![Българските общности в Украйна в началото на новото хилядолетие – променящите се погледи](/api/image/getissuecoverimage?id=picture_2016_33886.jpg)
We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
Islam provides a perfect environment for the fast development of the Sharia law and the customary laws despite strong secularization efforts and pressure exercised by the government authorities. The Ottoman Empire was a multicultural society based on the principles of the Sharia law. The abolishment of the caliphate in Turkey and enforcement of the monogamy model of a family through the Kemalist revolution penalized the parallel Islam activities. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire the millet system survived in Syria with its legal pluralism. Polygamy is currently on the rise in Syria as many men left the country or got killed in the fighting. The mass influx of Syrian women to Turkey results in the growth of parallel Islam de facto polygamous marriages in Turkey. The refugee women are looking for protection within the Sharia law family model, and the living law bypassed the Kemalist positive law secular principles. The same trend is visible in the countries that received many Muslim women that were claiming to the UNHCR their well-founded fear of persecution due to alleged transgressing of traditional social mores in their countries of origin. The same individuals sought later support and protection within the informal and effective parallel Islam networks in the resettlement countries. The legal pluralism is on the rise in the traditionally secular cultures due to the mass migration of single women preferred by the selection systems and resettlement criteria as agreed between UNHCR adjudicators and immigration authorities worldwide.
More...
In the context of constant population aging, digital technologies are required especially for communication and geriatric care. However, before a large-scale deployment could be implemented, the general technological acceptance level should be assessed. The paper aims to descriptively analyze the perception of aging adults on mobile technology. Based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the variables considered are emotional attachment on technology, actual use, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioral intentions. Methodologically, a set of semi-structured interviews have been conducted. The results show that although individuals love their mobile devices and although they perceive them as being useful, the devices are not easy to be used and there are numerous concerns regarding technology. Paradoxically, while they claim the like owning smart devices, they consider them too complex and intrusive.
More...
Ontario’s action plan for seniors recognizes that seniors have health and education needs, among other needs (Gouvernement de l’Ontario, 2017). To partially meet these needs, we have proposed an innovative gerontagogical approach by combining two existing concepts: narrative gerontology with digital storytelling. Thus, by this new concept of Digital Narrative Gerontology, we give seniors a special place for the elaboration of the message they wish to bequeath to other generations, by creating together their life testimonies in digital form easy to share, while mutually acquiring new digital skills and exploiting the benefits of narrative gerontology, such as well-being, aging well, resilience and wisdom, but also informal and intergenerational learning. Communication was important on two levels: between the elder and the researcher during the oral narration and the creation of the digital narration in a relationship of mutual trust as well as in the form of digital testimony with a key message to transmit, during the broadcast of the digital narration. This research also made it possible to respond to the curiosity of the elders for new matters in a reassuring framework, adapted to their level, while respecting their learning pace and the choices of knowledge that they wish to acquire. Seniors were proud to share their digital creation with those they had chosen, thus opening the space for discussions, exchanges, emotions and the open door to a new intergenerational “narrative” and social interactions - sources of learning.
More...
ociety is ageing at an unprecedented pace. In tandem, the number of technology-enabled solutions targeted at older adults continues to rise. It is therefore important to understand how to best communicate these solutions to seniors and facilitate use and adoption. To develop an understanding of what could be an improved strategy of communication and media content delivery for companies that provide older adults with technology-based solutions is the goal of this research. Aware of the potential stereotypes that may emerge towards the ageing population, this paper takes a special interest on ageism and gender to determine imbalances. With this in mind, this paper conducts an in-depth case study of the online presence of a company that developed a digital product for seniors that has been nominated for a Prize on Best Practice on Active and Healthy Ageing. Findings concerning the communication strategy of the company are extracted based on the analysis of their website and their five social media profiles. In total 120 posts were inspected, containing 120 text excerpts, 352 pictures, and 21 videos. Results show that the organisation sustains a continuous engagement with both seniors and the seniors’ organisations that use their product, privileging a relationship of close proximity. The representation of older adults is one that shows exceptionally happy and active seniors, who are surrounded by an aura of admiration. There seem to be no considerable differences with regards to gender.
More...
