Serbian Political Heritage and Its Influence on the Capacity Building in Environmental Policy

This paper analyzes the construction and capacity building of environmental policy in post-communist Serbia. It will be argued that Serbian political heritage and limited democratic experience lead to weak political-economic progress, lack of administrative, ecological knowledge and weak civil society. The first part covers Serbian historical and political heritage, breakdown of the Yugoslav state and civil war. It will also be covered the process of Europeanization as the influential tool where different mechanisms to the EU influence the democratization outcomes of the new formed states. In the second part, Serbian environmental capacity will be analyzed and it will be suggested that environmental problems require economic, political and social responses from different government institutions and that Serbia experienced considerable political instability. Closely will be covered political, economic and social conditions that bought to these unfavorable circumstances

Is the communist ghost still alive? Participative democracy in Eastern Europe after the fall of Berlin wall: the case of post-conflict Yugoslavia and East-Central Europe

The aim of this article is to analyze application of the participatory model of democracy in the former communist countries, emphasizing influences of communist legacies. First part of paper covers basic characteristics of the participatory model of democracy and discusses communist heritage that is hypothesized to hamper development of participative democracy. In the third part of the paper goals of the investigation are defined and countries of the former communist block grouped. The last part of research presents analysis of the data obtained by the EVS research conducted on 2008. (author's abstract

TURIZAM U EKONOMSKOJ POLITICI BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE

Za razliku od ostalih djelatnosti, koje su predmet programa mjera ekonomske politike, turizam je multidisciplinarna i naučna disciplina, istovremeno ekonomska i geografska, te kao takva nameće potrebu njenog sagledavanja sa jednog i drugog aspekta. To se najbolje da sagledati kod utvrđivanja strategije razvoja turizma na određenom prostoru, posebno kada govorimo o valorizaciji u turizmu. U ovom slučaju, imamo dva aspekta valorizacije. Prvi je valorizacija prostora na kome će se odvijati turistička kretanja (izgradnja materijalne osnove, infrastrukture i suprastrukture), a drugi aspekt se javlja u momentu valorizacije izgrađenih sadržaja. Navedeno nam nameće obavezu istraživanja ta dva aspekta, odnosno nameće obavezu sagledavanja principa na kojima se zasniva odnos turizam-prostor, kao i značaj turizma za privredu zemlje. Pozitivni efekti, koji nastaju potrošnjom turista u turističkoj destinaciji, posebno stranih posjetilaca, klasifikovani su u četiri velike grupe: ekonomsku, prostornu, socijalnu i psihološku

#Bopo: The Effect of Body Positive Social Media Content on Women’s Mood and Self-compassion

Body positivity is a trending movement that promotes appreciation of one’s body, including acceptance of one’s appearance and perceived flaws. In two experiments, we compared the effects of body-positive social media content relative to idealized body content and neutral control content on young women’s psychological states. In study 1, participants were randomly assigned to view Instagram posts involving fitspiration photos, body positive photos, body positive quotes, or travel landscape photos. In study 2, participants were randomly assigned to view Instagram posts involving selfies of the same individuals’ faces with or without makeup. As predicted, viewing body positive content (body positive photos, quotes, and no-makeup selfies) resulted in better mood and self-perceptions than viewing idealized body content (fitspiration photos and selfies with makeup), especially among participants with higher disordered eating symptoms and/or low trait self-compassion, and these effects were mediated by a reduction in self-criticism. Expanding on previous research demonstrating the detrimental effects of exposure to fitspiration and other idealized images on social media, these results also provide empirical support for the benefits of exposure to content promoting body acceptance

Optical control of NMDA-receptors with a diffusible photoswitch

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) play a central role in synaptic plasticity, learning and memory, and are implicated in various neuronal disorders. We synthesized a diffusible photochromic glutamate analogue, azobenzene-triazole-glutamate (ATG), which is specific for NMDARs and functions as a photoswitchable agonist. ATG is inactive in its dark-adapted trans-isoform, but can be converted into its active cis-isoform using one-photon (near UV) or two-photon (740 nm) excitation. Irradiation with violet light photo-inactivates ATG within milliseconds, allowing agonist removal on the timescale of NMDAR deactivation. ATG is compatible with Ca2+ imaging and can be used to optically mimic synaptic coincidence detection protocols. Thus, ATG can be used like traditional caged glutamate compounds, but with the added advantages of NMDAR specificity, low antagonism of GABAR-mediated currents, and precise temporal control of agonist delivery

