SOCIAL ASSISTANCE AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN ECONOMY

Author(s): Marin Mirea / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2017

Social assistance is an important component of the national and international economy and indicates the degree of development of local and national government, being an important element in the composition of the administration budget. A sensitive and, at the same time, special issue of social policies is the need of social assistants, which over time has led to political confrontations, electoral strategies, but also to the construction and implementation of economic strategies in order to track, guide and diminish the number of social assistants and reduce the budget burden. Local and national budgets are affected by the number of social assistants, and accurately categorizing them in well-defined categories can generate targeted policies with varying degrees of implementation among social assistants, depending on the category they belong to, generating social assistance where appropriate, and a reduction in the number of social assistants who should not benefit from this form of assistance. Through this article we want to highlight the close link between the social aid granted by the state through the social assistance programs offered to the people able to carry out gainful employment, the consequences of these social assistance measures on the labor market and the influence of this phenomenon in the local economy and national.

Production Potential and Income of Agricultural Holdings in Poland

Author(s): Agnieszka Strzelecka,Danuta Zawadzka,Agnieszka Kurdyś-Kujawska / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2018

The aim of this article is to assess the impact of production potential on the income obtained by agricultural holdings in Poland. The Farm Accountancy Data Network FADN data from 2015 was used to achieve this aim. Empirical verification of factors determining the production potential and their impact on agricultural holding income was carried out using the logistic regression model. The dependent variable was taken to be the probability that the agricultural holding would achieve annual family farm income exceeding the median value of PLN 46149,18. It was established that four variables had a statistically significant positive effect on the studied phenomenon: area of agricultural land, share of leased land in the agricultural land area, total labor expenditure and technical labor infrastructure. This means that an increase in the level of these factors increases the probability of obtaining an above median value of income by agricultural holdings.

The Expansion of a Company’s Activity and the Interests of Local Government Units and Financial Institutions

Author(s): Janina Kotlińska,Grzegorz Kotliński / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2018

The development of business operations requires coordination of many activities undertaken by entities from various sectors of the economy. Among them, financial institutions and local governments play a significant role. The implementation of development plans of enterprises requires coordination of cooperation with them. During this process, the interests of all parties are reconciled so that the implementation of the plans becomes possible and beneficial. The aim of the study is to identify potential barriers and to set out possible levels of cooperation between companies that declare their intention to expand and their financial institutions and local government authorities, competent for the aims of development plans. The study contains observations and considerations of the authors, supported by a literature query in the field of the undertaken topic.

Representation of Local Government Interests and the Legislative Process

Author(s): Wojciech Orłowski / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2018

The basic principle of the functioning of local self-government is its independence, which is limited by the applicable law created in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. The article analyzes the normative acts concerning the participation of local self-government bodies in the law-making process. Observation of the practice of their application leads to the conclusion that these solutions are not effective, and they do not correspond to the constitutional guarantees of the territorial self-government system position. The conclusions propose a new mode of selecting the Polish Senate and Self-Government Commission as well as the Polish delegation to the EU Committee of the Regions, which could improve the influence of territorial self-government bodies and the quality of solutions adopted in legal acts.

Evaluating the efficiency of state socio-economic policy of Latvia

Author(s): Zhanna Tsaurkubule / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2017

This article presents an analytical overview and defines the essence of the concept “social policy” in the context of its relation to the economy. The author of the article has developed a system of indicators to measure the impact of social policy and proposed a technique for assessing its efficiency on the basis of a comparative analysis of the dynamics of changes in key indicators of socio-economic development of Latvia in the context of its integration into the EU. The efficiency of social policy is determined using a system of indicators combined into eight areas of economic and social policy: social protection, employment, income, poverty, healthcare, education, demography, and economic policy. Furthermore, the authors also conducted a quantitative assessment of statistical data describing the impact of social policies, and conclusions and recommendations are drawn to improve this technique further. The research on Latvia’s efficiency of social policy demonstrate that it is relatively low compared to other EU countries. In the future, it is recommended to improve the presentation of statistical data, to expand the list of indicators, and to assess the efficiency of social policy in a complex way, rather than in accordance with individual disparate indicators.

Issues in Bulgarian Sign Language Interpreting

Author(s): Slavina Lozanova / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2018

The article discusses the current state of sign language interpreting in Bulgaria. It analyzes a range of historical, social and professional issues regarding policy-making, sign language education and methodology. Presented here are three interrelated factors influencing the interpreting practice in the country such as limited knowledge about the linguistic status of Bulgarian Sign Language, traditions in Bulgarian deaf education and social attitude of the hearing majority regarding the linguistic skills of deaf and hard-of-hearing people.

Transitions Online_Around the Bloc-Huaweis Central European Signal Fades

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English Issue: 02/05/2019

Governments in the region have avidly sought Chinese investment, but the telecoms giant may be too hot a property.

