Search

The establishment of a program assessment mechanism in the public sector of Georgia is an important element for supporting the ongoing public finance management reform and improving the budgeting process as well as enhancing the budget planning stage and ensuring the efficient, productive and prudent management of budgetary means. The present paper discusses the problem of the absence of a program assessment mechanism in the public sector, reviews alternative solutions to the problem and, by applying a cost-effective method, analyzes the best alternative. This best alternative envisages the establishment of a centralized structural unit at the Ministry of Finance which will be responsible for the assessment of the programs/subprograms of ministries/budgetary organizations. The concluding part of the policy paper offers those measures and reforms in the form of recommendations which must be undertaken for the successful implementation of the best alternative.

The paper presents biographical data on Nićifor Perić, Metropolitan of Raška-Prizren and Skenderija. It analyzes his role of a religious leader, who also had jurisdiction in the marital and partly hereditary law. A special focus is put on his work concerning the establishment of important church institutions and funds. The paper explains his relationship towards education and one part focuses on the issue of the monastery of Visoki Dečani, especially when the foundation of the Committee for debt settlement and stay of Russian monks there is concerned. The paper also explains the nature of the Metropolitan’s misunderstandings both with the Ottoman authorities and the authorities of the Kingdom of Serbia, because he did not yield in his firm attitude concerning the preservation of church privileges, including the authority over schools. Another focus is on the relationship of the Great Church (Ecumenical Patriarchate) with Metropolitan Nićifor and the events that took place during his rule in the Raška-Prizren and Skenderija Metropolitanate.

The paper focuses on the historiographical work of Simeon Piščević (1731–1797) History of Serbian People (Istorija srpskog naroda) written in Russia at the end of the 18th century. Simeon Piščević was a Serb who started serving military in the Austrian army during the War of the Austrian Succession and then went to the Russian army, where he got as far as to the rank of general. Miloš Crnjanski partly based the main character of his novel Migrations (Seobe) on this person. The first part of the paper focuses on the history of his manuscript, which remained unknown until the end of the 19th century, while the second part presents the structure of this work, the sources on which the author relied and the methods that Piščević applied as a historian.

The paper focuses on the state of Ukraine's participation in regionalization and globalization processes. The main goal of Ukraine's participation in regionalization and globalization processes is to obtain status of a full member of the EU, which becomes topical in connection with the signing of the association agreement with the EU and the adoption of the export strategy to increase Ukrainian exports of goods while improving its commodity structure. The system approach, the comparative analysis are used, the international statistical data and the materials of the Ukrainian state statistics services are processed. Directions for expanding integration ties are suggested. Priority markets are determined for the export of goods of Ukraine to countries of the EU, Asia, America and Africa.

The paper deals with the technical capabilities of SAP Business One for use in Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In particular, the author considers automatization of all business processes and main modules in this system. The basic technical, functional and organizational advantages and disadvantages of using SAP Business One for domestic companies are determined.

Proper corporate governance structures and principles guide companies towards financial health and lay down the blocks for a sustainable development of the private sector. Moreover, there is a widespread recognition and growing empirical evidence that strong fundamentals of governance are a condition for business benefits largely described by better management, effective boards, improved decision-making process, reduced risk, increased operational efficiency and valuations. Given that trust is a basic condition of functioning capital markets and corporate governance guarantees transparency, accountability and operational integrity, the aim of this present paper is to assess the conformity of the premium traded companies at the Bucharest Stock Exchange with its corporate governance code. The results of our empirical study reveal the ongoing concerns, focus and level of importance given to corporate governance structures and principles by the most trusted and profitable traded Romanian companies.

Reforming the accounting system in the Republic of Moldova and its harmonization with IFRS and European directives takes almost three decades and is a complex technical route which involves important financial and human resources. The given paper aims to present and interpret the way in which the accounting system reform was achieved, how international accounting standards and European directives have been transported into national legislation in order to identify the main waves of the accounting reform and the regulatory changes made by the regulator, of the benefits and costs, advantages and disadvantages arising from the implementation of the reformed regulatory framework. The responses are obtained by applying, as a method of research, the phenomenological interpretive analysis, the documentary and analytical research, the comparative opinion and analysis, thus being categorized as a qualitative empirical research. The results and conclusions of the study will serve as the basis and lessons learned for future reforms. However, knowing the past is building the future.

The present paper aims at analysing the link between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) in the case of Romanian listed companies. For accomplishing this, we will start from the existing literature and we will use data for period 2007-2015 (panel data) to which will apply a simple regression model. From the total number of companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE), we selected 59 companies without being excluding from trading and for which financial data were available for the entire period. The results indicated increased financial performance for CSR companies (only 16 of 59 companies have CSR activities) compared with NON-CSR companies. This study has important implications for policy makers, managers, investors, stakeholders, in generally.

