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Against the backdrop of rising housing problems and protests, the comparative paper asks to what extent a paradigmatic shift in housing policies towards greater decommodification of housing has been initiated in Berlin and Vienna. Recent housing policies in both cities are discussed and evaluated with reference to the emerging debate about post-neoliberalism in housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the usage of the style notion 'classicism' as a general denominator in art at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries and emphasises the enlightening character of the period. Taking landscape painting as an example, the author examines Baltic art at the turn of the centuries. Baltic art's dilettante, true-to nature qualities, which valued local heritage and sights, perfectly correspond to the European idea of enlightenment, but do not quite reach the high definitions of classicism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writer and artist Carl Grass is a fascinating and exceptional creator in the Baltic cultural memory. His life and work was governed by a Sturm und Drang-style desire for genius. Grass recorded landscapes both in art and in poetry, progressing from sentimental nature sketches to organised ideal landscapes. The examples of Swiss artists made him one of the first cultivators of painting trips; his later Italian experiences enabled him to develop as a theoretician of landscape painting and a classicist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the positive psychology and growth mindset framework, this quantitative study showcases the impact of growth language mindsets (GLM) on feedbackseeking behavior (FSB), emphasizing the mediating role of second/foreign language (L2) grit. With a cross-sectional design, an L2 grit scale, GLM inventory and FSB scale were used to collect data from EFL students in Turkish state universities. SPSS, AMOS v.23, and PROCESS Macro were used for analyses. The results reveal that the variables were positively and significantly related. The participants had high levels of growth mindset, feedback-seeking behavior, and L2 grit. Moreover, L2 grit mediated the relationship between GLM and FSB. These results are consistent with similar studies and theoretical accounts in the literature, and can be used for inventing teaching strategies and materials to help students develop growth mindsets and grit, such as self-monitoring and peer tutoring.

Educators at all levels are paying attention to ever challenging demands of teaching across distance. One of the most debatable issues in this respect remains assessment. This paper aims to address some challenges of effective assessment of online learners. Some valuable insights will be provided with reference to summative and formative assessment. The article also introduces some important skills to be possessed by learners of the twenty-first century, supported by examples of online assessment activities that support such skills and correspond to the realities of online learning. Continuous reference will be made to students’ feedback as a way of assessment in and for learning. Throughout the article assessment is considered as an essential element to support the continuous evolution of online learning.

In den letzten Jahren ist im deutschsprachigen Raum ein verstärktes gesellschaftliches Interesse an räumlicher Planung und deren Mitgestaltung wahrnehmbar. Insbesondere die Diskussionen über konkrete Großprojekte, wie etwa den Berliner Flughafen oder Stuttgart 21, aber auch die Formierung neuer sozialer Bewegungen, wie etwa Recht‑auf‑Stadt‑Netzwerke in verschiedenen Städten, verdeutlichen dies. Parallel dazu wird in der deutschsprachigen und anglo‑amerikanischen Planungstheorie die Konflikthaftigkeit von Planungsprozessen wieder zunehmend in den Fokus genommen. Dieses erneute Interesse am Konflikt hebt sich ab von Debatten, die über viele Jahre zu konsensualen Ansätzen der Zusammenarbeit der Politik mit anderen Akteursgruppen geführt wurden, beispielsweise im Kontext der Governance‑Forschung. Mit der kommunikativen Planungstheorie hat sich seit den späten 1980er Jahren passend dazu das Ideal einer weitgehend auf Vermittlung abzielenden Planungspraxis verfestigt. Demgegenüber mehren sich nun jedoch zunehmend Denkansätze wie das neue Theorieangebot des Agonismus (vgl. u. a. Roskamm 2015 a, b), der Planung (wieder) als einen politischen Aushandlungsprozess zu fassen versucht, in dem Konflikte nicht konsensual lösbar sind. Der vorliegende Themenschwerpunkt greift solche Überlegungen auf und möchte verschiedene Perspektiven auf Planung als politische (Alltags‑)Praxis diskutieren. [...]

Increasing fiscal pressure has forced local governments to seek new sources of autonomous revenues for financing public services. Charging users of social services has been modest, but with an aging society and growing social costs, this option needs to be reconsidered. This paper combines the results of the survey on the application of user charges on local social services in Estonian local governments (LGs) with the official financial and population statistics in order to discover trends and explore factors determining the application of user charges in a small, unitary, highly centralised, post-soviet country. We conclude that user charges are mainly considered as a source of information and additional income to partially cover service costs – the possibilities of increased efficiency and demand control have remained undervalued. The probability of charging users of social services tends to be greater if the income level of inhabitants is higher, reflecting the ‘ability to pay’ principle. Charging users is more probable in the municipalities where the social costs are higher in volume or in proportion to the budget’s expenditures.

In a regionally heterogeneous country like Estonia, it is a difficult task to create a local government revenue structure that guarantees even supply of public services across the entire country and, at the same time, revenue autonomy for the municipalities. In the theoretical part of the current article the suitability of different sources of own revenues are analysed in the context of Estonian municipalities. The empirical part of the article compares the financing principles of Estonian municipalities with other EU countries. Finally, the proportions of different own sources of revenues in the budgets of Estonian local governments are examined and suggestions are made for changing the current system