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This paper explores the phenomenon of areas with a large number of abandoned and vacant properties that have a significant impact on the life of communities in economic, environmental and socio-cultural terms. Although the phenomenon has been present in some parts of Europe and the USA for a number of decades, it has become more prevalent in recent decades. The aim of this paper is to explore whether the phenomenon of abandonment is present in contemporary Croatia, as a complex network of negative demographic, social, economic and environmental causes and impacts. Furthermore, the aim is to create a theoretical framework for research into areas with a large number of abandoned or vacant properties in Croatia. Quantitative analyses of key indicators, content analysis of published media and official documents, and ethnographic field research show that abandoned areas are certainly present in Croatia, as are local initiatives to mitigate the negative situation. The recognition of this phenomenon at national, regional and local level needs to be accompanied by the development of an interdisciplinary research methodology, policies and regeneration strategies. Some guidelines on these matters are provided at the end of the paper.
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Presented in the paper is the exceptional biography of the parish priest Don Ante Adžija (1880-1944), the most significant and most distinguished person of the 20th century from Starigrad-Paklenica, who was unfairly and unjustifiably neglected in the perception of the pastoral, humanitarian, cultural, socio-economic, enlightening and other activities in the parish in the period between the two world wars. Thanks to him, the village from the first half of the 20th century became the second, even to this today, most developed touristic municipality on the stretch from Karlobag to Zadar. The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness about such individuals, great figures, to whom by their work their people and the culture to which they belonged are indebted. The paper consists of three parts. In the first part is described his life path, ancestry, schooling and priestly activity until moving into the parish of Starigrad-Paklenica in 1923. In the second partis described his work in the new parish on the religious, cultural-historical, enlightening, health, mountaineering-touristic and economic plan, in order that "in the most abandoned region of the Zadar archdiocese"1 he sets the foundations for the overall improvement. On these principles Starigrad-Paklenica developed into a modern touristic municipality. In the historical context of the first Yugoslavia in the complicated socio-political and economic conditions, which were also reflected in the passive areas of Podgorje, Don Ante Adžija did not lose faith in the realisation of his messianic goals. He loved his people, his old Starigrad people and as God’s emissary he used every opportunity and possibility to make their life better. To this end, he developed a collaboration with distinguished personalities from the socio-political, economic and culturalcircle of the Littoral and Sava Banovinas (from Rijeka to Split and Zagreb), of distinguished scientists, scientist-mountaineers from Croatia and abroad. A special reference in the paper is made to his research of cultural-historical heritage, the collecting of archaeological material (ancient and Old Croatian sacral monuments), the establishment of a museum in the parish house, and there novation and maintenance of preserved sacral buildings. As a collaborator with the Museum of Croatian Monuments and a member of the Antiquarian Museum Association in Knin, he participated in the rescuing of Old Croatian heritage from the area of northern Dalmatia in 1941. Int he third part, instead of a conclusion, described is how not even the circumstances of the Second World War were able to hinder him, although he had a premonition of death in 1941, he selflessly worked for his parish and parishioners and as the Saviour he helped save man, his people and its heritage all the way until his martyr’s death in 1944.This paper is based on the records of the ‘Paklenica’ Branch Office of the HPD (Croatian Mountaineering Association) under the title of ‘Starigrad under Velebit’ from the Archive of the Samobor Museum, articles from the magazine ‘Croatian Mountaineer’ from the Archive of HPS(Croatian Mountaineering Association) Zagreb, from 1923-1940, newspaper articles and family photographic material and material from unknown sources from the pages of Facebook. Also included in the paper are testimonies from the close relatives of Don Ante Adžija, local people at Starigrad Punta, the notes of respected mountaineers and others who knew him. Expert literature so far has not seriously dealt with him, apart from short records about his pastoral work before his arrival at the Starigrad-Paklenica parish and some information, mostly incomplete or inaccurate, about his death. The Starigrad-Paklenica creative period from 1923-1944, has not been included int he expert literature, apart from a modest note of the author upon the 60th anniversary of his death.2Therefore, this paper should be considered as a starting point for future research, based on any eventual unidentified archive material which is unavailable at the present time. This primarily relates to archive documentation of the ban administration of both Banovinas and state administration. All of his handwritten material and documentation stored in the parish house and Parish Church of St George was burnt in 1944, and one part of the written sacral material was thrown in to the sea, whereby his pastoral and research-creative biography has been damaged, and with that ‘biography’ so has the history of Starigrad-Paklenica.
