Transitions Online_Around the Bloc-25 May
Our news roundup: protests break out in Belarus; Russian airspace violations; NGOs in Kyrgyzstan targeted; remote voting in Russia; and a cross-ethnic, Balkan friendship.
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Our news roundup: protests break out in Belarus; Russian airspace violations; NGOs in Kyrgyzstan targeted; remote voting in Russia; and a cross-ethnic, Balkan friendship.
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The paper presents the research plans of official statistics prepared in close cooperation with government agencies, local government units, as well as business, social and trade union organizations. The primary criterion for the preparation of the program was to provide the continuous observation of the socio-economic situation of the country. The proposed surveys will provide information to obtain analyzes and current estimations, designed to forecast trends and historical and international comparisons.
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This article presents the history of the CSO in the interwar period – discusses the genesis of the Office as of rescript of the Regency Council, and then the first structure and tasks of the Central Statistical Office of the regulatory framework of the Second Republic. It describes the difficult circumstances of the emerging territory after the First World War, personnel, office and others, in the formation of the CSO and conducting surveys during the merging areas occupying in the reborn Poland after 123 years. The article discusses the major accomplishments of the Office during the period between the first and second world war, particularly the census of the population in the years 1921 and 1931, economic and social research, conduct of publishing and information services. At the end are presented the most distinguished statisticians in the early years of the CSO, derived mainly from Galicia.
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E-government means a common citizens and businesses access to government services through telecommunications media, including the Internet. The purpose of the article is to point the degree of utilization of e-government services by businesses in Poland and other European countries. The most similar countries for Polish in the degree of use of e-government services by businesses were Spain, Portugal and Belgium. Based on the results, it was found that intensive activity should be carried out to break the barriers to electronic business contacts with the administration.
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This article presents the professor’s Józef Buzek comprehensive activity. This lawyer and politician was well-deserved for the rebirth of the Polish state after 1918, and the prominent statistician – the organizer of the CSO, the head of the Office until 1929. The paper discusses in detail the role of the professor, as the creator of the CSO, the organizer of Polish research statistics and initiator of the organized, for the first time in Warsaw, Session of the International Statistical Institute in 1929. The article, printed in the 94th anniversary of the appointment of Professor Józef Buzek as the first director of the CSO, discusses his scientific activity, and brings his broad interest in the field of economics and law.
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The article presents the biography of Zygmunt Peuker that within 50-year work in the CSO etched in the memory of statisticians by significant achievements. Mr. Peuker not only dealt with statistics, he held various posts in his career but he was also from 1949 an active member of the Polish Statistical Association. He published many popular scientific studies in the field of social statistics. He was also a professor of statistics in high schools. He was also the author of the manual statistics for young people, published a lot of articles in the “Statistical News” and other journals specialized in statistics, economics and history.
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Article relates to the author's paper "The interaction between the development of the theory and practice of sample surveys in Poland", delivered at the Congress. Consultation given to the Mathematical Commission by Professor Jerzy Neyman in the years 1950–1958 were especially widely discussed, as well as the activities of the body in the application of mathematical methods in CSO surveys. Conclusions of the Commission’s core activities and their impact for the development of official statistics are discussed, too.
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This paper examines the Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement – the first legally binding instrument adopted under the auspices of the Arctic Council – and analyses its direct and indirect implication for both the development of the Arctic shipping and the perspectives of regionalization processes. It is argued that the adoption of the Agreement should be perceived as an ambiguous achievement since, while its direct relevance for the Arctic shipping is not very substantial at the moment, it however reaffirms the indispensable and leading position of the Arctic Council in the regional governance system and offers important prospects for deepening the cooperation among the Arctic states. The Arctic SAR Agreement is also recognised as a manifestation of exercising the Arctic sovereignty by the eight states (also against non-Arctic actors) and consequently a sign of growing regionalization of the Arctic.
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The article discusses selected rescue operations in the Arctic from a historical perspective. It focuses on events that in practical terms initiated international cooperation in this area. Against the background of the development of rescue techniques and equipment, the history of attempts to increase the chances of survival in extreme conditions is outlined. The author also examines how rescue operations influenced popular awareness, stimulating the creation of a favourable climate for institutional cooperation.
