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Modern societies face serious global environmental problems related to the environmental impact arising from the processes of production and consumption of goods and services. Economic growth as a factor necessitates the development of strategies for managing processes related to the prevention and protection of the environment from harmful influences, on the one hand, and efficient use of natural resources, on the other.Object of the present report research is the sludge from the wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), as the elaboration affects aspects of their management and the possibilities for their subsequent utilization in the agriculture.The purpose of this report is, based on an analysis of the current situation in the management of sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), on one side, and based on modern practices of their utilization, on the other, to identify the possibilities for their subsequent application in Bulgarian agriculture.In accordance with the purpose that is set, a descriptive-analytical method will be used for the report elaboration, through which an overview of the sector will be made, as well as the current practices for the utilization of WWTP sludge in agriculture in the countries of the European Union. The analysis can support stakeholders in developing sustainable strategies applicable to the conditions for both sectors development, in the context of the circular economy principle.
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The report investigates the effect and health aspects of addition of an industrial waste from tomato processing on the sensory characteristics and some chemical properties of innovative crackers. It was established that the products with the addition of 5% industrial waste from tomato processing have the best quality characteristics, pleasant and specific and well accepted by consumers. The products are a good source of dietary fiber and proteins, making them suitable for the wellness lifestyle of the modern generation.
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Integrating quality management in secondary education with simulation games is an approach that aims to provide learners with opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge and develop skills needed for successful quality management in a business environment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the application of an approach to integrate quality management into the secondary education curriculum through the use of simulation games. By combining practical examples and theoretical knowledge, students have the opportunity to develop not only their theoretical knowledge of quality management, but also important skills such as teamwork, analytical thinking and decision-making approaches. The study analyses the benefits of using simulation games in the learning environment, highlighting the positive effects on students’ learning and skills development. The study also provides a scientific overview of the approach and emphasise the importance of integrating quality management in secondary education through simulation games to achieve more effective learning and prepare students for the challenges of the business environment.
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The present study aims to reveal some aspects of unfair commercial practices: essence; categories; the main counteracting tools. Some definitions are discussed, connected with unfair commercial practices. The two categories of unfair commercial practices are examined – misleading and aggressive. The main consumer protection tools in this problem field are reviewed. Special attention is given to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.
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In recent years, not only in the world, but also in Bulgaria, the so-called molecular gastronomy has entered and established itself as a consumer demand. The scientific discipline—which was introduced under the name molecular and physical gastronomy and later shortened to molecular gastronomy—was established in 1988 by Hervé This, a physical chemist, and Nicholas Kurti, a former professor of physics at the University of Oxford, who were interested in the science behind the phenomena that occur during culinary processes. Although nutritional science has been around for centuries, it focuses on the chemical composition and nutritional value of ingredients, while molecular gastronomy focuses on the mechanisms of transformation that occur during the culinary processes of restaurant classical cooking. This is the point at which the physical and chemical processes of food production combine with the artistic and aesthetic skills of the culinarians. Meals prepared in this way feed not only the body, but also the eyes, causing the consumer's senses to activate to distinguish visual perceptions from what the taste buds sense. Molecular culinary studies the physical aspects of food-liquid interactions, flavor stability, heat conduction, convection and transfer, solubility issues, dispersion and the relationship between texture and flavor, etc. This science seeks to generate new knowledge based on the chemistry and physics behind culinary processes - for example, why mayonnaise thickens or why bread rises. To achieve the impressive results, molecular cuisine incorporates a variety of food additives approved for use in culinary products, such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, stabilizers, non-stick agents, enzymes, gases, etc. This raises the question of how well the quality of ready-to-eat food is maintained in terms of vitamin content and nutritional properties, whether it supplies the elements necessary for the healthy development of the human body or whether the technological process of processing and the addition of additives compromise molecular gastronomy. As a result of various techniques such as emulsification, spherification, solidification, gelation, modern culinarians change the physical properties of products and thus obtain radically different dishes, with a different shape and consistency from their usual, but preserving and enriching their taste qualities. Research by a number of scientists has shown that some important elements are preserved and some are damaged, affecting the quality of the food when food additives such as liquid nitrogen, xanthan gum, calcium salts are added for the purpose of molecular cuisine. Many of the emulsifiers and hydrocolloids used are of natural origin, ensuring the safety of consumers. Whatever the origin of the ingredients, the most important thing remains the dose involved, and given that food prepared in this way is not consumed on a daily basis, molecular gastronomy can be considered safe and qialitive.
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The standardization of sustainable management systems, processes and products can support and strengthen their transformational potential for implementing sustainable development goals. However, scientific research in this area is quite limited. Therefore, our study aims to identify the key sustainable management systems standards (SMSS) and to reveal the leading ISO standards in support of their better development in bulgarian context. The results of SMSS mapping prove their role as a widely used tool for assessing and improving sustainability practices, in the context of organizational management.
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The healthy behavior pattern of modern man undoubtedly includes increased interest, demand and consumption of organic food. Personal and family health are among the main determinants of consumer choice of organic food, as cited in many scientific studies. The aim is to study the factors influencing consumer trust in purchasing organic food. In Bulgaria, Dobrich District from November 2020 until April 2021 an anonymous survey was conducted among 150 consumers about their attitude towards buying organic food. The results were processed using Jamovi, version 2.2.5. The conclusions were established at confidence level α= 0.05. Consumers' knowledge of organic food labeling is associated with their choice based on the special labeling logo (p< 0.001). There is a statistically significant difference between men and women in the recognition of organic food through information on the packaging that the food is certified as organic (p=0.042) and when indicating the label ‘European leaf’ for the designation of organic food produced in the EU (p=0.040). The belief that organic food is of high quality and healthy is positively related to consumers' awareness of the logo they use in the European Union (p=0.047). Organic food consumers are informed and educated, looking for guarantees of origin. Researches supported by data indicating higher trust in organic food can be used to develop governments policies to promote them and increase consumer attitudes towards it.
