, death, mum and dad. After all, on the outside nobody can see what your thoughts are. The teacher asks a question and leaves the communication as much as possible with the pupils and tries to steer the conversation as little as possible. The lessons start every time when the children and the teacher sit in a circle and the teacher lights a candle, a symbol for the beginning of the philosophy lesson. The candle is placed in the middle of the circle. At the beginning of the documentary, the children talk more and listen to each other less; private conversations take place. But things are getting better and better. The children learn to express their thoughts, to express their emotions consciously and to listen to each other. Some children are very sad that the philosophy lessons stops when they go to group 3 the next school year. Some children don't mind. A little boy indicates that he doesn't like all that thinking and talking, but he has thought about it and can express his thoughts well. ‘The stimulation of new educational concepts better suited to our multidisciplinary society demands a dynamic setting that is difficult to predefine in literature. Which educational methodology is most appropriate for stimulating the desired learning process? How do people

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 learn self-management? How do you facilitate reflection? Which learning processes ensure that people become more motivated? These learning processes involve behavioural change, personal development and emotions. Changing concepts and visions require more than just the ability to reproduce existing knowledge. These types of change processes are far more complex than traditional knowledge transfer’ (Shulman 2006). 3. Themes of the process of conscious intra-personal development in education Wisdom is the child of experience. Leonardo da Vinci. A number of themes are essential points of attention during the process of conscious intra- personal development, throughout all school years. All themes have a share in affective and experiential education. Self-knowledge through experience Gaining experience related to the conscious search for the inner path, is essential in the process of conscious personal development. Without experiences related to conscious intra-personal development, the inner path is difficult passable. The inner path is an individual path and is different for each individual. Experience is gained by discovering, feeling and observing something yourself, what can be completely clear to one individual, can be completely invisible to another. Being aware of one's own paradigm (Barker 1996), personal qualities, strenghts and weaknesses, offers the opportunity to work on desired adaptations. It is often very difficult for an individual to make a start with the inner path, let alone to shape it. Therefore, some support at the start of the conscious intra-personal development process is valuable. Education is there for (almost) everyone and for that reason education has the opportunity to offer support to (almost) everyone in gaining experience with the conscious intra-personal development process. Interpersonal development Every human being has his own paradigm, his own point of view (Barker 1996). A shared experience in a group during education makes it possible to discuss together the experience, the emotions felt and the reactions to it. It makes clear that not everyone has felt and experienced the same, so that everyone's perspective can broaden and deepen. Understanding a different perspective becomes possible. When each group member discusses his reflection on an experience, it gives a picture of the personal view of each group member to the other group members. Conscious reflecting Learning to reflect consciously on personal qualities (Denton 2011) and to express thoughts, feelings and ideas about them, by gaining experience during experiential meetings in education, is valuable. A number of questions can arise during the conscious reflection on the meeting, such as: what does this experience mean for me, which emotions play a role, can I explain my reactions, how did I deal with these emotions and my reaction to them? In what way did the group members react on my behaviour during the experience, which emotions evoked in me and how did I deal with them? Learning to reflect requires a conscious learning process. Writing down the reflections on the experiential meetings in a reflection notebook, supports the conscious intra-personal learning process (Bolin 2005). It's about understanding the conversation within your Self. An inner exchange of ideas. In this conversation conscious

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 decisions can be made, for example: ‘don't react immediately, first take a step back and think about the situation’. The young children in the documentary 'Just a Beginning' do not yet consciously note down thoughts, feelings and opinions. But the children develop a certain sensitivity for reflecting, expressing thoughts and feelings, and listening to each other. Openness If an individual is not open to conscious intra-personal development, it is difficult to find and follow the inner path. Being open to the inner path is the starting point. The attitude of a person makes it clear whether or not he is motivated to work out the experiential assignments. The children from the documentary 'Just a Beginning' clearly show who is open to the 'philosophy lesson' at a certain moment. Internalising Repetition plays a major role in internalising intra-personal development. For example, gaining experience with the working out of the learning style test of Kolb several times, contributes to the internalisation of the personal learning style and the comprehension of its consequences: what is going well in my way of learning and on what do I still have to work? Autonomy Autonomy is the ability of the individual to choose a goal by himself, to make decisions that enable the achievement of the goal set, and then to achieve the goal set by himself. (Vergeer, 2001). Autonomy means "providing yourself with laws". (Swaine, 2012). Learning to make reasoned choices and to make well-grounded decisions, in order to become more self- directing and to hold as good as possible. Autonomous functioning and making one's own choices is a prerequisite for the conscious development of Self-knowledge. In an educational environment in which autonomous action is not supported, it is difficult to develop personal qualities and act from intrinsic motivation. In order to practise individual autonomy, to develop self-directing, space is needed for a learning process in which the practice and shaping of personal values (moral identity) through play, creativity and the growth of affective and cognitive capacities has a place'. (Strain quoted in Zhao, & Biesta, 2012) in Van Baest, 2017). When a choice has to be made, it makes sense to assess and oversee the possibilities and consequences of the choice as well as possible in advance. Not to be guided by impulses or what everyone would do, but to think about: who am I, what can I do, what do I want and what do I choose? How can an individual protect himself against the pressures of an ever more rapidly changing world, in which he has to make choices over and over again, and maintain his autonomy? Making choices based on what happens around him, what everyone does, often seems to be the only way to go in the short-term. In addition to a personal meaning, autonomy also has a social meaning, aimed at interpersonal relationships: an interpersonal behaviour that one person adopts in relation to another. (Reeve & Jang, quoted in Leroy, et al. 2007). In other words: will and can one person support the autonomy of the other person, while at the same time he maintains his own autonomy.

