External Form Research Articles

Foreign institutional ownership externalities and supplier innovation

Many emerging markets allow foreign investment as a way to reform domestic markets. Extant studies have found a positive externality on innovation brought forth by foreign direct investment (FDI); however, we know very little about the externality of another form of foreign investment, ownership by foreign institutional investors (FII), on innovation. In this paper, we document one form of FII externality by showing that foreign institutional ownership of the customer firm results in higher supplier innovation. We also show that the FII externality on supplier innovation is stronger when customers have more influence on the suppliers and when the FIIs can facilitate information flow better. Our findings suggest that the real impact of FII can go beyond the underlying firms, and promoting FII may benefit firms, especially smaller firms in emerging countries that do not directly have foreign ownership.

Applying self-determination theory towards motivational factors of physical activity in people undergoing haemodialyses: A qualitative interview study.

The level of physical activity of people undergoing haemodialyses is low, so understanding what factors underlie the motivation to be physically active in people undergoing haemodialyses is important. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to explore the different motivation types and corresponding basic psychological needs (BPNs) of people undergoing haemodialyses based on self-determination theory. We adopted the objective sampling method to select 19 patients with the end-stage renal disease aged from 28 to 66 years old from a tertiary hospital in Xi'an. They underwent haemodialyses five to six times every 2 weeks for more than 3 months. Then, we conducted semistructured one-on-one interviews with 19 people undergoing haemodialyses using qualitative content analysis. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatimand analyzed on a thematic analysis. We analyzed four motivation types of patients, namely four themes, including entrenching in physical inactivity (Amotivation), breaking physical inactivity (Controlled motivation), finding one's way (Autonomous regulation) and enjoying the positive effects of physical activity (Intrinsic motivation). Each motivation is dominated by one or more BPNs. For example, inadequate Competence such as decreased physical function is the reason why the patient does not perform physical activities. Due to the lack of health education on physical activity, people undergoing haemodialyses often lack the motivation for controlled regulation. The motivation for self-regulation is generated by the patients' promotion of meeting BPNs, such as normal social interactions. The formation of patients' autonomous motivation can't be separated from the effective understanding felt by other patients, because their situations are similar. Enjoying physical activity promotes the formation of patients' intrinsic motivation and the maintenance of this behaviour. Perceived Competence, Relatedness and Autonomous Motivation are important determinants for physical activity in people undergoing haemodialyses. Patients need to internalize the changed values and skills, so as to generate the motivation of self-regulation, rather than external or controlled forms of motivation regulation, to better maintain behaviour change. People undergoing haemodialyses were involved in the development of the interview topic guide to ensure all relevant topics were explored.

ІНТЕГРАЦІЯ ВНУТРІШНІХ І ЗОВНІШНІХ ФОРМ ТА МОДЕЛЕЙ ПРОФЕСІЙНОГО РОЗВИТКУ ВИКЛАДАЧІВ ФІЗИЧНОГО ВИХОВАННЯ У БАГАТОГАЛУЗЕВИХ ЗАКЛАДАХ ВИЩОЇ ОСВІТИ

The article is devoted to the problem of internal and external forms and models of physical education teachers’ professional development at multidisciplinary institution of higher education integration. The purpose of the article is determined as follows: to present the possibilities of internal and external forms and models of physical education teachers’ professional development integration at multidisciplinary institution of higher education. The article presents the results of scientific and pedagogical literature analysis, which highlights theories, concepts, approaches that underline professional development of physical education teachers, its content, knowledge, skills and abilities, professional values and attitudes of physical education teachers, forms, and methods of physical education teachers’ professional development. The article presents institutional forms and models: internships, professional development programs, advanced training courses, cooperation between different institutions of higher education, cooperation between different departments of a multidisciplinary institution of higher education, cooperation between the Department of Physical Education and other divisions of a multidisciplinary institution of higher education). The conclusion is made about availability of a wide variety of forms and models of professional development and their balanced application based on the integration of the potential of the external environment and internal – academic environment of multidisciplinary institution of higher education, which contributes to ensuring the principle of correspondence of professional development proposals to the interests and needs of physical education teachers, Departments of Physical Education, and multidisciplinary institutions of higher education in general. The prospects of further scientific research are outlines.

