Institutions – Entrepreneurship Nexus – Kosovo’s Perspective | Author : ENVER KRASNIQI,ANISA KUME | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract : The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of institutions in entrepreneurship activities for the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector in Kosovo. The survey refers to the long-term research experience in the role of institutions for small business development. A new dimension to the theory of entrepreneurship was offered recently by Baumol, who highlights the role of institutions in the allocation of the entrepreneur’s potential in productive and non-productive activities. In a transitional economy, entrepreneurs are faced with numerous difficulties such as the legal system, strengthening property rights, government regulation, the tax regime and corruption, and administrative burdens. The topic is developed based on a broad literature and practices in the SME development sector, and the great importance of analysing the role and importance of institutions for economic growth and firms’ wealth. During the preparation of this study, a range of methods were used to research and study institutional and non-institutional barriers for SME development in the era of globalization. Using a sample of Business Support Centre Kosovo (BSCK) research from 2011, the findings of this study indicate that the majority of CEOs agree that many barriers can be summarised as formal and non-formal that have a huge impact in SME development. These findings suggest that successful entrepreneurship and SME strategic development are conditioned by factors such as: formal institutions (the central and local government leadership, taxes, business legislation and regulation, access to finance, frequency of policy changes) and non-formal institutions (culture and society, corruption and informal ties with public officials, administrative burden and informal implementation of laws, mafia and racketeering). |
| Project Finance and Projects in the Energy Sector in Developing Countries | Author : ERMELA KRIPA,HALIT XHAFA | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract : The purpose of this study is to show the importance of using project finance in infrastructure investments in developing countries. The paper will be focused only on one infrastructure sector, which is energy. Structurally, power project finance has involved largely build-own-transfer (BOT) project structures and long-term contracts. The projects largely reflect a rational allocation of risks among public and private participants. Private sponsors and lenders generally assume risks for completion and performance. Governments assume substantial risks in nearly all projects, mostly in areas in which they have control, such as utility performance, currency convertibility, fuel costs, inflation, and political event. The aim of this research is to empirically examine a financing and governance structure called Project Finance that typically funds large scale, capital intensive, infrastructure investments in risky countries. The methodology used in this paper is literature review of the main theories for project finance. I will empirically test the propensity of the firms to use project finance, using data of some projects in South – East countries. For this purpose the study compares project financed and corporate financed transactions in the energy sector. I find that the propensity of firms to use project finance is high and statistically significant when large sunk investments have state owned primary buyer firms in risky countries. |
| The Effects of Simultaneous 8 Weeks Astragalus sp/ Euphorbia Cheriradenia Honey Supplementation and Endurance Training on Membrane Lipid Peroxidation of Erythrocytes after a Bout Acute Exhaustive Treadmill Exercise in Rats | Author : BIJAN GOODARZI,AMIR KHOSRAVI | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :Strenuous exercise is known to induce oxidative stress leading to the generation of free radicals. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of honey, at a dose (1.5 g/kg weight per d) on the MDA and SOD levels of plasma in rats after exhaustive exercise. Male rats (n=48) were divided into four groups, group 1, sedentary with distilled water (Sed -DW n=12), group 2, sedentary control with honey (Sed-H N=12), group 3, exercise trained with distilled water (ET-WD n=12), group 4, exercise trained with honey (ET- H n=12) groups. Four groups were further divided equally into two groups where the rats were studied at rest and immediately after exhaustive exercise. During the training period, groups 2‚4 were treated with 1.5 g/kg body weight honey, freshly diluted by distilled water to 50% and the other groups 1‚3 were treated with distilled water (1 ml) just before each administration intragastrically tube daily at 8:00 to rats / once daily for 8 weeks. Endurance training consisted of treadmill running 1.5 h day-1, 5 days a week for 8 weeks, reaching the speed of 2.1 kmh-1 at the fourth week. For acute exhaustive exercise, graded treadmill running was conducted reaching the speed of 2.1 km h-1 at the 95th min, 10% uphill, and was continued until exhaustion. Erythrocyte MDA level was significantly increased after exhaustion in groups 1‚3 but not in groups 2‚4 animals compared with the corresponding sedentary rest. Honey treatment caused a significant decrease in MDA levels of groups 2‚ 4 compared to the groups 1‚ 3 animals. While acute exhaustive exercise decreased erythrocyte SOD activity in subgroups 1‚ 3 rats, it increased the activity of this enzyme in groups 2‚ 4 rats .Treadmill training increased the endurance time in trained rats compared with sedentary rats. The results of this study suggest that honey supplementation may be useful to prevent acute exhaustive exercise-induced oxidative stress in erythrocytes by up-regulating some of the antioxidant enzyme activities and may have implications in exercising humans. |
