Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); MCDA-C model; performance of organization
The present study addresses some relevant aspects concerning the impact of CSR upon the performance of organizations. The MCDA-C model was used due to its capacity to encapsulate the perceptions of the company’s managers on the situation under scrutiny and also due to the possibility to provide conditions for assessing the specific elements of CSR management as well as suggestions for improving performance. Moreover, a set of performance indicators can be identified thanks to this model, which characterize the company’s sustainability and asses its commitment both at the individual and global level. The model also enables establishing the company’s strategy that should take into account the economic, social and environmental criteria, showing that stakeholders will advocate the company’s CSR profile under to circumstances of optimum communication.
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Keywords: Farm education; agronomy students; majors; cultural differences
Farm-based education represents a relatively new concept for educational research domain. There are many countries where farm-based education activities are well organised, and the results are appreciated by both children and adults. The aim of this paper is to present the results of a survey applied to 303 university students from two universities of Romania and Ukraine, related to farm-based education. The students’ majors were Agriculture, Environmental Protection, and Agricultural Management, because they are closely related to farm-based education. As variables were used age, environment, year of study and major. The analysis was realised with a SPSS software, and results show there are no statistically significant differences in age, year of study and environment, between students from Romania and from Ukraine. This aspect of the research may reflect that, though there are two countries with different cultural models, students think in a similar way, maybe as a consequence of globalization. Using ANOVA multiple comparisons, result present that the mean in the students majoring in Environmental protection is significantly different from that of the students majoring in Agricultural Management. The results may reflect the open-mindedness of future specialists in these domains towards farm-based education activities, which encourage learning in children with different behaviours and mentalities.
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According to numbers of present studies pain perception is modifiable by physical activity. This result is important for establishing and using of non-invasive methods with few side effects for patients with chronic pain conditions. The PURPOSE of this study is to examine the gender differences in relationship between physical activity, body awareness and pain perception. METHODOLOGY: Psychological Questionnaires: Body Awareness Questionnaire that asks subjects to rate, on a 4 point scale, the degree to which they were currently experiencing symptoms of sympathetic arousal, State Trait Anger Scale, and State Trait Anxiety Scale. Objective methods (cold pressure test) are used only to determine the pain sensation and pain tolerance thresholds. The (VAS) represents pain as a continuum and is sensitive to change. OWN CONTRIBUTION AND RESULTS: The results of investigation support the idea of significant interaction between body awareness, perception of pain and physical activity. This relationship depends significantly on gender. The female non-athletes estimate the pain through VAS during cold pressor test as more intensive in comparison to female athletes and men from both groups. CONCLUSIONS: The complex, multi-element method for measuring pain used in this study is a useful model for studying effects of exercise on the perception of pain.
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Keywords: quality of life; haematological patients; chemotherapy; oncologic diagnosis; psychotherapy
The therapeutic management of haematological patients dramatically changes the lives of patients. Quality of life is a modern concept which tries to help the patient and refocuses doctors on improving not only the patient’s symptoms and disease itself, but also the patient’s overall well-being. This chapter will highlight the most important factors which can modify the onco-haematological patient’s quality of life, stressing the importance of biological, psychological, and social factors. In identifying these factors, we used two standard questionnaires which evaluate the quality of life on various fields. The results showed that physical status, mental health, and social factors influence patient quality of life.
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Keywords: expertise; security strategy; defense policies; community of experts; Russian Federation; decision-making process;
In the Russian Federation, the process of public policy elaboration has the imprint of the recent past, but also of the illiberal political regime. In Russian society there are various types of expertise communities that carry out research projects, analyze,elaborate strategic documents etc. Yet others are the actors that influence the decision making process. “Siloviki”1 - building power that unites the armed forces, law enforcement and intelligence services, with common identity, with a shared world view, and a personal loyalty to Putin.The Russian authorities are very closed to the debate and are reluctant to rely on any expertise other than that provided by government agencies. The role of the expert communities in the decision-making process is “close to zero” because officials make decisions based on secret information and usually stress that any external expertise is irrelevant.
