Level Of Division Research Articles

METHODICAL APPROACHES TO THE REFORMING OF ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICTS IN UKRAINE

Topicality. The need to reform subregional (district) level of administrative and territorial division of Ukraine is urgent as the result of forming of consolidated territorial communities and the change of liabilities division between the basic and district levels. Transition of the majority of liabilities from local governments to consolidated territorial communities has changed the nature and direction of communication links between the residents and authorities at the district level and contributes to reinforcement of district level of administrative and territorial units. Due to reforming of the system of administrative and territorial structure of Ukraine, a district becomes the territory of localization and functioning of state authorities. The major list of administrative, educational, medical, cultural and other public services will be provided at the basic rather than district levels.Aim and tasks. The paper aims to substantiate and outline the suggestions regarding the methodical approaches to reforming of the system of administrative and territorial units at subregional level in the context of local governance reform and authorities’ territorial organization reform conducted in Ukraine.Research results. The author analyzes the use of the concept of “district” in the context of administrative and territorial division and suggests its definition as administrative and territorial unit that is included into the higher-level units (Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblasts, cities with special status) and is the territorial foundation for organization of activity of state authorities and local governments at subregional levels. District should include all administrative and territorial units of basic level located within its boundaries. Major principles, criteria and requirements to apply while forming the districts are suggested. Among those criteria and requirements, we outline the following: demographic capacity of a territory – usually between 150 and 800 thous. residents; transport accessibility of administrative center of the district from the most remote settlement – up to 1.5 hours (not exceeding 50-60km); the network of districts is reorganized without the change of oblasts’ boundaries; administrative center of a district is usually located closest to geographic (transport-geographical) center of district’s territory; administrative center of a district is usually the settlement with the highest economic and demographic capacity and developed infrastructure, which performed, performs or can perform the functions of subregional administrative center.An algorithm of modeling of new administrative districts is presented as the consequence of steps: 1) finding subregional centers – perspective centers of administrative districts (usually out of oblast significance cities); 2) zone of gravitation to oblast center with the radius up to 60km is considered as the territory of administrative district; 3) outside its boundaries the other districts are allocated according to gravitation zones of other perspective centers of districts; 4) there are also factors that substantially impact their functionality and efficiency of relevant authorities: natural-geographical, transport, economical, managemental, historical, demographic, infrastructural, etc.Conclusion. In author’s opinion, approaches to forming of administrative districts contribute to optimization of their network taking into account the changes in the functions of a district in the system of public authority division. Testing of these methodological approaches in the process of modeling of the new network of administrative regions shows an opportunity and reasonability of their reduction in Lvivska oblast from 20 to 7, in Ivano-Frankivska oblast from 14 to 4, in Ternopilska oblast from 15 to 4.

Bridging the Mobile Digital Divide in Sub-Saharan Africa: Costing under Demographic Change and Urbanization

Digital connectivity, including through the modern cellular network technologies, is expected to play a key role for the Future of Work in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We estimate the cost of introducing a full-scale 4G network by 2025 in SSA and an operable 5G network by 2040. We adapt the costing model of Lombardo (2019) by accounting for the significant demographic transformation and rapid urbanization in SSA. We use the WorldPop and GADM databases and the UN's medium-variant population projections to project the population densities at the highest level of administrative division for each SSA country in 2025 and 2040. For full 4G connectivity, the required capital and operational costs stands approximately at US$14 billion by 2025 and for 5G connectivity, costs amount to US$57 billion in 2040, conditional on having the 4G in place by 2025. These costs roughly translate to 8.4 percent of annual subscriber income, on a median basis, by 2025 for 4G and 4.9 percent of subscriber income by 2040 for 5G. Having the infrastructure in place is not sufficient to bridge the mobile Digital Divide. In addition, policies are needed to address affordability and knowledge gaps.

