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The article article discusses issues of jpurnal "Eurolimes" offered by the Institute for Euroregional Studies, focusing on its themes, authors and role in preservation of European migrational borders. It also includes number of publications of articles and reviews in Eurolimes by volume, location of Eurolime authors and thematic aspects of border problems discussed in Eurolimes.

In the second half of the twentieth century Greece became a subject for travel writers in search of a European 'Paradise'. But 'Hell' was also to be found in Greece, often in the form of frustrations over allegedly 'non-European' standards of living, facilities, and attitudes. A sample of travel narratives published between 2006 and 2014 suggests the extent to which, in the light of the 'Greek Crisis', twenty-first-century writers are abandoning these formerly conventional themes. There is now the potential for the realignment of narratives, with Greece becoming the Hell, rather than the Heaven, of Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In premodern Europe, the window constituted one of the most important interfaces between a private house and the public street. In the densely built-up cities this often translated into conflicts at and around windows. A considerable body of early modern literature about window-related conflicts has survived, but it has hardly been studied by historians. In this article I will examine two major (and interrelated) aspects of this violence: the throwing of objects out of windows and the damaging of windows from the outside. It will become clear that conflicts involving windows offer insights into the dialectics of sociability and disorder in the premodern city. What is more, the story of broken windows exemplifies the interplay between rituals of conflict and the symbolic meanings of a certain object of material culture: glass windows. To conclude the article I will highlight general differences between window- related violence in the past and the present and suggest what these differences can tell us about changing attitudes toward urban and domestic spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the atrocities against life and dignity of man in Europe during the 20th century, man has not been destroyed, rather, he has always been reborn strongly. Nevertheless, at present reigns in the old continent a great confusion about the characteristics and meaning of the human condition. The author, starting from the biblical category of «image of Cod», proposes and develops an «anthropology in action» that helps to illuminate the real features of human person. From this anthropologic framework, he also suggests some implications for education in the european social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the UK Labor Force survey to investigate whether the socio-economic outcomes of people born on the 13th day of the month, and of those born on Friday the 13th, differ from the outcomes of people born on more auspicious days. In many European countries, including the UK, number 13 is considered unlucky and Friday the 13th is seen as an especially unlucky day. We find little evidence that people born on the 13th or those born on Friday the 13th are significantly less likely to be employed, earn lower wages or that they are more likely to stay unmarried compared to people born on other days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is a review of, and a critical response to, Wolfgang Wipperfürth’s book Niemand ist ein Zigeuner. Zur Ächtung eines europäischen Vorurteils (Nobody is a Gypsy. On the Proscription of a European Prejudice). The author’s approach is largely unscientific and relies on very imprecise definitions of terms like “Europe”, “culture” or even “Gypsy”. Wipperfürth’s book tries to construct a pan-European Roma community and then proceeds to attempt to demonstrate the systematic discrimination of that supposed community even today. Unfortunately, the examples in this book are not convincing, and due to the subjective choice of sources and their interpretations, the alleged “European Prejudice” remains a phantom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides empirical evidence that helps to answer several key questions relating to the extent of urban sprawl in Europe. Building on the monocentric city model, this study uses existing data sources to derive a set of panel data for 282 European cities at three time points (1990, 2000 and 2006). Two indices of urban sprawl are calculated that, respectively, reflect changes in artificial area and the levels of urban fragmentation for each city. These are supplemented by a set of data on various economic and geographical variables that might explain the variation of the two indices. Using a Hausman-Taylor estimator and random regressors to control for the possible correlation between explanatory variables and unobservable city-level effects, we find that the fundamental conclusions of the standard monocentric model are valid in the European context for both indices. Although the variables generated by the monocentric model explain a large part of the variation of artificial area, their explanatory power for modelling the fragmentation index is relatively low. