Suchergebnisse

The article presents an analysis of the performance of regional governments -- the institutions representing the self- governing regions in the Czech Republic. The authors try to answer the question of whether regional governments function similarly or whether they vary in terms of performance, & if they do vary, how structured & how large are these differences. After a review of the position occupied by the regions in the Czech public administration system, & after assessing the ways in which regional government performance can be understood & measured & the accessibility of necessary data, indicators are proposed & used to create an aggregate index of regional government performance. An analysis based on these indicators shows that there are considerable differences between regional governments in terms of the structure & the level of their performance. Based on the performance index it was possible to distinguish regions with above- average, average, & below- average regional government performance. The territorial distribution of these groups & some other factors confirm the validity of these measurements.

Clearly visible changes of forms, symbolism and patterns of transnational collective mobilization and political protest have taken place roughly over the course of the last decade. The aim of this article is to introduce an actor that represents these changes (and one of the key non-state collective actors of the present) -- the Global Justice Movement (GJM) -- through mapping the major related debates. Basically, two principal axes of both academic and political discourse on GJM are distinguished: first, there are the debates on the static or lasting attributes of the movement, and second, there are those on the dynamics and processional character of the movement. This text focuses on a dynamic approach to the study of collective action and strives to incorporate fundamental analytical and political arguments in their respective fields of study. Adapted from the source document.

The paper searches for the essentials of the American neoconservative movement. The article focuses on the beginnings of the first generation, the "godfathers" of the movement, and especially the personality and life of Irving Kristol. First the article analyses the pre-neoconservative situation in United States. The roots of the movement are found in the liberal environment and its break-up in the reality of the turbulent Sixties. The development of the neoconservative movement through various concepts of domestic and foreign policy is described in the context of conservative-liberal struggle in the USA, while the position of neoconservatives is compared to these orientations. The long evolution of opinions and orientations of Irving Kristol is interpreted as a typical feature of the whole movement, and his life serves as the guide for the concept of the paper. The article presents the main eight fundamentals of the neoconservative movement formulated by Irving Kristol, and the study is concluded with a short section focused on the foreign policy opinions of the movement during the Reagan administration. Adapted from the source document.

The aim of the article is to describe the relations between institutions in the public, private and non-profit sectors that are considered the most important actors of negotiation and decision-making in local development. These institutions and the relations between them are defined as a social network. A study was carried out in the small Czech towns of Blatná, Český Krumlov and Velké Meziříčí, and data were collected in 2007 and 2008. The first part of the article describes the institutional actors, the collection of the relational data, and the context of the three towns that were studied. The analytical part consists of social network analysis. Basic quantitative characteristics are used to describe and compare the social networks of the institutional actors in the local development of the three towns. The conclusions indicate the unconditional significance of local public administration institutions and the significance of other local institutions; relations to extra-local institutions are rather weak. A section on methodology at the end of the article contains methodological notes on Hellinger divergence and SNA.

The post discusses some issues with proving intelectuall and mental maturity of juveniles. In the introduction author briefl y deals with reasons of the adoption of The Juvenile Justice Act and corresponding relative adoption of criminal responsibility of juveniles. Distinctive theoretical attitudes are not omitted with this conception of criminal responsibility. Also the adolescence process is analysed in the brief including factors directly infl uencing this process. Another chapter is dedicated to the examination of the mental state of the juveniles and determination of the degree of their mental maturity by expert's investigation. In this context some factual problems and drawbacks common to the criminal proceeding are pointed out. These issues are demonstrated in the examples from practice. The next part is about proving bio-psycho-social level of the juvenile. The standard procedure of the law enforcement authorities for proving intelectuall and mental maturity of juveniles is described, including possible drawbacks and the opinion of the courts regarding this topic. At the end author summarizes outputs of the individual chapters, including consideration of possible change de lege ferenda.

The author of this article focuses on the theoretical framework of the concept of care as a critical category of social inequality in order to outline possibilities for a redefi nition of the relationship between work and care. Gender inequalities as well as inequalities that are based on other social categories, such as class, ethnicity, nationality, geopolitical location, marital status, and so on are incorporated in the social organisation of care which retrospectively reinforces them. Feminist debate has thus far formulated demands for the recognition of caring persons mainly at the national level, but the author of the article, referring to Arlie Hochschild and Allison Weir, shows that the current challenges of global capitalism point to the need to articulate these demands in a transnational context and to embed care in the discourse of transnational justice. She critically addresses the challenges that efforts to attain recognition for caring persons by including care as a labour-market activity are confronted with owing to the current changes in the social organisation of care under global capitalism, which involves among others the employment of marginalised groups of women and women immigrants in the caring professions. Drawing on the work of Nancy Fraser, the author formulates two normative criteria for reconceptualising care as a social engagement without subjecting it to the logic of market valuation.

