Model of Legal Framework for Soil and Aquifer Protection in Mesoamerican Countries

In response to the interest of Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panam/t, and Dominican Republic governments, members of the Mesoamerica Project, in developing a common approach for the regulation of the integral management of hazardous materials and wastes contaminated sites, learning from Mexico＇s experience in the field, a systematic review of key legislations to support it in each country was developed, having in mind the right to a healthy environment as a human right. Particular attention was paid to the crucial factors to consider for the effective application of the intended regulation, regardless of the differences on the particular legal regimes in each country.     

Maternal health care challenges within African immigrant communities

Historically, immigration has had a significant impact on the changing demographic of the Canadian society. Each year more newcomers enter the country. There are more than 45 ethno-cultural associations and more than 100 different ethno-cultural groups residing in Nova Scotia. In the recent past, social science researchers are becoming increasingly involved in identifying ways of effectively addressing the social and health needs of this culturally diverse Canadian population. There is very limited literature on the Nova Scotian experiences of immigrant women especially those of African descent. For the government to develop public policy that ensures the inclusion of vulnerable and high-risk populations in our society such as recent immigrants and black people, their perspectives should be considered. Some steps are being taken by individual researchers to illuminate these perspectives. The paper will discuss the findings of a project that examined the health care experiences of immigrant women in a Canadian province with a goal of illuminating health care needs of recent immigrant women and facilitating community capacity building to create positive change for more accessible health care. The data collection method was primarily focused group meetings and workshops held with the individual immigrant communities. Although the project was conducted with immigrants from five regions of the world, this paper will focus on the experiences of first generation immigrant women of African descent with emphasis on their perspectives on the process mothering in a multicultural society. The paper will discuss their childrearing needs and their attempt to address these needs within the spaces of multiculturalism, the two predominant ones being the Canadian culture and that of their countries of origin. The paper will conclude with some suggestions for change at both the practitioner and policy level in order to effectively address the social and welfare needs of this population.     

An empirical research on the leadership and effectiveness in public healthcare organizations： Lesson from transition economy

The aim of the paper is to examine leadership at the level of CEOs and effectiveness in healthcare setting. Previous studies suggest that there is relationship between leadership style, situation and circumstances. The relationship between leadership and performance is probably not straightforward and may be influenced by both environmental and contextual factors, yet no irrefutable support on this assumption can be found. In our paper we examine relationships between leadership, environment, organizational context and effectiveness in Polish healthcare organizations. Multifactor leadership questionnaire which has been used in a great number of researches relating to the public sector on leadership was employed in this research. Implications for practitioners and policy makers are given.     

Historical Reasons of the Crisis in the Near East and the Ways of Solutions

This article is a just study about political situation in the Near East. Everything that is connected with Israel and Palestine is analysed shortly. Starting with the explanation of a Jewish concept, the society of the State of Israel is described. Being a non-integral society, it has deep roots in the Bible--in Jewish traditions. It is the only nation whose start of history is described in the Old Testament. So, Jews are not occupants who come from a strange country. Their ancestors used to live in Palestine for already 4000 years. A national or Zionistic movement united them for a great struggle--to re-establish the State of Israel. At the beginning of the 20th century, Jews used to be a minority in the land of Palestine while the majority was comprised by Palestinians. It is a wonderful national and religious phenomenon that Jews survived the horrors of Holocaust and did not lose the hope--to return to the land of Abraham. The war started between the Palestinians and Jews when independence of Israel was proclaimed. In the other part, the author will review the relations between the Jewish State and the Arabian world, and political system, and will try to provide the ways of solutions of the conflict for the peace and security in the Near East.     

System Analysis of the Banking Systems of the USA and the EU

The article compares the banking systems of the USA and the EU employing the system analysis. The functions of the Executive Board and the Board of Directors are considered, there is also a comparison of the bank authorities, responsible for the decision-making： the features and interrelation of the parts of the system and their alternative within another bank system. The special attention is paid to the efficiency of the system construction on the basis of bank authorities and the degree of the power decentralisation. The article considers in details the efficiency of bank systems exposure to the countries＇ monetary policy. In particular, the tools of the monetary policy implementation are considered. The article also presents comparison of the methods of influencing the monetary policy, the frequency of their employment, the degree of their impact, and the way of implementation. In the process of analysing the banking systems of the USA and the EU, there is the conclusion on the high efficiency of the system with higher level of decentralisation since this system is accomplished formation.     