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As the official journal of the ESA, European Societies was asked to publish this report because of its special interest for the readers. This is a slightly shortened version of the first report on National Sociological Associations which was submitted to the European Sociological Association in November 2014. A series of relevant tables can be found on the ESA site:http://www.europeansociology.org/national-associations.html.ABSTRACT:This report presents the results of a survey on the National Associations of Sociology in Europe conducted in the years 2012–2013 by the European Sociological Association (ESA) under the auspices of its Committee for National Associations. The National Associations of Sociology were progressively established and institutionalized throughout the twentieth century, each one reflecting the political circumstances of the European Continent at the time. Of the 40 associations surveyed, 10% were in existence in 1950, which shows that the consolidation of the associative movement of sociologists in Europe is generally quite recent and gradually built up over the course of a century or more. The size of each association in terms of numbers of members is a key dimension in understanding how sociology is organized throughout Europe. The same may be said of the difficulties encountered when establishing the ESA as recently as 1992. The results of the survey show that the European sociological community is the aggregate of several parallel currents going back well over a hundred years. Each current has generated as many tributaries as there are individual academic and professional corporations operating in the dozens of countries where sociology has been able to take root and develop, whilst favoured – or sometimes opposed – by university and social policies, governments and public or private bodies. Moreover, each country has its own story to tell about the particular claims and losses, its ups and downs, advances and set-backs that sociology as a discipline has experienced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the social and political conditions in Europe, contending that the definitions of the political left and right have been called into question by anti-establishment radicalism. An overview of radical political parties in the European Parliament, including the Greek political party Golden Dawn, the Austria political party the Freedom Party of Austria and the Hungarian political party Jobbik, is provided. European economic conditions' impact on politics, including in regard to unemployment and stagnant wages, are discussed.

The article discusses a conference on social and systemic problems and democratic capitalism in Central Europe which was held on 7-8 November, 2014 at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland.

This article analyses the similarities and differences of the latest American and European security strategies under President Obama in order to make inferences about the degree of compatibility of their deep-seated and shared norms, beliefs and ideas regarding the means and ends of national security, and to better understand the normative continuity/discontinuity of those norms of the Obama vs. Bush administration. Building upon constructivist work on strategic cultures, the article concentrates on a qualitative analysis of elite security discourses and disaggregates them into their normative and ideational components. By studying strategic cultures empirically and comparatively, the study fills a known void in the literature on strategic cultures. It finds that American and European norms, beliefs and ideas about the means and ends of national security policy are compatible with regards to challenges and threats as well as preferred modes of international cooperation; they are incompatible with regards to commonly held beliefs about the international system and how to address threats, which is worry some politically. Moreover, the article finds that there is a continuity in the US security strategies from President Bush to Obama. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Unintended pregnancies are common and when not resulting in a termination of pregnancy may lead to unintended childbirth. Unintended pregnancies are associated with increased health risks, also for women for whom pregnancy continues to childbirth. Our objective was to present the prevalence of unintended pregnancy in six European countries among pregnant women attending routine antenatal care, and to investigate the association with a history of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study, of 7102 pregnant women who filled out a questionnaire during pregnancy as part of a multi-country cohort study (Bidens) with the participating countries: Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Norway and Sweden. A validated instrument, the Norvold Abuse Questionnaire (NorAq) consisting of 10 descriptive questions measured abuse. Pregnancy intendedness was assessed using a single question asking women if this pregnancy was planned. Cross-tabulation, Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression analysis were used. Results: Approximately one-fifth (19.2 %) of all women reported their current pregnancy to be unintended. Women with an unintended pregnancy were significantly younger, had less education, suffered economic hardship, had a different ethnic background from the regional majority and more frequently were not living with their partner. The prevalence of an unintended