Book review: Athanassios Raftopoulos (2009). Cognition and Perception. How Do Psychology and Neural Science Inform Philosophy? MA: MIT Press
More...Im Rahmen des gewählten Themas, das die Methode des Dialogs betrifft, wird das Problem aus verschiedenen Perspektiven behandelt, welche sowohl die Struktur der Methode und das Ensemble der Vorsichtsmaßnahmen und Regeln zur Geltung bringen, die für seinen Erfolg eingehaltet werden müssen, als auch die Auswirkungen der durch ihn geleisteten Arbeit, die in der Qualität der dialogischen Praxis reflektiert werden. Die Struktur der Methode und die Zusammenhänge zwischen den konstitutiven Elementen zeigen nicht nur ihre Komplexität an, sondern auch das Erfordernis ihrer Kontextualisierung bzw. Flexibilisierung, abhängig von der Art der Inhalten, die Anwendung finden. Diese Maßnahmen sichern die Funkszionsfähigkeit der Methode nicht nur in erzieherischen, sondern auch in (selbst)bildenden Hinsicht.
More...Keywords: Lingua/ Leonardo projects; online learning; foreign languages; integrated learning
The aim of this article is to provide an overview on how online learning tools can be used in language learning. Shifting the focus from the classroom activity where the teacher is always present to an online learning environment in which the learner is alone most of the time is a great challenge to take for various reasons, especially when it comes to language learning.
More...Keywords: cross-culture management; internationalization; globalization; national cultures; multicultural environment
This article deals with the issue of cross-culture management. This issue can be considered extremely important, especially now, in the current period that is typical for a very quick proceeding process of internationalization and globalization, and thus continuous intensification of connections among members of various national cultures. Attention is focused on conditions of successful international cooperation including ways of bringing near cultures of mutually cooperating companies. Recommended processes for overcoming cultural differences including basic rules and a process of adapting to a different culture are further developed.
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Keywords: arts; teacher; education; reform
The paper locates recent attempts for a possible reform of the pre-service teacher education system in Romania and proposes an analysis of the possible challenges. The argument of the paper is constructed on one proposed plane of reflection: that of the relationship between the theory and practice in the pedagogical thinking of policy makers. The analysis is situated in relation to recently published data on European policies and practices in the field of arts and teacher education.
More...Keywords: corporate culture; firm performance; values; norms; organization; environment
The existing literature on the relationship between culture strength and performance focuses on the consequences of strong cultures for performance levels but has not examined how strong cultures affect performance variability, or the reliability of firm performance. This is surprising, since the arguments relating culture strength to performance draw particular attention to the benefits of having greater internal consistency in goals and behaviors. One should therefore expect strong-culture firms to exhibit less variable performance. This expectation is complicated, however, by the fact that the variability of a firm's performance depends not only on the ability to maintain consistency in internal processes but also on the firm's ability to adapt to environmental change. The relationship between culture strength and performance reliability, therefore, should depend on how strong-culture firms learn from and respond to both their own experiences and changes in their environment.
More...Keywords: Nicolae Manolescu; theory; ideology; modern Romanian novel; ‘Doric’/‘Ionic’/ ‘Corinthian’.
This paper discusses the methodological validity of Nicolae Manolescu’s tripartite manner of classification for the forms of the modern Romanian novel in his study Arca lui Noe (Noah’s Ark), 3 vol. (1980-1983). Our analysis focuses mainly on the construction of the category ‘Corinthian’, since it was the theme of the two most important objections the book met: (1) in the description of the ‘Corinthian’, the author discards the perspective of the homology between the literary forms and the social structures, which he applies consistently in the drawing of the other two categories (the ‘Doric’ and the ‘Ionic’); (2) unlike the other two types, the ‘Corinthian’ is no longer defined from the point of view of the relation between the narrator and the character, but approached from the relation between the author and the fictional reality represented by the novel. Our paper rejects both objections, because: (1) the homology between the literary forms and the social structures is not discarded, but only camouflaged, in the case of the ‘Corinthian’, by a series of subversive hints to the totalitarian nature of the communist regime; (2) the criterion of the relation between the author and the fictional reality represented by the novel does not exclude, but merely governs, in the overall classification by Manolescu, the criterion of the relation between the narrator and the character. The conclusion of our demonstration is that the taxonomy in Arca lui Noe continues to be one of the most powerful tools of analysis of the modern Romanian novel.
