<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/">
<rdf:Description rdf:about="https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/items/show/1581">
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Tourism Performance of Balkan Countries: Travel and  Tourism Competitiveness Pillars as Determining Factors]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:abstract><![CDATA[Contemporary volatility of global macroeconomic environment  necessitates governments to balance their countries’ macroeconomic  figures. In this unpredictable environment, tourism has been valued as a  good source of foreign currency and employment. In this sense, WTTC’s  2012 report indicates that over the next ten years tourism industry is  expected to account for 1 in every 10 jobs on the world. To succeed this  goal country should increase their capabilities and develop a competitive  position to attract more tourists from around the world. In this sense,  tourism performance can be evaluated as a result of using competition  tools effectively in order to create a sustainable macroeconomic  environment.  In this study, we use World Economic Forum’s (WEF) classification of Travel  and Tourism Competitiveness factors to examine resources that are  expected to influence tourism performance in Balkan countries. Tourism  performance is measured by two variables: International tourist arrivals  and tourism receipts. Additionally, we measured competitive factors in  tourism industry using WEF’s classification of Travel &amp; Tourism  competitiveness factors, which consists of three sub-indexes and 14  factors that measure these sub-indexes that are reported below:   T&amp;T regulatory framework (Policy rules and regulations,  Environmental sustainability, Safety and security, Health  and hygiene, Prioritization of Travel &amp; Tourism)   T&amp;T business environment and infrastructure(Air transport  infrastructure, Ground transport infrastructure, Tourism  infrastructure, Information and Communication Technology (ICT)  infrastructure, Price competitiveness in the T&amp;T industry)     T&amp;T human, cultural, and natural resources (Human resources,  Education and training, Availability of qualified labour, Affinity for  Travel &amp; Tourism, Natural resources, Cultural resources).  Methodology  In this study, the Balkans comprises the following countries: Albania,  Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia,  Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey. In order to investigate  the impact of Tourism &amp; Travel competitiveness factors on the  performance of Balkan countries, we obtained the data from The World  Economic Forum’s “The Travel and Tourism (T&amp;T) Competitiveness Index”  for the years between 2008-2011 that is, currently, the only available data.  To reveal the relationship between aforementioned independent and  dependent variables, we performed two-separate multiple regression  analyses and obtained some useful insights, which are reported below.  Findings  The first multiple analysis results, in which tourist arrivals is used as  dependent variable, reveal that air transport infrastructure, safety-security,  and human resources factors are three variables that have the potential to  influence the number of tourists to visit Balkan countries. The second  multiple regression analysis results indicate that air transport  infrastructure, cultural resources, and human resources have the greatest  impact on international tourism receipts among aforementioned fourteen  competition factors.  Keywords: Balkan Countries, Tourism Performance, Travel&amp;Tourism  Competitiveness Index, Strategic Marketing. ]]></dcterms:abstract>
    <dcterms:publisher><![CDATA[International Burch University]]></dcterms:publisher>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[2013-05-10]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:extent><![CDATA[1671]]></dcterms:extent>
    <dcterms:identifier><![CDATA[ISSN 2303-4564     ]]></dcterms:identifier>
</rdf:Description><rdf:Description rdf:about="https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/items/show/1580">
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[The Impact of the Economic Crisis on the European  Union’s Policies toward the Western Balkans]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:abstract><![CDATA[The European Union can be considered as the major actor in the Western  Balkans in terms of its political and economic impact in the last decade. It  is one of the biggest trade partners of the regional countries as well as  biggest donor of aid. It has also played an active role in the post-war  reconstruction of the states as seen for example in its role in Kosovo and  Bosnia-Hercegovina, mainly in terms of institutional structures like EULEX,  International Civilian Office and Office of High Representative. However, as  the global economic crisis started to spill over to the EU member countries,  it led to the increase of the trend of “enlargement fatigue”. Hence, though  all the Western Balkan countries are taking part in the European accession  process, except Croatia there is not much hope that enlargement process  of the regional countries would speed up due to internal problems as well  as the Union’s policies. As the Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle  remarked there is also reform fatigue in the candidate states. Thus,  “enlargement fatigue” of the European Union and “reform fatigue” of the  regional states feed each other and create enlargement dilemma. As the  EU loses its will and eagerness to expand, the regional actors’ enthusiasm  for reforming their structures is decreasing.  As the EU is focused in general much more on its internal issues in the  recent years, and lost its energy to develop new initiatives for the solution  of the regional problems, Turkey, as a regional actor, since 2009 started to  launch new proposals for the regional issues, as seen for example in its  trilateral initiatives: on the one hand among Turkey, Serbia and Bosnia  Herzegovina, on the other hand among Turkey, Croatia and Bosnia  Herzegovina.  