pregnancy among women reporting any lifetime abuse was 24.5 %, and 38.5 % among women reporting recent abuse. Women with a history of any lifetime abuse had significantly higher odds of unintended pregnancy, also after adjusting for confounding factors, AOR for any lifetime abuse 1.41 (95 % CI 1.23-1.60) and for recent abuse AOR 2.03 (95 % CI 1.54-2.68). Conclusion: Women who have experienced any lifetime abuse are significantly more likely to have an unintended pregnancy. This is particularly true for women reporting recent abuse, suggesting that women living in a violent relationship have less control over their fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kosovo–Holocaust analogy is normally examined either as a rhetorical tool of deception and propaganda, or as an argumentative device employed to serve diverse purposes with often conflicting meanings. Political objections are thus normally limited to disclosing the distortions that served the national interests of the intervener. Following Paul Ricoeur, the paper moves beyond mere distortion to the ideological functions (social integration, legitimization and distortion) of a wider social imaginary, a Holocaust metanarrative for understanding the war, evaluating the facts and ethically assessing the proper US response. Findings are based on exhaustive research into (a) public remarks and statements made by Secretary Albright and leading figures of the Department of State (1997–2001), (b) the Congressional Record during the Clinton and G. W. Bush's administrations, and (c) the public papers of the US Presidents during the same period (1993–2009). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

From the viewpoint of the state, a person is either a citizen or a foreigner. National citizenship laws divide people into citizens and foreigners. But citizenship laws also differentiate between categories of citizens and foreigners by granting certain foreigners (super-foreigners) preferential admission to citizenship and by restricting citizenship rights and privileges to certain citizens (sub-citizens). This article analyses comparatively current legal rules on the acquisition and loss of citizenship and on the exercise of citizenship privileges in 38 European countries in order to map ethno-national hierarchies of foreignness and citizenship. It builds a typology of ethno-national rules of citizenship and challenges widely held theses about the liberalisation and de-ethnicisation of citizenship regimes in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The uncertainty of democratic transition poses a threat to the survival of ethnically plural societies, culminating in the first open elections. The design of the electoral system for the founding elections is therefore of crucial importance. This paper focuses on the democratic transition of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its founding elections in 1990. A variety of electoral systems, both proportional and majoritarian, were employed during these elections. With different incentives they attempted to reconcile inclusion and group representation, while fostering interethnic politics. Utilizing newly available election data and a within-case comparison, the paper analyses incentives and outcome of different electoral systems under least-likely conditions of success. As no single electoral system was able to overcome the predominance of particularistic ethnic politics during these elections, the paper concludes that under high levels of transitional uncertainty and low levels of ethnic inter-group relations, the choice of electoral system alone is often not enough to make a decisive difference in electoral outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Studies on public opinion about welfare already acknowledge the role context plays in individual attitudes towards welfare. However, the much-debated effect of socially held values and beliefs on attitudes towards social policy has not been empirically investigated. Drawing on studies in political and social psychology, as well as Shalom Schwartz's work on universal human values, this article argues that social values, specifically egalitarianism and embeddedness, affect individual support for social welfare policies. Moreover, we posit that social values condition the effect that individual ideological orientations have on attitudes towards government responsibility, such that the effect of embeddedness is much stronger for right-wing and moderate identifiers than those who lean towards the left. We test our hypotheses using data from the European Social Surveys ( ESS) and International Social Survey Programme ( ISSP) Role of Government module and employing multi-level modelling. Our results provide evidence of the importance of social context and shared values in influencing attitudes towards welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As distinct from income or wealth inequality, ‘social inequality’ is currently poorly understood and, at best, unevenly measured. We conceptualize social inequality as the relative position of individuals along a number of dimensions that measure achieved outcomes and, innovatively, expectations about future outcomes. Using data from 12 Central and Eastern European countries, we find that cross-national patterns of social inequality differ significantly from patterns derived from income inequality measures. Moreover, our