bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
FEATURES OF HEART LESIONS IN PATIENTS WITH VIRAL LIVER CIRRHOSIS
Authors: Chistyakova M. V. , Govorin A. V.
Published: July 2018

Aim.To study the structural and functional parameters of the heart, as well as the effect of antiviral therapy on certain cardiohemodynamic parameters in patients with viral liver cirrhosis (VLC).

Material and methods. 96 patients with VLC (median age 42.1 [36;44] years, median duration of the disease – 3.5 [2.8;6.7] years) were examined. Patients without ascites (n=59) were included into the 1st group, and patients with ascites (n=37) – into the 2nd group. The control group included 21 healthy volunteers. Standard and tissue echocardiography, Holter monitoring of electrocardiogram were performed in all participants.

Results. Ventricular extrasystoles (class I to IVB) were found in 8 (13%) patients of the 1st group and in 12 (33%) patients in the 2nd group. The corrected interval of QT in the patients of the 1st group was 457.9 [442;468] msec, in the second group – 478 [433;502] msec, in control – 427.9 [406;438] msec (p<0.001). Supraventricular arrhythmias were represented by supraventricular extrasystoles in 15 (25%) patients of the 1st group and 18 (50%) – of the 2nd group; paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in 2 (3%) and 7 (19%) patients, respectively. The systolic velocity Sm of the lateral wall (3, 9 segments) in patients with ascites was lower by 23% and 25%, respectively, compared with the patients of the 1st group; Tei index increased in patients with ascites compared with the control group and the 1st group, p<0.001. In patients with VLC without ascites, the parameters characterizing the mass of the myocardium of the left ventricle increased, the left atrium and pulmonary artery widened. These disorders increased in patients with ascites; besides the systolic pressure in the pulmonary artery increased, and segmental and global systolic function of the left ventricle decreased. Antiviral therapy was accompanied by a decrease in the mass of the left ventricular myocardium, the index of left atrial volume and systolic pressure in the pulmonary artery.

Сonclusion. The increase in the myocardium mass of left ventricle, left atrium, pulmonary artery diameter, as well as cardiac arrhythmia and prolongation of the corrected QT interval were found in patients with VLC without ascites. These changes were more pronounced in patients with ascites, and additionally they increased pressure in the pulmonary artery and decreased systolic function of the ventricles of the heart. The antiviral therapy had a positive effect on some cardiohemodynamic parameters.
APPROACHES TO PERSONALIZED THERAPY
Authors: Belyalov F. I.
Published: July 2018

Approaches to personalized therapy based on practical work of physicians are discussed. Personalized treatment considers patient’s interests and position, mechanisms of symptoms, somatic and mental comorbidities, chrono medicine, environment, genetics, and prognosis. Personalized treatment may be more effective, safe and inexpensive in compare with of traditional standardized care based on randomized controlled trials and clinical practice guidelines. Limitations and weaknesses of medical guidelines of authoritative professional societies are also discussed. Recommendations of clinical guidelines are based on randomized controlled trials with strict selection of patients without severe comorbid diseases. Accordingly, trials and guidelines conclusions cannot be applied for patients with heavy comorbidity. This justifies the need for organizational solutions and computer programs for support personalized treatment of patients. It is important to develop institute of primary care physicians and to train specialists in field of comorbid somatic diseases and mental disorders.
TRIPLE ANTIHYPERTENSIVE THERAPY: FOCUS ON EFFICACY AND PROGNOSIS
Authors: Ostroumova O. D. , Kochetkov A. I. , Starodubova A. V. , Goloborodova I. V. , Smolyarchuk E. A.
Published: July 2018

In the article, with regard to current clinical recommendations, the place of combined antihypertensive therapy, especially triple drugs regimens, is considered in the treatment of patients with arterial hypertension. Special focus is given to the body of evidence for the efficacy of valsartan and amlodipine, as the reference drug of angiotensin II receptor blockers and calcium channel blockers, respectively. Not only their high antihypertensive properties are demonstrated, but also a favorable effect on target-organ protection and prognosis is described. In particular, the possibilities of valsartan in reducing the severity of left ventricular hypertrophy and microalbuminuria are described, and its unique properties in the class of sartans that allow the use of this drug in patients with ischemic heart disease and chronic heart failure are emphasized. Data on the antiatherosclerotic effects of amlodipine and its proven ability to reduce cardiovascular risk are presented. Current data are presented about their use in a fixed-dose combination with hydrochlorothiazide, including real clinical practice settings. The evidence base of high clinical efficacy, safety and metabolic neutrality of the triple combination of antihypertensive drugs valsartan, amlodipine and hydrochorothiazide is presented. The issues of increasing adherence of patients to treatment when prescribing fixed-dose combinations are considered. An algorithm for the selection of antihypertensive drugs in the form of monotherapy and combination therapy of two or three drugs depending on the clinical situation (the presence of certain target-organs damages and associated clinical conditions, primarily ischemic heart disease, atherosclerosis of carotid arteries and chronic heart failure) and the severity of the additional risk of cardiovascular complications.
STUDI MULTIKASUS: EPIDEMI PERILAKU MEROKOK Dl KALANGAN REMAJA DAN IMPLIKASINYA DALAM PENDIDIKAN
Authors: Efendi Mohammad
Published: July 2018

