Search Results (26)

The article examines the history and the mechanism of obtaining autocephalous status for the Macedonian Orthodox Church—Archbishopric of Ohrid, from the early initiatives in 1944, through the self-decared autocephalous status in 1967, the appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2018, and finally the granting of a Tomos by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 2022 and further steps toward obtaining full recognition by all other Orthodox Churches. In a situation of division in the Orthodox world, with churches gravitating around Constantinople and those around Moscow, there are differences in ecclesiological understandings of the processes for obtaining autonomy and autocephaly. In this dilemma, political motives prevail rather than dogmatic and canonical ones. These differences are profoundly influenced by geopolitics, particularly in light of the Ukrainian Civil War that began in 2014, which escalated into the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2022. The Macedonian case is compared to the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in 2019 granted by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Full article

While total solar PV capacity in Hungary was only 1 MW in 2010, this figure had grown to 7551 MW by 2024 as a result of the favorable settlement system, subsidies, and the uncertainty caused by the Russo-Ukrainian war. At that time, more than 6.4% of households were already prosumers. In our study, we focus on Hungarian districts, examining the spatial patterns of household-scale solar PV systems and the main drivers of technology adoption in 2024. We use the Theil T index to examine spatial heterogeneity and the Moran’s I statistic to test for spatial dependence. Spatial autocorrelation is further explored using maps based on Local Moran’s I and Local Geary statistics. Finally, a spatial error model is applied to identify the factors influencing the share of household-scale solar PV systems per 100 households. Our results show that the spatial error variable has the largest effect, with household education, the age and size of the building stock, population growth, and built-up area also having significant effects. This confirms the need for a spatially sensitive policy approach and for incorporating space and spatial relations in energy economic studies. Full article

Accurate forecasting of hourly electricity consumption is critical for smart grid management, energy market operations, national policy planning, and—particularly for import-dependent economies such as Türkiye—energy security. This study presents, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first systematic benchmark of four state-of-the-art time series architectures—TimesNet, PatchTST, iTransformer, and Temporal Fusion Transformer (TFT)—conducted specifically on a national-scale Turkish multivariate energy dataset from the Energy Exchange Istanbul (EPİAŞ), covering 72,322 hourly observations across 15 generation, consumption, and market-clearing price variables from January 2018 to April 2026. While benchmark studies of Transformer-based architectures exist on general time-series datasets, no prior work has applied this specific combination of architectures to the EPİAŞ dataset under unified experimental conditions with an explicit energy-security interpretation. All models were trained under standardized preprocessing (StandardScaler), a 24 h lookback window, and systematic hyperparameter optimization. Experimental results demonstrate that iTransformer achieves the best predictive performance (MAE = 521.34 MWh, RMSE = 748.12 MWh, R² = 0.9881, MAPE = 1.34%), followed by TFT (R² = 0.9863) and PatchTST (R² = 0.9844). TimesNet, while the most computationally efficient, achieves an R² of 0.9791. Beyond predictive benchmarking, this study situates the findings within Türkiye’s energy security agenda: the dataset captures fossil fuel dependency, the growing share of domestic renewables, and market-clearing price dynamics shaped by geopolitical shocks, including the Russo–Ukrainian war and evolving EU–Türkiye energy relations. Comprehensive analysis of model architectures, attention mechanisms, temporal feature importance, and computational efficiency is provided. These findings establish a rigorous baseline for deploying modern sequence models in large-scale, real-time national energy forecasting systems that serve both market-efficiency and strategic-energy-autonomy objectives. The results specifically highlight how high-fidelity forecasting can serve as a risk-mitigation tool against geopolitical supply disruptions by quantifying the impact of domestic renewable integration. Full article