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The review of: 1) Valentina Gulin Zrnić i Nevena Škrbić Alempijević, Grad kao susret. Etnografije zagrebačkih trgova, Hrvatsko etnološko društvo, Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku, Zagreb, 2019., 419 str. 2) Iva Grubiša, Okus doma. Kulturnoantropološki osvrt na integraciju migranata u Zagrebu, Hrvatsko etnološko društvo, Zagreb, 2019., 83 str. 3) Helena Tolić, Splitska Radunica kao turistička destinacija. Studija društvenih interakcija, Hrvatsko etnološko društvo, Zagreb, 2019., 128 str. 4) Marijana Belaj, Zvonko Martić i Mirjam Mencej, Topografije svetoga na području Buškoga Blata, Hrvatsko etnološko društvo, Zagreb, 2019., 191 str. 5) Marinko Tomasović, Uklesani i urezani simboli na arhitekturi Makarske i njenog rubnog područja, Gradski muzej Makarska, Makarska, 2019., 128 str. 6) Christopher A. Molnar, Memory, Politics, and Yugoslav Migrations to Postwar Germany, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2018, 235 pp. 7) Sara Bernard, Deutsch Marks in the Head, Shovel in the Hands and Yugoslavia in the Heart. The Gastarbeiter Return to Yugoslavia (1965–1991), Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2019, 299 pp. 8) Tomislav Oroz, Gdje si bio 1573? Lica i naličja Matije Gupca u praksama sjećanja, Naklada Jesenski i Turk, Kulturno informativni centar, Zagreb, 2018., 303 str. 9) Naracije straha, Natka Badurina, Una Bauer i Jelena Marković, ur., Leykam international d.o.o., Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku, Zagreb, 2019., 326 str. 10) Olga Orlić, Antropologija solidarnosti u Hrvatskoj. Poljoprivreda potpomognuta zajednicom, Hrvatsko etnološko društvo, Zagreb, 2019., 137 str. 11) Localizing Global Food. Short Food Supply Chains as Responses to Agri-Food Systems Challenges, Agni Kalfagianni i Sophia Skordili, ur., Routledge, Taylor&Francis Group, London, New York, 2019., 199 str.
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This study analyses a unique Italian publication linked to a wider project aimed at eradicating the illiteracy of the rural masses. Il Piccolissimo (1917–1919), a magazine written for children in the agricultural area around Rome, informed them about the Great War and educated them about better values and the importance of making savings. This cultural project, conceived and edited by Giovanni Cena and other intellectuals of the time, also envisaged the establishment and management of rural schools and infirmaries to provide children with a better and healthier life. In Italy, during those years, the magazine Il Corriere dei Piccoli was published to entertain and educate children of the middle and upper classes, while Il Piccolissimo sought to develop an awareness of social responsibility in the poor and hardworking children of the countryside. By examining its contents, graphic layout, iconic language, and educational aims we intend to highlight how the type of childhood it targeted acquired unprecedented social visibility in Italy.