Analysis of the international road freight transport market in Ukraine under martial law

У статті проведено аналіз сучасного стану українського ринку міжнародних вантажних автомобільних перевезень в умовах воєнного стану та охарактеризовано оперативні, тактичні та стратегічні проблеми, з якими стикаються автотранспортні підприємства (АТП), задіяні в цьому сегменті перевезень. Незважаючи на триваючу війну з російською федерацією та негативні впливи від неї на економіку України, фінансово-економічні показники функціонування вітчизняної автотранспортної галузі демонструють позитивну динаміку, особливо в сегменті міжнародних автомобільних перевезень. Проведений аналіз обсягів перевезення вантажів за останні шістнадцять років показав, що частка перевезених вантажів автомобільним транспортом в загальному вантажообігу систематично зростає. Це обумовлено низкою глобальних та локальних тенденцій ринку міжнародних перевезень вантажів в Європі, зокрема збільшенням обсягів споживання продукції населенням, зростанням попиту на автотранспортні послуги, зручністю доставки вантажів «від дверей до дверей», розвитком мультимодальних перевезень тощо, а в Україні ще й переорієнтацією перевезень великих обсягів сільськогосподарської продукції з морського на наземний транспорт. З метою аналізу сучасного стану та прогнозування подальшого розвитку українського ринку міжнародних вантажних автомобільних перевезень, в статті побудована SWOT-матриця, яка дозволила виділити, актуальні для вітчизняних перевізників категорії для проведення стратегічного планування. Виходячи з результатів проведеного аналізу, було зроблено висновок, що сучасні геополітичні реалії вимагають розробки та впровадження нових наукових підходів, які зможуть забезпечити конкурентоспроможність вітчизняних міжнародних автоперевізників в умовах процесів євроінтеграції та підвищений ступінь захисту об’єктів автотранспортної і складської інфраструктури.The article analyses the current state of the Ukrainian market of international road freight transport under martial law and describes the operational, tactical and strategic problems faced by road transport enterprises (RTEs) involved in this segment of transport. Despite the ongoing war with the russian federation and its negative impact on the Ukrainian economy, the financial and economic indicators of the domestic road transport industry demonstrate positive dynamics, especially in the segment of international road transport. An analysis of cargo transportation volumes over the past sixteen years has shown that the share of road freight in total cargo turnover has been systematically increasing. This is due to a number of global and local trends in the international freight transport market in Europe, including an increase in the volume of consumption of products by the population, growing demand for road transport services, the convenience of door-to-door delivery, the development of multimodal transport, etc., and in Ukraine, the reorientation of large volumes of agricultural products from sea to land transport. With a view to analysing the current state and forecasting further development of the Ukrainian market of international road freight transport, the article builds a SWOT-matrix, which allowed to allocate the categories relevant for domestic carriers for strategic planning. Based on the results of the analysis, it was concluded that modern geopolitical realities require the development and implementation of new scientific approaches that will ensure the competitiveness of domestic international road carriers in the context of European integration and an increased degree of protection of road transport and warehouse infrastructure.The authors received no direct funding for this research

