Narrow Concept Research Articles

The weight of service delivery: administrative and rules burdens in street-level bureaucracy

This article explores the factors that shape perceptions of administrative and rules burdens among street-level bureaucrats in Romania. Recent research examining the concept of administrative burden has focused on burdens experienced by a citizen or client. We argue here that national context shapes the features of public service delivery, and that burdens must also be understood from the perspective of bureaucrats in transitioning post-communist countries. Street-level bureaucrats represent an important category of public servants given their main characteristics in implementing policy. Findings of two analyses—one examining broader concepts of administrative burden and one looking at the narrower concept of rules burdens—indicate that rule complexity, autonomy, conformity, job satisfaction, educational attainment, and perceived corruption impact perceptions of administrative burden, while perceptions of rules burdens are impacted by rule-abiding tendencies, discretionary latitude, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and supervisory status. Points for practitioners A major practical implication of this study derives from our findings on the factors that impact attitudes and perceptions of street-level bureaucrats in Romania. Managers that aim to improve public service delivery in this context will be able to disseminate the fact that reduced rule complexity and increased autonomy, among other organizational variables, positively impact perceptions on administrative and rules burdens. In this sense, our study provides evidence for new and current structures to improve organizational performance and service delivery.

RULE OF LAW AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN SERBIA

Renowned international organizations classify Serbia as a democracy. However, they usually assess the state of democracy on the basis of the narrow theoretical concept of electoral democracy, which easily creates a fallacy that the free elections represent not only a necessary but sufficient condition for democracy. The concept of liberal consolidated democracy, in addition to procedural aspects, implies stricter normative and analytical criteria, such as the rule of law and the mechanisms of vertical and horizontal accountability, which constitute institutional guarantees for the application of fundamental democratic principles. In the absence of these mechanisms, electoral democracies become defective. According to relevant research, Serbia is classified as a semi-consolidated (defective or flawed) democracy. Irregularities in election procedures, as well as the violation of elements that guarantee respect for democratic norms and institutions in recent years indicate a certain democratic "regression". Bearing this in mind, the paper examines the extent to which the rule of law represents support to the consolidation of democracy in Serbia and points out to the potential causes of the observed deficiencies in this area, which aggravate the consolidation of democracy.

Copyright, Heritage and Australian Aboriginal Art

How Australian copyright law deals with Aboriginal painting has changed since the late 1980s. Prominent cases have moved the law towards greater protection and offered some recognition of Aboriginal understandings of their cultural heritage. This paper focuses on writing about copyright and Aboriginal art and comments on four issues that may warrant closer attention: copyright, cultural heritage and self-determination; the criteria for copyright protection; appropriation of art works; and the 'common place' of law and Aboriginal art. The first point examines the value of adding ideas from cultural heritage into writing about copyright. It suggests a tension with heritage may be present in some copyright writing, and that an underlying motif for both areas is self-determination. The second section examines the criteria for copyright protection. It questions a continued concern in some copyright writing with the requirement of originality. And it explores an apparent lack of appreciation of the significance of recent case law in some of the literature, especially from North America. The third section considers appropriation of art works, both as a narrower concept that may infringe copyright and more widely. It considers how the cultural value of a work could be drawn on in arguments to limit appropriation. The final section argues that continuing to rely on copyright law, if specific indigenous cultural legislation is not achievable politically, may not be so serious a limitation as is sometimes suggested. In the paper, attention is centred on Australian Aboriginal painting and legal writing about it from Australia and internationally. References are made to the somewhat similar legal and political situations of indigenous people in Canada and the US, and some contrasts are noted with the situations in Africa and elsewhere. The paper concludes with the thought that there may be little point debating the merits of copyright (and other law) reform. It is over twenty years since high-level reform reports have emerged in Australia. They have suggested that copyright does not provide adequate protection to indigenous cultural heritage. The law, however, has not changed in response - at least it has not changed in terms of explicit law reform. As far as case law is concerned, a series of copyright cases has strengthened protection, and native title litigation in Australia has revolutionised the underlying framework. Through these developments, copyright protection of Aboriginal art has gained a greater place in legal discourse. But it seems likely that the perception has changed even more in other areas of society. What could be called the 'common place' of copyright law and Aboriginal art may be one of the most important changes in Australia since the 1980s. At one time, infringers of indigenous cultural heritage genuinely may not have considered that any legal protection could exist for the material they used. Other appropriators may have made a pragmatic decision based on the perceived unlikelihood of indigenous legal action. Now, neither approach could be nearly so likely.

