Cultural Sensitivity Training in the U. S. Military: Is There Enough of the Right Stuff?

This study evaluated the quantity and quality of the intercultural and cultural sensitivity training that the United States Military receives, specifically focusing on Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) cadets. Academic and military journals were consulted to determine the current training practices analyzed for this study, as were doctrine from the United States Air Force and the current university training regimen for future Air Force Officers. A comprehensive set of best-practice standards was deduced from the intercultural sensitivity literature, and the current training regimen for AFROTC cadets then was evaluated based on those standards. Findings, limitations to those findings, and recommendations for changes as well as affirmations of current practices are provided

The Iranian influence in Iraq: between strategic interests and religious rivalry

The study provides a brief overview on Iranian republic's policy in post-Saddam Iraq and the Persian Gulf region: it is marked, programmatically, by Tehran's desire to make Iraq a state closer from security and economic points of view to the interests of Iran, benefiting primarily of the emergence of new political elite Iraqi Shiite majority. Iran has supported financially, logistically, militarily, anti-American Iraqi resistance, as well as it supported its political customers to build a special relationship of dependency and affinity with the interests of Tehran. At the same time, there is a great rivalry between Iran and the Iraqi clergy, religious (and geopolitical) competition for supremacy between Najaf and Qom theological centers, each being the adept of individual attitudes in the interpretation of Shi’ism (Pietist vs militant). The study aims, in addition, an analysis on the topic "Shiite crescent", the effective validity of an image of Iranian strategy to coordinate and instrument, in the direction of own interests, the Shiite communities in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. In reality, they, like the Shiite community in Iraq, are characterized by structural heterogeneity and divergent ideological, political, cultural, strategic trajectories, making the implementation of a unitary public in the wake of Tehran very difficult

The rise of islamism in contemporary Syria: from Muslim Brotherhood to Salafi-Jihadi rebels

The world is currently witnessing a horrendous war in Bilad ash-Sham , that caused more than 110.000 victims. Bashar al-Assad is still in power after more than 2 years from the beginning of Syrian unrest, while the international community is divided on the form and legal basis of a possible foreign intervention. This paper is however focused on a different issue. Respectively, it deals with the rise of contemporary Islamism in Syria, as long as this country has become an attractive location for Salafists from different Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Besides, this paper aims to draw attention to the propagation's speed of a very dangerous radical Islam represented by Salafist groups, whose evolution and directions in post-Assad period are dificult to predict

Technologies and Innovations in Regional Development: The European Union and its Strategies

The subsequent volume revolves around the Social-Fields-Approach (SOFIA) as an approach to conceptualization and operationalisation for the purpose of empirical research. It contributes a new perspective and approach in research on innovation. We believe that SOFIA can have implications for both academic research and practical applications in reshaping the existing instruments and governance arrangements in innovation policy. Whilst applying SOFIA, we urge researchers to leverage the plurality of different qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method approaches in innovation studies, including less conventional methods, such as QCA (Ragin, 2008). Diligent application of SOFIA can also subsequently lead to the development of high-level theoretical contributions

Electronic Democracy in Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. Patterns and Comparative Perspectives

In recent years, numerous e-participation opportunities have emerged. Their scope and impact vary across countries. This contribution reviews the performance of observed e-democracy initiatives in Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova, based on expert interviews, content analysis of online cases, and related self-reported statistics. The studied countries demonstrate a wide spectrum of e-democracy forms, tools, their usage rates, and influences on policy making. Belarus has the fewest e-participation opportunities, Moldova has more tools but little e-participation, while Ukraine has a more functional version of digital democracy in terms of numbers of available c-participation formats, instruments, their usage rates, and impact on public policy.Peer reviewe

Polabian accentuation

From a synchronic point of view, the accentuation of Late Polabian has been clarified by Trubetzkoy (1929) and Olesch (1973, 1974). The stress fell on the last full vowel of a word form, which was found either in the final or in the penulti-mate syllable. In the latter instance, the final syllable contained a reduced vowel. This rule was challenged by Kurylowicz (1955), who maintained that the stress was fixed on the initial syllable of the word. The latter theory has the advantage of accounting for the absence of reduced vowels in initial syllables