measure of social inequality is much better correlated than income inequality with other country differences such as higher levels of economic performance and human development, and stronger political institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an understanding of changing diversity in Burgazadası within the post-Ottoman, homogenising context of Turkey. It critiques conceptualisations of ‘culture as difference’ within the multiculturalism discourse in Europe and of coexistence as the reduction of differences and identities to pre-existing categories of the Ottoman millet system. Instead, it presents post-Ottoman conviviality as a lived practice and grassroots representation of recognised and unrecognised diversities by contextualising the production of differences and changing discourses of pluralism. The article demonstrates that individuals belonging to different groups can come to share similar values based on longstanding attachment to place and everyday practices, thereby representing themselves, in this case, as ‘Burgazlı’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Women's equality claims have occupied the forefront of the European debate on face-veil bans; most claims have been denounced as mere manipulation for anti-Islamic and/or anti-immigrant political agendas, and the dilemma between anti-sexist and anti-racist struggles has been argued to be false. This article examines how opportunistic manipulation of gender equality claims and the 'ethnicisation' of sexism have been assessed and confronted in the scholarly debate opposing the bans, as well as the impact that this debate has had on women's equality claims and the intersectionality issue. I argue that the women's oppression argument has not been fully considered, because it would have disrupted the anti-racist struggle due to unresolved problems with understanding intersectionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study applies unique data on three-generation migrant and non-migrant lineages to assess how assimilation and intergenerational transmission theories hold up for attitudes on gender equality in the context of Turkey–Europe migration. Information on migration histories of families and gender equality attitudes is collected for over 800 families. Based on those data assimilation and retention theories and theories on intergenerational transmission as a means to reproduce cultural attitudes among migrant families are tested from a dissimilation-from-origin perspective: how do migrants and their descendants differ from non-migrants from the same area of origin. The results of this study support concepts that focus on context- and path-dependency: segmented assimilation is shown in the form that the more traditional migrants who move back to Turkey have children with more traditional views than comparable people without migrant ancestors (retention). At the same time, among lineages that settle in Europe, migration seems to speed up the assimilation process of becoming more supportive of gender equality. Moreover, the youth that grew up in Europe is hardly influenced by the parents' attitudes, whereas the ones growing up in Turkey are. This supports the idea of migration being a transmission belt for intergenerational transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we focus on underlying determinants of interethnic contact of natives within a large number of European regions. We use the ‘opportunity-preference-third parties’ framework to explain differences between social groups and distinguish interethnic contact with colleagues from interethnic friendship. Using the first wave of the European Social Survey (2002/2003), we found clear differences between social groups in terms of how likely they are to have interethnic contact. Men have more interethnic contact in terms of both colleagues and friends. Older residents in Europe have fewer immigrant friends, but hardly differ in terms of immigrant colleagues. Opportunity plays a significant role in fostering interethnic contact in terms of both friends and colleagues. Preference and third parties predominantly affect the chances of having interethnic friendships. The three mechanisms partly explain differences between social groups. Although social groups tend to differ in their probability of having interethnic contact, they ‘profit’ more or less equally in terms of increased interethnic contact if objective opportunities rise. Our results stress the importance of distinguishing both dimensions of interethnic contact, i.e., with friends and colleagues, and shed more light on underlying determinants and mechanisms of interethnic contact. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examines the relationships between human values and patient non-adherence. Two types of non-adherence are studied: non-adherent views and non-adherent behavior in response to doctor's instructions. The study uses data from the European Social Survey Round 2 from 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland. Correlation analyses and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted both using the pooled data from these 14 countries and within countries. The sample size ranged from n = 20,012 to n = 21,600 in the analyses of pooled data. Human values were found to be associated with non-adherence. As hypothesized, endorsing openness-to-change values (vs. conservation values) was positively related to non-adherent views and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysing restricted access census data, this paper examines the long-term trends of immigrant segregation in France from 1968 to 2007. Similarly to other European countries, France experienced a rise in the proportion of immigrants in its population that was characterised by a new predominance of non-European immigration. Despite this, average segregation levels remained moderate. While the number of immigrant enclaves increased, particularly during the 2000s, the average concentration for most groups decreased because of a reduction of heavily concentrated census tracts, and census tracts with few immigrants. Contradicting frequent assertions, neither mono-ethnic census tracts nor ghettos exist in France. By contrast, many immigrants live in census tracts characterised by a low proportion of immigrants from their own group and from all origins. A long residential period in France is correlated with lower concentrations and proportion of immigrants in the census tract for most groups, though these effects are sometimes modest. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The many local places created by immigrants and their descendants in early Canada developed within one of three characteristic frames: towns, work camps, and countrysides. The towns, the most conservative, largely reproduced the ways of small European towns. Work camps subjected groups of men, abstracted from intricate European social formations, to the conditions of work associated with particular staple trades. Countrysides, where most people lived, were loci of rapid social and cultural change. The availability of land and scarcity of labour provided opportunity for the poor and disincentive for the rich, and compressed European social hierarchies. The convergence of Europeans from different regional backgrounds, coupled with the many influences of new environments, created distinctive rural cultures. In early Canada, these new countrysides were scattered along a northern edge of North American agriculture. Small and bounded, they soon filled, westward Canadian alternatives were inaccessible or occupied, and the surplus young migrated southward into American melting pots. A scattered country that was neither European nor American, and that was inherently diverse, was in the process of formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Sex workers (SW) represent the population exposed to extremely high risk of HIV (HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and other sexually transmitted infections. Poor socioeconomic conditions in the country, insufficient education, high unemployment and other factors lead to an increase in prostitution, which represents a high risk for the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Aim of the study: The aim of this research was to evaluate the prevalence of HIV/ sexually transmitted infections among SW in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as to examine knowledge, attitudes and behaviour relating to HIV/sexually transmitted infections. The results were compared with the results obtained in researches conducted in 2008 and 2010. Material and Methods: Research was performed in 2012 as a bio-behavioral study that covered 199 sex workers in five cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Interviewing was done voluntarily, anonymously and confidentially, and after informed consent and councelling, a biological material (blood) for laboratory testing on HIV, hepatitis b, hepatitis c and syphilis was taken. The research shows the presence of risk behaviour among SW, mostly related to frequent change of partners and frequent unprotected sexual intercourses. Results: Only one third of respondents (36,7%) use condom during every sexual intercourse with a client, and 13% use it with a steady partner. A sexual intercourse after effects of consumption of alcohol-87,9% of respondents and of drugs-36,7% of respondents. Although there is a risk behaviour, only 11,1% think that the risk of HIV/sexually transmitted infections is high, but 12,6% think that there is no risk. Sex workers are 13,5 times more exposed to HIV infection than all the other women aged 15-49. Results of laboratory testing indicate a low level of HIV/sexually transmitted infections among sex workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Conclusion: Although there is a relative progress in prevention of HIV/sexually transmitted infections among sex workers and more frequent testing on HIV/sexually transmitted infections comparing to earlier periods, these things are insufficient for the maintenance of a low level of infection. Further research at certain time intervals among this population would enable monitoring time trends of HIV epidemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina and would become a basis for the development of preventable programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the economic and social situation in Europe at the end of the year 2014, after the great international financial and economic crisis of 2008-2009 and the following European crisis. Topics include the consequences of both crisis and of the economic policy on European society and economy, European macroeconomic policies unable to put an end to the crisis, and austerity leading to decline in public and private investment in Europe.

