Marko Ćirović’s research while affiliated with University of Belgrade and other places

As higher education institutions play a key role in setting a foundation for a sustainable workforce, it is their responsibility to create an environment in which students’ well-being will be preserved. In this regard, contemporary universities encounter a significant challenge – the increasing presence of academic burnout syndrome which negatively affects students’ health, career preparedness, and subsequent job performance. While previous burnout studies mostly focused on Millennial students, this study aims to examine burnout prevalence and risk factors among Generation Z, the first true digital natives. Therefore, the study proposes a conceptual model exploring the impact of seven background factors (demographic and situational) on four dimensions of academic burnout, as well as students’ overall burnout. The model is tested on a sample of university students from Serbia, using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis. The results indicate that a quarter of the surveyed students experience overall burnout, while over 60% report experiencing some degree of personal burnout. Furthermore, two confirmed hypotheses reveal that Generation Z’s academic burnout is significantly linked to age and whether students study in their hometown. Three partially confirmed hypotheses suggest that certain academic burnout dimensions are also connected to gender, GPA, and tuition payment.

The concept of “doing good” in business has become increasingly important, not only for ethical reasons but also for gaining a competitive edge. In today’s economy, where corporate social responsibility (CSR) plays a significant role, businesses that prioritize ethics often find themselves ahead of the curve. However, simply acting ethically is not always enough. Brands must go beyond mere compliance and actively engage their stakeholders to join them on the journey toward positive change. This is where the GOODBRA(i)ND model comes into play. Based on a powerful Nobel Prize-winning psychology model and previous research in NeuroCSR, GOODBRA(i)ND offers a neuroscience-based approach to building brands that prioritize brain-friendly communications for a better world. It provides a framework for brands to transition from simply acting good to becoming leaders in ethical business practices. By embracing the principles of GOODBRA(i)ND, brands can not only foster positive change within their own operations but also inspire their stakeholders to join them in creating a brighter future. By doing so, they can reap the rewards of good karma and gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

This paper aims to investigate the outlook of energy generation by means of transformation within the context of sustainable energy development. An analysis is conducted to assess the stability of energy systems so to implement cutting-edge energy production models at the national level, with a focus on a contemporary approach to energy modeling. Considering the energy transition and the existing constraints within the energy industry, the model assesses the feasibility of the practical advancement of renewable energy sources. The bottom-up energy model was used to determine how the components of energy development sustainability can be applied until the year 2050. To perform comparison testing with the reference state scenario, the LEAP energy model was used. This instrument was selected because of its ability to provide flexible and advanced options for selecting suitable parameters for energy transformation prediction. A progressive reduction in environmental pollution can be achieved by the deployment of current methods of energy generation by transformation until the year 2050 in Serbia, as indicated by the findings. The research highlights the significance of utilizing green energy sources for the continuing development of energy and the gradual reduction in environmental pollution through value co-creation.

Universities serve as hubs for the creation and dissemination of knowledge – through educating future leaders, fostering scientific research and encouraging development – they pose perfect vessels for sustainable change. These institutions frequently participate in outreach activities, environmental projects, and partnerships to actively interact with their local communities, all the while arranging events, workshops, and campaigns with the aim of increasing awareness about environmental concerns and advocating for sustainable lifestyles. Universities can set an example by adopting sustainable practices on their premises. A “perfect” sustainable university is an educational institution that trains students to become global citizens equipped to address pressing societal concerns and contribute to sustainable development. Precisely for these reasons, the aim of this paper was to investigate implementation of sustainable practices at the University of Belgrade–Faculty of Organizational Sciences. For the purpose of the paper, the authors conducted a survey among faculty and staff members during the academic 2022/2023 year. The results of the survey were analysed using SPSS 24 software package.

In the wake of environmental challenges, it becomes questionable whether transfer from linear to a nonlinear or circular economy can be achieved by continuing to employ traditional linear ways of thinking about potential solutions and designing the tools for achieving the desired outcomes that should lead to overall planetary sustainability. Instead, for this important issue, it is necessary to involve a number of stakeholders in the implementation and measurement of circular economy implementation efficiency in practice. In addition to governments and industry, the entire society must participate in this, including higher education institutions. Higher education is necessary because it is a crucial tool for achieving sustainability and sustainable development. The quality of education is very important in economies – in this case, circular economies. Bearing this in mind, the key aspect of this chapter focuses on the scientific research in circular economy education among students of the University of Belgrade, Republic of Serbia. The results obtained can be a useful source of information to other educators, at a time when improving education for sustainability is gaining more and more credibility and scientific ground.KeywordsCircular economySustainabilityHigher educationHigher education for circular economyCurriculum