The purpose of this study is to describe smoking behavior of youth. The methods are quatitative, and a multiple case study. Data gathered in the study show that smoking behavior performed by youth has reached a critical level. The Determinant factor influencing their behavior is social environment, such as school, family, and society. Based on findings, it is neglected that education insitution either formal or informal, and youth organizations do serious efforts to minimize smoking behavior. Also, they should run a continous program to promote healthy life among youth.
STRATEGI PEMBELAJARAN PENDIDIKAN LUAR SEKOLAH
Authors: Wahyujati Bertha Bintari
Published: July 2018

Instructional strategy is one of important factors to achieve instructional objectives. The instructional strategy developed for a teaching and learning situation will be effective if instructional methods and models are appropriately selected. This article discusses some considerations upon the selection of appopriate instructional strategies and describes a case study in life skills training. The case proves the significant role of appropriate instructional strategies in achieving training objectives.
PERANAN LEMBAGA PENDIDIKAN TENAGA KEPENDIDIKAN DALAM PENGEMBANGAN KUALITAS PENDIDIK DAN TENAGA KEPENDIDIKAN PENDIDIKAN NON FORMAL
Authors: Sudjana D.
Published: July 2018

To provide access to education for all Indonesians, the government develops both formal and nonformal education both of which are to produce qualified man power as stated in the Acts of No. 20, 2003. However, to do this non-formal education should have teachers and education personnel fulfilling the requirements of quality and quantity. This article discusses a number of problems in providing teachers and education personnel for non formal education. It invites the universities organizing teachers training to develop programs for the teachers of nonformal education. Due to the big number of the teachers with the variety of specialties needed at present and in the future, this article suggests developing and strengthening the existing teacher training program at the university to become a Faculty of Non Formal Teachers.
MULTIMEDIA INTERAKTIF SEBUAH TEROBOSAN PEMBELAJARAN PAKET B
Authors: Sudarmanto Dwi , KS Yetty Widya , Ekawati Yuni
Published: July 2018

Due to a signicant increase of learning achievement using B Package using ICT it’s strongly recomended to use multimedia in teaching mathetmaticts. Information and communication technology (ICT), is developing so fast. Its development is not easy to predict. Now a days, ICT is utilized by almost all aspects of human life including education. The research conducted was regarding the use of ICT to teach math. It was how influential interactive media can be used to facilitate instructional program of B Package to teach mathematics. Rasearch findings indicate that there is significant increase in learning achievement of B Package program participants by using interactive multimedia. This article recommends, therefore, using ICT based instructions with variety of interactive multimedia.
PARTISIPASI PEREMPUAN DALAM PENGAMBILAN KEPUTUSAN DI TINGKAT DESA
Authors: Widayati Tri
Published: July 2018

This research aims at (a) finding out the participation of female members of The Board of Village Representatives (BPD) in Banyudono Subdistrict, Boyolali District, in initation, legitimation, exution, and evaluation of the decisions at the village level, (b) discovering internal and external factors in the participation, and (c) formulating some suggestions in developing the programs of empowering the females roles of BPD members. Results indicate very low participation of BPD female members in initation, legitimation, and evaluation but moderately high in the excution of decisions. Although they have high formal education, they lack in nonformal and informal education wich make them weak in attitude. Research suggests that (a) the female members of BPD should improve their knowledge in village government, budgetting, legislation, and supervision; (b) BPD should organise training for all its members; (c) the recruitment criteria for its members should be adjusted to the local society; and further study should be conducted to strengthen the role of female members of BPD.
Documentation of Ancestral Caddo Ceramic Vessels and Other Artifacts from East Texas Sites in the George T. Wright Collection at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
Authors: Perttula Timothy , Walters Mark , Nelson Bo
Published: July 2018

From the early 1900s to the mid-1940s George T. Wright was a landowner (Kiomatia Plantation) and Vice-President of the Kiomitia Mercantile Company: General Merchandise in Kiomatia and Paris, Texas. He was also an avid Indian artifact collector at sites along the Red River in Red River County, Texas, as well as in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, especially the collection of Caddo ceramic vessels, and also dug at sites he knew in the area, including the Wright Plantation site (41RR7), which he owned, and the Sam Coffman site (now known as Sam Kaufman, 41RR16, and for a short time known as the Arnold Roitsch site)
Percepción del gusto como factor de riesgo para obesidad infantil
Authors: Ariza Ana Carolina , Sánchez-Pimienta Tania G , Rivera Juan A
Published: July 2018

