DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2018.2.26712

Abstract: The object of this research is the threat which comes from conflict and crisis situations in the Arab East. The subject of this research is the position of China on the conflict and crisis situations in countries like Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen. This article's contemporary value is justified by the escalation and the rising of conflict and crisis situations in the Arab East, and the difficulty of their resolution. Until recently the attention of researchers has eluded the Yemen conflict and the policies of China for its resolution. The author used recent data on the position of Beijing in countries like Syria and Iraq. The goal of the article is to evaluate the volume of the threat which conflict and crisis situations represent for the interests of China in this region, as well as the interests of companies and organizations involved in economic projects in the Arab countries. The author conducted an analysis of the newest trends in the foreign polices of Beijing, which, while observing the principle of non-interference into the affairs of other countries, distances itself from armed conflict and supports political methods of conflict resolution. With the principle of historism in the leading role for this research, the methodological basis of this article consists of the comparative-political approach, the methods of analysis and synthesis. In conclusion, the author summarizes that China's goal is to play a more active role in the Arab East, which is largely related to its "one belt-one Way" initiative. While Beijing is determined to maintain the policy of non-interference, it acts more decisively in order to protect the interests of its citizens in the region while augmenting its military potential.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2018.2.26462

Abstract: The subject of this study is the dangerous hot spot of international tension, the Republic of South Sudan (RSS), which has been the focus of the peacekeeping mission which involves 10,000 "blue helmets", including a 4-thousand strong regional defense force. The author examines the situation in the RSS from the viewpoint of the increased economic interest by the major international players being focused on this region, and reaches a substantiated conclusion that there is a targeted, strategically, organizationally and methodically planned interference of foreign actors in the domestic business of this lucrative African area. Over the course of this study, the author uses the structural and functional method for analyzing the information, which allows for outlining the types of interference and, through it, to unveil the active and passive actors of the interference into the affairs of this region. To sum up the study, the author offers a prognosis of the further rise in the tendencies for the emergence of new tension hotspots, basing on the difficulty of the transition from the unipolar world to a multipolar world, resulting in the spread of double standards policies, and the permissiveness of "great powers", the reluctance of those in power to step down on one side, and the desire of others to establish themselves in the region, on the other side, as well as gross violations of international Law and the lack of any real mechanisms to reign in the ambitions of trans-continental actors.  

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2018.2.25674

Abstract: The subject of this article is the multitude of conflicts which occur in educational organizations undergoing organizational change. The author defines conflict and organizational changes, drawing attention to the fact that organizational changes are a conflictogenic factor in any organization, including an educational institution, as it causes friction with the employees. Due to this, the necessity of conflict-prevention and academically-substantiated measures of resolving existing conflicts is justified. The methodological basis of this work includes modern approaches to studying social and psychological foundations of conflict in an organization. The article also contains the data acquired from sociological research of conflictness deriving from organizational changes in educational institutions. Over the course of the sociological research the author describes the satisfaction levels regarding the organizational changes, and the level conflict potential. The results allowed the author to reach the conclusion that organizational changes, as a whole, may be a major contributor to conflict in case the employees do not understand, or do not share the goal of such changes.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2018.2.26626

Abstract: During the recent years the topic of racism became somewhat topical for the Russian Federation, which calls for analyzing this phenomenon in historical retrospective. This article attempts to trace the representation of racism as a phenomenon, basing in the visiotypes of Soviet caricature of 1950s-1980s. The analysis of a visual narrative chiefly involves the three major groups of questions: a) the topic of racism and colonialism being examined from the then-popular "their morals" ideological prism; b) source-established racial and ethnic clichés for the representatives of foreign countries; c) racial and ethnic clichés established for Soviet citizens. The illustrations of the "Krokodil" magazine serve as the main source, along with other works by the leaders of Soviet caricature of this period. The methodology of this research is the decomposition of the visual narrative and the comparative analysis of visual sources. The main conclusion of this article is that, despite the formal opposition to racism on the government level, Soviet caricature went on cultivating racist prejudice regarding the nations of the world, including the USSR, sometimes following the instrumental tasks of authorities, and sometimes continuing the traditions of visualizing non-European peoples.  

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2018.2.25664

Abstract: This article focuses on the analysis of value content in social advertising in Russia and in Spain as a reflection of the social and cultural realities of relative countries. The subject of research is the value content of social advertising in the social and cultural context of Russia and Spain. The object of research is the social advertising in Russia and Spain. The author makes an effort to analyze the value content in social advertising which includes the symbolic, the aesthetic, ethnic and other semiotic codes. The author scrutinizes the types of social advertising which reflect the axiological dominants, the trends in the shifting of the value landmarks of Russian and Spanish societies, which are going through periods of social and political transformation and the reformation of the culture's founding values. Comparative analysis constitutes the method of the research, as it allows for analyzing the value content of social advertisement in Russia and Spain. The methodological basis of this work is the research cultural, social, philosophical and ideological aspects of respective societies. The novelty of this work is reflected in the importance of examining social advertising as a mass product of modern culture that forms the language and value landmarks of the new generation. The analysis of the value content of social advertising may be used in the studies of the dynamics of values which are broadcasted via social advertisement within the framework of the system of mass communications, and which are used for solving the standing issues of the cultural development of the modern society.