Jia-Wei-Si-Miao-Yong-An Fang stimulates the healing of acute radiation-induced cutaneous wounds through MAPK/ERK pathway.

A famous traditional oral Chinese medicine formula, Si-Miao-Yong-An decoction, has been used to treat thromboangiitis obliterans from the Qing Dynasty. Because its therapeutic principles including clearing away heat, detoxification, accelerating blood circulation and relieving pains are consistent with acute radiation-induced cutaneous wounds in traditional Chinese medicine, we tried to add herbs and improve them into an external dosage form, called Jia-Wei-Si-Miao-Yong-An Fang (JWSMYA). However, its mechanism on radiation-induced cutaneous wounds is still unknown. This study evaluated the therapeutic effect of JWSMYA and investigated the mechanism of repair and anti-fibrosis on acute radiation-induced cutaneous wounds with JWSMYA. Firstly, we prepared JWSMYA, and determined the composition through UHPLC LC-MS/MS. Then we used ionizing radiation to make a cutaneous wound model of rats, and observed wound healing through their skin injury score, wound contraction percentage and histological staining. In addition, immunohistochemical staining, Western blot analysis, qRT-PCR and Elisa were used to explore wound rehabilitation and anti-fibrosis mechanisms. An in vivo assay revealed that JWSMYA promoted the repairment of acute radiation-induced cutaneous wounds, facilitated MAPK/ERK phosphorylation, inhibited PI3K/AKT activation, reduced the level of alpha-smooth muscle actin (a-sma), collagen type-I alpha 2 (Col1a2) and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) in cutaneous tissues. However, no statistical difference was found in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). JWSMYA accelerated the repair of acute radiation-induced cutaneous wounds, which might be associated with the MAPK/ERK pathway. In addition, PI3K/AKT might be associated with the inhibition of fibrosis and the promotion of high-quality wound healing.

Два типа музыкально-творческого процесса – две формы музыкального произведения

The study aims to show the interaction of the external and internal forms of a musical work as purely musical and conceptual logos structures using the example of V. G. Korolevsky’s First String Quartet. The paper analyses the scientific state of the problem of musical-creative thinking, sheds light on the issue of coexistence and interaction of musical and conceptual thinking in a composer’s creative process, which leave their formbuilding trace in the sound matter of a musical work, these spheres of formbuilding are differentiated into external and internal forms, i.e. the focus of the objective (universal) and subjective (personal) meaning, as well as their fundamental difference is determined. Scientific novelty lies in the approach to the analysis of V. G. Korolevsky’s First String Quartet from the position of the internal form, the starting point of which is the paradigmatic structure of the typical content, or the objective meaning, its ending point is the form of meaning. As a result, it has been found that the form uniting Korolevsky’s Quartet on the inside is a labyrinth branching into two intonational directions, represented by the themes of the chorale and fugue, with a fairly clearly marked fork point – the theme of the cross.

USAGE OF FHRASES IN THE KAZAKH LANGUAGE IN THE AZ-ZAMAKSHARI’S DICTIONARY "MUKHADIMAT AL-ADAB"

Az-Zamakhshari is a great historian, geographer, literary critic, linguist, teacher and a poet of his time. In modern terms, as a public figure he left to the next generation invaluable works on logic, grammar, religion, dictionaries, literature, literary studies, pedagogy, history and geography. Many of his writings have reached us. One of his precious legacies left to the generations is his dictionary, titled «Muqaddimat al-Adab». This article discusses the structure of phrases in Az-Zamakhshari's work «Muqaddimat al-Adab». The manuscript of his unique four-language Arabic-Turkish-Mongolian work in the world is currently kept in the Alisher Nauai Literature Museum in Tashkent. According to the researchers, the scholar's «Muqaddimat al-Adab» includes Arabic-Persian-Turkish-Mongolian languages, however the Turkish section is not finished. The difference between the dictionary and the modern bilingual dictionaries is, firstly, that it includes several languages, and secondly, it was created by combining it with phrases, not just a list of words. This article talks about phrases from the dictionary «Muqaddimat al-Adab». Their transmission structures are shown and the similarity with modern Kazakh phrases is analyzed. In the dictionary, phrases are represented by a root cell. In this regard, it is discovered that it corresponds to the structure of the dictionaries created during the period of Muslim civilization. In most dictionaries of the Middle Ages, words and phrases were created using cells (models) similar to the phonetic structure of the Arabic language. Here, the root of the word is shown first, followed by a phrase made from that word. Words and phrases are arranged not according to their meaning, but according to the external form of the word. Phrasal verbs are also listed in the dictionary. However, it can be seen that their translations are not aligned with the phrasal verbs in the translated language. Several verbs are formed from one root, and various phrases formed from them are concentrated. Phrasal verbs formed within one word are collected as a group. From this aspect, the article considers phrases taken from dictionaries. The materials collected in this article are given as a general description of the phrases in the dictionary. In our future studies, it is planned to consider them together with the phonetic-morphological aspect.

