1811 research outputs found
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THE RISE OF CHINESE INFLUENCE IN ALBANIA: THE POLITICAL MATURATION OF ALBANIA WHEN DEALING WITH ITS HISTORICAL ALLY
Full text linkWhen we first started this research, I noticed that there were a significant number of studies focused entirely on China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the African continent and reshaping African politics, yet very few is being said about the Chinese increasing influence in the Western Balkans. The Rise of Chinese Influence in Albania: The Political Maturation of Albania when Dealing with Its Historical Ally, which is the title of this essay, came to me as a very intriguing idea. This idea of a far eastern country influencing the Balkans for the first time is both exciting as a prospect but also concerning when considering the past or which country is the one that is spreading all that influence. A common misconception regarding China in global politics is that the Chinese state is working towards what some pundits in the West call it ‘global dominance’. I believe that this is an incorrect assumption. China first and foremost lacks the military capabilities of the United States regarding the capacity of projecting power. In this study the findings I had gathered, show that China has operationalized its vast economic power to influence the politics of the Western Balkans towards their national interests. This hypothesis is based on the theory of political economics where economy is used as a factor to influence a country’s politics, but also contemporary geopolitical theory. The expectation was that the influence of China is not as malign and negative as it is often portrayed, however there is a clear national interest centered approach where China is only looking only for their own interests and bottom line, while caring little for implicit negative effects that its economic investments might have in the respective countries. Albania was chosen as the main area of research because Albania has become quite the battleground of influences from both the East and West in recent years
The Epistemological Side of Ontology
Full text linkIs it possible to draw a border line between ontology and epistemology? A positive answer to this question looks attractive, mainly because it reflects convictions deeply entrenched in our common sense view of the world. However, anyone wishing to clarify the distinction between the ontological and the epistemological dimensions meets problems. This is due to the fact that the separation between factual and conceptual is not clean, but rather fuzzy. It is certainly correct to state that science means to offer correct information about the world, but the extent to which it succeeds in accomplishing this task is always questionable. We cannot claim that the picture provided by today science - our current scientific image of the world - is absolutely correct, because the history of science itself shows us that any such statement is likely to be rejected by future generations. While it may be recognized that science purports to offer a correct description of the real world, the past experience should also prompt us to accept its claims sub condicione, and to view them as merely provisional
Literary Edinburgh, a Model to Follow
Full text linkWhile Edinburgh is a beautiful and interesting city to visit per se, its literature is an added value which plays a crucial role in marketing the capital city. The importance of literature in generating tourism has been highlighted by a number of studies. The opposite is true as well: tourism can also lead to literature. Edinburgh is probably one of the best examples in this respect. Many people go there to just visit the city but encounter literature in unexpected places. This paper is an autoethnographic account of a literary tour in Edinburgh. It looks at how this city makes use of its literary heritage and why it is a great model to follow. The author contends that while literary tourism is open to any book lover, still, some strategies are needed to promote literature and bring it to the attention of people in new and interesting ways. The success of Edinburgh as a literary city owes a lot to the interactive ways used by its authorities to showcase literature and keep people interested through direct and active engagement. The paper has been structured as a combination of experiential and analytic writing, with the former reflected through an evocative autoethnography and the latter as an analysis of that experience
Staff Retention in the IT Pandemic Context
Full text linkThis study focuses on IT employee retention, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Retaining and employing young IT professionals today is a challenging task for human resources employees. We believe that this is a topical and very relevant topic for the HR field as most companies are facing staff turnover, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also known that the IT sector is very dynamic and constantly evolving, companies need manpower and competitiveness among employers is high. In addition, a poor retention strategy can have a negative effect on the productivity and work quality of the IT department. And these are some good reasons for a company to invest in a retention strategy.
Our research is qualitative in nature and we have sought to identify aspects of employee motivation and satisfaction with the benefits they receive from their employers. Understanding the real needs of IT employees was also one of the aims of this research.
The results of the investigation indicated a strong relevance of retention means such as the salary, the team and the good relationship with colleagues, the working environment and the development opportunities available to employees within the company
Employment on the strand of options, capabilities and access.
Full text linkRural area represents the population with a high work capacity, but with less employment opportunities than in urban areas, so in order to have a decent job 5 (five) needs are referred to: working conditions should be safe, both physically and mentally, people should have access to medical facilities, health, working hours should be ones in which you can rest and have time for family and compensation should be acceptable for the work done.
The employment opportunities that people have differ depending on the environment they come from, so in rural areas the job opportunities are discrete, as it is the quality in work, both of them depending strongly on the area characteristics - whether it is developed or underdeveloped- and by its infrastructure, always considering that agriculture is most increased activity in these areas.
The study aims to map and depict the occupational situation of people living in Romanian rural areas, coping with limited job opportunities, compared to those living in towns and cities, as well as how people in rural areas choose their jobs, how the labour market has influenced them to find a suitable job and where they can get or acquire the skills they need.
As people in rural areas choose to migrate, the population is an ageing one and over time, villages will depopulate and the labour force and human resources will shrink
Daily life time of women during Covid-19: trends and drivers
Full text linkThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on our living systems and on the economic and political organization of our country. The significant loss of human lives, the interruption of economic activities, the lockdown, to give just a few references, are undoubted threats to our well-being.