Objetivo. Describir el papel de la percepción del gusto como factor de riesgo para el desarrollo de obesidad en niños. Material y métodos. Se realizó una búsqueda inicial de artículos científicos publicados en PubMed entre el 1 de enero de 2011 y el 20 de marzo de 2016 para el tema sobrepeso y obesidad en niños de entre 0 y 12 años. Los algoritmos utilizados fueron (Obesity OR Overweight) AND Taste perception, Satiation, Satiety response, Appetite, Appetite regulation, Habitua­tion, Taste receptors [MeSH] y PROP phenotype. En búsquedas subsecuentes se incluyeron artículos previos y posteriores a la fecha de la búsqueda general (hasta mayo 2018). Re­sultados. Las preferencias por los sabores inician desde la gestación, por lo que los niños que son expuestos a sabores dulces en etapas tempranas de la infancia aumentan su riesgo de habituación a éstos. Asimismo, las experiencias hedónicas dadas por la ingestión de alimentos y bebidas dulces refuerzan el consumo de estos alimentos, lo que propicia la selección de productos o bebidas de sabor dulce en etapas posteriores. Estas preferencias se han asociado con el desarrollo de obe­sidad en los niños. Las variantes genéticas relacionadas con la percepción del gusto también pueden contribuir a la selección de cierto tipo de alimentos. Sin embargo, su relación con una mayor ingestión de energía, así como con un mayor peso corporal, ha sido poco explorada y ha mostrado resultados inconsistentes. Conclusiones. Se requiere más evidencia para entender las interacciones ambientales y genéticas de la percepción del gusto, a fin de considerarlo un factor más en las intervenciones de política pública.
Riesgo de hipertensión arterial en individuos hiperreactivos cardiovasculares
Authors: Benet-Rodríguez Mikhail , León-Regal Milagros , Morejón-Giraldoni Alain
Published: July 2018

Objetivo. Determinar el riesgo de padecer hipertensión arterial en individuos normotensos con hiperreactividad cardiovascular, identificados mediante la ergometría isomé­trica. Material y métodos. Se desarrolló un estudio de cohorte, de cinco años de evolución, con un total de 419 personas; de ellas, 215 normorreactivos cardiovasculares y 204 hiperreactivos cardiovasculares. Se determinó el riesgo relativo que tienen los individuos hiperreactivos cardiovas­culares de ser hipertensos y el peso de la hiperreactividad cardiovascular en la aparición de hipertensión arterial; se fijó un nivel de significación estadística de p igual 0.05. Resultados. La frecuencia de nuevos hipertensos en la cohorte de hiperreactivos cardiovasculares respecto a los normorreactivos cardiovasculares fue dos veces superior (RR: 2.23 IC95% 1.42;3.51). La hiperreactividad cardiovascular fue la variable de mayor influencia. Conclusiones. Los indivi­duos normotensos hiperreactivos cardiovasculares tienen mayor riesgo de hipertensión arterial que los normotensos normorreactivos cardiovasculares.
Programas nacionales para la prevención y tratamiento de anemia ferropénica en los países de Sudamérica
Authors: Macollunco-Flores Pilar Teresa , Ponce-Pardo John Eloy , Inocente-Camones Miguel Ángel
Published: July 2018

[Not available]
Sistema de etiquetado frontal de alimentos y bebidas para México: una estrategia para la toma de decisiones saludables
Authors: Kaufer-Horwitz Martha , Tolentino-Mayo Lizbeth , Jáuregui Alejandra , Sánchez-Bazán Karina , Bourges Héctor , Martínez Sophia , Perichart Otilia , Rojas-Russell Mario , Moreno Laura , Hunot Claudia , Nava Edna , Ríos-Cortázar Víctor , Palos-Lucio Gabriela , González Lorena , González-de Cossio Teresita , Pérez Marcela , Borja-Aburto Víctor Hugo , González Antonio , Apolinar Evelia , Pale Luz Elena , Colín Eloísa , Barriguete Armando , López Oliva , López Sergio , Aguilar-Salinas Carlos , Hernández-Ávila Mauricio , Martínez-Duncker David , De León Fernando , Kershenobich David , Rivera Juan , Barquera Simón
Published: July 2018

La Secretaría de Salud solicitó al Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública la conformación de un grupo de expertos académicos en etiquetado de alimentos y bebidas, independientes y libres de conflictos de interés, que tuvieran la encomienda de emitir una postura para contribuir al desarrollo de un sistema de etiquetado frontal para productos industrializados que proporcione información útil para facilitar la decisión de compra. La postura utiliza la mejor evidencia científica disponible y recomendaciones de expertos convocados por organismos internacionales. Así, la propuesta de etiquetado frontal se centra en el contenido de energía, nutrimentos, ingredientes y componentes cuyo exceso en la dieta puede ser perjudicial para la salud, como azúcares añadidos, sodio, grasas totales, grasas saturadas y energía. El grupo recomienda implementar un etiquetado frontal que, de forma sencilla, permita evaluar de manera rápida la calidad de un producto al momento de realizar una compra; por ello, es indispensable que éste proporcione información directa, sencilla, visible y fácil de entender.
THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA FOREIGN TRADE TRENDS
Authors: Latyshov A. V.
Published: July 2018

