The purpose of the study is to research intermediary transactions in the oil and gas producing industries and present them based on the results of the internal audit. In accordance with this goal, the article discusses and analyzes the theoretical aspects of accounting and methods of conducting an internal audit of settlements for intermediary transactions in oil companies. Attention is focused on the fact that intermediary operations are important in regulating the mechanism of market relations of both manufacturing companies and (...) purchasing companies. The article analyzes the current methodological guidelines of oil companies on the accounting of intermediary operations and the rules for conducting internal audits. As a result, shortcomings in the accounting of intermediary operations were identified and methodological recommendations for their improvement were presented, confirming the scientific novelty of the study. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to present some reflections on the problems and solutions concerning the lexical meaning determination. First, to determine the meaning of the words it is specified the status of conceptual layer in the semiotic triangle. According to the German linguist Jost Trier, it is emphasized that semantic changes concern not only the individual words but the whole lexical field to which they belong, and thus the entire vocabulary. Thus, the meaning of a word is a (...) part of the language content and each language evaluates and organizes the reality according to its own laws. Some examples compare the organization of the language content in different languages. It is necessary to study the lexical meaning in relation with the language content. (shrink)

Focusing on the controversial birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin, this article explores how debates about the safety of these drugs have materialized in risk evaluations and the management of technological risk. Drawing on in-depth interviews with stakeholders and content analysis of legal, medical, and regulatory documents, I highlight how professional contraceptive risk assessment is characterized by systemic uncertainty and doubt, resulting in increased responsibility for users themselves to manage the drugs’ potentially increased risks of venous thromboembolism. The analysis centers (...) on three key areas in the assessment process that denote disagreement: risk measurement in postmarket surveillance data, the distinctiveness of the drugs’ benefits when compared to other contraceptive technologies, and the weighing of the risks and benefits against each other. While professionals negotiate uncertainty both in epidemiological research and in clinical practice, users are constructed as agents who should manage risk individually. Such processes are underlined by a diffusion of responsibility in the systemic management of contraceptive risk. This article suggests, more broadly, that medical technologies can be conceptualized as artifacts that are instrumental in the dispersion of risks. (shrink)

The purpose of the study is to determine the relationship between the economic well-being of countries and their openness to external markets. The scientific novelty consists in the comparison of two groups of countries with different characteristics and identifying specific patterns of the impact of selected macroeconomic factors on GDP. The article presents an econometric analysis and contains regression equations for each state. Interpretation of the coefficients of the derived models makes it possible to estimate changes in GDP with the (...) change of indicators. As a result, it was revealed that export is the most stable and strongly influencing the economy of all countries macroeconomic factor, and the strength of influence depends on the level of development of the country. The stability of GDP in developing countries is largely achieved through the regulation of internal factors, and in developed countries through exports regulation. (shrink)

Review of Sorin Şipoş, Silviu Dragomir – istoric, (Oradea: Editura Universităţii din Oradea and Chişinău: Editura Cartdidact, 2009), 547 p.

Prolific research suggests identity associates with pro-environmental behaviours that are individual and/or group focused. Individual PEB is personally driven, self-reliant, and are conducted on one's own. Group focused PEB is other people-reliant and completed as part of a group. A wide range of identities have been related to PEBs. For example, a recent systematic qualitative review revealed 99 different types of identities studied in a PEB context. Most studies were correlational, few had an experimental design. However, the relationships between all (...) these identities and PEBs have so far not been tested quantitatively with meta-analytical techniques. As such, a clear overview of this field is currently lacking. Due to the diverse nature of the field, a priori hypotheses were not possible and relatively broad definitions of identity had to be used to encompass all types of identities and the diverse meanings of identity that have been included in PEB research. What prior theory did allow for was to assess the distinction between two main types of identity, namely how people label, describe, and recognise oneself individually, or as part of a group. Our overall goal was thus to assess the current state of knowledge on identities and PEBs. In 104 studies using a meta-regression following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines, our random-effects meta-analysis showed that the overall concept of identity associated with PEB with a medium Pearson's r. Furthermore, we found that individual identities associated more strongly with PEBs than group identities. The associations between individual and group identities were stronger when the identity and PEB were from the same category. Methodologically, the findings revealed that group identities and group PEBs were most strongly associated for self-reported rather than observed PEBs. Overall identity associated most strongly with group PEBs in the field rather than in the lab and in student- rather than non-student samples. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications. (shrink)

