The Critical Theory of Artistic Capitalism

This article takes up Lipovetsky‟s discussion on artistic capitalism in L’esthétisation du monde. Vivre à l’âge du capitalisme artiste, to trace its definitions and methodological construction, but also in order to create a critical theory of artistic capitalism, based on the following working-hypothesis: the production of art and the production of self, understood in the sense of a Foucauldian project of the aesthetics of existence, represent correspondent purposes in artistic capitalism. My research will be focused on examining previous attempts of developing such a critical inquiry, claimed by Luc Boltanski, Eve Chiapello, and Luc Ferry. It is my thesis that the failure of a homogeneous critical theory of artistic capitalism is owed to different inconsistent interpretations of contaminating ethics with aesthetics in order to create an ideal of morality and authenticity for the existence of the individual inspired by contemporary techniques of art production, aspects that were conceived by Lipovetsky as parts of the process of the “aestheticization of the world”

Partnership in Social Marketing Programs. Socially Responsible Companies and Non-Profit Organizations’ Engagement in Solving Society’s Problems

The development of social marketing, as an important area of analysis and research, has opened up multiple opportunities for organizations to engage in society’s problems. Whether we talk about non-profit organizations engaged in health or environmental programs or private companies willing to act responsibly, their goal is a common one: to help improve people's lives by promoting responsible behaviour in society. This paper aims to extend the area of research for "cause-related marketing" by highlighting the importance of partnerships between non-profit organizations and companies based on social responsibility. As a result, the article proposes and analyzes four features of social partnership: motivation, promotion, efficiency and law effect. The study examines the Romanian consumers’ opinions regarding the need of collaboration between corporations and non-profit organizations for achieving common social goals. Using the structural equation model, the paper describes the relations between each of the variables considered and social partnership and measures the extent to which these variables can influence the collaboration between organizations. The article tests and then proposes a model of the considered variables. The results obtained describe the characteristics of social partnership marketing programs and their importance for the consumer.partnership, cause-related marketing, social problems, non-profit organization, socially responsible company, social marketing program

ENCRYPTION ALGORITHMS FOR DATABASES

For most cases, people use an ecrypted mode when sending personal information to a server, via an electronic form. Whenever shopping is done online, the browser uses cryptographic methods to send to the server the credit card number and private information. Thanks to the surprising development of the Internet, and not to the structural models (OSI and TCP/IP) this technology is based on, the electronic commerce requires quality, security, reliability and, above all, the possibility of implementing all such concepts. It is interesting that none of the widely used cryptographic systems is mathematically demonstrated to be safe. As a matter of fact, the entire technology of cryptography is based on mathematical problems that are still unanswered to.Looking at the above, the study of the cryptographic and security methods, as well as finding strong crypto-systems is still a pivotal issue.encryption algorithms; database security; crypto-graphically; cipher

Corporate Social Responsibility: The Challenge for Medium Sized Enterprises in the Bamberg-Forcheim Region, Germany

Globalization and the growing pressure on medium sized enterprises to take responsibility for their operations has resulted in an increasing number of medium sized companies becoming aware of Corporate Social Responsibility. The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of how Corporate Social Responsibility is incorporated in medium sized enterprise operations by focusing on how these companies describe, integrate and monitor Corporate Social Responsibility and how they allocate financial resources for it. In order to shed light on this issue, three case studies were conducted in the Bamberg-Forcheim Region of Germany. Documentation and interviews were used as data collection methods for this study. The conclusions drawn from the findings of this study include the following: the working methods of medium sized enterprises regarding Corporate Social Responsibility are new and therefore not yet established. Corporate Social Responsibility is not yet considered an important part of medium sized enterprise operations. Neither are enterprises very eager to implement and monitor this concept because of the high investment of time and finances involved. Businesses prefer to concentrate on their employees (training, social activities, extra-work activities etc) rather than to integrate, monitor and allocate resources for Corporate Social Responsibility.Corporate Social Responsibility, code of conduct, sustainability development, performance excellence, EFQM-Model

Japan’s economy from boom to bust

Japan’s economic evolution for the last half of the century provides us with an unique occasion to test alternative theories for growth. This short article makes a review of the main economic events and their causes. It maintains that behind Japan’s slump and deflation was the state policy which encouraged a prior unsound expansion.Japan’s economy, boom, deflation, growth theory

MCA4climate: A Practical Framework for Planning Pro-Development Climate Policy

MCA4climate is a major new UNEP initiative providing 1 Introduction practical assistance to governments in preparing their climate change mitigation and adaptation plans and strategies. It aims to help governments, particularly in developing countries, identify policies and measures that are low cost, environmentally effective and consistent with national development goals. It does this by providing a structured approach to assessing and prioritizing climate-policy options, while taking into consideration associated social, economic, environmental and institutional costs and benefits. In doing so, it seeks to counter the widely held perception that tackling climate change is costly, highlight the potential developmental benefits of addressing climate change and encourage action to that end

HEURISTIC AND OPTIMUM SOLUTIONS IN ALLOCATION PROBLEMS

In this paper we present some models and algoritms for solving some typical production planning and scheduling problems. We present the Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP) and algorithms for the determination of maximal couplings with minimal arch length in the graph attached to an allocation problem, and for the determination of the solution of Dirichlet problem and of the potential-voltage problem which appear in a production planning. We develop a model for allocating work among potential VO partners, taking into account fixed and variable work costs and transportation costs.Dirichlet’s problem, conex graph, maximal coupling, RCPS problem, virtual organization, allocation problem