Genetic Algorithm

Author(s): Reinhard Magenreuter / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2016

There are four backbones to analyze time-series in general and forecast time-series for financial markets: Chaos-theory, Fuzzy logic, Neural networks and Genetic algorithms. The first one is considered in (Magenreuter, 2016a), while the second one – in (Magenreuter, 2016c) and the third one – in (Magenreuter, 2016b). The present paper is dedicated to the fourth backbone including promising outcomes in financial markts.

INSTAGRAM AS A SOURCE OF NEW REALITY: ANALYSIS OF DIGITAL INSTAMARKETING CONTENT USED BY MCDONALD´S

Author(s): Oľga Púchovská,Iveta Balážiová / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2018

Social media as source of reality interpretation meaings represents a vast platform which mediates human interaction and communication based on diverse multimedia content. This fact is the base for our focus on the visual oriented social network - Instagram. We have specified the selected elements of the digital content of the global lovebrand McDonals´s through the method of mixed qualitative-quantitative content analysis. The analysis was concentrated on the form of visual content as well as on the position of hashtags as textual elements of instamarketing. The subject of the analysis were two Instagram profiles – local McDonald´s Slovakia and the McDonald´s global profile with origin in the USA. Although in terms of frequency of new contributions we do not consider Instagram as the primary McDonald´s communication medium, the results indicate that it is a medium important for building a community based on the shared interest in gastronomy. It is a community important in the connection of actual phenomenon of foodists. The evidence are the results of hashtags analysis, while McDonald’s Slovakia uses this communication more intensively as well as the ability to build a community through hashtags. In terms of strategy, different tactics are applied across profiles. While McDonald´s Slovakia publishes static pictures only, a global profile uses primarily video posts.

PRACTICAL USE OF PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN SLOVAKIA WITHIN 2007 – 2017

Author(s): Peter Štarchoň,Bianka Chorvátová / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2018

Product placement law regulation has significantly changed the use of it in Slovakia in the past decade. A specific questionnaire concerning companies using several advertising channels and based on its results, the current status of the usage of product placement, advertising law comparison from 2007 and 2017, and analysis of other legislative materials, this article was made. According to this questionnaire, we were able to point out how has the usage of product placement changed. Law changes have changed the way product placement can be used in everyday life, therefore somere commendations for active product placement users were made.

ANALYSING THE CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF THE V4 COUNTRY’S POPULATION AND THE USE OF MOBILE DEVICES IN MOBILE MARKETING CONDITIONS

Author(s): Jakub Horváth,Mária Oleárová / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2018

Mobile marketing has gained immense popularity in today’s business world as it provides convenience when sending ad notifications to individual customers. Mobile-based marketing activities allow us to communicate directly with potential customers quickly and wherever they are. The goal of mobile marketing is to give customers at a given time information that promotes products, services and ideas with the help of wireless media, which is beneficial to all parties. The aim of the article is to describe the current state of mobile user behaviour, focusing on individual mobile devices within the V4 countries. The article focuses on the theoretical background of mobile marketing. In describing the current state of the problem, we are focusing on three main areas, which are types of devices used, devices used most often and weekly online activities. We describe the current state and the most important areas in the V4 markets. The aim of the article is to evaluate and point out the possible future direction of this area of marketing in the given markets of Visegrad Four countries.

Насеља и становништво Гокчанице у средњем и раном новом веку

Author(s): Srđan Katić,Tatjana M. Katić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 2/2017

This paper discusses development of settlements and population dynamics of the Gokčanica region in the first centuries of Ottoman administration. By analyzing several unpublished Ottoman land registers and financial books, the authors are showing that this mining region was organized as a separate administrative unit during the reign of the Ottoman Empire, and how it covered a territory larger than the one presently understood as the area of Gokčanica. The amplitudes of mining and ferrous metallurgy, which were the dominant local industry, influenced the migrations of population and settlement models. The most populous villages were not established in places best fitted for living, but in those most convenient for operation of smelters, which also influenced other economic activities. Contrary to popular tradition, population of Gokčanica was entirely Serb and Eastern Orthodox, and isolated from the Islamization process.

Научна конференция и издание на тема „Институциите и българското сто¬панско развитие през вековете“ (Великотърновски университет „Св. св. Кирил и Методий“ – 28 и 29 септември 2018 г.)

Author(s): Emilia Vacheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2019

Архивите говорят: Национални състезанията по информатика

Author(s): Pavel Azalov,Sava Grozdev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2019

The article discusses the key events leading to the ideation, initiation, and establishment of the first programming contests for high school students in Bulgaria. The competitions preceding the First National Olympiad in Informatics (NOI) are presented in detail. More specifically, they include the programming contests, initiated by the author and held in Shoumen, Plovdiv and Pazardjik in 1982, 1983, and 1984 respectively. At the time, the main programming language used was FORTRAN for IBM/360 compatible computers. Next, the first NOI is discussed at length. Some of the subsequent NOIs are also outlined. The paper also includes facts about the Winter Mathematics Competitions and the high school student competitions held during the Spring Conferences of the Union of Bulgarian Mathematicians. A brief historical data about the Spring Tournament in Informatics is also presented. Due to its factual nature, the article contains an extensive list of references, including text excerpts, citations, pictures, and other relevant materials, supporting the historical facts related to the competitions in informatics.