The factors affecting the development of pupils' reading habits

Cilj ovoga rada je utvrditi povezanost čitateljskih navika učenika s raznim čimbenicima, među kojima su obitelj, učitelji, knjižnica, mediji i vršnjaci, te pritom procijeniti njihove kauzalne odnose. U teorijskom dijelu rada predstavljaju se važnost čitanja i čitateljske navike adolescenata, a potom slijedi pregled relevantnih čimbenika razvoja čitateljskih navike djece, tj. obitelji, učitelja, knjižnice, medija i vršnjaka. Teorijski dio rada poslužio je kao osnova za provođenje istraživanja u kojem je sudjelovalo 106 učenika završnih razreda osnovne škole u Zagrebu. Utvrđeno je da učenici čitanje smatraju korisnim, najviše čitaju lektiru i sadržaje na internetu, čitaju 1-2 knjige mjesečno, a knjige koje nisu vezane uz školske obaveze čitaju uglavnom tijekom praznika, najčešće kriminalističke, pustolovne te tematike za mlade. Prema rezultatima istraživanja, majke su uložile najviše napora u razvoju čitateljskih navika učenika čitajući im, dok članovi obitelji općenito pretežno i sami vole čitati, a danas učenici rijetko pričaju s njima o pročitanome. Utvrđena je slaba uključenost učenika u odabir lektirnih djela koja uglavnom smatraju dosadnima. Također, učitelji hrvatskog jezika rijetko ukazuju na povezanost pročitanih tekstova sa svakodnevnim životom i ostalim nastavnim predmetima. Rezultati pokazuju da učitelji ostalih nastavnih predmeta rijetko motiviraju učenike na čitanje, dok se knjižnica posjećuje prvenstveno radi posudbe lektire. Utvrđeno je da učenici na internetu najčešće čitaju radi pronalaska potrebnih informacija, a preferiraju internet i za dobivanje knjiških preporuka, ali ne biraju knjige i ostale materijale za čitanje zbog njihove popularnosti na društvenim mrežama. Iako dojmove o pročitanome učenici najradije dijele s prijateljima, iz rezultata je razvidno da rijetko čitaju o temama koje zanimaju njihove prijatelje. Nisu pronađene statistički značajne razlike s obzirom na spol u zainteresiranosti za aktivnosti čitanja ni u poticanju u aktivnostima vezanima uz čitanje od strane obitelji, niti među razredima s obzirom na učestalost čitanja i utjecaj prijatelja na razvoj čitateljskih navika.The aim of this paper is to establish the relationship between students' reading habits and various factors, including family, teachers, libraries, media and peers, and to assess their causal connection. The theoretical part of this paper presents the importance of reading and adolescents' reading habits, followed by the review of the factors affecting the development of pupils' reading habits, i.e., family, teachers, library, media and peers. The theoretical part of this paper served as a basis for the conduction of the research which involved 106 pupils of the final grades of elementary school in Zagreb. The research established that pupils find reading useful, they mostly read the required reading for the class and content on the internet, they read 1-2 books a month, and the books that are not related to school duties are usually read during the school holidays, mostly crime, adventure and young adult books. According to the research results, mothers put the most effort into developing students' reading habits by reading to them, while family members in general often like to read themselves, and nowadays pupils rarely talk to them about what they have read. The research confirmed a weak involvement of pupils in the selection of the required reading for the class that they mostly consider boring. In addition, Croatian language teachers rarely indicate the connection of the texts read in class with everyday life and other teaching subjects. The results indicate that teachers in different school subjects rarely motivate pupils to read, while the library is visited primarily to borrow the required reading. It was established that pupils most often read on the internet to find the necessary information, and they also prefer the internet to get book recommendations, but they do not choose books and other reading materials because of their popularity on social media. Although pupils prefer to share their impressions of what they read with their friends, the results show that they rarely read about topics that are interesting to their friends. No statistically significant differences were found with regard to sex in interest in reading activities, nor in encouragement in reading activities by the family, nor between classes with regard to the frequency of reading and the influence of friends on the development of reading habits

Is the Communist Ghost Still Alive? - Participative Democracy in Eastern Europe after the Fall of Berlin Wall. The Case of Post-Conflict Yugoslavia and East-Central Europe

The aim of this article is to analyze application of the participatory model of democracy in the former communist countries, emphasizing influences of communist legacies. First part of paper covers basic characteristics of the participatory model of democracy and discusses communist heritage that is hypothesized to hamper development of participative democracy. In the third part of the paper goals of the investigation are defined and countries of the former communist block grouped. The last part of research presents analysis of the data obtained by the EVS research conducted on 2008