Journal articles on the topic 'Europe – Economic conditions – 20th century'

AbstractIn 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner proposed that America’s Western frontier was an economic ‘safety-valve’ – a place where settlers could migrate when conditions in eastern states and Europe crystallized against their upward economic mobility. However, recent studies suggest the Western frontier’s material conditions may not have been as advantageous as Jackson proposed because settlers lacked the knowledge and human capital to succeed on the Plains and Far Western frontier. Using stature, BMI and weight from five late 19th and early 20th century prisons, this study uses 61,276 observations for men between ages 15 and 79 to illustrate that current and cumulative net nutrition on the Great Plains did not deteriorate during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, indicating that recent challenges to the Turner Hypothesis are not well supported by net nutrition studies.

The intensity of globalization processes and the role of cities in the socio-economic development of countries and regions increase at the current stage of society's development. Agglomerations that have the status of the global (world) level play the most crucial role. he purpose of the paper is to analyze the impact of globalization processes on the peculiarities of the development of urban agglomerations in the conditions of contemporary globalization, as well as to identify problems and prospects for their further evolution. The research was carried out based on the system, synergistic, informational and human-geographical approaches; using the methods of induction and deduction, comparison, analogy, analysis, synthesis, systematization, as well as mathematical, statistical and cartographic methods. Three waves characterized the spread of globalization in historical retrospect: the first one (the first half of the 20th century) described the intensive development of cities and industry, the development of transport infrastructure; the second wave (the second half of the 20th century) marked the formation of transnational, transcontinental and global corporations, the transfer of "dirty" industries to the territory of poor third world countries; the third (the beginning of the 21st century – until now) characterizes the emergence of urbanization beyond geopolitical and administrative borders. A significant trend in the contemporary development of cities is the tendency towards developing urban agglomerations, increasing their importance in contemporary spatial transformations and processes taking place on the planet. Agglomerations within regions of the world arose quite unevenly. The largest number are in the USA, Europe, and Asia, and agglomerations are growing at an accelerated pace in Africa and Latin America. Until the 20th century, the large agglomerations were formed mostly in developed countries and regions of the world due to the available resource and economic potential. Now the processes of intensive agglomeration are characterized for cities and developing countries, where the number of agglomerations is increasing. A significant increase in the number of cities and agglomerations in countries with a low level of development leads to the emergence and aggravation of global problems of modern times.

For much of the 20th century, language policy and planning has been essentially overlooked except as an academic enterprise, being of serious interest largely only to a small coterie of specialists scattered thinly around the world. Still, at present, only a handful of universities in the world offers anything more than a random course in language policy/planning or simply subsumes the entire field in a couple of lectures in the introductory course in sociolinguistics. In the last decade of the 20th century, real-world events have thrust language policy and planning into prominence. The collapse of the former Soviet Union and the powerful resurgence of language loyalties in various Eastern European polities, the rapid economic unification of a multilingual Europe, changing global patterns of immigration, and global economic difficulties have coalesced to create new linguistic conditions and focus attention on long existing linguistic inequities. These conditions have brought into serious question the western notion of an idealized identity between nation and national language. This volume of the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics has attempted to draw together various emerging perspectives on language policy and planning and to examine emerging circumstances in a selected set of illustrative areas:

This article presents important steps and achievements accomplished by the Republic of Moldova towards integration, by analysing its collaboration with the European Union. The development of relations with the EU is the priority goal that Moldova strives for, which means not only economic, but also political and cultural integration. The first steps of the Republic of Moldova towards the EU were encouraging. After years of isolation, this process was difficult and required a lot of efforts. This is due to many reasons, the most important of which are Russia's political and economic pressure, theunresolved issue in Transnistria, the ideological and geopolitical schisms of the population, some of which see their future with Russia, and the other part with Europe. Despite the existing problems, cooperation with the EU has yielded tangible results: the EU-Moldova Association Agreement has been signed, the visa regime has been abolished and financial support for the socioeconomic and public sectors is provided. Moldova, for its part, is making great efforts to form a single political, economic and cultural educational space with the EU, which supports its efforts in the process of European integration. Its speed and success largely depend on the country itself, its economic and political development. A strong statepolicymaking aimed at strengthening reforms and stimulating the transition to a market economy in accordance with the international principles is inherent in the future development of Moldova. Keywords: Republic of Moldova, European Union,European Integration, foreign policy, Transniestrian conflict

The aim of the article is to elucidate the impact of Marxism and Nationalism on modernization processes in Eastern Europe from the perspective of their formation and mutual influence. Research methods: synthesis, induction, analysis, retrospective. Main results. During research we studied programs of both ideologies and compared their distinctive traits. Through analysis oftheoretical patterns of nationalism movements, different theories of public modernization and European point of view about backwardness, we found that Nationalism and Marxism significantly diverged around the role of statehood in culture and political changes. For Nationalism – state was the main aim and, simultaneously, result of nationalist movement activity. Further progress of nation was related to national state, which could provide certain conditions for cultural and economic development. Statehood in Marxists views was unwelcome; changes in society were related to social revolutionary movements without creation new state formations. State’s participation in transformation processes was, in theory, different for both ideologies. But when communists seized a power in the former Russian Empire, they faced a necessity of making their own statehood with its national policy. In fact, Nationalism became an artificial method on the way towards modernization of society. In conclusion, Eastern Europe modernization happened due to unification of communist and nationalist political thought. Scientific novelty of the paper is explained by analysis of works by Austrian Marxists, who made a theory for Soviet national policy. We explain this point by comparing some Austrian ideas to J. Stalin’s view on national question. The author also advocates the idea of existence some nationalistic traits during socialistic modernization in the USSR. Practical value of the research is a creation of background for studying Soviet ideology from new point of view. Type of article: empirical research.

Who smokes, and why do they do it? What factors discourage and otherwise reward or incentivize smoking? Tobacco use has been accompanied by controversy from the moment of its entry into European culture, and conflicting opinions regarding its potentially adverse influence on health have coexisted for hundreds of years. Its use in all forms represents the world’s single greatest cause of preventable disease and death. Tobacco was introduced to Europe by Christopher Columbus, who in October 1492 discovered the crop in Cuba. While the next four centuries would see tobacco as the most highly traded economic commodity, by 1900, the now familiar cigarette remained obscure and accounted for only 2% of total tobacco sales. Global tobacco consumption rose sharply after 1914 and became especially prevalent following World War II, particularly among men. Indeed, overall tobacco sales increased by more than 60% by the mid-20th century, and cigarettes were a critical driver of this growth. Cigarettes dominated the tobacco market by 1950, by then accounting for more than 80% of all tobacco purchases. In the absence of clinical and scientific evidence against tobacco, moral and religious arguments dominated opposition voices against tobacco consumption in the 1800s. However, by the mid-20th century, advancements in medical research supported enhanced government and voluntary actions against tobacco advertising and also raised awareness of the dangers associated with passive tobacco smoke exposure. Solid epidemiological work connecting tobacco use with “the shortening of life span” began to appear in the medical literature in the 1950s, linking smoking with lung cancer and related conditions. In subsequent years, these developments led to significant curtailment of tobacco use. This monograph explores aspects of the intersection of tobacco with themes of behavioral incentives, religion, culture, literature, economics, and government over the past five centuries.

The disillusionment with Europe and integration process is spreading through the continent. However, it appears to be stronger in countries of the Central Europe, specifically V4. Countries that have joined the democratic club at the end of 20th century show today higher potential to be governed by populistic and nationalistic parties. The article addresses the issue of perception of democracy in V4 countries through the scope of analysis of scientific publications as well as opinion polls conducted by national or international agencies. It works with several definitions of democracy and liberal democracy as a theoretical background and confronts them with how these are perceived by the people in the selected V4 countries. The opinion polls show, that people in these countries value democracy as a concept, and value the freedom that it brings, however, their everyday life and political decision are often impacted by the social and economic conditions they are living in.

Agricultural land is an important natural resource and forms the basis for food production. Global and local socio-economic and environmental changes are often the driving forces of changes in land cover and land use. Land abandonment in rural areas is one of the processes observed in Europe today and usually leads to increased afforestation. The intensity of this process in Central Europe is linked to the political and economic changes that took place at the end of the 20th century. The study objective was to identify the natural and socio-economic factors of this process in Lublin Province—a major region of agricultural production in Poland. From 1990 to 2018, over 130,000 ha were excluded from agricultural use, which represents 7% of the arable land in 1990. Land abandonment showed considerable spatial differences when comparing different counties: its magnitude ranged from 4% to 13% of the county area. At the same time, due to the specific type of land use in the province (small farm holdings divided into several fields), the intensity of land abandonment was underestimated when based on overview data (CORINE). It was observed that the intensity of this process was correlated with the natural conditions (topography, soils) for agricultural production and the socio-economic characteristics (area of arable land, forest cover changes, farm size) of the counties as well as the absorption of Common Agricultural Policy funds.

In the article under consideration, the author examines three main waves of the Russian-speaking immigration to Brazil and, particularly, to the State of São Paulo and its capital of the same name, during the first half of the 20th century. The first wave refers to the period from 1921 to the late 1930s. We consider the arrival of general Wrangel’s soldiers and officers, in 1921; the resettlement of Russian-speaking farmers from Romanian Bessarabia in 1923-1930s; and the ‘secondary’ migration of Nansen refugees from Europe during the 1930s. The second wave represents the post-war subsidized migration of Russian displaced persons (DPs), and the third one is the resettlement of the Russians from China during the 1950s. The author relies on a vast number of authentic sources from public and private archives, such as Russian-language periodicals in Brazil, Brazilian regulatory acts, and interviews with the descendants of Russian emigrants. Delivering a comparative analysis of the aforementioned waves the author concludes that the patterns of the Russian speakers’ adaptation in Brazil need to be considered in the light of political and economic conditions in the country in a particular period of immigrants’ arrival. It is also noted that anti-Soviet sentiments in Brazilian politics, starting from the mid-1930s, had a negative impact on preservation of the Russian language and Russian culture in the country.