The article examines the ‘new phase’ of the European social dialogue, and its credentials as a system of European tripartism. It is argued that tripartism is notable for four key characteristics, and the presence of these characteristics in a transnational interest representation regime is assessed. Though the ‘new phase’ of the social dialogue is found to engage with innovative topics, it also emerges as being marked by peripheral output and piecemeal implementation outcomes. The article's conclusion is thus sceptical, and notes difficulties associated with transnational tripartism and the increasing dilution of the European social dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses the special features that characterise the spatial structure of Central and Eastern Europe, a region still in the phase of transformation. This topic has already been discussed by numerous authors (Gorzelak 1997, Rechnitzer et al. 2008); the corresponding studies have identified both greater and lesser developed areas, as well as other intermediate areas, leading to various 'geodesigns', figures, and models. First, a brief description of the main studies of spatial structure affecting the macroregion is given; then our definition of the spatial structure of Central and Eastern Europe is outlined. This is not only based on the main traditional development indicators (e.g. GDP per capita, unemployment rate, and business density), but also considers the spatial structure layers (economy, society, concentration, settlement pattern, network, and innovation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with poverty orderings when multidimensional attributes exhibit some degree of comparability. The paper focuses on an important special case of this, that is, comparisons of poverty that make use of incomes at different time periods. The ordering criteria extend the power of earlier multidimensional dominance tests by making (reasonable) assumptions on the relative marginal contributions of each time dimension to poverty. Inter alia, this involves drawing on natural symmetry and asymmetry assumptions as well as on the mean/variability framework commonly used in the risk literature. The resulting procedures make it possible to check for the robustness of poverty comparisons to choices of intertemporal aggregation procedures and to areas of intertemporal poverty frontiers. The results are illustrated using a rich sample of 23 European countries over 2006-2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses changes in sexuality, gender and citizenship in South East Europe after the break-up of the Socialist Federative Republic (SFR) of Yugoslavia. Topics include social changes related to the emerging nationalisms and armed conflicts after the disintegration of SFR Yugoslavia, the concept of citizenship in South East Europe and perspectives on feminist and sexual citizenship in South East Europe

A growing literature investigates the relationship between ethnic diversity and social trust. Comparative research in the European context employing country-level indicators has predominantly produced inconclusive results. This study examines the relationship between immigration-related diversity and social trust at the sub-national level of European regions. The regional perspective allows the capture of relevant variations in ethnic context while it still generates comparable results for a broader European context. Using survey data from the European Social Survey 2002–2010 merged with immigration figures from the European Labour Force Survey, this study builds upon previous research by testing the relationships between various diversity indicators and social trust in cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective. In addition, it investigates the role of economic and cultural contexts as moderators. The results show that across European regions, different aspects of immigration-related diversity are negatively related to social trust. In longitudinal perspective, an increase in immigration is related to a decrease in social trust. Tests of the conditional hypotheses reveal that regional economic growth and ethnic polarization as a cultural context moderate the relationship. Immigration growth is particularly strongly associated with a decrease in social trust in contexts of economic decline and high ethnic polarization. However, there is some evidence that in contexts of low polarization the relationship is actually positive. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Strategic Universe Journal / Univers Strategic is the property of Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, Institute for Security Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Trabajos y Comunicaciones is the property of Universidad Nacional de La Plata and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article provides information on aspects related to launch of scientific forces and publishing of periodical based on European affairs. Topics discussed include European integration and innovative reflections, European Public Law Organization (EPLO), institutional weaknesses, and power distribution.

The author, who directs Soul of Europe, a mediation project working in the Balkans for the last fifteen years, assesses the changes that have taken place in Bosnia – ‘a broken country’. He contrasts the thoughtful creative work of community-based people’s plenums with the crushing uncaring bureaucracy of international agencies, particularly via the EU – the latest imperial power. It is, he argues, the clarity and practicality of the plenum movement’s demands in dealing with corruption and the need for justice that puts it in the political vanguard. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a report from an October 23 and 25, 2014 conference in Munich, Germany on social aspects of the Holocaust. Topics of presentations delivered included the role of European society in the social exclusion and marginalization of the Jews prior to World War II, institutions and societies in the Third Reich which attempted to aid Jews, and the relationships between Poles and Jews in the Polish government.

The article offers information on the workshop "Living in European Borderlands" held at the University of Luxembourg from November 20-22, 2014. Participants included scholars such as Elisabeth Boesen, Ludivine Martin, and Devan Jagodic. Topics discussed include cross-border mobility in Europe, Europeanization, and residential migration.