The article considers the foreign trade of the Republic of Korea over the past eight years in the context of the future free trade agreement between the Republic of Korea and the Eurasian Economic Union. The author traces the dynamics of exports and imports of the country during the certain period, the change in the commodity structure of exports and imports, the geography of exports and imports, the dynamics of commodity flows as a share of GDP, as well as the most exported and imported goods at the level of six signs of the Harmonized commodity description and coding system (HS). During the research period, the structure of exports and imports of the Republic of Korea has changed little: the main exported goods, as before, are high-tech equipment (floating equipment and its elements, land road transport and parts; storage devices (about 15% of all exports). Imports are dominated by energy (one fifth of total imports) and machinery and equipment (84 and 85 of the HS groups).
CHANGES IN FOREIGN TRADE POLICY MAJOR INTEGRATION ASSOCIATIONS IN CONDITIONS OF TURBULENCE IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Authors: Valovaya M. D.
Published: July 2018

Turbulent states, structural changes and systemic crises of the world economy have been one of the decisive factors influencing the activity of large integration associations in all centuries. A particularly clear example is the integration processes in the Eurasian space. «The Great Silk Road» – a huge branched system of caravan routes. The Great Silk Road was a kind of connecting link between countries, civilization and socio-economic systems. The path «From the Varangians to the Greeks functioned along the Volga route. The end of the 17th and the first quarter of the 18th centuries was the period of Peter's reforms. Peter I regarded foreign trade as an important means of integrating Russia into Western European culture. Major bans related to the outside world were imposed on the Russian economy in the early 19th century. Anglo-German rivalry and antagonism played a decisive role in the complex system of imperialist contradictions that led to the First World War in 1914–1918. The Second World War almost six times exceeded the First in terms of the total number of victims: 50 million people. The consequence of the Second World War was the formation of the world socialist system, the disintegration of the colonial system and the beginning of the formation and development of major integration projects in Europe, Latin America, East Asia and Africa. Since January 2015, the Eurasian Economic Union functions. The possibilities of cooperation between the EAEU and other integration associations are widely discussed. The interface with the project of the Economic belt of the Silk Road Road is of particular interest.
POVERTY DYNAMICS UNDER GLOBALIZATION: US AND THE OTHER OECD COUNTRIES
Authors: Lebedeva L. F.
Published: July 2018

The progress in reducing the level of poverty after the global crisis lacked behind the process of improving economic indicators in some countries and there are countries where the level of poverty even increased. The paper highlights gaps in poverty levels among different groups of population according to age, gender, and education. It examines poverty trends in US and other OECD countries, covering changes from the global crisis period; the approaches to determining poverty line, including official and supplemental poverty measure which in addition to government cash benefits takes into account non-cash benefits and taxes. Working poor, whose income remains under poverty line, while they are working, are of special attention. Among the main factors that can lower a worker’s ability to earn an income above the poverty threshold – low level of education, long periods of unemployment, part-time employment. It is pointed that the benefits of globalization are not reaching those who are in poverty and government policies often fail to respond to their needs.
NEW DIRECTION FOR EXTERNAL BORROWING MOBILIZATION AS A DEVELOPMENT FINANCING SOURCE OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Authors: Cuong Vu
Published: July 2018

The paper firstly provides an overview of the country’s public debt status before looking in more detail on its external borrowings. By reviewing the regional experiences in mobilizing external loans for their development when these neighboring countries reached the LMIC status, the paper argues the key role of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in such countries not as filling the savings gap. Instead, it is to reduce the burden of importing essential capital good and technology during industrialization, given that ODA flows are significant to the size of the economy and consistent over time. The paper concludes with key lessons and recommendations for Vietnam in formulating its new strategy on external borrowings, including using oversea aid to relax the balance of payment constraint; using ODA to finance growth-enhancing projects; directing ODA flows to viable projects to enhance the country’s productive capacity; and developing transparent, consistent and predictable project selection system.
Sitosterolemia: Diagnosis, Metabolic and Hematological Abnormalities, Cardiovascular Disease and Management
Authors: Bastida Jose María , Girós María Luisa , Benito Rocío , Janusz Kamila , Hernández-Rivas Jesús María , González-Porras José Ramón
Published: July 2018

