This paper's purpose was to identify the key sources when formulating competitive advantages of hotel chains. The research assessed the financial activities performance included in annual hospitality industry reports and on their official websites; questioning of loyal and potential customers; the five-point Likert scale and the Pearson correlation coefficient were applied to understand the possible consumer reaction to a certain competitive advantage or its absence. The paper confirms the effectiveness of key sources used by management to win and retain competitive (...) advantages: despite strong dependence on the economic cycle phase etc., after the devastating crisis of 2007, 2008, but also to achieve sustainable growth. All the networks examined over the last decade have expanded their presence in international markets, diversified the portfolio of brands, increased the number of jobs and profits. It was also proved that the opinion of the final consumer is still not sufficiently taken into account in the assessment of the Pearson correlation coefficient (the latter allowed the authors to propose their own definition of the competitive advantage in the industry). The paper attempts for the first time to consider the competitive advantages of hotel chains from the point of view not only of theorists and business practitioners, but also with the view of the opinion of the services consumer; there were identified the discrepancies, which consideration would allow to increase the level of guest satisfaction and, accordingly, the efficiency of the hotel business. In future papers, the authors plan to verify the existence of a correlation between the degree of guest loyalty to a particular hotel network and the main financial results of its activities. (shrink)

Broad‐complex, Tramtrack, and Bric‐à‐brac/poxvirus and zinc finger (BTB/POZ) is a conserved domain found in many eukaryotic proteins with diverse cellular functions. Recent studies revealed its importance in multiple developmental processes as well as in the onset and progression of oncological diseases. Most BTB domains can form multimers and selectively interact with non‐BTB proteins. Structural studies of BTB domains delineated the presence of different interfaces involved in various interactions mediated by BTBs and provided a basis for the specific inhibition of distinct (...) protein‐interaction interfaces. BTB domains originated early in eukaryotic evolution and progressively adapted their structural elements to perform distinct functions. In this review, we summarize and discuss the structural principles of protein‐protein interactions mediated by BTB domains based on the recently published structural data and advances in protein modeling. We propose an update to the structure‐based classification of BTB domain families and discuss their evolutionary interconnections. (shrink)

The article describes the powers of the President of Ukraine as the Head of the security sector and national defense and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The paper explores the legislative framework corresponding to real opportunity of exercising the power in this area by the President of Ukraine. The research focuses on the quality of implementing certain powers in the field of Ukraine's security and defense by the acting President.

We initiate a systematic study of the class of theories without the tree property of the second kind — NTP2. Most importantly, we show: the burden is “sub-multiplicative” in arbitrary theories ; NTP2 is equivalent to the generalized Kimʼs lemma and to the boundedness of ist-weight; the dp-rank of a type in an arbitrary theory is witnessed by mutually indiscernible sequences of realizations of the type, after adding some parameters — so the dp-rank of a 1-type in any theory is (...) always witnessed by sequences of singletons; in NTP2 theories, simple types are co-simple, characterized by the co-independence theorem, and forking between the realizations of a simple type and arbitrary elements satisfies full symmetry; a Henselian valued field of characteristic is NTP2 if and only if the residue field is NTP2 , so in particular any ultraproduct of p-adics is NTP2; adding a generic predicate to a geometric NTP2 theory preserves NTP2. (shrink)

We prove that in theories without the tree property of the second kind (which include dependent and simple theories) forking and dividing over models are the same, and in fact over any extension base. As an application we show that dependence is equivalent to bounded non-forking assuming NTP 2.

We prove that every ultraproduct of p-adics is inp-minimal. More generally, we prove an Ax-Kochen type result on preservation of inp-minimality for Henselian valued fields of equicharacteristic 0 in the RV language.

We develop the theory of Kim-independence in the context of NSOP $_{1}$ theories satisfying the existence axiom. We show that, in such theories, Kim-independence is transitive and that -Morley sequences witness Kim-dividing. As applications, we show that, under the assumption of existence, in a low NSOP $_{1}$ theory, Shelah strong types and Lascar strong types coincide and, additionally, we introduce a notion of rank for NSOP $_{1}$ theories.

