Purpose of the article: Most regional macroeconomic processes may not be adequately analyzed without accounting for their spatial nature: regional distances, interactions between neighbors, spill-over effects and interdependencies. This contribution focuses on various factors ruling unemployment dynamics in the Visegrad Group countries and their major economic partners: Germany and Austria. The analysis is performed at the NUTS2 level. Methodology/methods: Spatial econometrics is a unique tool for a broad range of quantitative analyses and evaluations. Spatial econometric models are based (...) on geo-coded data. Spatial econometrics and regional competitiveness paradigms are combined into different types of regression model specifications describing unemployment dynamics. Alternative spatial structures are used for verification of stability in estimated model properties. Scientific aim: We aim to provide a detailed empirical evaluation of spatially determined factors of regional unemployment dynamics, along with insight into the robustness of such approach. Both conceptually and parametrically varying neighbor definitions are used to provide evidence for model evaluation. Findings: We find strong positive spatial dependence patterns in the estimated models, robust against varying neighborhood definitions. Our results strongly support the importance of regional and potentially cross-border cooperation in macroeconomic policies addressing unemployment. The estimated models also underline the importance of using spatial models, by pointing out the bias in OLS-estimated models. Conclusions and limits: Spatial approach to econometric analysis provides important insight and robustness to a broad range of unemployment analyses that may be carried out using regional data. At the same time, it should be noted that this article focuses mostly on the spatial and stability aspects of model estimation, while leaving out other interesting topics such as spill-over effects calculations as based on estimated models. Also, estimations provided in this article might benefit from spatial panel data-based methods - once data availability issues are sorted. (shrink)

The purpose of den trials is to assess innate ability and preparedness of dachshunds and terriers to work in natural beds in order to control fox numbers. International earthdog trials within the period 2009–2018 were evaluated in Slovakia, in which 1812 dogs participated, of which terriers represented 61.36% and dachshunds 38.64%. Depending on the way of work, dogs of these breeds work as bayer, bolter or hard dog. The test rules were compared in terms of animal protection, principles of ethics (...) and welfare requirements in the Visegrad countries. We investigated the extent to which animals used in trials are exposed to suffering in the countries under review. During the den trials in Slovakia, there is a direct physical contact between the dog and the fox, where the foxes are unnecessarily exposed to excessive stress, injury and pain and violated by Five Animal Welfare Needs, in particular the need to protect against pain, injury and disease. Due to non-compliance with the welfare, we propose a change in the examination rules in the earthdog work in Slovakia. Non-parametric Chi square statistic to analyse group differences when the dependent variable is measured at nominal level was used. (shrink)

The development of the countries of Eastern Europe as a democratic legal state is primarily determined by how rational and efficient the organization of state power is. Recently, one can observe a tendency for riveted attention to change from central to local government, which is represented by local authorities. Local self-government is one of the fundamental democratic foundations of the constitutional system in postmodern society. That is why its modern transformation is being updated by the role of the most important (...) factor in the development of the entire system of Ukrainian statehood. And having chosen the European direction as the vector of external integration, it became expedient to study the experience of countries that have gone through a complex, but progressive, path of reform in a postmodern society. Comparing the European integration aspirations with the program of changes that Ukraine needs, one should choose the right benchmark on which one can or must rely on in the process of modern institutionalization of the power system. In our opinion, the option of choosing a country of permanent democracy, which have gone the path of many years of change, containing revolutionary upheavals, and have a specific historical development, is erroneous. But neighboring European countries, not only bordering Ukraine, but have also gone through similar stages of development, can set the basic vector for domestic institutional changes. For a long time, the Interstate Association of the Visegrad Four Countries has been a partner and conductor of Ukraine’s foreign policy. (shrink)

Subject and purpose: Using annual data for the periods 2009–2019, this paper examines trade flows between China and the Visegrad Group countries. The aim of this article is to assess real changes taking place in international trade in the Visegrad Group countries over the last eleven years. The starting point for the analysis was 2009 – the time after the 2008 economic crisis, and it was compared especially to 2018 – a year marked by a significant (...) improvement in the economy. The purpose is to discuss concerns related to the differences in bilateral trade between China and Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovak Republic. The main aim of this research is to distinguish the characteristics of bilateral trade by products between V4 and China in years 2009–2019. The purpose of this article is also to systematize and discuss points of view, rationalizing further empirical research. Two research hypotheses, resulting from the research purpose, were formulated: H1: in the V4 countries import exceeds export, and this trend seems to be growing, H2: Chinese goods imported to the V4 are much more sophisticated than those exported. Design/methodology/approach: To assess the initial and current situation on international trade between the V4 and China, the author uses variables obtained from WTO and OEC resources, diagnosing the situation in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovak Republic. The collected empirical data were processed using theoretical methods such as analysis, synthesis, and comparison to formulate conclusions using deductive and inductive inference methods. Practical Implications: The results can be used in scientific and expert work on diagnostic and forecast trends in bilateral trade by products between the V4 and China. Originality/value: It concerns the indication of the importance of the V4 trade with China compared to the share of the V4 countries in world trade. It was also possible to identify the top export and import products of the V4. The findings also confirm the significant change in China’s trading structure. (shrink)

