Countries In Sphere Research Articles

Dynamics of Development and Functions of Social Services in Bulgaria

The research objectives of this article are two: 1. to attempt to analyze the current dynamics of development of social services in Bulgaria over the last 4-5 years and 2. to analyze the content of the functions of social services existing today in Bulgaria. The leading method of work on this article is the theoretical analysis aimed at two types of sources: 1. theoretical analysis of the main legal effective document on social services in Bulgaria and 2. theoretical analysis of some literary sources in social work. The dynamics of development of social services in Bulgaria is the result of the entry into force of the Social Services Act, which has a reforming nature in the social sphere in the country. The established practices of the societies of the democratic countries and the broad theoretical generalizations achieved for the social sphere in the 20th century in the works of many authors today really help the countries of Eastern Europe to consider and receive ready-made models for constructing public relations in the field of social services. Some of the functions of social services in nowadays Bulgaria can be distinguished and derived on the basis of the current legislation in the country, and another part is fundamentally inherent in the social sphere in democratic countries and in the theory. Social services in modern Bulgaria have the following functions: preventive, supportive and restorative, control, complex, organizational and planning, accessibility function, function to protect human rights and provide equal opportunity, function to implement change for people, guiding function, social-educational and correctional function, personality change function. The significance of this article consists in the theoretical explanation of the leading functions in social services in the modern conditions of life in Bulgaria. Social services are a field of action and probably have some potential to become one of the tools for uniting the currently diverse not only Bulgarian society, and clarifying the problem with the functions of social services could help to find some practical solutions to live together in peace.

The Soviet Union as a composite state structure: education, development trends and causes of disintegration

This article is devoted to a critical comparative-legal analysis of the process of formation, development, transformation and disintegration of the first multinational political-territorial entity with a republican form of government of the “Soviet” type, which over time has become a clear example for such complex European states as Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. This theme is unique not only in terms of solving the ethnic issue, but also as the “model” of territorial structure since the basis of one federation, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, formed another federation, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which integrated, along with traditional administrative units, national political-territorial entities in the form of autonomous republics, regions, and districts. The article emphasizes the fact that one of the consequences of the appearance on the political map of the Soviet Union, which defeated Nazi Germany and its numerous satellites in World War II, was not only the formation of “popular democracy” countries and the so-called “socialist camp” that existed for over forty years and represented a civilizational alternative to the capitalist path of social development, but also the collapse of the colonial system and acquisition of independence and sovereignty by the peoples inhabiting the regions of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The Soviet model of the state structure and democracy institutions as antipodes to bourgeois populism and liberal demagogy facilitated an accelerated transition from declarations of constituent and constitutional documents proclaiming human and civil rights and freedoms to their practical implementation in the economic and political sphere in countries that had associated themselves with Western-style democracy; it resulted in a more socially oriented role of state and its structures. The Soviet experience clearly demonstrates what real results the state and society can achieve in solving the women's issue, elimination of total illiteracy, and growth of the well-being of citizens. At the same time, manifestations of authoritarianism and totalitarianism that took place at certain stages reveal that the power mechanism was subject not only to voluntaristic tendencies or official personification, but also to relapses into a personality cult, one of the most negative consequences of state disintegration and local civil wars within its former territory.

Approaches to Interstate Interaction of Circumpolar Countries in the Development of the Arctic

