Oborožitev in obramba samostanov kontemplativnih redov na Slovenskem za časa turških vpadov

Introduction: Defence organisations face increasing challenges in adapting to geopolitical shifts and to the turbulent environment. Currently, hybrid threats demand the integration of civilian and military resources and efforts to enhance resilience, requiring collaboration across diverse stakeholders. Despite this need to engage with - and demonstrate performance towards - a wide array of stakeholders, existing performance management (PM) systems within defence fail to align with strategic objectives and address stakeholder complexity effectively. Notably, frameworks like the Balanced Scorecard prioritize internal efficiency, thereby neglecting the multidimensional nature of defence activities and the need for multi-stakeholder integration. Research question: Given the performance and stakeholder-related gaps, the critical question addressed within this manuscript is: How can defence organisations demonstrate performance towards the complex set of stakeholders within an increasingly demanding environment? Methodology: In the first phase of this research, a readily available systematic literature review (SLR) was utilized to contextualize challenges in defence performance management. Subsequently, a defence-specific strategic-level performance management framework was designed using thematic analysis of qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and strategy-related documents from twelve NATO nations. Building on this foundation, the second phase focused on illuminating stakeholder management and network complexity. This involved conducting an SLR and bibliometric analysis, which led to the extraction, synthesis, and integration of insights from a final set of 206 highly influential studies. Following this, a meta-synthesis was performed, analysing 2,113 relationships across parameters such as resources, processes, and outcomes within the study set. Findings: First, the new Defence Performance Management Framework (DPMF) addresses gaps in existing systems by aligning strategic objectives with processes and resources, thereby facilitating discussions between stakeholders about commitments versus constraints. Additionally, insights on defence strategy within NATO Member States highlighted trade-offs in addressing organisational challenges, offering guidance for redesigning national defence strategies. Furthermore, the SLR revealed fragmentation in stakeholder management research, emphasizing the need for holistic approaches for both scholars and practitioners. Finally, the meta-synthesis identified misalignments between stakeholder agendas and defence priorities, highlighting changes influenced by varying risk levels as well as differences between large and small countries’ strategies. Overall, these findings underscore the importance of adaptive and inclusive management practices in defence, particularly in navigating complex stakeholder environments.

The purpose of the study was to better understand the construct of sport attitudes across cultures, and how such attitudes are socialized through family, education, and societal agents. Research questions were: (1) How do people cultivate their sport attitudes? (2) What are persons' sport attitudes? (3) How do people describe their sport attitudes? (4) How do sport attitudes vary across cultures? This study was a qualitative exploration, applying a heuristic inquiry as the theoretical framework and using interviews and survey forms to collect data. Eight undergraduate students from the US and one graduate student from Japan attending FSU participated in the interviews. Fourteen undergraduate students at FSU responded to an open-ended survey. The researcher coded the data and categorized the list of codes. The findings were validated by a triangulation process including cross interviews and survey validation, and inter-rater reliability. Results revealed three groups of themes. The first group answered the first and fourth research. questions and included three emerged themes: socializing agents and agencies, culture, and personal factors. These themes could be viewed as the antecedents of sport attitudes. Examples of socializing agents and agencies were family members, peers, and schools. The category of culture was comprised of types of sports, social structure, economic situation, and people's spare time activities. Personal factors were consisted of personal talent, health conditions, and personality. The answers to the second research questions were shown in the second group of emerged themes including: metaphors about sports, feelings about sports, and attitudes toward athletes and professional players. Examples of metaphors were exciting books, cartoons, and soap operas. Feelings and attitudes could be positive, neutral, or negative. Finally, the third group of emerged themes, answering the third research question, included: purposes, ways to be involved, and reasons not to be involved. They were consequences of sport attitudes, describing why, how, and how often people are involved in sports or why not involved.

