Valentina Milenkova

Transformations in Mass Society and Emergent Properties of Human Behavior in Contemporary Media Space

There are several fundamental changes related to the communication transformations in modern society resulting from the interaction between communication technologies and society. Chronologically, the transformation of communications into mass communications is one of them. Their appearance began to be seen as a panacea for its “healing”. Labels such as the new “hammer and anvil” of social solidarity are the new socializers and trainers. Mass communications are interpreted as a strong bonding mechanism with socio-cultural consequences. They are associated with a natural cultural bridge between the past and the present, between the national and the world heritage. The mass media, however, often destroy traditional cultural and political values and norms, lower aesthetic taste, profane culture. In today’s society - the 21st century society there have been other types of complications. In the paper, based on media content analysis, an emphasis is placed on these negative aspects, which we perceive as a pollution of the media environment and as “non-ecocultural” effects.

Students research activity as a contribution to modern university

...the quality of education and the formation of creativity skills and students research activity are related to the development of the modern university and the high level of education and training.

HIGHER EDUCATION IN BULGARIAN CONTEXT: PECULIARITIES AND CHALLENGES

Abstract The objective of this article is to illustrate the issues and challenges which the higher education system in Bulgaria faces, with a particular accent on the phenomenon “education per kilogram”. The latter describes, in a popular language, the up-scaling of the university graduation, related to the mass proliferation of the higher education institutions (HEIs), the facilitated access to enrolment through paid tuitions, etc. The big quantity of HEIs in the country is in a mismatch with the low percentage of GDP which the government dedicates to education. The number of HEIs is also disproportionate against its population size - 54 HEIs in Bulgaria for population of 7.2 million. The research methodology includes a desktop study based on national statistical data and data from the governmentally-supported university rating system. An empirical survey, conducted among 250 tertiary education students enrolled in four Bulgarian universities, is a valuable contribution towards disclosing the pros and cons of the teaching practices in the tertiary education in the country. The first chapter describes at large the “education per kilogram” issue with regard to its possible origins, variations and consequences for the misbalance of labour market demand for certain qualifications and the universities supplies of qualified individuals. The second chapter reveals a comparative analysis by professional fields possible through the Ministry of Education and Science’s university rating system, i.e. students’ preferences for disciplines, universities and professions; the graduates’ professional fulfilment and how the income of the recent diploma-holders is a function of attending a particular HEI. The third chapter presents a sociological survey conducted among students in four Bulgarian universities which demonstrates learners’ attitudes towards various aspects of training, teaching methods and involvement in research assignments in the context of tertiary education. The main conclusion of the article is that the “universities per kilogram” trend brought about other corresponding characteristics, such as “students per kilogram”, “academic titles per kilogram”, etc. Hence, the large number of HEIs in Bulgaria has not led to improving the quality and efficiency of education, and yet does not respond adequately to the changing labour market demands for qualified professionals.

Leadership and the Role of Information for Innovation, Security and Knowledge Based Management

Information management is an important factor for organizations - as important as people, capital, and technology. Research results presented in this article based on an exploratory study done by the authors in the frame of the research project at the South-West University “Neofit Rilski”, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria in 2016 give reason to assume that creativity of managing processes is reflected not only in the ability of leaders to implement innovative situational approaches, but subordinate knowledge for the application of such approaches. We assume that the management of information becomes creative management only when it is based on relevant knowledge. The entire lifecycle of information - its existence, methods of collection, classification, storage, distribution, use, etc. contains the potential for creativity and innovation serves as a knowledge tool. We argue that leadership and knowledge based management are incompatible with the uncertainty of any kind.