The paper attempts to analyze the problems of adjusting the educational process in the EurAsEC countries that have arisen in recent decades in case of unforeseen circumstances. At the end of the 20th century, the ideas of globalization of all areas of the world community's activity led in the field of higher education to a thirst for immediate changes. What prompted the concern of the leading universities in Europe, which train highly qualified for the real sectors of the economy? An analysis of the current situation showed that the realities existing at that time pushed people to action, since analysts of higher education have repeatedly noticed that in the field of many areas of fundamental research, Europe is significantly inferior to the United States. Also noteworthy is the identity of the Nobel laureates. Independent commentators, beyond any emotion, pointed out that the United States has always invested significant amounts of money in the development of science. These problems gave rise to the Bologna process of reforming higher education in Europe. In this regard, the problems are considered and the prospects for the creation and development of a single educational space on the territory of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, considered by the authors as an important component of economic integration in the post-Soviet space, are identified. From the standpoint of taking into account foreign experience, as well as existing elements of educational integration within the framework of such associations. as EurAsEC, SCO, CIS, the main directions of integration interaction in the field of education of the EAEU countries are highlighted. The authors made attempts to formulate ways out of the current situation in the Eurasian educational space, especially in cases of unforeseen environmental conditions, such as a pandemic. Although in the educational space under consideration, the state of affairs with the organization, and in particular with funding, research and science is worse, this should not lead to ignoring the interests of both the students themselves and educational organizations in general. Insufficient funding is aggravated by many other factors, which together lead to the conclusion that EurAsia needs innovations designed to “modernize” the structure of education.

The article is devoted to an analysis of health-impaired children social integration. The author identifies six major stages in the development of a society’s attitude towards disability as a problem and disables children as a distinct social group: from absolute rejection and even destruction of health-impaired persons to public recognition of equal rights irrespective of health conditions. In the article, the author compares Russian and European experience in health-impaired-people-targeted aid-provision and concludes that Russian experience is significantly different from that of Europe, where aid programmes were informed by the goals and aims of the state. By mid-20th century, European society had come to a realization of health-impaired people’s social equality and begun to develop a social model of disability, the underlying premise of which was active social assistance provided for persons with special needs in the course of their socialization. The predominant attitude in Russia was characterized by plaintive compassion and pity, which shaped the support/aid model as initially grounded in private charity and, later, state provision. By the end of the 20th century, due to global socio-economic reforms, a social model of disability came to be created in Russia. However, legal deficiencies, fund and qualified personnel shortages, as well as the negative stereotypes have so far been challenging the development of the model. As a conclusion, the author insists that the adaptivity model currently in effect be replaced by a self-actualization model. The author provides practical recommendations concerning personnel training and re-training in the field of social follow-up of healthimpaired people.

The practice of using free economic zones in Russia is not straightforward. The regime of the free economic zone was tested back in the 12-13 centuries in Europe. The first full-fledged free economic zone began to operate in Germany. In Russia, such zones began to appear in the late 90s of the 20th century. The Russian practice of applying the above mechanism is still not effective enough. This is a consequence of the lack of development of the regulatory framework. The object of research is the institute of free economic zones in world practice, the subject of research is the activity of free economic zones on the territory of the Krasnodar Territory. The goal of creating free economic zones - catalysts for the economic growth of regions and its participants - is updated economic relations. The goals of free economic zones are to stimulate the economic development of the country, to establish foreign economic relations. In the course of the study, differences between free and special economic zones from other regions were revealed. It has been established that the countries of the free economic zone differ from other territories in the following: maximum tax privileges, temporary exemption from them in general; the effect of benefits on the import of products necessary for the company; reduced utility tariffs; simplified business registration procedure. The bonuses offered to entrepreneurs and legal entities working in such areas are characterized: the ability to attract highly qualified domestic personnel; preferential tax regimes, which has a beneficial effect on reducing costs and allows you to obtain more favorable conditions in the market; reducing the cost of import and export, which significantly increases the profitability of the enterprise.

The Contemporary Federal Republic of Germany is the leader of the European Union, on which the development of the European Union and European-transatlantic relations largely depends. The Federal Republic of Germany determines the main content and direction of the EU policy towards the Russian Federation. Russian-German relations have a significant impact on the solution of many world problems. The unification of two states at the end of the 20th century – the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic — became one of the greatest and most significant events in the history of Germany and world politics. The creation of a unified German state contributed to the change of both the economic and political situation of Germany in Europe and in international relations. They are one of the determining factors of global politics and directly related to the European world order, therefore, the study of the philosophy and nature of German foreign policy in the postbipolar world is a topic and important task for specialists. The article considers the internal and external conditions and factors affecting the foreign policy of Germany in the postbipolar world.

Grafting of vegetable seedlings is a unique horticultural technology practiced for many years in East Asia to overcome issues associated with intensive cultivation using limited arable land. This technology was introduced to Europe and other countries in the late 20th century along with improved grafting methods suitable for commercial production of grafted vegetable seedlings. Tomato grafting is becoming a well-developed practice worldwide with many horticultural advantages. The primary motivation for grafting tomato has been to prevent the damage caused by soilborne pathogens under intensive production system. However, recent reports suggest that grafting onto suitable rootstocks can also alleviate the adverse effects of abiotic stresses such as salinity, water, temperature, and heavy metals besides enhancing the efficiency of water and nutrient use of tomato plants. This review gives an overview of the scientific literatures on the various aspects of tomato grafting including important steps of grafting, grafting methods, scion–rootstock interaction, and rootstock-derived changes in vegetative growth, fruit yield, and quality in grafted plants under different growing conditions. This review also highlights the economic significance of grafted tomato cultivation and offers discussion on the future thrust and technical issues that need to be addressed for the effective adoption of grafting.

Non-native forest tree species have been introduced in Europe since the 16th century, but only in the second half of the 20th century the significance of the seed source origin for their economic use was recognized, resulting in the establishment of numerous provenance trials at a national, regional, European and International level, as those led by IUFRO. Breeding programs have also been launched in the continent for the most economically important species. Aim of this work is the formulation of provenance recommendations for planting of five non-native tree species in Europe (Douglas fir, grand fir, Sitka spruce, lodgepole pine and black locust), based on the information obtained from twenty countries, in the frame of the EU FP-1403 NNEXT Cost Action. The survey revealed that official and non-official national recommendations, based on provenance research results, have been elaborated and followed at a different level and extend for the above five species, but only for Douglas fir recommendations exist in almost all the participating to the survey countries. The compilation of provenance recommendations across Europe for each species is presented in the current work. Besides the recommended introduced seed sources, European seed sources are also preferred for planting, due to ease of access and high availability of forest reproductive material. European breeding programs yielding genetic material of high productivity and quality constitute currently the seed source of choice for several species and countries. Consolidation of trial data obtained across countries will allow the joint analysis that is urgently needed to draw solid conclusions, and will facilitate the development of ‘Universal-Response-Functions’ for the species of interest, rendering possible the identification of the genetic material suitable for global change. New provenance trial series that will test seed sources from the entire climatic range of the species, established in sites falling within and outside the environmental envelopes of their natural ranges, are urgently needed to pinpoint and understand the species-specific climate constraints, as well as to correlate functional traits to the seed origin and the environmental conditions of the test sites, so that the selection of suitable forest reproductive material of non-native tree species in the face of climate change can be feasible.

The current stage of development of studies of Central and Eastern Europe is characterized by a number of specific and common problems for the whole scientific direction. Systemic transformation in the states of the region at the turn of the 1980s-1990s led to a decrease in the level of their foreign economic and foreign policy relations with Russia, which influenced the interest in the study and accumulation of knowledge about Central and Eastern Europe in our country. In particular, the demand of state bodies for regular country studies of the region decreased, which affected the publication activity of scientific centers and the training of new scientists by specialized university departments. Central-Eastern Europe ceased to be considered as a separate region as its thirteen states were involved in European integration processes, and the number of scientific institutions and research teams for its study decreased. The disunity of specialists dealing with Eastern European problems and the low level of their scientific interaction leads to the formation of an "archipelago" of research centers. On the basis of open data, we found nine, oft en small, scientific teams for the study of history (from the middle of the 20th century), economy, society, domestic and foreign policy of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and analyze the results of their activities in 2010-21 (including topics and territorial scope of works). It is worth to note that in the Russian regions, the corresponding research within the framework of research teams is not carried out, they have survived only in Moscow. Such a key characteristic of country studies as complexity is gone – in the conditions of methodological stagnation and in the absence of the possibility of conducting comprehensive country studies, scientists tackle its components separately, and some of them have been abandoned. The predominance of the reductionist approach over the holistic one also applies to geographical coverage: our analysis of the specialization of scientists shows that many countries in the region remain outside the research field, and interest in two or three of them is due to cultural and historical ties and foreign policy agenda. The training of researchers and teachers at the departments of universities is carried out in an insufficient level for personnel renewal, the age of twothirds of the specialists is over 40 years old. In order to assess the prospects for solving this problem, we analyzed the topics of dissertations defended over ten years in 24 Russian universities and academic institutes in history, politics, economics and economic geography of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

The discovery of the polio pathogen and the development of eradication procedures represented a giant step in the man’s history. They demonstrated clearly the diversity of scientific approaches. Infectious diseases of poliovirus like other ones follow an ever-changing pattern. Examined in the global context, these changes burdened society from the very beginning. The invention of any vaccine did not result in peace of mind, because not only its quality but the effect of variable conditions must have been constantly monitored due to the changing patterns of viruses. Polio or poliomyelitis causes paralysis and death. Its history goes back to the prehistoric times thus the first evidence was found in the era of the 18th Dynasty in Egypt BC cc 400-1365 cut in stone. Although major polio epidemics were unknown before the 20th century, minor and sporadic endemics were always emerging. But after the turn of the century in the 1900s major epidemics started in North America and Europe at the same time, instigating intensive research in a number of laboratories using different methodological approaches. First, the pathogen was identified and then the vaccine developed. Finally remained 2 different vaccines on the market. The inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) was the first one administered at the beginnings after the discovery by Salk, changed later by the oral polio vaccine (OPV) in many countries. Political, health policy and mainly economic struggle were launched in the production of vaccines. This study presents the historical and political background that characterized and characterizes a pandemic. Back in the Cold War era, we demonstrate the business-economic-political-institutional background of the worldwide vaccine production, without neglecting the researchers’ individual competition and envy especially through highlighting the background of the Nobel Prize struggle.

