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This paper aimed to understand how fashion design higher education programs are approaching fashion 'eco-design' initiatives and how or if this could influence the diffusion and adoption by the whole sector. Furthermore, this paper argued that online education, sustained by a lifelong learning perspective, would present a valid way to deliver and disseminate the knowledge about sustainable principles in business, technological, social and environmental practices, making them quickly available for professionals and companies and thus, promoting the competencies required to prospect meaningful changes in the sector. Part of broader research about fashion design education in the European Higher Education Area, this paper identified previously selected fashion design courses, delivered onsite and online, and analyzed their curriculum and syllabus, to determine how and if sustainability integrates the design project and development of fashion products. The results demonstrated that sustainability is articulated with the fashion design curriculum diversely with few programs presenting sustainability as a ‘design philosophy,' as a mindset for developing products and projects for the fashion sector. However, the findings of this study helped to acknowledge that sustainability, present either as a program strategy or as an approach for the development of fashion projects, form a competence complex and hard to measure since the market does not absorb it quickly and thus it is permanently and inevitably outdated. The ability to maintain fashion designer and companies updated represents the central advantage of an accredited online lifelong learning. Freed from the rigidity of traditional academic stages, calendar and physical limitations, online learning would be able to approach important themes, as well as adopt a prospective approach about sustainability in the fashion sector and then enable this knowledge to be easily accessed and diffused by professionals and companies in a flexible, adaptable and affordable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of the food sector on achieving the sustainable development goals is increasingly debated worldwide amid growing climate change effects and on the background of a lack of quickly responses on mitigating them. Initially, the state of the art is quantitatively analyzed for emphasizing the scientific evolution on food consumption in the context of sustainability and the main themes discussed by researchers. Further, several indicators on food consumption expenditures, daily calorie supply, emissions, waste are investigated at EU level by using secondary data analysis. The data is collected from Eurostat and Faostat and it allows the comparison of these indicators in time and space. Overall, some results indicate reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from fuel combustion in the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing, small increases of the area under organic farming, and rises of daily calorie supply per capita. However, the statistics is different on each member state. Finally, the paper suggests the critical points generated by each indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although recognizing its importance for the global economy, and despite the positive examples within the textile and clothing industry, fashion's environmental and social impact is indeed highly negative. Even so, technological innovations in materials, processes, design, production, and distribution of fashion products, combined with changing in consumption habits are slowly transforming the sector, with designers and brands adopting more sustainable, environmental and ethical practices, and opposing the planned obsolescence principle, formerly associated with it. However, these changes concentrate in highly developed regions, where influential fashion companies have the resources and knowledge to investigate and implement sustainable innovations. Furthermore, these changes take too long to be disseminated worldwide, especially in those regions where the fashion sector contributes to economic development and represents a way to participate in the global economy. This paper analyzes sustainable initiatives in fashion design sector that are already in place and presents the relation between fashion and sustainability in fashion design higher education programs and courses, delivered online by fashion design higher education in Europe. The results demonstrated that sustainability is nearly absent in the accredited online offer, but indicated it was present in non-traditional, open models of education. This paper considers that, without geographical limitations, online learning presents a huge opportunity to educate about current and future issues on fashion and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to analyse the government debt sustainability and stabilization in a small open economy. Sustainability of government's debt is one of the key priorities of almost every country. Under ideal conditions, government's debt should be sustainable at all times. For that reason, government should use debt stabilization tools to sustain the government debt or at least maintain it at acceptable level. Selection of appropriate stabilization tools depends on many different factors. Used research methods are systematization and generalization of the scientific literature and the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the primary and secondary data. At the end of the paper is brief review of the main results and findings concerning debt sustainability and stabilization in a small open economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the report was to examine contemporary conditions for developing and promoting sustainability initiatives for companies in Russia. Namely, the working paper focused on international companies operating in Russia and transformational process of international sustainability initiatives being introduced for the emerging market. The methodology of the research included: analysis of work practices in terms of descriptive research, analysis of statistical and historical data, and comparative analysis of existing practices. The research also encompassed relational study in order to investigate the relationships between established and emerging corporate sustainability practices, as well as prediction study, carried out for establishing possible sequence of actions for the development and wide adoption of sustainability practices in Russia. The major findings of the report rely on the assumption that key international companies operating in Russia need to use benchmarking in transforming sustainability practices in terms of three main pillars: environment, social responsibility and human resources. As sustainability of these three pillars has already been adopted as integral part of strategy in the developed countries, the working model will be transmitted to the corporate levels of operations in Russia. Thus, the international agents can act as driving forces for promoting sustainability practices and their strategic implication to the level of national and business legal base. The main aim of the scientific paper was to provide distinct impact across Russian corporate sustainability practices as well as business and management research network. The delivery of the results and coverage of the topic will provide substantial background for further actions on adopting sustainability practices and changing strategic mindset in Russian corporate practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Architecture plays an important role in an urban regeneration. The Urban development reflects an economic development. Environmental sustainability and sustainability of cities as well is nowadays a frequently questioned issue. There has been a case study carried out in the area of architecture in the Slovak Republic. The reason was a lack of a comprehensive view of the architecture in the Slovak Republic and insufficient support of this sector at the national level. There has been a survey - personal interviews conducted with the owners of architectural ateliers and studios. According to interviews, the value chain and the main value added activities have been described. The goal of this paper is to argue why and how value chain needs to integrate the social and environmental aspect of sustainable economic advantage. Architecture forms the environment, regions, cities, architecture completes the landscape. The architecture value chain in comparison with the other value chains of the other sectors has close links with the external environment. Architects develop their activities in line with their customers. Architectural studios and ateliers are mainly located in economic active places, or in the "natural" centers of the region. The primary source of uniqueness and added value is the human factor, the architects themselves. Every single part of the value chain of the internal environment can be a source of uniqueness. Paper describes more deeply the important sources of added value along the value chain. Paper also describes how the solving of the main problems as the intellectual property protection etc., of the architecture in the Slovak Republic can promote the value added of this industry. The explaining the importance of the architecture and defining the main value added of this sector should promote and produce the changes at the national level in this sector, mainly in the area of legislation and finally encourage operating in this sector and consequently promote the urban regeneration, sustainability of the cities and economic development as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable transport has become an important concept as a reaction to global