We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
Using a few hints from Lacanian psychoanalysis, the paper attempts to distinguish between two possible attitudes towards repetition in culture. One is the happy recycling of culture propagated by most of postmodernist discourses as the very practice of freedom and whose ultimate incarnation is Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, which is, however, the therapeutic freedom of the possible. The other would be an attempt at cultural repetition in Kierkegaardian sense, that is, changing the coordinates of the possible by means of bringing out the uncanny surplus in the familiar and thus introducing a breach in the discursive space which would make room for the impossible to appear within it, as exemplified by the work of Kafka.
More...
Considering the merits of the flexible exchange rate and its ability to absorb asymmetric macroeconomic shocks, results on the basis of a two-variable SVAR model suggest that this ability was lacking in both Hungary and Romania, as regardless of the data used more than 80% of variability in the nominal (real) exchange rate over a four-quarter horizon can be explained by neutral structural shock. Variability in output is determined mainly by non-neutral (permanent) structural shocks. As for Poland and, to a lesser extent, the Czech Republic, the evidence supporting the stabilising properties are somewhat stronger, with up to 30% to 40% of changes in the nominal (real) exchange rate being explained by the permanent (output) shock. However, the results are sensitive to the data used.
More...
Intra- and interblock analysis has been used in agriculture, biology, medicine, engineering and the physical sciences. In this research I attempt to use block analysis in the filed of economics, to examine the structure of Polish enterprises and the relationships that exist between them. The study was based on such variables as: number of enterprises, persons employed and revenues. Data came from a Central Statistical Office of Poland publication entitled ”Activity of non-financial enterprises in 2010”.
More...
The ongoing dynamic development of civilization has translated into growing demand for energy. The use of traditional energy sources such as coal, oil and natural gas is not only associated with an increase in pollution, but also causes the depletion of natural resources. Renewable sources of energy are an alternative to non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels. The main aim of this article is to assess the changes occurring in the market of renewable energy in the European Union. Based on available data, countries were ordered linearly, according to the share of energy from renewable sources they used to produce electricity. Changes in how energy from renewable sources is obtained are discussed. The countries were classified according to how they obtained energy from renewable sources.
More...
The research of income convergence found remunerative findings in the existing literature and economic practice. The results obtained, however, show comparatively large differentiation. Many authors underline the strong dependence of the results obtained from the time and spatial character of the sample as well as the type of methods applied. Little attentions is placed on the role of non-typical observations (outliers) which can occur as a result of incorrect measurement, random error, non-standard circumstances or intentional impact. The hypothesis verified was that outliers exert an essential influence on estimation results. The main objective of the analyses provided was to determine if the occurrence of such observations significantly changes the quality of the models built and the speed of the process of income convergence.
More...
The paper introduces the methodology of the overlapping generations models with heterogeneous agents and aggregate uncertainty – macroeconomic, stochastic general equilibrium models that account for consumer heterogeneity mainly with respect to age and wealth. Taking as an example my own model, which additionally allows for labour market status and skill heterogeneity, I show how consumer consumption and investment decision rules are derived. I also provide a detailed discussion of the most popular computational algorithms used to deal with those models. The model is then used to examine welfare gains from eliminating business cycle fluctuations on the labour market in Poland for different groups of consumers.
More...
The activity of participants on the housing market is related to the economic situation of the households, which itself is related to the overall business climate. The tendency for activity on the housing market to weaken during economic recession is not the same on different local markets. The aim of the paper is to analyse the intensity of the purchase-sale transactions during different business cycles in the West Pomeranian voivodship. The research includes analysis of the number of transactions in time, split into different business cycles or different seasons. The dependency of the number of purchase-sale transactions on the housing market and economic variables such as household income, sales revenue, retail sales and the unemployment rate is also analysed. The econometric models with lagged variables and time series models with seasonality are also applied. The data concerning transactions come from the real estate price and value registers from the District Governor’s Office, the National Bank of Poland and the Central Statistical Office.
More...
The aim of this article is to present the structured products market in Poland in the context of gains and losses from completed investments in structured products. It shows when an investment in structured products brought investors profits and when losses. In order to do the analysis, the return rate of gross and net annual rate of return over the period 2000–2013 were assigned to structured products. The rate of return on structured products was compared with inflation and the average annual interest rate of deposits for a period of 12 months. The paper offers a detailed description of the best and the worst in terms of the gross rate of return for structured products on the Polish capital market during the years 2000–2013. The analysis looked at 1800 products available during from early 2000 to the end of 2013.
More...
The aim of the paper is to determine whether a standard gravity model of trade can work effectively or if a need exists to supplement it with additional measures of “distance”. The region of the Western Balkans from 1995 to 2012 was studied. The estimation results of the standard model are compared to the results of the model augmented by variables: border effect, war and post-war effects, minorities, difference in development, religious and language distance, FTA and FDI stock. In order to check for robustness of the results, apart from “pooled” type estimation, models with random effects, one-way and two-way fixed effects were estimated. A model with alternative explanatory variables was also considered. The findings show that there are a number of trade determinants specific to this region, which need to be included in the model. The most important are: similarities in language and religious structures, wars and free trade agreements.
More...
Reviews / The Corpus of Wall Paintings from the 18th Century in Bulgaria
More...
