Working Program Research Articles

The relationship between academic performance and self-care among US social work undergraduates: an exploratory analysis

ABSTRACT Understanding factors that impact student academic success are vital for social work programs and educational institutions particularly for students who are at risk for poor academic and life outcomes. Despite the issues associated with GPA as an outcome variable, grades remain the norm for the assessment of student learning and significantly impact student trajectories during and after college. Therefore, it is important for educators to identify key factors that affect academic performance. An interesting and understudied connection to GPA includes student engagement in self-care practices. This study examines the relationship between self-care practices and student GPA in a sample of 250 social work undergraduates from a university in the United States. This study adds to previous research that indicates a significant relationship between self-care and student health and academic outcomes. Understanding a connection between self-care and GPA can inform social work programming and provide a best practice university model for change.

Analysis of the working program of the curriculum of physical education and special physical training of cadets of the mechanismed units of the military educational institution

In today's conditions, the analysis of the planning documentation on the organization of the educational process in the military educational institution showed the need to find relevant directions and methods of improving the level of training of mechanized troops in military educational institutions of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
 Given the lack of proper professional selection in physical training for higher military educational institutions, the purpose of our research is to conduct an analysis of the existing system of physical training of specialists of the mechanized forces of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, to study the existing problems and shortcomings and to propose ways to solve them. Thus, in order to increase the effectiveness of the educational process in the existing conditions, it is necessary to consider a comprehensive approach to the introduction of issues from special disciplines for specialists of mechanized units into the work program of the educational discipline (including classes close to the combat activity of infantry soldiers) and to develop and propose recommendations on improving the system of physical training in educational institutions of the Ground Forces of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

USE OF NON-FORMAL EDUCATION ELEMENTS IN THE ORGANISATION OF STUDENTS' INDEPENDENT WORK

B a c k g r ou nd . The analysis of the latest publications and approval of scientific research at conferences, symposia, during the discussions of scientists show that today approaches to the organization of the educational process are changing – first under the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic, and then Russian aggression against Ukraine. At the same time, despite everything, formal education remains the main daily activity of an individual in higher education institutions. It is based on modern scientific trends and practices. Getting an educational service is becoming more available An individual education trajectory is formed, including using distance learning technologies. It is the organization of the educational process with the use of remote technologies that becomes the leading one in wartime conditions. Approaches to its organization using elements of non-formal education deserve special attention. The purpose of the article is to understand the place of informal education in the educational process of a higher school, and the task is to consider the possible applied aspects of informal education in the training of specialists within the educational and scientific program "Educational, pedagogical technologies" specialty 011 Educational, pedagogical sciences, in particular, to analyze the possibilities of using elements of informal education in the construction and organization of the study of the discipline "Innovative educational technologies", the content of students' independent work. Considerable attention was paid to the search for an answer to the question – to what extent independent work at such an organization will allow for the formation of competencies provided by the work program of disciplines (RPND) and the program learning results contained in the educational program. To achieve the goal and solve the tasks, the following methods were used: modeling of students' activities, using already existing work experience in mastering the content of educational disciplines by students in other educational programs: interviews, surveys, evaluation of completed tasks, feedback (questionnaires). Re su lt s . When creating the working program of the course and researching the possibilities of using elements of non-formal education, step-by-step modeling of the activities of master's students was used, during which the search for available massive open online courses that could complement the content of education should take place, taking into account the purpose and tasks of the discipline, the time of independent work to master these courses, specific results that can be checked and taken into account within the framework of the modular rating system for evaluating the educational achievements of students. C onc lu si on s . The results of the discussion of the concept of the work program with colleagues showed that the proposed organization of independent work of students using elements of non-formal education during the study of the discipline "Innovative educational technologies" will contribute to the formation of competencies and program learning outcomes provided for by the educational and scientific program and will specify and optimize the organization of independent work as the most important component of the educational process at the second level of higher education.

