Central And Southeastern Europe Research Articles

Raluca Bianca Roman, Sofiya Zahova, and Aleksandar G. Marinov, eds. Roma Writings. Romani Literature and Press in Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe from the 19th Century until World War II

Raluca Bianca Roman, Sofiya Zahova, and Aleksandar G. Marinov, eds. <i>Roma Writings. Romani Literature and Press in Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe from the 19th Century until World War II</i>

Assessing the awareness and willingness of European experts to reduce their carbon footprint in everyday consumption

This study investigates and evaluates the European expert's selection and conjoined degree of willingness to decrease the carbon footprint (WDC) of consuming products and services to mitigate climate change. The survey respondents were segregated into four European regions based on their nationality viz. Nordic, Baltic, and Eastern Europe (NBE), Central and South-eastern Europe (CSE), Western and southern Europe (WSE), and North-western Europe (NWE). The WDC are represented by four index categories viz. low willing, moderate willing, willing, and highly willing. The WDC indicators such as housing, food, energy, waste and transport were used to identify the trend and correlation, gender-specific density distribution, and overall regional comparison analysis. The trend and correlation analysis between energy vs. transport, waste vs. food, and a separate state of housing represented the current global carbon emission situation, where four overlapping clusters indicated the respondent's closest or similar selection at their consumption level. The gender-specific density suggests that the male respondent's average WDC for housing and food index ranges from moderate to highly willing. In contrast, the female average WDC for food, waste, energy and transport index ranges from moderate willing to willing and bimodal for other scenarios. Among the regional comparisons, NBE in housing (moderate willing to willing), CSE in food (willing to highly willing), WSE and CSE in energy and all the regions in waste management (willing to highly willing) presented better indices. In transport, Europe as a whole exhibits poor index. In case of WDC index, the regional comparison indicates that the CSE region exhibited better outcomes than the other regions, except for housing. The findings of this study will be beneficial for the common people, researchers, policymakers, and regulators to enrich their future thoughts and contributes to the development and improvement of the existing carbon reduction policies, especially in the transport sector.

Establishment of avirtual transborder tumor board for cancer patients in Central and Southeastern Europe : An initiative of the Central European Cooperative Oncology Group (CECOG).

PurposeTo establish a transborder virtual tumor board (VTB) fostering state-of-the-art management of cancer patients by exchanging knowledge and expertise among oncologists in Central and Southeastern Europe (CEE).MethodsWe established and implemented a VTB based on the WebEx platform. This allowed for password-protected and secure upload of patient cases to be presented and discussed among colleagues from various oncology centers scattered throughout CEE in order to arrive at a recommendation for further diagnoses and/or treatment.ResultsA total of 73 cases from 16 oncology centers located in 11 CEE countries were uploaded by 22 physicians; 71 were discussed over the course of 17 virtual meetings between June 2018 and May 2019 and 12 different kinds of malignant diseases were discussed with lung cancer (46.6%), melanoma (19.2%) and bladder cancer (13.6%) being the most commonly presented tumor entities. Of the discussed patients, 93.3% had stage IV disease at the time of presentation, 62.6% received chemotherapy or targeted treatment and 67.1% were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPIs). The most common causes for presentation and discussion of patient cases were related to the use of ICPIs (80%).ConclusionWhen the need for expertise exceeds locally available resources, web-based VTBs provide a feasible way to discuss patient cases and arrive at conclusions regarding diagnoses and/or treatment across large geographic distances. Moreover, VTBs provide an innovative way for proper, state-of-the-art management of patients with malignant diseases in times of social distancing and the resulting need for restricted interaction during the current SARS-CoV‑2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2) pandemic.

Overview of health care provision for adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) in Central and South-eastern European countries: current status, provision gaps and investments needed