Sitosterolemia is a recessive inherited metabolic disorder of unknown prevalence,
characterized by increased levels of plasma plant sterols. It is caused by 28 and 31 variants in
ABCG5 and ABCG8 genes, respectively, and is characterized by a predisposition to hyperabsorption
and accumulation of toxic levels of plant sterols in plasma. Its clinical picture is extremely
heterogeneous. The main clinical features are tendinous and cutaneous xanthomas, arthritis
or arthralgia, premature cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. These characteristics
are shared with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), making it possible for sitosterolemia to be
misdiagnosed as homozygous FH, especially in pediatric patients. In such cases, a specific
chromatography-based laboratory method is essential to differentiate sitosterol and cholesterol.
Hematological abnormalities (hemolytic anemia and macrothrombocytopenia) may be present in
25-35% of patients, in whom it is usually associated with the main clinical features, as occurs in
the 70% of the cases. In this context, the peripheral blood smear is essential and reveals giant
platelets and stomatocytes. Only 21 causative variants in ABCG5/ABCG8 are associated with
macrothrombocytopenia. Most physicians still do not recognize these hematological abnormalities
or relate them to sitosterolemia. Patients may suffer long-term misdiagnosis of immune
thrombocytopenia and be at high risk of receiving harmful therapies or of not benefitting from a
low-cholesterol diet and/or from the gold standard treatment with ezetimibe. This drug reduces
the levels of plasma plant sterols, provokes regression of xanthomas, and can alleviate hematological
abnormalities. Finally, to identify genetic defects, recent advances in high-throughput
sequencing, especially in the use of targeted sequencing of pre-specified genes, have begun to be
incorporated in the first-line approach in the field of genetic disorders.
Epigenetic Metalloenzymes
Authors: Blanquart Christophe , Linot Camille , Cartron Pierre-François , Tomaselli Daniela , Mai Antonello , Bertrand Philippe
Published: July 2018

Epigenetics controls the expression of genes and is responsible for cellular phenotypes.
The fundamental basis of these mechanisms involves in part the post-translational
modifications (PTMs) of DNA and proteins, in particular, the nuclear histones. DNA can be
methylated or demethylated on cytosine. Histones are marked by several modifications including
acetylation and/or methylation, and of particular importance are the covalent modifications
of lysine. There exists a balance between addition and removal of these PTMs, leading
to three groups of enzymes involved in these processes: the writers adding marks, the
erasers removing them, and the readers able to detect these marks and participating in the
recruitment of transcription factors. The stimulation or the repression in the expression of
genes is thus the result of a subtle equilibrium between all the possibilities coming from the
combinations of these PTMs. Indeed, these mechanisms can be deregulated and then participate
in the appearance, development and maintenance of various human diseases, including
cancers, neurological and metabolic disorders. Some of the key players in epigenetics are
metalloenzymes, belonging mostly to the group of erasers: the zinc-dependent histone
deacetylases (HDACs), the iron-dependent lysine demethylases of the Jumonji family (JMJ
or KDM) and for DNA the iron-dependent ten-eleven-translocation enzymes (TET) responsible
for the oxidation of methylcytosine prior to the demethylation of DNA. This review presents
these metalloenzymes, their importance in human disease and their inhibitors.
Focusing on the Influenza Virus Polymerase Complex: Recent Progress in Drug Discovery and Assay Development
Authors: Zhang Jiantao , Hu Yanmei , Musharrafieh Rami , Yin Hang , Wang Jun
Published: July 2018

Influenza viruses are severe human pathogens that pose persistent threat to public health. Each year more people die of influenza virus infection than that of breast cancer. Due to the limited efficacy associated with current influenza vaccines, as well as emerging drug resistance from small molecule antiviral drugs, there is a clear need to develop new antivirals with novel mechanisms of action. The influenza virus polymerase complex has become a promising target for the development of the next-generation of antivirals for several reasons. Firstly, the influenza virus polymerase, which forms a heterotrimeric complex that consists of PA, PB1, and PB2 subunits, is highly conserved. Secondly, both individual polymerase subunit (PA, PB1, and PB2) and inter-subunit interactions (PA-PB1, PB1- PB2) represent promising drug targets. Lastly, growing insight into the structure and function of the polymerase complex has spearheaded the structure-guided design of new polymerase inhibitors. In this review, we highlight recent progress in drug discovery and assay development targeting the influenza virus polymerase complex and discuss their therapeutic potentials.
La comunicación persuasiva como instrumento para el cambio de opiniones
Authors: González Reyna Susana
Published: July 2018

En este artículo señalaremos algunas características de los elementos que intervienen en el proceso de la formación y del cambio de opiniones en los individuos. Para ello nos referiremos fundamentalmente a tres conceptos: la comunicación en general, siempre enfocada desde el punto de vista de la formación de opiniones; la comunicación persuasiva, como instrumento para lograr el cambio de opiniones en los individuos y, por último, el fenómeno de liderazgo como factor importante y trascendental dentro del proceso de formación y cambio de opiniones.
Drawing the Short Straw: Disproportional Effects of Russian Sanctions on Central Europe and the Baltic States
Authors: Dufalla Jacqueline
Published: July 2018

In 2014, the agricultural sanctions Russia imposed on the European Union (EU) had a perceivable impact on the EU’s economy. Yet the sanctions arguably had a disproportionate impact, which suggests they were particularly successful in exposing underlying issues within the EU. Specifically, former Soviet bloc countries and southern European countries were far more greatly impacted by the sanctions than the larger western EU member states. This brings to light problems of disproportionate representation of member states within decision-making processes (especially within the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development), and the fragility of the EU's internal cohesion. By comparing typical decision-making processes of the EU with its responses during times of crisis, it becomes clear that the EU’s decision-making process and its internal cohesion with regard to economic assistance for former Soviet states, are vulnerable to Russia’s actions.  The essay will conclude with recommendations on how to improve EU decision-making during times of crisis to counter this vulnerability.
The Slow Road to the Social Investment Perspective in the European Union
Authors: Dinan Shannon
Published: July 2018