climate changes. Climate change has always belonged among main factors in human society development. Recently such global changes have been gaining speed and strength. The main motor of these changes is increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions originated in energy, industry and transport sectors. This is the reason why the Czech Republic adopted a document called Climate Protection Policy. The aim of this policy is to reduce negative impacts by effective mitigation and adaptation measures and to support sustainable development of society. One third of GHG emissions in EU is produced by transport (transport is the second biggest source of GHG emissions after energy sector). Total volume of CO2 emissions produced by transport in the Czech Republic has been continuously increasing. This trend is related to increase in volumes of individual car passenger transport and of road freight transport. This paper focuses on the development of CO2 emissions from transport in individual regions of the Czech Republic. This paper presents development of CO2 emissions in connection with transport performances and it analyses this development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Global Real Estate Transparency Index covers one hundred markets and is based on 186 variables. These indicators are divided into six parts - performance measurement, regulatory and legal frameworks, and governance of listed vehicles, market fundamentals, environmental sustainability and transaction process. The Index is one of the tools that helps to assess and compare markets across the Globe and give an idea of how investable the market is based on its transparency. Because transparency is critical to the operation of efficient markets. Within Europe, countries in the Central Europe region have shown the strongest advancements as they gradually catchup with their Western peers. Slovakia and Serbia are among the Top 10 global improvers, with Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Romania also progressing. Bulgaria in Southeastern Europe is in the last place. The aim of the paper is to cluster the countries across the world based on the indicators of the Global Real Estate Transparency Index and find out the countries with the common features. The Index 2018 covers 100 countries that were analyzed. The clustering K-means analysis and one-way ANOVA test for fulfilling the goal were used. It was found that the Czech Republic seems to be highly transparent in all the indicators, as well as its neighboring countries Slovakia, Denmark, Poland and Austria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is the research of influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies on companies' business management. Modern development of any business requires development of responsibility, and stimulates the necessity of integration of social policy and corporate strategy, examining financial expenses on the social programs as form of investing in forming of strategic advantage. Consideration of stakeholder interests and needs is the basis of the modern CSR concept, and it is a required component of the system of CSR strategic management. This paper proposes an approach to the classification of CSR strategies based on targeting priority groups of stakeholders. Three types of CSR strategies, including focusing on internal stakeholders, external stakeholders - immediate environment and external stakeholders - local community, is the result of the application of the proposed approach. The implementation of each proposed type of CSR strategy provides programs and long-term cooperation projects with selected priority stakeholder groups to achieve the strategic objectives in CSR field. Companies' business processes are the means to obtain positive economic impact of the implementation of socially responsible policies. Consideration of influence of stakeholder's requirements for business process management in the company on a systematic basis contributes to the improvement of business processes. Basing on an overview of recent theoretical evidence, we conclude that efforts to improving business processes as a result of application of CSR strategies lead to an increase in their efficiency. The increase can be shown in improving certain local operations as well as in the broader consequences like increasing the company's competitiveness and its sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourist destination marketing started to gain considerable importance within tourism literature and practice during the last fifteen years. In this context, benchmarking became a key process for defining strategies and monitoring their implementation within tourist destinations. Several tools for destination benchmarking were developed at EU level. Due to the major importance of sustainability issues within all Tourism Policies adopted by the European Commission, great importance has been given to the creation of benchmarking tools for sustainable destinations. The paper advances the idea of developing a friendly ICT instrument to support the implementation of such European benchmarking tools in order to actively contribute to the sustainable development of more and more tourist destinations in Europe. Two qualitative research methods were used within the present paper: the literature review and innovation. The first part of the article synthesizes the information on tourist destination benchmarking, based on tourism literature review. A short presentation regarding the initiatives of the European Commission for the benchmarking of tourist destinations was included. The paper than focuses on the most recent benchmarking tool launched by the European Commission in 2010, the European Tourist Indicators System for Sustainable Destinations. Through comparison between this tool and the Dashboard of Sustainability, we advanced the idea of the necessity to develop the European Tourist Indicators System for Sustainable Destinations into an ICT instrument offering attractive visual representations for better implementation within European destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper is to point out the importance of organic agriculture in enhancing local development. Organic agriculture is a concept that integrates three main goals: economic profitability, social equity and environmental health. The transition to organic agriculture is a process that requires many changes and commitments at different levels: consumers, producers, institutions, policy-makers, scientific institutions, etc. In the last forty years community-supported agriculture (CSA) is considered as an alternative, locally - based model of economic development based on sustainability criteria. The paper analyses the process of transition to organic agriculture as an important factor of local development taking Croatia as a case study. It gives a theoretical background, the analysis of the process of development of organic agriculture in Croatia and the role of groups of CSA in fostering local development. The research presented in this paper indicates that organic agriculture could be a reliable factor of enhancing local development. Although Croatia has different possibilities of development of organic agriculture, it is faced with numerous problems (e.g. small plots, low level of farmers' educations, underdeveloped market for organic products, low level of consumer consciousness, etc). The 16 CSA groups operating in Croatia could be taken as good examples of partnership between producers and consumers, which can enhance and support local development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present papers are principally concerned with such social research problem as the 21-st century modern organization of active recreation zones, and, particularly, investigate the ways of given them a new creative urge. This problem is globally spread and is common for most countries. Objects of this research are Aqua Parks, treated as a special landscape recreation zone where architectural-landscape planning, water architecture and creative design meet. The authors have performed the analysis from different points of view, including creative water landscape planning and design environment aspects. Thus, it's possible to receive the complex solution of further tendencies of development such special zones as Aqua Parks are. From the point of view of techno-creation design aqua parks can be observed in combination with new technologies in the contemporary world. Modern water gardens or aqua parks as a work of architecture and landscape architecture can be representative examples of techno-creation phenomenon. New materials and technology generate a vital potential in the shaping of space and landscape of aqua parks. In these types of facilities, they inspire architects to search for creative solutions. The basic of the architectural-landscape organization of these special areas was, is and will be the water landscape planning of territories. Water plays a principal role in general planning. The ideas of combination the different planning zones with the modern water arrangements create the artificial environment for active relax. It is also possible to outline the new tendencies of further development of Aqua Parks in neatest future, for example, the direct influenced by nature water objects. Papers uncover the tendencies of planning and possible trends of future development of Aqua Parks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research question the paper aims to investigate is whether increasing awareness and implication of civil society's representatives into the financial markets field will determine financial institutions to adjust their products, services and practices to a more socially and environmentally responsible way. In our scientific approach we