Abstract Background Most of North and Western European countries recognized long ago the importance of specialized ACHD programmes and have today well-established Centre of excellence for management of ACHD patients. In contrast, even though Central and South-eastern (CESE) European region geographically comprise almost half of the European continent, little is known about ACHD status in vast majority of its countries. Purpose We aim to provide for the first time contemporary comprehensive overview of ACHD situation in CESE Europe. Methods We obtained data regarding current national ACHD status from 19 CESE European countries. Over the country national cardiac society, the ESC Working Group on ACHD has identified physician/s actively involved in ACHD care in these countries. Country's representative/s filled out an extensive survey regarding the provision of care for the year 2017 or/and 2018 comprised from five main questionnaires: country and hospital ACHD information, clinical activity information, interventional, and surgical cardiac procedures, infrastructure and staffing, health care system including funding, and education. Results The majority of countries have specialized ACHD centre; 13 out of 19 countries have a national tertiary centre. The median number of adult cardiologists and cardiologists specifically involved in ACHD care per country is 400 and 3, respectively. The median number of ACHD centres per country was one; year of establishment was 2007. Six countries have no dedicated centre. With the exception of Albania, these countries were relatively young, all have significantly lower GDP/capita in comparison with other CESE countries with an established service (p=0.005). The median number of outpatient visits and hospital admission per year was 900 and 135, respectively; cardiac catheter interventions and cardiac operations yearly were 49 and 40. Thirteen countries have a public health care system funded by their government, while six have also a small portion of private reimbursement. However, all countries have a financial cap imposed on ACHD care per hospital, leading to a patient waiting list and a restriction in the number of procedures. Conclusion In the past decades, the CESE European region has made significant progress in the state-of-the art ACHD care. The majority of countries nowadays have established ACHD services with a substantial patient workload comparable to the rest of Europe. Moreover, most centres are equipped with the necessary infrastructure. Contemporary provisions of ACHD care in the CESE European region is nevertheless challenged by generally lower financial resources, lower staffing levels and de-facto caps on the possibility to perform certain necessary procedures in comparison with Western European countries. These government healthcare financial constraints also restrict the required expansion in terms of numbers and complexity of surgical and interventional procedures locally. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in Countries of Central and Southeastern Europe: Diagnostic Procedures and Treatment Reimbursement Surveyed by the Central European Cooperative Oncology Group.

This article analyzes the availability of different diagnostic procedures of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the reimbursement landscape of drugs for NSCLC in countries of central and southeastern Europe (CEE). A survey was conducted by the Central European Cooperative Oncology Group. Results of the survey show that both availability and reimbursement of diagnoses of molecular alterations in NSCLC, the detection of which is essential for therapeutic decisions, varies widely between countries of CEE. Not only is "reflex" testing often substituted by analyses performed only "on demand," but reimbursement of such assessments varies widely between unavailability and payments by the health care system or even pharmaceutical companies. It was concluded that a structured access to testing and reimbursement should be the aim in order to provide patients with appropriate therapeutic options. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This article provides an overview of the limitations in lung cancer treatment in countries of central and southeastern Europe, as well as the reimbursement status of various lung cancer treatment regimens in these countries, which directly impacts treatment options.

The “New Cold Warriors” and the “Pragmatics”: The Differences in Foreign Policy Attitudes towards Russia and the Eastern Partnership States among the NATO Member States from Central and South-Eastern Europe

AbstractThe post-communist NATO member states from Central and South-Eastern Europe (CSEE) comprise a group of 11 NATO/EU member states, from the Baltic to the Adriatic and Black Sea. The twelfth and thirteenth NATO member states from the region are Albania and Montenegro. The afore-mentioned NATO/EU member states have mostly shown a similar stance towards the Eastern Partnership Policy. However, since 2014, these states have shown more diverse stances, albeit declaratively supporting the anti-Russian sanctions. Due to the difference in stances towards Russia, the “New Cold Warriors” (Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania) and the “Pragmatics” (Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Bulgaria), will maintain a mostly common course towards Russia and the Eastern Partnership states because they have to. The Czech Republic, although hosting a part of the US anti-ballistic missile shield, is not a genuine “New Cold Warrior”, while in 2016 Croatia effectively became one.

