Transitions Online_Around the Bloc-Central Asia Braces for Climate Change Shocks
Farmers in the teeming Ferghana Valley are highly vulnerable to the effects of rising temperatures.
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Farmers in the teeming Ferghana Valley are highly vulnerable to the effects of rising temperatures.
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While referring to the accomplishments of Fabrizio Gatti, the Italian assumed identity journalist, the author of this article draws attention to dependence between the act of making a statement, courage and communality. It is justified to declare that often “one finds it impossible to say something” because one does not take a risk and, more, at all cost tries to say “that” by oneself? The far from perfect courage of dialogicality, to which Gatti resorts, produces reportages in which the Other, instead of being a prototype example of dissimilarity, is our neighbour. By means of the corporeality of his activity the reporter delineates the boundaries of the community and invites to verify our cultural base.
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The leitmotif of this analysis of Amereida, a phenomenon recognised to be one of the most interesting in contemporary Latin American culture and identified predominantly with the avant-garde architecture of the “Valparaiso School” and the Open City, created in 1971, in which the foundation of multicultural objects is composed of poetic acts (phalànes), is a question about the part played in their emergence by a literary journey, the so-called Travesía. This journey conducted in 1965 by a group composed of ten persons was described as ”mythical”, “foundation-like” and “a new act of founding America”. The author enquires about the effectiveness of literary journeys within the domain of culture, the dependence of decolonisation upon the European heritage, and the ambivalence of utopian undertakings in the Open City at the time of the Pinochet dictatorship, as well as the limitation of media mediating in the journey (poem, diary, photograph). The framework of the reflections is composed of deliberations concerning a new deciphering of the poetics of Mallarmé, in which the restricted impact of language – comprehended as L’action restreinte – does not exclude the political qualities of poetry. Despite such an interpretation and the fact that for Amereida the oeuvre of the French poet comprised a source of essential inspiration, a juxtaposition of both utopias makes it possible to extract the principal difference in the limitations of poetic activity.
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Working capital can be considered as source of existence for a financial body and management of working capital is regarded as one of the most essential part of business management. This study aims to find out the impact of working capital policies on profitability. Return on assets is used as a measure of profitability. Current assets to total assets ratio is used to compute the investment policy of working capital management and to determine financing policy of working capital management current liabilities to total assets ratio is used. Other variables that are used in this study are quick ratio, debt to equity ratio and size of the firms. Secondary data of 117 textile firms listed on Karachi stock exchange is taken for a period of six years i.e. 2005-2010 to calculate all these variables. Results of the regression analysis show that aggressiveness of working capital management policies is negatively associated with profitability. Moreover liquidity and size of the firm have positive relation profitability whereas debt to equity ratio is negatively correlated with profitability. Textile sector is one of the majors sectors of Pakistan. It needs due consideration regarding the management of assets and liabilities. So, the aim of this study is to provide some useful recommendations for the people responsible for the management of this sector. This study also establishes the basis for future research in this area of business.
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The region called Istanbul West Atasehir neighbourhood is planned to be the area where Istanbul Finance Center Project is settled. It is expected that the underlying project will strongly affect the real estate prices in the neigbouring areas. Therefore, it would be a valuable information for investors who are planning to invest in real estates relating to the Istanbul Finance Center Project. By the theory of Huff’s the attractiveness of a location is strongly related to the distance. In order to determine the expected future increases in real estate prices for the neighbouring locations, a number of regional experienced real estate agents was inteviewed. Moreover, the factors that are expected to influence the real estate prices are identified and ranked by their significancy levels.
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The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of promotion activities on destination selection and to determine the level of the impact of promotion activities on Japanese tourists visiting Cappadocia region. The target population of the study is all Japanese tourists visiting Nevsehir province of Turkey. The sample of the study is composed of tourists visiting the city center and some districts of Nevsehir. After getting the required permissions, the questionnaires were distributed to Japanese tourists while they were staying at the hotels in Cappadocia. The software SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) was used to analyze the data. The findings of the study indicate that the Japanese tourists visiting Cappadocia were influenced at a certain level from the promotion activities. As a result, it was determined that the promotion activities have a significant impact on destinations. It was also determined that as the importance given to the promotion activities increase, both the familiarity of the destinations and the tourist arrivals could increase.
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Individual learning is the process that pupils use their own activities (intellectual and practical). The school primarily has to develop pupils’ skills and habits for individual learning, i.e. to enable them for active learning using their own capacities. This program has to be applied in the earlier stages to produce growth of children's autonomy and independence in coming stages. Individual learning, above all, demands flexibility of thoughts, critic opinion, individual work and intellectual independence, creativity, motivation and interest and pupils’ participation during the tuition.