Guard cell sizes and ploidy levels in Polylepis (Rosaceae)

ABSTRACT The Andean tree genus Polylepis (Rosaceae) has recently been recognized to include polyploid species, but their occurrence within the genus is still incompletely known, especially in light of a forthcoming taxonomic treatment based on a narrow species concept including morphological, climatic and biogeographic distinctness that recognizes 45 species. We obtained guard cell measurements as proxies of ploidy level from 114 individuals of 33 species of Polylepis, including all species for which no previous measurements were available. In combination with previously published data, also on nucleus mass and chromosome counts, we infer that on current knowledge 19 (42%) species are probably purely diploid, 15 (33%) purely tetraploid, and one (2%) purely octoploid. The remaining eight (18%) species have mixed ploidy levels, with three (7%) being di- and tetraploid, two (4%) di- and hexaploid, and one each tetra- and hexaploid, tetra- and octoploid, and di-, tri-, tetra- and hexaploid. Based on our understanding of the evolutionary relationships in Polylepis, it would appear that polyploidy has originated at least about eight times independently in the genus, sometimes as autopolyploidy, sometimes as a result of interspecific hybridization, and sometimes in relation to cultivation. The taxonomic implications of the ploidy levels are complex, in some cases supporting species-level distinction and in others posing the question whether different ploidy levels within a species should better be treated as distinct species. Ploidy level needs to be taken into account for the conservation of the genus, as for example if different populations of a species have different ploidy levels, mixing these origins in reforestation schemes may lead to the formation of sterile hybrids. Guard cell measurement is a low cost and simple technique that can be readily used on both live and dried plant material for such applications, but it has limitations and further data on chromosome counts and nucleus mass are also needed to fully understand the evolution of ploidy levels in Polylepis and its implications.

Decentering efficiency in teaching economics

When we reshape the content of our economics curriculum to incorporate lessons garnered during the COVID-19 pandemic, we should start with the very definition of the discipline as the study of how society manages its scarce resources. The rigorous pursuit of narrow concepts of economic efficiency has weakened our society's ability to prepare for and respond to this pandemic. Efficiency means that there is no slack in the system. Our definition of economics should start with how we provide a context for human flourishing. As we face interlocking health and economic crises with differential impact on various groups, a coordinated response involving planning and cooperation is necessary. Accepting market imperfections and planning for them, instead of trusting impersonal forces, would better prepare us and the students in our classes for real-world crises such as we are facing now.

The Distinctive Constitution of Feeling Hurt

Abstract. What is the nature of feeling hurt? This question is answered by systematically reviewing and integrating theories and empirical findings on feeling hurt using Lazarus’ theory of emotion. Following this approach, feeling hurt is constituted by a primary appraisal of an illegitimate devaluation and by a secondary appraisal of low controllability. This appraisal pattern activates an action tendency to withdraw from an interaction. This theory leads to several hypotheses for the appraisal (e.g., that an increase in appraisals of controllability should turn hurt into anger) on facial, bodily, and behavioral expressions as well as on the communicative function of feeling hurt. Furthermore, important conceptual distinctions between a broad and a narrow concept of feeling hurt as well as between feeling hurt as an emotion and a long-term emotional episode of hurt are introduced. Finally, feeling hurt is compared with humiliation, shame, guilt, disappointment, sadness, and anger.