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The article embeds the three most popular fairy-tale films by Vaclav Vořlíček (Girl on a Broomstick, 1971; Three Wishes for Cinderella, 1973; How to Drown Dr. Mraček or the End of Water Spirits in Bohemia, 1975) in the socialist campaigns orchestrated by the Czechoslovak government in the late 1960s and early 1970s, whose goal was to introduce women to new practices directly relating to reproductive behavior. I explore this cohort of “crazy” comedies stemming from the story of domestication of women as a historical continuity in the development of the comic female Bildungsroman, one of the mainstream genres interrogating nation-building and popular culture in the Czech lands from the second third of the nineteenth century until today. The core frame of the Czech female Bildungsroman, namely the binary opposition of “us/them” related to the Czech-German relationship, ascribing to women the risk of Otherness, and the call for their Czechinization through intercourse with Czech men, are deconstructed through infiltration by eugenic motives disseminated in the public discourse concerning the nation’s health between the 1960s and 1970s.
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The assessment of the net effect of active labour market policy contributes to the effective use of public funds in order to achieve optimal results and provide opportunities for future changes in the priority areas of the employment action plans. The paper examines the basic concepts for assessing the net effect of active labour market policy and assesses the net effect of this policy in Bulgaria. In the process of assessing the impact of active labour market policy at the individual level for each program and measure included in the National Employment Action Plan in 2015 and funded from the state budget, the gross effect, deadweight effect, the substitution and displacement effects are estimated. The quasi-experimental design method is applied to assess the net effect of programs and measures on the labour market in Bulgaria. The estimation results demonstrate that the total net effect has the value of 14.5%. The net effect for women is significantly higher than for men. Regarding education, the highest net effect can be seen among those with primary or no education Regarding age, the highest net effect is observed among young people up to 24 years of age. As related to the duration of unemployment, the highest net effect can be seen among long-term unemployed people (over 24 months). In terms of working capacity, the highest net effect is observed among people with reduced working capacity. Regarding the type of settlement, the highest net effect can be seen in rural areas. The paper provides a number of conclusions and recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of active labour market policy and for improving the state of the labour market in Bulgaria. The analysis shows that in Bulgaria it is necessary to maintain the variety of different programs and measures on the labour market, covering different target groups.
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The application of advanced technology has completely transformed citizens, cities and communities, creating an intelligent and smart society. First of all, it is necessary to point out the importance of applying innovative solutions tailored to the needs of cities and citizens. By using innovative approaches, cities are able to improve the economic picture and make urban life a more convenient and better place to live. The article analyses the process of implementing certain components of smart cities in Croatia. The aim of the article is to explore the concept of a smart city, their structure and function and to analyse smart solutions in the application of the concept of smart cities in Croatia, with special reference to the city of Jastrebarsko. Quantitative research was applied through a questionnaire (n=129) in the Jastrebarsko area. The results of the research show the involvement of Croatian cities in the process of implementation of smart solutions and the positive impact of new urban governance methods, which enable interactive, inclusive and innovative urban systems, solve urban development dilemmas, ensure residents' needs, continuously optimise and improve, and ultimately achieve sustainable urban development.
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The Reformation as “urban event” is in spite all criticisms one of the major tropes of the Reformation history. The city as space of the Reformation as well as its role of multiplicator of the Reformation movement can be traced back also in the Transylvanian Reformation, but the situation in Cluj was far more complicated. Is the concept of urban Reformation working for Cluj? The emphasis of the paper will be the bi-national structure of the city as space and driving force of the Antitrinitarian Reformation and the way in which the urban identity is reflected in the Transylvanian Antitrinitarianism. The main source for the latter issue is the Prayer Book of Kaspar Helth (Heltai Gáspár).
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This paper uses Zagreb as a case study for assessing the development of a socialist city and the housing issues that this development implied. After World War II, Zagreb experienced steep demographic growth owing to a large influx of rural population, and to a lesser extent as a result of natality increase. In 1946, the city had about 270 thousand inhabitants, and in 1969 about 570 thousand. Due to the accelerated industrial development, it needed new workforce, but lacked housing, and its infrastructure was not sufficiently developed to meet the needs of all its residents. Housing construction was based on both social and private initiatives, whereby socially funded projects were multi-storey buildings and the privately funded ones single-storey houses. Due to these private constructions, that is, houses with one storey only, Zagreb resembled a village rather than a city. In assessing the housing construction of Zagreb and its urban development in general after World War II, we are inclined to agree with Davor Stipetić’s statement that Zagreb arose as an architectural enterprise that lacked planning in its development.
