Sezonska distribucija Borelija u krpeljima Ixodes ricinus na teritoriji Beograda

Green areas at four localities in the Belgrade region (Ada Ciganlija, Košutnjak, Miljakovac forest, and Mt. Avala) were investigated in 2004. The aim of the research was to clarify the faunistic composition, relative abundance, and population dynamics of ticks, as well as the seasonal distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (sl) in Ixodes ricinus. Two species of ticks were detected: Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulates. Relative abundance analysis revealed that the species Ixodes ricinus was predominant (97.41 %). Out of 942 Ixodes ricinus ticks, 188 (19.96 %) were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sl. The infection rate of adults by localities ranged from 19.16% to 30.99% (Mt. Avala and Ada Ciganlija, respectively).Zelene površine četiri lokaliteta na području Beograda obrađene su tokom 2004. godine: Ada Ciganlija, Košutnjak, Miljakovačka šuma i Avala. Istraživanja su obuhvatila: faunistički sastav, relativnu brojnost, dinamiku populacija krpelja i sezonsku distribuciju Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (sl) u krpeljima Ixodes ricinus. Ustanovljene su dve vrste krpelja: Ixodes ricinus i Dermacentor reticulates. Analiza relativne brojnosti pokazuje da je vrsta Ixodes ricinus bila dominantna (97.41%). Od 942 krpelja Ixodes ricinus, 188 je bilo inficirano sa Borrelia burgdorferi sl. Procenat zaraženih adulta po lokalitetima se kretao od 19.16% na Avali do 30.99 % na Adi Ciganliji

Families and social capital in Serbia: Some issues in research and policy

U radu se ispituje heuristička i metodološka vrednost koncepta socijalnog kapitala u istraživanju porodica u društvima koja prolaze kroz post-socijalističku transformaciju. Nakon diskusije o konceptualnim problemima vezanim za socijalni kapital i proučavanje savremenih porodica sumiraju se nalazi najnovijih istraživanja o porodicama u Srbiji koji se odnose na socijalni kapital. Dokazuje se da postoje dve strane socijalnog kapitala u društvima u post-socijalističkoj transformaciji kakvo je Srbija kao i da su posledice primarnog ("vezujućeg") socijalnog kapitala dvostruke i da sve to ima složene efekte na različite nivoe društva. U zaključnom delu se ukazuje na neka metodološka i pitanja socijalne politike koja su se otvorila u analizi.Based on several recent studies on families and households in Serbia, the paper examines the heuristic and methodological validity of the concept of social capital as applied in studying families in post-socialist transformation. After discussing conceptual issues and problems related to social capital and study of contemporary families, the findings from the studies related to social capital are summarized. It is argued that in a post socialist society in transformation, such as Serbia, there are two sides to social capital, that consequences of strong "bonding" social capital are twofold, and that this has complex effects on different societal levels. In the concluding part, some methodological and policy issues that emerged from the evidence are pointed out

Experience of unplanned maternity: case studies of two young single mothers in Belgrade

The paper is based on the analysis of narratives from the case studies of two young single mothers from the longitudinal qualitative research in Belgrade. The aims of the paper are exploration and interpretation of the positioning and meaning of motherhood within social biographies of the working-class single mothers. The intention is to study experience of single motherhood among young women with lower social-economic status by exploring how it is contextualised within structural, normative and institutional frameworks, as well as within relational and biographical contexts. The analysis proved the assumption that, although the position of motherhood within their life courses is similar, its meaning within their social biographies is different due to their different experience and subjectivities. In the concluding discussion, I argue for taking into account feelings as part of maternal experience, as well as to interpret agency as embedded in relational and biographical contexts within a young woman's social biography

Changes in transition to adulthood of young people in Serbia between 2003 and 2011