The Pluralistic Concept of the Life-World and the Various Fields of the Phenomenology of the Life-World in Husserl

The life-world is a central topic of Husserl’s phenomenology. He addresses this issue in some of the works published during his lifetime and attempts to analyze the life-world extensively in many of his works and posthumously published research manuscripts. The life-world is one of the topics that have been discussed most extensively in phenomenology. However, there are many misunderstandings of Husserl’s phenomenology of the life-world. One misunderstanding concerns the variety of concepts of the life-world in Husserl and the possibility of developing various fields of the phenomenology of the life-world. It is the aim of this paper to show that Husserl has a pluralistic concept of the life-world, which makes it possible to develop various fields of the phenomenology of the life-world. I will introduce the monistic view and the pluralistic view of the concept of the life-world in Husserl and will clarify what the life-world is, thereby showing that the monistic view of the concept of the life-world in Husserl is not legitimate. However, even though Husserl has a pluralistic concept of the life-world, nowhere does he systematically clarify the various concepts of the life-world. Hence I will sort out and clarify various concepts of the life-world such as the narrower concept and the wider concept, the general concept and the particular concept, the natural concept and the transcendental concept, and the empirical concept and the eidetic concept. Based on the discussion of the various concepts of the life-world in Husserl, I will assess the monistic view and the pluralistic view of Husserl’s concept of the life-world so that we can better understand his various concepts of the life-world.

Democracy, Exclusion, and White Supremacy: How Should We Think About Exclusionary Zoning?

David Imbroscio’s argument about exclusionary zoning contains several salient arguments that deserve the attention of those working on issues of housing justice, racial justice, and urban equity. Attention to Imbroscio’s concerns can strengthen efforts to produce greater regional equity in American metropolitan areas. I find two main elements of his argument, however, unconvincing. First, his assertion that the anti-exclusionary zoning movement “is underlain by a deep commitment to neoliberalism” is a misreading of the greater history and aims of anti-exclusionist advocacy and scholarship. Second, his claim that anti-exclusionism is anti-democratic suffers from an overly narrow and process-focused concept of democracy that ignores historical and enduring power dynamics of local land-use politics as they are and have been expressed within a system of White racial domination.

How misconduct in business contributes to understanding the supply side of corruption in international business

PurposeThis study aims to offer a better understanding of supply side of bribery and corruption in an international business perspective by conceptualizing it in the narrower concept of misconduct in business (MIB) derived from the deontological perspective to business ethics.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a case study methodology of professionals working within Canadian mining multinational corporations operating in Africa. The authors conducted 2 focus groups, 25 in-depth interviews, document search and an open-ended questionnaire to 15 professionals. Further, they drew on a combination of the classic relationalist sociological framework and its recent revision, that they named the relationalism-substantialism framework to analyze the data.FindingsThe triangulated empirical data show that the reason why MIB in the form of bribery supply occurs is not exclusively tied to any given perspective, whether the individual, the organization or the wider societal context. Rather, these different layers are tightly intertwined and interact with each other for the supply of bribery to occur.Originality/valueAlthough the three siloed perspectives of MIB have been studied in the literature, they have not been addressed in relation to one another, and even less with a relationalism-substantialism framework. Yet, this perspective contributes compellingly to the understanding of the supply side in bribery. The authors propose a net of conceptually related constructs that intervene in the process of bribery supply occurrence, namely relationality influenced by institutional dysfunctionality and conflation and substantiality through agency and culture.