have started from the finding of a low stage of civil society intervention in the financial world and the need for a more obvious manifestation of civism in this thematic area. Recent post crisis developments highlight the need for adopting a more robust attitude and discourse of civil society on the issues related to financial markets and institutions. The paper will comprehensively review the current state of art of the civil society's position as a vector of opinion and action related to the sustainable business models, products and practices in the financial industry. The contemporaneous involvement of civil society's representatives will be assessed differentiated, through a multi-field approach, by looking at the three segments of the financial market: the banking sector, the capital market and the insurance sector. In addition, we'll try to highlight if civil society might position itself at the core of changes in conventional banking, by influencing banking practices. This issue stands from the numerous lawsuits that European Union customers have opened against abusive banking practices. Another direction of study is represented by the civil society monetization, consisting in the mobilization of financial resources in the economy, without the traditional appeal to financial intermediation, which is expected to create a major shift in the sustainable financial industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals about the differences in the methodology for sustainable development in historical cultural landscape. In two specific case studies it is comparing different methods of access to two important Slovak wine-growing regions. It compares the options and approaches in the design of sustainable construction in Svaty Jur and Rybnik. The paper is also dedicated to the impact of the genius loci, regional identity and alternative development scenarios for the actual design. The implementation of the possibilities have to support the agritourism - oenoturism in the region with a healthy rate of exploitation of the potential of vineyards which can improve the quality of rural life, ensuring the integrity, resilience and sustainability of living environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have shown the increased importance in Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, especially among large multinational corporations. The European Directive 2014/95/EU requires that so-called 'large public-interest entities' - companies with more than 500 employees - start reporting on their non-financial indicators. However there is a 'significant flexibility' in the disclosure of non-financial information, since no agreed-upon guidelines on CSR reporting exist. As companies are free to report on legally or ethically required issues with no set of standards, opportunities for non-transparency abound and therefore research on CSR measures - existing and new - is needed. Our paper contributes to this line of research by assessing the reported sustainability practices of large Finnish multinational companies by employing a rather novel content analysis tool, the modified Sustainability Evaluation Checklist (SEC), originated from Ameer and Othman, [1]. After modification 52 items, divided into the four sustainability dimensions: the environmental (EI), the ethical (ETI), the diversity (DI), and the community (CI) indices were used to analyse GRI reports from multiple sectors. The study revealed that Finnish multinational companies report relatively comprehensively on environmental issues and the companies have drafted conclusive codes of conduct that cover international as well as internal ethical considerations, at least on some level. As for diversity issues, the role of women in management is generally recognised, yet actual practices related to increasing equality are still few, moreover minorities or the disabled as part of the workforce were not an active concern for most of the businesses. Positive interaction with local communities was generally confined to partnership or minor co-operation with a local school or university, however actual social responsibility practices with or toward local stakeholders were not included in the CI. Testing the suitability of SEC in Finnish context showed its capability of assessing sustainability practices as found in corporate reporting, however revising some index items and adding new ones should be considered. The SEC was found to function on analysing large multinational companies, but its approach is likely unable to assess the practices of smaller businesses with relatively short sustainability-related reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global economic crisis drew more attention of researchers and policy makers to fiscal sustainability. The paper focuses on empirical analysis of public finance consolidation and debt burden in countries of Central Europe integrated in The Visegrad Group (V4). Existing literature indicates that debt sustainability is becoming a vital element of sound macroeconomic policies but its assessment is not always clear. Our results of empirical analysis provide projections of debt dynamics scenarios based on interest rates-growth differentials in individual countries of the V4 and they suggest consolidation strategies in analysed countries should be based on the expenditure side of public finances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After several years of considerable research efforts, in 2013, the European Commission launched the first version of a European Tourism Indicator System Toolkit for Sustainable Destinations. It was created by European experts as a simple and easy to apply tool, composed of 67 indicators, specially conceived to offer support for European tourist destinations which are interested in developing in a sustainable way. It can be used both as an evaluation tool and as a benchmarking tool. In this context, this paper introduces the Research Project called Destination Intelligent Management for Sustainable Tourism (DIMAST) which was launched in Romania in 2014, aiming to implement the European Tourism Indicator System through a Business Intelligence application. Two qualitative research methods were used within the present paper: the case study and innovation. The first part of the article shortly introduces the information on the European Tourism Indicator System TOOLKIT for Sustainable Destinations. The paper than focuses on the above mentioned Pilot project which has as its main objective to support the local Destination Management Organization from Brasov County, one of the most famous tourist destinations in Romania, to develop in a sustainable way using an innovative Business Intelligence software based on the 67 indicators developed by the European Commission in 2013. The project groups seven partners from tourism research institutions, tourism industry, as well as an ICT software developer and it is actually in progress, a genuine set of indicators being already conceived based on Brasov's profile. Due to the fact that there was not available data for many European Indicators, the article presents how the European system has been genuinely adapted in the case of Brasov County. The main findings of this project can be used as best practice by other European destinations willing to develop in a sustainable way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper considers how so-called monocities are developing in the context of import substitution policies launched in connection with the sanctions announced by the US and West, and food embargo imposed by Russia as a retaliatory measure. Since 2014, Russia has set import substitution as a major goal to be reached to ensure its national security and growth. Russia can only achieve economic sustainability if it is able to significantly improve the self-sufficiency of its industrial sectors and increase volumes of products manufactured domestically. The authors believe that in the current situation the potential of monocities can and should be leveraged from and the cities should enhance its production using existing infrastructures. The paper substantiates the need for consolidated efforts to put into practice monocity support and development programs, as well as main fields of action to address issues based on regional and industrial specifics of the monocities. The authors have analyzed the efficiency of existing programs on the creation of industrial clusters and priority development territories (PDT). The study has showed that the good use of monocities' potential will help deal with an entire range of goals, such as boosting the economy of the territory and mitigating the depopulation in the regions; increasing the level and quality of life through a better socio-economic infrastructure of monocities and creating new jobs; improving Russia's technology and food sovereignty through the development of corresponding sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of government spending on economic growth was demonstrated by several experts. The crisis has revealed the need to consolidate public finances in many countries. Their long-term sustainability is a current topic of many professional and political debates. In this context, in the foreground is the question of effective allocation of public resources. According to their relation to production, government spending is classified on productive and unproductive. For unproductive government expenditure they are considered especially social spending and transfers. We believe that the reduction of these expenditures could be a threat to the social sphere, which has its justification in the economic system. The aim of this paper is to evaluate and compare the development of government spending on social protection in EU countries. We assume that the countries with