Bureaucratic Stagnation Versus the New Hope of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo

The process of bureaucratic services that is slow and complicated, is an administration malpractice even up to bureaucratic stagnation. An interesting phenomenon is done by the populist government leader Joko Widodo, the President of the Republic oflndonesia, when serving as the Governor of Jakarta to carry out supervision by way of ＂blusukan＂. This method attracted the attention of one of the richest men from the United States, the founder of ＂Facebook＂--Mark Zuckerberg. When he came to Indonesia to meet Joko Widodo in October 2014, he was invited by Joko Widodo to perform ＂blusukan＂ to Tanah Abang market. ＂Blusukan＂ is a surveillance method to the field on the right target and directly provide solutions to any problems that are found. The blusukan inspired him with the making of various policies such as health cards, smart cards, and others. The method of direct supervision on the fields is a quite powerful way to cut off the stagnation of bureaucracy. Joko Widodo who has started his steps as the President of the Republic of Indonesia, gives new hope to the people through the mental revolution and Trisakti doctrine policies in order to improve the welfare of the people toward the great Indonesia.     

What Could Be the ＂Imaginary Institution＂ of the City？

In his book The Imaginary Institution of Society, the French philosopher Castoriadis wanted to explain the radical change of societies and their diversity; the social imaginary matters, and explains social change. But what is it today？ The Castoriadis＇s answer is mainly a criticism of the imaginary of the bureaucratic society （perfect anticipations）. He hoped more autonomy. In the paper, it is proposed this interpretation of the imaginary of the city： The main myths are personal strength, chance （here the reference is Ulrich Beck＇s book The Risk Society）, and individual happiness （the reference being the works of the French philosopher Lipovetsky）. One is able to explain the discrepancy between public policies （including city planning） and the real social needs. It exists because the doctrines used lag behind the ＂social imaginary significations＂. The concerned fields are the beauty of cities, spatial segregation, women in the city, environment, drugs, etc.     

Knowledge of the Earthquake and School Education in the Perspective of Active Citizenship

This paper presents part of a larger research on the consequences of an earthquake on the scholastic life of children aged 3-11. In May, schools abruptly closed due to the earthquake in Emilia Romagna and Lombardy （Italy）. Children and teachers fled from them, leaving school backpacks and books in the classrooms. Daily life was disrupted and the community gathered in tents set up by civil defence. Immigrant families returned to their countries of origin or shared life in the tent cities. The focus of theoretical sources of the research considers mainly： the vulnerability of the persons concerned; measures for risk reduction; environmental sustainability; community resilience; controversial human development between freedom of the person and economic globalisation. From methodological point of view, the interviews with teachers, school rectors, and citizens revealed the impact of the earthquake on community identity. Unexpected human solidarity and local responsible participation were part of the new educational plan of reconstruction based on hope, active citizenship, and historical memory.     

The Formation of the Custodian and Settlement Infrastructure of the Russian Financial Market

The functioning of institutions of the financial markets and their interaction with a view to implementation of the main objectives of the market is provided by one of the constituent elements of the market, namely, the infrastructure of the securities market. The Russian securities market is going through a crucial point and provides a central post-trading infrastructure. In this paper, the author defines the notion of custodian and settlement infrastructure of the financial market, analyzes the modern state of this sub-sector of the financial market, and formulates problems of development of the custodian and settlement institutions of the Russian financial market, in particular in connection with the entry into force of the federal law ＂On the Central Depositary＂. The author defines the place and role of the Central Depositary and its impact oh the level of development of the market in general and the formation of the machine in Russia, at the same time, it shows the world experience in building custodian and settlement systems and the integration of the Russian custodian and settlement infrastructure and global stock architecture.     

Mechanisms Influencing the Development of Business Insurance Market in the World and in Poland

The work discusses changes in the business insurance market in the world and in Poland, as well as the impact of financial crisis on the development of this market. Special attention was paid to the mechanisms influencing insurance market operations. It concludes that the symptoms of the crisis of trust toward financial institutions are the most important consequence of the economic slowdown. This paper is the effect of the research conducted by the author for the research project No. 614538/2013. The paper uses the data published in the years 1996-2011 by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority and the Polish Chamber of Insurance, and the data of 2008-2011 published by the European Insurance and Reinsurance Federation Insurance Europe. The main purpose of the studies conducted by the author was to answer the question ＂what the effects of financial crisis are on the development of the business insurance market in the world and in Poland＂.     