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will establish at the end of 2015. The main objective is to integrate region economies to become a single market and production base. This study attempts to estimate the impact of AEC on Thai economy and labor market in Thailand and to suggest the appropriate policies to sustain Thai economy in the long run by using the static single-country computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and the dynamic multi-countries CGE model. The study consists of 3 main research questions. How large is the impact of AEC on economy and labor market of Thailand. How large is the impact of wage policies on economy and employment of Thailand as a part of AEC. Lastly, how large is the impact of switching cost and labor productivity on Thai economy as well as what is the relationship between AEC and switching cost. For the first research question, the study estimates that AEC could enhance real GDP of ASEAN economies and every ASEAN country will have a better growth path under AEC. Most of these benefits result from the integration effects of zero tariff, more investment, and cheaper trade cost. For the second research question, the minimum wage in Thailand is an important topic for debate with labor representatives seeking an increase in the minimum wage. The study’s result indicates the negative correlation between minimum wage and GDP as well as minimum wage and employment due to higher cost of production. Therefore, whether increased minimum wage or subsidy wage policies are not appropriated for Thailand as a part of AEC because these policies would reduce investment and human capital accumulation, unless labor productivity is enhanced to compensate the negative effect from these policies. Although decreased minimum wage leads to the increases in GDP, investment, and employment for both skilled and unskilled labors in every sector, it is politically hard for politicians who want votes from the public. The study provides various measurements of adjustment both minimum wage and labor productivity. The rest is for policy maker to decide how much minimum wage to increase in accordance with market conditions. For the third research question, the study shows the existence of the systematic pattern of domestic migration in Thailand’s labor market, which conforms to Harris-Todaro’s theory of expected wage equilibrium. Moreover, the empirical analysis shows that there exists the consistent range of switching cost which is the cost incurs when labors move from agricultural to non-agricultural sectors. Based on these key findings, the government programs supporting the reduction of switching cost and increased labor productivity are the top-priority tasks and should implement both of them in order to sustain the economic growth. In addition, the simulation result also indicates that better economic situation which results from AEC leads to higher switching cost because labor prefers not to change job. This effects is positive to firms’ business because they do not have to pay frequently for training program.

Heritage and the Socio-Economic Development of Poland. A Proposal for Statistical Indicators The article focuses on the issue of measuring the impact of cultural heritage on socio-economic development. The aim of the research, which this article was based on, was to develop proposals for statistical indicators to measure the impact of heritage on socio-economic development in Poland. In the course of the research, an attempt was made to answer the following research question: What statistical indicators can be used to measure the impact of heritage on the socio-economic development of Poland in the context of monument protection policy, society, economic situation and environmental aspects? The research was carried out using the analysis of existing data. The completed research allowed there author to establish the proposed set of statistic indicators that could be used to measure the impact of cultural heritage on socio-economic development in Poland in four areas: monument protection policy, society, economic situation and environment aspects.

RAISING THE BAR: THE STORIES OF GED GRADUATES TRANSITIONING TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE David Weatherspoon 216 Pages January 2015 The purpose of this study is to examine the educational stories of GED graduates' pursuit of a college degree. The analysis captures the shared experiences of a select number of students' challenges and barriers during their transition to college. This research explores the links between the concepts of social and cultural capital and locus of control (behavior) by examining how these concepts are logically interrelated. The students were purposefully selected to participate based on their involvement in the community college GED transition to college program. Each participant had completed a GED and was asked to participate in a 6-week college preparation program that involved taking developmental courses and corresponding workshops to address academic challenges and navigation of the admissions process. This study examined five research questions which provided insight through the life stories of sixteen African American (AA) and Latino/a students to determine what helped them overcome barriers and challenges to reach their goals. The research questions generally covered their reasons to pursue a degree, challenges they face, their support system both outside and inside the academic realm, and the implications for effective college transition planning for GED completers. The findings in this study reveal that developing students' cultural and social capital will create an environment that motivates students to persist. Most of the students in this study who participated in the transition program felt empowered to take charge of their own destiny when pursuing their college degree. More specifically, in this research study there are five outcomes; 1. Purposely address and manage the amount of accumulated GED completers' social and cultural capital through learning communities. 2. Address GED completers' non-academic challenges which includes admissions, mentoring, counseling advising and on campus engagement. 3. Address GED completers' level of college confidence, motivation and internal locus of control. 4. Address GED completers Academic challenges. 5. Address GED completers' Economic situation and financial needs e.g. child care, paying for tuition, books, fees and/or transportation.

