bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Critical Discussion Game for Prohibiting Fallacies
Authors: Visser Jacky , Budzynska Katarzyna , Reed Chris
Published: July 2017

The study of fallacies is at the heart of argumentation studies. In response to Hamblin’s devastating critique of the state of the theory of fallacies in 1970, both formal dialectical and informal approaches to fallacies developed. In the current paper, we focus on an influential informal approach to fallacies, part of the pragma-dialectical theory of argumentation. Central to the pragma-dialectical method for analysing and evaluating argumentative discourse is the ideal model of a critical discussion. In this discussion model, a dialectical perspective on argumentation is combined with a pragmatic take on communicative interaction. By formalising and computationally implementing the model of a critical discussion, we take a first step in the development of software to computationally model argumentative dialogue in which fallacies are prohibited along the pragmadialectical norms. We do this by defining the Critical Discussion Game, a formal dialogue game based on the pragma-dialectical discussion model, executable on an online user-interface which is part of a larger infrastructure of argumentation software.
The practice manager guide to accounts. Part 1: Income
Authors: Lowe Hilary
Published: July 2017

In the first of a two-part guide, Hilary Lowe explains how practice income is made up and how practice managers can ensure their practice receives the maximum amount
INFLUÊNCIA DA FREQUÊNCIA DE IRRIGAÇÃO NO CUSTO DE PRODUÇÃO DO TOMATEIRO INDUSTRIAL IRRIGADO POR ASPERSÃO
Authors: Bezerra Ricardo S. , Alves Júnior José , Evangelista Adão Wagner Pego , Casaroli Derblai , Mesquita Márcio
Published: July 2017

Vários fatores dificultam o tomateiro apresentar seu potencial produtivo no Cerrado, e um deles é o baixo aprofundamento das raízes. Raízes rasas aumentam a frequência de irrigação favorecendo doenças foliares. Assim, objetivou-se com este trabalho calcular frequências de irrigação para o tomateiro industrial em função de diferentes profundidades de raízes, e discutir os impactos das frequências de molhamentos das plantas. Considerou-se um pivô central em Goiânia-GO com tomate industrial (125 dias), com transplantio em 01/maio, em solo de textura média. A simulação do manejo da irrigação foi feita utilizando método simplificado (Embrapa). Os tratamentos corresponderam à simulação de diferentes profundidades de raízes nas fases 3 (frutificação) e 4 (maturação) responsáveis por 70% do ciclo: Tratamento 1 (T1):0,25; T2:0,30; T3:0,35; T4:0,40; T5:0,45; e T6:0,50m. Para a análise econômica do estudo, utilizou-se como referência o custo de produção de tomate industrial para Goiás em 2015. Os resultados revelaram que o aumento da profundidade efetiva do sistema radicular da cultura, de 0,25m para 0,50m, possibilita diminuir pela metade o número de eventos de irrigação durante as fases 3 e 4 e reduzir em até 27% o número de pulverizações de fungicidas no ciclo da cultura, reduzindo em 5,67% o custo de produção.
INFLUÊNCIA DA SALINIDADE NO CRESCIMENTO INICIAL DE MUDAS DE Jatropha curcas L.
Authors: De Araújo Rafaela Pereira souza , Alves da silva Elaine Cristina , Dos Santos Cibele Alves , Pacheco Cinthya Mirella , Custódio nogueira Rejane Jurema mansur
Published: July 2017

A propagação das sementes de Uma das consequências resultantes do processo de degradação ambiental é a salinização do solo. Uma estratégia para recuperação dessas áreas degradadas seria a inserção e manejo adequado de espécies vegetais, tais como o pinhão manso. Tendo em vista as potencialidades do pinhão manso, a presente pesquisa objetivou avaliar a influencia da salinidade no crescimento inicial de mudas de Jatropha curcas submetidas ao estresse salino. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação do Laboratório de Fisiologia Vegetal da UFRPE. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado sendo em esquema fatorial 2 x 4 correspondendo a dois períodos de avaliação (15 e 30 dias após a diferenciação dos tratamentos) e  quatro tratamentos salinos (0, 50, 75 e 100 mM de NaCl), com seis repetições. Analisou-se o crescimento, a produção da matéria seca e a alocação de biomassa da parte aérea e raiz. A salinidade afetou a altura, o número de folha e o diâmetro das plantas a partir da concentração de 50 mM de NaCl. Foi observada redução na produção da matéria seca da folha, um investimento na produção de matéria seca da raiz e uma alocação de biomassa para o caule. Conclui-se que as variáveis relacionadas ao crescimento, foram afetadas a partir de 50 mM de NaCl, contudo, a produção do sistema radicular e a alocação de biomassa para o caule, foi responsável pela manutenção do crescimento de Jatropha curcas, embora que numa taxa reduzida, até a concentração de 100 mM de NaCl.
Arraigo territorial de las grandes casas señoriales (infantes de Aragón, Alba, Estúñiga y Alburquerque) en la cuenca suroccidental del Duero en el contexto de la pugna «nobleza-monarquía»
Authors: Monsalvo Antón José María
Published: July 2017