ABSTRACT.The aging of the European population represents a challenge for the current systems of social care services and in particular for the availability of individualized formal social care for older people. This article looks at 8 Central European countries and explores the contextual factors that boost or inhibit the development of these services, identifies the most important among them, and describes the specific contexts that are conducive to the development of social care services for older adults. Qualitative and quantitative data from Eurostat and the international projectHousing and Home Care for the Elderly and Vulnerable People and Local Partnership Strategies in Central European Citieswere analyzed using multidimensional scaling and multiple correspondence analysis. The results indicate that the availability and variety of social care services are above all linked to economic indicators, the age structure of the population, and un/employment rates. Moreover, the contextual factors tend to have a combined influence on the social care system. These findings imply that before restructuring the systems of social care services, local governments should take into consideration the simultaneous effect of multiple factors. However, the exploratory results of this study need to be verified in a larger number of diverse countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In non-Asian spaces, the impact of East Asia popular culture’s products on consumers is related to the way in which those popular cultures were perceived especially inside large Asian communities residing in the USA and less in Western Europe. I assessed that an exploring study on this topic could offer a series of answers related to consumption reasons and the impact of this type of cultural products on a different type of public - the audience of South Korea popular culture in European countries. The present paper will approach the comparison of the impact of China, Japan and South Korea’s popular products at the level of European publics. The main research question on which I tried to offer an answer is: “What are the unique characteristics that differentiate Korean cultural products at the level of opinions and assessments of European public?” The main research methodology is a sociological one: I used three questionnaires applied online on various Facebook pages and groups and websites devoted to Japanese, Chinese and South Korean fan communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Iberica is the property of Asociacion Europea de Lenguas para Fines Especificos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this study, we investigate morality in relation to the public good in post-socialist Europe. Public good morality is defined as the (non)acceptance of behaviour that contravenes the law and harms society and the greater good of the collective, such as cheating on taxes if one has the chance, paying cash to avoid taxes, not paying one's fare in public transport, and claiming state benefits one is not entitled to. Using data from the European Values Study in 2008 on more than 30,000 respondents in 23 post-socialist states, we find that on average the level of public good morality is quite high: 8.4 on a ten-point scale. However, there are marked differences between individuals and between countries, which we attempt to explain by looking at the legacy of communist rule, processes of democratization and compliance attitudes. We find that individuals living in former Soviet states are more 'lenient' when it comes to actions that harm the collective. However, those who lived under communist rule for a longer time display higher (and not lower) levels of public good morality. The level of democracy in a country does not seem to add any explanatory power, but individuals who hold more democratic values appear to be morally less strict. Finally, compliance attitudes such as interpersonal trust and confidence in government do not seem to mediate the observed relationships between communist rule and democracy on the one hand and public good morality on the other hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the quality and implementation of research and innovation is a key task for many governments in Europe and globally. It is essential to select the most right tools and policies accordingly. The paper uses theoretical and conceptual analysis made by Member States in implementing coherence of policies. The role of sectoral policies and their complementarity to ensure both compatibility and synergies sought are discussed. As far as the issue of policy coherence is of metapolitical nature i.e. policies to the policies, it has been attempted to operationalize the activities in the process of constructing the policy mix [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent critical standpoint argues that the peace-building process in Bosnia and Herzegovina has not been successful since it has not achieved the state of broadly defined positive peace. According to this widespread opinion, the international peace-building policies have been formulated in terms of negative peace, and rather cemented the division of the country than supported its reintegration. The aim of this paper is to test this argument at the local level of analysis using the conceptual framework of continuum between narrow and wide understanding of peace. Based on interviews with direct actors of the examined processes, we carried out a comparative study within a representative sample of 11 Bosnian municipalities assessing the four alleged divisions that are used as arguments of the critical standpoint. More concretely, we analyze identitary, political, historical and societal division of the society. Our findings confirm, to a large extent, the general patterns assumed by the tested arguments. However, we have also identified positive