Podstawowym celem artykułu jest przybliżenie dwóch wzajemnie powi¸a}zanych koncepcji istotnych z perspektywy zarz¸a}dzania publicznego w ramach polityki wobec starzenia siȩ społeczeństwa na poziomie lokalnym. Pierwsza koncepcja to „inteligentne miasta", która dotyczy wykorzystania nowych technologii informacyjno-komunikacyjnych do poprawy zarz¸a}dzania miastami oraz dostarczania obywatelom innowacyjnych usług publicznych. Druga koncepcja to „miasta przyjazne starzeniu siȩ", która obejmuje optymalizacjȩ wszystkich funkcji miejskich do potrzeb wszystkich grup wiekowych oraz wykorzystanie szerokiego zaangażowania interesariuszy na rzecz poprawy jakości życia w okresie starości. Drugim celem jest wskazanie prób (...) praktycznego wdrażania tych koncepcji w krajach Grupy Wyszehradzkiej, które w odróżnieniu od omawianych zazwyczaj w literaturze przykładów z Europy Zachodniej charakteryzuj¸a siȩ nie tylko szybkim starzeniem siȩ populacji, ale też niedostatkami infrastruktury. W podsumowaniu przybliżono wnioski z przeprowadzonej analizy oraz potencjalne dalsze kierunki badań. ** The main aim of this paper is to introduce two interrelated concepts relevant from the perspective of public management of the ageing policy at the local level. The first concept is "smart cities," which refers to the use of new information and communication technologies to improve urban management and delivery of innovative public services for citizens. The second concept is "age-friendly cities," which includes optimization of all municipal functions to meet the needs of all age groups and to use the wide involvement of relevant stakeholders to improve the quality of life in old age. The second aim of the paper is to describe closer attempts of the practical implementation of these concepts in countries of the Visegrad Group that unlike generally discussed in the literature examples from the Western Europe are not only characterized by rapidly ageing populations, but also shortcomings of the infrastructure. Conclusions include a summary of the undertaken analysis and potential future directions of research. (shrink)

Business ethics represents an important aspect that influences each country’s socio-economic system, and is important to society, environment, and economy. The present article aims to define significant attributes of business ethics in the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and compares their attitudes within the three most significant business sectors in the Visegrad Group countries (V4 countries: Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland, and Hungary). An empirical study, focusing on the attitudes of small and medium-sized firms, was conducted (...) in June 2022 in Visegrad Group countries through the reputable hired company MNFORCE, using the Computer Assisted Web Interviewing research method. The total number of respondents in the Visegrad Group countries was 1,398. Statistical hypotheses were tested using descriptive statistics, chi-square, and Z-score at a significance level of α = 5%. The most important conclusion of this research is that there are no significant differences in the approach of SMEs to business ethics based on the sector in which the companies operate. Some notable differences in attitudes among SMEs in Slovakia and the Czech Republic were identified, but these were marginal. Therefore, differences in the transformation process within selected economic sectors do not impact the formation of attitudes of small and medium-sized companies in business ethics. It is evident that business ethics is significantly determined primarily by the personal characteristics of the owner/manager of the company, and the specificities of individual sectors do not influence this field. (shrink)

The hydrogen market in the world today is capable ovule and empirical evidence on activity of patents in fuel cells and hydrogen production is limited so far. Patent applications in zero-emission mobility in the aspect of fuel cells include: DAFC/dmfc&dmfc, PEMFC, SOFC, AFC, PAFC. As for the patents relating to the hydrogen production, they concern low carbon, electrolysis and inorganic. The purpose of the study was to investigate certain aspects of the activity of patents in fuel cells and hydrogen production (...) in the context of passenger car fleet in the Visegrad group (V4) countries and to explore the relationship between patent registrations and GDP per capita in V4. The research area relates to the answer to the question of whether a country’s involvement in zero-emission patent activity (patents in fuel cells and hydrogen production) could contribute to the renewal of the country’s passenger car fleet. The theses were formulated as follows: 1) activity of patents in fuel cells and hydrogen production in the V4 countries doesn’t depend on the car fleet in these countries, 2) the level of GDP per capita in the V4 countries is not followed by the number of patents registrations in hydrogen technology, 3) the highest patent activity in fuel cells and hydrogen production doesn’t mean that the car fleet in these country will be zero-emission in coming years. The method used in this article is a comparative analysis, but also the relationships between patent registrations, GDP per capita and passenger car fleet in V4 are considered. (shrink)