Efficiency of the Macedonian banking sector

The subject of this paper is to measure the efficiency of the Macedonian banking sector by applying two approaches: firstly, comparative analysis on the efficiency indicators of the banking sector in the Republic of Macedonia and the countries of Central and Southeastern Europe (CSEE) and secondly, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The aim is to provide directions and guidelines for further strengthening of the Macedonian banking sector. According to the comparative analysis of the efficiency indicators (net interest margin and operating costs) of the Macedonian banking sector and the countries of CSEE, the countries whose banking sector shows lower operating costs are characterized with a higher level of financial deepening and greater degree of financial intermediation. The high interest margins direct towards unsuitable allocation of financial resources and insufficient competitiveness in the domestic banking sector. When applying the DEA approach, it can be stated that the group of large banks marks the highest efficiency within the Macedonian banking sector. The high concentration degree of banking activities within the group of large banks with a leading role in determining the interest rates, results in a rigid interest policy of the banks. In the direction of strengthening the efficiency of the Macedonian banking sector as a whole, the obtained results show that it is necessary for the banks to be further consolidated so as to utilize the advantages of the economies of scale, increase competitiveness, offer a diversified structure of products, invest in new contemporary software solutions that will allow reinforcement of their employees? productivity and long-term reduction of the operating costs, as well.

Ethnicity and gender in the labour market in Central and South-Eastern Europe

The Roma are both the largest ‘minority’ ethnic group in Central and South-Eastern Europe (CSEE) and the one that suffered most from transition to the market. Still today, nearly 40 years after the introduction of the European Union (EU) 1975 Discrimination Directive and with the end of the ‘Roma Decade’ (2005–15) in sight, people from the Roma minority have unemployment rates far above—and employment rates and wages far below—those of majority populations. One issue that has received relatively little attention concerns the ‘double’ discrimination facing Roma women. Not only do Roma women face poorer employment and wage outcomes in the labour market than non-Roma women, in most CSEE countries the gender earnings gap is significantly larger amongst Roma compared to non-Roma. This paper seeks to analyse and explain differences in the gender gap in the earnings of Roma. The paper employs a non-parametric matching approach to identify the main factors underlying the gender difference. Educational attainment plays a relatively small role, explaining only around one-fifth of the gap. Industrial and occupational segregation appear to be playing a strong role as do the civil status of individuals, household socio-economic status and whether or not individuals live in a predominantly Roma community.

Threats to Sustainability of Soil Functions in Central and Southeast Europe

A diverse topography along with deforestation, changing climatic conditions, long-term human settlement, overuse of agricultural lands without sustainable planning, cultural difficulties in accepting conservative land management practices, and wrong political decisions have increased the vulnerability of many soils to degradation and resulted in a serious decline in their functional capacity. A progressive reduction in the capacity of soils to support plant productivity is not only a threat in the African continent and its large desert zone, but also in several parts of Central and Southeastern Europe (CASEE). The loss of soil functions throughout CASEE is mainly related to the human activities that have profound influence on soil dynamic characteristics. Improper management of soils has made them more vulnerable to degradation through water and wind erosion, organic matter depletion, salinity, acidification, crusting and sealing, and compaction. Unmitigated degradation has substantial implications for long term sustainability of the soils’ capability to support human communities and resist desertification. If sustainable agricultural and land management practices are not identified, well understood and implemented, the decline in soil quality will continue and probably accelerate. The lack of uniform criteria for the assessment and evaluation of soil quality in CASEE countries prevents scientific assessments to determine if existing management practices are leading to soil quality improvement, or if not, what management practices should be recommended to mitigate and reverse the loss of soil health.

Role of the Dinaric Karst (western Balkans) in shaping the phylogeographic structure of the threatened crayfish Austropotamobius torrentium

Summary1. This study examines phylogeography and phylogeny of the threatened stone crayfish, Austropotamobius torrentium, in order to elucidate the role of the Dinaric Karst geology in shaping the evolutionary history and genetic diversity of aquatic fauna in the western Balkans. Mitochondrial 16S rRNA and COI genes were partially sequenced from 188 and 159 crayfish, respectively, sampled from 70 localities. Phylogenetic relationships were reconstructed using four methods of phylogenetic inference. Divergence times between phylogroups were estimated in a Bayesian framework, and their demographic history was examined using neutrality tests and mismatch distribution analysis.2. Seven geographically localised phylogroups separated by pronounced genetic gaps were found. Five of them have a distribution range within the northern‐central Dinaric (NCD) region, while the remaining two include populations from the southern Balkans (SB) and central and south‐eastern Europe (CSE). The oldest divergence event separated two NCD lineages from the rest of populations in the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene. Divergences amongst the five NCD phylogroups and SB + CSE occurred in the Pliocene. The most recent split separated SB and CSE phylogroups during the Late Pliocene. For both genes, uncorrected pairwise divergences between most of the phylogroups (4.1–8.7% for COI and 1.6–4.8% for 16S rRNA) were of the same range as, or higher than, some of the interspecific distances previously reported for the genus Austropotamobius.3. Geographically isolated and deeply divergent cryptic monophyletic phylogroups within A. torrentium in the NCD region arose in the course of intensification of Neotectonic movements during the Pliocene and the beginning of the Pleistocene and the development of karstification that has heavily fragmented the palaeohydrography of the area. The results confirm a gradual north–south expansion of stone crayfish during the pre‐Pleistocene that preceded the rapid northward post‐glacial re/colonisation of central Europe (CSE phylogroup) through the Danube drainage.4. Austropotamobius torrentium comprises morphologically cryptic but molecularly distinct taxa. Considering the relatively small geographical areas they inhabit, the NCD phylogroups of stone crayfish should be given the highest conservation priority.