There are various doubts and ambiguities regarding the dispatch of the memorandum by the Government of the Independent State of Croatia (ISC) to the Western Allies asking for military intervention in early May 1945, giving rise to different interpretations in historiography. These varying interpretations are related to the circumstances of the dispatch of the memorandum, its text, the actions of prominent representatives of the Ustasha government, relations between the new Yugoslav authorities and Western allies, especially the British and the role of Archbishop Stepinac and the Holy See in the ISC. In order to understand the memorandum, it is necessary to consider the most important political and military circumstances at the end of World War II in Yugoslavia, especially the politics of the new Yugoslavia and the Western powers, primarily the British. The representatives of the Holy See in the ISC and the Archbishop of Zagreb, Alojzije Stepinac, played an important role in efforts to preserve the Ustasha state. This paper was written based on unpublished and published archival sources and relevant historiographical literature.

As individuals we are egocentric, consistently intending to enhance our self-interests by satisfying our most demanding needs and accomplishing our targets. After assembling all the missing information and estimating the probabilities that will ease our directions without being too excessive, the decision is being made. Individuals are perceived to be rational investors. Although the theory is teaching us that we all choose based on calculated possibilities and desired outcomes, the observed conduct disproves it. The aim of this paper is to discern how humans behave, react and invest, with the help of an aggregate research based on historical economic contexts and models. By evaluating as well the strategic conduct in uncertain situations will definitely lead to the identification of some patterns in the decision-making process. Because in the end, humans are being distinguished by their pragmatic way of deciding.

In the paper organizational economic mechanism of interaction between transport enterprises and higher education institutes in transport and logistics cluster has been suggested. This mechanism is based on the interaction model between transport enterprises and higher education institutes. New requirements for specialists on the transport services market cause the need for new relations formation between transport enterprises and higher education institutes. Therefore, training of highly specialized workers for transport and logistics cluster entities is possible only if there is effective interaction between enterprises and educational institutions. Comparative analysis of the interaction model was carried out between these entities before their entering to cluster and in cluster structure. It is defined that as a result of interaction between transport enterprises and higher education institutes in transport and logistics cluster, educational institutions could be supported by enterprises (funding, internship) and enterprises would hire qualified employees which level meets their needs. The study defined main goals of investigated objects in transport and logistics cluster, their distribution of the levels and establishment of links.

The paper presents both theoretically and empirically the insolvency risk for 35 companies from the manufacturing industry in Romania, listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, at premium and standard categories, during 2007-2016, through four models: Springate, Taffler, Altman, and French Commercial Credit. The results of the research have revealed that during the period 2007- 2016, over 50% of the companies were facing a high insolvency risk, the most risky of them being Cemacon S.A. and Prefab S.A. The less risky companies during the mentioned period of time were Aerostar S.A. and Conted S.A.

A growing literature coming from economics, sociology or psychology explores the wide range of variables that might explain voluntary compliance behaviour. The aim of this paper is to identify the institutional factors associated with tax morale and to highlight the resemblances and the differences among several countries across the world, grouped according to the level of development. Descriptive statistics and principal components analysis are used as methods and the analysis is carried out at country group level. The main results show that no matter the level of development, people' intrinsic motivation to pay taxes can be associated with good institutions and government ability to efficiently allocate public funds.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of two important factors in the process of the constitutional organization of Serbia and Romania during the 19th century: the external factors and internal socio-political circumstances. Therefore, the constitutional models, modes and types of implementation are an important part of this work. Using analytical and comparative methods, I will discuss the similarities and differences in the processes of constitutionalization in one part of the Balkans region.

The paper explores stages that teaching followed in its revolutionizing transitions from Education 1.0 to Educaton 4.0. The study presents a detailed analysis of the scientific approaches, which economists used in examining influence of digital technologies on behavior of young people and on identifying a generation of children as digital natives who grew up in the era of informational changes. An assessment of traits inherent in the new generation of young people has been used as a basis for carrying out a comparative analysis of the features of digital natives with the distinctiveness of digital immigrants. The study identified factors that contributed to growing number of digital immigrants in developing and least developed countries. The notions of digital cowboys and digital nomads are considered in terms of their recent appearance in the academic market. Countries with the highest share of digital natives comprise the high-income and above-average income countries, the countries with very high levels of general Internet penetration, the countries with top ICT Development Index (IDI), and the countries with a relatively high proportion of young people. Solutions are proposed to support digital natives in their educational aspirations and narrow the gap between them and digital immigrants.

This review discusses the mechanisms of heart rate and blood pressure regulation in healthy people and patients with arterial hypertension. The role of time and spectral parameters of heart rate variability (HRV) in the assessment of autonomic status of these patients, especially during orthostatic test, is described. The paper also contains the results of the studies investigating antihypertensive medications’ effects on HRV structure.

