We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
Between February 24 and March 24, 2003 the sociological agency Vitosha Research conducted a survey on corruption among the representatives of business organizations in Bulgaria. Representatives of 447 companies and organizations in the country were interviewed employing the method of personal standardized interview.
More...
The Policy Forum aims to identify those factors that will improve the economic and legal environment for the growth of the small and medium sized enterprise("SME") sector in Bulgaria. The forum has brought together some of the country's most influential individuals, representing various institutional and independent bodies, to discuss the constraints that are hindering the development of the SME sector and to propose and review various recommendations to overcome these obstacles
More...
The study includes the results of the survey conducted on 241 students of the Polytechnic University of Timisoara in December 2019, which measured the self-assessment of their professional skills and abilities, perception of the faculty, practice activities, hopes after graduation.
More...
The study was conducted on a sample of 81 entrepreneurs who hired graduates of the Polytechnic University of Timisoara and measured the strengths and weaknesses of graduates, skills and competencies, the need for continuous professional training, willingness to practice students , the desire to make them responsible and specialize, the collaboration with the University and with the student organizations.
More...
The research was conducted in April 2010 on a sample of 189 people who were part of the target group of the project and aimed to evaluate the activity of regional consultants of the National Foundation of Young Managers, the activity of the central team of experts and teachers, the usefulness of theories learned, the advice and managerial advice received, the quality of the teaching materials, the relationship with the other participants, the changes produced among the employers after the involvement in the project.
More...
Italija je opet u recesiji i sve bliža deflaciji; nemačka ekonomija opada a francuska stagnira. Britanija beleži rekordnu stopu zaposlenosti ali su joj realne zarade u sunovratu. Samo Sjedinjene Države – koje su se upustile u ogromna zaduživanja, restruktuirale banke i naštampale svu silu para – uživaju u nečemu nalik održivom oporavku, ali i to se održava samo na obećanju da će centralna banka stimulisati ekonomiju do u beskraj.
More...
The article is a summary of research on the actual and potential integration of environmental insurance and ISO 14001 environmental management systems (EMSs) in Poland. The aim ofthe research is to analyze the relationship of the above-mentioned instruments of environmental risk management and to identify the factors determining the propensity of enterprises to implement such elements of the system that will increase the usefulness of ISO 14001 standards for insurance purposes in the future. The data for the study were obtained through an asynchronous group interview conducted on the Bulletin Board platform among insurance sector experts and through a survey of organizations that implemented the ISO 14001 system in Poland. Template analysis of qualitative data, supported by narrative techniques and statistical analysis based on the chi-square test of independence, U Mann–Whitney test, Kruskal–Wallistest, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used to interpret the data. Environmental management systems according to ISO 14001 are not, in their current form, used in the process of providing insurance cover for environmental risk. Organizations managed according to ISO14001 rarely design and implement solutions useful to insurers. The latter, however, are statistically significantly correlated with the awareness attributes of the organization. Awareness attributes were also strongly related with the variables describing the propensity to implement additional – useful for insurance purposes – EMSs elements. The strongest motivators for the above, however, were of a non-insurance nature (e.g. obtaining tax credit).
More...
In recent decades, Iraqi historical cities have witnessed substantial urban and social changes that have turned them into unattractive places for living and investment, and where development potential has been ignored. The weakness of strategic plans regarding the consideration of the present urban development strategies has led to the random growth of the city, the distortion of cultural heritage sites and the quality of life in cities, generating social and environmental problems. That is why there is a need for the foundation of a territorial development strategy of Iraq and the studied area - the Diyala region and the city of Baquba, which is in accordance with the objectives of sustainable development at the world level and with modern urban regeneration approaches, which implies the improvement of the historical identity and cultural. The outcome of the development strategy of Dyala region and Baquba city must reflect the objectives of sustainable development and have a clear vision and strategic objectives in the short and medium term.
More...