Problems of the Sources of Law Systematisation

Introduction . In the national legal science the concept of the sources of law multiplicity had been denied for decades. It was alleged that legislative acts are the only embodiment and the main form of the legal norms existence. The situation changed in the 90s of the twentieth century due to the crucial political and socio-economic transformations that took place in the Soviet Union, in Russia, on the former Soviet Union territory. Gradually not only legislative regulatory acts, but also authorized practice, judicial precedent, normative contract have become referred to as the sources of law. Over the past decades, the range of external forms of the legal norms expression has significantly expanded and become more complicated. One of the legal science most important objectives is classification of objects, distribution of objects (phenomena) by classes (types) depending on their characteristics. However, there are just few works focusing on the theoretical and practical issues of the sources of law classification within the post-Soviet period of the Russian legal science evolution. The aim of this study is to identify the problems in the sources of law systematisation. The relevance of this topic is determined by the theoretical and practical significance of the sources of law system, its reformation in the modern conditions. Materials and Methods. The research methodology consists of the general scientific and special juridical methods. Due to the rapidly changing attitude towards these methods among the scientific community the priority in the research was given to the contemporary sources. The conceptual statements of other authors were analysed and integrated with the own empirical experience which jointly made it possible to formulate the number of provisions. Results . One of the most important objectives of science is classification of objects, distribution of objects (phenomena) by classes (types) depending on their characteristics. It has been found that in the Russian legal science just single works are focusing on the theoretical and practical issues of the sources of law systematisation and classification. The diversity of theoretical approaches to understanding the essence of the source of law phenomenon in the legal science, the diametrical opposite of the authors’ interpretation of its meaning has accordingly led to the problems in the sources of law systematisation. It has been recognised that the problem of the sources of law classification is in the process of investigation and has not received the unified solution. Various approaches to the sources of law classification have been considered. The status of codified acts in the legislative system has been analysed. Discussion and Conclusions. The problems in the sources of law systematisation have been revealed. The difficulties are caused by the dichotomy (sources — forms) which a priori underlies the sources comprehension and presupposes distinction of the independent types under both conceptual and terminological uncertainty. The Russian sources of law system continues to develop dynamically. In the Russian legislative system the range of sources of law steadily expands, which is directly related to the process of convergence of the main legal systems, first of all the Romano-Germanic and Anglo-Saxon systems.

Research on the Application Strategy of Mount Tai Culture in the Courtyard Design of Tai'an Home Stay

Mount Tai Scenic Area is located in Tai'an City, Shandong Province, and is known as the "Five Sacred Mountains". Starting from the two directions of gardening art method and modern courtyard landscape design, this paper probes into the essence of spiritual connotation and construction method, analyzes the existing problems and development trend requirements of modern courtyard landscape design, puts forward the design language enlightenment of Tai'an homestay courtyard in space, artistic conception and element direction by combining the case of Tai'an courtyard, and discusses the limitations and relevance of traditional gardening art method in modern application through the relationship between the two, From the perspective of space experience construction, the specific application methods of integrating courtyard design are proposed. The main purpose of this study is to comb the application strategies for regional courtyard landscape design and provide systematic services for courtyard design. Through research, it is found that traditional gardens and modern garden landscapes are highly similar. Mount Tai gardens, whether in design philosophy or garden building methods, could summarize and form a theoretical system of specific application methods in five aspects, namely, "site selection, cultural thoughts and artistic conception experience, space combination, detail elements, formal beauty, and metaphorical expression", based on the design connotation and created space feelings, a new idea of homestay courtyard landscape design was explored and it has the significance of the times and covers local characteristics and is not restricted to external forms. The results of this study provide valuable information for application strategy of Mount Tai culture in the courtyard design of Tai'an home stay.