higher share of population at risk of poverty have higher proportion of government spending on social protection on GDP ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the rationale for using the Data Envelopment Analysis method for assessing innovation sustainability at the regional level. The theoretical basis for the paper is based on results of the study of foreign experience gained and the current Russian practice on evaluation of innovative development at the federal and regional levels. Focusing on the examined approaches, the authors propose an algorithm of regional innovative resistance estimation using the method of comparative analysis of the data with set thresholds values as well as Data Envelopment Analysis method. The results of the study can be used by regional government bodies to monitor the state of the regional innovation sphere, as well as to adjust the existing instruments of the implemented innovation policy. The proposed approach to assessing the level of innovation sustainability can be transmitted to the so-called innovation ecosystems of various types (regional, local, corporate) taking into account the determination of an appropriate system of criteria and indicators, their differentiation to input and output, as well as the formation of threshold values, if necessary, to ensure that the parameters comply with the basic principles of the methods proposed for use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the relevance of building smart cities in the context of regional development and to analyze the important factors that make a city to be smart. These cities could be analyzed through the perspective of environment quality, the socio-cultural condition, technological applications and innovations, the vitality of the economic environment and public policies. Starting with these five sustainability domains, we will demonstrate the hypothesis that smart cities are the engine of the regional development. The aim of this paper is to assess the implications of smart cities, in the context of sustainable development, analyzing the benefits of developing creative and innovative cities. Regarding the methodology, it is used the systemic, logical and comparative analysis of important literature and data, also descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. In conclusion we will define a direction on regional development and competitiveness increasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper was to compare and confront the concepts of sustainability and responsibility in tourism and to research the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in achieving sustainable and/or responsible tourism. The empirical research was aimed to analyze the importance of CSR for hotel companies in Croatia as a toll towards a more responsible tourism. Considering the numerous direct and indirect impacts of hotels on their natural and social environment, the implementation of CSR brings many challenges for them. CSR could be a catalyst for numerous innovative changes in the businesses operations, it can contribute to increased motivation, satisfaction and loyalty of employees, as well as improved relations with different internal and external stakeholders. The empirical research which was conduced on a representative sample of Croatian hotels has shown that hotel managers are aware of the impacts of CSR on the long-term competitiveness, the local community and the environment. However, in their business practice many activities related to CSR still have not been applied sufficiently. Those who implement some aspects of CSR are more committed to obtain environmental than social sustainability. This result was expected due to obtaining certain levels of environmental sustainability is easier and more tangible than obtaining social sustainability that requires changing or improving relations toward different internal and external stakeholders. As expected, the commitment to CSR is not dependent on the size of the hotel, but it depends on the awareness and knowledge of the hotel's owners and managers about the potential tangible and intangible benefits that can derive from the implementation of CSR for the company, their employees, the social community and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overall geostrategy of the European Union seeks global stability, economic security and environmental sustainability. In contrast with occurring interpretation of „geostrategy" in security/defence terms, we are prone to perception of geostrategy in the context of competitiveness driven by geopolitical and geo-economic developments that are shaped by the political and economic environment. Multidisciplinary relevance of our insight into the issue derived from the primary concept of geo-heterogeneity - and applied to the secondary concept of geostrategy - is aimed at a synergy effect resulting from an analytical and comparative approach. Motto of the European Union "United in diversity" reflects variety of (vital) national interests of its Member States, aspiring for added value beyond the "lowest common denominator"; yet, it is often the situation in the international community that becomes an imperative for a complex engagement. The European Union designs macro-regional strategies to address common challenges as well as opportunities and to unlock the potential in a concerted action as a new opportunity for comprehensive development of a larger region. Examples of good practices rest on analysis and experience of earlier (EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region - EUSBSR, EU Strategy for the Danube Region - EUSDR) as well as recently developing (EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region - EUSAIR, EU Strategy for the Alpine Region - EUSALP) macro-regional actions, including a rotating chair for (each) Strategy for a given period bearing in mind Presidencies in the Council of the European Union or presidencies in other macro-regional institutions. With macroregional approach being an impetus for mobilising different European Union, regional and national policies, geoscientific context represented by physical, human, political and economic geography is in the primary centre of our attention. This paper further elaborates our understanding of geo-heterogeneity and outlines the prism of multiple dimensions associated with overlapping regional initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the current topic of measuring sustainability in companies. First, several different definitions of sustainability and possible indicators how to measure it are discussed. Moreover, it uses a case study of measuring indicators and introduces a sustainable policy of a small company in the Czech Republic. A separate chapter focuses on the code of sustainability, which is also known as a tool for claiming sustainable behavior. The paper may be used as a guide for companies to follow in introducing and implementing sustainability measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the authors enhanced the importance of corporate social responsibility for the economic environment. We firstly made a review of several reference material exposing different research findings of the authors interested in the topic. Consequently, we expressed our own opinions and highlighted the CSR impact over community, without ignoring the risks and the importance of global consciousness. The results of this research show that this concept is not new for companies operating in Romania and our demarche consisted in presenting an overview of CSR current state. We consider that organizations should enhance the degree of consciousness on the sustainable development but also lessen the negative consequences on environment and increase the volume of positive actions. Businesses people in Romania could take for example China, which even though is considered a champion country in pollution, does have CSR ambitious projects that aim the environment protection, especially by massive planting of trees. We consider that by adopting social responsibility in private companies, they will be able to increase their competitiveness. Thus CSR will become a tool of "shared value" in the value chain. CSR reporting should fulfill all the requirements regarding its transparency and credibility. In this respect, it would be appropriate for organizations to audit their social responsibility and environment practices, precisely because they provide value for companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to the separate production of electric and thermal energy from conventional sources of fuels, their combined generation in a Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP), produces a primary energy saving of at least 10%. This savings can also be translated by a proper reduction of pollution caused by combustion of fuels and thus by contributing to maintaining sustainable development. However, there are also situations where cogeneration can be extended to produce many more forms of useful energy, using the same main facilities and the same amount of primary energy, generating an even greater fuel economy. In this paper, the authors propose to present a state of art of the presently used polygeneration technologies and to propose solutions for increasing the energy efficiency of the cogeneration plant that supplies the campus of a university by reducing its heat losses and by applying different methods for flattening the thermal and electric consumption curve loads of the supplied customers. The study also analyzes the impact of the reduction of eco-taxes on the energy bill of producers/consumers as well as the impact of legislation in force on stimulating energy producers to take effective but expensive measures to optimize their operation. As a first conclusion of the study