Small Country Research Articles

Quality Performance and Delivery of Services in the Four- And Five-Star Hotel Industry in Rwanda

The current attitude towards quality performance, which affects guest satisfaction in the hospitality industry, has important implications for business competitiveness and business development. Not only has the Africa continent been a priority because of its service delivery-based challenges, but population is also determined by culture believed basically in market demand where most of individual intention to purchase goods or services mostly depends on individual judgment related to quality performance (Osotimehin, Hassan & Abass, 2015). Rwanda is a small country, which is developing in different domains including economic, political, and social. Even if the development is increasing in an appreciated trend line, problems still exist in production, selling, and distribution service, more specifically in the hospitality industry. Some of these include poor quality of product or service due to limited capital, poor capabilities due to limited technical skills, and lack of both working experience and appropriate trainings of employees working in the hospitality industry. In addition, in Rwanda the hotel industry fails to be competitive due to poor planning and in some instance, they do not even have sufficient stock of raw materials of production to facilitate the delivery of quality service more efficiently. The product design and implementation are still needed in the Rwanda hotel industry to meet guest satisfaction. Therefore, the researcher intended to assess the performance of quality and delivery of service in the hotel industry in Rwanda. The specific objectives were to establish the relationship between guest expectations and delivery of service in the four- and five-star hotel industry in Rwanda; to establish the relationship between guest satisfaction and responsiveness on delivery of service in the four- and five-star hotel industry in Rwanda; to establish the relationship between product or service and delivery of service in the four- and five-star hotel industry in Rwanda; to establish the relationship between government policies, rules, or regulations, product or service design, and delivery of service in the four- and five-star hotel industry in Rwanda; and to establish the relationship between quality performance and delivery of services in the four- and five-star hotel industry in Rwanda. This research used descriptive research design in nature and involved both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The target population in this research covers guests of Marriott, Serena, and Park Inn by Radisson hotels in Kigali, their management teams, and the hotels’ service providers. In total they were 1410 from whom the sample of 312 were selected as representative. The determination of the sample was normally done by use of formula determined by Yamane (1967). Therefore, a simple random sampling technique was used to select representatives, and data were collected using questionnaires, interview guides, documents, and records. The analysis of data was done through statistical package for social science version 21. The study findings showed that average rating of quality-of-service delivery was 8.991 across a variety of areas including: expectations, satisfaction, responsiveness, and product or service delivery. An increase in unit of expectation led to a decrease in delivery of service by 0.066, a decrease in unit of satisfaction led to a decrease in delivery of service by 0.065, an increase in unit of responsiveness led to a decrease in delivery of service by 0.016 while an increase in unit of product or service led to an increase in delivery of service by 0.227. The recommendation of the study is that four-and five-star hotels should strive to maintain guests’ satisfaction through promotions, price reduction and proper product awareness through all Rwandan markets. Strengthening branding, design of products or services, and establishing proper plans may bring about strong positive associations between the quality of performance and the delivery of service. Keywords: Guest expectations, Guest satisfaction, Government policies, Quality performance, Performance, Delivery, Hospitality industry.

FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (FTA) WITH CHINA AND INTERACTION BETWEEN EXPORTS AND IMPORTS

The world trade system appears to gravitate toward trade blocks. While the European Union (EU) is by far the largest trade block in Europe, the subject of this research is focused on another European block, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), with the member states of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. Unlike the EU, the EFTA countries can enter into Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) individually, with another country, whenever they choose. The world's largest increasing trading house over the last two decades is China, but it has not yet signed an FTA with the EU. However, China has a bilateral agreement with both Iceland and Switzerland. The methodology of this research involves using the STATA program for statistical regression estimation of simultaneous equation system since it estimates the interaction between the trade going between the countries. This allows for considering substitution or complementary effects between the goods flowing back and forth between the countries. The methodology is based on the means of the gravity model. This research aims to answer the following question: is it beneficial for small countries such as Iceland and Switzerland to have a bilateral agreement with China? This research focuses on estimating trade flows, in US dollars, between China and Iceland on the one hand and between China and Switzerland on the other. Results from regression analysis indicate that when accounting for the FTAs, import to Iceland from China positively affects exports from Iceland to China, but not the other way around. However, estimates for trade between Switzerland and China show the reverse of this to be true. When presenting and analyzing literature and economic studies in the field, selection data and presenting the three-stage regression result, accounting for the Free Trade Agreements with China, our conclusion is the following: The trade relation of China with the two small European countries of Iceland and Switzerland has developed such that in 2014 the Free Trade Agreements between China and Iceland, and China and Switzerland came into effect. A combination of the three-stage least-squares regression, as well as the gravity model, allowing for accountancy of FTAs is applied. We conclude that when accounting for the FTAs, import to Iceland from China has stimulated exports from Iceland to China, but not the other way around. However, the estimates for Switzerland are reverse to the estimates received for Iceland.