This article analyses the evolutionary process of the Romanian party system during the years 19892004. The Romanian party system went through rapid development after the overthrow of the Ceausescu regime, a process that has not yet ended (this opinion relates mainly to center and right parties). The developmental periods of the party system are divided on the basis of parliamentary elections, since these elections and their results always represent a new situation in the party scene. The main part of the article describes the development and political program individual party subject Romanian party system. The classical division into left, center and right parties is applied to the location of political parties with respect to disputability in the Romanian political context. Besides the classical political parties, it is also possible to identify relatively strong ethnic parties and special party families. In the present state (after the 2004 election) it is possible to characterize the situation as conflict between two main poles -- centrist ("Truth and Justice") and post-communist (Social Democratic Party). Christian National Peasant Party Christian Democratic; socialist Socialist Workers Party; ethnic Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romanian, and radical continuity parties (mainly Great Romania Party) can all be defined as secondary poles. Extreme right parties are minor and insignificant. The Communist party family has no relevant representative. Adapted from the source document.

Systemic corruption is not a failure of individuals, i.e. the result of their deviant behaviour, but a collective phenomenon shared mainly by public institutions as a whole. The phenomenon is based on an effort to establish a new set of corrupt norms inside such institutions affecting policymaking, administrative procedures, public procurements, and the behavior of employees etc. In spite of the fact that impacts of systemic corruption on the areas of government, civil freedoms, social cohesion, and public economy are well known, there is very little practical research involving concrete evidence of systemic corruption in particular cases. This paper attempts to clarify how to generate a set of indicators of systemic corruption and then identify and verify them in a real-life political environment – in our specific case, the administration and policymaking of Liberec City Council between 1998 and 2010. The research was based upon elaborated interviews (with politicians, public servants, prosecuting authorities etc.), document analysis (reports and papers of the city council and municipal government, contracts and invoices etc.), and political and media analysis. The results are significant, as only an understanding of how a corrupt system really works can lead to the implementation of suitable anticorruption measures. ; Systemic corruption is not a failure of individuals, i.e. the result of their deviant behaviour, but a collective phenomenon shared mainly by public institutions as a whole. The phenomenon is based on an effort to establish a new set of corrupt norms inside such institutions affecting policymaking, administrative procedures, public procurements, and the behavior of employees etc. In spite of the fact that impacts of systemic corruption on the areas of government, civil freedoms, social cohesion, and public economy are well known, there is very little practical research involving concrete evidence of systemic corruption in particular cases. This paper attempts to clarify how to generate a set of ...

The September 11th, terrorist attacks on the United States totally overshadowed the significant legislative changes in the field of the US sanctions policy, which went into effect in the years 2000 and 2001. Albeit these changes as such may appear insufficient at first sight, the decade of sanctions policy reform debates and disputes which preceded these changes justifies the conclusion that they are the best result possible, and far more important than any unsystematic shifts in the regime of imposing economic sanctions for foreign policy purposes made back in the 1990s. The need to reform the US sanctions policy was caused by afundamental change of the international environment brought about by the end of the Cold War. Unlike in the bipolar world, wherein universal sanctions measures were fully sufficient, it was necessary after the end of the Cold War to react to numerous and varied threats to US foreign policy interests. This was done by laws "tailored" for the sanctioned country. The attempt to reform US sanctions policy in the 1990s revealed infull the rivalry between the legislative and executive powers, both of which wanted to preserve the decisive influence upon administrating sanctions and making decisions about them. It was undoubtedly the legislative power the Congress -- which emerged strengthened from the decade of rivalry. The last major factor reemerging in the sanctions policy reform debate and disputes was the issue of extraterritorial effects of some us laws. The extraterritoriality of us legislation caused a backlash in the world, which the US administration could not simply ignore. Yet the United States will probably not give up this powerful tool for forced multilateralization of its unilateral sanctions since this tool enables the US to avoid protracted and uncertain promotion of its interests in the form of multilateral sanctions negotiated by traditional diplomatic means. Adapted from the source document.

