The Joint Vienna Institute

"How does the intellectual role played by international training organisations fit into the contemporary architecture of global governance? The international diffusion of economic policy ideas represents one of the core dimensions of contemporary global governance, which has generated heated controversy in recent years with international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank castigated for championing a ‘one-size-fits-all’ brand of neoliberal economic reform. Yet while substantial scholarly attention has focused on analysing the effects of the formal compliance mechanisms that the IMF and the World Bank rely on to implement neoliberal policy changes in borrowing countries, such as loan conditionality, less attention has been devoted to exploring the intermediate avenues through which neoliberal ideas travel from global governance institutions to national governance contexts. This article aims to address this gap in the study of contemporary global governance and neoliberal policy diffusion through critically examining the evolving role of the Joint Vienna Institute (JVI), an international training organisation set up after the end of the Cold War to transmit global ‘best practice’ economic policy ideas to national officials in post-communist economies.

The Aesthetics of Change: Exploring Post-Communist Spaces

This article explores the relationship between material change and social change under a proposed theory of aesthetics of change. Suggesting a particular understanding of the aesthetic as concerned with feeling and perception, as opposed to artistic representation, the article explores different ways in which practices of seeing, walking and engaging with the material environment significantly affect our experience of social change. Borrowing from Walter Benjamin’s notion of the flaneur and his idea of history as directly embedded into space and the material environment, the article explores the way in which two different forms of visual and spatial manipulations—the Painting Tirana Project, and the Czech Dream Documentary—significantly affect the way in which the post-communist transition was negotiated in Tirana, Albania and Prague, Czech Republic, respectively

Visualising the EU: the Central and East European Enlargement Experience

Starting with an analysis of the recent launch of EUTube, this article poses a number of different questions about the EU’s visibility, particularly from a Central and East European perspective. Arguing against the more commonly held belief that the EU’s visibility is on the decline, the article showcases a number of alternative examples of visibility whereby other actors, coming from the publicity world, critically engage with problems surrounding the EU such as discrimination, the work-visa regime, the EU Constitution and the CAP reforms. Focusing on the Polish Plumber campaign in France and Poland as well as the Bucegi and Ursus beer campaigns in post-enlargement Romania, the article argues that such campaigns could and should play an important role in expanding the visual horizon of the EU and opening the door to other ‘legitimate’ authors of ‘text’ and ‘images’ pertaining to the EU

Human Relationships and International Relations: “Danubius University” of Galati and Its Credo

In this article I will make a synthetic presentation of my conception regarding the missionand objectives of the university which I manage, namely the “Danubius” University of Galati. Thisconception, representing our credo, has been constructed in accordance with the classic ethical norms,already verified and confirmed, by placing man and his relationships with the other human beings atthe core of our interest. Thus, taking into account our traditions and the context in which we live, wepromote good relations with the European Union countries, but also with the other partner countriesfrom all over the world

Euthanasia – a Contemporary Issue

The right to life is one of the fundamental rights of people that have to be respected and protected by each state’s legislation. The connection between the right to life and criminal law is a significant one, as the Criminal Code incriminates a few categories of crimes that can prejudice it. Although that as an object of crimes against life, a person’s life is recognized, the right to life remains a value that can suffer from criminal attempts. Often, in literature, the correlation or the relation between certain criminal acts is discussed, such as the genocide, illegal abortion, euthanasia, infanticide and the right to life, the possibility of mutual influence and their coexistence. Furthermore, the problem of euthanasia involves also the examination of practical and juridical connotations connected to the free accomplishment of the human fundamental rights and the right to life in particular. Can the compatibility or the incompatibility of euthanasia with the right to law be decisive? The answer can only be an affirmative one, as through this approach the judicial statute and the scope of euthanasia can be determined

The 'Roma Problem' in the EU: Nomadism, (in)visible architectures and violence

This article argues that the ‘Roma problem’ in the EU is often translated into a ‘space problem’. The targeting of Roma spaces—camps, right to movement, Roma homes and palaces—ultimately challenges the Roma’s right to settlement and insures their invisibility. By turning its attention to the recent politics of Roma expulsions in France, this article seeks to better understand their implications by looking at: a) the relationship between the Roma’s sedentary vs. nomadic lifestyle; b) the Roma’s use of space to secure both visibility and invisibility; and c) the state’s problematic use of legal violence in order to control and police the Roma. The article strongly suggests that the Roma ‘space problem’ cannot be solved by attempts to either construct (settlement) or constrict (expulsion) Roma spaces by an outside authority, but rather through an acceptance of Roma’s temporary presence—even if it involves a long-term temporality—in camps ‘abroad’ and continued support for Roma communities ‘at home’

Shock, Therapy, and Postcommunist Transitions

This article explores how the concept of shock has been used in connection to processes of social change and transition, and argues that a wider exploration of the concept in fields other than political science and international relations can provide us with important insights into the individual and collective impacts of transitions. Although criticizing the idea of shock as therapy, the article presents a number of alternative uses of shock that can be particularly insightful for understanding often contradictory behaviors that characterize periods of transition, as well as a series of dangerous consequences of attempts to deal with shock through various techniques of distancing, distraction, and normalization

