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Geographers play an important role in the announced & expected reform of the political & institutional system by introducing a second tier of local self-government. Their role is not only associated with preparing an appropriate subdivision of Slovenia into functionally closed areas, but also, considering contemporary social causal links between forming the regions & regional development, the effects of the polycentric settlement network layout & the decentralization of public institutions. The paper derives from an assumption that decentralization of institutions plays an important role in overcoming regional disparities. Together with appropriate organization, decentralization of institutions allows more efficient utilization of development potential. In contemporary development policy, institutions are a decisive instrument. In addition to technical innovations & a creative environment, institutions stand out as an impulse & central support point, for harmonious social development. This paper is clearly of a theoretical nature. It deals with the role, effects & consequences of the decentralization of institutions as an instrument for balanced sustainable regional development. The factors, which have an impact on the success of regionalization in a function of decentralization policy, are analyzed They are: especially formation of clear political & legal frameworks for starting the reform process, a clear indication of powerful and, if possible, interdepartmental responsible persons for management & coordination of the decentralization process, forming the concept of decentralized regionalization of Slovenia that aims at an even distribution of tasks & responsibilities such as clear forms of mutual (horizontal & vertical) coordination & mutual reciprocal inspections between different regional & state levels, an outline of state-level transfers where individual administrative & legal steps mean transfer of financial & personal competences & equipment to the participants in regional communities, & finally, measures for providing professional qualification of institutions in decentralized regional associations for taking on new tasks. Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

Dementia – a reason for deinstitutionalisation

Dementia is often the ultimate argument for the need of institutions. However, dementia is not a "disease" that would need an institutional care, and institutions are not an environment of decisive advantage, and the placement in an institution is not the result of a "deterioration" of the state – it is a consequence of the discontinuity of the system, the lack of intensive services in the community, the "drama of institutionalisation" accompanied by reification of human beings and encouraged by the quest for profit. Quite the contrary, institutions can be described as a "machine of oblivion", a foundation of alienation, passivation and intensification of the very difficulties that are usually attributed to the disease process. On the basis of this critique, the author sketches specific elements of deinstitutionalisation in the case of dementia and proposes a heuristic theorem for the research and action in this field. The transition to the community means transforming the modelling of dementia, providing a safe space, adequate intensity of support, a conjunction of informal care and professional interventions, enabling alternative subjectivity and new solidarity. Research and action in the field of dementia should stem from the life-world of so labelled people, and transversely address the variety of plateaus of action. It should focus on the equally transversal phenomena of supplanting the loss of subjectivity and territorial insertion, while also addressing the more fundamental issues of the bifurcation of contemplative and action identity.

An overview of the results of the final theses of students of the Faculty of Social Work on social work with people with dementia
A meta-analysis of students' theses from the past five years (2016–2020) on the topic of social work with people with dementia is presented. Among the themes explored, work in institutions as well as work in the family setting of people with dementia predominate; community work topics emerge to a lesser extent. Thus, the role of social work and the use of social work methods are researched somewhat more in institutions, but again, only in individual institutions. However, this topic does not appear in research on people with dementia in the home setting. Most research is qualitative and based on non-random convenience samples using interviews as the method of data collection. Often, students explore the challenges and needs of those involved in caring for people with dementia, but with less emphasis on numbers. In the future, the focus will need to be on research on community and on (social) work with people with dementia in their home environments, and the use of social work methods and other forms of work with people with dementia need to be explored in more depth.

Abstract. The article deals with the wide range of mechanisms in support of civil society institutions–government interaction in the context of developing and implementing European integration reforms in Ukraine. The
authors identified 6 strategic documents and 20 areas
of reform related to the process of European integration,
as well as the key issues concerning implementation of
the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the
EU. The authors conclude that positive trends are visible in recent decades in the institutional development
of Ukrainian civil society, which has become a driving
force of the country's European integration aspirations.
In this setting, civil society institutions (CSIs) work with
government agencies, engage in informal advocacy,
conduct monitoring policies, perform and publish policy analysis and recommendations, and work with and
lobby international agencies and other actors.

Abstract. The aim of the article is to examine the relationship between the state, democracy and the Carl
Schimitt's concept of the political. That is going to be
done by reconstructing the concepts of Schmitt's political theory and finding out whether they can be used
to explain the ideology of the new right-wing populism
and illiberal democracy. As it turns out, the Schmitt's
reduction of the political to the friend/enemy antagonism makes the core of the illiberal democracies' ruling
narrative. The Schimtt's understanding of the political doesn't defend the state as a political space but by
cancelling of the liberal elements of democracy ruins
the state institutions. The analysis shows that Schmitt's
notion of the political cannot be used to build effective
democratic state institutions. Namely, in his definition
of the political, politics actually exists only on the outwards, towards some other nation, some other political
unity, but not within the state itself.
Keywords: state, the political, Carl Schmitt, illiberal
democracy

Impact of Covid-19 epidemic on the lives of residents of homes for old people
The year 2020 was marked by the Covid-19 epidemic, which had the greatest impact on socially vulnerable groups, especially old people. Based on qualitative research, the article explains the impact of measures to curb the Covid-19 epidemic on the lives of old people in the Ajdovščina Home for the Old People. During this period, social work found itself in a difficult situation and was forced to respond. In institutions for old people, it found itself in an unenviable position, as it had to adapt very quickly to new challenges - to maintain contact in a time that severely limited physical contact, and to enable communication between residents and their loved ones. The article connects homes for old people with the concept of a total institution and shows how social work in the home for old people coped with challenges during the Covid-19 epidemic. The impact of epidemiological measures and social isolation on people's mental health and everyday life is shown. The fundamental tasks of social workers in crisis situations are listed.