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This paper aims to bring together gender as a variable and Discourse Analysis as a method in analyzing Fashion magazines in Albania and seeing the ways they portray women image and femininity in their pages. Critical studies on media have always said that gender is an important research angle and for Janice Radway “the analysis of texts shows aspects that confirm patriarchy… and that affirm women inferiority in the society (Maigret 2010: pp. 176). Judith Butler, influenced by the concepts of Michel Foucault, reveals a more radical approach on identity saying that “ saying is doing”, the social reality is primary a game of labeling and that gender is performative in the sense that individuals are what they do, not what they are” (Butler 1990: pp. 18). Said this, this paper aims to understand how is gender created in these pages, in terms of what is said is done or has to be done by women.
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Interview with Florian Beiber, by Klejd Këlliçi.
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As one of the founders and most prominent representatives of classical sociological thought, Max Weber has been and continuous to be extraordinarily influential in contemporary social thought. This article elaborates on Weber’s influence on the development of American sociology and― vice versa―America’s impact in shaping Weberian sociological thought. Since Weber has always been a polarizing figure in academic debate, both the content of his thought and his influence are examined here in three main periods: (1) the period after his work was introduced to the American public in the 1930s, (2) the post World War Two period, and (3) the one starting with the second half of the 1960s, which may be considered as the period when Weber was “deamericanized” and “returned” to Germany. Both content and influence of his though are considered within historical and political contexts.
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Besides rapid technology advancement, local and global communications are taking even greater dimensions. The ideas conveyed by current media and intensive exchange of experiences are conceived by communication specialists as the most efficient way to outline attitudes and consequently, to provide models for solutions to challenges of actuality. This dimension will be analyzed in the form of an analysis within the Albanian speaking area. As we already know, some powerful media company, based in Tirana, “are ruling” Albanian speaking market, developing a business with a clear geocultural and geolinguistic orientation. Precisely, these cultural products with national connotations fabricated by the “center” are stimulating homogenizing tendencies of thought to the “peripheral” areas, threatening the cultural connotations of diversified social groups involved in the communication process.
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Ky artikull analizon ligjërimin politik të së djathtës së re Europiane. E djathta e re Europiane dëshmon se me anëtëidesë së Europës mund të artikulohen qëndrime dhe projekte politike që kundërshtojnë ecurinë e deritanishme të projektit të BE. Europianizmi i së djathtës së re është në fakt një doktrinë ekskluzive që kërkon, në emër të fitimit tësovranitetit përEuropën dhe popujt esaj, përjashtimin e imigrantëve apo veçimin e tyre nga pjesa tjetër e popullsisë me rrënjë indo-Europiane. Në emër të demokracisë së drejtpërdrejtë dhe duke shfrytëzuar deficitin demokratik të BE e djathta e re vë në dyshim funksionimin e demokracisëliberale në kushtete rritjes së heterogjenitetit kulturor të vendeve Europiane. Ajo kërkon një rrënjësim të demokracisë te bashkësitë kulturore dhe etnike dhe jo te koncepti abstrakt i qytetarit. Globalizimit kapitalist dhe hegjemonisë politike e kulturore amerikane në botë, ajoi përgjigjet me anëtë një rajonalizimi autarkik Europian, sipas idesë së “Perandorisë Europiane”. Mbi të gjitha, me shterimin e alternativave ndaj neo-liberalizmit dhe në kushtet e krizës financiare globale, e djathta e re pretendon të ofrojë një rrugë gjithëpërfshirëse të shpëtimit të Europës. Vizioni i saj është i ngulitur në mjediset konservatore-revolucionare dhe fashiste Europiane të viteve 1920-1940, edhe pse artikulimi i përfaqësuesve të saj është i përditësuar me terminologjinë bashkëkohore.
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This essay explores the need for a new strategy through which the European Union should approach its process of expansion, especially after the French and Dutch referenda. This is an important moment that directly affects the membership efforts of the countries in the Western Balkans. The main argument that this article puts forth is that the EU needs a new expansion strategy, more in tune with the new internal and external realities that it faces. To this end a number of creative reforms should be undertaken so as to rekindle the enthusiasm with regard to the European project. This is a major challenge especially today when the agreement for a new European Constitution has failed.
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Ky artikull përqendrohet në dy kontekste të caktuara ku spikat diskutimi mbi korrupsionin në Shqipëri. Së pari, diskutohet tendenca mbizotëruese në fushatën anti-korrupsion që konsideron zhdukjen e informalitetit si ilaç kundër i korrupsionit. Së dyti, shqyrtohen gjykimet e etikës së shkëmbimit të parasë apo dhuratave si "të korruptuara," "të korruptuara apo të justifikuara" apo si "të ndershme". Ky artikull ngre disa pikëpyetje antropologjike mbi parametrat e matjes dhe të luftës kundër korrupsionit nëpërmjet perceptimeve lokale të këtyre fenomeneve. Formulave zyrtare mbi strategjitë për të zhdukur korrupsionin si dhe mbi indeksimin e vlerësimeve të transaksioneve, që fushata ndërkombëtare konsideron si të korruptuara, i kundërvihen gjykime më të mjegullta dhe të shumëllojshme nga jeta e përditshme e njerëzve që përfshihen në këto shkëmbime. Ky ballafaqim synon të shtjellojë perceptimet më komplekse lokale mbi aktivitetet ekonomike dhe gjykimet e legjitimitetit të tyre në kontekstin e tranformimeve sociale të tranzicionit. Në rradhë të parë, sugjerohet se raporti midis korrupsionit dhe informalitetit nuk duhet trajtuar si një ekuivalencë, por si një tension midis dy konceptesb. shumë të ndryshme — korrupsioni si një vlerësim moral dhe informaliteti si një matës i përfshirjes së shtetit në ekonomi. Në vijim, sugjerohet që konkretisht informaliteti nuk është domosdoshmërisht e kundërta e shtetit, por që shpesh njëra mundëson apo edhe mishëron tjetrën. Si rrjedhim, kufiri formal/informal jo gjithmonë përputhet me atë të korruptuar/ pakorruptuar.