This research aims to examine how the current economic crisis in the  European Union members affects the attitude toward the neighbouring  region of the Balkans. My main research questions are as follows: How is  the discourse of European Union decision makers toward the Western  Balkans affected by the economic problems? Is there any considerable  change in policy implementations? What are the repercussions of the EU’s  increasing enlargement fatigperformance in the region affect its actorness global affairs? How does the  EU evaluate Turkey’s initiatives toward the region?  In fact, EU’s attitude underwent considerable changes since the 1990’s. As  the European Community (EC) has gone through a radical structural  transformation in the 1990s due to both deepening and enlargement, the  conflicts in the Western Balkans started to be considered as a test case for  this changing Europe. Conflicts, wars, and tensions that broke out in the  former Yugoslavian territories and disturbed the whole Europe proved that  the emerging new era following the end of the bipolar international  politics was not going to be as peaceful as it had been longed for. The  complexity of the problems of former Yugoslavia has effected the  evolution of the European Union which has been, with the encouragement  of the US, trying to be a regional actor by developing a more coherent  approach toward the issues of foreign affairs and security policies among  its member states.  The research will have a conceptual part discussing different views on the  global actorness of the European Union. George Modelski in his study “The  Long Cycle of Global Politics and the Nation-State” defines world powers as  follows: “… world (or) global powers control (or substantially control) the  global political system and hence also have the capacity to regulate other  global processes (such as long-distance travel).”  Keywords: European Union, Western Balkans, Economic Crisis,  Enlargement.ue on the region? How does the EU’s ]]></dcterms:abstract>
    <dcterms:publisher><![CDATA[International Burch University]]></dcterms:publisher>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[2013-05-10]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:extent><![CDATA[1562]]></dcterms:extent>
    <dcterms:identifier><![CDATA[ISSN 2303-4564     ]]></dcterms:identifier>
</rdf:Description><rdf:Description rdf:about="https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/items/show/1579">
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[European Union within the Context of “World-State” and  “European Universalism” in the History of Western  Political Thought]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:abstract><![CDATA[There is a historical background and assumptions which form the  essentials of European/Western civilization. These assumptions and  fundamentals also form the economic, social and political structures of the  European/Western civilization. One of the important elements of these  fundamentals is the ideal of “World state” and “European Universalism”.  The political thought based on the “polis-centered” political thought  represented by Platon and Socrates was transformed especially by the  stoic philosophers during the Hellenistic and Roman period into the ideals  of “brotherhood of the human beings” and “world state”. Late Christian  philosopher St Augustinus has developed the ideal of “unity of human  beings” through philosophy of law. During the late medieval and early  modern period, Dante put this ideal into a more secular context. These  views can be analyzed through the “European Universalism” approach  developed by Immanuel Wallerstein. The purpose of the study is to  approach the European Union in the light of this historical background and  with a critical perspective.  Keywords: Political thought, civilization, West/Europe, World State,  European Universalism, European Union.]]></dcterms:abstract>
    <dcterms:publisher><![CDATA[International Burch University]]></dcterms:publisher>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[2013-05-10]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:extent><![CDATA[1607]]></dcterms:extent>
    <dcterms:identifier><![CDATA[ISSN 2303-4564     ]]></dcterms:identifier>
</rdf:Description><rdf:Description rdf:about="https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/items/show/1578">
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Political Space Philosophies in the History of the Political Thoughts of the Western European Universalism and the European Union]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:abstract><![CDATA[There exist certain historical premises and foundations thought to render the idiosyncratic structure of the European/western civilization possible. One of the most important domain related to these foundations and premises is the political -space philosophy along with the European Universalism that stemmed from the European history of political roots. The political space centered on the Polis (city-state) in the ancient Greek political sphere is replaced the &quot;world state&quot; thought of the Cynic and Stoic philosophers of the Ancient Hellenistic and Roman political spheres. The early Catholic Christian philosopher St. Augustine and the late Catholic philosopher St. Thomas converge to a great extent on a universalism and &quot;world&quot; domain while the Protestant politician is rather related to the modern nation state notion. The Dante of the late middle age and the early modernism had a more secular conception of universalism and &quot;world state&quot; in terms of political space. These Western approaches can be viewed in relation with the &quot;European Universalism&quot; framework set by the Wallerstein. The goal of this study is not to investigate the European Union or the process of Turkey&#039;s European Union membership per se. Rather, the goal is restricted to the investigation of the historical background of this phenomenon incorporating the European Universalism approach.    Key Words: Political Thoughts, Political- space, West/Europe, World State, European Universalism, and European Union.]]></dcterms:abstract>