Purpose: is to suggest recommendations on the problems of cooperation of circumpolar countries in the Arctic based on the analysis and accumulates the existing economic concepts of interstate interaction.Methods: the work used the methods of classification, induction and deduction, generalization, structuring, statistical and logical analysis, system analysis, algorithmization. The research is based on the using the elements of empirical and theoretical methods for economic reality research.Results: the study presents the development of theoretical approaches to issues of interstate interaction in existing economic schools. The authors studied the experience of interstate cooperation in sphere of Arctic territory exploration and development. Based on basic theories, the existing theoretical and practical approaches of interstate interaction of circumpolar countries are summarized. Taking into account the dynamics of foreign trade turnover of circumpolar countries, the authors suggested the model of interstate interaction.Conclusions and Relevance: the development of conceptual provisions for interstate interaction for Arctic development allows us to take into account the main arising risks of the development process. It should be noted, that the main basic conceptual point of interstate interaction of countries in sphere of the Arctic development is the factor of "economic person" behavior within the neoclassical theory. This approach allows us to take into account the possibilities of interstate interaction, both from the point of view of openness of economic systems, and from the point of view of conflicts of interests of participants and the consequences of climate change. The suggested dynamic model of circumpolar countries interaction is based on the factors of multi-sided cooperation of various stakeholders as the main institution for the development of Arctic policy of circumpolar countries. It allows to consider the main risks arising during the of Arctic territories development.

Public Sphere and Post-Populism in the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Short Life of Depolarisation in Argentina

In this article, we examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic opens opportunities for consensual politics and the reconstruction of a pluralistic public sphere in countries characterised by polarised politics. Our focus is on how the Alberto Fernández administration in Argentina managed the crisis during 2020 and the window of opportunity that the pandemic created for a post-populist, depolarised scenario. Although the government initially tried to pursue consensual policymaking and foregrounded a public health response to the crisis, the prolonged nature of the health crisis, the toll of the pandemic, and the failure of government policies to address multiple aspects of the crisis reactivated political polarisation. The Argentine case helps to understand whether the politics of depolarisation amid the pandemic are possible and sustainable. Even with scientific expertise gaining significant presence, legitimacy and initial consensus, it is insufficient to chart out a path to depolarisation given persistent structural dynamics that foster sharp divisions.

Gender-Specific Aspects of Precariat

One of the most vulnerable groups presented in precariat in addition to graduate students are women. Thanks to the importance of their social role as mother women are forced to enter into non-stable, short- term employment relationships with lower remuneration and lower level of career opportunities than man have. Relevance of this problem is often demonstrated in Mass media, in research and discussions of such important global institutions as World Bank, International Labor Organization, The World Economic Forum. These organizations also provide us with important statistical data about gender discrimination around the world including preparation of annual reports such as Women, Business and The Law and also the preparation of indexes of gender equality. This data enables to evaluate the level of gender equality in the labor market around the world and estimate the peculiarities of different countries in sphere of legislative regulation of gender discrimination. The analysis of these laws and other limitations will help us to identify main obstacles that prevent women to work at the same jobs and the same positions as men do and as a consequence to influence women’s choice in favour of unstable or precarious job positions.

Quality of government and the relationship between environmental concern and pro-environmental behavior: a cross-national study

ABSTRACT Previous research consistently finds a relatively weak relationship between environmental concern and pro-environmental behavior, as environmentally concerned individuals often fail to act pro-environmentally, both in the private and public spheres. While the strength of the concern–behavior relationship varies considerably across countries, existing research has yet to provide a complete account of these cross-national differences. In this study, we add to previous cross-national research on the concern–behavior relationship by focusing on the quality of government. Using multilevel analysis and data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), we demonstrate that people who are environmentally concerned are more likely to act pro-environmentally (in the public sphere), in countries where government institutions are fair, effective and impartial. We also find that people are generally more likely to engage in pro-environmental behavior in both the private and public sphere in countries where the quality of government is high.

Socio-political development of countries in information society. Countries of the EU

Many studies are devoted to the peculiarities of building the information society in the modern world and the problems of uneven development of information and communication technologies in developed and developing countries. This paper examines the influence of the information and communication technologies development on the social and political activities of modern society. The correlation and regression analysis has been used to identify the relationship between the Information and Communication Technology Development Index (ICT), the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Democracy Index (DI). The results demonstrate that there is a close link between the countries’ sociopolitical attractiveness and the level of their information and communication development. However, it is not equal for different countries, which are grouped by the level of ICT, HDI and DI. Besides, the country’s information and communication technologies level has a significant effect on the social and political development. The development of the information component immediately leads to improvement of the socio-political sphere in countries with high levels of HDI, DI and ICT. The EU countries belong to this cluster. Democracy development and ICT have the inverse relationship in the group of countries with average HDI, DI and ICT levels.

