![Redefining Polishness: The Revival of Crafts in Galicia around 1900](/api/image/getissuecoverimage?id=picture_2010_15162.jpg)
Keywords: disinflation; disinflation factors; economic policy
Sustainable reduction of inflation remains, even after more than a decade of economic transition, one of the key tasks for the majority of central and east European countries. In the present paper we employ an iterative multisectoral model underpinned by estimates of sectoral price functions to simulate six disinflation scenarios for the case of Slovenia. The model simulations show that sub-stantial progress in disinflation can be made already in 2004. However, instead of relying on a single anti-inflationary tool, stabilization of the inflation rate at around 3 – 4 % per annum demands highly harmonized implementation of at least three instruments: moderate deindexation of wages, rigorous price policy in those segments of the Slovenian economy where lack of competition does not assure price stability, and a prudent monetary policy.
More...Keywords: Competitiveness; export; foreign direct investment; structure effect; trade analysis.
The research paper discusses the concept of competitiveness of economy and analyzes export as an indicator of it. The analysis is started by the historical review of export development. Statistical data show that three Baltic countries have been following different path of export growth since Russian crisis. Different export market orientation and manufacturing sector’s longer reorientation process provide an explanation. Furthermore, the historical analysis shows that export growth relation with foreign demand growth and GDP growth is not as strong as it might be expected. In order to estimate possible long-run GDP growth prospects, the structural analysis of trade is performed. The conclusions of the latter revealed high dependence of trade on conjuncture in foreign markets and supported the need of further price and non-price competitiveness analysis. Surprisingly, the results of the former indicate that price indicators do little to explain export development. Conversely, the results of the latter, based on CMSA methodology, show that market orientation of Lithuanian exports adds the most to its competitiveness; meanwhile the product orientation is generally unfavorable. Finally, the relation between FDI structure by countries and trade flows of processed industrial supplies is analyzed. Although data analysis does not reject the existence of such hypothesis, a more detail analysis should be conducted in the future.
More...Keywords: deprivation; Eastern Europe; social class; life course
This paper employs the factor analysis technique and data from the UNDP/UNICEF Social Inclusion Survey to construct a material deprivation index for fi ve transitional societies in the Balkans (FYR Macedonia and Serbia), Eastern Europe (Moldova and Ukraine) and Central Asia (Kazakhstan). The distribution of deprivation between these societies can be largely explained by their level of economic development, but within-county variance is not limited to monetary dimension. Controlling for settlement type, human capital and employment status in multivariate settings, the paper tests the hypothesis of the continuous importance of occupational social class and the emerging role of diff erent life phases in individuals’ welfare outcomes. The results reveal that all specifi ed social classes and most of the defi ned life phases have diverse and statistically signifi cant eff ects on the constructed deprivation index and the likelihood of being under 70 per cent of the median deprivation threshold. Belonging to non-skilled manual, farmers and skilled manual social class as well as being a child or lone parent were revealed to have the highest risk of material deprivation. These fi ndings are in line with the conclusions made for the Western welfare democracies on the complementary nature of social class and life course dimensions in explaining social hardship.
More...Keywords: child resilience; child abuse; developmental assets
The development ecology of Children and youths are not favorable in many parts of urban areas of Ethiopia. There are risk situations in schools, in the community and family environments. Among others, family disintegration for various reasons, in effective schools, as well as poor other social services, and expansion of illegal drugs and movies have made the lives of large number of children and youths vulnerable .Moreover, physical , sexual and labor abuses of children are prevalent in different settings and situations .However , despite the presence of such risk factors against the positive child and youth developments, there are stories of success achieved by children and youths who were once vulnerable and exposed to various types of adversities. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore developmental challenges and risks to children and youths in the town and protective factories and developmental assets that helped some children to overcome early life difficulties and become successful in their later life. Data from life histories of 30 successful children and young adults, interviews and group desiccations with the concerned bodies indicated that proper socialization, attachment to positive peers and role models, martial, financial and moral supports at appropriate times as well as children’ internal qualities could nurture resilience capabilities in children and youths who are growing in adverse situations. It could also facilitate attaining life goals.
More...Keywords: industry research; economic crisis; financial ratios; financial indicators; multicriteria decision making; SAW; TOPSIS; VIKOR; C44; G01; G11; G32; L25;
The paper analyses the impact of the economic crisis of 2008 on Lithuanian industries. The research involves 68 industries identified according to the 2nd-digit level classification of economic activities by Statistics Lithuania. Considering industry to be a complex phenomenon, the crisis effect is evaluated complexly on the basis of the system of 10 financial state and performance indicators belonging to four main groups of enterprise financial ratios: profitability, liquidity, solvency and asset turnover. SAW, TOPSIS and VIKOR multi-criteria decision making methods, widely applied in construction, economics and management, are selected as mathematical tools for quantitative assessment of the economic crisis effect on Lithuanian industries. By applying multi-criteria decision making methods relative positions (ranks) of industries are determined for every year of the period of 2006–2011. The ranks and their changes are further analysed distinguishing pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis periods, determining the industries most and least affected by the economic crisis; also, the industries characterised by the fastest and the slowest after-crisis recovery.
