Keywords: NATO; Slovakia
Today, when NATO’s principle of collective defence has regained importance, we find ourselves “in,” but “without.” We all know what needs to be done and what would be a security gamble. We have to make the necessary strategic decisions, instead of turning a blind eye to our already collapsing armed forces and fading good name.
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Keywords: consumption-based society; human rights; enslavement of consumers
The world of consumption and the consumerist society figure prominently within the social reality of capitalism. A distinctive feature of that world is that its focus on consumption is so strong as to justify speaking of an ideology of consumerism – one highly expansive in orientation, so that it takes in both rich and developing countries. The world of consumption is a world which delights --- at first sight --- due to its abundance of goods, the widespread access to them it offers, and its almost unlimited possibilities. Because of this, the wonder-inducing world of consumption is sometimes regarded as magical. The affluence which surrounds human beings seemingly does not call for any hard work or effort, while all goods seem to just appear miraculously on the shelves in shops. But is the world of consumption as wonderful as it seems at first sight? Is this world genuinely friendly? It seems reasonable to question the level of actual implementation of human rights in this world. This article aims to give answers to these questions.
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Keywords: cosmology; anthropic reasoning; multiverse
In contemporary cosmology, from the creation of the General Theory of Relativity to the second half of the twentieth century, the main task of cosmologists was to construct and test cosmological models of the Universe. Nowadays you will notice that besides these objectives there is a new type of justifying the fact that the observable Universe’s properties are such as they are, and no other. Ways of reasoning called the anthropic explanation are formed, attempting to answer the question: why does the Universe have a nature (properties) necessary for the biological life to come into existence in it? Their objectives are: firstly, an attempt at solving the difficulties of the Standard Cosmological Model, secondly, seeking an explanation of the coincidence of large numbers and the so-called physical constants. The supporters of this kind of explanation are themselves aware of its fundamental weakness: it is neither a causal, nor a nomological explanation; it fails to have the structure of a generalizing explanation, it is alleged to be a tautology. The anthropic principle in cosmology was initially regarded as an observational constrain for cosmological parameters of the standard model of the Universe. However, it can be shown that some consequences of anthropic reasoning are testable, as well as that its explanatory nature is more evident in the specific forms of the theory of explanation.
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Keywords: patriotic education; patriotism; fatherland
Patriotic education is not an easy task, despite the of experience in this field, that has been acquired over centuries. It is an effort of individuals, social groups, the nation that have organized within the state. It is hard not to notice that nowadays many countries spend huge sums of money for this purpose. Patriotic education is strongly related to civil education and national defense education –that is why it must be considered as one of many determinants of safety. It “plays the first fiddle” in the nation’s development and the need for its implementation is still relevant, important.
More...![Sebastian Glatz, Die Energiesicherheit der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Nationale Interessen im geopolitischen Kontext [Bouvier Verlag, Bonn 2010, 180 pp.]](/api/image/getissuecoverimage?id=picture_2010_47404.jpg)
Keywords: Morocco; Germany; energy partnership; renewable energy sources;
The article presents selected issues of energy cooperation between Morocco and Germany. The starting point of the considerations are data on the Moroccan energy situation as well as assumptions and objectives of Morocco’s energy policy in the 21 st century. In addition, the study presents the causes and development of bilateral energy cooperation, including in particular manifestations of Germany’s involvement in the process of creating and achieving Morocco’s energy policy goals. It discusses the essence of the energy partnership of Morocco and Germany, as well as selected examples of Moroccan projects co-financed by German institutions in the field of renewable energy development and increasing energy efficiency.
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Keywords: world dominance; economic competition; struggle for technological leadership; military race;
Donald Trump, as a presidential candidate, made public what many observers thought in private – since the collapse of the Soviet Union, China has become the biggest threat to the unipolar world, the one dominated by the United States. This paper analyses factors that may determine the outcome of this battle, in particular their relative economic strength. This element is vital during times of peaceful competition and, as such, determines current politics and most likely will define the current struggle for world dominance. We also review the protagonists’ defense spending and their relative positions in the military sphere..