U članku se razmatra tranzicija u odraslost mladih u Srbiji poređenjem nalaza dva anketna istraživanja iz 2003. i 2011. godine. Cilj analize je da se ustanovi da li postoje promene u tempu, kao i putanjama tranzicije koje bi mogle da ukažu na njihovu destandardizaciju i individualizaciju. U postavljanju okvira analize se prikazuju neka od problematičnih pitanja vezana za pristup tranzicije u odraslost, koja se potom u završnom delu članka dalje razmatraju u odnosu na rezultate analize. Nalazi istraživanja ukazuju na postojanje izvesnog ubrzanja u tempu tranzicije, koje je mahom rezultat veće finansijske nezavisnosti mladih. Prelazak u odraslost je odložen i pr odužen, ali su putanje prelaska i dalje standardizovane. Uporedne analize nekih obeležja tranzicija mladih na Balkanu vode zaključku da je potrebna alternativna konceptualizacija koja bi odrazila društveno-kulturne specifičnosti regiona.The paper deals with transition to adulthood of young people in Serbia through analysis of findings of the two surveys from 2003 and 2011. The aims are to explore the changes in pace, as well as in transitional trajectories that could indicate their destandardisation and individualisation. Some of the debatable issues related to the transition to adulthood approach are presented in the framework and discussed further in relation to the results of the analysis in the concluding section. The findings indicate that there exists some acceleration in the pace of transition, mainly due to increased financial independence of young people. The trajectories, however, are still standardised, while transition is postponed and prolonged. The comparative analyses of some features of young people’s transitions to adulthood in the Balkans led to the conclusion that an alternative conceptualization is needed

Relevance of social capital and its implications for children: Study in three Belgrade urban settings

Namera je ovog rada da preispita neka teorijska i metodološka pitanja relevantnosti koncepta socijalnog kapitala za decu, kao i njegove praktične implikacije. Analiza se zasniva na podacima iz ankete manjeg obima i osam grupnih intervjua sa decom starom 13-14 godina u tri beogradska naselja. Koristeći operacionalizaciju koju je razvila V. Morrow (2003), autorka ispituje validnost, u slučaju dece kao subjekata, komponenti socijalnog kapitala kao što su: društvene mreže, osećaj pripadanja i lokalni identitet zajednica i građanski angažman. Nalazi pokazuju da svaka od ovih komponenti ima svoje osobenosti kada su u pitanju deca, što treba imati na umu kada se socijalni kapital koristi kao teorijski koncept i metodološko oruđe. U zaključku autorka otvara pitanje da li bi, uzimajući u obzir društvena ograničenja kojima su izloženi, bilo bolje razmišljati o razmatranim komponentama socijalnog kapitala kao o "društvenim resursima" pre nego kao o "kapitalima" kada su u pitanju deca kao društvena grupa. Ovaj argument ima i specifične praktične implikacije.The paper aims at questioning some theoretical and methodological issues of relevance of social capital concept for children and its policy implications. The evidence for the analysis comes from the small-scale survey and eight focus group interviews with 13 - 14 year old schoolchildren in three Belgrade urban settings. By using the operationalisation developed by V. Morrow (2003), the author explores the validity in the case of children of social networks, sense of belonging and local identity community, and civic engagement as features and components of social capital. The evidence shows that each of these features has its particularity when children and young people are concerned, which has to be kept in mind when using social capital as theoretical concept and methodological tool. The validity of the concept of social capital in its broader terms for children is questioned in the paper. Considering different kinds of social constraints, one could ask whether it would be more helpful to think about the defined components as "social resources" than as "capital" when we consider children as a social group. This argument has also specific policy implications

Social Capital and Space

Rad razmatra prostorne aspekte socijalnog kapitala. U prvom delu rada razmatramo kako se prostor shvata u ključnim teorijama socijalnog kapitala. Uključene su tri grupe teorija o socijalnom kapitalu: ključni autori (Bourdieu, Coleman, Putnam), ekonomske/razvojne teorije i mrežne teorije. Analiza pokazuje da autori u različitoj meri shvataju prostor u zavisnosti od svojih teorijskih pristupa socijalnom kapitalu. Drugi deo rada je produbljena komparativna analiza dinamike socijalnog kapitala u teoriji, istraživanjima i javnoj politici. Glavni cilj ovog dela rada je da razumevanje tri prostorne dimenzije socijalnog kapitala: prostorni okvir, prostorna distanca i mobilnost aktera. Istraživanja pokazuju da prostorne determinante ne utiču isto na sve socijalne aktere i da su neki tipovi socijalnog kapitala više podložni efektima prostornih dimenzija. Posebno poglavlje je posvećeno socijalnom kapitalu i prostoru u javnoj politici. Programi javne politike su manifestacija dugotrajne političke tendencije stvaranja željenih formi društvenosti preinačavanjem prostornih determinanti. U javnopolitičkim programima socijalnog urbanizma dominira model lokalne zajednice koja predstavlja optimalni okvir za razvoj socijalnog kapitala.The paper explores the spatial aspects of social capital. In the first part of the paper we provide an overview of the space dimension in relevant theories of social capital. Three approaches to social capital are included: key theories (Bourdieu, Coleman, Putnam), economic/ development theories and network theories. Differences among the authors with regard to spatial dimensions are based on different conceptualizations of social capital. The second part of the paper is an in-depth comparative analysis of spatial dynamics of social capital in theory, research and public policy. The main goal of this part of the paper is to examine three spatial dimensions of social capital: spatial framework, space distance and mobility of social agents. The research-based results indicate that space does not have the same effect on different social agents and that some types of social capital are more determined by space dimensions. The last chapter focuses on the public policy conceptualizion of social capital and space. The space-based manipulation of social capital in public policy reflects the long-lasting political tendency to modify sociability through the manipulation of spatial factors. The programs of social urbanism are based on the local community as the optimal spatial framework for social capital development

