This thesis presents an in-depth discussion and analysis of the stylistic influences of Bulgarian composer Pancho Vladigerov (1899-1978), and their presentation in his Rhapsody Vardar , Opus 16. Vladigerov's background includes studies in both his native Bulgarian folk music, as well as formal western training at two different music academies in Berlin. The first chapter provides relevant biographical information, and explores aspects of Vladigerov's compositions which derive from Western European traditions, including a discussion of the composers and styles that influenced his writing. This is done through discussion and analysis of his Three Pieces for Piano , Opus 15, a work written in the same year as his Rhapsody Vardar . Chapter two provides a general overview of Bulgarian folk music, especially during the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Chapter three brings together these observations in an analysis of Vladigerov's landmark piano work, Vardar Rhapsody .

The switch from a fixed exchange rate regime to a flexible exchange rate regime seldom goes smoothly. A major reason why devaluations are so disruptive is that countries are reluctant to abandon their fixed exchange rate regimes. This “reluctance to devalue” phenomenon is one of the puzzles in international finance. This dissertation makes towards understanding this “reluctance to devalue”. First, I investigate the factors that may influence the probability of a switch from a fixed to a flexible exchange rate regime using survival models. I find that pegs have non-monotonic duration dependence. Moreover, I find that GDP growth strongly influences the probability of abandoning a peg. Second, I propose that the “reluctance to devalue” could stem from uncertainty about the control over inflation after devaluation which raises the threshold of economic pain that could convince policy makers to devalue. I develop this argument in a rules-vs-discretion theoretical framework. Empirical analysis based on survey data from Bulgaria supports this hypothesis. Given that abandoning a fixed exchange rate regime is one of the three options that are available to countries on a peg, I investigate whether a periphery country's decision to abandon its peg is impacted by a potential move to a currency union. I find that the perception of “insurance” justified by expected-bailouts in a currency union increase the support for joining a currency union. The strength of this “safety net” perception is strong despite expected negative impact of the currency union on the country’s macroeconomic indicators.

The constant change of the political, economic, cultural and environmental landscapes of global societies predetermined the upgrowth of the media, the journalistic writings and the blogging practices as a new way of “citizen journalism”. Political blogs are a quite new media phenomenon that gained popularity in the past few years in Bulgaria. Hence, there are limited theoretical case studies.  The lagging performance of Bulgaria in the last Reporters Without Borders Report 2011 together with the explicit recommendations of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) after the Presidential and Municipal Elections 2011 in terms of media policy, ownership and news coverage bring the question of limited freedom of speech and the emergence of the blogs as an alternative platform for expression into discussion. Two methods are used in this thesis: structured interviews with two different additional questions and Critical Discourse Analysis. The empirical material was gathered from interviews with 8 of the most influential bloggers in Bulgaria (5 of whom work as journalists) and through an analysis of the texts of their blog entries (2 articles per bloggers or 18 articles in total). The aim is to underline the possible limitations in the practice of freedom of speech in Bulgaria from the bloggers’ perspective and to show only major patterns of the social environment and the current discourse in Bulgaria. Among the main findings of this study are thаt the lack of clarity in the media ownership and the failure of the media to defend the public interest are alarming for the level of democracy. Moreover, the media dependence on power and lobbying circles, as well as the blurred boundary between politics and the media results in the media self-censhorship and thus are threatening for the democratic foundation in Bulgaria and the freedom of speech which is at its basis. This study confirms the thriving of the blogosphere as an alternative media platform. This paper aims to provide insights and policy recommendations for international media experts.

This study aimed to reveal the relationship between quality of life and happiness in a comparative manner, to underline the importance of happiness and enable researchers to familiarize themselves with happiness in the sociological context of Turkey. Quality of life and happiness, which are multidimensional and interdisciplinary concepts, were firstly identified by looking at their treatment in different approaches. Then, they were analyzed by relating them to different variables in the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) data which allows for making comparisons among European Union countries and Turkey. Our study is limited to four countries, namely Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary and Turkey that were selected on the basis of two criteria / their average of happiness score and their membership status in the European Union. On the other hand, the independent variables of the study are &ldquo / having&rdquo / (material living conditions), &ldquo / loving&rdquo / (social relations), &ldquo / being&rdquo / (quality of society), &ldquo / time pressure&rdquo / (work-life balance), &ldquo / alienation&rdquo / , &ldquo / environment&rdquo / , internet using, health and socio-demographic variables namely gender, age, region, employment status and educational level. Consequently, improving quality of life resulted in happiness. In other words, the main aim of improving quality of life is to supply, improve and increase happiness.

