137 research outputs found
The Impact on Structural Reforms on Employment Growth and Labour Productivity: Evidence from Bulgaria and Romania
No full textUsing firm-level data from Bulgaria and Romania, this paper addresses a lacuna in the transition literature, namely, the link of firm-level employment turnover with firm-level growth in labour productivity. The results suggest that while net job creation at the firm level was affected by privatization in Bulgaria, privatization in Romania did not have any effect on firm-level employment growth. Further, Olley-Pakes (1996) decomposition indicates that in Bulgaria, over time, resources moved from less productive firms to more productive firms in almost all industries, but that in Romania such a phenomenon was observed in less than half of the industries. At the same time, the Grilliches-Regev (1995) decomposition indicates that in both these countries mobility of labour across firms, i.e., the process of job creation and job destruction at the firm level, contributed more to productivity changes than did other firm-level characteristics and industry-level factors affecting productivity. Finally, we find that the rate of employment changes in Bulgarian firms has a significant impact on the country’s firm-level productivity changes. Regressions using Romania data, however, do not provide any support for this observation.job flows, employment growth, labour productivity, Bulgaria, Romania
Corrosion of concrete structures due to climate change
No full textConcrete is clearly one of the most predominant-used material in both residential and non-residential structures across Europe (Peled and Fishman, 2021). A reinforced concrete (RC) structure is expected to satisfy criteria for serviceability, structural integrity, and stability over its designed operational lifespan, without significant loss of utility or excessive unforeseen maintenance (for general requirements see also EN 1990). Comprehending the degradation mechanisms that impact these structures is essential for accurately estimating their service life and formulating cost-effective maintenance strategies. The main mechanisms responsible for concrete degradation include corrosion caused by carbonation and the presence of chloride ions, freeze-thaw cycles, sulphate attack and erosion due to high-velocity water flow, ice, or wind-blown sand.Integral Design & Managemen
Millennials’ travel motivations and desired activities within destinations: A comparative study of the US and the UK
No full textRita, P., Brochado, A., & Dimova, L. (2019). Millennials’ travel motivations and desired activities within destinations: a comparative study of the US and the UK. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(16), 2034-2050. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2018.1439902 ---%ABS2%Millennials are one of the largest groups to be targeted by tourism companies. This paper compares the travel motivations of Millennials from both the United States and the United Kingdom by ratings, rankings and perceptual structures of both push and pull factors. This exploratory study used a questionnaire to examine the inner motivations (e.g. push factors) and preferred destination activities (e.g. pull factors) of American and British Millennials (n = 322). Data analysis included the non-parametric Mann–Whitney U test, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance, an alternating least-squares algorithm (ALSCAL) model and ordinal regression. The results reveal that American and British Millennials are quite homogeneous in their push travel motivations and destination activity preferences. The most important motivational factors for both are ‘to relax’ and ‘to escape from the ordinary’. Both nationalities also agree that the most attractive destination activities are ‘to try local food’ and ‘to go sightseeing’. The findings indicate that the US and UK samples are similar and that there is room for segmentation according to demographics.authorsversionpublishe
Крилете на пеперудата. Християнството и тоталитаризмът в белетристиката на Ана Бландиана и Теодора Димова
No full textСтатията сравнява две белетристични книги на румънската писателка Ана Бландиана и на българската писателка Теодора Димова. Както става ясно в хода на анализа, книгите показват много сходства в начина, по който представят „тоталитарния опит“. В тези художествени произведения ние можем да видим как чрез детската гледна точка авторките успяват да открият различни решения във времена на криза и мъчителни обстоятелства. По блестящ естетически начин Бландиана и Димова демонстрират неограничените възможности на литературата да предоставя спасение дори в трагичните инциденти, да сочи дори и в края – рая.Ключови думи: християнство; тоталитаризъм; антитоталитарна литература; сравнително литературознание; балканистика; екзистенциална психотерапия The Wings of the Butterfly. Christianity and Totalitarianism in Ana Blandiana’s and Teodora Dimova’s fictionThe article compares two fiction books by the Romanian author Ana Blandiana and fellow Bulgarian writer Teodora Dimova. As the analysis reveals the books share a lot of similarities in their approach to the “totalitarian experience”. In these literary works, we can see how through the child’s viewpoint the two female writers show different solutions in times of crises and harrowing circumstances. In summary, Blandiana and Dimova demonstrate in a brilliant aesthetic way the endless possibilities of literature to find salvation even in tragic accidents, and an exit from exile.Keywords: Christianity; totalitarianism; antitotalitarian literature; comparative literature; Balkan studies; existential psychotherap