In 1846 the Samokov icon painter Dimitur Hristov painted a cycle of seven scenes illustrating the miracles of the Virgin around an image of the Mother of God Axion Estin ("It is truly meet") in the blind dome of the open narthex of the catholicon at Rila Monastery. The scenes are taken from an exception ally popular book Amartolon sotiria, or The Redemption of Sinners, by the Mount Athos monk Agapios Landos. The Slavic translation of the book was well-known at Rila Monastery, as well as in the icon painter’s hometown of Samokov. Episodes were selected that offered a model for monks and worshipers’s behavior, as well as those connected to the famous sanctuary’ Zoodochos Pege (Mother of God the Life-giving Fountain). All the scenes have a logical connection to the wall paintings situated around the blind dome. This is the earliest cycle of its type in Bulgarian art, in which the icon painter illustrates texts that did contain visual models.
More...
In 2005 the Klianti House was included in the international UNESCO project "Restoration of Cultural Monuments in Ancient Plovdiv Re serve", financed by the UNESCO Japan Trust Fund. The project leader on the Bulgarian side is architect Vera Kolarova. In the Ancient Plovdiv Architectural Reserve, the Klianti House is the most interesting in terms of its architecture and decoration. This text presents its decorative trimming in the context of its differences from other remaining Revival Era houses in Plovdiv. In order to clarify its characteristics, ties are sought with monument s from the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century in the territory of the Ottomai1 Empire on the basis of comparative historical and artistic material. The house is unique in its drawn wood ceilings and built-in cupboards, in its engraved images on glass, in its polychromatic and gold-leaf sculptural decoration. It is the only one of its type preserved in Bulgaria and dates from the end of the 1820s and the beginning of the 1830s.
More...
This article examines and systematizes facts from the period when Revival-era artist Nikolay Pavlovich studied at the art academies in Vienna and Munich. To this end, authentic archival materials preserved in the archives of both academies, as well as the artist’s document archive at the National Library in Plovdiv, have been used. Thanks to them, we can clarify the artist’s educational stages, academic subjects and teachers. Against this documented background, the artist’s academic studies are examined in chronological order, as well as similar works by other students that have been preserved in the same collections. The juxtaposed documents and artistic works reveal a discrepancy in terms of educational stages and work completed. It is very clear that in the early stages of his studies, he completed tasks typical for more advanced students. This inconsistency between the facts found in the documents and the academic exercises raises doubts about their authorship. The artist was driven by his desire to keep the majority of his academic studies in order to be able to use them in his future work. A comparison of the documents with the teachers’ names and the students works offered the opportunity to define the types of compositions and exercises that were assigned during the course of study, as well as the works of art copied as part of the educational program. A clearer picture is developed of the studies completed during his Vienna period, with their multifarious styles and differing artistic levels. His Munich period remains more sketchy, when to a certain extent the artist repeated individual elements learned during his academic training, creating studies in oil as well as freehand drawings.
More...
The zograph monk Anthoniy. lovanov was active in the ecclesiastic art, generally on the territory of the Debar-Kićevo Eparchy, around about 1810 to 1841. His earliest preserved signature dates to 1816 in the church of The Presentation of the Holy Virgin in the v. Doino Melnićani near Debar. On the Despotic icon of the patron saint of the church of St. Athanasios in the v. Oktisi near Struga, in the signature from 1817 he informs that he originates from Bitola. On the iconostasis of the church of The Dormition of the Holy Virgin in the v. Sobina in vicinity of Vranje (Serbia) in 1822 he introduces himself as a monk from "the monastery of Kićevo" (The Holy Virgin lmmaculate of Kićevo). However his affiliation with the monastery brotherhood has not been confirmed with other data. In the church of St. Nicholas - Gerakomia in Ohrid his preserved signature dates from 1830. The principal artistic and style features of the works of monk Anthoniy are: composition traced according to graphic prints, delicate drawing, rich and boisterous coloring, and use of Baroque and Rococo motives. In his earlier works the flesh tones are warmer. The forms softer, the colors are translucent d skillfully painted. Later on, dominating features are stiffness, firm and cold modeling which is accentuated by strong shades and gives contrast to the images. Distinct features are the Baroque panels in which the inscriptions are written and the Rococo motives used to delineate the painted portions, which are also used in adorning the thrones and frames. Sometimes the painted icon frame is adorned with a geometric ornament, thus linking Anthoniy’s work even closer to the graphic arts. He elaborately uses gold in the backdrop and the folds of the garments. Very often he paints accentuated clouds against a clear blue setting. The wood-carvings accompanying Anthoniy’s works (Royal Doors, Kemerias, Iconostasis Crosses and Arthophorias) are accomplished with skill and in a deep relief. These works are embellished with plants, birds and imaginary animals. We suppose these were made by the early known Mijak carvers or by Anthoniy himself. It is possible that at first he worked in the workshop of the monastery of St. John the Baptist at Bigor, where we can attribute to him the icons dating from 1810 and 1814. In the west bay of the catholicon of the this monastery, around about 1814 monk Anthoniy painted the fresco-icons of The Holy Virgin with Child and Jesus Christ Archpriest. In the 1820’s he most probably stayed in the Rila monastery, where he painted the Royal Doors of the parekklesion dedicated to St. Symeon and Sabbas of Serbia. The three-decade painting opus of monk Anthoniy shows a relative consistency in sense of style and artistic performance. His work is fully compatible to the artistic and ecclesiastic setting in Macedonia common for the beginning of the l9th century. He is the outcome of the developing process of fusion of Byzantine and West European ideas and forms,...
More...