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Keywords: brief interviews with liminality;the case of David Foster Wallace
The beginning of the twenty first century can be described as a liminal period of discarding old interests and preoccupations in preparation for the arrival of something new. This feeling of standing on a threshold is also visible in literature where the growing impatience with the postmodern technique of formal play may result in the creation of a new kind of fiction. David Foster Wallace’s collection of short stories Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (1999) is a critique of the postmodern society and its representative literary form which not only convincingly argues that the formula of metafiction has been exhausted but also points to a possible way out of the postmodern impasse and to a different kind of writing. This essay outlines the major points of the critique of metafiction as presented by Wallace and analyses his work as an example of “new” metafiction. The new form – which both embodies and departs from the “old” metafictional devices – may be best approached via reference to the mechanism of trauma, particularly to its compulsive desire to repeat the “painful” metafictional event.
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Keywords: security; migration; 20th century; 21st century; peace and conflict theory; Arab Spring;
11 Eylül 2001 olayları sonrasında yoğun olarak terörizm ile birlikte tartışılan göç ve göçmen kavramları, Arap Baharı olarak adlandırılan süreçten bu yana yeniden ülkelerin öncelikli politika konuları arasında yer almaya başladı. Özellikle Avrupa Birliği üye ülkelerinde yaşanan peş peşe terör saldırıları ilgiyi yine “diğerlerine” çevirmiş, göçmenler güvenlikle ilgili politik söylemlerin hedefi haline gelmiştir.
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Keywords: Anti-Semitism; cultural diplomacy; Dezső Kosztolányi; revisionism; Treaty of Trianon;
While Dezső Kosztolányi declared himself as an apolitical writer, we cannot deny his role in cultural diplomacy. Shortly after the 1st World War, during the peace talks in Paris, he became an irredentist, but later, in the period of the political consolidation – when István Bethlen was the prime minister –, his point of view changed. In the 1920s, Kosztolányi began to embrace a revisionist cultural politics and cultivated numerous connections with writers from the countries of Little Entente. His plan was to connect the Hungarians living in minority on the territories of the former Hungarian Kingdom with the parent state’s cultural life. In the framework of that project, Kosztolányi translated the works of several authors from the Little Entente such as Karel Capek’s R. U. R. He visited Serbia and Transylvania and planned to go to Czechoslovakia as well for a reader’s tour. The last one was miscarried since the writer was attacked in the press because of his former irredentist articles. But Kosztolányi also got in touch with a number of artists from Hungarian minorities in the diaspora, and besides that he published his own writings in papers outside the country. One of Kosztolányi’s main theses in that period was that our national community was the community of Hungarian language. According to his belief, not only Hungarians living beyond the borders can became an organic part of the national culture but Jews as well. Therefore, Kosztolányi confronted his former radical (and mostly anti-Semite) forum called Hungarian Writers’ Association led by Dezső Szabó.
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Keywords: school-based intervention; alienation; literacy; in-school support services; education;
The developed curricula covered subjects like mental-health awareness, support systems, stigma, and/or discrimination. Each lesson provided students with a general overview of mental health facts and strategies for stigma identification. Qualitative measures were also utilized. We conducted semistructured interviews with staff, peer educators, and parents in India. The interviews, lasting between 30-75 minutes, were audio-recorded and transcribed. Furthermore, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs) were completed by the parents and teachers of students who accessed the curricula. In the SDQs, parents reported steady increases in their children’s social engagement levels throughout the course of the trial. They also reported steady declines in their children’s emotional, attention, behavioral, and social difficulties. Teachers and parents also noticed a positive rise in their children’s kind and helpful behavior following their interaction with and usage of the classroom curricula. Without exception, every interviewee reported that they had noticed an increase in general wellbeing, either in their child, themselves, or in the school overall. Teachers discussed how the curricula “encouraged students to participate more in class” and “interact more with the material”. Following the implementation of the curricula in classrooms, parents and administrators noticed that their children were ‘calmer’, ‘more confident’, and ‘more focused on their learning’. Further development of this syllabi is needed to implement it on a large scale. However, this project has shown that classroom intervention has the potential to transform school culture into an environment where children can learn and achieve, irrespective of any social, emotional, or behavioral challenges they may face. We recommend the utilization of a curriculum of this nature in schools to stimulate students’ social engagement and raise awareness of mental health issues common to children and young adults.