Treatment of acute non-lymphoblastic leukemias

Universitatea de Stat de Medicină şi Farmacie „Nicolae Testemiţanu”, Chişinău, Republica MoldovaIntroduction. Acute myeloid leukemias (AML) are a group of hematological malignancies with primary involvement of the bone marrow (BM). These disorders of hematopoietic system develop due to genetic changes in blood cell precursors that lead to the overproduction of neoplastic clonal myeloid blast cells. It is the most common group of leukemias among the adult population and account for 80% of all cases. Ongoing research and clinical trials continue to explore new therapies and management approaches for AML, including targeted therapies, immunotherapies and personalized medicine strategies based on a patient's genetic mutations. Aim of study. Identification of clinical and laboratory features, evaluation of the effectiveness of different treatment methods of AML. Methods and materials. We present the results of retrospective and prospective analysis of medical records of patients with AML, diagnosed and treated at the Institute of Oncology between 2016-2023. The type of leukemia was identified according to the WHO classification of hematological malignancies and FAB classification of acute leukemias. Our study enrolled 50 adult patients. Results. All of the studied patients presented with anemic syndrome, 87.3% - with hemorrhagic syndrome, 52.1% - with proliferative syndrome and 66.19% - with infectious complications. According to the complete blood count parameters, 97% of the patients had low hemoglobin and erythrocyte levels, 66.17% - leukocytosis, in 19.71% - leukopenia and all patients had changes in the leukocyte formula. Blast cells in the peripheral blood were found in 67% of cases. The BM aspiration revealed more than 20% blasts at diagnosis in 95.7% of cases. According to the FAB classification, M3 and M4 predominated - 22.55% and 35.2% respectively. Induction and consolidation treatments were carried out according to 2+5, 3+7 regimes, low doses of Cytarabine and ATRA. Maintenance treatment was performed with 2+5, 5+Mercaptopurin, 5+Cyclophosphamide and Cytarabin+Mercaptopurin. The chemotherapy treatment was associated with complications: pancytopenia - 73%, infectious complications - 23%, ATRA syndrome - 4%. The mortality rate among studied patients was 57.7%. The most frequent causes of death in our study were multiple organs dysfunction syndrome and hemorrhagic stroke. Conclusion. AML are oncological diseases with progressive evolution and unfavourable prognosis. Early diagnosis and adequate treatment initiation will contribute to the increase of survival. In spite of advances of treatment and increased life expectancy, AML may still be considered a challenging disease for management, especially in old patients. primary involvement of the bone marrow (BM). These diso rders of hematopoietic system develop due to genetic changes in blood cell precursors that lead to the overproduction of neoplastic clonal myeloid blast cells. It is the most common group of leukemi as among the adult population and account for 80% of all cases. Ongoing research and clinica l trials continue to explore new therapies and management approaches for AML, including targeted therap ies, immunotherapies and personalized medicine strategies based on a patient's gene tic mutations. Aim of study. Identification of clinical and laboratory features, eval uation of the effectiveness of different treatment methods of AML. Methods and materials. We present the results of retrospective and prospective a nalysis of medical records of patients with AML, diagnosed and treat ed at the Institute of Oncology between 2016-2023. The type of leukemia was identified according to the WHO clas sification of hematological malignancies and FAB classification of ac ute leukemias. Our study enrolled 50 adult patients. Results. All of the studied patients presented with anemic syndrome, 87.3% - with hemorrhagic syndrome, 52.1% - with proliferative syndrome and 66.19% - with i nfectious complications. According to the complete blood count parameters, 97% of th e patients had low hemoglobin and erythrocyte levels, 66.17% - leukocytosis, in 19.71% - leukopeni a and all patients had changes in the leukocyte formula. Blast cells in the peripheral bl ood were found in 67% of cases. The BM aspiration revealed more than 20% blasts at diagnosis in 95. 7% of cases. According to the FAB classification, M3 and M4 predominated - 22.55% and 35.2% respect ively. Induction and consolidation treatments were carried out according to 2+5, 3+7 regimes, low doses of Cytarabine and ATRA. Maintenance treatment was performed with 2+5, 5+ Mercaptopurin, 5+Cyclophosphamide and Cytarabin+Mercaptopurin. The chemotherap y treatment was associated with complications: pancytopenia - 73%, infectious complica tions - 23%, ATRA syndrome - 4%. The mortality rate among studied patients was 57.7%. The mo st frequent causes of death in our study were multiple organs dysfunction syndrome and hemorrh agic stroke. Conclusion. AML are oncological diseases with progressive evolution and unfavourable prognosis. Early diagnosis and adequate treatment initiati on will contribute to the increase of survival. In spite of advances of treatment and increased life expectancy, AML may still be considered a challenging disease for management, especia lly in old patients

The time-frequency method of signal analysis in internal combustion engine diagnostics

The paper presents the results of the study of applicability of time-frequency correlation functions to solving the problems of internal combustion engine fault diagnostics. The proposed methods are theoretically justified and experimentally tested. In particular, the method's applicability is illustrated by the example of specially generated signals that simulate the vibration of an engine both during the normal operation and in the case of a malfunction in the system supplying fuel to the cylinders. This method was confirmed during an experiment with an automobile internal combustion engine. The study offers the main findings of the simulation and the experiment and highlights certain characteristic features of time-frequency autocorrelation functions that allow one to identify malfunctions in an engine's cylinder. The possibility in principle of using time-frequency correlation functions in function testing of the internal combustion engine is demonstrated. The paper's conclusion proposes further research directions including the application of the method to diagnosing automobile gearboxes