Tax the Eggs, not the Hen

The VC industry provides an excellent example for an industry that is based on the ability to bring together ideas and high-risk capital in a process that generates value. Of particular interest is the case where the entrepreneurs reside in one country and the investors reside in another country. There are two types of benefits. The first type of benefits depends on the success of the young innovative technology firms. The second type of benefits depends on the total flow of high-risk capital from the country of the investors to the country where the investment takes place. While the benefits to the entrepreneurs and the shareholders are vastly discussed, the benefit to the hosting country is less explored. Successful entrepreneurs earn a lot of money in case of success. The high gains attract public pressure for higher and more effective capital gains tax. In this work we show that this to be a worthless and even harming. We show that the benefits are both direct in the form of taxes and indirect as higher wages. We use hand-picked database to estimate the total benefit to a small country that was successful in attracting international VC funding. Our main result is that the Income tax collected from VC backed employees is 10.7 higher than the Capital tax gained from exits. The call for the taxation of capital gains of the wealthy individuals could materially hurt the revenue of the hosting country

The SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Impacts the Management of Swiss Pediatric Intensive Care Units.

The impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic on pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) is difficult to quantify. We conducted an observational study in all eight Swiss PICUs between 02/24/2020 and 06/15/2020 to characterize the logistical and medical aspects of the pandemic and their impact on the management of the Swiss PICUs. The nine patients admitted to Swiss PICUs during the study period suffering from pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS) and constituting 14% (9/63) of all SARS-CoV-2 positive hospitalized patients in Swiss children's hospitals caused a higher workload [total Nine Equivalents of nursing Manpower use Score (NEMS) points, p = 0.0008] and were classified to higher workload categories (p < 0.0001) than regular PICU patients (n = 4,881) admitted in 2019. The comparison of the characteristics of the eight Swiss PICUs shows that they were confronted by different organizational issues arising from temporary regulations put in place by the federal council. These general regulations had different consequences for the eight individual PICUs due to the differences between the PICUs. In addition, the temporal relationship of these different regulations influenced the available PICU resources, dependent on the characteristics of the individual PICUs. As pandemic continues, reflecting and learning from experience is essential to reduce workload, optimize bed occupancy and manage resources in each individual PICU. In a small country as Switzerland, with a relatively decentralized health care local differences between PICUs are considerable and should be taken into account when making policy decisions.

INSTITUTIONALIZATION PATTERNS IN BREAST CANCER IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY

Purpose: The objective of the present study is to analyze scientometrically some essential patterns of the dynamic science institutionalization on breast cancer immunohistochemistry and to outline the most significant scientists, journals, scientific institutions conference proceedings in this interdisciplinary field. Material/Methods: In December 2019, a retrospective problem-oriented, title-word based search was performed in Web of Science Core Collection (WoS), MEDLINE and BIOSIS Citation Index (BIOSIS) of Web of Knowledge as well as in Scopus for 2003-2018. The following parameters were comparatively assessed: annual dynamics of publications, author’s names, journal titles, scientific institutions, and scientific forums. Results: There were 1187 publications abstracted in WoS, 776 publications abstracted in BIOSIS, 711 publications abstracted in Scopus, and 616 publications abstracted in MEDLINE. There were journal articles in 288 journals abstracted in WoS, in 234 journals abstracted in MEDLINE, in 156 journals abstracted in Scopus, and in 140 journals abstracted in BIOSIS. The most productive authors were David G. Hicks, Rohit Bhargava and Ian O. Ellis. The ‘core’ journals were Modern Pathology, Laboratory Investigation and Cancer Research. The most influential scientific institutions were the University of Texas System (USA) and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (USA). The annual meetings of the US and Canadian Academy of Pathology and the Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer symposia were most attractive to the investigators worldwide. Conclusion:Our comprehensive results could be of interest to breast cancer researchers and clinicians from smaller countries, institutional science managers, and journal editors.

