Exchange Rate Policy in Serbia

In August 2006, Serbia adopted an inflation targeting regime as its monetary regime. The initial period of implementation of this regime was characterized by an extremely high capital inflow and appreciation of the exchange rate of the dinar. Under such conditions, the selected monetary policy regime functioned well. However, at the end of 2008, when the global financial crisis caused the outflow of foreign capital, deterioration of foreign borrowing conditions and an increase in inflationary expectations, the dinar lost about 25 per cent of its value within a relatively short period, despite the interventions of the National Bank of Serbia in the foreign exchange market. Therefore, the authors of this paper raise a dilemma whether Serbia conducts an adequate policy of the exchange rate of the dinar. The authors point out that, at the moment, the policy of a free floating exchange rate is not adequate for Serbia. As an alternative, a two nominal-anchor regime—inflation and the exchange rate—is proposed.     

Infant Perception of Surface Texture and Relative Height as Distance Information: A Preferential‐Reaching Study

Two preferential‐reaching experiments explored 5‐ and 7‐month‐olds’ sensitivity to pictorial depth cues. In the first experiment, infants viewed a display in which texture gradients, linear perspective of the surface contours, and relative height in the visual field provided information that two objects were at different distances. Five‐ and 7‐month‐old infants reached preferentially for the apparently nearer object under monocular but not binocular viewing conditions, indicating that infants in both age groups respond to pictorial depth cues. In the second experiment, texture gradients and linear perspective of the surface contours were eliminated from the experimental display, making relative height the sole pictorial depth cue. Seven‐month‐olds again reached more often for the apparently nearer object under monocular, but not binocular viewing conditions. By contrast, the 5‐month‐olds’ reaching behavior did not differ between viewing conditions. These results indicate that 7‐month‐olds respond to the depth cue of relative height but provide no evidence of responsiveness to relative height in 5‐month‐olds. Both age groups responded more consistently to pictorial depth in Experiment 1 than in Experiment 2.     

On vertex-parity edge-colorings

A vertex signature \(\pi \) of a finite graph G is any mapping \(\pi \,{:}\,V(G)\rightarrow \{0,1\}\). An edge-coloring of G is said to be vertex-parity for the pair \((G,\pi )\) if for every vertex v each color used on the edges incident to v appears in parity accordance with \(\pi \), i.e. an even or odd number of times depending on whether \(\pi (v)\) equals 0 or 1, respectively. The minimum number of colors for which \((G,\pi )\) admits such an edge-coloring is denoted by \(\chi '_p(G,\pi )\). We characterize the existence and prove that \(\chi '_p(G,\pi )\) is at most 6. Furthermore, we give a structural characterization of the pairs \((G,\pi )\) for which \(\chi '_p(G,\pi )=5\) and \(\chi '_p(G,\pi )=6\). In the last part of the paper, we consider a weaker version of the coloring, where it suffices that at every vertex, at least one color appears in parity accordance with \(\pi \). We show that the corresponding chromatic index is at most 3 and give a complete characterization for it.     

Broadcasting multiple messages in the 1-in port model in optimal time

In the 1-in port model, every vertex of a synchronous network can receive at most one message in each time unit. We consider simultaneous broadcasting of multiple messages from the same source or from distinct sources in such networks with an additional restriction that every received message can be sent out to neighbors only in the next time unit and never to already informed vertex. We use a general concept of level-disjoint partitions developed for this scenario. Here we introduce a subgraph extension technique for efficient spreading information within this concept. Surprisingly, this approach with so called biwheels leads to simultaneous broadcasting of optimal number of messages on a wide class of graphs in optimal time. In particular, we provide tight results for bipartite tori, meshes, hypercubes, Knödel graphs, circulant graphs. We also propose several open problems and conjectures.     

Uncovering CSR meaning networks: A cross-national comparison of Turkey and Slovenia

This study addressed an important question about the meaning of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and how it is measured. Based on a comparison of the meaning networks of CSR in two countries with fundamentally different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, we argue that there is a need for an institutional perspective when studying CSR associations and expectations in a particular society. Thus empirical study involved the use of three methods the word-association technique, social network analysis, and blockmodeling using Pajek software; to provide deep insight into the structure of CSR associations. The findings suggest that the two societies have diverse collective cognitive structures regarding CSR. In Turkey, the philanthropic understanding of CSR is highly dominant, while the Slovenian social meaning of CSR is multidimensional. The findings point to the social construction of the concept of CSR with implications both for academic research and practice.     