We study model theoretic tree properties and their associated cardinal invariants. In particular, we obtain a quantitative refinement of Shelah’s theorem for countable theories, show that [Formula: see text] is always witnessed by a formula in a single variable and that weak [Formula: see text] is equivalent to [Formula: see text]. Besides, we give a characterization of [Formula: see text] via a version of independent amalgamation of types and apply this criterion to verify that some examples in the literature are (...) indeed [Formula: see text]. (shrink)

In this article, we develop and clarify some of the basic combinatorial properties of the new notion of n-dependence recently introduced by Shelah. In the same way as dependence of a theory means its inability to encode a bipartite random graph with a definable edge relation, n-dependence corresponds to the inability to encode a random -partite -hypergraph with a definable edge relation. We characterize n-dependence by counting φ-types over finite sets, and in terms of the collapse of random ordered -hypergraph (...) indiscernibles down to order-indiscernibles. (shrink)

O presente artigo problematiza a incorporação da promoção dos direitos LGBTI nas políticas externas dos EUA e da UE. Em primeiro lugar, examina os principais documentos, discursos e políticas dos dois atores sobre à promoção dos direitos LGBTI no estrangeiro, e as semelhanças e diferenças entre as abordagens de ambos, atendendo às tendências da sua evolução e desenvolvimento contínuo. Em segundo lugar, o artigo analisa as condições internas nos países alvo que são propícias ao sucesso e ao fracasso do apoio (...) internacional aos direitos LGBTI. Finalmente, o estudo apresenta uma visão crítica das medidas que são consideradas necessárias para aumentar a eficiência da promoção dos direitos LGBTI em países com tendências atuais mais negativas e/ou com historiais mais pobres sobre os direitos LGBTI. (shrink)

We introduce and study (weakly) semi-equational theories, generalizing equationality in stable theories (in the sense of Srour) to the NIP context. In particular, we establish a connection to distality via one-sided strong honest definitions; demonstrate that certain trees are semi-equational, while algebraically closed valued fields are not weakly semi-equational; and obtain a general criterion for weak semi-equationality of an expansion of a distal structure by a new predicate.

The largest group of transcription factors in higher eukaryotes are C2H2 proteins, which contain C2H2‐type zinc finger domains that specifically bind to DNA. Few well‐studied C2H2 proteins, however, demonstrate their key role in the control of gene expression and chromosome architecture. Here we review the features of the domain architecture of C2H2 proteins and the likely origin of C2H2 zinc fingers. A comprehensive investigation of proteomes for the presence of proteins with multiple clustered C2H2 domains has revealed a key difference (...) between groups of organisms. Unlike plants, transcription factors in metazoans contain clusters of C2H2 domains typically separated by a linker with the TGEKP consensus sequence. The average size of C2H2 clusters varies substantially, even between genomes of higher metazoans, and with a tendency to increase in combination with SCAN, and especially KRAB domains, reflecting the increasing complexity of gene regulatory networks. (shrink)

This commentary offers a concise description of the structure revealed in the discourse about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but that also serves as a condition of the possibility for such events to happen. The points of view that this structure provides are relational, interdependent, and mutually constructed, and they are labeled as the Citizens, the Authorities, and the People. All these positions are structured in such a way that provides their subjects with a source of enjoyment. The positions can be (...) described as follows: fetishism of the Citizens, who almost invent their guilt without being held responsible; sadism of the Authorities, whose urge to make more and more atrocious decisions demand to repeatedly dismiss or shift the blame; masochism of the People, who accept their responsibility for anything without having a clear idea about the contents of decisions that were made in their name. In regards to communal guilt, it is crucial to take this level of enjoyment into account, in order to refuse sinking into emotions and avoiding using the language of guilt and shame. However, to simply switch to the language of understanding and responsibility instead is not enough. The language we need to seek is the one that would allow us to directly address the inadequacy of this distorted political arrangement—not some kind of metalanguage, but, on the contrary, a common language. (shrink)

The Aleksanteri Institute of the University of Helsinki organized in 25–26 of September 2009 a special symposium Northern Lights — Facets of Enlightenment Culture with the aim to discuss form of Enlightenment thought in Sweden/Finland and Russia. The symposium, which was opened by Prof. Emeritus Matti Klinge, a renowned historian of 18th- and 19th-century Finland, had four participants from Russia, five from Finland and one from Germany; thus, it was yet a quite small event, but we hope that with it (...) the foundations of a fruitful co-operation, with annual symposia on questions of Enlightenment culture, will be laid. Of the speakers, Prof. Tatiana Artemyeva, Dr. Oili Pulkkinen and Prof. Vesa Oittinen focused on more general problems of study of Enlightenment ideas, while the other contributions dealt with different ―case studies‖ either in Sweden/Finland (Dr. Kimmo Sarje, Dr. Johan Sten), Russia (Prof. Mikhail Mikeshin, Dr. Johannes Remy, Dr. Larisa Agamalian), in France (Dr. Alla Zlatopolskaya) or Germany (Dr. Carola Häntsch). (shrink)