Комплексные геолого-геофизические исследования по обоснованию внешней границы континентального шельфа России в Охотском и Восточно-Сибирском морях (2006–2009 гг.): обзор

The paper discusses the results of complex geological and geophysical studies of the deep structure of the seabed along the profiles “Magadan – Southern Kurils” (2-DV-M), “Shantar Islands – Northern Kurils” (1-OM) and “Cape Billings – Outer Continental Shelf Limits” (5-AR), carried out in 2006–2009 within the framework of the State program of expeditionary works on substantiation of national sovereignty over the continental shelf in the Sea of Okhotsk and East Siberian Sea. The main executors were the staff of the V.I. Il’ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute of FEB RAS and Federal State Unitary Scientific and Production Company (FSUSPC) Sevmorgeo. A special role was assigned to gas-geochemical studies with the purpose to establish regional background and anomalous gas fields to assess prospects for oil, gas and gas hydrates. As a result of complex geological and geophysical expeditions led by A.A. Merezhko (Sevmorgeo) in the Sea of Okhotsk, it was established that the enclave outside the 200-mile zone in the central part of the water area does not differ in geological structure from the adjacent parts and is a natural continuation of the framing geological structures of the basement. The evidence obtained was sufficient to successfully justify the application to the UN. On March 11, 2014, after careful consideration of the application and draft recommendations, the enclave of international waters in the Sea of Okhotsk was legally assigned to the Russian Federation. Studies in the East Siberian Sea have provided a huge amount of data on lithology, geochemistry and gas potential of bottom sediments in this area.

The cement nude, the (h)ero(tic)ism of the working class – the artistic programme of outdoor sculptures on the Black Sea littoral and the pro-natal, pro-family policies under communism

Controlled eroticization of the proletariat through pro-natal policies was an almost unnoticed facet of the programme of iconographic public works displayed in exceptional locations throughout the newly-built resorts along Romania’s Black Sea shore. Never previously studied on its own merits, this artistic programme of open-air sculptures that begun in the Romanian Popular Republic and continued in the Romanian Socialist Republic needs to be understood and contextualized, by way of interdisciplinary instruments, against a broader post-Eastern approach that goes beyond the established methodologies of art history.

НАСТОЛЬНЫЕ СПОРТИВНЫЕ ИГРЫ КАК СРЕДСТВО АДАПТИВНОЙ ФИЗИЧЕСКОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ В ОБРАЗОВАНИИ И РЕКРЕАЦИИ СТУДЕНТОВ С ИНВАЛИДНОСТЬЮ И ОГРАНИЧЕННЫМИ ВОЗМОЖНОСТЯМИ ЗДОРОВЬЯ

In recent years in Russia there have been significant changes in the field of education and organization of recreation for children with disabilities and limited health conditions (hereinafter referred to as DHD). Tabletop Sports Games (hereinafter referred to as NSI) are quite actively developed in recent years and introduced into the practice of use by the All-Russian Society of the Disabled (hereinafter referred to as VOI), a Russian organization that unites people with disabilities. NSI can be used not only in the sphere of adaptive physical recreation as one of the forms of organizing active recreation for people with disabilities, but also in the sphere of adaptive sports - organizing competitions of different levels. The analysis of using NSI with this category of students is presented in the article. Specificity of use of NSI as in education - as a section of the working program of discipline "Elective disciplines of physical training and sports" for students with physical disabilities (adaptive physical training), and in the sphere of adaptive physical recreation is revealed. The basic tabletop sports games and their brief rules of play are considered. A number of suggestions for the use of NSI in the organization of adaptive physical recreation of students are presented. Conclusions are formed.

