Around the Bloc: Buckwheat Panic Grips Russia, Czech Leader Urges ‘Finlandization’ of Ukraine
Plus, 'Western values' blamed for infertility in Kazakhstan, and a Russian journalist fights deportation from Poland.
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Plus, 'Western values' blamed for infertility in Kazakhstan, and a Russian journalist fights deportation from Poland.
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Plus, Yerevan and Baku trade more barbs over helicopter shootdown and Uzbekistan lays claim to a sliver of Afghan territory.
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Plus, EU’s Albania justice mission faces corruption probe, and Orban tacks back toward Europe.
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This methodological and concept paper reviews the role and complexity of the recently emerged yet already well-established value-based cognitive model – Means-end Chain (MEC). The paper compares the most commonly used approaches to MEC. It examines the compatibility of available models with the theory behind MEC, reveal the conceptual gaps and outlines opportunities for future research. Leading papers, books and publications on MEC address either technical aspects of the theory or the interaction of MEC and values. The present paper paves the way for understanding the MEC from a novel, motivational perspective by integrating micro- and macro-levels into the theory. The theoretical framework is based on a critical view of the scientific literature and includes the identification of methodologies focusing on laddering techniques, statistical methods and programmes to plot Hierarchical Value Maps. Particular attention is paid to extended MEC models intersecting with value instruments (RVS, LOV), lifestyle approaches (AIOs, RISC, CCA, FRL, etc.), dual process models (the Elaboration Likelihood Model and the Heuristic-systematic Model) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. These are used to outline the prospects prevailing in modern marketing and consumer research. The results of the investigation point to opportunities for enlarging the latitude of MEC by integrating micro and macro elements to enhance the model with symbolism, dynamics and multi-dimensionality.
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The paper aims to determine the trajectories of the development of small towns in terms of the urban resilience concept in a demographic dimension. It makes it possible to answer the question of how towns adapt to contemporary socio-economic processes. The subject of the research is a set of small towns in Wielkopolskie Voivodship. The period of the study involves the years 2003–2016 which enables us to grasp the changeability of development conditions related to transformation, globalization, and integration processes as well as the economic crisis. The research is conducted with the use of indexes of change dynamics with a fixed basis. Analysis provides for a diversified size structure of small towns, their location and administrative functions performed. In 2003–2016 the trajectories of the resilience of Wielkopolskie small towns were diversified. The basic criterion influencing their course is the size structure of a given center and its location, whereas administrative functions are of minor significance. The smallest towns (of a mixed type — i.e., roller-coster with elements of avant-garde type) seem the most resistant to external disturbances, have a higher degree of resilience and thus adapt better to contemporary socio-economic changes in the demographic dimension. An important external disturbance which clearly modifies the values of the selected indexes of resilience and vulnerability dynamics as well as the course of the trajectories of the development of towns with a diversified size structure was an economic crisis strengthened by globalization and integration processes.
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The objective of this study was to achieve a multidimensional description of the consumption of EU funds by small towns in Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodship, and to identify the role of this source of funding in the development policy of these localities. The aim was pursued based on secondary data originating from the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Office and from the database of the Ministry of Investment and Economic Development (the EU Grants Map), as well as primary data collected during a survey study conducted among representatives of small towns and urban-rural municipalities which contain a small town in their limits (in total 38 units). The percentage of returned and correctly completed questionnaires was 44,74%. The empirical material gathered during the study proves that the budgets of municipalities in Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodship in 2006–2016 received PLN 3 244,24 million in the form of grants from the EU and other foreign support programmes, and the share of this sum absorbed by small towns and urban-rural municipalities was 25,91% (PLN 840,44 million), most of which was allocated to urban-rural municipalities (86,61%). Results of the U Mann-Whitney test showed that the distribution of the funds acquired by small towns and urban-rural municipalities with small towns in their limits, calculated per capita, in Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodship differed significantly from the sums of money invested by other administrative units of this type in Poland. The research also indicates that the EU funds played an important role in the development policy of small towns, and an opportunity to apply for EU grants had a strong influence on their investment plans.
