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Improving Territorial Governance and Speeding up the Integration Process into the European Union: Good Ways of Consolidating Democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Get PDFConsidering the eight territorial entities that made up the former Socialist Federalist Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina is the one characterized by the most complex internal situation.
What concerns the people is that this Country is composed by three different nations, believing in three religions, using two alphabets and speaking three similar but not identical languages; what concerns the organization of the State, is that it is constituted by two entities - one of which is a Federation - and a District which enjoys special conditions of administration. The multilevel composition of the Country reflects in the structure of the State constitutional Bodies which aims to grant an equal representation to all the nations living within its borders. These Bodies do not exercise their powers in a completely autonomous way but they still have to share them with an international Authority, the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Constitution itself does not derive from an autonomous constituent process. Although it has been declared a potential candidate for membership following the Thessaloniki European Council (2003) with the other Western Balkan Countries, Bosnia Herzegovina shares with Kosovo the last position in the development of its relations with the EU. The stalemate in the relations with Brussels is partially due to the lack of progress in both political and economic criteria. In light of the above, this paper would try to answer two questions. Among the sincere cooperation and territorial governance instruments, which ones could be better used to boost the stability of Institutions and to strengthen the democracy in the Country? Could the speeding up of the integration process into the EU lead to the same result? From a methodological point of view, the work will start analyzing the main sincere cooperation and governance instruments (such as the establishment of collective bodies or the adoption of special decision making processes) already applied in national or supranational systems sharing similar problems as Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to value their suitability to the Country. The work will then analyze the approach adopted by the EU during the fifth and the sixth enlargement for what concern political conditionality and the instruments used to help the Candidate Countries in gaining the accession criteria. The expected results are on one side to suggest the instruments, inspired by the principle of sincere cooperation, that could better improve the governance and ensure a smoother functioning of the State Institutions. On the other side the paper aims to suggest a kind of approach and support that the EU could adopt through the Country in order to foster the ongoing democratic stabilization process
Marketing of Political Parties on Social Media
Get PDFThe aim of this research is to analyze how political parties use social networks for the political marketing of their respective parties. This phenomenon has been practiced specifically in United Stated of America for many years since 2008 when Barack Obama, the President Candidate of Democratic Party started using widely social media platforms. On the other hand, this phenomenon is new in Albania.
This research paper will be focused mainly on the political marketing campaign on social media platforms of Albania Socialist Party of Albania in 2013. 2013 Campaign was a total success and Socialist Party came to power after eight years through a big victory. Case of RILINDJE.net revealed the power of social networks and their importance in communicating with audiences.
This research is based on the case abovementioned and the methodology in conducting is based on analyzing this case and the data obtained from it. Afterward, based on analysis extracted from the collected data authors provide suggestions for further studies regarding this topic
Paqëndrueshmeria Historike e Sistemit Politik në Shqipëri
Get PDFKy artikull është një përpjekje për të hedhur dritë mbi atë c’ka vërtet ka ndodhur me
sistemet politike nder vite, e atë që vërtet ndryshoi te to dhe ndërmjet tyre si dhe c’ka ngeli e njëjtë ashtu sikundër shumë kush e mendon edhe sot.
Në studimet historiko-juridike shqiptare mungon një botim bashkerisht i aktet themelore të rregullimit të sistemit politik (statute, kushtetuta). Krahas kësaj mungon dhe një histori e vetë sistemit politik, e jetës së parlamentit. Ky shkrim mbushë një boshllëk në kuadër të kësaj zbrazëtie të madhe të shumanshme. Qëllimi i këtij artikulli, është që të ndriçojë, në pikëpamjen juridike-historike, gjendjen dhe evolucionin e sistemeve politike në Shqipëri.