The collapse of communist economies in Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union, as well as their subsequent transition towards market economies, was arguably one of the most far-reaching economic events of the 20lh century. Pain accom panied the economic transition process; all countries experienced a major fall in output after the start of reforms. The growth performance in transition economies was widely different by countries. The paper is looking for the reasons of the growth differences. Even if the initial conditions did not give the same possibilities to governments, early reforms has opened the way to market processes, which seems to be more efficient than state owned institutions in transition economies. In this context, the lower is the state participation, the highest is growth. Empirical analyses justify that GDP growth is higher in countries where state reallocation is decreasing and where tight fiscal policy has been kept.)

Being established from the initiative of six visionary countries in the second half of the 20th century, the European Economic Community has shifted the history of the European continent by promoting economic collaboration and political stability. Given its initial success, the regional group has quickly evolved from customs union to Economic and Monetary Union, comprising nowadays twenty-seven European countries. Although the European Union has successfully managed political, economic, social and even sanitary turmoil, the stability of the European architecture continues to be threatened by the heterogeneity of its members. In this respect, one of the main challenges for the European Union in its current composition aims the convergence of the economic performance between countries and regions. The purpose of this paper is to study the economic growth patterns in the European Union during 2000 and 2019, also conducting a comparative analysis between New and Old Member States. In order to capture the European economic landscape, the methodology was based on conditional β-convergence and the estimates were conducted by using ordinary least squares and generalized least squares with fixed effects. We have tried to find the relationship between the lagged value of GDP per capita and the subsequent growth rates, but also to study the influence of macroeconomic and social-related variables. By estimating regressions based on panel data, we have found evidence in favor of income convergence in the European Union, based on the inverse relationship between the lagged value of GDP per capita and the annual growth rates. Moreover, the comparative analysis between the New and Old Members illustrated that convergence was stronger in the latter group, given the sound macroeconomic and social environment. The empirical analysis suggested that the economic growth process both at aggregate and subgroup level was enhanced by investment, exports of goods and services, sound public finances and the increase of percentage of population with tertiary education. Consequently, in order to increase the cohesion between Members and to avoid separatist movements, the European decision-makers should strengthen the macroeconomic and social frameworks, maintaining a sustainable economic growth trajectory for both the New Members from Central and Eastern Europe and the Old Member States.

The cyclical character of definite processes observed under both Polish and American conditions in fact emerges as of a universal nature, finding its analogies throughout the world, though first and foremost within the European cultural circle. It is also possible to speak of its far reaching synchronicity, encompassing change on both local and global scales. This is witnessed by successive culminations of cycles with the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, the revolutionary surges of the 1830s and 1840s, the events of the 1860s and 1870s, the turbulences and wars of the early 20th century (notably World War I), then World War II, the great transformations of the 1980s, and the recently observed increase in political tension in various parts of the world (e.g. the Middle East, Ukraine, etc.). In the economic sphere the symptoms are shifts in the business climate, which can even be calculated by reference to quantitative indicators. Then, in the sphere of culture, it is possible to denote successive periods in literature and the arts. In the political sphere in turn, events that shape the state or territorial order are to be observed readily. The present article thus seeks to propose the existence of a universal and synchronous 30-40 years long generation cycle, which manifests itself in real symptoms in the world of politics, and for instance in the cyclicity seen to characterise intensity of change on the political map of Europe.

This paper explores the influence of higher forestry education and forestry science at the Faculty of Forestry of the University of Zagreb on the formation and preservation of forest wealth in the Republic of Croatia during the past 120 years as the basic, authentic, self-renewable, biologically diverse and distinctly natural element. In order to do so, we shall provide a survey of some significant achievements of the faculty and its distinguished professors by citing examples of important textbooks and scientific papers. In the year 2018, the Faculty of Forestry in Zagreb marked the 120th anniversary of its establishment. It was on October 20th, 1898, that the Academy of Forestry was founded within the University of Zagreb as the first higher forestry institution in Croatia and in the south-east of Europe. The continuity of higher forestry education at the University of Zagreb has been retained to date through the periods of activity of the Academy of Forestry (1898 - 1919), the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry (1919-1946), the Agricultural-Forestry Faculty (1946 - 1960) and the Faculty of Forestry (1960 - to date). Three characteristic periods can be singled out in the development of forestry education and science at the Faculty of Forestry in Zagreb in the course of 120 years: the first half of the 20th century, the second half of the 20th century and the first half of the 21st century. The first half of the 20th century witnessed a surge in the Croatian forestry, which can primarily be attributed to the development of higher forestry education and science at the Academy of Forestry and the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry of the University of Zagreb. Among the most important contributions of university forestry education and science in Croatia are the establishment of the Zagreb School of Silviculture and the beginnings of organized and systematic scientific research in forestry. The second half of the 20th century is characterized by the blossoming of higher forestry education and science in Croatia, which had a direct impact on the condition of forests and the development of practical forestry. During this period, the Croatian forestry, science and practice became an outstanding example of mutual cooperation and powerful development, which brought about an improvement in the condition of forests in Croatia as a whole. The forestry practice firmly adhered to the principles of the Zagreb School of Silviculture, an orientation towards natural regeneration, natural stand structure, and natural, diverse and stable forests. This trend has continued in the 21st century. The new age has given rise to vast changes and challenges in higher forestry education and science. The crisis of forestry, which has gradually been evolving over the past fifteen years, has had its repercussions on the basic activity of the Faculty: higher education and science. Today, the Faculty of Forestry is confronted with two serious challenges: lesser interest of young people in studying and a reduced intensity and scope of scientific research in forest ecosystems. There are no objective reasons for either of the above, however. Forests are the most widespread and the most important natural wealth in the continental part of the Republic of Croatia. There are currently a large number of job openings in forestry and urban forestry, as well as in nature and environment protection, and this trend will continue to rise in the future. The Croatian forest ecosystems are facing growing numbers of challenges and problems. On the other hand, there are fewer and fewer workers in forestry. In view of this, there is no reason for crisis in one of the most natural and oldest studies at the University of Zagreb. On the contrary, forestry experts have splendid prospects in today’s ecological, economic and social conditions. The task of the Faculty is to adjust itself and its basic products, experts in the management of forest ecosystems of the Republic of Croatia, to new challenges. Forestry practice and forestry science must work together, just as they have done throughout the long forestry history. Only be doing so will their development be ensured in accordance with the definition: forestry is a science, profession and art of managing and preserving forest ecosystems for the permanent benefit of man, society, environment and economy.

This article is part of a larger inquiry into the production of disabled bodies due to violence. I examine processes of disablement in the global south, namely Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan, by wars launched and nurtured by both the local nation-states in the Middle East as well as the global north - the United States, Russia, and Western Europe. Utilizing a dialectical and historical materialist approach, I studied the Iran-Iraq war, the longest war of the 20th century. I explore how the disablement of global southern bodies in imperialist and nationalist wars is persistently naturalized – that is, attributed to the natural state of affairs in those regions, with the inevitable consequence that they cannot be connected to the violence of ongoing global and regional imperialism. This paper briefly touches upon the theoretical framework and methodology utilized to conduct this research, as well as the “problem” of disability in Iran. Subsequently, it goes on to extensively discuss the living conditions of the surviving Iranian veterans and surviving civilians of the Iran-Iraq war told through their own resilient voices. The veterans’ narratives expose their post-war experiences, including poverty, unemployment, inadequate medical-care, lack of medication due to the U.S.-imposed economic sanctions, and the presence of a dysfunctional disability-measurement system employed by the Iranian state. As a survivor of this war myself, I invite the reader to bear witness to how the violence of imperialism and nationalism not only renders people disabled, but also fetishizes their disablement by masking/mystifying the socio-political and economic relations that mediate the violent processes that render people disabled. By focusing on the veterans’ actual living conditions, this paper seeks to defetishize disablement, shifting the narrative of disabled veterans and civilians from tales of terrorism, heroism, living martyrdom, and patriotism, towards recognition of disability of/in human beings in need of care and support.

Med udgangspunkt i det moderne h&oslash;jhus' f&oslash;dsel i det 19. &aring;rhundredes USA samt f&aelig;nomenets internationale historie, belyser artiklen h&oslash;jhusets historie og udbredelse i Danmark. Fra velf&aelig;rdsstatens funktionalistiske boligkolosser i midten af det tyvende &aring;rhundrede, over 1970'erne og 80'ernes modreaktion og 'sm&aring;t er godt'-mentalitet til de seneste &aring;rtiers individuelle og amerikansk inspirerede<br />prestige-projekter med vartegnsambitioner, s&aelig;ttes den danske udvikling ind i en europ&aelig;isk kontekst og prioriteret bevidsthedshistorisk forklaringsramme. Siden midten af det tyvende &aring;rhundrede har erhvervsh&oslash;jhuse i bycenteret h&oslash;rt til de mest karakteristiske tr&aelig;k ved storbyers udvikling verden over, men i Danmark er den slags h&oslash;jhuse endnu relativt sj&aelig;ldne. Ogs&aring; i danske byer peger udviklingen i de seneste &aring;r dog i retning af flere h&oslash;je, markante byggerier i eller n&aelig;r bymidten.<br /><br />Abstract:<br />In recent decades, the distinctive urban setup, with a nucleus dominated by clusters of office towers, has spread to most parts of the world. Economic growth and structural conditions are obviously of fundamental importance for this development, but as the present article shows, the limited construction of such centrally located high-rise buildings in Danish (and European) cities may also be put into a framework of history of consciousness. The first modern skyscrapers were erected in American cities in the late 19th Century, but it was not until the middle of the 20th Century that a related, but dissimilar development gained momentum in Europe and Denmark. In Copenhagen, as well as in other European cities, office towers fitted badly into the the maze of streets in the city centres, and they also conflicted with the laws that restricted building heights. Because of the post-war shortage of housing and the rapid economic growth of the 1950s and -60s, the first high-rise buildings in Denmark were built in the mid-1950s in the form of suburban residential towers. Since then, these pre-fabricated concrete towers have affected the Danish townscape for better and perhaps especially for worse; and this may be one of the reasons why high-rise buildings fell into disrepute in Denmark. At any rate, the first generation of high-rise buildings in this country was mostly suburban, and a child of European modernism and functionalism. Due to a fear of Americanization and the ruining of Copenhagen"s "unique" low skyline, only a few "American" highrise buildings were allowed to be built in Copenhagen"s inner city in this period. From the early 1970s until 1990, practically no high-rise buildings were constructed in Denmark. The building activity was affected by low economic growth; and in addition, the bad experience from the 1950s and -60s influenced the new catchword of the building industry: dense, low. Since the last decade of the 20th Century, however, high-rise buildings have once again become fashionable in Denmark. Not all types of high-rise buildings, though, but characteristic and unique "American" commercial high-rise buildings in or near city centres. This development may be seen not only in Copenhagen, but also in several of the larger provincial towns. Public opposition to these towers is still significant, but as a consequence of increased globalization and the race for attracting multinational companies and the favour of the professions, municipal councils in Denmark are bending over backwards to signal progressiveness and an attractive business environment - for instance by stimulating the<br />construction of office towers.<br />

