Volumen 3 (2020): Heft 2 (December 2020)

In the article, the authors analyse how Covid 19 have influenced and modified the dynamics generated by the globalization processes in the last decades, in comparison with other recent global crises. Globalization is here treated as a complex phenomenon, that led to major changes in every aspect of modern society, on a large scale and on a small one. To this purpose, an in-depth analysis of the current socio-economic scenario in both developed and developing countries is carried out, with a focus on the data regarding the sectors that were most influenced by the pandemic outbreak.

This article presents the results of an international research of using Internet-memes in education process. The writing team set out to explore the reasons and ways of using Internet memes in education in different language spaces – English, Italian, Russian and Chinese. To achieve this goal, a number of tasks were formulated, including:

1. to study the linguistic factor of the use of memes in the educational process,

2. to classify the ways of using memes depending on the purpose,

3. to analyze the content of memes in the liberal, ideological, as well as in the field of exact sciences.

The first part of the research made by Alexander Malakhov (PFUR) reveals the basic concepts associated with Internet memes. The second one written by Olga Matys (PFUR) is about using memes in a sphere of Russian liberal education in journalism. The third part of the research made by Ludovico De Serio (University of Genoa) presents an analysis using memes during studying math. The last but not the least part of this article made by Xie Dongqiang (PFUR) and reveals the aspects of an ideological studying using memes. This research was carried out using such scientific methods as analysis, comparison, description. In the course of the study, the authors used the work of such researchers as Susan Blackmore, G. Bini, M. Montagnani, Anna Zagoruyko, Maria Efremova, etc. Also there was used the content of sources such as VK publics “Memology: from antiquity to the present day” and “30 seconds before my expultion”, GeoGebra, www.padlet.com, etc.

This essay presents an analysis of the structural and cultural characteristics of postmodern society’s new capitalism, underscoring the fact that uncertainty, flexibility, mobility and risk are the latest categories of contemporary life, with which we need to interact and communicate constantly.

It is necessary to aim at governing uncertainty by activating a new logic of the diffused empowerment of people aimed at promoting value for all the stakeholders by sharing objectives, development plans and the joint redesign of technologies, structures and processes. This is a perspective which places the person at the centre of strategic action, relaunches a New Humanism, invests in the cultural dimension, enhances that of value with a view to surpassing theutilitarian and technocentric paradigm while asserting a new anthropocentric

Following the synthesis of theories related to the mechanisms of international financial crises, authors Kovalev and Paseko developed the Model of global imbalance synergy, which substantiates the idea of generating economic and financial crisis situations globally by manifesting the chain of different imbalances. The model starts from global monetary and demographic imbalances, which determine the imbalances between real and financial sector of global economy, as well as real and market values of transnational companies. Together they all lead to imbalances in the distribution of global wealth in industrially developed and developing countries, as well as imbalance between consumption and income in industrially developed countries. Studies in this area have demonstrated the viability and usefulness of this model. The current situation tends to make some clarifications in this model. First of all, it is about the onset of a pro-cyclical economic crisis in 2018, against the background of which in 2020 an economic crisis of a pandemic nature began. Secondly, the latter tends to exacerbate global imbalances, which may ultimately trigger a global financial crisis. The situation is exacerbated by global trade conflicts with negative consequences, continued currency clashes and inflated financial bubbles. This situation requires urgent remedial actions at the global level.

The events of the year 2020 have had and heavy impact on the whole world. For the first time, each of us felt that we were part of this great globalised family. For the first time, the events that happened on a strict continent were directly related to other continents’ inhabitants. The new words entered to be a part of our vocabulary, and the new way of behaviour have been performed. On the positive side, we could mention that countries have been discovered for people with low geographical culture and the existence of certain professions and certain hospital departments have been discovered. The role of mass-media has been decisive in transmitting the news about Covid 19 in various ways. The article aims to show the role of mass media on the headlines of high ranking newspapers in UK Germany and Italy by analysing the weight of the words. The used methodology was the analysis to analyse the headlines of high ranking newspapers in UK Germany and Italy. Through content analysis, it was possible to individuate how the news-papers attract the audience through the headlines and how they contributed to keeping up the attention and the stress among social reality.

Through an interdisciplinary contribution, the authors intend to propose an updated framework of the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent and some critical reflections on various geopolitical and geo-anthropological aspects concerning the new vulnerabilities associated with the pandemic crisis in Africa and the importance of culture and its effects on well-being and health.

