As soon as the economy of Kazakhstan is highly resource‐oriented despite numerous efforts to change the structure of the national economy, constant assessment of the scientific and innovation sphere of the country is actual and important. By way of qualitative, quantitative, comparative, and descriptive analysis 13 indicators related to science and innovations were investigated to define the level of scientific and innovative development in Kazakhstan. Science and innovation in Kazakhstan are under‐financed and state‐based financing of innovative activities seems to be (...) ineffective, and the innovations are still unprofitable. The scientific human capital is affected by “brain drain,” when best graduates go into business or leave the country to build careers in better financial conditions. Eight indicators are found to be universal and comparable for various countries, and can be applied with the purpose of defining the level of scientific and innovative development of a country or countries. The results of the study can be applied by governmental officials for developing policies related to science and innovations. The methods, set of indicators, and findings of the study can be used by other researchers for investigating and comparing the level(s) of scientific and innovative development in other country or countries. (shrink)

The article considers regional issues of the Kazakh transtoposystem. There are a number of problematic issues related to cross-border Kazakh toponymy. The article analyzes only one aspect – the status of binary names in the cross-border toposystem. The goal is to study how obvious the binary opposition is there, considering the etymology of toponyms based on semantic opposition. The toposystem of the Northern and Western regions bordering Russia was used as the empirical material for the study. According to the border (...) administrative-regional division, a number of districts of such regions of the country as North Kazakhstan, Pavlodar, Kostanay, Western Kazakhstan, Aktobe, and Atyrau border with Russia. In the article, a series of binary names along the toponyms of this cross-border zone is formed. In particular, Úlken-Kіshі (Big-Small), Aq-Qara (Black-White), Qara-Sary (Black-Yellow), Jaqsy-Jaman (Good-Bad), Jyly-Sýyq (Warm-Cold), and Ashy-Tushy (Bitter-Fresh) are analyzed. The difference between toponymic binary names and lexical antonyms is considered. We discuss the fact that the contradiction in lexical antonyms is clearly expressed, but in binary opposition along toponyms, the contradiction may not be complete. It is reported that the contradiction of toponyms is recognized only in the toponymic context, and sometimes it is even possible to form a related pair, rather than a semantic contradiction. (shrink)

The aim of the study is to identify typical religiously-based regulatory practices in the banking sector of secular states. With this end in view, the intersection of religion and banking was qualitatively analysed, as well as confessional-based economies of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were characterised. The results obtained provide evidence that religion exerts a notable influence on the social and economic life of the country. The Jewish banking system is based on the analogy of the Islamic finance paradigm - it (...) is built upon Sharia law but provides services for the population according to national jurisdiction of the state and the laws of the Torah. In the meantime, the regulation of basic banking practices in the Christian tradition is not religiously conditioned. The originality of this study is in the analytical tool designed to manage financial activities within the particular economic system while making allowances to the moral values of society. (shrink)