SYSTEM OF METHODICAL APPROACHES AND METHODS OF COMPLEX MARKETING RESEARCHES IN FOOD ENTERPRISES

The methodology for assessing the quality of public service at catering firms should be based on a comparison of consumer expectations and perceptions in relation to the service process, that is, the quality coefficient is determined as the difference between perception and expectations. In this case, the quality factor can be determined both by the indicator of interest and by the enterprise as a whole. Consequently, the criteria for assessing the quality of public service at catering establishments must be formed taking into account its type and class. To obtain primary information from consumers, it is necessary to organize and conduct a sociological study. When choosing a method of sociological research, it is advisable to give preference to interviews, since this is a rather flexible method of collecting information, based on direct contact between the interviewer and the respondent. The main advantage of the interview, in comparison with the questionnaire, is the ability to control the perception and understanding of the questions by the respondent; if necessary, the interviewer can explain the questions asked, and also clarify the respondent's point of view with the help of additional questions.When conducting a sociological research by the interview method, the requirements for the formation of a questionnaire are significantly reduced. The list of questions asked to respondents should be expanded with personal questions, the purpose of which is to reflect: age, social status, average monthly income. These questions are necessary to represent the target group of consumers of public catering services.The methodology for assessing the quality of public service at catering firms should be based on a comparison of consumer expectations and perceptions in relation to the service process, that is, the quality coefficient is determined as the difference between perception and expectations. In this case, the quality factor can be determined both by the indicator of interest and by the enterprise as a whole. Consequently, the criteria for assessing the quality of public service at catering establishments must be formed taking into account its type and class. To obtain primary information from consumers, it is necessary to organize and conduct a sociological study. When choosing a method of sociological research, it is advisable to give preference to interviews, since this is a rather flexible method of collecting information, based on direct contact between the interviewer and the respondent. The main advantage of the interview, in comparison with the questionnaire, is the ability to control the perception and understanding of the questions by the respondent; if necessary, the interviewer can explain the questions asked, and also clarify the respondent's point of view with the help of additional questions.When conducting a sociological research by the interview method, the requirements for the formation of a questionnaire are significantly reduced. The list of questions asked to respondents should be expanded with personal questions, the purpose of which is to reflect: age, social status, average monthly income. These questions are necessary to represent the target group of consumers of public catering services

Effective Islamic Spiritual Care: Foundations and Practices of Imams and Other Muslim Spiritual Caregivers

In Canada, Muslim communities turn to Muslim spiritual caregivers, especially to imams, for help with various problems. Research has shown that many Muslim spiritual caregivers are familiar with the Arabic language and Islamic values but have limited practice in Islamic counseling and psychotherapy. This study is intended to examine the effectiveness of Muslim spiritual caregivers in the context of Canadian Muslims’ health care. Cross-sectional ethnographic research with fifteen Muslim spiritual caregivers and interviews with them were conducted. Our results show that even though the majority of Muslim spiritual caregivers have no formal training in Western psychotherapy intervention, they nonetheless play a major role in the promotion of Muslims’ health. However, they can be more effective if they apply social sciences in their practice. Results of the study show that it is necessary to bridge the gap between Islamic intervention and contemporary psychotherapy paradigms in order to make Islamic spiritual care more effective

Is Mn-Bound Substrate Water Protonated in the S2 State of Photosystem II?

In spite of great progress in resolving the geometric structure of the water-splitting Mn4OxCa cluster in photosystem II, the binding sites and modes of the two substrate water molecules are still insufficiently characterized. While time-resolved membrane-inlet mass spectrometry measurements indicate that both substrate water molecules are bound to the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) in the S2 and S3 states (Hendry and Wydrzynski in Biochemistry 41:13328–13334, 2002), it is not known (1) if they are both Mn-bound, (2) if they are terminal or bridging ligands, and (3) in what protonation state they are bound in the different oxidation states Si (i = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) of the OEC. By employing 17O hyperfine sublevel correlation (HYSCORE) spectroscopy we recently demonstrated that in the S2 state there is only one (type of) Mn-bound oxygen that is water exchangeable. We therefore tentatively identified this oxygen as one substrate ‘water’ molecule, and on the basis of the finding that it has a hyperfine interaction of about 10 MHz with the electron spin of the Mn4OxCa cluster, we suggest that it is bound as a Mn–O–Mn bridge within a bis-μ2 oxo-bridged unit (Su et al. in J Am Chem Soc 130:786–787, 2008). Employing pulse electron paramagnetic resonance, 1H/2H Mims electron-nuclear double resonance and 2H-HYSCORE spectroscopies together with 1H/2H-exchange here, we test this hypothesis by probing the protonation state of this exchangeable oxygen. We conclude that this oxygen is fully deprotonated. This result is discussed in the light of earlier reports in the literature