A GIS Analysis on Service Oriented Accessibility and Road Development Potentials of Northern Sri Lanka

Since the urban-rural linkage mainly depends on the availability of the transportation facilities, any project oninfrastructure development should concern the level of accessibility through the existing roads which should bedeveloped. Most of the regional development programs in post conflict Sri Lanka, particularly in the NorthernProvince have not reached the expected deliverables due to several reasons. Particular system has been not usedyet to prioritize the regions with less access to the services because of insufficient road networks. Even after adecade of war ended, most of the roads in rural areas in the Jaffna District are still in wretched condition. Therefore,this paper has aimed to formulae a systematic approach based on the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) toidentify the level of development of sub regions and to classify the regions based on level of accessibility and finallyto prioritize the road networks which should be developed by any road development project. In order to achievethese aims, the present research selected the Jaffna District using the judgment sampling method for datacollection. Most of the data were from secondary sources such as government bodies and open sources and fourmethods of spatial analysis; distance, density, reclass and weighted overlay were used in data analysis. One of thefindings of this paper is the possibility of dividing the region into five key development clusters based on theaccessibility to 15 services. It was revealed that, the development level of each Divisional Secretariat Division (DSD)of Jaffna District totally depends on the quality of road network and the accessibility to the services. Out of fivedevelopment based regions in Jaffna District, there are two marginal divisions; Delft and Vadamarchi East whichconsists less than 30% of accessibility and neither A nor B class roads connected to the urban centers. Furthermore,lack of connectivity to the main roads and poor condition of rural roads have adversely affected to the regionaldevelopment of Jaffna District. It is recommended that the method introduced by this paper can be applied to theregional physical planning.

О способах измерения степени развития транспортной инфраструктуры

The article presents estimates of the Transport Spatial Coverage Index (TSCI), which describes the spatial accessibility of the Russian road and rail infrastructure at the regional (85 subjects of the Russian Federation) and municipal (more than 22 thousand municipalities, about 98% of their total number) levels. The obtained results emphasize the spatial heterogeneity of the development of the Russian transport infrastructure both at the level of federal districts and regions, and at the lower municipal level of administrative division. The highest TSCI values were obtained for the European part of the country, while the eastern part of the country is characterized by low indicators of transport infrastructure provision, despite the significant length of the communication lines (for example, railway infrastructure). The ranking of regions by the level of transport provision on the basis of the obtained assessments of the TSCI shows that some regions are relatively ‘farther’ (‘closer’) from each other than can be seen on the basis of other standard indicators, as the TSCI allows to take into account the location of infrastructure in the space, rather than just analyze at some level averaged for each region. At the same time, analysis at the municipal level shows that practically in all regions the average value of the TSCI for the municipalities included in them is higher than the average value of the TSCI at the level of the respective region as a whole. The difference in the assessment of availability of infrastructure at the two levels of detail under consideration is greater the more uneven the administrative division and spatial location of the transport network in the region. Thus, the assessment of the regional TSCI at the expense of formal accounting in its calculation of territories outside municipal entities in which the majority of the population and economic activity is located is to a certain extent underestimated (for example, it is 0.03 for the Krasnoyarskiy Krai as a whole against 0,44 on average for the municipalities that are part of it)

Learning Cluster as a Modern Requirement for Optimizing Vocational Training of Future Specialist

Training of future specialist demands reorientation of the educational process towards modernrequirements of the industry, establishment of close partnership of educational institutions with industrialenterprises, and creation of clusters. The article considers features of the organization of an educationalcluster on the example of vocational training of future specialists in design as well as peculiarities ofpractical optimization of the educational process. Its application in the educational process makes it possibleto achieve joint studying of separate disciplines by students of different specialties, promotes students’interaction while working on term papers or individual practical, laboratory, scientific and methodologicalprojects, helps expand borders of the educational environment, and allows transition to a more professionallevel of training. The paper defines advantages of organizing an educational cluster and peculiarities of itsimplementation at the selected levels of optimization of the educational process, which are as follows: levelof an educational institution, level of a structural division, specialty level, level of a training program andlevel of an academic discipline. The concepts "educational cluster" and "educational cluster" aredifferentiated. Special attention is directed to the organization of the research educational clusters integratingnot only students of educational institutions, but also skilled workers of the industrial enterprises, researchersand practioners. Clusters play an important role in exchanging professional experience, implementing newapproaches, techniques and technologies of training, incorporating innovative methodological, technicalcomplexes and means as well as information and communication technology, presenting the outcomes ofpractical approbation of new training technologies by teachers. Theoretical consideration of the features ofthe organization of an educational cluster has led to a suggestion concerning its practical embodiment in theeducational process and further detailed research on the aspects of enhancing the quality of vocationaltraining and future specialists’ competitiveness in the modern labor market as well as improving teachers’pedagogical skills and qualifications.

Women in Leadership Positions in Academic Cardiology: A Study of Program Directors and Division Chiefs.