This article discusses the impact of rail market liberalization on the energy intensity of rail in relation to the export of goods, as well as the identification of multidimensional cause-and-effect relationships between rail energy intensity and the importing country’s economic condition, transport performance, and transport distance. Three research questions were formulated: (1) Does the liberalization of the EU transport market and the implementation of a sustainable transport policy contribute to minimizing the energy consumption of rail transport? (2) Does the pursuit of economic growth allow for reducing the energy intensity of goods exported by rail transport in global trade? (3) Is there a justified paradigm for shifting long-distance freight transport from roads to rail? This study concerned 21 directions of the export of goods transported by rail from Poland to partner countries (worldwide) in 2010–2020. A panel model of rail transport energy consumption with random effects was constructed. As a result of rail market liberalization, the export of goods transported by rail across great distances occurs without harming economic development and leads to a reduction in energy intensity. On this basis, key strategies were formulated to promote rail transport in reducing the energy intensity of the transport sector. The authors filled the research gap by identifying the relationship between the energy intensity of exports of goods by rail transport in value terms, depending on the European transport market’s liberalization process, the importing countries’ economic situation, transport volume, and distance. The presented approach is innovative and can be adapted to the analysis of other modes of transport, including road transport, and other countries (and their structure and export directions).

Nowadays, some fathers find themselves in an inconsistent situation. On the one hand, demographic changes have caused a re-definition of men s role within families who are no longer exclusively considered as providers. From a new kind of active father a family orientated, child centred attitude, a higher allocation of time towards and a more intense contact with their children is expected as well as wanted. Simultaneously, the emerging social change inter alia expressed in increasing divorce rates leads to an augmenting number of families characterised by absent fathers due to parental break-up. Thus, both developments increasing expectations towards and from fathers as well as decreasing time spend with their children within one household create an inconsistent situation for absent fathers. Studies on non-resident fathering show different individual strategies to cope with this contradiction. Despite a growing debate about post-separation families, so far, little is known about the actual non-resident fathering and its variation. The following research questions are yet to be answered: Which form and extent has fathering in terms of care and cash within post-separated families from fathers own perspective? How based on which economical, socio-demographic and institutional determinants - can the variations in non-resident fathering be explained? Answering the research question the focus lies on non-resident fathers in different contexts. The secondary analysis of three independently developed studies from Germany, Great Britain and Norway follows the principle of parallel demonstration of theory . That is, from a Rational Choice-approach different hypotheses about determinants of non-resident fathering are generally derived. These are tested on the empirical material of each nation. The research findings show a rather different form and extend of fathering for German, British and Norwegian separated fathers. This holds true for the care as well as the cash dimension. Each model of explanation shows varying determinants. Overall, the social-emotional fathering depends highly on the relationship between the parents before, during and after separation. Further, the fathers caring is determined by the distance between the parents home and the parents new partnership situation. The cash aspects cannot as easily be explained by the applied theoretical model. Findings have to be characterized as rather nationally heterogeneous. German fathers paying moral is based on their economical situation as well as by negotiation processes of maintenance. In Great Britain and Norway the explanation of maintenance practices is more complex. Other determinants proof relevance like the amicable relationship between the separated parents in the British case or the extent of contact agreed on between Norwegian parents.

Aim: This paper focuses on the evaluation of the impact of the use of compensation bonuses during a pandemic on the economic situation of companies. Methods: In order to achieve this objective, a primary quantitative survey in the form of a questionnaire survey was conducted in Czech enterprises and two research questions were set. The research questions were answered by testing four hypotheses, which focused on testing the relationship between the use of compensation bonuses and the nature of the change in the economic situation of the enterprise in terms of sector, size and prevailing business relationship. The parametric two-sample one-factor ANOVA and Pearson's Chi-squared test were used to test the hypotheses. Main findings: The results showed that the use of compensation bonuses was associated with a negative change in the economic situation of the firms. Differences in the magnitude of the effect were observed in terms of the prevailing business relationship and the size of the enterprises. The business sector did not affect the strength of the association between bonus use and change in economic situation. Limitations of the paper: the paper focuses on observing the short-term trend and is limited to Czech enterprises during the pandemic period.

In the article, the authors investigated the main approaches to the study of protest factors and their features. Based on quantitative and qualitative methods identified the main factors and causes of protests in Kazakhstan. A number of questions of the sociological research are aimed at assessing the respondents’ economic situation in the country, the financial situation and consumer potential of their family, identifying the problems facing the country. Another set of questions focused on identifying the level of trust in the media, determining the degree of influence of social networks on protest activity, assessing the level of protest of the population. The results of a survey of 2 000 respondents and the study of data from 16 focus group discussions in Kazakhstan revealed a hierarchy of factors affecting the protest potential in the country. The protest potential of Kazakhstan’s society is primarily associated with socio-economic problems. In addition, inefficient public administration and corruption are a factor of protest. This article examines the degree of readiness of Kazakhstanis to participate in protest actions. The propensity to participate in protests has been studied in ethnic, educational and sample of regions. The degree of impact of mass media on the protest potential of the Kazakh society is revealed. Key words: protest potential, protest activity, sample of regions, factors, conflict.

