FUTURE PERSPECTIVE ON THE EURO AS A GLOBAL CURRENCY

Ten years ago, many EU officials celebrated by abolishing their old, national currency, and embraced the sign of a newer emerging Europe- the Euro. Today, just ten years later, the same people are questioning adopting the Euro, scared by the recent crisis in Greece. 2011 will show the actual dimensions of the economic crisis, provided that austerity measures will be strongly felt and the effects of hundreds of billions of dollars pumped into rescuing financial markets will decrease, leaving room for reality. So, almost certainly, 2011 will be the year to lay the foundation of a strong future Euro, or the beginning of a new Europe without Euro.euro, economic perspectives, global currency

ROMANIA’S COMPETITIVENESS –PRESENT AND FUTURE TRENDS

Romania, the worst performer in 2009 of the Southeast Europe economies was blocked for another year of economic contraction. As for 2011, analysts expect the economy to post positive although below potential growth rate, driven by a modest recovery in domestic demand. Political and external risks appear large and could trigger a downward revision of the growth forecast in the months ahead. For our country boosting competitiveness is one of the few remaining paths to drive to overcome negative effects of the unfinished economic crisis. This paper analyzes the results for Romanian competitiveness as it is come out of the GCI (Global Competitiveness Index) in the last period and perspectives.Romania’s economic growth, competitiveness, post crisis recovery

Improving seed quality in large-scale production of native seed

The use of native species has been increasingly advocated to achieve the sustainable recovery of degraded areas and in Europe considerable effort has also been invested into grassland restoration using such species. However, little attention has been paid to the evaluation and significance of aspects of the seed quality of native species, which may have implications for the success of these projects. The current research examined three aspects of seed quality in the context of commercial seed production and the use of seed in the restoration of vegetation. Firstly, the effect of plant and seed responses to a range of maternal environments during seed production was examined using the perennial herb Primula vulgaris as a model. Different shading conditions, imposed in the field over two seasons during seed maturation, produced a range of red : far-red light ratios (R:FR) received by the parent plants. The competitiveness of P. vulgaris plants grown in the different environments was evaluated though measurements of plant gas exchange, membrane integrity, leaf chlorophyll concentration, photosynthetic efficiency, specific leaf area and above ground plant biomass; the weight and number of seeds produced was also assessed. This revealed the phenotypic plasticity of P. vulgaris and that growth, competitiveness and seed production were favoured in shaded conditions. Subsequent germination of the harvested seeds at five temperatures (5 – 25oC) and high to low R:FR revealed that there was no effect of shading of the maternal plant on seed quality, either the rate of germination or final germination. In addition, the maternal environment did not affect the subsequent light and temperature requirements for germination. An increased germination capacity in response to a higher R:FR for all maternal environments suggested the potential for seedling establishment under vegetative shade only in the presence of canopy gaps. Secondly, the germination potential and dormancy-breaking requirements of 113 commercially available seed lots of eight European native species was examined. This revealed a wide range in the germination of seed lots within a species and surprisingly low levels of dormancy. Alternative and more rapid methods to the routine germination methods were subsequently developed. A tetrazolium testing protocol was developed that predicted germination of each of the eight native species in only two days. In addition, the electrical conductivity (EC) of seed soak water provided a quick and inexpensive measure of final germination in a day and even within a day. However, its application may be limited to large and exalbuminous seeds, such as Cyanus segetum, which are dominated by the embryo and lack an endosperm. The third aspect of seed quality investigated was its impact on establishment and growth of Rhinanthus minor, a hemi-parasite. Ten seed lots from commercial sources were sown in the field and their germination characteristics were investigated in the laboratory. Field emergence was influenced by both the radicle emergence of each lot and the mean germination time, which is indicative of seed vigour. Seeds from four lots with >90% radicle emergence were then germinated to radicle emergence and sown in pots alongside plants of two host species, Lotus corniculatus and Holcus lanatus. Plant establishment, height and flowering density were evaluated for the hemi-parasite, while plant biomass was measured for both R. minor and its host. A longer lag period (lower vigour) was associated with higher levels of seedling mortality and lower plant vigour, in terms of plant height and biomass accumulation, and was also reflected in the parasitic impact of the seed lots, with the least vigorous seed lot having no impact on the biomass of its host, Lotus corniculatus. These observations highlight that the quality of the seed is significant to the potential use of R. minor as a hemi-parasite