Gender difference in the workplace continues to be a subject of great discussion. Cross-sectional studies demonstrate that women are often underrepresented in key leadership roles. We sought to examine the proportion of women in cardiology leadership positions and to compare the findings with the differences prevalent in the overall cardiology faculty. Furthermore, we aspired to compare the proportion of women in leadership positions to the proportion in which they entered the cardiology field. This is a cross-sectional online study of Cardiology fellowship programs identified by American Medical Association's Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (AMA FREIDA), conducted from March to April 2017. Data of all (n = 512) cardiology fellowship program directors as well as 69% (n = 140) cardiology division chiefs were collected. A lower percentage of women held the role of division chief (5% vs. 95%) and program director (14% vs. 86%). However, when compared to the proportion of women in the 1992 fellowship cohort, women were significantly overrepresented in the role of program directors, with no significant difference in representation at the level of division chief. When compared to the overall cardiology faculty, program directors had significantly more publications and were more likely to have an academic rank of full professor (40% vs. 28%) or associate professor (37% vs. 23%). Male program directors had a significantly higher number of research publications, H-index, and academic rank than their female counterparts; however, such difference was not seen at the level of division chief. Gender difference is present in both program director and division chief roles. However, when compared to the historical cohort, significant overrepresentation of women was seen in the program director position, while proportionate representation was seen in the division chief role.

Movimientos migratorios internos del Distrito Central y San Pedro Sula en Honduras, 1988-2013

El estudio de la migración interna en el país ha sido relegado por la notoriedad que ha tenido la migración internacional. Los datos reflejan que en Honduras hay una tendencia al aumento en el número de migrantes internos en las últimas seis décadas, pero más recientemente a partir de la mitad de ese período hay una disminución de la proporción de migrantes. Este artículo con carácter descriptivo muestra el fenómeno migratorio interno partiendo de datos censales a nivel de División Administrativa Menor (DAME) que en este caso es el Municipio. Es de apuntar que la cuantía de la migración absoluta y reciente a nivel de DAME supera a los niveles estimados a nivel de División Administrativa Mayor Departamental (DAM), ya que cuando el nivel geográfico es más reducido hay mayores probabilidades de desplazamiento. Si hay una mayor similitud en las migraciones recientes que en las absolutas a nivel de DAM y DAME, producto de la utilización de un período de referencia más cercano a la fecha de empadronamiento. En Honduras los dos municipios de mayor atractivo migratorio, absoluta y reciente, han sido el Distrito Central y San Pedro Sula. Sin embargo, la primacía migratoria de estos dos municipios ha cambiado espectacularmente al convertirse en divisiones con saldos migratorios recientes negativos, especialmente en San Pedro Sula (municipio con el más alto saldo migratorio negativo reciente del país), y en menor medida también el Distrito Central, aunque ambos reciben y envían fuertes contingentes de migrantes entre ellos, a su vez tienen intercambios a DAME cercanas y lejanas.

CLL Intraclonal Fractions Defined By Time Since Cell Birth/Division Promote a Leukemia-Supportive, Immune-Tolerant Microenvironment By Distinct Mechanisms