Methodological Approaches to Assessing External Labor Migration Impact on the Financial and Budgetary Sphere of Host Countries

The article is concerned with the impact of external labor migration on the financial and economic sphere of countries hosting foreign labor. The authors have developed a methodological approach to assessing labor migration impact on the development of the financial and budgetary sphere of the host countries. The method lies in using a quantitative analysis algorithm consisting of three stages. The first stage is to identify specific positive and negative effects of labor immigration on the financial and budgetary sphere of the host country. The second stage is to develop a system of analytical indicators and its implementation methodology to assess the impact of these effects on the financial and budgetary sphere. The third stage is to define the methods for collecting statistical information, necessary to design the system of analytical indicators. This methodological approach allows assessing the impact of labor migration on the financial and budgetary sphere of the host country on such key aspects as migrant worker remittances and the government revenues from foreign workers. The dynamics analysis of the proposed indicators will allow to make prompt decisions in preventing negative trends and maximizing positive effects of external labor migration.

СТРАТЕГІЇ РОЗВИТКУ НАУКОВО-ТЕХНІЧНОГО ВЗАЄМОЗВ’ЯЗКУ УКРАЇНИ ТА КИТАЮ

There is analyzed the state of relationships between Ukraine and China in the article, that allowed to develop a number of strategies aimed at increasing the efficiency of scientific and technical cooperation of two countries. The implementation of outlined strategies in the article can serve as a factor for expanding spheres of influence in the international scientific and technical environment by improving the competitive positions of economies in the conditions of globalization, it will allow to strengthen the existing relations and reach a new level of bilateral scientific and technical cooperation, and can serve as the basis for studying international cooperation in the scientific and technical sphere of countries that didn`t become the subject of this study. It has been revealed that the effective basis for expanding bilateral interaction are well-established relationships, which have been implemented on democratic foundations for a quarter of a century, and also the presence of a common vision of the future on the basis of integration processes in the world economic community on the principles of science and technology, – thus it was systematized the directions of Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation that cover the following issues: on issues of scientific and technical cooperation directly, on cooperation in the space industry and on cooperation in the field of medicine. Based on a thorough analysis there are distinguished some benefits of cooperation on the basis of science and technology for each of the parties separately in the article, indicating the possibility of successful cooperation on the strategy of global development. Based on this analysis, the authors found that the development of scientific and technical cooperation between Ukraine and China is possible only on the basis of economic development, which requires significant efforts from the state and improving ways of investment and stimulating of cooperation. The authors proposed to determine the amount of net foreign direct investment per capita, taking into account the volume of these investments. The authors state that the volume of foreign investment should be valued at the rate of 1 person, because this indicator reflects on how much influx of foreign capital affects the ordinary citizen of the state, and not the entire scale of the country.

Psycho-social challenges of elderly

The world's population is aging and all countries in the world are experiencing growth in the number and proportion of older persons. India is no exception to this demographic transition. With the rapidly increasing number of aged, the care of elderly has emerged as an important issue before the country. This change presents wide-ranging and complex health, social, and economic challenges, both current and future, to which this diverse and heterogeneous country must rapidly adapt. This paper is an attempt to review and discuss the context, scope, and magnitude of India's demographic changes. Further it elaborated the need and concerns of elderly, various psycho-social problems faced by them and impact of population aging on different sphere of country's resources. This paper also discussed the increasing inclination of elderly towards the old age homes and the possible reasons behind it. This chapter also presents an overview of several governmental, recent and ongoing efforts and initiatives, to adapt to population aging and provide support to older adults and their families. It concludes with recommendations that may serve as a productive next step forward, keeping in mind the need for urgent and timely action on the part of government, NGO's, researchers, and general population.