The Effects of Classroom Environmental Quality on the Early Literacy Outcomes of a Regionally Heterogeneous Population of Latino Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between classroom environmental quality and early literacy outcomes amongst a sample of Latino children from various Latin-American countries. Participants included 116 preschoolers that attended various childcare centers in Southeast Florida. Participant’s literacy knowledge was assessed using the Test of Preschool Early Literacy. Classrooms were assessed on environmental quality using the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale-Revised. A regression analysis revealed that classroom environmental quality did not account for Latino children’s early literacy outcomes. However, a multiple regression analysis was significant (R2= .15, F(5, 115) = 3.86, p\u3c .05) indicating that quality has a varying impact on children’s early literacy skills based on children’s region of origin. Findings suggest that high classroom environmental quality does not necessarily mean better literacy development for Latino children. Additionally, Latino children should not be viewed as a homogeneous group, particularly in relation to their development of literacy skills in English

Merger as a Formula to Establish European Cooperative Societies

Council Regulation (EC) No 1.435/2003, of 22 July 2003, concerning the European Co-operative Statute (ECS), constitutes the legal basis for the creation of european cooperatives, facilitating the development of their cross-border activities and contributing to their economic development. So, the aim of this regulation is to enable the creation of European cooperatives by physical persons or legal entities resident or established under the laws of different Member States, but it also makes possible the establishment of European cooperatives by merger or transformation of existing cooperatives from different Member States. The aim of this paper is to show the specific features of formation of crossborder cooperatives by merger, covered by the ECS, with special attention to those aspects that distance them from the internal formation by merger, within the Spanish legal framework. For the purpose of comparison, Spain will be considered as regards the regulations governing mergers, depending on whether the ECS or the Spanish Cooperative Law is taken into consideration.Statute for a European Cooperative Society, Spanish cooperative regulation, cooperative mergers, crossborder activity, Agribusiness,

Determining the Academic Achievement of English Language Learners (ELLs) by Using Additional Measures of Growth

Accountability measures employed in the country to determine the academic achievement of all the student population rely solely on the results obtained on the standardized tests. Such measures have often placed English language learners’ (ELLs) at risk of academic failure despite the fact that research on second language acquisition (SLA) has stated the complexity involved in the learning/acquisition process of a target language. Scholars have also discussed the influence accountability measures and the issues with the validity of the tests implemented to assess ELLs may have on such results. Therefore, in an effort to obtain a more comprehensive idea of the academic achievement of ELLs in an inner-city school district in the Southeastern part of the United States, three additional measures of growth, along with the state standardized test, were utilized over a two-year period. The English language proficiency test, ACCESS for ELLs test scores, a computerized formative academic assessment, MAP test, end of the year grades for Reading and Mathematics, and the state standardized test, MCT2 test, were analyzed for the 2012-2013 and the 2013-2014 school years. Growth on the ACCESS for ELLs, MAP test scores, and MCT2 test scores were calculated using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Then, the relationship between the variables was analyzed using Pearson’s r correlation coefficients. The statistical analyses showed growth and relationships on some areas but not on others

Acquisition of Pronominal Clitics in Romanian

This paper uses new evidence from elicited production experiments to establish that Romanian children do not omit either direct or indirect object clitics at a significant rate. The results reported for the acquisition of indirect object clitics are particularly significant in that, for the first time, it is possible to demonstrate the similarity between the acquisition of direct and indirect object clitics in Romanian and, arguably, for other languages that pattern with Romanian in the relevant respects. Furthermore, our findings receive a natural explanation if it is assumed that two conditions must be met for children to produce clitics. First, children's grammars must not be constrained by any relevant grammatical constraints, such as the Unique Checking Constraint (Wexler 1998, 2003). Second, children must be able to produce utterances of the length required by the clitic constructions