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The present study of three generations' families living together during a period of marked economic dislocation investigates whether supportive grandparents can ameliorate the negative effects of economic stress on parenting and on teen outcomes. The study focuses on harsh parenting and adolescent depression, which has been shown to be especially responsive to economic stress. Three hypotheses were investigated: (1) in extended families there is a link between economic adversity and adolescent depression that is mediated by harsh parenting; (2) grandparent support diminishes the relationship between economic pressure and harsh parenting; and (3) grandparent support diminishes the relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent depression. Data were collected from a community sample of 62 extended families with an adolescent during a period of marked economic dislocation in Bulgaria. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents completed questionnaires about perceived economic pressure, parents' harsh parenting, and perceived support of grandparents. Adolescents also completed a measure of self-reported depression. Additional interviews were conducted with every eligible family member about family relations. Results showed that even though there was significant economic stress reported by parents, adolescents reported moderate levels of depression and low levels of harsh parenting by mothers and fathers. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that whenever respondents experienced support by grandparents, it made a difference for family members. More specifically, despite economic stress, mothers who experienced the support of grandparents tended to exercise less harsh parenting practices than mothers who lacked such support. Furthermore, when grandparents were supportive, harsh parenting was not associated with adolescent depression. These findings are discussed in the light of existing studies of families under economic pressure with a special focus on extended family relations and the role of cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the investment flows from Greek to Bulgarian regions against the context of COVID-19. Employing a mixed research method, it investigates the initial impact of COVID-19 on regional FDI flows from Greece to Bulgaria and intends to explore to which extent the pandemic acts as an impediment to firm relocation, by examining regional investment flows from 2013 to 2020. The effects of the COVID-19 macroeconomic shock are placed in the context of the existing conditions shaped by the 2008 global economic crisis. The paper also attempts to provide a critical insight of factors underlying investment flows. The results indicate that there was a limited investment halt but no disinvestment from the Greek to Bulgarian regions in the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak. Low and stable taxation, cheap labour and efficient regulatory regime attract Greek investments in Bulgaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the example of Bulgarians who studied abroad, this paper explores the motives and practices of graduates regarding socially innovative knowledge transfer in order to deliver social benefits for the local community. The paper shows how both stayers and returnees act within a transnational social space, which develops and deepens during and after student mobility. Engaging in socially innovative knowledge transfer is motivated by altruistic stances, by a feeling of loyalty towards the home country and by the desire to lead a meaningful life. The effectiveness of knowledge transfer is related to framing conditions such as local knowledge and the existence of social networks, notably transnational social networks. The results show that the mobility of highly qualified young adults from and to Bulgaria aligns with major European mobility regimes, with an increase of circulatory mobility processes and thus an increase of circulating knowledge and social innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel approach to evaluate European countries on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by means of Hierarchical Stochastic Multicriteria Acceptability Analysis (HSMAA). HSMAA produces rankings with Monte Carlo generation of weights, overcoming the need to choose one specific set of weights. The main contribution of this paper lies in the possibility of quantifying the probability by which each country receives a given ranking. Furthermore, HSMAA allows to take into account the hierarchical nature of SDG measurement given that each of the 17 Goals also consists of several indicators. Our results show that Denmark outperforms other European countries, while lower levels of performance are observed in Romania and Bulgaria. In between bottom and top performers, we also find that many countries' rankings vary widely by the chosen set of weights, exemplifying the need to rank countries based on multiple weightings and to quantify the probabilities of each ranking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses unique household survey data to investigate the expected effects of a switch from a fixed exchange rate regime to a floating exchange rate regime in Bulgaria during the global financial crisis. The data show that the public associated such a switch with a contraction of output, higher prices, a decline in exports, and an overall deterioration of economic welfare. These expectations fuelled a strong opposition to removing the fixed exchange rate. Thus, the survey data allow us to investigate why a switch from a fixed exchange rate to a floating exchange rate did not take place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the evasion of social security contributions and its relationship with individual characteristics such as subjective survival expectations and perceptions on the link between contributions and benefits. In the theoretical framework, a representative worker maximizes expected intertemporal utility by choosing the optimal fraction of evaded contributions. The model predicts that under the assumption of liquidity constraints evasion may be optimal even when it has negative implications on the budget constraint, because it provides a way of weakening the liquidity constraint. In particular, evasion is decreasing in the individual's survival probability and in the Bismarckian factor characterizing the pension system. Results from the empirical analysis, carried out using data from a pilot survey in Bulgaria, show that the evasion of social security contributions is less likely among individuals with higher subjective survival probabilities and who perceive a strong link between contributions and pension benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By drawing upon the research carried out with low-paid Bulgarian migrants in London during the peak of the economic downturn, this paper highlights the multi-faceted economic and social impacts of the recession on Bulgarian migrant men and women and identifies the strategies that they devised in order to cope with the downturn. The paper concludes by considering the key policy implications of the economic downturn on migration. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this paper are: first, to briefly review the different theoretical aspects of brain drain and its potential positive or negative, direct or indirect effects on the economy of the home country; second, to highlight the limited empirical research on some of these issues; and third, to discuss on this grounding the empirical evidence on the nature and size of brain drain, as well as its impact on the economies of Albania and Bulgaria. As it appears, the evidence for these two countries and its evaluation as to whether brain drain has been or can be a threat to their development is contradictory and confusing, as it comes out from different casual observations without a convincing analysis. The relevant discussion has not escaped the stereotype way of thinking that the economy and society of these two countries would have been better had emigration of educated persons not taken place, or had those who migrated just returned. The conclusion on policy for brain drain and brain return is that merely hindering the emigration of educated people or trying to motivate their return cannot by itself elevate education and research to higher quality levels and promote development and growth. Without simultaneously developing a friendly and comprehensive institutional and pragmatic framework, such measures are often ineffective or even counterproductive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fallow deer (Dama dama Linnaeus, 1758) has a long history of interaction with prehistoric humans. Beginning in the Neolithic, humans introduced fallow deer to several areas of the eastern Mediterranean and mainland Europe, with later additional importing happening in the Bronze and Iron Ages. However, in some parts of southeastern Europe, autochthonous populations of extant fallow deer may have survived through the end of the Pleistocene and into the early Holocene, making them available for exploitation by Neolithic and Chalcolithic communities. Climatic and vegetational regimes favourable to fallow deer covered nearly all of Bulgaria during this period; yet, the heavy use of the species by human communities was restricted to a very small area around southeastern Bulgaria. Eventually, climate deterioration, habitat change and overhunting led to the decline of fallow deer in later prehistory in Bulgaria. This paper offers a discussion of the environmental and cultural background of human‐fallow deer interactions from the sixth to fourth millennium BCE in Bulgaria. Using bivariate scatterplots and log ratio techniques, we demonstrate that Neolithic and Chalcolithic communities exploited a large extant fallow‐deer population, appearing to target both males and females equally. Our results are the first step in a larger archaeological investigation of human‐fallow deer relations that unfolded over several millennia, touching upon issues of settlement, migration and perhaps even taming or domestication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East European societies currently in transition to market economies are creating new structures for industrial relations. Transition has ambiguous effects upon the relations between industrial relations institutions and the state. On the other hand, economic pluralism implies separation between state and economy and 'depoliticization'. On the other, economic crises and threats to social order require co-operation between state and unions. The influence of the state is greater because of the embryonic form of employer organization and enterprise-level management. This paper examines the political and economic contexts of industrial relations in Bulgaria, as an example of one type of 'constrained' collective bargaining system. The paper emphasizes continuities between the communist and post-communist period, and the central role of trade unions in the transition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces the reception of the architectural style known as ' Mafia Baroque' within the professions of architecture and urban planning in Bulgaria. The debate within these professions was strongly linked to the general decline of power among former intellectual elites and the specific decline of architects and planners, who were sidelined as arbiters of 'good taste' and disempowered as regulators of urban growth. The reaction to this style also highlights the rise in public concern over corruption and organized crime and dissatisfaction with post-socialist urbanization. This paper chronicles the extent of changes in construction and regulation in Bulgaria during the 1990s and argues that planners and architects were challenged not only by their professional marginalization but also by a deeper embarrassment over cultural change. It then relates this debate to broader post-socialist anxieties over insufficient regulation of urbanization and fear of failing to meet Western European goals for economic and political change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinisation is one of the major soil degradation problems for Southern European countries and global warming is expected to increase the threat of secondary salinisation. This paper investigates salinisation in the village of Belozem, Bulgaria. The central argument is that the technical solutions and policy measures need to be backed up by appropriate institutional settings. This paper focuses on the natural and institutional factors involved. Further, it examines the causes driving the current salinisation process in this village. It is based on data collected by means of interviews with local people, and analysis of the existing farming practices and policy. The paper concludes that the new institutional settings do not support the technical decisions implemented in the past, and the implementation of possible new technical measures. The findings of this paper could provide lessons for land conservation policy that may apply beyond the case study region. The implementations of technical solutions need to be supported by appropriate institutions. The formal legislation and the incentive measures might not have the desired impact if cooperation among all participants is not sufficient or if farmers are discouraged from applying because of difficult application procedures. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the invisibility of the post-1990s irregular migration flows from Bulgaria to Turkey in the literature despite the increasingly significant number of such migrants. I suggest that this invisibility stems partially from a problem of classification that has to do with implicit suppositions about ethnicity and migration. The post-1990s Turkish immigrants from Bulgaria are not specified in accounts of irregular migrant flows directed towards Turkey since they are assumed to belong to the category of ethnic “return” migrants: Because of their ethnic identity as Turkish, all Turkish migrants from Bulgaria tend to get considered as part of the intermittent “return” migration waves from Bulgaria, the most notable and well-known of these being the fight of more than 300,000 Turks in 1989. However, while the ethnic affiliation of the post-1990s migrants from Bulgaria renders them invisible as irregular migrants within scholarly migrant typologies, the same ethnic affiliation does not necessarily work to their advantage when it comes to their legal and social reception in Turkey. Based on ethnographic fieldwork that prioritizes micro-level analysis from below, the paper demonstrates that the self designated ethnic affiliation of these migrants, counterpoised against their social marginalization as “the Bulgarian” domestics, heightens the paradoxes of belonging and affects migration strategies. The paper thus underscores the significance of ethnic affiliation as a factor that needs to be adequately taken into account in describing the present and in assessing the future of this particular migratory pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Health Care System in Bulgaria is in a period of transition and is undergoing profound changes in financing, organization and ownership. A priority of this reform is to shift the focus of healthcare to the primary sector and to emphasize general practice. New legislation in support of this health care reform has been passed over the last few years. However, this legislation, although consistent with the global aims to be achieved, has proven to be contradictory in terms of its practical implementation. This has had a negative impact on health care consumers’ interests and rights. This paper evaluates the effects of primary health care reform in Bulgaria from the perspective of patient satisfaction. For this purpose, a major task to be fulfilled is to identify the contradictions emerging between the legislation outlining the reforms and the realities of practical implementation with respect to its impact on consumers. The methods applied include: a review of the legislation, a review of the practical progression of the reform process, and an assessment of the new developments in health care consumers’ interests and rights. Considerable contradictions have been found between the legal framework of health care reform in primary care and existing experiences, traditions and expectations. The legislation is inconsistent with the existing realities of healthcare provision. This is leading to turmoil in the health care system during its present transformation and is infringing upon consumers’ rights. Problems emerging in the process of reform need to be identified, and solutions need to be found and worked out as the reforms progress. An assessment system has to be developed to monitor the overall reform process and to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the changes introduced. The impact on consumer and patient satisfaction should be an area of prime concern during these assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how temporally differentiated representations of ingroup victimhood and acknowledgment of outgroup suffering relate to present intergroup attitudes. A mixed-methods research was conducted in Bulgaria where both the ethnic majority and the Bulgarian Turkish minority can be viewed as victims and perpetrators in the past. Multigroup path models (Study 1) revealed that for the majority ( N = 192) collective victimhood was positively related to social distance through reduced forgiveness and through reduced collective guilt for a different historical era. Acknowledgment of outgroup suffering, in turn, was associated with reduced social distance through heightened guilt and through forgiveness for another era. Among the Bulgarian Turks ( N = 160), the result pattern differed. Collective victimhood was unrelated to forgiveness. Moreover, the relationship between guilt and social distance was positive. Semi-directive interviews (Study 2) revealed different meanings attributed to the events by the two groups. The impact of intertwined historical representations on current-day prejudice is discussed in light of power asymmetry between groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TAYLOR G., PAPADOPOULOS I., DUDAU V., MAERTEN M., PELTEGOVA A. & ZIEGLER M. (2011) Intercultural education of nurses and health professionals in Europe (IENE). International Nursing Review, 188-195 This paper presents the results of a needs analysis carried out during a 2-year European Union-funded project titled 'Intercultural education of nurses and health professionals in Europe'. The study aimed to explore the perceived learning and teaching needs of students and practitioners of health-care professions in relation to preparation for working in another European country and/or in a multicultural environment. The participating countries were: Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Romania and the UK. Questionnaires, consisting of open questions, were completed by a total of 118 participants. Data analysis adopted both a priori and inductive approaches. The predetermined constructs of cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural sensitivity and cultural competence were used to structure suggestions for theoretical input and practical activities and experiences. Inductive analysis revealed other emergent themes that underpin all four of these constructs. Practical experiences form a fundamental part of preparation for labour mobility and/or for practice within a multicultural environment. However, health-care practitioners need to be adequately prepared for such experiences and value the opportunity to learn about culture, to explore values and beliefs, and to practise intercultural skills within the safe environment of an educational establishment, facilitated by skilled teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I examine some of the social effects that Bulgaria's EU membership has for Macedonia and the meanings that identification documents have for ethnic Macedonians who instrumentalize Bulgarian claims on their Macedonian identity for their own ends. I argue that the case study of Macedonia helps us view identification documents as objects that neither necessarily fix nationality nor are ineluctable guarantees of belonging to the (Bulgarian) nation-state, and understand state documentation practices as practices that do not always produce determined identities and citizen-subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a critical political ecology of human–forest interactions in a Bulgarian locality. Based on primary fieldwork carried out annually since 1992, the