Europos Sąjungos vaidmuo konflikto sprendime: Pietų Osetija ir Krymo konfliktai

The master thesis presents the analysis of the role of the European Union in Conflict Resolution: South Ossetia and Crimea conflicts. The development of the mediation in the policy of the EU was achieved through several taken steps like the Rapid Reaction Mechanism (2001), the Instrument for Stability (2006), ESDP missions and Commission Delegations and etc. Most of the scholar studies done concerning the EU as a peace mediator in South Ossetia conflict in a broad way, however, the role of the EU in Crimea conflict has limited context and does not include much information about the mediation attempts of the Union in Ukraine. The aim of the thesis is to analyse the EU as a peace mediator in both conflicts and present the whole mediation process from the goal up to the limitations. The goal of the thesis is allowed to analyze the mediation capacity of the EU in these two conflicts, and it is expanded by several tasks that include the review of the conflict and conflict resolution, mediation, its strategies and effectiveness as well as the policy of the Union towards Ukraine and Georgia and the EU as a peace mediator separately in South Ossetia and Crimea conflicts. The liberal institutionalism theory is used for the explanation of the integration process into the EU. However, the limitations of the liberal institutionalism revealed the weakness of the theory in the explanation of security issues. The paper focuses on primary data collected using the method of research of several books, documents, articles, agreements, treaties and official website information. The result of the analyses showed that the EU as a peace mediator could be successful only in South Ossetia conflict but not in the Crimean case. The main reason for this result is the non-involvement of the EU into the mediation process as a Union. In Georgian–Russian war (2008), the EU, acted as a mediator and achieved the success by signing Sarkozy-Medvedev peace agreement. When the conflict started in Ukraine (2014) the EU was not involved as a Union but only limited by Germany and France’s efforts on the negotiations process. The Geneva format (EU, USA, Russia, and Ukraine) is considered to be more successful if it would be implemented as it includes the EU as anorganization but not separate states, however, the current negotiations are done through the Minsk process (OSCE, Russia, DPR, LPR) which did not prove the effectiveness of the negotiations up to present days. Therefore the mediation capacity of the EU in Ukraine is obviously limited and notsuccessful.Magistro darbas pateikia Europos Sąungos vaidmens konflikto sprendime analizę: Pietų Osetijos ir Krymo konfliktus. Tarpininkavimo augimas Europos Sąjungos politikoje buvo pasiektas per keletą ėjimų, tokių kaip ,,Greitosios reakcijos mechanizmas” (2001), Pastovumo įrankis (2006), Europiečių saugumo politikos misijos, Komisijos delegacijos ir kita. Daugiausia mokslinių studijų plačiąją prasme susirūpino ES tarsi viešosios tvarkos tarpininke Pietų Osetijos konflikte. Deja, ES vaidmuo Krymo konflikte buvo riboto konteksto. Jis neteikė daug informacijos apie Ukrainos Sąjungos tarpininkavimo pastangas. Šio darbo tikslas išnagrinėti ES kaip viešosios tvarkos tarpininkę abiejuose konfliktų pusėse ir pristatyti visą tarpininkavimo procesą nuo tikslo iki ribojimų. Darbo uždavinys leidžia nagrinėti ES tarpininkavimo kompetenciją šiuose dviejuose konfliktuose, ir ją išplėtoja keletas uždavinių, apimančių konflikto apžvalgą ir sprendimą, tarpininkavimą, jo strategijas ir veiksmingumą, taip pat Ukrainos ir Gruzijos Sąjungos politiką, yra atskirai pateikiami ES tarsi tarpininkės konfliktai Pietų Osetijoje ir Kryme. Liberali institucionalizmo teorija naudojama ES integracijos procesui apibrėžti. Deja, liberalaus institucionalizmo apribojimai svarstomų saugumo problemų apibrėžime atskleidė teorijos nepagrįstumą. Darbe susikoncentruojama ties pirminiais keleto knygų, dokumentų, straipsnių, sutarčių, susitarimų ir oficialių svetainių informacijos duomenimis, surinktais pasitelkiant tyrinėjimo metodą. Tyrimų rezultatai parodė, kad ES tarsi tarpininkė galėtų būti sėkminga Pietų Osetijos konflikte, tačiau tik ne Krymo atveju. Pagrindinė šio rezultato priežastis yra ES, kaip Sąjungos neįsitraukimas į tarpininkavimo procesą. Gruzijos-Rusijos kare (2008), ES veikė tarsi tarpininkė ir pasiekė trumpas paliaubas Sarkozy ir Medvedevui pasirašant taikos sutartį. Kai Ukrainoje (2014) prasidėjo konfliktas, ES nebuvo įtraukta kaip Sąjunga, tačiau apribota tik Vokietijos ir Prancūzijos pastangomis derybų procese. Ženevos pobūdis (ES, JAV, Rusija ir Ukraina) būtų laikomas sėkmingesnis, jeigu tai būtų įvykdyta taip, kaip tai sudaro ne atskiros tautos, o ES, deja, dabartinės derybos įvyko Minsko proceso metu (Saugumo organizavimo ir bendradarbiavimo Europoje, Rusijoje, DTS, LPR), kurios iki šių dienų neįrodė veiksmingumo. Taigi, ES tarpininkavimo kompetencija Ukrainoje yra akivaizdžiai suvaržyta ir nesėkming