Revolution in military affairs - The operation mole cricket 19 as a case study for the technological race during the cold war

The article reviews the development of the modern idea of Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) whose buds appeared after the First World War, matured during the Cold War and demonstrated in 1982 in the First Lebanon War by the Israeli Air Force, and in 1991 in the Iraq War by the American Army. After analyzing the essence of RMA, with reference to the concept of both evolution and revolution of military technologies and doctrines, the article suggests that two types of revolutions should be distinguished. The first is a revolution in military affairs in the broadest sense in which a paradigm shift in the nature of war is occurred, and it is possible to apply it mainly by superpowers. The second, is a limited revolution that is essentially an approach of solving a military problem, suitable for small countries. The article examines these ideas and shows that Operation Mole Cricket 19, in which Syrian missile batteries made in the USSR were destroyed by the Israeli Air Force in 1982, is a revolution in military affairs of the second type.

Intelligence and Security in the Netherlands and Belgium: A Historical Comparison

ABSTRACT This study compares the defence and national security of Belgium and the Netherlands. It shows a remarkable amount of parallel evolutions and events that shaped the securitization of the Netherlands and Belgium. Both countries faced many common security and defence challenges, which they dealt with in their own way but still at times very similar. Such comparison offers insight into how the proximity and similar development of the Low Countries provided a relatively common set of security contingencies and activities, and the differing or similar attitudes and responses both countries adopted towards common security problems. The internationally precarious situation of the two small countries caught in the middle between France and Germany exposed them to a similar threat. Their strategic location in Europe was also responsible for similar challenges in the domestic security environment, such as the threat of socialist agitation and later terrorism. These factors have influenced their international outlook as well as their legal and organizational approaches towards intelligence.

The father of ‘sovereignism’: d'Annunzio in Fiume between the crisis of liberalism and the critique of democracy

AbstractThe essay investigates the occupation of the city of Rijeka (1919–20) by an irregular army led by Italian poet Gabriele d'Annunzio, focusing on the concepts of sovereignism and populism. While people with different mentalities and ideological horizons took part in the endeavour, it was d'Annunzio that gave the occupation its profound meaning. The poet attempted to put into practice his political vision centered around a ‘noble people’, composed of warriors and producers, opposed to the liberal elites and in competition with revolutionary socialist movements. In this sense, the Free State of Rijeka grew into the prototype of a new society based on the integration of racial, plebiscitary, corporate, aesthetic, and political themes. At the same time, the city became a beacon of opposition to the new international order proposed by US president Woodrow Wilson, since it advocated and worked towards the birth of sovereignty for small countries resisting new supranational bodies such as the League of Nations.

FOOD SELF-SUFFICIENCY IN LATVIA: LOCAL FOOD VERSUS IMPORTED FOOD

The issue of food self-sufficiency is becoming topical in cases of military and economic cataclysms. In addition, increasing attention is being paid to environmental aspects, e.g., reduction of greenhouse gases. These aspects call for research into countries' capacity to provide food for their citizens. Self-sufficiency research began in the early 20th century and continues to this day. However, scientists have no agreement on the methodology according to which the self-sufficiency index is calculated. In this study, the formula for calculating the self-sufficiency ratio was clarified. The goal of this study is to improve the methodology for calculating self-sufficiency ratio. To achieve the purpose of the study, several research tasks have been set: 1) to get acquainted with scientific research on this topic; 2) to theoretically analyse the obtained information; 3) to develop a more precise method for calculating self-sufficiency, which more accurately reflects the proportion of local food in consumption. Available statistical data and a mathematical calculation method were used in this study. Relatively small countries tend to be exposed to external conditions, which is also linked to food self-sufficiency. Therefore, it was concluded that Latvia can supply its society with several types of food products fully. The updated SSR calculation formula provides more accurate information on self-sufficiency and calculates the consumption and export volume dependence on imported products.

A new aboreal species of sword-tailed cricket (Orthoptera: Trigonidiidae: Trigonidiinae) from the mangrove in Singapore.

Sword-tailed crickets of the genus Amusurgus Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893 (Orthoptera: Trigonidiidae: Trigonidiinae) from Southeast Asia is still poorly known and its taxonomy requires a revision. Many species are still awaiting discovery and formal description. Based on newly-acquired materials from the mangrove in Singapore, a new species of Amusurgus is described: Amusurgus (Amusurgus) caerulus sp. nov. This discovery also demonstrates that even in a small country like Singapore, we still do not have a comprehensive understanding of its orthopteran diversity.

