Small business in Ukraine: problems and opportunity of efficient functioning

Статтю присвячено дослідженню проблем малого підприємництва та можливості його ефективного функціонування в сучасних ринкових умовах. Малий бізнес є невід’ємною складовою ринкового господарства. Функціонування в сучасних ринкових умовах надає йому гнучкості, мобілізує фінансові й виробничі ресурси, прискорює темпи науково-технічного прогресу, вирішує проблему зайнятості населення. Тому багатостороння підтримка розвитку малого бізнесу та побудова соціально орієнтованої економіки має стати головним вектором реформ в Україні, що служитиме фактором підвищення рівня життя населення та сприятиме процесам інтеграції національної економіки у світове глобальне господарство.The article is devoted to the problems of small business and the possibility of its effective functioning in the current market conditions. Small business is an integral part of the market economy. Functioning in the current market conditions gives it flexibility, mobilizes financial and industrial resources, boosts scientific and technological progress, solves the problem of unemployment. Therefore, multilateral support of small business development and building a socially oriented economy should become the main vectors of reforms in Ukraine, which will serve as factorsof improving standards of life and facilitating the integration of national economy into the world global economy

Psychological methods of manipulation in advertising

This paper analyses the perception and processing of the advertising information by a person carried out under the influence of manipulative advertising techniques. Advertising specialists take them into account and use them in their work by optimizing the impact on the potential buyer.В данной статье анализируется восприятие и обработка рекламной информации лицом, оказавшимся под влиянием манипулятивных методов рекламы. Специалисты по рекламе принимают их во внимание и использовать в своей работе, повышая эффективность воздействия на потенциального покупателя

Projected impacts of climate change on functional diversity of frugivorous birds along a tropical elevational gradient

Climate change forces many species to move their ranges to higher latitudes or elevations. Resulting immigration or emigration of species might lead to functional changes, e.g., in the trait distribution and composition of ecological assemblages. Here, we combined approaches from biogeography (species distribution models; SDMs) and community ecology (functional diversity) to investigate potential effects of climate-driven range changes on frugivorous bird assemblages along a 3000 m elevational gradient in the tropical Andes. We used SDMs to model current and projected future occurrence probabilities of frugivorous bird species from the lowlands to the tree line. SDM-derived probabilities of occurrence were combined with traits relevant for seed dispersal of fleshy-fruited plants to calculate functional dispersion (FDis; a measure of functional diversity) for current and future bird assemblages. Comparisons of FDis between current and projected future assemblages showed consistent results across four dispersal scenarios, five climate models and two representative concentration pathways. Projections indicated a decrease of FDis in the lowlands, an increase of FDis at lower mid-elevations and little changes at high elevations. This suggests that functional dispersion responds differently to global warming at different elevational levels, likely modifying avian seed dispersal functions and plant regeneration in forest ecosystems along tropical mountains

What is macroecology?

The symposium 'What is Macroecology?' was held in London on 20 June 2012. The event was the inaugural meeting of the Macroecology Special Interest Group of the British Ecological Society and was attended by nearly 100 scientists from 11 countries. The meeting reviewed the recent development of the macroecological agenda. The key themes that emerged were a shift towards more explicit modelling of ecological processes, a growing synthesis across systems and scales, and new opportunities to apply macroecological concepts in other research fields

Forest Fragmentation and Selective Logging Have Inconsistent Effects on Multiple Animal-Mediated Ecosystem Processes in a Tropical Forest

Forest fragmentation and selective logging are two main drivers of global environmental change and modify biodiversity and environmental conditions in many tropical forests. The consequences of these changes for the functioning of tropical forest ecosystems have rarely been explored in a comprehensive approach. In a Kenyan rainforest, we studied six animal-mediated ecosystem processes and recorded species richness and community composition of all animal taxa involved in these processes. We used linear models and a formal meta-analysis to test whether forest fragmentation and selective logging affected ecosystem processes and biodiversity and used structural equation models to disentangle direct from biodiversity-related indirect effects of human disturbance on multiple ecosystem processes. Fragmentation increased decomposition and reduced antbird predation, while selective logging consistently increased pollination, seed dispersal and army-ant raiding. Fragmentation modified species richness or community composition of five taxa, whereas selective logging did not affect any component of biodiversity. Changes in the abundance of functionally important species were related to lower predation by antbirds and higher decomposition rates in small forest fragments. The positive effects of selective logging on bee pollination, bird seed dispersal and army-ant raiding were direct, i.e. not related to changes in biodiversity, and were probably due to behavioural changes of these highly mobile animal taxa. We conclude that animal-mediated ecosystem processes respond in distinct ways to different types of human disturbance in Kakamega Forest. Our findings suggest that forest fragmentation affects ecosystem processes indirectly by changes in biodiversity, whereas selective logging influences processes directly by modifying local environmental conditions and resource distributions. The positive to neutral effects of selective logging on ecosystem processes show that the functionality of tropical forests can be maintained in moderately disturbed forest fragments. Conservation concepts for tropical forests should thus include not only remaining pristine forests but also functionally viable forest remnants