CONSEQUENCES OF THE TWO RECORD YEARS OF CEREAL INTERVENTION IN HUNGARY

In this paper, problems connected to the adaptation of EU cereal intervention in Hungary are discussed. Statistical evidence is provided about the two record years of intervention in Hungary proving that farmers did not take part in intervention though the system was sought to be tailored to farmers needs. Intervention purchases took place at the wholesale level and traders were the most active participants in both intervention periods. This dynamic intervention activity of traders will significantly alter the Hungarian trade sector by bringing it closer to the physical processes of the cereal chain. As to the size of intervention, the great volume of the purchase of maize has resulted in an exceptionally severe problem considering the large surplus of Hungarian cereals. Recently, the Commission hampered maize intervention in Hungary by excluding this crop from cereals eligible for intervention. This measure is criticised in the paper, as we deem it unnecessary in recent market conditions, and in our view it doesn't make up the compulsory need for a complex reconsideration of recent EU cereal policy on the long term.EU cereal policy, cereal intervention, maize intervention, Hungary, Agricultural and Food Policy,

Does dispositional mindfulness predict perceived stress in daily life?

Chronic stress in the mind-body system leads to frequent activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and sympathetic-adreno-medullar axes, creating excessive inflammation. This in turn increases a person’s vulnerability for a host of conditions that take root in the “common soil” of inflammation including anxiety disorders, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, major depressive disorder, obesity, asthma, and even the common cold. Mindful awareness, a purposeful, present moment awareness that is non-judgmental, likely serves as a protective factor against perceived stress. According to the mindfulness-to-meaning theory, open attention and awareness, a component of mindfulness, allows a person to dis-identify from a difficult situation and flexibly reappraise the event, interrupting default schemas to interpret the potential stressor within a fuller context. Previous studies have found a negative relationship between open attention and awareness and perceived stress. However, yet to be thoroughly tested is the theory that open attention and awareness can prospectively predict lower perceived stress in natural settings. The current study examined a sample of 73 undergraduate students using a daily diary design to better understand and predict perceived stress in response to difficult events. Participants completed a baseline survey capturing their demographics, levels of open attention and awareness, self-compassion, and neuroticism. Then, participants completed one week of daily surveys in which they indicated their levels of perceived stress and the number of difficult events they experienced that day. Regression analysis showed that open attention and awareness negatively predicted average perceived stress prospectively over the course of the week, even controlling for neuroticism. Using a multilevel modeling approach, several significant between- and within-subject variables were shown to predict daily fluctuations in perceived stress. The number of difficult events that a participant reported, relative to their own average, was a positive predictor of perceived stress. Open attention and awareness negatively predicted daily fluctuations in perceived stress, controlling for the effects of time, number of difficult events, and neuroticism. To test the theory that open attention and awareness may protect against the impact of difficult events in daily life on perceived stress, the interaction between open attention and awareness and daily difficult events was tested but proved non-significant. Visual analysis showed modest support for the moderation hypothesis. Finally, to better understand the relationship between open attention and awareness and perceived stress, self-compassion was tested as a possible mediator, this also proved non-significant. Results add to the mounting evidence that open attention and awareness is a significant predictor of perceived stress, including in natural settings and with a prospective time course. Findings presented here support the use of interventions that increase open attention and awareness, such as MBSR and MBCT, in clinical settings to lower perceived stress. Other healthcare professionals who are concerned about a patient’s stress-related health conditions, or physical conditions that are adversely impacted by stress, should consider administering measures of open attention and awareness and referring those with lower scores to mindfulness-based interventions including MBSR

A bi-stable optical device

Device was developed which produces short optical pulses of variable lengths with high peak power and without use of external modulators or independent light beams. Optical field intensity is built up inside cavity. At peak of its intensity, light is switched off

Nearu and its collocations in Old English Verse

Research on collocations – words that show a marked propensity to occur in association with each other – has proven that their analysis can yield interesting results; not only does it allow us to gain insight into their semantics, but it also permits a better understanding of some aspects of the Old English art of poetry. In this perspective, the occurrences in verse of the noun nearu ‘confinement’, ‘oppression’, ‘affliction’, and its derivatives have been analysed, paying special attention to their original use by Cynewulf, who exploited this device to develop and to strengthen the major thematic threads of the poems in which his signature in runes is embedded. The survey of nearu and its associated words has illustrated that in some contexts, especially where the light versus darkness imagery is pivotal, nearu may have a further denotation, namely that of ‘darkness, obscurity’. Until now, this aspect has only been considered in relation to the formula nihtes nearowe/nihtes nearwe ‘in the confinement/anguish/darkness of the night’ (and to its Old Saxon version, which occurs in the Vatican Genesis). Evidence has been added to this hypothesis from the analysis of some further Old English poetic contexts and from Old Norse literature, where the connection between narrowness and darkness is present with reference to some mythological characters

Transforming School Leadership: An Examination of the Impetus and Evolution of an Internal District Principal Preparation Program

School districts, faced with increasing shortages in the education profession, are leveraging internal district strategies to recruit and grow their educators. In addition to preparing and credentialing new educators, districts are turning inward to cultivate their leadership pipeline. This case study explores a post-credential inner-district principal preparation program in a large school district in the Mid-Atlantic region. Participants were central office leaders involved in creating and developing the program. This study\u27s findings reveal insights into the creation and development of an inner-district principal preparation program and how initiatives are shaped and influenced during the development phase. Central office leaders were motivated to create the inner-district principal preparation program to strengthen the principal pipeline. Additionally, leaders sought to continually mold the program to shape it to address the organization\u27s current and anticipated leadership pipeline needs. This resulted in a constant state of program improvement, guided by district leaders. The results of this study can help guide school districts when creating and implementing principal preparation and support programs. This study\u27s findings can also help guide higher education organizations as they design and deliver leadership preparation programs and help inform state policy and procedures around leadership preparation and licensure

Not Only ‘Context’: Why Transitional Justice Programs Can No Longer IgnoreViolations of Economic and Social Rights

Transitional justice programs traditionally focused on breaches of civil and political rights and violations of bodily integrity, largely ignoring violations of economic and social rights (ESRs) and relegating socioeconomic issues to the category of ‘background’ or context. This approach is becoming increasingly untenable given that ESRs articulate binding and increasingly justiciable legal obligations. Considering past ESR violations can also provide crucial insight into the causes of past conflict, and addressing socioeconomic grievances can help to reduce the chances of future rights violations or civil unrest. This Article sets out when transitional justice ought concern itself with breaches of ESRs using the ‘respect, protect, fulfill’ framework of state obligations. Drawing on past examples, the Article argues that failures to respect and protect ESRs are usually discrete enough to be included in the mandates of truth commissions, reparations schemes, and, in some cases, criminal prosecutions. Decentralization programs and the vetting of corrupt economic actors can also effectively address past ESR violations and lead to socioeconomic improvements. Addressing state failures to fulfill ESRs is a more complicated question, although there are occasions where such violations should be included in transitional justice mandates. Ultimately, transitional justice can no longer ignore that ESRs articulate non-negotiable and clearly defined standards, which often hold the key to stable and sustainable political transitions

Religious Culture of the Crusader Kingdoms

The geography of the crusader states cultivated their unique religious culture, which developed from the mix of Catholic and Holy Land traditions into a distinct combination that did not exist anywhere else in the medieval world