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An emblematic representant of the generation of the Great Union, dr. Cornel Luțai (1889–1968) was born in Nădlac, Arad County; in November 18, 1911, he became a Juris Doctor at the University in Cluj. Once graduating he applied for a trainee lawyer at Szeged Bar (June 1, 1911–March 12, 1912), and at Arad Bar, working within the offices of advocates Nemet János and Iustin Marșieu up to July 1, 1914. He was invited to take part in Alba Iulia National Assembly in (December 1, 1918) and involved after in the political-administrative life in Arad. As a mayor of this town (1928–1931), he modernized the urban transport, embellished the center of Arad, and joined the neighouring villages; he also backed the cultural life and the deserving young people. The communist times did not absolve him from nationalization. Advocate dr. Corneliu Luțai, perseveringly and tiresomely setting his career, was a visionary mind, an important intellectual, and a reformer at his times. He weaved a worthy of consideration story on him, as well as the whole generation of the Great Union.
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Due to the coronavirus crisis, the meaning of concepts such as ‘urban space’ or ‘public space’ have been modified and will no longer work as they did before. This paper will discuss a new understanding of the city and the house caused by limiting interpersonal contacts to communication via social platforms. Current phenomena such as empty streets, loneliness or confined life has inspired artists and will be shown on the example of selected works.
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Positive image of a city and a country translates into all the economic spheres of both the territorial units themselves and the businesses operating within their area. Employing the instruments used by the companies is an indispensable factor of development and competitiveness. The key to success in the competitive marketplace of cities is taking premeditated and strategic decisions intended to build up an attractive image of a city. Knowledge of the users’ emotional attitude towards the space seems to be a key factor from the perspective of developing and implementing strategies of growth of the cities and regions, including the creation of their images, considered one of the elements of the widely understood territorial capital. The image of a city is shaped by an individual, depending of their own demographic-social features. The purpose of the article is presentation of the opinions of the Szczecin inhabitants concerning the image of their city. The article describes the results of the study carried out with the use of an electronic survey on a representative sample of the Szczecin inhabitants. The knowledge of the opinions and judgments of the Szczecin inhabitants plays a key role in creating the strategic marketing actions of Szczecin, particularly the activation of the local communities, communication of the authorites with the inhabitants, promotion of the city achievements or building up its image.
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The “Bedechka caseˮ is a manifestation of a systemic problem as a result of the changes related to the political transformation in Bulgaria after 1989, creating preconditions for the emergence of irregularities related to the regulation of processes and presents a conflict topic in the context of coexistence in the city. The park as an urban topos is a socially constructed space, which is the result of an agreement between the citizens and the government. The aim of the research is to present its genesis and to study the possibilities for solving the case.
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The role of education in the development of any society world over cannot be overemphasis. This is because education remains key development of the abilities, attitudes and behaviour of the citizens. Therefore, this study seeks to assess the levels of female enrolment, gender literacy and gender representation in the Nigerian educational system. Data for this study were collected from secondary sources such as reports from the National Bureau of Statistics, textbooks, Journals and other internet sources amongst others. This study revealed that both at the level of students’ enrolment and literacy male has the highest figures when compared to the female at all levels of education in Nigeria. This study further argues that until the impediments to female enrolment in Nigeria are addressed in quest for gender equality in education will be a myth and women will continue to be related to the background in every aspect of the Nigerian society. It is suggested in this study among other things that the Federal Ministry of Education subside the tuition fee of the girl child at primary, junior secondary, senior secondary, and colleges of education and universities levels to enable more girl-child to enroll in schools.