| Agrotourism - A Sustainable Development for Rural Area of Korca | Author : STELA ZOTO,ELEINA QIRICI, ESMERALDA POLENA | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract : The term agro-tourism emerged in the late twentieth century. It includes agricultural farms that are related to tourism. This notion represents all activities related not only to tourists but also to the organizers of the holidays in general. Agro tourism is very important for rural communities as well as urban areas. It can provide several advantages: income, employment, use accommodation, activities, natural resource conservation, recreation and education. But the main problem for many countries is the low level of farm income. Agro tourism intends to obtain higher standards of living for rural communities especially through increased income for people who work in agriculture. There are five main forms of rural tourism which bring benefits both for tourists and for the local community. • Natural tourism, which is mainly preferred for its recreational value. • Cultural tourism, which is mainly related to culture, history and archeology of the area destination. • Ecotourism, as a form of tourism that presents natural resources while maintaining the values and local population welfare. • Village tourism, where visitors live and enjoy the various activities of peasant life. • Agro tourism, in which tourists see and participate in traditional agricultural practices without destroying the ecosystems, the host bases. Development in Korca region is one of the main priorities of the regional strategy. The study will be focused on four villages: Dardhe, Voskopoja, Vithkuq and Prespa. We will see the advantages and weaknesses of rural tourism development in these areas, as well as their benefits. We will also see a study about the residents’ perceptions of the tourism development in the area and of the agro- touristic behavior of the tourists there. |
| Late Eighteenth Century Women’s Fiction; Hero, Heroine & Financial Authority | Author : REYHANE VADIDAR | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract : ‘Mortgage? Who, what is that? […] Who is this mortgage? What right has he?’ (I: 183-4) cries Ellen, Anna Maria Bennett’s (1760-1808) heroine in her 1794 novel Ellen; Countess of Castle Howel (1794). Yet only a few years later, Louisa, Barbara Hofland’s (1770 – 1844) heroine in Daughter in Law, Her Father and Family (1813) addresses her father’s creditors and observes that ‘if there was only fifteen shilling in the pound, she should insist upon her fortune going to supply the deficiency’, to which a tradesman replies that ‘such a resolution is very like your father’s daughter’ (147). Some critics see both a change in the characterization of women and in the nature of plot in eighteenth-century fiction in which the passive participation of the heroine in 1790s is replaced by women’s active involvement in the welfare of the family in 1800s and the ‘fiction of loss’ is transformed to a ‘fiction of active economic engagement’. In accordance with such a reading of contemporary fiction, this paper aims to consider the issue of women’s economic empowerment in eighteenth-century fiction. However, I argue that, inasmuch as the concern is about female’s empowerment, at the same time it is also very much about the agency of male characters. Thus, in the case of work by a group of minor writers of women’s fiction, to trace women’s active economic involvement within this context, one plausible approach is to reconstruct women’s view of male agency during this transition: How is the activity undertaken by men affected by—and how does it affect—female empowerment? This paper focuses primarily on the selected works of a group of lesser-known women novelists of 18th century (namely Anna Maria Bennett, Mary Julia Young, Barbara Hofland and Selina Davenport) and will initially take account of the significance of female characters and their transformation from passive into active participation in the economy. Male agency, however, will also be considered, as I will argue that if the ‘absence’ of the male figure alone did not induce a change, it most certainly accelerated it. |
| Youth and Transitional Justice in Kashmir | Author : EFFAT YASMIN | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :This is the age of youth. In India youth and their aspirations have engaged the attention of policy makers as their role is increasing in the overall nation- building process. In Jammu and Kashmir State, for known reasons, youth related matters have assumed central importance. It is an established fact that militancy in Kashmir was led and fed by youth. The role of youth in the socio-economic development and overall nation -building is well recognized. Violence has seriously dented the resilient Kashmir identity. The social institutions have collapsed and society has become harsh, punitive, withdrawn, fearful and distrustful as well. There is need for a new social contract to reintegrate youth in the mainstream of social, economic and political life. The political parties and civil society institutions have a crucial role to play in the integration process. |
