scholarly journals German Musical Baroque, a mini European Union avant la lettre: the bassoon concerto

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-195
Author(s):  
Laurenţiu Darie

Abstract The German musical Baroque represents a sum of stylistic diversities, in which the European cultural values were merged with the national ones, resulting in a strongly individualized, but malleable style. The works dedicated to the bassoon by German composers are living evidence of aesthetic unity in the Baroque stylistic diversity, emphasizing the universality of music and its cohesive force. The analyzed concertos approach the aesthetics of each composer, through his relationship with Italian and French music, personalized in an expressive form of the German type: robust, in a clear, dynamic solid structure.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Delia Cornea

PurposeThis study analyzes how cultural and social values shape specific attitudes toward credit cards and indebtedness and consumption behavior.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a panel dataset for a selection of European Union countries from 2003 to 2016. The relation between credit card use and social and cultural attitudes is constructed by controlling for past habits in payment behavior and cross-substitution with alternative payment instruments by employing a dynamic panel data analysis based on the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator.FindingsThe total value of credit card payments positively correlated with values emphasizing risk-taking attitudes. When analyzing the propensity of using these instruments for larger purchases, the level of trust is the most relevant predictor. However, the results seemed region-specific with some variables correlating consumption behavior with credit card usage depending on the political and the economic background of the country. Moreover, risk-taking attitudes prevail when they are related to the extent to which countries rely on cash as a preferred payment instrument. Also, credit card usage is mainly explained by past habits and the economic context.Originality/valueThe model expands on previous credit card transaction research by including an additional set of cultural values able to account for the complex nature of payment instruments and their effects on indebtedness and consumption behavior.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 674-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miloš Hitka ◽  
Zoltán Rózsa ◽  
Marek Potkány ◽  
Lenka Ližbetinová

The aim of the paper is to define and quantify the differences in employee motivation depending upon the selected regions and the age of employees. The research was carried out in 2017. Sampling unit consisted of 7,594 respondents – employees from the selected eastern European countries, members of the European Union, mainly the Slovak and Czech Republic, as well as selected regions outside the European Union, Russia and China. Data gathered from the questionnaires were evaluated using descriptive statistics and tested by Tukey's HSD at the level of significance of 5%. The ANOVA Variance Analysis was used to compare each sampling unit in relation to the age and the country. Most of the differences in motivation factors were found in the countries of China and Russia. It can be due to different cultural values, especially because of the power gap and the preferred principle of seniority and collectivism in China. Differences in the level of motivation, i.e. motivation factors especially in relation to the age were observed in the analysed regions. Incentive plans for intercultural teams in order to enable employers to choose motivation factors effectively were designed following the conclusions presented in the paper. Fundamental patterns of cultural differences as well as age-related differences predicting motivational preferences can be taken into consideration when selecting the motivation factors.


Author(s):  
Hristo Katrandjiev ◽  
Vasil Kaniskov

Relevance of research topic. More than 10 years after Bulgaria's accession to the EU, there has been considerable “euroscepticism” among Bulgarian citizens. The study of attitudes towards Bulgarian membership in EU as well as the reasons determining these attitudes could be useful not only for Bulgaria but also for countries that are going to join the EU, including Ukraine. Setting the task, the purpose of the study: to clarify the public attitudes (in Bulgaria) towards the Bulgarian membership in European Union and to outline useful guidelines and conclusions that could help Ukrainian representatives in the process of negotiating (for joining EU). Method or methodology for conducting research. Stratified quota sample based on major socio-demographic attributes, face-to-face standardized interview in respondents’ homes. Results of work. The report analyzes the advantages as well as the challenges that Bulgarian people face more than 10 years later after joining European Union (EU). The analysis is based on the attitudes of Bulgarian citizens. Data is gathered by representative samples on the territory of Bulgaria. The authors try to make a logical parallel between Bulgaria and Ukraine and to formulate conclusions and practical guidelines that could help Ukraine to take better decisions in the process of negotiations for joining EU. Conclusions according to the article. Obviously, ten years is not enough time for the Bulgaria's full integration into the EU. However, there is a very high degree of unanimity that EU-future is the most optimistic scenario for Bulgaria. The following lines outline some important reasons for possible "euroscepticism" concerning Ukraine's future EU membership: nationalist movements and parties, fundamental differences of cultural values, the different nature of academic and educational systems, the unwillingness or inability to break the language barrier, non-adaptability of Ukraine's production technologies with those of developed European countries, the striking discrepancy between types of agricultural produce, different types/technology of agricultural production, predatory use of the country's raw material base, ecological degradation, double standards of products.