argument is advanced that even in a relatively small space, environment–society relationships are sufficiently complex to make the enterprises of empirical analysis and theory-building quite challenging. Yet, as this case study of informal resource use practices shows, it is precisely because environment–society relationships are so intertwined that a ‘symmetrical’ treatment of humans and non-human actors is required; one that takes us well beyond the traditional political ecology of Blaikie or Black, but which, I shall argue, does not escape it entirely. Through a detailed ethnographic account of herb and mushroom collecting I develop the idea of ‘symmetry’ in three distinct ways. First I will explore the by now well-publicised notion that non-humans can be actors too. Second this basic insight will be developed via the more advanced conceptualisation of entities such as Thrift's ‘effloresences’ or expressions of ‘distributed’ information spaces and applied to the case study of herb and mushroom collection in a southwestern Bulgarian locality. Finally I consider the theoretical and practical policy implications of this analysis for all concerned, but most particularly those who claim to ‘manage’ and ‘regulate’ human–forest interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is widely accepted that financial development is associated with higher growth, the evidence on the channels through which credit affects growth at the microeconomic level is scant. Using data from a cross-section of Bulgarian firms, we estimate the impact of access to credit, as proxied by indicators of whether firms have access to a credit line or overdraft facility, on productivity. To overcome potential omitted variable bias of Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimates, we use information on firms’ past growth to instrument for access to credit. We find credit to be positively and strongly associated with TFP. These results are robust to a wide range of robustness checks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiscal decentralization programs are works in progress, and expenditure roles often need to be adjusted to improve service delivery. The Balkan countries of Romania and Bulgaria, both needed for accession to the European Union in 2007, must demonstrate positive results from their fiscal decentralization programs in the social services area. Focusing on social service delivery, this paper explores how the design of fiscal decentralization programs, in the form of assigning intergovernmental expenditure roles and responsibilities, affects service performance. The authors conclude that fiscal decentralization requires the proper assignment of authority to match expenditure responsibilities and the policy and administrative capacity to carry them out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a brief overview and history of archaeometric research using instrumental neutron activation analysis at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Sofia. The archaeometric projects are listed and some of the results obtained in the investigations of glass, pottery and metals are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a representative sample of medium and large firms, this paper explores the process of employment and wage bill determination in the Bulgarian manufacturing sector. The results suggest that, during 1997–2001, the labour market behaviour of these firms was consistent with weakly efficient contracting and employment elasticity with respect to both sales and wages similar to that of the fastest-reforming Central and Eastern Europe economies. Although a case study using data on sell-off deals by the Privatization Agency suggests that the largest firms selected for cash privatization may have exhibited higher preference for wage enhancement than employment protection, the results do not bring into question the efficient performance of the post-crisis labour market in Bulgaria. Importantly, the study rejects the hypothesis that either persistent government stakes or mass privatization may have led to efficiency deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the arguments used in public documents to mobilise Bulgarians against the deportation of Jews in World War II. We focus on the key documents relating to the first wave of mobilisation in 1940-1941 as provided by Todorov in The Fragility of Goodness (2001). We demonstrate that these documents are based on three types of argument. The first, category inclusion, treats the Jews as part of a common in group rather than as constituting a separate outgroup. The second, category norms, proposes that help for those under attack is a core aspect of in group identity. The third, category interest, suggests that the in group will be harmed if Jews are persecuted. In each case, the predominant category on which arguments are based is national identity (i.e. 'we Bulgarians... '). This analysis is used to validate and extend a social identity of model of helping. The theoretical and practical implications of such an approach are con side red in the discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the interrelationship between disability and labour force participation for the adult population in Bulgaria. We estimate simultaneous equation models with discrete endogenous variables to account for the different forms of interdependence between health and labour supply. Using the Bulgarian Integrated Household Surveys conducted in 1995, 1997 and 2001, our econometric results indicate that disability exerts a negative effect on labour participation, but labour supply has little effect on disability. Evidence from panel data also suggests that disability reduces labour force participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments of countries undergoing a post-communist transition face the dilemma of balancing conflicting demands for greater economic efficiency (to achieve a successful transition to a market system) with demands for enhanced social protection (to legitimize regime change through a visible improvement in living standards which includes vulnerable groups). This paper analyses the transition in Bulgaria and Romania. Unlike other European countries, these countries did not embark on retrenchment policies until the mid- to late 1990s, so convergence with policies of spending constraint elsewhere in Europe was belated and partial. The social problems created by strict economic policies, exacerbated by a determination to reorganize the post-communist welfare states along the lines promoted by international organizations, are now being recognized. Post-communist governments in South-eastern Europe have belatedly started to address the social aspects of transition to democracy and the market. This probably reflects the process of regime change in Bulgaria and Romania, which has been characterized as a “two-step transition to democracy”, with liberal governments