Intolerance in the Media and Representations of the Catholic Church

Intolerance toward Christians in Europe including Slovenia is increasing and experts are not dealing with it sufficiently. The media plays a key role in disseminating information and shaping social representations. The fact that the media, due to the nature of their action, will always be in conflict with the Church, must not be a reason for intolerance. In Slovenia, the media are the central creators of negative opinions about the Church. They are very sophisticated in spreading Christianophobia. The journalists with the most published articles with negative connotations regarding the Church create negative social representations. Negative topics that are most often associated with the Church in the media are sexual abuse, money and politics. An analysis of the connotation and topic of the articles shows that the serious socio-political themes of the Church are neglected in the media. The local media mostly write positively about the Church, as they are aware of specific events, while the national media write about it negatively since they are often distant from specific events and usually evaluate them according to editorial policy criteria, and not according to professional arguments and varied opinions. The location of events covered negatively in articles happen both within and outside Slovenia. Most negative articles do not include photos; however, tabloids usually include them. By reducing the dissemination of negative and discriminatory messages about the Church and raising the ethics of reporting, intolerance towards Christians and other minorities will decrease

Services, Practices, Characteristics and Other Factors Affecting a Farmer\u27s Selection of a Farm Supply or Marketing Firm

The difference between success and failure of a business can often be attributed to whether or not the customer is served in the manner he or she wants. Therefore, it is very important for farm supply and marketing firms to know what services, practices and products their customers want and to do all within reason to serve those needs. Sometimes distinctions must be made between customer wants and customer needs and sometimes it is not reasonable to try to serve every nee, but most of a customer’s needs must be met or he or she will shop elsewhere. This is especially important with the technological advancements and the shift in factor inputs from labor to capital. These changes have caused farmers to become more reliant on farm supply and marketing firms and more selective to whom they will give their trust and business. Therefore it is important to those serving the farmers to know the factors that influence a majority of farmer patrons and their preference ranking of farm services. Understanding these factors which affect farmer patronage, the agri-business industry can adjust to better serve present and future farmers of South Dakota and the nation. The main focus of the research is on the farm people of South Dakota. Special attention is given to any differences in factors influencing patronage decisions due to the age of the respondent, location of the farm within the state, and the size of the operation measured by average annual sales. Cooperatives provide an alternative to the independent or company store in the area of farm supply and grain marketing. Because of their importance, cooperatives should be given special attention. Of particular concern to the farmer patron is the handling of deferred patronage refunds. Alternatives are available and should be examined in greater detail. The two possibilities included in this research are repayment (1) to beneficiary or estate and (2) at age 65. Uncertainty of what farmer are seeking in their supply and marketing firms exists among agri-business firms. Therefore, it is important for the agri-business firm to be aware of the farm patrons’ attitudes so they can serve farmers in the way they desire

Factors that Determine Where a Farmer Buys and Sells

The main objectives of the survey were to determine what farm patrons looked for when choosing a farm supply or grain marketing firm and to determine the attitudes of farmers when using marketing services and purchasing supplies. The following factors and attitudes were considered: 1. The ranking of present services, practices, and other characteristics influencing a farmer’s choice of who receives his patronage. 2. The effect of various practices, characteristics, and actions that influence a farmer’s choice of a business establishment. These include management’s actions and the personalities of management and employees, neighbors’ actions and rumors, size of the firm, convenience of the firm (facilities and location), and availability of credits and discounts. 3. Farmers’ attitudes toward cooperatives as compared to independents and toward the handling of deferred patronage refunds. 4. Farmers’ attitudes about pricing and marketing of their grain. 5. The important services which farmers may desire from marketing and farm supply firms in the future

On the Roman domination in the lexicographic product of graphs

AbstractA Roman dominating function of a graph G=(V,E) is a function f:V→{0,1,2} such that every vertex with f(v)=0 is adjacent to some vertex with f(v)=2. The Roman domination number of G is the minimum of w(f)=∑v∈Vf(v) over all such functions. Using a new concept of the so-called dominating couple we establish the Roman domination number of the lexicographic product of graphs. We also characterize Roman graphs among the lexicographic product of graphs

Blanka BOŠNJAK, 2015: Med sodobnostjo in tradicijo. Maribor: Založba Pivec. 200 str.

The author presents Blanka Bošnjak's scientific monograph, Between modernity and tradition (2015)

Stanje raziskav o proznih delih sodobnih slovenskih pisateljic

Članek prinaša vpogled v sodobnejše stanje raziskav na področju proznih del sodobnih slovenskih pisateljic. Na Slovenskem so tovrstne raziskave v primerjavi z nekaterimi drugimi evropskimi državami (npr. Nemčijo, Anglijo in Francijo) začele nastajati razmeroma pozno. Interes za t. i. žensko pisavo pa je vedno bolj izrazit. Dela sodobnih slovenskih pisateljic so postala raziskovalno zanimiva, kar dokazujejo številne znanstvene monografije, članki, literarne kritike, recenzije, nenazadnje pa tudi diplomska in magistrska dela ter doktorske disertacije. The article provides an insight into the present state of research in prose works written by contemporary Slovenian female writers. In Slovenia, this kind of research started to emerge relatively late compared to some other European countries (e.g. Germany, England and France). However, interest in the so-called women’s writing has been growing. Works by contemporary Slovenian female writers have become an interesting topic of research, as evidenced by numerous scientific monographs, articles, literary criticisms, reviews and, last but not least, bachelor’s and master’s theses and doctoral dissertations