This paper analyzes Kent Bach’s representational theory of action, one of the causal theories of action. Bach’s theory sets requirements not only for the cause of an action, but also for how it unfolds in time and transitions into another action. These requirements suggest a sequential emergence of two components of the agent’s action awareness: the representation of the prepared movement and the perception of its sensory consequences. Bach introduces the concepts of “effective representation” (ER) and “receptive representation” (RR) to (...) denote these components of awareness. According to representational theory, action has a cyclic three-step causal structure, where ER is the cause of a movement, the movement is the cause of RR, and RR is the cause of ER of subsequent movement. In constructing his theory, Bach tries to take into account the problem of deviant causal chains and to introduce the so-called minimal actions into the purview of the philosophy of action. Relying on the behavioral data on blindfolded deafferentated patients, in this paper I argue that RRs are not a necessary element of action. I also analyze Bach’s distinction between ER and RR and compare it with J. Searle’s approach, placing Bach’s theory within the context of studies of the structure of intentional states. I show that Bach’s theory occupies a unique position among views on the structure of action awareness. At the same time, I conclude that the frameworks of Bach and Searle are insufficient for describing the metaphysical difference between the two kinds of intentional states, and I also point out the difficulties facing the notion of ER. Based on this reasoning and the data on deafferentated patients, I propose a modification of the causal structure of action proposed by Bach, making a remark about the inadequate definition of ER. In the proposed modification, RR and the agent’s prior intention serve as alternative components of action awareness. (shrink)

We show that as game theory was transferred from mathematical oncology to experimental cancer biology, a new mode of inquiry was created. Modeling was replaced by measuring. The game measured by a game assay can serve as a bridge that allows knowledge to flow backward from target (cancer research) to source (game theory). Our finding suggests that the conformist and creative (Houkes and Zwart 2019) types of transfer need to be augmented. We conclude by introducing the expansive and transformative types (...) to get a four-tier typology of knowledge transfer. (shrink)

The article analyzes the traditional and innovative worldview components in the political doctrine of Saint-Pierre, developed in his work Project for the Establishment of Perpetual Peace in Europe. Reflecting on the political prospects of mankind, the abbot highlighted the psychological motives that, in his opinion, determine acts of rulers. He proceeded from the idea that human nature does not change, his worldview is characterized by the belief that the final forms of government are already present in his epoch and are (...) not subject to transformation. In his view, the existing political structure prevailing in various countries should not be changed, but there should be formed a supranational collective body, authorized to carry out international arbitration. Referring to Henry IV’s plan for universal peace in Europe, Saint-Pierre did not literally repeat it, although in order to promote his ideas he presented himself as a follower of the great monarch. Proclaiming the value of impartial reasoning, the abbot attached particular importance to convincing the rulers that war is not beneficial to them personally or to their subjects. He connected happiness with the wealth and prosperity of society, subordinating politics to morality. Recognizing progress in the intellectual and economic spheres, he treated wars as a factor impeding mankind’s progress. Unlike most philosophers of Enlightenment, Saint-Pierre did not adhere to anticlericalism. He believed that the other states would join gradually join united Europe, although this process would certainly be very long. Saint-Pierre attached exceptional importance to the legal side of the issue, to the formal agreement, and he definitely underestimated economic differences among nations. (shrink)

The article presents an analysis of the main aspects of the Christian theology of childhood based on the works of outstanding theologians of the 20th century: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Karl Rahner, Paul Tillich, and Jurgen Moltmann. The preoccupation with understanding the figure of the child in Western Christianity is motivated by several factors: the undeniable importance of theology as a tradition of interpreting the existential constraints of the human condition, the deep influence of Christian teaching on secular (...) concepts of childhood, as well as the need to stand in defense of theological knowledge against its reactionary appropriation. It is proposed to begin reflection on the problems of the theology of childhood with the question of secularization, which Bonhoeffer characterized as the world's coming of age. The symptoms of such maturation are a crisis of responsibility in an atomized society, powerlessness, and despair from being doomed to remain in a self-closed system moving towards its own destruction. In the eyes of theologians, the figure of the child turns out to be a symbol of the incompleteness of the history of the world and, in the context of Christian eschatology, of the possibility of saving humanity. For a world that has lost its historical dimension, the child comes across, in Moltmann's words, as a metaphor of hope. Theology emphasizes the intrinsic value and uniqueness of every individual childhood experience, while at the same time seeing it as an analogy of the universal relationship between the human community and God. The model of this relationship implies not only acceptance of the world and its law, but also reprehension leading to liberation from the law in divine love. In theological interpretations the Christian imperative to be like children appears as the cornerstone of universal ethics and political practice, which is necessary for humanity to overcome the catastrophic historical situation. (shrink)