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The identification of socio-economic determinants of the development of small urban centers functioning in the conditions of transformation and metropolization of space constitutes a significant research problem in the area of urban geography. In this study, the problem is discussed in the context of East Germany. The aim of the article is to characterize the most important contemporary determinants and factors influencing the development of small cities in the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. This characterization is based on analyses involving over 100 cities and refers to the spatial and population development of individual urban centers in the years 1990–2015. The research also used statistical material and spatial data sets published by official German national and regional institutions. In the course of the analyses, it was established that the conditions determining the development of small urban communes within the research area are very complex. This results from the overlapping of transformation determinants and factors universal for the whole area and the determinants resulting from the metropolization processes, whose nature and impact diversify in space.
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Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodship is one of the poorest EU regions. The region is internally diverse at the sub-regional level. The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of cohesion policy in the sub-regions (NUTS 3 ) of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodship: Ełcki, Elbląski, and Olsztyński. The basis of assessment that was adopted was the change of position relative to all EU-sub-regions. Changes of economy structure are studied using the changes of the shares of sectors — NACE Rev. 2 in creating the Gross Value Added. The source of data is Eurostat. The results are ambiguous. Although some indicators (employment and GDP per capita) have improved, sigma convergence does not occur and the positions of those sub-regions do not show any significant changes, only Olsztyński sub-region noted small improvement in the ranking. Very small progress in the ranking means that the pace of catching up is too slow. Despite this, effects of membership in the European Union for employment and growth is positively assessed.
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In the subject literature, the terms “illegal migration” and “illegal migrant” encompass many categories of processes, people, and phenomena that have little to do with migration as a movement of people in space. This includes, most prominently, unauthorized employment and unauthorized residence in the receiving country. Both of these circumstances may be related to prior illegal migration, but do not necessarily have to be. The physical process of migration may have taken place entirely in accordance with the law. This is the starting point for the reconsideration of the standard migration terminology, as proposed in this paper. As three basic dimensions of illegality associated to date with migration analysis may focus on one person in as many as eight different combinations, this would require us to describe a single person using three different terms, which would quickly turn out to be inefficient. For practical reasons, the most convenient term is illegal migrant. Given its vague nature, however, the paper proposes to supplement this using the classification presented in the Migration Legality Cube encompassing eight types, depending on which group of migrants is in focus. This will make it easier for analysts and laymen alike to find their way in the ocean of uncertainty in which current debates on migration drift — and often founder.
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The objective of the study is the investigation of the dependency between the asymmetry of economic development of cross-border regions in the European Union and the perception of near-border location as an “opportunity” or “obstacle.” For this purpose, an index of relative asymmetry of economic development was developed (DI) based on the GDP per capita in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS). The variability in the scope of perception of cross-border location as an “opportunity” or “obstacle” by the population of near-border areas was determined based on results of the Flash Eurobarometer 422. The basic statistical method applied in the study was the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The obtained results provide a basis to state that the level of disproportions in the economic development of near-border regions (asymmetry of economic development) is linked to the perception of near-border location.
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Changes in the functions of Polish borders at the turn of the 20th and 21st century resulted in a reorientation of transport connections with countries of the former Soviet Union. One of the consequences of the phenomenon are considerable transformations in the scope of degree of use of rail transport in cross-border passenger traffic. The objective of the article is the dynamic assessment of the importance of railways in passenger traffic between Poland and Ukraine in the years 1990–2016 (including limited data for 2018), with consideration of the infrastructural and organizational factors. The analyses employed data on traffic of persons and vehicles on railway and road border crossings. They provided the basis for the determination of changes in the position of rail towards other modes of cross-border transport. The second source is Network Train Timetable (in Polish: Sieciowy Rozkład Jazdy Pociągów), used for the preparation of maps of connections functioning in selected time intervals. The analyzed period was characterized by a continuous decrease in the importance of rail in bilateral passenger traffic. It proved completely inflexible towards systemic and geopolitical transformations and intermodal competition of bus transport, and from 2013 also air transport. The spatial layout of rail connections suggested initial de-concentration involving several border crossings, and then concentration on two main lines. The vast general increase in traffic that occurred in recent years in the Ukrainian direction constitutes a chance for increasing the role of rail transport in a situation of overload of road border crossings.