Gaze following is the ability to use others’ gaze to obtain information about the environment. As such, it may be highly adaptive in a variety of socio-ecological contexts, and thus be widespread across animal taxa. To date, gaze following has been mostly studied in primates, and partially in birds, but little is known on the gaze following abilities of other taxa and, especially, on the evolutionary pressures that led to their emergence. In this study, we used an experimental approach to (...) test gaze following skills in a still understudied taxon, ungulates. Across four species, we assessed the individual ability to spontaneously follow the gaze of both conspecifics and human experimenters in different conditions. In line with our predictions, species followed the model’s gaze both with human and conspecific models, but more likely with the latter. Except for guanacos, all species showed gaze following significantly more in the experimental conditions. Despite the relative low number of study subjects, our study provides the first experimental evidence of gaze following skills in non-domesticated ungulates, and contributes to understanding how gaze following skills are distributed in another taxon—an essential endeavor to identify the evolutionary pressures leading to the emergence of gaze following skills across taxa. (shrink)

Through her reading of Euripides'Bacchae, Colridge's "Christabel," de Sade'sPhilosophy in the Bedroom, and Hitchcock'sPsycho author Alina M. Luna finds precedent for a destructive impulse lurking beneath the maternal gaze.

Analogy (Latin: proportio) is the epistemological principle par excellence for the ancient world. Plato calls it the "most beautiful bond" that holds the cosmos together. For Aristoteles, analogies between different species and genera should enable a better understanding of structural features in biology. The most powerful relationship, however, is the one known as Pros-hen, which forms the basis of all being-analogy teachings in the Middle Ages. In the 20th century, analogical thinking finds its way into phenomenology and psychoanalysis. This volume (...) presents analogy starting from antiquity through the Middle Ages and modern times and explores its potential in the context of contemporary philosophical discussions. With contributions by Prof. Dr. Damir Barbarić, Dr. Marcel Bodea, Prof. Dr. Johannes Brachtendorf, Dr. Elenio Cicchini, Prof. Dr. Virgil Ciomoș, Prof. Dr. Ion Copoeru, Dr. Nicoletta Di Vita, Prof. Dr. Karen Gloy, Prof. Dr. Michael Heidelberger, Dietmar Koch, Dr. Dalia Nassar, Dr. Alina Noveanu, Dr. Manuel Schölles, Dr. Simon Schüz and Dr. Niels Weidtmann. (shrink)

Comment on Alfandre et al, "Between Usual and Crisis Phases of a Public Health Emergency: The Mediating Role of Contingency Measures".

This article reconsiders Paul Ricœur’s political philosophical writings on the task of decolonization and European responsibility in light of a horizon of intercultural dialogue. Departing from the exchange between Ricœur and his former student Enrique Dussel, it discusses the Ricœurian critique of modernity. After giving some background on Ricœur’s reflections on decolonization, it will clarify what Ricœur calls the “crisis of the concrete universal in the thinking and in the historical experience of Western Europe,” and what role cultural difference has (...) in this crisis. Considering Ricœur’s explicitly European perspective, this will lead us to a critical discussion on the envisioned possibility of a world-historical subject. Finally, I will discuss the role of European self-reflection in relation to a horizon of intercultural dialogue and narration from a post-/decolonial perspective. (shrink)

_Nauman Faizi’s _God, Science, and the Self (2021)_ is a powerful and philosophically robust exploration of Muhammad Iqbal’s masterpiece _Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam_. In this book, Faizi’s reading of Iqbal takes an analytic approach. He argues that Iqbal uses two distinct epistemic tendencies, which he terms “Representational” and “Pragmatic.” In tracing these tendencies, Faizi posits that Iqbal’s pragmatic tendency serves as a correction for his representational tendency, that the presence of both tendencies causes confusions in Iqbal’s work, and (...) that these are understandable and expected markers of Iqbal writing within epistemological conflict. Faizi’s analytical approach helps explicate Iqbal’s arguments but appears to be in tension with _Reconstruction’s_ non-analytical methodology. _. (shrink)