Despite the fact that cinema and animation have common features, one of the fundamental differences between them is that animation uses metaphors much more freely. This current study explores this feature of animation and analyzes how the use of metaphors affects the narrative and plot structure of full- and short-length animation. The study is based on the narrative analysis of eight films made by Pixar Animation Studio, as a successful company that produces both full- and short-length animated films. The concept (...) of monomyth, which was formulated by Joseph Campbell, in 1949, and had a significant impact on the contemporary film industry, allows me to describe the structure of each of the selected examples. Such a formal approach to describing the plot structure, in turn, makes it possible to trace the impact of the extended metaphor on these plots. As a result, this study reveals and describes three main types of creative metaphors in the context of storytelling: supportive, action-forming and destructive. It appears that the supportive metaphor is used in all of the examined films, while action-forming and destructive metaphors relate to short-length animation only. The individual features of using these types of metaphors in full- and short-length animation are revealed in the concluding parts of the research. (shrink)

We give examples of (i) a simple theory with a formula (with parameters) which does not fork over [Formula: see text] but has [Formula: see text]-measure 0 for every automorphism invariant Keisler measure [Formula: see text] and (ii) a definable group [Formula: see text] in a simple theory such that [Formula: see text] is not definably amenable, i.e. there is no translation invariant Keisler measure on [Formula: see text]. We also discuss paradoxical decompositions both in the setting of discrete groups (...) and of definable groups, and prove some positive results about small theories, including the definable amenability of definable groups. (shrink)

We prove a generalization of the Elekes–Szabó theorem [G. Elekes and E. Szabó, How to find groups?, Combinatorica 32 537–571 ] for relations defina...

We highlight methodological and theoretical limitations of the authors' Dirac formalism and suggest the von Neumann open systems approach as a resolution. The open systems framework is a generalization of classical probability and we hope it will allow cognitive scientists to extend quantum probability from perception, categorization, memory, decision making, and similarity judgments to phenomena in learning and development.

The summary is devoted to the meetings of the Presidium of the Russian Federal Educational and Methodological Association held in September 2018 in Astrakhan and in February 2019 in Moscow. The authors review main educational and methodological issues discussed at the meetings. The summary covers the issues of online courses in philosophy. It also touches upon key issues of religious studies, the specifics of its teaching in Russia and foreign countries, current problems facing religious studies in Russia. The article contains (...) a review of the current state of logic education in Russia, its current problems and possible ways to solve them. Also it outlines issues related to the implementation of the Russian national project “Science” as well as philosophy education at Astrakhan State University and the issues of realization of new educational standards. (shrink)

Prominent models of attentional control assert a dichotomy between top-down and bottom-up control, with the former determined by current selection goals and the latter determined by physical salience. This theoretical dichotomy, however, fails to explain a growing number of cases in which neither current goals nor physical salience can account for strong selection biases. For example, equally salient stimuli associated with reward can capture attention, even when this contradicts current selection goals. Thus, although 'top-down' sources of bias are sometimes defined (...) as those that are not due to physical salience, this conception conflates distinct - and sometimes contradictory - sources of selection bias. We describe an alternative framework, in which past selection history is integrated with current goals and physical salience to shape an integrated priority map. (shrink)

Law is often linked to ethics and morality. Regulations of genetically modified organisms ensue from a discussion on how well the law is composed to accommodate ethical considerations. The precautionary principle and biotechnology have undeniable moral connotations. Besides, the principle has socio-economic implications. The application of the precautionary principle in plant breeding should be legally justified on the basis of the best available evidence. On the other hand, scientific information cannot provide all the necessary information on which a risk management (...) decision should be based. This article addresses the issue of gap between science, ethics, and socio-economic considerations related to the cultivation and authorisation of GM crops. (shrink)