Luxembourg and Ireland in global financial networks: Analysing the changing structure of European investment funds.

Using a unique database on investment funds and the conceptual framework of global financial networks, this paper examines the spatial structure of the European investment fund industry, with particular focus on Luxembourg and Ireland. Grounded in financial and economic geography, the paper shows how these countries became the leading investment fund domiciles through a mixture of structural factors and agency enabling a fast and flexible implementation of the European Directive on the Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) of 1985, and the cultivation of the investment fund industry ever since. In the process, Luxembourg and Ireland have built on and developed their functions as offshore jurisdictions and international financial centres, both sustained by their governments and regulatory agencies. The analysis of the functional structure of investment funds and their networked geography reveals the increasingly dominant position of London as the investment management centre for the industry, and the increasing concentration of control by large asset management firms. Stripped to its basics, the geography of European investment fund networks is about large, mainly US, asset management firms, creating and managing funds in Luxembourg and Ireland, and investing money through London. As such, the rise of European investment funds can be seen as an example of European financial integration through Americanisation. The Luxembourg and Irish investment fund industry are connected mainly through London and New York, and thus function as satellites of the NY–LON axis, rather than a Luxembourg–Dublin axis in international finance. Overall, the paper demonstrates that studying this seemingly arcane industry, and the role of two small countries in it, reveals much about the nature of financial globalisation.

The influences of cultural values on the cultural product trade: evidence from China, Japan and Korea

PurposeInternational trade flows of cultural goods have grown noticeably in the past few decades and the development of cultural products trade has been an important issue in the international business field. Therefore, this study aims to explore how per capita gross domestic product, distance, culture, Internet penetration and other factors affect the trade of cultural products.Design/methodology/approachThe paper focuses on the international trade in cultural goods of China, Japan and Korea with other countries. To analyze the essential reason, the study has applied the classical gravity model along with variables, which mainly represent global connectedness to investigate which variables have the most impact on trade in cultural products.FindingsThe result shows that in terms of China, cultural similarity boosts the volume of trade volume with other countries, however, for South Korea and Japan, cultural similarity does not have a significant impact. On top of cultural similarity, individual cultural value dimension differences between countries show mixed results for each country and their directions of trade. Global connectedness, on the other hand, is not congruent with the general expectations of previous studies.Research limitations implicationsDue to the limited time for data collection, the research was done with a relatively small country list with a limited number of cultural good items. Second, the Kogut and Singh index is one of the most popular measures based on cultural dimension deviation. It is based on the Euclidean calculation method used by most scholars but some scholars believe that the Euclidean method has some shortcomings. Third, the authors do not actively promote robust testing after regression analysis this work would be carried out in the future. Finally, using the four basic cultural dimensions proposed by Hofstede in 1980 may be another limitation.Practical implicationsFirst, the authors should further promote the establishment of the China-Japan-South Korea Free Trade Area. The three countries should formulate special policies to favor the trade of cultural products and support the development of the cultural industry. Additionally, the three sides should also set up a joint research center to explore the issue of improving the international competitiveness of cultural products trade and find common solutions. And the three countries should further open their doors within the reasonable range, relax the restrictions on tourism and trade visas.Originality/valueThe analysis provides some different results as the previous papers. Distance variables show positive effect on trade which defines that long distance between countries do no matter on trade in cultural goods. Moreover, the variables of tourism receipt shows that global connectedness positively effects on trade. The cultural variables of the KS composite index show opposite result with the conventional logic which advocates that cultural dissimilarity enhances trade in cultural goods.

The Advantage of Being A Small Country on Economic Growth Spillovers: A Review on Spain and Portugal With ARDL Approach

This study investigates Spain's role in Portugal’s economic development and analyzes the assumption that Spain’s import from Portugal is the factor that increases Portugal’s per capita income the most. Apart from these reasons, there are several other motivations to focus on foreign trade between Spain and Portugal. The first is to examine the impact on Portugal of the increases in GDP, exports and imports of Spain, which is the major country and borders Portugal. Second, this study aims to test the growth spread. According to the test results, the economic growth of Spain positively affects the growth of Portugal in the long and short term. In addition, it was concluded that the share of imports has more positive effects than exports in the long run. It shows that the deviation in the variables according to the error correction term result converges to only 85 percent in the t period. The findings are also consistent with previous research supporting the economic integration arguments that emerged as a result of trade relations. In addition, in this direction, the economic and political meetings to be held between the two countries and the actions to be taken as a result of these meetings can create an environment where both countries can win.