A Demographic Characteristics-Based Study on the Visual Impact Assessment of the External Form of Entrance Pavilions to the Underground Stations of China’s Subway

The subway is one of urban residents’ main means of public transportation. The design of entrance pavilions to subway stations has shown a diverse development trend over time. Since most of the subway building space is underground, it is very difficult for subway users or the public to view the structure fully. In this instance, the ground-level entrance pavilion becomes the most eye-catching element in the subway system. From the perspective of the urban spatial environment, the external form of entrance pavilions is one of the components of urban architecture. The design of the external form of entrance pavilions has an important impact on the urban spatial form and affects people’s feelings about the urban space. Therefore, it is essential to study the external form of entrance pavilions. This study investigated 42 subway entrance pavilions in 17 cities in China. The following features were studied: exterior contour, façade permeability, cultural characteristics, decorative materials, and the number of exterior colors. The photostimulation method was adopted to evaluate the influence of the physical features of the external form of the entrance pavilions on respondents’ visual impact assessment. The data analysis showed that respondents with different demographic characteristics provided different visual impact assessments of the external form of the entrance pavilions, and all five physical features influenced their assessment. This study offers a valuable reference for constructing entrance pavilions and urban spaces in Chinese cities in the future.

Offshore murtoos indicate warm-based Fennoscandian ice-sheet conditions during the Bølling warming in the northern Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea

Glacial landforms provide invaluable information on the dynamics and extent of past ice sheets. In planform view, murtoos are triangular-shaped subglacial landforms that have recently been described from areas previously covered by the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet and whose formation has been linked to meltwater activity. We document the first occurrence of offshore murtoos and associated eskers in a high-resolution multibeam and sub-bottom profile dataset from the northern Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea. In this study area, the murtoos appear to be longer (range 43–748 m), narrower (range 12–394 m) and less high (range 0.5–7.8 m), on average, compared to those previously reported on land, although this may be partly due to post-glacial sediments that smooth the present-day seafloor topography and may have buried smaller murtoos. The direction of murtoo longitudinal axes suggests a local NNE–SSW paleo-ice stream direction. In sub-bottom boomer profiles, the murtoos are characterized by moderate amplitude, sub-parallel discontinuous internal reflectors, indicating a varying sandy diamicton and sand composition, which is compatible with the previously interpreted mode of deposition by pulsed subglacial meltwater flow. Eskers that are found in close association with the murtoos are shorter (mean length 538 m) and more curved than their counterparts on nearby land areas, and they lack a general alignment. In boomer profiles, the eskers are characterized by low-amplitude, sub-parallel continuous reflectors, suggesting a better-sorted sandy composition. The curved and poorly aligned external form of the eskers suggests deposition under restricted subglacial drainage conditions. We conclude that murtoos and related landforms in the northern Gulf of Riga were formed during the Bølling warming at ca. 14.5–14.1 cal kyr BP, when large amounts of meltwater were delivered to the ice-sheet bed.

The World of Ideas as a Way to Focus a Design Episteme

The subject of the study is a design episteme - a system of logical connections and ways of forming concepts within a semiotic design system. The design episteme is considered in dynamics: currently, a logical impasse is being outlined in design, inspired by the ideology of modernism. The ideology of modernism in its logical development leads the semiotic system of design to the use of signs-simulacra, which, in turn, leads to the practice of design to the end. The way out of this situation may be a turn in the development of the design episteme to a fundamentally different pole of thinking. The author uses the method of semiotic analysis, which allows to identify the main type of signs that is used in the modern design episteme. In addition, the methodological basis of the study is Plato's concept of the world of ideas as applied to modern design. Examples of aesthetic relativism in modern design are given as the body of the material, these examples explicate the defocusing of the design episteme. The main conclusion of the study is that the modern design episteme is in a logical impasse due to the use of a fourth-order simulacrum as the main sign form. A fourth–order simulacrum is a sign that not only does not refer to an internal referent, but also whose external form tends to zero. Such a sign does not imply the existence of design as a principle of organization and design of the interaction of the signifier and the signified in the sign. The design episteme, which does not imply design, is in a state of defocusing. The way to reassemble the design episteme is to switch to a different paradigm. From the materialistic and horizontally oriented paradigm of modernism, the design episteme should move into a vertically oriented paradigm. The basis for building thinking in the field of design in a vertically oriented system is Plato's concept of the world of ideas.