2021 ◽  
pp. 219-242
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Thomas

The question of the limits of Europe as a political community has been one of the most persistent questions in European debates. This question cannot be answered with simple references to Europe’s physical geography, its cultural values and practices, the formal rules of the European Union, nor the commercial or security interests of its member states. This chapter offers concluding observations on the book’s findings and their implications. It first summarizes the book’s quantitative and qualitative findings regarding the evolution of EU membership norms since the late 1950s and their contribution to EU decision-making on the enlargement of the community during this period. It then considers the study’s general lessons for our understanding of regions and regional integration. And finally, it combines normative critique and historically-informed speculation in a discussion of salient issues in the future of European governance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-91
Author(s):  
Steve Corbett ◽  
Alan Walker

The narrow referendum decision for British exit from the European Union (Brexit), and its explosive political consequences, has become a lens through which decades-long tensions in European society can be viewed. The result, which was expected to be a clear Remain victory, has been interpreted as various combinations of: the unleashing of xenophobic and racist anti-immigrant sentiment; a kick back against disinterested elites by ‘left behind’ people; the fermenting of nationalist populism by political and media actors; a clash of cultural values; a rejection of ‘market is all’ globalisation in favour of national borders; or as a reaction against austerity, inequality and insecurity (Corbett, 2016; Goodwin and Heath, 2016; Hobolt, 2016; Inglehart and Norris, 2016; Kaufmann, 2016; Pettifor, 2016; Room, 2016; Seidler, 2018; Taylor-Gooby, 2017). This British-made shock has parallels in and consequences for wider European society. In the Referendum, the EU became an emblematic representation of the distrusted, remote, technocratic elites, who are said to be responsible for an unbelievably large number of societal ills. Meanwhile across Europe there are varieties of Eurosceptic populism and distrust of elites on both the right and left (Ivaldi et al., 2017).


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Tatiana P. Rizova

Conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria over the past fifteen years have produced the largest waves of displaced people and refugees since World War II. As European Union (EU) leaders braced for an influx of thousands of people fleeing from these conflicts, they faced pressures to revisit and modify legal rules that left countries in Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean unable to cope with a crisis of unprecedented proportions in the twenty-first century. While the logistical challenges of this humanitarian disaster threatened to undermine Southeastern and Mediterranean states’ capacity, multiple terrorist attacks across Europe magnified the security concerns of EU leaders. This paper compares how two of the European Union’s newest member states – Bulgaria and Hungary – have tackled the migrant crisis and assesses the impact of security concerns on their refugee policies. Some of the responses of these countries’ governments were similar – both governments mandated the erection or extension of physical barriers to impede migrants’ entry on their countries’ territory. While the Bulgarian government took cues from the rhetoric and actions of key EU leaders such as Angela Merkel, the Hungarian government continuously antagonized EU leaders and declined to cooperate with their proposed multi-lateral strategies of handling the migrant crisis. Decisions taken by the two governments were, to some extent, dictated by security concerns. The rhetoric of the Hungarian government, however, contained stronger nationalist overtones than that of the Bulgarian government. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his right-wing government led an anti-migrant and anti-refugee campaign that sought to exclude foreign nationals due to the patent incompatibility of their cultural values with those of Hungary’s nationals. On the other hand, the rhetoric of Bulgaria’s Prime Minister – Boiko Borisov – was more dualistic and contradictory. His policy statements to the foreign press or at EU summits reflected the general sentiment of the top EU brass, whereas statements made to the Bulgarian media focused more specifically on security concerns and were far more critical of the foreign nationals attempting to enter Bulgaria’s territory. Moreover, the security-focused rhetoric and actions of the government became more strident immediately before and after the Bulgarian presidential elections of November 2016, which led to the resignation of Borisov’s cabinet. Political parties in Bulgaria, including Borisov’s GERB party have increasingly become critical of refugees living in Bulgaria’s admission centers. Borisov’s government even extradited a group of Afghan asylum seekers due to their involvement in a riot at one of the refugee admission centers. This study is based on a content analysis of statements made by Bulgarian and Hungarian government officials and media coverage in several Bulgarian and Hungarian news publications between 2015 and 2017.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Kamlesh T. Mehta