    <dcterms:publisher><![CDATA[International Burch University]]></dcterms:publisher>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[2013-05-10]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:extent><![CDATA[2333]]></dcterms:extent>
    <dcterms:identifier><![CDATA[ISSN 978-9958-834-23-3     ]]></dcterms:identifier>
</rdf:Description><rdf:Description rdf:about="https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/items/show/1577">
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Rural Entrepreneurship in Bosnia and Herzegovina,  Challenges and Opportunities]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:abstract><![CDATA[Rural development has been identified by many actors dealing with  economic development of Bosnia-Herzegovina (B&amp;H), both local and  international, as one of the key areas of intervention. The main drivers of  rural development should be small sized companies run by rural  entrepreneurs. In order to design effective policies that would boost  entrepreneurial activities in rural areas, the obstacles and drivers of their  businesses should be understood properly.  This paper presents analysis of the factors determining success of rural  entrepreneurship in B&amp;H. The paper combines results from quantitative  and qualitative data, collected originally as part of the research for this  paper, in order to provide evidence of the main factors affecting success of  rural businesses. The data for the quantitative analysis were collected  through a field survey of 300 interviewees, who are owners of micro of  small sized rural business (1-49 employees). The questions from the survey  covered demographic characteristics of the owners, characteristics of their  business, obstacles they are facing in running a business and factors that  have positive influence on their business performance. The data were  analyzed by descriptive statistical analysis and regression analysis. Average  annual growth in employees, as a measure of success of the business, was  used as a dependent variable. Determinants of success of a business  entered the regression model as five broader factors produced by factor  analysis process, described as institutional factors, skills, access to market,  access to finance and infrastructure. The estimated model reveals the  direction and magnitude of different factors of small business success in  rural areas. Results from the quantitative analysis were combined with the results of  quantitative analysis of data collected through 30 semi-structured  interviews with owners of small rural businesses. The interviews were used  to gain deeper insight into the characteristics of factors affecting their  success. The data collected through interviews were analyzed using  contents analysis.  Finding from the research, combining both results of qualitative and results  of quantitative research have identified and described the key factors  affecting rural business. These findings were used to develop a list of  concrete policy recommendations that should aim at reducing barriers and  improving factors that have positive influence on rural businesses, in order  to increase entrepreneurial activities in rural areas, which should have  positive influence on economic development of these areas and entire  country.  Keywords: Rural Entrepreneurship, Business Success, Semi-Structured  Interviews, Factor Analysis, Probity Model, Bosnia-Herzegovina.]]></dcterms:abstract>
    <dcterms:publisher><![CDATA[International Burch University]]></dcterms:publisher>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[2013-05-10]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:extent><![CDATA[1634]]></dcterms:extent>
    <dcterms:identifier><![CDATA[ISSN 2303-4564     ]]></dcterms:identifier>
</rdf:Description><rdf:Description rdf:about="https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/items/show/1576">
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[The Relationship between the Content of Lifelong  Education for Sustainable Development and the Needs of  the Educational Environment]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:abstract><![CDATA[The sustainable development as a fundamental is certainly one of the  biggest challenges global society is facing. Parallel to this, a need for an  adequate response to the challenges of sustainable development, which  can be recognized only in the certain time and quality education of new  generations is required.  Thus, learning and teaching is an imperative together with its requirements  such as the need to educate young people through the institutions of the  system, organized through school systems at all levels, through non-formal  and informal education.  The most important are aims, objectives and content of education for  sustainable development. They should be compatible with the needs of the  environment, the economic, the political, educational, cultural, etc.  (external aims of education), actually the demands of social reality,  innovated methods in educational system and forms of work for  sustainable development, as well as the relationship between a curriculum  and content.  Keywords: Educational Policy, Lifelong Learning, Sustainable Development.]]></dcterms:abstract>
    <dcterms:publisher><![CDATA[International Burch University]]></dcterms:publisher>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[2013-05-10]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:extent><![CDATA[1668]]></dcterms:extent>
    <dcterms:identifier><![CDATA[ISSN 978-9958-834-23-3     ]]></dcterms:identifier>
</rdf:Description><rdf:Description rdf:about="https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/items/show/1575">
