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AbstractBackgroundThis study characterized the prevalence, drinking patterns, and sociodemographic characteristics of U.S. adult subpopulations with distinct drinking trajectories during the COVID‐19 pandemic's first 42 weeks.MethodsAdult respondents (n = 8130) in a nationally representative prospective longitudinal study completed 21 biweekly web surveys (March 2020 to January 2021). Past‐week alcohol drinking frequency (drinking days [range: 0 to 7]) and intensity (binge drinking on usual past‐week drinking day [yes/no]) were assessed at each timepoint. Growth mixture models identified multiple subpopulations with homogenous drinking trajectories based on mean drinking days or binge drinking proportional probabilities across time.ResultsFour drinking frequency trajectories were identified: Minimal/stable (72.8% [95% CI = 71.8 to 73.8]) with <1 mean past‐week drinking days throughout; Moderate/late decreasing (6.7% [95% CI = 6.2 to 7.3) with 3.13 mean March drinking days and reductions during summer, reaching 2.12 days by January 2021; Moderate/early increasing (12.9% [95% CI = 12.2 to 13.6) with 2.13 mean March drinking days that increased in April and then plateaued, ending with 3.20 mean days in January 2021; and Near daily/early increasing (7.6% [95% CI = 7.0 to 8.2]) with 5.58 mean March drinking days that continued increasing without returning to baseline. Four drinking intensity trajectories were identified: Minimal/stable (85.8% [95% CI = 85.0% to 86.5%]) with <0.01 binge drinking probabilities throughout; Low‐to‐moderate/fluctuating (7.4% [95% CI = 6.8% to 8%]) with varying binge probabilities across timepoints (range:0.12 to 0.26); Moderate/mid increasing (4.2% [95% CI = 3.7% to 4.6%]) with 0.39 April binge drinking probability rising to 0.65 during August–September without returning to baseline; High/early increasing trajectory (2.7% [95% CI = 2.3% to 3%]) with 0.84 binge drinking probability rising to 0.96 by June without returning to baseline. Males, Whites, middle‐aged/older adults, college degree recipients, those consistently working, and those above the poverty limit were overrepresented in various increasing (vs. minimal/stable) frequency trajectories. Males, Whites, nonmarried, those without college degree, 18 to 39‐year‐olds, and middle aged were overrepresented in increasing (vs. minimal/stable) intensity trajectories.ConclusionsSeveral distinct U.S. adult sociodemographic subpopulations appear to have acquired new drinking patterns during the pandemic's first 42 weeks. Frequent alcohol use assessment in the COVID‐19 era could improve personalized medicine and population health efforts to reduce drinking.

Organizations in general, and higher education institutions in particular, had to face many challenges during the pandemic in order to carry out their usual activities. Since communications and interactions between universities and students were required to take place online, the messages sent by universities on their social media platforms held greater importance. In this regard, the purpose of the paper was to identify the promotion strategies used by European universities on Facebook and Instagram in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, we were interested in identifying differences and similarities in the types of messages European universities sent on the two social networks, regarding the way they communicated about sustainability. The method used in order to conduct the research was content analysis, while having as an instrument a content analysis grid. We analyzed the activity of 20 European universities included in the World University Rankings 2021. The results of the research revealed that universities communicated more on Facebook than on Instagram, that the most frequent messages regarding sustainability were the ones about the actions carried out by universities in order to protect the environment, and that they registered a higher engagement rate on Instagram than on Facebook.

The purpose of the study was to assess the efficiency and accessibility of microcredits for small Ukrainian enterprises and to justify the feasibility of strengthening government contributions in lending to ensure the sustainable development of small businesses. Indicators for evaluating the efficiency and accessibility of microcredits are systematized. Methodological approaches to assessing the efficiency of lending for the creation and development of microenterprises have been improved. A model for evaluating the efficiency of microcredits aimed at the survival of microenterprises in a deteriorating environment was developed. It has been revealed that the level of efficiency of microcredit creation for firms in some time intervals depends quadratically on the share of microcredits in the total amount of funds directed to the creation of firms. A linear relationship between the relative amount of credit received and the growth rate of firms’ assets has also been established. However, there is no significant impact of the microcredit’s amount on labor productivity. A method has been developed for evaluating the budgetary efficiency of microcredits when such a lending is carried out using funds from state or local budgets. It was found that improving these lending conditions through budget financing can significantly increase its attractiveness for microenterprises without significantly reducing the budgetary efficiency of microcredits. This article substantiates the need to strengthen state support for microcrediting of small Ukrainian enterprises in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using the documentary research technique, this paper outlines certain aspects of Ukraine-Poland cross-border mediation interaction in the context of contemporary threats. In addition, it points out the main contemporary threats, which affect the cross-border interaction of Ukraine and Poland. It characterizes such threats as nuclear danger, environmental problems, humanitarian crisis, economic threats and food shortages. It points out that there are internal threats to Poland in connection with the war in Ukraine, the spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, due to the large number of refugees, the threat to food security, the threat to Poland's economic stability and poverty. It is shown that Poland interacts with Ukraine on all urgent issues: helps citizens seeking temporary protection, sends humanitarian aid, strengthens and stimulates market relations. It is concluded that all this led to increased cross-border interaction between the countries. The relevance of alternative types of conflict resolution, such as mediation, is highlighted. The scope of cross-border mediation is presented, the current state of mediation is analyzed and conclusions are drawn on the need for further development of this institution.