The European Union survived last winter in a surprisingly effective way. Despite the ongoing gas crisis and Russia’s energy war with the West, there were neither painful shortages of gas or the need to ration it. This was the result of an exceptionally favourable set of circumstances: a warmer winter than usual in Europe and lower gas demand in China, and on the other hand, the actions taken by individual member states and the EU as a whole, as well as changes on the market.2022 saw a revolutionary reshuffle in the directions and routes of gas supplies to the EU. Pipeline supplies from Russia, which used to be the largest source, fell by 56% year-on-year, while LNG supplies from the global market rose by 67%. Liquefied natural gas has become the most important source, and the EU has become the world’s fastest growing market for LNG, despite its long-term goals of achieving climate neutrality and reducing gas consumption. Unexpectedly, and contrary to the earlier assumptions of the European energy and climate policy, the construction of new gas infrastructure, including floating import terminals, has been stepped up. At the same time the EU’s demand for gas fell by a record 60 bcm (or over 13%) last year.
More...
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) adopted in 2022 marks a profound change in the US’s approach to its economic competition with China. This will have global consequences, and will also come to affect Central Europe. Since this document was adopted, Washington has used subsidies to restrict access to the American market as a fully-fledged tool of its industrial policy. This is aimed at blocking the expansion of the Chinese automotive industry in the US and pushing it out of Western companies’ supply chains. As a result, Beijing will most likely utilise its resources to dominate the European market, capitalising on the advantages it already has. The discussion about the European response to the IRA, as well as the growing dependence of German companies on Chinese technologies in the field of electric vehicle production, suggest that Germany and Central Europe are drifting apart as regards the automotive industry, even though they used to have similar interests in this area. German vehicle manufacturers are opposed to imposing restrictions on vehicles made in China on the European market, as they fear retaliation and losing competitiveness. From the Central European perspective, the increasing presence of Chinese electric vehicles (manufactured by both European and Chinese companies) in the EU poses a threat to a key pillar of economic growth. The region has experienced unfair competition from Beijing for years, but it has managed to gain a foothold as a car production hub; its position may be undermined as a result of China’s expansion in the field of electromobility.
More...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions that followed it have brought multi-billion losses to Russian big business. The magnitude of blows dealt to its main representatives has resulted in a shift in the business model they have applied thus far. Despite these losses, most Russian billionaires, just like Russian society, have tacitly come to terms with Moscow’s aggressive policy. Even those who reside abroad have not ventured to criticise the Kremlin, and instead have focused on adjusting their businesses to the new economic reality. Silence has been their main defensive strategy, enabling them to avoid being targeted by the Russian authorities.
More...
Russia’s macroeconomic performance in 2022 confounded forecasts from one year ago, a few weeks after the invasion of Ukraine. However, in wartime conditions, indicators such as GDP do not accurately reflect the real state of the economy, due to the rapidly increasing military expenditure, the scale of the ongoing changes and major differences between individual sectors. Furthermore, the credibility of the published macroeconomic data is declining and the government has been restricting access to statistical data.
More...
The Russian invasion has led to a collapse in Ukraine’s trade, in particular foreign trade. It has also caused major changes in the geographical structure of its imports and exports. Due to the Russian blockade, Ukrainian ports have lost their status as the country’s main export gateway. Rail and road transport has gained in importance, as since 24 February 2022 Ukraine has used them to ship and import most of its goods via the territory of its western neighbors. As a consequence, the European Union has consolidated its role as Kyiv’s main trade partner in both exports and imports, while Poland – for the first time in history – has become the leader in Ukraine’s trade exchange.
More...
The paper points to the convergence between the Visegrad 4 (V4) and Japan that is driven by economic concerns and shared views on global political challenges. The Japanese pro-active European strategy arises from the high relevance of the EU in Japanese economic global policy, and also as a reaction to the increasing Chinese global influence, and the rising US protectionism. The Japanese European policy also reached Central Europe as Japan established a regional cooperation platform with the V4 states. This paper discusses the potential, as well as the real prospects of Japan’s rising interest in the V4 group. Japan is the leading Asian investor in Czechia and Poland. The V4 states ought to benefit from the multi-level structure of the developing ties with Japan. Promoting cooperation with Japan ought to be a theme for the Czech V4 presidency. The V4+Japan format is asymmetrical and there is no clear vision for its institutionalizing, but individual benefits from it for individual V4 states on the bilateral level are available, and the V4 states should take advantage of them. The EU-Japan level stimulating economic effect of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is obvious, and Europe could gain more from stronger ties with Japan. Such a rapprochement, however, does not divert Japan and the EU from their understanding of China and the building of their ties with this stronger Asian stakeholder.