This research investigates the level of the gender pay gap and gender parity in the Visegrad Group countries in light of the changes that took place in the whole EU during the last decade. The following hypotheses accompany the research objective: (1) the level of the gender pay gap diminished significantly over the last decade in the V4 economies; (2) the V4 countries are following a path to achieve gender parity. Data were taken from Eurostat. The pay gap (...) and the managerial occupations indicators were used to verify the research hypotheses. The empirical investigation did not let us reject the first hypothesis for Poland only. However, it should be rejected for the other V4 economies. In addition, the second hypothesis should be rejected. (shrink)

My aim in this paper is to discuss the general idea of a Central-European ethos in comparison with the values that shaped the contemporary form of Western societies. My argument is threefold. First, I briefly discuss the emergent character of Western modernization. Second, I pinpoint those historical and material conditions that have shaped the general situation of Central Europe in the last two hundred years in order to indicate their influence on what Charles Taylor calls "social imaginaries", shared by the (...) peoples of the region. And in part three, I attempt to point out some consequences of the otherness of the Central-European mode of modernization for regional ethos and its perspectives. My general thesis is that the countries of Central Europe, members of what-is-now the Visegrad Group, that is to say, for the last two hundred years (and some of them, like Poland for instance, for last three or even four centuries) are in the process of some kind semi-modernization, This semi-modernization concerns not only their economies and social relations, but also certain moral and world views (Weltsschauungen), whose basic outlines are derived from inferiority complex about the modernized West. But at the same time they are mostly unable, for the reason I shall refer to below, to propose their own way of modernization. Hence, claims to equality and justice made within Central-European are are of a special kind, which involves a strong recognition of history as the source and basis for them. (shrink)

The aim of this study is to evaluate the level of select ethical issues in Visegrad Four (V4) countries (Czech republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary) and quantify the differences in the attitudes of entrepreneurs in the field of business ethics in these countries. Empirical research was conducted in June 2022 in the V4 countries. Data collection was carried out by the renowned external company MNFORCE using "Computer Assisted Web Interviewing" (CAWI Research Method), according to the questionnaire created by the (...) research team. The total number of respondents was 1,398, of which 347 were from the Czech Republic, 322 from Slovakia, 381 from Poland, and 348 from Hungary. Statistical hypotheses were verified using descriptive statistics, chi-square, and Z-scores at a α = 5% significance level. The preliminary results of this study can be evaluated as follows: The ethical level of entrepreneurs in V4 countries is high because the dominant group showed a positive attitude towards the defined issues in the field of business ethics. The attitudes of these entrepreneurs showed that they not only perceived the importance of business ethics, but also implemented and promoted these practices in managerial decision-making. Moreover, they feel good when they behave ethically, which is a significant motivating factor. In this study, it was found that Hungarian SMEs presented the highest level of business ethics. In contrast, the Czech Republic presented the lowest level of perception and enforcement of business ethics. (shrink)

Biology is seen not merely as a privileged oppressor of women but as a co-victim of masculinist social assumptions. We see feminist critique as one of the normative controls that any scientist must perform whenever analyzing data, and we seek to demonstrate what has happened when this control has not been utilized. Narratives of fertilization and sex determination traditionally have been modeled on the cultural patterns of male/female interaction, leading to gender associations being placed on cells and their components. We (...) also find that when gender biases are controlled, new perceptions of these intracellular and extracellular relationships emerge. (shrink)

