European Political, Economic, and Security Issues: Bulgaria: Environmental, Social and Economic Challenges (PDF)

In this compilation, the authors aim to determine whether there was an association between contact with urban greenery and displaced aggression in young people in Bulgaria and, if so, whether nature experiences were a significant mediator of that association. As such, a cross-sectional, self-report study was conducted among 239 young visitors of the biggest park in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Next, the association between perceived bluespace and noise annoyance in the living environment is examined using a sample of 720 young Bulgarians (18-35 years of age) from the Medical University of Plovdiv. Research on this subject in Bulgaria has suggested that annoyance is associated with considerable socioeconomic costs. The authors also carried out a questionnaire survey in the city of Plovdiv in which group of students from a medical university were followed from October to December 2017 to examine their mental health. The following mediators were considered: annoyance due to environmental pollution, perceived quality of living environment, neighborhood social cohesion, commuting and physical activity. Due to the nature of their work, nurses are at risk of developing health anxiety, which has also been observed in other medical industry workers. To identify associations between some demographic characteristics, psycho-social, organizational, and physical occupational factors and health anxiety levels among nursing staff, a survey fonducted amongst 63 nurses from four hospitals in Plovdiv is analyzed. Following this, the authors suggest that the relationships and attitudes between different ethnic groups are among the most important factors for building a tolerant society. Thus, the authors present a study of interethnic attitudes between Bulgarians (N = 576) and Turks (N = 320) in three regions in Bulgaria. Keeping in mind the social and historical context of their centuries-long cohabitation, as well as certain significant events presented in their collective memory, the emotional relations, social contacts and discrimination were studied. Additionally, Bulgaria: Environmental, Social and Economic Challenges aims to address the following questions: how did these governments approach Bulgarian culture in general and Bulgarian museums and heritage in particular? Fluctuation, instability and uncertainty surrounded Bulgarian culture since the fall of the socialist regime. What is the connection between state administration and cultural development? Does the former affect the latter?The authors also investigate the involvement of Bulgarian community pharmacists in the promotion of healthy lifestyle and hygiene, in the context of the international movement for pharmaceutical public health, by way of a cross-sectional questionnaire survey conducted among 98 randomly selected master-pharmacists in the district of Plovdiv. Party regulation has increased significantly across European states in the last decade, however this topic has received relatively little attention thus far. One of the goals of increased regulation has been to make party matters, especially party financing, more transparent in order to regain their legitimacy among the public. The authors aim to fill this gap in knowledge on party finance regulation and its effects. The main objective of the concluding study is to review the current state of the Bulgarian banking sector eleven years after accession of Bulgaria to the European Union and the recent developments and achievements in resolving the banking sector issues. The main trends characterizing the system are analysed on the basis of indicators such as balance sheet structure, capital adequacy, liquidity, profitability, credit and deposit activity and interest rates.