The formation and development of the Ukrainian school and educational affair as the basis for the professional training of Ukrainian youth in the Western countries in the second half of the XX-th century is examined in the article. The emphasis was given to the complexity and multiplicity of this process, which was caused by the socioeconomic and educational policies of the states, which became a new homeland for the Ukrainians, geography and compactness of their resettlement, employment in the different branches of the economy, the presence in the diaspora of the professional intelligentsia, its national awareness, the state religious life, etc. Accordingly, in different countries (Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Canada, USA, Australia, Argentina), this process was different, more or less intense and had results, but it still remains an object of interest as an important support of native cultural heritage, an inexhaustible source of preserving its spirituality bearers. The institutional forms and types of obtaining of pedagogical education by Ukrainians in the Western countries of the second half of the 20th century, the peculiarity of teaching and educational activities in different types of educational establishment and the main tendencies of the development of the Ukrainian school and educational affairs are presented. Among them: an expansion of the network of pre-school establishments, primary, secondary and high schools in connection with the arrival of emigrants to countries of Western Europe, America and Australia; public uniting efforts of leading Ukrainian public associations in preserving the national identity and spirituality of Ukrainians born outside Ukraine's native land; development of scientifically grounded, adapted to the needs and conditions of Ukrainians living in the diaspora of the theory of teaching and national education of younger generations; improving the content of studying and educational process in all types of schools, bringing it to the standards of the existing state education system and the increased requirements of economic and cultural life of the countries that have become a new homeland for Ukrainians.

This article was written by Yuriy Pochta for the Council of Europe and was published in the spring of 2016 in the collection: Regionalisation trends in European countries 2007-2015. A study by members of the Group of Independent Experts of the European Charter of Local Self-Government / Editor: Prof. Francesco Merloni. Strasburg, 2016. Yuriy Pochta is a member of a group of independent experts of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, which is the pan-European political assembly representing local and regional authorities from the forty-seven member states of the Council of Europe. The Congress entrusted the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government with the task of producing a comparative academic study. This study is based on information from Council of Europe member States affected by the regionalisation process and on recent regionalisation developments in Europe. The intention is to review the situation regarding regionalisation since the 2007 report of the European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR). Following on from this, the idea is to achieve a broader understanding of the phenomenon from both the legal and institutional angles. The main aim of this study is to evaluate regionalisation trends, towards both more and less regionalisation, in individual countries and consequently in Europe as a whole. At the same time it seeks to determine whether the various countries considered actually have regional institutions as defined by the 2009 Council of Europe Reference Framework for Regional Democracy. In preparing his section on Russia, Yuriy Pochta proceeded from the fact that the modern Russian state emerged relatively recently - at the turn of 1980-90-s. of the 20th century and its formation, including its federal structure continues. It is shown that since 2007 the process of regionalization of the Russian Federation is developing successfully. Having opted for the creation of a democratic society, post-Soviet Russian Federation borrowed Western model, adapting it to its own circumstances. The impact of these conditions leads to the fact that it is quite difficult to relate the existing Russian federal system to the classic Western model. On this occasion Russian and Western scholars participate in a lively debate about the nature of Russian federalism - whether it is real or a simulation, whether it is in the crisis. But in 2014, in connection with the entry of the Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation, Russian federalism issues become even more urgent, raising a number of questions about the evolution of Russian federalism, the possibility of the organic integration of the two new subjects in the federation in a situation of sharp complication of Russia's relations with the West, led by the United States, caused by the political and socio-economic crisis in the Republic of Ukraine.

The review of literary sources on ecology, biology, distribution of bean bruchid ( Acanthoscelides obtectus ) and its main food plant - Phaseolus vulgaris in North and South America; Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and more details in Russia; the influence of abiotic, biotic and anthropogenic factors on the invasive process, phytosanitary condition of common bean crops in Russia is presented. Some aspects of the invader management are shown. The main stages and areas of cultivation of common bean and invasion of bean bruchid from their primary habitat in South America and in the south of North America are traced; the vectors and reasons causing them are considered. In Russia, the economic importance of bean bruchid has increased since the mid-1980s, which coincided with the climate warming; there was an expansion of its distribution in the eastern and north-western directions. At the last decades of the 20th century, it had penetrated in Smolensk and in the south part of the Tver and the Tomsk regions. With the increase in production of beans in Russia, the lack of systemic protection from bean bruchid and further increase of climate warming will contribute to the extension of its range to the north in the European part of Russia and the Urals to 57-58° N. Lat., where the conditions of the summer period are favorable for development of common bean and bean bruchid. To the east, it may spread to Tyva, Buryatia, the Trans-Baikal territory, the Amur region, the Jewish Autonomous region, and the southern part of the Khabarovsk territory. With the introduction of strict internal quarantine and a system of protection of common bean from this pest, which prevents the spread of infected dry bean, on the contrary, it is possible to reduce the distribution range of the bean bruchid, with its disappearance in the Siberian, Ural districts, Bashkortostan and Tatarstan.

Relevance of research. The nearest Ukraine in terms of geographical location, culture, centuries-old historical ties and Slavic mentality is Poland. For the history of pedagogy in particular, the system of music education of schoolchildren is interesting to explore and analyze the difficult time of reconstruction of school education in Poland after the Second Word War, which killed 17% of the population. The purpose of the study is to analyze form and content of music education of Polish schoolchildren in the postwar (40-60 years of the 20th century). Research methods. Analysis and synthesis of Polish scientific and pedagogical literature on music education of schoolchildren, regulations, school curricula and program, materials of scientific and practical conferences empirical and independent data. Research results. After the end of the Second World War and the liberation of Poland from German occupation, the reconstruction of the virtually completely destroyed school system and the creation of new education system based on different ideological, political and economic principles before the pre-war period began. The restructuring of the school education system involved, firs of all, the definition of the new educational goal, which was set before the school. It was based on the idea of harmonious development of personality. A significant role in this process was given to the musical education of schoolchildren. The subject of “Singing” was introduced into the curricula of primary schools (grades 1-7), which had two hours in grades 1-5 and one hour in grades 6-7, as well as two hours for school choir classes pre week. A significant role in the development of the system of music education of foreign teachers-musicologists: E.Jagues-Dalcroze, Z. Kodály, James L. Mursell, C. Orff and others. They adapted to the conditions and Polish educational traditions. In the 1962, the name of the subject “Singing” was changed to “Music Education”, which was in line with pedagogical functions. Conclusions. In the postwar (40-60's) the modernization of the system of music education of schoolchildren was carried out. The organization content and forms of music education in secondary schools were based on the concepts of well-known in Europe scientists, teachers, musicologists, composers [É.Jagues. Dalkroze, Z. Kodály, J. Mursell, C. Orff], who adapted in accordance with the conditions and national Polish educational traditions. The musical education of the younger generation was greatly influenced by ideological and sociopolitical factors that determined the functioning of the socialist society of the Polish People's Republic.

Abstract. Introduction. The correlation between inflation and unemployment is a very relevant topic for both Ukraine and other countries. The connection between them is so strong that they are like a natural disaster with severe socio-economic consequences directly for the population of the countries on whose territory these processes are taking place. The level of food supply in modern conditions is one of the priority areas of state policy in the vast majority of countries in the world. The categorical apparatus of the sphere of food supply was formed in the 70s of the 20th century, when the problem of hunger acquired special importance for most countries of the world. The main priorities in this field at that time were quantitative satisfaction with food products and their financial availability for each person. And although almost half a century has passed since that time, this question has not only not lost its relevance today, but has also become one of the most important and priority ones. Purpose. The aim of this study is to thoroughly analyze the current trends of inflation in the countries of the European Union and the impact of these factors on the level of unemployment and the sustainable development of agro-food production as a component of food security in the region. Results. The results of empirical and regression analysis have shown that there is a direct causal relationship between inflation and unemployment, with inflation being the cause and unemployment being the effect. This made it possible to assert that the maintenance of macroeconomic stability in the EU countries should, first of all, consist in ensuring stable prices and a stable exchange rate. Maintaining the stability of the country's economic condition will prevent violations of the system of sustainable development of enterprises and contribute to the strengthening of food security trends. Conclusions. Inflation and unemployment threaten the economy of any country. However, as a rule, the most vulnerable strata of the population suffer, which affects food security. The relationship between inflation and unemployment exists and is legally regulated by the state administration. As practice shows, modern analytical software tools are used in various states, which are based on macro-, regional, and micro-level statistical data for modeling socio-economic situations, which helps to make the most realistic forecasts of the economic situation. In the future, it will be expedient for the EU government to set the following key tasks: first, use the entire arsenal of measures aimed at further suppressing inflationary factors; secondly, optimization of the nature and structure of public expenditures, while not abandoning the state's duties to protect socially vulnerable segments of the population, which is necessary for successful state regulation of food security processes; to establish the mechanisms and algorithm for achieving national food security, which will include scientific support, the formation of a regulatory and legal framework, increasing production volumes and increasing food security.