We would like to open some questions here about the institutional and cultural conditions of anything that might be called cultural studies or multiculturalism. By introducing cultural studies and multiculturalism many intellectuals aim at a more democratic culture. We share this aim. In this essay, however, we would like to argue that the projects of cultural studies and multiculturalism require: a more international model of cultural studies than the dominant Anglo-American versions; renewed attention to the institutional environments of cultural studies; (...) and a questioning of the relations between multiculturalism and identity politics. We seek less to “fix” these problems than to provide a critical analysis of the languages, the methods of criticism, and the assumptions about identity, culture, and politics that present the problems to us. Because the thickets entangling what our group calls cultural studies are so deeply rooted in Western academia, which to a large degree constitutes our own group, the counterexample of cultural criticism in other contexts can be more than usually instructive. We begin by considering the position of cultural studies in China, since our group includes a number of Chinese intellectuals, on whose experience the following section is largely based. The Chicago Cultural Studies Group began meeting in June 1990. It includes Lauren Berlant, David Bunn, Vinay Dharwadker, Norma Field, Dilip Gaonkar, Marilyn Ivy, Benjamin Lee, Leo Ou-fan Lee, Xinmin Liu, Mathew Roberts, Sharon Stephens, Katie Trumpener, Greg Urban, Michael Warner, Jianyang Zha, and Jueliang Zhou. (shrink)

En 1983, un groupe de femmes japonaises francophiles, très intéressées par le féminisme français et les changements rapides de la vie des femmes en France depuis les années 1970, créent la Société Franco-japonaise des Études sur les Femmes. Le but est de promouvoir une meilleure compréhension entre les deux cultures et de développer des liens avec les Françaises sur un grand nombre de questions féminines. Le projet se révéla vite être un succès. Parmi les études entreprises par la Société, l’analyse (...) comparée de l’histoire des Françaises et des Japonaises, domaine très peu exploré alors, a suscité un vif intérêt chez les participantes. Cet article revient sur vingt années de réflexion, de recherche, et d’échange par un groupe d’historiennes non-professionnelles sur les relations entre histoire et expériences de vie personnelles. Il nous montre comment l’étude de l’histoire des femmes dans un contexte international peut être fructueuse et bénéfique, et combien une libre discussion collective, sans tabous, sur ce sujet peut éveiller ou approfondir la conscience féministe. (shrink)

Malm and colleagues (2008) consider (and reject) five arguments putatively justifying the idea that healthcare workers (HCWs) have a duty to treat (DTT) during a pandemic. We do not have sufficient...

Militante et réflexive, l’histoire des femmes a aussi besoin d’exprimer ses doutes et ses inconforts. Rattrapée par l’actualité, la violence et nombre d’événements cruels et tragiques, par des incertitudes majeures vécues par l’ensemble du monde intellectuel, elle pose aujourd’hui en cet article collectif des interrogations et des inquiétudes. Ce travail à plusieurs (les participantes du Groupe d’histoire des femmes du CRH) cherche à mettre à plat ce qui actuellement se dérobe à notre connaissance, en partant de notions-clés souvent utilisées, comme (...) consentement, sexualité, écriture, patriarcat, etc. Chacune de ces notions est discutée à la lumière des brouillages actuels, des temporalités nouvelles, de l’avènement triomphant du corps marchandise, de la pauvreté grandissante, etc. (shrink)

The prospect of using genome technologies to modify the human germline has raised profound moral disagreement but also emphasizes the need for wide-ranging discussion and a well-informed policy response. The Hinxton Group brought together scientists, ethicists, policymakers, and journal editors for an international, interdisciplinary meeting on this subject. This consensus statement formulated by the group calls for support of genome editing research and the development of a scientific roadmap for safety and efficacy; recognizes the ethical challenges involved in (...) clinical reproductive applications of genome editing but, importantly, rejects the idea that human reproductive germline modification is necessarily morally unacceptable; and highlights the importance of meaningful engagement in discussions of genome editing and the development of regulation and oversight mechanisms to govern future uses of such technologies. (shrink)

This paper presents the results of computer simulations with a community of actors playing a large number of voluntarily iterated two-person-PD. The simulations are designed to enable uncooperative actors to exploit partners, leave them and find a new partner who knows nothing about their previous behavioral history. Hit-and-run exploitation should thrive under these conditions. However, as Schuessler (1989; 1990) has shown, the setting is highly unfavorable to uncooperative players. The present study extends this result to a wider set of strategies (...) which can alternatively stay with defectors {and try to improve them) or leave them quickly. In addition, a class of seemingly clever strategies is introduced which try to exploit the expected dynamics of looking for a partner. Still, a high amount of egoistical cooperation can persist in the present scenario. (shrink)

We concur with Baum and colleagues (2009) on the importance of pandemic planners taking explicit steps to employ public engagement methodologies. Thus far, as Baum and colleagues note, there have b...

Originally published between 1925 and 1931 the volumes in this mini-set cover education, from early years to further education, as well as the role parents and society have in the moral education of children and young people. Among others the authors included are: C E M Joad, W J K Diplock, M Chaning Pearce and J F Roxburgh.