This thesis examined how Turkish perception of insecurity, which was based on its suspicions about Greek and Bulgarian intentions and politics towards its territorial integrity and stability of its regime, shaped its view of Turkish/Muslim minorities living in these two states in the early Republican period. Using a wealth of archival material and newspapers, it questioned to what extent these physical and ideological concerns of the Turkish Republic played a role in its approach to these minorities in the period between 1923 and 1938. Turkey perceived the Greek and Bulgarian maltreatment of these minorities as a part of these states&rsquo / hostile intentions regarding the new Turkish state. Thus, what this thesis argued is that Turkey responded to pressure on Turkish/Muslim minorities in these two states not only because of humanitarian concerns but according to its security concern, which became an important factor to determine Turkish interventionist approach to the minority issues in Greece and Bulgaria in this period.

<p>Recently many academic researchers have become interested in the retailers as part of the distribution channel. Today retailers have grown so influential, that sometimes they take the functions of the wholesalers. The retailers constitute the road for manufacturers to the end market. Therefore, knowing retailers’ decision variables and assortment considerations is important for manufacturers when designing upon their marketing strategies. The study is conducted with focus on the Bulgarian office products retail industry. The purpose of the present research is to get a deeper understanding of retailers’ assortment criteria and analyze how the latter relates to market coverage strategy. Retailers’ assortment criteria concern decision variables such as profitability and sales, economic conditions, assortment considerations, consumer evaluation, marketing, supplier characteristics, competitive considerations, distributive factors, tactical considerations. The meaning underlying the assortment criteria is applied for arguing what market coverage strategy would best serve the Bulgarian retailers of office products. The research is performed employing qualitative method, in particular, in-depth semi- structured interviews providing the possibility for a broad discussion.</p><p>The results of the study revealed some common patterns pertaining to four main inductive categories including product, brand positioning, promotion and distributor’s attributes. The patterns corresponding to the categories were further related to the market coverage strategy alternatives, namely, intensive, selective and exclusive coverage strategy. The results of the study showed that the nature of the product requires considerable effort from the distributors’ side to persuade the retailers to become customers who are aware of the products’ attributes. In other words, the nature of the office products calls for certain knowledge and skills that the retailers have to gain in order to be successful as traders to their own customers and that can be best achieved if selective coverage strategy is employed. Further, the results of the study reveal that manufacturers of office products that would like to position their brands on the high quality dimension should pursue highly selective distribution as this creates a superior product image. The results of the study also show that greater selectivity is suitable since it guarantees that the retailers’ requirements related to promotion are met. Last, the authors suggest that higher degrees of selectivity is the most appropriate way for a manufacturer to follow the performance of distributors and thus, to ensure that the desired by the retailers distributor’s attributes are present.</p>

The thesis investigates the efficiency of depository institutions in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey between 2003 and 2006. Four of these countries switched from a planned to a market economy in the early 1980ies. These are contrasted with Austria. High coverage ratios are ensured by using data published by the relevant regulatory authorities. Data envelopment analysis yields higher efficiency scores in all but one country when deposits are treated as output. This implies that banks see deposits as products they offer to their customers and which they do not attempt to minimize. While in some countries improvements in efficiency can be detected against an inter-temporal single-country efficiency frontier, no overall efficiency improvement against a common regional frontier can be identified. Results of a Malmquist Index analysis are also inconclusive for the region as a whole, although technological improvement can be shown for Austria between 2004 and 2005. When data is grouped by country, Austria and Croatia emerge as most and Serbia and Bulgaria as least efficient markets. An interesting pattern emerges when DMUs are grouped by category (savings, cooperative and universal banks) and country. It can then be seen that savings and cooperative banks show comparably low efficiency in Austria but comparably high scores in Serbia and Croatia. For universal banks, this pattern is reversed. (author's abstract)

