Software for Regional Studies: Adjustment Procedures for Integrated Balances

This report is devoted to the problem of analysis of sensitivity of balance tables, which arises by mathematical modeling, for example, economic-financial flow within a region, a trade market, a transport system and so on. The report contains both the statement of the problem and the algorithms of solution, including a well detailed software description

Talking Heads: Forecasting Russian Aggression in ‘Frozen’ Separatist Conflicts

In the last 14 years, Russia has militarily intervened in three ‘frozen’—where hostilities have ceased, but the resolution of a conflict has no end in sight— separatist conflicts in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine. These conflicts have caused mass casualties, disrupted the lives of people living in these regions, and unsettled regional security. Further, the outbreak of a wider international conflict is a real possibility, as seen by the presence of  NATO member Turkey’s involvement in the most recent conflict in Azerbaijan.  If we could forecast when Russia will militarily intervene next, policy makers could take more decisive actions—to prevent a more serious international conflict. Through analyzing Russian elite rhetoric, this project hopes to show that future Russian military aggression in ‘frozen’ separatist conflicts can potentially be forecasted. This project will compare Russian elite’s quotes in news articles regarding the separatists regions in Georgia in Moldova, in three distinct time periods—1992-2002, 2003-2008, 2009-the present. Through computer-assisted text analysis methods, this project aims to clarify whether, between 2003-2008—during the Rose Revolution—in Georgia, Russian elite rhetoric could have forecasted Russia’s 2008 war with Georgia. Through the growing revolution of text analysis in political science research, this paper will be able to survey large amounts of text, in ways that were once inaccessible or required arduous efforts to understand the meaning of text. This paper hopes to provide a mechanism to forewarn of impending Russian military aggression, while applying text analyses methods in a new application

Talking Heads: Forecasting Russian Aggression in ‘Frozen’ Separatist Conflicts

In the last 14 years, Russia has militarily intervened in three ‘frozen’—where hostilities have ceased, but the resolution of a conflict has end in sight— separatist conflicts in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine. These conflicts have caused mass casualties, disrupted the lives of people living in these regions, and unsettled regional security. Further, the outbreak of a wider international conflict is a real possibility, as seen by the presence of  NATO member Turkey’s involvement in the most recent conflict in Azerbaijan.  If we could forecast when Russia will militarily intervene next, policy makers could take more decisive actions—to prevent a more serious international conflict. Through analyzing Russian elite rhetoric, this project hopes to show that future Russian military aggression in ‘frozen’ separatist conflicts can potentially be forecasted. This project will compare Russian elite’s quotes in news articles regarding the separatists regions in Georgia in Moldova, in three distinct time periods—1992-2002, 2003-2008, 2009-the present. Through computer-assisted text analysis methods, this project aims to clarify whether, between 2003-2008—during the Rose Revolution—in Georgia, Russian elite rhetoric could have forecasted Russia’s 2008 war with Georgia. Through the growing revolution of text analysis in political science research, this paper will be able to survey large amounts of text, in ways that were once inaccessible or required arduous efforts to understand the meaning of text. This paper hopes to provide a mechanism to forewarn of impending Russian military aggression, while applying text analyses methods in a new application. Faculty Supervisor:Dr. Edana Bauvais, Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser Universit

Psalm Cycle

“Psalm Cycle” is a collection of Psalms set to music and inspired by a season of studying the life of David, the primary Psalmist. Each Psalm was picked for its vantage point in David’s life and specific themes, striving for parity. Formally, the work is like a song cycle in that the various movements are connected through their authorship and place in David’s story, while resembling a cantata in that it can be performed in a worship service. As the project took shape, I diverged musically from either form’s constraints and allowed myself to interpret the text with my own artistic voice. This choice resulted in a wide variety of musical styles, ranging from sacred chorales with “IV. Save Me” to a jazz fusion take on blues with “VII. Create In Me A Clean Heart.” The work features instrumentation that blends a big band with a traditional orchestra, a synthesis of my favorite ensembles. It is written for three saxophones, two French horns, two trumpets, 3 trombones, piano, bass guitar, drum set, percussion, organ, voices, and a string section of violins, violas, and cellos. The flexibility that this diverse instrumentation creates was needed to accommodate the wide variety of musical styles and choices. For the lyrics, I employed a combination of paraphrasing, quoting excerpts, and writing my own words. The specific translation I used was the World English Bible (WEB), which is a Public Domain Modern English translation of the Holy Bible

Um nova espécie de Gnamptogenys de Mato Grosso (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

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Tržišno pozicioniranje agencije za nekretnine „Tomić i Vuković j.d.o.o.“ : Završni rad

Cilj ovog rada je dati teorijski pregled spoznaja o tržišnom pozicioniranju te ih primjeniti na poslovnom slučaju agencije za nekretnine „Tomić i Vuković“. Tržišno pozicioniranje je smještanje poduzeća i njegovih proizvoda u svijest potrošača. Ono je od iznimne važnosti kako bi se diferenciralo od konkurencije. Pozicioniranje se provodi u sklopu strategije marketinga nakon jasno definirane vizije, misije, ciljeva poslovanje te odabranog ciljnog tržišta. Ključ dobre tržišne pozicije je odabir atributa po kojem poduzeće može postati „broj jedan“ na tržištu. Razradom poslovnog slučaja na agenciji „Tomić i Vuković“, odnosno analizom njihove pozicije na tržištu, spoznano je da imaju prostora za poboljšanje pozicije te se došlo do zaključka da je to najbolje moguće putem povećane promocije, s ciljem širenja i produbljivanja ponude.The main purpose of this final paper is to provide theoretical overview of the knowledge about market positioning and to apply them on the case study of real estate agency „Tomić i Vuković“ Market positioning is placement of a company and a product in the mind of a consumer. It is of utmost importance to do so in order to differentiate among competition. Positioning is carried out within marketing strategy, after defining vision, mission, business goals and target markets. The key of successful market position is to choose attributes that could set a company as the number one. While elaborating the case study of real estate agency „Tomić i Vuković” and analysing their market position, it is known that there is a space to improve their market position and it is concluded that the best way to do so is by increasing promotional activities