Models of Self-Identification of Russian Bulgarians in Siberia: The Example of the Bulgarians of the Tyumen Region

В статье рассматриваются представления болгарского населения Тюменской области о своей этнической идентичности на современном этапе, а также предложены и охарактеризованы модели самоидентификации российских болгар. Источниковой базой выступили интервью с болгарами Тюмени и Нижневартовска. Качественный анализ интервью позволил выявить проблему этнической самоидентификации потомков межнациональных браков, особенности опыта респондентов в выборе этничности, направления процессов межэтнического взаимодействия в быту, языкового и культурного взаимовлияния. В статье рассмотрены и проанализированы общественные организации болгар, социальные платформы и виртуальные этнические группы. Авторы приходят к выводу, что болгары, проживающие в Тюменской области, несмотря на немногочисленность и дисперсность проживания, сохраняют свою этническую идентичность, успешно интегрировавшись в социально-экономическое, политическое и культурное пространство этого Западно-Сибирского региона. This article examines the ideas of the Bulgarian population of the Tyumen Region about its ethnic identity and proposes models of self-identification among Russian Bulgarians. Interviews with Bulgarians from Tyumen and Nizhnevartovsk were the source base. A qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed the problem of ethnic self-identification of the offspring of interethnic marriages; specifics of respondents’ experience in choosing ethnicity; and the nature of interethnic interaction in everyday life, including linguistic and cultural interaction. The article also considers public organizations of Bulgarians, social platforms and virtual ethnic groups. The authors conclude that the Bulgarians living in the Tyumen Region, despite their small number and geographic dispersion, retain their ethnic identity, successfully integrating into the socio-economic, political and cultural space of this West Siberian region.

The interaction between supply networks and internal networks: performance implications

PurposeThe importance of the supply network to firm performance is well documented. Until now, the firm and its suppliers have been conceptualized as single entities. Yet, multinational corporations (MNCs) are composed of a complex, geographically dispersed internal network of subsidiaries. The supply and internal networks are inherently linked. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the interaction of these networks on firm-level financial performance.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on supply network, internal network and dual embeddedness research, the authors investigate the interaction of these networks using supply network data from FactSet and internal network data from Orbis. We assess the impact at the MNC level, using measures of firm-level financial performance, physical proximity between the two networks and geographic dispersion of the internal network.FindingsThe results show that the performance effect of physical proximity of the firm with its supply network is negatively moderated by the geographic dispersion of the firm's internal network. This effect can be traced back to the diminishing marginal profitability of a firm's assets. Moreover, the benefits of dual embeddedness to the individual subsidiary come at a cost at the firm-level due to the operational challenges of managing a complex subsidiary network.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is the first to investigate the supply and internal networks of MNCs simultaneously.Originality/valueThe paper extends supply network literature by considering the internal network of the focal firm and its suppliers. This paper is one of the first studies that offer an understanding of the interaction between supply and internal networks of a focal firm and the effect on financial performance.

SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater from Mexico City used for irrigation in the Mezquital Valley: quantification and modelling of geographic dispersion

Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 in urban wastewaters has emerged as a cheap, efficient strategy to follow trends of active COVID-19 cases in populations. Moreover, mathematical models have been developed that allow prediction of active cases following the temporal patterns of viral loads in wastewaters. In Mexico, no systematic efforts have been reported in the use of this strategies. In this work, we quantified SARS-CoV-2 in rivers and irrigation canals in the Mezquital Valley, Hidalgo, an agricultural region where wastewater from Mexico City is distributed and used for irrigation. Using quantitative RT-PCR, we detected the virus in 6 out of 8 water samples from rivers, and 5 out of 8 water samples from irrigation canals. Notably, samples showed a general consistent trend of having the highest viral loads in the sites closer to Mexico City, indicating that this is the main source that contributes to detection. Using the data for SARS-CoV-2 concentration in the river samples, we generated a simplified transport model that describes the spatial patterns of dispersion of virus in the river. We suggest that this model can be extrapolated to other wastewater systems that require knowledge of spatial patterns of viral dispersion at a geographic scale. Our work highlights the need for improved practices and policies related to the use of wastewater for irrigation in Mexico and other countries.

Multi-site practice and physician travel burden by oncology specialty.

e13513 Background: Having physicians who practice at multiple sites may increase patients’ access to care, but also burden physicians Gynecologic oncologists (GO) are increasingly practicing at more sites across a larger geographic area, but the degree to which medical oncologists (MO), surgical oncologists (SO) or radiation oncologists (RO) are also doing so is unknown. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, observational study using data from the 2020 Physician Compare National Dataset. We included GO, MO, SO, RO, as determined by self-reported specialty. Practice sites with incomplete street addresses were excluded. For each specialty, we calculated the number of practice sites per physician, geographic practice dispersion (median driving distance required to go to each practice site), and temporal practice dispersion (median travel time required to go to each practice site). We used linear regression to compare the number of practice sites, geographic practice dispersion, and temporal practice dispersion by specialty. Results: The number of physicians, mean number of practice sites, along with geographic and temporal practice dispersion by specialty are shown in the table. MO practiced at a smaller number of practice sites compared to GO (p<0.001) and RO (p<0.001). Compared to MO, SO had a smaller geographic dispersion (median driving distance 22 miles vs. 38 miles, p=<0.001) and temporal practice dispersion (median driving time 27 minutes vs. 43 minutes, p<0.001), whereas RO had a larger geographic dispersion (median RO driving distance 58 minutes, p<0.001) and temporal practice dispersion (median RO driving time 63 minutes, p<0.001). Conclusions: Oncologic specialties vary in the number of practice sites and practice dispersion per oncologist. In particular, GO and RO practice at more sites than MO, with MO practices more geographically concentrated than RO practices. While SO practice at a similar number of practice sites compared to MO, their practices are the most geographically concentrated. While these practice patterns may represent increased patient access to specialty oncology care, the impact on quality of care and physician wellness is unknown.[Table: see text]

Resource Development and Market Value for Non-wood Forest Products of the Banyang-Mbo Sanctuary of Nguti, Cameroon

The research begins with a brief history of the Banyang-Mbo Sanctuary (BMS) of Nguti, its demographic and geographic dispersion. Next, we aim to identify and analyze the various non-timber forest products, which range from plants, animals, birds and marine species. With the aid of write-ups from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Cameroon, the spatial distribution of these products, vis-à-vis their proximity to surrounded villages is presented. Effort is equally made to know the activities of the villages and other environmental factors that affect the growth and existence of these products. Three objectives and three hypotheses were formulated to give direction to the study. Convenient and purposive sampling techniques were used in the study with the help of questionnaires for data gathering. The population of the study comprised 141 households in Nguti vicinity and a sample size of 105 respondents obtained with the use of Yaro Yamen’s formula. The statistical tools used for data analysis were frequency, mean and tables of percentages to organize the data collected. The instrument was validated by three experts and reliability justified by a coefficient. The study recommended that education on the development of non-wood forest resources should be practically oriented and existing markets should be sustained while new ones be sought for the sales of the final products.