El artículo pretende conocer los procesos de territorialización que la expansión señorial provocó en la época Trastámara, en concreto en los concejos de la parte occidental de la cuenca meridional del Duero. En el siglo XIII, al igual que ocurría con las ciudades de Ávila, Salamanca o Ciudad Rodrigo, existían extensos concejos de villa y tierra, con numerosas aldeas y que formaban áreas compactas dentro de un completo realengo. Era el caso de Ledesma, Alba de Tormes, Salvatierra, Béjar, Miranda, Montemayor, Valdecorneja –con Barco de Ávila y Piedrahíta–, o Arévalo. Esta compactación previa favoreció que desde la segunda mitad del siglo XIV hasta finales del siglo XV los nuevos linajes –Estúñiga, Álvarez de Toledo, Cueva, sobre todo– pudieran imponer fácilmente su dominio sobre la territorialización concejil anterior. Se analiza también la señorialización en relación con el nuevo modelo de señorío jurisdiccional, con la lucha de facciones nobiliarias y con el proceso de centralización monárquica. El resultado fue una zonificación nueva, a escala subregional, del espacio político, con un gran impacto por parte de la nobleza. Los grandes linajes pudieron no ya sólo intervenir en sus propios señoríos, en grado diverso, sino también interferir en las ciudades vecinas que seguían siendo de realengo, como la propia Salamanca.
Genealogía de lo implícito. ¿La ley-pacto de 1442 o la contra filiación del contrato callado (1469)?
Authors: Foronda François
Published: July 2017

La referencia a un «contrato callado» entre el rey y el reino realizada por los procuradores de las ciudades en las Cortes de Ocaña en 1469 es vista como un hito en la historia del contractualismo castellano. La búsqueda de antecedentes ha llevado a establecer la relación entre esta referencia y la formula «ley real e por pacçion e contracto» utilizada en la ley de inalienabilidad del realengo del 5 de mayo de 1442. Sin embargo, el origen de tal formula y su utilización, ligadas a la concesión de privilegios, demuestran que fue funcionando como una formula soberana de auto-limitación, que no dejaba pues de afirmar el absolutismo jurídico. Por tanto, si bien existe una filiación entre tal formula y el «contrato callado», ésta ha de ser interpretada de manera negativa, a la manera de una contra-filiación. Con esta referencia, que aludía implícitamente al principio de soberanía popular contenido en la Lex regia romana, se pretendía así invertir el principio de soberanía reivindicado por la anterior fórmula.
Murdered in the Tabloids: Billposting and the Destruction of the Duke of Suffolk in 1450
Authors: Oliver Clementine
Published: July 2017

This essay examines the media campaign surrounding the sensational murder of the most powerful political figure in mid fifteenth-century England, William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk. Once a great war hero, Suffolk became unpopular when the English suffered military defeat in France and lost Normandy in 1449, a disaster for which Suffolk was singularly blamed by the public at large. He was impeached by parliament only to be saved and sent into exile by King Henry VI. On his journey to the continent his ship was intercepted by another called Nicholas of the Tower, and he was beheaded by the ship’s sailors in the name of vigilante justice. This essay considers the political verses or bills put in circulation prior to Suffolk’s murder which satirized and lambasted the duke’s role in Henry VI’s faltering government on the eve of the Wars of the Roses. The billposting campaign deliberately encouraged the duke’s downfall and eventual murder, and so Suffolk might be considered the first great victim of proto-tabloid journalism in England, signaling the importance of both publicity and public opinion during the ensuing Wars of the Roses.
How Customer Referral Programs Turn Social Capital into Economic Capital
Authors: Van Den Bulte Christophe , Bayer Emanuel , Skiera Bernd , Schmitt Philipp
Published: July 2017

Customers acquired through a referral program have been observed to exhibit higher margins and lower churn than customers acquired through other means. Theory suggests two likely mechanisms for this phenomenon: (1) better matching between referred customers and the firm and (2) social enrichment by the referrer. The present study is the first to provide evidence of these two mechanisms in a customer referral program. Consistent with the theory that better matching affects contribution margins, (1) referrer–referral dyads exhibit shared unobservables in customer contribution margins, (2) referrers with more extensive experience bring in higher-margin referrals, and (3) this association between the referrer's experience and margin gap becomes smaller over the referral's lifetime. Consistent with the theory that social enrichment affects retention, referrals exhibit lower churn only as long as their referrer has not churned. These findings indicate that better matching and social enrichment are two mechanisms through which firms can leverage their customers' networks to gain new customers with higher customer lifetime value and convert social capital into economic capital. One recommendation for the managers of the firm studied is to recruit referrers among their customers who have been acquired at least six months ago, exhibit high margins, and are unlikely to churn.
Automatisiertes Testen von Webapplikationen
Authors: Koesling Sven
Published: July 2017

