The COVID-19 pandemic forced the university education system in Albania to operate in distance through information and communication technologies. The purpose of this study is to explore students’ perceptions about accessibility, learner intentions, social and lecturer issues in online learning. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the quantitative method is used. The data are collected online through the completion of a survey which contains closed questions. The sample included in this study are students of bachelor and master degree (N = 236) who belong to the teaching programs from the University of Tirana and “Aleksander Moisiu” University of Durrës. The study points out some challenges faced by students during online learning which are related to online accessibility, lack of motivation of students and the barrier of their involvement in online group work activities. It was also noted that the online environment presents challenges for lecturers, which require a better mastery of digital competence by the academic staff. The findings of this study are designed to help policymakers, education executives and academic staff to have a clearer view and make the necessary interventions to overcome these challenges faced by students during online learning.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle - a Lethal Weapon of Tomorrow for Terrorists

Terrorism has been used as a form of combat for centuries. Over the years, the tools used by terrorists have evolved. While attacks with cold weapons still take place, nowadays terrorists also use explosives, machine guns, guided missiles and increasingly often drones. The present growth of the arms market has led to terrorist groups being heavily militarized, as they can successfully acquire modern weapons and subsequently use them in their attacks. This state of affairs has directly affected the security of states and societies, and subsequently became a principal subject of discussion on international security forums. Contemporary global terrorist threats also harness artificial intelligence that supports weaponized robots, missiles, as well as clusters of killer drones. This narrative arose a few years ago, indicating that terrorists may have a vastly greater array of options at their disposal because they may cooperate with some states that would back them up. The chance for terrorist organisations to gain access to artificial intelligence technologies only increased due to the global competition surrounding it. Due to this potential spreading, terrorists will have a chance to operate weapons supported by AI. These events then merge into a deeply concerning scenario which conceivably may have to be confronted. The threat of terrorist organisations possessing and using swarms of drones does not seem to be very distant.

Any nation that cares about its future should provide the young generation with a good education. In the 21st century, it is essential to provide them with the skills and knowledge they will need to be successful innovators in the 21st century. The article analyses the main aspects of a STEM learning strategy, which provides students with an interdisciplinary approach to learning. Both the advantageous and disadvantageous issues of this learning approach are revealed in the article. The peculiarities of STEAM learning have also been emphasised. The article notes the specific practices of applying STEM/ STEAM learning in the USA, European Union and Ukraine, specified by educational and professional training programmes. Special emphasis is put on the perspectives of these approaches to education. STEM educational programme focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The aim is to help better prepare students in these areas of learning and create practical applications for how these lessons apply to the real world. Lately, there has been a growing emphasis on STEAM that is a new educational discipline that engages students not only in the subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math but also the Arts, which is the ability to think, discuss, dispute the problematic issues, to encourage and develop inquiry, curiosity, ability to find solutions to a problem, creativity in the finding of the necessary solutions, both practical skills and appreciation for collaborations. It is opposed to traditional teaching models and aims to bring the disciplines together. Modern STEM education promotes skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, higher-order thinking, and design and behavioural competencies such as perseverance, adaptability, cooperation, organisation, and responsibility.

Due to the rapid development of technology after the Second World War, the way of conducting conflict has changed significantly. One of the branches of the armaments industry that has developed the most is space technology and related to it ballistic missiles. Undoubtedly, possession by international entity ballistic missile technology, especially in connection with weapons of mass destruction, increases the importance and role of this entity on the international arena. Therefore, the proliferation of this technology or ready-made missile systems has a significant impact on regional and international security. Therefore, in order to explain this phenomenon, the first part of the article describes the role of ballistic missiles for international security. In the second part, author describes varied ways how international actor, such a state or organization may come into possession of ballistic missiles and also the methods used to stop or limit proliferation i.e. counter-proliferation methods. The last part of this article describes the ways how selected examples states such us Egypt, People’s Republic of China, Israel, India, North Korea, Iraq and South Africa have come into possession of ballistic missile technology. In connection with the above, it will be possible to show what proliferation of this kind of technology looked like and may look like in practice.

Technology-enhanced international virtual exchanges (IVE), or Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), provide educators and students with the access and tools to connect with the world through collaboration with colleagues and peers in a global context (SUNY COIL Center, “Welcome”, n.d.a). In the IVE courses, students in different countries work together to broaden not only their academic knowledge, but also digital literacy, critical thinking, problemsolving, teamwork, and communication skills (Werner, 2015). In this study, technology-enhanced IVE are introduced and the benefits of IVE for educators and students are explored. Some concrete examples are also shared of how two professors from Ukraine and the United States reflected on the course of collaboration with our French partner professor to co-plan and co-teach a technology-enhanced IVE course in order to offer sustainable international education and provide students with the opportunities to gain diverse cross-cultural, cross-linguistic, and cross-disciplinary experiences, to demonstrate communication skills using technology, and to improve their intercultural competence.

Central Register of Voters as a Sign of the Impact of Technological Developments on Electoral Law. Remarks in the Context of the Amendment of the Electoral Code of 26 January 2023

Author verifies the thesis that changes in electoral law in Poland take into account the progress of technology. The subject of the research is the amendment of the Electoral Code of 26 January 2023 in regard to the introduced Central Register of Voters. The conducted analysis shows that the Polish legislator follows the development of technology. This deserves approval, improving the functioning of the electoral bodies, but above all making it easier for voters to participate in the elections. However, as pointed out in the article, the amendment to the Electoral Code has been done in a way that raises a number of questions that need to be kept in mind when assessing it. In addition, the changes to electoral law in the field of technology use raise a certain shortcoming from the point of view of the omission of normative changes regarding alternative voting methods, including e-voting.

Analyzing The Discourse On Technology Of Polish Left, Center, And Right: A Critical Examination Of The Meetings Of The Committee On Digitization, Innovations, And New Technologies In The Light Of E. Laclau And Ch. Mouffe’s Critical Discourse Analysis

This study emphasizes the often overlooked role of technology in Polish politics and aims to analyse its interaction with the ideological stances of the parliamentary Left, Right, and Center. Drawing on the critical discourse analysis framework of E. Laclau and Ch. Mouffe, the authors argue for a reevaluation of the concept of ‘technology’ and its implications. They demonstrate how this redefinition significantly impacts the preferred model of state intervention in technology regulation within specific political contexts. To achieve this, the researchers thoroughly examined transcripts from the deliberations of the Committee on Digitization, Innovations, and New Technologies during the 9th term of the Sejm. This text serves as an introductory overview, laying the groundwork for a more extensive exploration of the intricate relationship between technology and politics. The combination of critical discourse analysis and thematic content analysis proves to be a valuable research approach for this endeavour.

This paper deals with using information communication technology at different levels of English courses in A. Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University, Kazakhstan. The use of information communication technology enables students to expand their language study. Students expressed their positive opinions about the benefits of using information communication technology. Realizing the value of the students’ positive opinion about using the information communication technologies in the learning process, conditions should be created for them to have the chance to broadly use them in modern education. This study explored how social networking technology can be used to supplement face-to-face courses as a means of enhancing students’ sense of community. Data was collected from 102 students of engineering and pedagogical faculty who enrolled in these courses. Findings indicated that the majority of participants developed strong feelings of social connectedness and expressed favorable feelings regarding their learning experiences in the classes where social networking sites were used as a supplementary tool. Learner difficulties and concerns of instructors about the educational use of social media are addressed with recommendations for future research and practice.