With Plamen Oresharski’s government on the verge of resigning, it remains to be seen whether Bulgaria can finally emerge from its political crisis

Bulgaria has endured political instability since 2013, following a series of protests and the resignation of the country’s government under Boyko Borisov. As Ekaterina Rashkova writes, the new government led by Plamen Oresharski, which emerged from elections in May 2013, has come under intense pressure in recent months and is widely expected to resign. She argues that with elections expected to be held later this year, Bulgaria is once again at a crossroads in terms of its future direction

On the Nilpotency in Matrix Algebras with Grassmann Entries

2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 16R10, 15A75, 16S50.In the paper we consider some classes of subalgebras of Mn(E) (for a given n and any n) for E being the Grassmann algebra. We give an estimation of the index of nilpotency of the commutators of length 2 for these classes of matrix algebras

The decline in support for Bulgaria’s Socialist Party could be the first step in a rebalancing of the country’s party system

One of the key stories to emerge from Bulgaria’s election on 5 October was the disappointing result for the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the successor to the Bulgarian Communist Party which ruled the country from 1946 until 1989. Ekaterina Rashkova writes that while Bulgaria faces substantial political problems, the result of the 2014 election may nevertheless indicate a long-term shift in the country’s balance of power which might generate some optimism for the future

Matrix Algebras with Involution and Central Polynomials

AbstractIn this paper we study central polynomials for the matrix algebra M2n(K,*) with symplectic involution *. Their form is inspired by an apporach of Formanek and Bergman for investigating matrix identities by means of commutative algebra. We continue the investigations started earlier (1999, Bull. Austral. Math. Soc.60, 467–477 ; 2000, Comm. Algebra28, 4879–4887) by trying to give a complete form of the survey for n=2,3

Involution Matrix Algebras – Identities and Growth

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 16R50, 16R10.The paper is a survey on involutions (anti-automorphisms of order two) of different kinds. Starting with the first systematic investigations on involutions of central simple algebras due to Albert the author emphasizes on their basic properties, the conditions on their existence and their correspondence with structural characteristics of the algebras. Focusing on matrix algebras a complete description of involutions of the first kind on Mn(F) is given. The full correspondence between an involution of any kind for an arbitrary central simple algebra A over a field F of characteristic 0 and an involution on Mn(A) specially defined is studied. The research mainly in the last 40 years concerning the basic properties of involutions applied to identities for matrix algebras is reviewed starting with the works of Amitsur, Rowen and including the newest results on the topic. The cocharactes, codimensions and growth of algebras with involutions are considered as well.Partially supported by Grant MM1106/2001 of the Bulgarian Foundation for Scientific Research

Political Learning and the Number of Parties: Why Age Matters

Party system fractionalization was re-invented as an unsolved puzzle after the fall of the Berlin Wall. While scholars agree that the stability of the party system is imperative for the proper functioning of democracy, many note the high number of political parties in the East European states. Still, we lack a systematic analysis of party system development in those countries. A possible reason for this gap is that extant theories on the number of parties were written with established democracies in mind and are thus unequipped to explain the dynamics taking place in young democracies. This dissertation attempts to fill this gap providing at least preliminary answers for the variation in the number of parties between new and more established democracies. My theory proposes that learning the effect of institutions is crucial to whether they actually have an effect or not and is integral to understanding the number of parties in a given system. Furthermore, I argue that certain institutional arrangements, for example the translation of votes into seats, may play a more important role than the district magnitude when present. I view learning as coming from trial-and-error experience which elite members get by political participation over time, as well as experience with a changing institutional environment both within and external to the party system as such. To test my propositions I use a three-level hierarchical model on district data of 20 European democracies. The results show that at the district level, age of democracy has a positive effect on the level of party system convergence and the effect is stronger in young democracies. The analysis further reveals that pre-electoral institutional constraints such as signatures and deposits have a positive and significant effect on party system convergence, while in the presence of EU-related events the convergence index drops, likely due to the additional incentives for political competition that such events bring. Public funding does not prove significant and the effect of age of democracy on party system convergence in mature democracies remains inconclusive as alternate specifications elicit varying results

Moving forward better marketing for a better world: a path for new research opportunities