Darbo tikslas- ištirti Lietuvos nekilnojamojo turto plėtros galimybes užsienyje. Tyrimas paremtas pasaulio nekilnojamojo turto analize, Lietuvos nekilnojamojo turto įmonių interviu, gyventojų apklausa, SSGG analize, bei užsienio rinkų atrinkimo modeliu. Šiuo metu įmonės aktyviai plečia verslą tarptautiniu mastu, siekdamos didesnio pelno, ar geresnės konkurencinės padėties. Tarptautinė verslo plėtra suteikia daug galimybių, tačiau labai svarbu sugebėti tinkamai pasirinkti veslo plėtros regionus, kadangi kiekvinas iš jų turi skirtingą rinkos struktūrą bei reikalavimus. Taigi įmonės privalo mokėti analizuoti ne tik savo šalies, tačiau ir pasaulinę rinką. Darbo pradžioje pateikiama mokslinės literatūros nalizė. Tas leido atskleisti tarptautinio verslo koncepciją, jo motyvus, procesą. Taip pat įsigilintį į naudojamus verslo aplinkos analizės medotus. Interviu atliktas su Lietuvos nekilnojamojo turto įmonėmis leido išskirti šių įmonių stiprybes bei silpnybes plečiant verslą tarptautinėje rinkoje. Gyventojų apklausa atskleidė respondentų ketinimus bei tikslus nekilnojamojo turto pirkimui užsienio šalyse. Kartu su Pasaulio nekilnojamojo turto rinkos analize, buvo išskirti keletas potencialių regionų bei keletas šalių (Ukraina ir Bulgarija) išanalizuotos išsamiau, siekiant ištirti šių šalių politinę, teisinę, ekonominę, bei konkurencinę aplinkas. Darbe yra 85 puslapiai, 5 lentelės ir 25 paveikslai. / The aim of this paper is to analyze the Lithuanian real estate business development possibilities in foreign countries. The author’s research is base on the word real estate analyzes, the Lithuanian real estate companies’ interview, Lithuanian citizens survey, SWOT analyzes, and the 7 steps of analyzing foreign markets model. Nowadays companies are trying to expand their business to foreign markets, seeking bigger profit, or just trying to survive in the competitive markets. Here are a lot of possibilities to expand business in certain regions, but it is very important to choose targets markets, because each of them has its own market situation and requirements. So the companies have to analyze not only the home market, but also the targeted regions world market environments. Firstly it is made the analyze of modern science literature. That let to understand the conception of international business, it motives and process. Also, that let to reveal the business environment research methods, analyzing home, foreign, and global markets. The analyzes of the interview made with Lithuanian real estate companies results, statistical data, let to evaluate the strengths and weakness of Lithuania companies. Survey made with the Lithuanian citizens, let to know their purposes for real estate purchase abroad, the evaluation of the world market, leaded to separate the most potential countries for real estate business development. The regions were examined according to Lithuanian... [to full text]

There is a substantial amount of existing literature that focuses on the revolutionary events of 1989 in East-Central Europe. Yet, there are few comparisons which apply a comparative-historical approach to a small set of cases. A large body of existing literature provides the ideal situation for a comparative-historical study. This thesis will test the utility of applying a comparative-historical methodological approach to the events of 1989 in four countries in East-Central Europe. The four countries are paired into two cases. The case of Poland and Hungary is compared with the case of Bulgaria and Romania. A theoretical frame of reference is developed from previous comparative-historical studies of revolutionary events, criticisms of them, and the general theoretical debates which they generate. This frame of reference incorporates a broad range of variables, and is used to inform the application of the method. Differences (and similarities) between the cases are then investigated, and the utility of the method assessed. Additionally, the application of the method allows some current theoretical and conceptual debates concerning the East- Central European events to be confronted. Part 1 of the thesis applies a comparative-historical method of analysis to the cases up to, and including some aspects of the 1989 events. In Part 2, patterns of difference between the cases are identified in terms of revolutionary forms and outcomes. Following the logic of the method common factors are identified as potential contributing factors to the collapse of communism, while patterns of difference suggest that the political, economic and social 'nature' of the communist systems had an impact on the forms of change and their outcomes. It is recognised that the comparative-historical approach utilised in this thesis has limitations. However, the method is shown to be useful for identifying common factors across cases, and significant variations between cases, which can generate potential explanation, and provide better understanding of such revolutionary phenomena as that which occurred in East-Central Europe in 1989.

More specifically, it seeks to examine the making of sports policy as a field of state activity and as a process involving various projects, agents and transformations, by uncovering the underlying structures and relations in the national sports policy context. The research is informed by the premises of the Strategic Relations Approach as developed by Jessop (1990), while critical theory provides the link between the theoretical foundations and the interpretation of data. This task demands an analysis which can account for the political, social and economic environments in which sports policy is made, and also for the structures and actors involved. In doing so, the thesis challenges both the traditional Marxist approach to the state, and some of the Jessopian claims about interests, strategies and global influences on policy making. The history of the modem Bulgarian state is marked by three major transformations, and the advancement of three distinct projects - Capitalism, Communism and Europeanisation - each aiming to establish a new stateness. Subsequently, it is argued that sports policy is a strategic relation, the formation of which needs to be viewed within state-society relations at particular historical conjuncture. Furthermore, this relation constitutes a process of past and present struggles, the outcomes of which are uncertain. The study draws several conclusions regarding strategic relations in sport policy making by highlighting: the relations between state projects and sports projects; the forms of state intervention in sport in various socio-political environments; the constitution of power in sports policy and state-society interactions; and the role of transnational and local forces in shaping sports policy (e.g. international sports federations and the IOC). The conceptualising and operationalising of Strategic Relations allows for three overriding tendencies pertinent to Bulgaria's sport policy to be outlined - of continuity, statisation and incongruity. One aspect of this study of theoretical interest in that, so far as can be ascertained, it is the first time that the Strategic Relations approach has been applied to a Communist state.