we can mention that the combined production of electric and thermal energy in a decentralized manner is economically justified as long as there are financial support schemes. Otherwise, polygeneration solutions such as electricity, heat, cold, mechanical work production and CO2 capture and its use in technological processes, have to be found and applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper represents an integrated urban design and social management model which transforms the maintenance of urban public green areas into an urban activity and encourages the students and other citizens to carry out activities by means of a shared, planned, scheduled and regionalist method within the cities. The aim of the study is to explore the potential of education regarding the sustainability of urban public green areas and the appropriation of urban green spaces to generate environmental consciousness. A model was formed for the integration of educational districts and a major green area which will be transformed to a large green park within the city in the case of Sakarya, Turkey. As a result, a "Green Area Management (GAM) Model" is presented in the name of "external gardens for the city" to connect the two major elements of society - educational districts and urban governance. Sustainability in terms of usage, appropriation and embedding of green areas in the consciousness of the society are among today's biggest problems in cities. The proposed mutual sharing and the participative cooperation model (GAM Model) aim to address these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the way of adapting the constructive techniques in the Banat high plain (South-West of Romania) during the colonization of the territory from the 18th century by the Habsburg Empire. Due to the lack of other natural resources, earth was the preferred building material for realizing the new settlers housing. The study pursues the analysis of physical properties (granulometric curve, characteristic humidity, plasticity limit, compression strength) of local earth mixed with natural fibers used for unfired bricks - adobe. This technique was used for earth constructions and laboratory tests presented in this paper confirm the experience gained by local building practice along time (18th - 19th centuries). On this poorly inhabited area, due to the retirement of the Turkish population after 1716, the Habsburg administration adapted the newly designed villages to the environmental conditions, not only from an urbanistic point of view but also through the good use of local resources and materials, thus creating a sustainable response that determined the local specificity in the rural areas of the Banat high plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The permanent covering of a floor generally provides a wearing surface on top of a support structure, with shape, appearance and materials chosen mainly for architectural, structural and economical reasons. At the same time each flooring choice is unique, and it means and does a lot more than just supporting weight and offering surfaces to walk on. Modern floorings propose strategies and specialized solutions in order to recommend the perfect link between technology and customers. Flooring alternatives, from traditional to high-tech, available due to the great variety of materials and their wide range of applications, have to satisfy numerous requirements related to aesthetics, comfort, safety, and sustainability. As dealing with a diversity of products during manufacture, installation, use and maintenance, floorings may interfere with the indoor environmental quality, while taking into consideration their large surface areas and the high amount of traffic they receive. Selecting flooring materials based on their environmental impact is trending to become nowadays a common practice, although not an easy one, since complex factors and interactions are involved and must be taken into account. The Paper is focused on challenges that inevitably arise during the inclusive and holistic approach to the design process, when both, architects and engineers take the leading role and have the key responsibility to create a sustainable built environment, by using appropriate resources and techniques, as well as by combining traditional craft with contemporary solutions in innovative ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culture, as it embodies the way humans have adapted themselves to the environment, - in other words, their particular way of adaptation and their main mean of livelihood in environmental, economic and social terms-, has been largely considered as a source of sustainability. In this sense, the concept of heritage stands out as a cultural asset that makes particularly explicit the historic relationship between men and territory, as well as the result of the diverse human and cultural activities within the environment - including architecture and urban settlements-. Considering, additionally, it is deeply linked with identity and social behavior, this contribution aims to defend urban and architectural heritage's potential to make our cities more sustainable. In addition to the theoretical framework and conceptual positioning, the paper focuses on the territorial and urban phenomenon which has comprised, for centuries, the settlement of a bunch of small and medium-sized cities that represents, nowadays, the sixty percent of the land structure in the South of the Iberian Peninsula, still growing in terms of urban land and population as well as on cultural and sustainable networking initiatives. For this purpose, two particularly interesting and complementary study cases have been selected by reason of the quality and influence of their cultural heritage assets: the cities of the center of Andalusia (Spain) and the cities of Algarve and Alentejo, the Southern regions of Portugal. Throughout a mixed methodology that includes inputs from very diverse disciplines like humanities, urban studies, architecture, geography, sociology, history or anthropology, the work is intended to yield results concerning factual links between the existence of heritage assets in a wide range of scales, their influence on social and cultural daily life in the selected cities, and their prospective benefits to future sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the fact that capitalize the resources and local products, and combines two activities, agriculture as main activity and the tourism as a complementary activity, the profitability of agrotourism activity is high, being a chance of alternative incomes for rural areas, especially for those from the mountain area. Practicing agrotourism ensures the sustainability of the rural area due to the fact that it follows the encouraging of the practice of traditional activities in rural communities, stopping land abandonment and the chaotic development of tourist activities, in deep disagreement with the peculiarities of the rural environment. Agrotourism promotes the idea of combining economic interests, community development, and nature conservation. Rural entrepreneurs can capitalize on the tourist potential of an area and supplement farm incomes by adding a modest income from tourism activities. The present scientific paper is an attempt to review the structure of the agrotourist activity and product and of the role and benefits of agrotourism in supporting the development of the rural environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the materialisation of the work of a team who participated in the „Design & Business workshop - innovative Romanian products. Creative Industries, Creative Communities, Creative Cities", which took place in 2015 in Arad, Romania at Aurel Vlaicu University - Faculty of Design. The team consisting of four students was coordinated by PhD. Prof. Ionescu Claudiu Emil and Ass. Arch. Tămăşan Maria. Arad County, Romania is located in the DKMT cross-border area. In spite of this favourable geographical position and despite the various tourist attractions existing here, the main tourist practice happening in this part of Romania is transitory. Consequently, tourist activities are underdeveloped in the Western part of Apuseni Mountains - also known as Zărand Mountains. The development of tourist activities within a given region requires, in the authors' opinion, three main key-features: advertising, efficient management and a functional infrastructure (means of access and transportation, housing, food services and the afferent structures). In this context, the present study focuses on an existing housing structure from Zărand Mountains: the Debela Gora complex, once a well-known holiday destination, but badly deteriorated and almost forgotten today. The proposals consist of feasible low cost and efficient refurbishment methods for the main cabin within this complex, in order to make it inhabitable again and to integrate it in tourist itineraries. Moreover, it is shown how interior design can become an effective tool for recycling buildings in an ecological approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regeneration of areas, previously used by industry, is a social and spatial necessity. Current efforts to redevelop industrial wastelands and abandoned buildings raises broader views than just architectural and construction issues. In an urbanizing world that is increasingly driven by a stressed free market, how does the concept of industrial heritage adaptive reusing relate to contemporary sustainable city and its public space? How industrial areas can be turned into cultural districts? This contribution is trying to find the answers for these questions and highlight opportunities in this field in Czech Republic. Some examples of alternative uses of industrial architecture and their potentials for the future