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells actively participate in the formation of the tumor microenvironment (TME). The interplay of CLL cells and leukemia-supporting cells such as Th2 cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs) promotes a leukemia-supportive, immune-tolerant TME. In these supportive/tolerogenic niches of lymph nodes (LN) and bone marrow (BM), CLL cells slowly proliferate, and the rate of proliferation correlates with disease progression. However, how these dividing/recently-divided cells and other intraclonal CLL fractions interact with non-neoplastic cells to shape the TME to support growth and accelerate disease is unclear.To address these questions, matched LN and PB samples collected at day 13 after 2H2O ingestion from treatment-naïve patients (7 with stable disease and 7 with active disease) were sorted to determine in vivo growth rates of CLL cells within the proliferative fraction (PF, CXCR4DimCD5Bright), resting fraction (RF, CXCR4BrightCD5Dim) and intermediate fraction (IF, CXCR4IntCD5Int). In LN, PF cells had the highest 2H-DNA levels, and only the growth rate of PF but not IF or RF cells correlated with disease aggressiveness. In the PB, PF cells also had the highest growth rate; however, all 3 fractions (PF, IF, RF) had 2H-DNA levels that correlated with disease aggressiveness. Thus, PF cells from patients with aggressive clinical course undergo quicker transitions to the IF and then to the RF which might promote faster tissue homing and disease progression. Indeed, more PF cells from active than stable disease patients were found in the spleen (SP) and BM and less remained in PB, 18 hours post-injection into NSG mice.Gene expression profiling (GEP) was then performed on RF, IF, and PF from 7 paired PB and LN samples. GEP signatures of the PF from PB and LN were similar, consistent with 2H2O data that the PF are recent emigrants from TME. These GEP also inferred enhanced cell proliferation (CCND2, CDK2AP1), adhesion and motility (FERMT3, CD49d, CD11a, CD21), antigen presentation (CD1C), and promotion of T-cell trafficking (CCL3, CCL4) in LN CLL cells within the PF but not the IF or RF. Thus, CLL cells within the three intraclonal fractions might promote distinct biologic functions.To test this, we studied T cell responses stimulated by the CXCR4/CD5 fractions in vitro and in vivo. In an antigen-driven allo-MLR, the whole clone of CLL cells triggered the division of normal T cells, but PF induced the highest level of T-cell division that is ≥ 3 times more than any other fraction. Similarly, in an autologous polyclonal CD4 T cell response stimulated by anti-CD3/28 Dynabeads and IL-2, T-cell division was suppressed by unseparated CLL cells and each fraction. However, the least suppression was seen in T cells co-cultured with PF cells compared to those cultured alone or with IF or RF. In both settings, PF cells induced significantly more IL-4+ T cells, and RF cells triggered more Tregs. Similar numbers of Th1 cells were seen in all cultures. The RF and IF, but not the PF, produced the immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10.Finally, when dividing cases based on disease aggressiveness, significantly more T-cell division was triggered by PF and RF from active patients than stable patients; the percentages of Th1 and Th2 cells however were similar. These results were confirmed in vivo; in NSG mice injected with autologous T cells together with the PF, IF or RF sorted from 2 sets of active versus stable disease patients, PF from all 4 cases induced the highest levels of CLL B and T cell expansion in SP and BM, and RF from active but not stable disease patients triggered the growth of CLL T and B cells.In summary, CLL disease progression correlates with the rate of CLL cell division, and the rapidity that CLL cells home to the TME. The intraclonal fractions of CLL clones exhibit distinct biologic properties that can be further differentiated based on disease aggressiveness. This appears especially relevant for the development of a leukemia-supportive, immune-tolerant TME contributed by all 3 CXCR4/CD5 fractions, albeit by different mechanisms. The PF creates this by superior antigen presentation capacity and skewing T cell function to an immunosuppressive Th2 phenotype. For the IF and RF, this is done by inducing IL-10 secretion and amplifying Tregs. Together, these findings suggest the possibility of targeting specific subpopulations in CLL clones with distinct immunoregulatory modalities as a novel form of therapy. DisclosuresChen:Beigene: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Verastem: Research Funding. Wiestner:Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Research Funding. Rai:Cellectis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche/Genentech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Chiorazzi:Janssen, Inc: Consultancy; AR Pharma: Equity Ownership.

Russian periphery is dying in movement: a cohort assessment of internal youth migration in Central Russia

This paper investigates youth migration in Russia at the sub-regional level of administrative division. The aim of the research is to assess the volume of internal youth migration in cohort perspective. The task is only doable with the use of census data, which not only makes it possible to conduct research at the sub-regional level, but also provides much more accurate information on youth migration than the current migration record. I utilize cohort-component analysis to study sub-regional population dynamics. As mortality is quite insignificant at young ages, most of the change in cohort size is caused by migration. My estimates show that during the last intercensal period, 2003–2010, up to 70% of youth cohorts have left the regional periphery after graduating from school, and there was no substantial return to the demographically depleted periphery in the young working ages.