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'If mankind does not turn inwards, the future doesn’t look good'. (Shambhala Tibet) Morals, ethics, values and norms If you are not aware of your own values and norms, if you are not aware they guide your actions, making (ethical) choices, especially in a situation where you are faced with an ethical dilemma, remains a matter for 'the other'. Every path you take is a good one. You don't have to make your own choices, so you don't have to take responsibility for the consequences? If you use moral excuses ('I can't do anything about that, everyone does it') then you put the responsibility somewhere else. Showing moral courage is not self-evident. It's easier to do what you're told to do or do what everyone else does and not think about it too much. Jung asks himself in his book 'The Undiscovered Self' whether it would not have been possible to make other choices than developing weapons of destruction, a choice that would have benefited mankind and the earth? One of the forms of evil is academic evil (Stangneth 2017), in which thinking is disconnected from moral choices, from emotions. The world is only understood in the light of a dominant system of thought, whether it is 'capital, making money', 'self-interest', 'technology', 'authority, hierarchy, doing what the boss says' or 'an ideology', which means that you no longer appear to yourself as an acting person. (Stangneth 2017). Opening up to one's own values and norms and reflecting on them consciously, offers the opportunity to make conscious personal choices. Providing opportunities for young people to gain experience with their values and norms during education, is important to stimulate awareness and to develop a certain sensitivity to ethical issues. Knowing what emotions play a role in all kind of experiences related to the personal values and norms, offers the possibility to make conscious personal choices, to take and bear one's own responsibility. We all walk in the dark. Everyone has to turn on their own light'. Catherine Heburn. Conscious intra-personal development: a lifelong learning process Finding one's way to the inner self is a lifelong development process in which an individual can always come up against surprises. The conscious intra-personal development process is driven by experiences gained, to recognize the emotions and thoughts evoked in this process, to think about them and to do something with them. During life an individual is confronted with many things and circumstances: with his own possibilities and qualities, with his personal circumstances, his choices and the consequences thereof, with illness, death, events affecting people in his social environment, with circumstances in the world, the situation at work. Slowly a self-image emerges, (who am I, what can I do, what do I want and what do I choose?), which in the course of life has to be constantly adjusted by gaining other insights. Flexibility plays an important role in the learning process. Insight in yourself does not arise at once, changes within the inner self do not take place in the short term. It is a lifelong process. In order to be able to find a way in all kind of circumstances, it is essential that an individual gets to know himself in order to be able to determine his course from that point on. During the conscious intra-personal development process, the conscious admits the unconscious, reason interacts with emotion.

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The intra-personal path is not an easy one. It takes time and effort to get on and stay on the road. That is why some support during the development of the intra-personal learning process in education would be valuable. 4. Points of interest for the approach of affective and experiential education This article ends with some points of special interest for the approach of affective and experiential meetings in education. - Affective and experiential meetings are organised several times per educational situation in every school year, from primary education to secondary and higher education, if possible with the same group members each year. This provides a common thread in the conscious intra- personal development process. Gaining joint experiences offer more insight into oneself and provides insight into the reactions of the other group members. Young people learn from the personal reactions of their classmates or group members to the same experiences during the meetings; there are also other ways to react to situations than their own. Developing more of a group feeling requires taking other views into account. Being open to someone else, opens the way for less projection and a deeper understanding. - Joint affective and experiential meetings offer a handle on one's own intra-personal development process. The growth of self-confidence is given room. It is valuable when young people, as part of their intra-personal development, become aware of themselves and learn to express their thoughts, emotions and ideas. Perhaps they develop a helicopter view to look at themselves and others. When children get in touch with conscious intra-personal development at an early age, they have more time and space to experience the intra-personal learning process during education. Gaining experience, reflecting and expressing thoughts, feelings and opinions in a group, as for example in the documentary 'Just a Beginning', (Ce n'est qu'un début) is valuable for young people to start the conscious intra-personal search. Each pupil follows his or her own path until they leave education. When they leave school, they have the possibility to consciously direct their own learning and make conscious personal choices. Individuation is a learning process: the path to the unification of the Self by gaining insight into one's own psyche, into the conscious and the unconscious, into one's own human being. - A flexible approach of the lecturer is essential; every educational situation requires a different approach and variation. Starting up and developing an E.T.W.W. (Experiential Teacher Wide Web) can offer the experiential teacher support in providing experiential education. Teachers from all kinds of educational situations exchange ideas. This can deepen and broaden the way in which affective and experiential education works. A feeling of support for the experiential teacher. Offering theory during the meetings disturbs the experiential orientation and the focus on emotions. At the start of the school career, the meetings are intended to get used to the approach of affective and experiential education and to get acquainted with a number of personal skills. With a new group, the experiential teacher also makes a new start in stimulating the conscious intra-personal learning process of the group members: giving room to each group member to gain experience in his or her own way in the new group. - An important factor for the success of this form of education is the way in which the affective and experiential meetings go. If pupils can attend affective and experiential meetings in education from an early age and it is a positive, continuous path for them until they leave

