This study examines consumer attitudes toward cryptocurrencies in Slovakia, focusing on the perceived adequacy of their promotion and the influence of demographic factors such as education, gender, and age. The findings reveal that a significant majority of respondents view cryptocurrency promotion as insufficient, with 77.77% expressing dissatisfaction. Demographic factors were found to have minimal impact on attitudes, suggesting that universal barriers—such as trust, technological literacy, and perceived risks—play a more critical role. Social media emerged as a key platform for engaging consumers, particularly younger demographics, provided that campaigns are well-targeted and informative. These results highlight the need for innovative promotional strategies emphasizing transparency, education, and trust-building to bridge the gap between cryptocurrencies and broader consumer adoption. The study contributes to the growing literature on cryptocurrency marketing by providing actionable insights for addressing challenges in emerging markets like Slovakia.

Creating products and services that satisfy individual and community needs is impossible without raw materials. This study takes a novel approach by integrating the economic dynamics and raw material consumption indicators of the European Union (EU). The study uses different econometric methods to analyze the relationship between GDP (gross domestic product) and the EU’s raw material consumption (RMC) from 2014–2023. Among the results, the panel data analysis model shows that the resource productivity of the EU improved during the period under review, whereas the material intensity decreased significantly. These trends significantly contributed to the relative decoupling of material consumption from GDP in the last decade. The results of the K-means cluster analysis highlight the regional economic differences within the EU. According to the results of the correlation analysis, EU member countries differ significantly in the efficiency of raw material use. Nevertheless, five member countries are robustly vulnerable to large-scale raw material use. The divergence calculation results show that while some countries use raw materials extremely efficiently to produce GDP, others achieve low efficiency. This unique approach and the resulting findings provide a new perspective on the complex relationship between economic growth and raw material use in the EU.

In Central and Eastern European countries, the labour shortage is becoming increasingly pronounced, posing a challenge for the economy. Labour shortages limit the potential national income as many positions remain unfilled, which could lead to a slowdown in economic growth. To address this issue, various solutions need to be explored. This research aims to analyze solutions for alleviating labour shortages, with particular emphasis on measures that encourage workforce participation. One strategy is introducing training and retraining programs that help workers develop skills and adapt to labour market demands. Another option is to promote part-time employment, which may be especially attractive to groups unable or unwilling to work full-time. Enhancing population mobility could also be crucial in addressing labour shortages, particularly in bridging regional disparities. Integrating certain inactive groups, such as retirees, homemakers, students, people with disabilities, and those with low education levels experiencing generational poverty, into the labour market could also yield significant benefits. The study employs quantitative analysis methods and includes a survey that examines citizens’ perspectives on the effectiveness of measures aimed at increasing labour market participation and their economic impact on the Slovak economy. The survey data were collected in 2023 in the region of Rožňava and its surrounding areas.

The objectives of this qualitative research are to study problems and factors promoting success in the career path of government officials in the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation (MHESI) in Thailand. The study also finds out career path model to opinions between executives and government officials. This qualitative employed in-depth interview and focus group discussion with executives, academics, and civil servants. It found that the problem was the planning and management of career path due to lacking of standard pattern. Also, it found that the model of career path provides practitioners with career advancement opportunities and job titles from the very beginning to the very top where they can advance and can plan their career progression. The model also provides an opportunity to explore officers’ competencies, aptitudes, and interests that are appropriate for any type of work in the organization and able to prepare them to perform the job, which will affect the success of civil servants’ work and human resource management to create career path and develop oneself to be able to compete for academic and professional excellence, as well as prepare the government officers for appropriate positions in the future.

We present an innovative enthalpy method for determining the thermal properties of phase change materials (PCM). The enthalpy-temperature relation in the “mushy” zone is modelled by means of a fifth order Obreshkov polynomial with continuous first and second order derivatives at the zone boundaries. The partial differential equation (PDE) for the conduction of heat is rewritten so that the enthalpy variable is not explicitly present, rendering the equation nonlinear. The thermal conductivity of the PCM is assumed to be temperature dependent and is modelled by a fifth order Obreshkov polynomial as well. The method has been applied to lauric acid, a standard prototype. The latent heat and the conductivity coefficient, being the model parameters, were retrieved by fitting the measurements obtained through a simple experimental procedure. Therefore, our proposal may be profitably used for the study of materials intended for heat-storage applications.