More...Keywords: Investment; investment laws; investment regulation; foreign investment; investment business; financial investment; investment policy; investment market; financial assets; resources; portfolio investm
Complex state investment policy, directed towards creation of advantage investment surrounding in the country, its regions and fields of industrial production, essentially grows inflow of investment resources into the economy. Therefore the necessity to optimize the state legal regulation of the investment process is raised on the foreground in this work. It has been substantiated that searching of new state instruments of regulation is necessary in the investment domain. This instrument must form advantage climate for capital investments, which will be adequate to the objects of stimulating savings and cardinal changing of total economical situation. It has been proved that today it is necessary to direct even small savings to the investment domain by protecting marketing principles for solving the most important problems in the sector of private industry.
More...Keywords: Out-of-home advertising media; Alternative media; Outdoor advertising; Integrated marketing communication; Media planning; Transit advertising; Street-and-retail furniture advertising;
Despite the traction that contemporary out-of-home advertising has gained in the global media landscape, there are still some ambiguities regarding the contribution of this medium in the context of integrated marketing communication. Previous studies have examined consumers’ responses to different out-of-home advertising media types; however, little attention has been paid to how they could contribute to an overall integrated marketing communication (IMC) program. The purpose of the study was, therefore, to explore a practitioner’s view of the role of out-of-home advertising media in an integrated marketing communication campaign. Investigating knowledgeable practitioners’ perspectives and practices helped to reveal novel media planning techniques applied by specialists in the field and contributed to the limited theory on out-of-home advertising media planning. The three roles performed by out-of-home advertising media within this context: support; lead; or even as the only media, were clarified. Some unique media tactics to reach marketing communication objectives on cognitive, affective or behavioural levels and direction for future research were also proposed.
More...Keywords: Deliberation; Educational reform; Public policy; National Team of Bologna Experts;
The project named Higher Education Reform was established in 2004 as one of the implementation elements of the European higher education policy. The core activities of the project were executed throughout the formation of National Teams of Bologna Experts who had the task and duty to contribute to the general and real awareness-rising on the topic of the higher education reform among different stakeholders in participating countries of the Bologna Process. The Croatian National Team of Bologna Expert (Hrvatska stručna skupina za Bolonjski proces) was established in 2011. Among the diversity of activities executed by the student representatives in the Team, the important place is reserved for the deliberative workshops held during 2013. The target groups of the deliberative workshops were students and other stakeholders in the higher education. This paper presents the process of including the stakeholders in educational reform through the deliberative workshops. During the workshops, the organizers found out how the stakeholders are rethinking on some of the aspects of the Bologna Process, how they perceive and value the work of student representative and volunteering activities, and what they think about the extra-curricular activities of the student and how they value such activities. The form of deliberative workshops encouraged participants to freely and in constructive way express their thoughts and expectances in order to exchange ideas and knowledge about the matter, and to make a decision on common suggestions to solve a particular problem in the context of higher education (introduction of a new practice, modifications and alternations of existing practices, etc). This type of the application of deliberation method is extremely useful, which is the reason for the suggestion of the method’s use in preparing, implementing and evaluating the educational reforms.
More...Keywords: ecodesign; cluster analysis; products classification; small and medium enterprises;
More and more often a life cycle thinking is considered as a valuable element of environmental management. Product-based environmental management systems often refer to ecodesign, which can be used in various aspects of product management. Due to their own specificity, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) often encounter difficulties when conducting ecodesign activities. The paper presents a simplified approach based on the life cycle-based environmental classification of products intended for using in SMEs as a starting point for eco-design. A main goal of the paper is to propose such classification and discuss its role in improving the environmental performance of products. The presented analysis included 50 products classified according to the chosen criteria. As the first step, a cluster analysis has been performed and a distinction between passive and active products has been made. A main conclusion was that the information received from the cluster analysis may be insufficient to be a sole basis for ecodesign. A second classification has been performed basing on the selected environmental impact indicators (GWP100a and CED) calculated for three life cycle stages: a production, an use and a final disposal. The final products’ classification reflects the differences in environmental hotspots between products and can be used for supporting the SMEs in implementation of life cycle-based eco-design processes.