Preparation of Huoluo Xiaoling gel plaster and its transdermal penetration in vitro

Huoluo Xiaoling Dan is a classical prescription commonly used for blood circulation and pain relief in clinic with obvious effects. To make it directly treat lesion and improve the effect, this research optimized the preparation process of Huoluo Xiaoling gel paste and further evaluated its in vitro transdermal absorption performance, so as to provide a scientific basis for its development and utilization. Using primary viscosity, holding viscosity, and sensory score as evaluation indexes, the matrix amount of gel paste was determined by the single factor test and Box-Behnken response surface method. The ultra-performance liquid chromatography(UPLC) method was established to determine the content of eight active ingredients, including Danshensu, ferulic acid, salvianolic acid B, salvianolic acid A, ligustilide, tanshinone Ⅱ_A, 11-keto-β-boswellic(KBA), and 3-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid(AKBA). A mo-dified Franz diffusion cell method was used to evaluate and compare the absorption properties of the gel paste without volatile oil and with volatile oil microemulsion. The results showed that the optimal prescription for Huoluo Xiaoling gel paste matrix was NP700(1.35 g), glycerol(7.00 g), micropowder silica gel(1.25 g), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose(0.20 g), tartaric acid(0.06 g), and glyceryl aluminum(0.04 g). The mass fractions of eight active ingredients in the paste were successively 0.48, 0.014, 0.95, 0.39, 0.57, 0.055, 0.35, and 0.97 mg·g~(-1). The results of the in vitro transdermal absorption test showed that the addition of the volatile oil or the volatile oil microemulsion promoted the transdermal absorption of the active ingredients, and the law of drug penetration conformed to the zero equation or the Higuchi equation. The gel paste prepared by the optimal prescription has good appearance and adhesion, with no residue, and has the characteristics of skeletal slow-release preparation, which is easy to reduce the number of administration, la-ying a foundation for the development of new external dosage forms of Huoluo Xiaoling Dan.

Say What Your Longing Heart Desires: Women, Prayer, and Poetry in Iran

Say What Your Longing Heart Desires: Women, Prayer, and Poetry in Iran

Cetirizine-based soft dosage forms

The development of rational dosage forms with cetirizine is an urgent task. Cetirizine is a second-generation antihistamine. In patients suffering from allergies, the use of cetirizine leads to a significant improvement in the course of the disease. Even in veterinary practice, taking cetirizine orally once a day provides sufficient antihistamine effect in animals. Currently, the following drugs with cetirizine are available: film-coated tablets, orodispersible tablets, as well as drops for oral administration. There are no transdermal dosage forms with cetirizine in Russia. The transdermal therapeutic system (TTS) is a metered-dose soft dosage form for external use in the form of gels, patches, or films, which releases the drug slowly. The TTS advantages are as follows: ease of use, the ability of the medicinal substance to quickly enter the bloodstream, the ability to regulate the release rate of the active substance and use hydrophilic and lipophilic substances. We have developed two transdermal therapeutic systems with cetirizine — a gel and a patch, and studied the pharmacological effects. The purpose of the study. The purpose of this work is to create external dosage forms containing cetirizine. The scientific novelty of the research is the design of formulations for antiallergic dosage. Materials and methods. Technological and pharmacological research methods were used. Results. The study showed that the developed gel and the patch with cetirizine have antiallergic properties comparable to the comparison drug (Psilo-balsam gel), while surpassing the reference drug in its effect on the formation of allergic exudative edema. Conclusion. External dosage forms — a transdermal therapeutic gel and a patch containing cetirizine have been created.

