Carbon dioxide exchange in subarctic ecosystems measured by a micrometeorological technique

Helsinki, for public criticism in Auditorium E204, Physicum (Gustaf Hällströmin kat

The charge excess and momentum spectrum of cosmic ray muons in the vertical direction

The charge excess and momentum spectrum of cosmic ray muons have been measured at 60 m above sea-level by means of the "Vertical Durham Spectrograph" which had been modi-fied in many respects (e.g. by the addition of a solid iron plug of thickness 45 cm) and re-aligned and calibrated. The effect of the multiple scattering in the magnet is found to be the most serious limitation of the instrument and methods of coping with it are investigated, among others a new statistical method. The values obtained for the charge ratio are 1.240 + 0.036 at 12 GeV/c, 1.262 + 0.031 at 23 GeV/c, 1.279 + 0.038 at 31 GeV/c, 1.208 + O.O69 at 47 GeV/c, 1.269 + u.085 at 66 GeV/c, and 1.324 + 0.111 at 102 GeV/c. These results have been combined with the results of previous workers. The best estimates thus obtained are compared with the theoretical expectations calculated by kacKeown et al. (1965a). The expectations are calculated for an empirical model of nuclear interactions including kaons, for the isobar model (Peters, 1963; Yash Pal, I963), and for the peripheral collision model (Narayan, 1964; Crossland and Powler, 1965), including the empirical low-energy pionization in the two latter models. A qualitative agreement is found between the experiments and theory in each case but quantitative conclusions cannot be drawn because of the statistical errors of the experimental results and because of uncertainty in the parameters of the models. The momentum spectrum observed agrees well with the spectrum given by Osborne et al. (1964) within the accuracy of the instrument. The underground muon spectrum observed by Vernov et al. (1965) and the spectrum of primary nuclei measured by the satellite Proton I (Grigorov et al., 1965; Vernov, 1965) disagree with the present results

Sex trade, social and legal aspect of the phenomena and the Albanian criminal legislation provisions

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects of Article 113 of the Albanian Criminal Code on women. This article appears to be gender neutral, but it’s enforcement affects women disproportionately and face them with forms of indirect gender discrimination. Through monitoring of Tirana Judicial District Court’s decisions, with object article 113 of the ACC, “Prostitution”, for a four year period from 2010 through 2013 and interviews with women who have exercised prostitution, there are brought in attention the profiles of the individuals who exercise prostitution and also social aspects of this phenomena. The hypothesis raised in this paper is that the profile of an individual who exercises prostitution is a vulnerable woman, with low education, unemployed, with low income, who is faced with family and social problems. This paper analyses the relation between the social aspects and legal dynamics of article 113 of ACC. The changes of 2012 introduced in the article 113 of the ACC brought sanctions for persons who buy the service of prostitution reflecting the process of social changes and understanding of gender equality. The issue of the next steps to address this phenomenon is analysed in this article too

Tourism and Social Media, Key Instruments in Market Economy

Being one of the “mega trends” that has significantly impacted the tourism system, the role and use of social media in travelers' decision making and in tourism operations and management have been widely discussed in tourism and hospitality research. This study reviews and analyzes all extant social media in tourism as a key instrument. Keywords: tourism, social media DOI: 10.7176/JTHS/54-05 Publication date: February 28th 202

Social Security and Taxation

Some people who get Social Security must pay federal income taxes on their benefits. But, no one pays taxes on more than 85 percent of their Social Security benefits. Nearly 90% of individuals over age 65 rely on Social Security income to pay for a large portion of living expenses throughout their retirement years. The federal government makes this benefit available to those who have worked and contributed to the system for a certain number of years, but the total monthly benefit varies from person to person. In Europe, the competence for social security and the right to levy income tax lie with the country of employment in cross-border matters. This has two disadvantages. First, the Employment Principle distorts active persons' choice of place of work. Second, the employment-based regulation of state competencies cannot be applied to non-active persons. The Treaty of Maastricht, however, confers the right of free movement to all citizens of the Union. Against this background, this paper pleads for a reform in European policy coordination. The Employment Principle should be replaced with the Principle of Delayed Integration where cross-border matters are concerned. Keywords: Social security and taxation , Employment Principle, Delayed Integration, Origin Principle, free movement etc

E- Banking In Financial Service in Albania

The business environment today is characterized by strong competitive pressures; therefore most companies focus their efforts in maintaining a satisfied customer base. There is a full coherence between management and marketing theorists on the importance of service quality as a key to business success.Companies which produce high quality service also have higher economic returns than their competitors, who are not so oriented services.This is particularly true in financial services where deregulation has created an environment with multiple choices for bank costumers, in meeting their financial needs. In response to this, many financial institutions are focusing their strategies to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty through quality consumer services.Achieving consumer satisfaction via internet banking has found widespread support in the theoretical literature. This makes it imperative to empirical analysis results which will help improve work and management.In this context the main problem of this study will remain the question. How satisfied are customers with quality banking services and does improvement of these services leads to increased customer satisfaction. The study is applied taking into analysis two banks. Raiffeisen Bank (RZB) and National Commercial Bank (BKT).Data Are analyzed using descriptive statistics These data are presented in tables and graphs. Questionnaire include demographic data and consumer questions which aim to attract their opinion about the five key dimensions 1. Reliability, 2. Accountability, 3. Readiness to provide timely service, 4. Return of banking services from tangible to intangible in consumer banking, 5. Sensitivity. Assessment of consumer expectations banking is done with scale from much worse than we expected worse than expected , as expected in much better than expected.