Peculiarities of national graphic design formation in the 60s of the 20th century in comparison with achievements of the leaders of the world design movement are considered in the article. The aim of the article is to identify peculiarities of Soviet graphic design formation in the 1960s in the context of world achievements in this field. The research methodology combines the methods of comparative, figurative and stylistic analysis, which are based on historical and systematic approaches. The materials of the article proved that in the 1960s professional development of national design took place in conditions of significant economic and technological gap with the leading countries of Europe and the United States. At the same time, due to the tendency to stylistic inertia and imitation of forms and means of graphic art, including aesthetic evaluation criteria, there also was a stylistic gap with progressive trends represented by the Swiss Printing School, the Polish Poster School and American commercial design. The author concludes that the development of Soviet graphic design in the 1960s was in line with opposite trends. On the one hand an impact of world design achievements was obvious, along with significant progress in certain fields of science and technology, the creation of design universities; on the other hand, there were traditions of applied graphics and aesthetic criteria; ideologization of society and state control over all spheres of creative activity. These factors hindered the perception of graphic design as an independent and specific field of art and design activities. Nevertheless, the period of the 1960s was an important stage in the development of design profession in the USSR. The first design educational institutions were established, including the Kharkiv Institute of Arts and Industrial Design; the All-Union Research Scientific Institute of Technical Aesthetics appeared; the publication of the journal “Technical Aesthetics” began. All these changes were of great importance for the development of graphic design, as they marked the beginning of its professional history, formation of the basis, awareness of a fundamentally new type of activity with its own tools and professional tasks.

The aim of this work was to review the latest literature in terms of the use of phytosociological relevés (vegetation plots) in research on the natural environment. The systematic review included 321 articles published in 2010‑2021 in the most renowned journals (indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection with a score ≥100 according to the 2021 list of journals of the Poland’s Ministry of Education and Science). The research questions were: in which fields of science and practice, for what purposes and on what spatial scales the phytosociological relevés are currently used. After initial review, the articles were divided into 10 thematic groups: 1) classification of plant communities, 2) methodological studies, 3) relationship between vegetation and other elements of the environment, 4) occurrence of invasive plant species, 5) indicative role of vegetation, 6) plant communities as habitats for animals, 7) human footprint on vegetation, 8) long-term vegetation changes, 9) combining phytosociological methods with remote sensing methods, 10) social studies. The results showed that phytosociological relevés, as the method to investigate vegetation developed in the first decades of the 20th century, are still widely used in many regions of the world. The most numerous thematic group comprised articles that show how habitat conditions impact the distribution and diversity of plant species and their communities, while the least numerous – studies combining natural and social research. The vast majority of research was dedicated to environmental problems, although social and economic aspects were also present. These were both theoretical and methodological works, as well as detailed studies, which resulted in the formation of recommendations and practical guidelines for nature protection or spatial planning. Recently, relevés have been rarely used solely to distinguish and characterise plant communities, as originally intended by those who invented this method. However, thanks to modern statistical and computer tools, more and more attempts are being made to create automatic classifications with the use of artificial intelligence, e.g. neural networks. The geographic scope was usually restricted to one country (local and regional – 241 articles) or to two or more bordering countries (47). Continental (19) and global (7) studies are less common and studies within Europe prevail. It is because the discussed method was developed and is best known in Europe (Franco-Swiss Phytosociological School), and its dissemination throughout the world is only an evidence of its universality and efficiency. The recent larger-scale studies became possible mainly due to the development of transnational vegetation databases, e.g. the widely utilised European Vegetation Database – EVA.

The purpose of the article is to reveal the image and everyday practice of doctors of state medical institutions in interwar Poland through diaries written by them. Research methods: historical-genetic, historical-comparative, descriptive, historical-typological. The main results: the article highlights the views of Sickness Funds patients on everyday life, profession and its importance. The life paths of doctors, their motives for work, survival strategies in the province and in the capital are clarified. The author’s focus is on everyday professional life, relationships with patients, which generally depicts the status of doctors in the Second Polish Republic. The content of Polish doctors’ activities, their efforts to improve health of population are revealed. Much attention is paid to the analysis of the diaries and the nature of problems and challenges faced by doctors of Sickness Funds. Working conditions of Polish doctors in the interwar period were not easy and the main reason of this was the economic crisis of the 30’s of the 20th century. First of all, the lack of material support, low level of consciousness of the population, patients’ distrust and contempt of patients for doctors, the activities of healers and quacks were also noticeable. At the same time, insufficient salary and limited opportunities often forced doctors to buy the necessary things at their own expense. The psychological atmosphere of the doctor’s work was not easy either and it was often manifested in abusive or dishonest attitude of patients, daily risks, provocations from the local population or their stereotypes about treatment. Constant fatigue, stress and exhaustion accompanied most doctors during this period. The diaries represent a social portrait of a doctor of the interwar period, a new generation of young people, whose professional activity coincided with the years of the independent Polish state, however, it was limited primarily by the challenges of the economic crisis. At the same time, the idea of competition was aimed at PR, advertising and promotion of the Social Insurance Administration of Poland. The main goal was to strengthen the confidence of Poles in the main state institution of social security and encourage the population to pay insurance premiums. The life destinies of the contest participants are also traced. As it turned out, all the doctors whose diaries were published in 1939 were killed during the war. Practical significance: the obtained results can be used in preparation of monographic studies, generalizations, textbooks and manuals on the history of Poland, socio-cultural history of Central and Eastern Europe, biographies. Scientific novelty: for the first time the analysis of diaries and memoirs of Polish doctors are performed, their views and work are studied; attitude to the chosen profession, an attempt to trace the strategies of popularization of the doctor’s profession in interwar Poland are described. Article type: research.

The author reveals the totality of the functions of a modern museum, while considering each of them in a historical and cultural aspect. The methodological research tools include analysis, synthesis, generalization, analogy, a systematic approach, and a problem-chronological method. The materials used are the works of foreign and Russian researchers, documents of international organizations (Charter of the International Council of Museums), reports of major museum institutions (the 2015 Report of the Metropolitan Museum, the annual report of the British Museum for 2016), legislative sources (Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Culture). The study consists of several parts: (1) the study of the generally accepted official wording of the term “museum”, (2) the analysis of scientific views on the composition and characteristics of museum functions, (3) the identification of the historical stages in the development of the museum phenomenon and the factors that influenced this process, (4) the description of results and the formulation of conclusions. The author notes that in each of the stages of its evolution, the museum as a sociocultural phenomenon has changed, transformed, acquired new functions, each time finding its niche within the sociocultural environment. The author has established that the museum of the modern type was formed in Europe in the 19th century; in the 20th century. this type became universal. A number of factors played an important role in the institutional design of the museum and its activities: (1) the development of scientific knowledge in the 19th and 20th centuries, (2) the increase in the level of literacy of the population, (3) the industrial and technical revolution of the 19th century, accompanied by rapid changes in living conditions and an irreversible transformation of traditional culture. The author concludes that (1) a museum is a complex, multicomponent cultural phenomenon, a social and cultural institution whose main functions at the present stage are the collection, storage, study and representation of material, (2) the sociocultural transformation of a museum as a phenomenon and a complex of its functions has a centuries-old history that continues at the present time, (3) in addition to the main functions listed above, the museum helps to solve other tasks based on the representation of the material: pedagogical, didactic, ideological. It can act as a base for the development of certain sciences, such as archeology, ethnography, geology, paleontology, etc. In addition, the museum is also an economic object and a tourist attractor. Автор статьи выявляет совокупность функций современного музея, рассматривая при этом каждую из них в историко-культурном аспекте. Методологический инструментарий исследования включает в себя анализ, синтез, обобщение, аналогию, системный подход и проблемно-хронологический метод. В качестве материалов использованы работы зарубежных и российских исследователей, документы международных организаций (Устав Международного Совета музеев), отчеты крупных музейных учреждений (отчет музея Метрополитен за 2015 г. или годовой отчет Британского музея за 2016 г.), законодательные источники (Закон Республики Казахстан «О культуре»). Исследование состоит из нескольких частей: (1) изучение общепринятых официальных формулировок термина «музей», (2) анализ научных воззрений на состав и характеристики музейных функций, (3) выделение исторических этапов развития феномена музея и факторов, которые повлияли на этот процесс, (4) определение результатов и выводов. Отмечено, что в каждый из этапов своей эволюции музей как социокультурное явление изменялся, трансформировался, приобретал новые функции, всякий раз находя свою нишу в рамках социокультурной среды. Установлено, что музей современного типа оформляется в Европе в XIX в., в XX в. данная форма приобрела всеобщий характер. В институциональном оформлении музея и его деятельности важную роль сыграл ряд факторов: (1) развитие научного знания в XIX и XX вв., (2) повышение уровня грамотности населения, (3) промышленная и техническая революция XIX в., сопровождавшаяся стремительными изменениями условий жизни и необратимой трансформацией традиционной культуры. Автор заключает, что (1) музей — сложное, многокомпонентное явление культуры, социальный и культурный институт, основными функциями которого на современном этапе являются сбор, хранение, изучение и репрезентация материала, (2) социокультурная трансформация музея как явления и комплекса его функций имеет многовековую историю и продолжается в настоящее время, (3) помимо основных, перечисленных выше функций, музей помогает решать и другие задачи, основанные на репрезентации материала: педагогические, дидактические, идеологические. Он может выступать в качестве базы для развития некоторых наук, таких как археология, этнография, геология, палеонтология и др. Кроме того, музей является также экономическим объектом и туристическим аттрактором.

This study discusses the various short-, medium- and long-term cycle theories and focuses on the long-term Kondratiev cycle and its Schumpeterian interpretation. It gives a summary on the economic fluctuation in the 20th century and its impact on structural transformation and regional rearrangements. The problem of ‘peripheral structural crisis’ – the destruction without creation in the relatively backward regions of Europe – is introduced.