One of the three most important components of the effective work of an organization or enterprise in the energy sector is properly organized staff work. Thus, all the risks arising in this process should be given proper consideration. Conventional methods can hardly be of any assistance, which is why this paper proposes the innovative rapidly adaptive model for the evaluation of existing risks and the forecasting of emerging ones due to the COVID-19 pandemic in modern personnel management. The model employs a probability theory and applies it to four major risk groups, which are related to many factors. It also describes the methods of mitigating these risks. This made it possible to improve personnel management efficiency, thus offsetting the adverse consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the Ukrainian population, there are factors surrounding the choices and preferences one must consider when changing permanent residence. Smart residential areas should be built according to Ukrainian legislation and global innovations, which would reduce administrative dislocations, the load on megalopolises, and negative anthropogenic impacts, and should be based on the increase in energy efficiency and reducing waste. We analyzed the core principles of designing smart residential areas and concluded that constructing cutting-edge residential areas should involve private investments in order to avoid shadow schemes and irrational use of funds (in the Ukraine, the share of the shadow market is more than 50%). Research shows that, as humans inhabit a three-dimensional space, it is possible to predict migration and other permanent residence/behavioral responses, the analysis of which allows controlling migration flows and improves the conditions of Ukraine’s small residential areas based on decarbonization. We conclude that energy saving systems can reduce consumption in a city by 60% and improve Ukraine’s ecosystem. Research also shows that reducing “dislocation”, in terms of population density, by creating open, innovative, eco-friendly environments based on green economy principles, can provide innovative development maps and economic, social, and cultural population growth, decreasing the load on big cities/regional economies, and encourage the restoration of sales markets and production after the COVID-19 pandemic. We developed a model to assess the innovativeness of residential areas, apply alternative methods of energy generation, and analyze the impact of the energy production and consumption market in Europe (with recommendations for the Ukraine). This article estimates energy intensity indicators of the gross domestic product in the Ukraine and in Europe, offering methods to decrease energy dependence and increase energy efficiency in the Ukraine, by adopting alternative energy sources (e.g., biohydrogen out of residues, air, and solar energy), and enhancing environmental legislation.

The overcoming of the issues on energy crisis and inequality have become the priorities as far developing as developed countries are concerned. Moreover, energy inequality has increased due to the shortage of natural gas and rising energy prices in retaliation to the economic recovery affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to verify the linkage between the growth of renewable energy consumption and the country’s economic advancement. In this context, this paper determines the main driving forces of renewable energy consumption in European countries during 2000–2018. The annual data for panel regression analysis are retrieved from the OECD. Stat and World Bank Open Data. This empirical analysis employed a set of estimation procedures such as the panel unit root test (Levin, Lin & Chu; Im, Pesaran, Shin W-Stat; ADF-Fisher Chi-square; and PP-Fisher Chi-square methods), the Pearson correlation, fixed- and random-effects models, generalized method of moments (GMM), Hausman and the robustness tests. The results from the Hausman test ratified that the fixed-effects regression model is more suitable for involved panel balanced data. The results of fixed-effects regression and GMM identified the statistically significant and positive relationship between the share of renewable energy consumption of total final energy consumption, GDP per capita, and CO2 emissions per capita for the overall sample. In turn, the total labor force, the gross capital formation, and production-based CO2 intensity are inversely related to renewable energy consumption. The identified effects could provide some insights for policymakers to improve the renewable energy sector towards gaining sustainable economic development.

COVID-19 has opened up a significant market for food delivery services in Vietnam. Based on the theory of planned behavior, subjective norms and social isolation were hypothesized to have a positive impact on behavior intention and continuance behavior. The study also aimed to determine the positive impacts of perceived food safety, food delivery, and behavioral intention on continuance behavior, while the perception of food safety and food delivery were also proposed to have direct impacts on behavioral intention. Structured equation modeling was used to evaluate data obtained from 299 respondents who were experienced in using delivery apps for ordering food. As a result, this study contributes to prior findings regarding the positive effects of the subject norm—social isolation, food delivery hygiene, perceived food safety—on behavioral intention to use mobile apps. Additionally, customers’ continued usage behavior was found to be also influenced by behavioral intention, perceived food safety, and food delivery hygiene. It was concluded that these findings have significant theoretical and practical implications. This study adds to the existing debate on consumer behavior in the context of online food delivery in Vietnam and sheds light on the elements that could be used to forecast people’s willingness to buy food through food delivery apps, and for how long they would continue to use them.