In the era of digitalization and rapid technological advancement, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a decisive factor in transforming the labor market, requiring the continuous adjustment of educational competencies to prepare students for the labor market demand. This study investigates the impact of AI on educational requirements, identifying the essential competencies that educational systems and the business sector must shape to equip future professionals for AIdriven challenges and opportunities. Employing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the research analyzed the survey data from a sample of 138 educators from various pre-university and university environments in Bihor county, Romania. to determine the relationships between the educational system, business sector, educational competencies, and AI career preparedness. The findings show significant influences from both sectors in shaping competencies that, in turn, affect labor market demands. This study highlights the imperative for educational systems the business sector to develop forward-thinking programs that anticipate future changes, thereby maximizing an AI-driven economy’s economic and social benefits. The results indicate that both the educational system and the business sector are integral to developing the competencies required in the AI era, with AI career preparedness exerting the greatest influence on labor market demands.

The recent pandemic crisis led to a drop in tourism, and it highlighted the connection between tourism, healthcare, environmental concerns and well-being. In this context, the purpose of the research is to clarify the relationship between tourism, happiness, healthcare and environmental expenditure. Statistical data provided by the World Bank, Eurostat and the World Happiness Database from the EU27 countries, from 2000 to 2019, were used. In order to investigate the relationship between these indicators, the panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method was used. In the long run, happiness and environmental and healthcare expenditure have a statistically significant and positive impact on tourism arrivals and receipts. It follows that a 1% increase in happiness supports between 4% and 9% of international tourism, while a 1% increase in environmental expenditure supports an increase of 2% in international tourism. Additionally, there is a significant interaction between happiness and either environmental or healthcare expenditure in the long run. This means that increasing happiness diminishes the effect of the later on tourism arrivals and receipts. No short-term relationship was identified between arrivals and any of the above-mentioned variables. In the same context, healthcare expenditure has a negative short-term effect on tourism receipts. The research contributes to the literature by suggesting that increasing national happiness, healthcare and environmental expenditure has a beneficial spillover effect on tourism arrivals and receipts in the long run.

The investigation of the relationship between tourism, digitalization, education, and economic growth is increasingly significant in the context of sustainable development and technological transformation. This study examines the long run and short run impacts of digitalization (measured through internet usage and broadband subscriptions), education (reflected in tertiary enrollment and public expenditure), and macroeconomic factors (including GDP per capita, employment in services, and urbanization) on international tourism performance, as indicated by arrivals and receipts across clusters of European Union countries. Methodologically, the study adopts a two-stage approach. Hierarchical cluster analysis is first applied to classify European Union countries according to key tourism characteristics, followed by the estimation of panel ARDL models for each resulting cluster to examine both long-run equilibrium relationships and short-run dynamics. Employing panel ARDL models applied to four distinct groups of countries, the analysis highlights differentiated dynamics, strong long-run effects in high-income tourism economies and more pronounced short-run responsiveness in structurally varied countries. Cointegration tests affirm the existence of long-run relationships in most clusters, reinforcing the validity of an error correction framework. Therefore, the empirical findings indicate that digitalization exerts a consistently positive influence on tourism performance in the long-run, while the effects of education are more heterogeneous across clusters. In the short-run, the impact of macroeconomic variables and digital infrastructure is more pronounced, underscoring the relevance of structural and contextual factors in shaping tourism dynamics. The findings emphasize the importance of aligning digital and educational policies with tourism development strategies while considering the structural differences among regions. This research provides a comparative framework that enhances the understanding of tourism as both an economic and social phenomenon