Stratified dispersal and increasing genetic variation during the invasion of Central Europe by the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera.

Invasive species provide opportunities for investigating evolutionary aspects of colonization processes, including initial foundations of populations and geographic expansion. Using microsatellite markers and historical information, we characterized the genetic patterns of the invasion of the western corn rootworm (WCR), a pest of corn crops, in its largest area of expansion in Europe: Central and South-Eastern (CSE) Europe. We found that the invaded area probably corresponds to a single expanding population resulting from a single introduction of WCR and that gene flow is geographically limited within the population. In contrast to what is expected in classical colonization processes, an increase in genetic variation was observed from the center to the edge of the outbreak. Control measures against WCR at the center of the outbreak may have decreased effective population size in this area which could explain this observed pattern of genetic variation. We also found that small remote outbreaks in southern Germany and north-eastern Italy most likely originated from long-distance dispersal events from CSE Europe. We conclude that the large European outbreak is expanding by stratified dispersal, involving both continuous diffusion and discontinuous long-distance dispersal. This latter mode of dispersal may accelerate the expansion of WCR in Europe in the future.

Long‐term Care in Central and South‐Eastern Europe: Challenges and Perspectives in Addressing a ‘New’ Social Risk

AbstractLong‐term care in Central and South‐Eastern Europe (CSEE) has to date been largely neglected in the social policy literature. This article provides an examination of the context and the sources of reform of long‐term care in CSEE, particularly Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. It focuses on studying developments in the light of the major principles underlying the transition process and discussing key features of current developments in terms of their potential for establishing a new paradigm in long‐term care policies. The article argues that the realization of more comprehensive long‐term care systems has been largely hindered by a failure of governments to set priorities in this sector, by the limitations civil society finds in bringing the issue into a broader public debate and by fears that new welfare schemes will substantially extend public expenditure obligations. The findings show that – similar to the situation in most other European countries – long‐term care is a latecomer in welfare state development in CSEE. But ageing societies, growing care needs and broader socio‐economic developments will also increasingly challenge traditional ways of organizing long‐term care and create pressure to find new welfare approaches.

Analyzing FDI trends in emerging markets: Turkey vs CSEE and the Middle East

PurposeThis paper aims to deconstruct the economic position of Turkey in comparison to its immediate neighbors, Central and South‐Eastern Europe (CSEE), and the Middle East, with a specific emphasis on Japanese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).Design/methodology/approachSeveral determinants of FDI intensity identified in the extant research are used to conduct this comparative analysis. The data is based on the foreign subsidiaries of Japanese firms.FindingsThe results confirm the ambiguous position of Turkey. It enjoys a high Gross Domestic Product growth despite a relatively low openness to trade. From cultural and political risk perspectives it is closer to the Middle East than to CSEE. In spite of its location advantages, the institutional environment continues to be an impediment, preventing Turkey from realizing its full investment potential. Thus, Japanese investors choose to invest in CSEE economies, which are slightly closer culturally to Japan, and significantly less risky.Research limitations/implicationsThe descriptive nature of this study is due to a limited sample size. The comparison of a country with two regions might be too simplistic. Focus on Japanese FDI limits generalizability.Practical implicationsThe results of this analysis confirm the importance of continuous market liberalization and political stabilization measures for attracting FDI. Government policies in the region should not only attempt to remedy local deficiencies but strive to create a comprehensive institutional framework.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the emerging market research in the region with paucity of data. Although comparisons among various European regions are common, such tri‐lateral analyses are rare.