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The article describes selected rescue operations that took place in the Arctic during the Cold War and afterwards. The author focuses on the international aspect of search and rescue actions and analyses the evolution of the forms and procedures of cooperation between services and the obstacles which emergency cooperation faces in this part of the world. The author also attempts to determine the perspectives of Arctic rescue operations at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
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The problem of financial security becomes extremely topical in the face of changes in the system of debt commitment. This article aims to identify the attitudes of local government in shaping the financial security of debt transactions in the light of the study. This paper presents the decision-making process as a measure of transaction security. The discussed position of debt transactions is the object of interest of financial security. The results of empirical studies regarding the attitudes and behaviour of financial security associated with such debt transactions were presented.
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Mediation can be considered an attempt to come to a solution that is conciliatory and satisfactory to both sides of the conflict. It consists in voluntary negotiations, which are carried out with the participation of the third party called the mediator. He/she is neutral towards the sides of the conflict and the subject of the dispute. Mediations should lead to working out a compromise, i.e. a solution that is not imposed on the parties of the dispute. Thanks to the way of conducting mediation proceedings their many advantages are emphasized as well as the fact that they take place out of court. Therefore, the citizens can access judicial authorities more easily. The article aims to assess mediation as a milder form of solving disputes and to specify whether they are and should be used to solve civil, family and criminal conflicts.
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The term “critical infrastructure” describes those physical facilities, supply chains, information technologies and communication networks that, if destroyed, degraded or rendered unavailable for an extended period, would significantly impact the social or economic well-being of the nation or affect ability to conduct national defence and ensure national security. In the article the author presents terrorist threats to the objects of critical infrastructure, which include assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings, bomb scares and bombings, cyber attacks (computer-based), and the use of chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological weapons. High-risk targets for acts of terrorism include military and civilian government facilities, international airports, large cities, and high-profile landmarks. Terrorists might also target large public gatherings, water and food supplies, utilities and corporate centers. Furthermore, terrorists are capable of spreading fear by sending explosives or chemical and biological agents through the mail. The paper describes examples of the terrorist attacks on the elements of critical infrastructure in the history of modern international terrorism. In the end of the article the author presents methods of protecting the critical infrastructure against threats, especially against terrorists attacks.
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The period under review started in 2010, when the discussion of significant para¬metric changes in the pension system in Bulgaria began in order to improve it, resulting from the changed rates of economic growth, employment/unemployment, income, infla¬tion, parameters and trends of demographic processes and their impact on the social insurance system and ends in 2018, with the inclusion of the latest changes in pension legislation and the available statistics on an annual basis. The article aims to show how the changes in recent years concerning the access to a pension for insurance experience and age and the determination of its amount have affected the number, amount and costs of pensions for insurance experience and age for the period 2010 - 2018.
More...A case study on Shenzhen city intelligent classification of domestic waste
How to efficiently, conveniently, safely, scientifically and intelligently reform the urban garbage classification system and the environmental sanitation system is a common problem to promote the ecological development of urban life.Taking the key elements in the whole process of garbage collection and disposal as the starting point, taking the development of technology as the driving force to improve the management system as the guide, and combining the current situation of infrastructure construction and market practice of environmental sanitation system in Shenzhen city of China,following the intelligent technology route map and realization route of "internet + municipal solid waste classification" are established by using the time line,with supporting of modern information technology,from the aspects of publicity and education, policy designation and industrial chain construction, this essay will discuss on the intelligent management countermeasures of Sehnzhen urban domestic waste classification based on "Internet + " to fully exploit the potential value of municipal solid waste and form a win-win environment and sanitation intelligent ecological circle.The necessity for sorting collection of municipal domestic waste was expounded. The status of municipal domestic waste sorting collection in China was analyzed. The waste sorting methods and techniques should be explained for residents and students in schools and residential communities. Equipment and systems of waste collection should be improved to facilitate residents in waste sorting.