Organizational culture and perceived effectiveness: a case study of an insurance company

Research question: This paper studies the relation between organizational culture and perceived organizational effectiveness of an insurance company in a developing country with an emerging economy.Motivation: The main objective of the research is to determine whether there is a correlation between organizational culture and climate as a narrower concept, on the one hand and perceived organizational effectiveness on the other hand. Some authors noted a correlation between these organizational aspects. For example, Yan (2016) empirically confirmed that organizational culture positively and significantly correlates with organizational effectiveness. The relationship between organizational culture and organizational effectiveness was also examined by Cox and Trotter (2016), Chen (2017) and Deem, De Lotell and Kelly (2015). Idea: Starting from the findings of other authors that organizational culture indeed affects effectiveness, the authors of this paper wanted to examine whether this relation existed in a state-owned insurance company in an emerging economy and if so, how to use this to improve employees’ performance and overall business results. Data: They conducted the research in June 2017 on the sample of employees of Dunav Insurance Company and obtained six hundred and sixty six valid questionnaires. Tools: The questionnaires consisted of five general questions about demographic variables and twenty-nine closed-ended questions related to the topic. The researchers assessed the correlation between variables by Spearman Rho Coefficient and Chi-Square significance. Findings: The results showed the relationship between a number of aspects of organizational culture and climate on one hand and perceived organizational effectiveness on the other hand. Research results showed that the evaluation of effective utilization of working hours and professional capabilities is largely connected with the aspects of organizational climate that reflect poor working conditions and unethical attitude of employees. However, the evaluation of effective utilization of professional capabilities also relates to the perception of predominant aspects of an organizational climate that inspire positive internal relations. Contribution: The results presented in the paper can be used as the basis for organizational and managerial decision-making to improve work processes in the observed organization.

The Transformation of Open Urban Space and Increasing Building Density in Hong Kong since the 1970s

The narrow concept of open space (OS) present in land-use statutes cannot cover all new kinds of open urban space (OUS), however they must take responsibility for various open spaces in real-life cities, especially in contemporary high-density built environments. Open urban spaces are inserted into buildings or their accessibility is controlled by gated systems. A systematic and comprehensive approach to studying and evaluating the way in which OUS is changing is still lacking — especially from an architectural perspective. We put forward the Level-Type (L-T) framework to analyse the OUS system in central area of the Wan Chai and Yau Tsim Mong Districts, according to an expanded concept of OUS. In this paper, we illustrate the empirical studies from the first level of our research, to demonstrate how to use the new approach to evaluate the impacts of increasing density in the pattern of OUS. This study is fundamentally a qualitative study, however some data analyses act as auxiliary references to interpret changes observed in spatial planes and models. Following a three-step comparison of the changes in spatial forms and relevant data available since 1975, we found that all types of OUS are influenced — to different extents — by increasing trends and the speed at which they occur. Four kinds of relationships between increasing density and the transformation observed in the pattern of OUS are revealed. Moreover, with exception to the fourth kind of relationship — in which the changes observed in OUS are hardly a result of increasing density or the rate at which it occurred — we extract three main characteristics of OUS transformation from the remaining three kinds of relationships, which increase in density respectively. Furthermore, these characteristics of transformation can also explain the current recognition conflicts surrounding OUS from different perspectives and scales. This study method and resultant findings could prove very useful for managing and analysing the OUS system in high-density cities.

Powstanie i początki rozwoju psychoanalitycznej koncepcji symbolu w oparciu o teorię Zygmunta Freuda, Ernesta Jonesa i Melanie Klein