Based on leadership narratives collected between 2022 and 2025, this article examines how Ukrainian non-military organizational and community leaders who have remained in the country during the ongoing war interpret, embody, and enact theological meaning within their lived leadership experience. Drawing on two qualitative datasets—one collected in 2022 (n = 145) and a second in 2025 (n = 79)—the study employs a lived theology approach together with a reflexive thematic analysis to explore how theological meaning emerges organically as stated in leaders’ accounts of suffering, responsibility, presence, and hope. The findings indicate that participants articulated three overarching movements of lived theology: lament, leading to dependence on God; the sensed presence of God, leading to social solidarity and shared responsibility; and hope in God, orienting leaders toward post-war restoration. These movements function not as abstract or institutionally authorized doctrines, but as dynamic theological orientations generated through lived theological reflection as leaders connect their perceptions of God with the realities of wartime life. The study contributes to practical theology by demonstrating how theological reflection arises from concrete leadership practices under conditions of war. It further advances leadership studies by showing how theological sense-making, suffering, and responsibility converge in the lives of ordinary people—leaders and followers alike—forming a shared spiritual orientation that sustains communal life amid war and nurtures hope for post-war renewal. Full article

The Russo–Ukrainian conflict (RUC) escalated on 24 February 2022 with Russia’s large-scale military operation in Ukraine. Our review aims to present the impact of the RUC on Ukrainian water resources and infrastructure. Its primary objective was to analyze 61 relevant papers, selected and screened according to the PRISMA methodology, concerning changes in inland and marine water quality, employing diverse scientific and analytical methods, and technical tools. Key recurring themes included “Ukraine”, “Russian-Ukrainian War”, and “Ecocide”. Beyond assessing the environmental consequences of destroyed treatment plants, supply systems, and sewerage units, as the secondary objective, the review introduces the concept of “aquacide”—the deliberate or incidental destruction and contamination of water infrastructures and resources during military operations. The most severe cases were documented in southern and eastern Ukraine, with the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam standing out as the most widely reported “aquacide”. Finally, the review highlights the critical role of satellite imagery and remote sensing as the most effective tools in monitoring water quality and infrastructures under wartime conditions, when in situ observations and measurements are often impossible. Full article

This study examines volatility transmission between major European indices (CAC 40, DAX, FTSE MIB, IBEX 35, EURO STOXX 50) and Tunisia’s TUNINDEX amid global crises (2008 financial crisis, COVID-19, Russo-Ukrainian war). Using GARCH(1,1) and BEKK models, the analysis reveals low correlation and weak volatility spillovers between the TUNINDEX and European markets, indicating relative decoupling. ARCH-LM tests confirm conditional heteroskedasticity, while GARCH models show persistent volatility. The BEKK model underscores marginal shock transmission, affirming the TUNINDEX’s independence. These findings suggest diversification benefits for investors but highlight local risk considerations. Practical recommendations are provided for stakeholders, with future research directions including asymmetric effects and high-frequency data analysis. Full article

This paper investigates the impact of the transition from manufacturing to tourism on sectoral productivity, output prices, and labor costs. Using panel data econometric models for 15 selected EU countries from 2011 to 2023, the study confirms key dynamics predicted by Baumol’s cost disease (BCD) hypothesis. The findings reveal that higher productivity is positively associated with both implied prices and hourly labor costs across sectors, supporting the wage equalization mechanism central to BCD. However, the relationship between productivity and wages or prices is weaker in labor-intensive sectors like tourism, underscoring their structural vulnerability to wage-driven cost pressures. Additionally, the analysis captures the impact of major external shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo–Ukrainian war, treated as jointly sourced super-shocks. The regression results indicate significant price disruptions following these shocks, whereas no statistically significant trend in labor costs was detected in the post-treatment period. These results highlight the differential effects of external shocks on wages versus prices, emphasizing the challenges faced by low-productivity, labor-intensive sectors in managing cost dynamics. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers addressing sectoral imbalances in the context of BCD and navigating the economic consequences of global disruptions. Full article