Der aufwendige und immer wiederkehrende Prozess des Testens kann automatisiert und vom Computer übernommen werden. Dabei ist nicht nur die Arbeitsersparnis von Vorteil, auch der Beschaffungsprozess neuer Software profitiert von der für die Tests notwendigen klaren Formulierung der Anforderungen und der Kommunikation unter allen Beteiligten. Der Autor zeigt an einem vereinfachten Beispiel, wie verbreitete Probleme bei der Implementierung neuer Software durch die Rahmenbedingungen, die automatisiertes Testen setzt, vermieden werden können.
Sonohysterography in a suspected case of uterine perforation after dilatation and curettage for retained placenta
Authors: Yoshioka Norihito , Hasegawa Junichi , Tozawa Akiko , Nakamura Kentaro , Kawahara Tai , Maeda Ichiro , Suzuki Nao
Published: July 2017

A 35-year-old woman, gravida 3, para 2, spontaneously delivered an infant without any major complications. On the 38th day after delivery, she returned to the hospital due to irregular bleeding. Transvaginal ultrasound showed a mass in the cervix; therefore, dilatation and curettage was performed, using placental forceps, to remove the retained placenta. During the procedure, a uterine perforation was suspected. Sonohysterography was performed in order to confirm the uterine perforation. The sonohysterogram revealed that the high echogenic mass that was suspected to be retained placenta was adhered on the posterior uterine myometrium. Saline that had been injected into the uterine cavity escaped into the Douglas pouch via a small hole in the posterior uterine wall. An emergency laparotomy was performed. Pathological examination of the removed uterus revealed placenta increta in the posterior wall, as well as an adjacent perforated fistula. Sonohysterographic diagnosis of uterine perforation in the present case was not only validated with diagnosis, but also the residual placenta was clearly visible. The use of sonohysterography for detection of a suspected case of uterine perforation after dilatation and curettage was accurate and provided a safe procedure for fast evaluation.
Linking SNAP to Food Security: Exploring Reinstating a Purchase Requirement and Tying Benefits to the Low-Cost Food Plan
Authors: Daponte Beth Osborne
Published: July 2017

The United States has a food assistance structure that, by design, does not assure that households receiving food assistance will be food secure, is deeply inefficient, and is at financial and structural risk. The two most common forms of food assistance used today are Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) and charitable food assistance in the form of groceries (provided through a network of food banks, food pantries, and other related programs). Approximately 43 million persons participate in SNAP and nearly one-third of them also rely on a food pantry for groceries. The use of charitable food assistance by persons relying on SNAP demonstrates that SNAP’s benefit level and structure does not sufficiently result in food security. The article argues that reinstating a purchase requirement for SNAP and increasing the level of benefits provided to SNAP participants would increase the food security of participants, alleviate the chronic demand for food from food banks and food pantries, and ultimately allow the charitable food assistance network to better accomplish its goal of providing emergency food assistance to the needy.
Modeling and Evaluating Zeolite and Amorphous Based Catalysts in Vacuum Gas Oil Hydrocracking Process
Authors: Faraji Davood , Sadighi Sepehr , Mazaheri Hossein
Published: July 2017

Hydrocracking is a significant process in a refinery which is commonly used for converting heavy fractions such as vacuum gas oil (VGO) to the valuable products such as naphtha and diesel. In this research, VGO hydrocracking process was studied in a pilot scale plant in the presence of a zeolite and two amorphous based commercial catalysts called RK-NiY, RK-MNi and KF-101, respectively. In order to study the effect of support on the yield of the process, a discrete 4-lump kinetic model, including feed (vacuum gas oil and unconverted materials), distillate (diesel and kerosene), naphtha and gas was proposed for each catalyst. At first, each network had six reaction paths and twelve kinetic coefficients, and then by using the model reduction methodology, only four main routes for RK-MNi and RK-NiY, and three ones for KF-101 were designated. Results showed that the absolute average deviation (AAD%) of reduced models decreased from 5.11 %, 10.1 % and 21.8 % to 4.54 %, 8.9 % and 19.67 % for RK-MNi, KF-101 and RK-NiY, respectively. Moreover, it was confirmed that amorphous and zeolite catalysts could be selected for producing middle distillate and naphtha products, respectively.
Erection-stimulating, anti-diabetic and antioxidant properties of Hunteria umbellata and Cylicodiscus gabunensis water extractable phytochemicals
Authors: Oboh Ganiyu , Adebayo Adeniyi A , Ademosun Ayokunle O
Published: July 2017

Background

Herbs have been used as an aphrodisiac since ages. This study was designed to investigate the effects of Hunteria umbellata (HU) seeds and Cylicodiscus gabunensis (CG) stem barks aqueous extracts on key enzymes relevant to erectile dysfunction (phosphodiesterase-5 and arginase) and type-2 diabetes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase).