Abstrakt
 Cel: Celem artykułu jest omówienie początków psychoanalitycznej koncepcji symbolu w oparciu o teorię Zygmunta Freuda, Ernesta Jonesa oraz Melanie Klein i wskazanie na związek psychoanalitycznego i semiotycznego ujęcia symbolu.
 Metody: Przegląd literatury podążający za historycznym rozwojem koncepcji symbolu, przedstawiający najpierw jej podwaliny w pracach Zygmunta Freudanastępnie jej „przestrzenny” rozwój za sprawą Ernesta Jonesa aby na końcu omówić jej interpretację w oparciu o paradygmat relacji z obiektem autorstwa Melanie Klein (Klein, 1930/2007). Analiza omówionych ujęć w kontekście zbieżności w traktowaniu symbolu, jako współtworzonego przez wewnętrzny świat nieświadomej fantazji jednostki przy jednoczesnym zastosowaniu zdobyczy semiotyki, z gruntu zorientowanej na perspektywę zewnętrznego porządku.
 Rezultaty: Śledzenie rozważań Freuda na temat symbolu pozwala ustalić, jak jego wąska definicja symbolu zyskuje wielowymiarowość za sprawą nieoczywistego rozpoznania, że zasada substytucji ma swoje zastosowanie w języku nieświadomości. Wraz z tym odkryciem Freud wkracza w tzw. szeroką koncepcję symbolu, uwalniając jego interpretację od kulturowych klisz. Koncepcja Jonesa podąża za odkryciem Freuda i jednocześnie utrwala związek symbolu z jednostką za sprawą objaśniania go poprzez pryzmat regresji, a także związków krwi, kwestii narodzin i śmierci. Przełomowe wydaje się być ujęcie Klein, która podejmuje trudniejszy wątek odkrycia Freuda, a mianowicie problem „milczenia” symbolu, jego związku z tym, co niewyrażone, który udaje jej się rozwikłać za sprawą opisu konfiguracji lęków i pragnień.
 Wnioski: Przyjrzenie się początkom psychoanalitycznej koncepcji symbolu pozwala uchwycić jego istotę i wykazać jego ścisły związek z problematyką ekspresji, szczególnie zaś mowy i myślenia, ze względu na jego usytuowanie na granicy semiotyki i psychoanalizy.
 Słowa kluczowe: psychoanaliza, symbol, Zygmunt Freud, Ernest Jones, Melanie Klein
 
 
 

Evolution of the Caribbean Species of Columnea (Gesneriaceae) with an Emphasis on the Jamaican Species

Premise of research. Biogeography has improved understanding of evolution and diversification of organisms on both continental and island systems. One complicated island group in terms of geological history and biogeographic pattern is the Caribbean island system. A comparison across taxonomic groups does not result in overarching patterns for this group of islands. Columnea has the greatest number of species endemic to the Caribbean for any genus in Gesneriaceae that is not mostly endemic to the Caribbean with 16 species. Thirteen of these species are found on Jamaica, the remaining three each endemic to Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. In addition, populations of Columnea sanguinea and Columnea scandens are known from both mainland and multiple Caribbean islands. We investigate the pattern of evolution in Caribbean species of Columnea and attempt to explain the large number of species found on the island of Jamaica relative to the other islands. We explicitly test whether Caribbean species of Columnea are monophyletic and whether the 13 species endemic to Jamaica are a monophyletic group. This genus can help understand biogeographic patterns and modes of speciation in the Caribbean.Methodology. We sampled all Caribbean species of Columnea using DNA sequence data and phylogenetic methods to understand the pattern of diversity to determine whether multiple or single introductions could explain the diversity on the Caribbean islands.Pivotal results. The Caribbean species do not form a monophyletic group. The Jamaican species are monophyletic, and the endemic Cuban species, Columnea tincta, is sister to 12 of the Jamaican species, with Columnea pubescens sister to C. tincta + remaining Jamaican species. Most Jamaican species share similar corolla morphologies to section Columnea. Although never recovered as part of section Columnea, approximately unbiased tests cannot reject a sister group relationship of the Jamaican/Cuban endemic clade to section Columnea but can reject inclusion in section Columnea.Conclusions. The high diversity of Columnea in the Caribbean is due to the disproportionate number of species on Jamaica, but there is no obvious explanation for the radiation on this island, despite considering island size, topography, pollinators, and dispersers. The large number of species could be attributed to over-splitting on Jamaica, but even if a narrower concept were followed, and four of the species were combined as varieties of Columnea hirsuta as earlier taxonomy had predicted, the number of morphologically distinctive species would still be nine and much greater than that of the other islands. Our data also indicate that C. hirsuta sensu lato is not monophyletic.