development as centers for art and culture are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estonian Theatre is a unique phenomenon. In a population of 1.3 million, one million people visit the theatre every year. Tallinn City Theatre is one of the most renowned theatre companies in Estonia. In 2016, Tallinn City Theatre celebrated its 50th anniversary. Dating back to the Soviet times as Estonian Youth Theatre, a state-owned touring company made up of an entire class of fresh drama school graduates and a small number of well-known performers, it has transformed during five decades into an established, yet vibrant and dynamic repertory theatre, operating in one of the most remarkable theatre buildings in the world. The history of the oldest buildings can be traced back to the fifteenth century and originally, the buildings were owned by different city aldermen [1]. The authors of this paper analysed the visual communication of Tallinn City Theatre from the perspective of ethical and sustainable management. Our analysis was focused on the website information of the theatre. In our case study, we used Talcott Parsons' paradigm about the continuity of social systems, which is based on the system theory and can be seen as a general model of sustainable development. Our results show that the visual communication of the theatre reflects sustainable management principles. Hence, we can conclude that Tallinn City Theatre is an innovative, ethical and socially responsible theatre company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is generally regarded as a multidimensional concept. We meet the terms of sustainable development and sustainability in almost all spheres of life, in these days. Sustainable development could be evaluated in its main dimensions - economic, social and environmental dimension. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the management of sustainable development in the countries of the European Union using the selected sustainable and environmental indicator - Environmental Performance Index (EPI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the authors consider tourism as a geographical phenomenon, which can be evaluated and used in geographical perspective to understand the forms and functions of tourism resources along with the specifics of its demand. Tourism is one of the tools to achieve sustainable and balanced development of the region. The authors analyze the concept of "tourist space"" and "tourism industry", which resulted in the conclusion that, in essence, they have a very long and close connection with the local and spatial aspects and elements. The article discusses various approaches to the study of tourism sustainability, their relationship with spatial concepts. In order to introduce into use and to assess such complex concepts as sustainability or sustainable development, the article uses well-known structures, such as prism of sustainability. In particular, the indicators proposed by the United Nations (UN CSD), the World Tourism Organization were considered. The analysis allowed to define "stability of the system" as its ability to remain relatively unchanged (to keep its structure and functional features) within certain time frame despite external and internal disturbances. At the same time, one can distinguish three types of sustainability, related to spatial factors: 1) positional stability - relatively static notion and it reflects fixity of the elements of the system in a given area, it is connected with the existence of systems and their components; 2) structural stability - a concept that reflects the links (real and potential) between the elements of the system or different systems and has a static-dynamic nature; 3) functional stability defines the dynamics of systems, the actual existence of spatial interactions between elements of the system and other systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confectionary products are very appreciated by great majority of clients of all ages; the diversity of raw materials gives the possibility to innovate and to create new products according to the consumers' needs and desires. Also, the new confectionary products can take into consideration specific needs of some groups of peoples with different types of health problems. Our paper presents the results of a research focused on production and commercialization of Seabuckthorn Chocolate Pearls. These are a delicious product, recommended to any category of consumers. It has effect in combating tiredness, it is an anti-stress remedy, reducer of cholesterol and an excellent antioxidant. It is indicated during pregnancy and it lowers blood pressure. Seabuckthorn is known as nature's most balanced fruit. It contains over 190 biologically active compounds, more than 60 antioxidants, omega fatty acids in perfect balance, rich in macronutrients and micronutrients. Stevia sugar recommend for people with diabetes, hypo and hyperglycemia, it has no calories, a zero glycemic index, no artificial ingredients, and no effect on blood sugar. The innovation of this project is in the technological aspect of obtaining the product, the recipe we used being a new one, with getting a product not yet existing on the Romanian market. The preparation method of the product keeps the nutrients and the perfect taste. Sales packaging are made from recyclable cartons. The Business Plan assures the high quality of the product at competitive price, using natural ingredients that promote environmental and social sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the theoretical and applied research carried out in the Department of Architecture, Roma Tre University, for the upgrading of a historical working class neighborhood in Rome: Testaccio. The main objective is to face the discomfort, consequent to the heat island effect and heavy traffic, acting both on private and public spaces with environmentally sustainable strategies. The two main topics are: At urban level, the use of an Italian prescriptive tool: the "Environmental Island" for improving sustainability and liveability of Testaccio public spaces and streets. Strategies aimed at eliminating through traffic, at reducing local traffic flow and at taming its speed, at increasing permeable surfaces and "green and blue" features, at promoting sustainable transport modes help to increase besides accessibility and safety, comfort. They indeed reduce atmospheric, acoustic and visual pollution as well as overheating, making thus pedestrian and bike networks become attractive even to older and vulnerable people, otherwise threatened by health problems and stress. At block level, the upgrading of semi-public and private spaces by deep energy retrofit and use of bioclimatic solutions in order to improve buildings efficiency and thence to reduce their environmental impact on outdoor spaces. Strategies aimed at decreasing gas consumptions and emissions and at increasing evaporative cooling and green features help to control overheating and air pollution. The research was carried out by academic staff together with students of the Course "City & Environment", of the Master Degree in Urban Design (first topic) and with architects attending a post degree course in Eco-sustainable Design (second topic). At urban level, after in depth analyses and assessments, made using methods developed and tested in previous European research, applied also in other areas of Rome, maps were drawn showing were and how to act in order to solve problems detected both as experts and by residents. Connections were made among different aspects in order to study their interrelation with the aim to find solutions solving more problems at one time: traffic and activities in relation to air pollution and noise, to materials used on streets and façades, to green features, to the most used pedestrian paths etc. For the assessment specific thresholds were used with reference to laws, standards and recommendations. Congruent interventions were proposed focusing on innovative technological devices and natural materials. At block level, methodologies already tested in previous research were used both to make surveys and energy audits; objective parameters and requirements/expectations of the dwellers, participating to the design process, were analyzed in order to consider them in identifying the proposals. These concern terrace roofs, facades and courtyards, are environmentally conscious and of passive solar type; they focus indeed on the use of natural materials (green roofs and walls, permeable paving) and renewable energies (photovoltaic and geothermal). The final products were presented at various stages in public seminars to local administration and political staff as well as to dwellers associations and citizens, who appreciated the possibility of choosing among alternative proposals and their feasibility, in technical and economical terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sense, role and some types of crises in social and economic systems is shown in this paper. The comparative analysis of concept and a role of crisis in economic systems from the point of view of the standard economic theory (classical and Keynesian approaches, dynamic models, etc.) and concept of crises in social and economic systems from the point of view of the theory of self-organization are carried out. The difference of concepts of sustainability of system in the specified theories is also shown. Showing that in the existing economic theory crisis is considered as the undesirable phenomenon and, therefore, the primary method of work in this direction are attempts to prevent or suppress crisis. In the theory of self-organization crisis is considered necessary and an unavoidable stage of development of open system. Therefore some of the development trends of the social and