only succeeding transformed communist elites in power after a protracted transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the notions of divine kingship, formulated in the Bulgar title KANAΣYBIΓI. The author considers that ΣYBIΓI is the second part of the title and that it can be translated as ‘(ruler) from God’, from the Indo-European *su-and baga-, i.e. *su-baga, connected with notions such as ‘shining’, ‘glimmering’ etc., which were signs of the supreme celestial god. The Bulgars used the Byzantine formula ‘ho ek Theou archon’ as a translation of their original title KANAΣYBIΓI, thus emphasizing the idea of God's approval of the sovereign. This was a typical strategy for the kings in early medieval Europe, both Christians and pagans. Probably the use of KANAΣYBIΓI (AD 822–36) has to be connected with the processes of centralization of power in Bulgaria during the first three decades of the ninth century and with the influence of the two mightiest states of that time in Europe, Byzantium and the Frankish Empire, and most of all with the Bulgar aims to equal and oppose the Rhomaioi (Byzantines) and their political ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South‐Eastern Europe only recently was required to adapt their domestic law to adhere to European Union legislations and standards. As such, it forms an excellent case study on how and to what extent the 'Europeanisation' process is interacting with the development of special education needs (SEN) policy, particularly focusing on autistic children. This scoping review mapped autism and special education policies of Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia and investigated how Europeanisation interacted with autism and educational policy through a path dependence analysis. Our research shows that education for children with special needs started with segregation during communist time. EU accession since then has influenced disability policies and contributed to establishing inclusive education for all students. One particular Romanian policy resulted in children with special needs not having to compete with typical children for school submission. Ultimately, the majority of policies addressed special education needs in general. Only Romania adopted specific autism policy. Inclusive education is being developed in all countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consolidated democracies involve structured linkages between citizens and political decision making elites that are typically organized via political parties. Given the economic and institutional instability and uncertainty in post-communist emerging democracies, it has often been maintained that a structuring of party systems in such countries is slow to emerge. This paper demonstrates with data from a 1991 pre-election study in Bulgaria that significant aspects of political structuring may in fact appear in post-communist polities quite early. The structuring is based on citizens' individual resources which they expect to convert into economic benefits in the economic market economy, their market location in occupational terms, their general ideological dispositions, and their evaluation of the economic performance of the incumbent governments. While the structuring of party systems may still be weaker than in Western Europe, the Bulgarian evidence casts doubt on the tabula rasa hypothesis in the study of post- communist politics. Of course, further comparative analysis of post-communist democracies is required to buttress our conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ITELS is an intelligent system for foreign language terminology learning. It is aimed not only at assisting language learning focused on specific terminology but also at enhancing learner's conceptual knowledge in the subject area. The system could be tuned to aid learning in different terminological areas and supports three styles of tutoring: system-initiated, collaborative, and learner-initiated. Three agents take part in the instructional process supported by ITELS: the human teacher, the system, and the learner. Each of them is an active agent characterised by a set of specific roles with respect to the system functioning. In this paper we describe ITELS with emphasis on the roles of these agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advanced snakes (Alethinophidia) include the extant snakes with a highly evolved head morphology providing increased gape and jaw flexibility. Along with other physiological and morphological adaptations, this allows them to immobilize, ingest, and transport prey that may be disproportionately large or presents danger to the predator from bites, teeth, horns, or spines. Reported incidents of snakes failing to consume prey and being injured or killed during feeding mostly reflect information in the form of natural‐history notes. Here we provide the first extensive review of such incidents, including 101 publications describing at least 143 cases of mortality (including six of 'multiple individuals') caused by ingestion or attempted consumption of injurious prey. We also report on 15 previously unpublished injurious feeding incidents from the USA, Austria, and Bulgaria, including mortality of five juvenile piscivorous dice snakes (Natrix tessellata) from a single location. Occurrences are spread across taxa, with mortality documented for at least 73 species from eight families and 45 genera. Incidents were generally well represented within each of three major categories: oversized prey (40.6%), potentially harmful prey (40.6%), and predator's behavioural/mechanical errors (18.9%). Reptile (33%) and fish (26%) prey caused disproportionately high mortality compared to mammals (16%). Feeding can be dangerous throughout a snake's life, with the later stages of feeding likely being more perilous. The number of reports has increased over time, and the data seem biased towards localities with a higher number of field‐working herpetologists. We propose a standardized framework, comprising a set of basic information that should ideally be collected and published, and which could be useful as a template for future data collection, reporting, and analyses. We conclude that incidents of mortality during feeding are likely to be more common than previously assumed, and this hypothesis has implications for the ecology of persistence where populations are impacted by changing trophic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Bulgaria the share of secondary production in GDP remained constantly low between c. 1870–1910. To explain the country's exceptionally weak growth, we use endogenous and unified growth theory. Gerschenkron and Palairet blame a self‐sufficiency‐oriented peasant economy for rising labour and raw material costs in industry, which destroyed the competitiveness of Bulgarian manufacturing and prevented industrialisation. We refute the existence of any long‐lasting cost increases