A CAUSAL ANALYSIS OF THE DEFENCE-GROWTH RELATIONSHIPS: EVIDENCE FROM THE BALKANS

The causal relationships between military burden and economic growth have attracted considerable interest of academics, scholars and practitioners during the last three decades. This survey is hoping to contribute to the existing pool of literature by investigating the causal links between defence spending and economic growth for three developing Balkan countries (Bulgaria, Romania and Albania) and their mature counterpart in the Balkan Peninsula (Greece) during the period 1988-2009. Empirical results imply that there are no bilateral links between the tested variables for any of the tested countries. However, findings indicate the presence of one-way causal links running from military expenditures to GDP only for Bulgaria and Albania, implying the significant impact of defence burden on growth for these countries. On the other hand, empirical results for Greece and Romania suggest that defence spending and GDP growth are independent, which favours neutrality hypothesis. Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that we would expect to find significant links especially in the case of Greece, due to the fact that the country presents the highest defence expenditures in the Balkan region for the last fifteen years. These contradictory results could be due to different levels of maturity between the tested countries but it could also be attributed to temporary changes of accounting practises (i.e. recording expenses when military material was ordered rather than received, as evidenced in the case of Greece in the late 1990’s by government officials). These accounting changes could be the obstacle in some cases (e.g. Greece) to provide empirical evidence of the links between defence burden and economic growth

Domestic Violence, Institutional Response and challenges in Addressing Domestic Violence in Albania

Domestic violence in Albania continuous to be a concerned issue. Although new civil and criminal legislation legislation is approved aiming to make the law in compliance with international standards, the facts and figures have an increasing trend. The non effectiveness in the enforcement of the civil and criminal legislation is analysed in relation to the responsibilities of the responsible authorities and the role of community in Albania in addressing this problem. The aim of this article is to identify the gaps in the fulfilment of responsibilities by actors and mentality which effects the reaction of community and to recommend interventions aiming to improve the situation of women and children as the members of the family who are mostly faced with violence in family relations. The positive steps undertaken in addressing domestic violence are also analysed in this article. Having the possibility to work and support the victims of domestic violence, the author has used her everyday experience giving the problems through real stories. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n1s1p45

Kohti parempaa asiakaskokemusta: Asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen käynnistäminen B2B-yrityksessä

Yhä useammat yritykset tunnistavat, että asiakaskokemus on merkittävä tekijä yritysten liiketoiminnan kannalta. Myös käytännön toimijat korostavat laajalti erinomaista asiakaskokemusta liiketoimintavalttina B2B-yrityksille. Vaikka asiakaskokemus onkin aiheena trendikäs, vasta puolet B2B-yrityksistä johtaa sitä jollain tavalla. Tämä johtuu ainakin osittain asiantuntemuksen puutteesta, sillä ymmärrys asiakaskokemuksen johtamisesta on yhä hyvin rajallista niin käytännön kuin teoriankin osalta. B2C-asiakaskokemuksen akateeminen tutkimus on lisääntynyt merkittävästi viimeisen vuosikymmenen aikana, mutta B2B-tutkimuksen osalta samanlaista kasvua ei ole tapahtunut. Jotta yritykset saataisiin käytännössä johtamaan asiakaskokemusta, tarvittaisiin lisää tietoa sen aloittamisesta erityisesti B2B-liiketoiminnassa. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on luoda viitekehys B2B-asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen käynnistämiseen teknisen tukkukaupan alalla. B2B-asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen käynnistämistä lähestytään asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen olennaisten osa-alueiden kautta. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys perustuu asiakaskokemuksen ja asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen tutkimukseen. Teoriaosuus tarkastelee B2B-asiakaskokemuksen luonnetta ja tunnistaa B2B-asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen käynnistämisen kannalta keskeisiä elementtejä. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys auttaa tarkastelemaan B2B-asiakaskokemuksen johtamista ja sen käynnistämistä systemaattisesti. Tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisena haastattelututkimuksena, jotta B2B-asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen käynnistämisestä saatiin mahdollisimman monipuolinen ja syvällinen käsitys. Tutkimusmenetelmänä hyödynnettiin puolistrukturoitua teemahaastattelua. Aiheen tähänastinen tutkimuksen rajallisuuden takia tässä tutkimuksessa käytettiin abduktiivista tutkimusotetta. Tutkimuksessa haastateltiin yhtätoista työntekijää teknisen tukkukaupan alalta valitusta kohdeyrityksestä. Aineiston sisällönanalyysissä määritettiin asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen käynnistämisen kannalta tärkeimmät osa-alueet ja mahdolliset haasteet. B2B-asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen osa-alueet jaettiin kolmeen kategoriaan riippuen niiden kriittisyydestä käynnistämisen kannalta. Tuloksista tunnistettiin keskeisten osa-alueiden välisiä suhteita ja määritettiin tarvittavat käytännön toimet kullakin osa-alueella. Asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen käynnistämisen haasteet kategorisoitiin neljään eri teemaan. Työntekijäryhmien asiakaskokemuksen johtamiseen liittyviä mielipide-eroja käsiteltiin sekä lähtötilanteeseen vaikuttavana tekijänä että mahdollisena haasteena. Tutkimuksen tuloksena luotu B2B-asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen käynnistämisen viitekehys osoittaa keinot onnistuneeseen asiakaskokemuksen johtamisen käynnistämiseen esittämällä käynnistämisen kannalta olennaiset osa-alueet ja niiden roolit. Tutkimuksen perusteella on selvää, että B2B- ja B2C-asiakaskokemuksen tutkimukset on tärkeä erottaa, koska nämä kaksi liiketoimintamallia eroavat merkittävästi toisistaan. Tämä tutkimus lisää ymmärrystä B2B-asiakaskokemuksen johtamisesta ja tarjoaa käytännön viitekehyksen sen aloittamiseen, auttaen yrityksiä luomaan oman mallinsa asiakaskokemuksen johtamiseksi