ТЕОРІЯ ЕВОЛЮЦІЙНОГО ВЧЕННЯ ТА ЇЇ РОЛЬ У ФОРМУВАННІ НАУКОВОГО СВІТОГЛЯДУ СТУДЕНТІВ В СИСТЕМІ ПІДГОТОВКИ ВЧИТЕЛІВ ПРИРОДНИЧОГО СПРЯМУВАННЯ

The article examines the importance of the educational discipline ″Theory of Evolutionary Teaching″ in the system of training future teachers of natural sciences. The role of this discipline in the formation of students’ scientific outlook is highlighted. The main part of the scientific worldview contains the views and beliefs that were formed on the basis of knowledge about nature and society and became the internal position of the individual. The theory of evolution forms scientific views and beliefs about the structure of the universe, the origin of life on Earth, the origin of man, and others. The educational and professional programs implemented in the Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State University at the Department of Natural Sciences and Methods of their teaching were analyzed. These educational and professional programs present a number of general, professional competencies and program learning outcomes. Among general competencies, the ability to form a scientific worldview, development of human existence, society and nature, and spiritual culture are listed. Among the professional competences, the ability to use biological concepts, laws, concepts, teachings and theories of Biology to explain and develop students' understanding of the integrity and interdependence of living systems and organisms are mentioned; the ability to understand and be able to explain the structure, functions, vital activity, reproduction, classification, origin, distribution, use of living organisms and systems of all levels of organization; the ability to reveal the essence of biological phenomena, processes and technologies, to solve biological problems; the ability to explain to specialists and non-specialists the strategy of sustainable development of mankind and ways of solving its global problems based on a deep understanding of modern problems of natural sciences. Among the learning outcomes, it is indicated that a student knows biological terminology and nomenclature, understands the basic concepts, theories and general structure of biological science; as well he or she knows the basic laws and provisions of genetics, molecular biology, and the theory of evolution. The working program of the academic discipline and its contents were also analyzed. The structure and integration of this subject is shown, which combines such natural sciences as: genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, ecology, paleontology, morphology, systematics, embryology, comparative anatomy and physiology, anthropology, biophysics, quantum physics, nuclear physics, astronomy, biocybernetics, biogeography, paleogeography, geology and other sciences. Keywords: theory of evolutionary teaching, natural sciences, biology, biology and chemistry teacher, natural sciences teacher, scientific outlook, competences.

Piloting a Strengths-Based Intervention to Enhance the Quality of Life of Families Raising Children With Autism

A strengths-based perspective puts the resources of individuals, families, communities, and their environments, rather than their deficit needs, problems and pathologies, at the center of the social work helping process.
 This research was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention developed on the basis of an approach based on the strengths of families raising children with autism in improving the family life quality, strengthening its capacity, expanding their rights and possibilities, and enhancing resilience.
 The experimental intervention was carried out at the Educational and Rehabilitation Center for Children with Autism “Dovira” (Lviv, Ukraine) and consisted of 12 group meetings. It had one experimental group (30 people) and two control groups (60 people).
 The results of pre- and post-intervention surveys demonstrate the encouraging evidences of the effectiveness of the strength-based intervention program in social work with families raising children with autism, which indicates the possibility of its application in the family social work practice, in particular with families raising children with autism and other developmental disorders.

EDUCATION POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND CHALLENGES FOR CANDIDATE AND POTENTIAL CANDIDATE COUNTRIES

For any society that strives for growth and development, focus on quality education is of particular importance. With the adoption of the Lisbon strategy in 2000, the European Union (EU) started an upward trajectory towards the most competitive economy in the world. Cooperation in education has become an important instrument for mutual understanding and sharing of European values. This cooperation is supported with numerous relevant policy strategies, action plans, available statistical data, evaluation reports, road maps, thematic working groups and programmes, special network structures and idea exchange platforms within the EU. Key relevant strategies, plans and respective indicators are analyzed in this paper. Special attention is given to progress in candidate and potential candidate countries with regards to recommendations and goals of EU. It is concluded that more effort of the educational authorities is needed in all countries and one of the areas that needs to be further developed is evidence based policy making in education.