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In this report, a comparison is made between the classical paradigm of welfare economics and its application in the European Union, based on the understanding of the Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences – Sir Angus Deaton. The report discusses the challenges facing the institutional establishment of the EU, positioned on the principles of federalism without the EU being a federal state. In practice, the „fiscal federalism” for building the US welfare economy is currently not possible to be implemented by and through the institutions of EU without changing the two main treaties – the Treaty on EU /TEU/ and the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU /TFEU/.
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The development of a country (economic and social) is one of the key issues in modern society. For this reason, it is an object of increased research interest - with different research goals and objectives, as well as with a different methodology used for this research. One of the categories often used in modern economic life is competitiveness. It is the focus of the present study, which has as its main objective the analysis, assessment and comparison of the competitiveness with which the Bulgarian economy functions in the context of its membership in the European Union.
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The report analyzes the structure and convergent processes of employment in the Bulgarian and Romanian economies for the period 2000-2020, and examines the dynamics of relative shares and rates of change for the respective period. In order to quantitatively measure the degree of convergence/divergence, a divergence index and a difference index were calculated, comparisons with other EU countries with similar characteristics were used, and some possible explanations and consequences of the structural changes that took place were also derived. Overall, the results show a slow process of convergence of the sectoral structure of employment of the Bulgarian and Romanian economies with that of the Eurozone, which continues throughout the period, regardless of some specifics before and after the global recession.
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International markets offer different possibilities to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as require careful preparation. This paper strives to bridge theory and practice when it comes to informed decision-making for export. The focus is on important obligations and opportunities that the management should be aware of as they adjust their strategies and approaches for the diverse conditions across national borders. Emphasis is placed on the importance of gaining better understating of three concepts that have high practical value, while targeting foreign markets. This contribution can be thought provoking in the context of the research of SMEs as well as of export.
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In the last few decades, the world industry has witnessed a turbulent development due to new technologies, leading even to the creation of new types of entrepreneurship. The purpose of this report is to discover the importance of innovative activities as an element of the organization’s marketing strategy for successful and sustainable development. The report provides a brief literature review of the main concepts applied in practice in the organization: innovation, product innovation and process innovation. In addition to clarifying the meaning of these concepts, the author also aims to highlight the effect of adding value to already existing products or services in order to improve company productivity and competitiveness. Based on a survey conducted on 150 enterprises in South-Eastern Bulgaria, the research seeks to shed light on what is the attitude of management towards the process and product innovation base and the degree of their positive impact on the strategic company on the innovation focus process.
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Artificial Intelligence occupies the minds of scholars, researchers and curios people. In the economic context, there are numerous topics concerning Artificial Intelligence to think about. Implementation of such disruptive technology will presumably increase economic growth as a whole. Looking at the details, we cannot conclude unambiguously that this will happen in a proper manner. This article will try to look beyond the current development of artificial intelligence applications. These days, we use more and more of them. There are numerous fields of applications of Artificial Intelligence such as natural language processing, machine learning, problem-solving, uncertain knowledge, robotics, etc. Meanwhile, our world still does not have the full-fledged Artificial Intelligence, one who can substitute man. When this happens, there will be a completely different society with new economic and social policies. This study attempts to figure out what could be the probable outcomes of Artificial Intelligence on economic theory and practice. In order to achieve this, content analysis, induction, and deduction have been applied.
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The global climatic changes and the reindustrialization of the European economy in the technological XXI century construct a cause-effect chain which starts and ends with education and science: digitalization and robotization – structural economic reforms -imbalance in the labour market – professional qualification and competence – transfer of science and innovations in the applied economy – lifelong learning. The ambitious aim of the ecologically-oriented European Union is to achieve a carbonneutral economy by the year 2050. In the process of Green and Digital Transformation innovative industrial productions will be opened with the integration of digital and ecological technologies. The segments of the labour market change. The professional realization in the education, science and information and communication technologies increases, and the one in the industrial and agricultural decreases. The deficit of engineering human capital (educated and competent workforce) reaches record levels on the labour market. The focus of the study is on the education and science in the context of the Green and Digital Transformation of the European Economy. The long term aim of the research is the sustainable professional balance on the labour market. The topic concerning the European labour market is developed on the base of the modern multidisciplinary method of scientific research. The educational policies in the Victorian industrialization of the economy and the analogous present day reindustrialization are compared in the analysis and interpretation of the results of the study.
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The report "The role of the European Union as a factor in the security, stability and prosperity of the Balkan countries" presents an in-depth analysis of how the foreign policy priorities and the domestic political situation in the countries of the Western Balkans are changing through the harmonization of local legislation and policies with the aim of rapprochement and achieving of full membership in the European Union. After years of war caused by ethnic conflicts in the 1990s in Yugoslavia, to date the countries of the region have focused on covering pan-European norms and values, namely political stability, civil security and economic growth, so that one day to be able to join the big European family and take advantage of all the advantages that membership in the European Union would provide them - more security, more financial resources, more opportunities for development, etc.
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The past three years proved to be an exceptional challenge for the development of tourism in Bulgaria. The years-long problems in the sector combined with the new global situation forced all countries involved in this economic field to realize the need to take active measures to reposition Bulgaria’s tourism product. One of the possibilities for differentiating the portfolio of tourist destination Bulgaria is through the development and promotion of local destinations for wine tourism. The present study aims to characterize the possibilities for wine tourism destinations’ development in support of the repositioning of Bulgaria’s tourism product. The research object is the local wine destinations, and the subject – their importance in the repositioning of the national tourism product.
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