Methods

In ascertaining the erectogenic and antidiabetic properties of the extracts, the effects of the extracts on activities of some enzymes relevant to erectile dysfunction (arginase and phosphodiesterase-5) and type-2 diabetes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase) were determined. Antioxidant properties of the extracts were assessed through several antioxidant assays (DPPH˙, OH˙). Furthermore, their phenolic constituents were estimated and quantified using HPLC.

Results

The results revealed that both extracts inhibited α-amylase and α-glucosidase in a concentration-dependent manner. HU showed higher α-amylase (IC50=221.30 µg/mL) and α-glucosidase (IC50=184.35 µg/mL) inhibition than CG. Also, both extracts inhibited phosphodiesterase-5 and arginase in a dose-dependent manner in vitro; nevertheless, HU showed higher inhibition [phosphodiesterase-5 (IC50=539.72 µg/mL); arginase (41.53 µg/mL)] than CG [phosphodiesterase-5 (IC50=611.35 µg/mL); arginase (47.95 µg/mL)]. In addition, the extracts possess antioxidant properties through radical (DPPH and OH) scavenging and metal (Fe2+) chelating abilities. HPLC analysis of phenolic constituents revealed the abundance of gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, ellagic acid and quercetin.

Conclusions

The ability of samples’ extract to inhibit some of key enzymes relevant to erectile dysfunction and type-2 diabetes could render them cheap, natural and alternative therapy with erectogenic and antidiabetic potentials.
Mutation analysis of the NKX2.5 gene in Iranian pediatric patients with congenital hypothyroidism
Authors: Khatami Mehri , Heidari Mohammad Mehdi , Tabesh Fatemeh , Ordooei Mahtab , Salehifar Zohreh
Published: July 2017

Background:

The embryonic development of the thyroid gland is regulated by the expression of several candidate genes which are related to congenital hypothyroidism. These genes include the numerous critical thyroid transcription factors such as NKX2.1, NKX2.5, FOXE1, and PAX8. The molecular analysis of these loci will be essential to the explanation of the participation of these transcription activators in the etiology of hypothyroidism. Among them, the role of NKX2.5 is important during the early thyroid morphogenesis and in controlling thyroidal cell differentiation and migration. Importantly, NKX2.5 change nucleotides are recognized to be central to the genesis of congenital hypothyroidism.

Methods:

A case-control study was conducted in 65 unrelated patients, diagnosed with primary congenital hypothyroidism and all of them were diagnosed according to the clinical presentations of thyroid hypoplasia and without cardiovascular defects. Mutational screening of the entire NKX2–5 coding sequence was performed in a cohort of pediatric patients by PCR-SSCP and direct sequencing.

Results:

We identified two known variations 73C>T (R25C) and 63A>G (E21E) in patients with thyroid hypothyroidism. Both of them are located in conserved region of the gene and previously reported in cases with thyroid dysgenesis and congenital heart defects. There was a significance association between 63A>G variation with primary hypothyroidism (p=0.003).

Conclusions:

These SNPs are probably related to thyroid hypoplasia because the allele frequency of the 63A>G polymorphism was significantly different in patients and controls and also R25C variation not observed in healthy cases.
Creation of a Model for Social Defense in Case of Disasters for the Citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria
Authors: Baev Georgi , Dimitrov Miroslav , Dimitrov Ivan
Published: July 2017

In Bulgaria there is a great need for a scheme for social defense and protection in case of natural or anthropogenic disasters. Our country has a relatively good social politics, covering a great deal of society’s social illnesses. But our financial capabilities for natural and anthropogenic disaster prevention and handling present a great financial difficulty for our country’s budget. In great deal of cases aid-money are being spend for covering material damage caused by natural disasters, but the aspect of affected citizens gets neglected and remains in the background. Our country comes as far as securing them with a one-off humanitarian or/and financial help for damaged property. In a great deal of cases though our country’s help is inadequate in amount or gets postponed in time due to administrative procedures.
WICS Model’s Impact Upon Successful Military Leaders
Authors: Bădilă Mădălina-Ioana
Published: July 2017

What does actually define successful leadership? We all know that one of the fundamental principles of the inter-personal connections represents the similarity reasoning - which means that we are attracted to people like ourselves. Applying this principle to the military organizational background, it can be observed that former leaders who occupy a decision-making position in an organization seek for future appointed leaders with similar ideas and competencies. This can only be achieved through a profound process of individual evaluation, based on the standardization in the military. Nevertheless, it has been frequently demonstrated that standardized tests may not properly dignify the leader’s skills. Therefore, we can avoid being deprived of our personal aptnesses by expanding our knowledge in the matter of successful leading skills through accepting and implementing innovative leadership perspectives such as the one WICS model presents. The abbreviated model involves the harmonious transposition of specific components that define successful leaders through the synthesis of the intelligence, creativity and wisdom.
Perspectives and Options for the Development of Virtual Teams for Command of Units in Operations
Authors: Cerny Jiri , Pitas Jaromir
Published: July 2017