The Italian context is of great interest to analyse the possible consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to women’s new daily life routines, not only because of the drastic measures adopted by the Government in the first emergency phase, but also because of the significant gender differences that characterise the country. In a more recent study (Chirivì & Moffa 2020) on women’s equality paths, we were able to highlight how the typically family-based Italian welfare system – the care of themost fragile people (children, elderly and disabled) is almost entirely entrusted to families – penalises women who bear the burden of looking after everyone. The spread of the pandemic has in fact laid bare the already existing gender inequalities, highlighting a dimension of women’s lives that is often hidden or overlooked, based on a persistent disparity in different areas of daily life, from everyday family life to work and social activities.
This paper aims to explore two key issues: gender inequality and links between reproduction and production sphere, focusing on pre-existing inequalities and vulnerabilities in women’s life experiences
PJESËMARRJA E QYTETARËVE NË PROCESIN VENDIMMARRËS: RASTI I SHQIPËRISË
No full textABSTRACT
Citizen participation is an opportunity given to individuals to influence public decisions and known as component of the democratic decision-making process due to positive effect on the quality of democracy. In literature as well as in practice, the forms of citizen participation start from general consultations and send comments to the draft law by electronic mail to direct negotiations based on strategic deals for partnership; from public debates to the bodies led by civil society organizations (CSO).
This research focuses on participation of citizens in decision making and its impact on democratization and development process in Albania by examining the forms, obstacles to and opportunities for citizen participation. It aims to define the key patterns of decisions-making process in Albania by including the features of the interactive decision-making models and the citizens’ participation models in the decision making process.
The original contribution of this research is an empirical analysis of citizens’ participation in Albania. The primary research includes the surveys conducted during the summer 2018 and fall 2019 with civil servants and citizens in the decision making process. The study highlights several issues such as: i) the policy actors engaged in different stages of the decision-making process; ii) the degree and level of citizen’s involvement in public decisions making process; iii) increasing transparency and accountability of government to build effective citizen participation and iv) bringing a solution to this problem in further research and action in this direction.
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Based on empirical research, the thesis finds that Albanian citizens are aware that their voice is not heard or taken into consideration by the responsible authorities in the decision-making process in Albania due to the lack of a control mechanism during the decision making process and misfit of interest between decision making authorities and citizens. In conclusion, citizens should be an integral part of decision-making process, and when faced with a lack of service, institutions must act immediately to resolve this issue.
In conclusion, citizens should be an integral part of decision-making process, and when faced with a lack of service, institutions must act immediately to resolve this issue
A cross-linguistic corpus-based analysis of native and non- native authors’ published articles
Full text linkMetadiscourse markers and their importance to academic writing are essential research subjects nowadays. The current corpus-based study aims at identifying interactional and interactive metadiscourse markers in terms of frequency and function in the abstract section of published research articles in applied linguistics developed by Algerian, Saudi, and Native researchers. 20 research articles for each group, with a total of 60 articles have been randomly selected and compiled as the research corpus for this study, then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using AntConc.3.2.4 relying on Hyland’s classification of metadiscourse markers. As a comparative study, the research considered the abstracts written by natives as a benchmark and attempted to find an answer to the main inquiry related to the frequency of use of metadiscourse devices by Algerian and Saudi researchers in comparison to their Native counterparts. The main research results showed how close were Algerian abstracts to native ones in terms of using endophorics, frame markers, code glosses, hedges, attitude markers, and self-mentions. While Saudi abstracts were close to the benchmark only in two markers that are transitions and engagement markers. The rest of the devices were shown to be far from the native norm in both cases. The findings also revealed that the use of metadiscourse markers is not the only indicator of papers’ publication rate in indexed journals by comparing the corpus analysis results to the source of the articles (journals), to find that even if Algerian researchers publish less in high indexed journals in comparison to Saudis, they are still closer in using markers to the natives as a benchmark
Burning up and burning out. Human Sustainability in a Time of Emotional Climate Change
Full text linkThe world is focused on countering climate change to guarantee our survival. But as our planet burns up, we are burning out. The costs of mental health disorders dwarf those of climate change and yet do not get commensurate attention from global leaders. Health care providers and organizations have acted first but need support of the financial markets and public decision-makers. In this paper, we argue that the economic and social toll of mental health and wellbeing issues deserve equal attention from business and public leaders because Human Sustainability is as important as Environmental Sustainability for our ability to endure and thrive as a species in harmony with others
New technologies` impact on workforce and labor law
Full text linkIf we look back, evaluating the last two centuries, the productive environments of our societies have experienced several industrial revolutions that caused great changes in production and that, in turn, generated important changes in societies at all times. Likewise, the digital transformation that has been incorporated into the bases of companies, each one in its measure, has not yet reached its maximum potential, but it has changed the way we live and, therefore, the way we work. Historically, automation has come from the hand of specialization, not because of the manufacture of tractors the land has been stopped, but more has been produced and that production has been managed in favor of employment and economic health. Technological transformations hand in hand with digitalization and artificial intelligence generate opportunities, but they also represent a threat to a good part of traditional jobs and professions, since changes are rapid and the impact of new technologies is much greater; thus, the change in the training and qualification of workers is necessary. Like the looms in the 18th century and the production models at the beginning of the 20th, digital transformation is our present, but it will be much more powerful in the future, as it entails and will entail a redefinition of the labor market and the law that governs it. regulates. Globalization and technological changes have generated a need to address labor law from a global perspective; Furthermore, this right must not only be active, but also effective, solid, in accordance with international decent work standards