Socialist Economic Development in the 21st Century

Over a hundred years after the first socialist revolution broke the global monopoly of capitalism, a new class of socialist-oriented socioeconomic development is coming to the fore. Capitalism is still dominant worldwide, although its hegemony is no longer undisputed, and humankind is now faced with a key existential challenge. This book proposes an alternative path to overcoming the worldwide crisis of globalized capitalism. It offers a novel, balanced, and historically rooted interpretation of the successes and failures of socialist economic construction throughout the last century.

Microfinancial Collaborative Economies Business Models and Strategies for Quality of Life Improvement

The present chapter analyzes two cases of a joint venture stage to determine the successes and failures undertaken by the PROMUSAG and Uber as a model and strategies of collaborative economies to improve the quality of life. First, it is analyzed PROMUSAG as a program to finance women entrepreneurship aimed to improve the quality of life and the second case aims to analyze the different strategies taken by Uber to join the global market successfully, positioning itself in different countries. The analysis concludes that the empirical knowledge of entrepreneurs, in this case were not sufficient to direct the business to success, and that the lack of structured knowledge and adequate scientific support for this project strongly directed towards the non-permanence on the market. Taking terms as work global, it is considered Uber as a technology-based company and sees it from an overall, same strategy refers to a strategy that follows the company having a worldwide standardized product, another issue that would revise the importance of the theory of institutions.

Organization of economic activity of the Mari, Mordovia and Chuvash economic councils in the first year of their existence: successes and failures

In the article, the author investigates the insufficiently studied topic of transformation of the organization of economic activity of the economic councils of individual territories at the suggestion of N.S. Khrushchev at the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1957 using comparative historical, quantitative methods, analysis and synthesis. As a result, on the basis of the adopted Law On the further improvement of the management of industry and construction, a territorial management system was created, suggesting that the management of industry and construction should be implemented on a territorial basis on the basis of economic administrative regions. Initially, 70 economic administrative regions were formed, including Chuvash, Mari and Mordovia, in each of which a Council of National Economy was created. The economic councils were state bodies for the management of enterprises, construction projects and organizations of the Union-republican industry located on the territory of the economic administrative region. The article defines the first results of the activity of the Union of National Economy of the Mari, Mordovian and Chuvash ASSR in 1957; the personnel situation, which has become one of the main problems in the development of economic councils, is presented; disclosed the main planned performance indicators of the SNKh, which, on the whole, received a satisfactory assessment. However, despite the positive growth of the main economic indicators, serious difficulties and miscalculations were observed in the work of the economic councils, which were indicated, among other things, by the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR. On the basis of documents from the State Archives of the Russian Federation, regional archives and research literature, the author of the article highlighted the main successes and failures in the activities of the SNKh of the republics of the Middle Volga region. The author concluded that for the national regions, the period of activity of the economic councils was a breakthrough in the national economic complex. The Mari, Mordovian and Chuvash economic councils have done significant work to develop the industry in the peripheral regions of the country, significantly enlarging the existing ones and building new powerful and promising enterprises.

Overview of Kenyan Government Initiatives in Slum Upgrading: The Case of KENSUP and KISIP Projects

The goal of this paper is to explore the slum upgrading processes: the implementation of the Kenyan KENSUP project, associated successes and failures, and to draw possible lessons that can be learned from the initiative. The study utilized field work desk reviews to gather relevant information regarding slum upgrade processes in Kenya. The criteria used in the review process entailed exploring the context in which the KENSUP upgrading project was implemented, focusing on the legal frameworks, process of implementation, achievements, results, setbacks and failures in the processes in order to draw lessons for future programmes.

Unity through Education

The last four years have not only witnessed the largest domestic protests in U.S. history, but the steady polarization of U.S. politics has been a widening trend for decades. Policymakers eager to heal the country can learn from history. The Progressive Era offers one big idea to reduce division: public education. A robust educational system undergirds progress, stability, and unity, and it enables follow-on opportunities of social reform and equality. The Progressive Era’s laudable expansion of public education also, however, reversed progress on racial equality and neglected to resolve an inflammatory media, mistakes that have contributed to today’s division. Learning from the successes and failures of one of the most ambitious Progressive Era programs presents the United States with one path forward to solving its internal turmoil.

