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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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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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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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During the period of the so-called first Bulgarian capitalism (1878–1944) one of the most interesting problems that preoccupies the economists in the country is linked to the perspectives and consequences of the economic and political integration of Bulgaria and the other Balkan or European countries. They approached this issue with a large dose of realism. On the one hand, they are driven by a clear sense of backwardness, limited capacity and resources of the Bulgarian economy, suggesting the inclusion of the country in a larger market, but on the other they are not dramatically affected by the illusions of "civilizational choice" that must be made.
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This article studies the process of restriction of foreign trade along the Danube River and of the separate port cities and the results thereof. It is part of the general policy of the Bulgarian state after the Liberation for enhancing the trading role and importance of the Black Sea and the land routes. The survey has been based on economic and historical research, statistical sources and analyses of foreign trade and transport policy of the country, and the development of the Danube cities and their districts. The analysis shows that, mainly under the influence of the transport policy, the Danube River whose relative share in the total imports compared to the Black sea and land routes ranked first, and in imports over the period 1886-1895 – second, in the period between 1906 and 1910 it was already ranked third in the total imports and total exports.The reasons why the Danube ports remained major export centres of grains to Northwestern and large areas of Central and Northeastern Bulgaria have been explained. The role of the towns of Vidin, Lom, Oryahovo, Nikopol, Svishtov, Rousse, Tutrakan and Silistra in the import and export trade has been outlinedand special attention has been paid to the favoritism of Rousse at the expense of Svishtov. Attention has also been drawn to the indifference of the state towards the proposals of the Rousse Chamber of Commerce for the construction of Danube merchant fleet. The most important critical views of representatives of the Bulgarian economic science on the government policy in the field of railway construction and redirection of exports from the Danube River to the Black Sea have been outlined. Data on how the Bulgarian export of grains on the Danube River managed to overcome the dependency from Romania around the year 1912 have been presented. In conclusion, it has been stated that the reorientation of Bulgarian foreign trade from the Danube River to the Black Sea has been supported by important economic and political arguments. Concurrently, the state has ignored certain conditions that give stability of the foreign trade route on the Danube River and prerequisites for better prospects in future. The state has attempted to model the decline in the trading role of the Danube cities by underestimating major export opportunities of their natural hinterland, which showed "resistance" to such policy.
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Social media influencers are winning over the Internet with their outstanding work and presence. Their opinions have a powerful impact on people, especially on young generation. We can mark them as a modern phenomenon that has seen a huge increase in cooperation with marketing agencies over recent years. More and more people are following such influencers so that they do not miss out on their content. Brands flock to such influencers for mentions, reviews and recommendations. Even though influencer marketing is a relatively new strategy, it continues to be a viable solution for marketers who are willing to think outside the box while building relationships with their target market. The aim of the study is to offer a comprehensive reflection on influencer marketing opportunities and determine the impact of influencers on consumer behaviour of Generations Y and Z. We wanted to find out whether influencers, who promote products, can attract potential customers and encourage them for purchase, as well as find differences between the given consumer generations. In order to meet the objectives of the study, own research was conducted (459 respondents from the Slovak Republic belonging to Generations Y and Z were involved in the inquiry). The research findings confirm that there are significant differences between the above-mentioned consumer generations in the area of impact of influencers on consumer behaviour, which leads to different marketing opportunities. For statistical processing of the results, we used the Kruskal-Wallis Test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test, Fisher’s Exact Test and Dunn’s Test of Contrasts.
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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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In opposition to the traditional studies on the history of various science, which tend to only insist on the evolution of scientific progress, the modern approach tries to link this evolution to the natural, economic and social environment in which the science evolves. Also, the evolution of various scientific disciplines is conceived as a discontinuous process, a result of successive paradigm shifts. Applying these principles to water resources engineering in Romania, the article assesses that, due to the economic and social changes which occurred in 1989, water management in Romania has encountered an anomaly which requires the definition of a new paradigm. The principles which should be applied in this exercise require adopting a holistic approach, designing an adaptive management based on the theory of complex adaptive systems and using transdisciplinary methods. For all practical applications, water resources engineering cannot be considered an independent discipline any more and requires all other related disciplines to be taken into account and joint solutions for all the involved branches of activity should be developed. The article presents various examples in which these principles have been applied in various countries to water related projects.
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