More...
Purpose: In this chapter, we analyse how companies responded to sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. We examine the impact of selected external (public-legal pressure, the size of sanctions and crisis caused by the war) and internal factors (strategic agility, code of ethics and sustainable conduct) on the degree of compliance with sanctions and the type of adaptation strategies adopted. Design/methodology/approach: The objects of the study are medium-sized companies from countries that have imposed sanctions (here, Poland, Germany and the US). The results come from an electronic questionnaire survey conducted in 2023 among 610 medium-sized companies operating in industries directly or indirectly affected by trade restrictions. Findings: The company’s code of ethics and the perceived severity of the crisis have the greatest impacton the approach to sanctions and respective adaptation strategies. At the same time, external and internal pressure affect companies in opposite directions, with consequences for their adaptation strategies.
More...
The proximity of state-owned companies to political factors and economic interest in public assets create a favourable environment for corruption, which justifies a rigorous and uniform approach to everything related to state-owned companies. The State may participate directly in the economic life by means of two legal forms of organisation – state-owned enterprise and joint stock company (hereinafter, the state-owned enterprises and majority state-owned or wholly state-owned joint stock companies will be referred to as state-owned companies, except when a particular legal form is referred to). Although the activity of state-owned enterprises and joint stock companies is governed by separated laws, the management bodies of these companies are largely structured similarly and share the following elements: board of directors, manager/executive body, audit committee.
More...
În mintea citadinilor moldoveni s-a cristalizat deja imaginea unei persoane în etate, care stă pe marginea drumului și își vinde presupusul surplus din gospodăria proprie. Acești pseudo-comercianți sunt definiți în legislația autohtonă drept producători casnici, care pot să-și comercializeze produsele din gospodăria proprie în anumite condiții. O analiză mai atentă a acestor condiții denotă că acestea sunt cu anevoie de îndeplinit, mai cu seamă pentru cei care nu practică activitatea de comerț decât ocazional. În contextul în care comerțul pe marginea străzilor este interzis, iar accesul în piață pentru producătorii casnici este quasi imposibil, acești comercianți amărâți, veniți de la sate să-și vândă rodul muncii proprii, sunt nevoiți să fugă de poliție, să plătească amenzi, să fie umiliți de către administratorii piețelor, sau chiar amenințați de comercianții profesioniști care fac exces de zel în încercarea de a-și proteja vadul comercial. Astfel, prezentul comentariu încearcă să ilustreze vulnerabilitățile cadrului legal existent, care nu permite accesul producătorilor casnici în piețe, perpetuând riscurile de corupție și abuz din partea actorilor implicați în implementarea prevederilor legale aferente.
More...
A question of police integrity in BiH is quite difficult to consider due to the complexity of the police system. The police sector in BiH consists of 16 police agencies at all levels of government and 6 institutions which provide them support or carry out similar activities. This fact makes any research difficult because each police agency could be considered as an individual entity and particular research could be committed for each of them. Generally, findings of the report indicate that neither the legal framework, nor the practice is satisfying to ensure police integrity. In addition to that, the citizens assess police work as very weak and its efforts insufficient in fighting corruption. A very high influence of politicians on the police work still exists; police transparency is not satisfying when it comes to investigation of serious cases of corruption; human resources management and financing require serious reforms to be more functional in the fight against corruption; while both internal and external controls need serious changes to be more independent and functional. This report could help to consider police integrity from important points of view, including legal framework and citizens’ perspective. The report can help make a comprehensive study and a deeper analysis of each chapter.
More...
The subject of the research is transhumanism and its influence on political changes. The report is a revised part of the dissertation chapters I defended in January 2023. The paper's title is: „Transhumanism and human enhancement: conceptual perspectives, communities, and risks“. The scientific and technological expansion helps the emergence of political parties professing a transhumanist ideology. The analysis uses data obtained by conducting 1 semi-structured interview with a leader of a transhumanist party; from party manifestos, documents, literature, and research by other scholars on the subject. The political landscape is updated with themes related to transhumanism: especially the attitude toward applying NBIC technologies (nanotechnology, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and robotics).
More...