Amicus Plato, kilka uwag o Janie Amosie Komeńskim i jego czasach

The life and output of outstanding people, and John Amos Comenius was undoubtedly one of them, is often judged ahistorically and selectively, exposing what has stood the test of time, was a precursor to the future. It is forgotten, because it does not fit into the idealized picture, that like everyone, even the greatest were children of their times, they shared the opinions and superstitions of their contemporaries, and their successes and failures were determined by forces and processes far beyond their extraordinary possibilities. Comenius' achievements, the fact that he did not play such a role in the creation of pedagogy and universal school as he could, were burdened by the debilitating wars, the religious division of Europe caused by the speech of Martin Luther and the Scholar’s unequivocal standing on one side of the dispute, which for a long time practically closed the other, antagonistic side and most of the Continent to his pedagogical ideas.

Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) Inhibitors and Autoimmune Diseases: Making Sense of BTK Inhibitor Specificity Profiles and Recent Clinical Trial Successes and Failures

Clinical development of BTK kinase inhibitors for treating autoimmune diseases has lagged behind development of these drugs for treating cancers, due in part from concerns over the lack of selectivity and associated toxicity profiles of first generation drug candidates when used in the long term treatment of immune mediated diseases. Second generation BTK inhibitors have made great strides in limiting off-target activities for distantly related kinases, though they have had variable success at limiting cross-reactivity within the more closely related TEC family of kinases. We investigated the BTK specificity and toxicity profiles, drug properties, disease associated signaling pathways, clinical indications, and trial successes and failures for the 13 BTK inhibitor drug candidates tested in phase 2 or higher clinical trials representing 7 autoimmune and 2 inflammatory immune-mediated diseases. We focused on rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) where the majority of BTK nonclinical and clinical studies have been reported, with additional information for pemphigus vulgaris (PV), Sjogren’s disease (SJ), chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), graft versus host disease (GVHD), and asthma included where available. While improved BTK selectivity versus kinases outside the TEC family improved clinical toxicity profiles, less profile distinction was evident within the TEC family. Analysis of genetic associations of RA, MS, and SLE biomarkers with TEC family members revealed that BTK and TEC family members may not be drivers of disease. They are, however, mediators of signaling pathways associated with the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases. BTK in particular may be associated with B cell and myeloid differentiation as well as autoantibody development implicated in immune mediated diseases. Successes in the clinic for treating RA, MS, PV, ITP, and GVHD, but not for SLE and SJ support the concept that BTK plays an important role in mediating pathogenic processes amenable to therapeutic intervention, depending on the disease. Based on the data collected in this study, we propose that current compound characteristics of BTK inhibitor drug candidates for the treatment of autoimmune diseases have achieved the selectivity, safety, and coverage requirements necessary to deliver therapeutic benefit.

Conclusions

The conclusions reflect on the level of reflexivity present in the interplay between the different actors, the value of reflexive governance for the effective enforcement and promotion of equality and non-discrimination law, and the role it can play in preventing backsliding and creating resilience. Different actors have internalized to different degrees the various elements of reflexivity. Some of these elements could not unfold their full potential as their use has only been half-hearted (like the use of benchmarks without the simultaneous use of indicators in monitoring) or processes have been interrupted halfway (like not pursuing monitoring after accession). The conclusions advocate for a shift from an intergovernmental approach to a triangular constellation of equal partnership involving state authorities, EU institutions, and transnational/national societal actors. It underlines the importance of the empowerment and equal participation of local stakeholders. This enhances mutual social learning in the processes of socialization and internalization, and contributes to the prevention of backsliding. They further plead for understanding monitoring as dynamic norm contestation in which the three actors involved critically engage with the norms under consideration. As such, it helps to deconstruct own preference-formations and is a possibility to learn from successes and failures in a cooperative and recursive process. Monitoring understood in this way needs to be permanent and should not only take place in the pre-accession phase but should include all Member States. It concludes that reflexive governance is an approach which well reflects all the above proposed shifts of focus and of understanding.