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1 education, then they know how to reflect, to listen and observe and they have experienced the value of personal qualities for themselves. ‘Subjective well-being refers to what people think and how they feel about their lives, to the cognitive and affective conclusions they reach when they evaluate their existence’. (Seligman, & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). It has become possible to discuss their emotions, thoughts, and ideas on all kinds of personal themes. What influence did the development of their inner Being have on their choices? They gained insight into the personal development process they have gone through and what it has meant for them. References [1] Barker J (1996) Paradigms. Mental models for the future. (Paradigms. Mental models for the future). Scriptum Books. [2] Bolin AU, Khramtsova I, Saarnio D (2005) Using Student Journals to Stimulate Authentic Learning: Balancing Bloom`s Cognitive and Affective Domains. Teaching of Psychology 32 (3), 154159). [3] Da Vinci L (2007) The Thoughts of Leonardo da Vinci (Éditions du Clos Lucé. Translation: Lidewij van den Berg for LinduaNet-France) [4] Denton D (2011) Reflection and Learning: Characteristics, obstacles, and implications. Educational Philosophy and Theory 43 (8), 838-852. [5] Gramsbergen-Hoogland YH, Deveer MAJ, Leezenberg MG (1999) Personal quality. Publishing house Wolters Noordhoff. [6] Jung CG (1957) The Undiscovered Self. Published by New American Library [7] Kolb A, Kolb D (2005) The Kolb Learning Style Inventory-Version 3.1. 2005 Technical Specifications. HayGroup. LSI Technical Manual. [8] Leroy N, Bressoux P, Sarrazin P, & Trouilloud D (2007) Impact of teachers 'impliciet theories and perceived pressures on the establishmentof an autonomy supportive climate. European Journal of Psychology of Education [9] Pozzi J-P, Barougier P (2010) Just a Beginning (Cést seulement un début) Wild Bunch Benelux Distribution [10] Seligman M, Csikszentmihalyi M (2000) Positive Psychology, An Introduction. American Psychologist 55(1): 5-14. [11] Shulman LS in: Lectoraat Pedagogiek van de Beroepsvorming van de Haagse Hogeschool/TH Rijswijk (2006). Koninklijke De Swart, The Hague 1-244. [12] Stangneth B (2017) Het Kwade Denken Uitgeverij Atlas Contact [13] Swaine L (2012) The false right to autonomy in education. Educational Theory 62 (1), 107-124. [14] Van Baest R (2017). Conscious Development Stimulating Movement Mechanism in Technology Education. Doctoral research (Ph D), Faculty of Human Studies, Tilburg University. [15] Van Baest R (2016) SCS (Social and Communication Skills). International Symposium on Project Approaches in Engineering Education, PAEE/ALE 2016 Volume 6, 100-109. [16] Van Baest R (2019). Stimulating Conscious Development Mechanism for Movement in Education. Athens Journal of Technology & Education. 6 (3) doi=10.30958/ajte.6-3- 4

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[17] Vergeer F (2001) Autonomy and well-being. (Autonomy and well-being). Thesis (Ph D) at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. [18] Zhao K, Biesta G (2012) The Moral Dimension of Lifelong Learning: Giddens, Taylor, and the "Reflexive Project of the Self". Adult Education Quarterly 62 (4), 332-350.

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Teaching Literature in a Post-Dictatorship Country

Dhurata Lamçja Phd Cand. University of Tirana

Abstract Albanian literature curricula in a high school system has incorporated in a few years a lot of concepts, authors and methodology pretending in absorbed and integration of knowledge worldwide on literature teaching process and environment. Analyzing the academic process of constructing the base and the theoretical axis of the teachers, which actually are teaching literature can be noticed easily that a large number of them in their last ten years of their professional carrier has nothing to do with it. Their studies in university stage was only ideologized and focused on socialist realism. The university’s curriculum was strictly handicapped and based on the communist ideology on “creating the new people- the communist one”, as the literature itself, and every art form was “shaped” as it. Being such a teacher nowadays in Albania you have to face a challenge: You feel prejudged by your “experienced” colleges, who has not accepted and never “known” really the perspective of reading a fiction text as a “open text”. You felt yourself “trapped” in textbooks, their sources and their perspective is limited on their authors theoretical backgrounds. Having a parenting and student tradition, mentality as their academic success is based only on “the book” (even if in Albania we have more than 10 years practicing “altertext”-as a possibility of performing the subject program through the book chosen by teachers between three or four possibilities) makes it difficult to provide an “open” experience on learning through a based bibliography. The academic coordinators in pre-university system, aren’t always ready for the teacher who want to realize the teaching process leaded by the ideas of globalization, open minded individual, constructive perspective of the personality of the student, on national history and tradition versus “the other”. Keywords: hero-sub/ reality-globalization-individual-perspective-the-other.

Introduction Having the possibility of having a full wiew on teaching the literature in high scool meantime gives a lot of challenges faced both from teachers and students. We didn’t incluse the parents as far as on statistics and on regular studies and analyses made by the coordinating staf, it resuls that a small percentage of the parents have knowledge about the program, about the curricula and about the student’s text itself. Referring to the curricula the concepts of achievement levels are in coherence with the pedagogical principle of competency learning.