Програмне забезпечення освітньої компоненти «Фізіологія рухової активності» для здобувачів вищої освіти першого (бакалаврського) рівня вищої освіти спеціальності 227 фізична терапія, ерготерапія освітньої програми «Фізична терапія» в Національному фармацевтичному університеті

The purpose of the study was to highlight the issues of the educational program of the educational component “Physiology of Motor Activity” for the applicants for higher education in the educational program “Physical Therapy” of the National University of Pharmacy. Materials and methods. Analysis of scientific and methodical literature, on the basis of which the work program was concluded, was carried out. Results and discussion. Motor activity is an integral part of human behavior, any movement of the human body, which is carried out thanks to the work of skeletal muscles. In a sick body, it helps to reach remission faster, improve physical and emotional state, allows to reduce the pharmacological load on the body, increases its motivation for an active life. The work program of the educational component “Physiology of Motor Activity” for applicants for higher education in the specialty 227 “Physical Therapy, Ergotherapy” of the educational program “Physical Therapy” at the National University of Pharmacy is written in accordance with the requirements of the credit-modular system of organization of the educational process. The purpose of teaching the educational component is to form in higher education applicants an idea of physical rehabilitation in patients, adequate scientific understanding of the laws of physiology of motor activity and features of the structure of functional systems and organs depending on the age of the person, as well as the acquisition of knowledge about the means of effective and early return of patients and disabled people to everyday and labor processes. The working program reflects the introduction of a competency-based approach, which establishes the level of integral, general and special competencies of the future specialists in physical therapy and the acquisition of program learning outcomes. The educational component “Physiology of Motor Activity” is structured into two content modules, which contain 13 topics. The study is completed by passing the final module control and receiving a credit. Effective mastering of the educational component is ensured by the use of various teaching methods, mastering practical skills, performing individual tasks. Conclusion. The system of training highly qualified specialists in the field of physical rehabilitation involves the study of a complex of medical and biological disciplines, among which one of the leading places is occupied by subjects that reveal the essence of movement and mechanisms of motor activity. The educational component “Physiology of Motor Activity” is aimed at studying the physiological mechanisms of voluntary movements and reveals their main characteristics. This knowledge is the foundation of high methodological training of a specialist in the field of “Physical Therapy”, which is of great importance for increasing the competitiveness of graduates of the National University of Pharmacy in the labor market

Characterisation Of Complex Ground Conditions For The Rozelle Interchange Project

The Rozelle Interchange Project (RIC) in Sydney is an underground motorway interchange connecting multiple underground and surface arterial roads as well as the future Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link. RIC completes the WestConnex program of works and is a complex array of approximately 22 km of multiple level tunnels, all constructed in an area 2.5 km long and 1.5 km wide. RIC is located within complex ground conditions that include deep soils, regional faults, structural zones and igneous intrusions. Deep natural soils infilling a valley near Rozelle Bay are mostly recent Holocene alluvial, marginal marine and marine deposits. These soils are interlayered, discontinuous, normally to slightly over consolidated and capped by sand and coarse rockfill from 19th century reclamation. There is a strong contrast in the level of detail between borehole and CPT data. Distilling this to provide a geological and geotechnical model for a project wide interpretive report for designers of multiple structures required a hybrid approach to model presentation. This included providing a simplified graphical model and including details from specific investigations and laboratory testing allowing designers flexibility to adopt appropriate parameters for their specific application. Similarly, the rock structural model evolved from development of structural domains to identification and inclusion of regional geological structures overprinting the structural model. Regional scale thrust faults, corridors of structural complexity and igneous intrusions were identified and refined prior to and throughout the design process. These were considered in the design by modification of excavation sequencing and changes to tunnel support. Tunnel excavations encountered these regional features at the locations predicted and with similar character as those described in the model allowing the safe construction of the tunnels.