Civil activism in the field of science is one of the most crucial issues and the key factor of autonomy of science. Herewith, the position of universities and other scientific institutions is vulnerable and hinges upon state and private financing. Science finds itself between two unattractive and doubtful prospects of developing in either bureaucratic or corporate (in the business sense) way, which leads to the abridgement of basic academic freedoms. Setting the problem of professional expertise and mediation is highly important (...) for the definition of borders and consolidation of the position of science. (shrink)

The aim of this study is twofold. Firstly, it intends to highlight the value of constructivist insights for religious studies by showing that various forms of approach to issues related to religion are mere constructs. In contrast to this viewpoint, the discipline of religious studies had traditionally sought a higher degree of objectivity in the scientific reflection of religious topics, but that has been a fraught path. Secondly, the example it refers to is worthy in itself. The reception of Judaism (...) in contemporary China is not only an under-investigated topic endowed with a great potential to reveal to what extent the Chinese ordinary man as well as the academic succeed to understand Western thought and to differentiate among the varied cultural traditions generally subsumed by them under the notion Western, but it also shows that the constructivist approaches preserve their validity in non-European contexts as well. Judaism’s reception in contemporary China will be pursued on four different levels: popular literature, fake books, articles in the Christian Chinese media and academic productions. The four categories of texts represent four different degrees of comprehension of the object of study, primarily offering information about the worldviews of the authors of the texts. The process of reception of thought is regarded as a form of encounter where the active part is striving to get out of its own mindset and move towards the other. (shrink)

Multi-word formation processes in Portuguese comprise root-compounding (e.g., toxicodependente ‘drug addict’, agridoce ‘sour sweet’), word-compounding (e.g., barco-casa ‘houseboat’, guarda-roupa ‘wardrobe’, cantora-atriz ‘singer/actress’), and blending (e.g., cartomente ‘lying fortune teller’ < cartomante ‘fortune teller’ + mente ‘he/she lies’, tristemunho ‘sad testimony’ < triste ‘sad’ + testemunho ‘testimony’, cantautor ‘singer and composer’ < cantor singer + autor ‘composer’). Compound structures have been quite thoroughly described by several authors (e.g., Villalva & Gonçalves 2015), whereas blending has garnered some controversial and even contradictory analyses. (...) Some authors claim that blends and compounds have similar structures, while others consider that they have completely different structures (e.g., Gries 2004b, Minussi & Nóbrega 2014). This paper focuses on the description and analysis of an annotated corpus of Portuguese blends, and on the presentation of experimental evidence that aims to assess the knowledge of these words by native young adult European and Brazilian Portuguese speakers.The first section is devoted to the presentation of Portuguese blends, namely regarding the status of their constituents and their linear relationships, grammatical structure, and the phonetic/prosodic relationship that holds between the blends and their base words. The second section focuses on the description of the Portuguese blend corpus. Although new coinages make this a never-ending work in progress, it is presently formed by (circa) 300 blends, collected in a variety of sources, from literary texts to political and social commenting, advertising, or even individual ad hoc instances. The information gathered in the corpus comprehends all the features considered in the analysis of the blends, presented in section 1, and it also provides data on attestation and frequency. The third section presents an analysis of a sub-corpus (184 forms), related to their linear structure, grammatical and prosodic relationships, and a cross-analysis that suggests that there is a strong link between headedness and cliphood. Finally, the fourth section offers a brief presentation of experimental work that suggests that clips facilitate the processing of blends, since the clipped word is more frequently used in replies to a familiarity test, and the same happens with reaction time values obtained in a lexical decision test. (shrink)

A performance appraisal system forms an integral part of any developed management concept. The efficiency of such an appraisal system is fostered in institutions which prioritise quality and continuous improvement, and where innovationfriendly actions are joined by those that build confidence. An efficient appraisal system is characterised as follows: it is systemic in character, regular, universal, flexible, concrete, transparent and simple in application. When implementing a modern appraisal system, care should be taken to adhere to ethically sound principles such as (...) fairness, objectivity, goodness and truthfulness. (shrink)