THE INFLUENCE OF STATE POLICY OF THE AUSTRIAN MONARCHY ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN GALICIA (SECOND HALF OF XVIII–XIX CENTURIES)

The article deals with the impact of the state policy of the Austrian monarchy on the socio-economic development in Galicia (second half of XVIII–XIX centuries). Galicia was in a state of economic decline from 1772 to the time of its incorporation in the structure of Austria. Industrial revival in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth since the mid-eighteenth century almost didn’t have an effect on Galicia. The main indicators of the economic backwardness of Galicia were the low level of social division of labor, stagnation in industry and trade, although in Europe there were significant economic shifts in connection with the onset of the industrial revolution. The Austrian authorities considered Galicia and Bukovina as the source of replenishment of the state treasury, cheap labor and recruits for the Austrian army, as well as a buffer zone with the Russian Empire. At the end of the eighteenth century Austrian officials took over the initiative in the socio-economic development of Galicia, Bukovina and Transcarpathia. At the beginning of the twentieth century the industry related to military production began to develop actively in Galicia, The craft came out from the state of decline, there were created the enterprises of the manufactory type. The largest state investments in Galicia were railways and fortresses – Przemysl, Krakow and other cities. Economic development in the region was mainly associated with private oil and salt industry. The period of the XIX–XX centuries was marked by the significant increase in the social activity of the Ukrainian peasantry. The economic basis of this phenomenon was the emergence and development of a cooperative movement in Galicia. It was due to the fact that the Western Ukrainian intelligentsia tried to improve the situation of the peasantry and the urban poor, involving them in the creation of cooperation. At the same time, in the Austrian period in Galicia there were also positive changes in the socio-economic development of Galicia and in particular its main city – Lviv. It is concluded that the Austrian Empire, compared to the Russian Empire, had a more liberal political regime. Being of Galicia as the part of Austria from the last quarter of the eighteenth century influenced the renewal of spiritual life of the Ukrainians of Halychyna, there were introduced into the public consciousness and practice many elements inherented to the culture of Germans, Czechs, Croats and other European nations. In other words, Galician Ukrainians were involved in a single territorial and ideological space with inhabitants of other territories, – which is called Europe nowadays. The reformist policy of Maria Theresa somewhat restricted the tyranny of the Polish ruling elite on the Western Ukrainian lands, provided conditions for raising the material and educational level of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic and Orthodox clergy and peasantry. Reforms of the «enlightened absolutism» have led to important changes in the field of education, which received the state funding. As belonging to the largest coronal territories, the Galicia became a peculiar legislative area, the test site of the new legal acts of the Austrian Parliament. And only after such sort of approbation provided to positive results, the validity of these legal acts spread to other parts of the Austrian monarchy. Galicia, one of the first in the Austrian monarchy, was influenced by the Western European policy of «enlightened absolutism», the state and legal reforms of the second half of the eighteenth century. After the revolution of 1848–1849 it was adopted a separate Constitution of 1850 for Galicia, which showed the significant role of Galicia in the history of the Austrian monarchy.

Geographic Distribution of Hand Surgeons Throughout the United States.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the geographic distribution of hand surgeons in the United States. We assessed the states and congressional districts (CDs) for optimal numbers of surgeons, determined whether there is an even distribution, and identified factors influencing practice location. Hand surgeon practice location data from the American Association for Hand Surgery and American Society for Surgery of the Hand (2015) and both state and CD population data from the US Census (2014) were assessed. CDs each contain approximately the same population. Furthermore, select hand surgeons were asked to fill out a survey to identify how 6 factors influence practice location. A total of 2,707 American Association for Hand Surgery active and American Society for Surgery of the Hand active and candidate US members were included. The mean number of hand surgeons per state was 53 (range: 3-298). The most hand surgeons were in California, Texas, New York, and Florida and least were in Wyoming and Alaska. There were 16, 11, and 24 states with suboptimal, optimal, and greater-than-optimal density, respectively. There were 436 CDs. We found 231, 30, and 175 CDs with suboptimal, optimal, and greater-than-optimal density, respectively. There were weak correlations between hand surgeons and CD populations and between CD population densities and CD hand surgeons per capita. Twenty hand surgeons were included in the survey resulting in no difference of any 1 factor compared with the other 5 factors. There was a difference in the factor "population size" between hand surgeons from greater-than-optimal and suboptimal CDs. The findings of our study indicate that hand surgeon proportions do not correlate with population proportions, and distribution is not skewed toward areas of higher population density. Many areas are not optimally served, and hand surgeons may be choosing where to practice based on a combination of factors beyond population need.

Defining minimal clearances for adequate lymphatic resection relevant to right colectomy for cancer: a post-mortem study.