The pandemic seems to have hit the African continent much less severely than the rest of the world, with a mortality index (2,4%) lower than the global one (3,5%). The spread of the virus in this geographical area is largely underestimated because health care facilities do not have the tracking power that rich countries have, several factors show how Africa is managing to counter the impact of the pandemic. One reason could be the intervention of the immune capacity of a population exposed in the recent past to numerous other infections that could have stimulated greater protection, both in terms of innate and acquired immunity. The dispersion of the rural population, which represents the majority of the African population (43%), could act as a geographical barrier to the virus. It is a complex picture where there are feelings of distrust between the institutions and the population on the management of the pandemic and the circulation of an excessive amount of data that creates confusion. In the African context, the need to understand the relationship between culture and health becomes fundamental. If the role of cultural values is underestimated, the positive potential of culture as a critical element for maintaining and improving health is negated. According to the World Health Organization, traditional medicine is the cornerstone of health care or its complement in the countries where community membership is most deeply rooted. In Africa, the World Health Organisation estimates that 85% of the population uses it because it is more widespread and accessible than traditional healing systems.

Only one form of contagion travels faster than a virus. And that’s fear. Dan Brown

This article describes modern technologies that affect the statehood and politics of countries in general. The article deals with the main issues of security in the field of medicine and IT technologies. The study examines the impact of the pandemic and cybersecurity on the lives of citizens in general. An analysis of the technologies that are used in countries in cases of a pandemic is carried out and the issues of the influence of the Internet space on the consciousness of people are considered.

It would be right to say 2020 took us by surprise. Currently, countries all over the world are faced with a pandemic and its consequences. People were not ready to change the type of education. Due to the constant presence of electronic smart devices at the screens during distance learning and due to the lack of social contacts, the mental and physical health of students does not change for the better. Students experience depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and distracted attention.

The idea of continuing education is reflected in the implementation of distance learning that received this name primarily due to its “flexibility” in terms of choosing the place, time, and sometimes the pace of learning. However, continuing education in the context of distance learning blurs the boundaries between personal time and work, which generally has a negative impact on mental health and learning effectiveness. In most cases, the combination of continuing education and distance learning provokes an increase in the load on students.

However, both the educational structure and the student should be ready for distance learning. We are talking not only about the technical base, computer skills and individual programs, but also about the skills of independent work.

Today the relationship between Russia and the today EU-28 (today EU-27) members of the European Union is essential and very strategically important; this issue is bound to become more urgent as the two draws closer together over the next decades. In this paper, we discuss this and the Russian Federation’s role in the Ukraine conflict that has seriously affected EU-Russia relations. The EU and Russia have a long record of cooperation on issues of bilateral and international concern in several fields, from climate change to drug and human trafficking, but also the organized crime, terrorism, and non-proliferation. In particular, Europe, the “old traditional Europe”, acquires special weight for Russia in the context of the cooling down of relations between Russia and the United States. We will discuss gas, oil, and energy, but we can see that the solution can be only economic, and the oil and agriculture sectors could help do just that. “Business is business”.

The pandemic has forced many countries to introduce restrictions on individual freedom and to support the adoption of hygienically responsible behaviour in order to contain the spread of the infection. The elderly, one of the most fragile sections of the population, have paid and are paying the highest price in terms of contagion and deaths. In Italy, for example, the average age of patients who have died and are positive for SARS-CoV- 2 is 80 years (median 82, range 0–109, InterQuartile Range - IQR 74–88). The median age of SARSCoV- 2 positive deceased patients is over 30 years higher than that of infected patients (median age: deceased patients 82 years - infected patients 48 years) [data from Istituto Superiore di Sanita updated 18/11/2020]. It is clear that preventive measures are essential to preserve the elderly from the risk of contracting COVID- 19. The psychological impact on the elderly and their relatives of the introduction of “new behaviours” and health safety rules that greatly limit social relationships will be discussed. The medium and long term effects of the various forms of isolation that affect both those living in the family and those who are guests of dedicated facilities concern both emotional and cognitive aspects. The risk is that at the end of the pandemic emergency a large number of elderly people will face increasing levels of non-self-sufficiency and the need for medical and health interventions, which were not necessary in the pre-pandemic phase.