The last few decades brought about unprecedented rapid technological change. The COVID-19 pandemic sped it up and forced digitalized citizenship, digitalized teaching and learning, and permanent engagement through the virtual bond. Many processes were moved to the virtual world and those illiterate in digital tools might have felt excluded or left behind. Technological advancements have had many benefits revealed but they have also had multiple negative effects on the educational process and the well-being of participants of the latter. As our study shows, human social nature opposes the use of the Internet as the main or only medium of human interaction. Our study shows that sole online education is not desirable and is not good for our well-being. In the article, we present empirical research findings from 4 EU countries representing different parts of Europe. A group of researchers from 4 universities joined forces to map the needs of teachers and learners and to identify key factors for well-being in education in post-pandemic educational settings. Qualitative data came from over 2000 participants (teachers and learners), as a part of a larger case study. In this article, we focus primarily on the data from an online survey in 2022, supplemented by a prior Pilot study in 2021. Key words: COVID-19, education system; EDUCATORE project; student; teacher, wellbeing.---Sažetak Posljednjih nekoliko desetljeća došlo je do neviđeno brzih tehnoloških promjena. Pandemija bolesti COVID-19 ubrzala ih je te prisilno digitalizirala građane, digitalizirala poučavanje i učenje te nametnula stalni angažman putem virtualne veze. Mnogi su procesi premješteni u virtualni svijet, a oni nepismeni u digitalnim alatima osjećali su se isključenima ili zapostavljenima. Tehnološki napredak otkrio je mnoge prednosti, ali je također imao i višestruko negativne učinke na obrazovni proces i dobrobit njegovih sudionika. Kao što pokazuje naša studija, ljudskadruštvena priroda protivi se korištenju interneta kao glavnoga ili jedinoga medija ljudske interakcije. Naša studija pokazuje da isključivo internetsko obrazovanje nije poželjno i nije dobro za našu dobrobit. U ovom članku predstavljamo rezultate empirijskih istraživanja iz 4 zemlje članice EU koje predstavljaju različite dijelove Europe. Skupina istraživača s 4 sveučilišta udružila je snage kako bi prikazala potrebe nastavnika i učenika te identificirala ključne čimbenike za dobrobit u obrazovanju u poslijepandemijskom obrazovnom okružju. Kvalitativni podatci prikupljeni su od više od 2000 sudionika (nastavnika i učenika) i dio su veće analize slučaja. U ovom se članku prvenstveno usredotočujemo na podatke iz internetske ankete iz 2022. godine, dopunjene prethodnom pokusnom studijom iz 2021. godine. Ključne riječi: COVID-19; dobrobit; nastavnik; obrazovni sustav; projekt EDUCATORE; učenik.

In the context of accelerated digital transformation, understanding the factors that stimulate entrepreneurship at the European level has become a strategic priority. This study investigates the impact of digital infrastructure and human capital on new business density in the European Union, testing the hypothesis that these determinants operate differently depending on countries’ innovation stage. The analysis is grounded in a balanced panel dataset covering 26 EU member states over the period 2010–2023, grouped into four innovation clusters according to the European Innovation Scoreboard. Empirical analysis adopts a dual econometric approach. Static relationships are estimated using a Panel EGLS framework with cross-section SUR weights to capture short-run correlations and cross-country interdependence. Dynamic relationships are examined through a Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model estimated via the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) method, allowing for the identification of long-run equilibrium effects and adjustment dynamics while accounting for structural heterogeneity. Results show substantial cross-cluster heterogeneity. For Moderate Innovators, primarily located in Southern and Central Europe, digital infrastructure acts as a clear catalyst for entrepreneurship, exerting positive effects on new business density in both the short and long run. In contrast, for Strong Innovators, digitalization displays a more complex temporal pattern, with short-run effects dominated by implementation and adjustment costs, while long-run benefits materialize as productivity gains. The analysis shows that tertiary education supports entrepreneurial entry in the short run, while its long-run effect becomes negative, reflecting rising opportunity costs and the increasing absorption of skilled labor into corporate employment. While emerging economies benefit directly from investments in digital infrastructure, mature economies require structural interventions to reduce market rigidities and better align human capital with entrepreneurial activity.

The Social Gospel movement developed in a time of intense urbanization and in-dustrialization. The social context, generated by economic and political mishandlings, generated social pressure, poverty, and abuse, mainly on the poor and working classes. The Social Gospel movement tried to address the issues by applying Christian princi-ples to social structures, as a result of political and economic changes. The promoters of the movement aligned their view of the ideal society with the eschatological perspective of premillennialism. They argued that a society that eliminates social evil is the King-dom of God fulfilled. The movement managed to draw attention to social injustice, and it even managed to offer several productive means of alleviating the social evils it fought against. Despite its positive effects, the movement was criticized for failing to address is-sues such as race and gender. In this paper, the aim is to offer an introductory descrip-tion of the Social Gospel movement, as it was described in various critical writings.