Adaptation strategies
No full textIn addressing the impact of climate change on the corrosion of RC buildings, it is crucial to distinguish between two adaptation strategies. The first refers to measures integrated during the design phase for new structures. The second involves strategies implemented during the service phase to enhance the resilience of existing structures. This differentiation ensures that both new and existing buildings are equipped to withstand the challenges posed by a changing climate. This section focuses on the first while the strategies implemented during the service life of the existing buildings are discussed in the following section.Integral Design & Managemen
Nonstandard potential well method and application to sixth order Boussinesq equation with Bernoulli type nonlinearity
No full textThe problem of the „male“ language (on works by Miglena Nikolchina and Irena Ivanova)
No full textThe paper is devoted to the problem of the „male“ language which can be found in the works of two Bulgarian poets – Miglena Nikolchina and Irena Ivanova (better known by her pseudonym Rene Karabaš). The author associates them with the change that happens in literary criticism and the literary production itself after the 1990s. The author considers the synthesis of poetry and prose, poetry and theory as an intertextual „dialogue” through which is possible to analyze the texts of both poets. Thematically, the article focuses on the ways in which the woman gains „a right to have a voice“ rejecting her gender to take up the poet’s word and on how man appears to be a „quotation” in their works
Failing Grade: 89% of Introduction-to-Psychology textbooks that define or explain statistical significance do so incorrectly
No full textNull-hypothesis significance testing (NHST) is commonly used in psychology; however, it is widely acknowledged that NHST is not well understood by either psychology professors or psychology students. In the current study, we investigated whether introduction-to-psychology textbooks accurately define and explain statistical significance. We examined 30 introductory-psychology textbooks, including the best-selling books from the United States and Canada, and found that 89% incorrectly defined or explained statistical significance. Incorrect definitions and explanations were most often consistent with the odds-against-chance fallacy. These results suggest that it is common for introduction-to-psychology students to be taught incorrect interpretations of statistical significance. We hope that our results will create awareness among authors of introductory-psychology books and provide the impetus for corrective action. To help with classroom instruction, we provide slides that correctly describe NHST and may be useful for introductory-psychology instructors
Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Dependent Modulation of Liver Diseases.
No full textAcute liver failure and cirrhosis display sequential and overlapping severe pathogenic processes that include inflammation, hepatocyte necrosis, and fibrosis, carrying a high mortality rate. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a heterogeneous subset of stromal stem cells with immunonodulatory characteristics. MSCs are considered to act through multiple mechanisms to coordinate a dynamic, integrated response to liver inflammation and fibrosis, which prevents the progressive distortion of hepatic architecture. Accordingly, MSCs as well as their products have been investigated as a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of inflammatory and fibrotic liver diseases. In this review, we highlight the current findings on the MSC-based modulation of liver inflammation and fibrosis, and the possible use of MSCs in the therapy of immune-mediated liver pathology. We briefly describe the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in MSC-dependent modulation of cytokine production, phenotype and function of liver infiltrated inflammatory cells and compare effects of engrafted MSCs versus MSC-generated conditioned medium (MSC-CM) in the therapy of acute liver injury. In order to elucidate therapeutic potential of MSCs and their products in modulation of chronic liver inflammation and fibrosis, we present the current findings regarding pathogenic role of immune cells in liver fibrosis and describe mechanisms involved in MSC-dependent modulation of chronic liver inflammation with the brief overview of on-going and already published clinical trials that used MSCs for the treatment of immune mediated chronic liver diseases. The accumulating evidence shows that MSCs had a significant beneficial effect in the treatment of immune-mediated liver diseases
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