The European Union has no unilateral legislative capacity in the area of social policy. However, the European Commission does play the role of guide by providing a discursive framework and targets for its 28 Member States to meet. Since the late 1990’s, the EU’s ideas on social policy have moved away from the traditional social protection model towards promoting social inclusion, labour activation and investing in children. These new policies represent the social investment perspective, which advocates preparing the population for a knowledge-based economy to increase economic growth and job creation and to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty. The EU began the gradual incorporation of the social investment perspective to its social dimension with the adoption of ten-year strategies. Since 2000, it has continued to set goals and benchmarks as well as offer a forum for Member States to coordinate their social initiatives. Drawing on a series of interviews conducted during a research experience in Brussels as well as official documents, this paper is a descriptive analysis of the recent modifications to the EU’s social dimension. It focuses on the changes created by the Europe 2020 Strategy and the Social Investment Package. By tracing the genesis and evolution of these initiatives, the author identifies four obstacles to social investment in the European Union's social dimension.
Assessment of the European Commission Initiatives on Creating Transnational Media Networks
Authors: Kaliberda Elena
Published: July 2018

The paper examines two European Commission initiatives on creating transnational media networks on European affairs, the Euronews television and the Euranet Plus radio network, and their roles in the European public sphere. An overview of Euronews and Euranet Plus is based on the author's research, first-hand contacts with representatives of the European Commission, media in Belgium and France, and field work at the editorial office of Euronews in Lyon-Ecully and at the editorial offices of Euranet Plus in Paris and Brussels.
Moving from Integration to Participation? Notes on the Interrelationship between Communal and Associative Relationships
Authors: Faist Thomas , Ulbricht Christian
Published: July 2018

There are current trends in public and academic debates which point toward a wish of some analysts and observers to “de-culturalize” debates on international migration. In German debates, it is the term “integration” which has an alleged culturalizing effect and which therefore should be avoided and discarded as a concept of practice and as a concept of theory. In contrast to these positions we argue that there is a fundamental nexus between communal relations (Vergemeinschaftung or integration) and sociation (Vergesellschaftung). It is only by relating communal relations and sociation that we can understand the logics of important institutions such as citizenship and welfare states. Analytical concepts such as Vergemeinschaftung and Vergesellschaftung are necessary because they help us to account for fundamental changes. We find that in recent decades the meaning of integration connected to nationhood in public debates has changed from an ethno-cultural understanding to a republican one which is simultaneously characterized by increasing demands upon individuals who are conceptualized as autonomous persons (individualization).
Re-Discovering the Importance of Citizenship Through Immigrants' Experiences: Naturalization and Political Integration in Padua, Italy
Authors: Shkopi Eriselda , Vathi Zana
Published: July 2018

This paper focuses on processes of political integration for immigrants in the Italian context, constituting as it does an understudied topic. It does so by looking at one specific community, Albanian immigrants, who have been typically heavily stigmatized. While Albanian immigration in Italy has been a focus of previous research, no consideration so far has been given to naturalization and its influence on other political processes at the level of immigrants’ daily lives. Through the meanings which participants of this research attribute to citizenship and their acting as political agents, the paper unpacks the relations between this "status passage" (Glaser and Strauss 1971) and the political integration of immigrants. The findings show a very complex picture in which multiple factors and interactions play an important role. Legally speaking, Italian citizenship is a pre-condition for immigrants to enjoy the right to vote in elections at all levels, which participants considered a significant indicator of their political integration. Therefore, the political integration of immigrants is heavily conditioned by naturalization, which gives access to political rights, voice and representation as regulated at the state level. However, when considering the role of age and social capital in processes of political integration, there is also reason to believe that the political mobilization and participation of the youngest and most well-educated participants is not as exclusively attached to such formal recognition as a political subject.
Introduction: Integration Through Crises
Authors: D'Erman Valerie , Verdun Amy
Published: July 2018

The introductory paper to this Special Issue discusses the idea of crisis in relation to European integration from a historical perspective in order to contextualize four different current events in the European Union (EU) in turn – euro area crisis, migration crisis, Brexit, and the rise of populist responses to EU governance. We turn to the wider scholarly concept of ‘crisis’ and apply it to large-scale events affecting the EU, in order to relate events to broader theoretical discussions about the progression of the EU. Existing literature on the topic highlights different varieties of crisis scenarios: those that undermine the basic integrity of the undertaking; those that threaten certain domains or the activities of certain groups; and those that reflect short-term, but acute dangers that may be overcome without structural damage. This introductory contribution situates each of the four above-mentioned ‘crises’ in the context of these varieties and offers suggestions for how each crisis might influence the future direction of European integration by using illustrations from each of the articles in this special issue.
Towards a New EU: Why Populism Can Save the European Union
Authors: Drago Alessandro
Published: July 2018