Mass surveillance programmes and the impact of new information technologies on privacy restriction are among the greatest threats and challenges faced by modern countries. This article aims to present the origins and functional vision of, and some critical remarks on, the Social Credit System (SCS) under development in the People’s Republic of China. The underlying research issue arising from the assumed objective was to respond to the following questions: What is the SCS developed in the People’s Republic of China? What are its origins? How exactly does it function? The following research methods were used to solve the research queries: the monograph method, the document analysis method, the literature analysis and critique method, and the analysis and synthesis methods. In view of the preliminary investigation, the author formulated the following research hypothesis: the SCS should be viewed in a broader sense than merely as a programme aimed at conducting mass supervision of the Chinese society and preventing threats of separatism, terrorism, and social riot (colour revolutions). It is one of the tools to shape a society based on traditional Chinese values and national identity: loyalty, harmony, integrity, and fairness ‒ a disciplined society which, along with a strong and innovative economy, will enable China to attain the status of global power, thus questioning the American “unipolar world order”. Although China is not a democratic country, the system’s success can contribute to implementing similar solutions in other Asian countries. Therefore, it appears justified to conduct studies focused on the SCS.
More...
The paper analyzes the activity of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on social media during the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip on May 3-6 and November 12-14, 2019. The goal of the study is to determine how the Israeli army uses social media for the purpose of strategic communication. Based on a case study, the paper answers the following questions: Which themes dominate the IDF's narrative on social media? Who is the main target? How do social media serve the IDF's strategic communication? The theoretical part of the study was based on a review of literature related to strategic communication and public diplomacy. Empirical research was conducted with the use of materials published by official IDF accounts on two social networking sites. Content analysis using open coding included 150 posts published on Twitter and 55 posts on Facebook. Referring to the leading themes and categories selected in this way, the main features of the Israeli narrative on the conflict and target audience were identified, and the role of social media in the IDF's strategic communication was described. The conclusions regarding the IDF's use of social media presented in the article can be seen as a model of effective practices for other countries, as well as a basis for further research on the role of the information dimension in armed conflicts.
More...
The aim of this article is to illustrate how deeply digitisation is entering the process of managing migration in the EU. It raises the question of the stage of development of existing and new tools in this area. Against the background of the processes of digitalisation and strengthening the internal security of the Schengen area, using an analysis of the sources of European Union law, the modernisation of the three main systems used in EU migration policy will be presented: SIS II, VIS, Eurodac and 3 new systems: EES, ETIAS, ECRIS-TCN. Their development has accelerated in the last few years, as the migration crisis of 2015-2016 has highlighted the need to fill the security gaps by integrating these systems. The use of large-scale computer base is therefore a challenge to ensuring security in the EU, but it raises the question of the pace and scale of change and its impact on the protection of personal data.
More...
The concept of network-centric activities was created in the 20th and 21st century as a result of striving to increase the combat capabilities of army in a manner allowing to dominate the opponent. Numerous scientific analyzes, practical methods and operating schemes have mostly made it possible to meet these needs. This article is a continuation of considerations on network-centric activities and focuses on the indication of their nature and methods of conducting Network Centric Warfare.
More...
The paper deals with the public sociologists of the former Julian Hochfeld’s circle in the time of the political system change in Poland. Among the sociologists of that school Jerzy J. Wiatr played the most important role as both a traditional and an integral public sociologist involved in the Left-wing party politics. The paper depicts his activities as a public intellectual who became an eminent political leader, as well as his work as a social and political analyst. The paper confronts his vision of the political system change, as presented in the writings of the 1989–1991 period, with the work of another eminent sociologist of that school, Zygmunt Bauman. The latter did not play any political role and was much less involved in commenting the political change that was happening at that time, being a lot more skeptical about its result.
More...
The article has intended to study the action of Twitter-based media advocacy promoted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) of the Government of India, and World Health Organization (WHO) during the Covid-19 pandemic. Its goal was to assess the degree of the WHO and MOH's media campaigning for Covid-19, as well as the public's perception of this advocacy. In this regard, mixed methods have been used for data collection where a survey has been conducted with 125 respondents, who use Twitter, from Kolkata (India) with the help of random sampling. A content analysis of two well-known Twitter accounts was conducted, which helped to reflect the current trends that they follow. The findings of this research have reflected the choice of medium preferred by the respondents for receiving news and information during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has also helped to identify the Twitter handles and tweets they mostly follow and thereby the major factors influencing their choice. The outcome of this research has helped to study whether Twitter can be used for institutionalized health communication or not in the future.