The purpose of this paper is to forecast the sovereign credit risk for Egypt, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia during political crises. Our approach uses machine learning models (Linear Regression, Ridge Regression, Lasso Regression, XGBoost, and Kernel Ridge) and deep learning models (RNN, LSTM, BiLSTM, and GRU) to predict CDS-based implied default probabilities. We compare the predictive accuracy of the tested models with the results showing that Linear Regression outperforms all other techniques, while deep learning architectures, such as RNN and GRU, demonstrate a competitive performance. To validate the sovereign credit risk prediction, we use the forecasted implied default probability from the Linear Regression model to determine the corresponding forecasted implied rating according to the Thomson Reuters StarMine Sovereign Risk model. The results reveal significant differences in the perceived creditworthiness of Egypt, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia, reflecting each country’s economic fundamentals and their ability to manage global shocks, particularly those related to the Russo-Ukrainian war. Specifically, Egypt is perceived as the most vulnerable, Morocco occupies an intermediate position, and Saudi Arabia is seen as having a low credit risk. This study provides valuable managerial insights by enhancing tools for the sovereign credit risk analysis, offering reliable decision-making in volatile global markets. The alignment between forecasted ratings and default probabilities underscores the practical relevance of the results, guiding stakeholders in effectively managing credit risks amidst economic uncertainty. Full article

The potency of economic sanctions imposed on nations depends on demand and supply adjustment possibilities. Adverse GDP impacts will be maximal when import, export, production, distribution and finance are inflexible (universal non-substitution). This paper elaborates on these conditions and quantifies the maximum GDP loss that Western sanctions could have inflicted on Russia in 2022–2023. It reports the World Bank’s predictions, contrasts them with the results and draws inferences about the efficiency of Russia’s workably competitive markets. This paper shows that Russia’s economic system exhibits moderate universal substitutability and is less vulnerable to punitive discipline than Western policymakers suppose. The likelihood that economic sanctions will compel the Kremlin to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity ceteris paribus is correspondingly low, even though war reduces Russia’s quality of existence. Western economic sanctions serve narrow geostrategic ends that are reconcilable with Pareto-efficient free trade and globalization, if precision-targeted, but as the Russo-Ukrainian war intensifies, an expanded array of novel and dubiously legal sanctions is degrading free trade, and spurring de-globalization and anti-Western coalitions. If this armed combat is prolonged, the goals of free trade and globalization could be set back for decades. Full article

This study looks at the sense of belonging among the youth who fled Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and currently reside in Weimar, Germany. Having fled the war in a time of transition to a more independent stage of life, refugee youth are finding themselves in a challenging context of liminality: both in terms of age and environment. Experiencing a feeling of uncertainty about their positioning in life and a new society, refugee youth are especially prone to feeling excluded and lost, which creates further challenges for their well-being. While the sense of belonging cannot be strictly defined, it is considered a vital factor for mental and physical well-being, as well as a core sign of social integration. To understand how to help newcomers foster their sense of belonging, this study tracks senses of (non)belonging among refugee youth following a weak theory and psychogeographic approach. The results demonstrate the ‘dialectic’ battle of opposites: how right-wing city rallies and pro-Russian symbolism in Weimar are triggering a sense of alienation and detachment on the one hand, and how signs of solidarity with Ukraine and connecting to local social groups invite engagement with the city, its politics and hence create a sense of agency, welcoming and belonging on the other. The results of the study have important applicability for human geography as well as the development of the theory on the sense of belonging among refugee youth in the context of liminality. Full article

Earth’s climate cannot be ignored any longer. Policies are vital in order to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. The energy crisis created by the Russo-Ukrainian war in Europe and COVID-19 pandemic affected the EU and its member states. The focus is more than ever on its energy policies and independence. The EU revised the energy strategy in response to the regional conflict, and it sped up all the processes for energetic independence from other countries outside of the EU. This benefited the climate change policies the most, as all the measures involved reducing energy consumption and increasing renewables, thus contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As a member state of the EU, Romania is committed to complying with EU regulations. With a high degree of energy independence compared with the other EU members, Romania plans to become a regional energy provider and modernize the energy infrastructure internally as a response to the regional conflict. The measures that the EU and Romania implemented after the conflict started in 2022 have come to fruition, and the effects are becoming visible a year later. This study aims to study the energy strategy of Romania in correlation with the EU strategy in the turbulent period of pandemics and conflict between 2019 and 2023, with the latest available data. Full article