Tax Challenges in the Global Economy

Globalization has increased significantly over the past two decades, provoking different political reactions. Increasing trade and financial openness as well as intense global economic competition have forced governments to intervene in order to deal with its different negative consequences such as budget deficits or growing unemployment. Over the last two decades, almost all OECD （Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development） countries have undertaken structural changes within their tax systems. However, two main problems appear. The first one concerns ＂tax competition＂ understood as improvements made by different countries in the field of investment climate especially in the field of economic freedom. The second one refers to the effective tax revenue resources that help maintain the welfare state properly. In the developed countries, this is certainly easier as richer societies afford to do it through their fiscal systems. The main aim of this paper is to examine the impact of globalization on tax policy--its nature and its transformations. The main conclusions are as follows： Globalization is an incredible opportunity for the private sector to take advantage of free movement of goods, services, capital, and people. At the same time, it is a great challenge for the public sector to maintain sound public finance. The analysis is based on statistical data and qualitative research methods.     

Human Resources in Public Administration in the Czech Republic

This paper informs about results of a research taking place within an internal grant of College of Polytechnics Jihlava, which is aimed at examining the efficiency in public administration from the point of view of the office workers. The research is divided into three stages which were proceeding gradually in large organisations of public administration carrying out self-government as well as state government in figurative effect. The research took place in the form of questionnaires, which were given to randomly chosen workers of the offices, and these anonymously answered 60 questions were divided into six topics： human resources, organizational capital, information capital, customer capital, performance measuring, and innovation capital. The respondents assessed the situation in the office using their own judgement. The aim of this paper is to inform about the results of this research especially from the point of view of human capital, organizational capital, and social capital in organisations of public administration.     

Financial Recession and the Wages of the Czech Employees by Educational Attainment

The present paper deals with the development of wage distribution by educational attainment in the Czech Republic in the years of 2003-2012, analyzing 50 wage distributions as the object of research and the gross monthly wage in CZK （Czech Koruna） as the research variable. It examines the development of wage distribution in time and the gross monthly wage in relation to the level of educational attainment. It also pursues the development of the minimum wage in the monitored period. The author pays special attention to the lowest guaranteed wage levels classified according to wage classes and work capability assessment, comparing the minimum wage with the wage of subsistence. The forecasts of future wage distribution are an integral component of the research. Comparison of wage levels in the world and the position of wages of the Czech employees in the international context are included, too.     

On the Relationship of Technical Images With Their Outside

What is reality, the truth, good, justice, man, etc., is something we have learned from texts for a historically long period of time. Together with writing and linear alphabet, a new ability which could be called conceptual thinking has become part of our life. Therefore, deciphering texts means nothing else than revealing images denoted by these texts. Traditionally, learning meant to be able to read in the book of the world, i.e., to learn to code the world in texts using linear writing first and then to learn to decipher texts applied to reality. Media theorist Vil6m Flusser states in his key texts that technical images become a dominant cognitive metaphor of the contemporary society. New social culture is being formed in connection with their creation, distribution, transfer, and consumption. Such new social structure needs new criteria of analysis and requires a new interpretive beginning. Flusser does not wonder how a medium is possible, but he deals with the consequences of the effect of one type of media abstraction, namely technical images. The following paper briefly analyses the dominant cognitive metaphor of Flusser＇s theory --the concept technical image.     

The Reforms in the Institutional Structure of the European Union in Compliance With the Lisbon Treaty

The necessary adjustment to the political architecture in Europe is considered to happen with the Treaty of Lisbon. The treaty is an attempt to make adjustments to the decision-making process, ensuring democratic legitimacy, strengthening of the institutions, and enabling political action worldwide. With the Lisbon Treaty, a change has been made in the institutional structure of the European Union （EU）. The Treaty of Lisbon brings together more than a half-century history of integration, which began with the decision for establishing the European Coal and Steel Community （ECSC） on April 18, 1951. The view on the whole, more than 50 years of integration, shows that the European unification process all the time is not out of the spirit of all issues related to the details of common goals and values, but goes in the direction of one political vision of： peace and prosperity, freedom and mobility, knowledge of democracy, populism and tolerant coexistence. The Treaty of Lisbon is in the way to improve the capabilities for action of the democracy in Europe.     