The focus of the titles in this mini-set, originally published between 1926 and 1928 is on the challenges of feeding an increasing global population, technological changes in the home, the evolutionary role of clothes and the dangers and benefits of alcohol.

Originally published between 1924 and 1929 discuss the future of psychology and the break-throughs it could provide for modern medicine. Authors included are E N Bennett, H F Carlill,D F Fraser Harris, M Jaeger and C J Patten.

This four volume set is dedicated to the work of Emile Durkheim, one of the most important and prolific sociologists in the field, who is commonly cited as a founding father of modern social science. With volumes published between 1975 and 1991, this collection brings together a range of modern critical responses to Durkheim's work across a broad range of topics, including: epistemology, modernism and post-modernism, theories of social order, and the rise and development of modern society. The authors in (...) the collection also draw important comparisons between Durkheim and other seminal sociologists, including Max Weber and Claude Bernard. _For institutional purchases for e-book sets please contact [email protected]. (shrink)

_Routledge Library Editions: Psychoanalysis_ brings together as one set, or individual volumes, a series of 8 previously out-of-print titles, originally published between 1923 and 1993. Written by international authors from a variety of backgrounds, this set looks at psychoanalysis in a number of different areas including, culture, religion, sociology, postmodernism, literary criticism and others.

This set collects together a vital selection of works on Existentialism, including the key Introduction to the New Existentialism by Colin Wilson. Some of the titles were early works written as this new philosophy spread into the English language, while others are more recent examinations.

Reissuing works originally published between 1949 and ‘79, this set presents a rich selection of renowned scholarship across the subject, touching also on ethics, religion, and psychology and other behavioural science. Classic previously out-of-print works are brought back into print here in this set of important discourse and theory.

This 20 volume Routledge Revivals collection brings together a selection of groundbreaking Philosophy titles, from the rich and diverse Routledge backlist. With titles published between 1933 and 1991, this is a truly wide-ranging selection, encompassing works by distinguished authors such as: Simone Weil, Hilary Putnam, Franz Brentano, Anthony Kenny, Karl Jaspers and Israel Scheffler. Dealing with everything from the notion of freewill, to concepts of time and space, to theories of morality, this set offers a collection of the best of (...) Routledge publishing in the field of Philosophy from across the Twentieth Century. Please note that all titles have been previously available for sale individually through the Routledge Revivals programme. (shrink)

The thirteen titles in this mini-set include works by some of the most well-known scientists and medical professionals of the twentieth century: Daedalus by J B S Haldane, Eos, or the Wider Aspects of Cosmogony by J H Jeans, Archimedes, or the Future of Physics by L L Whyte and the The Conquest of Cancer by H W S Wright to name but a few. Ground breaking in their day, some of the works remain controversial nearly 100 years after their (...) original publication. (shrink)

Originally published between 1926 and 1931 the titles in this mini-set discuss the role of women in both domestic and professional areas, contraception, sexual relationships and the changing nature of the family within society.

Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart invites readers to embark on a new journey into a land of rationality that differs from the familiar territory of cognitive science and economics. Traditional views of rationality tend to see decision makers as possessing superhuman powers of reason, limitless knowledge, and all of eternity in which to ponder choices. To understand decisions in the real world, we need a different, more psychologically plausible notion of rationality, and this book provides it. It is about (...) fast and frugal heuristics--simple rules for making decisions when time is pressing and deep thought an unaffordable luxury. These heuristics can enable both living organisms and artificial systems to make smart choices, classifications, and predictions by employing bounded rationality. But when and how can such fast and frugal heuristics work? Can judgments based simply on one good reason be as accurate as those based on many reasons? Could less knowledge even lead to systematically better predictions than more knowledge? Simple Heuristics explores these questions, developing computational models of heuristics and testing them through experiments and analyses. It shows how fast and frugal heuristics can produce adaptive decisions in situations as varied as choosing a mate, dividing resources among offspring, predicting high school drop out rates, and playing the stock market. As an interdisciplinary work that is both useful and engaging, this book will appeal to a wide audience. It is ideal for researchers in cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology, and cognitive science, as well as in economics and artificial intelligence. It will also inspire anyone interested in simply making good decisions. (shrink)

La sapienza di partire da sè è una via che si sottrae alle molte contrapposizioni che sono iscritte nel simbolico dominante: quella tra soggettivo e oggettivo, tra individuo e comunità e tra locale e generale: apre un'altra strada.