Experience of Greece on Recapitalization of Banks, Marketing Management and Personnel Retraining in Conditions of Economic Recession

JEL Classification Codes: GOO, G01, G21, HI2, H60, M31. 1. Introduction In the globalizing financial economy the imbalances reflecting peculiarities, limitations and structural weaknesses in development of banking services markets and financial and credit sphere in general occur frequently. Banking systems of countries having emerging markets in conditions of crisis lose reliability and stability, have difficulties with capital and face the problems difficult to resolve (Allegret et al., 2016; Thalassinos et al., 2014; 2015a; 2015b; Thalassinos and Liapis 2014; Athanasenas et al., 2015; Boldeanu and Tache, 2016; Fetai, 2015). The authors define the institutional gaps in the regulatory system related to implementation of neoliberal economic policy conducted as a part of separate market space as the main causes of emerging risks and limitations in the banking sector (Giannarakis, 2016; Rupeika-Apoga and Nedovis, 2015; Theriou and Aggelidis, 2014; Duguleana and Duguleana, 2016). In conditions of global financial risks implementation Greek banking system which had been created with active state participation reduced its financial stability to a large extent. National Financial Bank of Greece was formed in 1828 to control financial, credit and fiscal issues. The history of formation and development of Greek modern banking system is associated with creation of such large Greek banks as Bank of Attika, General Hellenic Bank, Bank of Central Greece, which served as a basis for the institutional design of national financial institutions. Stage-by-stage construction of credit-and-monetary regulation mechanism occurred in 1970-1990. During this period the mechanism of credit-and-monetary regulation aimed at improving Greek banking system first of all according to the Bank of Greece line was being created and strengthened. Fixed final indicators of inflation and GDP growth rate were set as financial market regulators, the achievement of which was ensured by strict control over liquidity and objective information about the processes occurring in the sphere of country's credit-and-monetary regulation. The processes of strengthening and grading the credit-and-monetary regulation legal framework were implemented in the course of financial institutions development. This policy allowed ensuring flexibility and autonomy of the exchange rate which was considered as a decisive factor in achieving strategic macroeconomic indicators. In 1981 Greece joined the European Union, which defined the need for structural reforms in financial and credit system of the country. The Bank of Greece implementing a strategy of ensuring stable exchange rate introduces in this period restrictions on deposits in national currency for non-resident foreigners, on foreign currency debt of commercial banks, on obtaining external credits by national companies with aim of their reorientation to internal credit resources. The entry of Greece into the Economic and Monetary Union on the 1st of January 2001 and into the Common European Currency area created real conditions for transition from economy of closed protective type to an open socially-oriented market economy. The Bank of Greece has a special place in the banking system of the country; it has functions of credit-and-monetary policy development and implementation in order to achieve price stability and support of the state economic policy. State-controlled Greek banks such as National Bank of Greece and Emporiki Bank of Greece, private banks such as Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank, as well as Eurobank Ergasias (with foreign participation) financial and credit services had a dominating role in the market of financial and credit services. In connection with post-crisis changes in the banking and credit system of the European Union as well as appearance of financial imbalances the structural changes occur actively in Greek banking system; there is a search of instruments ensuring reliability of banks and transparency of financial transactions. …

The Justice of Forgiveness

AbstractOver the past generation, forgiveness has entered the political sphere in countries all over the globe that are addressing the past injustices of war, dictatorship, genocide, and the maltreatment of native peoples. Among the international community, however, the practice is controversial, criticized as unjust for burdening victims and foregoing deserved punishment. This essay argues that forgiveness is not contrary to justice but rather reflective of it if justice means restoration of right relationship, a concept embedded in the scriptures and traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Conceived of in this way, forgiveness can avoid the potential injustices with which it is charged and contribute positively to the reconstruction of political orders.

Inside the Cwa Rest Room

This article examines the formation of Aboriginal branches of the Country Women’s Association of New South Wales in the late 1950s and early 1960s. By exploring the success and endurance of some of these cross-racial links, the article considers the extent to which conservative country women transgressed the preference for separate racial spheres in country towns.This article has been peer-reviewed.