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The main objective of this article is to determine the effectiveness of enterprises providing municipal services and a model approach for processes related to the provision of local public transport services in Poland. In particular, the identification included methods of organisation and implementation of public utility tasks as well as organisational and legal forms and forms of ownership in the case of local collective transport. An attempt has been made to determine the effectiveness of enterprises providing urban transport services in cities in Poland, assessing their operational, financial, technical and social effectiveness. The research design and methods used in this article are based on the assessment of the effectiveness of enterprises using taxonomic methods of grouping e ntities according to selected characteristics and efficiency measures. The use of the k-means method with the number of clusters determined on the basis of the hierarchical Ward method, in which the contribution of variables to the differentiation of clusters was determined on the basis of a one-way analysis of ANOVA variance, to obtain groups of companies with similar efficiency indicators. The findings, based on the conducted research, present the relationship between the economic efficiency of public transport companies and their organisational and legal form as well as the type of ownership. Recommendations from empirical studies indicate that public enterprises operating in the field of municipal services provide public utility services with a higher level of economic efficiency than other distinctive groups of carriers. The added value is that the research methods presented in this work can be successfully applied to other sectors of the economy and other countries in order to verify the effectiveness of individual organizational, legal and ownership forms of enterprises.JEL classification: L300
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Review of: Ylljet Aliçka “Një Rrëfenjë Me Ndërkombëtarë”; by: Alba Cela
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Handicrafts are an important part of Turkish culture. Carpets and kilims have spread to the world in Turkish handicrafts for centuries. Denizli and Konya are important weaving centers in Anatolia. Nowadays, weaving has decreased in both cities.A similar pattern will be mentioned in the article Denizli Çal and Konya Ladik.
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Mount Ağrı is located nears the ıntersection of Turkey, Iran, Nakhichevan and Ermenian State Borders with a height of 5137 meters and strategic location for centuries has attracted many peoples’s attention. Mount Ararat, well-known by its western nations and legendary in its name, is believed to be home to the ark of Noah, and according to the holy books it is said to be a sacred feature with the belief that Adam and Eve's "Irem Vases" bears. The potential diversity of tourism is another important attraction of this mountain. Ağrı Mountain is a very suitable place for those who are engaged in mountaineering sports. It is also a place where nature sports, winter tourism, mountain walks, mountain biking, paragliding, flora and fauna observation can be done. For this purpose, Ağrı Mountain is important in order to determine the metaphor perceptions of the Igdir people living on the edge of Mount Ararat. Because the form of the questionnaire was distributed to the local people. Indigenous people were asked to express their thoughts in only one sentence. The research was carried out in a case study design and the obtained data were tried to be analyzed in accordance with the content analysis. In the study, 165 people were interviewed and 58 different repeated findings were reached. Among the findings obtained, 76% of the local people have reached the conclusion that Ağrı Mountain has an important tourism potential.
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The paper examines the subjective well-being of individuals with migrant-family background and individuals with no migrant-family background. The subjective well-being of the former group is on average lowerthan thelatter group. Blinder-Oaxaca decompositionfinds that thegap in their subjective well-being is not explainedby differences in socioeconomic profile and socialcontext.Rather thegap ismainly due tothe unexplained componentof theanalysis, which the paperinterpretsintwoways.First,theunexplainedcomponentrepresentsthelatent social biases against individualswithmigrant heritage.Second,the unexplained component also represents the overall effect ofpersonality, attitude, and migrant culture on the subjective well-being of individuals with migrant heritage
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This case study examines and illustrates within country regional cultural differences and cross border cultural similarities across four western European countries. Drawing on the data from the World Values Survey (WVS), we refer to the Schwartz Cultural Values Inventory in the survey. The demographic variables of age, gender, education level, marital status and income vary across the regions and hence, have significant effects on the cultural value dimensions across regions. The findings help a better understanding of the homogeneity and heterogeneity of regions withinand across countries. Both researchers and managers will have to justify their sampling methods and generalisations more carefully when drawing conclusions for a whole country. This case study underlines the limited knowledge about regional within country cultural differences, while also illustrating the simplification of treating each country as culturally homogeneous. Cross-country business strategies connecting transnational regional markets based on cultural value characteristics need to take these similarities and differences into account when designating business plans.
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