economic policy should be: taking the necessity of crisis into account; preparation of the system to the crisis; moving social and economic processes into necessity direction during manifested crisis. The social and economic crises which became frequent recently convincingly testify to need to change of methodological approaches for the analysis of behavior of social and economic systems. New approaches have to consider not only the current stage of development of the system and consider it in dynamics, but also consider structure of the system, and also structure of the processes proceeding in it. The main results of presented research can be useful in further developments of researches in the field of the self-organizing systems, and also to development of some directions of social and economic policy of the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with a broader emphasis on sustainable environmental policy and for the fact, that security and safety of the citizens from disasters of natural and anthropogenic origin could not been done only through the classic concepts of population protection, but also through the protection of the Environment and its specific parts (atmosphere, water, biota, soil). On the basis of researches of this challenge and growing importance of environmental security all over the world, two Czech teams of experts (VSB-TUO & Akademie, o.p.s) worked within past 10 years on the preparation of the materials for the new and sustainable Czech Conception of environmental security. These materials were discussed with representatives of the Czech Ministry of the Environment several times every year. Partial ideas and visions were discussed on international workshops, multilateral meetings and conferences. As a result of this long term cooperation the brand new Conception of Environmental Security of the Czech Republic 2012-2015 (with outlook to the 2020, further referred as CES), was fully accepted by State Security Council of the Czech Republic on 18th June 2012 (including measurable goals for further actions, agenda and improvement). This conception serves in present time as important addition of another key Czech strategic document of non-legislative character - the Conception of Population Protection with outlook to the 2020 - 2030. Both conceptions setting the basis for following strategies and policies focused on disaster risk reduction, population and environment protection, risk governance, including necessary legislative changes over the region of Czech Republic, in compliance with European Commission requirements. Withing the topic, used methods, structure and further development of CES is briefly described. CES is divided into 2 main chapters according to risks of anthropogenic and natural origin (CBRN agents, disruptions in critical infrastructures, terrorism with serious impacts on the environment, major industrial accidents, floods, long-term inverse situation, prolonged drought, extreme meteorological phenomena, vegetation fires). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green innovations are now very often inflected term. The company is aware of the necessity of their implementation, customers are calling for greener products, and companies are trying to implement environmentally friendly activities. Enterprises uphold the principles of environmentally suitable behavior, some of them are trying to use these approaches in production, others in most of their activities. Concept of innovation raises in many of us the idea of technological inventions that are the result of long efforts, activities and research work of scientists. However, innovation can be the result of operations of any enterprise, which was implemented in order to succeed in the market. These innovations can be oriented to products or business processes, or procedures, as well as marketing practices. The area of innovation is developed quite extensive, whether in Slovakia or abroad. The reason is the need for innovation in today's industry, and in all spheres of human activity, as well as customer requirements. The cooperation between enterprises of different industries is important in developing eco-innovations and may produce new, interesting and creative solutions. The partnership between companies from different industries allows access to new knowledge and its transmission creates fertile ground for innovation. Green innovations can take different forms; the main idea is, however, according to most authors, positive change for the environment. This change, whether in terms of products, processes or different business processes is now sorely needed. The paper deals with the innovation process and the implementation of innovative projects that focusing on eco-innovative products should meet certain criteria specific to green products. Whether it is the innovation of products, services or methods or processes, there is a need for the inclusion of specific requirements in the form of environmental benefits but implementation must be profitable for the companies to undertake this eco-innovation. Various approaches of eco-innovative projects can yield different results. The research carried out in Slovakia showed us a positive approach of Slovak SMEs to green innovations but the results show a relatively small percentage of the implementation of these innovations, despite many efforts. The reasons are mostly financial, personnel, legislative or resulting from the factors of the external environment that in Slovakia negatively affect businesses. Innovation as a stimulus of current economy and positive change in our society is that the economy needs, but conditions for SMEs are not appropriate and sufficient in order the innovative processes to be implemented in necessary and sufficient way. Another barrier in the development and implementation of innovations or green innovations is the lack of cooperation of subjects such as scientific and research institutions, universities with the business sector. Contribution seeks to outline possible solutions to these problems, which would strengthen the implementation success of eco-innovation processes in Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tax evasion and tax avoidance distort competition, deform business environment and influence efficiency of taxation. The states may affect the size of shadow economy and thus the amount of tax evasion by their activity as well as by the harmonization of tax legislative at international level. The paper investigates a statistical dependence concerning the relationship of the shadow economy and tax evasion. It is estimated that more than three-quarters of total tax revenue loss in the EU accounts for tax evasion linked to the existence of the shadow economy. Increased use of electronic payments and limiting cash transactions could eliminate the size of shadow economy and amount of tax evasion. This fact confirms statistical dependence between the number of electronic transactions per capita and the size of the shadow economy. Intensifying fight against tax evasion and efficient tax collection are therefore the key factors to ensuring a long-term sustainability of public finances in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper tells about distinctive features, problems and prospects in the field of corporate social business responsibility in modern Russia. The structure of the system of measures of control actions of big business for sustainable socio - economic development of the regions cannot be the same as for the country as a whole and for each individual region. The participation of companies in the development of the regions should be strictly voluntary. Strategically minded management of large corporations builds its priorities in the interests of stability of getting high profits and, accordingly, socio - economic sustainability of the resources which it uses. All stages of the further research are own point of view of the author offered to discussion. Any remarks will be accepted with gratitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper suggests and tests the methodology for quantitative evaluation of sustainability of a regional socio-economic system development. More precise attention is paid to the role that ICT and innovation dynamic factors play in the process of regional development. The research hypothesis: there is a significant probability of the Russian regional economic systems' shift to the knowledge-based economy mode, that stands on several social development determinants, mainly human capital and innovation. The task of quantitative valuation of sustainability is proposed to be resolved using the calculation of generalized integral index entailing the following components: 1) economic relations; 2) social situation; 3) institutional environment; 4) potential for innovation. The index structure was adopted from UNDP HDI calculation frameworks. Basic indicators' selection procedure, subject to integration within the generalized sustainability index, employed internationally recognized practices and multifactor regression analysis techniques that allow to determine correlations between factors that influence HDI as well as to derive quantitative measures of their interrelation density. The methodology was applied to the Russian regions' sustainability valuation and key factors identification in terms of regional development in Russia. The analysis of sustainability indices indicates that the majority of Russian regions cannot be recognized as sustainable. Calculations prove the conclusion about low interrelation between innovation dynamics and economic development in Russia, thus indicating the misbalance between demand and supply-side factors of innovation in favor of the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent global community is facing cultural phenomenon