The role of infection in the development of rheumatic diseases

Department of Internal Medicine Rheumatology and Nephrology, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, The 8th International Medical Congress for Students and Young Doctors, September 24-26, 2020Introduction. The etiology of rheumatic diseases is not absolutely clear and a lot of genetic and environmental factors are considered to be involved. The triggering factors for the development of rheumatoid diseases are considered to be: genetic predisposition, injuries of the musculoskeletal system, different pathogens, metabolic diseases, bad habits, etc. Aim of the study. In this work, “The Role of Infections in the Development of Rheumatic Diseases,” a case-control study investigated the presence of infection in a particular category of rheumatic diseases. Materials and methods. Thus, of the 500 studied cases, the infection was present in 347 cases, which is 69.4%. The data for the statistical study were taken from the patient history of the rheumatology department for January-October 2017. Results. The distribution among the studied cases is the next one: ankylosing spondylitis - 59 cases (11.8%), the presence of infection in 29 cases (8.35%), reactive arthritis - 70 cases (14%), the presence of infection - 57 (16.45%), seronegative undifferentiated arthritis - 46 cases (9.2%) with signs of infection (6.9%), psoriatic arthritis 118 cases (23.6%) with infection - 98 cases (28.2%), rheumatoid arthritis 137 (27, 4%) the presence of infection in 101 (29.2%) cases, systemic lupus erythematosus 18 cases (3.6%), the presence of infection in 13 cases (3.74%), gout 17 cases (3.4%), with infection 9 cases (2.59%), undifferentiated connective tissue diseases 6 counts (2.6%) with infection 4 cases (1.2%), scleroderma 13 cases (2.6%) with infection 7 cases (2%), Vasculitis 10 cases (2%) of which 5 cases (1.45 %) with infection. The most common signs of the disease are rheumatoid factors - in 123 cases 35.4%, CRH-150 cases (43.2%), ASLO-88 cases (25.3%), Anti Hb core sum-83 cases (23.9 %), frequent tonsillitis in the anamnesis of 69 cases (19.8%), pharyngeal smear of 49 cases (14.1%), genitourinary infection of 48 cases (13.9%). Conclusions. Based on the obtained results we can confirm the presence of infection is two thirds of the total cases

Particularitați de tratament la pacienții cu gută

Background. The actuality of the studied subject is conditioned by increase of the prevalence of gout. Proper treatment changes the natural course of the disease with the improvement of the patient's condition and quality of life. Objective of the study. Analysis of uric acid lowering therapy, prophylactic treatment of gout flair-ups and treatment strategy in acute gout attack. Material and Methods. A retrospective study was done on patients diagnosed with gout and hospitalized in the rheumatology and arthrology departments of the Repuplican Clinical Hospital for the year 2018. 110 clinical observation records were evaluated. The age of the patients ranged from 30 to 85 years. The group includes 12.72% women and 87.28% men. Results. It was determined that only a small group of patients (26.36%) reached the “target level” of serum uric acid (<360 μmol/l) after hypouricemic treatment administered at home, and the majority - 55.46% had values higher than the upper limit of the norm. It is observed that patients who received regular hypouricemic treatment the mean serum AU values are lower compared to the indices of patients who received irregular treatment. NSAIDs, colchicine, oral CS and intra-articular CS were used as treatment for acute access. Hypouricemic treatment in both sections was performed using uricodepressants: allopurinol and febuxostat. Conclusion. The treatment of acute gout attack and the hypouricemic treatment indicated in the hospital were analyzed in this study. I have found correlation between the level of uric acid and compliance with the treatment. Introducere. Guta este una din cele mai vechi maladii cunoscute medicinei. Actualitatea temei studiate este condiționată de creșterea prevalenței pretutindeni. Tratamentul potrivit schimbă evoluția naturală a bolii prin ameliorarea stării și calității vieții pacientului. Scopul lucrării. Analiza tratamentului medicamentos disponibil în gută, în dependență de stadiul bolii, vârsta și maladiile concomitente ale pacientului; tratamentul hipouricemiant și tratamentul acceselor acute de gută. Material și Metode. Studiul a fost realizat pe un lot reprezentativ de bolnavi cu diagnosticul de gută, internați în SCR în secțiile Artrologie și Reumatologie, în perioada anului 2018. Au fost evaluate 110 fișe de observație clinică. Vârsta pacienților a fost cuprinsă între 30 și 85 ani. Lotul a inclus 12,72% femei și 87,28% bărbați. Rezultate. A fost determinat că doar un grup mic de pacienți (26,36%) a atins „nivelul țintă” de acid uric în ser (<360 μmol/l) după tratamentul hipouricemiant administrat la domiciliu, iar majoritatea – 55,46% au avut valori mai mari decât limita de sus a normei. Se observă că la pacienții, care au administrat tratamentul hipouricemiant regulat valorile medii a AU în ser sunt mai mici, comparativ cu indicii bolnavilor, care au urmat tratamentul neregulat. În calitate de tratament a accesului acut în staționar au fost utilizate: AINS, colchicina, CS orale și CS intraarticular. Tratamentul hipouricemiant în ambele secții a fost efectuat, utilizând uricodepresive: allopurinol și febuxostat. Concluzii. În studiul dat a fost analizat tratamentul accesului acut de gută și tratamentul hipouricemiant indicat în staționar. A fost determinată corelația dintre nivelul acidului uric și complianța la tratament

Chapter Introduction

This book focuses on social transformations as one of the central topics in the social sciences. The study of European social transformations is very valuable in the context of universal discussions within social sciences: explaining invariable, universal attributes of societies and examining changing attributes. The book consists of 20 chapters on European social transformations, written from the perspectives of distinguished scholars from such disciplines as economics, political science, educational science, geography, media and communication studies, public management and administration, social psychology and sociology. The temporal and spatial range of the book is wide, including such global changes as time-space compression, focusing particularly on change processes in Europe during the last two decades. The book consists of four main parts, beginning with an overview of the theoretical and methodological approaches, and then focusing separately on post-communist transformations, institutional drivers of social transformations in the European Union, and European transformations in the context of global processes. The book presents current theoretical, empirical and methodological approaches that complement the scientific literature on social transformations. This book is both an invaluable resource for scholars and an indispensable teaching tool for use in the classroom and will be of interest to students, academics, and policy-makers studying how this diverse region has changed over recent years