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Keywords: text; marketing communications; World Wide Web; digital content
The World Wide Web has grown into a complex communication environment, woven of writing and code and functioning as a public sphere for marketing communications. This calls for interdisciplinary research on the nature of digital marketing text. The article presents terminological clarifications and additions to the concepts of marketing communications and marketing text on the World Wide Web. Based on the analysis of empirical material, the main types and subtypes of marketing text on the World Wide Web are presented, together with a typology based on the understanding of the World Wide Web as a platform for exchanging not only web documents but also data.
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Keywords: heat waves; maximum temperature; heat sources; forest fires; Oruro
The emissions produced in forest fi res are transported through the air to different areas of the emission source causing an increase in the concentrations of different pollutants in cities. On June 20, 2020 in Verjoyansk (Russia, Eastern Siberia) the temperature reached a maximum of 38ºC (100.4°F) as a result of a heat wave caused by increased forest fires. In the same way, Bolivia had forest fires causing various direct and indirect effects in the last years. Forest fires which occurred between 2000 and 2019 in the eastern region of Bolivia could influence the maximum temperatures recorded in Oruro and as a consequence of this relationship heat waves were formed. The hypothesis tested was: “The higher the number of fire sources in the eastern region of Bolivia, the higher the maximum temperature values in Oruro”. Maximum temperature series (TM) and heat sources (FC) stored in INPE-Brazil were evaluated with descriptive statistics parameters, assumptions of the linear regression models, and Spearman’s correlation. Heat waves were detected with 90th percentile and four consecutive days of TM. In 20 years the TM series goes from 11.8 to 26.6ºC and the FC series goes from 9 to 34.574. Both series do not respond to the assumptions of the linear model, so the Spearman correlation was applied. Based on the proposed research hypothesis it is concluded that there is a correlation between the monthly maximum temperatures and the monthly heat sources in the months of April and May with a level of significance of = 0.05. In this case the daily series of TM show the formation of heat waves.
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Keywords: Chinese leaders’ images; strategic culture
This paper provides a preliminary analysis on how Chinese leaders perceive the United States during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The author borrows the concepts of strategic culture provided by Andrew Scobell (2014). Scobell asserts that “two faces of strategic culture” affect Chinese leader images and perceptions. The first face of strategic culture is concerned with a country’s self-image – the perceptions and realities of its dominant strategic traditions and how these interact and produce outcomes. The second face of strategic culture involves the image of other countries. Scobell argues that Chinese leaders tend to view their strategic tradition as the “Great Wall” strand of strategic culture, and therefore it shows “active defense” in nature. Chinese leaders tend to describe other states as more focused on aggressive and disreputable intentions in relation to China. This author uses pattern-matching research methodology and compares the theoretical pattern and the observed pattern. The data were collected from Chinese leaders’ speeches and government websites. The author codes and analyzes the data based on the conception model. Based on the empirical findings, this author confirms two strategic culture faces during the pandemic that affect Chinese leaders’ images. The result shows that Chinese leaders tend to have negative images towards the United States.
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Keywords: criminal liability of companies; international law; Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; legal persons; crimes of atrocity; Special Tribunal for Lebanon;
The absence of criminal liability of companies under international law has created a well-documented accountability gap. Some multinational companies, in their pursuit of profit motives, make decisions that lead to criminal conduct. The United Nations Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes shows an increase in the involvement of mul- tinational companies in crimes of atrocity. The current international legal framework and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court pose a challenge in the prosecution of these companies as it does not recognise legal persons. However, the breakthrough comes from a decision to assert jurisdiction over legal persons by the Appeals Panel of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Even though the scope of this decision is limited, it is still a substantial shift in how the criminal liability of companies is perceived in international law. This paper analyses these recent developments and highlights possible solutions to end the accountability gap.