The case study is about a small multinational financial investment firm located in England with over $43 millions in net profit and employs over 500 people. Thirteen employees of the firm have complained about the display of a Swastika by co-workers in the workplace. The company is faced with the challenges associated with diverse workforce with different nationalities, cultural values, and religious beliefs, and legal complications in the European Union.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-38
Author(s):  
Basia Nikiforova

The presumption of this paper is the view of multi‐culturalism as a concept grounded on an assumption, rather than data, and legitimized by proclamation, rather than legislation. Multi‐culturalism as a socio‐political construction is not only “a multi‐cultural and multi‐religious mosaic”, but it has its own values. The new borders inside the European Union (EU) are non‐territorial, which confirms the new paradigm about the weakening factor of territorial belonging as such. Nowadays, values become a more and more powerful source of demarcation. The aim of this article is to challenge the problem and its consequences for the identity and perception of values in the new European situation, in which borders are merely symbolic. Multi‐culturalism is the revalorization of ethnocentric tradition and the creation of post‐materialist values such as individual self‐expression, personal transformation, openness and solidarity to others, gender and racial equality, greater tolerance for an ethnic, cultural and religious diversity.


2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (27) ◽  
pp. 37-44
Author(s):  
Vladimir Ozyumenko

This paper deals with the verbalization and functioning of modality in English and Russian legislative discourse. By comparing the means of modality in English and Russian legislative texts, both in their qualitative and quantitative aspects, it makes an attempt to explain the revealed differences. The data were collected through a comparative study of the English and Russian versions of the UN Charter and the Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union. The quantitative results confirm that the English language, as compared to Russian, has a more sophisticated set of modals which are used more regularly. The qualitative findings show some differences in the choices of linguistic forms and communicative strategies. Sociolinguistic and cognitive analyses were then conducted, suggesting that these differences are rooted in culture; that is, in social organization, cultural values, the concept of self, and the relations between authority and individuals. The results advocate the idea that grammar is an ideological instrument for the categorization and classification of things that happen in the world (Thornborrow 2002). Alongside other aspects of language, it provides a lot of sociocultural information. The results are relevant to the study of translation and intercultural communication, as well as to ESL teaching.


2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-130
Author(s):  
Ferenc L. Lendvai

According to a generally accepted conception, members of a nation foster their national identity through assorting their memories of the past, elaborating and preserving their symbols collectively. We have to look for the original unity forming the basis of national unity either in the cohesive force of common origin and residence, or in the self‐conscious contracts of the individuals, or in both. The European Union as such does not have sovereignty; those of the Member States overrule its legislative and executive institutions. Perhaps we can speak about the European Union as a community on a cultural basis. This will raise the question of multiculturalism. Recently an interesting polemic has been developing on the concept and role of Leitkultur. In antiquity the Imperium Romanum, in the Middle Ages the Republica Christiana seem to have been the multicultural forerunners of the European Union.


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