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Our aim is to analise how the art (literature) text ( a narrative, poetry or drama) fulfill the pedagocical objective and how much are the Albanian student’s book in this subject are contemporan. We dare to use such a term- contemporan –as a student’s book similar to the student’ book of the region, or further. Our overlook will be concrete on the lessons plans and on the pedagogical review. Literature review Historiographical researches, ideological researches, filosophical and researches based on updated theoretical literature’s researches will enlighted the focus. Concrete literature student’s book, in their selected pieces of narratives or poems, the questionnaire and the exercises through them is planned to thrive on a concrete plan of competences and attitudes, through knowledges, new information and their conection on various knowledges fields. Theoretical concepts dealt with narratives will provide another backround or perspective on social, historical, behavior and philosophical concepts. Methodology Methods of data analysis are not simply neutral techniques because they carry the epistemological, ontological and theoretical assumptions of researchers who developed them (Alvessson and Skoldberg 2000) based on the relational exchange with the assumptions (sometimes different) of the stakeholder who use them. The presentation of a jurney on Albanian literature history (Hamiti S. 2010) by analyzing in a very different focus is not a simply neutral technique as it carry the epistomological, ontological and theoretical assumption of the literature critique who developed them based on the stakeholder who use them (literature teachers on high schools, students, parents of the students, academic coordinators in high scools, academic staf on educational faculties, students book authors, etc), but a concrete ideolocical, methodogical, sociological, psychological and philosophical strategy on teaching and learning literature in a high school literature class. The writing procces (artwriting) (bioletra), as creating procces is compounded by: a-the life writing (jetëshkrimi), (curriculum vitae) as a personal feelings narrative ( Hamiti S. 2010). b-handwriting (dorëshkrimi) which is escaped from the generalisations and tend to embrace the personal in which is creating the individual unique of the persona ( the author), (Hamiti S. 2010). c-scripture (bukurshkrimi) as an escape from the anxious feelings through the art (Hamiti S.2010). We tend to generalize as the historical view on authors personal and social life, personal backround of knowledges and attitude, personal and unconscious feelings. Poetic bioletra- their concepts are: uni- the ego (me), the monologue in his universality and imagination, with no time précised but dhe universal time.

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Mimetic bioletra- the description and the narrative in writing process is connected to the time and space. The personal and the imaginative gives the opportunity to –the other. Dramatic bioletra-is the most impersonal and real genre. There is the definition as an imitation of the reality and as a creative illusion of the reality. The drama happens here and now, in the meaning that it relativizing the time and the space as a beyond personal and the dream and the memory as personal categories. The conection with the real the drama is pretending to be adapted to one imitation (mimesis). Aristoteli’s catharsis might be interpreted the same as a single unit of sintactic system in a text or as an evocation to the reader to the cleansing of passions (extratextual and it belongs to the spectator or reader). Formal bioletra (varianta). Literal form is a heritage, a culture, a memory and escaping from it is impossible. The definitions as: dramatic poetry, lyric narrative or symbolic drama are just conventional. Original bioletra (personalization). The individual creation goes to the originality, means universality undergoing to the unique process of the personalization. Ideoletra-bioletra (the idea). This is a letrarity totality that doesn’t know the boundaries of the tima and space, it can be rapresented with thw figure of an open circle. Conclusions Changing the curricula in terms of changing author is not what are our expextations, diversifying the fragments from the authors is another opportunity of a larger view and a divers class coments and analysis. Sociological theories might be on the historiographical interpretations, phsycological interpretations mixed up with backround personal datas about the author might be a point in the general discution about the letrarity in a author artwork. Discusing about the student’s book might be overcome as we live in the internet age, but on certain environments such conservative and low income communities we have to take in consideration that the student’s book is the only confidentional, reliable source and “manual” of their learning. Parent’s mentality and mindset about what they believe what a educational system must be is quite clear: they consider the teacher not the person who leads the sudents on the knowledge and the critical thinking but the only authority who knows better about the subject and is the only authority of defining the boundaries of knowledge and attitude. This is a traditional opinion and tend to be a prevailing consideration on teachers and students to. A literature class based only an a student book is not the best . Teachers theoretical backround is particulary crucial in this process to. The teachers studies in university was not only ideologized but focused on socialist realism only as the art’method. The university’s curriculum was strictly handicapped and based on the communist ideology on “creating the new people- the communist one”, as the literature itself, and every art form was “shaped” as it. Being such a teacher nowadays in Albania you have to face challenges: You feel prejudged by your “experienced” colleges, who has not accepted and never “known” really the perspective of reading a fiction text as a “open text”. The diversity of approach on transmiting art values, difersify the method and the pecularity of the act of the communicating in literature class proceed with diverse challenges.

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On the historiographical perspective there is an absence of the authors from the region (specifically Balcan’s countries). The other, the neighbor is unknown, despite the greek ancient authors. References [1] Barthes R.,[2001], Miti d’ogi, translated by Lonzi L., Torino, Einaudi [2] Çiraku Y., [1998], Në zbërthim të kodeve letrare, Tiranë,Toena [3] Dado F. [2003], Poetika, Teoria e veprës letrare, Tiranë, Botimet Toena [4] Dizionario di Retorica e Stilistica, [2015], Roma, UTET [5] Eco U., [2007], Gjashtë shëtitje në pyjet e tregimtarisë, translated by Kastrati D., Tiranë, Dituria [6] Gennette G., [1997], Palinsesti, La letteratura al secondo grado, translated by Novità R., Torino, Einaudi [7] Hamiti S. & Shehri Dh. & Marashi A.& Petro.R & Mëniku L., [2011], Gjuha shqipe dhe Letërsia 11, Tiranë, Albas [8] Hamiti S. & Shehri Dh. & Marashi A.& Petro.R & Mëniku L., [2011], Gjuha shqipe dhe Letërsia 12, Tiranë, Albas [9] Hamiti S. & Shehri Dh. & Marashi, [2016], Letërsia 10, Tiranë, Albas [10] Hamiti S. & Shehri Dh. & Marashi, [2016], Letërsia 11, Tiranë, Albas [11] Hamiti S. & Shehri Dh. & Marashi, [2016], Letërsia 11, Tiranë, Albas [12] Hamiti S. & Shehri Dh. & Marashi, [2016], Letërsia 12, Tiranë, Albas [13] Hamiti S. & Shehri Dh.& Marashi A. & Petro.R & Mëniku L., [2011], Gjuha shqipe dhe Letërsia 10, Tiranë, Albas [14] Hamiti S. [2010], Poetika shqiptare, 1-Bioletra, 2-Tematologjia, 3-Albanizma, Tiranë, Shtëpia botuese “55” [15] Hamiti S.[2013], Letërsia moderne shqipe, second edition, Tiranë, UET Press [16] Jakllari A & Isufaj V., Letërsia 12 (me zgjedhje), [2018], Tiranë, Albas [17] Korniza Kurrikulare e Arsimit Parashkollor, [2016], IZHA, Tiranë [18] Lévi-Straus C., [2009], Antropologia strutturale, translated by Caruso P., Milano, Il Saggiatore [19] Mëniku L. & Petro R. & Jubani A., [2016], Gjuha shqipe 10, Tiranë, Albas [20] Mëniku L. & Petro R. & Jubani A., [2016], Gjuha shqipe 11, Tiranë, Albas [21] Mëniku L. & Petro R. & Jubani A., [2016], Gjuha shqipe 12, Tiranë, Albas [22] Nivelet e arritjes-Shkalla V dhe VI, [2018], IZHA, Tiranë [23] Sinani Sh. [2012], Tradita gojore si etnotekst: Studime për etno-folkloristikë krahasimtare. Tiranë: Shtëpia botuese dhe studio letrare “Naimi” [24] Todorov T., [2007], Letërsia në rrezik, translated by Halimi M., Prishtinë, Buzuku [25] Udhëzues kurrikular për Gjuhën shqipe, [2018], IZHA, Tiranë [26] Udhëzues kurrikular për Letërsinë, [2018], IZHA, Tiranë