Elephants in Nepal: Correlating disease, tourism, and welfare

ABSTRACT Asian elephants and humans have long shared their lives, but recent changes in human perspectives on animal use have created ripples through the small country of Nepal. Captive elephants are caught in the crossfire between local communities, elephant owners, mahouts, and NGOs in debates over their treatment, health, welfare and use in tourism. In addition, zoonotic disease, natural disasters and political strife affect the lives of captive elephants and mahouts. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, elephants, caregivers and owners found themselves facing income loss, decreased welfare from housing and husbandry issues, and food shortages. Many owners sold elephants, fired mahouts, and “quit” the tourism industry. Others sought help from outside organizations, community members, and governmental agencies to retain ownership of what they viewed as valuable commodities. NGOs and grassroots organizations assisted in the hopes of keeping elephants in Nepal, thus preventing them from long, treacherous walks across the border and into situations where they might face further welfare decreases. This article combines elephant stable visits and interviews with mahouts, owners, NGO, and government staff between January 2019 and December 2021. It highlights the ongoing health and welfare challenges faced by elephants and mahouts in Nepal.

Social Alienation in Ghalib Halsa’s Novel Sultana

The present study examines manifestations of social alienation in the novel Sulṭāna (1987). A basic premise of the study is that contemporary mankind exists in a state of cultural alienation shock, due to successive waves of tremendous change in many aspects of life and many components of social and cultural existence. To this must be added the political changes experienced by the Arab world after World War II, causing it be become divided into several small countries, followed by these countries' struggles for independence and their defeats against Israel in 1948, the war of the Tripartite Aggression against Egypt in 1956 and the defeat of 1967 against Israel. All of these events caused Arabs to shrink into themselves and wallow in feelings of disappointment, defeat and failureGhālib Halsā's novel Sulṭāna was chosen because of all the novels by this writer, it is the one that is most strongly imbued with the local atmosphere of his homeland, Jordan. In fact, the entire work reflects almost no other environment. In this environment social alienation is ever present. The novel shows how relations based on family solidarity and agricultural and tribal traditions have been transformed into commercial relations, leading to a disintegration of the family. The novel describes Jordan's countryside, its problems, its dilemmas, its clans and its tribes. It also moves to the city, where it focuses on revealing social flaws and behaviors in times in which authentic values have broken down.

3 - A Decade of Biomedical Research in West Africa (2005–14): A Bibliometric Analysis of the Ten Most Productive Countries in MEDLINE

The objective of this research is to determine the quantity and quality of publications in biomedical research in top-producing countries in West Africa during 2005–14 as well as the characteristics of the journals and collaborative evidence in the area. Data was drawn from MEDLINE/ PubMed and Google Scholar while the impact factors of the journals were retrieved from the SCImago Journal and Country Rank portal. Quantity of publications was measured by counting the number of publications attributable to a country while h-index was extracted to measure quality. Productivity was analysed by sorting the data according to their first authors, journals and publication dates, and analysed using MS Excel and LOTKA®. Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mali had the highest number of publications. In respect of productivity, apart from Côte d’Ivoire that had an α value less than 2, indicating a higher level of productivity, all other countries had an α value greater than 2. West African Journal of Medicine is the only journal of West African origin in the list of top ten journals where the authors from the sub-region published their papers, and it ranked tenth. Nigeria and Ghana published a lot more of their research papers in local journals in comparison with other countries, but these journals have very low mean impact factors. This study reinforces the need for improved research collaboration between the big and small countries.

SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in Lebanon: findings from the first nationwide serosurvey

BackgroundLebanon, a small country in the Middle East, remains severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Seroprevalence surveys of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies provide accurate estimates of SARS-CoV-2 infection and hence evaluate the extent of the pandemic. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Lebanon and to compare the estimated cumulative number of COVID-19 cases with the officially registered number of laboratory-confirmed cases up to January 15, 2021.MethodsA nationwide population-based serosurvey study was conducted in Lebanon between December 7, 2020, and January 15, 2021, before the initiation of the national vaccination program. The nCOVID-19 IgG & IgM point-of-care (POCT) rapid test was used to detect the presence of anti-SARS-COV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the blood. Seroprevalence was estimated after weighting for sex, age, and area of residence and adjusting for the test performance.ResultsOf the 2058 participants, 329 were positive for IgG SARS-COV-2, resulting in a crude seroprevalence of 16.0% (95% CI 14.4–17.6). The weighed seroprevalence was 15.9% (95% CI of 14.4 and 17.4). After adjusting for test performance, the population weight-adjusted seroprevalence was 18.5% (95% CI 16.8–20.2). This estimate implies that 895,770 individuals of the general population were previously infected by COVID-19 up to January 15, 2021 in Lebanon. The overall estimated number of subjects with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was three times higher than the officially reported cumulative number of confirmed cases. Seroprevalence was similar across age groups and sexes (p-value > 0.05). However, significant differences were revealed across governorates.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the Lebanese population is still susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and far from achieving herd immunity. These findings represent an important contribution to the surveillance of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon and to the understanding of how this virus spreads. Continued surveillance for COVID-19 cases and maintaining effective preventive measures are recommended to control the epidemic spread in conjunction with a national vaccination campaign to achieve the desired level of herd immunity against COVID-19.

The anti‐tax‐avoidance directive: An initiative to successfully curb profit shifting?

AbstractOn July 2016 the Economic and Financial Council of the European Union adopted the Anti‐Tax‐Avoidance Directive (ATAD). The proposed controlled‐foreign‐company (CFC) rule in the ATAD requires a minimum tax rate in the host country of a multinational's controlled‐foreign subsidiary to avoid the reattribution of the subsidiary's income to the country of its parent company. The Directive allows member states to remain free to set the CFC threshold autonomously by laying down a minimum standard. Member states can thus either opt for a loose CFC rule by setting the minimum required control threshold (i.e., 50% of the country's own corporate income tax rate) or impose a tight CFC rule by applying a higher threshold. Against this background, the present paper analyses the effect of CFC rules on tax competition for foreign direct investments. It appears that, although CFC rules are effective in curbing offshore profit shifting, they can induce nonhavens to compete aggressively for mobile capital. In this context, CFC rules can exacerbate capital outflows from the large to the small country to a larger extent than in standard models of tax competition. Moreover, the paper highlights that governments choose between two extreme options when deciding on their CFC rule. Either they opt for the lowest or the highest possible control threshold.

Veliki solitarni neurofibrom nadlaktice - prikaz slučaja

Introduction: Neurofibromas are benign tumors of neuronal origin, occurring most commonly in young adults, with no gender predilection. The connection of neurofibroma with disorders on a general level as von Recklinghausen's disease makes its diagnosis critical. Case report: A 32-old female patient was administered to the Clinic of Plastic surgery, Clinical Center of Montenegro in Podgorica, with a 10-year history of painless, subcutaneous tumor of the right upper arm that grew in size over the last ten years. The patient reported progressive pain and tingling in her right forearm and right hand for the last 12 months. An MRI showed a non-homogenous tumor of the middle third portion of the triceps muscle, in close contact with the humerus but without infiltrating it. The tumor was removed, with a definitive histopathological result of a solitary benign neurofibroma. Conclusions: This example of successful treatment of solitary neurofibroma may serve to increase the awareness of surgeons and radiologists in small countries regarding benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors. The patient is under observation for two years with no signs of relapse and no other features indicative of neurofibromatosis type 1.

Dragoslav Drag Avramovic: Probing the limits of development and stabilization policy

Dragoslav Avramovic was one of most accomplished economists in the area of applied development policy. He came from a small country with limited exposure to western economics, and made a stellar career at the World Bank and the Brandt Commission. His main achievements include: (i) A novel approach to external debt management based on dynamic assessment of indebtedness and borrowing capacity. It differed from standard debt-to-GDP ratio approach since it evaluated the efficiency and effectiveness of borrowed resources. (ii) Model for reducing volatility of commodity prices based on intervention fund (buffer stock) activated on either demand or supply side to prevent excessive price changes. (iii) Stabilizing record hyperinflation in his home country Serbia by introducing new currency, sound macro-monetary policy, and breaking inflationary expectations that reduced inflation and allowed price liberalization. He faced formidable political economy opposition to implementing debt management and commodity stabilization models, and structural reforms once the stabilization results were achieved.