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The paper presents an attempt of determination of changes in the level of socio-economic development of communes in the Lubelskie Voivodship. The variability of socio-economic development for 2005 and 2015 was determined based on the measure of development proposed by Hellwig. The research covered 193 communes, including 166 rural communes and 27 urban-rural communes. The source material was data for the local level (i.e., communes) obtained from the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Office. The research showed that the Lubelskie Voivodship is characterized by relatively high internal socio-economic variability. High level of development was usually obtained for urban-rural communes and communes neighboring on urban communes. The lowest level was determined for communes characterized by peripheral location. The large majority of communes represented a moderate level of socio-economic development. An increase in the general level of socio-economic development was observed in 2015 in comparison to 2005 in the majority of communes of the Lubelskie Voivodship.
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Rural settlements, as a basic element of space, are dynamic structures subject to changes due to various factors determining the conditions of their development and functional transformations. Certain directions of changes occurring in rural areas are characteristic of each historical period. They are particularly evident in demographic and socio-cultural processes, in rural economies, and living conditions of residents. This article analyses population changes in rural areas of the Lubelskie Voivodship in the years 1950–2011. Strong polarization of settlements was observed. Considering the current trends, the author constructed two forecasts (short- and long-term) of transformations in the structure of rural settlements.
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The article presents an attempt to determine the economic specialization of cities of the Lubelskie Voivodship. High level market specialization can result from the dominant function of a city related to the socio-economic activities of the citizenship. The study employs Florence’s location quotient, also known as the local specialization index. The analysis was carried out on the basis of Statistics Poland data. The main source of information was the REGON register database (National Official Register of National Economy Entities). The survey proved that the vast majority of cities located in the Lubelskie Voivodship have been characterized by a relatively low level of local specialization. This may indicate that the economic structure of the survey units is quite diverse. In the case of smaller centers, lack of the dominant function can result from a problem with proper identification factors constituting the economic base of a given city, and therefore suggest small chances for development.
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The purpose of the article is the estimation of the level of development of Polish-Ukrainian transborder regions, provision of an outline of problems and perspectives of their development, and of possible ways of solving such problems. The hypothesis states that the border line, on both the Ukrainian and Polish sides, is a powerful negative factor in the development of border regions. It is particularly visible on the Ukrainian side of the border. In order to delimitate the research area, the criterion of its location on counties (administration areas are named: in Poland — “poviat,” in Ukraine — “raion”) frame was applied. Therefore, for the transborder region, we consider administrative units located directly near the border: 9 counties of the Lubelskie and Podkarpackie voivodships for the Polish side, and 10 counties of 3 transborder regions in Ukraine (Lviv, Volyn, and Zakarpattia). For complex analysis of its development, we selected 9 diagnostic variables of sociodemographic, environmental, and economic development. In order to evaluate the level of development of transborder region, the synthetic index of its development was elaborated (Perkal index). The analysis of the spatial distribution of selected variables showed similarities in the development of Polish-Ukrainian transborder regions by environmental aspect, but significant differences in economic and sociodemographic depictions. In the context of the Perkal index, 4 classes of development of administrative units were elaborated. The worst situation regarding development was observed in the Volodymyr Volynskyi County with a level of development of -0,58. The best situation was observed in the case of the Bieszczadzki County with a level of development of 0,50. According to the authors, greater integration of Ukraine with the European Union, and active policy for activation of transborder regions could contribute to a reduction of differences in development of Polish-Ukrainian border regions.
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In the Polish reality, changes in the law are common, and in the case of tax law, this phenomenon is almost widespread. This situation means that entrepreneurs and other taxpayers are not able to apply these regulations in a correct manner in practice. Changes to the law carried out in the form of frequent amendments to the existing provisions make reading and understanding of the content of law and regulations difficult. A random way of introducing changes results in a decrease in the quality of the law, and sometimes even its internal contradiction. This situation results in issuing tax law ruling by tax authorities, which in similar circumstances have diametrically different interpretations. This causes an increase in the number of claims in administrative courts. The article presents the above-mentioned factors as the reason for the limited confidence of taxpayers both in the legal system and tax authorities. The changes that took place in the recent period were analysed. These changes should lead to greater stability of regulations and consequently growing confidence.
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The text deals with a comparatively little investigated topic for the time present – the economic activity of Bulgarian communities abroad and the attitude of the successful businessmen toward the preservation of the Bulgarian cultural heritage. It presents the essence of the research theme, the different formulations of the term “ethnic entrepreneurship” or “ethnic busi¬ness”, the parameters of the various types of economic engagement in migration – shops, catering establishments, hotels, tourism activities and others. Furthermore, based on carried out field researches, the text focuses on the specific manifestations of the Bulgarian ethnic entrepreneurship abroad and the observed migrant businessmen’s commitment to the Bulgarian cultural heritage.