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The Challenges of Small Medium Enterprise in the Implementation of the New Fiscal Package in the City of Vlora

Brisejda Zenuni Ramaj PhD. Lecturer in Financial and Accounting, University of Vlora “Ismail Qemali”, Faculty of Economy

Abstract

Fiscalization is the best form of reducing informality in Albanian economy. The actual economic situation in our country according to the literature review and the implementation of a new fiscal package (fiscalization) in front of economic hardship, infrastructural and social difficulties faced by businesses. In this paper we focus on the problems and the difficulties faced by businesses (Small and Medium Enterprise) in the region of Vlora during the fiscalization and implementation of the new fiscal package. Problems such as liquidity, financial problems, lack of knowledge, equipment and use of computer equipment necessary to implement the new fiscal package will be the main aim in this paper. Another problem is how prepared are SME in the implementation of the new package, how prepared are the operational staff like accountant and financial assistant, what training and professional training do they have regarding the correct implementation of the new fiscal package. In this paper are identified these problems by concluding in concrete recommendations regarding the effective implementation of fiscalization by entities. In order to analyze the process of processing and reporting information on the readiness of businesses in the implementation of the new fiscal package, a survey was conducted in the economic units that operate in the city of Vlora. It was not possible to extend to a wider area due to pandemic situation in which it finds itself, trying to draw a valid and realistic conclusion for the businesses SME in Vlora. This survey is in the form of a questionnaire. Hypotheses will be developed about the variables under consideration. To test our hypotheses in this study was used a quantitative research method.

Keywords: Fiscal package, Financial Reporting, Tax Reporting, Fiscalization.

JEL classification: M40, M41, M48, K34, H25, H26

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Public Health Communication in France during the Spanish Flu and the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Experts

Klara Dankova Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

Abstract In times of crisis, a government’s communication with the public is fundamental, as one of the government’s main tasks is to provide critical information to protect the population. In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health communication has been paramount because of the elevated risk of contagion. Moreover, in public health communication, experts play a pivotal role by providing reliable information on the basis of their technical expertise. The impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic is often compared to that of the Spanish flu, a pandemic occurring in 1918-1919, whose global spread decimated tens of millions of people. This contribution aims to assess the role of experts in the two crises by highlighting the differences in France’s public health communication during the two events. Assuming that the objectives of public health communication during the two pandemics were more or less identical, i.e. to prevent the spread of disease and inform and protect the public, the paper inquires about the means used to achieve them, focusing on the contribution of experts. The main characteristics of public health communication during the Spanish flu will be investigated by analysing articles published in the period between 1918 and 1919 in two French newspapers Le Matin and Le Petit Parisien. In terms of the current COVID-19 pandemic, this paper will probe articles published since December 2019 in the newspaper Le Monde. Keywords: public health communication, expert, pandemic, COVID-19, Spanish flu.

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Ephemeral Museums in Pandemic Era: Bari and the Museo Provinciale that Was There, that Has Been and Has Never Been

Andrea LEONARDI Giuseppe DE SANDI Claudia COLELLA Università degli Studi di Bari 'Aldo Moro' Dipartimento di Lettere, Lingue, Arti. Italianistica e Culture Comparate Piazza Umberto I, 1Palazzo Ateneo, II piano 70122 Bari, Italy

Abstract The proposal introduces the theme of the communicative resilience of exhibitions during the Pandemic Era. On March 7, 2020, Italy and its museums, as well as the countless exhibitions housed in their rooms, were closed leaving hundreds, perhaps thousands, of works without the public: from the paintings of Raphael (Rome, Scuderie del Quirinale), to the tables of the Griffoni Polyptych assembled after three hundred years (Bologna, Palazzo Fava), to the statues of Canova (Rome, Palazzo Braschi), to the Sant'Antonio by Antonio Vivarini and to the San Felice in the chair by Lorenzo Lotto chased by Bernard Berenson in his Apulian 'pilgrimages' (Bari, Palazzo Ateneo). Indeed, the latter is the exhibition to which particular attention is paid here. The spaces of the ancient Museum have come back to life with the exhibition “Il Museo che non c’è. Arte, collezionismo, gusto antiquario nel Palazzo degli Studi di Bari 1875- 1928”. The exhibition involved lenders institutions such as Villa I Tatti - The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, the Central State Archive in Rome, the Pinacoteca of Bari 'Corrado Giaquinto' and several others. The exhibition in Bari was inaugurated on February 28th. After the first five days only the exhibition was closed for the advance of COVID 19 virus. In the 'great hall' - as the main space of the ancient Provincial Museum was called - everything remained suspended and perfectly finished: showcases, exhibitors, paintings, statues, clay and stone art objects. However, there was no longer the possibility of letting people, visitors enter. We said that it would have been wonderful to be said that it would have been wonderful to be able to reopen it at least 'virtually'. And so we did, with an immersive and advanced teaching perspective. Keywords: Italy, Museology, Exhibition, History of Art