| Constructive Cultural Blocks of Entrepreneurship in the Republic of Macedonia (The Influence of Culture’s Value on Entrepreneurship) | Author : BILJANA ANGELOVA VIOLETA TASHEVA | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract : in the economic, political, legal, social and cultural system of a country are not independent from each other; on the contrary they are in constant mutual interaction. This interaction shapes the beliefs, norms and values in the country as cultural characteristics that define its national culture. Each country has its own culture, as a specific cultural model accepted by the people, and it is passed from generation to generation. The evolution of all these factors has a direct implication of the business within the country, region or the world. According to Hofstade Geert, culture is the collective programming of opinion that distinguishes members of one group from another. Culture includes systems of values, and values are one of the constructive blocks of culture. Every person is "mind programmed" mostly during childhood, before adolescence. This stage of human life is known for its great capacity to absorb information from the environment: people and material environment. Today, the process of one’s absorbing information throughout one’s life is known as learning. This process as part of the social reality has influence on shaping a person, group and society at large. This paper focuses on the value dimensions of entrepreneurial culture and discusses the impact of cultures’ value systems on entrepreneurship. The main emphasis is on the impact of cultural norms and customs, religion and education system on entrepreneurship. The education system in the Republic of Macedonia and its impact on entrepreneurial culture will be discussed in details, hence conducting survey to analyze the views and opinions of students-graduates. The aim of the paper is to show that different cultural values affect the level of entrepreneurial culture. Education is a value that can lead to a positive change, and indirectly can change the culture that will promote and support the entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurial culture. |
| The face without man On human identities in postmodern era and on the metamorphoses of the subject | Author : ILINCA BERNEA | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract : Fragmentation of the conceived or imagined reality, perceptive and emotional fragmentation, collages and puzzles of experience pieces: this is the substance of our lives. Some fragments are in harmony and resonance with each other, some others are in conflict or in contradiction. The existence, even the inner existence, became for most of us, extremely heterogeneous, tensed; hard to handle and to bear. We cannot assimilate ourselves well. We cannot gather our being into a unitary image, into a single man, with a unique identity. The individual doesn’t fit us, no more, or we are the misfits, we overpass its essential features. The individual is a procrustean bed for our minds and beings. We stated to brim over. We became collage-people generating faces, once in a while. A face is not an identity but an exchange coin, a vehicle, a transitory state. Between who and who? Between who and what? What is a face and what remains of an individual if, beyond this face or faces, we have no idea what the human kind is? How is the subject related to the individual? Is the ego its only center of gravity? Where we started from? Have we ever been totally, completely human? Or our presumed essence of humanity has always been a collective fiction, a mutual ideal of the species? I will try to explore these issues by following three levels/dimensions of human interferences existing in the actual world: the internet, the media and the social institutions. I will also discuss different types of addiction, dependence and imprisonment that people are submitted to within postmodern societies. |
| Some Critical Issues of Women Entrepreneurship in Rural India | Author : VIJAY KUMBHAR | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :The aim of this study is to discuss the issues regarding women entrepreneurship in rural India. This paper is mostly based on secondary data and some observations; for the identification of these issues the author has reviewed different research articles and reports. Findings of this study reveal that absence of definite agenda of life, absence of balance between family and career obligations of women, poor degree of financial freedom for women, absence of direct ownership of the property, the paradox of entrepreneurial skill & finance in economically rich and poor women, no awareness about capacities, low ability to bear risk, problems of work with male workers, negligence by financial institutions, lack of self-confidence, lack of professional education, mobility constraints and lack of interaction with successful entrepreneurs are major problems of women entrepreneurship development in India. |
| On the evils of opium eating: Reflections on Nineteenth Century Assamese Literary Reformist Discourse | Author : KAWAL DEEP KOUR | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :The article attempts at an understanding of nineteenth century Assamese reformist discourse as upheld by the Assamese creative literature. Acknowledgement of the evils of opium eating also echoed in several literary outpourings of the nineteenth century, which sought to combine entertainment and reform. Facilitating an understanding of the nineteenth century reformist discourse are two Assamese satirical texts by Hemchandra Barua and Dutiram Hazarika. They enable an evaluation of the perception of the Assamese mind in the nineteenth century towards issues of social reform. Both texts reveal a strong sense of antagonism towards those traditions which nurture the perpetration of social practices as opium consumption which, as it was widely upheld by the Christian missionaries, the medical opinion and the social reformers had resulted in both physical and mental degeneration of the people. The idea that opium addiction was synonymous with backwardness and degeneration made the intelligentsia adopt as its agenda the amelioration of the “opium evil.” These texts, resorting to the use of satire, wit and humour, spearheaded an innovative reform agenda. |
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