The first of the three waves of economic development covering the 20th century started back in the previous century. The factors determining the success of this so-called ‘long 19th century’ were ideological and political, as well as economical. They generated, at the end of that wave, the move towards the first global economy. During the second wave (1914–1945), economic liberalism and globalisation came under pressure. The mixed economy of the postwar period – the framework of the third wave – initiated a trend towards a new global economy, covering ‘les trente années glorieuses’ (1945–1973), the uncertain 1970s, and the restructuring of the economy along neo-liberal lines (1980s and 1990s). What will be the economic future of Europe?

The development of relations between Japan and Europe after the Second World War in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century has become the subject of numerous historic- political and economic studies. The subject in question is of interest for researchers from Japan and Europe as well as to scientific communities from various other countries. Obvious spikes of researchers’ activity occurred in the times of transformation of relations such as the shift to neoliberalism by the end of the 20th century, the formation of the European Union and the recent signing of the Economic Cooperation and Strategic Partnership agreements. Today researches of the matter at hand appear to be highly relevant. Japan and Western Europe have come a long way from trade wars and open standoff at international fora to successful economic cooperation and strategic partnership in relatively short time. Analyzing their experience will be useful for finding solutions to present day international crises. The present article presents the most relevant studies of relations between Japan and Western Europe in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. The relevant publications are reviewed by the author in chronological order. This way the distinguishing features of researchers’ approaches to the subject in question in different time periods can be demonstrated more distinctly. The problematic-chronological method was used to carry out the research because it allows to trace the correlation between the topics of historical research papers and the stage of development of historical science. Additionally, the author made use of the periodization method.

Introduction. Theoretical background. The territorial formation and economic development of Оlexandrivsk and the district is associated with the activation of social, including artistic, life all aspects in the Russian Empire. The creative potential of small towns, including Olexandrivsk, has become a fertile ground for the development of the principles and means of theatrical and stage creativity. Theater, as the most democratic form of art, is directly connected with changes in public life. The theater significant social role and insufficient knowledge on it in the Olexandrivsk conditions and its district determined the relevance of the research topic. The researches by S. Voitkovsky (2014), G. Dadamyan (1987), M. Yevreinov (2019) constitute the scientific and theoretical basis of the work. The study of theatrical art in the Oleksandrivsk (Zaporizhzhya) region is based on the works of O. Antonenko (2017), S. Grushkina (2011), T. Martynyuk (2003). The aim of the research is to study the theater art in Olexandrivsk and the district of the same name as an integral phenomenon of a certain time. The tasks of the work are determine the origins of the theater art in the region, coverage of the features of this phenomenon, identification of theater companies’ organizational forms, study of the theater groups’ repertoire and genre priorities, consideration of theater art professionalization issues in the region. The methodology involves the application of the basic dialectic principles (to reveal the internal contradictions of the research subject and the sources of its development); historical principle (to study the theater’ development as a process of changes in existence’ some forms); comparative method (to identify the theater art characteristics in the region); source study method (to create an archival and historical base for studying the problem); axiological approach (to identify of the theater artistic troupes’ value orientations in the region). Results of the research. Historical materials contain a few facts about the theatrical entertainment of the local population long before the foundation of Olexandrivsk. Similar to the more inhabited neighboring regions, in these territories the existence of a folk theater is likely, the roots of which M. Yevreinov sees in magical actions, rituals and buffoonery. The researcher considers the theater of Russia, the roots of which are in the theatrical art of Europe, to be a counterbalance to folk theater. At the state level, these traditions have been inculcated since the 17th century. This process in the region began from the time of Olexandrivsk foundation. There are two most stable groups of theater collectives in the theater environment of the region. Domestic and foreign drama and opera troupes, which were guided by the Western European theater traditions, are made up the first group. Ukrainian artists’ association and local amateur drama circles that further developed the traditions of folk theater consisted the second group. They united by the idea of national dramatic art. The factors of theater collective’ differentiation in this region are the form of organization of theater business, repertoire and genre priorities, issues of professionalization. The sole proprietorship form is characteristic for the Western European tradition collectives. In Olexandrivsk and the district, the private enterprise was the dominant form, as the most active organization type of theater business. This type of enterprise does not have the conventions of imperial, state, municipal and other theaters in terms of repertoire and personnel relations. This provided it with freedom, mobility and ingenuity. The organizational form of the partnership is characteristic for the troupes oriented towards the traditions of folk theater. Democracy of this form manifested itself in collective decisionmaking. The next factor in differentiating theater groups is repertoire and genre priorities. The Western European tradition troupes gave preference to the works of Western European and Russian authors. Ukrainian authors’ works, Ukrainian song and dance folklore dominated in the repertoire of Ukrainian associations, which continued the traditions of folk theater. These groups preferred works of a pronounced national orientation. The repertoire differences between the two groups reflected to the methods and skills of acting. It is necessary to master Italian vocal technique, classic instrumental technique, conducting symphonic skills in the Western European tradition troupes. In Ukrainian troupes’ music and dramatic performances, universal training actor is needed, equally skillful in stage speech, the folk dance, the style of folk singing. The theater groups’ genre preferences repertoire related to an orientation towards the original artistic traditions. The Western European tradition’ collectives repertoire abounded in dramas, operas, operettas and the romances, arias, opera scenes in the concert departments. The Ukrainian folk-theater tradition repertoire dominated by music and drama plays, simple Ukrainian opera and Ukrainian folk songs, romances by domestic composers in concert departments. In Olexandrivsk and the district, questions of theater art’ professionalization were not publicly raised widely. Some striving for the performances artistic level increase we can saw in the practice of inviting famous artists for touring performances. Thanks to this, acting skills, methods of working on the role and the performance as a whole enriched. Invitations to participation in the performance of famous performers of the folk-theatrical tradition to Ukrainian troupes were episodic. An indicative fact of development was the director’s position emergence in the Western European tradition troupes. Conclusions. The peculiarity of theater art in the Olexandrivsk region is the absence of a local professional theater, represented, on the one hand, by the work of guest domestic and foreign troupes, on the other – by Ukrainian artistic societies and local amateur associations. The dominant groups of groups embodied two types of theater: Western European tradition and folk tradition. These types of theater functioned in various organizational forms. Dramatic and operatic corpses of the European tradition were characterized by a form of individual private enterprise; Ukrainian groups that developed the traditions of folk theater – a form of acting society. Theater troupes of these two traditions distinguished by their repertoire priorities. The core of the repertoire of the Western European tradition groups was the Russian and Western European authors’ works. The groups, which developed the folk theater, staged mainly plays by Ukrainian and local authors. The vector of theatrical art development in the Olexandrivsk and region is not clear enough at the historical period under consideration. An organized and purposeful movement towards the theater art professionalization in the region of this historical period is not visible. Certain facts of attracting famous artists and interaction with other groups as well as the emergence of the directed theater can be considered as elements of а professionalization.

Human Right to Environment is one the most relevant Third Generation Human Rights which includes new universal needs arisen from the last third of 20th century. These new human rights add as an additional layer to the First Generation Human Rights (civil and political rights from the end of 18th century) and to the Second Generation Human Rights (economic, social and cultural rights from 19th century).

In recent years, Europe has witnessed social movements that break away from the conventional patterns typical of 19th and 20th century movements. The party-or trade union-organised social movements, very much centred on 19th century political and economic issues, or the New Social Movements centred on more universal values such as peace, environment, gender, ethnicity, of the 20th century seem to be changing their 'repertoire'. At the beginning of the 21st century, parties and trade unions have been losing their leading role in the organisation of demonstrations and strikes and collective actions prepared and led by specific actors have given way to new forms of social action, without leaders, without organisation, without headquarters, and which use social networks as a form of mobilisation. These are social movements that contest not to have more rights but to exercise those that exist, a full citizenship that offers the freedom to express one's opinion and the regalia of participation in political, economic, social, educational areas. In Europe, there are various types of such movements, but we will highlight the "Geração à Rasca (Scratch Generation)" movement in Portugal and that of the "Indignados (Outraged)" or 15 M in Spain, both started in 2011, and which had repercussions in the main European capitals. Using a qualitative methodology, through these protest movements we seek to understand how the complexity of today's social movements and their non-institutionalisation represent a challenge to European democracy.

The historical attire of women from the Lithuania Minor (Klaipėda Region) has a characteristic practical detail: a textile pocket tied at the waist, which functionally corresponds to the modern handbag or pocket. Such textile pockets are called delmonai (pl.) and are usually decorated with colorful ornaments. The purpose of this article is introducing the prototypes of the ornamental motifs in terms of intercultural comparison, employing the visual materials collected by the author and historically formed intercultural contacts. While introducing her hypothesis of possible long-term influences, the author presents décor samples from identical or related textile pockets (from the 17th century until the middle of the 20th century), discussing the possibilities of their finding way to the Lithuania Minor. Researching the change occurring in the décor motifs, the author employs comparative analysis of the traditional (from the beginning of the 19th century until 1930s) and modern (from the beginning of the 21st century) textile pockets, still used as part of the national costume of the Lithuania Minor. The origins of several decorative motifs, e.g. the wreath, the crowned musical instrument, and the flower bouquet, are analyzed in more detail. The vegetal ornaments predominate in the décor of the textile pockets from the Lithuania Minor, including blossoms, branches, bouquets, leafs, wreaths and stylized trees. Certain modes of representation have been appropriated by the folk art from professional art or textiles. The most important centers of high fashion emerging in France, Italy, and Germany, exercised certain impact on tendencies occurring in the folk handicraft. Examples of textile pockets worn by the nobility were widely promoted by the periodicals. The surviving samples of embroidery patterns indicate one of the possible sources for the textile pockets’ décor in the Lithuania Minor: namely, the printed sheets with ornamental patterns, used by the nobility and lower social classes alike. Another likely source would be functionally similar needlework by women from the neighboring countries, since textile pockets make part of the national costume there as well. Sea trade created favorable conditions for commercial and cultural interchange between neighbors. The motif of wreath, rather frequently used in the Lithuania Minor, and the occasional motif of the flower bouquet also occur on textile pockets from Pomerania (the border region between Poland and Germany). Ornamentation of the pockets from Bavaria (in Germany) is also rather close in character to the décor of the Lithuania Minor. Such congruities may be determined by several reasons. Firstly, the producers of these textile works could have had interconnections (after the onslaught of devastating plague in Europe, numerous people from Salzburg moved to the fertile but rather wasted out territories of the Lithuania Minor). Secondly, the producers could have used the same original pattern, e.g. the printed sheet. However, although the mutual influence in the needlework décor of the neighboring countries determined by their economic and cultural connections is obvious, the décor of the textile pockets from the Lithuania Minor stands out in terms of its peculiar features (particular colors, modes of décor, etc.).In terms of spreading the regional ethnic culture, the problem of preserving the regional character of the folk art acquires special significance. Although separate parts of the national costumes inevitably change as result of the technical innovations increasingly applied to their production, these costumes should still remain recognizable as a continuation of the folk attire characteristic to the particular region. The patterns of décor used while making the textile pockets nowadays follow to some extent the traditional motifs of floral compositions. Although individual authors tend to create their original compositions, the majority of the textile pockets produced as part of the national costume of the Lithuania Minor still are easily recognizable as belonging to this particular region. The ornamental motifs are not especially distanced from the original ones as well, with embroidered flower bouquets and wreaths still making the majority. However, the motifs of the bouquet placed in a bag and the crowned musical instrument have lost their popularity. Rather than just making part of the national costume of the Lithuania Minor, the textile pockets increasingly appear as part of the modern clothing characterizing its regional peculiarity.