in industry after 1878. Quite the opposite was true: the expansion of Bulgaria's secondary sector was restricted by detrimental changes on the demand side, for which peasants were not responsible. Recent research claims that, around 1910, Bulgarian textile production was significantly lower than in 1870. Our study brings to light new data and information that clearly disproves this view. Until around 1910, a booming modern manufacturing sector more than replaced the country's proto‐industries' textile outputs, which had plummeted dramatically during the early years of the newly founded Bulgarian state. However, as the rise of modern manufacturing in textile production coincided with the decline of the entire large sector of traditional manufacturing, secondary production as a whole stagnated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report an efficient and short total synthesis of bulgarein (1), a natural compound from Bulgaria inquinans with cytotoxic activity. Key steps in the total synthesis are a Suzuki‐Miyaura coupling reaction of two substituted naphthalene derivates followed by a polyphosphoric acid (PPA) mediated condensation reaction to form the benzo[j]fluoranthene skeleton. Bulgarein (1) was achieved over 4 steps with an overall yield of 25 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines identity politics in Turkey through migrations from the Balkans in the early years of Cold War. Despite secularisation reforms in the 1920s and 1930s, Muslim identity remained a central component in the formation of Turkish nationhood. In the wake of WW II, Turkey chose to be a part of Western world whereas her two regional neighbours, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, remained in the Socialist bloc. Nearly 500,000 Turks, Bosnians, Albanians and Pomaks in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria were either forced, or "encouraged," to leave their lands after 1950. Despite ideological barriers and ethnic differences, Turkey welcomed these migrants to the country. Official records, recently available biographies and oral sources shed light on the discourses of identity politics through this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ibrexafungerp versus placebo for acute vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) treatment. Design: Global phase 3, randomised, placebo‐controlled superiority study. Setting: Study sites in the USA (n = 19) and Bulgaria (n = 18). Population: Female patients aged ≥12 years with acute VVC and a vulvovaginal signs and symptoms (VSS) score ≥4 at baseline. Methods: Patients were randomly assigned 2:1 to ibrexafungerp (300 mg twice for 1 day) or placebo. Main outcome measures: The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients with a clinical cure (VSS = 0) at the test‐of‐cure visit (day 11 ± 3). Secondary endpoints included percentages of patients with mycological eradication, clinical cure and mycological eradication (overall success), clinical improvement (VSS ≤1) at test‐of‐cure visit, and complete resolution of symptoms at follow‐up visit (day 25 ± 4). Results: At the test‐of‐cure visit, patients receiving ibrexafungerp had significantly higher rates of clinical cure (63.3% [119/188] versus 44.0% [37/84]; P = 0.007), mycological eradication (58.5% [110/188] versus 29.8% [25/84]; P < 0.001), overall success (46.1% [82/188] versus 28.4% [23/84]; P = 0.022) and clinical improvement (72.3% [136/188] versus 54.8% [46/84]; P = 0.01) versus those receiving placebo. Symptom resolution was sustained and further increased with ibrexafungerp (73.9%) versus placebo (52.4%) at follow‐up (P = 0.001). Ibrexafungerp was generally well tolerated. Adverse events were primarily gastrointestinal and were mild to moderate in severity. Conclusions: Ibrexafungerp demonstrated statistical superiority over placebo for the primary and secondary endpoints. Ibrexafungerp is a promising novel, well‐tolerated and effective oral 1‐day treatment for acute VVC. Ibrexafungerp is statistically superior to placebo for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis. Ibrexafungerp is statistically superior to placebo for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis. Linked article This article is commented on by KSJ Olah, p. 421–422 in this issue. To view this mini commentary visit https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.17000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper uses firm-level data to assess the horizontal impact of foreign firm ownership on domestic productivity in Bulgaria. We identify a theoretical tradeoff between technological distance (of domestic versus foreign firms) and internalization capacity (of spillovers) and examine the extent to which this is reflected in the impact on the domestic economy of different types and origins of FDI. Emphasis is placed upon the effects of Greek FDI, which is known to be of a distinctively 'regional' character. We find that Greek FDI produces significantly larger positive spillovers, which appear more suitable for the Bulgarian context of transition and economic restructuring. We also unveil some notable 'hysteresis' and 'technology bias' effects for FDI spillovers of all origins, as well as some country-specific ownership-structure and threshold effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this paper are: first, to briefly review the different theoretical aspects of brain drain and its potential positive or negative, direct or indirect effects on the economy of the home country; second, to highlight the limited empirical research on some of these issues; and third, to discuss on this grounding the empirical evidence on the nature and size of brain drain, as well as its impact on the economies of Albania and Bulgaria. As it appears, the evidence for these two countries and its evaluation as to whether brain drain has been or can be a threat to their development is contradictory and confusing, as it comes out from different casual observations without a convincing analysis. The relevant discussion has not escaped the stereotype way of thinking that the economy and society of these two countries would have been better had emigration of educated persons not taken place, or had those who migrated just returned. The conclusion on policy for brain drain and brain return is that merely hindering the emigration of educated people or trying to motivate their return cannot by itself elevate education and research to higher quality levels and promote development and growth. Without simultaneously developing a friendly and comprehensive institutional and pragmatic framework, such measures are often ineffective or even counterproductive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The University of Sofia, Bulgaria, disseminates local biomedical literature (1994 to present) through a free online database, ABS. Objectives: Our objectives were to systematically search ABS, identify citations to controlled trials and discover what proportion of these studies are to be found onmedline. Methods: We searched using Bulgarian and English phrases; manually selected citations of controlled trials and sought these citations onmedline. Results: Using the two languages, we found a total of 628 unique citations, 47 of which seem to be relevant controlled trials (precision 7.48%, 13% of ABS citations were found onmedline). The trials in ABS commonly focused on evaluation of care for people with cardiovascular or urological problems. Discussion: ABS is another source of easily accessed trials not readily available elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines economic and environmental implications of the restitution of forest property in Bulgaria. Comparison of restitution between the forest property and agricultural land; Details on the historical development of the forestry sector; Effects of forest restructuring on the environment and localities.

