The paper reports on the results of research on the institution of public-private partnerships in the field of implementation of state youth policy, particularly through socially important social youth projects, including social-entrepreneurial. The study explores social projects that enjoy the full range of support from all subjects in public-private partnerships: the state represented by public authorities, business structures, non-profit organizations, and youth. The authors highlight that the infrastructure of youth policy in the implementation of social-entrepreneurial youth projects needs to be changed conceptually. There is a need to establish comprehensive creative and professional spaces that shape young people’s personalities and practice a future-oriented model of organizing collaborative social projects.

Development of technologies and innovations encouraged companies to look for and implement innovative solutions in their practice seeking not only to increase the efficiency of activity but also towards sustainability. In this context, the aim of the research is to reveal innovative solutions for the improvement of the warehousing processes towards sustainability in the case of manufacturing companies. The methodological setup consists of two steps. First, a comprehensive literature analysis was conducted seeking to reveal and present a theoretical model based on the conceptual framework on this topic. Then, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 8 managers holding managerial positions in four Lithuanian manufacturing companies. The manufacturing companies were chosen for the research due to their durable experience in the market, which use advanced warehouse management methods in their operations. Main findings showed, that innovative solutions such as Big Data Datasets, smart networks, Drones, Robots, Internet of Things and etc., are important for the efficient warehousing processes. Furthermore, it is also necessary to emphasize the benefits of implementing of innovative solutions in warehousing processes not only in economic terms, but also for solving of social and environmental issues towards sustainability. The novelty of this study lies in its dual objective of filling a theoretical gap and of drawing the attention of companies and policy makers to the importance of innovative solutions implementation in the warehousing process towards sustainability.

Context: Noise in the work environment, in all types of productive activities, represents a hazard and has not really been valued in its real dimension. Little has been seen that stakeholders have determined the urgency of managing noise control programs. Therefore, losses resulting from medical treatment and absenteeism, represented in health care and social services, result in hidden work-related costs that directly affect the gross domestic product in any country.

Method: This article compiles different case studies from around the world. The studies were divided for review into general studies on the effects of workforce noise and then particularized according to the effects of industrial noise on workers’ health. At a control level, the assessment and measurement of noise is defined through the use of tools such as noise maps and their respective derivations, in addition to spatial databases.

Results: According to the collection of information and its analysis, we observe that in the medium term, the economies will be diminished in an important percentage due to the consequences generated by the exposure to noise. Specific information can be found in the development of the article.

Conclusions: The data provided by the case studies point to the need for Colombia, a country that is no stranger to this phenomenon, and which additionally has the great disadvantage of not having significant studies in the field of noise analysis, should strengthen studies based on spatial data as a mechanism for measurement and control.

Financing: Fundación universitaria Los Libertadores.

The Nevado de Toluca Flora and Fauna Protection Area presents a constant fragmentation of its forests. The objective of the research was to identify the processes of forest deterioration and the role of local stakeholders in its conservation. Geographic information systems were used as a basis for the generation of thematic maps, in addition to the application of a flow diagram that defines the problems of the forest and another that describes and analyzes them for the search of solutions. The results show that the main factors affecting deterioration are forest fires, immoderate logging, pests and diseases. Finally, strategies and scenarios for forest management are proposed based on the articulation of local stakeholders.

ZrO₂ thin film samples were produced by the sol-gel dip coating method. Four different absorbed dose levels (such as ~ 0.4, 0.7, 1.2 and 2.7 Gray-Gy) were applied to ZrO₂ thin films. Hence, the absorbed dose of ZrO₂ thin film was examined as physical dose quantity representing the mean energy imparted to the thin film per unit mass by gamma radiation. Modification of the grain size was performed sensitively by the application of the absorbed dose to the ZrO₂ thin film. Therefore the grain size reached from ~50 nm to 87 nm at the irradiated ZrO₂ thin film. The relationship of the grain size, the contact angle, and the refractive index of the irradiated ZrO₂ thin film was investigated as being an important technical concern. The irradiation process was performed in a hot cell by using a certified solid gamma ray source with 0.018021 Ci as an alternative technique to minimize the utilization of extra toxicological chemical solution. Antireflection and hydrophilic properties of the irradiated ZrO₂ thin film were slightly improved by the modification of the grain size. The details on the optical and structural properties of the ZrO₂ thin film were examined to obtain the optimum high refractive index, self-cleaning and anti-reflective properties.