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Assessing the companies’ process of IFRS adoption in  Romania]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:abstract><![CDATA[The purpose of this paper is to find and analyze the process of accounting  standard adoption in Romania, regarded from companies’ point of view, as  well as to discover the issues faced by economic entities. This paper  focuses also on the importance of disclosure regarding the consolidated  financial statements in the case of listed companies. It examines the  changes that had to be made not only in the ledgers, but also in the  management of the quoted Romanian companies.  The International Financial Reporting Standards have been adopted in  Romania starting 2007, and the companies required to present their  financial consolidated statements are the ones listed, as stated in  European Commission Regulation 1606/2002, without the option of opting  out. In the same time, for the individual financial statements, the  companies apply the national rules, complying with the European  Directives. The implementation of IFRS was a complex process that  brought fundamental changes to the process of accounting reporting.  Although elements from the International Conceptual Framework were  taken in national regulations, such as who the information users’ are, the  definitions or qualitative characteristics, there are also differences that  create the necessity of having two sets of financial statements for the  same listed company.  Transactional analysis is basically the same under IFRS and national rules,  but the different standards may impact how transactions are recorded.  This paper tried to highlight and analyze the differences and the similarities  that characterize the international accounting system IAS/IFRS and the  national Romanian accounting system.  Application of IFRS in Romania is a complex process. Firstly, the process of  harmonization of concepts, vocabulary and referential treatments is a  necessary procedure, which offers the characterization of a universal  accounting language and homogeneous preparations. On the other hand, the introduction of IFRS showed rejection, caused by  misinterpretation of the theoretical topics and processes, produced mainly  from the circumstance that in Romania there are no real short term  needed to apply the international standards.  Keywords: Standard Adoption, Convergence, International Financial  Standards, General Accepted Accounting Standards, Financial Statements.]]></dcterms:abstract>
    <dcterms:publisher><![CDATA[International Burch University]]></dcterms:publisher>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[2013-05-10]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:extent><![CDATA[1586]]></dcterms:extent>
    <dcterms:identifier><![CDATA[ISSN 2303-4564     ]]></dcterms:identifier>
</rdf:Description><rdf:Description rdf:about="https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/items/show/1574">
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Strategy Focused Sports Clubs: An Implementation of the  Balanced Scorecard for Soccer Teams]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:abstract><![CDATA[The main goal of the sports clubs is to produce benefit and create the  social values for the society. Furthermore, it has also commercial  dimension that was transformed from the show business aspect of sports  clubs. Therefore, they undertake the role in the world as economic  organizations. One of the most popular sports all around the world is the  soccer (football). By taking into consideration the activities of professional  soccer clubs on and off the field of play, it’s getting more important to  manage them as a business organization. Since the soccer clubs are  business organizations they have the similar managerial functions such as  organizing, marketing and financing. Professional soccer clubs also have  some strategic objectives concerning with the efficiency, effectiveness,  competitiveness, and improving the market share. In order to survive and  have the efficient and effective clubs they should measure and manage the  performance of the clubs in different perspectives both on and off the field  of play. A comprehensive approach is convenient to measure the  performance of the clubs. The soccer clubs are liable to fulfill the  expectations of a wide variety of stakeholder groups like fans, players,  employees and staff, sponsors, suppliers, shareholders, broadcasters, sport  media, local environment, soccer association, government, and legal  authorities. In order to satisfy the needs and expectations of the  stakeholders, soccer clubs should set up a multidimensional performance  management system which concerns all perspectives. By bringing a  comprehensive system to performance measurement and management,  the balanced scorecard provides an integrated framework that can help  the clubs to evaluate the financial and non-financial activities. This study  reviews the management structures, business functions and the  operations of the soccer clubs and the performance measurement systems  used by them. In the study we develop a Balanced Scorecard model for  soccer clubs. A classical balanced scorecard has four perspectives:financial, costumer, internal process and learning and growth. In the  Soccer Balanced Scorecard we will use the following four perspectives:  financial sustainability perspective, fans perspective, internal process  perspective, and infrastructure perspective. We analyze the performance  management systems of the soccer clubs by classifying them base on their  strategic priorities since the strategic objectives of the giants and the  middle level teams are different. In the study after developing the  perspectives of the soccer balanced scorecard we defined strategic  objectives, performance measures relating to these objectives,  performance targets for each measure and initiatives. In the study, it is  suggested that if soccer clubs use the balanced scorecard as a strategic  performance management tool it may help them to be strategy focused  and may better serve their missions.  Keywords: Soccer Clubs, Performance Measurement and Management,  Balanced Scorecard]]></dcterms:abstract>
