The study deals with sustainability of social software applications in a university setting focusing primarily on the YouTube platform. The aim of this paper is to identify the potential of YouTube media in serving as a supportive educational tool. To meet the objective, researchers carried out an exploratory study based on mixed quantitative–qualitative methods. A mental knowledge model was designed as a starting point where crucial aspects of gaining knowledge were visualized. Sustainability of social media was analyzed in three defined sections encompassing three areas reflecting the needs of the educational process: social media as a tool of communication, repository of study materials and a tool for testing. The affective learning domain was highlighted in the study; one of the key explored categories was the category of satisfaction as a students’ motivation mover. Based on the findings, YouTube as an absolute winner was consequently analyzed in detail, focusing on three areas: satisfaction, kinds of activities on this platform and spent time. The discussion raises questions on pitfalls of social media utilization; this chapter also brings the latest experience from the time hit by coronavirus and related quarantine which showed incontestable benefits of social media in education and proved their irreplaceable role.

The article provides an overview of academic contributions to blockchain technology over the past three years. A large number of practical implementations are proving the versatility of blockchain across industries. Some of these areas are easy to deduce, but for some, the benefits of using blockchain technology may not be obvious. Real applications of blockchain can be found in sectors such as cyber security and the financial sector, but also in various categories of the public sector, healthcare, and industry. This paper focuses on the use of blockchain technology in the energy industry. The paper aims to present the current trends of blockchain in the energy sector and provide a summary of blockchain technology discussed in academia. The research questions are formulated to correspond to the basic goals of the energy sector today. The core of the paper forms a systematic review based on the PRISMA guidelines. The output of this systematic review brings an up-to-day insight into the issue and introduces potential areas for further research.

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has been used recently for diagnostics of the railway infrastructure, particularly the ballast layer. To overcome ballast fouling, mechanized ballast cleaning process, which increases track occupancy time and cost, is usually used. Hence it is of crucial significance to identify at which stage of track ballast life cycle, and level of fouling, ballast cleaning should be initiated. In the present study, a series of in situ GPR surveys on selected railway track sections in Czechia was performed to obtain railway granite ballast relative dielectric permittivity (RDP) values in several phases of railway track lifecycle. GPR data were collected in the form of B-scan, and time-domain analysis was used for post-processing. The results indicate (i) change of railway ballast RDP in time (long term); (ii) a dependency of ballast fouling level on RDP; and (iii) the RDP change during the ballast cleaning process, thus its efficiency. This research aimed to provide new perspectives into the decision-making process in initiating the mechanized ballast cleaning intervention based on the GPR-measured data.

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Background: Social media is a ubiquitous phenomenon that serves as a tool for communication, collaboration, and creativity. In the long term, it has an indispensable place in the field of education. The research paper discusses the use of certain social networking sites where learning management systems are extensively and consistently used in the teaching and learning process at universities. The rapid transition to online platforms had a tremendous impact on the educational process, exposing and promoting the effectiveness of heutagogy. The circumstances made it necessary to emphasize the value of self-directed learning and the capacity to identify educational requirements and strategies for reaching study objectives. This kind of research corresponds to the increased need to develop desired self-study skills in students. Objectives: The goal of the paper is to demonstrate how undergraduate students perceive the trends in acceptance and the degree of appropriateness of social media for academic purposes. Methods: Research on social media use in education was inspired by a review of the literature. The purpose of the questionnaire is to track awareness, use, general satisfaction, communication, testing, and revision. The set of social media examined in the survey (years 2021 and 2022) was modified to reflect the social media landscape at the time. This study compares the findings of four different studies. The outcomes are displayed in graphs. Results: Two areas are analyzed: social media as a means of communication in the process of education and social media as a tool enabling students’ revision and testing of study materials. The first two studies, which were conducted in 2014 and 2019, are based on the same set of examined social media and fit the comparison, enabling to define the trend in students’ perceived satisfaction with social media for study purposes. The third and fourth studies discussed in this paper were run during the winter semesters of 2021 and 2022. Conclusions: The most significant differences between 2021 and 2022 can be seen in Instagram, Twitch, and other platforms, where a substantial drop in satisfaction in the communication field can be seen. The biggest difference in revision and testing is found in Facebook, Twitch, and Teams, which are abandoning online teaching and learning after the COVID-19 event. Social media use for studying has significantly decreased, with noteworthy decreases in Wiki, Facebook, and video calls.