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Epidemics in Modern and Contemporary Age in a Backward Area of Europe: The Role of Institutions and Socio-Economic Effects in Southern Italy

Vittoria Ferrandino Marilena Iacobaccio Valentina Sgro University of Sannio, Benevento (Italy)

Abstract Ethics as a cure for anxiety, or rather for anxieties, a distinctive feature of contemporary western man, neurotic and afraid. Man cannot be only that aggregate of primitive instincts driven by selfishness and individual interest that utilitarianism has credited and neoliberalism has emphasized. It seems obvious that the Covid-19 effect amplifies these paradoxes and anxieties. Epidemics are certainly not new in the historical-social context. The purpose of this study will be to analyze some of the numerous epidemics that have occurred in history and their impact on the economy. The corrections can only come from a re-evaluation of the ethical state, the ethical family and a new ethical world: attention to migratory phenomena through the principle of the obligation to rescue the least of the earth; relaunch of the international organizations with which the world, in the happy post-war season, had intended to give an order that guaranteed peace and balance, but which has gradually been forgotten; reduction of wage differences; taxation of capital and presence of the public interest in the company's governing bodies. Through the analysis of original sources, such as the historical archive of Pio Monte della Misericordia and Banco di Napoli, the study will compare the plague of 1656, and the effects of the intervention of charities in support of the population with the socio-economic impact of the Spanish influence in the first decades of the twentieth century, up to the current pandemic, with particular attention to the consequences on the production capacity of goods and services in a backward area of Europe, such as Southern Italy. * Keywords: Economic History; Social Sciences; Economic impact; Epidemics.

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Character Skills and Patience to Promote Resilience in Children - Education in Primary Schools After Pandemic

Emanuela Guarcello University of Turin

Abstract The proposal of the education of character skills in childhood has and still represents an authoritative experience within the educational landscape with particular regard to the school environment. If the proposal of character education has been so widely accepted to date, how can it be a valid support for the school even after the pandemic? In order to represent a valid support to all intents and purposes, should it maintain the traits that have distinguished it up to now or should it change in some respects? In particular, what skills should then be promoted by character education in schools after the pandemic? Starting from these problematic spaces and in order to work on a reconstruction of possible answers to the questions raised, the present contribution is articulated around three main reflexive nests: the education of character with particular regard to the proposal of character skills by James Josef Heckman; the relationship between conscientiousness (central to the discourses on character) and patience, an educational proposal centered on patience’s skills that should be promoted through character education in schools, especially at primary level, after the pandemic. Keywords: primary school, character, skills, conscientiousness, patience, resilience, waiting, indecision

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Digital Culture and Learning in Higher Education After COVID19: A Collaborative Approach in a Virtual Environment

Ana Lúcia de Souza Lopes Mackenzie Presbyterian University Marili Moreira da Silva Vieira Mackenzie Presbyterian University

Abstract This article is the result of a critical analysis of the incorporation of Digital Culture into methodologies and interactive approaches that drive collaborative and meaningful learning processes for higher education students. We will analyze a specific course, Science, Technology and Society in Arts, Languages and Culture, with students from the 1st. Semester of the Portuguese Language and Literature for Teacher education Course of a Private University. Our goal is to demonstrate the planning, implementation, and learning outcome in a course with a hybrid methodological approach that makes use of interactive tools in the students' learning trail. We will highlight an interactive evaluative activity that consisted in the construction of a collaborative mural using the Digital Padlet tool as a resource for a critical reflection done by students on the chapter of a book from the basic bibliography: "What is Society?" (Bazzo, 2003). We adopted the qualitative analysis of the data from the Collaborative mural itself and the records of the students' Digital Learning Diaries, which was performed after the collaborative activity. This allowed us to observe the relationships between the methodological approach, the use of digital tools and the perception of significant learning in higher education, as well as to establish a critical reflection on the incorporation of digital culture in pedagogical practices. Keywords: digital culture, collaborative learning, meaningful learning, teaching methodologies, hybrid teaching

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Decision Support Opportunities in the Green Supply Chain Coordination

Gabriella Metszosy University of Miskolc, 3515 Miskolc-Egyetemváros, Magyarország

Abstract In the 21st century, major changes have taken place in supply chain management. First of all, some new type of supply chains has appeared beside the traditional supply chains. The growing level of pollution, the decreasing level of non-renewable sources indicate changes in the business life. Companies find some alternate solutions to protect the environment – use renewable sources, integrate recycling processes, use the inverse logistics etc. So companies are getting to be eco-conscious, we are called them as ‘green companies’. If these green companies are in one supply chain, we are called as ‘green supply chain’. The coordination of supply chains – whether if traditional or green– is one of the most important research topics in this century. The number of chain members is growing; the cooperation is getting to be more difficult. That is why contracts could be a good solution for this problem, because they define a framework for the parties to manage their relationships. Contracts work well, if the right type is chosen according to the nature of the relationship. But in the case of a green supply chain, there are other influencing factors. Green companies are able to accept higher prices to get higher quality products. In the paper, we analyse how these factors influence the decision-makers to choose between the contracts; we use the AHP decision-making method. Keywords: Green Supply Chain, Supply Chain Coordination, Decision-making, AHP JEL classification: D21, D81, L11, L14