Modeling Thermochemical Energy Storage and Release in Redox Cycles of Ca1-XSrxMnO3-Δ

Effective thermochemical energy storage (TCES) at MWh or GWh scales through reduction of oxides requires materials with 1) thermodynamic potential for significant energy storage, 2) fast reversible surface chemistry for oxygen removal, 3) rapid oxide-ion diffusion through the bulk lattice, and 4) phase and structural integrity of high-surface area structures. As reported in our previous papers (1-4)and by others (5, 6) A-site doped Ca1-xSrxMnO3-δ (x <= 0.20) provides thermodynamics for significant reduction and reversibility during redox cycles for TCES at high temperatures ≥ 700ºC. With Sr-doping levels of 5 and 10%, Ca1-xSrxMnO3-δ has demonstrated thermodynamic limits for specific TCES of 664, 737, and 877 kJ/kg at 1000ºC at P O2 ≈ 0.21, 0.01, and 10-4 bar respectively (from a zero reference state of fully oxidized Ca1-xSrxMnO3 in air at a cold temperature of 500ºC) (3). Ca0.90Sr0.10MnO3-δ and Ca0.95Sr0.05MnO3-δ were synthesized as porous particles through solid state reactive sintering to 1225ºC and tested for bulk reduction and re-oxidation at temperatures up to 1000ºC and P O2down to »10-4bar to calibrate material models for predicting specific TCES in limited residence time reactors. The particles, illustrated in Figures 1, with diameters < 450 μm, porosity ≈ 0.6, and grain sizes from 1 to 10 mm were packed into annular beds and tested in isothermal and non-isothermal redox cycling between oxidizing and reducing gases. Isothermal redox cycling of the porous particles in conjunction with TGA/DSC measurements provided the basis for fitting thermodynamically consistent surface reaction rate expressions and bulk ionic transport sub-models to measured evolution in δ. Figures 2 shows 10-cycle-averaged isothermal reduction and re-oxidation plots for a 0.6 cm bed of porous Ca0.9Sr0.1MnO3-δparticles cycled between P O2 of 0.17 and 10-4 bar. Similar results between other P O2 illustrate the significantly faster reoxidation rates that approach thermodynamic limits based on sweep-gas flow rates, suggest that neither bulk ionic diffusion nor O2 adsorption are rate-limiting at conditions tested. The packed bed experiments were simulated using a two-level internal and external dusty-gas-model for porous media transport based on measured particle and bed properties. The results showed that for typical grain sizes of 5 mm, bulk-ion transport only impacted reduction rates at temperatures ≤ 700 ºC. As such, it was difficult to fit accurately ionic diffusion parameters and further testing is required to assess more accurately ambipolar bulk diffusion models for these materials. Fitted surface chemistry rates to the experimental measurements as shown in Figure 2 does capture both the slow reduction and the fast reoxidation with a thermodynamically consistent reversible rate expression adopted from previous studies (7). The surface kinetics fitted for Ca0.9Sr0.1MnO3-δwere implemented in a one-dimensional indirect particle solar receiver model based on a narrow fluidized bed concept (8, 9)to explore the potential for how thermochemical energy storage in these particles could be coupled to designs and operating conditions for GWh energy storage systems for thermal power plants. The counterflow particles and fluidizing sweep gas at low P O2 provides a basis for reduction but rapid buildup of O2 in the gas-phase near the bottom of the bed thermodynamically inhibits reduction. As shown in Figure 3, conditions that produce particle temperatures above 1000 ºC and reduction levels with δ > 0.1 and thus provide significant specific TCES. These conditions at relatively low solid flow rates result in high wall temperatures and thus lower solar efficiency (approaching 80%) due to the wall radiation losses. Material models for Ca1-xSrxMnO3-δ permit further exploration of receiver designs to find optimal geometries and operating conditions to achieve high δ at higher solar efficiency approaching targets of 90%. References K.J. Albrecht, G.S. Jackson, and R.J. Braun, Solar Energy, 167, 179-193 (2018). L. Imponenti, K.J. Albrecht, R.J. Braun, and G.S. Jackson, ECS Transactions, 72(7), 11-22 (2016). L. Imponenti, K.J. Albrecht, R. Kharait, M.D. Sanders, and G.S. Jackson, Applied Energy, 230, 1--18 (2018). L. Imponenti, K.J. Albrecht, J.W. Wands, M.D. Sanders, and G.S. Jackson, Solar Energy, 151, 1-13 (2017). B. Bulfin, J. Vieten, D.E. Starr, A. Azarpira, C. Zachaus, M. Havecker, K. Skorupska, M. Schmucker, M. Roeb, and C. Sattler, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 5(17), 7912-7919 (2017). N. Galinsky, A. Mishra, J. Zhang, and F.X. Li, Applied Energy, 157, 358-367 (2015). R. Merkle, Y.A. Mastrikov, E.A. Kotomin, M.M. Kuklja, and J. Maier, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 159(2), B219-B226 (2012). G.S. Jackson, L. Imponenti, K. Albrecht, D. Miller, and R.J. Braun, Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, doi:10.1115/1.4042128 (2018). D.C. Miller, C.J. Pfutzner, and G.S. Jackson, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 126, 730-745 (2018). Figure 1