The paper discusses economic and political modernization under Alexander II and Alexander III. Special attention is paid to economic modernization under conservative political regime as well as to the influence of the 19th century economic policy and economic debates on the industrialization policy in the 20th century.

This article presents the results of comparative legal research concerning the scope of financial sovereignty granted to the autonomous territories of the 20th century Central and Eastern Europe (Silesian Voivodeship, Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia) by the Second Polish Republic (1918-1939), the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938) and the Second Czecho-Slovak Republic (1938-1939). Research material includes: constitutional and public financial legal acts of the aforementioned countries for years 1918-1939, as well as English, Polish, Czech, Slovak and Ukrainian scientific publications in the field of legal, historical and economic sciences pertaining to this matter. The main research result is that the scope of financial power granted to the Silesian Voivodeship by the Second Polish Republic was much wider than in the other two autonomous territories. Moreover, Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia can be described as apparent autonomies. In fact they were “quasi self-government units”. Fecha de envío / Submission date: 28/04/2021Fecha de aceptación / Acceptance date: 18/06/2021

Pampean (Argentina) megamammal species are seen nowadays in different museums around Europe. These specimens were collected from the late 18th century until the early 20th century. They represent and have inspired the most important milestones in natural sciences during the 19th century, and were collected for social, political and economic reasons, both in South America and Europe. In these collections, paleontological, historical and archaeological realms are merged. Currently, they are useful at research and educational levels, contributing to worldwide society, whilst modern technological advances allow equal access to these materials, which has been especially necessary during the coronavirus pandemic.

Social innovations are activities aiming at implementation of social objectives, including mainly the improvement of life of individuals and social groups, together with public policy and management objectives. The essay indicates and discusses the most important contemporary problems, solving of which requires social innovations. Social innovations precondition the progress of civilisation. The world needs not only new technologies, but also new solutions of social and institutional nature that would be conducive to achieving social goals. Social innovations are experimental social actions of organisational and institutional nature that aim at improving the quality of life of individuals, communities, nations, companies, circles, or social groups. Their experimental nature stems from the fact of introducing unique and one-time solutions on a large scale, the end results of which are often difficult to be fully predicted. For example, it was difficult to believe that opening new labour markets for foreigners in the countries of the European Union, which can be treated as a social innovation aiming at development of the international labour market, will result in the rapid development of the low-cost airlines, the offer of which will be available to a larger group of recipients. In other words, social innovations differ from economic innovations, as they are not about implementation of new types of production or gaining new markets, but about satisfying new needs, which are not provided by the market. Therefore, the most important distinction consists in that social innovations are concerned with improving the well-being of individuals and communities by additional employment, or increased consumption, as well as participation in solving the problems of individuals and social groups [CSTP, 2011]. In general, social innovations are activities aiming at implementation of social objectives, including mainly the improvement of life of individuals and social groups together with the objectives of public policy and management [Kowalczyk, Sobiecki, 2017]. Their implementation requires global, national, and individual actions. This requires joint operations, both at the scale of the entire globe, as well as in particular interest groups. Why are social innovations a key point for the progress of civilisation? This is the effect of the clear domination of economic aspects and discrimination of social aspects of this progress. Until the 19th century, the economy was a part of a social structure. As described by K. Polanyi, it was submerged in social relations [Polanyi, 2010, p. 56]. In traditional societies, the economic system was in fact derived from the organisation of the society itself. The economy, consisting of small and dispersed craft businesses, was a part of the social, family, and neighbourhood structure. In the 20th century the situation reversed – the economy started to be the force shaping social structures, positions of individual groups, areas of wealth and poverty. The economy and the market mechanism have become independent from the world of politics and society. Today, the corporations control our lives. They decide what we eat, what we watch, what we wear, where we work and what we do [Bakan, 2006, p. 13]. The corporations started this spectacular “march to rule the world” in the late 19th century. After about a hundred years, at the end of the 20th century, the state under the pressure of corporations and globalisation, started a gradual, but systematic withdrawal from the economy, market and many other functions traditionally belonging to it. As a result, at the end of the last century, a corporation has become a dominant institution in the world. A characteristic feature of this condition is that it gives a complete priority to the interests of corporations. They make decisions of often adverse consequences for the entire social groups, regions, or local communities. They lead to social tensions, political breakdowns, and most often to repeated market turbulences. Thus, a substantial minority (corporations) obtain inconceivable benefits at the expense of the vast majority, that is broad professional and social groups. The lack of relative balance between the economy and society is a barrier to the progress of civilisation. A growing global concern is the problem of migration. The present crisis, left unresolved, in the long term will return multiplied. Today, there are about 500 million people living in Europe, 1.5 billion in Africa and the Middle East, but in 2100, the population of Europe will be about 400 million and of the Middle East and Africa approximately 4.5 billion. Solving this problem, mainly through social and political innovations, can take place only by a joint operation of highly developed and developing countries. Is it an easy task? It’s very difficult. Unfortunately, today, the world is going in the opposite direction. Instead of pursuing the community, empathic thinking, it aims towards nationalism and chauvinism. An example might be a part of the inaugural address of President Donald Trump, who said that the right of all nations is to put their own interests first. Of course, the United States of America will think about their own interests. As we go in the opposite direction, those who deal with global issues say – nothing will change, unless there is some great crisis, a major disaster that would cause that the great of this world will come to senses. J.E. Stiglitz [2004], contrary to the current thinking and practice, believes that a different and better world is possible. Globalisation contains the potential of countless benefits from which people both in developing and highly developed countries can benefit. But the practice so far proves that still it is not grown up enough to use its potential in a fair manner. What is needed are new solutions, most of all social and political innovations (political, because they involve a violation of the previous arrangement of interests). Failure to search for breakthrough innovations of social and political nature that would meet the modern challenges, can lead the world to a disaster. Social innovation, and not economic, because the contemporary civilisation problems have their roots in this dimension. A global problem, solution of which requires innovations of social and political nature, is the disruption of the balance between work and capital. In 2010, 400 richest people had assets such as the half of the poorer population of the world. In 2016, such part was in the possession of only 8 people. This shows the dramatic collapse of the balance between work and capital. The world cannot develop creating the technological progress while increasing unjustified inequalities, which inevitably lead to an outbreak of civil disturbances. This outbreak can have various organisation forms. In the days of the Internet and social media, it is easier to communicate with people. Therefore, paradoxically, some modern technologies create the conditions facilitating social protests. There is one more important and dangerous effect of implementing technological innovations without simultaneous creation and implementation of social innovations limiting the sky-rocketing increase of economic (followed by social) diversification. Sooner or later, technological progress will become so widespread that, due to the relatively low prices, it will make it possible for the weapons of mass destruction, especially biological and chemical weapons, to reach small terrorist groups. Then, a total, individualized war of global reach can develop. The individualisation of war will follow, as described by the famous German sociologist Ulrich Beck. To avoid this, it is worth looking at the achievements of the Polish scientist Michał Kalecki, who 75 years ago argued that capitalism alone is not able to develop. It is because it aggressively seeks profit growth, but cannot turn profit into some profitable investments. Therefore, when uncertainty grows, capitalism cannot develop itself, and it must be accompanied by external factors, named by Kalecki – external development factors. These factors include state expenses, finances and, in accordance with the nomenclature of Kalecki – epochal innovations. And what are the current possibilities of activation of the external factors? In short – modest. The countries are indebted, and the basis for the development in the last 20 years were loans, which contributed to the growth of debt of economic entities. What, then, should we do? It is necessary to look for cheaper solutions, but such that are effective, that is breakthrough innovations. These undoubtedly include social and political innovations. Contemporary social innovation is not about investing big money and expensive resources in production, e.g. of a very expensive vaccine, which would be available for a small group of recipients. Today’s social innovation should stimulate the use of lower amounts of resources to produce more products available to larger groups of recipients. The progress of civilisation happens only as a result of a sustainable development in economic, social, and now also ecological terms. Economic (business) innovations, which help accelerate the growth rate of production and services, contribute to economic development. Profits of corporations increase and, at the same time, the economic objectives of the corporations are realised. But are the objectives of the society as a whole and its members individually realised equally, in parallel? In the chain of social reproduction there are four repeated phases: production – distribution – exchange – consumption. The key point from the social point of view is the phase of distribution. But what are the rules of distribution, how much and who gets from this “cake” produced in the social process of production? In the today’s increasingly global economy, the most important mechanism of distribution is the market mechanism. However, in the long run, this mechanism leads to growing income and welfare disparities of various social groups. Although, the income and welfare diversity in itself is nothing wrong, as it is the result of the diversification of effectiveness of factors of production, including work, the growing disparities to a large extent cannot be justified. Economic situation of the society members increasingly depends not on the contribution of work, but on the size of the capital invested, and the market position of the economic entity, and on the “governing power of capital” on the market. It should also be noted that this diversification is also related to speculative activities. Disparities between the implemented economic and social innovations can lead to the collapse of the progress of civilisation. Nowadays, economic crises are often justified by, indeed, social and political considerations, such as marginalisation of nation states, imbalance of power (or imbalance of fear), religious conflicts, nationalism, chauvinism, etc. It is also considered that the first global financial crisis of the 21st century originated from the wrong social policy pursued by the US Government, which led to the creation of a gigantic public debt, which consequently led to an economic breakdown. This resulted in the financial crisis, but also in deepening of the social imbalances and widening of the circles of poverty and social exclusion. It can even be stated that it was a crisis in public confidence. Therefore, the causes of crises are the conflicts between the economic dimension of the development and its social dimension. Contemporary world is filled with various innovations of economic or business nature (including technological, product, marketing, and in part – organisational). The existing solutions can be a source of economic progress, which is a component of the progress of civilisation. However, economic innovations do not complete the entire progress of civilisation moreover, the saturation, and often supersaturation with implementations and economic innovations leads to an excessive use of material factors of production. As a consequence, it results in lowering of the efficiency of their use, unnecessary extra burden to the planet, and passing of the negative effects on the society and future generations (of consumers). On the other hand, it leads to forcing the consumption of durable consumer goods, and gathering them “just in case”, and also to the low degree of their use (e.g. more cars in a household than its members results in the additional load on traffic routes, which results in an increase in the inconvenience of movement of people, thus to the reduction of the quality of life). Introduction of yet another economic innovation will not solve this problem. It can be solved only by social innovations that are in a permanent shortage. A social innovation which fosters solving the issue of excessive accumulation of tangible production goods is a developing phenomenon called sharing economy. It is based on the principle: “the use of a service provided by some welfare does not require being its owner”. This principle allows for an economic use of resources located in households, but which have been “latent” so far. In this way, increasing of the scope of services provided (transport, residential and tourist accommodation) does not require any growth of additional tangible resources of factors of production. So, it contributes to the growth of household incomes, and inhibition of loading the planet with material goods processed by man [see Poniatowska-Jaksch, Sobiecki, 2016]. Another example: we live in times, in which, contrary to the law of T. Malthus, the planet is able to feed all people, that is to guarantee their minimum required nutrients. But still, millions of people die of starvation and malnutrition, but also due to obesity. Can this problem be solved with another economic innovation? Certainly not! Economic innovations will certainly help to partially solve the problem of nutrition, at least by the new methods of storing and preservation of foods, to reduce its waste in the phase of storage and transport. However, a key condition to solve this problem is to create and implement an innovation of a social nature (in many cases also political). We will not be able to speak about the progress of civilisation in a situation, where there are people dying of starvation and malnutrition. A growing global social concern, resulting from implementation of an economic (technological) innovation will be robotisation, and more specifically – the effects arising from its dissemination on a large scale. So far, the issue has been postponed due to globalisation of the labour market, which led to cheapening of the work factor by more than ten times in the countries of Asia or South America. But it ends slowly. Labour becomes more and more expensive, which means that the robots become relatively cheap. The mechanism leading to low prices of the labour factor expires. Wages increase, and this changes the relationship of the prices of capital and labour. Capital becomes relatively cheaper and cheaper, and this leads to reducing of the demand for work, at the same time increasing the demand for capital (in the form of robots). The introduction of robots will be an effect of the phenomenon of substitution of the factors of production. A cheaper factor (in this case capital in the form of robots) will be cheaper than the same activities performed by man. According to W. Szymański [2017], such change is a dysfunction of capitalism. A great challenge, because capitalism is based on the market-driven shaping of income. The market-driven shaping of income means that the income is derived from the sale of the factors of production. Most people have income from employment. Robots change this mechanism. It is estimated that scientific progress allows to create such number of robots that will replace billion people in the world. What will happen to those “superseded”, what will replace the income from human labour? Capitalism will face an institutional challenge, and must replace the market-driven shaping of income with another, new one. The introduction of robots means microeconomic battle with the barrier of demand. To sell more, one needs to cut costs. The costs are lowered by the introduction of robots, but the use of robots reduces the demand for human labour. Lowering the demand for human labour results in the reduction of employment, and lower wages. Lower wages result in the reduction of the demand for goods and services. To increase the demand for goods and services, the companies must lower their costs, so they increase the involvement of robots, etc. A mechanism of the vicious circle appears If such a mass substitution of the factors of production is unfavourable from the point of view of stimulating the development of the economy, then something must be done to improve the adverse price relations for labour. How can the conditions of competition between a robot and a man be made equal, at least partially? Robots should be taxed. Bill Gates, among others, is a supporter of such a solution. However, this is only one of the tools that can be used. The solution of the problem requires a change in the mechanism, so a breakthrough innovation of a social and political nature. We can say that technological and product innovations force the creation of social and political innovations (maybe institutional changes). Product innovations solve some problems (e.g. they contribute to the reduction of production costs), but at the same time, give rise to others. Progress of civilisation for centuries and even millennia was primarily an intellectual progress. It was difficult to discuss economic progress at that time. Then we had to deal with the imbalance between the economic and the social element. The insufficiency of the economic factor (otherwise than it is today) was the reason for the tensions and crises. Estimates of growth indicate that the increase in industrial production from ancient times to the first industrial revolution, that is until about 1700, was 0.1-0.2 per year on average. Only the next centuries brought about systematically increasing pace of economic growth. During 1700- 1820, it was 0.5% on an annual average, and between 1820-1913 – 1.5%, and between 1913-2012 – 3.0% [Piketty, 2015, p. 97]. So, the significant pace of the economic growth is found only at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. Additionally, the growth in this period refers predominantly to Europe and North America. The countries on other continents were either stuck in colonialism, structurally similar to the medieval period, or “lived” on the history of their former glory, as, for example, China and Japan, or to a lesser extent some countries of the Middle East and South America. The growth, having then the signs of the modern growth, that is the growth based on technological progress, was attributed mainly to Europe and the United States. The progress of civilisation requires the creation of new social initiatives. Social innovations are indeed an additional capital to keep the social structure in balance. The social capital is seen as a means and purpose and as a primary source of new values for the members of the society. Social innovations also motivate every citizen to actively participate in this process. It is necessary, because traditional ways of solving social problems, even those known for a long time as unemployment, ageing of the society, or exclusion of considerable social and professional groups from the social and economic development, simply fail. “Old” problems are joined by new ones, such as the increase of social inequalities, climate change, or rapidly growing environmental pollution. New phenomena and problems require new solutions, changes to existing procedures, programmes, and often a completely different approach and instruments [Kowalczyk, Sobiecki, 2017].