Të dhënat bazë të evolucionit të historisë politike të Shqipërisë, janë mbledhur e evidentuar tërësisht dhe paraqiten si pjesë e këtij shkrimi
The Performance of Mortgage Loans in Albania in Recent Years, Elements of the Process of Mortgage Lending in the Banking System and its Risks
Get PDFBuying a home is one of the most important decisions and sometimes the biggest financial transaction that can be done in life. Mortgage lending is the primary mechanism used in many countries to finance private ownership of residential and commercial property. That in itself is a big deal since the interest that you pay is going to be a percentage of the amount that you borrow, so it is important to make sure that you are getting the best deal possible, since you are going to have it for a long time. At the same time as Richardson cited it’s important that mortgage lenders have an incentive to internalize the deadweight costs associated with defaults and foreclosures. The development and expansion of the Albanian banking market in the recent years has created significant conditions to make a rational choice with the additions of new
products and programs. This research will discuss the main steps of the procedure for obtaining a mortgage loan, the advantages and disadvantages of mortgages, the documentation required for obtaining mortgage loans, the credit risks and generally the performance of mortgage lending in Albania in the last 10 years, the prospect of mortgage loans and other main issues based on the appropriate literature review and secondary sources. Also as part of the topic is included a statistical study which analyzes the relationship between the performance of mortgage loans in Albania and other macroeconomic indicators as employment, inflation and the interest rate. The data was accessed from the official database system of INSTAT in the last 7 years and the elaborated results showed an explanation of the econometric model created. The conclusions provided in this case signified a strong relationship between the factors, indicating that the increase of the employment rate and of the deposit interest rate, as the decrease of the interest rate for loans and of the general level of prices are major factors that constrain the mortgage loans in Albania
Process of Reconciliation in a Postconflict Macedonia
Get PDFIn this article we will consider reconciliation in a post-conflict Macedonia. When Ohrid Framework Agreement (OFA) was signed, the international community greeted the achievements of the international community as it was signed under specific circumstances. Since it stopped the conflict, it had achieved its goal. Legally, the country became a multiethnic one with a power-sharing government. Yet, the political and intellectual elite, which slightly differ from each other, did not invest intellectual and political capital when searching for a specific Macedonian (inter) national identity, which goes beyond the limitations of the ethnic definitions and mythology around them. Instead, the national discourse is emphasized. Using the terms such as multiculturalism, multhiethnicity and polylingualisam creates additional confusion. When media and politicians use these phrases and incorporate their own political discourses, the damage is done. Critical thinking is not on the agenda in the educational process and the young people are expected to listen rather than think. There is a need for a structural communication among the citizens, a social link but also a philosophical and maybe an ideological communication, so as to fill in the gaps and avoid further divisions. The only way to accomplish that is to have an open and inclusive society. In order to achieve this, the culture of dialog should be nurtured. It is not enough for Macedonians and Albanians to know each other’s folklore and cultural history. Coexistence requires knowing the modern reality. Structured communication is a key. Absence of public discourse has a positive effect on the society’s wellbeing. A debate is not a threat to the process of creating politics. Instead, it legalizes the decision-making process. The intellectual elite should take the lead, show its grandiosity, and view Macedonia as a whole in a joint narrative, which considers all the specifics of the different cultures living together and integrates them in a common goal. In that respect, the OFA was the first necessary step, and its treatment as a Holy Grail ignores the fact that the job is not done. Instead it has just started
Workplace Bullying Scale: The Study of Validity and Reliability
Get PDFThe aim of this research is to adapt the Workplace Bullying Scale (Tınaz, Gök & Karatuna, 2013) to Albanian language and to examine its psychometric properties. The research was conducted on 386 person from different sectors of Albania. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that Albanian scale yielded 2 factors different from original form because of cultural differences. Internal consistency coefficients are,890 -,801 and split-half test reliability coefficients, 864 -,808. Comfirmatory Factor Analysis results change from,40 to,73. Corrected item-total correlations ranged,339 to,672 and according to t-test results differences between each item’s means of upper 27% and lower 27% points were significant. Thus Workplace Bullying Scale can be use as a valid and reliable instrument in social sciences in Albania
Homosexuality elsewhere: young migrants, sexuality and transcultural identity strategies