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Keywords: Immigration; Spain; Latin America;
Since Spain became a member of the European Union (at the time still the “European Community”) on 1 January 1986, it has experienced, in terms of migration, the most profound transformations in its contemporary history, turning from a country of emigration into a country accepting immigrants. Although since the outbreak of the economic crisis in 2008, the number of immigrants has begun dropping, between 1990 and 2010, Spain recorded the greatest inflow of immigrants since the Middle Ages; their percentage in this period grew from 2% to over 13% of Spain’s total population. This means relatively the highest increase in the immigration population among all member countries of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in that period. One of the largest groups of immigrants arriving in Spain was formed by people from Latin America, in 2009 constituting 31.7% of all foreigners settling there. The vast increase in Latin American immigration to Spain was caused by a number of various factors: political crisis in the countries of that region, absence of visa requirements upon entry to Spain for citizens of many of these countries, restrictive immigration policy of other accepting countries, as well as economic growth of Spain lasting until the Great Recession in 2008.
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Keywords: designer drugs; inability to drive vehicles; compulsory treatment; new psychoac-tive drugs; intoxication with designer drugs; public health protection
The use of legal highs increases risks in the area of public health in Poland. The law provides for criminal liability for possession as well as the trade of NsP, however, it does not provide for the compulsion of treatment for addicts. The material used as a starting point for a practical presentation of the discussed issues was statistical data on the intake of “legal highs” in Poland in the years 2015–2017, including the number of deaths caused by their use. The authors also conducted a study in the form of analysis of data contained in individual medical records of patients hospitalized in the acute Poisoning department of J. Nofer institute of occupational Medicine in Lodz due to the consumption of new psychoactive substances. The paper uses the method of analysis of the existing legal regulations, referring at the same time to the doctrine of law and the emerging line of jurisprudence. The analysis of the legitimacy of the introduc-tion of compulsory treatment mechanisms for people returning to the use of designer drugs shows the tendency of their cyclical use by patients of the acute poisoning department iMP in Lodz. in connection with the number of legal highs poisonings in Poland, it is necessary to introduce legal algorithms of conduct concerning the obligation to treat persons using desi-gner drugs harmfully and persons addicted to them. Legal highs, compulsory treatment, new psychoactive substances, legal highs poisoning, protection of public health.
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Keywords: Veblen; teleology; economic goods; consumption; tactics;
In fact, this paper is following to present the work of Thorstein Bunde Veblen unifying the two other terms, as an early brick to the economic theory, influencing the becoming of the economic theory and practice. Starting from Veblen’s key idea and special approach of teleology, in economics particularly, we’ve chosen as example of a final and determined thing/aspect the act of consumption. That is in the Veblenian sense, of conspicuous consumption, and the consumption as general human and economic activity. Using synthesis of all theoretical and practical sources, the result of the paper is that one of consumption, even luxury, which takes into account the constraints of nowadays phenomena and activities around the world. Furthermore, the economic theory must be tacticized, based exactly on these challenges and influences both from interior of economic and social systems and from the external environment.
More...Keywords: European Union; level of education; pre-university education; sustainable development; labor market;
Employers are demanding ever higher levels of training. Higher level qualifications offer the possibility of accessing those opportunities that appear on the labor market. Changes are occurring in all areas of social life. As a consequence of these changes, education is becoming more and more important. Employment rates can be increased by applying flexible learning pathways. Technological changes occur in economic systems, which are based on the updating of skills, abilities and knowledge. Both pre-university education, and especially higher education, have in mind the development of skills and competences. Sustainable development can be achieved through quality education. Through the analysis carried out, the statistical data related to students enrolled in pre-university education, as well as to people who have a tertiary level of education, are highlighted. The comparative analysis gives us a picture of the evolution of these educational indicators.