Team cooperation has been one of the crucial elements of effective and successful organization since the late 1960s. Function, structure and behavior within work teams are common part of organizations, firms and security structures. Increasing cooperation across fields, along with tendency to develop horizontal organizational structures, requires the capability to cross geographic and organizational boundaries. Traditional teams are not suitable for this kind of cooperation. With continual invention and application of new information technology, the communication with units during the operations is becoming simpler and faster than ever before. With the development of technologies, command and control has to evolve too. Commanders and staff on the positions of command during operation are not always skilled and informed enough to solve particular problems. The search for new potential will enable the achievement of goals of armed forces during the operations. System of command and control requires new viewpoints and new ways. The solution might be the development of the virtual teams. However, virtual teams are not understood well enough from the practical and theoretical perspective.
Challenges of the Security Environment Before the Correlation “Resources-Cabilities - Effects”
Authors: Dimitrova Sevdalina
Published: July 2017

In the complex and controversial security environment characterized by dynamic changes and the trend of increasing resource limitation, there is the disbalance between the projected capabilities and the maintenance of the existing ones on the one hand, and on the other - the need for the defense capabilities to be adaptable to the parameters of the changing environment. This necessitates compliance to one of the fundamental principles for enhancing the effectiveness of the defense policy - the principle of improving management as a process and structure for the management of defense resources and related defense products. Moreover, maintaining a stable level of defense spending as a proportion of gross domestic product, is the basis for building the necessary defense capabilities in accordance to the imperatives of the modern armed forces. It is of utmost importance to achieve a balance in the correlation “resources-capabilities-effects”. This, in a security environment which is marked by terrorism provoked by the actions of the “Islamic State” and the permanent threat they impose, by the migration flows that create conditions for serious alteration of the morals and traditions of the “Old continent” and its economic stability, by the danger of spreading and instilling radical Islamism and “redrawing” of state borders, and by hybrid war, is the challange which provokes the scientific research of the author.
Using Geopolitics in the Comparative Analysis of Two International Systems Based on Factors Considered Relevant
Authors: Dinicu Anca
Published: July 2017

The international scene is still modeled on the states’ interests, despite the challenges of non-state actors, whose international policy intervention can not be described as new. The state still continues to play a central role in shaping the international system, even if it is forced to act in an environment where large corporations are designing many of the national economies of states whose nationality they do not have, and non-governmental organizations are at the outskirts of an emerging global civil society, which could jeopardize the state’s right and obligation to prevent injustice, and considering that at the global level there is no entity able to issue regulations in this regard, all of which amid testing international governance models. Looking retrospectively, during the Cold War, the state was much stronger and the threats which it had to face were characterized by a much higher degree of predictability. This paper aims to analyze the contemporary international system by reference to that specific to the Cold War, based on factors considered relevant, the objective being to identify the possibility of turning the present international system to a new Cold War.
Towed Anti-Tank Guns Renaissance of Almost Forgotten Weapons in Ukrainian Conflict
Authors: Dyčka Lukáš
Published: July 2017

Russia’s operations in Ukraine stand in stark contrast to the old Soviet doctrine of methodical, timetable- and echelon-driven employment of ground forces that sought to outmass the opposing army. Apart from obvious tactical implications and use of some modern equipment, this approach has led to reoccurrence of rather forgotten types of military hardware on the battlefield, most notably the towed anti-tank guns that had profound effect on later stages of the conflict. This article assess the reasons of their reoccurrence, types of these weapons and ammunition used on both sides of the conflict and in the last part tactical use of towed anti-tank guns with possible prospect for the future warfare. Data collection and analysis relied chiefly on media and image analysis both from Russian and Ukrainian sources.
Revolution in Military Affairs and Outer Space
Authors: Fučík Jakub
Published: July 2017

Concept of the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) analyses and describes processes of major changes in military-strategic dimension, which provide possibilities especially for states to enhance their military power and establish superiority over their opponents. Contemporary, development of new (weapon) technologies (e.g. precision-guided munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles) and doctrines (e.g. network centric warfare, system-of-systems) represents such opportunity. Outer space in this context represents relatively new dimension of warfare with increasing importance for strategical thinking of all main state actors (e.g. China, Russia, and the U.S.). This paper deals with relation between RMA and outer space. The aim of this paper is to analyses how outer space and space technologies influence contemporary/future RMA and vice versa.
Improving Coordination, Interaction and Cooperation in Humanitarian Aid Operations
Authors: Grigorov Grigor
Published: July 2017

The report examines the possibility of improving coordination, interaction and cooperation in conducting humanitarian aid operations. It reveals how Civil-Military Cooperation staff would help overcome difficulties in the joint planning process and work between the different actors involved in humanitarian operations through the deployment of the Humanitarian Aid Coordination Centre.
Cultural Interoperability – Prerequisite for the Response to Hybrid Threats
Authors: Ispas Lucian , Tudorache Paul
Published: July 2017