Prejudice on discretion in law enforcement of financial legal provisions

The imperfection of the procedure for implementing prejudgment in court proceedings may lead to instability of practice, and this demonstrates the relevance of the research topic with regard to formulating clear criteria for the mechanism of discretionary prejudgment in the application of financial rules of law. With this in mind, the purpose of the article is to identify the peculiarities of bias of discretionary powers in the law enforcement of financial rules of law. The methodological tools are based on the general philosophical (dialectical, hermeneutical), general scientific formal (empirical in the form of observation, description and comparison; axiomatic; hypothetical-deductive; formalization; unity of historical and logical) and special scientific methods (formal-logical; comparative legal; systemic and structural), as well as the methodology of reversal and monitoring of a preliminary court decision, which allows to study theoretical and practical issues of discretionary powers in the law enforcement of financial and legal provisions in the unity of their substantive component and external form of reflection. The author proposes a classification of prejudice by: the level of law enforcement; legal force of prejudice; significance of the established factual circumstances which are the subject of proof; nature of the accusation; and subject. The author examines the psychological dimension of the use of prejudicial categories as a metacognitive activity of establishing and taking into account the meaning of prejudice, taking into account the accuracy of empirical generalizations, and formulating judgments to identify the future consequences of making decisions with prejudicial categories contained in the original decision. The author outlines the mechanism for implementing the legal policy on the use of financial prejudicial categories, which should be based primarily on the instrumental and procedural characteristics of this model of legal influence. It is established that in the organizational and legal aspect, the conditions for the national market segment to enter the cross-border space are formed by streamlining the procedures for interaction of legal entities through the appropriate forms of legal influence. The practical significance of the results obtained is that they can be used to determine the procedure for applying prejudgment at the supranational and national levels, in particular, in the context of applying the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union

Pleading for international law: assessing the influence of party to proceedings on legal change in international courts

Abstract Scholars increasingly seek to understand the driving forces behind change in international law. However, these analyses often tend to provide external forms of analysis that presume change can be identified without engaging with the actors or looking at the law. This article takes the role of party pleadings in international dispute settlement as a means through which we can assess the influence of actors on law-making. Taking the development of the ‘control of the crime’ theory at the International Criminal Court as its object, the article scrutinizes legal change by dissecting the multifaceted role of pleadings. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and conducting quantitative analysis of citation patterns, content analysis of case law, and interviews with practitioners, it offers a novel methodological take and empirical insights into our understanding of what makes up legal change in international law, and how we can identify its meaning through different access points.

Homeomorphy of some benthic foraminiferal species in the Southern Tethys

Six diagnostic Maastrichtian foraminiferal species have been recorded and illustrated from two sections Dokan and Azmer sections in the Kurdistan region, Northeast Iraq. This assemblage proposed with other species in three countries in the Southern Tethys (Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan) a homeomorphic phenomenon. The phenomenon known as homeomorphy, in which an organism simulates an unrelated organism in form and function. In biology the homeomorphy is the evolution of similar external forms from very distant ancestors, happening as a result of convergent evolution, while in paleontology this phenomenon means the existence of two or more fossil taxa that appear to have similar morphology, although they are unrelated, which they might occur in rather different stratigraphic levels, and the test consists of a number of chambers that arrange in numerous shapes and sizes. The present study added additional six benthic foraminiferal homeomorphy: (1) the Late Campanian Pseudoclavulina farisi Anan n. sp. and Paleocene P. hewaidyi Anan, (2) the Late Campanian Gaudryina acuta Anan n. sp. and the Danian Gaudryina limbata Said & Kenawy, (3) the Late Campanian Gaudryina jaffi Anan n. sp. and the Early Eocene G. ameeri Anan, (4) the Late Campanian Gaudryina lawai Anan n. sp. and the Early Eocene G. speijeri Anan, (5) Verneuilina iraqensis Anan n. sp. and the Early Eocene V. luxorensis Nakkady, (6) the Late Campanian Tritaxia longa Anan, n. sp. and the Early Eocene Tritaxia elongata (Haque).