Increased Employment Rates and the Nature of the Economic Growth in Poland’s Voivodships

Author(s): Mariusz Zieliński / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2018

The purpose of the article is to study the impact of basic production factors (level of employment and value of fixed assets) on the economic growth rate in different regions of Poland. The hypothesis presented in the article is that in the process of economic growth, the human factor (level of employment) plays a greater role than the fixed assets. The hypothesis was verified using the data published by the Central Statistical Office in the Statistical Yearbooks of the Regions for the years 2000 and 2015. The results of the study confirm the validity of the formulated hypothesis. Also, the author of the article made the effort to identify the voivodships characterized by extensive and intensive economic growth.

An Impact of Business Cycles on Revenues and Expenditures of Communes in Poland

Author(s): Marcin Łuszczyk,Agnieszka Janeta / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2018

One of the basic functions of the state is mitigation of fluctuations in the business cycle. Increased activity in the period of economic slowdown should be demonstrated both by the state budget and local government units. However, the effectiveness of state intervention depends on the condition of the public finance sector. Therefore, in conditions of economic recovery, the state not only should balance its budget, but also should try to pay off at least part of the previously incurred liabilities. According to the authors, the permanent lack of financial discipline of the state, in the near future, will contribute to the budgetary imbalance of communes and will cause serious disruptions in the functioning of local self-governments.

Labor Market Segmentation as an Important Factor in Research of Labor Immigration. Comparative Analysis Based on the Opolskie Voivodship Empirical Findings

Author(s): Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzińska,Bogdan Ruszczak / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2018

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the need of taking into account the existence of dual labor markets in the majority of developed countries when analyzing research results on labor immigration. The countries most affected with this duality are the ones where immigration is still on the increase; amongst others, Central and Eastern European countries. Selected qualitative and quantitative research methods were implemented in the study. The data source was a structured questionnaire interview conducted in 2007–2008, among 91 employers and the comparison research carried out again in 2014–2015 with 263 participating entrepreneurs. In accordance with the dual labor market theory, the employers were divided into those who offered employment in the primary or the secondary labor market. The research carried out in the Opolskie Voivodship, Poland showed that those employing a foreign labor force were driven by different reasons in the primary or the secondary sector of the labor market. It was also determined that taking into account the segmentation of the labor market in analyses of results of research on labor immigration positively affected their interpretation and provided more precise conclusions.

Structural Disparities in the Polish Economy: Regional Development

Author(s): Janusz Wielki,Inessa Sytnik,Artem Stopochkin / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2018

The purpose of this study is to identify structural imbalances in the regional development of the Polish economy on the basis of the level and specifics of regional development analysis. In order to achieve this goal, the data from the Polish Central Statistics Office describing the labor market, and the demographic and economic situation in Poland have been utilized. The analysis period is 2005–2016. The heterogeneity of regional development generates a number of economic, social and political issues, the solution of which requires the formation of a fundamentally new sustainable development policy concept. Such a concept is supposed to be based on an integrated approach that takes into account the specifics of development each individual region in the country.

Application of Marketing Communication Tools in Small and Medium Enterprises. Results of Regional Research

Author(s): Małgorzata Adamska / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2018

This paper aims to investigate the application of different types of communications forms and tools in the context of client capital management and development of the client lifetime value in the sector of small and medium enterprises. The research method was a questionnaire survey using computer-aided telephone interviews (CATI), on a group of 383 small and medium-sized enterprises from the Opolskie Voivodship. This research illustrates the use of diverse forms and tools by diverse members of the SME sector. More importantly, this research prepares conclusions for future development of communication as a main stimulator of increasing client lifetime value. The findings show that the small and medium enterprises in Opolskie Voivodship are aware of the need to use a variety of tools to communicate with clients. The tools are diverse and have a different degree of contact intensity, which effectively contributes to the involvement of clients in the relationship with the company’s offer. In the future the SME sector should develop and diversify channels of communication with client capital. For modern enterprises, the most important thing will be constant development of the client’s lifetime value.

Development of Logistics Studies as an Example of Adapting Higher Education to the Needs of Knowledge-Based Economy

Author(s): Barbara Kos,Robert Tomanek / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2018

The development of the modern economy depends on the efficiency of complex global logistics chains. Logistics employs modern management and telematic technologies, whereas knowledge management is the basis for growth of efficiency and effectiveness of logistics chains. A particular role is played by the universities which educate the future workforce for the Transport-Forwarding-Logistics (TFL) sector. Based on the data from the POLON system, it may be concluded that logistics education is common, especially at the economic and technical universities. According to the Polish statistical data, the graduates find jobs very quickly, whereas their remunerations are higher than the average. The activity of universities in respect of research and education for the purpose of logistics is a factor in the growth of competitiveness of this economy sector. However, it is necessary to improve the study programs, using knowledge of practitioners and results of scientific research.