More...Keywords: implicit association; Internet addiction; smartphone addiction; adolescent;
Potential concerns are increasing that smartphone and Internet addictions may have deleterious effects on the mental health. Despite the recognition of the important role that implicit associations may have over explicit processes in addiction, such implicit associations have not been comprehensively investigated with respect to Internet addiction. Therefore, we modified the Implicit Association Test (IAT) for smartphone and Internet addictions and investigated its validity in children and adolescents. Methods: In this experimental study, 78 at-risk children and adolescents ranging in age from 7 to 17 years completed an IAT modified with pictures captured from the most popular Internet games among youth. Furthermore, measures of Internet and smartphone addictions, mental health and problem behaviors, impulsive tendencies, self-esteem, daily stress, and quality of life were assessed simultaneously. Results: Significant correlations were found between IAT D2SD scores and standardized scales for Internet (r = .28, p < .05) and smartphone (r = .33, p < .01) addictions. There were no significant correlations between IAT parameters and other scales measuring the constructs that are less relevant to the features of addiction, such as daily stress levels, impulsivity, and quality of life. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the IAT D2SD was independently and positively associated with smartphone addiction (p = .03) after controlling for other clinical correlates. Conclusions: This study demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity of this IAT as a novel measurement relating to Internet and smartphone addictions. Further longitudinal and prospective studies are needed to evaluate its potential utility in clinical and community settings.
More...Keywords: phenomenology; culture map; urban language; morphosign; method
This manuscript proposes a concept of an urban language, urbslingua, embedded in the urban studies. It is a tool with the use which one can identify spatial phenomena in need of research, and which helps to place the fragment of space under study in the holistic picture of the city. The city has been treated as a spatial message, the urban space being a multilayered spatial text; the text is written with morphosigns. A morphosign (language equivalent for a grapheme) is an indivisible structural element of the urbanized space. Morphosigns emergent from the urban form (defined by ISUF) denote designates of all types of human activities the spatial reflections of which are situated within the confines of the urban space. The urban space is their synthesis and binder. Morphosigns are bound together by culture which is a navigator of urban spatial order, i.e. a syntax.
More...Keywords: comparative advantages; foreign trade; export; balance of payment; economic structure
For many years, the Republic of Serbia has had a huge problem with balance of payment, which can be seen in chronic deficit in the current balance. Small and inadequate supply and large export demand caused by structural and economic system`s problems are the main reason for such a situation. Regardless the fact that the balance on services of the Republic of Serbia has recorded permanent surplus for years (with an exception of few years when it was in deficit due to errors of economic policy) it is not able to fill in the gaps between export and import of balance on goods, which has been chronically in deficit for decades. Because of that, the future economic policy of the Republic of Serbia should be directed to long-term solutions of problems of the balance of payment, in the sense of its sustainable deficit. This means that the increase in export should be an imperative in the long run, and restructuring of the economy in the sense of increasing the share of export-propulsive sectors is a condition sine qua non.In order for effects of export to be higher and to have positive effects on the balance of payment and the competitiveness of the Republic of Serbia, all comparative advantages of the economy should be used and their shift to competitive advantages should be speeded up. In this regard, this paper will particularly analyze the “revealed comparative advantages”. We will make an attempt to identify crucial sectors and groups, which show revealed comparative advantages, with a special focus on identifying service sectors, which traditionally record surplus in the foreign trade.
More...Keywords: ”Partenie Clinceni”; ”Metropolitan Archdiocese”; ”metropolitan palace”; ”Haret”; ”Băicoianu”; ”Mihăescu”
The palace or metropolitan residence house from the Diocesan Centre of Iaşi was built in the early 20th century, from its foundations, on the site of an older residential house, during the term of Metropolitan Partenie Clinceni service as a shepherd of the local flock of Christian believers. Documents that have survived the passage of time highlight the generous project and the meandering trajectory of the efforts to construct and open a new building, the analysis being susceptibile to demonstrate that the ultimate goal was to refurbish, modernise andembelish the entire architectural complex from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Iasi. The historical circumstances also highlight the important role of the Church in organising and running significant events forthe community in that period.
More...Keywords: Late Iron Age; La Tène culture; Celtic cemetery; NW Hungary
One of the important cemetery and settlement of the Celts lies in a plateau on the southern side of the the Öreg Rába river, in the vicinity of Győr-Ménfőcsanak. The first burials were found in 1967 during a short rescue excavation, however it made Ménfőcsanak a key La Tène site in the Carpathian Basin. Excavations investigated on a larger scale in the area of previously known cemetery in 1993–94. The burial rite of the necropolis was mainly inhumation and only two graves were cremated and two biritual graves. Celtic warriors with swords and richly furnished female with fibulae, coral, amber, and glass beads jewelry were also buried in this part of cemetery. Few graves were limited by rectangular enclosing trenches. According to find analyzing this part of the cemetery dates to the LT B period, and that is why Ménfőcsanak became an important archaeological site in terms of burials in the history of the Celtic “migrations” in the fourth century BC.