    <dcterms:publisher><![CDATA[International Burch University]]></dcterms:publisher>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[2013-05-10]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:extent><![CDATA[1487]]></dcterms:extent>
    <dcterms:identifier><![CDATA[ISSN 2303-4564     ]]></dcterms:identifier>
</rdf:Description><rdf:Description rdf:about="https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/items/show/1573">
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Relationship between Energy Consumption and  Economic Growth: The Case of Turkey]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:abstract><![CDATA[&quot;Power&quot; phenomenon has always been important throughout the history  of mankind. In the past, the territory of the countries that they have the  power, as measured by the colonies or the army, these parameters gave  place as well as a stable economy and have owned the most effective  utilization of resources. Definitely, the most recently prominent sources  are energy. In this context, energy has a strategic importance for the  countries, and that is used to measure the wealth and development.  Turkey, has an important position as the Middle East&#039;s, Asian countries&#039;,  the Mediterranean&#039;s and the Caspian region&#039;s rich oil and natural gas  resources is transmitted to centers of demand in the West by &quot;energy  corridor&quot;. Due to its geopolitical position, Turkey must perform all policies  including growth policies with energy policies harmonizing. The world&#039;s  energy consumption is expected to increase and the majority of  consumption is satisfied from in this region including Turkey. In this  context, Turkey is a bridge as well as a market in order to transport Central  Asia&#039;s production to the world&#039;s market due to the geographical and  geopolitical position of Turkey. However, despite all these advantages,  Turkish economy depends on foreign markets for energy. For this reason,  the energy in the case of Turkey is becoming more and more important.  Therefore, combining the issue of energy and growth, a long-term plan is  needed.  In the light of the foregoing, taking into consideration for the period of  1980-2011 in Turkey was aimed to analyze the relationship between  energy consumption and economic growth in this study. In this analysis was benefited from the unit root test, VAR analysis, as well as the causality  tests.  The empirical findings for this period in Turkish economy show that the  relationship between energy consumption and economic growth is  bidirectional in Granger causality test, mutually affect each other and  feedback hypothesis is available. When the feedback hypothesis is  available, policy-makers must take into consideration feedback effect of  economic growth on the energy in the event of reducing energy  consumption. Bidirectional causality between energy consumption and  economic growth or feedback evidence represents increasing economic  growth causes to raise energy consumption. According to this view,  energy-saving policies aimed at the reduction in energy use must reduce  the demand for energy without causing adverse effects on economic  growth. It would be achieved through a suitable combination of energy  taxes and energy substitution. Policy makers should encourage the  industry to adopt technologies for reducing pollution.  Keywords: Energy Consumption, Economic Growth, Turkish Economy,  Feedback Hypothesis]]></dcterms:abstract>
    <dcterms:publisher><![CDATA[International Burch University]]></dcterms:publisher>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[2013-05-10]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:extent><![CDATA[1498]]></dcterms:extent>
    <dcterms:identifier><![CDATA[ISSN 978-9958-834-23-3     ]]></dcterms:identifier>
</rdf:Description><rdf:Description rdf:about="https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/items/show/1572">
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Trends in New Drug Launches]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:abstract><![CDATA[Pharmaceutical drugs have contributed to people’s improved health and  prolonged life for the last several decades. New drugs, hence, are believed  to be beneficial. Standard textbook analysis suggests that new drugs to be  launched in as many countries as possible. However, in our study, we find  that not all new drugs are introduced to every part of the globe; although  many health problems could be prevented, cured, or managed effectively  through the use of those novel drugs. We have found that there are  certain trends to new drug launches. With data from IMS New Product  Focus, we are able to track historical pharmaceutical launches of all drugs  for most countries that have major pharmaceutical markets. We also  analyzed the speed of drug companies to market (launch) their new drugs  in different countries. New drugs are launched sooner in the advanced  countries than developing and underdeveloped countries. However the  difference is getting smaller. We run basic regressions to study the  influences of different factors on the launch speeds for different countries.  Our analysis indicate that new drugs are launched sooner in the countries  where income, population and property rights protection levels are higher,  and we come across the significant role of patent laws for drugs innovation  in diffusion and trends of pharmaceutical drug launches.  Keywords: Health Economics, Drugs, Turkey.]]></dcterms:abstract>
    <dcterms:publisher><![CDATA[International Burch University]]></dcterms:publisher>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[2013-05-10]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:extent><![CDATA[1465]]></dcterms:extent>
    <dcterms:identifier><![CDATA[ISSN 2303-4564     ]]></dcterms:identifier>
</rdf:Description></rdf:RDF>