Get PDFThe article focuses on young people of foreign origin in Italy, analysing in particular the experiences of those of a homosexual orientation. Starting from a theoretical reflection that takes into account the various possible statuses expressing young migrants situation, we will analyse the complexities that arise in terms of identity for young foreigners who, when living their sexuality, relate both with the cultural standards of the country of origin (often homophobic and repressive) and with those of the host country, in which they can instead intercept new opportunities to express themselves and their desires. The core idea is to verify the means through which they manage these contrasts, aiming at empirically outlining the strategies of behaviour, thus increasing the understanding of the ongoing processes of social and cultural integration
Albanian trade policy and the process of alignment with EU Common Commercial Policy
Get PDFAlbania is a member of WTO from September 2000 and is currently in a deep and substantial transformation of the trade policy. Albanian trade regime is very liberal, open and transparent fully compliant with WTO law. Accession to EU is the strategic goal of all Governments after ’90s and alignment with EU acquis is at the core of any process. EU integration is an engine for the development in all candidate or potential candidate countries. This process requires the alignment of national policies and harmonization of the legislation. Trade policy is among the most developed policies in European Union and Albania. This is mainly due to the membership in World Trade Organization (WTO) and Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with the most important trading partners. The accession of Albania to EU will significantly affect the Albanian trade policy. This paper analyses the state of play of Albanian trade policy and presents the main developments in the EU Common Commercial Policy after the Lisbon Treaty (2009). Based on this analysis the paper highlights the implications for Albanian trade policy
The Effect of Loyalty Programs on the Service Quality in Healthcare Industry
Get PDFThe main purpose is to study the current situation in Albania related with the attitudes of Albanian society toward loyalty programs, healthcare loyalty cards usage in healthcare sector. The study aims also measuring the effect of loyalty programs on the service quality in Albanian healthcare sector. This thesis is descriptive quantitative in nature, aiming to develop a better understanding of the effect of loyalty cards on the healthcare service quality. The statistical package SPSS was used for data analysis. Finding indicates that the loyalty programs have positive effect on healthcare service quality. Moreover, loyalty card usage appears to play an important role in increasing the strength of association between loyalty programs and healthcare service quality. Results confirm the varying importance of some socio-demographic variables on the effect of loyalty cards on Albanian healthcare service quality. It has also been found that private hospitals have higher overall loyalty care than public hospitals. Study indicates that loyalty programs implementation is used overall in private hospitals but useless in public hospitals.Epoka Universit
Teaching English vocabulary to Albanian students and the importance of the semantic fields in the process of expanding it.
Get PDFEvery language has its own semantic, phonologic, grammatical structure. When you try to make a comparison between the two languages, you know that they do not fully correspond in none of the structures mentioned above. Every language among the other things relects the culture of a certain society, which the same as the language, is different in different countries. So it is the case with the English and the Albanian language. These two languages do not have any resemblance with each-other. The scholar Lyons would say that we have to deal with non isomorphic languages, due to the semantic structure, which is different. This phenomenon should be taken into account during the process of teaching, in our case of the English language. This paper aims at a comparison of the semantic ields of the two languages, based on the semantic ield theory. It is more eficient if the comparison is made between fields and not between speciic lexemes. Hence, this comparison can lead to a clear picture and a better understanding of the correlation, contrast of these two languages. In this paper it is aimed a research which examines the basic concept of semantic ields, theoretical and practical foundations and implications of semantic fields as a method for creative foreign language teaching, especially in teaching English as a foreign language toAlbanian students at Tirana University and Beder University. Current research has found that having a knowledge in semantic ields makes it easier and helps students develop their conceptual understandings. It has been assessed that semantic ields constitute major lexical patterns in the vocabulary of a language and as such they are regarded as part of the native speaker’s lexical competence. It has also been argued that learning a foreign language vocabulary entails learning, among other things, the meanings of lexical items in ields and the sense relations in terms of which these ields are structured. “ Rudska et al. (1981a). Teaching new vocabulary through the use of semantic ields gives the learner the conidence and a native like competence in the language that they are learning. Learning outcomes and indings are often shown through descriptions of design interventions that have taken place in ordinary classrooms. In this research, attention has been paid if the use of semantic ield analysis in the teaching of lexis in foreign language situations with respect to the language skills for which the EFL learners are learning English is effective. The use of new creative methods,
diverse experiences of individual students within FL classes and what they take away from participation in such classes would make the circle complete and satisfactory