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Review of: Thomas Schmidinger, Rojava: Revolution, War and the Future of Syria’s Kurds, London: Pluto Press, 2018, 298 pp., (ISBN: 9780745337722). Nazand Begikhani, Aisha K. Gill and Gill Hague, Honour-Based Violence: Experiences and Counter-Strategies in Iraqi Kurdistan and the UK Kurdish Diaspora, Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, 2015, 189 pp., (ISBN: 9781409421900). Mehmet Orhan, Political Violence and Kurds in Turkey: Fragmentations, Mobilizations, Participations and Repertoires, Oxon: Routledge, 2016, 294 pp., (ISBN: 978-1-317-42044-6) H. Akin Ünver, Turkey’s Kurdish Question: Discourse and Politics since 1990, Oxon: Routledge, 2015, 196 pp., (ISBN: 978-1-138-85856-5). Veli Yadirgi, The Political Economy of the Kurds of Turkey – From the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017, pp. 334, (ISBN: 9781316848579). Burak Bilgehan Özpek, The Peace Process between Turkey and the Kurds: Anatomy of a Failure, London: Routledge, 2017, 80 pp., (ISBN: 9781138564107).
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The purchase, exchange, mortgage, alienation and bequest of real estate, as well as their offer to ecclesiastical institutions as pious donation was a general phenomenon in late medieval Hungarian market towns. Free disposition of various pieces of property – plots, houses, arable, mills, pasture, and before all vineyards – was an everyday and widely accepted occurrence. Supervision of real estate trade was a basic duty of the town council, a task it discharged on the basis of the town’s own customary law. It was the same body which put such matters to writing, and, although the ensuing real estate contracts were meant to have a limited, local degree of authenticity, practice proves that their legal binding force was in fact acknowledged by extensive social groups, both local and outsider. The present study explores the content of this customary law and its practical application in the market towns of northeastern Hungary in the late middle ages. Some of the legal institutions applied in such transactions were known throughout the country, and can thus be regarded as parts of national (noble) law. As examples can be cited the procedure employed at depositions, standing as guarantee, frivolous prosecution, or the taking into account of the right of pre-emption by kinsmen, but also demonstration by charters or witnesses in lawsuits. Other legal customs, however, were either restricted to certain areas, or otherwise common nationwide, but limited to the peasantry. Such was, for instance, pledging by drinking toast, the previous lodging of the estimated value of a piece of property in case of litigation, or, in the region of the Hegyalja, the sealing of land transactions with a delay of a year and three days, a practice evidently introduced with a view to prevent problems connected to the right of pre-emption. In forming this customary law the peasantry could rely on several legal sources. Part of the consuetudo no doubt filtered down to the local custom of the market towns from national law through the mediation of the literacy pursued by the so-called places of authentication (loca credibilia) and public notaries. Another such source may have been the legal practice of the free royal towns, which resembled parallel practice in the market towns in several points. Moreover, the dispositions of the letter of privilege granted to the town (if there existed one) were also respected. But there also existed procedures which had evidently emerged among the peasantry in the course of past centuries. By the late middle ages these different legal customs had frequently merged in distorted forms, and thus created the various customary laws which were proudly referred to in the charters of local communities (ius, mos, libertas, consuetudo etc.).
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Intensive financial investments in marketing communication of museums are connected, in parallel, to their visual presentation as well as to strengthening the communication efficiency toward public. However, the unresolved question remains whether these finances are spent effectively or rather whether the communication strategy plan attracts the adequate target audience. How many visitors did react to a given campaign? Unfortunately, there is no single and definite answer on how to measure the efficiency of marketing communication in museums. The aim of the study is to use the Data Envelopment Analysis method to introduce a model for helpful assessment of the marketing communication efficiency within museums. While searching for the solution, we were inspired by the production economics, from which we chose the statistical method of Data Envelopment Analysis. This allowed us to evaluate the efficiency of production units and also to identify inefficiencies. In the public and non-profit sector, this methodological approach appears very rarely, and according to our findings, it has not been applied yet in the museum sphere in Slovakia.
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