Nowadays, in addition to the already known challenges, the hybrid threats require new responses, which had a timely appearance (adapting the existing military capabilities, the establishment of new military structures, at division and brigade level, their training etc.) and which involve an unconditional cooperation between NATO Member States and between them and their partners. From the perspective of the military response, creating multinational military structures based on different national contingents raises a number of questions on how they succeed to act coherently, in a coordinated and integrated manner. In this respect, the role of interoperability in general, and of cultural interoperability at the level of NATO military structures, in particular, has significantly increased, becoming a necessity for the development of multinational military operations as a joint response to the hybrid threats.
The Importance of Developing Security Culture Among Military Personnel as a Way to Mitigate the Terrorist Threat
Authors: Lăzăroiu Laurențiu-Leonard
Published: July 2017

A higher level of knowledge owned by military personnel about the specific actions of terrorist organizations, especially those used to recruit new members from colectivities of military personnel, in particulary military cadets, is a matter of novelty and requires some security education values in order to face the current threats. In the last 5 years, the Internet has become the preferred vehicle for spreading the radical jihadist discourse and a recruitment field of followers, eager to be involved directly or indirectly through logistical support, financial information for terrorist purposes. The interest of terrorist organizations for the social category, represented by young soldiers or cadets, is given by their access to information and skills on weapons, ammunition, explosives usage and even the information about how and from where find and steal them. More than that it appears the intention of recruitment and cultivation a secret and confident relationship with the future military personnel to obtain classified information, especially about terrorist actions organized by the specialized antiterrorist structures of the state.
Deployability Of Armed Forces In The Current Armed Conflicts
Authors: Majchút Ivan
Published: July 2017

Achieving victory in nowadays armed conflicts by using of conventional military forces seems more and more difficult. Military solutions are not satisfying and used civilian-military effort still needs many improvements. So-called irregular warfare requires more regular or conventional capabilities than is usually necessary to win in regular warfare. The question is how to adapt armed forces for the nowadays irregular environment. How to educate, train and deploy armed forces? How to create a reliable tool of military power for using in irregular warfare?
Defending the Truth and Counter Information Warfare in Europe
Authors: Nate Silviu , Rațiu Aurelian
Published: July 2017

Information warfare has gained new valences, although some states have historical roots in developing subversive and manipulative tactics; the action pattern is supported today by the use of new information propagation vectors, access to new technologies, and a mix of themes with political, economic, military, cultural and social collective interest. The aim of the propaganda is that the aggressor demoralizes and minimizes the trust of citizens in domestic institutions and policies. Hypotheses and work themes are combined with false news, counterfeit media, capable of creating ambiguity. On such a media of open sources, non-kinetic threats and elements of the hybrid war manifest themselves in the information space and create the ambiguity much hoped to diminish the establishment that reflects the aggressor’s opposition. The study presents relevant cases and recommendations for members of the Euro-Atlantic community related to the management of Russian information actions.
Physiognomy of the Operations Against Terrorism
Authors: Neag Mihai Marcel
Published: July 2017

In current conflicts, the terrorist networks already represent a major player and the terrorist threats remain highly topical. In the physiognomy of the actions of the forces engaged in counter-terrorism operations offfensive actions must prevail, but there will be situations in which the military forces will have to undertake defensive actions aswell, because the neutralization of the terrorist entities does not necessarily mean removal of their infrastructure. The operations against terrorism require, for the military structures present in theaters, the review and reconsideration of their own tasks, forms and methods of action, profound transformation of the adopted strategies, a multi-dimensional vision on the effects to be achieved, a comprehensive approach to planning operations, that will help the management of the situations and achievement of the desired end state.
Prevention and Crisis Management
Authors: Pop Ștefan
Published: July 2017

Crisis management should always be proactive and not just reactive. Every organization must engage in proactive crisis management by monitoring issues related to its business and to society in general, by assessing risks and developing a crisis communication plan. Proactive crisis management helps organizations anticipate a crisis before it occurs. This said, a great part of crisis management is reactive management, as it is about dealing with a crisis once it hits.
Theoretical and Methodological Aspects on Military Students’ Education
Authors: Stănciulescu Robert , Popescu Stelian
Published: July 2017

The complexity of military actions on the modern battlefield, as well as the increase in high-tech weaponry call for a professional instruction system that requires an optimal organization, in order to be effective. The efforts to achieve this purpose are mainly targeting the didactic strategies. The paper presents a brief exposition of the forms and methods of instruction used in preparing military students, with focus on the major impacting methods used along this complex process.
Didactics of the Military Specialty – Pedagogic Process with Major Implications in the Curricular Architecture of Military Leaders’ Training
Authors: Stănciulescu Robert , Beldiman Elvira
Published: July 2017