From Prevention through to Therapy: Supporting Evidence‐Informed Practice across the Spectrum of Child Maltreatment

From Prevention through to Therapy: Supporting Evidence‐Informed Practice across the Spectrum of Child Maltreatment

Introduzione allo studio della partecipazione politica (1966)

The indicators currently employed in research on politicai participation show that this concept is usually restricted to a certain kind of participation. This is probably due to the fact that these studies are framed as answers to the problem of consensus. But participation does necessarily identify with consensus or dissent. On the contrary the modern problem of participation originates with the autonomous rise of the civil society and the transposition on the political plane of its own conflicts. Participation may become then the product of the effort to overthrow or maintain the system of inequalities of the civil society. These premises lead us to take into consideration a non govenwnental dimension of political participation. The American political science has been the first to get rid of the excessively narrow concept of state. Now, however, the notion of political system appears to impose again to the political activity limits that do not allow to account for the universalistic elements it contains. It seems therefore more convenient to view the political acrion – in the modern world – as specific of the two kinds of solidarity grown from the formation of the Nation-state and from the class struggle. This subdivision corresponds also to the two major models with which the conditions of political participation have been explaned: namely the model of class consciusness and the one definable as «center-periphery». Each of these models accounts for certain facts only. If we analyse them, however, they seem to contain a common principle, that we could express with the proposition that participation is possible only within certain «areas of equality». More specific propositions can in turn be formulated, when different types of participation are taken into consideration. By crossclassifying the two dimensions of (1) statual-extra statual, and (2) prevailing private or political solidarity, four types are proposed: political professionalism, civic participation, social movements and subcultures. Finally the data from recent reserches are examined, with a particular effort to delineate some peculiarities of the Italian situation. Notable in it the relevance of subcultural participation and of the residual social movements and the lesser importance of civic participation.

Special Features of the Crime’s Subject Under the Article 330 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine

On the basis of the analysis of criminal and legal literature, certain provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and court practice of their application, the author has determined that the description of special features of the crime’s subject through the construction of “in connection with the performance of official duties” used by the legislator in the disposition of the Art. 330 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine indicates the identity of the subject to the category of officials. At the same time, taking into account the dualism of criminal and legal approaches to the definition of the term of “an official” in the descriptions of a victim and the crime’s subject, the author has emphasized on the application of the more narrow concept laid down in Part 3 of the Art. 18 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Ukraine dated from April 26, 2002 No. 5 “On judicial practice in cases of bribery”.&#x0D; As a result, the author has come to the conclusion that a special subject of the crime under the Art. 330 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine may be officers of the departments of the National Police of Ukraine, the State Investigation Bureau, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the Office of State Security, the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, the State Penal Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine, officials of the President’s Administration of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Supreme High Command General Headquarters of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine, the unions, military units and units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Special Transport Service, the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, regional, district, city and district in the cities, state administrations and local self-government agencies, as well as officials of enterprises, institutions and organizations that carry out state defense orders, conduct research and perform development in the defense area, etc.