Tony Judt: socialism, intellectuals and postwar Europe sketches an intellectual and historiographical profile of the British Jewish historian Tony Judt (1948-2010). His historical studies concerned French socialism between the 19th and the 20th century, the relationship between French postwar intellectuals and communism, and the East European dissidents. In his masterpiece, Postwar, Judt broadened his historical perspective to Eastern Europe and focussed on the political, social, cultural and economic experiences of the European postwar period.

Abstract The history of the economic development of the valley complexes of the Goloustnaya River basin is considered. Forestry and agricultural activities are designated as the main activities developed by the local population. Fluctuation changes in the intensity of their implementation are highlighted, specifically. the slowly developing process of economic development of valley landscapes due to low population in the second half o f the 17th century and until the first half of the 20th century; expansion of agricultural land and growth of industrial development of forest resources, starting from the middle of the 20th century until the end of the 1980s; and a decrease in economic activities since the end of the last century, which is connected both with the state reorganization of the country’s economy and with creation of specially protected natural territories within the studied area. The valley complexes of the Goloustnaya River are at risk from the recreational development of coastal areas of Lake Baikal that have been actively developing in recent years. Taiga landscapes of the upper and middle reaches of the river are at risk of spreading forest fires. Negative consequences from economic activities have been contributing to a significant anthropogenic transformation of landscapes of the Pribaikalskii National Park for a long period.

Abstract The article compares and points out differences in driving forces of four main landscape change processes that shaped post-socialist countries and old democratic countries of Central Europe during the last two centuries. Studying landscape change processes and corresponding driving forces helps in understanding patterns of present landscape and can help among others in better prediction of future landscape change trends. Here, the presented results are based on review of scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2014. Driving forces affecting these processes were grouped into four categories. Economic forces drove mainly agricultural intensification; agricultural land abandonment and urbanisation and were pronounced especially in the second half of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century. Technological driving forces affected agricultural intensification especially in the 19th century and the second half of the 20th century while cultural driving forces had the biggest impact on urbanisation at the beginning of the 21st century. Political driving forces affected agricultural intensification, urbanisation as well as agricultural land abandonment and were pronounced mainly during the second half of the 20th century in the post-socialist countries. Political forces in the form of subsidies drove agricultural extensification at the beginning of the 21st century. The drivers for the agricultural intensification as well as urbanisation seem to be similar for both old democratic and post-socialist countries. In contrast, agricultural land abandonment in the old democratic countries was driven by technological, cultural and economic driving forces while in the post-socialist countries the political driving forces were mainly responsible. Changes in systems for subsidies and changes in the agricultural commodity markets are also responsible for different frequencies and rates of extensification of agriculture between the two groups of countries.

The article analyzes the nation‑building process in Central Europe in the context of conditions and specific character of historical processes. It identifies the origin of the dilemma in Central Europe: political or ethnic‑cultural nations. The study shows why ethnic‑cultural communities developed in this region. It also describes the extent and the dynamics of disputes over the problem between the most important political trends arisen in Central Europe, and emphasizes the intensity of rivalry over this question in the interwar years, primarily in the Second Republic of Poland, the Kingdom of Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. The paper also analyzes the style of thinking practiced by the adherents to the concept of Central European political nations: Józef Piłsudski, Tomaš G. Masaryk, and Miklós Horthy.