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Whereas, numerous studies have analyzed cultural objectives with lengthy histories turned into tourism attractions, either in urban or rural settlements, the present research is focused on study the interaction between tourism with the augmentation of local cultural heritage (LCH) based on painted houses after the famous inscribed eggs, internationally known and traditional costumes, in a Romanian mountain village. To this end, the paper examines knowledge, perception and attitude (KPA) of local community in the case of Ciocănești village, located in Northern Romania, using a survey on 171 residents. In order to test our hypothesis, descriptive statistics and stepwise regression method were applied in SPSS v17. The results revealed that the knowledge about local heritage and how it should be preserved and capitalized in the tourism industry are relatively high, but they may be improved for a sustainable tourism development through the augmentation of education and experience acquired in the residence area. While good knowledge influence positively the perception, the gaps between expectations for local heritage impact on tourism development result perception in a negative way. The positive perception generates a protective attitude for the local heritage but less proactive in tourism business. Hence, a real need was raised by locals to receive financial support by EU specific instruments of funding of sustainable tourism. This case study could be an example of augmentation of tourism based on the sustainable action of local heritage conservation for other rural community. In the same time, it reveals the needs for the improvement of heritage tourism management.
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The efficient use of land remains a priority of states, regions, and territorial taxonomic rankings. The regional, economic and environmental development policies of the states suppose the efficient capitalization of natural, human, technical and technological resources and other resources in order to ensure their sustainability in time and space. In this context, through this study, the authors propose to elaborate an assessment of how the land fund was capitalized in the two cities located in the Republic of Moldova and Romania, close as demographic dimensions, but different as a way of managing this natural resource. The interest for the way of capitalization of space resources by these two administrative-territorial entities is part of the practical need to follow the changes of quantitative as well as qualitative nature of the land fund, as a result of the transformations made during the transition to market economy, that is carried out in both states. The present scientific approach is part of a doctoral study „Integration of small and medium-sized cities in the regional urban system. Comparative study of human geography, for example in the cities of Zărnești, Romania and Străşeni, Republic of Moldova", through which the doctoral student aims to assess the degree of integration of small and medium-sized cities in the regional urban system, in the context of territorial decentralization, by applying regional development policies.
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Ex-ante assessment is a mandatory step before the process of implementation of policies because it brings, through the analyses undertaken improvements for initial design, contributing, on a case by case basis, to increasing of efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, sustainability, equity and of its internal and external coherence. In recent years, at international level, but especially in the EU countries (EU), the ex-ante socio-economic programs and public interventions have become an extremely necessary instrument in decision-making, which is linked own economic and social development of the EU Member States. The article presents a methodological framework for ex-ante assessment of active measures for the employment growth in the context of rural areas, on the bases of efficiency, effectiveness and coherence criteria. Ex-ante social impact assessment of an active policy can have beneficial effects on employment under quantitative and qualitative aspects. The novelty of the article consist in the specific, experimental approach of the development and of ex-ante evaluation of active labor market policies, in the context of rural areas.
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The levels of poverty indicators in Romania, but especially the ones regarding the rural space, analysed including the chronological perspective, denote substantive vulnerabilities and indicate a low national and local capacity of managing and overcoming this problem. We highlighted that poverty is more than a theoretical concept being in reality associated with a large variety of problems, like lack of: development, security, determination, trust, health, social inclusion etc., that tend to become its facets when this phenomenon has a persistent character. In this regard, we analysed the possible solutions for the problem of poverty considering (1) education and investment in its quality, and (2) entrepreneurial initiative, as principle vectors of breaking the vicious circle of rural poverty.
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In the history of the reception of cultural heritage, one notes a systematic shift in the focus of attention from material to intangible bearers of value at the beginning of the 21st century. The roots of this change in approach lay in the deconstruction of modernist doctrine and the aspiration to base our dealings with heritage on an understanding of traditional value systems and the maintenance of social continuity. Over the past two decades, the theory of cultural heritage protection and conservation has undergone a revolution, based upon geographic, historical, and cultural contextualisation and on placing people at its heart. William Logan presents this shift, which runs through theory, doctrine, and practice, as due to our having realised that heritage is incarnated in people and not in inanimate objects (Logan 2007).
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