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Keywords: Romania; nastase; corruption; Bosnia; Herzegovina; minister; sacked; Russia; Sochi; security; Olympics; Armenia; pension; reform; Kyrgyzstan; mufti; sex; video;
Plus, a mufti in Kyrgyzstan is embroiled in a sex tape scandal and pension changes get Armenians on the streets and into the courts. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Keywords: literature; Romanian postwar experiment; innovation and tradition; inter war Romania; experimentalism
The experiment in literature represents a rupture in continuity, but Romanian postwar experiment is a mixture of innovation and tradition. It is also made of originality and creative borrowings at the same time. Western influence is indisputable, but interwar tradition is also considerable. Poetry seems to be in advance with its technical possibilities, while prose seems to be a result of “acclimatization”. One has to decide between “experimentalism” and “experimental spirit”. Nevertheless, postwar experiment, in Romanian literature, was a necessary rupture inside the ideological embargo.
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Keywords: discovery; development; invention; medicine; science; technique;
This paper aims to present a short history of the evolution in the field of science and technology within the 20th century, the focus being on discoveries and inventions which had a great impact on the next steps in the human development. The first part settled the moment when this field first appeared and analyzed the way in which it evolved in a hypothetical situation. One of the main points of analysis was also the medical field which developed as a result of the evolution of science within the 20th century. The second part presented the successes in the field of technologies which gave the humans a new perspective on the environment. Here we can take into consideration more examples such as: the first landing on moon, the first flight by a machine with an engine and the invention of internet. The last part focused on the process through which science gradually evolved in time.
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Keywords: visual identity; institutional organisation; physical education; stakeholders; needs;
This research has as main purpose to analyse the dependent variable known as institutional visual identity consistency within higher education institutions that have Physical Education and Sports, and Kinetotherapy departments within Romania, with the means of the independent variables known as institutional organisation characteristics (knowledge strategy, methods and support). Given the survey and the hypotheses used are adapted from the academic literature, this research has as purpose to identify the connections between these constructs and the effects the independent variables have on the dependent variables. The research was undergone in seven departments with a physical education and sports and kinetotherapy profile from the following cities: Iasi, Bacau, Suceava, Galati, Craiova, Cluj-Napoca and Oradea. The survey has been applied on full-time professors with at least three years experience within these academic institutions. This study is trying to confirm or infirm the following statement: the positive or negative connection between the institutional organisation characteristics and the consistency of institutional visual identity.
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Keywords: Buyer Personas; Content Analysis; Content Strategy; Marketing Communication; Online Marketing; Personas; Product Development; Social Media; Website Content;
Despite the growing popularity of buyer personas as a tool in marketing content creation, very little empirical research has been conducted in the area. The lack of precise methodology or empirical evidence on effectivity of such a method should raise concerns or at least encourage cautious use. Originally used in software development, the clear analogy has been made for use in marketing without proper critical evaluation. Current lack of research consensus about the use of buyer personas in marketing provide room for careless, abstract and conjectural blogs and “howtos” articles. These could potentially mislead the community of marketers and produce substandard campaign results or even worse false assumptions for product development. The aim of this study is to analyse online information sources for buyer persona in marketing communication context and provide coherent view of eventual limitations of a presented method. Content analysis was used to inspect qualitative and quantitative data from most popular webpages with buyer personas instructions. Results shows ultimate disconnection from the original use in software development, very little methodological guidance and lack of reasoning for the use of this possibly dispensable step in marketing content creation process.
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Keywords: rhythm; intonation; system of tones; rhyme; system of writing;figures of speech;
The present study intoduces a series of characteristics related to Chinese poetry. It shows that, together with rhythmical structure and intonation (which has a crucial role in conveying meaning), an additional, fundamental aspect of Chinese poetry lies in the latent, pictorial effect of the writing. Various genres and forms of Chinese poetry are touched upon, as well as a series of figures of speech, themes (nature, love, sadness, mythology etc.) and symbols (particularly of vegetal and animal origin), which are frequently encountered in the poems.
More...Keywords: fairness; restorative justice; guarantees; compensation for damage; judge delegated to victims; assistance in the recovery of victims of offenses; remedy for damages; offices for victims;
The initiative to set up guarantees for victims of crime to avoid secondary victimization has developed in France through the various manifestations of restorative justice that have put the victim in a central plan. These measures have been implemented through legislative reforms. The French criminal justice system offers a real response to the victims and effective possibilities of asserting their rights. The hereby article aims at the identification of these elements and shows an analysis of these legislative aspects. The author appreciates them as an element of fairness in the French criminal justice with regard to the victims and the penal laws.