Untersuchungen zum Mechanismus der photosynthetischen Wasseroxidation im thermophilen Cyanobakterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus und Spinat

In Cyanobakterien und Pflanzen erfolgt die Spaltung von Wasser in molekularen Sauerstoff, vier Protonen und vier Elektronen in einem Pigment-Protein Komplex, der Teil der Thylakoidmembran ist und als Photosystem II (PS II) bezeichnet wird. Die Wasserspaltung wird von einem funktionellen Teil des PS II katalysiert, der als Sauerstoff entwickelnder Komplex ( Oxygen Evolving Complex , OEC) bekannt ist und dessen katalytisches Zentrum von einem Mn4OxCa-Komplex gebildet wird. Der OEC durchläuft während der Wasseroxidation fünf Redoxzustände (S-Zustände). Die kürzlich veröffentlichten Kristallstrukturen von PS II aus den thermophilen Cyanobakterien Thermosynechococcus elongatus (T. elongatus) und T. vulcanus liefern Informationen über die komplexe Gesamtstruktur von PS II und die Anordnung vieler Kofaktoren. Bis heute existiert keine Kristallstruktur für PS II aus höherer Pflanzen. Da bisher die meisten funktionellen Untersuchungen an PS II Komplexen aus Spinat durchgeführt wurden, sind für eingehende Untersuchungen von Struktur-Funktionsbeziehungen vergleichende Funktionsstudien an PS II Komplexen aus Cyanobakterien und höheren Pflanzen erforderlich. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Untersuchung von Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschieden beim Mechanismus der Sauerstoff-Entwicklung in T. elongatus und Spinat. Hierfür wurden insbesondere blitzinduzierte Sauerstoff-Oszillationsmuster ( Flash Induced Oxygen evolution Patterns , FIOPs) unter verschiedensten Bedingungen gemessen und im Rahmen eines erweiterten Kok-Modells analysiert. Es wurden folgende Ergebnisse erzielt: a) Die Temperatur-Abhängigkeiten der miss - und double hit -Wahrscheinlichkeiten, sowie die Lebensdauern der S-Zustände in beiden Organismen deuten auf strukturelle Unterschiede der Akzeptorseite von PS II und in der Umgebung des Tyrosin-Radikals YDox hin. b) Untersuchungen zu den Effekten von einem H/D Isotopen-Austausch auf die Reaktionen des OEC bei verschiedenen Temperaturen und pL-Werten (L = H oder D) zeigen, dass hierdurch die Reaktionen im PS II beider Organismen in vergleichbarer Weise beeinflusst werden. Im Gegensatz zu Spinat-Thylakoiden ist in Thylakoiden von T. elongatus aber YDox, das bei pH 7,0 stabil ist, bei pH 8,0 labil und wird im Dunkeln bei Raumtemperatur innerhalb einer Stunde reduziert. c) Durch Inkubation mit den exogenen Reduktionsmitteln NH2OH, N2H4 und NO wurde zum ersten Mal gezeigt, dass (i) Arrhenius-Diagramme für NH2OH induzierte S1 ? S0 and S0 ? S-1 Übergänge im OEC von Spinat-Thylakoiden einen Knickpunkt bei 29°C aufweisen. Unterhalb dieser Temperatur sind Aktivierungsenergie und prä-exonentielle Faktoren unabhängig von S-Zustand, wogegen oberhalb von 29°C beide Faktoren vom Redoxzustand abhängig sind. (ii) Das S-2 EPR Multiline -Signal wurde erstmals in monomeren und dimeren PS II core -Komplexen von T. elongatus durch NO -Inkubation erhalten. Kleine, reproduzierbare Verschiebungen einiger Tieffeld-Übergänge in den S-2 EPR- Multiline -Signalen von T. elongatus im Vergleich zu dem Spinat-Signal weisen auf leichte Unterschiede bei der Koordinations-Geometrie und/oder den Liganden des Mn4OxCa-Komplexes zwischen thermophilen Cyanobakterien und höheren Pflanzen hin. (iii) FIOPs von N2H4-reduzierten Thylakoiden von T. elongatus zeigen eine Besetzung des S-3 -Zustandes von bis zu ~70% an; die Stabilität dieses Redoxzustandes macht die Existenz eines Mn4(II4)-Komplexes für diesen Zustand unwahrscheinlich. Darüber hinaus weist die numerische Analyse der FIOPs von mit Hydrazin reduziertem PS II auf die Existenz von S-4- und S-5- Redoxzuständen hin. Diese Ergebnisse unterstützen die Zuordnung der Mangan-Oxidationszustände Mn4(III2,IV2) für den S1-Zustand.In cyanobacteria and plants photosynthetic water oxidation into molecular oxygen and four protons takes place in the oxygen evolving complex (OEC) of the photosystem II (PS II). The water cleavage to molecular oxygen is catalyzed by Mn4OxCa complex of the OEC, which undergoes five redox transitions (S states) during this process. The recently published crystal structure of PS II from thermophilic cyanobacteria Thermosynechococcus elongatus (T. elongatus) and T. vulcanus provide information on the overall structure and the location of many cofactors at resolutions of 3.8 Å and 3.7 