‘The King’s shilling’: How Peaky Blinders uses the experience of war to justify and celebrate toxic masculinity

Peaky Blinders (2013–present) is a complex and contradictory study of toxic masculinity as a set of behaviours that are destructive to the self and others. It uses the historical period, post-First World War, to explore the damage war inflicts upon the male psyche, but its sympathies for the men also reveal a darker aspect of this narrow concept of male identity. This does not only emanate from its unashamed glorification of criminality, but also from its representation of some of the deep-rooted yet contradictory beliefs that still exist in postcolonial British national identity. This article explores the role of war as a justification for continued violence, the notion that war (and associated state-sanctioned violence) irreparably damages men, the nostalgia for nationalism through working-class and ethnic identities and the objectification of the main characters’ physical and emotional identities through the ever-present potential for ‘good’ women to repair ‘bed’ men.

Dog-roses (Rosa sect. Caninae): towards a consensus taxonomy

This is an attempt to outline a consensus taxonomy for the dog-roses (Rosa sect. Caninae) of northern, western and central Temperate Europe, including the British Isles, by combining the characteristics of the main British and Continental systems in use today. It involves adopting the slightly narrower species concept of the Continent with the wider recognition of hybrids followed in Britain. The proposed system is based on the traditional view of species of dog-roses; it is considered premature to attempt a ‘phylogenetic’ system based on the highly fragmentary data that are so far available.

Transformation of East Slavic Messianism from the philosophy of Rus’ to the early Slavophiles

The emergence of the historiosophical concept of the Messianism of the Eastern Slavs in the works of Illarion, Nestor, as well as the subsequent transformation by the Orthodox clergy of the Moscow principality, and later by the Russian Slavophiles, is investigated. The study found that thinkers of Kievan Rus’ created a universal concept of «Holy Rus’» for integration into the historical tradition of Christian states. The historiosophical concepts of Illarion and Nestor were created to unite the society of Kievan Rus’, providing a universal alternative to tribal identity. On the other hand, at the international level, it integrated Rus’ into the community of Christian states. The transformation of the messianism of Kievan Rus’ in the Moscow principality was studied. Due to the conquest of the territory of Kievan Rus by the Mongol-Tatars in the middle of the XIII century, Kiev lost the significance of the geopolitical center of Russia. Moscow principality, on the contrary, being on the outskirts, is preserved, and after the collapse of the Golden Horde it becomes a new geopolitical center. Moscow needed its own ideology. The Moscow Orthodox clergy created the concept of «Moscow is the third Rome», which has lost its universality and integrativeness, becoming the historiosophical cause of Moscow’s civilizational mission as a defender of Orthodoxy. It is shown that during the time of Peter the Great, the church concept «Moscow is the third Rome» becomes the foundation of the state ideology of the Russian Empire. Therefore, the universal concept of «Rus’» is replaced by the narrow concept of «Russia». Thus, the transformation of the historiosophical concepts of Kievan Rus’ makes the Russian empire the heir of all of Rus’, its culture, history, mythology and ideology. Although before that, the Moscow principality was the periphery of Ancient Rus’. The transformation of the historiosophy of Kievan Rus’ removed the Ukrainians and Belarusians, who are territorially and culturally descendants of Rus’. Demonstrated as Slavophiles I. Kireevsky, A. Khomyakov, K. Aksakov developed the idea of historical peculiarities of Moscow and Russia. They created a complex and holistic concept - the «Russian idea» and rejected universalism and integrativity. Later, the Slavophilic historiosophy became the basis for the myths of the «elder brother», Rus’ as the «cradle of three fraternal peoples», opposing Great Russia and Little Russia. These distortions of history and historiosophy need to be analyzed and corrected in order to create the ideology of modern Ukraine.