The topic of marketing as a source of a “better world” is gaining rising importance in academia and practice. It represents an opportunity to move towards the development of a more prosperous, fair, and equitable society. Nevertheless, questions remain about how organizations could comprehensively form and nurture marketing for good. In this paper, we display a critical review of the most widely accepted theoretical approaches related to better marketing for a better world (BMBW) to seek new research perspectives. We contribute to extending prior literature by presenting its main criticalities, articulating them around three clusters of shortcomings in view of how recent literature is evolving. Based on this analysis, we then recommend avenues for future research and associated research questions to stimulate and advance further scholarly investigations

Depression - the plague of modern society

Депресията е често срещано психическо разстройство, представя се с депресивно настроение, загуба на интерес или удоволствие, намалена енергия, чувство за вина или ниска самооценка, нарушен сън или апетит и лоша концентрация. Освен това депресията често идва със симптоми на безпокойство. Тя може да доведе до различни емоционални и физически проблеми и да намали способността на човек да функционира на работното място и у дома. Депресията е различна от колебанията в настроението, които хората изпитват като част от нормалния живот. Временните емоционални отговори на предизвикателствата на ежедневието не представляват депресия. Депресията и тревожните разстройства са различни, но хората с депресия често изпитват симптоми, подобни на тези на тревожно разстройство, като нервност, раздразнителност и проблеми със съня и концентрацията. Но всяко разстройство има свои собствени причини и собствени емоционални и поведенчески симптоми. Много хора, които развиват депресия, имат история на тревожно разстройство по-рано в живота си. Няма данни, че едно разстройство причинява другото, но има ясни доказателства, че много хора страдат от двете заболявания. Депресивните разстройства включват две основни подкатегории: тежко депресивно разстройство / депресивен епизод, което включва симптоми като депресивно настроение, загуба на интерес и намалена енергия. В зависимост от броя и тежестта на симптомите депресивният епизод може да бъде категоризиран като лек, умерен или тежък. Дистимия, персистираща или хро нична форма на лека депресия. Симптомите на дистимия са подобни на депресивен период, но са склонни да бъдат по-малко интензивни и да продължават по-дълго. Депресията е рисков фактор за суицидни мисли (има много повече опити за самоубийство, отколкото завършени действия). Депресията засяга 350 милиона души. Търсенето на ограничаване на депресията и други състояния на психичното здраве се увеличават в световен мащаб.Depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, decreased energy, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, and poor concentration. Moreover, depression often comes with symptoms of anxiety. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home. Depression is different from the fluctuations in mood that people experience as a part of normal life. Temporary emotional responses to the challenges of everyday life do not constitute depression. Depression and anxiety disorders are different, but people with depression often experience symptoms similar to those of an anxiety disorder, such as nervousness, irritability, and problems sleeping and concentrating. But each disorder has its own causes and its own emotional and behavioral symptoms. Many people who develop depression have a history of an anxiety disorder earlier in life. There is no evidence one disorder causes the other, but there is clear evidence that many people suffer from both disorders. Depressive disorders include two main sub-categories: major depressive disorder/depressive episode, which involves symptoms such as depressed mood loss of interest and enjoyment, and decreased energy. Depending on the number and severity of symptoms, a depressive episode can be categorized as mild, moderate, or severe. Dysthymia, a persistent or chronic form of mild depression; the symptoms of dysthymia are similar to a depressive episode, but tend to be less in-tense and last longer. The number of persons with common mental disorders globally is going up.Depression is a risk factor for suicidal thinking (there are many more attempts at suicide than there are completed acts). Depression is estimated to affect 350 million people. The demand for curbing depression and other mental health conditions is on the rise globally

Addressing the societal challenges in organizations: the conceptualization of mindfulness capability for social justice

Social inequalities are partly caused by habitual organizational practices. In this vein, to overcome those, organizations now need to develop new organizational capabilities aimed at enhancing their attention towards societal issues. In our study, we apply the theory of mindfulness to explain how it may help organizations overcome habitual organizing that fuels social inequalities. Guided by the microfoundational perspective of organizational capability, we conceptualize individual characteristics, processes, and structures that collectively form mindfulness capability for social justice. We perceive it as an organizational capability that reflects the extent to which an organization possesses a collective social justice awareness, i.e., awareness of the impact on social justice in society through its organizational practices. We argue that, when adopted by organizations, mindfulness, by increasing the awareness of the organizational impact on society, helps notice, examine, and question the correctness of taken-for-granted organizational practices. From our perspective, this new capability will lead to changes in organizational practices that fuel social inequalities. Our study contributes to the literature on sustainable organizational development and mindfulness research in organizations. Managerial implications and future research directions are also discussed