There has been a lengthy discussion on the extent of lymphatic resection for right-sided colon cancer and the central borders of the mesentery that are not yet defined. The objectives of this study are to define minimal clearances for adequate lymphatic resection in regard to colic artery origins and the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and vein (SMV) relevant to right colectomy. Central mesenteric lymph vessels, nodes, and blood vessels were dissected in 16 cadavers. Cranial-caudal clearances were defined as distances between an individual colic artery origin (ileocolic, right colic, and median colic artery) and the outermost lymphatic vessel within its lymphovascular bundle, cranial and caudal along the SMA. Long lymphatic vessels crossing the SMV between arterial bundles were counted and they constituted the medial clearances. An arbitrary watershed between small bowel and colonic lymph was localized. Immunohistochemistry was performed to histologically verify lymphatic vessels. Cranial-caudal clearances were ileocolic 3.6 ± 1.9 and 5.7 ± 1.9; right colic 2.8 ± 1.6 and 3.3 ± 1.0; middle colic artery bundle 6.3 ± 2.7 and 5.9 ± 2.4mm, respectively. Long lymphatic vessels crossing the SMV between arterial buntles and approaching the SMA were found in all cadavers (antero/posteriorly in 12, only anteriorly in 4), median 3.5 (1-7) long lymphatic vessels anteriorly, and 1.5 (0-5) posteriorly per cadaver. Right colonic lymphovascular bundles are volumes of mesenteric tissue that surround the superior mesenteric vessels anteriorly and posteriorly. Long lymphatic vessels traverse the superior mesenteric vein anteriorly/posteriorly approaching the superior mesenteric artery between arterial bundles and placing the medial clearance on the left side of the artery. These do not correlate to arterial crossing patterns. Cranial-caudal clearances determine the tissue to be removed superior/inferior to arterial origins together with long lymphatic vessels transversing independently between the lymphovascular bundles placing the weight of lymphatic resection on the mesenteric tissue and not on the level of vessel division (High tie).

Foreign Capital and International Division Trap

The paper used the panel data from 2000 to 2014 of 9 developing economies to research the effect of FDI on GVC-participation of host countries and International Division of Labor Trap from the two dimensions of theory and demonstration. And further researches are carried on, which shows that FDI is beneficial of deepening GVC-participation of developing host countries. Furthermore, FDI has solidified the international division of labor by driving the developing host countries participate into the international production system leading to be fallen into the trap of international division of labor.FDI has solidified the level of international division of labor in developing host countries through the pre embedded "GVC", and the backward embedding of GVC is good for the separate developing host countries from the bottom Division. Among the three mechanisms,Scale effect and cluster effect could not be beneficial for developing host countries to separate from the bottom of Division. The learning by doing effect and path locking effect in Inherent division of labor further lead to be fallen in the international division of labor trap.

THE DECENTRALIZATION REFORM: THE PRECONDITIONS AND FACTORS OF CREATION OF THE BALTA CONSOLIDATED TERRITORIAL COMMUNITY

The process of creation of a territorial community with a center in the city of Balta, Odesa region, in the context of the organizational and legal as well as economic and financial preconditions of the consolidation of the communities in Ukraine was analyzed. The author analyzed the main drawbacks of the territorial organization of local self-government in the Balta region. The need for consolidation of the local level of the territorial division of the region was confirmed by objective data that was discovered in the process of researching of the communitites. In the region there was a significant imbalance of economic nature between village councils. The process of formation of communities in the Balta Consolidated Territorial Community was explored on the basis of the criteria specified in the Methodology for the formation of capable territorial communities: modeling of the capable territorial communities of the Balta Region; sustainability of administrative functions by certain settlements and analysis of infrastructure provision; researching of the areas of influence of settlements (first of all labour and other connections of population with a certain settlement); highliging of cultural and geographical similarities, territorial differences in conditions and living standards; analysis of existing administrative boundaries, etc. Summarizing the research of the preconditions and factors that were the basis for the creation of the Balta Consolidated Territorial Community, the author concluded: in the past the institutions of local self-government within the Balta Region were unable to effectively resolve their powers due to their demographic, territorial, material and financial inability; the creation of the Balta Territorial Community was a consolidation of economic and financial opportunities for solving the problems of economic and social development, attracting the investments, providing the high quality services to community members, creating new jobs; the Balta Territorial Community according to its indicators may be a model community for Ukraine that makes it possible to use the experience in other communities which are being voluntarily consolidated.