More...
The article examines of evolution of Chinese security policy in the light of the white papers on defense. It hypothesized that the goal of the Chinese strategy is to ensure the security of the state, and not to maximize its power. The theory of neoclassical realism was adopted as the theoretical basis for the analysis. The distribution of power in the international system was adopted as the independent variable in the study, and the Chinese security policy as the dependent variable. China's Grand Strategy was recognized as an intervening variable. The study used elements of the qualitative method in line with the recommendations of the neoclassical realism program, emphasizing causal relationships in the process of evolution of China's strategy being followed. As a result of the research, the following conclusions were drawn: 1) China perceives security holistically; that is, it considers both internal and external security. A particularly important aspect is also security at the seas and in new domains: space, cyber and electromagnetic space; 2) The security threats to China are primarily of an internal nature, and the most important threat is the possible declaration of independence by Taiwan. 3) The armed forces are the most important means of countering potential threats. The Chinese strategy assumes the future conflict as a people's war, consisting of the total mobilization of the nation's and state's resources. The army’s main task is to win information wars; 4) The most important supporting objective in China's security strategy is to protect China's "overseas interests"; 5) The security strategy is evolving, and its scope grows with the growth of China's global interests. The Chinese plan goes far beyond the primary goal of ensuring the security of the state. It is therefore also expansive.
More...
This research aimed to analyze the Albanian parliamentary elections held in 2013, 2017, and 2021 in order to evaluate the process of development of representative democracy in Albania, one of the post-communist countries of the Western Balkans. The analysis was based on assessing the dynamics of the Electoral Integrity Index (PEI) as a quantitative indicator that reflects the level of fulfillment of international standards for democratic elections. The PEI was evaluated using the average perception values for 11 indicators reflecting the election process. Based on the value of the PEI2013 (54.1 scores), PEI2017 (53.3 scores), and PEI2021 (57.7 scores), the parliamentary elections in Albania were considered as processes that do not exceed the ‘moderate’ level. The non-significant difference between 2013, 2017, and 2021 PEI (p>0.05) demonstrated low progress in developing democratic performances in Albanian society.
More...
The article presents the methods of influencing particular groups of the revolutionary “Supraciu” movement in Belarus. The subject of the research is to verify the goals of the "Supraciu" movement as an opposition to the Belarusian regime and to define its status in the structure of national liberation organizations. The main research method is the analysis of materials from various media, including social media. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the activities of these groups. The adopted thesis is that the "Supraciu" movement is a national liberation movement that uses terror to weaken the dictatorial regime of Alexander Lukashenka. Following this assumption, the methods and effectiveness of group members of the "Supraciu" movement were presented, and the prospects for the development of this movement in Belarus were assessed.
More...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has global and regional dimensions with deep implications for international security. The war poses strategic questions also for the actors from the Persian Gulf region as it affects them directly and indirectly in terms of security relationships, energy markets, and economic stability. Three Arab Gulf states – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar – experience contradictory incentives and disincentives with regard to their reaction to the war in Ukraine. This article aims to analyze the stance of those three key Arab Gulf players towards Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the first year of the full-scale war. In the article, we argue that the stance of those three Arab Gulf states can be analyzed through Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) as their reaction is best explained through a regional perspective. The article offers a comprehensive explanation, emphasizing the importance of the intra-Gulf security dynamics.
More...
In many of the world's armed conflicts, the health sector has become a target of attacks, and the number of such attacks has increased significantly in recent years. The impact and consequences of armed conflict on health care are far-reaching and long-lasting. In addition to the direct casualties of armed conflict, indirect casualties remain significantly underestimated. The unstable situation as a result of armed conflict leads to the abandonment of preventive programs, the delay of diagnosis, or the abrupt interruption of the therapeutic process, which significantly reduces the prognosis of patients and leads to an increase in mortality. Mass migration, including the migration of patients, shortages of medicines and medical equipment, interrupted basic and clinical research, the mental strain on the population, or staff shortages, have a significant burden on the health sector. This article attempts to collect and describe the key problems faced by health systems affected by armed conflict, using examples in the context of the current war in Ukraine, among others. This paper aims to conduct an analytical study to develop recommendations for the health sector facing a humanitarian crisis. It describes the findings of a literature review regarding the impact of armed conflict on the health sector. The collected literature was the subject of critical analysis. The conclusions drawn were placed in the context of the current conflict in Ukraine.