where cognitively promising „information burst" transmutes into impeding „information glut"; this process mirrors, inter alia, in an adaptive paradigmatic shift as regards to cognition, education, problemsolvings. Earlier developed concept of an ecotechnology as a „frugal way of thinking" (mental dimension) represents itself a competitive cognitive choice which meets „fluid" conditions of contemporary postmodern world, and appeared to be an easy-to-use tool for ecosystem management, health care, business development, household, etc. projects in an informationally overloaded environment. Recent preliminary research applies ecotechnological approach to interpretate social consciousness of local community inhabitating remoted coastal area (Slitere National Park - SNP) located in Kurzeme (northwestern Latvia); a site which is challenging from sustainability point of view. Ecotechnological thinking manifests itself here through utilization of archetypal method for communication targeted social classification, through selecting key-persons as communication nodes to persuade the rest of community, especially close-minded so called „islanders'" subcommunity, through offering psychologically attractive ecotechnological recipies to solve managemental problems important for various target groups, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authors interpret a category of livability as a combination of social, economic and environmental resources and reserves, ensuring prospects of macroeconomic system sustainable development. Paper provides a number of aggregated indicators, which allow estimating the livability of macroeconomic system. On their basis classifications of analyzed set of objects are constructed, which allows to get qualitative conclusions on comparative livability estimations. Results of comparative estimation of livability of 15 countries' economies belonging to three groups according to level of socio-economic development - developed market economies, emerging market countries and underdeveloped countries are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present article is to assess the management efficiency of five Estonian ministries before and after moving to a common building using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The DEA method compares the output-to-input ratios of several decision-making units and determines whether one unit is more efficient or less efficient than other units. Additionally, Parsons’s AGIL paradigm about the continuity of social systems was used in our study. The AGIL paradigm states that for continuity or sustainability, there must be a balance between the performances of four dimensions: A – adaptations, G – goals, I- integration, and L – latency or values. In this case study, inputs and outputs for DEA are based on the financial reports of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education and Research, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Estonia in the timeframe between October 2016 to March 2018. First, the authors calculated for each ministry the economic costs per person and labour costs per person which were used as outputs for DEA. For determining the inputs, the authors interpreted several cost accounts as the phenomena of different capital forms. Next these capital forms were grouped into four groups of AGIL and in each group, the sum per person was calculated. This being the case, we had four inputs for DEA. The results of the study show that in all of these ministries, economic costs per person fell after moving to the joint building, which refers to effective management. We also found that in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the dimensions of AGIL were not in balance. The authors believe that this is the reason why DEA deemed this ministry less efficient than the other ministries. Hence, our study confirmed that there is a direct connection between efficiency and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1970s negative demographic and economic trends became a burden for fiscal systems of the “Golden age” welfare states. The neoliberal theory responded by cutting social rights, diminishing the scope of services provided by the state and strengthening the market. Values of uniformity and solidarity were replaced with efficiency and profit. Consequently, the sustainability of “pay-as-you-go” pension systems came into question. The measures towards capitalization and privatization differed. This arises both from diverse traditions of welfare state models as well as from different social policies` acceptance level as the basis of public authority legitimacy. Following the fall of the Socialist bloc, triumph of democracy was confused with triumph of neoliberal capitalism as reflected in the reforms of post-socialist countries while the World bank, inter alia, became a promoter towards capitalization and privatization of transition-states’ pension systems. Republic of Croatia eventually accepted multi-pillar system as the combination of public (pay-as-you-go – first pillar) and private (mandatory –second pillar, and optional – third pillar) system. However, the changes made since 1970s did not guarantee pension system sustainability. On the contrary, the importance of this question grows with demographic trends of the western democracies becoming more negative. These trends are caused by population ageing (as cumulation of low fertility rates and increase in life expectancy), migrations (both external and internal) and through the changes in family role and structure. From the perspective of expected retirement of the numerous “baby-boomer” generation,the adequacy of pension systems becomes the prime issue for contemporary welfare states. Fiscal stress caused by that development could be answered in several ways: by cutting social spending (including pensions), increasing contributions and/or taxes,or running a higher public debt. The selected fiscal policies will determine the nature and character of the contemporary welfare state concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ephemeral or temporary architecture is neither new nor marginal phenomenon in architectural history. In contrast to permanent structures, this tendency, which was being resented during modernist era, is focusing on structures that are defining time as its essential determining state, fundamental basis and key aspect of architecture – often considering it even more important than spatial and tangible aspect of such designs. In spite the fact that temporary architecture is being built only for a brief time scope it is still aspiring for changing our thinking about architecture. Temporary designs and elements are experimenting between architecture, art and urban furniture, testing architectural boundaries and offering a range of activities. Ephemeral architecture is becoming phenomenon spreading throughout our rather static city tissue, city centres or abandoned sites. Article is briefly looking at the history of ephemeral architecture – in a way of describing basis and stimulus that are leading this tendency today – describing architectural aspiration for permanence, its theoretical background. Article is looking at change in perceiving role of time in contemporary architectural practice and issues that are emerging whilst designing such structures. It is trying to find answer if these new tendencies are changing architectural practice and role of an architect in such cases. Is it weakening architectural profession and thus architecture itself? Or is it just bringing new challenges, impulses in the scope of variability, versatility and uncertainty? Is this the future of architectural practice or are we just creating fleeting memorials? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a long time the interest in environmentally friendly materials in architecture is no longer limited to the use of renewable and natural substances such as wood, stone, straw, or reusable materials, such as metals or glass. Today the so-called naturals and the materials compatible with the idea of sustainability constantly appear on the market in new forms. Increasing awareness of the necessity to limit the building sector's negative impact on the environment at all possible levels changed the way designers, architects and building engineers perceive the materials. Not only do they determine the characteristics of their products, but also try to define the way building materials should be obtained, produced, and delivered to the construction site, as well as utilized or recycled, and having the least negative impact on the environment [1]. The value of materials that can be reused or recycled is rapidly increasing at the same time, due to numerous EU directives on ecological product design principles and international building certification systems such as LEED, BREAM, and others. The dynamic development of materials engineering offers new, ultra-light, durable, great insulating or energy-generating products, aiming at the development of innovative material solutions that could meet the growing demands of investors. Additionally, the materials are environmentally friendly due to their durability and reduced raw material consumption. At the same time many of these materials solutions are inspired by organic patterns found in nature, though not necessarily made from naturals. The latest advances in environmental and human-friendly materials, potentially useful in architecture, construction and design are becoming increasingly easy to access. Due to interdisciplinary technology transfer and numerous material platforms, being kind of global networks in this area, their consulting centers or exhibitions dedicated to new trends in material design, such as "Noble Naturals" in Shanghai in 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]