Å (Zouni et al., 2001;Kamiya and Shen, 2003). However, a crystal structure of PS II complex from higher plants was not solved so far . That is why comparison of the photosynthetic processes between cyanobacteria and higher plants is very important. The aim of this work was to investigate similarities and differences in the mechanism of the oxygen evolution in T. elongatus and spinach. The method of the Flash Induced Oxygen evolution Patterns (FIOPs) was used in combination with numeric analysis in a framework of an extended Kok-model for detailed comparative studies of the S states transitions in thylakoids from T. elongatus and from spinach. Additionally, the temperature dependencies of the miss and double hit probabilities and of the S-state lifetimes in T. elongatus and spinach were compared. These studies reveals clear differences on the acceptor side of PSII, which are most likely related to the elevated growth temperature of T. elongatus. Furthermore, slight differences in the redox potential of YD/YDox have been found. The studies on the H/D isotope exchange in the reactions of OEC at different temperatures and pL values (L = H or D) have shown that H/D isotope exchange slightly affects reactions on the donor and acceptor side of PSII from thylakoids of spinach and T. elongatus. Further investigations have revealed that in thylakoids of T. elongatus the tyrosine radical YDox is unstable at pH 8.0, compared to pH 7.0 and becomes reduced during dark adaptation in most centers within one hour at room temperature. In marked contrast, the stability of redox state S1 of the OEC is not affected within the analyzed time domain. Additionally, the super-reduced redox states of the OEC, which were obtained by incubation of PS II samples with exogenous reductants NH2OH, N2H4 and with redox-active gas NO were characterized in this work. For the first time it has been shown that (i) Arrhenius type plots for NH2OH - induced S1 ? S0 and S0 ? S-1 transitions in OEC of spinach thylakoids reveal a break point around 29°C with S state independent activation energies and pre-exponential factors at temperatures below 29°C and the S-state dependent phase above 29°C. (ii) An EPR multiline signal, very similar but not identical to that of the S-2 state in spinach, was obtained with monomeric and dimeric PSII core complexes from T. elongatus only after incubation at - 30°C. Additionally, the small reproducible shifts of several low field peak positions of the S-2 EPR multiline signal in T. elongatus compared to spinach suggest that slight differences in the coordination geometry and/or the ligands of the manganese cluster exist between thermophilic cyanobacteria and higher plants. (iii) FIOPs of N2H4-reduced thylakoids of T. elongatus reveal ~70% of S-3 state, stability of which argues against Mn4(II4) in this redox state. Moreover, analysis of hydrazine-reduced FIOPs provides several strong indications on the existence of the S-4 and S-5 states. These results support an absolute assignment of the Mn oxidation states as Mn4(III2,IV2) in the S1 state

"The Linguistic Peculiarities of Similes in the Novel "Dombey and Son" by Charles Dickens"

The thesis deals with the issue of the linguistic peculiarities of similes in the novel "Dombey and Son" by Charles Dickens. The linguistic implication of the figurativeness of Charles Dickens in the novel "Dombey and Son" is remarkably noticed in the use of similes in different functions. Charles Dickens uses the similes with different simile markers such as pragmatically influence his readers and live in the readers imagination. They appear from the nature of the distinctive creative individuality of the writer. The similes in the novel highlight the power of linguistic change and it draws attention to either of the concepts evoked, tenor or vehicle. The imaginative similes of the novel involve inviting thoughts about one thing to another and drawing attention to the gap between what is said and what is. It makes the analysis of the formal qualities differentiating comparison, metaphor and simile important. The researcher collected 172 similes in terms of different structures and semantic features from the novel "Dombey and Son" and analysed them due to linguistic or stylistic peculiarities and presented the frequency of the various simile markers. It leads to a considered and insightful discussion or interpretation of the way figurative language operative language operates in "Dombey and Son"