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

The Protective Role of Self-Efficacy for Resilience in the COVID-19 Period

Andrea Kövesdi Éva Hadházi Sándor Rózsa Krisztina Törő Gábor Csikós Rita Földi

Abstract We perceived the COVID-19 pandemic as a stressful living condition when we launched our resilience research among parents and their children (11-18 years old) in Hungary in early April 2020. The ability of resilience (Masten, 1990) was a particularly topical issue for survival and recovery during the candidate period, when several new challenges had to be faced. Our study focuses on resilience, self-efficacy, and health anxiety. In our research, we also look for protective factors for parents and children. Our results demonstrate a positive significant association of parental resilience with quality of life, well-being, and self-efficacy. Negative significant association was found with perceived stress and health anxiety. Similar connections with parental relationships were demonstrated among children and adolescents. In the parental sample, we demonstrated that partly the perceived stress and partly the decrease in self-efficacy have a mediating effect on resilience. Health anxiety directly reduces resilience, and stress mediates the resilience. Self-efficacy moderates the relationship between health anxiety and resilience. Higher self-efficacy of the parents is a protective factor in terms of resilience to health anxiety. Keywords: protective role, self-efficacy for resilience, COVID-19

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Smart Cities, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Respect for the European Union Data Protection Rules

Francisco Javier Durán Ruiz Prof. Dr., Departmento of Administrative Law, University of Granada

Abstract The importance of cities and their populations grow more and more, as well as the need to apply ICT in their management to reduce their environmental impact and improve the services they offer to their citizens. Hence the concept of smart city arises, a transformation of urban spaces that the European Union is strongly promoting which is largely based on the use of data and its treatment using Big data and Artificial Intelligence techniques based in algorithms. For the development of smart cities it is basic, from a legal point of view, EU rules about open data and the reuse of data and the reconciliation of the massive processing of citizens' data with the right to privacy, non-discrimination and protection of personal data. The use of Big data and AI needed for the development of smart city projects requires a particular respect to data protection regulations. In this sense, the research explores in depth the specific hazards of vulnerating this fundamental right in the framework of smart cities due to the use of Big Data and AI. Keywords: smart cities, big data, artificial intelligence, European Union data protection rules

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Methodical Practice of Teaching Croatian Language and Literature During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Mirela Šušić Assist. Prof, PhD, Department of Croatian Studies, University of Zadar, CROATIA

Abstract In exceptional circumstances, such as those that have been caused by the COVID-19 virus pandemic, when schools were closed in order for the protection of human health and teaching were moved to an online environment, the implementation of methodological practice proved to be particularly challenging. Distance learning disabled the usual ways of implementing methodological practice, which automatically encouraged the design and application of new ways and methods of implementation. This allowed the students to realization methodical practice even in extraordinary circumstances, such as those caused by COVID-19. The goal of these new ways and methods, despite the extraordinary circumstances, environment and ways in which teaching is being implemented, is to enable students to acquire the practical knowledge, skills, experience and competencies that are necessary in the teaching profession. The paper deals with the methodical practice of students the Department of Croatistics who have mandatory methodological practice within their university study program of the Croatian Language and Literature at the graduate level. Under normal circumstances, these students, under the guidance of a university professor and a mentor teacher in training schools, implement methodical practice in primary and secondary schools where they get aquainted with the work of teachers and activitely participate in the teaching process. Among other things, the students follow pilot mentoring classes, prepare and conduct classes and actively participate in analyzing the same, which is all part of the methodological practice. Keywords: methodical practice, teaching Croatian Language and Literature, distance learning, students, Croatistics

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Spiritual Resilience and Transactional Analysis Model – Holistic Paradigm for Facing a Global Crisis

Angelina Ilievska MD, Psychotherapist, Psychiatrist, Private Practice, Skopje, R. North Macedonia

Naum Ilievski PhD, Faculty of Psychology, International Slavic University “Gavrilo R. Derzhavin”, Sveti Nikole, R. North Macedonia

“The Mind-and-Heart Prayer Itself Will Ensure the Continuity of Eternal Existence” – Bishop Naum of Strumica, The Metropolitan of the Diocese of Strumica, Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric

Abstract Faced with the challenge of Covid pandemic, the world will change its existence forever. In such circumstances of the common global crisis, humanity will form new narratives between suffering and survival. From the positioning to this experience, it will depend on whether it will remain a trauma or the deepest inner resources will be activated by building “new personal relationships” on a transpersonal level, and by forming a new alliance, versus the current alienation from nature and the planet. Spiritual resilience is the dimension of the overall mental framework, besides the cognitive, emotional and neurobiological one. This paper postulates the preventive, co-creative, and salutogenic capacity of this essential potential of one’s spiritual self even in the most painful and stressful life events. It offers the models based on Christian psychotherapy and Transactional analysis in re-emerging one’s inner power in forming adaptive coping mechanism and well-being. Within the TA we operate with the classical approach and two dimensions: intrapersonal and interpersonal and in the domain of spiritual TA- transcedental level regarding the cor self. Christian psychotherapy offers the union of the Holy Eucharist as a pastoral dimension of unity and the individual ascetic discipline through the FCP Method. Expanding the frame of reference – from the narrow anthropocentric to the wider and unlimited theocentric model – such a holistic approach can be successfully applied to all organized forms: family, organizations, and global community, thus creating a strong, aware, and compassionate society. Keywords: spiritual resilience, transactional analysis, global crisis, adaptive coping, Holy Eucharist