L'Administració local, partint del valor afegit que li confereix la seva proximitat als ciutadans, ha d'exercir un paper fonamental en l'acció educativa que comparteix en diferents temps i espais socials amb les famílies, les escoles i les comunitats, al llarg de tota la vida de les persones. Una perspectiva que concretem en tres grans objectius que han de guiar el desenvolupament del potencial socioeducatiu de l'esport i la cultura en l'àmbit "local" i no només "municipal": augmentar la participació ciutadana, millorar els coneixements bàsics de la població i habilitar vies per tal que puguin expressar les seves necessitats i interessos. En el text s'apunten algunes línies d'acció, concretades en iniciatives pràctiques d'acord amb les consideracions teòriques expressades. ; Local administration, whose proximity to citizens affords it added value, is a key element of educational action shared with families, schools and communities throughout people's lives. We approach this perspective through three goals that guide the development of the socio-educative potential of sport and culture in the "local field" (not only in the "municipal field") by: (1) increasing citizen participation; (2) improving the local population's knowledge base; and (3) creating routes through which citizens may express their needs and aspirations. We raise some practical lines of action based on the presented theory. ; La Administración local, partiendo del valor añadido que le confiere su proximidad a los ciudadanos, debe jugar un papel fundamental en la acción educativa que comparte endiferentes tiempos y espacios sociales con las familias, las escuelas y las comunidades, a lo largo de toda la vida de las personas. Una perspectiva que concretamos en tres grandes objetivos que deben guiar el desarrollo del potencial socioeducativo del deporte y la cultura en el ámbito "local" y no sólo "municipal": aumentar la participación ciudadana, mejorar los conocimientos básicos de la población y habilitar vías para que puedan expresar sus necesidades e intereses. En el texto se apuntan algunas líneas de acción, concretadas en iniciativas prácticas acordes con las consideraciones teóricas expresadas.

. ; Hablar del pueblo gitano hoy se hace mucho más complejo que, posiblemente, cinco o diez años atrás. Ni la sociedad no gitana, ni la gitana es la misma. La globalización, y sus efectos, también ha llegado a los grupos culturales más pequeños. Hace diez años, el pueblo gitano era la minoría étnica nacional, o así se reconocía en documentos oficiales, pero hoy, este rol se ha visto relegado o incluso ha desaparecido. Otras culturas y grupos étnicos les han pasado delante. Esta nueva situación, no ha encontrado preparados ni a los gitanos, ni a las administraciones. En este marco, se reflexiona en torno a conceptos como cultura, integración. etc. , que ya hada años que desde ámbitos reducidos se realizaba en torno al pueblo gitano, pero que hasta el momento no ha tomado un papel primordial en el mundo social y académico, y evidentemente, en el político y en el asociativo. ; This currently much more complex to refer to the Gypsy people than it may have beenfive or ten years ago. Neither non-Gypsy nor Gypsy society is the same as then. Globalisation and its consequences have also reached smaller cultural groups. Ten years ago. the Gypsy people were the nalional ethnic minorily. or at least referred to as such in official documents. Today. nonetheless. this role has been pushed aside or has even disappeared. Other cultures and ethnic groups have taken Gypsies' place. This new situation has caught Gypsies and administrations unprepared. In such a framework , analysis is devoted to concepts such as culture, integration, etc . as regards the Gypsy people. something which limited spheres of thought have already been engaged in for some time. but which has not been given an essential role in social and academic,nor obviously in political and associative realms until now.