Europe has seen an alarming increase of populist parties throughout the last two decades. The European debt crisis has only added to their strength and support, and Eurosceptic attitudes have only increased, as exemplified by the recent Brexit vote. However, this exploratory paper will argue that the crisis to which populism has given rise allows the EU to critically reflect on itself and fix many of the fatal flaws that the increase in populist support has pointed out.  It will be argued that the EU needs to create a strong civic society to help mend its democratic deficit. Finally, it will be argued that by incorporating particular elements of populist thought and critique (i.e., democratization and fairer economic policies), that is, implanting an “alter-europeanization,” that the ugly side of populism (its xenophobia and racism) will begin to lose support within European countries.
Introduction: Common Markets and Common Currency: EU Integration and Its Outcomes
Authors: Paudyn Bartholomew , Hüebner Kurt
Published: July 2018

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Integrating Immigrants through the Policy of Multiculturalism as a State’s New Response to the Sovereignty Challenge
Authors: Vorobyova Anna
Published: July 2018

Today the EU and Canada experience a significant international migration inflow that requires a delicate treatment on the government side which would not contradict with these countries’ adherence to a liberal nation-state idea. The non-ratification of the EU Constitution precluded the creation of a common immigration policy that could facilitate and level the social integration of immigrants within the EU member states that currently have different historically shaped strategies towards the newcomers. Even though the legal and economic barriers for immigration and naturalization have been reasonably decreased over the past decades across the EU, the legacies of nationalizing citizenship laws are still persistent and immigrants are expected to integrate into the host cultures. These path dependent repercussions contradict the idea of a liberal nation-state and erect the second level barriers (besides legal and economic ones) for integration of immigrants into the host societies. These cultural barriers are more persistent in the social consciousness than the institutionalized ones, which is a reason for why liberalizing laws are not the most effective means for facilitating the immigrants’ integration into the host societies. This situation of intensive immigration combined with the low opportunities for social integration gives grounds to instability and dissatisfaction within certain social groups in the EU. This paper investigates how multiculturalism policy in Canada contributes to a higher level of immigrants’ integration into Canadian society as compared to the EU memberstates. Moreover, the novel information from the Centre of Excellence for the Study of Immigration at Simon Fraser University suggests that maintenance of immigrant ethnicities contributes to the overall economic success of a country, which is another reason for the introducing multiculturalism and a common EU immigration policy.
Roma in Europe: Human Rights or Humans Out of Sight?
Authors: Young Jason R
Published: July 2018

Europe is confronted by a painful paradox; while the idea of ‘Europe’ conceptualizes the European Union as a champion of liberal democracy, human rights and equality, the position of the Roma clashes with this vision. This paper looks at human rights and exclusion in Europe with specific emphasis on the Roma ethnic minority and argues that prevalent anti-Roma discrimination in both Western and Central- Eastern Europe holds larger ramifications than merely the Roma’s constant position of alien, or “despised outsider”. The power of discrimination, popular culture and opinion in marginalizing the Roma effectively limits their equal exercise of civil, political, and human rights. The Roma therefore represent tangible limits to the ideas intertwined with European integration. It is argued that the unwillingness to address the issue of Roma exclusion on the local level within specific countries possesses the effect of creating a two-tier citizenship regime that possess the capacity for unraveling the social and intellectual aims of the European Project. Social, legal, and actual exclusion of the Roma therefore holds significant ramifications for social policy within an enlarging EU. The paper presents popular depictions of the Roma and illustrates the pervasive power of exclusion by examining events such as the 1993 Czech citizenship law; the 1999 construction (and subsequent debate over the dismantling) of a wall around Roma apartments in the Czech town of Ústi nad Labem, widespread use of physical violence and intimidation to discourage Roma settlement and racism in Central and Eastern Europe. These events suggest that the pan-European “identity” is far from constructed and that systematic and fundamental change in attitudes towards among elites and society at large and representations of the Roma is essential if the EU’s enlargement is to expand the protection of Human Rights on an equal footing throughout Europe for the Roma. Combating historical representations constructed by social and political elites of the groups such as the Roma as an other is of paramount importance if the Roma, and other ethnic minorities, are to be included as equal stakeholders in an enlarged Europe.
Anti-Americanism and the Spirit of European Unity
Authors: Kazarinova Daria
Published: July 2018

The European integration process was initiated based on the model of the United States. The idea was to create a unit similar in some ways to the United States, while at the same time a unique, European entity. Anti-Americanism can be defined as the ideological tendency to resist the reproduction of American economic, social and cultural patterns. At the heart of this article is the question of whether anti-Americanism is an effective contributor to the European integration process.
The Limits of Consequentialism: ICTY Conditionality and (Non)Compliance in Post-Milosevic Serbia
Authors: Rajkovic Nikolas Milan
Published: July 2018