The potential connection between environment and happiness is a relatively novel and understudied topic. This paper aims to contribute to this new research trend by investigating the long-term association between environmental protection and happiness by studying the correlation between the environment and students’ attitudes. There have been two types of academic interest in the relationship between the environment and happiness: first, there has been a real curiosity in how the environment influences individuals’ subjective well-being; second, there is a surge of interest in how proenvironmental actions affect individual's well-being, and how, in turn, people's emotional states can be used to prompt them into behaving in ways that are more ecologically responsible. The current concept of health is a complex interaction of environmental, organizational, and personal elements within the contexts and settings in which individuals live. Thus, broader environmental issues must be evaluated in the context of population health, as illustrated, for instance, in studies of migratory communities in which the impacts of a shifting life environment on health were shown to be considerable. Twenty-nine years ago, Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 proposed an education and sustainable development action plan. But even so, progress in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has so far been extremely slow. The authors of the paper have for precisely these reasons chose to conduct a survey amongst students of the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Serbia, with the aim of finding out what exactly do students know about environmental happiness, what are their current attitudes towards the state of the environment in Serbia, and how all of this affects their future. The questionnaire included 102 students. An analysis of the results was carried out using the SPSS 25 software package.

In the era when the overarching problem of climate change, threatening the entire humanity and all life on earth, demands actions and behavioural change from all of the societal agents, including governments, organizations, companies and individuals, the world fails to achieve unity on the matter of existence of the problem, cause of the problem and on the solution of the problem. Since the scientific consensus on climate change is achieved, this article tries to examine why it is so hard to convey the message of needed behavioural change. The neuromarketing study presented in this article focuses on marketing communications that try to convey the message that would lead to the consumers' mental, emotional and behavioural change. Effectiveness of the branded environmental videos was evaluated utilizing the neuroscience approach. Electroencephalogram and an eye‐tracking device were used to register the implicit brain reactions of the study participants viewing the branded videos. For comparison reasons, the branded videos selected for the study use two different approaches for conveying the message. The first approach relies on narrative, words and logic, whilst the second one appeals primarily to emotions. The aim of the study was to answer the question whether the words are enough or is there more to it?

The majority of studies evaluating the effectiveness of branded CSR campaigns are concentrated and base their conclusions on data collection through self-reporting questionnaires. Although such studies provide insights for evaluating the effectiveness of CSR communication methods, analysing the message that is communicated, the communication channel used and the explicit brain responses of those for whom the message is intended, they lack the ability to fully encapsulate the problem of communicating environmental messages by not taking into consideration what the recipients’ implicit brain reactions are presenting. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of CSR video communications relating to environmental issues through the lens of the recipients’ implicit self, by employing neuroscience-based assessments. For the examination of implicit brain perception, an electroencephalogram (EEG) was used, and the collected data was analysed through three indicators identified as the most influential indicators on human behaviour. These three indicators are emotional valence, the level of brain engagement and cognitive load. The study is conducted on individuals from the millennial generation in Thessaloniki, Greece, whose implicit brain responses to seven branded commercial videos are recorded. The seven videos were a part of CSR campaigns addressing environmental issues. Simultaneously, the self-reporting results from the participants were gathered for a comparison between the explicit and implicit brain responses. One of the key findings of the study is that the explicit and implicit brain responses differ to the extent that the CSR video communications’ brain friendliness has to be taken into account in the future, to ensure success. The results of the study provide an insight for the future creation process, conceptualisation, design and content of the effective CSR communication, in regard to environmental issues.

In the last 50 years of human development, waterrelated hazards have been dominating among the disasters, that have caused both human casualties and economic damage. Floods are among the top ten worst types of natural disasters, positioning on an unenviable third place, when taking in account, above all, the number of human lives that have been lost. Unfortunately, forecasts show that the negative trend of flood impact will continue to grow, mainly as a result of climate change, population growth and economic development. For these reasons, the need for implementing Disaster Risk Reduction has been recognized globally as a way to reduce the risk and impact of all natural disasters, including floods. On top of this, the need to include education in this area is also recognized, especially in the field of knowledge-based decision-making process. When it comes to Disaster Risk Reduction knowledge, it should be noted that despite the efforts related to the wider implementation of this type of education, practice shows that it is still been poorly represented at all necessary levels of formal and non-formal education, although in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 precisely emphasizes the critical role of knowledge in Disaster Risk Reduction.

Nowadays, great attention is paid to the role of libraries in sustainability. Their role is especially given in promoting not only sustainable development goals (SDGs) but their achievements, too. The reason for this is in their part in necessary promotion of literacy and offering free access to information about environment, environmental protection, sustainability, and SDGs. This is easily understandable bearing in mind that libraries must have their task in providing indispensably knowledge for current and future generation about these crucial issues for survival of mankind. In addition, it is generally known that current and future generation represent the foundation of sustainable development and all of the SDGs. On the other hand, higher education is a crucial mean for creating globally competent students for a more sustainable future. Bearing this in mind, we have conducted a survey on the students' opinion about the role of libraries in providing environmental sustainability and SDGs goals knowledge. Results of the survey were analyzed using SPSS 24 software for statistical analysis and they are presented in final parts of this paper.