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Mangalia area harbors in the western Black Sea a distinctive marine environment thriving under specific hydrochemical conditions, largely influenced by a significant number of sulphurous springs occurring in shallow marine waters. These springs led to the designation of the area as part of the Natura 2000 Marine Protected Area (MPA) network at European level (Underwater Sulphurous Springs from Mangalia - ROSAC0094), as unique hydro-geomorphological features in the region. In 2021 and 2023, two research cruises led by GeoEcoMar investigated underwater sulphurous springs primarily located offshore of Mangalia (Constant, a County, Romania). The study area, located between 17-29 meters water depth and 1.8-3 km offshore, encompasses two marine protected areas: the Underwater Sulphurous Springs from Mangalia (ROSAC0094) and Cape Aurora (ROSCI0281). The research combined geophysical and geochemical techniques and sediment sampling. Considering the susceptibility of these natural systems to human activities such as fishing and dredging, as well as the impact of ecological and climate changes, this paper offers significant insights contributing to the development of effective conservation and management strategies for these environments. The surveys were conducted for benthic habitats mapping, with the objective of improving our understanding of these ecosystems' distribution, composition and dynamics. As these sulphurous waters are rich inmethane, a powerful greenhouse gas, our results also contribute to the inventory of greenhouse gas sources. The results presented in this paper provide valuable new insights into this specific environment, contributing to the understanding of its complex functioning and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classification is mandatory for all seagoing ships engaged in international trade worldwide, with regulations that require the strength of the hull construction to be confirmed. Upon completion of the ship's construction or during the execution of repair works in shipyards (reconversion works, modification of panels, replacement of equipment, etc.), the strength structure of the ship may be affected and the classification society must certify that it meets the requirements. Replacing old equipment sometimes implies some variations in overall dimensions, which may impose some changes (adjustments) on the layout of structural panel elements. This study applied the Finite Element Method (FEM) considering the von Mises theory in a case study of a beam modification with the support of the ANSYS software. This study used the reverse engineering method to investigate an already implemented solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opportunities to observe presidential leadership capacities and to be an active citizen in appraising presidential leadership practices have increased the relevance of perceptions of candidates' leadership qualities in presidential and campaign politics. Based on prior evidence, the current study predicted and confirmed that a sample of 1,087 young voter perceptions of presidential candidates' leadership practices predict intent to vote for a particular candidate after accounting for party affiliation. Additionally, party affiliation was reconfirmed as predicting differences in perceived leadership practices. Interestingly, male and female perceptions of presidential leadership practices varied and were contextualized by factors related to identity development. The study concludes with a discussion of implications as they pertain to leadership theory and leadership education.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a backward design model implemented to develop a leadership ethics course taught in a graduate leadership program. Backward design was implemented to deeply embed the construct of applied ethics within the fabric of leadership curriculum while capturing intended course competencies. Course curriculum integrates a servant leadership theoretical framework and pedagogy that serves to shape and develop moral imagination in leadership students. Backwards design contributed to clarity, integrity, and alignment of course curriculum with program objectives and university mission.

Imagination is the exercise of generating new and novel mental images. Because of its utility for the arts, it is primarily thought of as a purely aesthetic tool. And yet, as a cognitive orientation to the world, imagination has much to offer business leaders. Imagination shifts leaders away from ingrained ways of thinking; it emphasizes reframing existing situations, moving beyond constraining mental models, and formulating innovative responses. In short, imagination is the critical cognitive link connection between "what is" and "what might be." This application brief describes a module designed to develop "moral imagination" in leadership students in Gonzaga University's Masters in Organizational Leadership Program. It outlines the use of popular film--in this case, the classic Woody Allen (1989) film, "Crimes and Misdemeanors"--to help students identify ethical events, assess various viewpoints concerning these events, and then practice reframing the events using moral imagination.

The North-Western Black Sea shelf is extremely vulnerable to disturbances of its habitats and ecosystems. In the past 10 years, this area has become targeted by beam trawl fisheries for the invasive gastropod Rapana venosa (Valenciennes, 1846), with a potentially destructive impact on the area's soft bottoms. Not many studies have been performed in the region, and most investigations have focused on gear selectivity and by-catch rates. In this context, our novel research aimed, on the one hand, to assess and quantify the actual impact of beam trawling and, on the other hand, to propose effective spatial/temporal management measures for a sustainable zonation of the North-Western Black Sea shelf (marine zone of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve). The methodology used integrated beam trawl catch dynamics information, VMS data, geophysical investigations, and macrozoobenthos sampling. Our findings show that beam trawling activities can cause changes in the benthic habitat structure (lower number of taxa, lower values of ecological indicators, and an overall non-GES status). Further in-depth investigations are needed to underpin the ecosystem-based management of this marine protected area (MPA), aiming to allow the recovery of the affected benthic habitats, by alternating defined areas undergoing fishing with biological recovery polygons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beach nourishment is an already employed option on the littoral area of Romania, Black Sea. Quite large quantities of marine sand are necessary for implementing the program of artificial placement of sand on the eroded shore areas and for the maintenance of these works. In order to minimize the financial effort to find accumulations of marine sand on the Romanian continental shelf, in the 20-50m water depth domain, the seismoacoustic methods (multibeam echosounding, sub-bottom profiling and side scan sonar) can be successfully employed. The concurrent use of these methods can allow the mapping the most favorable areas for sand accumulations areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlighted even in the Bible within the famous episode of liberation of Israelites from Pharaoh's slavery under the leadership of prophet Moses, intelligence as an action of collecting information about enemy for the purpose of creating an advantage for own side or as a way of fortifying own security has constituted a realm of ideas from immemorial time. Many scholars illustrated different examples and gave different reasons for researching the paradigm of intelligence yet the aspect less emphasized was the importance of connecting and discussing intelligence in relation with the effectiveness of diplomatic and military undertakings correlated to specific strategic cultural and geopolitical contexts. This paper discusses the importance of reshaping intelligence in accordance with the 21st century security challenges and indicates that intelligence should suffer profound transformations for the purpose of backing the settings of nations' foreign policies according to their desired geo-strategic status. Overall, intelligence might be nowadays the silver bullet reaching the minds of soldiers, society and policymakers for a secured world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of Orientalism correlated with the name of Edward Said is a fundamental landmark for the field of International Relations. Orientalism draws the attention to the constructivist approach of world order depicted as a Western product. Yet the main critique of the notion is related to the idea that Orientalism is in fact an Occidental product that it does not address the reality, but the imagined Orient by the Western culture. This article revises the debate over the Western perspective in interpreting the Oriental space, highlighting the lack of an objective approach as the concept of Orientalism is included in the sphere of competitive cultural identities and ideologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Russian Federation's recent buildup of A2/AD forces in Crimea and Kaliningrad, coupled with its increasingly confronting rhetoric in the Black and Baltic Seas, pose a serious challenge for the NATO's Eastern flank countries. Facing this challenging geostrategic context, two major infrastructure developments ‒ Kanal Istanbul in case of the Black Sea, respectively Vistula Spit canal in case of the Baltic Sea ‒ may represent a game changer for the security environment in the Ponto-Baltic Isthmus in the near future. This paper discusses the Central and Eastern Europe countries driving narrative behind the expected operationalisation of these two canals and outlines their potential contribution to NATO's enforcement of credible security guarantees in the Ponto-Baltic Isthmus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]