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

The Protective Role of Self-Efficacy for Resilience in the COVID-19 Period

Andrea Kövesdi Éva Hadházi Sándor Rózsa Krisztina Törő Gábor Csikós Rita Földi

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Heart Rate Variability in Patients with Mild and Asymptomatic COVID 19

Wireko Andrew Awuah Abdul-Rahman Toufik Albina Zharkova MD, PhD, Assoc. Prof. Family Medicine Department, Sumy State University, Sumy, Ukraine

Abstract While most people with COVID-19 have mild or no symptoms, even patients with mild infection should be inspected attentively to reveal possible complications timely. Among such probable mild symptoms can be named heart rate variability. Materials and methods. 39 patients of Sumy Primary Care center #1 with mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 were enrolled in the study. Control group included patients with similar symptoms but negative COVID-19 test results. The COVID-19 diagnosis was verified with polymerase chain reaction. Patients have been subjected to physical examination, blood tests, 12-lead ECG with heart rate variability measure. Results. It was detected that the averages of normal-to-normal (NN) intervals (SDANN), root mean square differences of successive NN intervals (RMSSD), heart rate, and low- frequency (LF) power–high-frequency (HF) power ratio were significantly higher in group with confirmed COVID-19 (p<0.05). We also found that a gain in the LF/HF power ratio was statistically linked to a decrease of blood magnesium level (18.6%, p<0.05). It was detected that HRV could be controlled by treatment with magnesium supplements 100 mg/day(p<0.05), but more precise results require longer observation. Conclusion. Hence, COVID-19 can cause changes of heart rate variability, which requires further investigation of possible long-term consequences and approaches to correction. Keywords: COVID-19, heart rate variability, magnesium, ECG.

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Features of the political communication in recent general election campaigns in Albania

Lorenc Ligori Doctoral candidate in Sociology at Tirana University, Faculty of Social Sciences

Abstract This paper aims to discuss some of the main specifics of the political communication in recent general election campaigns in Albania. The purpose is to determine features that relate to variables such as the electoral system, electoral campaign rules, political party system, local political culture, socio-political situation in holding of the election etc. The experience of elections in Albania, has often worsened the already tense conflictual climate between the political parties and caused the polarization of the electorate. Election campaigns were characterized by the frequent use of derogatory rhetoric directed to political adversaries, increase of the populist tone of the political discourse, lack of televised debates, and they focused mainly on quips and clashes, rather than on the electoral political programs, etc. But in addition to that, it has become clear that there is an influence of the contemporary electoral western practices, especially of the electoral campaign model of the USA. So, there are also other factors that influence the political communication i.e., the increasing role played by the electoral polls and the role played by hired foreign experts of strategy and communication. They produce other features of the political communication such as: the increase of the profile and the personalization of party leaders, and a new role and influence of a complex media structure. The paper is based on the theoretical context of the Americanization of the electoral campaign (Swanson & Mancini), the evolution of electoral campaigns (Norris), etc. In the triangle of political actors-media-audience (McNair) the paper aims to present some characteristics of the political communication in an electoral campaign in Albania. In addition to the study of literature regarding some of the specifics of the Americanization of electoral campaigns; the study of some of the features of the political communication in the latest electoral campaigns in some developed western democracies; the paper is based on the content analysis of the discourse of political party leaders in the written press (several daily newspapers were monitored, covering the period of one month before the election day). Lastly, conclusions are drawn on the commonalities and specifics of the electoral political communication in developed western democracies. Keywords: electoral campaign, political communication, party leader, media, specifics features, comparison.

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International Continuous Online Conference ICOC - London ISBN 9781639723959 "Recent Ideas and Research"- London 2021 Proceedings V1

Psycho-social consequences in coping with breast cancer: Case of patients and family members in Albania

Orneda Gega PhD, Aleksander Moisiu University Durrës, Faculty of Education, Albania

Abstract Health care institutions around the world are continuing to face unprecedented clinical and operational challenges as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic. While some countries have almost stopped breast screening and diagnostics, other hospitals of different countries treat patients who need urgent care. Unfortunately, breast cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality for women worldwide, not forgetting to mention the psycho-social consequences in coping with breast cancer. The objectives of the study are as follows: 1: To explore the personal and emotional life of women before being diagnosed with breast cancer, their lived experience during this period, including the Pandemic period; 2. To identify the most important stages during the diagnosis of the given disease; 3. To identify the psychosocial condition of women with breast cancer during diagnosis and the psychological condition of family members; 4. To evaluate the impacts that these women have experienced in their lives, life habits, family ties (between husbands, parents-children). The aim of the study is to identify the psycho-social consequences in coping with breast cancer. The interviewed women, who managed to survive, revealed their personality and showed whether it influenced the recovery of the disease and its stages. Survivors reported stories of positive and negative changes accompanied by suspicion and fear as well as the renewal of various relationships and priorities. There have been reports of anger towards God and other people, stories of deep faith but also stories of altruism. As they struggled to understand the nature of breast cancer, they had to at the same time face the fear of being affected by a possible death from the disease. In addition, they are faced with the big dilemma of what to do with their physical appearance as well. When active treatment for breast cancer ends, survivors report that they have had to face a struggle to resume a new life, with new challenges and a new identity. The stories shared in this paper help to understand the situation of breast cancer survivors in the Albanian reality, especially during this difficult period of the Pandemic. The information that is shared, can also inform the practice of counseling to provide support and promote health care to women who are at risk for the abovementioned disease. Keywords: breast cancerCovid-19, psycho-social consequences, challenge, woman

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