The Main Approaches to the Cluster Development in the Russian Economy

Introduction The innovation clusters are a comparatively new tool of economic policy in the Russian economy. There are two approaches in the modern economic literature that can be easily singled out, the formation and support of special structures, which later on would perform the function of the so called infrastructural institutions and the maintenance of the natural development of the clusters by means of the targeted support of the institutions, which afterwards could turn into the focal cluster institutions. For instance, the policy of the 1st kind was carried out in Italy (the project of integrated laboratories). The laboratories and the network, created on their basis, are to encourage the development of the industrial enterprises in the priority sectors (new materials, biotechnologies). Another example--Iceland, where cluster network were formed around the large research institutes of Reykjavik. The policy of the 2d kind is pursued, for example, in France, where the government commission defined the 15 competitive clusters. In order to promote the development of the clusters the commission provides the financial support for the enterprises-cluster members. In Japan there is active program Knowledge cluster initiative. The assistance is provided for the joint projects, in which the regional universities make the cluster core represented by the network of the small innovative firms and the large industrial companies. This policy is pursued in Canada and Denmark. The Rationale behind Clusters The institutions, constituents of the intersectorial clusters, cooperate via vertical coordination (at the level of the intersectorial labour division) and via horizontal coordination. Hence, a complicated system, combining cooperation, competitiveness and industrial specificity, is developed. The closeness and the efficiency of this coordination are in consequence the determinants of the competitiveness and of the innovation activity of the enterprises in the cluster. The functioning of the cluster directly depends on the access to the scientific knowledge and latest technologies and on the ability of solid investment attraction as well. The clusters with a developed infrastructure of the intellectual and financial capital display greater development potential. The cluster core is considered to be represented by one or a number of the enterprises competitive in the global market, which are capable of producing the qualitative products for the needs of the majority of the companies-cluster members and for export, which hold the leading positions in the market and are capable of improving competitiveness of their products in the long-term perspective [7]. It means that the cluster core consists of the most competitive enterprises of the cluster, which are well known and, as a rule, give the name to the cluster. For example, the core of the automotive cluster in Tatarstan is its car manufacturing companies (KAMAZ, SOLLERS), although the cluster also comprises the manufacturers of the units, aggregates, components, metal constructions, composition material and others. Or another example--the footwear manufacturing cluster in Italy. Its core is the leather shoe manufacturers, but besides them there are the manufacturers of the ski boot, of the sports shoes, of the synthetic footwear, the leather bags, gloves, the manufacturers of the boot-trees and the equipment for the footwear industry and so on. The effectuation of the cluster development policy encourages the growth of the business and innovation activity in the region, the improvement of the investment climate, and the development of the social, economic and information systems. As a consequence, it results in the upgrowth of the entrepreneurship, the increase if the investment resources and the recovery of all the regional economic sectors. Hence, clusters in accordance with its economic function may serve as the institutional economic mechanism facilitating the initiation of the special measures on building of the unified policy and the agreement of the managerial decisions in the sphere of effective integration of the R&D, the production, the innovation replication in the adjacent sectors, and the modernization of the economy in whole. …

A town divided: Community values and attitudes towards coal seam gas development in Gloucester, Australia

The 2300-person community of Gloucester, New South Wales in Australia anticipated the prospect of coal seam gas (CSG) development, a form of unconventional natural gas, for nearly a decade before a 2016 decision to cancel the project. Gloucester has become well known for its extreme level of community division focused on coal seam gas development: residents report conflicts ranging from blocked access to services through death threats and active boycotts of businesses. We conducted open-ended interviews, participant observation, and mail surveys in Gloucester in late 2015 with the goal of understanding the deeper issues associated with CSG-related conflict in Gloucester. We argue that the long period of stagnant uncertainty associated with the potential development was a major contributor to the amplitude of the community divide. The major conflict focused on whether a coal seam gas development would threaten or accelerate progress toward shared goals of securing Gloucester’s future and maintaining residents’ quality of life. We posit that exacerbating factors include the existence of highly concrete visions of what Gloucester would be like in futures with or without gas and the sense that the community was not empowered to choose whether or not to pursue local gas development.