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Keywords: aerodynamic tunnel; computational fluid dynamics (CFD); physical experiment; numerical model; pollutant;
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes including software ANSYS Fluent represent worldwide accomplished group of tools for fluid mechanics phenomena numerical simulations. These codes are based on numerical solution of partial differential equations that are not to be solved analytically. The only way of numerical data verification is to execute comparison with experimental data respecting the same boundary conditions. This article deals with experimental data verification by using CFD code ANSYS Fluent 12.1.4 as a tool for numerical simulations. Comparison of pollutant's plume and its scattering considering different density of each pollutant is the main point of the problem. Results are presented by means of commented graphs and pictures.
More...Keywords: sustainable development; Agenda 2030; sustainable development goals; legal competences; EU Court of Justice;
With the adoption on September 25, 2015 of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development of the UN, a general framework of Sustainable Development Goals and related goals was established, which the European Union, through its member states, undertook to implement. The 17 objectives, included in the mentioned document, are not “legally binding”, and their implementation is affected by the legal powers assigned to the coordination of the EU and the member states. The provisions of the treaties, as well as the jurisprudence of the EU Court of Justice, theoretically allow the European Commission to assume a greater role in both the internal and external dimensions of its sustainable development policies. However, legal coordination powers are not specifically invoked in the European Commission’s implementation strategy.
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Keywords: NGN IMS-Based Architecture; Telecommunications;
Thanks to the rapid development of technology and increased availability of bandwidth, today more than ever, multiple services such as voice, video and data can be integrated and efficiently carried over a single infrastructure based on a packet network. An NGN (Next Generation Network) is able to deploy those services independently from underlying transport-related technologies, giving fixed or mobile users an access to different providers with the adequate QoS and security. In fact, it is the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) inside the NGN that enables and drives efficient converged service offerings. IMS provides the framework for a common service and session control layer standardized on IP, with SIP controlling all media sessions. The IMS standardization breaks down all the functions necessary to support multimedia applications and to provide standardized (open) interfaces towards application servers enabling enhanced premium services as well as the interworking with other (legacy) networks such as the PSTN/PLMN (Public Switched Telephone Network/Public Land Mobile Network. The paper is describing the current state of the art in the NGN standardization within the ETSI and related standardization bodies.
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Keywords: Trans-European Transport Network; Ten-T; transport; history; progress; financing;
Summing up, the author, M.E.S. (Master in European Studies) MA (International Relations) Dipl.-Ing. (Transport Sciences), presents the basis of his actual doctor thesis about the international and strategic dimensions of the enlargement of the Trans–European Network (TEN) to Russia, the caucasus and Turkey. The article deals with the creation and the development of the TEN–T program of the European Commission. After the description of the history of this program, the progress of the fourteen transport priority projects is shown from the report of the Christophersen group to the European Council in 1994. In addition, the guidelines and the financial rules of the TEN-T are examined, which implemented a regular report from the member states to the Commission. With these data the financial forecast gets more realistic and further amendments about the construction progress could be made. Afterwards, the financing of the infrastructure projects is presented on the basis of the different European, government and private fundings. Finally an outcast is given about the new priority projects of 2004.
More...Keywords: cultural adaptation; antonomasia; translation; secondary nomination;
The aim of the given paper is by means of case study to illustrate specific examples of token names or antonomasia translated via cultural adaptation. The study reveals that in L. Carroll’s ‘’Alice Through the Looking Glass’’ token names occupy a great place. The article will discuss especially such cases of token names which are given to the insects. The study revealed that the choice of the insects in the ST is culturally-based. They are the most frequently encountered species in the UK, and quite naturally the translator S. Seferyan transmitted them into Armenian not directly by their corresponding equivalence but by the name of insects known and recognizable for the target readers, specifically because the target readers are children. Moreover, the translator managed to apply cultural adaptation while translating new, imaginary characters.