The article analyzes an important concept of contemporary virtue epistemology – the concept of intellectual vice, that is a trait of intellectual character that hinders responsible research. The purpose of this article is to formulate a hypothesis that, today, in the modern culture, a significant part of epistemic vices are implicit attitudes. The first part of the article explores the concept of implicit attitude, examines examples of implicit attitudes that have become widespread in the research literature: implicit sexism and racism. (...) The second part of the article shows that in cases of implicitly biased behavior there is a manifestation of epistemic vice, and that the “motivational” theory based on Zagzebski’s ideas cannot explain the manifestation of intellectual vice in cases of implicit bias. In the third section of the article, it is demonstrated that implicit attitudes can be traits of the agent’s character : they can be acquired, rooted in the personality, and can be corrected. The fourth paragraph of the article analyses the conditions under which intellectual vices can be explicit attitudes. It is possible if the agent is a diabolical being, has egoistic vices, or is irrational. In the final section, it is shown that the spread of critical thinking in modern society should lead to the transition of intellectual vices from explicit attitudes to implicit ones. The conclusion is made about the theoretical and practical significance of the hypothesis under discussion. From a theoretical point of view, it allows us to explain why intellectual vices are widespread and difficult to eradicate, to place vices as character traits between the local and global levels, to apply to the concept of epistemic vice all the research concerning implicit attitudes, to develop a theory of epistemic responsibility. In practical terms, this hypothesis can be used to analyze the manifestations of implicit vices in various spheres. (shrink)

The article deals with the place and role NPD in German politics, reaction to NPD activities of public authorities and society, progress and consequences of the proceedings on the Prohibition Party and the development of relations with other right parties.

The article is devoted to the analysis of theoretical aspects of physical training of judges in various sports, in particular in hockey. The author analyzes dissertation research and scientific publications devoted to various aspects of physical training of judges in various sports, mainly games. Particular attention is paid to the degree of development of the theoretical foundations of physical training of judges in hockey.

The necessity of developing number standards for the managers on the basis of the of management functions regulation for various levels of management is proved. The consistency and structure of management functions at the metallurgical enterprises are investigated. The correlation of general and specific functions for the further consideration in calculating the number standards for manager is defined. A scientific and methodical approach to dealing with the types of work by the possibility of labor input rationing during the determination of (...) the standards for the top management number. (shrink)

The article aims to assess a change in the EU’s soft power in the Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership states in the light of the crises the bloc has undergone in recent years. Generally agreeing with the common argument that the EU’s attractiveness for those countries has decreased, the author challenges the popular wisdom that such a decrease is likely to reverse those states’ pro-EU foreign policy orientations. To prove it, the author applies Joseph Nye’s and Alexander Vuving’s “power currencies” (...) approach to operationalize soft power, considering the bloc’s attraction as a combination of “brilliance” (the actor’s relationship with its work), “benignity” (the actor’s relationship with other actors) and “beauty” (the actor’s relationship with values and ideas). Elaborating on the crises’ influence on each of these currencies, the author shows that their lessening, first, has mainly taken place in absolute rather than relative terms, so the EU’s attractiveness remains strong compared to that of its competitors, and second, it has primarily affected the bloc’s soft power potential rather than its actual behavior towards the target countries. (shrink)

The article delves into Kazakhstan’s policies vis-à-vis the European Union, focusing on their driving motives and enabling conditions. Drawing upon published papers and, to a lesser degree, primary sources, the author argues that friendship with the EU largely serves the Kazakhstani elite as means of economic modernisation as well regime legitimation, perfectly fitting Kazakhstan’s dominant domestic discourse which portrays the country as Eurasian and its foreign policy—as multi-vector. The study also shows that Astana’s partnership with Brussels is to a large (...) degree possible because the EU holds a simultaneous positive attitude to such partnership regardless Kazakhstan’s authoritarian regime. According to the article, such reflects the great instrumental value collaboration with Astana gives Brussels, the EU’s general inactivity on democracy promotion in Central Asia and Kazakhstan’s looking more pro-European and economically/politically advanced against the background of its post-Soviet and Central Asian autocratic fellows. The paper concludes by reflecting on the configuration of pragmatism and identity in Astana’s approach to the EU and discussing the peculiarities of the bloc’s power over Kazakhstan. (shrink)

The essay proceeds from the assumptions that for a economic/political integration group to succeed, first, its participants’ motives should ideally be as alike as possible and not oppose one another and, second, their expectations from integration should correspond to the organisation’s capabilities. In light of these assumptions, the study endeavours to assess the Eurasian Economic Union’s (EAEU) potential for stability and development. First, the author analyses the key motives that were driving its member states’ decisions to enter the organisation, compares (...) them with one another and discusses how the countries’ motives influence their conduct in the union. Second, the author confronts those motives against the EAEU’s activities and the general logic of interstate politics on the post-Soviet space to reckon up whether the bloc’s capabilities fit with the expectations of its member countries. Finally, based on that discussion, the author speculates on how the divergence/convergence of EAEU member states’ goals, as well as the (in-)feasibility of their expectations, affect the organisation’s development. (shrink)