Small Islands and Large Scale Spatial Development Patterns - Story of the Croatian Island of Unije

The paper deals with impacts of large scale patterns of socio-economic development on small island communities and their economies. The Croatian island of Unije (17 km2, 100 islanders) is chosen as a representative case due to its relatively rich resources and turbulent economic and social history. The paper describes the island's ecosystem, resources, population and built environment and analyses ups and downs that the island experienced in last two centuries. The inability of usual analytical methods to capture features of small economies and communities is observed and discussed. The main external economic factors of changes of the Unije community have been the fishing industry with its dynamic spatial pattern and the tourist industry which has been the main activity on the island in the last 40 years. Other factors have been changes in the geo-political environment and general socialist development policies. Development of both industries and corresponding state policies are discussed in order to reveal the inability of policy makers to take into account insular development specificities. Policy failure to take into account different effects that the same measure may have in different parts of the territory in which it is applied is also discussed. In the remainder, decentralisation of development management and bottom-up top down policy mix are proposed and elaborated as solutions for existing policy failures.

Tracking patterns of body mass index and triceps skinfold thickness from childhood to young adulthood: a 12-year prospective cohort study in Slovenia

OBJECTIVE: To examine tracking patterns of body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), height and weight from childhood to young adulthood in a rapidly developing society.DESIGN: Prospective 12-year cohort study of the Slovenian children, born during 1990-1991.SUBJECTS: A subsample of 4 833 Slovenian children from the 1990-1991 national cohort (n = 21 777) who were included in the SLOFIT monitoring system from 1997 to 2008, with complete data at age 7 and 18 y.MEASUREMENTS: Height, weight and TSF were measured at ages 7, 11, 14 and 18 y. The IOTF BMI cutoff points were used to identify overweight and obesity. RESULTS: Height, weight, and BMI at age 18 y were well predicted from childhood and grew more predictable with age, while TSF was not. Obese and overweight children had the greatest risk of becoming overweight or obese young adults, since tracking of overweight and obesity showed that 53.9% of overweight and 77.7% of obese 7-y old males remained overweight or obese at age 18 y in comparison with 32.1% of overweight and 62% of obese 7-y old females. History of obese 18-y olds showed that 40% of males and 48.6% of females had been obese already at age 7 y. CONCLUSION: The study confirmed the tracking of BMI from childhood to young adulthood. Overweight or obese Slovenian children are very likely to become overweight or obese adolescents and young adults, which calls for the need of early prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity

Pro-Active Regional Development Policy - the Croatian Case

The paper deals with existing regional development discrepancies in Croatia and discusses possibilities of initiating dormant development potentials and closing development gaps. Bottom up policy approach is analysed in view of Croatian specific regional features that call for careful design of a specific bottom up ? top down policy. Such a policy requires efficient communication between national and local government levels, coordinated design of regional and structural measures, capacity building of local self-government structures and thorough development programming. Qualitative development factors like institutions, political environment and social capital are attached a particular importance. Almost totally neglected today these factors deserve a special attention in future Croatian development policy formation. Monitoring and evaluation of policy measures appear equally neglected and deserve a special attention as well. At the end, a pro-active regional policy is scoped and particular measures and projects proposed.

Local Community, Development Management and Transition

The paper deals with development management in a transition country (Croatian case) and focuses on preparation of strategic development documents on regional and local level. Socialist legacy obvious in still existing formal approach to preparation and adoption of development documents is discussed first. Inadequacies of such a practice are observed and analysed including the gap between strategic document production and actual decision making. A participative, goal oriented methodology for preparing development documents is proposed next. Preparation steps are listed on the basis of common methodology required by European Union structural funds. Adjustments necessary to make the methodology applicable in the Croatian socio-economic environment are derived from various case studies. Main steps are described and explained as follows: i) estimation of readiness of potential beneficiaries, ii) kick-off seminar, iii) establishment of development councils and development teams, iv) SWOT analysis, v) participative identification of problems, goals and measures, vi) drafting the programme, vii) harmonisation with political programmes, current development programs and plans and the budget, viii) public hearing, ix) drafting the action plan, x) formal adoption and xi) monitoring and evaluation. Implementation problems are discussed in the remainder. Main observed barriers to a sound programme based local development management are: lack of participation in strategic decision making, lack of institutional considerations in programme preparation, inappropriate management capacity of local governments and, before all, lack of political will to base development management on appropriate documentation. The paper concludes with policy recommendation.

The role of salience in newspaper advertisments with a view to their development as a genre

The paper presents an analysis of newspaper advertisements in the Slovene newspapers Edinost (1876-1928) and Slovenski narod (1866-1945) in order to investigate the role of salience in these adverts. The analysis is discussed within the grammar of visual design (Kress & van Leeuwen 2005 [1996]), the theory of culturally popular patterns of text organisation (Hoez 2001), as well as pragmatics and discourse analysis (Kunst Gnamuš 1984, Bešter 1992, Kranjc 1998, Schiffrin 1996 [1987], Verschueren 2000, Cook 2001). It is a detail of a study (Starc 2007) that aims to determine the constants in the development of the adverts\u27 structure, the use of semiotic codes and their functions in the discourse of advertisements through time. The data of the study show two constants: the changing layout of adverts and the organisation of the text, which follow either the Problem-Solution or the Desire Arousal- Fulfilment pattern of the text. In the older adverts, salience is achieved by typography, empty space, pictorial and cohesive sources. It is also concluded that salience has a significant role in the development of adverts as a genrenot only does it help to attract readers\u27 attention, it also construes meaning and affects text structure

Small Islands and Large Scale Spatial Development Patterns - Story of the Croatian Island of Unije

The paper deals with impacts of large scale patterns of socio-economic development on small island communities and their economies. The Croatian island of Unije (17 km2, 100 islanders) is chosen as a representative case due to its relatively rich resources and turbulent economic and social history. The paper describes the island's ecosystem, resources, population and built environment and analyses ups and downs that the island experienced in last two centuries. The inability of usual analytical methods to capture features of small economies and communities is observed and discussed. The main external economic factors of changes of the Unije community have been the fishing industry with its dynamic spatial pattern and the tourist industry which has been the main activity on the island in the last 40 years. Other factors have been changes in the geo-political environment and general socialist development policies. Development of both industries and corresponding state policies are discussed in order to reveal the inability of policy makers to take into account insular development specificities. Policy failure to take into account different effects that the same measure may have in different parts of the territory in which it is applied is also discussed. In the remainder, decentralisation of development management and bottom-up top down policy mix are proposed and elaborated as solutions for existing policy failures