Optimal design and operation of a multi-energy microgrid using mixed-integer nonlinear programming: Impact of carbon cap and trade system and taxing on equipment selections

Multi-energy microgrids comprise various energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass, oil, gas, and coal. Optimal configuration and scheduling of multi-energy microgrids enhance energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In this work, a novel and detailed mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model is proposed to compare the effects of carbon emission taxing and cap and trade system on the optimal equipment selection and scheduling under the regulatory effects of the Paris Agreement. The candidate equipment to be selected by the MINLP model includes two solar panel arrays, two wind turbine farms, two integrated gasification combined cycles, two combined heat and power units, two conventional generators, one biogenerator, one battery, two bio-gasifiers, and one power-to-gas system. The impact of carbon dioxide price, taken as 50, 75, and 100 $/ton, is investigated for both emission taxing and carbon dioxide cap and trade system. Equipment selections with the multi-period seasonal data and the carbon dioxide prices of 50 $/ton and 75 $/ton in stand-alone mode are the same for both cases without selecting renewable sourced generators. For the same conditions and with a carbon dioxide price of 100 $/ton, the MINLP model selects one wind turbine farm, one biogenerator, and one bio-gasifier. Moreover, the power-to-gas system is chosen in electricity grid-connected mode under emission taxing with the carbon dioxide price of 100 $/ton. For both emission taxing and cap and trade system, the trials using the seasonal data and the yearly average data with carbon dioxide price of 75 $/ton in stand-alone mode contributes to different equipment selections. Results show that carbon dioxide price may be a crucial parameter for equipment selection and must be taken into account in the design phase for optimal design and management. Finally, the MINLP solvers SCIP, BARON, and DICOPT, are compared in terms of CPU times and equipment selections.

An Analysis of the Main Causes of Delays in the Completion of Road Construction Projects: A Case Study of Tanzania

Introduction Completing road construction projects in time is a challenge for developing countries, specifically for Tanzania, where great economic costs result from difficulties in identifying and reducing the factors that cause the delay. Methods This study addresses factors that cause the delay of a road construction project in Tanzania and proposes some methods that could potentially reduce this delay. A structured questionnaire was drawn up through an interactive online workshop with the help of experts and professionals from the road construction sector in Tanzania, and follow-up interviews were conducted. Results and Discussion In addition, the first results were analyzed, and the factors identified were combined into five important groups, namely, client-related, consultant-related, contractor-related, design-related, and external factors. These were the main contributing aspects to delays in road construction projects in Tanzania. Conclusion Furthermore, from across these groups, six significant causes of delays emerged, and these were inadequate access to finance and delayed payments for completed work, financial problems or difficulties, unwillingness or inability to sustain operations over long periods of non-payment, an unrealistic program of works (Works Schedule), inadequate site management, and political interference.

Features of Ethno-Journalism as an Educational Discipline within the Framework of Journalistic Education in Modern Russia

The study of the specifics of the ethnopolitical component in journalistic education is relevant due to a number of factors. Firstly, the current year has shown even greater importance of the media as a social institution in preserving the integrity of the state, its multicultural and ethno-confessional basis. Secondly, the media are one of the main means of disseminating knowledge about the history and ethnoculture of the peoples of the Russian Federation, form ethnographic literacy of the population, and contribute to civic identity and patriotism. Thirdly, the information support of the state national policy of Russia is one of the directions of the Strategy of the State National Policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025, the main document of strategic planning that determines the nation of Russia. In this regard, the article emphasizes the importance of the discipline “Ethno-Journalism” in the main educational program in the direction of 42.03.02 Journalism. The purpose of the study is to identify and systematize educational practices in the field of ethnopolitics used in the educational process of student journalists to determine the dominant pedagogical approaches in preparing students to work with ethnic issues. The empirical basis of the study has become the working programs of the disciplines “Journalism in ethnocultural interaction”, “Journalism in ethnocultural space”, “Ethnocultural problems in the media”, the teaching of which is carried out at the Altai State University, Kazan Federal University, St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design, Penza State University. Based on the method of studying pedagogical experience and qualitative analysis of work programs, the approaches of the work programs’ developers in choosing topics to ensure the effective interaction of ethnological, ethnopolitological and journalistic components in the training of student journalists to work with ethnic issues have been systematized. Students are invited to study fundamental topics from the field of ethnology, introduce ethnopsychology in the terminology in the context of the profession of a journalist, and give an idea of cultural processes and phenomena. The topic is promising for further research aimed at determining the quality of education of student journalists in the field of ethno-journalism, determining their orientation in ethno-political processes and phenomena, ethno-cultural specifics of the peoples of the Russian Federation. It is also possible to study the literature disciplines recommended in work programs. Keywords: ethno-journalism, educational practices, ethno-political education of journalists, multicultural education, ethnocultural education