El context econòmic actual de crisi ha derivat cap a un discurs polític centrat, principalment, en la reducció dels pressupostos públics. Per tal de mantenir el nivell actual de serveis, l'aposta ha de passar per una major eficiència i eficàcia de la gestió pública, evitant la despesa innecessària i maximitzant l'impacte dels serveis prestats. La introducció i l'ús d'aplicacions informàtiques es preveu com una de les solucions a l'hora d'abaratir costos i processos de l'Administració. En l'àmbit de la seguretat, aquesta aposta es centra en un major desenvolupament d'eines de georeferenciació o sistemes d'informació geogràfica que tinguin com a finalitat millorar la gestió i visualització de la informació i facilitar-ne l'intercanvi entre plataformes policials. Però un ús eficient d'aquestes aplicacions requereix afrontar prèviament un conjunt de reptes relacionats amb les estructures organitzatives que les gestionaran i les possibilitats i expectatives tècniques que en deriven, així com una reflexió per mesurar les externalitats tant positives com negatives en un camp tan sensible com és el de la seguretat. ; El contexto económico actual de crisis ha derivado hacia un discurso político centrado, principalmente, en la reducción de los presupuestos públicos. Para mantener el nivel actual de servicios, la apuesta debe pasar por una eficiencia y eficacia mayor de la gestión pública, evitando el gasto innecesario y maximizando el impacto de los servicios prestados. La introducción y el uso de aplicaciones informáticas se prevé como una de las soluciones a la hora de abaratar costes y procesos de la Administración. En el ámbito de la seguridad, esta apuesta se centra en un desarrollo mayor de herramientas de georreferenciación o sistemas de información geográfica que tengan como finalidad mejorar la gestión y visualización de la información y facilitar el intercambio entre plataformas policiales. Pero un uso eficiente de estas aplicaciones requiere afrontar previamente un conjunto de retos relacionados con las estructuras organizativas que las gestionarán y las posibilidades y expectativas técnicas que se derivan, así como una reflexión para medir las externalidades tanto positivas como negativas en un campo tan sensible como es el de la seguridad ; The current economic crisis has turned towards a path of political discourse based mainly on the reduction of public budgets. To maintain our current level of services, we need to increase the efficiency and efficacy of public administration, avoiding unnecessary expense and maximising the impact of the services provided. The introduction and use of IT applications is predicted to be one of the solutions that will help to cut costs and administrative procedures. In the area of safety, this solution focuses on further developing georeferencing tools or geographic information systems intended to improve the way information is managed, visualised and exchanged across police platforms. But before efficient use of these applications can be made, it is necessary to confront a series of challenges relating to the organizational structures that will be used to manage them and to their technical capacities and expectations, and to weigh up the positive and negative external factors at play in such a sensitive area as safety and security.

Les protestes socials esdevingudes en nombrosos països durant els últims tres anys –des de Tunísia i l'anomenada "Primavera àrab" fins a les recents mobilitzacions a Turquia o Brasil– han fet aflorar un debat sobre la possible dimensió global i transestatal de totes elles. El present article pretén realitzar una aproximació descriptiva i analítica a aquest intens cicle de protestes, reflexionant sobre les diferències i similituds existents entre elles, el paper que Internet i les xarxes socials han tingut en el curs de les diferents mobilitzacions o, entre altres aspectes, el repertori d'accions que han emprat. Més enllà d'aquests trets compartits o no, l'article mira d'emfasitzar la importància d'entendre aquest cicle de mobilitzacions com un procés de repolitització social que combina les contradiccions i conflictes locals de cada context en particular amb l'aparent existència d'una demanda global per major democratització política, regeneració institucional, justícia social i reapropiació d'allò comú. ; The social protests that have take place in many countries over the past three years - from Tunisia and the so-called Arab Spring to the recent protests in Turkey and Brazil - have given rise to a debate about the possible global and transnational dimension they may have. This paper sets out to develop a descriptive and analytical approach to this intense cycle of protests, reflecting on the differences and similarities between all of them, the role that the Internet and social networks have had in the course of the different demonstrations and, among other things, the repertoire of actions that have been used. Beyond these shared traits, the paper seeks to emphasize the importance of understanding this cycle of mobilization as a social re-politicization process that combines local contradictions and conflicts of each particular context with the apparent existence of a global demand for greater political democratization, institutional regeneration, social justice and reappropriation of the common. ; Las protestas sociales acaecidas en numerosos países durante los últimos tres años –desde Túnez y la llamada "Primavera árabe" hasta las recientes movilizaciones en Turquía o Brasil– han hecho aflorar un debate sobre la posible dimensión global y transestatal de todas ellas. El presente artículo pretende realizar una aproximación descriptiva y analítica a este intenso ciclo de protestas, reflexionando sobre las diferencias y similitudes existentes entre todas ellas, el papel que Internet y las redes sociales han tenido en el curso de las diferentes movilizaciones o, entre otros aspectos, el repertorio de acciones que han utilizado. Más allá de estos rasgos compartidos o no, el artículo trata de enfatizar la importancia de entender este ciclo de movilizaciones como un proceso de repolitización social que combina las contradicciones y conflictos locales de cada contexto en particular con la aparente existencia de una demanda global por mayor democratización política, regeneración institucional, justicia social y reapropiación de lo común.