Integrity and transparency are crucial elements of modern democratic countries, and trust in politico-administrative institutions must be pursued and maintained at every turn, including when it comes to reporting ceremonial gifts. Despite their (often) problematic connotations, ceremonial gifts are a major element of building strong relationships, from the highest positions in politics and diplomacy to the closest public servants. This article examines data concerning reported gifts in the Republic of Slovenia. Through in-depth statistical analysis, the authors established anomalies in the reporting of ceremonial gifts, in particular flawed descriptions of gifts and problematic assessment of their monetary values, which in most cases is left to the layperson. The authors conclude that a problem clearly exists with implementation of the normative framework because only the technical aspect and less the qualitative side is taken into account while reporting ceremonial gifts. Keywords: ceremonial gifts; reporting; anomalies; transparency; trust; Slovenia

Abstract. The article aims to explore the public's fear of data being misused when using European Covid-19 contact-tracing applications. The point of departure lies in considering the research question of whether the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced the platformisation of traditional institutions, i.e., whether the design of Europe's proximity-tracing applications mimic the dataintensive web services of commercial platforms, namely commercial APIs and their data policies, in order to bypass the right to privacy. We accordingly argue that is vital to address the public's fears of governmental and corporate dataveillance as well as data misuse while using such apps. The investigation entails of a critical analysis of the Exposure Notification System framework designed by Apple and Google (or GAEN) and the #OstaniZdrav application. The article rejects the justification of the public's fear of governmental dataveillance, while recognising the possibility of corporate data misuse. Keywords: Covid-19 contact-tracing application, right to privacy, GDPR, API, protocol, metadata, dataveillance

The democratisation and economic growth of the Asian Tigers, specifically South Korea and Taiwan, brought structural changes to the academic systems of these countries, particularly in the fields of political science and international relations. The article aims to provide a comprehensive and hybrid view on the regularity of political science in the academic environments (university systems) of East Asian countries with a focus on South Korea and Taiwan through the observational analysis method and a historical-sociological mechanism. The findings are summarised, where it is argued that the pentagonal democratic citizenship system (legal, political, cultural, social, economic) as well as the establishing of structural and updated political-economic relations with the main powers in the international system are the two crtitcial factors that have contributed to the adjustment of political science in East Asian countries, including South Korea and Taiwan. The article concludes that, along with the international and domestic developments in South Korea and Taiwan, political science underwent structural changes and is becoming more regulated and structured. Keywords: South Korea, Taiwan, political science, democracy, institution

The study in this article addresses three research questions: a) how do college students view the effectiveness of technology-mediated virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic; b) how does virtual learning impact their perceived mental health; and c) what is the mode of learning they most prefer? It follows an explanatory research design and survey method. Data are collected using a questionnaire with a purposive sample of 102 students and interviews with 20 students and 40 faculty members in India. The conceptual framework of this study is quite similar to the modified version of the Technology Acceptance Model (Venkatesh and Davis, 2000). The study reveals that 86% of the students find virtual learning to be ineffective. Such learning not only fails to provide adequate opportunities for experiential learning for developing knowledge, skills, and leadership abilities but also creates several perceived mental health problems. This study may help higher education institutions while designing and implementing virtual teaching-learning systems in order to prevent their negative impact on student's perceived mental health in future crises. Keywords: Virtual learning, perceived mental health, COVID-19 pandemic, Behavioural Intention, Perceived Usefulness

The discussion about the establishment of regions has been going on in Slovenia for some years. In addition, the regional legislation package has been in the parliamentary procedure for quite some time, too. The purpose of this paper is neither to analyze the proposed legislation nor to provide a detailed list of all the solutions the legislation can bring in. The real purpose of this paper is to analyze various existing regional divisions in the fields of the state administration, general public services & civil society. Some of these regional divisions are supposed to be adapted (according to the regional tasks presented in the legislative proposal) to the proposed dividing the country into fourteen regions. It interests us how the regionalization, taken into consideration by various institutions of the state administration, broader public sector & civil social organizations, complies with the proposals made in attempts to introduce a broader level of local self-government. Besides, we would also like to ascertain whether in already existing regional divisions in Slovenia there might be the predominant solution that could be the basis for the future dividing Slovenia into regions. Tables, Appendixes, References. Adapted from the source document.