The Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences   ISSN 1512-3677

One significant geopolitical consequence of the demise of the Soviet Union was the rise of intense political and commercial competition for control over the vast energy resources of the newly independent and vulnerable states of the Caucasus and Central Asia. Following the collapse of Communism, the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, particularly Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, have been trying to exploit their natural resources, since they consider oil to be the prime means of securing their economic and political independence. This article is an independent analysis of the main issues facing the oil and gas sector developments in the countries of the former Soviet Union gifted with major petroleum resources: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan in Transcaucasia. Will Caspian oil redraw the global energy map? What is the importance of the Caspian oil for the world market? And what is Caspian energy potential in Central Asian history?

 

This paper focuses on the levels of foreign direct investments coming to Georgia. The main areas addressed by this study include: how to create a favorable investment climate in Georgia and on the possible means of encouragement of FDI inflows in the Georgian economy. This paper aims to fill the knowledge gap in the area of foreign direct investment (FDI) research in Georgia. Various dimensions of FDI were analyzed from a comparative perspective drawing on the case studies of investors in Georgia. The analysis first focused on major obstacles that investors face while performing. Then, attractive features of business climate of Georgia were investigated. Finally, performance issues confronting FDI firms were analyzed. The study results indicated that reasons to invest in Georgia are geopolitical situation and having empty market, and incentives to improve the investment climate of Georgia were State guaranties, tax holidays, political stability, development of infrastructure and advertisement. Another result of the study was that Georgian Government does everything to have free market conditions and do not intervene to the economy. Although the issue of safety affects foreign investors, it does not act as a major deterrent of FDI inflows. The most serious problem influencing the performance of FDI firms were found to be not enough skilled and educated local labor force, economic and political

uncertainty. In general, however, it was found that foreign investors have been satisfied with their performance largely due to the relatively smooth competition and the availability of several market niches in country market.

Children are at the highest poverty risk in any country. Poverty is a blight denying poor children the opportunities that others quite often take for granted. Aiming at elaborating policies/recommendations to eradicate child poverty, the report touches upon social-economic conditions of households with children, presents some measures of child poverty, and highlights social costs of passing childhood in poverty.

Research reveals three imperatives for the growth of national economies: education, health, and technology. Growth requires a well educated population to do the nation’s work. Workers must be in good health in order to be productive. But even well educated and healthy workers need technology in order to leverage their efforts. While these three imperatives are common conditions for growth, rational government policies are required for these factors to function. A new set of forecasting models, THE GEORGIA FORECASTTM, indicate that nearand long-term prospects for Georgia’s growth are bright. These prospective outcomes may be enhanced by rational, economically efficient and equitable adjustments in policy.

The economic stabilization of a country in a market economy transition period significantly depends on the society's stability. Small businesses are the basis of today's Georgian economics, but because of unsuitable management, advantages of this form of business organization are not completely realized. Mostly small entrepreneur structures are handled by their owners, but it is not always advisable. Mainly nonhierarchical small business management structures do not give rise to formal relations, what not existence of suitable managing style stipulates inadequate organization behavior, but unorganized management becomes primitive. It is often the reason small business entrepreneurs fail. So, suitable management for small business is as necessary as initial capital, tangible assets and other factors of development. Because of small business managements, un-development increased following negative events: diversification policy directing becomes harder because of little opportunities to overcome the difficulties of entering and leaving from one sector to another, effective inventions attraction opportunities are reduced while groundless business-strategy conditions; bankrupt risk is large because of uncompetitive managerial decisions; the quality of using business consulting is low and it is often used not to make optimal decisions but to documenting already made decisions; business educations system in Georgia can't satisfy the requirements of small business, because neither entrepreneurs have exact formulated demand on managerial education, nor is the active staffers re-training system market adequate. It's clear that solving the aforesaid problems is impossible without concerning consensus achievement of stakeholders and strong will. Most managers and entrepreneurs pay less attention to strategic approaches while managing small business structures. Managers of small structures are required to be flexible thinkers and dynamic actors in the marketplace, while estimating strategic alternatives for elaborating the most preferable strategy by observation of the environment without complex research. They provide SWOT analyze, estimate competitiveness, foresee opportunities of outsourcing, analyze value chains, plan business operations and project organization process and etc. All of this requires a special style of management, one which must provide small business advantages such as: high maneuvering, flexibility, effective informational-communicative connection, entrepreneur – innovative potential and other. Time budgeting by a manager must include equal expenses for work planning-organizing and control, also motivation and support for employees.

True logic of our world is calculation of probabilities. Maxwell, J. C. The scenario logic and probabilistic (LP) bribe models for the department “Economic crimes” of towns are offered with the purpose of revealing, estimating and analyzing bribes on the basis of the statistical data. The following bribe LB-models are described: 1) at the institutions according to the results of their functioning, 2) of the officials on the basis of the descriptions of their behavior, 3) of the institution and of the officials on the basis of the analysis of the service parameters. Examples of identifying and of the analysis of the bribe LP-models according to the statistical data are given here. Problems of bribes and corruption are of great computing complexity and are solved only by means of special Software.