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Keywords: paradiplomacy; feminist foreign policy; feminist paradiplomacy; autonomous communities; external action of regions;
The article aims to identify the perspectives of the development of paradiplomacy in the context of feminist foreign policy using the example of Spain. The author shows the relationship between the foreign policy of central government and the foreign activity of the regions and the place of sub-state actors in the central strategies of feminist foreign policy. The example of Spain and its recently published strategy was chosen due to the interchangeable application of the concept of foreign policy and external action and the clear distinction of the actors involved in the implementation of the paradigm. The comparative case study aims to show how the regions apply the practice of feminist foreign policy in their paradiplomacy strategies. On this basis, areas have been identified which, in this perspective, are fields for the development of the “feminist paradiplomacy” of the autonomous communities of Spain.
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Keywords: political organization;constitution;freedom of political association;political pluralism;constitutional democracy;militant democracy; constitutional court; European Court of Human Rights,;rule of law;
Author discusses the problem of between the banning of political parties and the freedom of political association from the standpoint of theoretical conceptions, international standards on the protection of human rights, and practice in comparative law. The right to freedom of association is a basic human right without which there is no democracy, and as such it is guaranteed in domestic law and international documents, such as the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms. The restriction of this right caused dilemmas in doctrine and jurisprudence, regarding the answer to the question of whether it is legitimate and in which cases it is permissible to ban or dissolve a political party. In comparative law, there is no uniform model on the limitation of activities and the prohibition of political parties. In the legal systems, there are various ways of organizing this mechanism, the bodies that make the decision to ban or dissolve a political party, the reasons for making the decision, the procedure and the measures that are imposed. In accordance with the practice and jurisprudence in European countries, the ban or dissolution of political parties is justified only as an exceptional means in the defense of the democratic order, if it unequivocally manifests the intention of violently changing the constitutional and democratic order. The decision should be within the jurisdiction of the courts, and the competent authority would have to take into account the proportionality between the pronounced measure and the established facts about the unconstitutional activity of a political organization. In order to prevent discretionary decision-making and executive interference, the legal regime of banning political parties and freedom of political association must be harmonized with the principles of the rule of law and democracy.
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Keywords: Protestantism; sacral architecture; Greater Poland; Kalisz voivodeship; early modern period
The aim of this study is to offer a brief outline of protestant sacral architecture in the region of Kalisz, comprised of historic counties of Kalisz, Pyzdry and Konin from the 16th to 18th Century. Author tries to trace foundations of new parish churches for the United Brotherhood and lutheran communities. The general research question posed in this study targets different typologies of protestant church architecture in the region, including analysis of architecture and arrangements of interior, with focus on longevity of some typological units. Those issues were backgrounded in the historical framework of protestantism in the region of Kalisz, including situation of different waves of immigration or religious exile from other countries, affecting local confessions (to mention imigrants from Bohemia, Silesia or German-speaking rural colonists, called “Olędry”) from the outbreak of protestantism, counterreformation in Poland and introduction of religious tolerance in the mid-18th Century. The last factor affected protestant sacral architecture in many ways, allowing many new interesting and monumental churches of lutheran confessions to be constructed, often showing innovation in form and spatial arrangement.
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Keywords: bilateral study; cross-border; Mexicali-Imperial County; death rates; COVID-19.
This comparative study analyzes the absolute numbers and death rates of air pollution-related fatal victims, intentional homicides, and COVID-19 losses from 2018 to 2020 in the Mexicali (Baja California, Mexico) and Imperial County (California, United States) cross-border region. The analysis is nourished with quantitative data from secondary sources, systematized by all three levels of government authorities in the case of Mexicali and federal authorities in the Imperial County case. Evidence reveals that air pollution, homicides, and COVID-19 have had a differential impact on both sides of the border. While the COVID-19 pandemic was devastating in multiple aspects, air pollution-related mortality rates in the Mexicali-Imperial County cross-border region were five times higher than those of COVID-19. Mexicali was the most distressed “side” of the border in absolute numbers. However, by population rate, Imperial County was the most disturbed. Therefore, this situation reflects a shared priority for state and municipal authorities on both sides of the border.
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