Knowledge-based economy has become a major trend in international society in the 21st century. However, today’s strategies place a greater emphasis on sustainability than in the past, while continuing to emphasize the importance of education and its connection with labour market. There has been a re-orientation, where resource, eco-efficiency and innovation have become major elements for achieving national objectives and a relevant level of competitiveness. This article deals with 30 indices, which define the competitiveness of a specific economy, and involve knowledge parameters. They are classified into four main categories and one special category. They are then analysed regarding the participation of Serbia and their availability. The main focus of this paper is to give detailed analyses of energy indices, as a special category of knowledge indexes. It has been shown that Serbia, in many cases, was not included in the study analysis or that there was insufficient information about Serbia’s position. This article shows that only a part of the presented indices includes Serbia. It is concluded that a new, revised model is needed that will include more exact indicators.

This paper discusses the problems associated with the negative effects that accompany blasting operations, and the certain conclusions were derived. One of the negative effects of blasting operations is the phenomenon of seismic action and its effects on the buildings and the environment. Shock waves, induced by blasting, could cause damages to the building facilities and the environment. Those shocks seem to be very unfavorable to both humans and the environment. Therefore, certain standards were developed that define permissible values of impacts on buildings and people in buildings. In Serbia, there are no standards for assessing the impact of such shock waves. The international regulations and standards, mostly Russian and German, will be used to solve this problem. This case study provides an overview the measurement of shock waves during blasting at the open pit Manastiriste near Topola in a function of the quantity of used explosives, their impact on the surrounding buildings with special reference to the Monastery of the Holy Archangel Michael, as well as the assessment of measurement results according to the appropriate scales in the world. Keywords blasting, shock waves, measurement, impact, seismics * University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Djusina 7, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia, e-mail: sanjabajic@sezampro.com; radmila.gacina@rgf.rs; katarina.urosevic@rgf.rs; suzana.lutovac@rgf.bg.ac.rs