The Balkan Peninsula represents one of the most important human pathways into and out of Europe during the Pleistocene. Mishin Kamik cave, located in the karst region of Western Stara Planina, has a rich faunal content and shows promising features indicating a human occupation site with the discovery of potential bone artefacts and an intriguing accumulation of bear skulls and bones. Petrographic study and U‐series dating of a stalagmite and other calcite deposits in the cave provide an absolute chronological frame for the detrital infillings and their archaeological content and inform the environmental and climatic context of the cave evolution. Most detrital deposits in the cave were probably deposited before Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 and the cave morphology and sedimentary deposits display current morphologies since ~135 ka. Consequently, the palaeontological and archaeological findings are older than ~135 ka. Calcite dated on and under the accumulation of bear skulls and bones suggests deposition during MIS 7. A first depositional contextualization of the bone accumulation does not allow us to discriminate between a natural or anthropogenic origin. The study emphasizes the added value of speleothem studies in archaeological sites and particularly in bringing a well‐constrained chronological and environmental framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article develops the notion of restless bodies to explore the interaction between regimes of social reproduction and freedom of movement. The notion captures the methodological difficulty to account for 'return migration' and goes beyond the isolation of a singular migration determinant. The author relies on two empirical cases. The first draws on one hundred interviews with 'return migrants' in Bulgaria. The second is based on fieldwork conducted between 2013 and 2015 in Germany. Both show how the political economy of movement is characterised by a contradiction between fixity and motion in the context of capital accumulation and fading welfare state. The concerns at hand are raised both because of their methodological importance but also as a potential instrument that could supplement ongoing policy debates in the field of EU social security portability coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The broadly understood Taraxacum sect. Palustria was examined and found heterogeneous on the basis of a new ample material from the Balkan Peninsula. A group of eighteen species was recognized, characterized by achenes usually densely spinulose and abruptly to subabruptly narrowing in the cone, appressed or loosely appressed outer phyllaries numerous, often imbricate or subimbricate, with an evenly deep to dark olivaceous‐green abaxial surface and a conspicuous, very narrow whitish border, polliniferous anthers and triploidy. The relatively clear‐cut group is described as a new section, Taraxacum sect. Austropaludosa. Members of the new section are distributed in central and eastern Balkan Peninsula, Turkey, southernmost Ukraine, one species reaches Iran and Iraq; only a single species occupies a Central European geographical range. Two new species are described, T. (Austropaludosa) favorabile from Bulgaria and North Macedonia, characterized by a broadly winged petiole, outer phyllaries appressed to loosely appressed ovate‐lanceolate, dark olivaceous‐green, with a distinct but very narrow whitish border, and T. (Palustria) siticulosum from Bulgaria, a species allied to T. scaturiginosum and T. lilianae, distinct in having very numerous outer phyllaries, often distally erect‐arcuate, almost entire leaf lobes, and short achenes with a ± cylindrical cone only 0.5–0.8 mm long. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A goal of the WHO strategy on the elimination of hepatitis as a public threat is a 65% reduction in the attributable mortality. Deaths related to hepatitis B and C infections are mostly due to decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but accurately measuring mortality is challenging as death certificates often do not capture the underlying disease. The aim of this collaborative study between European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) was to assess a WHO‐developed protocol to support countries in implementing studies to collect data on the fraction of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma attributable to hepatitis B and C. Three sentinel sites (in Bulgaria, Norway and Portugal) collected data for patients first admitted or seen in their centres during 2016. Patients with cirrhosis or HCC were identified through patient files or healthcare databases using ICD‐10 codes. The proportion of patients with cirrhosis and HCC who tested positive for HBV and HCV were calculated to estimate the aetiological fractions. After the pilot study was completed, each site was asked about the feasibility and acceptability of the protocol. A total of 1249 patients presenting with cirrhosis and/or HCC were evaluated across the three sites. The prevalence of HBV and HCV among cases of cirrhosis showed that in Norway and Portugal, HCV was responsible for about one‐quarter of the cases, whereas in Bulgaria, HBV was more common. For HCC, HCV was responsible for more than one‐third of cases in Norway and Portugal, while in Bulgaria HBV was more frequent as the underlying cause. Results obtained during the pilot study were comparable to published estimates obtained through statistical modelling or meta‐analyses. Several challenges were reported from the sites involved in the pilot including the considerable time needed for reviewing the hospital records and extracting patient data. The pilot demonstrated the feasibility of collecting data on the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection among patients with cirrhosis and HCC in sentinel sites. This method can be used to estimate mortality attributable to HBV and HCV for elimination monitoring. Where