The article explores some of the theoretical and disciplinary challenges in the conceptualization of parenting and the perspectives for overcoming the corresponding difficulties. The author identifies and investigates three major lines of differences between the theoretical perspectives on parenting: universalist-pluralist, gender-neutral – gender-sensitive and child-centred – parent-centred perspectives. Research of the diverse and fragmented contemporary parenting practices and family structures requires a common, interdisciplinary basis for understanding the various aspects of the parenting experience. A starting point for such an understanding could be the conceptualization of parenting in terms of the parenting practices. Based on existing research and typologies of parenting practices a concept of parenting is proposed as a set of activities and responsibilities in six interrelated domains of human experience – economic, interactional, interpretative, physical, cognitive and affective.

The intensive depopulation of rural areas in Bulgaria over the past seven decades has serious consequences on the integrity and scope of rural settlements network. During 1946-2016 nearly 1000 villages (17% of all rural settlements) disappear for one reason or another from map of the country. Between 160 and 200 completely depopulated villages (so called “ghost villages”) continue to appear in the Register of settlements, albeit gradually administratively deleted and replaced by new completely depopulated settlements as a result of their terminal biological depopulation. The article bellow is presenting an attempt to determine the pace of contraction of the rural settlement network in Bulgaria till 2050. Conclusions are based on the results of the linear extrapolation of the dynamics of the number of inhabitants in 5045 villages which has been existing during the Census in 2011. The basic hypothesis is that the possible dynamics of rural population change till 2050 will be the same as it was during 1946-2011. Although the results have only purely informative character due to the limitations of applied statistics and mathematical model, they give us a directions in which rural depopulation could escalate in Bulgaria at both national and regional (municipal) level.

Employed graduates as part of the workforce in the country is characterized by a number of characteristics, among which stands out the expected relatively long (compared with those of older age groups) time horizon for professional realization of accumulated human capital with relatively high quality (in compared with individuals with lower education levels) in terms of the continuing decline in the population of youth age groups and promote the opportunities for the application of the principle and free movement of workers. In this context, approaches and measures to retain and motivate employed young people with higher education (including decent pay and attractive employment conditions) are sought and applied, including activities to provide opportunities for competence development in organizations. This article presents the results of the questionnaire toolkit for studying the attitudes of employed young graduates to a variety of training methods that are provided in organizations as opportunities for improving competencies. The presented questionnaire toolbox is an accessible and effective means by which the employer can periodically examine the attitudes of busy young people with higher education to the various training methods offered in the organization and on this basis to make reasoned decisions for improving the system for training and development of human resources as a prerequisite for retaining and motivating young employees with higher education.

This article discusses the characteristics of marriage patterns and specifically the crude marriage rate. Using its values for the period 1834-188, this indicator enables us to trace the changes in the rate as depending on the historical situation. By comparing the crude marriage rate for different European countries, it is possible to reveal the position of the Bulgarian lands in the general demographic picture of the European continent. The outlined trend allows us to conclude that the crude marriage rate remains relatively stable and slowly starts to change.

The focus of study in this paper is the dynamics of multiple births in Bulgaria. The trends of these births are examined in several sub-periods, since 1881 (the earliest date when reliable statistics are available) until the present. Four sub-periods are revealed: 1) before 1910 – period of increase of the share of multiple births up to 1,5 per 1000 births; 2) 1920-1951 (the share is around 1 per 1000); 3) since 1951 to the beginning of the XXI century (below 1 per 1000); after 2005 – a strong trend of increase of the share of multiple births up to 1,7 per 1000).

The scope and pace of depopulation of Bulgaria’s rural regions have long turned into a major social evil and have undoubtedly been a hampering factor for this nation’s development. The pace of depopulation of villages in Bulgaria throughout the last seven decades stands among the highest in the world and the trend toward its acceleration leads to a growth in the scope of the municipalities and settlement categories affected. Despite the serious damages that rural depopulation has caused to the country and to the chances of its rural areas for positive demographic, social and economic development, of ever larger agricultural regions, there are not many studies by Bulgarian researchers working in areas such as demography, geography of settlements, regional economy, sociology or economic history. The paper below presents a new approach to the study of the real pace experienced by rural depopulation along the period 1946–2011 of rural population between the censuses over the indicated period based on the dynamics found in the number of the “authentic” rural population. The shortest explanation of this term (which has not been used in any scientific research efforts hitherto) is that “authentic” rural population means the village residents who have always been rural for the entire period of the study i.e. localities that have not been administratively affiliated to cities and have never been promoted to the category of townships.

The article outlines the significance of the Greek periodicals as a source of demographic history of the Bulgarian lands during the National Revival. This significance is clarified by reviewing and analysing the documents on the migrations of the population that inhabited the studied region during the National Revival published in the pages of the Greek newspaper Ανατολικός Αστήρ [Anatolikos Astir], which was issued in Istanbul from 1861 to 1877. This newspaper is among the most long-standing periodicals that were issued in the Ottoman Empire’s capital city in the 19th century, and was largely popular across the Bulgarian lands under Ottoman rule.

The main goal of this study is to summarise and analyse the articles issued by the Anatolikos Astir during the period 1861–1877 and having relevance to the demographic policy implemented across the Bulgarian lands and in respect to the population inhabiting them during the Bulgarian National Revival. The implementation thereof leads us to the understanding that the pages of that newspaper contain some articles relative to all lines of the studied agenda. However uneven its location is both in the timeline and in terms of the individual areas of the studied space this type of information comprises the whole of the reference period and the entire reference territory. This opens the opportunity to ascertain the significant part played by the newspaper Anatolikos Astir as a source revealing the historical development of demographic policies implemented in our lands.