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Keywords: medical equipment; life cycle; lifespan; medical equipment management; efficiency;
Medical equipment is the most expensive investment in the healthcare industry that helps ensure the safety, quality and efficiency of the medical care. In the context of the continuous development of technology and the limitation of available resources in the healthcare sector, as well as in order to increase the potential of assets and their technical performance and for optimizing the costs associated with use, advancing robust equipment management is a managerial must for healthcare leaders. This multidisciplinary activity of health technology management is of fundamental importance in the development of the organization and requires an understanding of the life cycle of medical equipment and the associated processes. The current article provides an overview of the stages of equipment life and the interdependent functions of this chain, in order to improve the decision-making process and the rational use of resources.
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Keywords: labor contract; teleworking; home work; economic crisis; alert status; individualized program;
Temporary/restrictive measures highlighted by the legislative context – necessary to prevent and eliminate imminent threats to fundamental rights and freedoms – also target the execution of individual employment contracts; the following categories of employers are covered by the present measures: those in the private system, central and local public authorities and institutions, regardless of the method of financing and subordination, as well as autonomous utilities, national companies, national companies and companies in which the share capital is wholly owned or majority state or an administrative-territorial unit.
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Keywords: Immunodeficiency; febrile neutropenia; myelodysplastic syndrome; Pseudomonas aeruginosa sepsis; hepatic cirrhosis;
Introduction Febrile neutropenia is a clinical emergency that can develop as a result of multiple mechanisms. The evolution of neutropenia is highly dependent on that of the underlying disease, and identification of comorbidities is essential. In cases of Gram-negative bacteremia, the mortality rate can reach 18%. Case report We report the case of a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome and neutropenia among multiple comorbidities, hospitalized for fever, chills and altered clinical state two weeks after having been discharged from the hospital following the resolution of sepsis with P. aeruginosa. The clinical exam revealed active intestinal bleeding and discrete wet rales in the middle one-third of the right pulmonary lung field. An initial diagnosis was neutropenic fever, and empirical intravenous treatment with meropenem, vancomycin and caspofungin was started. A comprehensive laboratory evaluation revealed liver and kidney impairment of recent onset, blood cultures came back positive for P. aeruginosa, and the diagnosis of recurrent sepsis with P. aeruginosa was established. Antimicrobial treatment was de-escalated from meropenem to piperacillin-tazobactam, levofloxacin was added, vancomycin was stopped, and caspofungin was replaced with fluconazole, with favorable evolution, remission of fever within three days, marked reduction of the inflammatory syndrome, and remission of organ impairment. Treatment was continued for 10 days before the patient was discharged with the recommendation to continue prophylaxis with levofloxacin and fluconazole for the duration of severe neutropenia and to return for periodic evaluation in our clinic. Conclusions The recurrent sepsis episodes in this patient reflect primarily the neutropenic status, but comorbidities could also contribute to a certain degree of immunodeficiency. The long-term management of the infectious risk is a complex issue, including antibiotic and antifungal prophylaxis, due to the anticipated persistent neutropenia.
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Keywords: bilingual education; flexibility; content-related objectives; language-related objectives; CLIL; VET;
he phenomenon of globalisation has resulted in an increased cooperation and communication across countries and across cultures. As a result, the competences in foreign languages are considered to be vital to successfully engaging and participating in modern life and society. The field of foreign language education is seen as fundamental in this globalized world and, in this context, the two fold nature of CLIL classrooms, i.e. the merging of a foreign language with content subject matter, seems to provide an ideal environment to encourage the dialogue between countries beyond any limits. Moreover, the CLIL technique is known to strengthen the potential for the fusion of language learning and content acquisition, making the CLIL classroom reach out beyond its traditional scope of content-related objectives and aiming for language-related objectives as well.
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Keywords: heater; Shakespeare; television; Hamlet; monologue;
To be or not to be, the famous monologue that is very present in the actors’ repertoires, has suffered many changes overtime which either gave us extraordinary moments or it was simply transformed into dialogue, it was fragmented, moved into different acts other than where the author put it. All these changes were based on a directorial vision. In the television theater this scene (and even the whole show) has a different impact due to filming, editing and directorial vision. So the same show that has been watched at the theater it can be different on a television theater. In the performance hall we can watch the show as a whole, we have the chance to focus on a specific actor, on a specific image, which is something that we can lose in the television theater. In the filmed show we only see which is on the tiny screen. From this perspective, I’ve watched the famous monologue, To be or not to be, in some shows that are considered landmarks for this text only to watch it afterwards when has been taken over and edited by television.
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