Historical Development of Education and Social Work in Kosovo

<p style="text-align: justify;">The aim of this article is to highlight the history of social work in Kosovo, regarding the major political climate from 1945 to the present. Unfavorable political developments that have existed in Kosovo for a long historical period have made it impossible to develop the social work profession compared to the countries of the region. Although the Former Yugoslav Federation claimed to be a socialist country, the social differences between states and provinces within this were large. The findings of the paper show that social work did not develop in Kosovo as a profession until specific structures, such as the emergence of the University of Pristina as a legal structure of education for Kosovo Albanians, which has been offering a degree program in social work for almost a decade now. The political orientation and organizational infrastructure are highly relevant for the execution and education of social work. Literature review is the methodological framework of this paper. Education and social work have been shown to be an extraordinary opportunity for the transformation of society.</p>

STAPEDIAL REFLEX TO ACOUSTIC STIMULI IN IMPLANTED PATIENTS

The results of recording threshold levels of the stapedial reflex in response to electrical stimuli are widely used in fitting of a cochlear implant (CI). As a rule, the maximum comfortable levels (MCL) of the loudness of the working (daily) program in the vast majority of patients are above the threshold levels of the stapedial reflex. It is of theoretical interest to look at the stapedial reflex from the opposite side, namely, to study the reflex to sound stimuli in experienced CI patients. The aim of this study is to study the stapedial reflex in response to acoustic stimuli of low, medium and high frequencies. It was found that the threshold levels of reflex to sound stimuli in CI patients are in the range of subjects with normal hearing. The results are discussed from the point of view of processing the intensity of the audio signal.

Role of MGNREGA in Generating Employment Opportunity in India – A Study of During Covid-19

The foundation of Indian economy is agriculture. To remove unemployment and remove poverty from rural areas government launched various scheme. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was established in 2006, as the first step toward employment generation in rural India and provides 100 days work guarantee to Individuals and households under right to work involved in agriculture and seasonal employment in a financial year within the radius of 5 km. It helps in reducing poverty in rural India and raises the economic status of workers. MGNREGA provides employment opportunities to women workers and decreases migration from urban areas to rural areas. The study tries to focus on pre covid and post covid era in employment generation through MGNREGA. The secondary data of last five years is used to perform the study. The finding of the study show decline in employment opportunity in pre-covid and post-covid era but shows increase in during pandemic and also increasing women employment percentage. MGNREGA through its various categories of projects provides autonomy to unskilled workers to choose their preference of work. MGNREGA was reflected as the worlds greatest and striving programme of social security and public works. The data collected through the secondary source by various newspaper articles, mgnrega website and research papers. Maximum numerical data has been collected through MGNREGA website. The analysis shows that there is an increase in employment generation under MGNREGA scheme during covid 19in rural areas and the reason is migrationof rural people from urban areas. The statistics also portrays that there is an continuous increase in the wage rate system under MGNREGA. The main idea of MGNREGA is to scrutinize the reliability and success is of the employment policy. It is really difficult to reflect that any other programme worked well with potential in employment generation for rural people in earning their livelihood

Discussing a draft of an example working program of basic general education in Russian language