The article focuses on the complexity of social work education at Master’s level in Italy. After a literature review on social work education, an exploratory research carried out between December 2021 and June 2022 is presented. The research questions are about how Italian universities provide Master’s level education for social workers and the specificities of the different programmes. Admission requirements, professional profiles, disciplines and practice training are some of the issues addressed. Considering the Master’s training system is characterized by an interdisciplinary approach, but provides limited focus on social work disciplines, the research study shows the need to train specialist social workers who have a strong professional identity and at the same time can take on managerial roles. These findings need to be considered in the immediate post-pandemic scenario and in the current historical stage, which is now an exceptional economic situation, that impacts on people’s conditions and welfare. As the pandemic has highlighted inequalities and new needs, a structural approach is now required that goes beyond the emergency phase, also considering that new resources were put into social and health services. The conclusions highlight some future perspectives for social work education in Italy and suggest possible new research developments.

Globalization is generally defined as the process of integration of nations resulting from the transaction of world views, products, ideas, and many other aspects of culture.One particular development, arising from the advancing globalization, is the way countries are seeking cooperation with other countries of the world.Because of the highly developed means of communication, countries are seeking economic stability through diplomatic relationships.Economic diplomacy is traditionally defined as the decision and policymaking and advocating of business interests of a state.Economic diplomacy requires application of technical expertise that analyzes the effects of one's own and another country's economic situation on its political climate.This study, therefore, focuses on a historical analysis of the development of globalization and hence, economic diplomacy as one of its resulting trends to determine Kuwait's place in the world economy.The study explores the following research question: What role has globalization played in giving rise to economic diplomacy?The study uses historical analysis to explore the question.Two factors have been important in the current economic situation of the state of Kuwait: its foreign policy which was influenced by the direct interests of Middle Eastern states and of the United States and her dependence on its oil production.

Nowadays, some fathers find themselves in an inconsistent situation. On the one hand, demographic changes have caused a re-definition of men s role within families who are no longer exclusively considered as providers. From a new kind of active father a family orientated, child centred attitude, a higher allocation of time towards and a more intense contact with their children is expected as well as wanted. Simultaneously, the emerging social change inter alia expressed in increasing divorce rates leads to an augmenting number of families characterised by absent fathers due to parental break-up. Thus, both developments increasing expectations towards and from fathers as well as decreasing time spend with their children within one household create an inconsistent situation for absent fathers. Studies on non-resident fathering show different individual strategies to cope with this contradiction. Despite a growing debate about post-separation families, so far, little is known about the actual non-resident fathering and its variation. The following research questions are yet to be answered: Which form and extent has fathering in terms of care and cash within post-separated families from fathers own perspective? How based on which economical, socio-demographic and institutional determinants - can the variations in non-resident fathering be explained? Answering the research question the focus lies on non-resident fathers in different contexts. The secondary analysis of three independently developed studies from Germany, Great Britain and Norway follows the principle of parallel demonstration of theory . That is, from a Rational Choice-approach different hypotheses about determinants of non-resident fathering are generally derived. These are tested on the empirical material of each nation. The research findings show a rather different form and extend of fathering for German, British and Norwegian separated fathers. This holds true for the care as well as the cash dimension. Each model of explanation shows varying determinants. Overall, the social-emotional fathering depends highly on the relationship between the parents before, during and after separation. Further, the fathers caring is determined by the distance between the parents home and the parents new partnership situation. The cash aspects cannot as easily be explained by the applied theoretical model. Findings have to be characterized as rather nationally heterogeneous. German fathers paying moral is based on their economical situation as well as by negotiation processes of maintenance. In Great Britain and Norway the explanation of maintenance practices is more complex. Other determinants proof relevance like the amicable relationship between the separated parents in the British case or the extent of contact agreed on between Norwegian parents.