Influence of Social Capital on Small and Medium Enterprises Performance in Wakiso District, Uganda

Purpose: This study examined the influence of Social Capital (SC) on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Wakiso District. Specifically, we identified forms of SC and assessed how they influenced SMEs’ performance in Kitemu Ward. Research methodology: Using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the study solicited data from 40 participants through interviews and a self-administered questionnaire. Data were edited, cleaned, coded, and entered into MS Excel to generate frequencies and graphs. Content value analysis was used to transcribe the qualitative data and group them into subthemes. Results: The results revealed internal forms of SC, such as friends/peers, trustworthiness, personal saving, family, and social links, while external forms of SC were customers, financial institutions, governments, and companies. Further, SC influences the customer base, leads to high profits, increases sales volume, and enhances creativity and innovation. Limitations: Financial constraints prevented researchers from eliciting data throughout the study area. Furthermore, the small sample size might limit the generalization of the study results to the entire district. In addition, time and data collection biases have implications for this study. Contribution: This study is vital because there are no studies carried out in Kitemu Ward on SC and its influence on SMEs’ performance. The findings can be used by policy and decision-makers to design mechanisms for SMEs’ proprietors to integrate SC into business operations. The literature reveals that SC forms enhance sales, profits, market share, customer base, and accessibility to finance. Novelty: This original study was conducted primarily among women proprietors and managers of SMEs because they are reliable and provide firsthand information as compared to men. Thus, if adopted, the findings are vital for other business proprietors and managers to improve business performance.

Right to Self-Determination of Peoples and the Emerging World Order

In the paper, the author attempted to reveal the influence of the idea of self-determination on the emerging (in the historical and legal context) world order, taking into account the rapidly developing political and legal processes in the 18th-21st centuries. Attention is given to the use of the relevant law by certain states in their national interests, which, in the conditions of instability of the international system, makes self-determination an object of numerous influences, interpretations and restrictions. Considering cases from international practice and documents, the author concludes that over the centuries the concept of self-determination has undergone many transformations and was considered as a tool for redrawing the borders of Europe in the early and middle of the 19th century, after the end of the First World War and before the collapse of the USSR and Yugoslavia. As a mechanism of decolonization, and at the turn of the 20th–21st centuries — as a tool for fragmenting the political map of the world using the ethnic factor as a basis. Quite interesting are the conclusions about the impact of the institution of human rights, remedial secession, external and internal forms of self-determination, globalization processes on the development of the relevant law. The paper, along with other examples, examines the impact of real politics and the existence of double standards when considering issues of international legal recognition of Kosovo in the event of secession from Serbia and the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation.

THE THEME OF A LOANER HERO’S PROUD DEATH IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FRENCH ROMANTICISM (A. DE VIGNI “THE DEATH OF A WOLF”)

The given article deals with investigation of the poem of a French poet-romantic, A. de Vinji «The Death of a Wolf». The author of the article analyses the images of the animals in the poem and artistic devices of their realization. The main topics and problematics of this literary work are viewed both in the context of A. de Vinji’s creative work and in the context of European Romanticism. The given article deals with investigation of the poem of a French poet-romantic, A. de Vigny ’The Death of a Wolf’. The author of the article analyses animal images in the poem and the means of artistic embodiment of the latter. The main topics and problematics of this literary work are considered both in the context of A. de Vigny’ s creative work and in the context of European Romanticism. The poetic work of A. de Vigny begins in 1816 and continues throughout his life. It should be noted that the distinctive peculiarity of de Vigny’s poetry is its all-pervading disbelief both in bourgeois society and in the Restoration Regime, which was trying to save the remnants of the feudal system. The poet has in mind the whole ephemerality of the desire of the nobility to drag out the course of history and return the pre-revolutionary sociopolitical system. That is why Vigny’s poetry is imbued with the utmost skepticism and pessimism. Hence, from this rejection of modernity, the character of de Vigny’s plots and images derives. As the literary critic T. V. Bovsunevskaya emphasizes: “Romantics had to synthesize a new, Renaissance type of person, but in such a way that he reflected the features of a new era and professed a new spirit.” De Vigny was looking for such a hero all his creative life; however, his hero will always be a lonely, misunderstood person, in a state of deepest conflict both with society and often with himself. It should be noted that de Vigny’s poetry is inherently deeply personal and lyrical, and in its external form it is emphatically epic and philosophical. Vigny himself argued that if he was ahead of his contemporaries in some way, it was in the ability to create philosophical poetry. The poet wraps in the form of a mythological or historical parable, an ancient plot such problems as the fatal loneliness of a genius, the impotence of a person in front of a cruel and blind deity, the suffering of the innocent. Thus, another feature of his poetry is also manifested — its being alien to topicality. The poet finds out the relationship not with his age, but with history in general, with God, with fate. In the later period of his work, the theme ’poet and society’ often sounds.