easily implementable, sentinel studies are the best way to empower countries, get up‐to date data and closely monitor the changes in the attributable fraction at a country level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digitalization of education is a continuously developing process, aimed at the use of information and communication technologies. However, engineering education utilizes several forms of learning, with laboratory experiments being one of them. The use of digital learning materials (DLM) in labs is still limited due to numerous existing factors. This study investigates students' acceptance of using DLM during laboratory exercises in three universities located in Turkey, Poland, and Bulgaria. A questionnaire was prepared, and a survey was conducted among 625 learners. They were divided into eight categories, based on their engineering area and country. The survey results demonstrate that there is a strong correlation between the students' opinion on DLM and the use of DLM by their lab instructors, which means that their acceptance could be increased if more DLM are integrated in lab courses. The analysis of the questionnaire results also showed that there is a significant difference in the students' opinion on DLM, depending on the engineering area. Students of Food, Chemistry, and Electrical engineering rated the use of DLM quite high (above 4.0 out of 5), followed by the Civil engineering students with average results between 3.5 and 4.0. Respondents involved in Textile, Bio, and Machine engineering were the most skeptical (<3.5). Furthermore, their opinions covered a wide range from "Strongly disagree" to "Strongly agree." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on studies showing that arguments about the nature of intergroup prejudice allow members of privileged groups to 'perform' a positive social identity, the present study explores how arguments about the nature of prejudice are produced by targets of prejudice in order to consolidate or challenge their own social identity. We conducted interviews with Bulgarian Roma and, based on a discursive psychology approach, analysed the way participants contested being assigned to a Roma‐exclusive identity category, which they treated as produced by prejudiced beliefs of the non‐Roma high‐status majority population. Positive intergroup contact was used to demonstrate the absence of prejudice and counter Roma identity threat. Auto‐stereotyping and disidentification, in turn, revealed how one's own situation is distinguished from the group. We discuss how identity performances founded on prejudice constructions work to maintain or challenge intergroup boundaries. We conclude that studies revealing prejudice constructions of minority groups can explain the sedative effect of positive intergroup contact on ethnic activism and help to reflect on integration strategies that would be compatible with social change in favour of disadvantaged minority groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Utilizes the 1992 Bulgarian household budget survey to analyze the distribution of income and income tax burden. Characterization of Bulgaria's low income inequality; Progression of Bulgaria's tax system; Information on Bulgaria's tax structure and performance; Bulgaria's income levels and distribution; Distributional effects of income tax.

In the present article, the establishment of the species Castanopsis: C. bulgarica Mantzouka, Ivanov, and Bozukov is proposed after the study of a new fagaceous fossil wood stem discovered in 2016 from a new Late Miocene to Early Pliocene plant fossiliferous locality east of Boboshevo town, south‐west Bulgaria. A detailed palaeoxylotomical study of the fossil wood revealed characteristics of the 'evergreen Quercus type' (e.g. the gradual porosity of the vessels, the existence of two types of rays: uniseriate and multiseriate aggregate, the oval shape of the solitary vessels outline, the occurrence of tracheids) as well as heterocellular compound‐aggregate rays, typical for Castanopsis. Similarities and differences of the anatomical characteristics/features of the studied specimen with the descriptions of the fossil representatives of Fagaceae (Quercoxylon, Lithocarpoxylon, and Castanopsis) along with its botanical affinities are discussed. A taxonomic list of the Bulgarian fossil fagaceous record of the same age and their nearest living relatives is provided. Emended xylotomical keys with the addition of Castanopsis have been created. Moreover, the presence of evergreen Castanopsis species with heterocellular rays of two distinct sizes in the fossil record of the 'evergreen oak woods' is supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questions: Studying dry grasslands in a previously unexplored region, we asked: (a) which environmental factors drive the diversity patterns in vegetation; (b) are taxonomic groups (vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens) and functional vascular plant groups differently affected; and (c) how is fine‐grain beta diversity affected by environmental drivers? Location: Northwestern and Central Bulgaria. Methods: We sampled environmental data and vascular plant, terricolous bryophyte and lichen species in 97 10‐m2 plots and 15 nested‐plot series with seven grain sizes (0.0001–100 m2) of ten grassland sites within the two regions. We used species richness as measure of alpha‐diversity and the z‐value of the power‐law species–area relationship as measure of beta‐diversity. We analysed effects of landscape, topographic, soil and land‐use variables on the species richness of the different taxonomic and functional groups. We applied generalised linear models (GLMs) or, in the presence of spatial autocorrelation, generalised linear mixed‐effect models (GLMMs) in a multi‐model inference framework. Results: The main factors affecting total and vascular plant species richness in 10‐m2 plots were soil pH (unimodal) and inclination (negative). Species richness of bryophytes was positively affected by rock cover, sand proportion and negatively by inclination. Inclination and litter cover were also negative predictors of lichen species richness. Elevation negatively affected phanerophyte and therophyte richness, but positively that of cryptophytes. A major part of unexplained variance in species richness was associated with the grassland site. The z‐values for total richness showed a positive relationship with elevation and inclination. Conclusions: Environmental factors shaping richness patterns strongly differed among taxonomic groups, functional vascular plant groups and spatial scales. The disparities between our and previous findings suggest that many drivers of biodiversity cannot be generalised but rather depend on the regional context. The large unexplained variance at the site level calls for considering more site‐related factors such as land‐use history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]