Ties,sites and irregularities: pitfalls and benefits in using respondent-driven sampling for surveying a homeless population

Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is a survey method for hidden populations and, as such, it offers a suitable approach for sampling the homeless. Surprisingly, the practical use of RDS in surveying homeless populations has only sporadically been described in the professional literature so far, and the specifics of using RDS for sampling this group have not been reflected in depth. The goal of the article is to investigate how three specific concerns, namely the transitional character of social ties among the homeless, problems with locating the interview site, and the irregular use of coupons, affect the sampling process. The findings of the article are based on experience using RDS for creating two independent samples of homeless persons in two Czech cities. Worries of poor referral effectiveness were disproved, but poor validity of the network size indicator, tendency towards irregular use of coupons, and negative effects arising from selecting service centres for the homeless as survey sites were confirmed.     

Exploring the value of involving experts-by-experience in social work research: experiences from Slovenia and the UK

The evidence base for the methodological validity of conducting participatory research is becoming established. This article reviews the experiences of two researchers undertaking Ph.D. studies in Slovenia and UK, respectively, and considers the value of involving service users and carers in social work research. The Slovenian research involved user-researchers who developed research tools and undertook qualitative research. The first author explores the co-researchers’ impact on the research process and its outcomes, identifying both individual and collective empowerment of the co-researchers. The English study involved people from diverse backgrounds, who developed a recovery training programme for carers of people with schizophrenia. The second author describes how the steering group, and the carers who participated in the programme were impacted by the research process and experienced a sense of empowerment and how they influenced the development of new knowledge through the reflexive cycle. The authors draw out the commonalities and differences in our research that add to the existing evidence base supporting the development of participatory inquiry. We conclude by affirming the value of user participation in research in leading to the empowerment of users, the development of new research perspectives, and in contributing to theory in social work research and practice.     

Sozialer Status und prosoziales Handeln: Ein Quasi-Experiment im Krankenhaus

Sociological, social psychological and economic research on the nexus between socioeconomic status and prosociality has so far provided contradictory findings. Some studies suggest that actors with a high socioeconomic status act more egoistically than actors with a lower socioeconomic status. Other studies find the opposite to be true. In contrast to previous research, which has worked with one-dimensional measures for socioeconomic status, this study examines prosocial behavior among occupational groups that have regular real-life contact in their workspace. About 150 hospital employees (physicians, nursing staff and nursing students) participated in experiments on altruistic giving in dictator games. The findings are surprisingly strong and clear-cut: Actors with higher social status act more prosocial than low-status actors. Furthermore, we find hardly any in-group effects, which have been repeatedly postulated. Our findings support the claim that high status promotes prosocial behavior. Also, they indicate that the inconclusive and in part contradictory findings provided by previous research stem to a considerable degree from deficient measures of social status and problematic experimental designs.     

The humanitarian crisis of migration versus the crisis of humanitarianism: current dimensions and challenges for social work practice*

People who comprise today’s mass migrations are the embodiment of an increasingly hurtful planetary interconnectedness between towering inequalities and hegemonies and human lives. The humanitarian crisis has turned into a fundamental crisis of humanitarianism. The crisis of humanitarianism builds up by the state borders increasingly militarized, equipped with one manner or the other of securitization, seeking to externalize the migrating people. Further, the governments seek to institutionalize and spatially segregate the people, whilst the resident population is subjected to programmatic inciting of racism and xenophobia. Racist eurocentrism pictures the West as democratic, and migrant people as non-democratic; it does not distinguish between individuals and political regimes; does not take into consideration the emergency situations from which they flee: it is thus a form of armed humanitarianism. The Balkan countries which were part of the Balkan Refugee route have become prison countries, custodians of the EU border. They conserve the image of the dangerous Balkans and consolidate Balkanism. A complex social work response includes individual, institutional, curricular, and research levels of reflection and intervention.     

Strengthening family cohesion through shared participation of family members in religious activities in Croatia

This article presents research results pertaining to an examination of the relation between family members’ participation in shared religious activities, perception of family cohesion, satisfaction with family life, and the level of conflict in the family. The survey of 503 parents of preschool children was conducted in Zagreb, Croatia. The findings demonstrate a significant correlation between shared participation of family members in religious activities, perception of family cohesion and satisfaction with family life, but not with perception of the level of conflict in the family. The results suggest that spiritual and religious matters are an important element necessary for understanding family functioning, and that cultivating shared religious practices in the family can contribute to the strengthening of family cohesion and greater satisfaction with family life.