More...Keywords: Leather Industry; Business Science; Meta-Analysis;
In the leather industry, a production process that is the subject of many different disciplines is dominant. Many studies on these branches of science have examined the sector in detail in terms of production. On the other hand, studies dealing with the sector in terms of business administration department and sub-disciplines are not common.In this study, academic publications examining the relationship between the leather industry and the business administration department are the subjects. 98 scientific studies obtained after the search in the Web of Science database were examined in terms of the form of publication, the year of publication, the country where the publication was made and the sub-disciplines of the business department.
More...Keywords: Tomáš Berka; theatre scenography; theatre poster; book design; music; film;
Tomáš Berka graduated from Department of scenography at Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava under the professor Ladislav Vychodil in 1974, lived a parallel life as a visual artist and rocker, author of incidental and later also film music, as well as co-creator of music albums with the group called Fermata for decades. He was tempted away from the theatre by the illusion of film and the collaboration with international production teams and established film directors when creating large-scale films and constructing film sets. As a representative of action scenography, he had the opportunity to work with various directors on many, but predominantly on the Bratislava stages during the 1970-80s. He did not use the curtain or horizon on small stages; he worked with acronyms, movement of parts of the set and stage props, as well as metaphor. Tomáš Berka connected the auditorium with the stage on several occasions. He made a distinctive mark in graphic design; his theatre posters are typical for their characteristic outlines and colouring (regardless of the linocut or offset technique). Based on selected productions from a total of over a hundred works, the study presents Berka’s contribution to Slovak scenography from the 1970s to 2005, when his last theatre work was recorded. Tomáš Berka (together with Jozef Ciller, who is older than him and his classmates Ján Zavarský and Rasťo Bohuš) is one of the leading representatives of Slovak scenography that fundamentally influenced the direction of Slovak theatre development. Tomáš Berka is the only one among the stage designers who have also penetrated the world of music and, in recent decades, the international film industry. The study of his scenography completes the portrait of the stage designer’s work in Bratislava companies as it was unjustly marginalised also by foreign critics. While at the same time, several productions that he was engaged in which made an impact by their use of action scenography were produced in confined spaces of the petit stage of the former Divadlo na korze (Theatre on the Promenade), as well as in alternative non-theatre spaces. Tomáš Berka’s production of posters reflects the artist’s vision of society from the beginning of Normalisation, i.e. from the 1970s to the search for a path towards democracy in the first half of the 1990s.
More...Keywords: geocriticism; poetics; spatial turn; place; anthropology of things
The aim of this article is to capture one of the unveilings of the history of the manor house in Obory, near Warsaw, and to analyse the principle structuring the essence of transformation of this place in Miron Białoszewski’s work. Using the geocritical method, the author examines the relationship between characters and things related to this place selected by Białoszewski and the poetics he used. The frequently recurring motif of the wardrobe was juxtaposed with the analysis of inventories and wills belonging to the owner of the manor at the turn of the 17th and18th centuries, which are preserved in The Central Archivesof Historical Records in Warsaw. The main part of the article is devoted to the aesthetics and functions of 18th-century furniture in relation to the context of the court culture of that time, which Białoszewski explored poetically. In his works he played out the tension between the covering and uncovering of the secrets hidden in the complicated security systems of baroque furniture.This tension accumulates in the spatial nature of Obory: it is a remote and hidden place. Its location allowed Białoszewski to practice covering,uncovering and recovering the history of the manor. These practices not only constituted the structuring principle of the writer’s poetics, but they also open up the possibility of following the transformations of places of such semantic complexity as Obory. They allow us to capture the dynamics of changes that often involve inverting their previous meanings, e.g. in the context of agricultural reform, and also help to expose the related conflicts.
More...Keywords: wabi-sabi; meditation; temples; Buddhism; minimalism;
The purpose of this paper is to look at austerity present in Japanese culture spaces, such as Japanese gardens, Japanese interior design, which is minimalist, Japanese haiku poems settings, and their connection with Buddhist philosophy. The Japanese do not seem keen on accumulating objects. Instead, they prefer to keep their space minimal. The emptiness in Japanese Buddhist philosophy appears in interior design and garden design. Moreover, the Japanese focus more on their surroundings, for instance on contemplating the seasons and on their awareness of the changing seasons. Buddhist temples allow a large view of the landscape. Meanwhile, the interior design remains minimalist, and it also allows the inhabitant to be surrounded by empty space. The Japanese are not so much focused on accumulating objects during their lifetime as Westerners are. What could be such reasons? Why is their focus on the aesthetics of the surroundings? What could this tell us about Japanese culture that makes it unique?
More...