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The paper focuses on the internationalization activities of Japanese MNCs in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) analyzing data on national level considering Japan's modes of market entry in the CEE region and some of the countries in it. Major trends and the development of Japanese internationalization in CEE are presented. Individual mini case studies contribute to the analysis using the experience of several major Japanese MNCs that have invested in the region. The goal of the paper is to uncover the specifics of the internationalization process of Japanese corporations in the CEE region. Main characteristics of the penetration of Japanese MNCs in CEE are unveiled and discussed in the concluding part of the paper. The management implications and conclusions from the study are discussed further in the final part of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This introduction provides some insights on this special issue of Mortality, entitled Dying and Death in Former Communist European Countries, setting the issue against the general background of death studies and, more specifically, of death studies in eastern European countries. Some relevant references to the Dying and Death in 18th-21st Century Europe International Conference, organised in Romania, at the '1 Decembrie 1918ʹ University of Alba Iulia, Romania, between 2007 and 2019, are also made. The rationale and also the limitations of this special issue are brought into attention. The papers that form this issue are briefly presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with re-imaginings of 'Europe' following the accession to the European Union (EU) of former 'Eastern European' countries. In particular it explores media representations of post-EU accession migration from Romania to the United Kingdom in the UK and Romanian newspaper press. Todorova's (1997) notion of Balkanism is deployed as a theoretical construct to facilitate the analysis of these representations as first, the continuation of long-standing and deeply embedded imaginings of the 'East' of Europe and, second, as a means of contesting these discourses. The paper explores the way in which the UK press construct Balkanist discourses about Romania and Romanian migrants, and then analyses how the Romanian press has contested such discourses. The paper argues that the idea of the 'East' remains important in constructing notions of 'Europe' within popular media geographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The passive house (PH) concept has been developed in Germany since 1991. In the following years, the concept spread out successfully in other Western and Central European countries with similar climate. Do the design solutions developed in Germany ensure the fulfillment of PH standard requirements when implemented in areas with different climates, such as South-Eastern Europe? This paper provides a preliminary answer. First, general climate conditions are compared for 22 towns in Germany and Romania, respectively. The main conclusion is that climate data cannot provide enough information to decide whether the existing German PH design solutions will perform similarly well in Romania. Further analysis is done to estimate the energetic performance of a prototype passive building when located in any of the 22 towns of Germany and Romania. The energetic performance is computed by using the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) software developed by the Passive House Institute of Darmstadt. The prototype passive building is AMVIC PH built in 2009 in Bragadiru (near Bucharest, Romania). It appears that the empirical design solutions developed in Germany may be relaxed (for example, the thermal insulation of the envelope may be reduced) when implemented for latitudes lower than 45° North. This is mainly due to the more abundant solar radiation in winter at these latitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Observations have suggested that results of initial elections were the single most important factor in determining central and eastern European progress after the U.S.S.R. breakup in 1991. Romania thus presents a unique case in studies of this region. Initially it elected a government that shunned the ''shock therapy'' required to get a new economy started, but in 1996 elected a reform slate of officials. Thus, it has started the recovery process that more perceptive countries started five years earlier. These post-election developments in Romania are clearly of interest because of the model it presents for other countries in which the electorate may be considering similar changes. This paper reports on the situation in Romania as it related to the evolving economy there in the spring of 1999, three years after the critical election. It is adjudged that conditions imposed as part of the contemporaneous World Bank agreement were of course steps in the right direction. Nevertheless, progress toward a viable economy would require further progress in establishing a rule of law and in developing a much larger small business sector, which are recommended for any subsequent country making a similar transition. Forecasts by the prime minister suggested Romania would enter the EU after 2010. It is suggested that it would take at least that long before Romania's economy approached EU level. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the end of socialism scholars have been debating whether post-socialist welfare policies in Eastern Europe and the former USSR could be considered converging into Western European patterns, and possibly fit one of Esping-Andersen's (1990) welfare state classifications, or whether they should be considered an exception or sui generis and therefore studied beyond these categories. This article is informed by post-2008 crisis material and contends that neither of the above interpretative frameworks is appropriate because they both miss the role of informal welfare provision and informal renegotiations of the scope of welfare policies. Going beyond the transitional-alternative paradigm, this article situates itself in the structure–agency debate in defining how welfare policies are renegotiated by domestic and local actors and come to form a partially new system. Rather than seeing the former socialist region as an exception, it suggests that the very debate about the welfare state and welfare policies should be revisited in order to consider also informality as a major element of social policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the connection between détente in Europe and East–West nuclear technology transfers through the lens of Romania's co-operation policy in the field of atomic energy in the 1960s. It argues that until 1967 the bourgeoning relations between Western Europe and Romania did not stem from a desire to overcome the artificial division of Europe, but rather from the pursuit of unilateral economic benefits. This situation worked to the advantage of the Romanians, who acquired an important nuclear research reactor from the British by playing West European countries against one another. Afterwards, in order to boost their competitiveness, the West Europeans started pooling their nuclear industries together, although traditional rivalries such as the Anglo-French competition endured. Despite these efforts to achieve closer integration, the West Europeans failed to sell a nuclear power plant to Romania because of internal problems within their nuclear–industrial complexes, and because of Soviet meddling in the internal affairs of its satellites. This research adds to our understanding of Romania's détente policy during the 1960s, while also shedding light on the development of East–West relations in the field of atomic energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The premise of this article is that unbalanced versions of inclusion politics are usually at work in European contexts. Some inclusion patterns may be more relevant for certain aspects or levels of the education system or various models may be applied to specific ethnic groups. A necessary balancing approach is discussed in this article, drawing on examples from Italy and Romania. In this article, I will engage with the profile of the inclusion politics of education in two European contexts, at different levels and regarding various arenas: nationally relevant policy documents issued by the Ministries of Education in both countries, consolidated configurations of school practices and specific provisions, the profile of the inclusion message as presented in some school textbooks and teachers’ guides. I will argue that at national policy level, both countries are difference recognition oriented, although for different rationales and following different patterns. At a lower level, a plurality of unbalanced and differently focused versions of inclusion politics inside national contexts, frequently as one-dimensional provisions, may be noticed. Yet, a more ‘balanced’ policy may still not be sufficient in itself. It may be, in fact, a matter of specific solutions as correcting the status quo in particular contexts and of multidimensional as substantial multicultural education to be taken on seriously in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Eocene–Oligocene transition (Mammal Palaeogene zones, MP 20–21) corresponds in Europe to a major faunal turnover, called the ‘Grande Coupure' (= Great Break). This event, produced by worldwide cooling and regression of seas, reshaped the faunal composition of Europe and resulted in the extinction of numerous ectothermic taxa. We describe a new palaeobatrachid frog from the early Oligocene of Suceag 1 (Rupelian: MP 23–24), Romania, and assign it toAlbionbatrachus, a genus previously known only from the British Isles and thought to have gone extinct during the late Eocene (MP 20).Albionbatrachus oligocenicussp. nov. is established on a distinctive frontoparietal bone, which differs fromA. wightensisin a few details, including the morphology of the frontoparietal table and paraoccipital processes. The peculiar sculpture on the frontoparietal bears dense dermal vascularization, which might reflect adaptation to oxygen depleted environments. Two autapomorphic characters of the angulosplenial and ilium inA. oligocenicussp. nov. likely reflect a shift in, respectively, feeding and locomotory behaviours. A phylogenetic analysis of the primarily Gondwanan group Xenoanura identifiesAlbionbatrachusas the sister taxon ofPalaeobatrachus, and places these two genera as the sister group of a separate Pipidae +Avitabatrachusclade. The presence ofA. oligocenicussp. nov. in the Oligocene of Central Europe indicates thatAlbionbatrachussurvived the ‘Grande Coupure' and necessitates a revised palaeobiogeographical scenario for the genus. We propose that the geographical distribution ofAlbionbatrachusbefore the ‘Grande Coupure' was wider, extending eastwards into Central Europe, and that the ‘Grande Coupure' resulted in the extinction ofAlbionbatrachusonly in the western part of its range. The final extinction ofAlbionbatrachusmight have been associated with Oligocene climatic deterioration and with shrinking of specific aquatic habitats. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:AA35E61B-B563-4D89-9F47-08F61D2C4AC7 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How far can there be such a thing as a 'European archaeology'? Is this a matter of geography and recent history or does it rather reflect different discourses that take place in different parts of Europe? The contrast between a western ('Anglo-American') and central or eastern ('mitteleuropaisch') European archaeology is considered, along with recent discussions of similarities and differences across the continent. The role of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) in bringing scholars and practitioners together is seen as a positive force, which a common language (English) is helping to promote. Recent developments include the 'Discovering the Archaeologists of Europe' project, and changes in the licensing and registering system in different countries; here the example of Romania shows a progressive official attitude to preventive archaeology, coupled with a very traditional approach to the study and teaching of archaeology. The opportunities presented by the creation of the European Research Council should be exploited by the profession with a view to creating large-scale projects that can serve to address questions on a pan-European scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]