Didactics is, in the etymological sense, the science of learning, a science that has evolved over time under the influence of the maturing of the other sciences of education and as a result of relations with other scientific fields. Through the common subject (the learning process, training through the learning process), didactics is associated with the training theory.
Paratroopers in the Intelligence Confrontations During the Second World War
Authors: Tănase Mircea
Published: July 2017

Characterised by the capability to rapidly penetrate the enemy disposition, at long distance, by air, using transport aircraft, by parachuting or landing, as well as by own combat capacity, airborne troops could successfully execute a wide range of specific missions, either independently or in cooperation with other units or large units in the land, air or naval forces, to meet the operational and strategic goals. Mention should be made that almost all belligerents in the Second World War successfully employed groups of well-trained fighters, parachuted behind the enemy disposition, to execute intelligence missions: information collection, “commando”-type diversionary actions, as well as supply of weapons for local partisans and resistance formations
Is Russia That Powerful in Hybrid Warfare?
Authors: Tomescu Tomiță Cătălin
Published: July 2017

Short answer is yes. As it is stated in a NATO reference hybrid warfare actions can be applied to the full DIMEFIL (Diplomatic, Information, Military, Economic, Financial, Intelligence, Legal) spectrum. This paper will demonstrate that Russia has significant elements which makes this country very well suited for this type of war and gives her some advantages on all DIMEFIL areas. In my view those elements are: current leadership, history and political mentality, size and geography, economic and financial power and military power.
Opinions Regarding the Fundamental Domains of National Security
Authors: Udeanu Gheorghe
Published: July 2017

“The multiple dimension of national security in the international contemporary context - characterized by accelerated, radical changes - is determined by the necessity of constantly promoting and permanently defending our national values and interests against the extraordinary diversity of insecurity factors - destabilizing vectors that manifest themselves in a surprising manner and create difficulties in the process of assessment of the specific disruptive effects. This complex framework of social evolution offers numerous perspectives for the analysis of the concept of security, but these studies do not need to dilute its fundamental connotations, but it is necessary for these efforts to particularly relate to the subsystems that are really relevant for individual and collective security and maintenance and, on the basis of a very good documentation, be exactly circumscribed into the legislative coordinates that correspond to the reference domain.”
Translation of Capability Requirement Into Management by Objectives Environment
Authors: Baxa Fabian
Published: July 2017

Capability-based planning focused on materialisation of Alliance´s ambitions has already been a reality for national strategic planners for several years. This relatively new planning environment offers not only new, broader possibilities but also new challenges. Although there are several documents describing capability-based planning available but no one is focused on a methodology how recognised capability needs is possible to translate into a common planning system explored within national ministries of defence. This article has an aim to overbridge this gap using a logical link between a package of required capabilities and existing hierarchy of goals, measures and tasks exploring a functional areas (DOTLMPFI) tool. Considering an idea the capability is a dynamic issue having its own specific life cycle it is necessary to think over various phases of its life. These phases influence directly a real level of the capability. Hence various phases have their own demands on allocated resources it is not sufficient to plan resources just for achievement of an appropriate level of the needed capability but it is also necessary to pay attention to other parts of the life cycle, especially sustainment.
Knowledge Management Via Erasmus Programmes
Authors: Bocianu Irina Ioana , Ciupitu Sorin Adrian
Published: July 2017

Living in a highly competitive society which is becoming more and more globalised and students evolving into “digital natives”, students deriving from the European Union countries have benefitted from the Erasmus programmes in an attempt to become aware of the common European culture, education and labour market. Under these circumstances, the present paper addresses the issue of knowledge acquisition via Erasmus programmes and how knowledge management is operated as a result of these study opportunities. For our endeavour, we have conducted an online quantitative and qualitative study with the students from the University of Bucharest and Politehnica University of Bucharest who have benefitted by the programme. As expected, the students' answers came to confirm our hypotheses that the exchange programmes are useful in this sense at the same time that information and experience that benefits students should be exploited and managed more in the Romanian academic life for the labour market.
The Organization's Internal Environment and Its Importance in the Organization's Development
Authors: Halmaghi Elisabeta-Emilia , Iancu Dumitru , Băcilă Marinela-Lidia
Published: July 2017

Analysis of an organization’s internal environment, including the factors that influence the organization’s activity: its owners, managers and leadership, employees, material resources, organizational culture, should determine the capabilities/capabilities/potential of the organization to adapt to/integrate to the external environmental components. In general, the characteristics and quality of an organization’s internal environment allow the “exploitation” of the opportunities offered by the organization’s external environment.
Validating a Defense-Specific Cluster Conceptual Model Using Statistical Instruments
Authors: Mănescu Gabriel
Published: July 2017