Investigating the Implementation of New Public Management in Lebanon Ideas and Realities

This paper is an exploratory study that investigates the status of new public management （NPM） and the obstacles to its implementation within the Republic of Lebanon. The study employs a qualitative approach that examines two complementary data sources. The first data source is obtained from an extensive review of documents related to NPM that are available in the public domain such as policy initiatives and governmental projects. The second data source is obtained from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 40 stakeholders. Data is analyzed, using an iterative thematic content analysis. The findings suggest that the main obstacles that have inhibited the implementation of NPM in most public agencies in Lebanon include： the politicization of administration in the public sector, the lack of stability in the country, the non-targeted inconsistent and insufficient training, several institutional dysfunctions and organizational challenges, the absence of a country-specific applicable model of public management and the unsystematic and non-institutionalized link between concerned international organizations and the Lebanese public agencies. This research is significant as it provides a foundation for institutional practices to improve the design and implementation of NPM in the country. It also contributes to the relevant academic literature and fills a gap in the research on NPM in Lebanon. The paper provides policy recommendations needed to respond to the recurrent calls for administrative reforms in the Arab world especially in the aftermath of the popular uprisings in many of its countries.     

Economic Liberalization and the Race for Non-oil Minerals

The significance of minerals to states dates far back into history. They were primarily strategically important to equip the military. This is still the case, but over the last century, minerals have taken up a new and larger role for ensuring national security. World War II was attributed with Europe＇s mercantilist rule which was strongly based on the realist ideology. After World War II, classical liberal theory presented the means to reduce armed conflicts by increasing economic inter-dependencies among nations and became the foundation of a new economic order with economic liberalization at its heart. Simultaneously, economic security gained growing importance relative to military security, and the definition and scope of critical minerals also reached new dimensions. Over the last few decades, economic liberalization has given way to new players gaining position in global markets. Their increased demand together with the already vast demands of industrialized nations has increased competition in securing critical minerals necessary for economic growth. Not only has economic liberalization led to a free trade, but also to the deregulation of the financial market. This in turn has given way to more flexible financing methods in the minerals industry and inaugurated the consolidation of large firms. This paper explains the significance of non-oil minerals and discusses how economic liberalization has affected the demand and supply of minerals. It would go on to highlight emerging economies, especially China, and examine if liberalization holds in the race for mineral resources or if it will gradually crumple under the strain of securing them.     

Probing Into Chinese Hegemony and the Indian Challenge in the Southeast Asian Landscape

China is on the rise in Southeast Asia with its giant economy, modern military, and influential diplomacy potentially establishing a potential Chinese hegemony in the region. If such growth is not challenged by another regional power, the balance of peaceful stability will be tilted and economic development hampered. Thus, another rising power, India must face the challenges that a powerful China brings to the table. With its developing economy well-equipped armed forces and subtle diplomacy, it has the tools and capability to balance the distribution of power in Southeast Asia. This study analyzes and dissects the influence of both India and China in Southeast Asia and its impact on the future of the region. It focuses on the tangibles and intangibles that India needs to hurdle and overcome to provide China with a worthy challenger. It also brings into perspective the role of ASEAN （Association of Southeast Asian Nations） as a catalyst in India-China relations. As a bloc, ASEAN has the potential to be a vibrant economy and important personality in the region. How ASEAN will be able to cope with a rising China and a fast-developing India will also be addressed in the study. Finally, how the development and stability of the region can be maintained in spite of the brewing rivalry between China and India is also an important aspect of this study.     

Governance and Tools for the Post-Industrial Re-Conversion of the North-West European Mining Area： From a Contemporary Vulnerability to a Territorial Resilience

Many European countries （including Germany, Belgium, France, and England） were faced with industrial decline, creating a new issue in the territories： Brownfields sites inside or on the periphery of industrial cities. The post-industrial contemporary vulnerability involves prospective and strategic planning choices in terms of rehabilitation, requalification, or in terms of destruction of the existing heritage. The research targets North-West European mining area brownfields requalification via the paradigm of territorial resilience with a view to a socio-economic revitalisation. What can be the vectors of a sustainable territorial recovery and what are the resilience indicators of those traditional industrial regions of Europe？ By such research, the imperative commitment of political players and citizens to carry out a long-term proactive resilience of a space system to a major industrial heritage is demonstrated. Even if governance is not the only factor of territorial resilience, it remains a major sign in its vulnerable territories.     

Islamic Identity,Nationality and Republicanism in the Process of Islamic Awakening

This paper is going to identify and discuss necessary theoretical principles for reasoning current and future situation of subjects related to Arabic Islamic thoughts. This paper tries to consider typology of vocal groups at Islamic movements involved in the process of Islamic awakening. In this direction, firstly different research approaches will be considered and the main purpose is that how these researches observe the origin of formation of these groups and what is their emphasis in this regard. The key points of their reasoning will be explained and then the explanation, representation and re-definition of these groups are paid attention to. The main idea is that among all analyses and reasoning and view points, the key point is the importance of viewpoint of Islamism in these movements and any analysis will be unreliable reading without reading to this variable,