Vision impairment is a global public health concern affecting 1.1 billion people worldwide. The coronavirus disease or COVID-19 outbreak caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 2019 affected many aspects of everyday life and prompted various preventative health measures. Persons with visual impairment face multiple challenges daily, and with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, these challenges were likely worsened. With various studies conducted globally to explore the experiences of persons with visual impairment, this scoping review aims to provide an overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on persons with visual impairment within a global context. The five-step framework by Arksey and O’Malley was applied, involving a literature search across nine electronic databases, with specific search terms formulated from the research question. Data were screened for eligibility by the three reviewers using pre-decided study criteria. Of the 263 articles identified from December 2019 to October 2022, 49 were included in this review. More than 80% of the articles were published in the early years of the pandemic (2020 and 2021), and 77.5% of the studies had persons with visual impairment as participants. The themes identified included psychosocial, access to COVID-19 information and technology, healthcare, everyday activities, education, economic situation, adherence to regulations, and support. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the challenges faced by persons with visual impairment, especially those affecting their independence and daily routines. Governments and stakeholders should make more efforts to address the challenges experienced by persons with visual impairment, as this will directly impact their quality of life.

T.J.S. Carlson L. Maffi Ethnobotany and the Conservation of Biocultural Diversity. Advances in Economic Botany vol. 15 2004 New York Botanical Garden Press Bronx, New York, USA (356 pages, Price: $ 29.95 (pb), index, bibliography (for each chapter), ISBN 0-89327-453-4)

Research problem introduction. Modern society of highly developed countries, according to some scientists, is at the stage of post-industrial development, the rest are striving to reach this level and are in the process of transformation. The city, as a complex socio-geosystem, which is influenced by a number of external and internal factors, is a dynamic formation, which is characterized by the concepts of development and transformation. For Ukraine, as a part of the European region, the processes of post-industrial transformations are also characteristic. Kharkiv is a typical post-socialist city in the Eastern European region, which seeks post-industrial transformations. The study of post-industrial development factors is an important and relevant step in developing a strategy and planning for urban development, given the uniqueness of each individual city. The study of factors of development of this kind of city, gives the chance of implementation of the received results for implementation at planning of development of other cities. The purpose of this study is to determine the main factors of post-industrial transformation of urban socio-geosystems on the example of Kharkiv. To achieve this purpose, the following research questions were asked: What periods of post-industrial transformation did the city of Kharkiv undergo? What factors and with what force influenced the transformation of the city? Research methods. Multidisciplinary research approach to the study of cities and the peculiarities of their development, functioning and transformation, contributes to the formation of a significant set of interdisciplinary and specifically scientific research methods. Considering the city as a complex socio-geosystem, characterized by a significant set of development indicators, the most effective methods for determining specific factors of its transformation are mathematical and statistical methods, including cluster and factor analysis. Results, Scientific novelty, Practical significance. Cluster analysis, as a grouping tool, allowed to streamline the indicators of socio-economic and spatial development of the city for the study period, and to establish three main stages of post-industrial transition: a period of development at the expense of residual resources (1991-1997); a period of crisis, the beginning of post-industrial transformations, the most striking manifestation of which is the process of deindustrialization (1998-2010); a period of gradual recovery from the economic crisis, the economic situation in the city is stabilizing, some industries are being modernized, activization post-industrial processes like gentrification, revitalization, neo-industrialization, tertialization (2011-2019). Factor analysis allowed to identife three main factors groups transformation of Kharkiv from industrial to post-industrial stages (1991-2019): 1) the structure of labor resources, their social protection and the most important sectors of the tertiary, quaternary and fifth sectors of the economy; 2) demographic development of the city; 3) age structure of the population and the main indicators of economic development. During the period of Ukraine's independence in Kharkiv, as in most powerful industrial cities of the country, transformations of all spheres of their functioning took place. In the period of post-industrial transformations, the combination and interconnection of the triad of these factors is constantly changing, changing the internal structure of the urban socio-geosystem and its appearance. At the same time, the composition and structure of the city's population, the structure of the economy and methods of production are transformed, the sphere of social security of the population and the non-productive sphere comes to the fore, the interaction of the population with the city is transformed. Determining the periods of Kharkiv development and the main factors of influence is an important step for creating and substantiating a comprehensive description of the city in the period of post-industrial transformations, identifying problems and prospects for further development of the city.