The paper shows how statistical tools can be used for modeling testing and validating. In this sense, the paper presents an example of how to use SPSS for validating a cluster conceptual model for scientific research in the field of defense. The steps taken and the results obtained are presented in detail by correlating the most important characteristics of foreign and domestic clusters in the field of defense and in related domains, with a high potential of applicability in this area. The illustrated correlations fully support the lessons learned from the application of this method.
The Manager Competences for Risk Management in the Public Sector
Authors: Nekvapilova Ivana , Pitas Jaromir
Published: July 2017

Implementation of risk management to the public sector in the Czech Republic presents itself to the new situation managers associated with many difficulties. These are primarily the ability to identify risks in public administration and ensure the proper functioning of their management process. The article aims to show the specifics of public administration in relation to the identification and risk management process and depending on the help of analogies derived from the model of key competences of managers necessary to successfully manage the entire process. In accordance with the stated aim of the text is divided into two main parts. In the competency model, emphasis is placed on the so-called Soft skills with focus on explaining the growing importance of moral competence in the risk management process, which is often neglected. This article was written as a part of the research project Development of Social Skills of a Soldier (LEADER_DZRO_K104), funded by institutional support which is intended for the development of research organizations in the Ministry of Defence (DZRO K- 104) funded from.
Research on the Preparation and Professional Realisation of Newly Appointed Logistics Officers
Authors: Nichev Nikolay
Published: July 2017

The training and education of cadets at the Vasil Levski National Military University is aimed at professional, intellectual, physical and moral development, and creation of leadership and management skills. The education aims at realizing the concept of optimal receiving a wide range of competencies in the field of military affairs, as well as knowledge about the activities of civil, political, socio-economic structures and systems. It aims at forming knowledge, skills and moral and volitional qualities, which serve as a basis for professional development, allowing implementation of the system for national and collective security and defense. The officer is a leader with undivided personal authority who takes full responsibility for training and combat readiness of the personnel from the military unit entrusted to him, its education in patriotism and national pride, maintenance military discipline and moral-psychological condition, formation of a sense of duty and responsibility to Bulgarian homeland and nation, and responsibility to the state of armaments, military equipment, ammunition and other material resources.
Risk Management in the Decision Making Process Concerning the Use of Outsourcing Services in the Bulgarian Armed Forces
Authors: Nichev Nikolay
Published: July 2017

Outsourcing services in the armed forces are a promising tool for reducing defence spending which use shall be determined by previously made accurate analysis of peacetime and wartime tasks of army structures. The decision to implement such services allows formations of Bulgarian Army to focus on the implementation of specific tasks related to their combat training. Outsourcing is a successful practice which is applied both in the armies of the member states of NATO and in the Bulgarian Army. Using specialized companies to provide certain services in formations provides a reduction in defence spending, access to technology and skills in terms of financial shortage. The aim of this paper is to analyse main outsourcing risks that affect the relationship between the military formation of the Bulgarian army, the structures of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria and service providers, and to assess those risks. The basic steps for risk management in outsourcing activities are determined on this base.
The Legal Regime Applicable to Financial Audit in Army Units
Authors: Bostan Ionel , Lazar Claudiu , Chihai Bogdan
Published: July 2017

Through the present paper, the authors propose to bring into the readers’ attention the most relevant legal aspects that relate to the organisation and exercise of activity of internal public audit in those entities that have a more special character, by being included in the national defence and security system. Also, we will also be referring to the ways of exercising the aforementioned activity, and to the weaknesses that still characterise the system, as shown by the external public audit reports, published by the Supreme Institute of Audit (The Romanian Court of Auditors, for the last verified exercise at the Ministry of Defence - 2015). The development of our proceedings is based on the legislation applicable in this domain, but also on reports, issued by prestigious institutions, that contain data and information that is both as recent as possible and absolutely credible.
Local Security as an Element of Local Development. Case Study of Infrastructure and Environmental Variables of The Cities in The Eastern Poland Macro-Region
Authors: Dziekański Paweł , Piwowarski Juljusz
Published: July 2017

The authors in this article present performance of public administration which concerns a basic process developing in the context of dynamics of security culture phenomenon that involves the use of local potential (including infrastructure, natural environment, finance, human capital). The process of development of a region is multifaceted. It involves any changes that are implemented at different paces and with varying intensity in economic, social, technical and environmental areas. Local security is a resulting category that allows to assess functioning of local economy. The aim of the article is to provide determinants that shape security at the local level in the context of the selected elements of the region’s balance (infrastructure and environment aspects) by the case of Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship municipalities for 2010 and 2015. In the calculations the data of the Central Statistical Office (Local Data Bank) were used. The determined synthetic measure allows to make hierarchy according to the adopted variables. It supplies information on the examined category of objects. It provides a comparative picture between the objects that were analysed, allows to indicate weaker and better areas of functioning of a unit. As it is shown in the article it gives a basis for the assessment of the effectiveness of the instruments of local authorities policy that were used in the past. The carried out statistic studies confirm existence of disparities in financial condition (financial security) of municipalities.