Development of a sampling plan for Myzus persicae (Hemiptera : Aphidoidea) and its predator Macrolophus costalis (Hemiptera : Miridae) on tobacco

A tobacco field in Greece was sampled during the 2001 and 2002 growing seasons to assess the seasonal trends in densities and spatial distributions of the aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and its predatory mirid Macrolophus costalis (Fieber). On repeated occasions between June Oust after the transplantation) and September Oust before harvest), 20 tobacco leaves (10 from the upper and 10 from the lower plant part) were taken from randomly chosen plants. These leaves were sampled for aphids and mirids. In both years, the highest aphid densities were recorded during July and August, while aphid numbers were low in September. In contrast, the majority of M costalis individuals were found during September when aphid numbers were low. Significantly more M persieae individuals were found in the upper part of the plants, whereas significantly more M costalis individuals were found in the lower part of the plants. As indicated by Taylor's Power Law estimates, both species were aggregated in their spatial distributions among sampling units (leaves). Wilson and Room's model, based on the Taylor's estimates, was used to calculate the mean number of aphids and mirids, from the proportion of sampling units (leaves) that had gt 0 individuals of each species. This model provided a satisfactory fit of the data for both the aphid and the mirid. In addition, Wilson and Room's model was successfully used to predict the mean number of aphids and mirids in a series of samples that were carried out in the same area between June and September 2003 for model validation. Finally, equations are given for the calculation of precision in estimating the mean number of aphids or mirids per sampling unit, and the required sample size for a given level of precision

APHIDIUS NEES (HYMENOPTERA, BRACONIDAE, APHIDIINAE) IN SERBIA: KEY TO SPECIES IDENTIFICATION INCLUDING PARASITOID – APHID HOST LIST

This study offers a comprehensive guide to the identification of 34 Aphidius species that were found in the territory of Serbia. Also, for all Aphidius species, a total of 97 aphid hosts were represented. Aphidius linosiphonis Tomanović & Starý and Aphidius balcanicus Tomanović & Petrović were described from Serbia. Aphidius ericaphidis Pike & Starý and A. banksae Kittel are allochthonous species in Serbia of North American and Asian origin, respectively. For both allochthonous species, the first records for the fauna of Europe were from Serbia

Identifiers for structural warnings of malfunction in power grid networks

Although its uninterrupted supply is essential for everyday life, the electricity occasionally experiences disruptions and outages. The work presented in the current paper aims to initiate the research to design a strategy based on advanced approaches of algebraic topology to prevent such malfunctions in a power grid network. Simplicial complexes are constructed to identify higher-order structures embedded in a network and, alongside a new algorithm for identifying delegates of the simplicial complex, are intended to pinpoint each element of the power grid network to its natural layer. Results of this methodology for analysis of a power grid network can single out its elements that are at risk to cause cascade problems which can result in unintentional islanding and blackouts. Further development of the outcomes of research can find implementation in the algorithms of the energy informatics research applications

Rational Averaged Gauss Quadrature Rules

It is important to be able to estimate the quadrature error in Gauss rules. Several approaches have been developed, including the evaluation of associated Gauss-Kronrod rules (if they exist), or the associated averaged Gauss and generalized averaged Gauss rules. Integrals with certain integrands can be approximated more accurately by rational Gauss rules than by Gauss rules. This paper introduces associated rational averaged Gauss rules and rational generalized averaged Gauss rules, which can be used to estimate the error in rational Gauss rules. Also rational Gauss-Kronrod rules are discussed. Computed examples illustrate the accuracy of the error estimates determined by these quadrature rules