local developments in all of the respective areas, which question to certain extent the validity of the critical standpoint and give promising prospects for the future. We have also suggested a relation between the state and the local level in some of the discussed problems as negative phenomena, which are proliferating top-down from the state to the local level. Thus, while we have recorded better results in areas independent on higher level developments, results in issues dependent on state-level politics are either directly or indirectly weakened from the top. Overall, we have diagnosed the recorded positive developments on the local level as a potentially promising channel for the international community to bypass the deadlocked state-level politics and give the peace-building process the sorely needed boost from below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fostering of civil society is vital in multiethnic, multicultural, multi-religious and post-conflict societies such as that of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Therefore, this paper examines the role of Muslim women's non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in fostering of civil society in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In this regard, this paper puts in the perspective present role of Muslim women's NGOs by providing the theoretical background and a survey of NGOs in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In order to determine the role and function of Muslim women's NGOs, the author examines main criteria of civil society functions such as control of political power, monitoring of political participation and elections, promoting of anti-corruption awareness, advocating values of human rights, tolerance and understanding, offering civic training, promoting civic education and public issues through media, and promoting conflict resolution and interfaith dialogue. By analyzing civil society functions, this paper answers a question of Muslim women's NGOs involvement in socio-political aspects of a democratic state and fostering of civil society in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The author uses ethnographic methodology, written sources and interviews in analyzing two leading Muslim Women's NGOs such as Nahla Education Center for Women and Kewser-Zehra Association of Muslim Women. The results of this paper indicate that although Muslim women's NGOs in theory do not emphasize on several civil society actors, especially those of political and legal nature, they are significantly involved throughout their various activities in socio-political aspects of the democratic state and as such they have contributed significantly toward fostering of civil society in Bosnia-Herzegovina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the identity crisis faced by Europe since the 2000s. Topics mentioned include Europe's political and economic transformation since the end of World War II, its demographic evolution, and the increasing unemployment. The author mentions the lack of ambition of Europeans and the inappropriate response from the governments.

The article looks at the impact of transatlantic interactions on European women in the early modern period. It discusses how large-scale emigration of European men to America changed many women's economic and social position and also cites the emigration of some European women. It notes the involvement of some women, especially widows and single women, in the business of transatlantic trade. Other topics include trade-related changes in consumption and gender-related cultural changes.

Robert Putnam's 'hunkering down' thesis regarding the negative effect of ethnic diversity on trust and willingness to participate in collective life launched an ongoing debate concerning the ramifications of diversity for social cohesion. Findings regarding the way in which diversity affects social cohesion are discrepant, some scholars arguing that diversity has negative effects on social cohesion and others indicating insignificant or even positive effects. This study claims that these conflicting conclusions are explained by the vagueness of social cohesion - a multidimensional concept. Analyzing cross-national survey data from 42 European countries, it demonstrates how diversity is variably related to the diverse dimensions and operationalization of social cohesion. While diversity is not associated with the most commonly adduced dimension of social cohesion - namely, interpersonal trust - it does possess a negative relation to two other dimensions of social cohesion: belonging and social solidarity. Even these negative relations are not consistent across different operationalizations of belonging and social solidarity, however. In the face of increasing concerns regarding the implications of diversity for social cohesion, these findings demonstrate that caution must be exercised when examining the relations between these two phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the methodological approaches used in the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) research project 'Learning for Career and Labour Market Transitions - individual biographies'.In particular, it illuminates how biographical approaches were employed to help the in-depth understanding of career transitions and work identities as biographical narratives highlight the complex processes of learning, labour market experiences and working-life transitions. Within Europe, biographical approaches in terms of interviewing and analysis are used differently as a result of historical, intellectual and cultural traditions, and this was the case in this study. However, although different approaches were utilised, the stories generated rich data which enabled comparisons to take place across the five countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]