Since 2000—the dusk of the Milosevic-era—three successive Serbian governments, the Djindjic, Zivkovic and Kostunica administrations, have amassed an inconsistent and oscillating record of (non)compliance with EU and US conditionality for full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal on the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). How do we explain this changing pattern of compliance and noncompliance by Serbia? This paper contends that international rules and norms which attempt far-reaching institutional and social change, such as ICTY conditionality in Serbia, will likely elicit a historical process that is multidimensional and diachronic, more politically complex than the parsimony suggested by incentives-based, model-driven theorizing. The paper argues for a more contextual and practice-oriented approach to the study of compliance politics; focusing on how material, normative and temporal dimensions interact historically to form particular compliance processes & outcomes. The empirical section uses inductive process-tracing to make a temporal reconstruction of the process and experience of Serbian (non)compliance with ICTY conditionality during the Kostunica government; focusing on the interaction between three dimensions of compliance politics: (1) strategic calculation; (2) identity & cultural resonance; and (3) temporality.
Accumulation by Any Means: Neoliberalisation and Environment in Post-Communist Europe
Authors: Peters Frederick
Published: July 2018

This paper explores water services restructuring in the post-communist Europe. The cases of the cities of St Petersburg, Russia and Tallinn, Estonia serve to trace changes in tone and timbre over the course of the post-communist transition to a market based economy. This paper is divided into two sections: we begin by placing the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the context of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund–the International Financial Institutions significantly involved with infrastructure rebuilding. Section Two presents a brief look at specific cases of municipal water restructuring in the Baltic Region in postcommunist transition period, 1991 – 2006, brokered and funded in part by EBRD money. Tracing investments and the strategic partnerships formed in the region by the EBRD sheds light onto the development of IFI capacity and strategy since the early 1990s. The politics behind the notion described in shorthand with Harvey’s reworking of the Marxian ‘Primitive Accumulation’ is crucial to understanding the dynamics and trends often apparent in water infrastructure restructuring.
Europe and Islam: Internalizing the External ‘Threat’
Authors: Hodiwala Naozad
Published: July 2018

This article will first characterize the nature of the Islamic ‘threat’ facing modern day Europe, by arguing that such ‘threats’ are fed by the forces of internalization. By specifically focusing on case studies found in Jytte Klausen’s “The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe”, this article will take as its departure point the basis that “Europeans tend to ignore the fact that their established norms and policies are not necessarily secular, but reflects long-standing practices that were instituted in order to appease national churches”. Three facets of European society will be examined; national laws, media coverage, and politicians and their actions.
Cooperation and Isolation: Understanding EU-Russia Dialogue
Authors: Chebakova Anastasia
Published: July 2018

The promising agenda of EU-Russia cooperation has resulted in mutual frustration manifested in continuous, paradoxical crises and isolation between the partners. This article offers a possible way to reflect on an uneasy EU-Russia relationship. In this study, I make problems in EU-Russia cooperation discursively visible by scrutinizing the official speech acts articulated in EU-Russia political and security discourse. I demonstrate that these official speech acts create conditions for a responsive dialogue and, eventually, form a set of prevalent discursive practices that re-produce and reinforce problems in EU-Russia cooperation. Blending Bakhtin‟s dialogic analysis and Onuf‟s constructivist accounts, I strike a balance between theoretical and empirical analyses and develop a model for understanding current and possible future events in the EU-Russia partnership. This model of international cooperation can be transferable beyond its borders to similar examples of relationships currently existing all over the world.
Safe Country of Origin List at the EU Level: The Bargaining Process and the Implications
Authors: Gurzu Anca
Published: July 2018

Critics have often highlighted that the 1999 Tampere decision to establish a common European Union (EU) asylum system has been too focused on security and not enough on human rights, leading to increased denial of protection for asylum seekers. This paper focuses on a controversial asylum policy, which is part of this debate: the safe country of origin (SCO) policy. This policy revolves around having a list of countries deemed "safe" which ensures asylum seekers from these countries are fast tracked through the system and likely denied asylum in the end, based on a general assumption that the application is unfounded. Human rights groups have argued the SCO policy violates the Geneva Convention. Widely used at the national level, officials proposed the creation of a supranational SCO list in the early 2000s. However, disagreements among Member States over what countries to deem “safe" as well as the need to place the European Parliament in a co-decision (as opposed to consultative) position for the creation of the EU SCO list have led to an impasse. This paper employs two major European integration theories, neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism, to explain the bargaining dynamics between Member States and their failure to agree on what “safe" means. Factors such as different national migratory pressures, varied procedural understandings and applications of the SCO policy, a limited successful harmonization in related asylum policies, along with a reluctance to have the European Parliament in a co-decision position all contributed to the non-adoption of a supranational SCO list.
Le Code de la Nationalite Belge: A Citizenship Law in the Making
Authors: Madularea Adina
Published: July 2018

In April 2010, the most recent process was initiated regarding the revision of law on the acquisition of Belgian nationality. A strong debate on the subject had been going on during 2010 - 2011. This research paper focuses on the positions held by different political parties and representatives with regard to the main issues included in numerous amendments brought to the existing Belgian Nationality Code. Looking at the way in which different aspects have been formulated and debated will provide insights about the stakes of different political actors involved and the process of political negotiation on a very sensitive territory, namely that of citizenship granting in a country with a federal government and a significant cleavage between its main ethnic groups.