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Keywords: regulatory inspection; ionizing radiation protection control; medical application of sources of ionizing radiation; medical exposure;
The Inspectorate of the State Regulatory Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, in accordance with the Law on Radiation and Nuclear Safety in Bosnia and Herzegovina (“Official Gazette of BiH” No. 88/07), carries out inspection supervision of the possession and use of sources of ionizing radiation. Radiation safety control for users of sources of ionizing radiation in medical applications is performed by state inspectors for radiation and nuclear safety. Inspection supervision controls the aspects of radiation protection in medical exposure, including the protection of patients, persons who consciously and voluntarily provide assistance to patients undergoing medical exposure, as well as volunteers who participate in the research, prescribed by the Ordinance on the Protection against Ionizing Radiation in Medical Exposure (“Official Gazette of BiH” No. 13/11). Furthermore, the aspects of radiation protection of professionally exposed persons (workers) and population are controlled according to the Ordinance on Radiation Protection in Occupational Exposure and Exposure of the Population (“Official Gazette of BiH” No. 102/11), as well as the application of other regulations in the field of radiation safety adopted by the State Regulatory Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety. This paper presents a framework procedure for inspection supervision of institutions that carry out medical exposure, in terms of radiation safety. Also presented is a short analysis of the inspection supervision of sources of ionizing radiation in medical application conducted in 2015.
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Keywords: mitral valve; pathology; challenges;
Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is the most common valve disease (prevalence of 2 to 3%). Although MVP is generally regarded as a benign condition, complications such as mitral regurgitation, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, endocarditis and stroke are well known. MVP is a significant cause of SCD where CE-CMR (contrast-enhanced MRI) might allow the identification of this arrhythmic substrate. Transcatheter mitral valve interventions are progressively being introduced into clinical practice targeting a population of patients with mitral regurgitation (MR). Beyond percutaneous edge to edge repair (MitraClip®), a percutaneous surgical-like direct annuloplasty device but also transcatheter chordal replacement and indirect annuloplasty (using coronary sinus devices, radiofrequency-mediated annular remodeling and cinching devices) are in various stages of development. Meanwhile, we do have personal experience using Melody valves as MV replacement using the hybrid approach. Rheumatic fever continues to be the commonest cause of acquired heart disease in the children and adolescent population of most developing countries. Until the early 1980s, the only option for patients with mitral stenosis (MS) uncontrollable by medical therapy was surgery. After several technical modifications balloon mitral valvotomy is a standard therapeutic modality for managing rheumatic mitral stenosis. Patients with sinus rhythm, less gross valve deformity, and a post-balloon mitral valvotomy area >1.75 cm2 will have better intermediate outcomes. Detailed knowledge of MV pathology will lead to perfect solutions for each individual patient.
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Keywords: Caerellius; De die natali; Quintus Caerellius; prosopographical investigation;
Censorinus, the third-century A.D. grammarian, wrote one of his works, De die natali, 'on birthday' to celebrate the 49th birthday of a rich and high-born Roman knight, Quintus Caerellius. Apart from the reference by Censorinus we have no data about the life of Caerellius who rana course of a career largely typical for an equestrian in the 3rd century. One of the most important features of the age is the political and military break-through of the equestrian order. On the grounds of prosopographical investigations we demonstrate that Caerellius was most likely of African origin.
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Keywords: tale; sources; classicism; threshold; colour; modernism;
Charles Perrault’s “Blue Beard” was classified among initiation tales, in which the door, the key, the threshold symbolize mystery, death danger, as well as the saving of the young wife. Critical interpretations compared Greek and Roman characters: the gods Janus, Saturn and Chronos, who all had keys and cutting objects to split time. There is a possible connection with the Breton legend of Gilles de Rais (XVth century), as well as with the folk motif of the sun which killed dawn and of day which killed night. We intend to emphasize stylistic features and contexts, where the threshold, the door and the key appear from the beginning to the end, in order to show that these are the essential points which assure the progress of narration; we comment upon their linguistic achievement through presentatives, conjunctions and adverbs, which are used to interrupt a state and to mark renewal and the passage to another state. These verbal forms convey surprise, with respect to the marvelous and the unexpected, to those who read or listen to the tale.
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