Effects of Externality-Corrective Taxation on the Extent of the Market and Network Size of Division of Labor

Applying the inframarginal analysis of specialization and the effects of external costs in production and their control through taxation, this paper shows that, on top of the allocational inefficiency on the input and/or output mix caused and alleviated, there is the organizational inefficiency on the level of division of labor and extent of the market. External costs may lead to either too high or too low a level of division of labor or a mixture of efficient and inefficient structures. Low-cost taxes directly on the variables causing external costs may remove the inefficiency but may not be feasible, as, e.g., home production may be difficult to observe. Sales taxes/subsidies are completely useless as the general-equilibrium adjustments yields zero effects. A tax cum income transfer scheme may be effective in alleviating the allocational and organizational inefficiencies within certain ranges of parametric values. With the other range of parameter values, the optimum tax rate is 0 since a positive Pigovian tax generates organization distortion that outweighs corrective effect of allocative distortion.

Division of Household Labor and Marital Satisfaction in China: Urban and Rural Comparisons

Division of household labor is associated with marital satisfaction among Chinese populations. However, little research has compared rural and urban regions in Chinese societies, which have traditionally had significant cultural differences. This study compared the level of division of household labor and the relationship of division of household labor and marital satisfaction between the urban and rural regions of China. ANOVA results indicated that there were no urban-rural differences in the division of household labor among males and among females. Overall, the division of household labor was significantly associated with marital satisfaction, and invariance testing using SEM revealed the strength of the relationship between division of labor and marital satisfaction did not differ among urban and rural regions in China. Females reported higher levels of household labor in both rural and urban regions, but there were no gender differences in the relationship between division of household labor and marital satisfaction.

Postural stability in one leg standing on dominant and non-dominant leg in professional soccer players

Stability plays a key role in the sport competition in football. Synchronized operation stabilization of the lower limb and trunk of the support with the dynamic movement of the contralateral limbs allow you to perform tasks specific to the discipline, eg. variety kicking of the ball. Purpose. The aim of the study was to evaluate differences in the capabilities to maintain postural stability in standing on one leg dominant and non-dominant leg with professional players including grouping variables: age, height, weight, volume of training aimed at improving the stability and general internship of football player career. Although commonly assumed that the non-dominant leg is predisposed to act more effective support for the body, the work to date have failed to identify indicated differentiation. It should be noted, however, that they were carried out on small trials in people less active, or among amateur athletes. Basic procedures. The study involved 31 professional soccer players from 1 to 5 level of division. In order to assess postural stability, each of the test performed three times a standard stability test consisting of three 20-second attempt to maintain balance on one leg becoming dominant and non-dominant leg on stabilometric platform BIODEX Balance System. For each of the lower limbs test was repeated three times. Assessment were average angular range deflections platform in the two reference planes, and the volatility of these deflections. These parameters were treated as a measure of postural stability of the respondents. Main findings. In the whole group of patients, no statistically significant differences in the possibilities to maintain postural stability in standing on one leg dominant and non-dominant leg. No significant differences were also detected when considering grouping variables. Conclusions. The results do not indicate a significant difference in the ability to maintain postural stability in standing on one leg dominant and non-dominant leg in professional soccer players.

3D ultrasound estimation of the effective volume for popliteal block at the level of division

Abstract Local anaesthetic injection between the tibial and commmon peroneal nerves within connective tissue sheath results in a predictable diffusion and allows for a reduction in the volume needed to achieve a consistent sciatic popliteal block. Using 3D ultrasound volumetric acquisition, we quantified the visible volume in contact with the nerve along a 5 cm segment. Methods We included 20 consecutive patients scheduled for bunion surgery. Ultrasound guided popliteal block was performed using a posterior, out of plane approach at the level of division of the sciatic nerve. Thirty mL of mepivacaine 1.5% and levobupivacaine 0.5% were slowly injected while assessing the injection pressure and the diffusion of the local anaesthetic. Volumetric acquisition was performed before and after the block to quantify the volume of the sciatic nerve and the volume of the surrounding hypoechoic halo contained inside the connective tissue in a 5 cm segment. Results All blocks were successful within 20 min after the injection. The total estimated volume contained inside the common connective tissue sheath was 6.8 ± 2.6 cm 3 . Of this, the volume of the halo surrounding the nerve was 4.4 ± 1.7 cm 3 and the volume inside the sciatic nerve was 2.4 ± 1.7 cm 3 . Conclusions The volume of local anaesthetic in close contact with the sciatic nerve can be estimated by volumetric acquisition. Our results suggest that the effective volume of local anaesthetic needed for a successful sciatic popliteal block could be reduced to less than 7 mL.