We focus on the thesis that action understanding is a function of the mirror neuron system. According to our opinion, understanding is a process that runs through hermeneutic circles from the “Vorverständnis” (“previous understanding”) to steps of deeper understanding. Our critique relates to the narrow neuroscientific definition of action understanding as the capacity to recognize several movements as belonging to one action. After a reconstruction of the model's developments, we will challenge the claims of the model by Rizzolatti and Sinigaglia (...) (2010). By analyzing the relation between the experimental results and its interpretation, we will conclude that there is no proof that mirror neuron activity leads to action understanding. (shrink)

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This probing study of melancholy invites readers to view "depression" genealogically through the history of its interpretation. It plumbs interior depths where psychology, theology, philosophy, and literary creation intersect. Therapies proposed for the dark mood have included work, prayer, care of the self, and deepening awareness of its indispensable role in the development of consciousness of oneself and God. Reflecting on these historical responses and cures can prompt a personal exploration, making this a practical manual for self-knowing and self-transcending, a (...) philosophical "guide for the depressed.". (shrink)

The article substantiates the need for the creation of local integrated social services in the system of social protection of the population. The paper studies the essence of the organization of work on the principle of "single window" and field work "social mobile office".

The fundamental—from the philosophy of science point of view—question of the growth of scientific knowledge implicates epistemological investigations of the creation context in science. In the paper I am arguing this thesis.

The status of scientific theory is determined by a philosophical conception of science. The article seeks to present the different status of scientific theory in a comparative analysis of philosophical conceptions of science (inductivism, hypothetism, paradigmatism and intuitionistic conception of science).

The article describes the basic elements of an ethical infrastructure that manifest themselves as mechanisms regulating the relationship between public servants and the public, being the part of professional activities. Ethics for public servants is defined as the system of regulations of conduct, procedure and rules, and relationships and principles of public-service relationship that is most appropriate set of deeply understood and concretized norms of morality inherent in this society. According to the authors, the main problem of a civil servant (...) professional ethics is the fact that its activities must meet not only the Constitution of Ukraine and current legislation, but also moral principles and norms. (shrink)

This paper is dealing with one of the greatest novels in the British literature, The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing. The novel and its main character, Anna Wulf can be interpreted in myriad ways, but our analysis is a psychoanalytical one. The introductory part of the paper gives the definitions of the psychoanalytical words that will be later on used in the paper.In The Golden Notebook, the life of Lessing’s main character offers an understanding of issues such as political repression, (...) sexual abuse, single parenthood, writer’s block, and the women’s movement. Anna Wulf’s fragmented personality is caught in the four notebooks that she writes, each one being concerned with one of Anna’s selves. Anna is the most complicated heroine analysed and we will try to discover which of her various selves are confirmed and which are repressed. In Anna’s process of healing, there are two moments of climactic confirmation: the first one when she admits that she is mad and the second one when she admits she has a writer’s block. (shrink)

In the context of the new paradigms of the knowledge-based economy, education and the quality of the educational system is becoming one of the strongest factors of influence. Decisions regarding the financing of education have a particular impact on the level of expenditure in the pre-university system and on the organization of the system of study courses. Furthermore, they are closely linked to the economics and accounting of pre-university education institutions. The existence or lack of material resources can greatly influence (...) the teaching activity process and implicitly the results achieved by the system. This paper aims to examine the consequences of certain decisions regarding funding in education, student achievement in pre-university education using data on government spending in the world relative to a single student, the level of salaries in secondary education and the number of students per teacher and the student's test scores. The authors chose the quantitative research methodology using the multiple linear regression model with dependent and independent variables to test the extent to which certain parameters of the funding process can influence the results achieved by students in standardized tests. The research results show that decisions regarding the financing of education in terms of salaries and the level of funding based on the standard cost per student have a direct impact on the achievements of the students and also, on the scores achieved by students. (shrink)

This article presents J. Srzednicki’s epistemological conception and confronts it generally with contemporary versions of epistemological relativism.