The article analyzes the Draft of an exemplary work program for basic general education in the Russian language for grades 5–9. The purpose of the article is to determine the compliance of the Project with the tasks of the modern school and the Federal State Educational Standard, determine the continuity in the content of education, identify controversial issues and formulate proposals for improving the Project. Methodology: theoretical (linguo-methodological) analysis of the document from the standpoint of traditional and modern linguistics and methodology, practice of teaching the Russian language in grades 5-9. Positively evaluating the fact of creating the Draft Exemplary Work Program, the author dwells in detail on the identified theoretical linguistic inaccuracies, primarily of a classification nature, as well as methodological shortcomings. Comments were made both of a general plan, relating to the entire program, and private, concerning individual topics, sections, and the distribution of material by class. There are cases of violation of continuity and prospects in the content of teaching the Russian language and insufficient specification of a number of didactic units and skills. The overload of the 5th grade program is argued in detail and recommendations are made for its correction by studying part of the linguistic information at the propaedeutic level. At the end of the article, it is concluded that it is necessary to improve the Draft Exemplary Work Program, proposals are presented aimed at correcting it, in particular, eliminating the identified theoretical errors, cases of discontinuity, more optimal distribution of linguistic material by year of study.

Lysistrata in Kleindeutschland: The German-American Reception of Schubert's Die Verschworenen (D. 787)

Franz Schubert's final attempt at a Singspiel was Die Verschworenen (The Conspirators, D. 787), a loose adaptation of three comedies by Aristophanes: Lysistrata, Ecclesiazusae (Assemblywomen) and Thesmophoriazusae (Women at the Thesmophoria). Composed in 1823, but not premiered until 1861 (in Vienna), the work was successfully revived for its United States premiere 18 months later, in Hoboken, New Jersey, for a thriving German-American cultural community at the time of the American Civil War. The historical conditions of early performances in Hoboken and the Kleindeutschland neighbourhood of Manhattan, and the reasons for the work's programming by its conductor, Friedrich Adolf Sorge, a prominent German-American political and labour leader who wanted the arts to ‘shake up the people’, are addressed. Schubert's Singspiel had several layers of meaning for its audiences of mostly German immigrants living in the New York City area: as an adaptation of Aristophanes’s Lysistrata, set in the Crusades, it was a comic plea for peace both in the early years of the Civil War and amid the violent political strife on the path toward German unification. Its use of parts of Aristophanes’s Ecclesiazusae suggested relevance to labour disputes that Sorge had been involved in since the 1850s and would eventually lead himself after establishing the New York Section of the International Workingmen's Association. In this context, Schubert's work becomes both Germanic and Hellenic, medieval and modern, thereby becoming an assurance of Old-World culture for its varied German-American audiences.

Minimum income in the Western Balkans: From socialism to the European Pillar of Social Rights

AbstractIn this article, we examine the evolution of minimum income programmes in the Western Balkans (comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). During socialism, Yugoslavia developed a rudimentary minimum income protection programme, while Albania did not have one. As countries moved towards a market economy, socialism's legacy remained relevant, but especially since 2000, governments have taken more direct responsibility for the minimum income schemes—typically under the influence of the World Bank. The attention was paid to strict targeting accuracy rather than to adequacy or sufficient coverage of the lowest deciles. In essence, neither socialist nor neoliberal policymakers ever recognised anything but the poverty relief function of the minimum income. Both ideologies were hostile, or at best indifferent, to increasing the adequacy and generosity of minimum income programmes, perceiving them as impediments and distractions that slowed socialist and neoliberal transformations. Despite some reform initiatives supported by the World Bank and, more recently, the European Union, the generosity and adequacy of minimum income programmes remain low, and coverage keeps declining. There have been very few efforts to develop inclusion function of the minimum income, while the activation aspect has achieved very little, sometimes degrading into punitive programmes of unpaid community work. In this dismal picture, the European Pillar of Social Rights action framework could serve as a guide for a long overdue third phase in the Western Balkans' minimum income policy evolution.