More...
On the 6th of February, 2023, a strong earthquake struck south-eastern Turkey and north Syria. A number of international search and rescue teams went to the affected region. Against the background of these events, the author discusses the most important aspects of the operation of the international civil protection systems, focusing on those directly related to the deployment of rescue teams to the earthquake-affected region. In addition, the key stages of rescue operations carried out by a group from Poland (HUSAR Poland) are discussed, with references to theoretical issues of organising the work of the teams and assisting those who were affected. The article demonstrates the activities of international aid systems and provides statistics of victims extracted by search and rescue teams. It proved their effectiveness in saving lives.
More...
In the article „The fate of frozen conflicts in the Black Sea region in the context of the war between Russia and Ukraine“, prof. Natalia Bekiarova argues that the continued existence of frozen conflicts is an anachronism in the international life and an opportunity for their solution should be sought. The tendency to de-frost the so-called frozen conflicts in the region and their nature and characteristics are explained. The destabilizing role of Russia in the post-Soviet space is substantiated and the possible prospects for regulating the frozen conflicts in the conditions of the war between Russia and Ukraine are outlined. Special attention is paid to the Nagorni-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which has already been softened and is expected to be finally resolved in the foreseeable future. The conflicts on the territories of Georgia and Moldova are also awaiting a solution. The same refers to the frozen conflicts in Donetsk and Luhansk, which have meanwhile joined the Russian Federation.The fate of all conflicts depends on the development of military operations on the fronts in Ukraine. The way in which the outcome of the war will affect the regulation of conflicts is suggested. It is emphasized that only a military victory of Ukraine and restoration of the authority of international institutions could ensure peaceful and relatively fair solution of the mentioned conflicts above. It is concluded that the Black Sea region will remain deeply divided and confrontational for a long time, and the countries will experience serious economic, social and political difficulties.
More...
Social media informs the public about the most important events and conveys important information. Before, during, and after disasters, social media are used to disseminate information about disasters and collect data relevant to the implementation of preparedness, response, and recovery activities and measures. Social networks are effective in disseminating information and warnings, as well as in educating the public. The subject of the research is examining the influence of demographic factors on the effectiveness of social media in informing the public about the risks of disasters. Using an online survey questionnaire and according to the snowball principle, a survey of 247 respondents was conducted in 2022. The research results show no statistically significant relationship between the respondents’ education level and the assessment of the effectiveness of social media reporting on disasters. Using social media can improve communication between stakeholders in disaster management and facilitate coordination of efforts, fostering communication and allocation of resources. To effectively use social media in disaster management, decision-makers in the disaster management system must be aware of new technologies, their disadvantages and advantages, and ways to collect and analyze data from social networks.
More...
Local government, as an extremely important element of the political system of the state’s political system, carries out public tasks not reserved by law for other organs of public authority. To this end, the state secures the possibility of implementation of tasks by the local government, providing it with a balanced system of finances and the appropriate distribution of sources of income, allowing the implementation of assigned tasks. Today, the challenges facing local self-government are different than just a few years ago. In recent years, the biggest problem has been effectively dealing with the effects of pandemics, restrictions on economic activity, the need to help war refugees from Ukraine, etc. Therefore, it is important to analyze on an ongoing basis to what extent the public finance system is transparent and allows them to effectively support local and regional development at the social, economic and spatial levels. The article presents an assessment of the financial situation of local government units in Poland in 2018-2022 based on selected financial indicators. Such a time frame coincides with the extended term of local governments and allows for comparing data from the years preceding the pandemic and the outbreak of war in Ukraine and looking at the situation's impact on the subsequent years of local government units. The article presents the main issues of own income, property expenditures and operating results of local government units at all levels. The data source for analyzing the relationship between the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine and the financial situation of local government units in Poland is the database of the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Office.
More...