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The concepts ethnicity, religion and politics are problematic even at the level of conceptualization. However, the interdependence of ethnicity, religion and politics as social dynamics in fostering the development of a nation has become imperative across the globe. Nigeria is multi-ethnic with cultural differences between its component ethnic groups has been crippled by series of political unrest, ethnic chauvinism, youth restiveness, corruption, religious bigotry and extremism, and other social vices that undermine national development. Therefore, it is against this backdrop that this study examines the effects of ethnicity, religion and politics on national development in Nigeria. A descriptive method was adopted and cross-sectional data were collected across the twenty five Local Government Areas in Delta State with the aid of a structured questionnaire. Non-probabilistic sampling techniques comprising of purposeful and convenience techniques were used to elicit information via questionnaire from 400 respondents. Data collected were analyzed using correlation and regression analysis. The findings of the study showed that ethnicity, religion and politics negatively and significantly impacts national development in Nigeria. On the basis of these findings, the study recommends among others that the nation needs a purposeful leadership that has a vision of how to place its citizens at the centre of political project without recourse to ethnic chauvinism and sees acquisition of political power as not an end in itself but a means for serving the collective welfare of its people regardless of their ethnic origin.
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Bangladesh is a developing country that wants support for economic growth from other countries. This is would accomplish by receiving a large amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) that leads to a higher rate of jobs. Higher jobs contribute to better Bangladeshi life while rising its gross domestic product (GDP). However, unemployment remains one of the major problems facing the world today. The research analyzed the long-run and short-run relationships between unemployment and its macroeconomic determinants over the period 1991-2018/19, including industry value-added, inflation rate, foreign direct investment (FDI), urban population growth, and real gross domestic product (RGDP). This research employed the Johansen co-integration, Vector Auto Regression (VAR) testing method, the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) to unit root. The outcome of the regression indicates that the long-run unemployment rate explained by foreign debt, inflation, FDI, population growth, and RGDP. Therefore, we propose some economic proposals that the outcome of this study.
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Democracy has promoted political and socio-economic development far more effectively than any other political system across many countries and centuries of history. In Nigeria, it has been characterized with political corruption, ethnic politics, politicking of core government policies and programmes and politics of godfatherism. Since the return of democratic rule in 1999 to date, the country witnessed a heightened tempo in the politics of godfatherism, which has not only retards the process of democratic consolidation but also undermines effective state governance and restricts rather than broadens democratic representation. Godfatherism is one of the greatest glitches facing the Nigerian political system. This paper therefore, attempts a reflection on the nature, causes and effect of godfatherism on Nigeria’s nascent democracy. We anchored our investigation on some basic propositions arising from the elite theory and argue that politics of godfatherism negates peaceful coexistence, law and order and poses a threat to the Nigeria’s nascent democracy. This paper which is theoretical in nature draws its argument basically from secondary data which include journal articles, textbooks and internet sources. Requisite conclusion and recommendations were provided in the light of the theoretical findings.
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The concept of public value is related to different dimensions among which work and performance are of particular importance. In this work, we consider organizational well-being and the role of managerial support with reference to work, and citizens’ satisfaction as a relevant factor in measuring and evaluating public performance. Using the data collected through 175 questionnaires administered to the employees of an Italian municipality, this study applies a Mediation Model to analyze the factors influencing the organizational well-being and the role of managerial support, and a Principal Component Analysis to investigate the relationship between organizational well-being and citizens’ satisfaction. The results show that the lack of managerial support can induce civil servants to develop proactive behaviors, which, in turn, can lead to improve citizens’ satisfaction. Consequently, we suggest the implementation of an adequate performance management system that allow managers the possibility of "remote" control which leads to civil servants’ autonomy for a better perceived local governments performance by citizens.
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The paper discusses the importance of student-generated feedback, that is, peer feedback and self-assessment in public service interpreter training. The importance of peer feedback and self-assessment is widely recognised in teaching and learning and benefits include: promoting analytical and critical thinking skills, students’ active participation in the learning process, promoting a collaborative model of teaching and learning, students’ responsibility and autonomy, to name but a few. However, their beneficial character can also be observed in public service interpreter training. The aim of the pilot study conducted among trainee interpreters (MA students) of public service interpreting course was to examine interpreting quality and compare positive (strengths) and negative aspects (weaknesses) of trainee interpreters’ performance identified by them by means of peer feedback and reflection (self-assessment). The trainees participated in simulated public service interpreting sessions and later were asked to reflect on their own as well as their peers’ performance. As seen from data analysis, there are discrepancies between peer feedback and reflection in the perception of students’ strengths and weaknesses and a negative trend can be observed in the case of reflection.
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