The paper focuses on the diagnostics, clinics, and treatment of functional heart diseases, which require high professionalism and interdisciplinary knowledge and skills from health professionals.

The paper is focussed on the drug release comparison for multisource indapamide medications against the original medication, Arifon retard (1,5 mg; Servier Laboratories, France). The comparative test of dissolution kinetics was performed in three media modelling physiological gastrointestinal conditions: hydrochloric acid solution, pH 1,2; acetate buffer, pH 4,3; and phosphate buffer, pH 6,8. The results of the dissolution kinetics test were compared to those from the comparative therapeutic studies of indapamide medications.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in coronary bifurcation stenosis is still regarded as technically complicated, due to the risk of lateral branch occlusion. Bifurcation stenosis is also characterised by higher intervention costs and restenosis incidence. Over the last 10 years, a range of new stenting techniques for coronary bifurcation stenosis treatment have been developed. These methods improved the rates of short-term PCI success, while drugeluting stents substantially reduced restenosis incidence. However, the limitations of existing methods make the intervention technically challenging and negatively affect long-term PCI results. This paper describes an original PCI method for bifurcation stenosis treatment, called TABAs.

The paper discussed the causes of the substantial geographical discrepancies in the rates of cardiosurgery interventions, based on the secondary analysis of international data. The impact of these differences on mortality levels is assessed. The methods for population demand assessment are reviewed, with the focus on the intervention rates across the countries and the “number needed to treat” parameter.

The paper discusses modern views on myocardial damage mechanisms in coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). The publications reviewed include those on molecular basis and pathophysiological pathways in ischemia/ reperfusion syndrome, as well as on potential cardioprotective strategies.

The paper discusses the modern state of the mitral valve prolapse (MVP) problem. Controversial and unresolved issues on terminology, diagnostics, and tactics for different MVP variants are considered on the basis of the “Heritable disorders of connective tissue” recommendations (2009) by Expert Committee, the Society of Cardiology of the Russian Federation (VNOK). The modern diagnostic criteria of MVP are discussed, as well as echocardiography-estimated MVP prevalence while using those diagnostic criteria, and the comparison of Framingham Heart Study results to the authors’ own data. The interrelation between autonomic dysfunction and MVP is assessed, and different approaches to the stratification of MVP complication risk are compared, based on the echocardiography results and clinical data. The modern methods of MVP treatment and management strategy are also described.

The paper discusses modern aspects of epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical course, diagnostics, and treatment of the patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and intact left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). CHF with intact LVEF comprises over 50% of all CHF cases, and is more prevalent in elderly women. Its leading causes include arterial hypertension (AH) and diabetes mellitus (DM). Current diagnostic problems are related to over-estimated role of LVEF reduction, which reflects substantial myocardial damage not typical for AH and DM. The limitations of classical Doppler ultrasound in diastolic dysfunction (DD) diagnostics are discussed. The combination of classical and tissue Doppler ultrasound provides a more precise estimation of systolic and diastolic LV function. This method, in combination with natriuretic peptide level measurement, is the basis for the diagnostic algorithm of CHF with intact LVEF. A new hemodynamic concept of CHF development is presented. The key clinical trials on the treatment of CHF with intact LVEF are reviewed. In conclusion, the author discusses strengths and limitations of the two concepts of CHF with intact LVEF, as a separate disease or a phenotypical manifestation (stage) of “classical” systolic CHF.

The paper reviews the modern evidence on mechanisms of action and clinical effectiveness of two cardiovascular medication classes – angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and calcium antagonists (CA), used for the treatment of patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and coronary heart disease (CHD). ACE inhibitors and CA have complementary effects on vascular tone and endothelial function, as well as synergetic action in terms of blood pressure (BP) reduction, pleiotropic effects, organo-protection, and clinical event prevention. Therefore, these mediations can be used as combined cardiovascular therapy. Perindopril and amlodipine, both as monotherapy or combined treatment, have the largest evidence base and potential for clinical practice.

The paper is focused on erectile dysfunction (ED) as an inter-disciplinary problem. The detailed analysis of relevant clinical trials and meta-analyses is performed, demonstrating a causal relationship between ED and coronary heart disease, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemias, and diabetes mellitus. The role of common cardiovascular (CVD) risk factors (RFs) in ED development, as well as a shared, endothelial dysfunction-related pathogenetic mechanism of CVD, is discussed. The prevalence of ED and androgen deficiency, together with their link to metabolic syndrome (MS), is presented. It is shown that ED could be regarded as CVD predictor, and that early diagnostics of the RFs common for CVD and ED can be used for risk prediction and identification of highrisk groups. Since metabolic RFs are common for CVD, ED, and androgen deficiency, further research in this area may facilitate more efficient approaches to prevention and treatment of these diseases.