Mass media has very powerful tools to create public opinion. In every day life, we are influenced by media in different ways. Media coverage helps to define the things we think about and worry about. The Mass media influence us, but scholars are divided about how much. People choose what they read and what they listen to or watch and they generally filter the information and images to conform to their notions and personal values. The Media tries to fit into the lives of their audience. The Media contribute both to social stability and to change.

This study examines how a Christian-oriented Western press organization covers religion-related news in the Caucasus. Coverage in 2005 overwhelmingly focused on Christianity. Although governmental sources are more likely to be cited than religiously affiliated sources, comments of religiously affiliated sources receive more prominence. The analysis also examined unnamed news sources and use of key words related to terrorism and violence.

This article is about a maritime archaeological site in the outer archipelago of the Еland Islands, Finland. The site is very complex in nature and consists of two islands: Rцdцn and Gloskдr. The site is part of an ongoing research project at Uleеborg University in Finland. The site has been excavated for three seasons. The 2007 excavation was the first that had participants from Georgia and Sweden. Previous research declared the site as a chapel from the Middle Ages in Scandinavia (thirteenth and fourteenth centuries). The authors discuss that in the light of the new results it is time to reassess the site and its function in society in its own time and context. Based on the results from the 2007 expedition, the authors suggest a new approach to the site and state it as a complex context for an inn that has its roots in the Middle Ages.

In the second part of the fifth century King of Georgia Vakhtang Gorgasali reconstructed and extended Tbilisi alongside some other cities and made it the capital of the country. From that time, the significance of the city considerably increased and together with some other distinguished cities of the world, it was frequently mentioned in the works of foreign travelers and scholars visiting Georgia. The present paper introduces the evidence of foreign sources about Tbilisi from the fourth century until the twentieth century in Greek, Armenian, Arabic, Persian, Turkish and European languages. Attention is drawn to the location, the architecture, the population, its occupation, the conquerors of the city, and the fights against them. One can see that regardless of the ethnic composition of Tbilisi, which changed over time - the city managed to preserve its face and peculiarities: aspiration towards freedom, tolerance, and hospitality. All visitors were delighted by the sulfur baths, the architecture, the educated people, their taste, and the beauty of the women. Since Tbilisi preserved its position as the main city of the country for a long time, the paper also includes a brief history of Georgia presented from a special perspective.

As a result of detailed analysis of sources, we came to the conclusion that the well-known fighting in the ancient world between Cyrus, the first ruler of Achaemenid Persia and the Scythian tribes of Massagatae – which resulted with the death of the former - took place in North Adarbadagan, somewhere between the Svani and Urmia lakes and not in Middle Asia, in the vicinity of River Amu Darya as it was universally accepted in Historiography. The murder of Cyrus was among the most uncommon phenomena for the ancient world.The deep resonance that it brought about among middle eastern people, was therefore only natural. Hence, the event was disseminated among the people in many different versions as early as in the epoch of Herodotus. A version of the fight in question is preserved in Georgian Chronicles in the form of a fight between the Thargoids with the Nimrod, and aslo in the Old Armenian Historiography in the form of a fight with Thargoids’ (Hyrcanians) Bell.

As a result of detailed analysis of sources, we came to the conclusion that the well-known fighting in the ancient world between Cyrus, the first ruler of Achaemenid Persia and the Scythian tribes of Massagatae – which resulted with the death of the former - took place in North Adarbadagan, somewhere between the Svani and Urmia lakes and not in Middle Asia, in the vicinity of River Amu Darya as it was universally accepted in Historiography. The murder of Cyrus was among the most uncommon phenomena for the ancient world.The deep resonance that it brought about among middle eastern people, was therefore only natural. Hence, the event was disseminated among the people in many different versions as early as in the epoch of Herodotus. A version of the fight in question is preserved in Georgian Chronicles in the form of a fight between the Thargoids with the Nimrod, and aslo in the Old Armenian Historiography in the form of a fight with Thargoids’ (Hyrcanians) Bell.

At first, planning the development of the separate areas of Georgia is necessary, alongside with other factors, to consider the opportunity to receive the needed quantity and quality of water. The task of water distribution is formulated so: at the presence of a deficiency of water in a pool from the examined river, it is necessary to find the optimum size deficiency waters paid to consumers within a given pool, and the optimality is understood at least the sums of economic damages at the set size of deficiency. A new approach to answer the question of water-distribution should determine the tendencies in designing and creating the automated irrigation system by factors of the life of the plants providing reception of stable high crops of agricultural crops, close to their biological potential. It is necessary to note, that research on the technical perfection of ameliorative systems is being done continuously. In the process of developing a science there is improvement in the design of the system as a whole, and its separate elements. One of the major problems for the operation of irrigation systems it is the organization of the optimum control of distribution of deficient water resources. Such management can be carried out as soon as the automated control systems for water distribution are created. The production function reflects the dependence of a crop’s size on the volume of water allocated for its irrigation, which varies from year to year and from field to field—as it is related to soil fertility and meteorological conditions. Besides this, even under fixed conditions of an environment with the presence of a deficiency of water resources for crops, essential influence renders a mode of an irrigation. Terms and rates enamel that cause statement and decisions for the task of optimizing the mode of irrigation with a deficiency of water resources.