Twenty-first century digital technologies and popular visual art have transformed the ways military conflicts are experienced, narrated, and shared. It demonstrates that digital platforms have become arenas for constructing visual narratives that influence public perception and engagement with the conflict. Through a multimodal and visual analysis of over 950 digital artworks shared on Instagram during the first three months of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this study investigates how these artworks form specific visual narratives which contribute to portraying the new wartime reality while also constructing images of the self and the other through heroization, victimization, dehumanization, and other strategies. All these visual narratives jointly represent the complexity of the war reality and form an epistemic understanding of the conflict. This study highlights the important function that popular visual art on digital platforms such as Instagram plays in shaping perceptions of the Russo-Ukrainian War, particularly in expressing emotions, conveying traumas, and influencing public opinions. Full article

Recent events in Europe, like the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Russo–Ukrainian War (RUW), might have sparked anxiety among adolescents. This study aimed to compare anxiety levels in Lithuanian adolescents post-COVID-19 peak (Study 1, October 2021) and during the onset of the RUW (Study 2, April–June 2022). Data from 459 participants in Study 1 and 6637 in Study 2, aged 11–17, were collected through HBSC pilot and national surveys in Lithuania. Self-reported questionnaires assessed anxiety, social media use, stress, loneliness, self-efficacy, and peer support factors. Analysis was conducted using multivariable logistic regressions. Notably, anxiety prevalence in Lithuanian adolescents showed no significant difference between Study 1 and Study 2, stabilizing around 24%. In 2021, stress (OR = 5.89, 95% CI 3.11–11.17), problematic social media use (OR = 4.58, 95% CI 1.89–10.58), and female gender (OR = 2.87, 95% CI 1.58–5.22) significantly predicted anxiety. By 2022, stress (OR = 3.68, 95% CI 3.14–4.30), loneliness (OR = 2.85, 95% CI 2.43–3.35), and lower self-efficacy (OR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.20–1.60) emerged as important predictors. This study enhances our understanding of adolescent anxiety during crises, emphasizing the urgency of addressing multiple factors to manage and support vulnerable youth. Full article

The return of war to Europe with the Russo-Ukrainian conflict generated mental health effects even in countries not directly involved in the war. The present study describes the Italian adaptation and validation of the Fear of War Scale (FOWARS), i.e., a 13-item Likert scale built by a Romanian research team and exploring the fear of war. For the Italian adaptation, a sample of 150 young Italian adults (aged 18–30, M = 21.7; SD = 2.2) has been collected. Exploratory Factor Analysis conducted with PCA confirmed the bifactorial structure of the scale and detected two dimensions, i.e., the “Physiological dimension of fear” and the “Experiential dimension of fear”. The results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis show adequate goodness of fit and the last version of the scale, consisting of 12 items, shows good internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity. Positive significant correlations with the Worry Domains Questionnaire (WDQ) and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) were also found. Moreover, results from ANOVA display significant differences between men and women, with the latter showing higher values of fear of war. Finally, t-test analyses highlight the impact of the fear of war on Italian young adults’ mental health and worry. The Italian adaptation of FOWARS has good overall psychometric properties and can be used to explore the fear of war in the Italian young adult population to highlight the psychological impact of war and its relationship with mental health. Full article

In recent decades, sustainability reporting has received increasing business and academic attention. However, the management literature is limited regarding recent trends in the issues disclosed in these reports. In this era of multiple socio-economic crises (e.g., the global energy crisis, the Russo–Ukrainian war, and the COVID-19 pandemic), large companies have an even greater responsibility to the communities in which they operate. Given the above, the aim of this study was to examine recent sustainability reports and identify issues related to community impact. Specifically, the sustainability reports of S&P500 companies were analyzed using the Structural Topic Model in R. The results showed that the most common topics in sustainability disclosures related to community impact were “donations” and “STEM education”. Although “donations” as a topic was expected, “STEM education” emerged to highlight the importance of technology in today’s business world. These findings have important managerial and theoretical implications for sustainability reporting. Full article